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VOL. TV. RICHMC. ^
Presfor terianism i
Hoi.ie Mission
*3
The Big Sandy River and its main tributary, ;
Tug Fork, divides Northeastern Kentucky from s
the Virginias. The valley all the way up is nar- j
row but fertile, and supports a thrifty popula- t
tion. Great mountains buttress this little valley <
on both sides of the river; mountains rich in <
timber, gas, oil and the finest domestic, steam
and cooking coal. The counties on the Virginia 1
side, after leaving Catlettsburg, are Wayne, 1
Mingo, Buchanan and Wise; on the Kentucky ]
side Lawrence, Martin, Johnson, Floyd, Pike, i
Letcher and Harlan. Letcher is in r
West Lexington Presbytery; Harlan
in Transylvania. The other comities,
with the addition of Carter and Elliot,
constitute the great Home Mission
Field of Ebenezer Presbytery with an
aggregate population of one hundred H
and thirty thousand. Pike alone has a
population of thirty thousand, the
census of 1910, showing an increase of
thmison^ in +on imn?c T4- In ?!" >
-? ixi tvu jgaxo. xi ic aiau
the next largest county in the state
and the first in undeveloped wealth.
In returning from Virginia some
time ago, the writer stopped off at
Lynchburg, and with the Rev. Dr. kP//i
Boggs, had an interview with a
prominent coal operator, whose mines were near i
Phelps, with a view of getting a contribution to 1
build a church nedr by. The gentlemen
promptly responded with a liberal gift, with the s
added statement, that the men of his company 1
were not practical Christians, but they knew (
that churches and schools made good citizens, t
and gave them good juries. In course of the
conversation, the writer asked if it were not
possible that the undeveloped wealth of this region
had been exaggerated. He replied: "I
will answer you just as I answered the officials
of the N. & W. R. R., who put to me the same
question: If the coal of Pike county was mined
and marketed at $1.00 a ton, the proceeds would
buy and pay for the whole of the N. & W. R. R.
system with all its equipment." Expert knowledge
as to the untold wealth of this region explains
the extraordinary development now going
on in all these mountains, especially in Pike,
which borders on the Big Sandy River and accessible
to the railroad across the river. '
the first pike county presbyterian mis8ion.
To tell the story of the planting and development
of the first Mission of the Synod of Kentucky,
U. S., in this region is the object of this
second paper. The Synod had been thoroughly
aroused to her responsibility to build up the
waste places and carry the Gospel to all this
mountain section. Guerrant's eloquence and
?N^V
'C^W ORLEANS, ATLANTA, APR1
n Northeastern K
Field of Ebenez
r L. H. BLANTON, D. D? Danville, K_
zeal had fired all hearts. He had told the
story of the cross to multitudes who had heard
it for the first time. Mission stations, Sunday
schools and churches had been planted in many
destitute fields. 'He had been followed by the
conservative, but no less inspiring leadership of
Withersnoon. ?nrl it wna at Viic,
he Rev. S. D. Boggs, who had gotten his home
vork at Catlettsburg well in hand, went up the
& "W. R. R. about 100 miles and crossed over
nto Pike, and entered one of the darkest and
1LPS ACADEMY, TIKE COUNTY, /
nost neglected spots in eastern Kentucky, the
lome of the McCoys, the noted feudist faction.
Dr. Boggs commenced his work in a very
iimple way, by visiting the public school in a
ittle log house on Knox Creek. He found the
;hildren ignorant and neglected. Out of
;wenty-four scholars, not one had ever heard of
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TfiERN PftESBYTEAVAN
L 3, 1912. NO. 14.
Kentucky?Great
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the Lord's Prayer. A little Sunday school was
organized, supplied with literature and placed
in charge of the school teacher. He continued
his visits at short intervals, entered the humble
homes of the people, shared their hospitality and
won their love. In August, 1896, he held his
first protracted service, taking along his little
organ and two ladies from the Catlettsburg
church. The result was that seventy-one of the
plain, mountain people confessed Christ, and
were in due time organized into the Sheppard
> Memorial Church.
I During the meeting two incidents
worthy of mention occurred. The McCoy
faction was disturbed by this
new movement in their stronghold,
and Frank Phillips, the leader, came
over for the purpose of breaking up
the meeting, but was driven away by
brave men, who resolved to protect
the evangelist and his helpers at the
risk of their lives. In the battle
Phillips was wounded and died from
f 2 it * ?
mc cucuus ui me wouna. The other
^^ 1 incident was the Macedonian cry,
which came from Peter Creek across
CY. the mountain. A prominent man,
who afterwards became an elder in
the church, appeared in the meeting and urged
the Evangelist to start a similar work at the
mouth of Peter Creek. He promised to do so, and
during the next summer he held a similar meeting
at the Forks of Peter Creek, which resulted
in the organization of another Presbyterian
church, and the establishment of the Phelps
Academy. The timber for both these buildings
and much of the labor were given by the native
people.
Having won a great victory for Christ in the
heart of the McCoy neighborhood, Mr. Boggs
longed for the privilege of preaching Christ to
the Hatfields also, the other noted Feudist faction
in West Virginia. He made an oppor
utility, uod blessed the work, and subsequently,
with the assistance of Dr. Newton Donaldson, a
church of twenty-five members was organized,
and enrolled in Greenbrier Presbytery.
HELPERS FROM THE SEMINARIES.
IN the prosecution of*his work in Pike county,
Dr. Boggs brought to his help a number of
VAiin#? ? Al ni 1 * * "
jiruug iMui nuiu Liie l neoiogicai !^eminar'es.
who put in their summer vacations. Some of
these have entered upon their reward, others
have become prominent in the Church, and look
back now with satisfaction to the hard experiences
gained in this difficult field. Among these
the following: Broadnax, Mause, Hall, Caruthers,
Harrison, the Deihl brothers, Duer, and