DEDICATION.

To the memory of the heroic and self-sacrificing preacher who, in the early history of our State, were God's messengers to the people and faithful witnesses to the truth - who, in the name of Zion's King, laid themselves out for a great task, subduing the wilderness and sowing the virgin soil with the good seed of the Kingdom - who, in the enduring Word they preached, laid the solid foundation of Baptist history in Tennessee, pioneering the way for us, their descendants and successors, whose good fortune it has been, in later generations, to enter into their labors and build upon foundations laid by their hands - this volume is dedicated with heartfelt affection and appreciation.

THE AUTHOR.