Two for one, Sacred Harp history

In researching a composer of a song in the 1911 J. L. White Sacred Harp, A. O. Jackson, I was not only able to identify him, but also Mattie Pope of the 1902 W. M. Cooper Sacred Harp, who I had previously failed to identify.

Jackson, A. O. Andrew Orestes Jackson was born August 20, 1888 at Glenwood, Alabama. He was the son of Andrew Jackson and Mary Ann Richburg. He graduated from the Alabama Polytechnic Institute in 1916 with a Bachelors of Science degree,[i] served in World War I, and afterward married Martha Matilda “Mattie” Pope (1889–1947) on September 7, 1919 in Luverne, Crenshaw County, Alabama. They were active in singing conventions in this area. Mattie is credited with arranging The Blessed Lamb in the Cooper Revision of The Sacred Harp. She taught music, including piano. A. O. Jackson served on the “Examining Committee” of the Sweetwater Musical Convention (1912), Secretary of the Luverne Annual Singing (1924), and in other offices A. O. worked at several occupations, but primarily as a teacher. He advertised as a piano tuner in Luverne in the mid-1920s. They lived in Luverne, Mountain Creek, and Montgomery in Alabama, and Miami in Florida (and perhaps other places). After Mattie’s death, A. O. Jackson married Germa Blanton in 1949. He died April 30, 1982 in Brooks County, Georgia. A. O. and Mattie are buried in the Laurel Hill Cemetery in Thomasville, Thomas County, Georgia.

504       The Love of God

Pope, Mattie. Martha Matilda “Mattie” Pope was the daughter of George William Pope and Sarah Missouri Head of Crenshaw County, Alabama, born January 29, 1889. She arranged The Blessed Lamb, a song already in The Sacred Harp on page 454, when she was about 13 years old. The greatest part of the arrangement of this tune is the change of the initial section from 3/4 to 2/4 time. There are a few note changes as well. Minnie Floyd added the alto part. In her youth, Mattie was active in the singings in Crenshaw County. She served as secretary of the all-day singing at Luverne in 1908 (as well as other years). W. M. Cooper was among the “prominent visiting singers present.” Mattie taught music in school, and taught private piano lessons. She married fellow Sacred Harp singer A. O. Jackson at Luverne, September 7, 1919. They lived in Luverne, Mountain Creek, and Montgomery in Alabama, and Miami in Florida (and perhaps other places). Mattie died in Miami, Florida. A. O. and Mattie are buried in the Laurel Hill Cemetery in Thomasville, Thomas County, Georgia.

454       The Blessed Lamb (arranged)

 

Jackson, A. O.

U.S. Censuses 1900-1950

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/176908845/andrew_orestes-jackson

“The Sweet Water Singing Convention,” Crenshaw County News, Thursday, August 8, 1912, p. 4

“Singing Convention at Campground,” The Luverne Journal, Thursday, July 29, 1915, p. 8

“Luverne Annual Singing,” Crenshaw County News, Thursday, June 5, 1924, p. 1

“For Piano Tuning,” Crenshaw County News, Thursday, July 3, 1924, p. 3

 

Pope, Mattie

U. S. Federal Censuses, 1900-1940

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/176908826/martha-matilda-jackson

“News of Luverne,” The Montgomery Advertiser, Tuesday, June 9, 1908, p. 2

“Pope-Jackson At Luverne,” The Luverne Journal, Thursday, September 18, 1919, p. 1

“Mrs. A. O. Jackson Dies At Her Home in Miami,” The Montgomery Advertiser, Saturday, November 1, 1947, p. 8

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[i] Alabama Polytechnic Institute is now Auburn University.

How far we’ve come

In a recent Facebook group post, I mentioned that the Texas State Sacred Harp Association sponsored a monthly publication called the Sacred Harp Monitor. At the September 1913 session of the United Sacred Harp Musical Association, they adopted the Sacred Harp Monitor as an organ “for Sacred Harp singers of the United States. This was the result of a formal resolution read and passed by the Convention at Atlanta, Ga., at its recent session. T. B. Newton, of Woodstock, Ga., moved its adoption…”

In the same issue of the “Monitor” where this is announced (October 1913, p. 7), the editor, Elder M. W. Miracle, did not shy away from talking about “religion” (as some modern singers suggest we must do). He wrote an almost two-page piece about “On Jordan’s Stormy Banks I Stand” by Samuel Stennett. He says, “Like the children of Israel of old time, who had drank the dregs of Egypt’s bitter and its sweets, the children of Spiritual Israel have been made to realize the vanities of their temporal Egypt, and their eyes of faith are set on Canaan’s fair and happy land…This old sinful nature hangs like a dark cloud between them and the ‘other shore.’ It clogs their weary steps and dulls their spiritual appetites. O but for the sustaining grace and guiding hand of God, they would never reach the right crossing and ‘be forever blest.’ It is sweet to feel that uplifting and guiding hand when we fall, knowing that we never fall so low that His tender hand is not under to raise us up again, and place us on Pisgah’s lofty heights, bidding us to look eastward, northward, southward, and westward and behold the vernal beauties to which we are legal heirs” (Sacred Harp Monitor, October 1913, pp. 8-9). Beginning on the same page as the United announcement (p. 7), Elder Miracle wrote about “Afflictions” (see picture below).

