Rev. Samuel Rhea Gammon
​
(Translated from Portuguese)
He was born in Bristol, Virginia, on March 30, 1865. He was the son of Audley Anderson Gammon and Mrs. Mary Faris Gammon. He began his studies at King's College in Bristol, where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in Arts. He then transferred to the Union Theological Seminary, Hamden - Sidney, Virginia, obtaining a bachelor's degree in theology. Twenty years later, in mind of his remarkable knowledge, King's College conferred on him a doctor's degree. In 1927 he received another doctor's degree, this time in Letters. Samuel Rhea Gammon came to Brazil in 1889 to Campinas -SP, working there in a school founded in 1869, the International College.
​
Source:
Wikipedia
Samuel Rhea Gammon ( Bristol, March 30, 1865 - Barra Mansa, July 4, 1928 ), or Samuel Gammon, was an American missionary, educator, and pastor of the Presbyterian Church of Brazil, presiding over its Supreme Council between the years 1900-1903 (at the time Synod of Brazil ).
​
History
Son of Audley Anderson Gammon and Mary John Faris, he was born in Bristol on March 30, 1865. In 1889 he received a degree in theology from Union Theology Seminary. He decided to follow a missionary career and landed in Brazil on November 23, 1889, a few days after the Political-Military Coup of 1889. Shortly after his arrival, he immediately arranged to meet with the Rev. James Burton Rodgers in Rio de Janeiro.
He dedicated himself, for years, along with fellow missionary Carlota Kemper, to the realization of Dr. Edward Lane, that is, in the solidification of teaching.
​
His motto and that of his family was: "Dedicated to the glory of God and human progress".
During the years 1900 and 1903, he was president of the Synod of Brazil, today is known as the Supreme Council of the Presbyterian Church of Brazil.
​
Death
He died on July 4, 1928, aged 63, leaving Clara Gennet Moore a widow, in addition to five children: Audley, Billy, Alice, John, and Richard. Both of the latter were pastors in the United States of America.
​
Legacy
Known for his dedication to teaching, educational institutions were named in his honor, such as Gammon Presbyterian College (FAGAMMON) and Gammon Presbyterian Institute. In Lavras, in the State of Minas Gerais, where he contributed a lot, he has a street named after him.
​
Founded in 1908 under the motto of Instituto Gammon (“Dedicated to the glory of God and Human Progress”), the Escola Agrícola de Lavras was renamed Escola Superior de Agricultura de Lavras (ESAL) in 1938. Federalization took place in 1963. It was in 1994 that the institution became a university, now known as the Federal University of Lavras (UFLA). This trajectory began with the realization of the ideals of its founder, Dr. Samuel Rhea Gammon.
GAMMON
Samuel Rhea Gammon
1865–1928
BIRTH 30 MAR 1865 • Bristol, Washington, Virginia, USA
DEATH 4 JUL 1928 • Barra Mansa, Rio de Janeiro, Braz
Married 1st: 27 Jun 1894 • Pulaski County, Virginia, USA
Willie Brown Humphreys
1865–1908
BIRTH 23 MAR 1865 • White Gate, Virginia, USA
DEATH 21 JUN 1908 • Rural Retreat, Wythe, Virginia, USA
Daughter of Rev James Moore Humphreys and Elizabeth Margaret Faris
​
Married2nd:
Clara Gennel Moore
1879–1971
BIRTH 3 APR 1879 • Richmond, Virginia, USA
DEATH 4 NOV 1971 • Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Daughter of Joseph Hall Moore and Mary Alice Gennet
​
​
GANNON FAMILY (ABOUT 1921)
(Sitting) Joseph Gammon, Mary Faris Gammon, Willie Humphreys Gammon, Mary Alice Moore,
Richard Gammon
(Standing) Audley Andreson Gammon, Rev. Samuel Rhea Gammon, Clara Gennet Moore Gammon,
Alice Gennet Gammon
Children by Willie Brown Humphreys
1.
Mary Elizabeth Gammon
1895–1963
BIRTH 19 SEP 1895 • Lavras, Minas Gerais, Brazil
DEATH ABT 1963 • Atlanta, Fulton, Georgia, USA
Married: 11 Sep 1918 • Rural Retreat, Wythe, Virginia, USA
Rev. Augustus Lee Davis
1888–1968
BIRTH 26 FEB 1888 • Crawfordville, Taliaferro, Georgia, USA
DEATH 1 MAY 1968 • Mount Laurel, Burlington, New Jersey, USA
Augustus Lee. Davis was the son of (Augustus Valentine Davis and Frances Laviona Saggus Davis). He spent most of his life in the mission field in Brazil. In his later years, he was a pastor of a large Church he founded in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Augustus was married to (E. Davis) and had three children named Sam, Margaret, and Billie.
