Colonel Jerry O’Rear and the camp Meetings 1840
The following newspaper clipping was published about 1940 in a local newspaper
CAMARGO NEWS
(One Hundred Years AGO)
For a number of years preceding 1844, camp meetings were annually held in the month of August at Poynter’s camp ground, a beautiful piece of ground just rolling enough to drain itself, and was covered with dense forest and conveniently near to the great spring of James Stewart, that furnished sufficient water for the thousands that daily congregated there. Every vestige of the original camp ground is gone except the ground, which lies about one half mile in the southeast direction across Slate creek from the old Gatewood (now Drake) mill. Hayman Tomlinson, Abraham Ingraham, Matthew Kirk, Col. J.C. Orear, Jr., William Poynter, Aunt Sookey Taul, Donaldson Craig, John McCormick, John Warmsely and Hayden Wyatt (all of whom are dead except the last named) are remembered as tenters, besides there was one tent that was called a preachers tent. The tents were pretty good farm buildings, weatherboarded, without chimneys, flues or cookstoves, and were built in a hollow square in regular shape for defence (I suppose against the bad man). The cooking was done at log heaps in the rear of the tents and when meals were ready they were put on long plank tables between the log heaps and tents. It seemed to be understood that any person that was hungry was welcome to go to the table and eat. These meetings generally lasted a week or ten days and were attended by a number of the most talented preachers of the Methodist persuasion (they were Methodist camp meetings) for a long distance around, of whom Rev. John C. hardy, now living in Lewis county is remembered as being one of the great lights. There were generally three services in the 24 hours, at 11 a.m., 3 p.m., and 7 in the evenings. The congregation was notified to assemble by blowing a long tin trumpet, which was done by Col. J. C. Orear (father of Asberry Orear). A huge stand was large enough to hold a dozen preachers. Great crowds assembled daily, all of whom rode on horseback, for at that time carriages and buggies were comparatively unknown in the community. On Sunday particularly, the congregation was immense, indeed the whole community for miles around attended except just enough to take care of home, and in many places the homes were deserted. These meetings were looked to from year to year as seasons of great religious interest by the church members and of great fun and curiosity by the less thoughtful portion of the community. Camden in the Sentinel Democrat about 1890.
The above mentioned “Col. Jeremiah C. O’Rear, Jr.” was a son of Daniel O’Rear (No. 76). He is lived on Slate Creek in Montgomery County, Kentucky. He is buried in the cemetery of the Old Salem Methodist Church in Montgomery County.