Old Time Religion
This page hosted by
Get your own Free Home Page
Eventually horse-riding preachers, called circuit riders, traveled through the settlements. They were welcomed into the homes of the pioneers where they were fed and treated almost like members of the family. There wasn't an abundance of beds so they usually had to sleep with a member of the family.
The first religious services were held in the homes of individuals before churches, or meeting houses as they were called, were built.
The great awakening, the religious upheaval of the period, emphasizing the need for a personal religious experience and conversion by each individual was the catalyst for the construction of more churches.
Most of the early meeting houses were one-room log cabins with a single door and dirt floors. The old church at Springdale, in Claiborne County, Tennessee, was one exception, it was built with doors at opposite sides of the building to allow an alternate means of escape in the event of an attack by Indians.
The pioneers attended church as a family but the women often sat on one side of the church and the men on the other.
Most of the early meeting houses were built without a fireplace so settlers often brought along heated stones, wrapped in cloths, to use as feet-warmers. Church was frequently canceled during winter months.
Settlers frequently built a large bonfire outside of the meeting houses and individuals would exit the church periodically to warm themselves and then return.
The circuit riders would preach loudly to be heard over the disruptions. Another cold-weather distraction occurred when members of the congregation would clap their hands and stomp their feet in an effort to stay warm.
When a death occurred during harsh weather the deceased was often given a hasty burial. The funeral ceremony was sometimes postponed until more suitable weather. When a break in bad weather came it wasn't unusual to have several funerals.
The baptizing of wintertime converts was also put off until the warmer weather of spring. These were real happenings in that era and people would come form a wide area to witness these "big baptizings."
A large man called Big Bad John, weighing well over 300 pounds was baptized in the Cumberland River. The minister enlisted the help of several other able-bodied men to help in submerging and bringing him back to the surface.
John had a reputation of being an evil man and people came from miles around thinking there would be a struggle between John and the devil. They thought he would try to keep John from getting religion.
Weddings were also postponed until the warmer days of April and May but occasionally a couple couldn't or wouldn’t wait for the preacher to arrive. Circuit-riding preachers often would not come during bad winter weather.
A practice of broomstick weddings began where the bride and groom would wed by stepping over a broomstick and express their intent to live as husband and wife. Often this was followed by an official wedding with the preacher when he eventually arrived. These informal marriages had a much higher success rate than marriages today.
The end of the Revolutionary War signaled a new era as the number of settlers increased and more and more churches appeared in the new settlements.
*Jadon Gibson is a freelance writer from Harrogate, Tennessee. His writings are nostalgic and historical in nature.
Editor's Note
Seventy-Seven Years POWELL VALLEY NEWS (USPS 4408-8000) Published each Wednesday by POWELL VALLEY PRINTING COMPANY 125 East Morgan Avenue Pennington Gap, VA 24271 Phone 540-546-1210 FAX 540-546-5468
Rick Watson, Publisher Patricia Ewing, Office Manager
Periodicals Postage Paid at Pennington Can, VA 24277
POSTMASTER: Send address corrections to: Powell Valley News P. O. Box 459 Pennington Can, VA 24277
Subscription Rates: In Lee, Scott, Wise Counties one year-$25.00; two years-$49.00 Payable in Advance Outside Lee County one year-$30.00; two years-$59.00 Payable in Advance
Obituaries are $10.00 Payable in Advance
Card of Thanks are $3.00 Payable in Advance
IN MEMORIAMS Ten cents per word Payable in Advance
Classified Advertising Payable in
Advance