Perquimans County NcArchives News.....BETHEL BAPTIST CHURCH 1806 February 22, 1806 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/nc/ncfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: GERALD WIGGINS gwiggins@inteliport.com May 6, 2006, 1:26 pm BAPTIST RECORD OF YOPPIM February 22, 1806 HISTORY OF BETHEL BAPTIST CHURCH . AGREED THAT THE BRETHREN ASSEMBLING AT OUR UPPER MEETING HOUSE SHOULD BE CONSIDERED AS THE OLD CONSTITUTION AND THOSE MEETING AT THE LOWER MEETING HOUSE SHALL BE AT LIBERTY TO BECOME A CONSTITUTED BODY AS SOON AS CONVENIENT. TIS ALSO AGREED THAT ALL SUCH MEMBERS AS DO NOT AT THIS MEETING DETERMINE WHERE THEY WILL HOLD MEMBERSHIP SHALL BE AT LIBERTY TO DO IT ANY TIME PREVIOUS TO CONSTITUTION OF THE LOWER CHURCH AND ALL THOSE MEMBERS WHO DO NOT DETERMINE OTHERWISE BEFORE THE INTENDED CONSTITUTION OF THE LOWER BRETHREN SAHLL BE CONSIDER AS BELONGING TO THE OLD CHURCH. THUS WE SEE THE BIRTH OF ANOTHER CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST. THE LOCATION OF YOPPIM CHAPPEL HAS NOT YET BEEN POSITIVELY DETERMINED. HOWEVER IT IS BELIVED THAT IT STOOD BETWEEN THE PRESENT CHURCH BUILDING AND THE CREEK. IT WAS IN THIS BUILDING (YOPPIM CHAPPEL) ON MARCH 1, 1806 THAT BETHEL CHURCH WAS BORN. IT WAS NOT UNTIL JUNE 13, 1830 THAT A CHURCH COVENANT WAS PREPARED AND ACCEPTED. THE CHURCH (BETHEL) CONTINUED TO MEET IN THE CHAPPEL UNTIL 1837. BETWEEN APRIL AND NOVEMBER OF THAT YEAR A NEW BUILDING IN WHICH BETHEL CHURCH WAS BUILT THAT STILL STANDS TODAY. THE OLD CHAPEL WAS PUT UP FOR PUBLIC SALE BUT NO RECORD HAS BEEN FOUND OF IT EVER BEING SOLD. THUS WE SUPPOSE IT TO HAVE BEEN USED FOR A SCHOOL BUILDING AND AS A PLACE TODRESS FOR BAPTIZING. IN THE EARLY NINTEEN HUNDREDS IT WAS TORN DOWN AND DONE AWAY WITH AFTER SERVING AS A USEFUL BUILDING FOR MANY YEARS. IT IS DOCUMENTED BY TOM PARRAMORE IN A LECTURE AT THE MUSEUM OF THE ALBEMARLE INMARCH OF 1993. THAT BETHEL CHURCH HELPED SEVERAL CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS WERE INVOLVED IN THE CAPTURE OF MAPLE LEAF A UNION WARSHIP, HERE THE PARTY WAS EMBRACED BY THE CONGREGATION OF BETHEL BAPTIST CHURCH AND A SMALL COMPANY OF CONFEDERATE GUERILLAS UNDER A CAPTAIN MYERS. LOCAL HOUSEWIVES SET PROMPTLY TO WORK PREPARING A MEAL AND PACKETS OF FOOD FOR THE FUGITIVES TO TAKE WITH THEM. IN 1899 MRS. C.W. HOLLOWWEELL OF BAYSIDE , A SCHOOL GIRL IN 1863 , RECALLED VIVIDLY FOR "THE ELIZABETH CITY ECONOMIST" HOW SHE AND HER TEACHER AND OTHER GIRLS WERE DELIGHTED WITH