J. C. Gilbert
Encyclopedia
Jess Carr "Sonny" Gilbert, II (born March 6, 1922), is a retired cotton
farmer
and a former Democratic
member of both houses of the Louisiana State Legislature
from the town
of Sicily Island
in Catahoula Parish in northeastern Louisiana
. Gilbert served three consecutive terms in the Louisiana State Senate
from 1960 to 1972, having represented Franklin, Richland, and Catahoula parishes.
In 1972, he was elected for a single four-year term to the Louisiana House of Representatives
from newly established District 21 (Catahoula and neighboring Concordia parishes). Gilbert was allied with the anti-Long
faction
in the legislature. During the 1980s, as a retired lawmaker and a political conservative, Gilbert switched his party registration to Republican
.
Committee, Gilbert was a vocal defender of agricultural interests. In 1972, Democratic Governor
Edwin Washington Edwards appointed him to a six-year term as chairman of the Louisiana Wild Life and Fisheries Commission. The first four years on the commission were served simultaneously with his legislative service. Later, then Republican U.S. Representative Richard Baker of Baton Rouge, who had also served in the state House with Gilbert, named him one of five members of Baker's agricultural advisory committee.
in Franklin Parish to Jess Gilbert, I (1894–1923), and the former Fannie Adams (1895–1976). Jess and Fannie shared an October 27 birthday but a year apart. Fannie was a daughter of William Hughlett Adams, a Franklin Parish sheriff
. Gilbert was a great-nephew of former State Senator Thomas Benjamin Gilbert, II (1864–1931), who served from 1904 to 1908 and again from 1916 to 1932. "Sonny" Gilbert's father, Jess Gilbert, I, was a first cousin
of Henry Wellman "Harry" Gilbert (1894–1970) of Wisner, a former state senator from Franklin Parish who served from 1932 to 1940. Harry Gilbert was a son of Thomas B. Gilbert.
Jess Gilbert I, died some three weeks before Christmas
, 1923, of pneumonia
, which he contracted at a hunting camp. "Sonny" Gilbert's mother, hence widowed at twenty-eight, did not remarry. Instead she moved into one of the Gilbert homes in Wisner and, for many years afterwards, operated a boarding house
with three meals daily for her clients.
in 1940 and thereafter attended the University of Louisiana at Monroe
(then Northeast Junior College
before it was expanded to four-year status) and Louisiana State University
in Baton Rouge. He left LSU and enlisted in the U.S. Army during World War II
and served with a B-24 bomber unit in England
.
In 1946, after military service, Gilbert married the former Barbara Jane Peck (October 26, 1922 – May 1985) of the Ferry Place Plantation
in Sicily Island, the daughter of William Smith Peck, Sr.
(1873–1946), and the former Estelle Woodard (1893–1983). It was then that he moved nine miles south from Wisner to Sicily Island in the farming country of eastern Louisiana. Barbara Peck was the sister of Sicily Island civic figures William S. Peck, Jr.
(April 12, 1916–February 1987), and Henry C. Peck, Sr. (June 21, 1919–January 24, 2004), a contractor, rancher, farmer, past president of the Sicily Island State Bank, and, from 1946 to 2000, a director of Concordia Bank and Trust Company.
Another future state representative and later state senator, Cecil R. Blair
(1916–2001), also grew up in Sicily Island, as the son of a sharecropping
family. He represented Rapides Parish in the legislature from the 1950s to the 1970s.
from Winnsboro
, the seat of Franklin Parish. Gilbert made an issue of nepotism
after it was found that King had placed his son on the state payroll, a position often comically referred to as a "dead-head". Gilbert entered the Senate during the administration of Governor James Houston "Jimmie" Davis
, who had agricultural interests of his own in northeastern Louisiana.
After three terms, Gilbert left the Senate and was succeeded by future Louisiana Secretary of State and Insurance
Commissioner James H. "Jim" Brown of Ferriday
in Concordia Parish. In 1971, Gilbert ran for the state House and, in the primary, he unseated the late two-term Representative David I. Patten
, a construction company owner in Harrisonburg
, the seat of Catahoula Parish.
