Scan by Kenneth Randolph Taylor

JAMES TARRANCE BARRETT (1803-1867) AND DESCENDANTS (VIII)

Emma Sarah Adelia Barrett Barrett

and her half-brother, Forest Chortley Barrett

James Tarrance Barrett (1803-1867) was the second son of John Barrett (born circa 1776) and Milly Chastain Barrett and brother of Elisha Chastain Barrett (1806-1886), grandfather of George Washington Barrett (1873-1956), my great-grandfather.

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Above:  An Article from The Atlanta Constitution, May 26, 1919, page 2

Obtained via newspapers.com

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I found the above article during a recent session of family history research online and “clipped” and saved it.

This article names my great-grandfather, John D. Taylor, Sr. (1860-1936).

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

Image Source = Kenneth Randolph Taylor

Here is an image of me one day old.  I have become somewhat taller since then.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

Above:  George Washington Barrett

An image taped inside a family history book

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From the Journal of the North Georgia Conference of The Methodist Church, 1956, pages 110 and 111

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GEORGE W. BARRETT

The Reverend George W. Barrett was born September 3, 1873, and left us for his heavenly home June 12, 1956.  He was the son of William Wesley and Sarah Jane Winburn Barrett.  He was graduated from Young Harris College in 1899.

On January 17, 1900, he was happily married to Miss Nellie S. Fox.  He is survived by his wife and following children:  George Dickey, Lucy S., Nellie F. (Mrs. John D. Taylor), and Margaret E.  Another daughter, Sarah C., passed away June 12, 1954.  His home was one of culture and refinement whose spiritual atmosphere reflected the presence of the Master who was the real head of the house.

Brother Barrett joined the North Georgia Conference in 1899.  He was ordained deacon in 1899 by Bishop Hendrix and elder in 1903 by Bishop Key.  His appointments were as follows:  Alpharetta; Blue Ridge; Palmetto; Douglasville; Cornelia; Tate; Acworth; Union Point; Asbury, Augusta; Lithonia; Gray; Tignall; St. Paul, Gainesville; Winder; St. Luke, Augusta; Commerce; Rockmart; Second Avenue, Rome; Underwood, Atlanta, from which he retired in 1945.

He was at the table of the Secretary of the Conference for twenty-eight years–for twenty-one years the Secretary of the Conference, and editor of the Conference Journal.  He was a natural born Secretary.  In correspondence with the Publishing House as Editor of the Journal he was often addressed as “the model Secretary.”  In District Conferences or other church meetings, where a secretary was needed, they usually thought of Brother Barrett, if he were present, and elected him.

George W. Barrett was not only a gentleman but a gentle man.  Smoking flax he would not quench and the bruised reed would not be further damaged in his hands.  The ugly habit of self-assertion and self-seeking was not in his make-up.  He walked in deep humility with his Lord, content to feel that always the Master was at hand.

Brother Barrett was a sound Gospel preacher.  His sermons were not cluttered up with trivialities but dealt with the profound truths of the Holy Word.  He followed in the traditions of the fathers and was little moved by modern trends.  His people loved and trusted him.  They believed that in the midst of pretense and sham here, indeed, was a real man of God.  His life was an orderly one.  He was meticulous in his attention to details.  There was method in all that he did.  He was punctual in his appointments and prompt in his obligations.  He had strong convictions and was never ashamed or afraid to declare them.

For more than eighty-two years Brother George W. Barrett had lived among us, walking in the straight and narrow way, his face always toward the morning.  At last the weary feet could carry him no farther.  The gentle knight laid down his shining sword.  The mantle of his noble calling fell from his shoulders unsoiled.  His nerveless hands could no longer hold the working tools of his loved employ.  So he left us–the earth better for his coming, heaven richer for his going–to be at home with God.

WALLACE ROGERS

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EDITOR’S COMMENT:

It is, I admit, an overwritten obituary in places, but that is excusable.  If one cannot become flowery in an obituary, where can one do so?

I do recognize one glaring omission:  There is no mention of his firstborn son, Randolph Winburn Barrett (1905-?), who disappeared in the 1930s.  I propose no single reason for this, and I hope that nobody thinks I am.  In fact, I suspect that there are at least two reasons for this and almost everything else in the realm of the human race.  I do know that, for a set of reasons, Randolph became a topic to avoid in the household, so I am not surprised that he is absent here.  Maybe the primary reason was grief.  I have no evidence to suggest otherwise, so I extend the benefit of the doubt.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

AUGUST 20, 2013 COMMON ERA

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Above:  George Washington Barrett

An image taped inside a family history book

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I have derived most information from Journals of the North Georgia Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, (through 1938) and of The Methodist Church (1939 to 1945 and 1956).  I have also drawn information from George Washington Barrett’s small book, Descendants of John Barrett and William Winburn (Decatur, Georgia:  Banner Press, Emory University, 1949).  And I have added my own knowledge from other sources.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

AUGUST 20, 2013 COMMON ERA

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Some Preliminaries:

Most pastoral moves occurred in November.  The North Georgia Conference made the transition to Summer moves after George Washington Barrett retired.

