USA > Kentucky > Trigg County > Counties of Christian and Trigg, Kentucky : historical and biographical > Part 25
USA > Kentucky > Christian County > Counties of Christian and Trigg, Kentucky : historical and biographical > Part 25
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The Christian Church .- The following sketch of the Christian Church in Hopkinsville was compiled from the history of that church written by Col. George Poindexter :
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HOPKINSVILLE CITY AND PRECINCT.
The Christian Church was organized in Hopkinsville in November, 1832. Previous to this an open rupture had taken place between those who sympathized with Alexander Campbell in his reformatory move- ments, and the Baptist Church in Kentucky. This rupture led to much warm contention and strife throughout the State, which, with the action of the Bethel Baptist Association held In Hopkinsville a short time pre- vious, led to and hastened the formation of this church. Three persons who withdrew from the Baptist Church and some few others out of church relation, but baptized believers who were in full accord with Alexander Campbell, with a remnant of the old Christian Church in sympathy with Barton W. Stone, met at the court house on the date above named, and, with the assistance of Isaiah Boone, Dr. A. Adams and William Daven - port, an organization was effected. At this meeting were enrolled the names of Miles Gray, R. S. Dulin, Thomas Poindexter, Phoebe Poin- dexter, Martha Williams, Samuel Calloway, Athelia Calloway, Samuel Harry, Mary Harry, George Poindexter, Joseph Stewart, Charles Stew- art, B. F. Shields, Elizabeth Shipp, B. T. Wood and Eliza Rowland. At a subsequent meeting in December, the church appointed R. S. Dulin, Miles Gray and S. W. Calloway, Elders; Thomas and George Poindexter, Deacons, and George Poindexter, Clerk. Thus organized, the church next looked around for a suitable place of worship. This was found in the small brick meeting-house owned by the adherents of Mr. Stone in common with the Cumberland Presbyterians. Here both congregations worshiped on alternate Sundays for several years. In 1840 it was partially destroyed by wind during a violent storm, and the Cumberland Presbyterians preferring to sell out their interest in the building rather than incur the expense of repairing it, it became the sole property of the Reformers. It was soon repaired by the latter and from then on to the fall of 1850 they continued to use it as their place of regular worship. In 1849 the building again needed repairs, and the church having grown in strength financially as well as numerically, it was decided to erect a new and more commodious edifice rather than repair and refit the old one. Accordingly a subscription was started and steps taken to begin the work immediately. By the fall of the next year, 1850, the building was so far advanced as to permit the occupancy of the basement rooms, and in these they continued to worship till its final completion in the summer of 1851. The entire cost of the building did not exceed $10,000, and in it the congregation have since continued to worship. The present officers of the church are : Elders, E. H. Hopper, George Poindexter, B. S. Camp- bell, D. J. Gish, John Orr, and George C. Long ; Deacons, M. D. Steele, James E. Jesup, Milton Gant, Edward Campbell, John Boxley, W. P. Winfree and Dennis F. Smithson.
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HISTORY OF CHRISTIAN COUNTY.
The pastors who have from time to time served this church are as fol- lows, viz .: Isaiah Boone, George P. Street, Henry T. Anderson, George W. Elly, John D. Ferguson, William C. Rogers, John M. Barnes, Enos Campbell, James M. Long, A. W. Walthall, W. J. Barbee, T. A. Cren- shaw, R. C. Cave, L. H. Stine, C. K. Marshall and E. L. Powell. This latter much beloved pastor and faithful man of God, while delivering an impassioned address to his congregation in February, 1850, was stricken down with apoplexy, and in a few hours called to his heavenly reward. That he was not only beloved by his own flock, but held in high esteem by the community at large was fully attested by the many expressions of tender sympathy and condolence proffered the bereaved family, and the large concourse of citizens who attended his remains to the grave.
