CAMDEN COUNTY, GA - Churches   First Presbyterian Church of St. Marys Sesquicentennial

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This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by:
 Tara D. Fields tutcher@camdencounty.org

More information and photos may be found:
Free Genealogy and History for Camden and Charlton Counties, GA

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Transcribed by Tara D. Fields
March 10, 2004

Original in vault in the First Presbyterian Church of St. Marys
Camden County, Georgia

Permission granted by the present Pastor for
this document to be used on-line for non-
profit purposes.

Contact me if you wish to have a copy of
this document with the photos included.
tutcher@camdencounty.org

The Crypt
http://www.camdencounty.org

COVER

First Presbyterian Church
ST. MARYS. GEORGIA
1808 - 1958

Celebrating the Sesquicentennial
of the
First Presbyterian Church
St. Marys, Georgia

Ink etching made by James L. Talley from a
crayon sketch by Mrs. William Vanzant at the
direction of her father, D. C. Sterling, who
was born in St. Marys in 1840 and remembered
the original building very well.


FOREWORD
The history of St. Marys Presbyterian
Church, built twenty Years after the town of
St. Marys was laid out, closely parallels
the history of the town. They prospered and
suffered together, had their good and lean
years, survived devastating wars and their
sometimes more ruinous aftermaths, withstood
the inroads of time and weather, rode out
the storms of political upheaval and stress,
until in 1940, weathered, but staunch, small
but undaunted, the coming to St. Marys of a
large pulp mill seemed to assure a promising
future to both.

Before the Revolutionary War the Province of
Georgia, as it was then called, was divided
into parishes. This portion of the Province
lay in the parishes of St. Thomas and St.
Mary. There were no settle-ments or towns,
but some very prominent and successful
planters had settled here as the land was
good, the climate delightful and the country
healthy.

This section was so overrun and harassed by
Indiana, a band of marauders called the
Florida Rangers as well as by the British
during the war, that the end of hostilities
found the settlers gone and devastation and
ruin everywhere.

Very soon after the British withdrew,
however, people from all parts of the
country began to come here, settling for the
most part, first on Cumberland Island.
Georgia had become a state and Camden County
had been formed from the parishes of St.
Thomas, and St. Marys.

These first settlers, recognizing the
importance of building a town and organizing
a county government, agreed to build the
town on the Mainland on the north bank of
the St. Marys River, at a place called
Buttermilk Bluff. On this site, at one time,
a large Indian Village had stood, ruled over
by Queen Hiacaia, reported to be the most
beautiful woman of all the Indian women in
this part of the country.

For the sum of $38, these settlers bought
1672 acres from one Jacob Weed in December
1787, and early in 1788 the town of St.
Marys was laid out, the streets being named
in honor of the first settlers. The name was
changed in 1792 to St. Marys, and in 1802
the town was incorporated.

Soon there were prosperous planters with
large plantations in many parts of the
county, but there was only one other town in
the

county, Jeffersonton, until the Seaboard
Railroad extended its tracks through the
county in 1893 and towns began to spring up
along the railroad right-of-way.

St. Marys, in its early days, became a
thriving shipping and trading center, people
coming here from as far west as Thomasville,
Georgia, with their wares and produce for
shipment and to replenish their supplies.
St. Marys was known as the finest trading
center south of Charleston.

It was in the heart of this bustling town,
young but to attain a ripe age, that this
church was built "for the accomodation (sic)
of the inhabitants of St. Marys and its
vicinity".

A story involving the steeple of that young
church is so in character with those
turbulent years, the lusty youth of the town
and the ingenuous rascality of the
perpetrators, it deserves a place in this
Foreword.

