The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1886-07-14

| lclG tilcIC WIS uDOuU lou InClnDcrS. Along
in go, just before the war broke out, he
with him. / hear he died shortly after
he got there.
'I went to the war just after that, and
what they done while was gone [ don t
know. 1t was just after L come back in
'G3 n fcllcr como along named Sparks,
an he preached an bossed the parish
until 60, when he disappeared ono day
an nothin was heard of him until about
II 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 well along i'll years--around the
sixties, somewhere, / gucss-but he be-
came II red 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 at II time, real smart, too. 1t was
on account Of this talking power that old
Perry took charge when Sparks was
gono, and j think he had bout $50 vim
min and scvcnty-iivc men in his congrc
CATION. The old school-housc wasn't
big enough to hold them, an they held
their mcetin's outside. Old Tom had
one wife when he jincd tho church, an
aforc he got through he had eight. |
hear thcy's all dead now. The old wo-
man war 81 when she died, an the
youngest, gal named Minnie, war
about %. Long in 10 or '73 Tom made
up his mind to convert the whole coun-
try an he made up mcctin' to discuss
the question with the Methodists down
to Sandiston The mcetin' 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, hut somehow
they never reported how it como out.
In "a the thing commenced to dwindlc,
an it kept gittin' lesser an lesser until
now, | guess, there's only two left. One
of en- is II cousin of mine, Miss Mcycrs,
down in Hayncsvillc, an t'othcr one is
old Mart Rccton, who lives ND hero n
piece i'll the mountain on the road to
nowhere. The settlement just below at
Shaytown, which was run by Charlie
Ahcrs, never mounted to much ANYWAY,
an, | guess, they're all gone now. Well,
must go to work. Much oblccgcd for
you fcllcrs stoppin'. | don't sec much
of life up here"
After thanking Silc for his story the
scribe drove on to the old school-housc
where tie meetings wcrc held 1t is II
little old hut, not much larger than u
good-sizcd dry goods box. At present
it is occupied by Martin Cole and his
family, consisting of 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 Pcrry's old place.
On u little clearing by the road is the
house where he was born and lived MI
his life. 1t is an unpaintcd wooden
building containing four rooms. There
is n little shed in the rear Tom was
quite n character. He was born poor,
and by drudging and saving he succeed
ed i'll buying the land around his home
stead, amounting to nbont $50 acres.
Twenty years before he joined the Nor
about n tritlmg thing, and they never
spoke to each other until the night he
was baptized. All that time they lived
III the same house, cooked, ate and slept
together, yet they never spoke 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.
lie had eighty-two grandchildren when
he died. All are scattered in different
parts OF the country, none OF them living
near the old place.
| About half n mile north from Pcrry's
place is Lake SEipoong, where all the
converts were baptized, 1t is uuitc n
large body of water, considering the fact
that it is on the highest point of the Blue
Ridge range, over 300 feet above the
| level of the sea. The view from the lake
is one of the grandost in world Stand
ing on the roadside near by one can see
| fifteen villages with tho naked eye, the
nearest one ten miles away, Folir milee
from the lake, ON the old stage line turn
pike, Is Shaytown, which was also once
n Mormon settlement. G. ID. Abcrs was
the leading elder in this place. He be-
came converted while attending the
meetings at Perryville while Elder Lane
was in charge of them, Upon his return
home he gathered aronnd him band OF
n dozen, and every Sunday during the
sui9mcr they would go off in the woods
and hold their meetings, while in the
winter they would be hold in his house.
Abers had but one wife. He had eight
children, six of them girls, all of whom
joined tho Mormon Church, and married
young Mormon eopyorts. None OF them
arc living now.
A few miles back of Shaytown there
was N settlement of Mormon women.
The leaders were Mrs. Ray and IL Mrs.
4 Fox. Norman was allowed to join this
community, but if wanted to come and
get n wife llo was welcome, provided no
| agreed to go away with her. AT one
time there were as many rs fifteen mem.
bers i'll this settlement. A drive of three
miles over stony, rocky road and you
arc in Brick House, the only town in the
neighborhood that did not have at least
one convert to Mormonism when it was
| prevalent. Why il was called Brick
House is Q mystery, as brick " somp-
thing probably nevcr seen by the in
habitants of that village. Here is where
tho weary traveller cats, however, and if
there is any one thing more than another
that the proprietor of the Brick House
Hotel knows about, ii is feeding hungry
j people g good, square meal, giving a
| horse six quarts OF ITS, and asking the
traveller when he has finished I,ig meal
whether he would like little ''chaiin
| Lightning or wonld prefer to Chuck q
IL. g. n n IL. ~ ].