The Brandon news. (Brandon, Miss.) 1892-1961, 1910-05-05
JEFF. DAVIS RELIGION.
Grs0t ad9ocate of Southern Rights Held
Decided VieqvS.
prof. Walter L. Fleming. J


That Robert E. Lee, the military leader
of the ccnfederacy, was a very religious
man, every one knows. His religion was a
part of his life; his letters, even his mill
tary orders, show that his character and
conduct were influenced by the teachings of
the New Testament.
But few Peep lie ever think of Jefferson
Davis, the civil leader of the south, as a
religious man, or believe that to any i'm
portant degrees religion influenced his life.
He is thought of by some people as great
criminal, plotter, traitor, an advocate
of hopeless human slavery. The purpose
of this is to show that there, is another side
TO the character of the great advocate of
southern rights-that he held decided
views on religion, and in later life at least,
was a devoted Christian.
The parents of Jefferson Davis were
members of the Baptist church. They
were cf the sound average American stock
which filled and soon made powerful the
two great southern churches-the Baptist
and the Methodist. Samuel Davis, Jeffer-
sen Davis father, and his wife ruled their
large. household strictly according to the
religious views of the times; both were
Bible students, and from the Bible they
took the names Of all but one of their sons.
Most of the children did not unite with the
church of their parents, but remained
churchless or gravitated toward some of
the other organizations.
When young Davis was seven years Of
age he was sent to ST. Thomas College, a
Roman Catholic school at Springfield, KY,
for the purpose of getting him into a quiet
| atmosphere Few Prctestants attended the
school, and Davis decided that he ought
to become Catholic. He went to Father
Wilson, who was in charge of the school,
and informed him of his desire. "Father
Wilson" he said received me kindly,
| handed me a biscuit and bit of cheese,
and told me that for the present / had
better take some Catholic food" and that
was the end of the matter. Fifty years
after. he left St. Thomas College, a
Virginia priest wrote, after a visit to Mr..
Davis in prison, that he was very fond of
Individual Catholics, but was quite igno-
rant of the truths of "Our Holy Church"
There is a tradition in Natchez
that when a young man Davis joined the
Episcopal church of that place; and that
he never withdrew his membership. 1t is
the opinoin of the writer that before 1863
Davis was not member of any church.
His first wife, Sarah Knox Taylor, was an
Episcopalian, as was also his second wife,
Varina Howell; and he attended the Epis-
copal church as rule though frequently
he attended the Methodist Episcopal
South. for which he had great respect.
He and his brother Joseph sometimes
paid the salary of white Methodist
preacher, who was sent out by the South
ern Methodist church to work among the
negroes Davis once expressed the opin-
ion that in religious work the South has
been greater practical missionary than
all the society missionaries in the world"
During that period of his life between his
second marriage and the outbreak OF the
civil war, we know nothing in detail
about the life of Mr.. Davis. Soon after
his Inauguration in Richmond he joined
St. PauPs Episcopal church in that place
With him were confirmed General and
Mrs. Gorgas.
Besides Davis own church,the Catholic
church was the only one other religious
organization in the north that pursued
policy of Cancellation after the war
It's priests and bishops showed sympathy
with the south and with the south's inn
prisonsd leader. After hearing Of their
good work for The afflicted southern people,