NAMES OF THE STAINED GLASS WINDOWS OF
FUMC DAYTON
James Jack Abel & Elizabeth Abel
Because the present church lot was purchased from J. J. Abel (James Jackson Abel) in 1871, it seems appropriate to begin the identifications with him. J. J. Abel (1815-1902) was the third son of Mary Buice Abel and Cain Abel, a Rhea County pioneer, whose parents had come from Germany to settle in Rhea County.
J. Abel built his home in Abel Town, on the 100 acres of land located on a hill one mile south of Smith’s Crossroads, which his father, Cain Abel, had purchased and on which he had built his home.
J. Abel first married Lewcretia McFarland (1812-1851) and they had three children. Appearing with his name on the church window is that of his second wife, Elizabeth McFarland Abel (1812-1910), the sister of his first wife. They had seen children: One of the original merchants of Smith’s Crossroads, J. J. Abel was “esteemed and respected by all for his honesty, punctuality, and integrity.” He was the owner on Delaware Avenue of the Abel House which was built in 1881 and served as a hotel during the construction of the Cincinnati Southern Railroad
Florence Abel & Margaret Abel
After the deaths of James Jackson Abel and his wife, his two daughters, half- sisters, ran the Abel House. Margaret Abel (1838-1928), the first child from his first marriage, lived to the age of ninety, when she died of pneumonia, following a fall and a broken hip.
Mary Florence Abel (1859-1941), the oldest daughter of his second marriage, ran the Abel House until her death.
The names of both Margaret and Florence Abel are among the sixty-three names listed in the oldest (extant in 1912) class book of September 30, 1878. In 1904-1905 Florence was president of the Epworth League
John Abel & Mrs. Emma Abel
John Abel (1855-1910) was the oldest son of James Jackson Abel and Elizabeth Abel and brother of Florence and Margaret Abel, the innkeepers. Mrs. Emma Letha Igou Abel (1868-1949) was the second wife of John Abel, the first wife being Lou D. Rogers, who died in 1890.
John Abel, owner of a large mercantile establishment, “one of the most successful and prosperous in Rhea County,” was also in the lumber and timber business. At the time of his death in 1910, he was mayor of the City of Dayton. About him it was written that “he had devoted much time to efforts for the upbuilding and material advancement of the city, and always was ready to assist in any enterprise for the city’s welfare.”
His name was among the sixty-three listed in the earliest class book of the church, where he served for a time as a steward
John R. Abel
John Roberson Abel, Jr., (1855-1941) was a nephew of James Jackson Abel, being the son of his brother John Roberson Abel, Sr. In 1883 he married Mary Elizabeth Hickman, who died in 1936.
He began as a teacher in the public school and served for a time as a member of the County High School Board; however, he later became known as a successful farmer in growing fruit and raising cattle.
As one of the earliest members of the church, with his name in the class book of 1878, he served the church for many years as Sunday School superintendent, trustee, and steward. Present-day church members: Margaret Trotter, granddaughter; Robert Abel, grandson, Marie Day, granddaughter.
Dr. James Floyd Abel & Mrs. Manasses McDonald Abel
Dr. James Floyd Abel (1857-1932) was the second son of James Jackson and Elizabeth McFarland Abel. Educated in the public schools of Dayton, he graduated from the Medical School of Vanderbilt University, where he also did post-graduate work.
For thirty years he was the leading physician of Dayton and served as Rhea County physician for a number of years. For about twenty years, until his retirement in 1913 due to ill health, he was Surgeon for the Cincinnati, New Orleans, and Texas Pacific Railroad. A man of “highest integrity,” he also served as a member of the U. S. Board of Pensions.
In 1886 he married Harriet Manasses McDonald (1861-1939), the daughter of Lewis and Nancy McDonald. Her name is listed in the earliest class book.
Lewis McDonald & Nancy McDonald
Both Lewis F. McDonald (1826-1907), a farmer with farmlands to the east of Dayton, on the west side of the Tennessee River, and his wife Nancy McDonald (1836-1904), are listed among the sixty-three members in the earliest class book of 1878.