The Methodist Episcopal Church, South (1845-1939) reunited with its parent, the Methodist Episcopal Church (1784-1939), and a sibling, the Methodist Protestant Church (1828-1939) to form The Methodist Church (1939-1968).

The Methodist Church (1939-1968) joined with its relative, the Evangelical United Brethren Church (1946-1968), to create The United Methodist Church.

I recommend Google Street View as a wonderful way to get good images of some of these church buildings.

The Conference my great-grandfather as a troubleshooter frequently, hence many short pastorates.   Often he had only a few days’ notice before a move.

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1894

Licensed to preach on November 15

1895-1899

Student, Young Harris College, December 1, 1895-May 22, 1899

1899

Admitted to the North Georgia Conference, the Methodist Episcopal Church, South

Ordained Deacon by Bishop Eugene R. Hendrix, D.D., L.L.D.

1899-1902

Pastor, the Alpharetta Circuit (five churches)

Supply Pastor, starting July-November 1899, filling in for the pastor, who was ill

1900

Married Nellie Seguin Fox on January 17

1902-1904

Pastor, Blue Ridge Church

1903

Ordained Elder by Bishop Joseph Staunton Key

1904-1906

Pastor, Palmetto Circuit (five churches)

1905

Firstborn son, Randolph Winburn Barrett, born

1906-1908

Pastor, Douglasville Circuit (two churches)

1908

Second child, Sarah Claiborne Barrett, born

1908-1910

Pastor, Cornelia-Demorest Circuit (two churches)

A few years ago, when I taught some courses at the Demorest campus of Piedmont College, I noticed a certain building across the street.  The Demorest Womens’ Club house looked like an old church.   That is because it used to be one.  It was the home of the Demorest congregation of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South (MECS).  Demorest also had a congregation of the Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC).  The two Demorest congregations merged in 1939, when their denominations did, moving into the stately MEC building.  That building, unfortunately, has gone the way of all flesh.  In the late 1940s, however, the Methodist and Congregationalist churches of Demorest merged, forming the Demorest Methodist Congregationalist Federated Church (currently a United Church of Christ and United Methodist Church affiliate), in the home of the former Congregational Church, just up the hill and behind the old MECS church.  The bell in the yard of the Federated Church is from the former MEC structure.

So, when I look at the clubhouse of the Demorest Womens’ Club, I see a building in which my great-grandfather preached.

1910

Third child, George Dickey Barrett, born

1910-1911

Pastor, Tate-Nelson Circuit, Marietta District (two churches)

1910-1912

An Assistant Statistician of the North Georgia Conference

1911-1913

Pastor, Acworth Circuit (four churches)

1912

Fourth child, Lucy Seguin Barrett, born

1912-1917

Statistician of the North Georgia Conference

1913-1914

Pastor, Union Point Circuit (four churches)

1914-1916

Pastor, Asbury Circuit, Augusta (two churches)

1915

Fifth child, Nell Fox Barrett, my grandmother, born on February 2

1916-1917

Pastor, Lithonia Circuit (three churches)

1917-1919

Pastor, Gray Circuit (three churches)

1918

Sixth child, Margaret Elizabeth Barrett, born

1918-1924

An Assistant Secretary of the North Georgia Conference

1919-1922

Pastor, Tignall/Broad River Circuit (two churches)

1922-1925

Pastor, St. Paul Church, Gainesville, Georgia

1924-1944

Secretary of the North Georgia Conference

1925-1927

Pastor, First Church, Winder

1927-1944

Editor of the Conference Journal

1927-1929

Pastor, St. Luke Church, Augusta

1929-1931

Pastor, Commerce Circuit (two churches)

1931-1935

Pastor, First Church, Rockmart

George Dickey Barrett (George’s son) made new carved oak furniture–an altar rail, a lectern, pulpit chairs, the communion table, and choir panels for the church in 1932.  He donated his time and labor, but the church had to hold fundraisers to finance the purchase of materials.  The church used this furniture until 1954.  Sources = http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=360&dat=19831109&id=NogxAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Oz4DAAAAIBAJ&pg=2676,2069657 and family accounts

1935-1937

Pastor, Second Avenue Church, Rome

1937-1945

Pastor, Underwood Memorial Church, Atlanta

1943-1956

Resided at 866 Euclid Road, NE., Atlanta, in a house his wife, Nellie Sequin Fox Barrett, inherited

1945

Retired

1956

Died on June 12

Above:  Second Avenue Bridge, Spanning the Oostanaula River on State Route 101 (Second Avenue), Rome, Floyd County, Georgia

Image Source = Library of Congress

(http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/ga0463.photos.056594p/)

Reproduction Number = HAER GA,58-ROM,2–3

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1 Cor. 15, 33

1.  In war ’tis a serious blunder to underestimate the strength of the foe.  Men are prone to do this touching evil associates.  A great harvest may grow from a small seed.

2.  Familiarity lessens the sense of danger, as with carpenters and railroad men.  “Vice is a monster of so frightful mien,” etc.  Here is sure and real peril.