Affliction though they seem severe,
Are oft in mercy sent;
They stopped the prodigal’s career,
And caused him to repent.

How far we’ve come from Atlanta 1913!

Can Two Walk Together?

Can two walk together, except they be agreed?” (Amos 3:3). 

A Sacred Harp friend of mine hoped a new revision of The Sacred Harp book undertaken by the Sacred Harp Publishing Company would help bring unity between the Sacred Harp diaspora and the traditional Sacred Harp singers. I don’t doubt his sincerity, but I do doubt his sanity! I can’t imagine how he had come to that conclusion.

The new revision has not brought unity – though I don’t think it technically brought division. Rather it has exposed a deep but veiled division that already existed – a deep oozing wound over which we have been draping a towel while pretending it did not exist. The revision ripped off the towel for full disclosure.

The restroom rhetoric coming from some of the Sacred Harp conventions demonstrates that the Sacred Harp world is divided into two camps that cannot continue to walk together. The Covid clamoring is another controversial topic that reveals we are not headed in the same direction.[i] These are some of the nicer topics, and time would fail me to write about the “Queer Convention” scheduled for New Orleans in February.

A fair number of singings at points beyond still require a negative Covid test (and/or proof of vaccination, etc.) in order for attendees to be “welcomed and affirmed” at their singing conventions.[ii] After five years these folks cannot get beyond COVID-19 fears and restrictions, or…

One wonders whether it could be a clandestine method assured at keeping the most conservative of singers at arm’s length – we welcome everyone (but we don’t want you here)![iii] Tell me it’s not hypocrisy while at the same time explaining to me that 600-700 singers – many from “off summers” where they require publicized Covid policies – piled into Atlanta, Georgia to sing at the United Sacred Harp Musical Association with nary a mention of Covid precautions!

The “restroom rhetoric” is carefully catered to a certain left-leaning worldview. In all the houses in which I have lived in my life, each has had only had one restroom for everyone.[iv] You just go in and lock the door. We didn’t have to dub it as “gender-neutral” – it was just “the bathroom.” I don’t have a problem with that, just with the mindset that must meddle in politics over practicalities in order to force others into agreement, at least tacitly if not in fact.

According to Google AI a “gender-neutral bathroom, also called an all-gender or unisex restroom, is a restroom that can be used by anyone, regardless of their gender identity or sex. These facilities provide a safe and inclusive space for transgender and non-binary individuals…”

Therefore, it seems that the emphasis on “gender-neutral” is a subtle suggestion that transgender and non-binary individuals are affirmed, while conservative Christians still holding to the biblical teaching and worldview of only two genders might not be as welcome.[v] At least their views are not welcome inside and must be left outside the door, effectively demonstrating the intolerance of tolerance!

Can two walk together, except they be agreed? Nay. The only way the two camps have been able to “walk together” thus far, is for the Christian camp to keep their heads down, their mouths shut, and their pens silent. Some of us are no longer willing to suffer it to be so. While men slept, the enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat (Matthew 13:25), but it is high time to awake out of our sleep and rise to the challenge of defending the Christian nature of the hymns and traditions of The Sacred Harp.[vi]

Perhaps Pastor Kent Brandenburg’s portrait of the larger societal picture can help point us in the right direction:

“The only way to combat the cultural reality in the United States, I believe, is by boldly asserting the biblical and historical belief and practice, and then not back down.”[vii]