Florida at that time belonged to the Spanish
and the art of smuggling became a fine one,
as the Port Authorities and Customs officers
were constantly on the alert for smugglers.
One day a vessel anchored in the St. Marys
River loaded with goods designed to he sold
in Georgia without benefit of custom duty.
The smugglers, being unable to evade the
watchful eyes of the law, devised a scheme
that drew the attention of the entire town,
including the officers, away from the
waterfront. They obtained a horse, hoisted
it into the belfry of the church and
fastened a bundle of hay to the bell's
clapper. The horse reached for the hay, the
bell clanged erratically, and everybody ran
to the church in alarm. When the plight of
the horse was dis-covered, deeming it but a
prank, everybody stayed to witness the
horse's rescue, leaving the smuggler, free
to complete their nefarious task, unnoticed
and unmolested.

A sad commentory (sic) is the fact that the
bell for the church, purchased by fourteen
subscribers at a cost of $117.00 "to weigh
not less than 200 pounds" and inscribed with
the words "My sound to Thy people, O Lord,
shall call them to Thy Word" was completely
destroyed in a near disastrous fire on the
night of December 3. 1956.

A more horrible night never met the eyes of
a devoted people than that. The whole front
of the church seemed ablaze almost im-
mediately after the discovery of the fire.
Only the providence of God and the heroic
efforts of the Volunteer Fire Department of
St. Marys

and the men of the town, succeeded in
confining the fire to the front wall and the
steeple. Nevertheless, in the pitiless
morning light, a sickening and well-nigh
hopeless sight was revealed. The church
which for nearly 150 years had stood sturdy
and steadfast, a symbol to all of things
unchanging, unconquerable, eternal, seemed
doomed.

Almost immediately, however, messages of
sympathy and encouragement and substantial
contributions began arriving. A real-ization
of the place the church had shared in the
life and development of the whole area, the
composite faith of devoted worshippers for
150 years, an appreciation of the value of
such a record of steadfast service seemed to
be things which could not be destroyed.

So the members were encouraged to examine
what had been spared. They found that the
ground floor was practically unharmed and
three walls of the second floor not damaged
beyond repair. In-stead of tearing dawn the
proud old shell and building a completely
new and modern church as some desired, they
took heart and decided to rebuild.

The members of the St. Marys Presbyterian
Church grate-fully acknowledge the very
substantial financial help of their many
friends, and confess that without their
moral and spiritual support, the rebuilding
might never have been attempted.

This Commemorative Booklet, then, tells
something of the history of a church which,
through good and bad times, prosperity sand
depressions, peace and wars, shelling by
enemy gunboats, hurri-canes, fire, and time,
the adversary that takes the inevitable
toll, has, by God's grace and providence,
survived to serve a people and a community
far one hundred and fifty years.

The population of St. Marys has grown from
about six hun-dred and fifty people in 1940
to over three thousand in 1958. The fu-ture
seems rich with promises of growth and
opportunities for service.

This church, humbly and profoundly grateful
for the blessings and privileges of the
past, prays that she may have the vision and
the courage and the leadership to move
forward into the years ahead, ever being of
greater service to her community and her
God.

"May God be gracious to us and bless us And
make His face to shine upon us, That Thy way
may be known upon earth, Thy saving power
among all nations"

Photo

On January 1, 1956, the Reverend Billy Frank
Woods, the first young resident pastor since
Dr. Pratt, came to St. Marys. The Rev. Mr.
Woods, a graduate of Columbia Seminary at
Decatur, Georgia pre-viously served the
church in Faunsdale, Alabama. He is married
to the fomer Miss Beverly Pouncey of
Eufaula, Alabama.

History of First Presbyterian Church St.
Marys, Georgia April 2, 1807

"We, the subscribers, for the promotion of
Divine Worship in this place, and for the
building of a small but convenient church
for that purpose, do affix sums to our
several names, to be paid into the hands of
a committee, or Vestry, to be appointed by
the subscribers, who will form a plan of
said church, for the accomodation (sic) of
the inhabitants of St. Marys and its
vicinity."

There were fifty names on the list and the
amount subscribed was $1823.50. Two other
lists added twenty-one more names, and
eleven more, who designated themselves
"strangers in the town of St. Marys" ran the
subscribers' list up to eighty-three, the
sum required to complete the church being
$3442.00.

