Rev. B. A. Ingram, a prominent minister of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, died at his home near Monticello, September 22, of swamp fever. Deceased was well and favorably known throughout Southeast Arkansas, and the announcement of his death will cause a widespread sorrow. Though comparatively a young man, there is perhaps no minister who has labored more assiduously for the spread of the gospel, or done more hard service, often riding for weeks through swamps and thinly populated settlements to bring the bread of life to the needy. He leaves a wife and a large family of children with a host of friends to mourn his untimely end.
[Source: Arkansas Gazette, September 27, 1892]

Name: B. A. Ingram
Presbytery: Bartholomew
Time of Death: September, 1892
[Source: Minutes of the General Assembly of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, 1893]

INGRAM.--Rev. Benjamin A. Ingram was born October 5, 1850, in Jefferson county, Ark., died at his home, in Drew county, Ark., September 21, 1892. He was the only son of Thomas J. and C.C. Ingram. His parents died when he was only a small boy. He managed to secure a fair education. He went to the theological school in Lebanon, Tenn., in 1872. He professed religion at a Methodist camp meeting in 1871, and united with that church, but becoming dissatisfied with the government of that church he joined the Bartholomew Presbytery of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, in 1872. He was married to Miss E.T. Traweek [sic. Trawick], in 1873. He leaves a wife and nine children to mourn his untimely death. These have the deepest sympathy of all their friends. In his death the presbytery has lost an able minister, the many congregations he had in charge an efficient and faithful pastor, his wife a devoted husband, his children a loving father, the truth a bold and fearless defender. His twenty years of preaching, during which time he encountered so many hardships, was largely a work of love. Even when his health began to fail and his friends entreated him to seek a more retired and less laborious work he simply pushed onward, preferring to labor among the friends of his youth. Some years he traveled six thousand miles, principally on horseback, filling as many as twenty appointments per month. He went through wind and rain, heat and cold. If the promise, "The greater the cross, the brighter the crown," is to be applied to his life work, his crown will be set with jewels. In one year he preached three hundred and sixty-five sermons. He was very successful in winning converts, and eternity alone will reveal the good he has done. He received thirty members during his last meeting, which was the last for that presbyterial year. Returning home to recuperate, he was taken ill with that most dreaded disease, swamp fever, which ended his short though brilliant, useful, and eventful life. His sufferings were very great, but he bore them with Christlike fortitude, without a murmur or complaint. He attempted to sing before he died, "I'm going home." He said to his sister (the last surviving member of the family) that he had been thinking of that passage of Scripture, "Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace." We shall not attempt a glowing eulogy, for we feel unequal to the task. No king has ever ruled without censure, or an individual lived above reproach. While some may deride, we see much to praise, to laud, to emulate, in his life. He had a well-stored mind, and seemed at all times to be equipped for any emergency. This, in connection with his quick, flashing intellect, and readiness of speech, his sound and forcible arguments, his superior eloquence, lead us to believe that if he had had the advantage of a higher and thorough education in early life, he would have ranked among the greatest preachers of his day. But, alas! he is dead, and we are left on the shores of time to mourn, but not as those who have no hope. We would say to the bereft family and relatives, trust in the precious promises of the Scripture, looking to the consummation of all things, when hope shall have reaped its full fruition, and this life with immortality is crowned.
A FRIEND.
[Source: The Cumberland Presbyterian, November 30, 1893, page 319]

In 1873 the name of B.A. Ingram appears in the list of licentiates. It is probable that he had become a candidate for the ministry some two years earlier, for he was in school at Cumberland University, Lebanon, Tennessee, in 1871-1872, and was one of the twenty-three residents of Camp Blake who signed a letter to Nathan Green, chancellor of the university, expressing appreciation for the advantages afforded by this facility. [Minutes of General Assembly, 1872, p. 73] Camp Blake was a boardinghouse provided for ministerial students. In 1875, Ingram was listed for the first time as an ordained minister. He soon became one of the most sought-after preachers in the presbytery. Hensley mentions a report of a camp meeting held by Ingram at Moro Bay in 1882, written by a member of the congregation. Praising Ingram highly, this member wrote that

he had ridden thirty miles and preached three sermons in one day. During the course of one month he filled twenty-one appointments and traveled a circuit of sixty-five miles from one end to the other. Between the first of August and October, he conducted revivals in eight places and preached seven to twelve times a week. [Cumberland Presbyterian, October 12, 1882, p. 5, cited by Hensley, op. cit., p. 18.]

Ingram's ministry was brief, as he died September 21, 1892, in the forty-second year of his life. [Cumberland Presbyterian, Nov. 20, 1892, p. 15.] Two of his sons, K. I. and W. T. Ingram, became Cumberland Presbyterian ministers, as did three grandsons. One of his grandsons, W. T. Ingram, Jr., served from 1964 to 1978 as president of Memphis Theological Seminary.

Benjamin A. Ingram was ordained in 1875 by Bartholomew Presbytery.

[Source: Campbell, Thomas H. Arkansas Cumberland Presbyterians 1812-1984: A People of Faith. Memphis, Tennessee: Arkansas Synod of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, 1985, pages 147-148, 308].

