Marlboro County ScArchives History - Books .....Chapter XXXI Churches - Baptist 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, 10:04 pm Book Title: A History Of Marlboro County CHAPTER XXXI. CHURCHES-BAPTIST. It has been shown in a previous chapter that the Colonial Council of the Province of Carolina, in order to induce the Welsh to settle in the Province, admeasured and had laid off a large body of land for the Welsh settlers. In 1736 or 1737 a colony of Welsh settled along the east bank of the Pee Dee from the mouth of Crooked Creek and extending several miles down the river. These early Welsh settlers first planted Baptist principles upon Marlboro soil. In January, 1738, they met and organized themselves into a Baptist church, calling it Welsh Neck. The spot where the church stood is just to the right of where the public road leading from Bennettsville to Society Hill approaches the banks of the Pee Dee River. It is now covered by majestic trees and a thick undergrowth hides the ground. Here repose the ashes of most of the original colony, with many of their descendants. A monument marks the resting place of Col. Kolb, a Revolutionary patriot and officer, who was slain by Tories in the porch of his mansion a few hundred yards from where the ancient house of prayer then stood. It might be interesting to take our stand at Long Bluff, the site of the old church, and gather up the legends and traditions of the times forty years after its organization, when wolves and hyenas in human form stealthily crept around the homes of the settlers to carry away their stock and property and shoot them in the arms of their loved ones. How, even then, a Pugh, a Williams, a Brown preached the Word while the brethren watched for the approach of armed forces that lurked around. None of these things broke the spirits or damped the zeal of these early Baptists. This ancient church sent out several colonies organized upon the principles of the mother body. Brownsville, which was first called Cashway and situated nearer to and lower down the river than where it now stands, was an offshoot from the old Welsh Neck. It was organized into a church in 1789. "Old Brownsville church" stood a mile or two east from where the present church now stands. So that the present house of worship, which was built in 1858 or 1859, by H. G. Lucas, is the third one, all occupying different locations, but in the same community. In 1872 Brownsville church dismissed a number of her members to constitute the Mineral Spring church, which was formally dedicated June 30th, 1872. Beaverdam (now McColl) was formed into a church in the year 1771 by Henry Easterling at or near what is known as Beauty Spot Bridge, and was called Beauty Spot. From there they moved to Pine Grove, where they worshipped in common with other denominations in a house built by the Quakers or Society of Friends, who left the house unoccupied and to be used as a place of worship. It ultimately fell into the hands of the Methodists and the little handful of Baptists worshipped for a while at "Parker's Machine," two miles above, near what is known as Mason's Cross-roads. From there they moved to the old site on Beaverdam Creek, near McColl, and built a small framehouse which was standing as far back as 1840. Soon after or about that time a better building was erected, which was destroyed by the Federal army in 1865. Some years after the war, another and better building took the place of the one destroyed by the army, and in 1891 it was removed without injury from its old site and located in the town of McColl and re-dedicated June 21st of that year. Clio is mainly an offshoot from Beaverdam. It was organized in 1873 or 1874 with members drawn largely from Beaverdam. The Baptist church at Tatum was organized a few years ago with members almost exclusively from Beaverdam. Tatum church was dedicated April 3d, 1892. Salem Baptist church was constituted in part at least of members from the "old Welsh Neck," in 1793. Robert Thomas, the grandfather of J. A. W. Thomas, was instrumental in founding the church. He lived in the Beauty Spot region and was long and favorably known as a Baptist preacher engaged in the holy calling before the Revolutionary War began. He-used to travel, generally on horseback, extensively in the Pee Dee region in evangelistic work, and at last died in 1817,while away from home on one of these preaching tours, at the advanced age of 84. From its organization in 1793 to near the time of his death, he ministered to the church at Salem. A new house of worship was built in 1880. The Bennettsville Baptist church traces her lineage back to the "old Welsh Neck"; but did not spring directly from it, but from Cheraw. Cheraw was dismissed from Welsh Neck and organized in 1782. "A part of the membership of Cheraw Hill church, desiring to become an independent church, were regularly dismissed" and constituted a church called the Saw Mill Baptist church in December 1820. Saw Mill, now a colored church, is in the immediate neighborhood of T. E. Dudley's Mill. When constituted, steps had just been taken looking toward the removal of the court-house to Bennettsville. At that time the population was more dense along the river than elsewhere; the only means of transportation for farm produce was by flatboats down the river to Charleston and Georgetown or by wagons to Fayetteville. It was not strange therefore that the church should be located in that community. The court-house was removed to its present location, and thither the tide of