By Gordon Parks - Dec
12, 2000
In 1887 Reverend James W.
Parks wrote a four part series titled
"Recollections" in the Wesleyan
Christian Advocate. James
1815-1888 had spent
some time with his son Reverend William Asbury
Parks in Oxford, GA
where James had apparently been sick. James's wife Sarah F. Newton
Parks and
son Reverend Isaac Glenn
Parks had died in
1885.
The following abstracts
contain location and
people information I thought you might find interesting.
There is more but about
preachers and topics
that I decided not to include. If you want to see the full
text let me know.
27 April 1887
…….When but five
years old, my parents residing in Franklin
county, I was sent to an old fashion old
fiiel school, to one
Mr. Lowery . They call him School Master Jimmie. One of the principal
exercises
of
the school was that
of whipping. The unsuspecting pupil was ofttimes startled at having the
long
hickory switch
pitched at his feet, and then required to take it to the teacher and
receive
the
whipping, which was
always severe.
….I went to another
teacher, Thomas Craven, a local preacher, in Habersham county.
…..I well remember
the first camp-meeting held at old Mossy Creek Campground (White County GA
gp), about
sixty-five years ago. The first "tent holders" were my father, Henry
Parks, Andrew Dorsey,
James, Clem and
Daniel Quillian, James Lowery, Jacob Duckett, N. Pitchford, David
Jarard, and a
few
others. A brush
arbor was the shelter for preaching. "The trumpeter" was required at
day-break to
walk around the
entire encampment, blowing the trumpet, "to blow the people up" as
they said. Dr.
Askew, a local
preacher, the grandfather of Dr. A. G. Haygood, lived near the
camp-ground.
4 May 1887
………
….My father removing
back to Franklin
county, we lived with old Grandfather Henry Parks, the father
of William J. Parks.
Old Henry was a man of extraordinary common sense, and was a Methodist
exhorter. He was a
soldier in the old revolutionary war-was wounded in the battle of
King's
Mountain.
He settled in Franklin soon after the
war. Converted under the preaching of Major, a pioneer
preacher, he
espoused the cause of Methodists-a people in that day much spoken
against.
Assisted
by a few neighbors,
he built, near his home, a little log meeting-house, know then as Parks'
meeting-house. The
large church now in Banks county is the outcome of the log hut first
built.
Methodism in Georgia
owes
much to this man.
………At Mossy Creek I
was converted one night in the tent of David Jarrad, at eleven years of
age.
When I came to
myself, for there was a time when I knew nothing pertaining to this
world, I
look
around, saw my
father, Uncle Billy Parks (William Justice Parks gp) , and Grandfather
Henry
Parks.
Uncle Billy made
some exclamations of praise the only time I ever heard him in words of
praise.
Grandfather (he was
68 years old. Gp) called me to him as I supposed to give me a talk,
when he
only said,
"Now, James, keep out of bad company." That little piece of advice I
have never forgotten.
Many new converts
are led away by falling into bad company.
….
11 May 1887
Lumpkin camp-meeting
was established fifty years ago (located in originally Lumpkin county
and now
Dawson
county. gp), the grounds being laid off
by Henry P. Pitchford in 1837. Henry Parks, Henry
Newton,
George Bruce, Luke Hendrix, Shepherd
Jenkins, and others to the number of nine, were the
first tent holders.
……..The presiding
elders who attended this camp-meeting, at different times, were Isaac
Boring,
Russel Rennau, W. J.
Parks, Walker Glenn, Jackson P. Turner, Payton P. Smith and George
Bright, all
of whom have passed
away……….
18 May 1887
Many years ago my
pastor went home with me from our church (my house has always been a
preacher's home),
and after spending a day and night he went on to his next appointment.
After
leaving, my two
youngest children (this would have been twins Willis Bascom and Martha
G. gp)
came
to me and said,
"Father, that preacher never said one word to us the whole time he was
here."
……I close my
recollections, though have not written much I wanted to write. The Lord
give us
such
preachers and power
in the Church as we had in other days.
Jas. W. Parks