Rev. Bogan Mask (1821-1898)
& Mary Frances Chambers (1825-1912)
submitted by Jennifer B. Daniel, Roswell, GA, great-great granddaughter
(Information taken from oral history as well as research done by Jennifer B. Daniel and relatives Amil and Joy Mask, Roger Mask, Sadie Chambers Burdett and Frances Henrietta Bingham Krechel)--1997.
photo Rev. Bogan Mask
Bogan Mask and his wife, Mary Frances Chambers, were among some of the earliest settlers of Inman, Georgia. Bogan was a circuit riding preacher who served the community well. He was primarily a farmer by trade, and he and Mary raised a family of seven children. Descendants of this couple continue to live in the area today.
Bogan Mask, the progenitor of the Mask family of Fayette and surrounding counties, was born in Anson County, North Carolina on October 27, 1821. He was the son of Silas W. Mask (b. about 1787 in North Carolina; d. about 1839 in Anson Co., N.C.) and Judith Boggan (b. December 1, 1796 in Anson Co., N.C.; d. between 1870-80 in Alcorn Co., Mississippi). They were married about 1812 in North Carolina. Silas and Judith raised eleven children but only Bogan settled in Georgia. Bogan's paternal grandfather was William Mask (b. ?; d. about 1795 in Richmond Co., N.C.). William married Martha Ann Rebecca Nance in North Carolina about 1785. They reared their children in Bladen Co., N.C. and later moved to Anson County. William and Martha (she was called Patsy) were the parents of four boys: 1) Silas (Bogan's father), 2) Thomas, 3) Pleasant H. and 4) Miles W. Mask.
It is not known exactly where the Mask name originated although there is evidence that the family came from Germany, and had emigrated west to England (South of London). Some cities in Germany have many Masks today, and it is quite unlikely that they emigrated to Europe from England. Migration has always been in the opposite direction.
The earliest Mask men to arrive in the Virginia Colony were: Thomas Mask (who arrived in 1638), William Mask (1652) and Thomas Mask (1653). They came mostly as indentured servants, that is they promised to work seven years for someone to secure payment for their passage over. Some of them obtained land of their own and became tobacco planters. The family is mentioned frequently in New Kent Co., Virginia in the records of St. Peter's Parish and subsequently in St. Paul's Parish. When St. Peter's Parish was divided in 1704, the Mask family lived within the boundaries of the newly formed St. Paul's Parish. A John Mask was one of the original five trustees for the new parish.
Beginning in 1690, "processioning" occurred every four years. This was a method of confirming property lines by having all the property owners within a small area walk the property lines together. The Masks were in each processioning from 1690 until 1767, first in St. Peter's and then in St. Paul's Parish. In the 1767 processioning, John Mask, William Mask and "Thomas Mask's heirs" were shown. The 1771 processioning showed "William Mask, deceased." The Mask name doesn't appear after that date.
St. Paul's Parish and the Mask family land were included in Hanover County, Virginia at its organization in 1720. During the War Between the States, the Hanover County records were taken to Richmond for safekeeping. Unfortunately, the records were destroyed by fire during the war.
No record has been located that directly ties the Masks of New Kent, then of Hanover Co., Virginia to the extensive Mask family in the Anson, Richmond, and Montgomery Counties of North Carolina. Many of the families who settled in Anson County have the same names as the Mask's neighbors who walked the property lines "processioning" back in St. Paul's Parish. Records have been found that show John Mask and John Mask, Jr. bought (1763) and sold (1770) land in Granville Co., North Carolina, but whether they were from Virginia hasn't been proven yet. Indications are that they were from the same Mask family on their way to the new frontier.
A William Mask bought several parcels of land in Anson, Co. as early as 1765, while John Mask began purchasing land there in 1768. Both men also had multiple grants from the King. The records show that there were two William Masks in Anson Co. in 1770, because both William Mask, Esq. and William Mask, Jr. (Senior and Junior did not mean father and son then; it only meant one was older and one was younger) signed a petition to the Colonial Assembly asking that a court be established at Campbellton for Anson, Orange and Cumberland Counties. So far, no will has been found for either William although the older William sold most of his land and retained property in what is now Montgomery County, North Carolina. In 1840 the courthouse in Montgomery Co. burned and almost all records were destroyed. Evidence does not point to this William as being Bogan's grandfather.
