Rowan Co. NC - Forks of the Yadkin Baptist Church late 1700's (Rev. Buckner) Submitted by Mary Meyer George W. Paschal, author of HISTORY OF NC BAPTISTS, states that there may have been two churches named "Forks of the Yadkin Baptist Church" in the late 1700's. Can someone confirm or deny? #1 was pastored by Benjamin Buckner and #2 was pastored by Jesse Buckner. Can someone confirm or deny that they were related, or that they were the same person? #1: A Forks of the Yadkin Baptist Church was in the Yadkin [Baptist] Association; it was organized in 1793 and the pastor was Benjamin Buckner. [Some authors use the title Elder instead of Rev. for Baptist pastors in that era, so his name may be listed as Elder Banjamin Buckner.] Referring to the early 1790's, Paschal states: "West of the upper Yadkin sixteen churches were in the new Yadkin Association" (p. 407). For this information, Paschal cites John Asplund, a Swede who became assistant pastor at Ballard's Bridge Baptist Church in Chowan County. About 1790 he made a tour of the Baptist churches of North America, traveling 7,000 miles (in 18 months), visiting 215 churches and 15 Associations, and becoming personally acquainted with 250 Baptist ministers. He called the first edition of his work THE ANNUAL REGISTER OF THE BAPTIST DENOMINATION IN NORTH AMERICA TO THE FIRST OF NOVEMBER, 1790; each successive edition was fuller than the preceding. A copy of the 1793 edition is at the American Baptist Historical Association library at Chester, PA. #2: In 1793 the church at Forks of the Yadkin in Rowan County was reconstituted with 45 members under the care of Jesse Buckner, a licentiate [he had been licensed to preach but was not yet ordained] from the Haw River Baptist Church, and joined the Sandy Creek [Baptist] Association. - Haw River Baptist Church was in Chatham County and had 320 members in the late 1790's. The pastor there was [Elder] Elnathan Davis [see bio Pickens Co. SC] and it was "much the srongest church in the Association, still under the care of Elder Elnathan Davis, who had as his assistants the licentiates Thomas Brown, Jesse Buckner, Thomas Cate, Solomon Smith, Isaac Hailes, ____ Ray, and William Weatherspoon" (Paschal, p. 407). - According to Purefoy (who wrote SANDY CREEK ASSOCIATION): "from its origin, in A.D. 1758, to A.D. 1805, we have not been able to find any document of the association. From its organization to 1805 its proceedings were never printed; they were recorded in a book annually, which was consumed by fire in the house of Brother William Lightfoot, which was burned in 1816" (p. 74). Morgan Edwards who wrote SC BAPTISTS and MATERIALS TOWARDS A HISTORY OF THE BAPTISTS of the several Provinces wrote in notebooks on the spot in his travels. He toured this area about 1772 and mentioned a Forks of the Yadkin Baptist Church as a branch of Shallow Fords Baptist Church. Paschal thinks this was east of the river and perhaps the same as #2. Parenthetically, Sandy Creek Baptist Church was in Randolph County. In the late 1790's, the Sandy Creek [Baptist] Association contained no church east of Chatham County, and included twelve churches (and more than 900 members) in Chatham, Randolph, Surry, Rowan, Montgomery, Anson, and Mecklenburg (Cabarrus) counties. The Baptist church of Abbott's Creek in Rowan County had been reconstituted in 1777 and was again a member of the Sandy Creek Baptist Association with 80 members under the care of Thomas Pope (listed as Elder Thomas Pope), who was to continue many years in his most susccessful pastorate" (Paschal, pp. 406-409). ==================================================================== USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, data may be used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or for presentation by other persons or organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for purposes other than stated above must obtain the written consent of the file contributor. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by: Mary Meyer ====================================================================