George Went Hensley

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George Went Hensley (circa 1880 - July 25, 1955) was one of the founders of the Church of God with Signs Following, a twentieth century snake handling movement that was centered in the southeastern United States. A Tennessee native, Hensley contributed to the popularization of snake handling in North Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia. Hensley is sometimes referred to as the "[father] of contemporary serpent handling,"[1] an honor that fails to acknowledge the role of James Miller, a contemporary of Hensley who was active in the Sand Mountain, Alabama area.

Hensley was bitten many times by the snakes he handled, always refusing medical treatment. On July 25, 1955, one of these bites proved fatal.[2]

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ See also Covington, Salvation on Sand Mountain, p.92 ("George Went Hensley, the man legend said was the first to get the notion to take up a serpent, near Sale Creek, Tennessee, around 1910.")
  2. ^ Appalachian Essays

[edit] Further reading

  • Dennis Covington, Salvation on Sand Mountain: Snake Handling and Redemption in Southern Appalachia (1995)

[edit] External links

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