Then "We, the Ladies of St. Marys and its
vicinity, for the completion of St. Marys
Church, offer the sums annexed to our names,
for the purpose of furnishing venetian
blinds to each, window, cushions and
Tapestry with hangings and fringes for the
Pulpit. inside curtains for the window back
of said pulpit, such as may be useful and
orna-mental to said church in the regulation
and judgment of a committee chosen from the
subscribers, from a due sense of the
necessity of promoting so laudable a work".
There followed eighteen names and the amount
subscribed was $68.00.

“This Indenture, made the twenty-fifth day
of March in the year of our Lord, one
thousand eight hundred and eight and of
American Independence, the thirty-second,
between Henry Sadler (Intendant) (sic) and
James Seagrove, Daniel Copp and Lucius
Hitchcock, Esquires, Councilmen of the
corporation of St. Mar,ys (for the time
being) of the one part, and Henry Sadler,
Daniel Copp and Elihu Atwater, Committee of
a Church now erecting to be called and known
by the name of St. Marys Church, of the
other part – witnesseth, that by the power
and authority vested in the above names-have
granted ----all that divided moiety of all
the public square in the Town of St. Marys
designated in the plan thereof by the number
( No. 89) contain-ing four acres of land-
unto the said committee of the Church as
aforesaid and to their successors in office
forever".

So this church was built. That it was
sturdily and skillfully built, with much
attention to every detail, is attested to by
Mr. Thomas G. Little, an experienced
historical architect, who came to St. Marys

soon after the fire in 1956, at the request
of the Georgia Historical Commission, to
ascertain the damage to the building and to
estimate the coat of restoring it to its
original design.

Mr. Little reported that the church is the
finest example of early church architecture
existing in Georgia, and one of the finest
of its size and period that he had seen in
the United States.	He des-cribed it as
"truly a work of art, as each detail,
whether exposed trim or hidden framework,
was carefully executed by the experienced
hands of craftsmen. No crude work exists;
every joint and surface was crafted to last
for centuries. The high, three centered
arched ceiling with its original simple but
finely proportioned cornice is of imposing
beauty. The trusses also are things of
beauty, even in their rough framing state,
joined together with massive wooden pegs.
The truss and ceiling joists were executed
in a unique manner to obtain the three
centered ceiling arch." There was much more
in his report but this tells something of
the care and skill employed in the building
of this church one hundred and fifty years
ago.

He estimated that to completely restore the
church to its original beauty and design,
inside and outside, would require between
sixty and seventy thousand dollars.

Originally, the main entrance was on the
east side. A double staircase on the east
wall, from both north and south, rose to a
landing before the entrance. The steeple was
on the north end and an outside staircase on
the northeast wall led to the slave balcony.
Inside, the pulpit was at the south, and
very probably directly opposite the main
entrance, on the west side, was the choir
loft.

Some changes and additions have of necessity
been made, but essentially the appearance of
the main building is very little alter-ed.
More and smaller windows have been added to
the ground floor and cement has been laid
over the original bricks.

It is not certain when the rearrangement of
the sanctuary occurred nor when the main
entrance was moved to the south of the
church, but it is recorded that the steeple
was rebuilt on the south in 1898 at a cost
of $103.78.

Before leaving the history of the very early
church, it will be interesting, to some, to
note that there were two men among the first
subscribers to the Church whose sons became
quite well known.

Thomas Harvey Miller was the father of
Andrew Jackson Miller who became a prominent
lawyer and State Senator. It was he

who projected and worked unceasingly for the
passage of a bill allow-ing married women to
hold property in their own names in the
State of Georgia..

General Charles Floyd was father to Capt.
Richard S. Floyd, the founder of the famous
Lick Observatory in California and was
grandfather to William G. McAdoo. Secretary
of State under Presi-dent Woodrow Wilson.

In 1821 a young Presbyterian preacher,
Horace Southworth Pratt, licensed by the
Presbytery of New Brunswick, N. J., came to
St. Marys. The pulpit of this church being
then occupied, he began his labors in the
Methodist Church. He found religion here "in
a very low and languishing state, having
existence in name only". "His piety, zeal
and talent were soon noticed and appreciated
and though no Presbyterian Church existed
here, persons piously inclined and members
of other churches resolved to form under
that banner in order to secure his
ministration in Holy Things."