Besides the regular pastors many other eminent Ministers of the Gos- pel from abroad have visited the church from time to time and broken to them the Bread of Life. Among them, and chiefest, the venerable Alex- ander Campbell may be mentioned, who visited the church three times before his death. The Revs. Barton W. Stone, Allen and Carroll Ken- drick, William Morton, Dr. W. H. Hopson, J. H. Jones, John Echbaum, Knowles Shaw, Talbott Farming, J. W. McGarvey, W. S. Keen and C. M. Day. Col. George Poindexter, to whom weare indebted for the facts for this sketch, relates the following anecdote in connection with a visit of Barton W. Stone to the Hopkinsville Church. "The writer of this never had the pleasure of being in the presence of Mr. Stone but once, and then only for a short time. While visiting this place (the year not remembered) I went with him to show him the house of old Sister Shipp, whom he had known in former years. On our way there a sudden shower drove us to seek shelter in the nearest house. Finding the door open, and the rain beginning to fall fast, we stepped in without knocking. In the room we found a pious and much esteemed old lady, a mother in Israel in the Pres- byterian Church. When we entered the room she rose to her feet and intently fixed her eyes on the venerable old man. Without a word being spoken by either, for some moments they earnestly scanned each other, then, advancing toward him with a quick step and a look of recognition, she exclaimed : ' Barton W. Stone !' In an instant her arms were about his neck, her forehead on his shoulder, while her streaming eyes attested the glad surprise she felt at meeting him. Though she differed with him religiously, yet had she long loved him for his goodness and faithfulness in the cause and kingdom of their common Lord. She only saw before her the honored Christian, the faithful minister, the valiant soldier of the Cross. The scene to me was a highly interesting one, and to this day when it recurs to my mind I can but think how naturally the hearts of all Christians would flow together in sympathy and love but for the pride of opinion, the tyranny of sectarianism."
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HOPKINSVILLE CITY AND PRECINCT.
In connection with the pastorate it is a remarkable fact, and one well worthy of mention, that no pastor, no one who has ever served this con- gregation, has been suffered to go away unpaid, even to the last farthing. Another item, and one especially creditable to the enlightened liberality and Christian benevolence of the membership is the fact that they have always contributed their quota of means, and done what they could for the spread of the Gospel among the benighted of the earth. In this connec- tion, and as an illustration of the fact, an interesting incident is related by Col. Poindexter in his sketch of the church : " In the beginning of the year 1853 the Christian Missionary Society made a call for some one qualified and willing to go to Liberia as their missionary. Aleck Cross, a colored man, had been living here several years, and was well known to the church as a pious and orderly member, and as possessed with extra- ordinary gifts as a public speaker. The church deeming him a suitable person for the place conferred with him on the subject, and found him both willing and anxious to go could his freedom be obtained. His owner, a Mr. Cross, of Todd County, was seen, and out of consideration for his kind feelings for Aleck, and the worthy object in view, he con- sented to let the church have him for the nominal sum of $550, notwith- standing he could easily have gotten $1,200 elsewhere. Having secured his freedom, the church provided him with books and other necessary means of improving his mind, of which he industriously availed himself till his departure for Africa. Enos Campbell voluntarily took him under his supervision and instruction, and so assiduous was he in his self-imposed labor of love that by the time he was ready to depart he had been well qualified for the duties and responsibilities of the station. He landed on the coast of Africa in the winter of 1853-54, and so eager was he to begin his labors that he would not wait till sufficiently recovered from the effects of the inevitable climate fever of the coast, but at once entered upon the work of his mission. The exposure was too sudden, and brought on a fatal relapse, and just when we were expecting good news from him came the intelligence of his death. The news brought general sorrow and regret to all who knew him, and well it might, for he was no ordinary man, and gave great promise of future usefulness."
The Sunday-school connected with this church, from the time of its first organization, about thirty-five years ago, has been regularly and suc- cessfully kept up, and has proved not only of inestimable benefit to the young, but a great blessing to the church. At present it is in a very flour- ishing condition, and now numbers some 125 in officers, teachers and pupils.
In the cause of general education, beside many benefactions to other institutions, the church points with pride to the South Kentucky College,
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HISTORY OF CHRISTIAN COUNTY.
with its elegant and commodious buildings and broad campus, which stood at the head of Nashville Street, in Hopkinsville, and was lately burned, but which, through the efforts of the Faculty under the manage- ment of Maj. S. R. Crumbaugh, will be rebuilt and ready for the fall term of (1884) the present year.
Rev. Henry Anderson .- At the request of his friends a few words in connection with the Christian Church is devoted to Elder Henry Ander- son, once its pastor. He was born in Caroline County, Va., in 1812, and was reared and educated under the influence of Baptist parents. He was married when but nineteen years of age to Miss Jane Buckner of Virginia, and the year following entered upon the duties of a Christian minister. His entire life was one of continued ministerial labor to which he added a great amount of classical study, taking up the Hebrew lan- guage without the aid of any instructor but his books, and obtained com- plete mastery of the tongue. Much of his life study was devoted to a translation of the New Testament, which he published in the year 1862. He came to Hopkinsville in 1837, remaining until 1846, during which time he organized many of the churches in this and the adjoining coun- ties. Here, in 1848, his wife died. He removed to Louisville in 1847, and until 1854 was pastor of the Fourth and Walnut Street Church, and though pressed to remain, he decided to remove, going to the vicinity of Harrodsburg, Ky. Here and at various other points in Kentucky he labored with marked success, until he finally became the pastor of a church in Washington City, where he died in 1872. He has two children living : Clarence Anderson of Hopkinsville, and Lelia, wife of Dr. Benjamin Tra- bue, of Glasgow, Ky.