John Mask, Sr. (Anson Co.) left a will when he died in 1781. His heirs were as follows: 1) an unnamed oldest son ,2) John Mask, 3) Dudley Mask, 4) two grandchildren, Mary Mask and John Mask, children of his daughter Lucy. Although there is no solid evidence, it is strongly suspected that the unnamed first born son of John Mask, Sr. was in fact the younger William Mask who appeared in the county records and who married Martha Ann Rebecca Nance and was the grandfather of Bogan Mask.
It is interesting to note that while none of these early Mask men were soldiers in the Revolutionary War, the North Carolina Colonial Record indicates that a "Certificate of Protection" was issued by Colonel General Gates to John, Dudley, and John Mask, Jr. for their assistance in provisions for the Continental Army and transportation across the Pee Dee River at Mask Ferry. The Masks operated a ferry on the river just north of what is now Wadesboro, North Carolina, and they were extensive landowners on both sides of the river.
This area was the birthplace and early home of Bogan Mask. His father Silas and his uncle Thomas (brother of Silas) bought and sold land in 1807 and 1819 in Anson and Richmond Co., North Carolina. Silas was a charter member of Brown Creek Baptist Church of Christ in Anson County. This church is still active in the community today.
Bogan's mother was Judith Boggan, who came from a very distinguished early Anson County family. She was the daughter of John Boggan (b. June 9, 1763 on the Flat River, Orange Co., North Carolina; d. at daybreak on June 21, 1808) and Susannah May (b. 1778 and d. March 16, 1868 at "Slaughter Hill," Anson County). John and Susannah were first cousins once removed. John's father, James Boggan, and Susannah's grandfather, Captain Patrick Boggan were brothers. James and Patrick Boggan were sons of Sir Walter Boggan and Lydia O'Rorie Moore of Castle Finn, Donegal County, Ireland.
Patrick (b. 1738), James (b. June 24, 1740), and their brother Benjamin and sister Jane, came to America about 1765. Patrick then traveled to what would later be known as Wake Co., N.C. and married Mary Dabbs, age 15 and born in 1743. He brought Mary to Anson Co. where they raised none children. Patrick Boggan was Captain of a Company of Minute Men of the Salisbury District, in which was Anson County. He was the founder of the present city of Wadesboro, North Carolina, and was considered to be one of the most outstanding men in the county during this period. His house, built in the 1780's for his daughter, Nellie, is still standing and is the oldest remaining house in Wadesboro. Captain Patrick Boggan died in 1817 near Wadesboro. His grave was marked with impressive ceremonies by the Thomas Wade Chapter D.A.R. on December 2, 1931.
Patrick and Mary Boggan had a daughter, Mary (b. 1763; d. 1830), who married John Joseph May about 1776 in North Carolina. John and Mary had three known children, 1) Susannah (md. John Boggan and was grandmother of Bogan) 2) Nancy and 3) Peter.
James Boggan, Captain Patrick Boggan's brother, md. Jeannie ___ on March 17, 1740. They raised fourteen children, one of whom was John Boggan who married Susannah May. James signed many documents, was a Justice of the Peace and has been established as a Patriot with the Daughters of the American Revolution since 1972. It is not known where he or his wife is buried.
John and Susannah Boggan had seven known children: 1) Sarah (b. Jan. 2, 1792), 2) Joseph (b. Feb. 23, 1794; md. Sarah Caraway), 3) Judith (b. Dec. 1, 1796; md. Silas W. Mask), 4) John (b. May 5, 1798; md. Christian McRae), 5) Pleasant (b. Sept. 22, 1800; d. Feb. 28, 1825), 6) James (b. May 29, 1804; d. Nov. 6, 1882), 7) Louisa (b. Mar. 2, 1807; md. Miles W. Maske). Judith inherited a share in the estate of her father when he died in 1808. She, along with her husband, Silas, sold this land to her brother, Joseph Boggan, in December of 1820.