"Accordingly in June 1822, the Presbytery of
Georgia, for the first time convened in this
place, and after satisfactory examination of
fifteen persons who desired to cone out on
the Lord's side and of fourteen. others of
good standing in their own church who
requested to be included, the Presbytery, of
these twenty-nine, formed the First
Presbyterian Church of St. Marys, ordained
Rev. Pratt and installed him as pastor
thereof. He had a mind to work and
diligently and faithfully and affectionately
labored in the cause of his Master, by whose
blessing he was greatly successful in
elevating the standard of piety and of
introducing and building up those
auxiliaries to the Church which are so
important to her success and from which she
principally derives her numbers and
nourishment-the weekly prayer meeting,
Sabbath School, Bible Class for the
instruction of teachers, Missionary Tract
and Temperance Societies."

His great desire to serve his people in any
capacity led him to tutor young students for
college, there being no institution in town
for that purpose. "The extreme ignorance of
our colored population in regard to things
pertaining to salvation” also engaged his
concerned attention and of his own resources
he purchased a location and built them a
house of worship called the African Church.

In 1830, Dr. Pratt, thinking "the sound of
his voice had be-come too familiar to the
ears" of his members, resigned for a time,
to resume his pastorate in 1832. During
these two years, he engaged in

Missionary work, and conditions in St. Marys
worsened, according to a letter dated June
1, 1831. This letter was from the Trustees
of the church to the general agent and
Corresponding Secretary of the Missionary
Society of the Presbyterian Church,
Philadelphia, request-ing the Mission Board
to send a young preacher to St. Marys. The
letter in part as follows: "We have many
among us (we mean in our own village) who
are enemies to religion and to all restraint
upon their unhallowed passions, and who, for
a few years past have been put down by a
better influence but who are now beginning
to raise their heads in triumph.

"We have a convenient house of worship and a
flourishing Sabbath School, an Academy of
fifty scholars, many of whom are

(Photo: Picture of the First Presbyterian as
it appeared in the Centennial Booklet in
1922.) from families in the adjacent county
who reside on plantations and who have no
preaching when at home. Some of the planters
feel so much the importance of Christian
education as to contribute to the support of
a clergyman in town, although they seldom
come to Church themselves.”

The Board did not reply to the request and
in 183'? Dr. Pratt resumed his charge of
this church, and so for fifteen years, with
occa-sional interruptions, this was Dr.
Pratt's chief field of endeavor, his only
and beloved charge, for though repeatedly
invited to more import-ant stations, he
never dissolved the ties that bound him to
his first church until he moved to
Tuscaloosa late in 1837, to fill the chair
of English Literature in the University of
Alabama.

A strong effort was made to induce Dr. Pratt
to accept a Professorship at Tuscaloosa. His
talents and abilities were greatly needed
there. He finally consented to go if someone
well qualified could not be found. As some
time elapsed, he judged his services would
not be required, so he built a spacious home
here directly opposite the Presbyterian
Church, Orange Hall, which is a beautiful
example of early coastal architecture. When
the fulfillment of his promise was demanded,
he complied but the term of his usefulness
there was limited indeed. In less than two
years, on August 3, 1840, Dr. Pratt died at
the home of his brother, whom he was
visiting in Roswell, Georgia.

A moving and glowing tribute was paid to Dr,
Pratt by the congregation of this church
through a committee appointed by the
Trustees for that purpose. To quote in part:
"As a faithful ambass-ador, whether men
would hear or whether they would forbear, he
delivered the whole message intrusted (sic)
to him, and hearing God rather than men, he
hesitated not promptly to rebuke vice and
immorality whether sanctioned by persons in
high places and covered by the panoply of
fashion, or emanating from those who were
more obscure but not less depraved."

