So much history of our early pioneer ministers has been lost over time. Thomas Jefferson Miley was born 18 April 1855, a son of Daniel Goodman Miley and his wife, Artemesia Myers. On 9 Dec 1873, Thomas married Missouri Ann Franklin. They had 10 children; 3 sons and 7 daughters.
Pioneer Minister Gone to His Reward
Rev. T. J. Miley Answers Final Summons.
After Several Years of Declining Health, End Comes Peacefully Thursday Night.
Rev. T. J. Miley, 70, for thirty-five years one of the best known Baptist pastors in Mississippi, passed away peacefully at his home in Newton at 8:20 o’clock P.M. January 15th. Death was due to paralysis, from which he had suffered for several years. He had been confined to bed for about three weeks preceding the end, having suffered a fall which his enfeebled body could not overcome.
Funeral services were held at 3 o’clock Friday afternoon, the 16th, in Union Church, Mayton, Rankin County, where for many years he made his home, raised his family, and served nearby churches. The services were conducted by Rev. D. Jasper Miley of Gunn; Rev. W. H. Thompson of Newton and Rev. D. W. Moulder, of Lorena, and the body was laid to rest in the family plot of Union Cemetery. Like his life, the services were simple, but sincere and loving tributes were paid his hallowed memory by sorrowing kindred and friends.
The career of Rev. Mr. Miley was a most remarkable one from every standpoint, a source of inspiration and blessing to the thousands with whom he came in contact during a public ministry of thirty-five years. It is the career of a country boy, who touched by the saving grace of God and set apart to preach the gospel, answered that call with all the power of his life, conquering by tireless effort the great difficulties that confronted him in preparation for his ministry of service and pushing forward ever toward the goal, sacrificing, toiling, incessantly and wholly devoting his life, his energy, his all, to the service of the Master and the blessings of his fellow-man.
Thomas Jefferson Miley was born April 18, 1855, in Scott county, Miss., at the home of his grandparents, seven miles south of Morton, being the son of D. G. and Artemecia Myers Miley. The home of his parents at that time was at White Oak, near Gunn, Miss.
“Jeff,” as he was known by his boyhood friends, was the first of eight children. His parents were poor and like most of the other settlers in that section made their scant living chiefly by tilling the soil. The family resided at White Oak, until the outbreak of the Civil War, when the father bade them adieu and responded to the call of the Confederacy, taking the wife and the children to the home of his parents then four miles south of Brandon, there to remain until he might be able tore turn from the conflict---which after several weary years he was able to do, having served with valor.
His health broken by wounds and exposure of the war, he took the family to Strong River, Smith county, one and a half miles east of Daniel, where he sought again to establish a home and eke out a living as best he could with the aid of his faithful wife and small children.
In this critical period Jeff was a great help, being by nature a hard worker and frugal lad. Here Jeff remained until sometime after his marriage December 10, 1873, at Mayton, Miss. to Missouri Ann Franklin, daughter of T. J. and Caroline Purvis Franklin; his marriage taking place when he was 18 years of age. To this union there were born ten children--seven girls and three boys, five daughters and the three sons still surviving.
Soon after their marriage Mr. and Mr. Miley moved to Mayton, where they continued to make their home until the year 1903. Here he farmed during the week and served far away struggling churches,riding to them at the end of the week on horse or by horse and buggy. No weather was ever too severe nor anything ever too important to prevent him from filling his appointments, no matter how far away might be the destination nor what difficulties confronted him.
Schooling and Ordination.
There were few schools in those days, especially in the rural sections. During his boyhood he was able to attend occasionally for a month or so only, and this limited schooling barely fitted him to read and write intelligently.
