James Anderson Burns
and
Oneida Baptist Institute

This is a picture of James Anderson Burns. I didn't know about him until earlier this summer, 2009. A lady from church gave us some books, and one of them is, "Mountain Rising", by Darrell C. Richardson, first published in 1986. This is about the life of Mr. burns, and the founding and development of the Oneida Baptist Institute, a Christian boarding school at Oneida, Kentucky. Oneida is a very small town in south eastern Kentucky, a little northeast of Manchester.

The Oneida Institute was founded in 1899. It opened on January 1, 1900. It started with a single, one-story building, McMurray Hall, completed on December 31, 1899. From this beginning, the school grew and changed with time, enduring hardships, yet persevering because of the dedication and continuing efforts of Mr. Burns and his staff, and because people wanted the school for the education it provided, and because it was blessed by our Lord. As the history of the school shows, when things got tight and the outlook appeared dim, goodness came through and helped the school continue. Mr. Burns was an eloquent speaker, and went on speaking tours across the U.S. to raise money for the school. People were captivated by his story, and what he and others had accomplished, and by the purpose of the school, and the good it was doing.

When I read this book, "Mountain Rising", I too was captivated by the story of such a man, who accomplished so much, out of the troubles of his time, who felt divinely inspired to do something to end the troubles and allow people of the region to have a better life, free of the feuds and death by shooting. Education was the key, and Mr. Burns felt "the hand of the Lord" on him to establish a school so as to educate children and break the cycle of feudism. He wanted to educate children to love one another, as the Bible teaches, and not to hate others. Burns wanted to break the feud cycle of teaching children to hate other families, whereby they would become imersed in the hatred and killing. He influenced adults as well, but he knew that children must be shown a better way, as well as to get an education to help them have a better life. His boarding school was to teach
academics and the Christian way of life, with much emphasis on the latter.

James Anderson Burns, also known as "Burns of the Mountains", wrote a book about his life and the way of the mountain people during the feud times, and about the inspiration that led him to start the school, and keep it going and growing. That book is, "The Crucible", published in 1928, and reprinted at subsequent times. The book, "Mountain Rising", has many quotes from Burn's book The story of Mr. Burns involves the feuding way of life in the "mountains" of eastern KY, in the Oneida region, with the Baker-Howard feud being the particular feud involved. The U. of L. library website has a good history of all this, so I will just give brief mention.

J. A. Burns was born during August 1865, in West Virginia. He was the son of a Kentucky mountaineer and Primitive Baptist preacher who left Kentucky and moved to West virginia to get his family away from the feuding. When J. A. Burns was in his teens, he became curious about Kentucky and why his family had left. Soon he went on a journey to Kentucky, and began working at lumbering and floating log rafts down the rivers to a mill. He also became involved in the feuding, later on, although he never killed anybody. One day in an altercation, he was struck on the head with a rifle, and left for dead. When he awoke, he stayed to himself for a couple days and eventually felt inspired to do something to end the feuding, which had been troubling his heart already. He realized that the way was to educate children, before they became indoctrinated into the feud mentality, and to try to change those that were already picking up on it.

One day he called a meeting with both sides of the major feud, and proposed his plan to start a school. Many people really didn't like the feud, but it was tradition, and couldn't seem to be stopped, for long. At the meeting, the two leaders agreed with Burns, and men from both sides started working on the first school building, a one-story building named McMurray Hall. It was completed at the end of 1899 and school opened January 1, 1900. That was the beginning. The first building was later upgraded to a two-story structure, and more buildings were added as money became available. J.A. Burns did about everything, teaching, building, fund raising, managing, inspiring. Children in the surrounding area wanted an education, and some of them walked a long way to ask to be taken in.

Through the years, the school survived and grew. You can visit the school website and learn about the school as it is now, and what they have to offer.
http://www.oneidaschool.org/

Professor Burns and some early graduates. This photo was probably made in 1916 (according to the archive info with this photo).

Used by permission of Amy Purcell
Special Collections, Ekstrom Library
University of Louisville
ULPA 1982.01.814.p

Anderson Hall 1912? to 1916?
Opened in 1912

This is the only original building still there. It is currently under renovation. The scene today looks much different.

Mr. Burns spent the last few years of his life in this building, and died there Sept. 12, 1945, a few days short of his 80th birthday.

Used by permission of Amy Purcell
Special Collections, Ekstrom Library
University of Louisville
ULPA 1982.01.302.p

These photos were borrowed from the Matlack Collection. Claude C. Matlack was a photographer of that period who made many early pictures of the school, including staff and students, and other photos of people in the area. He made photos of places and subjects other than Oneida, so if you look into his collection for Oneida photos on the library website, you need to specify Oneida, or Burns, or something related. You can just browse and find them.

Links:

Oneida Baptist Institute: http://www.oneidaschool.org/

Ekstrom Library (U of L); Matlack Collection: http://digital.library.louisville.edu/collections/matlack/

Story of Mr. Burns and the school (from the Matlack Collection of the Ekstrom Library: http://digital.library.louisville.edu/collections/matlack/story.php

Books: These books can be purchased at the gift shop at the school. They may also be available in some libraries.

• Mountain Rising, by Darrell C. Richardson. Oneida Mountaineer Press, 1986. 337 pages, including index.

• The Crucible--"A Tale of the Kentucky Feuds", by Burns of the Mountains", by James Anderson Burns. 1928. Last printing by Host Communications Printing; Lexington, KY.

• Dawn Comes to the Mountains [Picture book]; Edited by Samuel W. Thomas and George Rogers Clark Press, 1981. Foreword by Bert T. Combs, former governor of KY. Preface by Barkley Moore, 9th president of OBI. 128 Pages. After the introductions and forword, every page has one or more picures, from the Claude Matlack collection.

• Beyond Goose Creek--River of No Return, by Preston J. Keith. Oneida Mountaineer Press, 1993. This book is about growing up on a farm during the depression, just down the road from Oneida. I found it very interesting. Gives a good insight on what life was like for the "mountain people" of the Oneida area during the depression years.

______________________________

I was moved and inspired by the story of James Anderson Burns. I think he was a great man, and did a great thing by starting this school and keeping it alive. I hope it will continue to serve its purpose and carry on for more generations. I gave only a brief glimpse of Mr. Burns and the school. I encourage others to get copies of Mountain Rising and The Crucible and read much more about Mr. Burns. It is amazing to me what he accomplished. The story of Burns and the school included on the Matlack Collection web pages [see links], gives a good account also.

OBI is a faith ministry. 56 percent of their funds come from private donataions--churches, individuals, and other groups. Nine percent comes from the Kentucky Baptist Ministry, and 35 percent comes from student fees. The school also receives donated goods and volunteer help.

Below: A composit photo of OBI during the early years.

A panorama made up from three photos; circa 1908. The book, Dawn Comes to the Mountains, has a better version.

Used by permission of Amy Purcell
Special Collections, Ekstrom Library
University of Louisville
ULPA 1982.01.542.p; ULPA 1982.01.543.p; ULPA 1982.01.544.p

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