"To the selfishness of our nature, there is
something grati-fying in the reflection that
with no other people did he ever hold the
endearing relation as pastor; that ours is
the only church he ever filled and that out
of the nineteen years of his ministerial
life, for more than fifteen years he
occupied our pulpit, and who can forget how
he filled it? Is it you parents, Do you not
recollect the way in which he alluded to
your obligations as such, when you presented
your little ones

for Baptism, and how emphatically he warned
you that God, who had invested you with such
authority over them, would bold you account-
able for the fidelity with which you obeyed
His command to bring them up in the nurture
and admonition of the Lord.

"Can the members of the church ever cease to
remember with what Holy zeal and love he
invoked the presence of God at the sacred
feast; how in his deep devotion he mingled
his tears and prayers?

"That in testimony of affection and respect
for Rev. Horace S. Pratt, the first pastor
of this church the congregation which
received

(Photo and caption: This plaque was
designed, detailed, and sculptured in the
original wood, hewn in 1808 and presented to
St. Marys Presbyterian Church by Mr. Alfred
E. Conte, Sculptor, Atlanta, Georgia.)

the benefits of his ministerial labors for
over fifteen years, will erect a monument to
perpetuate his memory and their gratitude."

Such is the brief history of the first and
well loved pastor of this church.

About 1829 Women's Auxiliary Missionary
Societies were formed in some churches.
These auxiliaries helped support, and even
sometimes sent out missionaries of their
own. The minutes of the Executive Committee
of the Board of National Missions, N. Y. C.
for September 7, 1829 contain this item: "A
letter was read from Mrs. Jane F. Pratt,
Corr. Sec. of the St. Marys Auxiliary
Missionary Society dated August 22,
reporting that $66 had been paid by that
auxiliary to Mr. Dickey (Missionary of St.
Augustine, E. Florida)."

And from a History of the Presbyterian
Church, Tallahassee, Florida furnished by
Mrs. Guyte P. McCord, comes this
information: "On the 4th day of November,
1832, a committee of the Georgia Pres-bytery
consisting of Reverends Joseph Stiles,
Horace Pratt, and Na-thaniel A. Pratt,
visited Tallahassee, held a protracted
meeting and organized a church composed of
two Ruling Elders and sixteen private
members", now the First Presbyterian Church
of Tallahassee.

Probably the missionary work done by the
Pratts and Mr. Stiles, though nominally
Board Work, was locally supported. For the
year 1836 and possibly longer the St. Marys
Church was the only auxiliary church from
Georgia.

In 1828, by an Act of the Georgia
Legislature, the church was incorporated
under the name of the First Presbyterian
Church of St. Marys. Under that act, "the
male supporters of the gospel of said
congregation met at a given time and elected
from said supporters not more than five nor
less than three discreet persons as
Trustees" to hold office for one year or
until their successors were legally elected.

In 1832 this act was amended so that "each
pew shall be entitled to two votes and all
persons qualified to vote shall be entitled
to do so by proxy in writing".

For a good many years, these Trustees
considered themselves "the legitimate and
responsible officers of the church under its
charter" and "any attempt to take from them
or usurp power which they con-sider
themselves alone entitled to exercise would
be an infringement of their rights".

They called the congregational meetings,
attended to the 

calling of pastors and administered the
funds. One of the trustees was the church
treasurer.

There is only one mention of the Session in
the original record book, dating back to
1807. There is a letter addressed to the
Session, recorded in the book, from John B.
Ross, Moderator of the Presbytery of
Georgia, dated November 13, 1847. The
Session consisted of the three Ruling
Elders: Israel Geer. Whipple Aldrich and
James Stewart.

The last record in this book is dated
November 17, 1850, and gives the names and
amounts subscribed for the pastor's support
for

(Photo and caption: Present Manse erected in
1948.)

one year. The pastor was Rev. William G.
Williams and the amount was $143.00.

The minister was paid from money raised by
renting the pews. Payments were made at the
end of one, four and eight months from the
sale of the pews, in equal payments and
notes were taken from each pewholder with a
responsible endorser on each note.

