How many of you have heard of the “no-hellers” of Cental Appalachia? They were a small subset of Primitive Baptist “universalists” who firmly believed that a loving Creator would not separate anyone from ultimate reunion with the Creator. Instead, they believe that “hell” consists in the disordered mortal life of sinners, who after death would be reconciled into a unity of all humanity.
The no-heller movement was, and is, centered primarily within a single cohesive group — the Three Forks of Powell Association, comprising small churches in SW Virginia, the southern tip of West Virginia, and Eastern Kentucky.
My great-grandfather, Joseph Leonard Hall (1865 Pike, KY-1928 Letcher, KY) was a leading light as a preacher in this movement. Unfortunately, a trove of his writings were destroyed in the Flood of 1937, while in the possession of a local teacher who wished to transcribe and organize them in a book.
Joe Hall was either beloved or hated. His influence caused many “old” Baptists — Primitive or otherwise — to choose sides within local congregations. There was a well-known Kentucky appellate court case regarding control of the property of a church on Sandlick Creek in Letcher County. Descendants of the Caudill family fought to regain title to the church property from then-current (1910-1912) congregants who had followed that ol’ heretic Joe Hall. (And he also made enemies as a “lady’s man” — he married six times to five different women!)
Documentation of the appellate case, written in book form by one of the Hall bloc’s fierce opponents, runs to more than 200 pages. It can be found on-line at the Kentucky Virtual Library.
My grandparents, Alvin (son of Joseph Hall) and Mary Franklin Hall of Crafts Colley in Letcher County, were lifelong members of the Colley Creek Primitive Baptist Church, where no-hellerism continued through the years to hold sway. They were greatly loved and respected as leaders in their church and community.
For those of you who are interested in an academic’s exploration of this unique religious movement, I highly recommend a very readable book that includes both history and interviews with present-day followers of the “no-heller” theology. “In the Hands of a Happy God: The “No-Hellers” of Central Appalachia” was written by Howard Dorgan of East Tennessee State University. It can be purchased at Amazon.