From The First 150 Years in Cassville, Missouri by Senator Emory Melton
James Tilman Brattin, son of John W. and Matilda Brattin was born
March 12, 1859 near Fayetteville, Arkansas. At the age of two, his parents moved to Barry County and settled near the present location of the Cassville Elementary school where they resided during the Civil War.
With the exception of five years, he lived in Cassville the remainder of
his life. On April 10, 1883, he married Minnie L. Sills, daughter of Rev.
J. C. Sills, a pioneer Baptist minister of Barry County.
During his 47 years in the ministry, he was affectionately known to
thousands of Barry Countians as Elder J. T. Brattin. He never referred
to himself as "Reverend." During a revival meeting, he and his wife
both united with the Cassville Baptist church in 1885 and were baptized
by the Rev. J. C. Sills and immediately after, began active
Christian work and in just a few years began preaching.
He preached his first sermon at Antioch Baptist Church on
September 1, 1889 and before the end of the year had preached thirtyone sermons. He was ordained to the ministry in April, 1892 by
Antioch Church. He was serving as pastor at this church at the time of
his death, at the age of 77 years, on December 2, 1936, due to pneumonia complications from a prior surgery.
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In the Barry County Association, he served as pastor of the following
churches: New Site, New Hope, Calvary, Corinth, Shell Knob,
Golden, Exeter, Purdy, Washburn, Wheaton, Jenkins and Arnhart. In
other associations, he held pastorate at the following places: Verona,
Clear Creek, Ebenezer, Mt. Olivet, Kings Point, Round Grover, Mt.
Olive, Carterville, Seneca, Racine, Prosperity and was pastor at Grove,
Oklahoma for two years. In addition to his years of pastoral service, he
served Barry County association as missionary for four years.
Rev. Brattin was honored by the Barry County association in being
elected moderator thirty four times. The first time being in 1901. The
only exceptions being in 1927 and 1928 when he was in Grove,
Oklahoma. His home church, Cassville Baptist church called him as
pastor three times. |
Records show that he married 480 couples, had witnessed thousands
of conversions, had baptized thousands of persons, and had
conducted more than a thousand funerals.
Rev. Brattin had many, many friends due to his excellent habits,
fine moral character and sturdy constitution and he continued to be
active in his accustomed pursuits till long past the age of which
men ordinarily drop out of the ranks of the workers.
He was the grandfather of Mrs. Wilma Hawk of Cassville. |
