The old faithful servant

James W. Holley was born a slave in Sullivant County, Tennessee in 1848. Following the Civil War, Holley became a traveling preacher and in his short narrative, The Old Faithful Servant (1924), he claims to have traveled to 162 towns and cities, including many stops in Kentucky and Ohio. He also claims to have the gift of Divine healing, and his narrative includes examples of this, as well as the gift of prophesy. While the narrative is primarily an account of his life as an illiterate minister, Holley does mention a reunion he had with his brother, who died shortly thereafter, and his travels across the United States to California. Passages from the Bible are interspersed throughout the narrative as he seeks to teach about and illustrate his personal religious faith.