Bogan and his brothers and sisters grew up on the south edge of what is now Polkton, North Carolina. His father, Silas, died about 1839 but his burial site is not known. On October 4, 1844, the Anson Co. deed records show a division of land for Silas W. Mask with the dower's share going to his widow, Judith, and remaining two-thirds of his land being divided between his eleven children. The children of Silas and Judith were as follows:
1) William Kirby Mask (b. May 15, 1814; md. Martha B. Perry in Nov. 1839; d. Oct. 29, 1888 Blue Mountain, Tippah Co., MS)
2) George W. Mask (b. June 1815; md. before 1840 to Sarah Ann Lockhart; d. Aug. 1871 in MS)
3) Miles Pleasant Mask (b. about 1820; md. Sarah Baker, Dec. 9, 1841)
4) Boggan (Bogan) Mask (b. Oct. 27, 1821; md. Dec. 22, 1844 to Mary Frances Chambers; d. Aug. 28, 1898 in Inman, Fayette Co., GA)
5) Martha Ann Mask (b. about 1824; md. Joshua M. Gray)
6) Judith A. Mask (b. about 1825)
7) Silas W. Mask (b. about 1826; md. Susan Brooks)
8) Joseph James Robert Mask (b. 1831; md. 1849 to Mary Lockhart; d. March 14, 1863 in Tullahoma, Tennessee)
9) Harriet Jane Mask (b. 1835)
10) Mary Elizabeth Mask (b. 1837)
11) Eliza Mask (b. about 1839)
In 1845, six years after Silas' death, Judith Mask, most of her children, many neighbors and extended family members packed up and left North Carolina in covered wagons for the newly opened frontier land in Northern Mississippi. One son, Miles P., stayed in Anson Co. and Bogan had already left North Carolina. Judith sold Silas' land and signed the deed on December 10, 1844. They left during the first week in January of 1845 and followed the Southern Pioneer Route. They arrived in Tippah Co., Mississippi, just East of present day Ripley, in March of that same year. Judith was last known living with her daughter Jane in 1870 in the Kossuth Community West of Corinth, Mississippi. It can be assumed that she is buried nearby.
Sometime before 1844, Bogan left Anson Co., and traveled near Fayette Co., Georgia. It is not known why he left or whom he traveled with since his family didn't leave Anson Co. until 1845. There he met and fell in love with Mary Frances Chambers who was staying with some relative near Inman. According to the family history, Mary was just visiting in Georgia because her parents were living in Chambers County, Alabama at the time. Mary and Bogan traveled to Chambers Co. and were married there on December 22, 1844. Bogan desired to return to Fayette, Co. to raise his family but had to work at a mill in Chambers Co. in order to save enough money to return to Georgia. Bogan and Mary had their first child, Elizabeth Ann, in Alabama in 1845. By April of 1847, they were living in Georgia and were found in Henry Co. in the 1850 census.
In November of 1850, Bogan gave his brother, Miles P. Mask, who was still living in Anson Co., Power of Attorney to sell the land he inherited from his father in North Carolina to Harriet A. Wilkins. Then in October of 1851, "Boggan" (the last time his name is spelled two g's) Mask of Henry Co. purchased land from Thomas Turner of Fayette Co. This is the first time Bogan purchased land in Georgia. It was distinguished as the "East half of lot number fifty-five in the fifth district formerly Henry now Fayette County containing one hundred one and fourth acres." The deed was witnessed by Joseph S. Chambers (Bogan's father-in-law) and W. S. Chambers.
Mary Frances Chambers was born August 11, 1825. She was probably born in Elbert Co., Georgia as her family did not move to Henry Co. until sometime between 1825 and 1830. Her family had been living in Elbert Co. having drawn land following the Revolutionary War. Her parents were Joseph Sanders Chambers (b. 1799 in South Carolina; d. 1858, Georgia) and Frances Asbury Stinchcomb (b. 1802, Elbert Co., Georgia; d. 1894, Georgia). They were married in Elbert County on August 29, 1822. They moved to Henry Co. to the land that Joseph bought from his brother William. Joseph and Frances Chambers had a homeplace near Liberty Chapel and there raised seven children. They were as follows:
1) Sarah--(b. 1823; md. William Mills; d. 1840)
2) Mary Frances (b. 1825; md. Rev. Bogan Mask; d. 1912 in Inman)
3) Rebecca Ann (b. 1828; md. Rev. Daniel McLucas; d. 1908)
4) Martha (b. 1830; md. John Lamb; d. 1913)
5) James Absalom (b. 1833; md. Mary Dorman; d. 1905)
6) Elmira (b. 1840; md. James Andrew Bull; d. 1907)
7) Joseph (b. 1845; d. 1846)
Sometime before 1844, reason unknown, Joseph and Frances moved for a time to Chambers Co., Alabama. They returned sometime before 1851, when Joseph witnessed a deed for Bogan Mask. Joseph left a will dated December 30, 1858 in Clayton County. Joseph and Frances are buried in the Chambers family cemetery near New Hope Methodist in Clayton County.
