Individual Details
(30 Apr 1851 - 18 Apr 1929)
ON APRIL 30,1851, IN SURRY COUNTY,NORTH CAROLINA,JESSE LAFAYETTE HIATT W A S B ORN OF HUMBLE,YET NOBLE PARENTS. HE WAS THE SECOND SON OF WILLIAM A N D M ARY (TAYLOR) HIATT WHO LIVED IN A VERY SPARSELY SETTLE(D) COMMUNITY . T H E PARENTS HAD LITTLE OR NO PROPERTY, SAVE AND EXCEPT SOME LITTL E GOOD S A ND CHATTELS AND A LITTLE TRACT OF LAND WHICH PROPERTY, AS THE W RITE R I S INFORMED, WAS GIVEN TO THEM BY THEIR PARENTS. THEY DEPENDED FO R A L I VING UPON THE PRODUCTS OF THE SOIL. THE FIRST GREAT PROBLEM PRESE NDED T O T HEM AS THEY BEGAN TO TRAVEL ALONG LIFE'S 'HIGHWAY' WAS THE BUI LDING F O R THEMSELVES A HOME AND CLEARING AWAY THE PRIMEVALFOREST THAT T HEY MI G HT HAVE LAND TO CULTIVATE AND THUS GROW THE NECESSITIES OF LIFE. T HEI R L OWLY COTTAGE WAS LOCATED SOME FOUR OR FIVE MILES SOUTH OF THE T O W N OF MOUNT AIRY, ON THE WATERS OF STONEY CREEK. THIS COMMUNITY WAS VE R Y R OLLING AND RATHER MOUNTAINOUS AND THERE WERE FEW NEIGHBORS IN CLOSE P R O XIMITY. IN EARLY MANHOOD THE FATHER, WILLIAM HIATT, BECAME AFFLICTED W I T H HERNIA, WHICH DISABILITY MADE GREATER DEMANDS UPON THE WORTHY LITTL E H E ROIC MOTHER AND THE OTHER MEMBERS OF THE FAMILY.''AT THE TIME OF TH E B I RTH OF BROTHER JESSE LAFAYETTE HIATT THE COUNTRY WAS NOT GREATLY DE VE L OPLED AND THE SCHOOLS AND SCHOOL FACILITIES WERE VERY POOR. BY THE T I M E HE REACHED SCHOOL AGE THE BITTER CIVIL WAR BETWEEN THE NORTH AND T H E S OUTH HAD MATERIALIZED. THIS DEADLY CONFLICT CONTINUED FOR FOUR YE A R S AND IT'S ECONOMIC EFFECT DID NOT END WITH THE WAR. DURING THIS T I M E THERE WERE NO SCHOOLS AND BY THE CLOSE OF THE WAR BROTHER HIATT HAD R E A CHED THE AGE OF FOURTEEN YEARS. THEN, UPON HIM, HIS ELDER BROTHER, J A M ES MADISON HIATT, AND HIS BRAVE LITTLE MOTHER LARGELY DEPENDED O N T H E FAMILY ON SUPPORT. THEY HAD THROUGH SHARE NECESSITY DECIDED THAT B R E AD CAME BEFORE AN EDUATION. THESE CIRCUMSTANCES PREVENTED HIS TAK I N G ADVANTAGE OF THE MEAGER OPPORTUNITIES TO OBTAIN SCHOLASTIC T R A INING. ''THE WRITER RECALLS HAVING HEARD BROTHER HIATT MAKE THE S T A TEMENT THAT 'HE ATTENDED SCHOOL A TOTAL OF ABOUT TWO WEEKS'. N E V ERTHELESS, HE LEARNED TO READ PRINT AND TO WRITE A LITTLE. THIS BECAM E A S O URCE OF GREAT SATISFACTION TO HIM AS HE GREW OLDER, FOR HE ENJOYE D SU P REMELY READING AND DISCUSSING THE BEAUTIFUL DISCOURSES IN THE ''LI AHO N A'' AND OTHER