On February 1, 1972, Gilbert defeated his Republican legislative opponent, Jehu Welton Brabham, I (August 11, 1921 – May 13, 1998). Brabham operated a print shop in Ferriday but later returned to his native Liberty
in Amite County
near McComb
, Mississippi
. Brabham drew 42.3 percent of the vote against Gilbert, a larger showing at the time than most GOP
candidates polled in lower-tier races in Louisiana.
Gilbert did not seek reelection to the Louisiana House in the first of the state's jungle primaries
in 1975. He supported as his successor, the Democrat (later Republican) Daniel Wesley Richey
of Ferriday (later Baton Rouge). Gilbert served the remaining two years at Wild Life and Fisheries and then returned to Sicily Island.
, according to Peck-Gilbert family records. Louisiana state records before the Civil War are too fragmentary to confirm the years of Henry John Peck's tenure.
The Pecks and Gilberts are entombed at Highland Park Mausoleum
in Sicily Island. After Barbara's death, "Sonny" Gilbert married the former Delmar Fulmer (1937–1999) of Baton Rouge.
Gilbert has two children, Barbara Peck Gilbert Haigh (born 1948), an English
instructor at Copiah-Lincoln Community College
Natchez
, Mississippi
, Campus, and J.C. Gilbert, III (born 1951), a Ph.D.
from Michigan State University
in Lansing
, is professor
of rural sociology
at the University of Wisconsin–Madison
.
Gilbert is a regular donor to the LSU Foundation. He is a member of Rotary International
, the American Legion
, Farm Bureau, and the Masonic lodge
. He is a former president of the National Wild Turkey
Federation. He is a former Sunday school
superintendent of First United Methodist Church in Sicily Island.
Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
farmer
Farmer
A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, who raises living organisms for food or raw materials, generally including livestock husbandry and growing crops, such as produce and grain...
and a former Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
member of both houses of the Louisiana State Legislature
Louisiana State Legislature
The Louisiana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 representatives, and the upper house, the Louisiana Senate with 39 senators...
from the town
Town
A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...
of Sicily Island
Sicily Island, Louisiana
Sicily Island is a village in Catahoula Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 453 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Sicily Island is located at ....
in Catahoula Parish in northeastern Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
. Gilbert served three consecutive terms in the Louisiana State Senate
Louisiana State Legislature
The Louisiana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 representatives, and the upper house, the Louisiana Senate with 39 senators...
from 1960 to 1972, having represented Franklin, Richland, and Catahoula parishes.
In 1972, he was elected for a single four-year term to the Louisiana House of Representatives
Louisiana State Legislature
The Louisiana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 representatives, and the upper house, the Louisiana Senate with 39 senators...
from newly established District 21 (Catahoula and neighboring Concordia parishes). Gilbert was allied with the anti-Long
Earl Long
Earl Kemp Long was an American politician and the 45th Governor of Louisiana for three non-consecutive terms. Long termed himself the "last of the red hot poppas" of politics, referring to his stump-speaking skills...
faction
Political faction
A political faction is a grouping of individuals, such as a political party, a trade union, or other group with a political purpose. A faction or political party may include fragmented sub-factions, “parties within a party," which may be referred to as power blocs, or voting blocs. The individuals...
in the legislature. During the 1980s, as a retired lawmaker and a political conservative, Gilbert switched his party registration to Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
.
Defender of agriculture
As the chairman of the Senate AgricultureAgriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
Committee, Gilbert was a vocal defender of agricultural interests. In 1972, Democratic Governor
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
Edwin Washington Edwards appointed him to a six-year term as chairman of the Louisiana Wild Life and Fisheries Commission. The first four years on the commission were served simultaneously with his legislative service. Later, then Republican U.S. Representative Richard Baker of Baton Rouge, who had also served in the state House with Gilbert, named him one of five members of Baker's agricultural advisory committee.
