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Henry Jefferson Boles
1845-1923
Biographical Sketch On The Life Of
H.J. Boles
The subject of
this sketch is another one of God's heroes who lived and labored and
loved almost in obscurity. Henry Jefferson Boles was born in Caldwell
County, Ky., on November 19, 1845. His mother was the daughter of
"Raccoon" John Smith. Those who are familiar with the history of Elder
Smith will recall that while he was away from home, his house and two
children were burned. Two small children were rescued from the burning
building. One of these little girls was the mother of the subject of
this sketch and the grandmother of the writer.
H. J. Boles was the grandson of "Raccoon" John Smith.
He had been in the company of Elder Smith many times and had heard him
preach often. He had a strong desire, while but a boy, to be a preacher
of the gospel like his illustrious grandfather. He was about sixteen
years old when the Civil War began. He enlisted in the Union Army at the
first of the war and remained in the army four years till the close of
it, and was given an honorable discharge. He was wounded three times,
and carried the scars to his grave. After the close of the war he never
had any opportunity of attending school. There were few schools at the
close of the war, and so his opportunities were small for an education.
However, he was endowed with strong intellectual powers and had a thirst
for knowledge, and through reading and close observation he acquired a
splendid education which enabled him to be a great servant of his fellow
men.
At the age of twenty-five he was married to a distant
cousin, Sarah Smith, a grandniece of "Raccoon" John Smith. Soon after
his marriage he moved from Kentucky to Jackson County, Tenn. He had six
children by Sarah Smith. The third one of these children was H. Leo
Boles. After the death of his wife he was married to Mrs. Alcie Brown,
daughter of Dudley Haile, a preacher of the gospel in Jackson County.
Three children were born to this union. After the death of his wife he
was again married, on April 27, 1987, to Miss Adina Golden, near Sparta,
Tenn., and to this union nine children were born.
He did not become a Christian until after he came to
Tennessee. He had an inquiring mind and was argumentative in his
nature. He began discussing religious subjects publicly with a Baptist
preacher even before he was baptized into Christ. In one of his public
discussions a Baptist preacher charged him with not believing that for
which he was contending, as he had never obeyed the gospel. He felt
keenly the force of this statement and told his wife the same night that
he was going to obey the gospel the next day. This he did, and was
baptized at Antioch, in Jackson County, by Andrew P. Davis. He at once
challenged the Baptist preacher for another discussion, and his
challenge was accepted. After this discussion he began preaching the
gospel, and continued his labors as a preacher for fifty-three years.
Two years after he had begun preaching he baptized the Baptist preacher
with whom he had debated. He preached in all parts of Jackson County,
and established many congregations and baptized hundreds of people in
that county.
In 1879 he moved from Jackson County to White County,
Tenn., and located on Cherry Creek, in that county, about seven miles
from Sparta. He was successful as a business an and farmer. He made his
living and supported his family from the proceeds of his farm and
business. He expected nothing from his preaching and received very
little for it. In 1890 he and J. K. Walling, the brother of the late H.
L. Walling and the venerable Jay Walling, of McMinnville, Tenn., made a
tour through the northern part of Georgia and Alabama, preaching the
gospel. On this trip a number of congregations were set in order and
other churches were strengthened and encouraged in the work and worship
of the Lord. Later he made a trip to Oklahoma and preached acceptably
there. However, his preaching was largely done in the rural districts of
Tennessee and the mountains of Kentucky. He established hundreds of
congregations and baptized thousands of people. He was modest in his
labors and never reported to the papers any of his meetings or the
results of these meetings. Many of the churches which he established are
now flourishing congregations, while others have ceased to be. There are
now living more than a dozen preachers whom he baptized and whom he
encouraged to preach the gospel. He labored much in Jackson, White,
Dekalb, Warren, Putnam, Overton, Clay, and Pickett counties, in
Tennessee, and in the border counties of Kentucky.
His style of preaching was plain and simple. He
labored among the common people and adapted his preaching to that
class. He was a practical man, a preacher with only one book the Bible.
He seldom used an illustration that was not taken from the Bible. He
never studied formal logic, hot his sermons were always logically
arranged and forcibly delivered. His sermons were so plain and practical
that it was hard for his hearers ever to forget the strong arguments
that he made. He announced his proposition with clearness and then
proceeded to prove it by an array of Scripture quotations. He did not
hesitate to compare religious theories with the truth of the Bible. In a
kind way he named publicly the religious bodies that held certain
theories which contradicted the truth. He was net offensive in calling
the names of different denominations which preached and practiced
popular errors of his day. He was fair in representing the doctrines of
denominational churches and convincing in his arguments against these
errors.
He was often drawn into public discussions with the
preachers of the different denominations. He had debates publicly with
Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians, Mormons, and the Holiness people.
He never hesitated one moment when opportunity was offered to defend the
truth of the Bible. He rather enjoyed these discussions and accomplished
much good by them. Though not an educated man, yet he was mighty in the
Scriptures. He often said: "I want nothing but the truth, and I have
nothing to fear from investigation of what I preach."
He labored so much in rural sections where there were
few gospel preachers, often none but himself, that he welcomed the
assistance of his fellow preachers in the field of his activity. He
rejoiced in the success of other preachers as much as in his own
success. As he reached the declining years of his life he could not
understand why preachers should be jealous of each other. He could not
understand why one preacher of the gospel could not have the freest
fellowship with other preachers of the gospel of Christ. He traveled
much on horseback in his eartier days of preaching, but later traveled
with horse and buggy.
In January, 1889, he moved from White County to Dekalb
County, Tenn. There was no church there, but within two years he had a
good working congregation near his home. Within five years he had
another congregation at work not far from his home. In October, 1916, he
moved from Dekalb County to Dibrell, in Warren County, Tenn., and later,
in October, 1919, he moved to McMinnville, Tenn. Here he spent the
evening of his life in feeble health. On September 6, 1923, he passed to
his reward. Funeral services were conducted in the church house at
McMinnville by E. A. Elam, assisted by J. Paul Slayden, and his body was
interred in the beautiful cemetery at McMinnville. A simple monument
marks the resting place of his ashes.
–Biographical
Sketches Of Gospel Preachers, H. Leo Boles, G.A. 1932, pages 342-346
Directions To The Grave Of
Henry Jefferson Boles
H.J. Boles is buried in the
Riverside Cemetery in McMinnville, Tennessee. From I-24 in southern
Tennessee take Exit 111 and travel east on Highway 55. When you come into
McMinnville take the Business Hwy. 55 Exit. Coming into McMinnville, cross
the river bridge and take the first right on Cemetery St. Go to the Stop
Sign, and enter the cemetery on the corner of Cemetery St. and Bridge St.
As you enter the cemetery take the left road. As you travel down with the
cemetery wall on your left and graves on your right, you will notice paths
between sections of graves large enough for a hearse to get into. From the
gate you will travel down four paths. When you get to the fourth path
count three graves in and Boles grave is facing south. I saw this grave in
June, 2002.
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