GOOD PUBLICATIONS. ''TIME HAD FLITTED AWAY WHILE BRO TH E R HIATT WORKED WITH HIS FATHER, MOTHER, AND BROTHERS ON THE LIT T L E FARM AND NOW HE HAD BECOME A YOUNG MAN OF FULL STATURE, BEING AB O U T FIVE FEET AND SIX INCHES IN HEIGHT AND WEIGHING APPROXIMATELY ONE H U N DRED AND SEVENTY POUNDS. HE WAS BLESSED WITH GREAT PHYSICAL STRENGT H W H ICH COULD NOT BE EXCELLED BY ANY OF HIS COMRADES. THIS GREAT PHY SI C AL ENDURANCE ENABLED HIM TO SUCESSFULLY PROVIDE SUPPORT FOR HIMSELF A N D H IS PARTIAL DEPENDANTS. ''AT THE EARLY AGE OF A LITTLE MORE THAN TWE N T Y YEARS BROTHER HIATT WAS MARRIED TO SUSAN MIDKIFF, ON NOVEMBER 9T H . 1 871, THE CERMONY BEING PERFORMED BY ONE MR. WILLIAM TAYLOR. BROTH E R H IATT HAD NOW TAKEN UPON HIMSELF ADDED DUTIES. HE OBSERVED THE GR E A T COMMANDMENT 'MULTIPLY AND REPLENISH THE EARTH' AND UNTO THIS U N I ON WERE BORN FIVE DAUGHTERS AND SIX SONS. TWO OF THE DAUGHTERS AND O N E O F THE SONS DIED SOME YEARS AGO. THROUGHOUT HIS MARRIED LIFE OF MORE T H A N FIFTY YEARS HE WAS A VERY KIND AND DEVOTED HUSBAND. THE NEIGHBORS F R E QUENTLY COMMENT ON THE VERY HARMONIOUS LIFE OF BROTHER AND SISTER HIA T T . FROM CHILD-HOOD THE WRITER HAS BEEN A FREQUENT VISITER IN THE HOM E A N D DOES NOT RECALL HEARING ONE WORD OF DISCORD. AS A FATHER HE WAS V E R Y TENDER AND LOVING, ALWAYS PUTTING THE INTERESTS OF HIS CHILDREN B E F ORE HIMSELF AND LABORING UNTIRINGLY FOR THEM. ALL HIS CHILDREN L I V ED TO BE ADULTS AND WERE MARRIED. THEY ALL RECEIVED THE ADVANTAGES O F A F R EE-SCHOOL EDUCATION. FOLLOWING THE DEATH OF HIS SON, COLU MBUS , H E TOOK ONE OF HIS GRANDSONS, LUNIE ALMA, AND REARED HIM. ' 'TH E O NLY OCCUPATION THAT BROTHER HIATT EVER HAD WAS THAT OF FARMIN G. T H E LAND WAS NOT FERTILE AND WOULD NOT PRODUCE BOUNTIFULLY. THIS F AC T N ECESSITATED HIS CULTIVATING MORE EXTENSIVELY IN ORDER THAT H E M I GHT HAVE SOMETHING FOR HIS WIFE AND CHILDREN TO EAT AND WEAR. A T T H IS TIME THERE WERE VERY FEW LABOR-SAVING DEVICES AND A G R ICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS, SO THAT PRINCIPALLY ALL OF BROTHER HIATT'S WORK W A S D ONE BY HAND. DESPITE ALL THIS HE NEVER WANTED FOR THE ACTUAL N E C ESSARIES OF LIFE, BUT ON THE OTHER HAND WAS ENABLED THROGH HIS ALERTN E S S AND THRIFT TO PURCHASE OTHER LANDS AND BUILD A HOME THEREON, SO T H A T HIS ESTATE WAS WORTH A FEW THOUSAND DOLLARS NET. BROTHER HIATT D U R ING HIS ENTIRE LIFE OF MORE