Family history
Gilbert was born in WisnerWisner, Louisiana
Wisner is a town in Franklin Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 1,140 at the 2000 census.-History:Wisner was home to world's first international plow race in 1946, a light-hearted competition intended to engender a spirit of peace in the wake of World War II.-Geography:Wisner is...
in Franklin Parish to Jess Gilbert, I (1894–1923), and the former Fannie Adams (1895–1976). Jess and Fannie shared an October 27 birthday but a year apart. Fannie was a daughter of William Hughlett Adams, a Franklin Parish sheriff
Sheriff
A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....
. Gilbert was a great-nephew of former State Senator Thomas Benjamin Gilbert, II (1864–1931), who served from 1904 to 1908 and again from 1916 to 1932. "Sonny" Gilbert's father, Jess Gilbert, I, was a first cousin
Cousin
In kinship terminology, a cousin is a relative with whom one shares one or more common ancestors. The term is rarely used when referring to a relative in one's immediate family where there is a more specific term . The term "blood relative" can be used synonymously and establishes the existence of...
of Henry Wellman "Harry" Gilbert (1894–1970) of Wisner, a former state senator from Franklin Parish who served from 1932 to 1940. Harry Gilbert was a son of Thomas B. Gilbert.
Jess Gilbert I, died some three weeks before Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
, 1923, of pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
, which he contracted at a hunting camp. "Sonny" Gilbert's mother, hence widowed at twenty-eight, did not remarry. Instead she moved into one of the Gilbert homes in Wisner and, for many years afterwards, operated a boarding house
Boarding house
A boarding house, is a house in which lodgers rent one or more rooms for one or more nights, and sometimes for extended periods of weeks, months and years. The common parts of the house are maintained, and some services, such as laundry and cleaning, may be supplied. They normally provide "bed...
with three meals daily for her clients.
Education and military
"Sonny" Gilbert graduated from Wisner High SchoolHigh school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
in 1940 and thereafter attended the University of Louisiana at Monroe
University of Louisiana at Monroe
The University of Louisiana at Monroe is a coeducational public university in Monroe, Louisiana and part of the University of Louisiana System.-History:...
(then Northeast Junior College
Junior college
The term junior college refers to different educational institutions in different countries.-India:In India, most states provide schooling through 12th grade...
before it was expanded to four-year status) and Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, most often referred to as Louisiana State University, or LSU, is a public coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The University was founded in 1853 in what is now known as Pineville, Louisiana, under the name...
in Baton Rouge. He left LSU and enlisted in the U.S. Army during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and served with a B-24 bomber unit in England
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
.
In 1946, after military service, Gilbert married the former Barbara Jane Peck (October 26, 1922 – May 1985) of the Ferry Place Plantation
Plantation
A plantation is a long artificially established forest, farm or estate, where crops are grown for sale, often in distant markets rather than for local on-site consumption...
in Sicily Island, the daughter of William Smith Peck, Sr.
William S. Peck, Sr.
William Smith Peck, Sr. was a Democratic member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from Sicily Island in Catahoula Parish, Louisiana, having served from 1920-1928....
(1873–1946), and the former Estelle Woodard (1893–1983). It was then that he moved nine miles south from Wisner to Sicily Island in the farming country of eastern Louisiana. Barbara Peck was the sister of Sicily Island civic figures William S. Peck, Jr.
William S. Peck, Jr.
William Smith Peck, Jr. , was a businessmanfrom Sicily Island in Catahoula Parish, Louisiana, who served as a Democratic member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1956–1964, during the administrations of Governors Earl Kemp Long and Jimmie Davis. His father, William S...
(April 12, 1916–February 1987), and Henry C. Peck, Sr. (June 21, 1919–January 24, 2004), a contractor, rancher, farmer, past president of the Sicily Island State Bank, and, from 1946 to 2000, a director of Concordia Bank and Trust Company.
Another future state representative and later state senator, Cecil R. Blair
Cecil R. Blair
Cecil Ray Blair was a Rapides Parish farmer and businessman who was a Democratic member of both houses of the Louisiana State Legislature during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. He served in the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1952 to 1956...
