Monroe Page is the model for the Puddin' House preacher:

On page 38 of DEVIL MAKE A THIRD, a drunken Buck Bannon puts his money in the barroom's safe and leaves Aven's only saloon. On his way walking to the local brothel, Buck encounters a street corner preacher in front of a Baptist Bottom juke joint. I contend that Monroe Page (1870-1960), Dothan building contractor, landlord, farmer and undertaker was the model for the character of the Puddin' House preacher.

In the series of questions and statements,  the preacher makes to Buck, he addresses Buck, an apparent stranger, as "boss": "Ain't you kinda lit up, boss"; "You headin' down yonder, boss?"; "You takin' 'em anything, boss?"; "Boss, whore ladies likes a little somethin' on the side."; "Now, I got a pair o' fine billy goats, Boss..." And after calling a complete stranger "boss" five times, the preacher closes the deal for the goats by referring to Buck as "White Cap'n". The preacher's behavior is the epitome of the Southern ideal of the "good, humble negro" which is exactly the reputation that Dothan's Monroe Page cultivated. Monroe Page may have fit the image of the "good, humble Negro" but he wasn't going to the underpaid "good, humble Negro." For all his humility, his plans included striking a deal and taking a profit and if "humble" worked, Mr. Page used it just as he would use a tool. When Page's throat was cut in March of 1924, the injustice and brutality of the attack was condemned in a petition signed by 37 of the top businessmen in Dothan and printed on the front page of the paper. (from the March 19, 1924 Dothan Eagle) 

In the series of questions and statements, the preacher makes to Buck, he addresses Buck, an apparent stranger, as "boss": "Ain't you kinda lit up, boss"; "You headin' down yonder, boss?"; "You takin' 'em anything, boss?"; "Boss, whore ladies likes a little somethin' on the side."; "Now, I got a pair o' fine billy goats, Boss..." And after calling a complete stranger "boss" five times, the preacher closes the deal for the goats by referring to Buck as "White Cap'n". The preacher's behavior is the epitome of the Southern ideal of the "good, humble negro" which is exactly the reputation that Dothan's Monroe Page cultivated. Monroe Page may have fit the image of the "good, humble Negro" but he wasn't going to the underpaid "good, humble Negro." For all his humility, his plans included striking a deal and taking a profit and if "humble" worked, Mr. Page used it just as he would use a tool. When Page's throat was cut in March of 1924, the injustice and brutality of the attack was condemned in a petition signed by 37 of the top businessmen in Dothan and printed on the front page of the paper. (from the March 19, 1924 Dothan Eagle)

Dougie Bailey risked censorship using the term "whore ladies" in his novel. In 1977, the Eden Valley, Minnesota school board banned To Kill A Mockingbird from its libraries because it included the term "whore lady." (from the December 2, 1977 St. Cloud Times) 

page 40 of Devil Make A Third: "White Cap'n, I's got one more payment due on a leetle burial plot. You kin have them two goats for a dollah each." (from the September 18, 1928 Dothan Eagle)  

As far as Monroe Page having some goats for sale, Monroe had the reputation of being an outstanding farmer.

from the May 12, 1955 Dothan Eagle

from the June 1, 1941 Dothan Eagle

It's also easy to see a "Monroe Page" character preaching in front of a juke joint. Page owned an amusement park in Dothan. from the July 20, 1938 Dothan Eagle

from the July 31, 1935 SOUTHERN STAR (Ozark)