A Simple Christmas Invitation

As Christmas draws near I will be sharing a few Christmas related events from Tennessee Mormons. Today's is a from a missionary letter and includes a brief description of how they spent their Christmas away from home in 1895.

"As Christmas was drawing nigh, my companion and I received a letter from Mr. G[eorge] K. Smith, who was investigating the Gospel, requesting that we come and spend Christmas holidays with himself and family. We accepted the invitation and on arriving found the folks anxious to see us. While there we had many satisfactory gospel conversations. Mr. Smith is a second cousin to Elder [William S.] Berry who was assassinated in Louis [Lewis] county in 1884."

Excerpt from a letter from Elder Francis Bent Rolfson written at Silver Hill, Rutherford County, Tennessee on April 14 1896.

George K Smith (1850-1930)
Born in Wilson county where Elder Berry's maternal cousins lived, George was living in Gallatin, Sumner county when he invited Elder Rolfson and his companion (Robert George Archibald) to join them for Christmas. At the time he was married to Johnetta Crenshaw (1853-1905), this being her second marriage. George and Johnetta had two children of their own; a boy named Oscar V. Smith (age 9) and a girl name Etta J. Smith (age 6). They attended the local Methodist Church. Despite their "anxiousness" to see the missionaries, there is no indication any of them joined the LDS Church.

Francis Bent Rolfson (1872-1941)
Born in American Fork, Utah, he spent most of his youth on on his father's farm but was able to go to school as well, spending three winters (1890-1893) at Brigham Young Academy. In 1894 he was called on a mission to the Southern States where he served in the Middle Tennessee Conference. After his mission he married Emily Caroline Phillips (1875-1973) and the two were called to settle in Alberta, Canada. They eventually made their home in the newly formed town of Raymond.

A Short visit to Mitchellville Tennessee

Elder James A Kelly of the Conference has contributed an article detailing the work of companions in Sumner County 1898. He says “The opposition have been very black of unjust criticism by the Christendom and the slimy kiss of ingratitude from the hypocrite has tended to spice the pleasant experiences of life.”

He recites an in the northern part of the county follows:

“Some few weeks ago we came in part of county on the Louisville Nashville railroad and were greatly solicitous of preaching, but to secure a house we could not in the village; and remaining about several days the people would ask each other questions about those “notorious men” and their business here which in a short time we would hear from some friends we hid met during our sojourn with them: among those whom we had became ingratiated with at the beginning was a merchant by the name of Berry: and after partaking of the noon day meal we told the inhabitants of the station we would hold services, using the porch of a store as the tabernacle. At the commencement we were baffled not being accustomed to the situation of our listeners some in the road, some on verandas, many about us and our attitude on street corner preaching the Gospel of a crucified and risen Redeemer and why there should be a dissemination of such truths made.”

“After dismissing the meeting the most important men of the station came and wanted us to try and secure the “Missionary Baptist Church” and continue preaching. This we did immediately, and succeeded in getting it for two meetings.  Our services were well attended and those who were at first obstinate soon became interested in the principles as advocated, which were a surprise to them.”

“During our short stay in Mitchellville we disposed of several books and made many good Gospel friends who are glad to converse with us.”

Mitchellville is a small (population 200) community on the Tennessee side of the state line with Kentucky. Today it is part of the Gallatin Tennessee Ward.

Jonathan Browning

Originally from Sumner County, Tennessee, Jonathon moved to Quincy, Illinois where he was opened a gun shop and was elected Justice of the Peace. There he met Mormons escaping Missouri and was favorably impressed. Increasingly curious about the Mormons, he made a trip to Nauvoo. After meeting Joseph Smith he converted to Mormonism and moved his gun shop to Nauvoo.

As a young man he had started earning a living as a blacksmith and later switched to become a lock and gunsmith. He invented several kinds of repeating firearms, but his son, John Moses Browning, became the more famous gun maker. After leaving Nauvoo, the Browning family settled at what would become Ogden, Utah.