The Nashville globe. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1906-193?, 1913-09-26

whose memories carry them back
| to 1S49 and 1863 is not large one,
only three or four, at the most, are
| familiar with and can talk positively
on happenings in a denominational
way sixty-four years ago, in fact, but
few know really what Baptists were
doing fifty years ago. One of the
most interesting and conversant per-
sons on what the Missionary Bap-
! lists were doing in Tennessee and in
Nashville fifty years ago is Mrs. Mel
lie Seay, who is eighty-two years Of
age and resides on Fillmore street.
Mrs. Seay was born a slave in Car
thage, Smith County, Tennessee, and
was brought to Nashville at about
the age of fifteen years. She talked
intelligently on the accomplishments
Intelligently on the Accomplishment
Of the Negro Baptists during the past
fifty years. When asked to make
some statements as to what the Ne
gro Baptists were doing in this city
before the war, their relations to the
white people and their standing as
compared with other Negro denomi-
nations, she was very emphatic in say
ing, LIST that the Negro Baptists were
the first independent and distinctive
" Negro religious organization to be-
gin worshipping as such in Nash
Vile. Her earliest recollections Of
a religious congregation among Ne
groes was that OF the Dick Ham
Church or congregation that wor.
shipped in a small house in what
was then known as Bucks Alley not
far from the present site Of the Sum-
mer Street or South Fifth Avenue
Baptist Church's present location.
When questioned as to the seniority
Of the Nelson Merry Church and the
Dick Ham Church, Sister Seay
states positively: "Old Brother Dick
Ham, as he was called by most OF
the people, was preaching to a con-
gregation and had a well organized
church with a large attendance,
crowded house, every Sunday night,
, long before Brother Nelson Merry
J was baptized. He continued to hold
this congregation and to preach to
, them regularly up to the time Of his
. death. l remember very distinc
lively that when but mere girl
, used to go to Brother Dick Hams
Church in Bucks Alley every Sunday
> night. 1t was in an important par
Of the city, but not on one OF the
main streets. Brother Dick Han
would get his slave people arount
I him and preach to them as earnest
n ly and as effectively as any intelli
= gent preacher of today. He wa
Y a powerful speaker and was quite al
q organizer. do not remembe
whether Brother Dick Ham was OF
v dained or not, but l do know he di
! not have the standing with the whit
- people that Brother Nelson Merr,
. gained in later years before the wa
broke out. Brother Ham was holt
3 ing regular church services with
large congregation before Brothe
lie Merry started his church. l do ne
il know whether he was a free man
IN slave, but know he had liberty
y 20 and come as he pleased and thu
o. he must have had some kind of fire
al dom. think, however, his childre
-. were free. Prior to the starting
. the Dick Ham Church or the NelsC
=, Merry Church, all Of the colort
- Baptsts worshipped in the viii
y church. We usually occupied
Il seat in the gallery. The First Ba
a. list Church white was located
p Summer street in the present bull
III ing occupied by the German Luth'
m. an hurch, between Deadrick al
Union streets Even before we we
married, my husband and l we
constant visitors at the Dick Ha
III Church and ! am quite sure l W
-. married twelve or fourteen years
ID fore the war
'n Some Of the slave owners we
81 very liberal in letting their slay
yes attend religious worship as ma
'es argued there were distinct adya
us tages to the religious influences
nd ercised over them, making them ;
yer ter slaves This, however, was not
do rule of all the slave owners, and
,es did not mean that passes were
nd necessary for even those whose o.
ers were liberal. Practically all OF