Schools: Philadelphia Church and School, Sabine, Natchitoches Parish, La. Source: Sabine Index, Many, La., Apr 29, 1998 Submitted by: Carl Dilbeck carlrad@earthlink.net ********************************************** Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ********************************************** by Myrtle Freeman The old Philadelphia Church and School was located about a quarter of a mile from McCaskill Cemetery on the western edge of the community later known as the Bethany community. It was a little over five miles northwest of Marthaville, just over in Sabine Parish. According to Tommy Jennings no one knows just when the old church was built, but it was one of the oldest in the community. Settlers who lived around Old Philadelphia as early as 1850 and 1860 were named Allred, Durr, Fisher, Jennings, Woods, Bamhill, Morris, and Chambers. In the 1870's and 1880's other families moved into that vicinity and attended church and school there. The names of some of these were Darnell, Middleton, Dykes, McCaskill, Graham, Schell, Birdwell, Free, McCartney, Holladay, Hayes, Bell, Rigsby, Morgan, Glass, Byrd, and Van Meter. The log building was used for both church and school, as was the custom in those days. There are several of the older people who can remember seeing the remains of the old building as it was decaying. Mrs. Sarah Glass Johnson, now deceased, told Tommy that she went to school at Old Philadelphia and her teacher's name was Miss Delia Barron. Tommy wrote to Mrs. Gertrude Hartman, a daughter of Mrs. Delia Barron Moore, asking for information about her mother as a school teacher. Below is part of a letter she wrote: "My mother was Delia Barron before she married Sam Moore. I knew that she taught in the Pleasant Hill area before she married and even the first year of her marriage which, I guess, was rather unusual for a married woman to continue to teach in those days." "Papa was the son of the Rev. Jeremiah Moore, a Baptist minister, who lived near Pelican, and he performed the marriage ceremony for Delia Barron and Sam Moore at her home near Spring Ridge in Nov. 1, 1888." "I have a letter from Grandma Barron (Mrs. Henry Barren) written in the summer of 1887 to my mother who was visiting relatives in Mississippi. In it she says that John Middleton (Aunt Fanny's husband) has collected nine dollars and six bits for you and said he would get more next Saturday when he goes to Mill. I am sure that was "tuition" money from some of mother's pupils, and it does sound as though mother had stayed in John and Fanny Middleton's home when she was teaching at the school in your community, as you suggested. So from those dates, grandma's letter, and mother's marriage, she was teaching in that area about 1886-1889. Perhaps the school she taught after marrying was not the same one as before. Previous to teaching, she attended Keachie College, a Baptist School. John Middleton lived on what we know today as the Sid Cook place, now owned by his son, George Cook, who is Sheriff of Sabine Parish. Mr. John's wife, Fanny, was a sister to Miss Delia. Miss Delia was also an aunt of Amos Barron, who is known by many in the Bethany community. Tommy said that his father, Thomas F. Jennings, taught school at Old Philadelphia and he was told that Rev. S.S. Holladay, Travis W. Fleming, Mr. Delk, and probably many others, also taught school there. Thomas F. Jennings was born in 1865, and Tommy assumes that he attended Old Philadelphia school before getting his higher education at the Masonic Institute and College at Fort Jessup. Tommy says they have a little book of the Psalms that was presented to his father by his teacher, for good behavior, on June 26, 1883. The teacher's full name was not signed, but only his or her initials, which were L.H.S. They also have several small, beautiful cards with the names of some of his friends, classmates, pupils, or teachers on them. The names are: Cora McCaskill, B.F. McCaskill, D.H. Durr, Miss Annie Dickinson, J.R. Waits and Cynthia A. Durr. Tommy wrote to the Rev. A.D. Ashby of Blanchard, La. asking him for information on Old Philadelphia Church and School. Below is the Rev. Ashby's reply: "I will give you all the information that I learned about Old Philadelphia. I helped Sam McCaskill make a crop in 1899 just under the hill from the cemetery. At that time, the road turned left and skirted the hill as you crossed the bridge. There was no road at all up the hill to the right, the way we began going later. At that time all that was left of the old schoolhouse and church were the rotting, hewed oak sills. I am sure it was first built for a schoolhouse. In those days, most all the churches were the schools or vice versa. Bro. Holladay preached there in the late eighties or early nineties. Charlie Darnell told me that John Darnell family belonged there and that Bro. Holladay baptized the children by sprinkling. Napolena Darnell, Charlie's grandad was a Catholic but probably joined Old Philadelphia Methodist Church when he moved back into the settlement from Natchitoches. There was a desperado named John Mills who reigned from east Texas into Sabine and Natchitoches parishes. He carried two guns. Bro. Holladay was preaching in Old Philadelphia. John Mills walked into the church just as Bro. Holladay said, "I'll tell you now what Paul said." Mills said, "Hold up, preacher, let me tell them what Paul said". He said he didn't aim to sell any more corn on credit till he got paid for what he had already sold. I said, "Bro. Holladay, what did you do?" He said, "I sat down, the only thing left for me to do. Mills was drunk and had a gun in each hand. Anyhow, that was the benediction." T.W. Durr told Tommy that Joe Ingram was the man who got Mills out of the house. Tommy's grandfather, Franklin Jennings, died Feb. 6, 1883 and his funeral was conducted in the Old Philadelphia Church, so W.J. Lilly told Tommy. Mr. Lilly said that Major Caldwell from Robeline made the talk over Mr. Jennings, who was a Mason, They didn't hold the rites, over him at the time of the burial but they came back later and did so. Sometime around 1890, or maybe a little afterwards, they discontinued having church and school at Old Philadelphia so the old log building soon decayed or was torn down. I would like to thank Tommy Jennings for the information about Old Philadelphia and for permission to photograph the original painting of the old building.