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[i] There is also a third camp trying to straddle the fence; trying to hold hands with two sides that are walking in different directions. They will eventually have to make up their minds to go one way or the other.
[ii] “When you arrive at the registration desk outside the auditorium, we will check you in and confirm your proof of negative COVID-19 rapid test. We will have tests available for those who are not otherwise able to test the morning of each day of the sing. If you are waiting on a test result, we will ask that you remain outside the auditorium until it is complete.” (New England Convention, 2025). “COVID information ● We will have HEPA air purifiers running throughout the singing. ● Masks are welcome, but optional. We respect all who choose to mask! ● Please stay home if you’re not feeling well. If you feel ill after the singing, let us know so we can send an email to the group. (We’ll keep your name anonymous.)” (NC Shape Note Singing Convention, October 2025). “Day-of negative rapid test required; extra tests will be available. Vaccination required.” (Berkeley Weekly Singing, 2025). “We ask that attendees be vaccinated against COVID-19 and that each attendee provide a same day negative COVID test” (Vermont All-Day, March 2024).
[iii] There has also been the shift from the hospitable “Everyone is welcome” to appeal to various groups that they are specifically welcome: “Whether you are drawn to shape note singing for spiritual, secular, communal, artistic, historic, or other reasons—all are invited! All ages, levels of musical ability, faith traditions, and life experiences are welcome in the ‘hollow square.’” (NC Shape Note Singing Convention, October 2025) “The New England Sacred Harp Convention is a weekend of joining our voices in song to create sacred harmonies. We represent a breadth of identities related to age, religion, gender, sexual orientation, race, nationality, ethnicity, education, ability, class, and political affiliations. We also recognize that our tradition has historically given power to certain identities while marginalizing others.” (New England Convention, 2019).
[iv] With the possible exception of the earliest houses of my infancy that I do not remember, which may have only had “one long path.”
[v] “There are men’s and women’s restrooms on the ground floor, each with one accessible stall. Since these two are public restrooms, we regret that we will be unable to make them gender neutral, and encourage folks to use the bathroom that feels most comfortable to them. There are additional inaccessible restrooms on the third floor, which we will be able to designate as gender neutral.” (New England Convention, 2025) “There are gendered accessible restrooms on the main level. Single-stall, gender-neutral restrooms are located down a flight of stairs. Singing will take place on the main level.)” (NC Shape Note Singing Convention, October 2025). “Toilets are downstairs. There are accessible toilets, gendered toilets and gender neutral toilets available.” (Manchester All-Day, 2025).
[vi] Most of us “slept through” and/or had no knowledge of the scholarly paper “Reorienting Space: Queering Sacred Harp Singing” by Jonathon Smith, University of Illinois, presented at the Society for Ethnomusicology 64th Annual Meeting, 2019. According to Google AI, “Smith’s work explores how LGBTQ+ individuals engage with the traditional American shape-note singing practice of Sacred Harp, interpreting it as a way of ‘queering’ the space and its practices” and that “LGBTQ+ singers and communities reinterpret or reshape the meaning and social dynamics of Sacred Harp singing. This involves more than just their physical presence; it’s an act of reorienting the practice itself toward more inclusive, affirming, and personally meaningful ends.” The author and presenter is a Sacred Harp singer and well-known to members of the 2025 revision committee of the Sacred Harp Publishing Company. (These views are presented at greater length in Smith’s dissertation, “Imagined Space in Sacred Harp Singing.”) Also mark (Romans 16:17) The Hymn Society in the US and Canada as an “aider and abettor” of “queering” Christian music. Note, for example, their “Songs for the Holy Other: Hymns Affirming the LGBTQIA2S+ Community.” Shape note singers pitched in: “On Monday, January 13, 2025, the Baltimore Shape Note Singers met at Four Hour Day Lutherie for an evening that combined tradition with a focus on inclusion. The group sang ‘Love Astounding’, a poem by Jeanette M. Lindholm set to the tune ‘Holy Manna’ from The Sacred Harp. This performance was part of the Songs for the Holy Other: Hymns Affirming the LGBTQIA2S+ Community project, recorded in the traditional Sacred Harp style.”
[vii] https://kentbrandenburg.com/2025/08/18/can-anyone-take-a-biblical-conservative-cultural-position-in-the-united-states-today/

Mississippi Sacred Harp

Sacred Harp Sings, by W. B. Allison

“Old Sacred Harp Singings,” of common occurrence in the comparatively early days of this region, were almost abandoned for a considerable period but in more recent years have been revived with great fervor. So marked is their return to popularity in the rural districts that, during the early summer, a singing is held within the territory contiguous to Meridian on practically every Sunday and some residents of the city, devotees of the older sacred music, make a practice of attending them all.

The name is derived from that of the song book or hymnal in general use, i.e., the “Sacred Harp,” a very old collection (a revision dated 1902 is generally accepted as few of the original books survive). “The Harp” and “Old Harmony” (Christian Harmony, published in 1873) are considered the only books appropriate for use at a real “Old Harp” singing.”

The old Liberty Church, three miles from Duffee, Newton County, has for a number of years held as an annual event, a Harp singing, on the second Sunday in June, and, as the traditions and conventions are carefully observed, their latest service may be considered as typical. Liberty Church is situated in an oak grove on top of a fairly high hill, allowing, on one side, an extensive view, but enclosed by woods on three sides, and, from it, a path descends steeply through the woods to a fine spring. The age of the church is uncertain but a former member states that he moved into the community and, with his wife, attended services there in 1871. The building is small, about twenty-five by forty feet, but, so great is the interest through the country round that a crowd of more than five hundred persons of all ages gathered to attend the service. The singing started at ten o’clock and continued without pause until twelve, when a recess was taken, and, for an hour, the invariable bountiful dinner was the center of attraction. At one o’clock the singers reassembled and continued with strong voices and unflogging zeal until nearly four o’clock.