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
Children:
​
1.
Samuel Augustus Davis
1924–2003
BIRTH 17 FEB 1924 • Oliveira Minas, Brazil
DEATH 13 DEC 2003 • Manassas, Prince William, Virginia, USA
Married: 09 Jun 1950 • Richmond County, Virginia, USA
Jane Arlene Powers
1921–2008
BIRTH 11 SEP 1921 • Pittsburgh, Allegheny, Pennsylvania, USA
DEATH 22 JUN 2008 • Manassas, Manassas City, Virginia, USA
Daughter of Charles Prior Powers and Margaret Danahey
​
Children by Clara Gennet Moore
​
1.
Alice Gennet Gammon
1912–1998
BIRTH 27 JAN 1912 • Lavras, Mato Grosso, Brazil
DEATH 29 DEC 1998 • Petropolis, Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil
Maried: 28 Feb 1940 • Lavras, Mato Grosso,
Brazil
Orsini de Araujo Coriolano
1906–1956
BIRTH 25 OCT 1906 • Tefé, Amazonas, Brazil
DEATH 29 FEB 1956 • Rio de Janeiro, Rio de
Janeiro, Brazil
Son of Moysés de Araujo Coriolano and Ludovina Vieira de Queirós
Orsin was an officer in the Brazilian Air Force.
​
2.
Audley Anderson Gammon
1913–2004
BIRTH 28 AUG 1913 • Rural Retreat, Wythe Virginia, USA
DEATH 11 JUL 2004 • Petropolis, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Maried 1ST: 20 Dec 1940 • Sao Paulo, Brazil
Beatriz Leal
1918–1971
BIRTH 1918 • São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
DEATH 20 APR 1971 • Petropolis, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
​
Married 2nd
Carmen Leal
1923–2005
BIRTH 1923 • São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
DEATH ABT 2005
​
​
3.
Willie "Billy" Humphreys Gammon
1916–1974
BIRTH 12 JUL 1916 • Lavras, Minas Gerais, Brazil
DEATH 25 SEP 1974 • Brasília, Distrito Federal, Brazi
Billy was a teacher, youth leader, and University professor.
She died as a result of heart failure caused by brain surgery
after a hit-and-run accident.
​
4.
Joseph Moore Gammon Sr
1918–2007
BIRTH 19 MAY 1918 • Lavras, Minas Gerais, Brazil
DEATH 27 AUG 2007 • Knoxville, Knox, Tennessee, USA
Married: 24 Aug 1945 • Buncombe, North Carolina, USA
Vivian Isabelle Iverson
1926–2011
BIRTH 12 JAN 1926 • Tarboro, Edgecombe, North
Carolina, USA
DEATH 27 APR 2011 • Knoxville, Knox, Tennessee, USA
Daughter of Daniel Iverson and Vivian Fraser Thorpe
​
JOSEPH GAMMON OBITUARY
GAMMON, THE REV. JOSEPH MOORE - the former Chaplain of Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center, passed away peacefully at his home on August 27, 2007. A member of First Families of Tennessee, Rev. Gammon was born in Lavras, Minas-Gerais, Brazil in 1918, on the campus of Instituto Presbiteriano Gammon, the school founded by his missionary parents, Sam-uel Rhea Gammon and Clara Moore Gam-mon. A 1940 graduate of Davidson College, Rev. Gammon was a veteran, serving in the US Navy Chaplain Corps in the Pacific Theater of World War II and in the Korean War. He spent many years in the Naval Reserves, retiring at the rank of Com-mander in 1975. He was ordained as a Presby-terian Minister on July 31, 1949, after graduating from Union Theological Seminary in Richmond, VA. After serving pastorates in Morgan City, Louisiana; Madison, Florida; and Lake City, South Carolina, he was Chaplain at Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center from 1965 to 1986. The Joseph M. Gammon Series on Ministry was established in 1981 in his honor. In October 2006, the Rev. Gammon was awarded an hon-orary doctorate by Brazil's Instituto Presbi-teriano Gammon. Following his retirement, Gammon served as an interim pastorate at First Presbyterian Church in Etowah, Tennessee, and at First Presbyterian Church in Knoxville.
