The Resume

(May 2, 1881-July 25, 1955)
Born in Scott County, Virginia
Pentecostal minister
Popularized snake handling

Why he might be annoying:

He was illiterate.
He was married four times, divorced three times.
His first three wives cited his heavy drinking, frequent travels, and inability to earn a steady income as grounds for divorce.
Among the activities he declared sinful were wearing lipstick and playing baseball.
He also condemned alcohol consumption, but he was arrested for moonshining during Prohibition (1923).
He was often credited with starting snake handling, but others had practiced it before him. (His children speculated that he had been inspired by a childhood memory of witnessing an elderly woman handling snakes during a camp revival meeting.)
When a congregation member at one of his tent meetings was bitten, he predicted a miraculous recovery, but the man died (April, 1936).
At his final service, he was bitten by a five-foot rattlesnake, refused medical treatment, and died the next morning.

Why he might not be annoying:

He was charismatic enough to convince congregations to hold poisonous snakes.
After one snake handling-related arrest in Chattanooga, Tennessee, he was released after his followers intervened with authorities (1945).
He reportedly survived over 400 snake bites.
He also survived drinking strychnine and battery acid during services.

Credit: C. Fishel

Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

• Breeders [Have 5 or More Kids] (Ranked: 13)
• C. Fishel's Profiles [Series 76]
• God Spoke to Me
• I Died in 1955 (Ranked: 74)
• I Married for Less than Two Years
• I was Injured by Animals
• My Spouse is at Least Ten Years Younger than Me
• Our Marriage Didn't Make It To Our First Anniversary
• Profiles 46751-47000 (Ranked: 46996)

Year In Review:

In 2023, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
In 2022, Out of 5 Votes: 40.0% Annoying
In 2021, Out of 12 Votes: 91.67% Annoying
In 2020, Out of 27 Votes: 37.04% Annoying