B. F. Nuckolls' Sketch Book: A Journal of His Life and Times, 1849 to 1910

B. F. Nuckolls' Sketch Book is the story of a life of faith. Nuckolls begins this journal with an account of his early life, and his search as a young man for his religious identity. The book chronicles Nuckolls' growth in faith, even as he faces multiple tests, including the death of a young brother, the violent shock of the Civil War and its aftermath, and the deaths of two of his own children. We are offered a glimpse into life in the middle of the nineteenth century, including the extended religious meetings known as camp meetings, and the life of an itinerant preacher in the Holston Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, including a record of the topics of a number of his early sermons. Through it all we are witness to history of the period 1849 to 1910. We are also uplifted by this diary, with its sincere outpourings of spontaneous prayer, by its examples of perseverance through periods of trial and self-doubt, and by the faith and humility of the author.

The closing lines of Nuckolls' book, Pioneer Settlers of Grayson County, Virginia, serve well as a touchstone for the life recorded in this Sketch Book. In addressing the limitations of what he could achieve in his record of genealogy in South-west Virginia, he moves characteristically from temporal to eternal themes:

"There are other families worthy a place in history of this upper New River Valley, but time and space forbid the record. I hope some one in the future will write up this country and its people better than I have been able to do. At any rate the history has been known, and will continue to be written on memories pages, and is known and will be known to the great God of the universe, unto whom we all shall render up the final account, for the manner and use we have made of the time, opportunities, and talents given to us."