Samuel Blaine

History 337
Professor Fletcher
A History of Religion in the Herring Family

The South has always been a home to many religious people, and the Herrings are not an
exception. Tracing as far back as the early 1900s, the Herring family has many roots here in the
South. Their familys religious history has been a fairly typical one, but still colorful in its own
way. A common expectation of a Southern familys religious history in the U.S. might be that of
many Protestants, maybe some Catholics, or even Jewish decent. The Herrings come from a very
dominant line of Baptists and/or other Protestants in the South. The Baptist denomination of
Christians is a group of church goers that has grown exponentially in the last couple of centuries.
The current Herring family is a very Christ following family. They adhere to the Bible
and are members of Highland Baptist Church. Highland Baptist Church is a Bible preaching
Southern Baptist Church, and is indeed affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. My
parents are Glenn Herring and Julia Herring. They have allowed me to interview them on their
parents and grandparents and other families religious history.
Glenn Edward Herring is the son of Albert Mitchell Herring and Dillie Rae (Baker)
Herring. Glenn spent his early childhood years in Kosciusko, Mississippi, but rather early in life
his family moved an hour north to Horn Lake, MS. Both of Glenns parents, Albert and Dillie
Rae, would have claimed Southern Baptist, but according to the interview with Glenn, Only
Mother (Dillie Rae) was the real thing (Herring, interview). Albert did not much attend his
Southern Baptist Church like Dillie Rae did. Dillie Rae was an avid church goer and a devout

Christian woman, but she could not get the same consistency from her husband Albert. This
could be a possible trend that the South has experienced over the decades. This was a trend
where men do not have faith like that of their female counter-parts. Glenn feels blessed and
fortunate that his father allowed Dillie Rae to take him to church all throughout his life. He says
this definitely impacted the way he views God and has impacted his Christian walk with the Lord
(Herring, Interview). Glenn attended Horn Lake Baptist Church with his mother until he was in
his teenage years. He then decided to start visiting another Southern Baptist Church called
Church Road Baptist. He would move his membership and this is where he would marry his wife
Julia Scates. Glenns grandfather on his fathers side, Clyde Herring, was also a Southern
Baptist. Clydes wife, Annie Mae (Lester) Herring, was in a similar situation to that of her
daughter-in-law. Annie Mae was a strong Christian Baptist, while her husband did not really
have much desire to attend church. Thus the trend recurred where the man of the household
really does not have much religious affiliation. All of Glenns parents and grandparents were
from the Northern portion of Mississippi. The lack of religion by Glenns father and grandfather
might show some interesting data about men in Mississippi during the 1900s. Glenns brothers,
Albert Carl and Neal Patrick Herring, both sort of followed their fathers lead when it came to
religion. They both call themselves Southern Baptist but do not really partake in much church
going. Glenns family religious history is not solely colorful though, Julia Herrings family
history adds even more uniqueness.
Julia Scates Herring is the daughter of Robert and Charlotte Scates. Julia was born in
Memphis, Tennessee, but soon after moved southward down to Harmontown, Mississippi. Julia
for a while was raised between two churches. Her mother had always been a member of the
Church of Christ, while her father had always attended a Southern Baptist Church. Robert

Scates, Julias dad, would frequent a Baptist Church until he had some disputes with leaders in
the church and decided not to return (J.Herring, interview). So Julia often went to church with
her mother at the Church of Christ in Harmontown. As they attended the Church of Christ Robert
would usually stay at home. This pattern continued on until Julias teenage years, and like Glenn,
she was invited to a new church and decided to visit. Its interesting how Julias father, like
Glenns father and grandfather, decided not to participate in church any more. As Julia began to
attend Harmontown Baptist Church she realized she needed to become a Christian and professed
salvation during her teens. This had a unique impact on her mother because the Church of Christ
and Baptist really sort of clash, but when Charlotte saw the changes in her daughters life it
impacted her. Charlotte Herring began attending the Southern Baptist Church with Julia, and it
helped their relationship grow through the years. Julias grandfather on her mothers side was Jon
T. Howard. Jon T. again was a family man who chose not to regularly prescribe to any religion. It
is amazing how many of the men in Glenn and Julias families did not go to church, while their
entire families went quite regularly. It seems that all these men did indeed believe in God, but
simply had some reason not to go to a church.
Southern Baptists during the 1900s were a unique group of Christians that largely
dominated the South. The Baptists are Protestants, which means they are not a part of the
Catholic Church. Southern Baptists in the early 1900s were still largely white and often racist.
Unfortunately, many church members also belonged to the Ku Klux Klan. Still some church
goers avoided affiliation with the Klan, but still had many issues.
Other interesting issues that were going on during the early 1900s Baptist Church were
some feminine activism. Women were often looked at as lowly or beneath men, and sometimes

this idea still persists. But it is impossible to deny that women are not important, they even had
large roles in the Bible. Sallie Bailey Jones once said, Woman was created man's equal and a
high standard for womanhood was given in the Old Testament. Miriam, the sister of Moses, who
led her people was as divinely appointed as Moses, and Deborah, the prophetess was the first
woman to rule a nation by divine appointment. With the coming of Christ there came a higher
life for women and the gospel of a risen Christ was first heard by the disciples from Mary
Magdalene (Jones, Internet). With the rise of womens organizations and women like Sallie
Jones the pressure against women began to change.
Another interesting challenge the Southern Baptists faced during this period was
altercations with other denominations. Often times Southern Baptists would be challenged by
other religious groups such Free Will Baptists or Fundamentalist Baptists on topics concerning
moralism or modernism. The Southern Baptists were often accused of being too liberal.
Arguments over homosexuality and abortion seemed to penetrate religious entities during the
1900s.
Baptist life was usually a very conservative lifestyle in the early 1900s. During this
period the South would switch from the Democratic South to a Republican one. During this
conservative wave, men played an important role in Southern society. Men were considered the
breadwinners and workers in the family, and women were supposed to be submissive and stay at
home and rear children. Men were the real political voice of the family, and the rest of the family
was not supposed to sway from it. Being Conservative in the South meant abstaining from things
considered immoral. These things could vary from gambling and drinking all the way to

extramarital activities. Any of these things was considered taboo in the conservative Southern
Baptist lifestyle.
The Southern Baptist lifestyle of the 1900s was one that was considered desirable. Many
people felt like conformity was also a sort of safety net for them. The Herring ancestors of this
age fit in snuggly with other Southern Baptists.

Works Cited
Herring, Glenn. Interview. Dec 4, 2013. History 337 Paper. Oxford, MS.
Herring, Julia. Interview. Dec 4, 2013. History 337 Paper. Oxford, MS.
Jonas, Glenn. "Baptists Call for Gender Equality." EthicsDaily.com. Ethics Daily, 2 June
2010. Web. 10 Dec. 2013. <http://www.ethicsdaily.com/>.