He was ordained in a mainstream denomination, like Methodism or Presbyterianism, which leads me to believe his story. He wasn't going to make a killing off of promoting his story.
To make a long story short, his father abused him and he was thrown out of the house to earn his own living at the tender age of 11. He would do anything, including cleaning out wells (a nasty job). One day he was down a well cleaning the muck and trash out of the bottom. Two men were working the bucket up top. The drill was, they would lower the bucket, he would fill it up with silt and mud and junk from the bottom of the well, and they would haul it up and empty it.
The bucket had just gone up, and he had leaned back over to resume scrabbling around in the water, when he felt a hand on his forehead and a voice said, "Back!" right next to his ear. Naturally he jumped back startled against the well sheathing -- just as the guys up top lost hold of the full bucket and it went whizzing past his nose. Even if it hadn't killed him outright, he would have drowned before anybody could have gotten down to him.
He told me this story himself. He said he knew it was his guardian angel, and that the Lord was saving him for something important. He went to theological school and became a minister, and had a long career in missionary work, as superintendent of an orphan's home, founder of a summer church camp, chaplain at Emory University, and pastor at various churches all over the South and Southwest. He was a wonderful man, and we all still miss him!