He was on the building committee in 1886 to “consider the propriety of building a new church in Dayton” and to ascertain the amount that could be raised to build it. For a number of years he served in the church as steward and as trustee. Upon his death in 1901, the following tribute was paid to him by V. C. Allen, on of his peers on the Board of Trustees:
In the death of Brother McDonald, the church has lost a valuable member, the state a good citizen, the community a benevolent benefactor and his family has suffered a bereavement that is irreparable.
Mrs. Edna McDonald Ellis
Mrs. Edna McDonald Ellis, born in 1856, was the daughter of Lewis and Nancy McDonald and the wife of Sidney Ellis. They were active in the church until they moved from Dayton to Chattanooga
Mr. Stanton W. McDonald Mrs. Eulalia Bennett McDonald
Mr. Stanton W. McDonald born in 1858, was the son of Lewis and Nancy McDonald. His wife, Eulalia Bennett, born in 1868, from Ft. Paine, Alabama. Stanton, like his father, was a farmer and served the church for many years as steward and as trustee
Mr. and Mrs. Asahel Johnson
Asahel Johnson (1843-1923) was the son of Thomas C. Johnson and Mary Ann Johnston and the grandson of Asahel Johnson and Nancy Howard.
In January of 1863 he enlisted as a private in the Tennessee Cavalry and fought in several battles, including Chickamauga. In June of 1863, he was captured by the Northern Army and taken to the Rock Island,Illinois, prison camp, where he remained until his release in May of 1865.
In 1869, he married Susan Catherine Abel (1834-1933), his second cousin, the daughter of Cain Whitehouse Abel, a brother of James Jackson Abel.
In addition to farming many acres of land, in 1890 he established Johnson Hardware. After his retirement in 1910, the store was closed for two years but was re-established in 1912 by his son Watt Johnson. Until 1988 the store continued in family ownership, being the oldest business remaining in Rhea county since the time Asahel Johnson’s father, Thomas Johnson sold hardware items from door to door.
Asahel Johnson and his wife joined the church in 1883. In 1884 he was elected to the Board of Trustees, serving as steward for many years. In 1886 he was on the building committee to consider the building of a new church in Dayton. In 1903 he was appointed to look after repairs on the church roof. In 1916 he received special commendation for his faithful service in accomplishing the liquidation of the church indebtedness
V.C. Allen & Emily K. Allen
Valentine Collins Allen (1842-1915), son of Valentine and Ann Frazier Allen, secured his education in Rhea County. From assisting on the farm, he joined the Confederate Army. Back from the war, he began farming and reading the law, with Judge Frank Locke hearing his lessons. In 1866 he obtained his license and began his law practice in Decatur. In that same year he married Nancy Emily King, daughter of Dr. King of Meigs County. In 1871 he was elected to the State Legislature. In 1887 he moved his law practice to Dayton. As a result of his war experience, he wrote a book entitled Rhea and Meigs Counties, Tennessee, in the Confederate War. In 1911 he was appointed by the governor as Chancellor of the 12th District Chancery Court, and in 1912 he was elected to this position without opposition.
His death in 1915 was considered a great loss to the church, for at the time he was serving the church both as lay leader and trustee, a position he had held for many years.
Nancy Emily King Allen, though a small woman, undertook on behalf of the Ladies' Aid Society the big task of writing letters to merchants of nearby towns soliciting funds to furnish the new church of 1888 and then, after the fire destroyed it, to build another church
James F. Henniger & Catherine S. Henniger
In 1890 James F. Henniger and Catherine S. Henniger were received into the membership of the church, he by profession of faith and she by letter. For many years he served the church as steward and for a number of years as trustee. In 1900 he was on a committee appointed to build a fence around the church property. In 1905 he was on a committee to oversee the remodeling and repairing of the church. In 1914 he was one of three Sunday school superintendents
P.T. Foust
Philip Theodore Foust was a native Rhea Countian, son of William P. Foust. A lawyer by profession, he was also a careful businessman, about whom it was written, “No man stands higher in the confidence of Dayton people than P.T. Foust.” Concerning his service for three times as city recorder, it was said, “He fills the position with honesty and fidelity and with satisfaction to his constituents.” He was a bachelor, who lived for a time in the Aqua Hotel.