population was moving, and in the course of some years the church wisely determined to remove its location to the county-seat. In September, 1832, this entry was made upon the minute book: "The church met at new meeting-house in Bennettsville Sermon by our pastor, C. Stubbs. Brethren present: C. Stubbs, Thomas Stubbs, Jno. Thomas, M. Heustiss, L. Harwell, W. Pearce, A. Lamb, J. Goodson, A. N. Bristow, J. O. David, E. David, E. Curtis and Jno. Terrel." It is not known when the pastorate of Rev. C. Stubbs first began. He was in charge in 1829, before the removal to Bennettsville; and here he continued, with but a short interval, until 1837. "He was a man of great energy and decision of character; a prudent counselor, and considering his early education, a good preacher. His ministry here and elsewhere was successful, for he preached more or less at all the churches in Marlboro." He was a prudent man of business, and left a valuable estate to his heirs. He died September, 1844, lamented by his brethren. Mrs. B. A. Capel, and Messrs. W. H. and W. J. Stubbs are his grandchildren. In October, 1837, an event occurred which weakened the pecuniary and numerical strength of the church. It was the organization of an independent church at Bruton's Fork. A new house was built at Bruton's Fork in 1878. In 1839 Rev. W. Q. Beattie was called to the pastorate of the Bennettsville church and continued in that relation for fifteen years. He was an educated man, was born in the North, came South, married and settled in the county, here worked for his master and here died. The symmetry of his character and the love of his heart were both beautiful; yea, as beautiful as his snowy head and benignant smile. In 1851 the steeple was built and other improvements added to the church; and again in 1858 side galleries, new seats and other improvements. In 1881 a baptistry was built, the pulpit moved to the opposite end of the house, seats changed, and the church otherwise unproved. In 1888 a parsonage was purchased. The church was enabled to make the purchase mainly on account of a bequest left the church by R. Q. Beattie, a son of Rev. W. Q. Beattie. He willed ten per cent, of his estate to the church, which amounted to nearly eight hundred dollars, and thus the church came into the possession of a parsonage. The church building was erected on a lot of land deeded for that purpose by Wm. Munnerlyn, and was first occupied in September, 1832. And now, just sixty-four years from that date, and in the same month, the foundation has been laid and the work progressing rapidly towards the erection of a new brick building, which, when completed and furnished, will cost ten thousand dollars. The generations preceding us built churches for us to worship in and it is right that we should build for the generations yet to come. A Baptist church, called Hickory Grove, was organized October 4, 1890, in the northeast section of the county. A fond son will be excused for making prominent mention of his father in connection with the Baptist churches of Marlboro. The life of J. A. W. Thomas was so intertwined and interwoven with the life of the churches that a sketch of the Baptist churches would necessarily be incomplete without prominent mention being made of him. The best years of his long life were given to the churches; for them he lived; for them he died. Through summer's burning heat or winter's chilling blast, year in and year out, for forty-seven years he regularly met his appointments. Sickness a few times prevented, but inclement weather was not considered by him a good reason for not meeting an appointment to preach. He reasoned thus, "A few may go and I dislike to disappoint even a few." J. A. W. Thomas, the son of William Thomas and Eleanor Evans, was born December 31st, 1822, in the Brownsville section of Marlboro County. His father died when he was less than thirteen years old, and being the eldest of five childen, the care and support of the family devolved in large measure upon him. His opportunities for obtaining an education were therefore limited. He, however, did attend irregularly the neighborhood schools and when eighteen went for a part of a year to Wake Forest College, North Carolina, and the balance of the same year he attended school under Rev. W. R. Smith, a Methodist preacher who taught at Parnassus. Two years after his father's death the family left the Brownsville neighborhood and moved to what is now called the Alford place, in the immediate locality of old Pee Dee church. At the age of fifteen he united with the Brownsville Baptist church and was baptized by Rev. Campbell Stubbs. A few months after, uniting with the church, he was elected church clerk. In January 1845 he changed his membership from Brownsville church to Salem, and on the same day was elected church clerk. He also for several years served the Salem church as deacon, taking his turn in leading the prayer-meetings and Sunday-school. In August, 1848, license to preach the Gospel was granted him by the Salem church. On Sunday night, September 10th, 1848, his first sermon was preached in the Bennettsville church from John, 9:35. "The Salem church, two months after voting the license to preach, asked him to preach for them twice a month; a call came from Brownsville to preach there once a month, and New Providence church in Darlington County, thirty miles distant, asked for the other Sunday." So, from the first, the young preacher, as he was called, had as much as he could do. On the memorable snowy Sunday April, 15, 