Clarksville chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 186?-1872, 1871-03-04
LIFE AND TIMES OF ELDER REU.
BEN ROSS.

From the Nashville Union & American.
We have been permitted, through
the courtesy of its accomplished all
thor, Mr.. James Ross, of Montgom-
cry county, to look over the manu-
script of a Forthcoming w0SIS which
he has In preparation upon the life
and times OF his father. The scenes
and incidents which he reproduces of
the early settlements on the Cum
berlund are as vivid as life, and carry
us back, in imagination, to the time
Immediately succeeding that which
was characterized by the tomahawk
and war-whoop of the Indian.
Few men have left more indeli-
ble impress upon Middle Tennessee
and Southern Kentucky, than the
subject of this memoir. Born In
North Carolina, during the trying
scenes of the Revolution, his youth
was passed upon y farm where he dis
tinguished himself for patient indus
try and careful attention to all mat
ters appertaining to that business
Bold In every object of his pursuit,
the same zeal that afterwards distin-
guished him in his chosen work was
ShONtl III tNt1I vi
youth. Decision of character then,
as afterwards, was his predominant
trait. Protesting religion, he soon
entered the ministry, and to widen
the field of his influence, removed
with his family, about the year 1907,
to the then almost unsettled State of
Tennessee. After undergoing many
privations, perls and harhships, both
by food and by land, he finally rpacll-
ed the county OF Stewart, where he
purchased a few hundred acres of
land and settled his family. Scarcely
had he made the necessary improve
ments forlsheltering his family, and
gathered some of the comforts of CIV
iiizatiOn about him, when prior and
adverse claim WAS set up against his
land, which was sustained by the
courts, and he found that all the time,
labor and money he had expended in
improving, was lost. Removing
cry county. on Spring Creek, where
he continued to reside for nearly half
"a century, and died at an advanced
age, beloved and deeply regretted by
the whole country.
1t Is no easy matter at the present
day, when to he connected with some
religious denomination is the rule,
and not the exception, and when re-
spect for ministers OF the Gospel is q
part of the education of our children,
to appreciate the difficulties and dan
gers which these pioneer preachers
encountered. Enduring every spe
cies of hardship; riding for days and
weeks through regions almost unin-
habited, and carrying in their saddle
bags provisions for their journeys,
trusting to the charitable covering
of trees for shelter against rain and
storms and dews of the night, receiv.
ing but little sympathy from the rude
settlers who Thought more of hunt
ing, fishing and drinking than of
religion; without pay from their
churches, and often without property;
with families dependent on them for
support, which Ind to be made w
"u.....,c'::. IS the earth at intervals
snatched from the visits to their di =
fercnt churches; sometimes taunted
and cursed by the populace for the
"faith that was in them," the objects
of ingratitude, prejudice and persecu-
tions-truly those pioneers in the
cause of Christ must have had much
liVelier faith in the promises of their
Master than is shown at the present
day. Father Ross passed un,cathed
through all these trials, not only
without repining, but with cheerful
ness. Nay, more, he even gloried in
his sutferings. In the performance
of his Masters duty there was with
him no languOr, no inaction. 70
him the command had been given,
$50, preach the Gospel to every
creature" With this imperious man
date no secular duties We're allowed
to interfere. He accepted as literal
truth, "rake up the Cross" Neither
burninSsuns nor winters cold, nor
hurricanes, nor floods, nor threats,
"nOr principalities, nor powers, nor
things present, nor things to come"
were able, for one moment, to deter
him from what he considered to be
his duty. Heacted i'm the belief "thut
duties are ours; events are Gods"
AS thinker, Father Ross was dis
tinguished for his bOldness and origi-
uality. His allegOrical interpreta-
tions of many of the passages in the
Bible were as beautiful as they were
original and plausible. Earnestncss,
however, was his marked excellence.
His delivery was deeply impressive,
and the writer distinctly remembers
the awe and silence which pervaded
and overshadowed an assembly when
he arose to preach. Venerable in
mien and majestic in his utterances,
his audience was always dismissed
solemnly impressed with the power
of Divine truth. His sermons were
usually brimful of thought, and no
one who heard him once ever failed,
when an opportunity presented, of
hearing him u second time. Such
WAS Elder Reuben Ross :-NOmea
venerable ct prectdrum.
1t is not our intention, however, at
present to enter into All elaborate es-
innate of his character as eXempli-
fled either in the purity of his life,
his simpleness Of purpose, or the splen-
dor of his success in the ministry
Our object is merely to direct atten-
tion to the fact that truthful and
apprcciative record of his life and
services rs n minister of the Baptist
Church will soon be given to the
world by one who brings as qualiti-
cations.for his task, an intimate ac-
quaintance with the men and things
of which he writes; happy mem
ory for details a thorough education:
high appreciation of the humorous
and the pathetic, blended with tilial
veneration and love for the subject
of his memoir. We have been per-
mitted to extract from the work an
account of the Rev. Isaac Todevine,
good but eccentric minister, who
was n contemporary with Father
Ross. IL II only one of the many
interesting characters drawn in the
work, and for the rescuing Of whose
memories from Oblivion we shall have
to thank Mr.. James II 'ss.
A Useful Table.