Biography:

Historian; professor of history. Born– Jan. 29, 1923 in Gordo, Ala. Parents– John Ellis and Nona (Cameron) Spain. Married– Elizabeth Finchon, Nov. 22, 1945. Children– Two. Married– Carol Hanna, Dec. 1958. Children– Two. Education– diploma from Clarke Memorial Junior College (Miss.); Mississippi College, B.A.; Vanderbilt University, M.A., Ph.D. Served with U.S. Army 1943-1945 and 1952-1953; taught at Cumberland University, 1948-1950; Baylor University after 1959-1988. Headed the Baylor Retired Faculty/Administrators Program after his retirement. Member– American and Southern Historical Associations, Organization of American Historians, and Southern Baptist Historical Society. Awarded the status of professor emeritus on his retirement at Baylor in 1988.  Received the Herbert H. Reynolds Award for exemplary service to Baylor, 2004.

Source:

Contemporary Authors online; Directory of American Scholars, 1982.

Publication(s):

At Ease in Zion; a Social History of Southern Baptists, 1865-1900. Nashville; Vanderbilt University Press, 1967.