The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1886-07-15

while Dockerty was here, an when he
left there was about 100 members. Along
in go, Just before tho war broke out, he
went to Texas, takin' his three wives
with him. L hear he died shortly after
he got there.
"I went to the war just after that and
what they done while L was gone don't
know. 1t was just after come back in
'G3 feller come along named Sparks,
an he preached an bosscd the parish
until go, when he disappeared one day
an nothin' was heard of him until about
q month after, when his dead body was
found up here in the woods near Fid-
dler's Elbow. He WAS buried in great
style. 1t was during Sparks term when
Tom Perry was converted. Tom was
pretty wcll along i'll ycars-around the
sixties, somewhere, 1 gucss-but he be-
came rcd hot Mormon, an he used to
get up in the old school-house an say
the spirit moved him; then he'd talk an
hour ut time, real smart, too. 1t was
on account Of this talking power that old
Perry took charge when Sparks was
gone, and l think he had bout $50 vim
min and scvcnty-fivc men in his congro.
CATION. The old school-housc wasn't
big enough to hold them, an they held
one wife when he jincd the church, an
afore he got through ho had eight. I
hear thcy's all dead now. The old wo-
man war 81 when she died, an tho
youngest, q gal named Minnie, war
about %. Long in To or '73 Tom made
up his mind to convert the whole coun-
try an he made up mcetin' to discuss
the question with the Methodists down
to Sandiston. The mectin' lasted eight
days an both sides claimed they got the
best of it, SO it was put into the hands of
II committee to decide, but somehow
they never reported how it come out.
In IA tho thing commenced to dwindlc,
an it kept gittin' lesser an lesser until
now, l guess, there's only two left. One
Of 'em is q cousin of mine, Miss Meyers,
down in Hayncsville, an t'other one is
old Mart Rccton, who lives up here Il
piece in the mountain on the road to
nowhere. The settlement just below at
Shaytown, which was run by Charlie
Abcrs, never mounted to much ANYWAY,
an, / guess, they're all gone now. Well,
/ must go to work. Much obleegcd for
you fcllers stoppin. I don't see much
of life up here"
After thanking Silc for his story the
scribe drove on to the old school-house
where the meetings were held. 1t is n
little old hut, not much larger than n
good-sizcd dry goods box. At present
it is occupied by Martin Cole and his
family, consisting Of q wife and eight
children. 1t has but two rooms, and
these are used for cooking, eating and
sleeping purposes Half mile further
up the road is Tom Perry's old place.
On little clearing by the road is the
house where he was born and lived all
his life. 1t is an unpainted wooden
building containing four rooms. There
is little shed in the rear. Tom was
quite character. He was born Door,
and by drudging and saving he succeed
ed i'll buying the land around his home
stead, amounting to about $50 acres.
Twenty years before he joined the Nor
mon Church he quarrelcd with his wife
about II triiling thing, and they never
spoke to each other until the night he
was baptized. All that time they lived
in the same house, cooked, at. and slept
together, yet they never spoke a word to
each other. He was the father of four
teen children by the woman. How many
he had by his later wives is not known.
He had cightytwo grandchildren when
he died. All arc scattered in different
parts of the country, none of them living
near the old place.
About half milo north from Pcrry's
place is Lake Shipoong, where all the
converts were baptized 1t is quite a
largo body of water, considering the fact
that it is on the highest point of the Blue
Ridge range, over l 300 feet above the
level Of the sea. Tho view from the lake
is one of the grandcst in world. Stand,
ing on the roadside near by one can sec
fifteen villages with the naked eye, tho
nearest one ten miles away. Four miles
from the lake, OH the old stage line turn.
pike, is Shaytown, which was also once
Mormon settlement. G.. ID. Abers was
the leading elder in this place. He be.
came converted while attending the
meetings at Pcrryvillo while Elder Lane
was III charge of them. Upon his return
homo he gathered around him band OF
dozen, and every Sunday during the
summon they would go off in tho woods
and hold their meetings, while in the
winter they would be held in his house.
Abers had but one wife. He had eight
children, six of thom girls, all of whom
joined tho Mormon Church, and married
young Mormon converts. Mono of them
are living now.
few miles back of Shaytown there
was o settlement of Mormon women,
The leaders were Mrs. Ray and Mrs.
Fox. No man was allowed to Join this
community, but if wanted to come and
get wife he was welcome, provided he
agreed to go away with her At one
time there were as many as fifteen mem
bcrs III this settlement. A. drive of three
miles over stony, rocky road and YOU
are in Brick House, the only town in the
ncighborhood that did not have at least
one convert to Mormonism when it was
prevalent. Why it was called Brick
House is q mystery, rs brick is some
thing probably never seen by the in
habitants of that village. Here is wic~n
the weary traveller eats, however, and if
there is any one thing more than another
that the proprietor of the Brick House
Hotel knows about, it is feeding hungry
people o good, square meal, giving q
horse six quarts of oats, and asking the
traveller when lie has finished his meal
whether he would like little "chain
lightning" or would prefer to "buck a
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