THAN THREE SCORE AND TEN YEARS NEVER WENT T O L A W WITH HIS NEIGHBOR. WITHOUT EXCEPTION HIS FELLOW CITIZENS TESTIFY O F H I S SCRUPULOUS HONESTY AND UNCHALLENGED INTEGRITY. ''IN JULY, 1 8 8 1, BROTHER HIATT BECAME A BAPTIZED MEMBER OF THE CHURCH OF JESU S C H RIST OF LATTER DAY SAINTS, ELDER GEORGE PASSEY PERFORMING THE OR DI N ANCE.HE WAS CONFIRMED A MEMBER OF THE CHURCH BY ELDER LASHBROO K L A KER. AT THIS TIME THE CHURCH HAD MANY AND BITTER FOES. ONLY THOS E W H O HAVE LIVED AWAY FROM THE ORGANIZED STAKES OF ZION OR HAVE V IS I TED EXTENSIVELY IN THIS AND OTHER SECTIONS OF THE COUNTRY WHERE THE V I E WS OF THE PEOPLE ARE VERY NARROW AND PREJUDICED CAN IMAGINE THE HOSTI L L E FEELING THAT THEN EXISTED AGAINST THE CHURCH. IT IS TO THIS DAY CON S I DERED BY MANY TO BE SLANDEROUS TO CALL A PERSON A 'MORMON'. BROTHER H I A TT HAS ALWAYS BEEN A MORAL HERO, SO HE JOINED THE CHURCH WHEN HE WAS C O N VINCED OF THE TRUTHFULNESS OF IT'S TEACHINGS, AND TO THESE PRI N C IPLES HE REMAINED TRUE. EVERYONE WILL ADMIT THAT IT REQUIRED A C O U RAGEOUS MAN TO LEAVE HIS HOME AND LOVED ONES TO MAKE A NEW HABITATION I N A N E W AND STRANGE LAND, BUT MAY THE WRITER ASK:'DID IT NOT ALSO REQUI RE A M A N OF FORTITUDE TO EMBRACE THIS SAME 'MORMON DOCTRINE, A ND C O NTINUE HERE AMONG HIS NEIGHBORS TO RECEIVE THEIR FROWNS AND PERSEC UTI O NS?'''BROTHER HIATT HAD A GREAT MISSION TO PEFORM IN THIS THE LAND O F H I S NATIVITY, FOR MANY ARE THE TRAVELLING ELDERS OF THE CHURCH WHO HA VE F O UND REFUGE IN HIS HOME. WHEN THEY COULD GET NEITHER FOOD NOR SHELT ER A T O THER PLACES THEY CAME TO THIS HUMBLE COTTAGE WHICH WAS AS WELCOM ED B Y T HEM AS THE CASIS. DURING HIS MANY YEARS AS A MEMBER OF THE CHURC H H E T HUS SERVED AND CONVERSED WITH HIS ASSOCIATES, MANY OF WHOM BECAME M O R E LIBERAL IN THEIR VIEWS AND CONSEQUENTLY MORE TOLERANT TOWARD HIM AN D H I S RELIGION. ''FINALLY THE TIME HAD ARRIVED WHEM BROTHER HIATT WAS T OL D T HAT HE HAD BEEN FAITHFUL AND THAT HE WAS IN LINE FOR THE HOLY PRIE S TH OOD, IF HE WOULD REFRAIN FROM THE USE OF COFFEE AND TOBACCO WHIC H H E H AD USED DURING HIS EARLY LIFE. HE PROMPTLY REPLIED BY TOTAL ABSTI NE NC E FROM THE USE OF THESE POISONOUS STIM- ULANTS AND A STRICT OBSERVA N C E OF THE LAW OF GOD AS PERTAINING TO THE 'WORD OF WISDOM'. THIS DECIS I O N AND MANIFEST CONTROL OVER HIMSELF WAS OF NO LITTLE SIGNIFICANCE. ON T H E 6 TH DAY OF MAY, 1917, BROTHER