Cumberland Presbyterian Church .- The following sketch of the Cum- berland Presbyterian Church of Hopkinsville was furnished for this work by the pastor-Rev. A. C. Biddle. It is necessarily brief, as the early records, we learn, have been mislaid or were destroyed in the disastrous fire of 1882 :
The first organization of a Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Hop- kinsville was effected in the year 1825 or 1826. The meeting for ;organiza- tion was in what was then known as the Unitarian Church, located at the corner of Virginia and Court Streets. Its officers or Elders were David Usher, John Finly and Rezin Elliott. The little flock, not being able at that time to erect for itself a house of worship, entered into an agree- m ent with the Unitarian people, by which they were to complete the unfinished house of the latter, and occupy it alternately with them, under a lease of ten years. In the meantime, in the year 1829, the Rev. James Y. Barnett had settled near Hopkinsville, in Christian County, in the bounds of the Salubria Springs congregation. Soon thereafter he
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HOPKINSVILLE CITY AND PRECINCT.
took ministerial charge of the struggling enterprise, and in 1839 the church was in a flourishing condition. In this year (1839) the Green River Synod first met with the congregation, still worshiping in the Unitarian Church, and the Rev. S. G. Burney, D. D., now Senior Professor of Theology in Cumberland University, preached the opening sermon. Soon, however, the church was to be called upon to build for itself. On the night of the 20th of January, 1840, the church house was unroofed, and otherwise badly injured by a violent storm, so that it was considered more wise to build than to repair. On the 23d of March, 1841, a lot was purchased of George Poindexter, 65x82-6, on Russellville Street. The trustees appointed to receive this property at the hands of Mr. Poin- dexter, were Rev. James Y. Barnett, Magnus T. Carnahan, Rezin Elliott, William R. Payne and James Edwards. Upon this lot the Building Committee, composed of Rev. Mr. Barnett, Rezin Elliott and Magnus T. Carnahan, began at once the erection of a house of worship. The build- ing was of brick, 37x45 feet ; and here they continued to worship with but few interruptions until the breaking out of the war.
In 1848 the Rev. James Y. Barnett died at his home near Pembroke, and was followed in his pulpit ministrations by the Rev. A. J. Baird, D. D., now of Nashville, Tenn., and he in turn was followed by the Rev. Samuel B. Vance, now of Henderson, Ky. For some years before the war it seems that the congregation was without a settled minister, and when at last the war was over, it left not only the congregation wholly disorganized and badly scattered, but the building itself in a deplorable condition. It had been used first as a hospital by the Confederate army ; then as a carriage shop, during which time it narrowly escaped destruc- tion by fire, and then again it was used as a schoolroom.
From this date (1869) the facts in the history of this congregation are taken from the records of the church session. It appears that some time during 1868 or the early part of 1869, the congregation had been re- organized by the Rev. Joel M. Penick, for at the fall meeting of the Daviess Presbytery, October 9, 1869, a representative from the Hopkinsville Church appeared before the Presbytery, bearing a petition asking to be received under the care of that body. In that petition is found the following statement : " We would respectfully represent that we now have a membership of thirty-two, with four Ruling Elders, viz .: Henderson Wade, Edwin Edwards, G. W. Wyley and A. H. Ferguson, and also have a house of worship in the town of Hopkinsville." The congrega- tion was served from this time until May, 1870, by Mr. Penick, and from that time till March, 1871, by Rev. J. M. Gill, D. D., of Elkton, Ky. On the 4th of March, 1871, the congregation formally called to the pastor- ate the Rev. A. H. Berry, now of Horse Cave, Ky., and he was shortly
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HISTORY OF CHRISTIAN COUNTY.
