At the end of our journey last week, Cain Lackey had just married Hattie Virginia Elgin in 1904. Hattie became the mother to his two daughters, Malissa and Carrie from his first deceased wife, and his daughter and two sons, Ida Belle, James Paul, and Barney, from his second deceased wife.
In 1905, Cain and Hattie had a son named William Crawford Lackey. Cain continued his work in the lumber business and preaching evenings and weekends. Cain Lackey was ordained as an Elder to the Smith River Church of the Brethren on August 1, 1908; for the rest of the story, we will refer to him as Preacher Lackey.
For the next twelve years, Preacher Lackey preached at Rock Hill Church of the Brethren in Floyd every single Sunday. Lackey did all this while supervising a road crew that was improving Route 8 up Floyd Mountain. This road crew employed convicts and local members of the community, working together.
Andrew Doss shared the following stories about his great-great grandfather. “Once, they were working on the mountain road and Preacher Lackey had left to get some supplies. The men had finished up to the point that Lackey had told them to, then they stopped and sat around and talked. Lackey returned and said, ‘What in the world are you all doing standing around? You can’t get no work down with your shovels on your back!’”
While Preacher Lackey was managing a road gang, sawmilling, and preaching, Doss stated that “he rarely missed appointments to visit. Many times, he forced horses into high water to make it across the river. He once preached at Roanoke Central Church of the Brethren, and the audience said it seemed like John the Baptist had returned. Everywhere he went, his presence was so magnetic that everyone wanted to meet him, shake his hand, or even offer him money. It was said that many of the boys and girls in the Rocky Knob area of Floyd County owed him the credit for starting them on the road to happy and productive careers.”
Doss also shared that “By 1919, Cain was a prominent prohibitionist, a member of the Anti-Saloon League, and spoke for Temperance groups all over the state. As a fervent Temperance man, Lackey received authority to bust stills and arrest bootleggers. He would go to public places and try to convince people to quit drinking and push to ban liquor production. One producer told him that his liquor didn’t hurt anyone in Patrick County. Preacher Lackey protested that hurting a mother’s boy in New York was the same as hurting a mother’s boy at home. Of the alcohol problem in Patrick County, Lackey said “’I’m going to stay here and fight the devil as long as I live.’”
One of Lackey’s most clever (and humorous) examples of his fight for sobriety was shared by the late Joel Naff, who served as a summer pastor at Smith River Church of the Brethren. Preacher Lackey was preaching at an outdoor revival in the community. Two intoxicated young men began to disrupt the services by being loud and disrespectful. The sheriff came to arrest the young men and the judge allowed Preacher Lackey to pass sentence at their day in court. Preacher Lackey said to just give them a couple of days in jail. The judge was surprised by his leniency, but soon found out what Lackey had planned. Once the boys were locked up, Lackey brought his Bible and began to preach to them! He reported that one of the boys hid in the corner of the cell for a while, but later came around to listen to the Word. Both of these young men later joined the church.
Preacher Lackey managed to find the time to found Goodwill Church of the Brethren and become Supervisor of the Smith River District of Patrick County in 1923. The Smith River Church of the Brethren was Preacher Lackey’s primary congregation, but he traveled around Virginia and North Carolina and led revival services. Lackey partnered with his son-in-law Posey Nolen (husband of Malissa) and together they rode the circuit on horseback, evangelizing homes both in the mountains and the lowlands and baptizing.
Preacher Lackey suffered from diabetes for many years. As his health declined, and despite his wife’s urging, he desperately tried to attend as many church meetings as he could. He said, “If there is any good going on, I want to be there to enjoy it too.” He died on July 3rd, 1933, at age of 64 years and 6 months. Posey Nolen and S. L. Ross conducted his funeral. He was buried in the Elgin cemetery.
Thank you so much to Andrew Doss for sharing all these wonderful photos and stories about his grandfather, Cain Lackey, a man to be much admired. Woody may be reached at rockcastlecreek1@gmail.com or 276-692-9626.
