All serious Wayne County historians know that one of America’s greatest and most influential pioneer preachers made his home for many years in Wayne County.
In the secluded section of Wayne County known as Horse Hollow (near Parmleysville) Elder John Smith labored on a hillside farm to provide a living for his family. Like many of his neighbors, he was involved in the church life of his community. He attended the churches at Bethel, Concord, and Mount Pisgah.
When he was “called” to preach those churches benefitted from his sacrificial love for God and the church.
Smith spent approximately twelve years in Wayne County before he moved to other places in the Commonwealth to preach the message of “New Testament Christianity” and the restoration of the “Ancient Order.”
While several books have been published about his life, none have focused on his life in Wayne County.
I CAN READ MY TITLE CLEAR TO MANSIONS IN THE SKIES is an effort to spotlight those years.
For two decades Harlan Ogle has portrayed Smith in a dramatic presentation of the life and ministry of this great servant of God.
The new publication is “an autobiographical interpretation” of Smith’s life.