The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1911-06-08
LETTER FROM MIR. BRABHAM.
"reminiscences from One Who Was
Born and Reared Here.

Born and Reared Here.
Editor The Bamberg Herald:--
Dear Sir: Through the kindness of
my brother, Dr. R. G. Brabham, Of
Ellenton, 1 have been receiving the
Herald for several months. That part
of old Barnwell county that is now
Bamberg county is my native heath,
and Bamberg is what I call my home
town, though left there some thirty
years ago. In October, 1866, l left
the old Buford's Bridge neighborA
hood and went to Bamberg and clerk
ed for A. E. Simmons & Co. one year.
The next year I worked for Mr.. I. S.
Bamberg. About this time, I think it
was, that Mr.. Bamberg and his broth
er Frank dissolved copartnership and
the latter went into the stock busi-
ness. remember the first car load of
horses Mr.. Frank Bamberg had ship
ped to your town, and recall one
specially fine bay mare he sold to Mr..
Ben T. Izlar, who was then keeping
books for Messrs. Rice & Counts. At
the time of which I am now writing
Ben Sanders and I clerked together
for Mr.. Bamberg, and boarded at his
home. Mr.. B. was good gardener,
and had a small plow rugged up for
man power, and he would occasion
ally have his clerk pull while he him
self would hold and drive. I told
him that I knew before how to drive
a plow but that he had broken me to
work at the other end. Mr.. B. was
humorous as we'll as businesslike and
we boys had quite a lot of fun with
our kind-hearted employer.
After this I returned to the old
home community, married meantime,
and after about ten years moved back
to Bamberg where 1 spent two more
years. In 1880 1 kept books and sold
goods for J. D. Copeland, and ever
since then "Jeff' has felt somewhat
like brother to me. The year fol-
lowing I transferred my services to
J. w. Rice, and in December Of that
year (18S1) I joined the South Caro-
lima conference which met at Union
in our State and was presided over
by the late Bishop Geo. F. Pierce.
To my surprise and delight I was as
signed as pastor to Allendale, con-
sidered one among the best charges
in the conference. We spent Christ
mas, however, at Bamberg, and it was
at the christmas tree" given in the
old Methodist church that I received
one of the most agreeable surprises
of my life. The church was lighted
with lamps or candles and "Jack"
Hoffman, with q long beard of gray
moss, was Santa Claus. I was sit
ting by the side of Mr.. Rivers near
one of the doors and he and I, with
the crowd present, were enjoying the
pleasure manifested by the children
and young people as they each. re-
ceived some gift from Santa Claus.
Surprise at hearing my name called
out I went forward and received an
envelope, which, on opening later, l
found to contain one hundred dollars
in gold. It was a decided surprise to
me, and the donors, many of whom
have crossed over the river, never
knew how profoundly grateful I was
for theF grateful not only for
it's intrinsic value, but more especial
ly so for the spirit that prompted the
gift. True, I had once in a while
preached on off Sundays in the old
church; preached to people with
whom I had mingled and worked
during the week. But if I had
thought at all of moneA side in
connection with my preashing, l
should probably have felt that the
preacher was debtor to his long-suf-
fering and patient hearers, rather
than the reverse of the order. After
four years of service in the low coun-
try 1 was moved first to Newber4y,
and in that section of the State
remained for twenty-three years,
serving different charges in near by
towns. I am now on my third year
at Lancaster, about ten miles from
the North Carolina line, and one OF
the most progressive and delightful
towns in all our Piedmont. In these
thirty years I have had eight diher-
ent charges-two Of the thirty years,
however, on account Of a bad throat,
I was unable to do active work
and I have found the life and work OF
an itinerant Methodist preacher, In
spite of what are called its hard
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