A Piece of the Rock

One of the early LDS families in Middle Tennessee was that of Abraham Church. I have yet to find a baptism date for Abraham during his lifetime, but there is strong family tradition that he was. And most of his children were baptized. A couple made it to Utah, and there are descendants spread all over the country. Most of the ones here in Tennessee are not Mormons, but a few are. And every year there is a family reunion for his descendants which is held in the town where he settled in the early 1800's. I have written about his home. And later got photos. It figured in Middle Tennessee LDS history many times since it served as a headquarters for the missionary efforts at the time. It was a refuge to missionaries pursued by armed mobs. Many told stories about it and the owners who lived there. The home is longer standing, having been purchased (by Minnie Pearl), dismantled, and moved with the intent of reassembling it. Money ran out and the pieces sat, and deteriorated, and eventually were carried away. I have been to the site and wished to have seen it when it was standing. But somethings cannot be undone.

The other day I got an email from a branch of the family that has claimed to have found the last remaining pieces. Larry who lives in Texas writes:

"My cousin in Dickson, TN has been on the trail of what was hauled away for years but could find nothing.  Recently my mailman knocked at the door and presented me with what he said was the heaviest box he had delivered in quite a while.  I opened the box and found a 16 pound rock and a note from my cousin.  He found the man who hauled the remains of the home to his farm.  There was no wood left but he had a few of the pier stones.  He gave them to my cousin and he kept one and gave the rest to family members including me.  Can't tell you how excited I was.  My wife is not obsessed with family history and pulled me back do to earth commenting, "It's just a stinkin rock". Well, as I'm sure you would feel, it is far from just a stinkin rock."

You are right Larry. It's more than just a stinking rock.