Last
update: Thursday, December 09, 2004
Lesters
Chapel 1927
Lester's Chapel United Methodist church
is a congregation that sprang from a series of camp meetings.
The late William Still Lester donated the land on which the church's original
30 by 40 foot edifice. The deed of William S. Lester, "for and in
consideration of the love and affection that I have for the cause of Christ on
earth and in my desire to build up and promote it, I do hereby grant and convey
unto A. A. Wilbon, Sr., A. A. Wilbon,
Jr., O. W.
Hammond, D. W. Hamlett, and C. A. Henderson, Trustees for Lester's Chapel of
the Methodist Episcopal Church South to be erected upon the land herein
conveyed". Filed
Records show on
During the annual Memphis Conference of the MEC, south on
Church trustee, O.W. Hammond, was the "finishing carpenter" during
the construction of the original building, an approximate 30'X40' structure.
This structure is still in place and sound, the center section of the present
sanctuary. According to Miss Emma Mai Hammond, youngest daughter of O. W.
Hammond, he was a master carpenter and cabinet maker and built the
original pulpit, alter rail and benches.
I remember when we had a wood burning
stove in the center of the church for heat.
Mr. Hamlett had to go early to make the fire before we had Sunday
School. Wire was strung across the
center of the sanctuary and curtains were put up as dividers for classes. I remember how the dirt dobbers
built their nests in them. Usually the
young classes were in the back and the adults in the front. Miss Lora Key taught the women and Mr. Billy
Hamlett the men. When it was revival
time, Miss Lora and I, along with the Marsh boys, would take a black pot and
heat water and scrub the wood floors.
Sunday School
was usually at
Back to another thing we did at
church. We had communion one Sunday and
Miss Martha Hamlett did not have the grape juice so she told me to bring some
of the blackberry wine that Papa was making.
It had not quite fermented so I took a quart. Miss Martha made the unleavened bread and Old
Brother Blackard, the Presiding Elder, was serving
communion. Jess Key and I had our heads
bowed but were peeping when we saw him drink from the cup twice. (The cup looked kinda
like a peanut butter jar) He had a long
beard and after watching him drink I decided not to take communion. We used the whole quart of wine that day.
We always had funerals at the church
during this period of time. Because the
stove was in the center of the building, the casket had to be brought in
through the side doors. Mrs. Marsh
played the piano for our church services.
Friendships were lasting during the
early days and have continued for generations.
Wilma Allison Latham
September 1996
The
Watlington family has put together the genealogy of their family, along with
other families related to their family tree.
They have a web page on line, with lots of pictures and stories about
their lives, and the area where they grew up.
Click
on the link below to get to their webpage.
But remember their webpage does not have a link back to this page.
Watlington’s of
West Tennessee
Here is
one remembrance of the Lester family. I am not sure if this took place at
Lester's Chapel, but since Samuel C. "Kit" Lester was the younger
brother of William Still Lester, I think it must have taken place there.
My aunt who is 86 was told this by her father. On Sunday nights, people
were asked to give their testimony. Kit Lester was a bit "slow"
and would always stand up to give his testimony. He would go on and on,
and finally someone in the family would tell him to sit down. He would
say, "I was through anyway."
Mary Beth Marchant