There was not instrumental accompaniment. The singing is led by two, three or even four co-leaders who sound the key note and sing a chord in unison. The entire song is then run through in chorus, “by note,” after the method of the old country singing schools, now a thing of the past. That is, instead of using the words, each note is sung by syllable as—

 

Thereafter the number is sung through, words and music in the usual way but the complete formula is observed with each selection. The leaders are almost without exception most capable conductors who know their books by heart, after calling and singing through number after number from either book without so much as a glance at it. All parts are carried with the utmost accuracy and fervor, and it is indeed beautiful to see the rapt expression which comes upon the faces of many of the singers to whom music is truly a voice of and to the soul.

W. B. Allison was a researcher for the Works Progress Administration. On June 14, 1936, he attended and described a singing at Liberty Church in Duffee, Newton County, Mississippi. I believe the author W. B. Allison is probably this person – William Bartlett Allison.

The community of Duffee was first known as Liberty, as was the Baptist Church (i.e., Liberty Baptist Church). It was later called Rue, with a post office by that name existing from 1902 to 1906. In 1906, it was renamed Duffee for a railroad surveyor when a railroad was built through the community at that time. Duffee is about 20 miles northwest of Meridian, Mississippi.

A Place Called Mississippi: Collected Narratives, Marion Barnwell, editor. Jackson, MS: University Press of Mississippi, 1997, pp. 261-262.

The Christian’s Song

I paired words from the hymn below (1st & 2nd stanzas, and refrain) with the tune Wiley. I had read how Mr. Wiley Palmer Jones sang those words, and I desired to have a tune with which to sing them. The resulting tune was named Wiley, in honor of Mr. Jones. Written in 2011,^* it was published in The Sacred Harp, 2012 Cooper Revision (No. 514). The tune has subsequently been included in The Good Old Songs, Second Volume as well (No. 562).

The poetry is attributed to George Askins. I believe he wrote the original hymn, and that it was been transmitted in a number of variants arranged from his original. Likely his best-known hymn is “Brethren, we have met to worship.”

The Christian’s Song. 6.6.7.D.

1. Dear brethren, I have found,
A land which doth abound,
With fruits as sweet as manna,
The more I eat I find,
The more I am inclined,
To sing and shout “hosanna!”

Refrain:
My soul doth long to go,
Where it may fully know,
The glory of the Savior;
And as I pass along,
I’ll sing the Christian’s song,
I hope to live forever.

2. What must this fountain be,
From which grace flows so free,
It yields both peace and pleasure;
There’s no terrestrial bliss,
Can ever equal this,
A foretaste of my Savior.

3. Perhaps you think I’m wild
And simple as a child;
I am a child of glory.
My joy is from above,
My heart is filled with love,
I long to tell the story.

4. Now brethren, can you say,
That you are on your way—
Are on your way to glory?
I care not for the name,
Religion is the same;
Come tell the pleasing story.

5. My soul doth sit and sing,
And practices her wings,
And contemplates the hour:
When the messenger shall say,
Come quit this house of clay,
And with bright angels tower.

6. In fields of living green,
Close by the crystal stream,
My Saviour leads his children.
And if they watch and pray,
Each moment every day,
Their shepherd never leaves them.

7. While perfect love controls
Each motion of their souls,
Their faces shine with heaven;
And as they pass along,
They sing the Christian’s song,
“We hope to live forever.”

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* Note: April 6, 2011. As an odd circumstance, it was written on my Mother’s birthday, April the 6th.

Death and Sacred Harp

Researchers have written about “death and Sacred Harp.” They focus on the lyrics of the songs. Sometimes it can be more literal. Tuck Fulmer was a well-known and beloved singer who was born in Alabama, had lived in Nacogdoches County and Frio County, and taught singing schools. He said he loved Sacred Harp Singing so much he had just as soon “die singing.” He did. April 13, 1952.

Tyler Morning Telegraph, Monday, April 14, 1952, p. 1

Sacred Harp, a Fair Attraction

At the Central East Texas Fair held in Marshall, Harrison County, Texas, September 18-22, 1928, Sacred Harp singing was one of the attractions.

Timpson Weekly Times, Friday, September 14, 1928, p. 4

Singing in Tatum, 1981

Back in 1981, our Sacred Harp Convention met at the Cafeteria at Tatum High School. Ed Craig was the chairman and Alcie Craig was the secretary. Old singers from my grandparents’ generation were still around then.

The Marshall News Messenger, Sunday, August 2, 1981, p. 3A

Sacred Music

At modern singings most of our time is taken up in singing. The exceptions are breaks, prayers, and memorial lessons (and sometimes a brief welcome). In older times it was common include a lesson or lecture by a music teacher. Near the close of the North East Texas Sacred Harp Convention (August 30-September 1, 1940), Professor Bob Bartlett lectured on “Sacred Music,” followed by his leading The Crucifixion, The Resurrection, and Weeping Mary.

