This past Saturday, FedEx delivered to my house a giant cardboard box that clearly said "TUBA" on both sides of it. I was stunned, because I hadn't ordered a tuba! But I had been tipped off a few days earlier, by a couple of dear friends of mine, that a surprise gift was on its way to me. But, come on, a tuba? Or was something else in that enormous box?!
Well, upon opening it, and after wrangling miles of bubble-wrap and a gazillion packing peanuts, here's what was inside: An American Model Monster BBb Bass built by C. G. Conn in 1899 (serial number 66235) - yes, 123 years ago, and just a year after Conn built his first Sousaphone for John Philip Sousa!
And here's the fine print on either side of the illustration of the tuba, just to provide you with whole promotional story of this "Monster":
And now, about those engravings on the bell - while they are not as ornate as what you see in the illustration above (that was apparently "FINISH I - Elegantly engraved," which cost an extra 10 bucks!), they are still spectacular, despite all the tarnish:
At the heart of the engraving, it reads "Made by C. G. Conn, Elkhart, Ind, [and] New York." But look toward the rim of the bell - there is a name engraved there that reads, "Rev. Robert Fansler Killgore," which is almost certainly the original owner. When I saw that, the historian in me started to geek out: "Who was that guy? I have to find out!"
Almost exactly a year later, the success of his Chilhowee, Missouri revival meetings was hailed in the newspapers of that state, including the July 1, 1898 edition of The Sedalia Democrat:
[Quick side-note: Because of my email address, and Twitter handle, I am known as the "tubapastor" (that is, I am a pastor who happens to play the tuba). So how cool is it that the original owner of this vintage beauty was also a tubapastor? I suspected that my friends sent me this particular instrument because of that very fact, and I was right!]
Okay, back to the story, and the point of this blog post:
Who was Robert Fansler Killgore?
Well, to begin with, here is what he looked like in 1913, at age 53, when he was a pastor in Butte, Montana (and how about that very stylish hat?!):
The more I dug into his life story, the more fascinating it became, although by the end of my research, I found myself deeply disappointed in this fellow-pastor. But I'll allow all of that to unfold below.
The young cabinet-maker
Robert "Bob" Fansler Killgore was born on April 28, 1860, somewhere near Estillville, Virginia - probably Nickelsville. His dad was a farmer, and, at that time, Bob had four siblings, with three more to come.
In 1879, at the age of 19, he married 15-year-old Louisa "Lou" Ellen Hartsock (the same maiden name as his mother, so there might be story there), and they had a daughter, Lucy, born in 1881, and a son, David, born in 1883. The 1880 census lists Bob as "working in [a] cabinet shop" there in Scott County, Virginia.
But the marriage didn't last (he remarried in 1889, and she in 1891), and somewhere along the way Bob attended college in Tennessee, and that's when the story really picks up.
The fist-fighting lawyer
A report from 1912 revealed that Bob "was a graduate of Vanderbilt university" and that "following his collegiate work he studied law and was admitted to the bar. He practiced seven years in Florida."
I tracked him down in Pensacola, where he lived in the mid-to-late 1880s (perhaps already divorced). But he not only practiced law; he was also "a light-weight pugilist [meaning professional fighter], who trained with the great John L. and fought under the name of Smith."
"The great John L." would be John L. Sullivan, "the heavyweight champion of bare-knuckle boxing." One report boasts that Bob was "Sullivan's second [meaning sparring partner?] at the time of the Sullivan-Mitchell fight in France," which was a really big deal in March of 1888. Here's the poster from that event:
While his foray into pugilism perhaps led to the demise of his first marriage, as professional fighting was often condemned as immoral in those days, it apparently didn't deter Canadian Ada Simmons from tying the knot with Bob in 1889. The ceremony was rather abrupt, as noted in the November 23 edition of The Pensacola News:
[Another quick side note: Bob is listed here as a "carpenter," which squares with his background, but that does make me wonder whether he was still practicing law at this time - or if this is the same Robert Killgore. But he did marry a Canadian woman that year, and he was living in Pensacola at the time.]
Almost exactly two years later, the whole direction of Bob's life dramatically changed.