HIATT WAS ORDAINED AN ELDER IN TH E C H URCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER DAY SAINTS UNDER THE HANDS OF HIS SO N, J A MES MONROE. HE EVER AFTERWARDS ENDEAVORED TO HONOR THIS PRIEST- HO OD. M A NY ARE THE FERVENT TESTIMONIES WHICH HE HAS BORNE TO THE WORLD AN D ES P ECIALLY TO HIS NEIGHBORS. CLEARLY DOES HIS BEAUTIFUL AND UNFALTERI NG T E STIMONY DELIVERED AT THE CHAPEL AT SHELTONTOWN DURING THE TESTIMON Y M E ETING HELD THE FIRST SUNDAY IN APRIL, 1929, PRIOR TO HIS DE ATH ON THE 1 8 TH, DAY OF APRIL, RING IN THE EARS OF THE WRITER. HE DECLA RED THAT HE K N EW THAT THE PRINCIPLES OF THE GOSPEL AS THEY WERE TAUGHT B Y THE LATTE R D AY SAINTS WERE SUFFICIENT TO SAVE AND EXALT MANKIND I F OBEYED . T HIS WAS THE CONCLUDING PARAGRAPH IN THE LONG AND TRUTHFUL SE RMON WH IC H BROTHER JESSE LAFAYETTE HIATT HAD BEEN PROCLAIMING FOR ALMOS T SEVE N TY-EIGHT YEARS. HE DIED ON APRIL 18, 1929, BUT BEFORE HIS DEATH, A T H I S REQUEST, LOCAL ELDERS ADMINISTERED TO HIM, AND GOD'S WILL IN THIS P A R TICULAR WAS FINISHED.'' -- MERGED NOTE ------------ ON APRIL 30,1851, IN SURRY COUNTY,NORTH CAROLINA,JESSE LAFAYETTE HIATT W A S B ORN OF HUMBLE,YET NOBLE PARENTS. HE WAS THE SECOND SON OF WILLIAM A N D M ARY (TAYLOR) HIATT WHO LIVED IN A VERY SPARSELY SETTLE(D) COMMUNITY . T H E PARENTS HAD LITTLE OR NO PROPERTY, SAVE AND EXCEPT SOME LITTL E GOOD S A ND CHATTELS AND A LITTLE TRACT OF LAND WHICH PROPERTY, AS THE W RITE R I S INFORMED, WAS GIVEN TO THEM BY THEIR PARENTS. THEY DEPENDED FO R A L I VING UPON THE PRODUCTS OF THE SOIL. THE FIRST GREAT PROBLEM PRESE NDED T O T HEM AS THEY BEGAN TO TRAVEL ALONG LIFE'S 'HIGHWAY' WAS THE BUI LDING F O R THEMSELVES A HOME AND CLEARING AWAY THE PRIMEVALFOREST THAT T HEY MI G HT HAVE LAND TO CULTIVATE AND THUS GROW THE NECESSITIES OF LIFE. T HEI R L OWLY COTTAGE WAS LOCATED SOME FOUR OR FIVE MILES SOUTH OF THE T OWN O F M OUNT AIRY, ON THE WATERS OF STONEY CREEK. THIS COMMUNITY WAS VE RY R OL LING AND RATHER MOUNTAINOUS AND THERE WERE FEW NEIGHBORS IN CLOSE P R O XIMITY. IN EARLY MANHOOD THE FATHER, WILLIAM HIATT, BECAME AFFLICTED W I T H HERNIA, WHICH DISABILITY MADE GREATER DEMANDS UPON THE WORTHY LITTL E H E ROIC MOTHER AND THE OTHER MEMBERS OF THE FAMILY.''AT THE TIME OF TH E B I RTH OF BROTHER JESSE LAFAYETTE HIATT THE COUNTRY WAS NOT GREATLY DE VE L OPLED AND THE SCHOOLS AND SCHOOL FACILITIES WERE VERY POOR. BY THE T I