William Hale (1801 - 1855)

Born 9 Jul 1801 in North Carolina, United States

Ancestors

Son of Nathaniel Hale and Mary (Folsom) Hale

Descendants

Died 21 Sep 1855 at age 54 in Coahoma, Mississippi, United States

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Nikki Hale [send private message]

Biography

Joined Hogan's Creek Missionary Baptist Church, Smith Co., TN

2nd Saturday Dec. 1819 The Cany Fork Church met at the new meeting house on Hogan's Creek. Bro. Flowers preached to large congregation. Received by experience Nathaniel Hale & Polly his wife & son William Hale & John Burton (White), Frank, belonging to Mr. Bishop, Robin, belonging to Jess Morris, Betty to Lent Boulton, James Hoskins (White).

Saturday March Meeting 1820 Bro. Wm Hale opened meeting by prayer. Rec'd by experience James Pope, a black woman belonging to Wm. Archer named Sucky - likewise Sidney Haines by experience baptizing the above members & the April meeting Brethren Flowers, Lynch, & Hodges to report the church at Peyton's Creek yearly meeting.

Aug. Meeting 1820 Rec'd by experience Tom, property of Wm. Hogan, Phil - G. Crutchfield - Amy - S. Crutchfield - Dick -J. Burnett, Nelson - C. Boulton, Jenny - Mr. Bishop & John Hale (White)

Dec. Meeting 1820 Sarah Seals, Cyrus Council, Joel Hale & Seely (?) Hale his wife dismissed by letter.

http://www.hoganscreekmbc.com/oldminutes.htm (These church minutes are no longer available online)

Excerpt from, Article entitled "HALE" by Norma Fooshee Aron, THE HERITAGE OF LAFAYETTE COUNTY MISSISSIPPI, The Skipwith Historical and Genealogical Society, Inc., Oxford, Mississippi, c1986. page 337:

In 1835, out of the hills of Davidson County, Tennessee, came a young Baptist minister by the name of William Hale (b. Jul 9, 1801) his wife Mary and their children Elijah, Nat. B., and Mary J.. Their trek ended in the 'Philadelphia community of Lafayette County, Mississippi.

According to L.S. Foster in his book, Mississippi Baptist Preachers, William commenced preaching at the age of nineteen and Foster said, "He was a man of strong native abilities, and with his co-laborer, Rev. Martin Ball, abounded in evangelistic labors. Although he had no educational advantages, he was a power for good and did a great work for the Master". Soon after coming to the state, he organized Philadelphia Baptist Church. Subsequently, he organized five other churches. In 1839, he assisted in the organization of the Chickasaw Association. He died in Coahoma County on Sept. 21, 1852.

William Hale, age 48, occupation shown as an MB Clergyman in the 1850 Lafayette County, MS Census record.

Newspaper Article Date: October 18, 1851 Location: Columbus, Mississippi Newspaper: Southern Standard

From the Holly Springs Palladium

Has it Come to this Pass

We give place to the following card and certificate, published in the Oxford Constitution of Saturday last, to show our readers that Hale, Seward, Greely, and the hosts of abolitionists at the North, whose infamous doctrines, and interference with the institutions of the South, has come so far disrupting the Union, are not the only men whose sentiments the friends of the South must condemn; but that we have men in our very midst, and men, too, in high places, who promulgate doctrines equally infamous and dangerous.

Mr. Thomas K. Williams, whose signature is to the card, is, we learn, a man of unimpeachable character, a professor of religion, and a minister of the Gospel. The gentleman who have signed the accompanying certificate, are honorable, high-minded men, who would scorn to misrepresent the language of anyone. With these facts before us we are constrained to believe that the Rev. William Hale, member elect to the Convention from our neighboring county of Lafayette, has uttered sentiments unbecoming a Southerner, and well calculated to give aid and comfort to the higher law party of the North, who have sworn eternal enmity to the institutions of the South:

TO THE PUBLIC

A conversation which took place about the 1st of August, 1851, between the Rev. William Hale, one of the Union delegates elect to the Convention from the county, and myself, relative to the controversy between the Northern and Southern portions of our country on the subject of slavery, has been made public. I think it due to myself, that as a portion of the conversation had on that occasion has been published, that it should be published. That conversation, as near as I can recollect, was in those words:

“Mr. Hale said the Bible did not justify perpetual slavery, and the thought had occasionally crossed his (Hale’s) mind that may be, the anger of God was at work in this matter of controversy between the Northern and Southern parts of the confederacy, in liberating the Negroes from bondage, as he did the children of Israel from Egyptian bondage,” or words to that effect

The first part of the conversation, relative to the Bible not justifying perpetual slavery, Mr. Hale denied, but the balance he has acknowledged to myself and a number of the most respectable citizens of the county, nine of whom have certified to the fact below; and I could get a number of others to do so. The first part of the conversation, which the Rev. Mr. Hale denies was by us referred to a committee of mutual friends, to be settled, because Mr. Hale and myself had for years, been intimate friends, and are members of the same Church. Since the report of the committee on the disputed point has been published. I have been informed that it has been reported that I have taken back all the conversation I have asserted Mr. Hale had with me on that occasion; which report I pronounce a BASE FALSEHOOD – I have not taken back ANYTHING, that I have heretofore repeated, of that conversation. Before the of investigation, when Mr, Hale said that I must have misunderstood his opinion of the Bible in elation to perpetual slavery, I said I might probably have misunderstood him, but I did not by that intend to take back what I had heretofore said.

I regret having to make this publication to vindicate myself as a man of truth. I have no desire to injure Mr. Hale, and as he objected before the committee to having that portion of his conversation published, which he acknowledged, I now give publication to it, to justify myself before the public. I wish the committee had published the whole conversation, and it would have saved me this publication.

THOMAS R. WILLIAMS September 23d., 1851.

The State of Mississippi Lafayette County

This is to certify that we have heard the Rev. Wm. Hale acknowledge to Thomas R. Williams at Liberty Hill, onte 1st of September, 1851 that he (Hale) had said to him (Williams) in previous conversation “that the thought had occasionally passed through his mind that may be the FINGER OF GOD was at work, in this matter of controversy, between the Northern and Southern portion of the Confederacy, IN LIBERATING THE NEGROES FROM BONDAGE, as it did the children of Israel from Egyptian bondage.”

H. D. McINTOSH, A. G. PATTON, J. A. HUNTT, R. A. REDDING, H. REDDING, L. REDDING, D. SINGLETON, JOHN GARDNER, J. A. HACKMAN,

September 5, 1851

"William Hale. This pioneer minister was born in Davidson county, Tenn., July D, 1801. He came to Mississippi in 1835, being already a preacher, having commenced preaching at the age of nineteen. Soon after coming to the State he organized Philadelphia church. Subsequently he organized five other churches. In 1839 he assisted in the organization of the Chickasaw Association in the northern part of the State. "He was a man of strong native abilities, and with his co-laborer, Rev. Martin Ball, abounded in evangelistic labors." Although he had no educational advantages he was a power for good and did a great work for the Master. He died in Coahoma county, Miss., Sept. 21, 1855." - L. S. Foster, Mississippi Baptist Preachers (St. Louis, MO: National Baptist Publishing Company, 1895).