Eskridge, Vernon

Eskridge, Vernon a minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church (South), was born in Westmoreland County, Virginia, October 26, 1803. His early education was neglected, and on this account he hesitated to enter the ministry, to which he felt strong leanings; but on the death of his young wife and child he hesitated no longer, and in 1827 he began to preach as an itinerant minister. In this service he labored faithfully until 1837, when ill health compelled him to retire from the itineracy, though he still preached diligently as his health would allow. In 1851 he was appointed chaplain in the U.S. Navy, and during his service in the Cumberland in 1852 some twenty were converted, including captain Upshur. On his return to Portsmouth, Va., the yellow fever was raging there. He devoted himself night and day to the service of the sick, and on Sept. 4,1855, he was taken with the disease, and died September 11. — Sprague, Annals, 7:735.