Eric Reece
It has been a privilege to meet some of the descendants of the Rev. Robert Sheffey in Graham County.
Brother Sheffey – as he was affectionately known – was born July 4, 1820. He was a Methodist circuit-riding preacher in the Holston Methodist Conference. Then, the conference included East Tennessee, Southwest Virginia, and parts of both West Virginia and Western North Carolina.
Sheffey was called into the ministry. He sought to be a licensed preacher, but was held back until 1855. The explanation for this was he was a “peculiar fellow.”
A saintly man of great faith, he was not known as a gifted preacher as his sermons were reported to be tedious. Yet, he had the gift of prayer and stories abound about God answering his prayers. He talked to God as one talked to a friend. He was specific in his requests, naming the names of those needing healing or saving.
Once he stopped at a home that had bee hives. He asked the owner if there was any honey and he was told there was none. The bees had not even swarmed that spring.
Sheffey started praying. He said the bees would swarm the next morning and make plenty of honey. In a few days, they swarmed seven times and the honey flowed.
He often prayed, “Lord, bless the little honeybees for they make sweet honey, like sweet Jesus.”
Another time, a man was digging a well and was about to give up. Sheffey came along and the man told him his problem. He said he would talk to the Lord.
Later, he came back and told the man to keep digging. Shortly, the man hit a big water vein.
There are countless stories of his manner of prayer and his prayers for needs and healing that God answered.
Why was he seen as peculiar? Sheffey had a deep care for animals. He was called the “St. Francis of the wilderness.” He would stop and turn over beetles or move insects out of harm’s way.
Once, he came upon some tadpoles in a drying puddle. He scooped up the tadpoles in his handkerchief and carried them to a nearby stream. When he came to an incline, he would dismount his horse and lead him up the hill so as to not burden him.
The other thing was his concern for his fellow humans. If a man was cold and did not have a coat, he would give him his. He often gave away his wool socks. Once when he met a man in a ragged pair of pants, he pulled out his spare pair from his saddle bags and gave them to him.
I believe what was called “peculiar” was his desire to see none of God’s creatures suffer and knowing that God would provide all his needs. His life story was told in a number of books and a feature film, Sheffey.
These words are on his gravestone, “Fully consecrated to God’s service, he preached the Gospel without money and without price, and has entered upon his reward. The poor were sorry when he died.”
The Robert Sheffey Memorial Camp Meeting in Pearisburg, Va., runs from July 5-10. The services will be streamed on the camp’s Facebook page.
Eric Reece is the faith columnist for The Graham Star. He is pastor of Robbinsville United Methodist Church and can be reached via email, ereece@wnccumc.net.