thereafter installed as pastor. At the spring session of presbytery, April, 1873, this relationship was dissolved, and in August of the same year the Rev. R. J. Beard now of Petersburg, Ill., took charge of the church. In May of 1876 the congregation found itself again without a pastor, in which condition it continued until October, 1877, when Rev. M. O. Smith took charge, and was formally installed in the following November. Under the guidance of Revs. Beard and Smith, the congregation had grown to nearly 100 members. But unfortunately Mr. Smith was com- pelled to resign on account of a throat affliction, and his resignation was accepted October 5, 1881. Rev. J. A. Francis, of Lebanon, Tenn., was then employed for several months as a supply. On the 24th of Octo- ber, 1882, occurred the disastrous fire, which must remain a memorable land-mark in the memories of the citizens of Hopkinsville, and in this fire the Cumberland Presbyterian church-house fell. The congregation at once determined to rebuild. On the 16th of July, 1883, Rev. A. C. Biddle accepted a call to take charge; a building committee was ap- pointed, and the work of rebuilding progresses.
At the present time (March 25, 1884) the officers of the church are as follows : Pastor, Rev. A. C. Biddle ; Elders, Edwin Edwards, Hender- son Wade, Gustavus W. Wiley, James P. Braden and A. Campbell ; Deacons, John A. F. Brown, William W. Twyman, M. W. Williams, R. D. Reader. The membership numbers eighty-eight. The Sabbath- school is now under the efficient conduct of M. O. Smith as Superintend. ent.
Grace Episcopal Church .*- The parish of Grace Episcopal Church was organized in October, 1831, at a meeting held by the following per- sons : Messrs. George Ward, David Glass, M. D., Livingston Lindsay, James D. Steele, M. D., E. A. Green and David Banks, of Christian County. The Rev. George P. Giddinge, missionary of the Protestant Episcopal Church ; Rev. B. B. Smith, of Lexington, afterward Bishop of Kentucky ; and the Rev. Gideon McMillan, of Danville, were also present. No record can be found of the original members of the church, but in the parish register, under the date of 1834, we find the names of John Raw- lins and wife, Henry Hopson, M. D., Edward Ashley, Penelope M. Gid- dinge, Albert A. Willis, Rebecca Glass, Lucretia M. Ward, Abraham Pope, Sarah Wallace, Catherine Hopson, Elizabeth L. Pope and Frances E. Nelson.
The Rev. George P. Giddinge was the first Rector of the parish, suc- ceeded by the Revs. F. B. Nash, George Beckett, Louis Jansen, J. M. Curtis, S. Hermann, W. E. Webb, James J. Page, Gideon B. Perry, Robert M. Baker, Charles Morris and the present incumbent, John H.
*The history of Grace Episcopal Church of Hopkinsville was written by the Rector Rev. J. H. Venable.
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HOPKINSVILLE CITY AND PRECINCT.
Venable. No details of their respective labors can be given. Several of them were engaged in teaching, besides their ministerial work, and receive more extended notice in connection with the educational history of Hop- kinsville.
The first church edifice was of wood, and was built on Virginia Street, during the rectorship of Rev. Mr. Beckett. Various improvements were made upon it from time to time, but at length, being considered unsafe, it was sold by the vestry in 1882, and a lot purchased on the corner of Court and Liberty Streets. A handsome Gothic edifice of brick with stone trimmings, and capable of seating 300 persons, is now (March, 1884) nearing completion.
The present membership is about seventy-five; Rector, Rev. J. H. Venable ; Vestry : Dr. James Wheeler, Senior Warden; George V. Green, Junior Warden ; Hunter Wood, William J. Withers, Nathan Gaither, M. H. Nelson, William G. Wheeler and R. H. De Treville, the latter Secre- tary and Treasurer. A Sunday-school will be organized as soon as the church building is completed and ready for occupation.
The Catholic Church .- The Roman Catholic Church of Hopkinsville stands on Nashville Street, near the South Kentucky College, and is a beautiful location for a church. We have been unable to obtain any facts or information of this church, and can give but a limited sketch of it. It is a frame building and is located in a large and spacious lot, and altogether is a pretty little church. Rev. Father - - Hegans is Pastor, and the membership is rather small, as people of the Catholic faith are and always have been few in number in Hopkinsville.
