| Sources |
- [S24] The Newport Plain Talk, (http://www.newportplaintalk.com), 18 Sep 1998.
Aubrey Fred Nease obituary
- [S24] The Newport Plain Talk, (http://www.newportplaintalk.com), 9B, 31 Jan 2012.
herbert neas shares 85 years of memories
BY: MiRian Hicks
one sunny day in october, I sat down with Her-
bert neas, a st. james lutheran Church member
for 85 years, at his home to discuss the history of
the church.
Mr. neas and his wife audene, who has also
been a church member for 85 years, were mar-
ried april 20, 1949 in st. james lutheran Church.
the couple has three sons lamar, lanny, and Kim,
fve grandchildren and one great-grandchild. two
of the sons, lanny and Kim ,are st. james mem-
bers. From baptism to the recent bicentennial, the
church has played a signifcant role in the neas
family’s lives. Mr. neas revealed to me a church
that has sustained itself and continued to grow be-
cause it is flled with members who have a deep
love and commitment to serving the church.
such was evident in the building of the new
st. james lutheran Church in 1935 right in the
midst of the Great depression. the congregation
was able to raise the incredible sum of $30,000
that was needed to complete the building while in
the most devastating period in our nation‘s history
because of their commitment. the congregation
put forth all their assets, including their fnances,
or as Mr. neas put it, “the people’s pockets were
pretty empty by the time the church was built.”
before st. james was even a thought in any-
one‘s mind, men and women left alsace-lorraine
Germany and traveled across the atlantic ocean
into virginia. these families made their way
through the shenandoah valley, from Pennsylva-
nia to virginia, and then into tennessee; settling
fnally south of the nolichucky river, and making
their homes in what is now Greene County. the
families then began to practice their lutheran faith
in wooded groves and cabins. baptisms were re-
corded as far back as 1814, but there were no for-
mal congregations this early in the history of the
settlement.
In 1811, st. james was accepted into the north
Carolina synod. the synod is an organization of
lutheran Churches. the land that the church
presently occupies was later, in 1816, bought by
john neas and Philip oesterly (easterly), acting as
trustees to the church.
there were native americans still present in
the area at the time st. james was colonized. there
had been some skirmishes or conficts between the
Colonists and the native americans. as Mr. neas
said of the colonists, “they came to church with
their rifes loaded and primed.”
soloman lutheran Church and st. james lu-
theran shared a preacher until 1860 when the
two churches split during the Civil war. st. james
Church’s members were union sympathizers and
soloman Church members favored the Confederate
side. after the war, the churches reunited and the
two congregations again shared a preacher until
1978, when st. james bought soloman’s percent-
age of the parsonage. after the Civil war, the afri-
can-american members left st. james and formed a
separate church not very far away. this congrega-
tion was never named and no longer exists.
before world war II, women sat in separate
pews from the men and also walked in through
separate doors. “after the war, 1945, the women
were so happy to see their men, they began sit-
ting together,“ said Mr. neas.
later, throughout the church’s history many
people would come and go, these included their
preachers. Mr. neas candidly observed, “the peo-
ple wanted to be baptized with more water, so
they went to other churches.” there was also a
movement in the early 1900s for the lutherans
to convert to Presbyterianism, a movement over-
turned by the traditionalists.
there are, however, a core group of members
in the church and there have been people, such
as Mr. neas, who have been members from the
time they were toddlers. For the neases, along
with many other members of the congregation,
preserving the church means preserving a way of
life.
Herbert and Audene Neas have been members of St. James Luther-
an Church for many, many years. He eagerly shares the history of the
church and surrounding community with others.
Smoky Mountain Homeplace
- [S116] Birth Certificate.
Name: Herbert Lamar Neas
Gender: Male
Baptism/Christening Date:
Baptism/Christening Place:
Birth Date: 07 Jun 1926
Birthplace: Greene County, Tennessee
Death Date:
Name Note:
Race:
Father's Name: Tubal C. Neas
Father's Birthplace:
Father's Age:
Mother's Name: Adesse L. Davis
Mother's Birthplace:
Mother's Age:
Indexing Project (Batch) Number: I09707-7
System Origin: Tennessee-EASy
Source Film Number: 944407
Reference Number:
- [S112] Census, 1930.
Name: Herbert Neas
Event: Census
Event Date: 1930
Event Place: District 03, Greene, Tennessee
Gender: Male
Age: 3
Marital Status: Single
Race: White
Birthplace: Tennessee
Estimated Birth Year: 1927
Immigration Year:
Relationship to Head of Household: Son
Father's Birthplace: Tennessee
Mother's Birthplace: Tennessee
Enumeration District Number: 0005
Family Number: 31
Sheet Number and Letter: 2B
Line Number: 80
NARA Publication: T626, roll 2249
Film Number: 2341983
Digital Folder Number: 4548163
Image Number: 00118
Household Gender Age
Parent Tubal Neas M 48
Parent Dressie Neas F 45
Cloyd Neas M 21
Margaret Neas F 18
Elnora Neas F 15
Fred Neas M 13
William Neas M 11
Ina P Neas F 9
Hertha Neas F 5
Herbert Neas M 3
Irma Neas F 1
- [S58] Marriage Certificate.
Name: Tubal C Neas
Titles & Terms:
Event: Marriage
Event Date: 27 Dec 1903
Event Place: Greene, Tennessee
Age:
Estimated Birth Year:
Father:
Father's Titles & Terms:
Mother:
Mother's Titles & Terms:
Spouse: Odessie L Davis
Spouse's Titles & Terms:
Spouse's Age:
Spouse's Estimated Birth Year:
Spouse's Father:
Spouse's Father's Titles & Terms:
Spouse's Mother:
Spouse's Mother's Titles & Terms:
Reference Number: 991
Film Number: 1148852
Digital Folder Number: 004486555
Image Number: 02454
- [S58] Marriage Certificate.
Name: Herbert L Neas
Titles & Terms:
Event: Marriage
Event Date: 20 Apr 1949
Event Place: Greene, Tennessee
Age: 22
Estimated Birth Year: 1927
Father:
Father's Titles & Terms:
Mother:
Mother's Titles & Terms:
Spouse: Audeane L Bowers
Spouse's Titles & Terms:
Spouse's Age: 22
Spouse's Estimated Birth Year: 1927
Spouse's Father:
Spouse's Father's Titles & Terms:
Spouse's Mother:
Spouse's Mother's Titles & Terms:
Reference Number: 606
Film Number: 1928685
Digital Folder Number: 004486621
Image Number: 00184
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