GRANDPA’ CONVERSION

MY Grandfather on My Mother’s side of the family was named Mike Jennings. He was called, “Uncle Mike” by everyone, I will just refer to him as grandpa. He came to New Orleans on a ship from Ireland. His father died on the trip and His mother died from a fever while nursing the sick and they put grandpa and his brother in a catholic orphanage and his sister in one for girls. His Brother jumped the fence and escaped but grandpa couldn’t jump high enough so He stayed. He was “indentured from the home by Mr. King from near Fort Necessity. Grandpa was twelve at the time and helped around the house until he was old enough to ride the “swamp” and see after the many cows and hogs Mr. King and other just let roam in the swamp until that time of the year when all the people that had hogs and cows rounded up all the cows and hogs and branded and marked the new ones that belonged to each individual. I will reflect on how grandpa got “un-indentured” in a later note.

Grandpa was a Catholic. His parents were Catholic and therefore the whole family being from and Irish Country was Catholic.

The community of Liddieville was mostly Baptist and grandpa felt a little out of place in that situation what with “dinners on the ground” and protracted meetings with a lot of singing my grandpa liked and the fact that he like the pastor he decided one day while the “backwater” was up (the river had flooded the fields) that He would change religions, He sent for brother Ratcliff and told the preacher He wanted to be Baptized in the field behind “Bills house” We young ones started to go with them and grandpa said to get back we could not go. We asked about whom was going to do the singing and all the other rituals of a baptizing but grandpa said there wasn’t but two people going to His baptizing him and the preacher. And that is how Uncle Mike Jennings converted from being a Catholic to a Baptist.

Later I will tell how he selected His Wife and got a free operation on one of His Children at Saint Francis Hospital.