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his death the chiuvli was opened regularly t^abbath after 

 Sabbath by lay readers, and all that were religiously dis 

 posed attended. The men who kept the peojile together to 

 serve God have all gone to their reward, but their works 

 live after them. They were Mr. J. H. Lelaud, Mr. C. B. 

 (Joehran, Mr. A. H. Seabrook, Dr. Baker and Mr. James C. 

 Doar. 



Mr. Lelaud/ Mr. Seabrook and others also conducted a 

 prayer meeting each week, and whenever the venerable Mr. 

 DuPre could preach or other minister came they had the 

 united congregation to hear them and the chapel at their 

 disposal. 



During those days the men with no thought of denomi- 

 national dogma, creed or doctrine attended any service, 

 hustled for a living and fought with indomitable perse 

 verance the white Radicals and the black allies, who were 

 sucking the life blood; of their beloved Parish and State. 



No one who was not in it can realize the mortification of 

 being lorded over by negro constables and trial justices, 

 etc, and the desolation and degradation of negro domination. 

 Also the almost despairing task of meeting and overcoming 

 the black majority of nearly ten to one at the election polls 

 in the woods, but they won in the end and we are now en- 

 joying the fruits of that victory gained by their manhood. 

 I will surprise you when I say there w^ere no stores in the 

 Parish, or village, until Mr. W. P. Beckman opened one 

 and built a house opposite the Methodist Church soon after 

 the War. He w^as stationed here with the German Artillery 

 during the Givil War, saw the place, liked it and one of its 

 girls, came back to settle and made one of our most progres- 

 sive citizens. Afterwards he built and moved u]> in the then 

 woods, and ])eople thought it was a foolish move, but he had 

 faith in our future and acted accordingly, and the years 

 justified his judgment. Mr. C. H. Leland kept store in this 

 first building until he built where Mr. Gibson now lives. He 

 was our second mtn-chant. 



T will ^ay for the benefit of the boys i)resent that in our 

 school days we were our own haulers and hewers of wood 

 and drawers of water that was used in our school house, and 



