SIX MILE BAPTIST CHURCH CEMETERY, Pickens County, SC a.k.a. > Version: 3.0 Effective: 11-Nov-2006 Text File: P138.TXT Image Folder: P138 ******************************************************************************** REPRODUCING NOTICE: ------------------- These electronic pages may not be reproduced in any format for profit, or presentation by any other organization or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the recording contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the following USGenWeb coordinator with proof of this consent. Paul M Kankula - nn8nn (visit above website) SCGenWeb "Golden Corner" Project Coordinator Anderson: http://www.rootsweb.com/~scandrsn/ Oconee: http://www.rootsweb.com/~scoconee/oconee.html Pickens: http://www.rootsweb.com/~scpicke2/ DATAFILE INPUT . : Paul M. Kankula at (visit above website) in Nov-2006 Vivian Parkman in Nov-2006 GPS MAPPING .... : Gary Flynn at (visit above website) in -2006 HISTORY ........ : ____________ at ____________ in _______ IMAGES ......... : Paul M. Kankula at (visit above website) in -2006 RECORDING ...... : ____________ at ____________ in _______ ******************************************************************************** CEMETERY LOCATION: ------------------ > GPS = Latitude N x Longitude W CEMETERY HISTORY: ------------------------ ORGANIZATION OF CHURCH The first talk of building a church in Six Mile was started around the year 1836. This was made a reality on July 25, 1836 when Daniel Merck, Joseph Chapman, Daniel McKinney and Thomas McKinney and perhaps others, met and formed and passed the following resolution: "We whose names are hereunder written, being desirous of uniting as members of one body, to be called the Six Mile Church of Christ, we do hereby unite ourselves as a Church, and make and establish the following Constitution: 1st, We believe that there are three that bear record in Heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit, and that these three are one. 2nd, That the Word was made flesh in the man Christ Jesus, who is God over all blessed for evermore. 3rd, That the Scriptures as contained in the Holy Bible are given by inspiration and is the only rule of Faith and Practice. 4th, That Adam, the natural head and representative of mankind fell from his estate of original purity, and that by his disobedience, all his posterity; that by the obedience of Christ alone sinners are restored to the favor of God and receive pardon and justification by an application of His Righteousness applied by the Holy Ghost, and that those who are renewed by Grace will maintain good works and be enabled to persevere to the end. 5th, We believe baptism by emersion the apostolic mode and that believers are the only fit subjects. 6th, We believe the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper to be of Divine institution and that the only persons entitled to partake of the same, to have been regularly baptized upon a profession of their faith. 7th, We believe it to be our duty to lend our aid in supporting the Gospel and relief of the poor with the means with which the Lord hath blessed us. 8th, We believe it to be our duty to contribute according to our ability to have the Gospel preached in the Church. Believing as we do, we hereby covenant with God and with our duty, relying on Him who alone is Strength. Done at Six Mile, this 25 day of July, in the year of our Lord 1836. Daniel Merck Joseph Chapman Daniel McKinney Thomas McKinney" The above resolution having been passed by the above men, a Presbytery of the Baptist denomination was formed and met the same day and constituted the Six Mile Baptist Church. Their action is as follows: Six Mile, Pickens District, S.C. Monday, 25 July 1836 "State of South Carolina, Pickens District We, whose names are hereunder written, having been called, met and convened at the Meeting House named Six Mile, for the purpose of constituting a church of our faith and order, having examined their articles of Faith and order, having examined their articles of Faith and Practice and constitution of those present, as set forth and signed by them, and having further examined them to our satisfaction: We believe their request for constituting a Church to be purely for the advancement of the Kingdom of Christ and His Gospel, for the love and worship of His great and adorable name; we therefore, agreeable to our Faith and Order as Baptist people, this 25th day of July, in the year of our Lord Jesus Christ, 1836, do constitute and set apart this our brethren as a church, and do hereby delegate all the power to appoint or choose their Elders and Deacons, to receive believers in Christ, and exclude offenders in all things, taking the Word of God for the rule of their lives. John Cobb Benjamin Neighbors James R. Smith A.A. Cobb." Thus we see the church as it was formed and constituted at its beginning. And true to its constitution, that it would do its duty, and assist in the spread of the Gospel, it was felt that it was necessary to join the Twelve Mile River Association. This it did on September 28, 1836, and has remained a member of this Association for 100 years. However, in 1839, due to some unstated cause, Six Mile Baptist Church, together with the Keowee Baptist Church, requested dismission from the Association, but were denied their request because the law of the Association required a