The reformed pugilist
John B. Culpepper, the celebrated Methodist evangelist, had come to Pensacola in November of 1891 to hold a number of revival meetings. They were supposed to happen in a big tent that was being constructed for these gatherings, but the seats weren't quite completed when they were ready to start, so the first meeting was held in the auditorium of the local Methodist Church.
At that time, Bob was "giving lessons in prize-ring gymnastics," and on the morning of Sunday, November 15, "he was passing the church on his way to give a lesson, when his attention was attracted by the immense crowd in front of the church. Stopping a moment, he was pushed into the narrow aisle left by the crowd on either side. While there, some ladies wanted to enter the church, and he was compelled to go in himself to get out of the way. While there he was converted."
But along with coming to faith in Christ, Bob felt called to be an evangelist himself, and Culpepper soon brought him on as his assistant, making good use of his gifts as a musician, and perhaps even his gifts as a personal body guard! (After all, God can use pugilistic gifts, right?!)
One report in the summer of 1893 called Bob a "zealous co-worker and able choir-leader" for Culpepper, adding that he was "a sweet-voiced singer for Christ, an evangel of God's power in music." And it mentioned that his wife traveled with him on these revival tours.
A year later, this report, from which I pulled the story of his conversion above, appeared in the January 24, 1894 edition of the St. Joseph News-Press:
The traveling evangelist
In 1893, or shortly thereafter, Bob attended the newly-founded Mendota College in Illinois, as it provided ministerial training, and by 1895, he was ready to launch out on his own as an evangelist.
He initially worked out of Macon, Georgia, as that was where Culpepper was based, but eventually settled in Bridgeport, Alabama. From that home base, he traveled for the next six years throughout portions of the South and Midwest, holding revival meetings and supporting the Women's Christian Temperance Union - often "accompanied by his musicians," which may have included a band, and, for at least one tour, featured "James W. Jones, a splendid trombonist."
This may suggest where the tuba fits into his life. He was clearly a gifted musician, and perhaps he played tuba along with his musicians at times, but I simply wasn't able to find anything to confirm such reasonable speculation. But as I said above, that beautiful bass that bears his name was built in 1899, so I'm guessing he bought it, or received it as a gift, that year.
What is clear, however, is that Bob was very successful as an evangelist. Here's one brief report from the June 17,1897 edition of The Scottsboro [AL] Citizen:
Two weeks later it was reported that "The citizens of Chilhowee and vicinity became so infatuated with Kilgore that they offered him four lots, gratis, if he would build [a house] thereon." Bob accepted their kind offer, and proceeded to move his family from Alabama to the tiny Missouri hamlet, where he became known, for the next three years, as "The Chilhowee Evangelist."
While that was a significant change for Bob, an even bigger change would come in early 1901.
The ice-cold convert
Bob's parents were Baptist, but apparently that faith didn't take with their son. Upon his conversion under Culpepper in 1891, he embraced the Methodist faith, and he never looked back. That is, until he came to the conviction that a true follower or Jesus must be baptized by immersion as a believer - something he had never done.
He came to this conviction in the winter of 1901, while he was conducting revival meetings in Illinois. The weather was harsh, but his resolve to be obedient to Christ was immovable. Here was the popular Methodist evangelist, braving the elements and converting to the Baptist faith of his parents. The story was so gripping, it showed up in papers throughout the Midwest, such as the February 5, 1901 edition of the Ottumwa [IA] Tri-Weekly Courier. Don't miss the chilling details (pun intended)!
Shortly after his ice-cold baptism, Bob became the pastor of the First Baptist Church of Olney, Illinois, where he served for three years. In 1904, he resigned to pastor the First Baptist Church of Reed City, Michigan. But by 1906, he was itching to return to the life of a traveling evangelist, without the responsibilities of shepherding a local congregation, so he became the Baptist State Evangelist for Michigan, based out of Grand Rapids.
