| Benjamin
Franklin Manire 1829-1911
Biographical Sketch On The Life Of B.F. Manire Benjamin
Franklin Manire was born in Bedford County, Tenn., on February 11, 1829.
He was the son of John A. and Mary Smith Manire. He was the only child of
his mother, and he always referred to her as "the good little mother
who sacredly reared and religiously trained" him for the remaining
eighteen years of her life. She died in 1847. The parents of B. F. Manire
were trained in the Baptist faith. In 1828 the Baptist congregation to
which his father and mother belonged laid aside the "Philadelphia
Confession of Faith" and took their stand on the New Testament as the
all-sufficient rule of faith and worship. The entire congregation at the
same time dropped the name "Baptist" and continued to meet and
worship as Christians. This was the result of their reading The Christian
Baptist, which was published by Alexander Campbell. Young
Manire had the privilege of hearing, during his boyhood days, many
faithful gospel preachers: Joshua K. Speer, Ephraim A. Smith, C. F. R.
Shehane, Elijah Craig, Willis Hopwood, J. C. Anderson, J. J. Trott, and
others of the Tennessee pioneer preachers. At the age of seventeen, in the
summer of 1846, he made the good confession under the preaching of J. J.
Trott and was baptized by John M. Barnes. Young
Manire began teaching school in Tennessee and taught for a few years. In
1851, at New Lasea, in Maury County, he preached his first sermon. Soon
after this, in November, 1851, he was employed to teach a school at the
village of Van Buren, in Mississippi. This pioneer village was located on
the Tombigbee River, in Itawamba County. Soon
after beginning his work as a teacher in Mississippi, Manire visited the
towns of Smithville and Cotton Gin, in Monroe County, and preached at
these places. His first preaching in Mississippi met with marked success
and gave much encouragement to the few brethren who were worshiping at
these places. Among the pioneer preachers in Mississippi with whom Brother
Manire labored while teaching at Van Buren, Smithville, and Cotton Gin
were Robert Ussery and James A. Butler. Tolbert Fanning had made a trip
into Mississippi and had held a successful meeting at Columbus, where
Robert Ussery heard the gospel and was baptized by Brother Fanning. On the
third, Lord's day in July, 1855, about four years after he had begun
preaching, Manire and George Plattenburg were both formally ordained as
gospel preachers at Prairie Mount, in Chickasaw County, Miss. There was a
large congregation at that place at that time, but there is no
congregation there now, I am told. In
February, 1856, be began work as preacher with the congregation in
Columbus, Miss.; but in 1857, yielding to the pressing cause for
evangelistic work in the surrounding country, he gave up this work and
moved his residence to Palo Alto, in Chickasaw County. A splendid school
was established there, and Manire became the principal of the school while
preaching for the congregation. While he lived at Palo Alto, he preached
at Prairie Mount and Aberdeen. He developed rapidly as a preacher of the
gospel and his reputation reached throughout the State of Mississippi. At
this time he was a co laborer with T. W. Caskey, Dr. J. P. Deanes, Dr. W.
H. Hooker, and P. B. Lawson. In 1859 he preached at Union Valley. T. W.
Caskey and Robert Ussery had established this congregation in 1849. Union
Valley was then in Choctaw County, but is now in Webster County. In
the autumn of 1860, just previous to the beginning of the Civil War,
Manire moved from Palo Alto to New Bethel, which became known after the
war as "Hemmingway," which was in Carroll County. He moved to
this place to become the principal of a flourishing school which had been
established there in 1842 by J. W. S. Merrill. He remained at the head of
this school throughout the period of the Civil War, teaching nine months
in each year. This was one of the very few schools that kept running in
Mississippi during the war. Brother Manire was kept busy preaching in
destitute places during all this time. In his "Reminiscences" he
relates that on one bright Lord's Day afternoon he was baptizing while the
battle of Fort Pemberton was raging, only fifteen miles away. In
1868, Manire gave up his teaching in order to devote more time to
preaching. There was a wide mission field in Mississippi, extending from
Thyatira, then in DeSoto County, to Battle Springs, in Hyde County, eight
miles west of the city of Jackson. The congregations everywhere had been
demoralized by the war, and Brother Manire set his heart to the task of
rebuilding them and encouraging the people of God to continue faithful to
the Lord. He had been promised only voluntary contributions, and his
support for the year 1868 was only four hundred and fifty dollars. Out of
this amount he had to pay his expenses of travel and support a wife and
three children. He made his first visit to Thyatira in February, 1868. His
fame had preceded him, and in spite of the inclement weather he had a good
hearing and strengthened the church much by his visit. At
the earnest solicitation of the brethren, he continued his mission work in
Mississippi during the year 1869. For this year's work he received only
five hundred dollars. Early in February be visited the congregations in
Wilkinson County for the first time and spent a month with them, preaching
at Antioch, Chapel, and Whitesville. He went from house to house, day and
night, and often preached three times a day. In the autumn of the same
year he made a second visit to these brethren, preached for some time in
this county, and doubled the number of members of the congregations. The
congregations took on new life and were greatly strengthened both
spiritually and in numbers throughout that whole section of the State. He
continued his evangelistic work to the close of the year 1872. During this
time he had the assistance and encouragement of such preachers as T. W.