reason, and none was given. CHURCH BUILDINGS AT SIX MILE There are none living today who remember the first church building at Six Mile. However, there are quite a few of our older citizens who recall distinctly having heard their parents and friends tell of the first church. It stood on the east side of the public road, and was a log structure. It had no windows, and the only place for light to enter was through the doors, cracks and through an aperture made by taking one of the logs out of the side of the building. It was customary with the younger folk of this time, for the young ladies to sit near this opening and the young men to assemble on the outside of the church and talk to their girl friends through this aperture. It has been thought by some that the first church was near the old Puckett Mill, near the present Bill Reid place. It is true that a church once stood at this point, and there is still an old graveyard there with six well defined graves, but this old church was known as Hebron. It was burned and never rebuilt, but those who belonged to it, rebuilt further south, near the present Thomas Ramsey place, in the King's Grove section. Perhaps some of the first members of Six Mile Church belonged to Hebron, and after it was burned and later rebuilt further south, some of these members found themselves nearer Six Mile than King's Grove section, and therefore helped in the formation of a church here. The second church building was built in the same place as the first one. It was a frame structure, but the weatherboarding was put on vertical in place of horizontal as we do today. An unusual feature of this second church was its pulpit. This was a very high platform, planked up all around. There was a small door in the side for the entrance of the minister, and the pulpit was over waist high. In other words the minister has hidden from the congregation from his waist down. It is not known just when this building was erected, but it was used until February 6, 1894. There was possibly some alterations in this church from time to time, but this same edifice was destroyed by fire on the above named date. After the burning of this church building, it was a hard matter to get another one to replace it. The membership of the church at this time was 139 and it fell off to 116 in two years. There was a lack of interest and much dissension. At one of the church meetings the question was raised as to whether or not it would be better to disband and not try to have a church. To this query there was an immediate response. This seemed to awaken the members, and it was decided to rebuild. The new and third church was erected on the west side of the public road, this being done in 1895. About the year 1908 the church suffered again from the ravages of fire. It seems that the public school was being conducted in the church building and after the fire it was again a hard matter to rebuild. Soon a building committee was appointed by the church, consisting of J.L. Dillard, J.E. Garrett, D.L. Kay, C.R. Abercrombie, and J.T. Dillard. These men went to work and with the hearty cooperation of the membership, soon had another church building ready for occupancy. This was the fourth church building for this congregation. Until the year 1927, this church continued in use, but during this year, the fifth building was started. The church had grown to such an extent that a larger, more commodious building, and one more in keeping with the times was demanded. This was also during a period of time when money was hard to secure. Many plans were devised and discussed. It was thought of buying the old Six Mile Baptist Academy and use it for a church. This would give ample Sunday School room, also plenty of congregational space, and if necessary, part of the building could be used for a parsonage, or any other space necessary for the church's activities. After many plans and much discussion it was finally built, and its history is very unique. Practically the entire church was built without the expenditure of but very little cash. One member would donate logs, another would saw these logs into lumber, another would do the hauling. Labor was volunteered and in this manner the present church was built. Much credit is due this church membership for such a showing of fine cooperation and Christian fellowship. CHURCH PROPERTY The first deed to land for the Six Mile Baptist Church was recorded in 1888. However, it is said from reliable sources that a deed was made much earlier than the one recorded by Daniel Merck, one of the original founders of the church. However, in 1888, Blumer Merck deeded one acre of land for the sum of one dollar "and the love I bear for the cause of Christ." Again in 1895 the same Blumer Merck deeded one and four fifths acres to the church for one dollar and "the love I bear for the cause of Christ." This was all the land the church owned until 1920 when it bought one half an acre from Anthony Baker for the sum of two hundred dollars, making a total of three and three tenths acres now owned by the church and at a cost of two hundred and two dollars. On June 7, 1895 it was decided by the church to incorporate or charter its church grounds. This resolution was dully passed, but as far as the Secretary of State's Office is concerned, this charter was never granted. Too, the charter was not passed by a special act of the