Wesley Yonts Collection

Wesley Yonts (1921 – 2014) was born at millstone in Letcher County, KY. His parents were martin Van Buren Yonts and Rosie Alifair Johnson. Wesley had a large family to which he was the last survivor. Both parents died before he was six years old and he was raised by relatives in Pike and Knott Counties. As a young man he carried the mail by horseback on a 32 mile circuit from Puncheon to Dema, 12 hours work for 70 cents a day. Wesley was a WWII veteran and served in North Africa and Italy, being involved in some tough fighting at Long Stop Gap and Anzio and other arenas of battle. Wesley was in the 36th Field Artillery. He had a good sense of humor and could dish out some ribbing and take a share back. Wesley married Maulta Sizemore in 1946 in Whitesburg, KY and had two sons, Jerry and Charles. Wesley wrote several books of poetry and authored two Baptist history books. He retired from the Kentucky Power Company after 34 years of service, working as a lineman and in his later work years, a service many in Leslie County.

He was an Old Regular Baptist preacher as were two of his brothers, Lonzo and Mander. In 1947, he joined the Old Regular Baptist Church and in 1956, he was ordained in the ministry and preached almost until his death. He was the moderator at Irvin Eversole Memorial Old Regular Baptist Church until the church dissolved. Wesley was also active in the Boy and Cub Scouts, serving as scoutmaster and also worked with Little League baseball. After retirement he devoted himself to research of Baptist history and his writing. He collected church minutes all his life in the church. His collection was dear to him. He prided himself that he had attended the association meeting of the Thornton Union without missing one since the mid-1950s. His last attendance of the associational meeting was August 2014, just a few weeks before entering the Hazard Veteran Center where he passed away in December 2014 at the age of 93.

Information provided by Jerry and Charles Yonts.