In this excerpt from his autobiography, James Norman Smith, an early Texas settler, recalled a January 1850 encounter with the prominent Cumberland Presbyterian itinerant preacher Joseph Brown. Smith’s colorful anecdote confirms Brown’s astonishing remark in his own autobiography that he experienced periodic bouts of the jerking exercise for more than five decades. Click here for excerpts from Brown’s “Biographical Sketch.”
The only time I was ever in the city of Austin was in January, 1850, I believe. Our assessor and collector of taxes, Mr. John McGrubb, had made his assessments and collections and had paid over to a special agent part of the taxes. He became sick and requested me to take over his books and rolls and collect the taxes for him and he would then resign the office. I went over the county and made the collections, also made up a list of the delinquent taxpayers which I turned over to Mr. McGrubb. This was perhaps a year or more before he died when another assessor was appointed to fill the unexpired term. His wife did not want to keep the money in her hands but wanted to send all for which her husband was responsible to Austin and settle his part of the business. She asked me to take this money to Austin and agreed to pay my expenses. After much persuasion I agreed and took her brother–in–law, Mr. Jacob A. Miller and the Sheriff, Mr. Wm. P. Patterson to her house to see the money counted and put into my hands. It was mostly silver and gold. I went to Austin on horseback and settled the account with the comptroller and secretary. I spent two nights at Austin City and saw many old acquaintances. On leaving I spent a night with Mr. Matthews who lived on the Colorado River some six or eight miles below Austin. This was the same family who had crossed the Gulf with me when moving from Tennessee. I returned home by the way of Bastrop and LaGrange. In Bastrop I spent two nights with my old friend Dr. Brown from Columbia, Tennessee. On my arrival there I found his aged father, a Cumberland Presbyterian from Maury County, Tennessee. He was generally called Col. Joseph Brown as he used to command a regiment in the Militia. He was a pious, devoted preacher but he became excited when preaching and at other times. He would sometimes have the jerks when preaching and would almost fall to the floor. He would give a loud whoop, almost like an indian, and could be heard a thousand yards. This practice of whooping when excited could not be helped by him. He told me that he had the habit from a little boy, long before he became a preacher. His father, mother, and all the rest of his family were all killed by indians near Nashville, before it became a town. It was at a Fort not far from Nashville. He was not killed, but was taken as a prisoner together with his father’s negroes. An indian squaw took him under her care and treated him kindly. When he was about six or seven years old he became a little troublesome one day when an old indian Chief drew his hatchet and made an attempt to kill him. As he struck at the boy with his hatchet the old indian mother fell down upon him to ward off the blow and the hatchet went in to the handle in the old squaw’s back. He told me he saw the hatchet raised so near his head that he gave a loud whoop like an indian. Ever since that time whenever becoming excited from any cause he had these jerks and whoops. It was a pleasure to visit with him and his son. I heard him preach on the Sabbath and spent the night there.
Source
“The History of the Life of James Norman Smith in His Early Life, Youth, Manhood and Old Age,” 1871, typescript, [1927?], 191–92, Special Collections, University of Texas, Arlington.