(1916–2001), also grew up in Sicily Island, as the son of a sharecropping
Sharecropping
Sharecropping is a system of agriculture in which a landowner allows a tenant to use the land in return for a share of the crop produced on the land . This should not be confused with a crop fixed rent contract, in which a landowner allows a tenant to use the land in return for a fixed amount of...
family. He represented Rapides Parish in the legislature from the 1950s to the 1970s.
Legislative elections
Gilbert was initially elected to the Senate in the 1960 Democratic primary. He unseated the staunchly pro-Long Ralph E. King, a physicianPhysician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
from Winnsboro
Winnsboro, Louisiana
Winnsboro is a city in and the parish seat of Franklin Parish, Louisiana, United States. As of July 2009, the estimated city population was 4,377...
, the seat of Franklin Parish. Gilbert made an issue of nepotism
Nepotism
Nepotism is favoritism granted to relatives regardless of merit. The word nepotism is from the Latin word nepos, nepotis , from which modern Romanian nepot and Italian nipote, "nephew" or "grandchild" are also descended....
after it was found that King had placed his son on the state payroll, a position often comically referred to as a "dead-head". Gilbert entered the Senate during the administration of Governor James Houston "Jimmie" Davis
Jimmie Davis
James Houston Davis , better known as Jimmie Davis, was a noted singer of both sacred and popular songs who served two nonconsecutive terms as the 47th Governor of Louisiana...
, who had agricultural interests of his own in northeastern Louisiana.
After three terms, Gilbert left the Senate and was succeeded by future Louisiana Secretary of State and Insurance
Insurance
In law and economics, insurance is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent, uncertain loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for payment. An insurer is a company selling the...
Commissioner James H. "Jim" Brown of Ferriday
Ferriday, Louisiana
Ferriday is a town in Concordia Parish in northeastern Louisiana, United States. The population, which is three-fourths African American, was 3,723 at the 2000 census....
in Concordia Parish. In 1971, Gilbert ran for the state House and, in the primary, he unseated the late two-term Representative David I. Patten
David I. Patten
David Ivy Patten was a building contractor and a Democratic member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from Catahoula Parish in the northeastern portion of his state. He served from 1964-1972....
, a construction company owner in Harrisonburg
Harrisonburg, Louisiana
Harrisonburg is a village in and the parish seat of Catahoula Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 746 at the 2000 census.- History :...
, the seat of Catahoula Parish.
On February 1, 1972, Gilbert defeated his Republican legislative opponent, Jehu Welton Brabham, I (August 11, 1921 – May 13, 1998). Brabham operated a print shop in Ferriday but later returned to his native Liberty
Liberty, Mississippi
Liberty is a town in Amite County, Mississippi, United States. It is part of the McComb, Mississippi Micropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 633 at the 2000 census...
in Amite County
Amite County, Mississippi
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 13,599 people, 5,271 households, and 3,879 families residing in the county. The population density was 19 people per square mile . There were 6,446 housing units at an average density of 9 per square mile...
near McComb
McComb, Mississippi
McComb is a city in Pike County, Mississippi, United States, about south of Jackson. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 13,644. It is the principal city of the McComb, Mississippi, Micropolitan Statistical Area...
, Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
. Brabham drew 42.3 percent of the vote against Gilbert, a larger showing at the time than most GOP
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
candidates polled in lower-tier races in Louisiana.
Gilbert did not seek reelection to the Louisiana House in the first of the state's jungle primaries
Jungle primary
A nonpartisan blanket primary is a primary election in which all candidates for elected office run in the same primary regardless of political party. Under this system, the top two candidates who receive the most votes advance to the next round, as in a runoff election...
in 1975. He supported as his successor, the Democrat (later Republican) Daniel Wesley Richey
Dan Richey
Daniel Wesley "Dan" Richey is a Baton Rouge-based political consultant for "pro-family" candidates and organizations, including Louisiana Family Forum. From 1997 to 2004, Richey served under appointment of Republican Governor Murphy J...
of Ferriday (later Baton Rouge). Gilbert served the remaining two years at Wild Life and Fisheries and then returned to Sicily Island.