He worshipped at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Knoxville. The Rev. Gam-mon is survived by: his wife of 62 years, the former Vivian Isabel Iverson; daughter, Genet Gammon Weber and husband David; son, Daniel Iverson Gammon and wife Sandy; daughter, Lalla Gammon Phillips and husband John; and grandchildren, Jacob R. Potts and wife Jessica; Anna Gammon Jarvis and husband Greg; Luke Gammon Weber and Ashlie Bitner; Hannah Gammon Disney and husband Matt; Rachael Erin Gammon; John Alexander Phillips; and Forrest Christopher Phillips; and great-grand-children, Joseph Daniel Jarvis and Madelyn Elizabeth Jarvis of Roanoke. He is also survived by: nieces, Alicia Coriolano of Athens, Greece, and Flora MacDonald Gammon of Waynesville, North Carolina, and great-nephew, Dr. Iason Lykourezos, and great-niece, Marina Lykourezos, both of Athens, Greece. He also leaves behind his best friend, Tom Watts, of Knoxville. He is predeceased by: his son, Joseph Moore Gammon, Jr., of Knoxville; his father, Rev. Samuel Rhea Gammon of Rural Retreat, Virginia, and mother, Clara Moore Gammon of Richmond, Virginia, whom both served as life-long missionaries in Lavras, Minas-Gerais, Brazil; by sisters Alicia Gennet Coriolano and Billie Gammon of Brazil; brothers Audley Anderson Gammon of Brazil; and the Rev. Richard Rhea Gammon of Greenville, North Carolina. A memorial service will be held Sunday, September 9, 2007, at 3:00 p.m. at Westminster Presbyterian Church, 6500 Northshore Drive, Knoxville 37919. The family will receive friends following the service. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations are made to Westminster Presbyterian Church for the Joseph Moore Gammon Scholarship Fund at Instituto Presbiteriano Gammon, or to the Joseph Gammon Chaplain's Fund, c/o Chaplain's Office at Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center in Knoxville.
Published by Knoxville News Sentinel on Aug. 28, 2007.
5.
Rev. Richard Rhea Gammon
1920–2004
BIRTH 15 JAN 1920 • Lavras, Minas Gerais, Brazil
DEATH 8 JAN 2004 • Greenville, Pitt, North Carolina, USA
Married: 19 May 1943 • Little Rock, Dillon, South Carolina, USA
Flora Louise Macdonald
1921–2001
BIRTH 1 NOVEMBER 1921 • Little Rock, Dillon, South Carolina, USA
DEATH 22 MAY 2001 • Greenville, Pitt, North Carolina, USA
Son of Kate McLaurin McDonald and Mary Alene McQueen
​
Knoxville News-Sentinel Death notices for Jan. 9 January 9, 2004, Knox County
​
GAMMON, REVEREND RICHARD RHEA — 83, died Thursday, January 8, 2004, in Pitt County Memorial Hospital. A memorial service will be conducted Sunday at 3 p.m. in the First Presbyterian Church. The Rev. Gammon, son of the late Rev. Dr. Samuel Rhea and Clara Gennett Moore Gammon was a native of Lavras, Minas, Brazil. In 1936 he moved to North Carolina at age 16. He received a B.A. degree from Davidson College and received both his B.D. and Master of Theology degrees from Union Theological Seminary in Richmond, VA.
He first served as Pastor of two Presbyterian churches in Duplin County for one year, and as Supply Pastor of Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Fayetteville for one year. He pastored the First Presbyterian Church in Dunn, NC for 10 years and the First Presbyterian Church in Columbia, TN for three years, prior to moving to Greenville in 1958 where he served the First Presbyterian Church until his retirement in 1985.
After his retirement, he was named Pastor Emeritus and served as Interim Pastor for a number of churches in Eastern North Carolina. He continued to provide pastoral care for members of this community until his death. The Rev. Gammon served as Director of amateur athletics at the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games for a number of years and received the Agnes MacRae Morton Award in 1987. He was a member of the Golden K Kiwanis Club, the New Hope Presbytery, and the St. Andrews Society of North Carolina. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his wife, Mrs. Flora MacDonald Gammon; two sisters, Mrs. Alice Gennett Coriolano and Miss Willie Humphries Gammon. Surviving is a daughter, Flora MacDonald Gammon Dall, and husband, John, of Waynesville, NC; 12 step-grandchildren; 25 step-great-grandchildren; four step-great-great-grandchildren; and two brothers, Audley Anderson Gammon of Petropolis, Brazil and the Rev. Joseph Moore Gammon of Knoxville, TN.
The family will receive friends from 7 to 9 p.m. Saturday at Wilkerson Funeral Home. Memorials may be made to the First Presbyterian Church, 1400 S. Elm Street, Greenville, NC 27858; or to the Gammon Educational Institute in Lavras, Minas, Brazil, c/o First Presbyterian Church, 1400 S. Elm Street, Greenville, NC 27858
​