The land Bogan purchased in Fayette Co. was situated about two miles north of Inman, Georgia on what is now Ga. Hwy. 92. One of Bogan's descendants, Webb Mask, Jr., is the present owner of the land. To Bogan and Mary Frances Mask were born the following children:
1) Elizabeth Ann (b. 1847; d. 1903) md. Charles Irvin Dick (b. 1852; d. 1887)
2) Martha Frances Mask (b. 1847; d. 1903) md. David H. Holt (b. 1845; d. ?)
3) Joseph Silas (b. 1847; d. 1933) md. Nancy Duffy (b. 1843; d. 1893)
4) James William (b. March 12, 1852; d. April 19, 1937) md. Betty Murphy (b. 1852; d. 1934)
5) Elmira L. (b. 1854; d. 1940) md. William W. Giles (b. 1850; d. 1926)
6) Mary Jane (b. 1857; d. 1951) md. Jose Seane Lee (b. 1861; d. 1933)
7) John Daniel Mask (b. November 1864; d. 1959) md. Belle Chappell (b. June 1869; d. 1945)
Bogan was primarily a farmer by trade but on September 19, 1855 he was issued an Exhorter's License by the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, Liberty Chapel Society, Georgia Conference. On November 19, 1865 he became a Deacon in the said Methodist Episcopal Church, South, at the Georgia Conference in Macon. This gave him the right to "administer the Ordinance of Baptism, Marriage and the Burial of the Dead, in the absence of an Elder, and to feed the flock of Christ, so long as his spirit and practice are such as become the Gospel of Christ and he continueth to hold fast the form of sound words, according to the established doctrines of the Gospel." Bogan became a circuit riding preacher serving Liberty Chapel, New Hope Methodist and Ebenezer, which he was largely responsible for organizing. Before Ebenezer Church was built, service was conducted under a brush arbor. During revivals, Rev. Ed Speer and Rev. Bogan Mask would pastor. "Uncle Bogan," as he was called by many, was known for his emotion arousing sermons. He preached for about forty years and was honored and loved by all who knew him. In 1862, smallpox broke out in Fayette Co., and Bogan was paid $18.00 for making the coffins for Wesley Turner and Robert Morris. Obviously he was a man of many talents.
Bogan died on August 28, 1898 after suffering for several years with skin cancer on his nose and right cheek, forcing him to wear a cloth around his face. His wife Mary Francis, died on September 7, 1912 and they are both buried under prominent markers in the Inman Cemetery.
W. C. Davis, W. J. Elder, W. D. Henderson and J. A. Nash wrote a beautiful Resolution in Memory of Reverend Bogan Mask. The "Fayetteville News" for Friday, September 2, 1898 had this to say about him:
Uncle Bogan Mask, an old landmark of the county and a valiant soldier in the army of the Lord, died last Sunday at his home near Inman. He had been suffering with a cancer for a number of years and the end was not unexpected.
One of Bogan's sons, John Daniel Mask, md. Belle Chappell on December 19, 1886 in Fayette County. Belle was the daughter of Robert Jackson Chappell (b. Feb. 8, 1834; d. Aug. 14, 1900) and Rachel Mitchell (b. Jan 29, 1831; d. Jan. 17, 1910). Robert ("Jack" as he was called) and Rachel are buried at the Old Brooks Cemetery in Brooks, Georgia.
John and Belle Mask lived for quite some time in Inman, moving their family to Brooks in 1909. He built a nice house on what is now known as Mask Road. The house is still standing today although it is no longer owned by the Mask family. John was a master cotton farmer and was the first person in the county to build a lake on his farm. He and his sons are responsible for several other lakes in the area also. John and Belle had eleven children. They were as follows:
1) Olice Buren Mask (b. Feb. 1888; d. 1959) md. Mary Bernhard (b. 1890; d. 1965)
2) Robert Bogan Mask (b. July 13, 1889; d. Sept. 21, 1961) md. Elizabeth Gertrude Glass (b. Aug. 31, 1896; d. Jan. 21, 1978)
3) Emma Clara Mask (b. 1890; d. 1978) md. Grover Posey (b. 1885; d. 1943)
4) Arta Myrtle Mask md. George Leach
5) James H. Mask (b. 1893; d. 1902)
6) Mary Alma Mask (b. 1894; d. ?) md. Nonie Huckaby (b. 1900; d. 1944)
7) Raymond Mask (b. May 1899; d. ?) md. Erma Jemison
8) John Bell "J. B." Mask (b. May 1900; d. ?) md. Mary Mathews (b. 1909; d. ?)