Gilbert in retirement
Gilbert is twice widowed. His first wife Barbara was one of the few women whose husband ("Sonny" Gilbert), father (W.S. Peck, Sr.) and brother (W. S. Peck, Jr.) were all Louisiana state lawmakers, but not simultaneously. Peck, Sr., served from 1920 to 1928, and Peck, Jr., held the position from 1956 to 1964. In addition, Dr. Henry John Peck (1803–1881), the grandfather of W.S. Peck, Sr., and a plantation owner in Sicily Island, served in the Louisiana Senate for two terms and in the Louisiana House for one term prior to the American Civil WarAmerican Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, according to Peck-Gilbert family records. Louisiana state records before the Civil War are too fragmentary to confirm the years of Henry John Peck's tenure.
The Pecks and Gilberts are entombed at Highland Park Mausoleum
Mausoleum
A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or persons. A monument without the interment is a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type of tomb or the tomb may be considered to be within the...
in Sicily Island. After Barbara's death, "Sonny" Gilbert married the former Delmar Fulmer (1937–1999) of Baton Rouge.
Gilbert has two children, Barbara Peck Gilbert Haigh (born 1948), an English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
instructor at Copiah-Lincoln Community College
Copiah-Lincoln Community College
Copiah-Lincoln Community College is a comprehensive public community college with its main campus located in Wesson, Mississippi, about south of Jackson, the state capitol and north of New Orleans. The Co-Lin District serves a seven-county area including Adams, Copiah, Franklin County,...
Natchez
Natchez, Mississippi
Natchez is the county seat of Adams County, Mississippi, United States. With a total population of 18,464 , it is the largest community and the only incorporated municipality within Adams County...
, Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
, Campus, and J.C. Gilbert, III (born 1951), a Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
from Michigan State University
Michigan State University
Michigan State University is a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1855, it was the pioneer land-grant institution and served as a model for future land-grant colleges in the United States under the 1862 Morrill Act.MSU pioneered the studies of packaging,...
in Lansing
Lansing, Michigan
Lansing is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located mostly in Ingham County, although small portions of the city extend into Eaton County. The 2010 Census places the city's population at 114,297, making it the fifth largest city in Michigan...
, is professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
of rural sociology
Rural sociology
Rural sociology is a field of sociology associated with the study of social life in non-metropolitan areas. It is the scientific study of social arrangements and behaviour amongst people distanced from points of concentrated population or economic activity...
at the University of Wisconsin–Madison
University of Wisconsin–Madison
The University of Wisconsin–Madison is a public research university located in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1848, UW–Madison is the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. It became a land-grant institution in 1866...
.
Gilbert is a regular donor to the LSU Foundation. He is a member of Rotary International
Rotary International
Rotary International is an organization of service clubs known as Rotary Clubs located all over the world. The stated purpose of the organization is to bring together business and professional leaders to provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help...
, the American Legion
American Legion
The American Legion is a mutual-aid organization of veterans of the United States armed forces chartered by the United States Congress. It was founded to benefit those veterans who served during a wartime period as defined by Congress...
, Farm Bureau, and the Masonic lodge
Masonic Lodge
This article is about the Masonic term for a membership group. For buildings named Masonic Lodge, see Masonic Lodge A Masonic Lodge, often termed a Private Lodge or Constituent Lodge, is the basic organisation of Freemasonry...
. He is a former president of the National Wild Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
Federation. He is a former Sunday school
Sunday school
Sunday school is the generic name for many different types of religious education pursued on Sundays by various denominations.-England:The first Sunday school may have been opened in 1751 in St. Mary's Church, Nottingham. Another early start was made by Hannah Ball, a native of High Wycombe in...
superintendent of First United Methodist Church in Sicily Island.