The Emma Ferrer Letters, Part 5: A Letter of Recomendation

On November 5, 1898, W.T. Rencher wrote a letter of recommendation to Judge Wood on behalf of the Ferrer family. It was common for members of the Methodist congresses to address each other as “brother,” as Rencher does here. Curiously, Rencher confides that he feels Emma is making a mistake in moving to Meridian, MS. He doesn’t say why.

William Thaddeus Rencher was born in Alabama in May of 1860. When he was 20 he was ordained as a minister and began his life as a traveling preacher. Like his peer, George W. Ferrer, Rev. Rencher moved a lot. He’s seen in the annual conference minutes of the Georgia, Alabama, and Florida conferences between 1880 and 1930.

October 10, 1931, Rev. Rencher was killed tragically when he was hit by a train. According to his obituary, the 71 year old was waiting to board a train to Jacksonville when he fell from the platform. An approaching train struck him and launched him 15 feet across the platform. He succumbed to his injuries three hours later.

Next Week: Failure to communicate

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