Caskey, S. R. Jones, W. H. Stewart, B. W. Lauderdale, and W. A. Crum. In
1873 he limited his field of work to the congregations in Carroll and
Choctaw counties. In 1875 he preached for the congregations in Lee,
Chickasaw, and Monroe counties. During
this time he made his home at Saltillo and conducted a school for seven
months each year for three years. At the close of this period he moved to
Mayfield, Ky., and preached for the congregation there two years. In the
meantime he made preaching tours in Texas, Missouri, Arkansas, and
Florida. Manire
and his son-in-law, Mr. Young, purchased a small home in Florida, where he
lived until the death of his wife. After her death he spent most of his
time in Mississippi, preaching in needy fields as long as he was
physically able to travel. In 1896-97 he held successful meetings for
congregations in Wilkinson County and at other points in Mississippi. For
two or three years he made headquarters in Jackson, Miss., and went out
through the country on special preaching tours. B.
F. Manire was preeminently a teaching preacher. For a great portion of his
life he had taught school, and he carried much of the habits of a teacher
into the pulpit. He used both the deductive and inductive methods of
reasoning. It was his earnest desire to instruct and edify his hearers. He
always encouraged young preachers. He saw the need of more gospel
preachers. He had much to do with instructing and encouraging one of
Mississippi's most faithful gospel preachers - Brother Lee Jackson, of
Oakland, Miss. He always referred to him affectionately as his "son
in the gospel." There was no spirit of jealously in him toward other
preachers. He earnestly solicited their help in his field of labor. At
one time, 1871-1876, Brother Manire was Mississippi editor on the Southern
Christian Weekly, published by J. M. Pickens at Moulton, Ala. Later he
contributed regularly to the Apostolic Church, published by W. L. Butler
at Mayfield, Ky.; later he contributed to the Church Register, published
by J. C. Creel at Plattsburg, Mo. While Herndon's Quarterly was being
published at Columbia, Mo., beginning in 1882, several series of essays by
Manire appeared from time to time in that periodical. One series was on
"Election;" another, on "The Unity of the Church, or the
Body of Christ;" another, on "Spirit Baptism." He also made
contributions in his early life to the Christian Preacher, the Christian
Review, and the Gospel Advocate. He was ever busy. He
wore himself out in the service of his Master. His sacrifices were great
and his labors abundant in his adopted state Mississippi. The present
generation should not forget his labors. When he became too feeble to
travel and preach, he distributed his splendid library of books and
magazines among several young gospel preachers and went to the home of his
daughter in Florida, where he died at the age of seventy-six years. He was
buried at Hampton, Fla. -From Biographical Sketches Of Gospel Preachers, H. Leo Boles, GA. 1932 pages. 229-233
Directions To The Grave Of B.F. Manire In
Florida heading south, travel to the city of Gainesville on I-75. Take
Exit 77, Hwy, 222 at Mile Marker 390, Gainesville Exit, and turn left
(East). Follow Hwy 222 until it runs into State Hwy. 24. Turn left on 24.
(At this point you are 18.4 miles from the grave. Go NE on 24 until you
get to the township of Waldo. Going through Waldo you will go under a
viaduct and bear around to
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your left until you get to U.S. Hwy 301. Stay to the right and get on 301
North. Cross over into Bradford County. Go until you see County Road 221
on the right. Bear off on CR221, and you are 3.4 miles from the grave. You
will enter the small township of Hampton, crossing the old RR tracks.
After you cross the tracks go 1.3 miles and the Hampton Cemetery will be
on your right. Park in the grass. The grave is in the center of the old
cemetery.