The Colored Methodist Church .- The history of this church was writ- ten by Judge McCarroll, and is as follows : The colored Methodist peo- ple of Hopkinsville have had preachers and preaching ever since about the year 1830, possibly a little later than that. They had no church building or property of course until after their emancipation, but met in the church owned by the whites, and there had the Gospel preached to them. Since 1848 they met in the Sunday-school room of the present (white) Methodist Church on Clay and Nashville Streets, until they built a church of their own. Soon after the war they purchased a good lot on the corner of Liberty and Hickory Streets which had an old frame build- ing on it, to which they made an addition, and thus had a very comforta- ble and roomy church. This was about the time of the organization of the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church in America by the Southern Method- ist Church. They had their society incorporated by the Legislature, and took a solid stand at once among the churches of the city. Some difficulty was at first experienced in paying for their church, but through the activity of Nelson Cross, one of the oldest members, and with the
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HISTORY OF CHRISTIAN COUNTY.
good example of his liberality, and the assistance of the whites, it was fully paid for. We find from records of the Christian Circuit, that the Quar- terly Conference was licensing their preachers as far back as 1838; Thom- as Northington and John Philips were licensed to preach that year. Peter Stroud, Richard Gant and Cyrus Glass were licensed to exhort about the same time, and their licenses renewed, especially Stroud's, for many years. The church has done well here, and numbers among its members the most substantial and influential and upright colored persons in the county. Only a few years ago they tore down the old frame, and in 1880 completed one of the most substantial and commodious brick churches in the city, which we hear is all paid for; they also have a parsonage. The church is called Freeman's Chapel, being named for Peter Freeman, one of the old reliable members, and a Class Leader in the church.
Among the old preachers of this church were Kit Humphreys, Stew- art Newton, Ned Newton, David Ratcliffe, Ned Jones, George McLain and James Allen. Of these preachers none rose to the prominence or had the ability of Ned Jones. He was bright, and set free by the church in slavery times and educational facilities furnished him. When in his prime he was regarded as a most excellent preacher. He frequently preached to large congregations of whites ; he died in 1865. All the old preachers are now dead except Dave Ratcliffe, who is extremely old and feeble. Amongst the prominent laymen have been Benjamin Phelps, Mat Phelps, Nelson Cross, James and Orange Warfield, Phil Bell, Kit Banks and Peter Postell. "Uncle Kit," as he is familiarly called, was for many years prior to January 1, 1884, the faithful Sexton for the Meth- odist Episcopal Church South, but owing to feeble health resigned at that time. Since the separate organization of the church, Revs. Walker, Cowen, Hubbard, James Bell and Dr. Matthews have served the church. The church at present numbers about 315 members, and the officers are Nelson Cross, Phil Bell, Columbus Lynch, Ned Turner, John Moore, Marshall Williams, J. R. Hawkins and Miner Thomas.
The Colored Baptist Church is located on Virginia Street, and is a large and substantial brick edifice. It is lighted with gas, and well furnished and comfortably seated. It has a large membership, some 500 or 600, as we were informed, and is in a very flourishing condition. Rev. E. Richey is the Pastor. We were unable to obtain the facts of its early history and organization. A large and flourishing Sunday-school is main- tained in connection with the church.
Cemeteries .- To care for the dead, and beautify and adorn their silent habitations, is a solemn duty incumbent upon the living, and a beautiful, well-kept burying-ground is a sure index of the finer feelings of the peo- ple to whom it belongs. Abraham said: "Give me possession of a bury-
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HOPKINSVILLE CITY AND PRECINCT.
ing-place with you, that I may bury my dead out of sight," and since that day all nations and peoples have paid more or less respect to their dead, according to their stage of civilization.
The early records of the county show that Bartholomew Wood, among other donations to the town of Hopkinsville, made one of a certain lot of land for a cemetery. This is in the southwest part of the city, adjoining the grounds of the High School building, and is known as the Old Bap- tist Cemetery. Here, where the grass, weeds and briers grow rank with the vapors of decaying mortality, sleep many of the early pioneers of Hopkinsville and Christian County, some of them without so much as a rude bowlder to mark the spot where they lie. Upon the stones, now crumbling into dust like the bones which rest beneath them, appear many names once well known in the town. There is the name almost obliter- ated by moss growing over it of Benjamin Eggleston, who died in 1819 ; Francis M. Dallam, who died in 1823; William Nichol in 1829; Benja- min York in 1825 ; John Gibson, born in 1777 and died in 1844; Mrs. Ann E. Wood in 1838; James H. McLaughlan, the first regular Circuit Clerk, died in 1823; Peyton Short in 1825; Edward Slaughter in 1839; Dr. Moses Steele in 1817; Mrs. Susanna Steele, born December 25, 1740, and died in 1820 ; Mrs. Mary Bell in 1818; Benjamin W. Patton in 1825; John Long in 1816; - Samuel A. Miller in 1823, and many others who passed away half a century ago. Some of the old family servants sleep there too, side by side with their masters, and " six feet of earth make them all of one size."
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