Subject: INCIDENTS, CHARACTERS #2 From: ELIZABETH RUSSO Date: October 25, 1998 [Note: I am including the following to give you some background. Please delete this message if you wish to not read it.] INCIDENTS AND CHARACTERS IN THE EARLY HISTORY OF METHODISM By The Reverend John Elmore DuBois Edited by Elizabeth A. DuBois (c) 1998 DuBois Publishing Co. All rights reserved. PREFACE (cont.) MRS. LOUISA DUBOIS We sincerely sympathize with our dear friend, the Rev. John DuBois, now of Eutaw, Ala., and all the family, in their sad bereavements. When we were stationed in Greensboro, Ala., they were among the most devoted members of our charge. Sister DuBois was a model Christian. Her maiden name was Williams. She was born in Virginia, Jan. 5, 1799. When a child she was taken by her parents to South Carolina; and in 1819 to Autauga co., Ala. There, Jan. 6, 1825, she was married to the Rev. John DuBois, and proved to him indeed a help-meet--her children, too, found her a devoted mother. She was kind to all, and was warm in her attachment to her friends, especially to the Church, or which she was a member for some fifty-three years. Her afflicted husband writes us, Eutaw, Ala., March 20: "The long-standing acquaintance and friendship existing between us inclines me to write first to you, to acquaint you with the departure of my dear, precious wife, Louisa DuBois, which took place on Monday evening, March 19, 1877, at half past eight o'clock, after five days of pneumonia. God, in his gracious providence, did not allow her to be troubled with a shadow of a doubt, to disturb her mind. When in great pain, I would quote passages of Scripture and portions of hymns, she would finish out and enter into the spirit of the sentiment. Several times she exclaimed, as she was wont to do in the great congregation, when the Lord would pour out his Spirit upon the people: 'Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless his holy name.' A short while before her death her pains subsided, and she breathed her last as peacefully as a babe falling asleep upon its mother's breast. God, in his mercy to me, has taken her first, as she was better prepared; and I trust it will be a means of grace to me. Dear brother pray for me, that I may be ready when the Master calls." Clearly, this was a man worth knowing, loving, and learning From. Thus began my journey into Rev. John Elmore DuBois' past. I had already in my possession a series of facts that genealogists tend to record-his date and place of birth, his parentage, his siblings, his date and place of death. I also had a bit of family lore-that he had made improvements upon the cotton gin and held patents for them. From his Bible, I had confirmation of the names and dates of birth of his children. But who was this man? Why did he leave South Carolina for Alabama? Was he a minister assigned to the western territories who also became a cotton planter and inventor to make ends meet? Was he a young adventurer who later in life heard "the call"? Did he own slaves? And if he did, how did he square this with his faith? Truly blessed was the day of my good fortune when I received an email response to my inquiries for information. Ms. Mary Ann Pickard, archivist for the North Alabama Conference of the United Methodist Church, had written to inform me as follows: I just wanted to inform you that I have found a lot more in my files on the DuBois family including some copies of some articles by John DuBois. Also I found a data sheet on John DuBois with his children's names etc....I looked in the correspondence files that Franklin Moseley kept when he created the data sheets. I have a folder just for "DuBois." In that folder was information that I had a photocopy of a scrapbook (over 100 pages printed on one side) of articles collected by John DuBois, including some of his own articles stored in the safe. I also found an descendant chart for John DuBois... What follows is a result of what Ms. Pickard mailed to me two days later. May the reader be as blessed as I have been. -Elizabeth DuBois October, 1998 ==== SCROOTS Mailing List ==== Go To: #, A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z, Main |