3.  Sinful suggestions are almost sure to damage one’s morals.  They are liable to grow be purposes.  Thus the devil hopes by temptation to reach men.  The sense of sin is dulled, thus the way to sin is paved.

4.  Evil, Godless associates are positively injurious.  Thus many a life has been ruined.

Parents need to be very careful to their children’s associates.

The Etowah & the Oostanaula Rivers, one clean and the other muddy, flow together at Rome & form a muddy river.  “Be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers.”  “No man liveth to himself.”

5.  The only hope of some men is for them to change their associates.  We all need the daily presence and help of the great Companion.  Know and commence with Him.

GEORGE WASHINGTON BARRETT

Above:  A Cropped Version of a Photograph of My Grandparents, John Dodson Taylor, Jr., and Nell Barrett Taylor, at Summerville, Georgia, Winter 1960

Image Source = Gene McGinnis, Summerville, Georgia

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Among the Presbyterian hymnals I retrieved from the old family home in December 1995 was Premier Hymns (1926).   Inside it I found a neatly folded sheet of typing paper, the text of which I replicate, edited only for punctuation, here.  My grandfather was active in the Presbyterian Church on the local and presbytery levels.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

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MINUTES OF EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF CHEROKEE PRESBYTERY

MEN OF THE CHURCH

PLACE:  Rome, Georgia

Greystone Hotel, Rm 207

DATE:  January 18, 1962

6:00 PM

The meeting was called to order by President Dunn.

The following were present:  George Dunn, James D. Maddox, Robert G. Pllley, John D. Taylor, Todd W. Allen, and Sam Reed

The duties of the Vice Presidents was discussed.

The Dallas Convention was discussed.  Mr. Harold Clotfelter is the Presbytery contact for the Convention.  (P.O. Box 788, Rome, Ga.)

Plans were discussed about the Synod Conference to be held at Camp Calvin, Hampton, Georgia, on February 23 and 24.  All were urged to attend.

Spring Rally:

Publicity–Rev. Robert Pooley

Reservations–Vice President in each district will contact the churches and send number to Rev. Pooley, who will contact the host church

Program:  George Z. Dunn

Dinner:  Host Church

Rome and LaFayette church districts will be held March 26, 1962, at the LaFayette church.

Marietta and Cherokee districts will be held March 27, 1962, at the Mars Hill Church.

Dinner will be served at 6:30 P.M.

With no other business to discuss the meeting was dismissed with prayer by the Rev. Todd W. Allen.

Sam Reed, Secretary Treasurer

Above:  Myrtle Hill Cemetery, Rome, Georgia

Away from the bustling city below,

Away from the noisy street,

Away from life-tide’s turbulent flow,

I have sought this lonely retreat.

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Sure here is one place where vice and deceit

Have fled from the people forever;

No money-grabs here to lie and to cheat,

Like those just over the river.

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The streets of this city all quiet I find;

A dreadful silence is here;

The din from afar, borne hence on the wind,

Is all that falls on the ear.

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‘Tis pleasant, sometimes, with nature to meet,

When weary the heart and the head;

Separation from men and silence are sweet,

E’en tho’ they’re found with the dead.

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For even from graves, to the eye of our souls

The torches of Wisdom appear;

And Knowledge, in tombs, her beauties unfolds,

And Truth has her oracle there.

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There is but one place, and that is the grave

Where human perfection we find;

For charity there, like the ocean’s broad wave,

Obscures their faults from the mind.

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The circles of fashion, society’s grade,

No more are observed in the gloom;

And honor, and riches, and wisdom, too, fade,

So all are alike in the tomb.

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Here childhood, in frailty, and manhood, in might,

Alike are helpless and weak;

And youth’s brightest face aglow with delight,

As the care-worn, sorrow-ploughed cheek.

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The living ne’er visit this city so lone,

This city of graves and of gloom;

Save when some loved one’s spirit has flown,

His friends here seek him a tomb.

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Lest haply it be some lover’s retreat,

Whose fair one here faded may lie;

Or kindred, or friends, who sadly here meet,

Or a curious stranger as I.

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How tasteful, how fair, in her mantle of green,

Has nature enrobed Myrtle Hill!

How lovely the distant landscape is seen,

The Coosa below me–so still!

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What beauties unfold on those mountains so blue,

Entwined in a nebula wreath!

The hillocks which rise to gently to view,

And the nearer-by woodland and heath!

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And, with nature’s kind gifts, the tokens from hearts

Still warm with love for their dead;

The fruits of their care, the beauties of art,

All round are lavishly spread.

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And yet I only am here to behold,

And the transporting scene to adore;

Other eyes there are here, but lifeless and cold,

They’ll open to beauty no more.

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But sleep on, ye dead, in your darkly bright land,

The living redeemer you yet;

And fairest of all, by whose grace I now stand,

Thy worth I shall never forget.

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But life, with its hopes and pleasures, always

Like a river unceasingly flows;

And the rhymster who now o’er you tunes his weak lays,

Ere long shall join your repose.

JOHN DODSON TAYLOR, SR.

Rome, Georgia

July 4, 1881