1873
B. A. Ingram, Pleasant Ridge Ark
Licentiate - Bartholomew Presbytery - Ouachita Synod

1874
B. A. Ingram, St. Johns, Ark.
Licentiate - Bartholomew Presbytery - Ouachita Synod

1875
Benj. A. Ingram, Cornersville, Ark.
Minister - Bartholomew Presbytery - Ouachita Synod

1876
B. A. Ingram, Cornersville, Ark.
Minister - Bartholomew Presbytery - Ouachita Synod

1877
B. A. Ingram, Cornersville, Ark.
Minister - Bartholomew Presbytery - Ouachita Synod

1878
B. A. Ingram, Hampton, Ark.
Minister - Bartholomew Presbytery - Ouachita Synod

Commissioner to the 48th General Assembly of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, May 16-23, 1878 in Lebanon, Tennessee

1879
B. A. Ingram, Lanark, Ark.
Minister - Bartholomew Presbytery - Ouachita Synod

1880
B. A. Ingram, Center, Ark.
Minister - Bartholomew Presbytery - Ouachita Synod

1881
Directory reprinted from 1880

1882
B. A. Ingram, Warren, Ark.
Minister - Bartholomew Presbytery - Ouachita Synod

1883
Directory reprinted from 1882

1884
B. A. Ingram, Cornersville, Ark.
Minister - Bartholomew Presbytery - Ouachita Synod

1885
B. A. Ingram, Star City, Ark.
Minister - Bartholomew Presbytery - Arkansas Synod

Commissioner to the 55th General Assembly of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, May 21-27, 1885 in Bentonville, Arkansas
Served on the Committee on Publication

1886
B. A. Ingram, Star City, Ark.
Minister - Bartholomew Presbytery - Arkansas Synod

Commissioner to the 56th General Assembly of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, May 20-27, 1886 in Sedalia, Missouri

1887
B. A. Ingram, Star City, Ark.
Minister - Bartholomew Presbytery - Arkansas Synod

Commissioner to the 57th General Assembly of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, May 19-25, 1887 in Covington, Ohio
Served on Committee on the Minutes of Alabama Synod

1888
B. A. Ingram, Star City, Ark.
Minister - Bartholomew Presbytery - Arkansas Synod

1889
B. A. Ingram, Star City, Ark.
Minister - Bartholomew Presbytery - Arkansas Synod
Commissioner to the 59th General Assembly of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, May 16-23, 1889 in Kansas City, Missouri
Served on Committee on the Minutes of Pacific Synod

1890
B. A. Ingram, Monticello, Ark.
Minister - Bartholomew Presbytery - Arkansas Synod
Pastor - Florence Cumberland Presbyterian Church - Florence, Arkansas
Pastor - Gamette Cumberland Presbyterian Church [session clerk's address is Star City, Arkansas
Pastor - Harmony Cumberland Presbyterian Church [session clerk's address is Andover, Arkansas]
Pastor - New Hope Cumberland Presbyterian Church [session clerk's address is Star City, Arkansas]
Pastor - Rose Hill Cumberland Presbyterian Church [session clerk's address is Monticello, Arkansas]
Pastor - Star City Cumberland Presbyterian Church - Star City, Arkansas
Pastor - Spring Hill Cumberland Presbyterian Church [session clerk's address is Monticello, Arkansas]
Pastor - Tillar Station Cumberland Presbyterian Church - Tillar Station, Arkansas
Pastor - Tyro Cumberland Presbyterian Church - Tyro, Arkansas

1891
B. A. Ingram, Star City, Ark.
Minister - Bartholomew Presbytery - Arkansas Synod
Pastor - Gamette Cumberland Presbyterian Church [session clerk's address is Star City, Arkansas
Pastor - Harmony Cumberland Presbyterian Church [session clerk's address is Annover, Arkansas]
Pastor - New Hope Cumberland Presbyterian Church [session clerk's address is Tillar Station, Arkansas]
Pastor - Rose Hill Cumberland Presbyterian Church [session clerk's address is Monticello, Arkansas]
Pastor - Star City Cumberland Presbyterian Church - Star City, Arkansas
Pastor - Tillar Station Cumberland Presbyterian Church - Tillar Station, Arkansas
Pastor - Tyro Cumberland Presbyterian Church - Tyro, Arkansas

Mrs. Elizabeth T. Ingram
Was born in Alabama, January 23, 1856. She came to Arkansas when she was a little girl, and resided in that state until she was called to her heavenly home on September 2, 1939.

She was education in the public schools, and in the old academy at Toledo, Ark. She became a Christian early in life, and was ever faithful to her profession. She was united in holy wedlock to the late Rev. B.A. Ingram in 1873. She was left a widow with nine children, forty-seven years ago, the youngest child being a week old when father died. Mother took up the battle of both father and mother to those helpless children, and by almost super-human perseverance, she reared all of them to be grown, and sent them out to fill respectable places in the world and church. Mother brought up her children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. She was never known to weaken or falter. In the darkest days of her struggle she would say, "A better day will come." In all those years she received no aid from the Board of Ministerial Relief, nor from any other source. She went forth in the strength of her God, and by His grace and guidance she triumphed over every foe and won the crown of victory, both in this world and in the world to come. She loved the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, and was a true and loyal member of it until she was called to take her place in the Church above. She did not die, but just closed her eyes to open them on the indescribable beauties of heaven, as she went sweeping through the great Eastern Gate, where her son and husband were waiting with loving arms to receive her.

The funeral service was conducted by Rev. Walker B. Healey, pastor of the Presbyterian Church, U.S., and Rev. J. M. Hamilton, pastor of the Methodist Church. Interment was in the old Camp Ground Cemetery about eight miles north of Monticello, Ark.
By her children.
[Source: The Cumberland Presbyterian, October 19, 1939, page 14.]