James Utley Spurlin (Kentucky Baptist preacher)

Early life

A profile in the Hopkinsville Kentuckian on 14 November 1907 says James Utley Spurlin was born on 3 May 1824 in the Bluff Spring district of Christian County, Kentucky. He was the third son of John and Rebecca (Utley) Spurlin, "who sprang from two pioneer families of Kentucky."^[1][2] An 1884 county history names a John Spurlin among the early pioneers of the Blue Lick of Pond River neighborhood, alongside the Meacham brothers.^[3] According to the 1907 article, James had little schooling, and his mother taught him to read and write.^[1] He was converted at 19 at Pleasant Hill church under Rev. A. W. Meacham and was baptized on 11 August 1843. He was licensed to preach in March 1845.^[1] Frank M. Masters's A History of Baptists in Kentucky (1953) also says he was baptized by A. W. Meacham, and dates his ordination to July 1845.^[4]

Ministry

The 1907 profile says Spurlin preached almost without a break for nearly 63 years. It lists churches in Christian, Muhlenberg, Todd, Trigg, Hopkins, Caldwell and Henderson counties in Kentucky and in Stewart County, Tennessee.^[1] He estimated he had baptized about 5,000 people and married about 1,000 couples, and the paper called him the second-oldest Baptist preacher in Kentucky.^[1]

Church histories fill in some of his pastorates:

• Hazel Creek Church, Muhlenberg County: pastor from 1847 to 1853 and again in 1860, according to Masters.^[4]
• Sinking Fork Baptist Church, the "Brick Church", Christian County: a history by the Rev. Marvin W. Hall, pastor from 1930, transcribed on a Christian County genealogy website, says Spurlin "had much to do with constituting the church" in 1849, was its first pastor and served until he retired voluntarily in 1881. The brick meeting house was built during his pastorate.^[5] The 1907 profile instead says he served Sinking Fork for 40 years without interruption.^[1]
• Ebenezer Church, six miles east of Greenville: a 1966 history of the Muhlenberg County Baptist Association, quoting F. M. Welborn's Gasper River Associational Record, says it was organized on 3 January 1851 by Elders J. U. Spurlin and C. Meacham, with members who held letters from Hazel Creek Church.^[6]
• Harmony Church, Little River Association: it called him in May 1859 at a salary of $150 for monthly preaching. Masters says he "led the church through the long War between the States" and resigned in 1867.^[4]
• Trigg and Christian county churches: William Henry Perrin's 1884 history of Christian and Trigg counties lists a James Spurlin among the pastors of Pleasant Hill Baptist Church and of the Cerulean Missionary Baptist Church in Trigg County, where he was the "Preacher in charge" in 1884. It also names "Revs. Spurlin and Meacham" as pastors of the Rock Bridge Baptist church.^[3]

The same collection of Christian County church histories names an "Elder Jim W. Spurlin" as moderator of the council that constituted New Barren Springs Baptist Church near Dogwood in June 1869. It lists a J. W. Spurlin as that church's pastor from 1869 to 1890. The sources do not say whether this was J. U. Spurlin under a misread initial or a different man.^[7]

In July 1909 the Kentuckian reported that "Rev. J. U. Spurlin", who had performed a local couple's wedding in 1859, spoke at their golden-anniversary dinner.^[8]

Death

Spurlin died on the afternoon of Saturday, 30 October 1909, at the home of his son Monroe Spurlin near Sinking Fork, according to the Kentuckian of 2 November 1909. He had attended the Bethel Baptist Association meeting at Lewisburg that August, as he had for about 60 years. Only a few days before falling ill he had been leading a revival meeting at Brick church, near his home, with his son Rev. John H. Spurlin, who was with him when he died.^[9][10] The paper said he had baptized more than 5,000 converts in a ministry of more than 65 years and had married 1,000 couples. It also noted that "Spurlin" had become a familiar given name for men named after him. He was buried in the churchyard at Brick church, beside his wives.^[10]

An obituary dated 31 October 1909 and transcribed on his Find a Grave memorial gives similar figures: more than 5,000 baptisms, 1,100 marriages and more than 7,000 sermons. It says he was taken ill in his pulpit about a week earlier and that his funeral was held at Brick church.^[11] Masters's history, in its account of the year 1910, also gives his death as 30 October 1909, aged 85. It calls him "one of the most noted rural pastors in West Kentucky" and says he attended sixty sessions of the Bethel Association, which set aside a special page of its minutes in his honor, and recorded more than seven thousand sermons and five thousand baptisms.^[4] The Find a Grave memorial itself gives his death date as 30 November 1909 and his burial place as Sinking Fork Baptist Church Cemetery. The November date conflicts with both obituaries and with Masters.^[11] In August 1910 the Kentuckian reported a public subscription to put up a monument over his grave, printing a tribute from a former county man then preaching in Fairfield, Illinois.^[12]

Family of preachers

Spurlin married twice: first to Linnie Meacham, daughter of Edmund Meacham, and later to Minerva Robinson.^[1][10] Find a Grave gives their names as Linea Angeline Meacham Spurlin (1824–1862, married 1847) and Minerva Jane Robertson Spurlin (died 1890).^[11]

The 1907 article names a son, Rev. John H. Spurlin of Sturgis, as a preacher carrying on his work.^[1][2] The 1884 county history records that Rev. J. H. Spurlin was called in 1876 as pastor of Oak Grove Baptist Church in Trigg County, whose membership grew to 130 under him. It also lists him among the pastors of the Canton and Hurricane Baptist churches there.^[3] Masters records that Elder J. H. Spurlin was pastor of Harmony Church from December 1898 to 1902.^[4] A 1922 biography of Dr. R. P. Spurlin, a dentist in Berryville, Arkansas, calls James U. Spurlin his paternal grandfather and John H. Spurlin his father. It says John H. Spurlin trained at the theological seminary in Louisville and moved to Berryville in 1902, where he preached at the Baptist church. The sketch credits James U. Spurlin with more than 10,000 baptisms and 5,000 marriages, twice the figures in the Kentucky newspapers. It also describes him as a slave owner of Welsh descent.^[13] In July 1916 the Kentuckian announced that "Rev. John H. Spurlin, of Berryville, Ark." would preach at Brick church.^[14] See Dr. Spurlin Circle (Berryville, Arkansas).

The 1907 article also names a grandson, Rev. Lindson Spurlin, a son of Alfred Spurlin and pastor of Little River church.^[1][2] The 1909 obituary spells the grandson's name Lindsay and says he lived in Hopkinsville.^[10] The 1949 update to the Sinking Fork church history names J. U. Spurlin as the grandfather and J. H. Spurlin as the uncle of Rev. L. L. Spurlin, and names L. L.'s son J. T. Spurlin as the organizer of the First Baptist Church in Juneau, Alaska (see J. T. Spurlin (Baptist pastor)).^[5] The Hopkinsville papers named Rev. L. L. Spurlin as the officiating minister at weddings in 1906 and 1913; the 1913 report said he came from Crofton to officiate.^[15][16] An L. L. Spurlin was one of the speakers at the Bethel Baptist Association's missionary rallies in Christian County churches in July 1913,^[17] and in 1919 the Kentuckian reported that Rev. L. L. Spurlin would open a protracted meeting at Mack's Grove church.^[18] Masters records that L. L. Spurlin was elected assistant moderator of the Christian County Baptist Association in 1932.^[4]