He joined the Baptist church at Rock Bluff, Smith county, the fifth Sunday in August 1872. A few years afterwards he became impressed with the call to preach the gospel, and resolved to heed that call. He was licensed to preach in October of 1884 and ordained at the same church September 6, 1885. Rev. W. R. Butler and Rev. W. P. Chapman, both deceased, officiating. Realizing the necessity of further education, he moved his family in 1885 to Sylvarena, Smith county to enable him to attend school there, remaining for ten months. Again in 1887 he attended the same school of five months, riding back and forth week-ends from his home at Mayton, and at the same time serving far-away churches. Then, after he had been preaching for several years, he managed in 1891 to get off for a month to attend a Bible course in Howard College, Birmingham, Ala., for a month returning the following year for another month. In 1893 he took a month’s Bible course in Mississippi College at Clinton, and in 1895 a two-month’s course in Mercer University, Macon, Georgia. This was the extent of his schooling. But meantime he was accumulating a library of religious works and treatises and spent much time at hard private study, meditation and prayer. At the same time he never neglected any opportunity to associate with ministers further advanced than he and through their personal association and the study of their writings was able to further advance his education. He was always a student--first and foremost of the Bible itself, but of other subjects as well.
Public Ministry
Almost the whole of his thirty-five years’ public ministry was devoted to struggling country churches. He had rather serve a struggling country church for no salary at all than to serve a well to do town churches at a fancy salary; in fact he a number of times turned down calls from well-to-do churches in preference to those from little churches that were in the missionary stage.
His public ministry began at County Line church, near Puckett, Rankin county in the year 1886. From that time on to the year of his retirement in 1920, for thirty-five years, he served thirty-two different churches, much of the time serving as many as six or eight at the same time. Some of these he served for many years and several of them he organized. All of them under his ministry and faithful service were built up, some of them being now the strongest country churches in the section of the state in which they are located.
His ministry for the most part was in the counties of Rankin, Smith, Simpson, Jasper, Newton and Jones. Up until the yearr<sic> 1903 all his charges were reached from his home at Mayton, where he maintained his farm, working there between trips to his churches. Some of these were twenty-five of thirty miles distant and the only way to reach them was along poor country roads by horseback or with horse and buggy.
Meantime, he was rearing a large family, giving them the benefit of the best education possible, sending four of them to college.
In 1903 he moved his family to Taylorsville, Smith county, where they resided for a year and a half; then to Newton, where they lived for eight years; then to Bay Springs for an eight-years’stay; then back to Newton the late part of 1919. All of these moves except the latter were necessitated by his work, the latter having been made upon his retirement from the public ministry and to take up residence in his home.
Traveled 84, 409 Miles.
During this service of thirty-five years in serving thirty-two churches he traveled 84,409 miles, a big part or most of it over country roads, horseback or in a buggy. This probably does not include thousands of miles traveled for other purposes made necessary by his work as a minister of the gospel and servant of God. According to records kept by him, he preached during this period 6,237 sermons; 1,491 persons were baptized by him and many others joined church under his preaching. He conducted scores of revivals, officiated at scores of marriages, and scores of funerals. He made hundreds of visits to the sick, ministered to the needy and ever sought by precept and example to help along his fellow-man and carry out the teachings of his Master. He never turned a deaf ear to a call for aid and was ever ready at any hour of the night or day to lend his assistance of offer his counsel to one in need, whether physical or spiritual. Thousands of dollars were given by the churches he served to religious purposes--missions, orphanages etc. His total salary and income from all sources for ministerial work—including revival offerings, marriage offerings, etc. for the thirty-five years’ service was$37,190.34, an average of $1,062.38 a year. The smallest salary received by him for any years’ work was $95.15 and the highest was $1,454.30, in the year 1905. A number of churches which he served were able to pay him less than a hundred dollars a year; the highest; the highest paid by any individual church was $500,paid by Newton Church in the years 1905-7-8-10-11 (Newton First Baptist, and later Newton Central.)
Names of Churches Served.
