Burbank Article

Robertson County Times, 1947
Rev. S. M. Ensor, County's "Burbank"

By Mrs. Martha Blankenship

Out on the Barren Plains' road at the little white house that has S. M. Ensor on the mailbox, you will find living proof that a lifetime of useful service to others is a proven recipe for long life and happiness.

Rev. S. M. Ensor, pastor and evangelist, agriculture pioneer and advocate, whose burbanking activities have earned him the title of "tomato king," Has jam packed over 45 years of his life with activities that look like a 'Composite page of "Who's Who."

It was in 1908 in a mission on Cumberland Mountain in Overton county that Rev. Ensor, with the magnificent salary of $250 per year, began a preaching career that has carried him through nearly every county in Middle Tennessee and other states and after forty years finally brought him back to Robertson County to retire supposedly.

In 1912 the family moved to Lebanon, and it was while there that Rev. Ensor began the experiments that brought him national fame. Always agriculturally minded, he could not forget the poor crops he had seen on the farms of his congregation members. With this uppermost in his thought he began to cross-polliinate corn, using the Neal's Paymaster variety as the basis of his experiments. As the result of painstaking efforts, he developed a new variety far more prolific than the original. In. 1914, from' plantings of this corn, he raised 149 bushels and 19 lbs, per acre, a record which was unshaken officially until this year. So outstanding was this early achievement that it placed Rev. Ensor among the earliest producers of hybrid corn in the United States. His variety became known as Ensor's Paymaster.

In 1920 the department of agriculture sent a representative to Rev Ensor for complete information on the new corn. Rev. Ensor waived all rights to his discovery and gladly gave all the needed information.

Rev. Ensor's burbanking activies didn't stop with his corn experiments. Mrs. Ensor says that he found a new interest and one which she believes he is as proud as of his corn experiments-that of growing a blight resistant tomato. Taking a foreign blight resistant tomato and crossing it with the Marglobe variety produced one with the desired characteristics which was welcomed by home and commercial gardners. In deference to the original small tomato, the new tomato was named the Pan-American. The H. G. Hastings Co. was the First to cooperate with Rev, Ensor in placing the new tomato on the market, but now nearly all seed companies handle the variety. The Pan-American is considered the leading -tomato in Tennessee.

Rev. Ensor is now experimenting in crossing the Pan-American with another variety to produce one with fewer seeds.
In addition to his burbanking Rev. Ensor has always had time for his work with bees, a pastime he has enjoyed for over fifty years. At his present home 17 hives line the sides of his driveway and are a constant source of pleasure and eating delight to the good pastor and his wife.

Even though he now has only eight acres, his farming activities would make many farmers "sit up and take notice." He has orchard of 75 trees, an excellent year-round garden, a cow and is fattening a hog. A large grape arbor furnishes an ample supply of fruit for his family and friends. And often proves a profitable hobby.
Despite all his agricultural interests, these have always been secondary to Rev. Ensor's real heart interest, that of his churches. He has served as pastor in Cross Plains, at two separate times, at Livingston Station, Elkton, Blanche, Southside, Springfield, Bethpage, Pleasant View and while "actively'.retired, at Barren Plains.

During the pre-Easter season, he conducted a revival at the newly completed New Chapel Methodist church. He recalls that often during his early ministry he held three services a day in as many different churches. As a revivalist he has been in nearly every Methodist church within this area to conduct meetings which many times lasted for two weeks.

Rev. Ensor says that he would have been unable to accomplish all that he has done if he had not had a real helper beside him. In 1900 he was married to Dora Isabell of Cookeville, and today he and Mrs. Ensor look forward to many happy homecomings of their eight children, the 13 grandchildren s? great granchildren. One outstanding joy to Rev. and Mrs. Ensor has been the fact that he took into the Methodist Church all eight of his children and was the officiating minister at all eight weddings.