The convention that year was held at Pleasant Hope Church in Cass County, Texas, near Huffines, Robert Edmond Bartlett, President, and Herschel Grady McLeod, Secretary.

The Citizens Journal (Atlanta, Texas), Thursday, September 5, 1940, p. 5

Black Sacred Harp Singing in East Texas

The black communities and churches in East Texas promoted and held Sacred Harp singings. Sometimes they were found in unexpected places. The Tri-State Spiritual Sing-Song and Homecoming at the So-So Park in Timpson, Texas (June 19, 1941) included a friendly contest between the Sacred Harp and Little Book singers of Panola County.

Timpson Weekly Times, Friday, April 11, 1941, p. 5

There was a Panola County Convention, as well as a Rusk County Convention, and, according to the following newspaper article, an East Texas Colored Sacred Harp Singing Convention.

Henderson Daily News, Tuesday, July 16, 1940, p. 5

For more on the subject, see “Black Sacred Harp Singing Remembered in East Texas,” Donald R. Ross, Juneteenth Texas: Essays in African-American Folklore, Texas Folklore Society, Denton, TX: University of North Texas Press, 1996, pp. 15-19.

Sacred Harp Singing in Timpson, Texas, 1928

A report of the East Texas Sacred Harp Singers meeting at Timpson, Shelby County, Texas in 1928. This was a distinct convention from the East Texas Sacred Harp Convention which was organized in 1855. East Texas Sacred Harp Singers was a 5th Sunday singing convention. R. J. Behannon (1877-1953) of Lufkin was the president at this time. The Convention met in Timpson July 28-29 at the Methodist Church building.

It appears that the largest group of attendees outside of Shelby County came from neighboring Nacogdoches County. Folks were also in attendance from Angelina County, Cherokee County, Harris County, Panola County, Polk County, Rusk County, as well as Louisiana and Arkansas (and perhaps a few other places I may have failed to recognize). This article and other newspaper articles indicate that the Timpson Chamber of Commerce was instrumental in inviting the convention and heading up the local organizing for it. Committees provided by the Chamber included a reception committee, transportation committee, and ice water committee.

My grandfather and great-grandfather (J. T. Vaughn and M. L. Vaughn) were in attendance.

Timpson Weekly Times, Friday, August 3, 1928, p. 6

Emma Jernigan, poet

When I wrote my companion book to The Sacred Harp, 2012 Cooper Edition, Songs Before Unknown, I was unable to settle on the identity of Mrs. Emma Jernigan, who wrote the poetry for the song The Gates of Paradise (580) and I Love to Sing of Jesus (584). Since the composer, T. J. Allen, married Laura Addrana Jernigan, I suspected it might be his sister-in-law Emma Alice Jernigan. I tentatively included in the book: “One could assume that Mrs. Emma Jernigan, who wrote the words to 584 and 589, might be some of his wife’s relatives; Emma Alice Dean Weed married Henry R. Jernigan, Allen’s brother-in-law, in 1898 (sic), and might be this person.” However, I had nothing more than the same name and close relationship. Circumstantial, but not substantial enough. Now I have found some evidence that this Emma Jernigan was a poet, and feel more confident she is the right person. Upon her death, her sister-in-law Willie Griffin Dean wrote that “She was a noble character who loved poetry,” and then quoted a poem that was “part of a tribute written by Emma for my son, Buck Dean, who was killed in the World War of 1917.” (Willie Dean, “In Memory of Mrs. Emma Jernigan,” Southern Star, Thursday, September 2, 1943, p. 8)

Jernigan, Emma (October 8, 1860–August 13, 1943) Emma Alice Dean was born in Dale County, Alabama, the daughter of James Jefferson Dean and Martha Ann McGee. She married first, Samuel Lafayette Weed. They had two children. In 1897 she married Henry B. Jernigan. Emma wrote poetry, including the words of “The Gates of Paradise” and “I Love to Sing of Jesus” used by her brother-in-law T. J. Allen with two tunes published under those names in The Sacred Harp in 1927. She died in Dale County, Alabama and is buried at the Bethel Assembly of God Church Cemetery at Ariton, Dale County, Alabama.

While working on Emma Jernigan, I also discovered the burial location of her niece, Maud Allen, and have rewritten her biography.