It was during that time that the letters "D. D." (for Doctor of Divinity) began appearing after his name. Whether that degree was earned, or honorary, I can't say, but Dr. Bob seemed to rise to a new level of prominence during those years. Here's one report, from the December 19, 1907 edition of the Belding [MI] Banner:
During these years, his wife, Ada, was revered as a Sunday school teacher, and their foster daughter (acc. to one source; I'm still trying to sort that out), May Runyan, played the pipe organ for the church. So, ministry was a family affair!
But by early 1916, at age 56, Bob was eager to move to a warmer climate, and so he moved the family to Tampa, Florida. After guest-preaching at the First Baptist Church of nearby Brooksville, that congregation called him to become their pastor, which is what he did for the next three years, until he moved the family to Crisfield, Maryland, where he took over the struggling Crisfield Baptist Temple. He turned that congregation around, and built a beautiful new building that was completed in 1922:
But here is where I learned something about Bob that made my heart sink.
The sadly-deceived preacher
His time at Crisfield would prove to be his longest pastorate (1919-1925), but during those years he became active in the Ku Klux Klan, which had been revived four years before his arrival in Maryland. Here's what History.com says about this regrettable organization:
In 1915, white Protestant nativists organized a revival of the Ku Klux Klan near Atlanta, Georgia, inspired by their romantic view of the Old South as well as Thomas Dixon’s 1905 book “The Clansman” and D.W. Griffith’s 1915 film “Birth of a Nation.” This second generation of the Klan was not only anti-Black but also took a stand against Roman Catholics, Jews, foreigners and organized labor. It was fueled by growing hostility to the surge in immigration that America experienced in the early 20th century along with fears of communist revolution akin to the Bolshevik triumph in Russia in 1917. The organization took as its symbol a burning cross and held rallies, parades and marches around the country. At its peak in the 1920s, Klan membership exceeded 4 million people nationwide.
Bob was swept up into the Klan during that peak. In 1923, as he hosted 200 klansmen at his church, it was reported that "The Rev. Killgore lauded the klan and said he was proud that he was a member." Two years later, while in Virginia, the land of his birth, he spoke to a huge crowd on "The Ku Klux Klan and What the People Should Know About Them."
Perhaps he wasn't fully bought in to the racism and hatred, as that same report said, "The speaker, Dr. Kilgore, has to a News reporter declared that if any expect a tirade of abuse hurled at any people, race or creed, they will be sadly or happily disappointed." And then the reporter concluded, "The speaker recognizes the Christ as the only criterion for the right." (For more about the Klan in the 1920s, click here.)
I wish I knew what all of that means, and how that squares with his membership in the Klan. But that's all I could find (so far). On July 28, 1928, at the age of 68, Bob passed from this life and stood before that very Christ.
Here's his obituary, in the July 30 edition of The Baltimore Sun (where his age is incorrect):
So, there you have it - the fascinating, and ultimately disappointing, story of the man behind my new vintage tuba! Here's a simple timeline of his life and ministry career:
1860 - Born near Estillville, Virginia
1879 - Married Louisa Hartsock, with whom he had two children
188? - Divorced Louisa at some point
188? - Worked as a carpenter, lawyer, and pugilist
1889 - Married Ada Simmons (one child by birth; one foster)
1891 - Converted at revival held by evangelist John B. Culpepper
1891 - Became assistant evangelist to Culpepper, mainly as a singer
1895 - Launched his own revival ministry as a traveling evangelist
1899 - Purchased or received Conn tuba engraved with his name
1901 - Converted from the Methodist faith to the Baptist faith
1901 - Became pastor of First Baptist Church of Olney, Illinois
1904 - Became pastor of First Baptist Church of Reed City, Michigan
1906 - Became Baptist State Evangelist of Michigan
1910 - Became pastor of First Baptist Church of Akron, Iowa
1912 - Became pastor of First Baptist Church of Butte, Montana
1915 - Became pastor of First Baptist Church of Oelwein, Iowa
1916 - Became pastor of First Baptist Church of Brooksville, Florida
1919 - Became pastor of The Baptist Temple of Crisfield, Maryland
1925 - Retired from pastoral ministry
1928 - Died in Crisfield at age 68
For more photos of the tuba, including the cleaning and polishing I gave it, click here. And for photos of the work that Matt Walters did on it to restore its playability (and a bit of it's look), click here.