Of their eight children all are living. Edna, Mrs. Roy Oakley lives in Livingston. Clyde and his family are in Louisville, Kentucky, Myrtle, Mrs. Curtis O'Neal, Paul and James, all live in Gallatin, Edward is in Miami, Florida and Sara, who is Mrs. Atys Brunson, now resides in Albany, Georgia. Billy and his wife, who was Elizabeth Doss, are living, with Rev. and Mrs. Ensor.

Rev. Ensor laughs and says he doesn't mind being a grandfather but sometimes it does take him, by surprise when he realizes he is married to a great grandmother!

Remberances of Sara Ensor Brunson
written in a letter to
Trisha Carden
May 1999 I never knew a grandmother or grandfather. I vaguely remember a visit to Baxter when I was about 5 or 6 years old. This had to be Daddy's (Simon M. Ensor) father and his step-mother.. It was in a log cabin that we spent the night. Brother Billy was 4 years younger than I. We slept in bunk beds on either a straw or feather mattress. Shortly afterwards we go got word grandfather died. Only Daddy and one of the older boys went to the funeral. Also Christine may have gone with them. I asked Christine about Mama's Mother and Dad as both had died before I was born. She said she remembered going by train to Cookeville as a child to see her grandmother just before she died. They ran the old hotel in Cookeville. I loved to go to Cookeville as a child to visit Aunt Myrtle and Uncle John H. Whitson. Also to Livingston where my sister Edna lived. Her children were in the same age range as myself. So much fun to be together although she made us work; especially in the garden and helping with canning. Again I regret not asking or recording info about family history.

Speaking of canning - it was a big thing in summer while growing up. As you know or have heard Daddy (Umpaw) loved his garden - especially tomatoes - he had the biggest and prettiest of any one. He sold fresh ones at the market and had a contract with a cafeteria in Nashville called Shackletts to take each week. Sometimes I went with him and we got a free lunch. We canned everything in the garden. One summer - 3500 cans of tomatoes. They too went to the same cafeteria. Both Mama and Daddy were very hard workers. I remember him crawling on this knees thru rows of vegetables as he was crippled but that didn't bother him or hold him back. Mama loved chickens and sold eggs to help with groceries. She would often give me an egg to take to the store to exchange for candy. At times she did mention things she did before marriage but I could remember. She loved to tell stories and jokes and got along with everyone. Never heard her say an ugly word - always sweet and kind - never complained about being tired or all the work that was required for a big family. Always had plenty to eat and she was a wonderful cook - seldom used a cookbook. Don't know what happened to those and all the special recipes she had. Her "chicken and dumplins" were "oh so good" and we always talked about the yummy molasses cookies with white icing she made by the dozens. To my knowledge no one has that recipe. We've been told that Julia had the old Bible of Daddy's with large print so maybe Margaret would have that. Every Sunday morning at breakfast Daddy read from that and afterwards all joined in for the Lord's prayer. Often for Sunday breakfast we would have fried chicken, biscuits and gravy which Mama had cooked enough for that meal plus dinner when we came home from church. Just the thought makes me hungry. One of my first memories of going to church was that Mama tucked a little switch under her sleeve cuff with only a little showing so if we misbehaved or wriggled too much, all she had to do was touch that and I got the message. I know I lived up to the name of "preacher's kid" while growing up and didn't miss out on many fun thins to do.

I can't tell you where Daddy had his first church. A few years back we were in Cookeville and stopped by the county courthouse to look up their marriage license. Much to our surprise we found it - June 24, 1900. Mama said she always kept up with the date and year since it was 1900. Daddy was 21 on June 4th that year and Mama turned 21 on June 20th. Daddy may have had a church around Baxter at that time. I do remember him saying that he received his degree from Vanderbilt by a correspondence course.

Return to Welcome Page

Ensor Table of Contents

Disclaimer: The purpose of this Web Page is to share information for the purpose of research. I have not proved documentation of all genealogy material, nor have I kept source notes as I should. But I had lots of fun and met some great people along the way..

If you find any mistakes please contact the Web Page creator, Trisha Carden , and I shall try to correct them.