Samuel W. Small
| Samuel White Small | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
July 3, 1851 Knoxville, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Died | November 21, 1931 (aged 80) Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. |
| Resting place | Arlington National Cemetery |
| Education | Emory & Henry College |
| Occupation | journalist |
| Employer | Atlanta Constitution |
| Known for | evangelist, prohibitionist |
| Political party | Democratic, Prohibition, Populist |
| Spouse(s) | Annie Isabelle Arnold |
| Children | 3 |
Samuel White Small (July 3, 1851 – November 21, 1931) was a journalist, Methodist evangelist, and prohibitionist.
Sam Small was born on a plantation near Knoxville, Tennessee, the son of Alexander B. Small, a newspaper editor and president of an express company. Small later said of his childhood that he was "well born … given by kindly parents all the true and religious culture that a boy could have in a loving home." At thirteen Small enlisted in the reserves of the Confederate Army during the last months of the war. He graduated from high school in New Orleans and then attended Emory & Henry College, graduating in 1871. He immediately began a career in journalism even while toying with becoming a lawyer. In 1873, he married Annie Isabelle Arnold, and they had a daughter and two sons.
The influence of his father secured Small a position as secretary to former President Andrew Johnson. In 1878, President James Garfield appointed Small secretary to the United States commissioner general of the Paris Exposition of 1878. Despite his other interests, Small retained an "obsession for politics," and near the end of his life he boasted of having "clasped hands with every president from James Buchanan to Herbert Hoover."
Small contributed to the Atlanta Constitution a series of dialect sketches under the persona of an old black man, "Old Si," stories that gained him a national reputation. Unfortunately, Small had by this time descended into alcoholism, and when he was unable to continue, editor Evan Howell asked Joel Chandler Harris to try his hand at similar material.
In September 1885, while working as a court stenographer and freelance reporter, Small covered a revival meeting of evangelist Sam Jones in Cartersville, Georgia. There Small was so "overwhelmed by conviction of sin" that on arriving back in Atlanta, he immediately started drinking. Nevertheless, four days after visiting Cartersville, Small "pleaded with Christ that he would let me cling to his cross, lay down all my burdens and sins there, and be rescued and saved by his compassion." Small's family at first feared he was slipping into madness. Small soon began testifying to his deliverance from alcohol, and Sam Jones now came to hear him preach in Atlanta. "Small's fame and newspaper connections ensured that his conversion would garner publicity," and Jones invited Small to be his associate.
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