M E HE REACHED SCHOOL AGE THE BITTER CIVIL WAR BETWEEN THE NORTH AND T H E S OUTH HAD MATERIALIZED. THIS DEADLY CONFLICT CONTINUED FOR FOUR YE A R S AND IT'S ECONOMIC EFFECT DID NOT END WITH THE WAR. DURING THIS T I M E THERE WERE NO SCHOOLS AND BY THE CLOSE OF THE WAR BROTHER HIATT HAD R E A CHED THE AGE OF FOURTEEN YEARS. THEN, UPON HIM, HIS ELDER BROTHER, J A M ES MADISON HIATT, AND HIS BRAVE LITTLE MOTHER LARGELY DEPENDED O N T H E FAMILY ON SUPPORT. THEY HAD THROUGH SHARE NECESSITY DECIDED THAT B R E AD CAME BEFORE AN EDUATION. THESE CIRCUMSTANCES PREVENTED HIS TAK I N G ADVANTAGE OF THE MEAGER OPPORTUNITIES TO OBTAIN SCHOLASTIC T R A INING. ''THE WRITER RECALLS HAVING HEARD BROTHER HIATT MAKE THE S T A TEMENT THAT 'HE ATTENDED SCHOOL A TOTAL OF ABOUT TWO WEEKS'. N EVERT H ELESS, HE LEARNED TO READ PRINT AND TO WRITE A LITTLE. THIS BECAM E A S O URCE OF GREAT SATISFACTION TO HIM AS HE GREW OLDER, FOR HE ENJOYE D SU P REMELY READING AND DISCUSSING THE BEAUTIFUL DISCOURSES IN THE ''LI AHO N A'' AND OTHER GOOD PUBLICATIONS. ''TIME HAD FLITTED AWAY WHILE BRO TH E R HIATT WORKED WITH HIS FATHER, MOTHER, AND BROTHERS ON THE LIT T L E FARM AND NOW HE HAD BECOME A YOUNG MAN OF FULL STATURE, BEING AB O U T FIVE FEET AND SIX INCHES IN HEIGHT AND WEIGHING APPROXIMATELY ONE H U N DRED AND SEVENTY POUNDS. HE WAS BLESSED WITH GREAT PHYSICAL STRENGT H W H ICH COULD NOT BE EXCELLED BY ANY OF HIS COMRADES. THIS GREAT PHY SI C AL ENDURANCE ENABLED HIM TO SUCESSFULLY PROVIDE SUPPORT FOR HIMSELF A N D H IS PARTIAL DEPENDANTS. ''AT THE EARLY AGE OF A LITTLE MORE THAN TWE N T Y YEARS BROTHER HIATT WAS MARRIED TO SUSAN MIDKIFF, ON NOVEMBER 9T H . 1 871, THE CERMONY BEING PERFORMED BY ONE MR. WILLIAM TAYLOR. BROTH E R H IATT HAD NOW TAKEN UPON HIMSELF ADDED DUTIES. HE OBSERVED THE GR E A T COMMANDMENT 'MULTIPLY AND REPLENISH THE EARTH' AND UNTO THIS U N I ON WERE BORN FIVE DAUGHTERS AND SIX SONS. TWO OF THE DAUGHTERS AND O N E O F THE SONS DIED SOME YEARS AGO. THROUGHOUT HIS MARRIED LIFE OF MORE T H A N FIFTY YEARS HE WAS A VERY KIND AND DEVOTED HUSBAND. THE NEIGHBORS F R E QUENTLY COMMENT ON THE VERY HARMONIOUS LIFE OF BROTHER AND SISTER HIA T T . FROM CHILD-HOOD THE WRITER HAS BEEN A FREQUENT VISITER IN THE HOM E A N D DOES NOT RECALL HEARING ONE WORD OF DISCORD. AS A FATHER HE WAS V E R Y TENDER AND LOVING, ALWAYS PUTTING THE INTERESTS OF HIS CHILDREN B E F ORE HIMSELF AND