9) Annie Ray Mask (b. 1906) md. William Gay (d. 1961)
10) Evan Mask died about 5 months
11) Baby girl died at birth
John Mask was received into Liberty Chapel on July 29, 1883 by W. M. McIntosh. His in-laws Robert and Rachel Chappell and his wife Belle Mask had joined the church by 1887 and were received by letter by G. W. Thomas. John and Belle are buried in the Inman cemetery along with many other descendants of Bogan Mask and Mary Frances Chambers.
On Sunday, June 12, 1994, New Hope United Methodist Church in Hampton, Georgia had a homecoming. The honored guest was "The Reverend Bogan Mask, a circuit rider, evangelist from the late 1800's." Bogan's one living grandchild, Annie Ray Gay, was among the congregation at this memorable event along with many of his great-grandchildren. Reverend Charles Wallom played the part of Bogan, but for a few brief moments we got a small glimpse into the past and we too were touched by this truly remarkable man of God.
Deacon License 1865
Know all Men by these Presents,
That I, George F. Pierce, one of the Bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, under the protection of Almighty God, and with a single eye to his glory, by the imposition of my hands and prayer, have this day set apart Bogan Mask for the Office of DEACON, in the Methodist Episcopal Church, South; a man who in the judgment of the Georgia Conference, is well qualified for that work; and he is hereby recommended, to all whom it may concern, as a proper person to administer the Ordinance of Baptism, Marriage and the Burial of the Dead, in the absence of an Elder, and to feed the flock of Christ, so long as his spirit and practice are such as become the Gospel of Christ, and he continueth to hold fast the form of sound words, according to the established doctrines of the Gospel.
In Testimony Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal, this 19th day of November in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and Sixty-five.
Geo. F. Pierce [signature]
Obituary 1898
Resolutions in Memory of Rev. Bogan Mask
Whereas Rev. Bogan Mask has for many years been a useful member of our Quarterly Conference and
Whereas he has been a faithful and efficient local Preacher, about 40 years, honored and beloved, bearing much fruit to the Glory and honor of God, until called to his reward on August 28th 1898
Resolved by this, the Quarterly Conference of the Inman Circuit, South Atlanta District, North Ga. Conference
1st That we hereby express our appreciation of the life and labors of this man of God, and will ever cherish the memory of his long and faithful service, and his loyalty to God & the church, knowing that our loss is his eternal gain
2nd That we hereby tender to his aged and bereaved Wife, his Children, and Relatives, our deepest sympathy, praying that the God of all comfort may sustain them in their hour of grief and affliction, and point them to that home above, where partings are no more.
Resolved that these resolutions be entered on the Quarterly Conference record and that the Secretary furnish a copy to the family, also to the Wesleyan Christian Advocate with the request that the same be published.
W. C. Davis, P.C.
W. J. Elder, Sec.
W. D. Henderson
J. A. Nash
Rev. Ruth Baird Shaw (b. 1927)
by Ruth B. Shaw, Rome, GA
Ruth Baird Shaw completed four years as pastor of the East Point Avenue United Methodist Church in June of 1997. Prior to that she served as Pastor of Grantville First United Methodist 1990 to 1993 and was pastor of the Rico United Methodist in Palmetto for four years. While at Rico she also served as Director of Communications for the Atlanta-College Park District and was on the North Georgia Council on Ministries.
Mrs. Shaw holds as Master of Divinity degree from Candler School of Theology, Emory University. She is a graduate of Georgia State University with a Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies Degree. While at Georgia State University Mrs. Shaw was also awarded a Certificate in Gerontology for special work in the field of aging.