Allen, Maud Lee (May 27, 1888–December 19, 1965) was the daughter of Thomas Jefferson Allen and Laura A. Jernigan. She wrote the alto parts for several songs, and composed one tune which was later removed from the book. Maud Allen married Atlas T. Hargrove (d. 1952) after 1910 and before 1920. They lived in Montgomery, Alabama – according to the 1920, 1930 and 1940 censuses. Maud and A. T. Hargrove are buried at the Greenwood Cemetery in Montgomery, Montgomery County, Alabama.161

A. N. Whitten and the United Association

I have previously posted a good bit about Archibald Newton Whitten, and compiled a booklet of some of his life history. But it has been a while. Recently, Jesse P. Karlsberg, Sacred Harp singer, composer & vice president of the Sacred Harp Publishing Company, found a connection of Whitten to the United Sacred Harp Musical Association – at least for 1921. That year the association met in the Auditorium-Armory in Atlanta, Georgia, September 9-11, 1921. Whitten is listed as an “Assistant” on the Executive Board of Council of the United Association. So 100 years ago (and a few days) A. N. Whitten was one of four Texans on this Council.[i]

 

 Minutes of the United Sacred Harp Musical Association, Atlanta, Georgia, September 9-11, 1921, page 2
(Picture furnished by Jesse P. Karlsberg)

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[i] Perusal of the minutes suggested Whitten was not in attendance of the Association in Atlanta. Jesse also said that Whitten’s name does not appear in the Executive Council members in 1925, the next oldest minute that he has.

Sacred Harp’s Introductory Lesson

I searched in Newspapers.com for introductory lessons in Sacred Harp. An “introductory lesson” in Sacred Harp is traditionally a lesson of two or three songs led after the first song and prayer, though this formula is not the same in all cases.

Searching for “sacred harp” & “introductory lesson,” I found over 1100 matches; over 200 for “singing convention” & “introductory lesson;” and 90 matches for “musical convention” & “introductory lesson.” Obviously, I have not looked at all the some 1400 hits. Some of the hits are outliers – for example, “Sacred Harp” & “introductory lesson” only happening to be on the same page of the newspaper, but not in relation to each other. Some are 7-shape singings. Nevertheless, most of the hits appear to be relevant. The vast majority are in Alabama, and most of them from southeast Alabama. This is likely a coincidence of what papers are available on Newspapers.com, which areas tended to report their singings to newspapers, and which areas most commonly used the terminology. Here are a few examples.

The Boiling Springs Convention of 1893. After the house was called to order, prayer had, and officers elected, there was a 1-1/2 intermission (apparently for lunch). This was followed at 1:30 p.m. with an introductory lesson by G. F. Hunt. (People’s Party Advocate, Friday, September 8, 1893, page 3.) Afterward there was a recess of 15 minutes. It does not indicate how long this lasted, but the recess after the introductory suggests the lesson went on for a substantial time. A program announcement of the Boiling Springs Convention at the Second Baptist Church in Talladega in 1906 gives 30 minutes allotted for the introductory lesson – 11:30 am till noon.

Annual singing at Mt. Zion in Barbour County, Alabama, May 1903. After the singing was called to order, songs led by chairman, and permanent organization (i.e., election of officers) “An introductory lesson of fifteen minutes was given by W. M. Cooper, of Dothan, and the lesson was continued by W. M. Boyd, Jessie Rountree and Tom Renfroe, each one giving three pieces.” After this they took a five minute recess. (The Troy Messenger, Wednesday, May 20, 1903, page 4.)

Sacred Harp Singers Association meeting in Cullman County Courthouse in 1937. The introductory lesson was conducted by Jim Evans, D. E. Williams, Otto Allred, and Ed Thomas. (The Cullman Banner, Friday 16 July 1937, page 2.)

In 1871 the Southwestern Alabama Musical Convention introductory lesson was 25 minutes, and in 1884 the Carroll County (Georgia) Musical Convention introductory lesson was 30 minutes, followed by a recess. In 1893 at the Hillabee Convention in Chambers County, J. J. Bishop gave the introductory lesson with “time unlimited.” At the 1929 Boiling Springs Convention in Ashland, Alabama, the minutes specifically mention that J. B. Dean “had been chosen at the last convention” to lead the introductory lesson. At the 1942 Middle Creek (Alabama) Convention, after prayer “the Chairman appointed C. O. Hagler to direct three songs as the introductory lesson...”

Unfortunately, in most cases the introductory lesson is basically just reported as happening. There is little of any details of just how it was conducted. Most of the reports seem to have in common the first leader after the meeting is called to order, and a prominent lesson. It most cases the chairman first calls the singing to order with a song, and after that the introductory lesson occurred. The 1893 Boiling Springs is an exception to that rule.

B. F. White derived some of the pattern of the organization of the singing convention from another organization with which he was familiar, the Baptist association. The introductory lesson of Sacred Harp seems to correspond with the introductory sermon of the Baptist association.

Elder M. W. Miracle

Meredith Woodson Miracle was a Primitive Baptist preacher, and an active participant in Sacred Harp singing in Texas. Meredith W. Miracle was born in 1857 in Kentucky, the son of John Dixon Miracle and Mary Ann Phillips. The 1860 census records Meredith living in Booneville, Owsley County, Kentucky in the home of his father and mother (his mother died circa 1865).

