From Willard Barbery in 1950: It was Mrs. Suiter who showed us the sheepskin, in the Davidson home, formerly used by Bro. Sheffey and made mention of in another place in these writings. That sheepskin was given to Rev. Peter Rayburn Suiter, local preacher in the Methodist church for many years in Bland county and an associate of the itinerant preacher. Bro. Sheffey Read more...
“When the time had arrived to seek out some place to spend the night, Sheffey would seek a home where he could find those comforts which his heart and body craved. He enjoyed sleeping in a bed with a white counterpane over the covers. At the home of Aurelius Vest, where he spent his last days and where he was Read more...
Boyhood home of Rev. Robert Sheffey, “The Saint of the Wilderness”, legendary circuit-riding frontier preacher who gave up wealth and social position to spread the Word and Spirit of God. Built in 1820 by James and Elizabeth White. Partially burned in 1864 during the Civil War. Restored 1866. Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, October 23, 2022, HMDB.org Read more...
Can’t confirm this is THE tavern, but this tavern dates to 1779 and is the oldest surviving building in Abingdon. “In January of [1839] young Sheffey and a group of his drinking buddies, left an Abingdon tavern to go to a small revival meeting being held on an upper floor in Grenway’s Storehouse along Main Street, with the intention of Read more...
From others: Unusual Films souvenir book, 1978, BJU Archives. Katherine Stenholm directed a crew of 76 and a cast of about 800, and the film includes a musical score by Dwight Gustafson. A large camp meeting scene was filmed at the nineteenth-century Epworth Camp Meeting in Greenwood, South Carolina, and other scenes were shot at Cades Cove and the Pioneer Read more...
Inscription The Reverend Robert Sayers Sheffey (1820-1902), although one of a kind as to style and personality, was a Methodist Circuit Rider in the classic frontier tradition. Celebrated for the intensity of his faith and prayer, as well as for his eccentricities, Sheffey’s authority was recognized throughout this region. He is buried nearby, in Wesley Chapel Cemetery, beside his second Read more...
See Robert Sheffey Grave nearby for more info Featured Image Credit: Old-Fashioned Camp Meeting Historical Marker. 3 Nov. 2024, www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=41429. Read more...
From Wikipedia: Sheffey was born near the hamlet of Ivanhoe, Wythe County, Virginia, of a locally prominent family, the youngest of five brothers.[2] His mother died when he was two, and he was reared by an aunt in Abingdon, Virginia. Sheffey attended Emory and Henry College in 1839–40, but “his early dislike for books and an aversion for profound study” Read more...
Robert Sheffey (1820-1902), ministered in the Appalachian region, often seen as ‘unique’ by other parts of the country. But no matter what stereotypes Appalachia had, Sheffey was the most unique of all. Born into a respectable family and having attended some college, Sheffey was born again at a revival meeting and became a Methodist minister of sorts. Of sorts, because Read more...
