Elden W. Stovall was born June 7, 1902 in Rives, Tennessee. He was married to Johnnie Woody September 23, 1923. Together they had four children, two sons of which were gospel preachers, Charles E. Stovall and J. Woody Stovall.

     Stovall was raised in the Methodist church. He was sprinkled into this church, and took an active role in it in his early years. He was ordained as a minister, and preach for it for a few years. After a good bit of personal Bible study, also some with his wife who was a New Testament Christian, he studied his way out of Methodism. Elden was baptized by Ira A. Douthitt September 2, 1927.

     Immediately after his baptism, E.W. Stovall began preaching in Marmaduke, Arkansas, September 9, 1927. He received college training from Emory and Henry College in Emory, Virginia. Later he attended Lambuth College in Jackson, Tennessee.

     Through the years he served churches in Bonham, Texas from 1932-1935; Winchester, Tennessee from 1942-1945; the church in Blytheville, Arkansas from 1945-1949, and others.

     He was a good writer and submitted articles for print in the Gospel Advocate, The Christian Messenger, Search the Scriptures, and The Noble Searcher magazines. He was very successful in debates. In 1934 he was part of the England-Stovall debate. England was a Holiness minister. The subject of the debate was, "The Plan Of Salvation. In 1948 he debated a Baptist in the Hopper-Stovall Debate in which was discussed the subjects of Baptism, Church Establishment, and the possibility of apostasy. In 1949 he was in the Ivy-Stovall Debate. Ivy, a Baptist discussed Baptism and Apostasy.

     Stovall preached in as many venues as he saw profitable. One way was through Radio Evangelism. He preached on the radio in Dublin, Texas, Carlsbad, N.M, on KLCN, in Blytheville, Ark on WFUL, and in Glasgow, Kentucky.

     He was a greatly successful preacher. He preached anywhere between four and ten gospel meetings every year. Over the years he baptized thousands of people, most of which belonged to denominations.

     Elden William Stovall passed from this life August 30, 1981, and is buried in the Stovall Cemetery in Rives, Tennessee.

Sources: From Preachers of Today Volumes 1,2

GPS Location

N 36˚ 19.716' x W 089˚01.485'

Graves Faces West