He married first Martha A. Hughes in Logan County, Arkansas, December 24, 1878. Miracle received a State of Arkansas Teacher’s License, October 21, 1879 to teach in Logan County, which was good for two years. The 1880 census shows he, his wife, and young daughter living at Clark, Logan County, Arkansas. He was a school teacher. In 1883 his wife Martha died, possibly in or after childbirth. Miracle’s memorial to her (see below) describes two girls who died before she did. M. W. Miracle married Mary Evans in 1888.

Through newspapers and censuses we can trace some of the movement of the Miracle family. He was a teacher, businessman, and newspaper editor. When he was licensed and ordained as a Primitive Baptist minister is not clear.

• 1857 born in Kentucky (Booneville, Owsley, County, according to his death certificate)
• 1889 living in Boston, Madison County, Arkansas[i]
• 1895 living in Huntsville, Madison County, Arkansas and “engaged in the business of selling organs.”[ii]
• 1900 living in War Eagle Township, Huntsville, Madison County, Arkansas, Census and a farmer[iii]
• 1905-1906 living in Springdale, Washington/Benton counties Arkansas; sold a fire-escape patent[iv]
• 1907 living in Fayetteville, Washington County, Arkansas[v]
• 1908 living in Ardmore, Carter County, Oklahoma, and had a patent on steam washing machine[vi]
• 1910 Dallas, Dallas County, Texas as manager of a supporter factory[vii]
• 1912 Dallas, Dallas County, Texas[viii]
• 1917 died in Dallas, Dallas County, Texas

As a businessman, M. W. Miracle supported his family through various endeavors – from farming, inventions, selling organs, and managing a factory (which may be what brought him to Dallas). He received a patent on an Automatic Computing Device in 1912.

Elder M. W. Miracle began publishing The Sacred Harp Monitor in December 1912, under the auspices of the State Sacred Harp Association of Texas.[ix] Around 1915 Elder Miracle moved on to edit “The Good Old Songs Department” in C. H. Cayce’s periodical The Primitive Baptist. In a 1938 newspaper article, James R. Stotts says that he and Miracle purchased the Huntsville Republican newspaper from M. W. Peach. He does not indicate what year.[x]

In addition to writing in The Sacred Harp Monitor and The Primitive Baptist., Elder Miracle wrote at least on book – The Gospel In Shadows, published posthumously in 1919.[xi] It is my understanding that he served as pastor of the Primitive Baptist Church in Oak Cliff, Dallas County, Texas, and doubtless several others.

Zack C. Hull, the publisher, advertised it this way in Zion's Landmark, June 15, 1919, p. 351:

Written by Elder M. W. Miracle, deceased. This is a book that should be in the hands of all lovers of truth. It is very inspiring and instructive. The book is bound in cloth and contains thirty-four chapters. The price of the book is $2 postage paid. If you are not satisfied with the contents and do not feel that it is worth a great deal more than the price, we will refund your money. Send for the book now.

Elder Miracle’s death certificate appears to say he died of stomach cancer, noting his age as 60 years, 5 months, and 2 days. Any other information on Meredith Woodson Miracle will be appreciated.

A memorial of Martha A. Miracle, from The Gospel Messenger and Primitive Pathway, January 1886, p. 41:

MRS. MARTHA A. MIRACLE.

My beloved companion, Martha A. Miracle, departed this life the 31st day of October, 1883, aged twenty-two years and twenty-two days. She was the mother of three little girls; the younger two having passed on before. The oldest one, (a beautiful and lovely child of six years.) is still spared to comfort me with its sweet prattle. She never made any outward profession of religion, but all who witnessed her resignation to the will of her Redeemer in her illness, and for some time before, have strong evidence that she was an humble child of Jesus. At the time we consigned her last dear babe to the solemn tomb, she knelt at its side and poured out her soul in prayer to God to prepare her to meet her babies in heaven. In about two weeks she was severely taken with typho-malarial fever and only survived thirty-one days, during a greater part of which time she was conversing with her departed infants and shouting praises to the God of her salvation. One evening, about a week before she feel asleep, she looked up to me, with a supernatural expression, and requested me to listen to the beautiful music, and after suffering and rejoicing thirty-one days, she sweetly, as in a dreamy slumber, fell asleep in Jesus. She was a firm believer in the doctrine of salvation by grace. It is a great consolation to me to think that the second death hath no power over her. I feel that the Spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak, therefore I ask the prayers of God's people in my sad bereavement.

I remain a sinner in hope, M. W. MIRACLE.

Melson, Ark., Oct. 4th, 1885.

