LIBERTY FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH CEMETERY, Pickens County, SC a.k.a. > Version: 3.0 Effective: 11-Aug-2006 Text File: P214.TXT Image Folder: P214 ******************************************************************************** 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 Aug-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: ------------------------ The First Baptist Church of Liberty had its beginning during the Revolutionary War. Services were first held in a crude log building that had been erected for that purpose. As nearly as can be ascertained from skimpy records and tradition, we note the year 1780 as the founding year of our church. During its early years, it was called simply "Bethlehem Church". Its location was about a mile northwest of the city of Liberty. Only an abandoned cemetery and a pile of rocks give evidence that a church once stood on these grounds. During 1802, a new house of worship was erected about one mile southeast of the present city of Liberty near a widely known spring. It was then called "Salubrity Spring Baptist Church". Eleven years afterward, the church was deeded the ground upon which it was built. The church became a member of the Saluda Association in 1817 and remained so until 1829, at which time the Twelve Mile River Association was formed. "Liberty Church," the name by which it was now known, along with several other churches of the Saluda Association, became members of the newly organized Association. Tradition tells us that the name "Liberty" was chosen because of rejoicing that liberty had been won by the thirteen colonies during the Revolutionary War. In 1826, the total membership of the church consisted of nine members. However great the hardships that were encountered, the church was kept alive by a few faithful members. One of those we might mention during this period was Mrs. Cynthia Parsons who in 1832 was given the office of Deaconess. Another church building was erected in 1862 on the same site where the old building had stood for sixty years. By the year 1867, the membership had grown to a total of 51 members (45 whites and 6 blacks). The Building erected in 1862 lasted until 1883, at which time it was torn down, and much of the lumber was used to construct a new house of worship on what is now the corner of Front and Church Streets in Liberty, South Carolina. The town itself, in the meantime, had taken the church's name for its own. During 1913, a handsome new brick church building was put up where the old church had been built in 1883. This structure served the church well until 1965 at which time the present church complex was built. The Family Life Center was built in 1978. This church, having respect for its heritage from the past, looks with anticipation toward the future. The sacrifices of those who went before us compel us to do no less. By: Piedmont Baptist Association 2003 o----------o Liberty First Baptist Church The earliest Baptist church in the Liberty area, according to William Clayton's statement recorded in the Piedmont Baptist Association Minutes in 1890, was a crude log house located northwest of the present city limits. Clayton also stated that the congregation later built a new structure one and one-half miles from this location in the area of Liberty Spring near the Weswiew Cemetery. There are no records of the Liberty Baptist Church before the Mount Pisgah Baptist Church minutes record that . . . about l800 or 1802 during this time there was a considerable ingathering till the numbers amounted to sixty. About this time two churches were constituted out of the Bowels of this church, one under the name of Holly Springs in Greenville, and the other under the name of Liberty. When the Liberty Church applied to the Saluda Baptist Association in 1817 for admission through her delegates, Enoch Smith and Champ Taylor, the minutes state that "A Church,(viz.) Liberty, lately constituted from Mount Pisgah, made application by letter and messengers for admission into our union; which was cordially received, and their messengers invited to seat with us." Men who attended Saluda Association Sessions were Robert Orr, Phillip May, Enoch Smith, William Hubbard, and Champ Taylor. In 1826, the membership of the church consisted of only nine persons. One faithful member during this period of hardship for the small church was Cynthia Parsons, who was elected to the office of deaconess in 1832. The church joined with other Baptist churches in 1829 to form the Twelve Mile River Association. Men who attended Twelve Mile Association sessions were William Clayton, Samuel Parsons, John McWhorter, J.B. Clayton, James Parsons, and Henry Sergeant. The church building stood for approximately forty years, before being replaced in 1862 with a new structure on the same site at Liberty Spring. By that year the membership had grown to fifty-one persons: forty-five whites and six blacks. Thomas R. Gary was called as pastor, and he served the church for six years. The Liberty church remained a member of the Twelve Mile River Association until 1876, when, at Mount Pisgah Church, the Liberty Church was among twelve churches of that Association calling for letters of dismissal with the view of forming the Piedmont Baptist Association. The Liberty church was also incorporated in 1876. The building at Liberty Spring was torn down in 1882 or 1883,and much of the lumber was used to construct a new building on the corner of Front and Church streets (now the site of the parking lot adjacent to the Liberty Fire Department). The wood structure was replaced in 1913by a brick building located on the same lot. This structure served the church until 1965,when the membership decided to relocate. A new physical plant was constructed on Edgemont Street. The following list, though in complete, records some of the pastors of the Liberty First Baptist Church: W. "Buck" Singleton(1880),D. W. Hiott (1884), L.T. Weldon (1891), D. W. Hiott (1903), P.G. Crawford(1906), A.E. Howard (1910), J.E. Crim (1910), T.M. Galphin (1915), J.H. Machen (1917), George E. Smith (1918), Charles F. Sims (1921), A. Howard Wilson (1927), George T. Pennell (1929), H.M. Alley (1937), C.M. Johnson(1941), C.E. Scarborough (1943), R.T. Jones(1949), A. B. Couch (1953), Harry Lee Thomas (1957), Lonnie H. Shull(1964), Thomas S. Turner(1968), and Dr. Hugh A. Cooper(1973). Contributed by: Anne Sheriff TOMBSTONE TRANSCRIPTION NOTES: ------------------------------ a. = age at death b. = date-of-birth d. = date-of-death h. = husband m. = married p. = parents w. = wife