Legislature. Perhaps the reason for this not being done was due to the fact that the General Assembly was not in session in 1895, due to the meeting of the Constitutional Convention that year and it has since been overlooked. In 1920 a parsonage was bought for the pastor of the church. This was used for seven years and in 1927 it was sold. Various other possessions have been bought from time to time. An interesting incident was the purchase of an organ. In 1896, the question of buying an organ was raised, but for two years nothing could be done, when in 1898 it was voted to purchase an organ. Since then, the floors have been covered, a piano bought, and other necessary purchases made when needed. CHURCH TRIBULATIONS The history of Six Mile Baptist Church is not unlike that of any other church. It runs very much like the life of a man. It had its ups and downs, but finally triumphed and is one of the leading churches in the county today. From the standpoint of buildings, it seems that the Six Mile Baptist Church has had extremely hard luck. Two buildings were lost by fire and burned at times when it tried the church's soul to replace them. Another tribulation of the church was in the loss of members. About the year 1898 the Wesleyan Denomination came into this community and quiet a few members went "Astray after the Wesleyan Doctrine." This being a new faith caused much excitement and many church meetings were held with this in mind and quite a few were excluded from the church for this reason. However, as times advanced and people became more tolerant, less fear was felt for the church's destruction and peace and harmony again prevailed. One of the periods which tried all souls in the South and at Six Mile Baptist Church as well was during the period of the Civil War. On September 23, 1861, a resolution was passed by the Twelve Mile River Baptist Association, requesting all churches to pray to Almighty God for the success of the Southern Confederacy. The Six Mile Church cooperated in this, for like the other churches it too had many members in the Southern Army. And at the close of the Civil War a resolution was passed regretting the loss of so many young men and suggested that a page be set aside in the Minutes dedicated to their memory. During the Civil War the Six Mile Church did its part in contributing money for the purpose of supplying Testaments and Religious Tracts to the soldiers of the Confederate Army. This and many other ways were devised to do their part in this struggle. Too, many members were lost to the church due to wickedness. Immediately following the Civil War, there was a wave of carelessness rampant in the country as was also at the close of the past World War. Due to this carelessness and wickedness, many members were excluded and lost to the church entirely. Some were restored, but this proved vexing to the church and was one of her tribulations. Various other troubles beset the Six Mile Church which is common to other Churches. From the minutes it is evident that at various periods there was a lack of the proper spirituality, but revivals were held, prayer made and the church continued on its upward way. ACTIVITIES OF THE CHURCH The history of the Six Mile Baptist Church has been one of activity. From its very conception to the present time it has taken part in all the Associational movements. The following table is evidence of this activity. DELEGATES FROM SIX MILE BAPTIST CHURCH TO TWELVE MILE RIVER BAPTIST ASSOCIATION 1836 - Joshua Chapman, Daniel Merck 1837 - Joshua Chapman, Josiah Powell 1838 - 1839 - Joshua Chapman, Ed Martin 1840 - Joshua Chapman 1841 - Edmund Martin, John Hayes 1842 - Edmund Martin, Joshua Chapman 1843 - Edward Martin, B. Thomas 1844 - 1845 - G. Stephens, A. Russell 1846 - Edward Martin, A.B. Sargeant, A.P. Neil 1847 - J. Chapman, E. Morton, S.H. Burriss 1848 - 1849 - J. Chapman, T. Chapman 1850 - 1851 - J. Chapman, E. Martin 1852 - 1853 - J.H. Boroughs, I. Chapman 1854 - I. Chapman, J. Merck 1855 - J.H. Boroughs, J. Chapman, J. Merck 1856 - J. Chapman, J.H. Boroughs, I. Chapman 1857 - J. Chapman, J.H. Boroughs, J. Merck 1858 - J. Chapman, J.H. Boroughs, J. Merck 1859 - S. Chapman, J.H. Boroughs, J. Merck 1860 - J.H. Boroughs, J. Merck 1861 - S. Chapman, J.H. Boroughs, J. Merck 1862 - J. Eades, J.H. Boroughs, J. Merck 1863 - J. Chapman, J.H. Boroughs, J. Merck 1864 - J.C. Chapman, J.H. Boroughs, S. Stone 1865 - J. Chapman, J.H. Boroughs, S. Chapman 1866 - H.Y. Simpson, J.H. Boroughs, S. Chapman 1867 - I. Chapman, J.H. Boroughs 1868 - I. Chapman, J. King 1869 - J. Chapman, T.W. Tollison, Thomas Boggs 1870 - J. Chapman, T.W. Tollison, Thomas Boggs, J. King 1871 - 1872 - D.H. Kennemore, J. King, J.D. Wilson, J.C. O'Briant 1873 - D.H. Kennemore, J.D. Wilson, Jonathan King, J.T. Boggs, J.C. O'Briant 1874 - D.H. Kennemore, J.D. Wilson, W.S. Craig 1875 - D.H. Kennemore, J.C. O'Briant, John Durham, J.D. Wilson, J.D. O'Briant 1876 - Charles Roper, Allen Riggins, A. Stewart, D.H. Kennemore, J.C. O'Briant 1877 - D.H. Kennemore, J.D. Wilson, A. Riggins, J.M. Morgan, J.T. Boggs, J.C. O'Briant 1878 - D.H. Kennemore, A. Stewart 1879 - A. Cobb, J.C. O'Briant, D.H. Kennemore, J.D. Wilson, J. Chapman 1880 - D.H. Kennemore TOMBSTONE TRANSCRIPTION NOTES: ------------------------------ a. = age at death b. = date-of-birth d. = date-of-death h. = husband m. = married p. = parents w. = wife