THE IDEA OF SEEING SOME REAL SOLDIERS IN THEIR UNINFORMS AND GATHERED FLOWERS TO TAKE TO THEM AS THEIR OFFERING. SHE WAS INTRODUCED TO LT. SEMMES THE TALL INDIAN LT MOBLEY AND CHATTED WITH THEM AND OTHERS. THE FUGITIVES ATE THEIR FILL AND WERE TREATED TO PEACH BRANDY AS WELL. AFTER PRAYER AND HYMM BY ALL THE CHURCH CARTS WERE BROUGHT TO HELP TRANSPORT THE CONFEDERATES ACROSS CHOWAN COUNTY TO THE RIVER. REV. MARTIN ROSS HEADS THE ROLL CHARTER MEMBER OF BETHEL CHURCH IN 1806 AS WAS SELECTED ITS FIRST PASTOR. HE SERVED THE CHURCH FROM 1806-1827 OTHER PASTORS OF BETHEL BAPTIST WERE THOMAS MEREDITH 1830-1834 , QUINCY H TROTMAN 1835-1859, THEODORE J KNAPP 1860-1861 ,ROBERT JONES 1862-1866, THEODORE J KNAPP 1867-1868, THOMAS BABB 1868-1870, J.M.C. LUKE 1871-1872, BENJAMIN B WILLIAMS 1873-1879 , C.P. BOGART 1880-1880, WILLIAM P JORDAN 1880- 1886 ,A W BURFORT 1887-1897 , C.J.F.ANDERSON 1898-1899, A.W.MYERS 1900-1902 J.N. BOOTH 1903-1904 , J.W. ROSE 1905-1908 , T.A. TATEM 1908-1909, J.E.LOVEJOY 1910-1911, E.L. WELLS 1911-1915 , W.H. CARTER 1916-1919 , W.B. DUBLING 1920-1922 RILEY S MONDS 1922-1926, A.A.BUTLER 1926-1931, J.T.B.BYRUM 1931-1945, E.G.WILLS 1948-1950, BENJAMIN CRAWFORD 1951-1953, J.D.STONER 1954-1956, J.D.STONER 1954-1956, PHIL QUDLEY 1956-1958, BRYON HOLLOMAN 1958-1960 A.B. HAMMETT 1961-1962 , L.C. CHANDLER 1962-1966, GORDON SHAW 1966-1974, STANLEY NIXON 1974-1981. MARCH 22, 1806 MEMBERS , MARTIN ROSS, JOHN ROBERTS, THOMAS WHIDBEE, JOHN DEAL, JOSEPH ROSS, JOSHUA SKINNER, JOSEPH GILBERT, CHARLES W. BLOUNT , JOHN BLOUNT, JOSEPH BEMBRY, MARY ROSS, SARAH WHITE, MARTHA SKINNER, ELIZABETH COPPAGE, ELIZABETH COTTON, ELIZABETH PETTIJOHN, CLARKY PENRICE(ELDER) DEBORAH BAGLEY, ELIZABETH PETTIJOHN, CLARKY PENRICE , DEBORAH BBAGLEY, ELIZABETH PENRICE, MARTHA GILBERT, CLARKY P YOUNGER, PENNY DEAL , CATHERINE BLOUNT, ELIZABETH LIGHTFOOT, MARY MATTIIAS, SARAH WEBB, NANCY MYERS, MARGARET DEAL, MARY NEWBOULD, PENELOPE DEAL, MAR DEAL, JUDITH THATCH, SUSANNAH ARRINGTON, SAVINIA HARVEY, MARTHA ANN BLOUNT, GRIZEL LONG, MARY BLOUNT, ESTER BUSH, SARAH BEMBRY, JERMIMA HAUGHTON, LYDIA BRYANT, SARAH MINOR, MOSES DEAL, PENELOPE ARRINGTON, ESTHER PROCTOR, ESTER BRINKLEY, SARAH BROUGHTON, ,MARY DUNFORD, ELIZABETH JACKSON, ZILPHA HILL, ABIGAIL ARRINGTON, ELIZABETH COLLINS, JOHN MYERS, ELIZABETH MATTHIAS, AFRICA MEMBERS ROLL WERE, GEORGE BONNER, TWENTY, VIOLET , GLASGOW , ANN , GRACE , CHERRY , BRUTUS, CEASAR, ROSE . 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