LABORING UNTIRINGLY FOR THEM. ALL HIS CHILDREN L I V ED TO BE ADULTS AND WERE MARRIED. THEY ALL RECEIVED THE ADVANTAGES O F A F R EE-SCHOOL EDUCATION. FOLLOWING THE DEATH OF HIS SON, COLU MBUS, HE TOO K O NE OF HIS GRANDSONS, LUNIE ALMA, AND REARED HIM. ' 'THE ONLY O CC UPATION THAT BROTHER HIATT EVER HAD WAS THAT OF FARMIN G. THE LAN D W AS NOT FERTILE AND WOULD NOT PRODUCE BOUNTIFULLY. THIS F ACT NECE SS ITATED HIS CULTIVATING MORE EXTENSIVELY IN ORDER THAT H E MIGHT H A VE SOMETHING FOR HIS WIFE AND CHILDREN TO EAT AND WEAR. A T THIS T I ME THERE WERE VERY FEW LABOR-SAVING DEVICES AND A GRICUL T URAL IMPLEMENTS, SO THAT PRINCIPALLY ALL OF BROTHER HIATT'S WORK W AS D O NE BY HAND. DESPITE ALL THIS HE NEVER WANTED FOR THE ACTUAL N E C ESSARIES OF LIFE, BUT ON THE OTHER HAND WAS ENABLED THROGH HIS ALERTN E S S AND THRIFT TO PURCHASE OTHER LANDS AND BUILD A HOME THEREON, SO T H A T HIS ESTATE WAS WORTH A FEW THOUSAND DOLLARS NET. BROTHER HIATT D U R ING HIS ENTIRE LIFE OF MORE THAN THREE SCORE AND TEN YEARS NEVER WENT T O L A W WITH HIS NEIGHBOR. WITHOUT EXCEPTION HIS FELLOW CITIZENS TESTIFY O F H I S SCRUPULOUS HONESTY AND UNCHALLENGED INTEGRITY. ''IN JULY, 1 881, BRO T HER HIATT BECAME A BAPTIZED MEMBER OF THE CHURCH OF JESU S CHRIS T O F LATTER DAY SAINTS, ELDER GEORGE PASSEY PERFORMING THE OR DINANC E. HE WAS CONFIRMED A MEMBER OF THE CHURCH BY ELDER LASHBROO K LAK E R. AT THIS TIME THE CHURCH HAD MANY AND BITTER FOES. ONLY THOS E WH O H AVE LIVED AWAY FROM THE ORGANIZED STAKES OF ZION OR HAVE V ISI TE D EXTENSIVELY IN THIS AND OTHER SECTIONS OF THE COUNTRY WHERE THE V I E WS OF THE PEOPLE ARE VERY NARROW AND PREJUDICED CAN IMAGINE THE HOSTI L L E FEELING THAT THEN EXISTED AGAINST THE CHURCH. IT IS TO THIS DAY CON S I DERED BY MANY TO BE SLANDEROUS TO CALL A PERSON A 'MORMON'. BROTHER H I A TT HAS ALWAYS BEEN A MORAL HERO, SO HE JOINED THE CHURCH WHEN HE WAS C O N VINCED OF THE TRUTHFULNESS OF IT'S TEACHINGS, AND TO THESE PRI N C IPLES HE REMAINED TRUE. EVERYONE WILL ADMIT THAT IT REQUIRED A C O U RAGEOUS MAN TO LEAVE HIS HOME AND LOVED ONES TO MAKE A NEW HABITATION I N A N E W AND STRANGE LAND, BUT MAY THE WRITER ASK:'DID IT NOT ALSO REQUI RE A M A N OF FORTITUDE TO EMBRACE THIS SAME 'MORMON DOCTRINE, A ND C O NTINUE HERE AMONG HIS NEIGHBORS TO RECEIVE THEIR FROWNS AND PERSEC UTI O NS?'''BROTHER HIATT HAD A GREAT MISSION TO PEFORM IN THIS THE LAND O F H I S