Mrs. Shaw is the widow of the Rev. Charles Shaw and is the mother of seven adult children. She is the mother of Janice Shaw Crouse, Joan Shaw Turrentine, Charles Terrell Shaw, Carol Shaw Johnston, Deborah Shaw Lewis, Sharlyn Beth Shaw and David Baird Shaw.
Mr. Shaw was a member of the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church for over thirty five years. Together they served churches small and large in North Georgia (Ellijay, Trinity Rome, Fairburn First, Skyland, Epworth, Park Street, Trinity-Austell and Forest Park). During the four years, Rev. Charles Shaw was a student at Candler, they served Midway-Sunnyside in the Griffin District.
As a pastor's wife, Ruth served in various offices in the United Methodist Women on a local and district level. She taught many adult Sunday School classes and church wide and district wide study courses.
Ruth and her husband recognized her call to preach early on and she was recommended for license by her pastor (husband) and church (Park Street) in 1976. Due to her husband's illness she continued to serve primarily as wife, mother, Sunday School teacher and Lay Speaker. After her husband's death in December of 1986, the people at Rico UMC and the North Georgia Cabnet asked Ruth to pastor at Rico until the end of the conference year. At the request of the church, she continued to serve as pastor of the Rico United Methodist Church while she started and completed work on an M.Div. from Seminary, and she was ordained in 1990.
Mrs. Shaw is a member of the Atlanta Writer's Club. She describes herself as: "by nature an introvert and am an avid reader who enjoys a 'sometimes' hobby of writing poems."
Ruth Shaw's poem, "This Is The Day" was published July 1990 in Homelife Magazine. Her poem, "Tower of Babel" was published in The Candler Exchange in May of 1989. In March of 1988, Mrs. Shaw did a Seminar on "Handling Grief's Tentacles" at Taylor University in Indiana where over 300 women were in attendance. In March of 1991, while a pastor of Grantville First United Methodist Church, she lead a four day revival meeting at the Salem United Methodist Church in Covington and spoke on the subject of "Growing Old" reading some of her related poetry, to the large Senior Citizens group.
In recent years Ruth has preached, read her poetry and/or spoken on the subject of aging at many different churches, as well as numerous United Methodist Women's groups, Senior Citizens Clubs and civic groups. For example, she has been the featured speaker at the annual Pacesetters Civitan Christmas luncheon at Fort McPherson for the last three years.
After the untimely death of Elizabeth Mask's husband Charles Dick, her father Bogan Mask moved his daughter and her seven small children [from Alabama] back to Inman. Ruth's mother, Ieula Ann Dick Baird was a baby at the time. She and her siblings were raised in a little house near the home of their grandparents. Mary and Bogan Mask had became members of the Methodist Church in Inman. She [Ruth's mother] loved to tell about her childhood in Inman. On at least one occasion, on a sentimental journey to Inman, Ieula (Eula) Baird, as an elderly widow, showed family members the church and the cemetery and the spot where their house stood (it had burned down) and an apple tree she remembered planting in her childhood.
Sarah Ruth Baird Shaw, the daughter of Benjamin Wilson Baird and Eula Dick Baird, was baptized as a baby into the Methodist Church as were her siblings and both her parents. Wilson and Eula Baird farmed for most of their married life at Oak Hill Community near Covington, Georgia. In the fall of 1922, the boll weevil ruined their cotton crop and the accompanying economic crisis sent Wilson Baird to Porterdale, Georgia to obtain work with Bibb Manufacturing Company. In failing health, he moved his family to Porterdale in late 1922 and his youngest was born, Sarah Ruth Baird on February 19, 1923. Ruth grew up in this little mill town and all she knew about milking cows or "chopping cotton" was accounts from her older siblings. But she was greatly influenced by the faith of her parents and committed her life to Jesus Christ as a child.
Wilson Baird, the father of Ruth Baird Shaw was a great admirer of Bogan Mask and was later to marry Bogan and Mary Mask's granddaughter Ieula Ann Dick. Wilson Baird, a devout Christian and active church member and lay speaker, claimed his baptism as an infant by Rev. Bogan Mask was valid all his life and declined to be re-baptized when he joined the church, even though it was a common practice at the time.
This respect for the Mask-Chambers heritage and Inman Methodist Church roots was passed on to his children. Ruth Baird Shaw, often puts in her biographical information, "the great-granddaughter of a Methodist preacher from Inman, Georgia. "
I Can Fly!
