Reverend Elmer Grant Barnum

 

Elmer Grant Barnum

     Elmer Grant Barnum was born in New York near Lake Ontario in the farming community of Sanborn, Niagara County, on October 14, 1868. He earned a master of arts degree from the University of Rochester in 1896 and became a member of prestigious Phi Beta Kappa, the oldest academic honor society in the United States. He then attended the Rochester Theological Seminary (forerunner of today's Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School) and completed his studies in 1900.

     On November 21, 1900 he married Edna Westfall, who was the librarian at the seminary. Edna was the daughter of Gilbert and Emma Westfall of Rochester, where her father, previously a farmer, was a grocer and milk delivery man. The following year, the American Home Baptist Missionary Society selected Elmer to travel across the country to the little mining town of Republic, Washington to provide religious leadership to its residents. Elmer and Edna spent one year in Republic before returning to New York. 

     In 1902, Edna's father bought a farm in Girdletree, Maryland. Elmer and Edna moved to the farm with her parents, and for a time Elmer managed the farm for the Westfalls. On July 10, 1903 Mildred Edith, who would be the Barnums' only child, was born in Girdletree. 

     Elmer managed the farm for his father-in-law, who bred sheep, cattle and hogs. While Elmer was a stock man himself, his true calling was that of a minister and educator. Soon after his arrival in Girdletree, he became the principal of the local high school and a preacher in the Baptist church.

 

Democratic Messenger, 27 May 1905

 

Democratic Messenger, 24 November 1906

     Although they seemed to be prospering in Maryland, the Barnums and Westfalls made the decision to move to Stafford County, Virginia in 1908. Gilbert bought the 200-acre Riverside Farm on River Road, and he and Elmer resumed their business together as stock breeders. As he had done in Girdletree, Elmer continued his career as a pastor in Stafford County. He served as a minister at both Falmouth and Bethany Baptist churches until 1911. Elmer and his family moved to Fredericksburg that year and he was soon thereafter asked to assume the pastorship of four Baptist churches in Spotsylvania County--Salem, Goshen, Wilderness and Ely's Ford. His congregation at Falmouth Baptist Church was sad to see him go, and published a resolution to that effect in The Free Lance.

 

The Free Lance, 17 August 1911

 

The Free Lance, 7 September 1911

     At some time prior to 1920, Elmer moved to Spotsylvania County to be nearer his churches. The Barnums lived at "Pleasant View," which had been the home of the late Absalom McGee, located on the north side of Route 3 near McLaws Drive. Absalom's widow, Cicely Timberlake McGee, sold the house and 30 acres to Elmer in 1921.

     In addition to the four Baptist Churches mentioned above, Reverend Barnum over time also became the minister at Zoan in Spotsylvania and Flat Run in Orange County. While he undoubtedly left a lasting impression at each church he served, his most enduring legacy was at Goshen Baptist Church. When Elmer became the minister there, the existing church building was still the small structure erected in 1875. In 1912, Goshen's building committee laid plans for the construction of a new sanctuary. Reverend Barnum drew up plans for the new church and made a miniature model of its design. Elmer did much of the actual construction work himself, including making the large wooden columns for the front of the church (during the installation of one of these columns he fell to the ground, but escaped serious injury). The new building was completed in 1913, and remained standing until 1957, when it was replaced by the brick sanctuary that stands today.

Goshen Baptist Church 1875-1913

Goshen Baptist Church 1913-1957

     The newly built Chancellor School on Old Plank Road was dedicated in December 1912. The school offered classes for grades 1-12, and was the first public high school in Spotsylvania County. Mildred Barnum was a student there, as seen in this photograph of the high school students and principal taken about 1920 (she is number 11):

     Following her graduation from Chancellor, Mildred attended the State Normal School in Fredericksburg, the forerunner of today's University of Mary Washington. She graduated in 1923.

Mildred Barnum, 1922 (The Battlefield)

Mildred Barnum, 1923 (The Battlefield)

    

     When the United States entered the First World War, many of America's ministers did their part for the war effort by volunteering to join the YMCA's venture to sustain the morale of America's fighting men overseas. Hundreds of YMCA facilities behind the lines provided rest-and-recreation opportunities for the soldiers. In June 1918, Reverend Barnum applied for a passport so that he could join this effort. His application was endorsed by the War Department in August 1918, and he left for France shortly thereafter. He remained in Europe until May 1919, when he boarded a ship in Brest bound for the United States.

U.S. Army Transport List (Ancestry.com)

     After the war, Reverend Barnum served two stints as principal of the Chancellor School. The first was 1922-1924. He then served for two years as principal of the Franklin-Sherman High School at McLean in Fairfax County. Mildred taught there during his stay. He then returned to the Chancellor School, where he was principal 1926-1931.

The Free Lance Star, 24 August 1928

     On the evening of August 23, 1928, Elmer and Edna Barnum left their home and drove west on Route 3 in order to attend services at Flat Run Baptist church, where he had previously served as pastor. In an approaching car in the eastbound lane were Mr. and Mrs. Richard Irving Scott and their two daughters, Anna and Evelyn, who were on their way to Wilderness Baptist Church for evening services. Just west of Wilderness Church, one of these two cars inadvertently crossed the center line of the road and sideswiped the other vehicle. Both cars careened off the road and overturned. Young Evelyn Scott fell through an open window and the car rolled over her, killing her. No one was ejected from the Barnums' car, but after the car stopped Edna cried out, "Oh, my chest." Because she had been suffering from heart problems, it was assumed at the time that she may have been having a heart attack (her death certificate indicated that she had suffered internal injuries). Edna Westfall Barnum died shortly after her arrival at Mary Washington Hospital. Her funeral service was conducted by Reverend Edward Voorhees Peyton at Salem Baptist Church, and she was buried at Oak Hill Cemetery.

The Free Lance Star, 25 August 1928

     During the 1930s, Mildred Barnum worked as a writer for the Works Project Administration. She conducted research and wrote brief summaries of many of Spotsylvania's historic properties, including my family's old plantation, Greenfield (part of which now comprises a portion of the Fawn Lake subdivision):

     By the mid-1930s, the energetic and seemingly indefatigable Elmer Barnum began to suffer from rheumatoid arthritis. In the 1940s he also developed significant heart trouble and was bedridden for the last five years of his life. He was cared for by Mildred, who never married and lived with her father until he died on September 5, 1951. Like Edna, his funeral service was conducted by Reverend Edward Voorhees Peyton, and he was buried next to Edna at Oak Hill Cemetery.

Free Lance Star, 6 September 1951

     During the 1940s, Mildred worked as a bookkeeper for Fredericksburg Hardware, and by the 1950s she was keeping the books for Brown Brothers and Company.

   The photo below, which was shared with me by Jim Orrock, shows Mildred Barnum with sisters Mollie and Maggie Orrock during a trip to the Blue Ridge Mountains. Mildred stands at right:

     Late in her life, Mildred suffered from dementia and was placed in the Virginia Baptist Home in Culpeper. She died there on May 28, 1989 and lies buried near her parents at Oak Hill Cemetery.