Marlboro County ScArchives History - Books .....Chapter XXX Early Ministers 1897 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/sc/scfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com January 10, 2007, 9:48 pm Book Title: A History Of Marlboro County CHAPTER XXX. EARLY MINISTERS. Since the first permanent settlers that we know of were largely religious men, and organized a church on Marlboro's soil as early as 1738, it is proper that some notice be made of the men who led their worship, and gave direction to thought which resulted in the formation of character. It is altogether likely that some of the early pastors of the Old Welsh Neck church lived on the west side of the Pee Dee and were never citizens of Marlboro. The people were settled on both sides, up and down the river, and rejoiced, whether residents on one side or the other, for many years, to meet upon its eastern bank to worship God. The preachers lived upon their plantations; whether on the one side or the other; to the flock it mattered not. The river could be crossed in their little flat-boats and canoes, and neighborhood and religious intercourse be enjoyed. The first pastor of this church was Philip James, and in a "Historical Sketch," by the late pastor of the present Welsh Neck, Rev. John Stout, it is recorded that lineal descendants of that man are found in the present membership. Mr. James was born near Pennepeck, Pennsylvania, in 1701 and was ordained pastor over this church in 1743 by Messrs. Chandler and Simmons. He died in 1753. Rev. John Brown, of whom mention has been made in a previous chapter, was the successor of Mr. James, but did not continue long with the church, but gave his ministry to a field nearer to his home in the region of Cashway. Mr. Brown was the first Moderator of the Charleston Association, which was formed in 1751, and is the second oldest Baptist Association in America. Joshua Edwards was the next pastor, a native Welshman. He was baptized at Welsh Tract in Pennsylvania and ordained at Welsh Neck. Mr. Edwards "was a man of ardent piety and great purity of character," lived to be fourscore and left a numerous posterity; and from him have descended many good people in our neighboring counties. Rev. Robt. Williams was the fourth pastor of this old church. He was born, it is said, in Northampton, North Carolina, in 1717, came early to Pee Dee, and entered the ministry in 1752 and died in 1788. In a sermon occasioned by his death, Rev. Mr. Pugh said of him: "He was kind to the poor, and remarkably so to the afflicted; a man of excellent natural endowments, and a minister who preached the Gospel to the edification and comfort of souls, as many have testified to me; and to crown all, a sincere Christian." He was the grandfather of General David R. Williams, a member of Congress and Governor of the State. He, too, is represented in several of the best families in the country at the present day. After Williams came Nicholas Bedgegood, an Englishman by birth, described as a classical scholar and a man of good understanding. He married a Miss Murphy, and Nicholas Bedgegood, of Marlboro, was the only child of this marriage, and in the death of the latter the name became extinct in this region of country. Mr. Bedgegood took charge of the church in 1759, and held it till 1765; and for two years he preached in the vicinity of Charleston. Returning to Welsh Neck in 1767, he again resumed the care of the church and continued in office till his death in 1773 or 1774. During the absence of Mr. Bedgegood in Charleston the church was supplied by a young man who had but just entered the ministry, but who was destined to exert a powerful influence upon the after history of his country and the cause of religion. Rev. Evan Pugh was born in Pennsylvania, educated a Quaker, came in early life to North Carolina, became a Baptist; studied theology, became a minister, and married a Marlboro lady, Miss Martha Magee. A daughter of this union married Mr. Hugh Lide, of Darlington, and from this pair has sprung a splendid family. The two Baptist pastors of Charleston (1890) R. W. Lide and Dr. E. C. Dargan, are grandsons. Mr. Pugh was an ardent supporter of the American cause during the Revolution, and was ready with his means, his voice, his pen, to encourage and help the struggling cause. When independence and peace came his fellow citizens elected him a member of the Convention that formed the State constitution under which we lived till the days of reconstruction. A man of genuine piety, sound judgment and cheerful disposition, after a ministry of forty years he sank into the tomb lamented by all. After the death of Mr. Pugh, Rev. Elhanan Winchester was in charge three or four years, but, embracing what the church considered erroneous beliefs, he was promptly discharged and Rev. Edmund Botsford was elected in his stead, who, from 1779 until 1796, was the pastor of this church. Temporarily, during the troublous times, he had to flee for safety from the enemy, and his place was supplied by Rev. Joshua Lewis, who was a Marlboro man. Mr. Lewis has been described to the writer as a large, portly man, an Englishman by birth, and lived at what has been known as "the Spring Hill place" on the Cheraw road a mile or so above Easterling's Mills. A popular man and good preacher, ready to go anywhere, among the rich or poor, to relieve distress. A venerable colored man related an incident that greatly impressed his own youthful, untutored mind. The gin-house of his neighbor, Mr. Bedgegood, caught fire, and Lewis was soon upon the ground, and as the old man told it, "Mr. Lewis worked and toiled and hollered and sweat as hard as any nigger dar, and when the trouble wuz all over, he called us all in the big house piazzer, and kneeled down and prayed." He preached at Cheraw and Saw Mill. His last sermon was at the latter place. On the next Sunday he was to preach at Cheraw, but sent a message to his people that he was too sick to attend, and before night he was dead. His grave may be seen at "Old Saw Mill" church to this day, near where the pulpit stood in which he had so often preached the glad tidings to his neighbors. He died about 1812 and left no children. Additional Comments: Extracted from: A HISTORY OF MARLBORO COUNTY, WITH TRADITIONS AND SKETCHES OF NUMEROUS FAMILIES. REV. J. A. W. THOMAS, AUTHOR. A wonderful stream is the river Time As it runs through the realms of tears With a faultless rhythm and a musical rhyme, And a broader sweep and a surge sublime As it blends with the ocean of years. —TENNYSON. ATLANTA, GA.: THE FOOTE & DAVIES COMPANY, Printers and Binders. 1897. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/sc/marlboro/history/1897/ahistory/chapterx33gms.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/scfiles/ File size: 7.0 Kb