| Many of you have read the poetry that my Grandfather, Mother, and myself have written...thought you might be interested in their beginnings... Beulah Alcott...Her Beginning Around the year, 1910, my grandfather, Evangelist Wills J. Sego, and my grandmother, Lenora, finally decided to settle down in Hyndman, Pa. They began a church there, not realizing this new 'movement' that they found and was preaching, would cause such an uproar! Grandpa had been an Evangelist in the Salvation Army. He traveled over Kentucky, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Ohio. He came to a small town in Pike County, Ohio, and there he met and married my grandmother in 1905. Together, they traveled until my mother was born, in Bussyville, KY, in 1907. After the birth of my Uncle Leslie, Grandma decided she must settle down with her tow children, and so they settled in Hyndman, Pa. In 1911, while evangelizing, Grandpa heard there was a group of people who claimed they were receiving an outpouring of the Holy Ghost, with evidence of speaking in Tongues..just as it happened in the Book of Acts! Being curious, Grandpa decided to see for himself what was happening. While praying at a Brush Arbor service, he received this experience himself. He prayed that if this was real, and from God, then he wanted it also. Grandpa returned to Hyndman, where there was to be much persecution when he began preaching Pentecost! In 1912, when Mother was five years old, Grandpa had gone to preach somewhere in Ohio, and Grandma had the ladies in for a luncheon, and prayer. While they were praying, Mother remembers seeing Grandma's lips quivering and her legs trembling..ecstasy shining on her face! Mother asked if she could pray, too, for the Holy Ghost. She knelt down beside her mother, and Mother remembers hearing herself speaking in Tongues..fluently and feeling good all over! Grandma carried her in her arms away from the open windows. She was afraid..afraid the police would come and take her away. Grandma hadn't forgotten the persecution they had been going thru; name calling..'Holy Rollers'..'Crazies'!! Objects of all kind thrown at them during church services! So Grandma held mother to her breast so as to muffle her speaking in Tongues and praising the Lord. And this...at 5 years old!!! They were visiting in Chillicothe, Ohio, in 1915. They were warned not to have prayer meetings at the church that night. Chillicothe was predominately Catholics, then. That night, while they were on their knees praying, the police walked into the church lifted the men up, transporting them to the jail house! You couldn't stop those Holy Ghost filled men! While sitting in jail, they sang, shouted and prayed until the police released them..they were too noisy!! Sound familiar? Look in the Book of Acts!! They moved to West Virginia, a one-horse mining town. In 1919, they returned to Ohio which became their permanent home. There, Grandma raised and nurtured her family in the blessings of the Lord. While in West Virginia, Grandma and the family were all rebaptized in the Name of Jesus. Mother was 11 years old when they all were baptized in the wonderful Name of Jesus Christ, in the creek behind their house. Look in the book of Acts!! They then returned to Ohio, living in Columbus and assisting a cottage church. What a heritage my grandparents left to all of us which Mother passed on to me, and I, in turn, have passed on to my children, and to their children! We are proud to claim five generations of Apostolic Pentecostals! John and wife, Rachel One of the happiest moments in my life was the day that my son, the Reverend M. John Kotsanos was ordained into the ministry of the UPC International, and now pastors in Steubenville, Ohio. My youngest daughter, Koukla, is a gospel singer, following in her great-grandfathers 'singing' shoes! With their love, and with our obedience to His Will, the Landmark shall never be moved! My grandfather wrote many poems and songs down thru his 93 years on this earth, and my mother wrote many poems and songs down thru her 90 years on this earth and I, too, have inherited the Landmark, and the writing of poetry. I write this in memory of my wonderful Grandparents and Mother, Beulah Alcott. MORE WRITINGS BY BEULAH ALCOTT ON SHIRLEY'S PAGE 1 and 2 - CLICK HERE! Written By Shirley Kotsanos - 1998 Send me an email. Shirley |
Koukla at age 4...
Koukla at age 10...
Grandma and Grandpa Sego
Beulah Alcott....Her Beginning....
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