Dates: 1848 - 1892.

Scope and Content Note:

Typescript diary of the Reverend Walter Edwin Tynes, written in 1926. Though entitled "diary," this volume is evidently constructed from family records, recollections, and journal entries kept by the writer. The first portion gives family background, and information about his home near Osyka, Mississippi. Mr. Tynes was first an attorney and teacher, later becoming a Baptist minister.

Of interest are his accounts of the difficulties of organizing and maintaining Baptist congregations in south Mississippi and the Florida Parishes of Louisiana. The first efforts of the Baptist Mission Board, and the resistance of established Baptist congregations to Home Mission work are related. The Reverend Tynes worked and held pastorates in Osyka, Summit, McComb, and Canton; the Florida Parishes of Louisiana; and various places in Texas. In his thirties Mr. Tynes decided to further his education in religion. He attended two summer sessions at Chautauqua, New York, and two winter sessions at the Baptist Theological Seminary at Louisville, Kentucky. After this period of study, the Reverend Tynes held several pastorates in Texas, and the diary ends on December 31, 1892. Although the dates of this writing embrace the Civil War period, there is nothing of interest concerning that conflict.