For many years he served the church as lay leader and as steward. In 1916 it was written of him, “P.T. Foust deserves credit for faithful service in liquidating the church debt
Prof. J.C. Fooshee
Professor Joseph C. Fooshee was the first principal of Rhea County High School, later known as Rhea Central. From its opening in 1906 he served as principal for fifteen years, until 1921.
He and his wife were received into membership of the church by letter in 1903. His handicap of having but one left leg did not hinder his usefulness to the church which he served in many ways. He was a successful Sunday school teacher. Concerning his class, Pastor J.A. Lyons reported in 1910, “Prof. Fooshee’s class might reach 50 or more if more classroom space could be provided.” He also served as Sunday school superintendent, trustee, steward, and lay leader
Mr. Charles T. Jewell, Mrs. Rose E. Jewell & Mr. Offut S. Jewell
Charles T. Jewell served the church for a number of years as Sunday school superintendent, steward, and trustee. Offutt Jewell, his son, joined the church by baptism in 1913
Hannah Swafford & J. B. Swafford
Jessee Brown Swafford (1866-1945) was born in Bledsoe County, where at the age of eighteen he began teaching school to make expenses for college. In 1884 he attended People’s College in Pikeville, Tennessee, and from 1885 to 1887, Tennessee Valley College at Evensville, Rhea County. He graduated in law in 1888 from Cumberland University, Lebanon.
In 1889 he began the practice of law in Dayton, Tennessee, continuing there until the end of his life. He served both as county attorney and city attorney and was the attorney for the Dayton Coal and Iron company; for companies owning coal and timber lands: and for Dayton Bank and Trust Company, of which he was the director from 1915 until his death. Fom 1901 to 1903, he served in the 52nd General Assembly, representing Rhea, Bledsoe, Cumberland, Meigs, Sequatchie, Van Buren, and White counties.
In 1895 he was married to Hannah G. Darwin of Rhea County, daughter of Samuel Perry and Jessee Lucille Darwin. A member of the church since 18990, he served the church as steward, trustee, and as teacher of the Men’s Bible class. He willed his law office to his great-nephew, C.P. Swafford, a current member of the church
F. R. Rogers & Mary Lloyd Rogers
Frederick Richard Rogers was the son of John H. Rogers (1826-1895) and Martha Kirkland Rogers (1828-1901), both native of Rhea County. Mary Lloyd rogers, his wife, was a native of Sequatchie
Valley.
R. Rogers, like his father, was a landowner and farmer, holding much livestock. He was one of the early members of the church, his name appearing among the sixty-three listed in the oldest class book of 1878.
In June 1906, Rev. Frank Jackson, pastor of the church said concerning the death of F.R. Rogers, “Lost one of our best citizens. F.R. Rogers has gone to his Reward.”
Present-day church members, Richard L. Rogers is a grandson. Sandra Rogers (?) great-granddaughter
"Nettie" Rogers
Mrs. Janet Taylor Ogilvie Rogers, or “Nettie” as she was called, was born in Scotland, but had moved with her family to Dayton when her father came to work with the Dayton Coal and Iron Company. Here she met and married Frederick Richard Rogers, who at the time of the Scopes Trial worked as a pharmacist for Robinson’s Drug Store. They lived on Market Street in South Dayton, and it was in their home where Mr. and Mrs. William Jennings Bryan had been guests during the Trial and where Bryan died on July 26, 1925, after attending the morning service at the church and leading in prayer.
R. Rogers and Nettie were among the founders of Bryan College, he serving as trustee until his death of a heart attack while attending a special dinner there. He and Nettie took great interest in befriending Bryan students.
Nettie and her husband were both very active in the church, he as a steward and trustee and she as president for a number of years of W. S. C. S. and as teacher of the Alpha Delta Class.
Their son Richard Rogers and daughter-in-law Sandra Rogers are present-day (2005) members of the church