Names of the thirty-two churches served by him from the beginning to the end of his public ministry are as following:
County Line, Simpson county; Shady Grove, Smith County; Union, Rankin county; Rebobeth, Simpson county; Campbell’s Creek, Simpson; Beulah, Smith; Hopewell, Scott; Sardis, Smith; Macedonia, Simpson; Homewood, Scott; Dry Creek, Simpson; Springfield,, Scott; Pulaski, Scott; Rock Hill, Rankin; Shady Dell, Rankin; Fannin, Rankin; Raleigh, Smith; Liberty, Smith; Magee, Simpson; Zion, Rankin; Rock Bluff, Smith; Poplar Springs (Summerland), Jones, Taylorsville, Smith; Newton, Newton; Central, Newton (since dissolved); Hickory, Newton; Bay Springs, Jasper; Montrose, Jasper; Poplar Springs, Newton; Wisner, Smith; Lake Come, Jasper; Sulvarena, Smith.
From these churches thousands of men and women, boys and girls, have gone out benefited by his faithful ministry; some have themselves gone out to preach the gospel; others to carry the message to far-away lands; all to live better lives for having heard his and known him. All over the land there are those who remember him as their friend, and the extent of his influence through and in them for good could never be measured.
His preaching from beginning to end was characterized by simplicity, a directness and force comparable almost with that of the divine message itself. His message ever was to the plain people--and always it was plain enough to be comprehended and accepted by them,whether saved or unsaved, high or low, ignorant or the most intelligent. He denounced sin in all its forms, never hesitated to proclaim the right nor to declare publicly and privately against wrong, whether it be in the individual, the community, or society itself.
In his home he was the same devoted, faithful and loving husband and father; endeavoring always to carry out in actual practice the religion that he publicly proclaimed. That he did this will be attested by anyone who knew him in his home. He provided to the very best that he was able for the needs of his family; never a one of them appealed to him in vain. He gave them the best education possible, providing college advantages to those who would take them.
He was an incessant worker. There was scarcely an idle moment in his life. If not at study or engaged in some other phase of his ministerial work he was always to be found at some other useful employment--working like a farm hand in the field during most of the years of his ministry to supplement the meager income from his church work and the better to enable him to support his large family.
He was a martyr to the cause of Christ, his health finally failing and compelling his retirement from active service. He was a true and faithful servant, one whose ministry God abundantly blessed; one whom thousands he served as pastor will arise and call blessed; one of whom it may truthfully and fittingly be said:
“I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day…..”
Surviving Relatives
Wife, Missouri A. Miley; five daughters, three sons, two brothers, two sisters, many other relatives.
Daughters; Mrs. J. C. Howell, Mrs. H. N. Holyfield, Mrs. R. A. Kennedy, all of Puckett, Miss.; Mrs. G. S. Jenkins, Forest, Miss.; Mrs. B. L. McKee , Cleveland, Miss .
Sons: D. J. Miley, J. P. Miley, Newton, Miss.; C. S. Miley, Fort Pierce, Florida.
Brothers; Abb Miley, Mendenhall, Miss.; Charley W. Miley, Puckett, Miss.
Sisters; Mrs. J. M. Franklin, Magee, Miss; Mrs. T. J. Cooper, Morton, Miss.
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Card of Gratitude.
We desire to express our heartfelt thanks and appreciation to our friends and neighbors for their deed of kindness and words of sympathy during the illness and death of our beloved husband and father. We also wish to think the telephone company and employes <sic> for their prompt and efficient service in handling long distance phone calls. We are grateful to all for their ministrations of love.
Mrs. T. J. Miley,
And Children
The above information was compiled and written by his youngest son, Mr. Charles Spurgeon Miley , Editor of the Fort Pierce, Florida newspaper."
Thomas Jefferson Miley is my 4th Cousin 3X Removed.
Missouri Ann Franklin is my 3rd Cousin 4X Removed.
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1. The Newton Record, Vol XXIII, No. 49, Newton, Newton County, Mississippi, Thursday, January 22, 1925, Pg. 1, Column 1.
2. Transcribed by Charles L. Purvis from Newspaper article provided by Karen D. [Last name withheld] as e-mail attachments on 18 April 2012
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