The male members of the congregation met on
a given day and subscribed certain sums for
the year. The highest subscribers or bidders
were given their choice of the pews for the
year. This method was discontinued in 1846
when the members were asked to subscribe the
sum necessary for the minister's support and
the pews were free.

The record gives some interesting facts
about some of the early ministers.

Rev. A. Benedict evidently had tuberculosis
and probably came to St. Marys from the
north to escape the rigid climate.	He made
heroic efforts to regain his health.	He
wrote of his condition in these words: "My
pallid countenance and laboring lungs and
feeble tread admonish me in language too
plain to be misunderstood that it cannot be
long before I shall go to swell the
congregation of the dead. There appears no
other means of prolonging my life and ever
regaining my wanted measure of health but to
take a long journey on horseback." Those men
were made of stern stuff.

Rev. I. C. Cosby was described as "that meek
and holy man of God-his life spared just
long enough to make manifest his great
excellence and our incalculable loss".

Another, "September 9, 1848, was baptized
James Williams, colored child, presented by
Letitia S. Crichton.

Stated Supply William G. Williams

P. S. Sister Crichton engaged as its
spiritual mother to see to its religious
education. I erred in baptizing this child".

On April 14, 1848, Presbytery of Georgia met
in St. Marys. The Sessional Records were
examind and signed by the Moderator, I. S.
K. Axson, grandfather of the first Mrs.
Woodrow Wilson.

The old record tells much of the church, the
customs and the times. The second Record
Book "A" contains minutes of the Session and
Congregational meetings as well as a Roll of
Communicants (white

and colored} and baptisms and deaths from
October 27, 1842 through April 12, 1905. The
Trustee, are never referred to again.

The first recorded statistical report sent
to Presbytery is dated April 4, 1880 and
Capt. John Richardson, father of Mrs. A. H.
MacDonell, was the first deacon, elected
October 1, 1893.

Rev. H. B. Cunningham was the first minister
after the War Between the States. He was
pastor from 1868 to 1870. Until Major E. A.
McWhorter was elected July 22, 1871 to the
office of Ruling Elder the minister simply
noted "The Church is without a Session" or
"the male membership is small
proportionately".

(Photo: The Choir as directed by Miss Ellen
Wilson, Organist.)


It took years for the wounds of war to heal.
The plantation fields lay idle except where
ricec was planted, so there was little de-
mand for the facilities St. Marys had
formerly offered. When the towns began
building up along the railroad right-of-way
and the high-way was built, St. Marys was
more than ten miles away. The town began
settling down for a long sleep, it seemed,
and the Presbyterian Church, closely
identified with the town for so long, could
not but share the somnolence. There was no
resident minister. Once a month a minister
came to St. Marys from Waycross, Brunswick,
Darien or even Fernandina. The Sabbath
School and Women’s Missionary carried on
faithfully, but there was little promise of
growth.

This Presbyterian Church was 100 years old
in	1922. In June of that year, the
Centennial was celebrated and the church was
very fortunate in having, for the featured
speaker, Dr. H. W. Pratt, of Chicora
College, Columbia, South Carolina, a
grandson of the first pastor of the church.

Then in 1934, Rev. F. H. Chapman came to St.
Marys. He was the first resident pastor for
over fifty years. He retired in 1946. 

In 1940, the Gilman Paper Co. of Gilman,
Vermont, began building a pulp mill in St.
Marys, and the sleep in which the town had
indulged turned out to be a nap. Soon there
was much building and activity. The city
limits were extended, and a large tract of
woodland, long given over to the youth of
the town for their "Iong, long thoughts"
became a busy sub-division. The population
began slowly but steadily to increase, so
this church also began to rouse and stretch
a little.

Pleasant and some rewarding experiences have
occurred dur-ing the last ten years. In
1947, Sam B. Hoyt, Jr., just entering Colum-
bia Seminary, came here for the summer
months. He was the first and well loved
student pastor.