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[i] St. Paul Republican (Saint Paul, Arkansas), Friday 17 May 1889, Page 1

[ii] The Mountain Air (Saint Paul, Arkansas) Saturday 11 May 1895, Page 3; Daily Arkansas Gazette (Little Rock, Arkansas) Tuesday 06 Nov 1894, Page 5

[iii] 1900 Madison County, Arkansas Federal Census

[iv] Arkansas Democrat (Little Rock, Arkansas) Thursday 30 Mar 1905, Page 4

[v] Fort Smith Times (Fort Smith, Arkansas) Sunday 03 Feb 1907, Page 6

[vi] Berwyn Light (Berwyn, Oklahoma) Thursday 03 Sep 1908, Page 1

[vii] 1910 Dallas County, Texas Federal Census; All Purpose Supporter and Shoulder Brace Manufacturing Company

[viii] Elder M. W. Miracle, of Dallas, was preaching at the confederate hall in Fort Worth, on Sunday May 12, 1912; Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Fort Worth, Texas) Sunday 12 May 1912, Page 9

[ix] It is not clear how long the Monitor was published, but a surviving October 1913 issue indicates it was still in print at that time. The rise of The Sacred Harp Courier in 1914 probably succeeded the Monitor.

[x] “James R. Stotts Writes Story of His Old Home and Friends,” The Madison County Record (Huntsville, Arkansas) Thursday, 18 Aug 1938, Page 1

[xi] Atlanta, GA: Zack C. Hull, 1919. Elder Miracle’s “Preface” is dated January 31, 1916.

The New Sacred Harp and Its Sources

The New Sacred Harp was published in 1884 by brothers J. L. White and B. F. White Jr., sons of B. F. White, Sr., the compiler of The Sacred Harp. The concept may have been to print a book that could be used as a supplement to The Sacred Harp, as well as avail themselves of the growing popularity of the seven-shape gospel songs. The preface of The New Sacred Harp is brief and does not mention any sources. There is a brief reference to “our best composers” and also to the intent to keep The Sacred Harp available. Some song attributions are “by permission” Many of the songs in The New Sacred Harp reflect the emerging gospel style that was increasing in popularity.

Sources of songs fall into at least four categories.

Songs written by J. L. White and composers with whom he was acquainted. (There are no songs in The New Sacred Harp written by B. F. White, Jr., but he was probably also acquainted with some of the composers). These include men associated with Sacred Harp and other musical conventions in Atlanta and the surrounding area: S. M. Denson, T. J. Denson, Absalom Ogletree, J. N. Pitman, and J. P. Reese (as well as their nephew C. J. White). Eighteen songs by A. J. Showalter are labeled “by permission.” This may suggest that he wrote them for The New Sacred Harp. I have not found them thus far in any other of his books. Showalter had one tune titled White. We cannot be sure it is named for the White brothers (J. L. & B. F.), but one might think so since he is collaborating with them on their book. We know A. J. Showalter and J. L. White were acquainted. Other composers probably acquainted with the Whites were James A. Buchanan, A. R. Churchill, and R. J. Robbins. Each of these three men had compositions in J. L. White’s later revision of The Sacred Harp, 1909-1911.

Songs from The Sacred Harp. Some of the songs in The New Sacred Harp by the White brothers were previously in The Sacred Harp by White and King – songs such as Columbiana, Coronation, Idumea, Lena, Reverential Anthem, and Windham are included. Some, if not all, were re-arranged. Those that did not have alto had an alto part added.

Songs from the reform music tradition of Lowell Mason and his collaborators. Many songs such as these (e.g., Bethany, Dennis, Rest, Retreat, Siloam, and Ware) were popular church tunes. Such composers include William B. Bradbury, Thomas Hastings, and Isaac B. Woodbury.

Songs from currently popular tune books.[i] Different song attributions credit at least five songbooks as sources used by the Whites. These books were no more than seven years old at the time The New Sacred Harp was published in 1884 (with the possible exception of The Surprise, whose exact publication date is unknown).

• Grace and Glory: a Choice Collection of Sacred Songs, Original and Selected, for Sabbath-schools, Revivals, Etc., D. E. Dortch, W. G. E. Cunnyngham; Nashville, TN: Southern Methodist Publishing House, 1882
• Last Words, or, Spirit Whispers: a Collection of Hymns suggested by the Last Words of Dying Christians and Other Songs, W. T. Dale, Dayton, VA: Ruebush & Kieffer, 1878
• Sweet Fields of Eden: for the Sabbath School, J. H. Tenney, Aldine S. Kieffer, William B. Blake; Dayton, VA: Ruebush, Kieffer & Co., 1882
• The Surprise: for Choirs, Singing Classes, Conventions, Musical Societies, &c., G. W. Lyon, Atlanta, GA: Atlanta Music Co., 18??
• The Temple Star: for Singing-schools, Conventions, Choirs, Day-schools, and Musical Societies, Aldine S. Kieffer, B. C. Unseld; Singer’s Glen, VA: Ruebush, Kieffer & Co., 1877

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[i] The abbreviations “Bost.” and “Laur.” probably stand for songbook collections.