Slave Narratives: a Folk History of Slavery in the United States - From Interviews with Former Slaves - Ohio Narratives by Work Projects Administration
page 72 of 141 (51%)
page 72 of 141 (51%)
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morning and has a smile for everybody.
Mr. Jamison is an elder in the Second Baptist Church and possesses a deep religious nature. In his conversation there crops out the facile use of such words as "eventually", "general", "accessible", and the like. He has not been engaged in manual labor since 1907. Since then he has made his living as an evangelist for the colored Baptist church. Mr. Jamison says he does not like to travel around without something more than a verbal word to certify who and what he is. He produced a certificate from the "Illinois Theological Seminary" awarding him the degree of Doctor of Divinity and dated December 15, 1933, and signed by Rev. Walter Pitty for the trustees and S. Billup, D.D., Ph.D. as the president. Another document was a minister's license issued by the Probate court of Jefferson county authorizing him to perform marriage ceremonies. He has his ordination certificate dated November 7, 1900, at Red Mountain Baptist Church, Sloss, Alabama, which certifies that he was ordained an elder of that church; it is signed by Dr. G.S. Smith, Moderator. Then he has two letters of recommendation from churches in Alabama and Chicago. That Mr. Jamison is a vigerous preacher is attested by other ministers who say they never knew a man of his age to preach like he does. Mr. Jamison lives with his daughter, Mrs. Elizabeth Cookes, whose husband is a WPA worker. Also living in the house is the daughter's son, employed as a laborer, and his wife. Between them all, a rent of $28.00 a month is paid for the house of six rooms. The house at 424 S. Seventh Street, Steubenville, is in a respectable part of the city and is of the type used by poorer classes of laborers. |
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