One short poem that I am often asked for is the butterfly poem, written to express the conviction that one does not have to stay bogged down "under the circumstances" in which they find themselves....
I Can Fly!
God made the butterfly
And I
...Stand on earth
And watch it fly.
And see that God,
Has fashioned wings,
For even earthbound
Creeping things,
I know that God
Intended wings,
For you and me.
Oh my heart sings.
I've found my wings
And even I
Can over circumstances
Fly!
by Ruth Baird Shaw 1969
Rev. Cecil Dix (b. 1924)
Information submitted by Rev. Dix, Griffin, GA; narrative by S. J. Overstreet
Rev. Dix is a Baptist minister who descends from Rev. Bogan Mask through his oldest daughter, Elizabeth Mask Dick. Rev. Dix is the son of Elizabeth’s youngest child, Irvin Levi Dick. Elizabeth was expecting Irvin when her husband Charles Dick died unexpectedly while living in Alabama. Rev. Bogan Mask moved Elizabeth and her children from Alabama back to Inman following the death, and Elizabeth reared her children in a separate house on the Mask farm. The house still stands in the North of Inman today. It is far off of Hwy 92, but was on the “main road” and near the railroad line prior to Hwy. 92 being built.
Irvin joined Liberty Chapel in 1896 when he was about 10 years old. Later he married Fannie and had two children with her prior to her death. His second wife was Nonie Oglesby, and Cecil is Irvin’s child by his second marriage. Cecil was born when the family was living in Meriwether County near Gay, GA. Cecil recalls that his parents spelled their name DICK, while all the children in the family spelled the name DIX. He believes that when the children started to school the name was spelled DIX by the teachers and that is the reason a change occurred in the spelling.
Cecil attended public schools in Gay, and went to Oakland High School. He helped support his family on the farm until he joined the New Deal CCC Camp from 1938 through 1940. He worked and was given an allowance, and the remainder of his salary was sent to his parents to help support the family as the nation recovered from an economic depression. In 1941, Cecil moved to Griffin to work in the textile industry until he joined the military.
In 1942, Cecil joined the U. S. Army during World War II. He served in North Africa, Sicily, Italy, France, and Germany under combat, and helped to liberate these countries from Nazi influence. He returned to Griffin on Oct. 10, 1945.
Cecil married Margie Moody on Oct. 27, 1945 in Kincaid Methodist Church in Griffin, and the couple have been married for 52 years as of 1998 (the time of this writing). They have two sons--David A. Dix (b. 12-24-1947) and Richard C. “Tony” Dix (b. 6-27-1950). David is married to Kathy (Sander), and the couple has two children--David Jr. and Lauren Elizabeth. Tony is married to Shirlene (Tomlin) and they have two children--Rodney (Tomlin) and Samantha.
Cecil told that while he was growing up in Meriwether County, Georgia, he often saw his father come in from farming and sit with the sun coming over his shoulder to read the Bible. Cecil said that he received God’s call for him to become a pastor when he was 10 years old, although it was of course much later before he could answer that call. Cecil was converted on Feb. 27, 1950, and united with Elken Creek Baptist Church in Upson County. He answered God’s call to preach in May of 1951, when he was licensed to preach. He preached by invitation and helped to build a congregation called Grace Baptist Church in Griffin, GA. His Ordination was on Jan. 3, 1953, as requested by the congregation at the Neal Baptist Church in Pike County. Since that time he has served as a Bi-Vocation pastor--preaching as often as a full-time pastor, while supporting his family with outside employment as well.
Cecil has served long tenures at several local churches, and still pastors at a Griffin church at this time. After he “retired” from preaching, he was planning to supply for a little while until the church found a full-time pastor! At this writing Cecil preaches every Sunday at Damascus Christian Church where he is considered itinerant for an indefinite period--for the past eight years! His appointments in Baptist churches have included Friendship near Woodbury, Providence in Williamson, Woolsey in Fayette County, Wildwood in Spalding County, West College in Griffin, Rehoboth in Spalding County, Raymond in Coweta County, Brooks in Fayette County, and he thought he was retiring from Pine Grove Baptist Church in South Fayette County some eight years ago. Cecil noted that at that last calling he was “almost back to my Roots...Boggan Mask--Great-Grandfather...Will Dick--Uncle. Yes, my Roots seem to have begun with Inman Methodist Church.”
