Rev. A. M .Mann was born May 28th, 1863, on a farm in north Florida,
and was called to his heavenly home Aug. 29th, 1938, at Palm Harbor, Florida.
His fath·er had been conscripted into the Civil War some t;me dur:ing
the year 1862 and died in the service of his beloved Southland in April, 1864.
His mother was left a widow with eight minor children and a small farm
with no other resources.
His early life was spent under the hardships and terrors of the recon- struction. His educational opportunities were a minimum.
Endowed with a superior mind and a most resolute spirit, he dominated
hardships and surmounted almost impossible barriers in obtaining an educational development seldom equaled by those of later years who have ex- cellent facilities.
He married in 1881 Miss Louisa C. Robinson and after three years of
blissful life she was taken away to her heavenly home, leaving no children.
On July 2nd, 1886, he was married to Miss Mary Ann Marsh. From this
union there were five daughters and three sons, all of whom survive him.
At the age of thirteen, he was converted and joined the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and for the following ten years he lived a rather nom- inal life, not particularly pious.
In 1889, at the age of twenty-six, he was fully reclaimed under the ministry of the Rev. Thurlow Bishop and received a definite call to preach,
whi.ch call in all of subsequent life he never doubted.
In January, 1899, he joined the Florida Conference on trial. His first
appointment was the old Levy Mission with six a{}pointments over an area
forty miles long, and to serve these churches he rode horseback. For three
years he served this work and studied and struggled to lead his people to
greater heights of Christian experience and greater sacrificial service. At
the same time arduously labored to carry on his conference course of study.
He feelingly spoke of his discouraging experiences and was often in despair
of carrying on in the realm of this overwhelming responsibility, and often
in bitter tears felt that he would like to be relieved o{ it all, but in his own language "I strove ea·rnestly to :keep step." And how· splendidly did he subc~ed. · · · ·
He finished his course of study on schedule time. At the end of two
years he was ordained deacon by Bishop Granberry, and was ordained elder
at the end of four years by Bishop Attigus G. Haygood.
Brother Mann, without the facilities of this day to encourage and assist
him in continued progress of self-improvement, persistently applied himself
to study. There were no pastors' schools, no correspondence courses, no special directing agency to guide him, and yet he became one of the clearest and most forcefully logical p1 eachers of the entire conference, and could
have creditably filled any pulpit in Florida. In a very short time he was placed on important committees and served his conference in a high degree
of efficiency. He served successfully on the First, Second, Third and Fourth
Year Committees to examine young ministers on the course of study.
He served eight years on the Board of Church Extension, eight years on the Board of Missions, four years on the Board of Education.
He was an enthusiast:c member of the first committee to found and
promote the bu'lding of Southern College which he loyally supported with
liberal donations and large patronage in sons and daughters who are today an honor to the college, having won many of its highest honors and won
many of its medals.
For thirty-four years Brother Mann faithfully served the conference
preaching the true Word of God with power and unctlon from on high, building the blessed Kingdom of God wh'ch he loved better than his own life.
He had an undying hunger to save the souls of men. Once he closed a year without any converts in his ministry .and it literally broke his heart.
The writer wlll never forget a heart-breaking conversation with him in the
depth of his anguish. He took courage when reminded that a preacher
is called to preach and his responsibility to God consists in loyally and faithfully preaching the Word, and that God only could convert, therefore con- versions were not his responsibility. He was not called to convert but to
preach.
Superannuation with such limited opportunities for preaching was a never-ending burden to him. This is what he wrote just before he passed
away: "These twelve years of my superannuation have been the most trying period in all of my nearly forty-eight years in the ministry. But my faith
and experience have been greatly enriched and strengthened." What a glorious testimony with which to close a long and successful ministry.
But the apparent discouragement like many others was trampled un- derfoot by his brave couragous spirit for he arose and charged the fortress
of sin again with fervor and zeal while his soul was singing:
"Fight on my soul till death
Shall bring thee to thy God:
He'll take thee at thy parting breath,
To His divine abode."
This seemed literally true with him for he held a revival meeting a.t Curlew
Church just a few months before his translation, when he -was so weak that
he had to preach sitting down.
Brother Mann was a very gifted writer, always lucid and convincing.
We can never estimate how much the church and Christian literature has
lost by not placing him where he could devote his entire time to wrWng.
But his illustrious pen is stilled and his silver voice is silenced, but another
voice spea:ks and you .can almost hear the Savour saying to him:
Soldier of Christ, well done;
Praise be thy new employ
And while eternal ages run,
Rest in thy .saviour's joy.
A great preacher of Christ, faithful and true, is gone. How lonely we
feel in his absence; it makes the burden grow heavier; weakened are the
forces of righteousness for "A prince in Israel has fallen."
We keenly miss the rich fellowship with his sweet Chri~:an spirit. He
had fought a good fight and finished his course, he had kept the faith, henceforth there is laid up for him a crown of righteousness which the Lord, the
righteous judge shall give him at that day.
During the last few months of his life, Brother Mann suffered intense
pain, but he bore it w;th great Christian fortitude and patience.
The writer witnessed much of his suffering and noticed that his agony
could not restrain him from showing the glory he was approaching. Just a few minutes before be passed, he said, "I wanted to look on your face once more," and instantly a beam of heavenly light and sweetness lit up
h:s face he was entering the vestibule of Heaven, he lay back on his pillow
and was gone.
He had so lived that,
He did not go like the quarry-slave at night,
Scourged to his dungeon but, sustained and soothed
By an unfaltering trust approached the grave
Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch
About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams.
He was affectionately and tenderly laid to rest in Curlew Cemetery by
the side of his beloved wife who preceded him to their heavenly home two
years before almost to a day. Services were in charge of the writer, as- sisted by Dr. M. H. Norton and Rev. E. N. Philpot.
The church and .grounds were crowded with a host of relatives and
friends, paying their tribute of love. The floral offerings, rich and beautiful, • helped to soothe the bru: sed, aching hearts.
There remain to mourn him eight children, twenty grand children, and one great-grandchild. The children are: Miss Stella Mann, Palm Harbor;
Mrs. D. S. Lovett, Palm Harbor; Mrs. A. G. Mann, Bartow; Mrs. F. J.
Sutton, Palm Harbor; Mr. C. N. Mann, Tarlpon Springs; Mr. H. C. Mann,
Palm Harbor; Mrs. Calvin Moore, Plant City; Mr. C. A. Mann, Citra, Fla.
Submitted by: R. F. Hodnett.