The next summer, Richard L. Summers, just
finishing his first year at the Seminary,
came to us and it was he who persuaded us to
build the Manse. On June 20, 1915, the
congregation had voted to sell that portion
of the block in the original grant from the
town which was not needed for church
purposes, and to use the money to build a
manse. Most of the property had been sold,
but the final prod had never been given.
Dick Summers persuaded the members that
every-thing was to be gained and nothing to
be lost in building a manse, so

it was planned and built before six months
had elapsed. The church owes him a great
debt of gratitude. The manse has been and
will continue to be of immeasureable (sic)
value.

Our next two ministers were retired from the
United Presby-terian Church. Dr. and Mrs. R.
W. Thompson were the first to occupy the new
manse and Dr. and Mrs. S. E. Irvine, living
in Memorial

(Photo and caption: “Remember the Sabbath
day, to keep it holy.”)


Homes, Penny Farms, Florida, were next. The
presence and friendship of these four people
has been both a privilege and a benediction.
Dr. Irvine continues to supply when the
church is "destitute", to its great pleasure
and profit.

Rev. H. L. Sneed, almost ready for
retirement, came here in 1952 and remained
for almost three years.

On January 1, 1956, Rev.	Frank Woods, the
first young resident pastor since Dr. Pratt,
came to St. Marys.

The church's	program has slowly but steadily
expaned dur-Ing the past eight years. The
Sunday School, which had long since outgrown
its quarters on the first floor, now has for
its use a six room Education Building, begun
on the morning of the night when the church
caught fire. Due to good weather and the
heroic efforts of the contractor, the
building was finished for Christmas.

The members of the Episcopal Church, with
gracious hospital-Ity, offered the use of
their church for worship services during the
rebuilding of this church.

The rebuilding was begun early in January,
1957. The con-tractors faithfully followed
the design of the old church, and the
rebuilt church and the Education Building
were both dedicated March 24.

The Pioneer and Youth Fellowship groups of
the church and the Men-of-the-Church have
organized. There are regular Family Night
Suppers. The Choir has grown in size and is
now robed. The church membership grows
slowly, the changing population keeping the
balance nearly even.

Now this history draws to a close. The First
Presbyterian Church of St. Marys, the oldest
Presbyterian Church building in the state,
and the third oldest church building of any
denomination, is girding itself for another
one hundred and fifty years. The prospects
for growth and service are as bright as the
promises of God.

There has never been a time in the country’s
history when effective witness was more
necessary. Men, women and the youth of the
whole world, in these ever changing times,
are seeking something solid and unchanging
on which to build. There is no other firm
foun-dation than "that which is laid, which
is Jesus Christ".

Summary

In this Sesquicentennial year of the
building of this church, this commemorative
booklet has been written and compiled by
Mrs. Joe Rudulph and is illustrated by James
Talley. The booklet en-deavors in text and
picture to tell something of the past
history and present activity of the church,
which had a large part in the life and
development of the town, almost since its
founding.

Since the early days of the church it has
sought to teach the truth and has been both
Town School and Church School to many. Now,
after a century and a half of service to God
and community, she asks no greater privilege
nor brighter future than that of providing a
vital Christian service to a growing
community.

(Photo and caption: Educational building
added to the church facilities in 1956.)


Ministers of the Church

1822-1830 -- The Rev. H. S. Pratt 
1830-1831 -- The Rev. A. Benedict 
1831-1832 -- The Rev. John D. Matthews 
1832-1837 -- The Rev. H. S. Pratt 
1837-1838 -- The Rev. J. C. Cozby 
1838-1839 -- The Rev. John Winn 
1839-1847 -- The Rev. Washington Baird 
1847-1855 -- The Rev. W. G. Williams 
1855-1856 -- The Rev. John Winn 
1856-1858 -- The Rev. G. C. Fleming 
1858	       -- The Rev. C. C. Jones 
1868-1870 -- The Rev. H. B. Cunningham 
1871-1879 -- The Rev. R. Q. Baker 
1879-1880 -- The Rev. Joseph Washburn 
1880-1892 -- The Rev. J. W. Quarterman 
1892-1895 -- The Rev. W. S. Porter 
1895-1896 -- The Rev. E. D. Viser 
1896-1904 -- The Rev. H. S. Yerger 
1904-1909 -- The Rev. N. K. Smith 
1909-1914 -- The Rev. W. S. Milne 
1914-1917 -- The Rev. M. E. Peabody 
1919-1920 -- The Rev. J. C. Blackman 
1922-1934 -- The Rev. F. M. Baldwin 
1934-1946 -- The Rev. F. H. Chapman 
1947	       -- The Rev. S. B. Hoyt, Jr. 
1948	       -- The Rev. R. L. Summers 
1950-1951 -- The Rev. R. W. Thompson 
1951-1952 -- The Rev. S. E. Irvine 
1952-1955 -- The Rev. H. L. Sneed

