On this Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend, the story of John Barry Meachum is especially applicable. Meachum was one of the greatest men ever to live in the mid-Mississippi valley. He was a powerful Baptist preacher who captivated St. Louis for over a generation. John was born a slave in Virginia in 1789. His parents, Thomas and Patsy, were deeply religious. Thomas was a Baptist preacher. When John was 14, his family was ripped apart—Mother and children taken to Kentucky; the father forced to remain in Virginia.
Nine years later, John, who was not yet a Christ-follower, was able to buy his freedom due to working in saltpeter mines. The 23-year-old Meachum immediately returned to Virginia to purchase his father's freedom that he might be reunited with the family.
When the old preacher learned he was a free man, he began singing songs of joy. He repeatedly hugged his son, and then confronted John, saying, "You have given me a gift of freedom, now let me give you the gift of salvation." Within a month, John became a Christian.
Thomas had been separated from his wife for nine years, and John was yearning to purchase the freedom of his own wife and children. The two men returned to Kentucky, but upon arriving there, learned to their consternation that their families were gone.
The master had moved away. John tracked them to what was then the heart of the American wilderness, St. Louis. He arrived with three dollars, two of which he had to spend to cross the ferry. Nevertheless, he soon became a successful businessman and purchased the freedom of his family. Through the years he earned a fortune in St. Louis, but gave it all away purchasing freedom for his people.
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