1849, J. A. W. Thomas was ordained to the full work of the gospel ministry in the Salem church, and from that day forward devoted his time to the active work of the gospel minis try. His work has been done in his native county, excepting short periods of service done in counties adjoining Marlboro. It may not be inappropriate to give a summary of the churches he has served and length of time he served them. His ministerial work began first with the Salem church, and then very soon after or about the same time with the Brownsville church. He began to serve these two churches in 1848, after he was liscensed to preach, and before his ordination, and preached continuously at Salem till 1862. After an absence of three and a half years in the army he resumed the pastorate of Salem in 1867 and continued to serve the church till 1885, making thirty-one years in all. Beginning in 1848, he preached three years at Brownsville; and generally his work there was in connection with Rev. Joel Allen, who was the pastor of the church. For one year, beginning in 1848, he went thirty miles from his home to New Providence in Darlington county, and while there would sometime preach at Hartsville, being perhaps the first to preach a Baptist sermon at that place. In the autumn of the year 1849 ms services at Bennettsville began and continued without a break (except during the war) till 1882, making thirty years service with the Bennettsville church. His work for several years at first was in connection with Rev. W. Q. Beattie, who was pastor of the church. He preached thirty-one years, more or less continuously at Bruton's Fork church, beginning there in 1852. Beginning in 1866 he preached at Cheraw for three years giving them one Sunday in the month. Before the war he preached for several years in the Sand Hills, in the afternoon, going from Bennettsville once a month. In 1851 he began his work with the Beaverdam church (now McColl), and there his last days' work on earth was done. It is likely that he preached more sermons to the congregation of Beaverdam than to any other. His services there extended through a period of thirty-six years. During the war, and for two years succeeding, he did not preach at Beaverdam. For two years the Dargans, father and son, were the pastors of that church, and for two other years, R. Ford was the pastor. But during all of the other years, since and including 1851, up to the day of his death, August 2, 1896, J. A. W. Thomas ministered to them in spiritual things. His last sermon there was from the text found in 1 Samuel, 30:24. In the afternoon of the same day he preached his last sermon to the church at Tatum, from John 12:19. Tatum is a new church, which he was instrumental in founding, and to which he preached till his death, about seven years, preaching for about two years in the academy and the Presbyterian church, till the Tatum Baptist church was built. He served the church at Gibson station in North Carolina for about nine years. For about eight years he preached at Mason's Cross-roads once a month in the afternoon. Before the war he went in the afternoon of one Sunday in every month to the Judson church in Marion for several years. Since the war he preached at Catfish church, in Marion County, for two years. The Clio church he served for five years; and the church at Mineral Springs for perhaps ten or twelve—some of the time in connection with other ministers. Other Baptist preachers have been in the county and have had charge of and acceptably ministered to different churches for longer or shorter periods. The Aliens, father and son, of Marion County, Ford, Battle, Pratt, Jordan and Easter-ling; but J. A. W. Thomas, through a long life, lived for the churches, and worked for them, and with them and was instrumental in the organization of several, and the building and rebuilding of several more. In addition to his work with and for the churches, since the year 1865, he married two hundred and fourteen couples; and from the beginning of the year 1881 to August, 1896, he attended two hundred and fifteen funerals. In the course of forty-eight (48) years in the ministry he preached about 6,195 times, an average of one hundred and twenty-nine sermons per year for each of the forty-eight years; and an average of two and a half times for every Sunday in the forty-eight years. He preached on texts taken from every book in the Bible, including both the Old and New Testaments ; the Psalms furnished the largest number of texts, four hundred and eleven; while the books of Ruth and Obadiah only furnished one each. Five books furnished over two hundred each, six books more than one hundred each, and eight books more than fifty texts each, while twenty-seven books furnished ten and less than fifty each. He always wrote his sermons out in full, and estimated that his "written manuscripts would, make seventy volumes of four hundred pages each." He prepared and wrote in full more new sermons during the last years of his life than ever before. His library has never been extensive, and his theology was drawn largely from the Bible. He went into the Confederate army from a sense of duty, and fought for a principle that he thought was right; but was thankful that he was better known in the army as a preacher than as a soldier. He preached constantly and on one occasion baptized about forty in the surf on Sullivan's Island. 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/chapterx34gms.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/scfiles/ File size: 17.4 Kb