First Subscribers

James Seagrove, James Williamson, William Johnston, 
Hitchcock & Hall, Sadler & Sands, Daniel Copp, William Gibson, 
Elihu Atwater, James Baird, Robert Rudolph, Asa Lathrop, John 
Holsendorf, John Chevalier, Harmon Courter, A. Bain, Thomas Ru-
dolph, James Hanna, Charles Stahl, Thomas H. Miller, Archibald 
Clark, John Boog, James King, David G. Jones, Randolph McGillis, 
Edward Shearman, Ray Sands for the Dungeness Family, Peyton Skip-
with, Josiah Wynans, Thomas King, John McClure, William Ashley, 
George S. Colt, John McClellan, William P. Sands, Charles Floyd, John 
Floyd, John Wood, Flavina Waterman, Samuel Mears, John Agerett, 
Francis Young, Asa Holton, N. S. Bayard, James Smith, Daniel Phipps, 
George Stewart, Samuel Humphrey, Henry Sadley (Intendant (sic) for the
Corporation of St. Marys), William Ladd, Jacob Mickler, Samuel 
Griffin, David Lewis, Daniel Grant, Ball & Church, William McNish, 
John Mclntosh, Robert Brownlow, William Scott, Ezekiel Hudnall, 
Edward B. Littlefield, Ethan Clarke, Martha Delony, Daniel Gracie, 
Col. Hamilton, Henry Haistee, John Bachlott, Robert Ripley, Garrett 
Demott, Samuel Kean, George Williamson, Monsr. Deblieux, William 
Oglebey, (sic)

Eleven who described themselves as "Strangers" in the Town 
of St. Marys : Frances Wilby, James T. Coit, Ball & Church, Frances 
Meyer, Donald McLeod, S. C. Greene, William M. Scott, Jacob Miller, 
Michael Pintoe, Whipple Aldrich, William Oglebey.

(Photo and caption: 
Communion service used from 1825 until 1924 when Mrs. J. H. Becker
Gave the individual Communion Set in memory of her father, Emory
David Angell.)

Program

THE MORNING PROGRAM

Worship Service – 11:00 A. M.
	Prelude
	Call To Worship
	*Doxology, Invocation, Lord’s Prayer, Glorida Patri
	*The Apostles’ Creed, Page 53
	Hymn No. 68, “O For a Thousand Tongues To Sing”
        First Scripture Lesson, Reading No. 23
        Morning Prayer, Response by The Choir 
        Announcements, Tithes and Offerings 
        Offertory
        Second Scripture Lesson
        *Hymm No. 88, "When I Survey The Wondrous Cross" 
        Sermon, The Rev. Ewell Nelson
        *Hymn No. 46, "He Leadeth Me. O Blessed Thought" 
        *Benediction
        *Threefold Amen

THE AFTERNOON PROGRAM

Dinner-On-The Grounds - 12:30 P. M.
Historical Service - 3:30 P. M.
        Prelude
        Call by Choir, "God Of Our Fathers" 
        Invocation
        *Hymn No. 345, "The Church's One Foundation" 
        History of The Church, Dr. S. E. Irvine
        Prayer of Renewal 
        Special by The Choir 
        Sermon, Dr. Albert J. Kissling
        *Hymn No. 253, "O Jesus, I Have Promised" 
        *Benediction
        *Threefold Amen

Reception - 4:30 P. M