THROUGH
MOUNTAIN MISTS
Early Settlers of
Their
Descendants...Their Stories...Their Achievements
Lifting the
Mists of History on Their Way of Life
By: Ethelene Dyer Jones
The Rev. Elisha
Hedden, Circuit-Riding Preacher--part 2
Rev. Elisha Hedden, Jr.
Juanita Caroline Butt Hedden
When Elisha Hedden, Jr. was
twenty-four and
his bride was seventeen, he married Juanita Caroline Butt, who was
called
“Neety.” The marriage took place on
Elisha Hedden, Jr. was ordained
to the
gospel ministry in 1839 at the
Whether, in his crippled
condition, he did
any farm labor is not known. However,
soon after his ordination, he began preaching at various churches in
the
mountain area. The fiery young preacher
was often called upon to lead revivals and was a popular evangelist in
the area
summer camp meetings. Although the
latter were mainly sponsored by the Methodist Episcopal Church South,
the
organizers of the camp meetings did not consider religious denomination
a
factor and sought to get the best preacher possible for the protracted
(one,
two or three week) meetings. Records
show that Elisha Hedden, Jr. preached at the Fightingtown Camp Meeting
in
So effective was Rev. Hedden as
a preacher
that he was appointed by the Southern Baptist Home Mission Board and
the
Executive Committee of the Georgia Baptist Convention to be a
missionary in the
mountains. His preaching influenced the
conversion of George W. Truett and Fernando C. McConnell, first
cousins, who
became outstanding ministers of the twentieth century.
He was faithful in his calling for over forty
years and wielded a far-reaching influence for good as a church
planter, a
pastor, an evangelist and a missionary.
He believed in cooperation among churches and led in the
formation of
Baptist Associations. He was Hiawassee
Association’s first messenger to the Georgia Baptist Convention in 1853.
While her husband was on his
preaching
circuit, Juanita Caroline Butt Hedden was a stay-at-home mother. They had ten children:
Jeffrey Allen (1839-1883)
married Cynthia
Adeline Gray. He was in the Confederate
Army. He lost his life in and accident at his sawmill in
John B. (1841-?)
married Millie Leatherwood.
Sophronia J. (1841-?) married a
Samantha Adeline (1846-?)
married Rev. John
Tyler Platt. They lived in Clay County,
NC.
William Worth called “Bud”
(1848-1944)
married Nancy M. Sutton. He was a
merchant in Hiawassee.
Sarah (1850-1935) married
William Taylor
Parker. They lived in
Armeda (1852-?) married Meed
Curley. They moved to
Martha C. (1856-1912) married
Rev. Howell
Cobb Standridge. They were last in
Elisha Dean (1858-1940) married
Ireland Ann
Texas Ledford. He was buried in
Warne K. (1861-1941) married (1)
Texie Anna
Ledford and (2) Violet Virginia Hooper.
This family lived in
In addition to his preaching,
the Rev.
Hedden was also active in community affairs and politics.
In 1847 he was elected from
His beloved wife Juanita
Caroline Butt
Hedden (b.
The epigraph of William Wadsworth
Longfellow in his “Psalm of Life” certainly holds true for the Rev.
Elisha
Hedden, Jr: “Lives of great men all remind us/We can make our lives
sublime;/
And departing leave behind us/Footprints on the sands of time.”
[Sources
for the “Life and Times of the Rev. Elisha Hedden, Jr.:
Hearthstones of Home:
Foundations of
The Heritage of
Cemetery Records of
“Reverend
Humphrey Posey,” from The
Skinner,
Winston, “Rev. Humphrey Posey,” in Viewpoints, Vol. 10, 1986, published by the Georgia
Baptist Convention Historical Commission.
Various
church and associational records, Fannin,
Updated August 25,
2009
Back To Union County, Georgia GenWeb Site