NATIVITY, FOR MANY ARE THE TRAVELLING ELDERS OF THE CHURCH WHO HA VE F O UND REFUGE IN HIS HOME. WHEN THEY COULD GET NEITHER FOOD NOR SHELT ER A T O THER PLACES THEY CAME TO THIS HUMBLE COTTAGE WHICH WAS AS WELCOM ED B Y T HEM AS THE CASIS. DURING HIS MANY YEARS AS A MEMBER OF THE CHURC H H E T HUS SERVED AND CONVERSED WITH HIS ASSOCIATES, MANY OF WHOM BECAME M O R E LIBERAL IN THEIR VIEWS AND CONSEQUENTLY MORE TOLERANT TOWARD HIM AN D H I S RELIGION. ''FINALLY THE TIME HAD ARRIVED WHEM BROTHER HIATT WAS T OL D T HAT HE HAD BEEN FAITHFUL AND THAT HE WAS IN LINE FOR THE HOLY PRIE S TH OOD, IF HE WOULD REFRAIN FROM THE USE OF COFFEE AND TOBACCO WHIC H H E H AD USED DURING HIS EARLY LIFE. HE PROMPTLY REPLIED BY TOTAL ABSTI NE NC E FROM THE USE OF THESE POISONOUS STIM- ULANTS AND A STRICT OBSERVA N C E OF THE LAW OF GOD AS PERTAINING TO THE 'WORD OF WISDOM'. THIS DECIS I O N AND MANIFEST CONTROL OVER HIMSELF WAS OF NO LITTLE SIGNIFICANCE. ON T H E 6 TH DAY OF MAY, 1917, BROTHER HIATT WAS ORDAINED AN ELDER IN TH E C H URCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER DAY SAINTS UNDER THE HANDS OF HIS SO N, J A MES MONROE. HE EVER AFTERWARDS ENDEAVORED TO HONOR THIS PRIEST- HO OD. M A NY ARE THE FERVENT TESTIMONIES WHICH HE HAS BORNE TO THE WORLD AN D ES P ECIALLY TO HIS NEIGHBORS. CLEARLY DOES HIS BEAUTIFUL AND UNFALTERI NG T E STIMONY DELIVERED AT THE CHAPEL AT SHELTONTOWN DURING THE TESTIMON Y M E ETING HELD THE FIRST SUNDAY IN APRIL, 1929, PRIOR TO HIS DE ATH ON THE 1 8 TH, DAY OF APRIL, RING IN THE EARS OF THE WRITER. HE DECLA RED THAT HE K N EW THAT THE PRINCIPLES OF THE GOSPEL AS THEY WERE TAUGHT B Y THE LATTE R D AY SAINTS WERE SUFFICIENT TO SAVE AND EXALT MANKIND I F OBEYED . T HIS WAS THE CONCLUDING PARAGRAPH IN THE LONG AND TRUTHFUL SE RMON WH IC H BROTHER JESSE LAFAYETTE HIATT HAD BEEN PROCLAIMING FOR ALMOS T SEVE N TY-EIGHT YEARS. HE DIED ON APRIL 18, 1929, BUT BEFORE HIS DEATH, A T H I S REQUEST, LOCAL ELDERS ADMINISTERED TO HIM, AND GOD'S WILL IN THIS P A R TICULAR WAS FINISHED.''
Events
| Birth | 30 Apr 1851 | Mount Airy, Surry, North Carolina, United States | | | |
| Marriage | 9 Nov 1871 | Mount Airy, Surry, North Carolina, United States - Susan Midkiff | | | |
| Death | 18 Apr 1929 | Mount Airy, Surry, North Carolina, United States | | | |
| Burial | | James Monroe Hiatt Memorial Cemetery, Surry, North Carolina, United States | | | |
Families