USA > North Carolina > Ashe County > A history of the Ashe County, North Carolina, and New River, Virginia, Baptist associations > Part 6
USA > Virginia > A history of the Ashe County, North Carolina, and New River, Virginia, Baptist associations > Part 6
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The association adjourned to meet the following year with White Top Church, but for some reason not set out in the minutes, the 1876 session met on October 5th at Young's Chapel Church in Grayson County. The introductory sermon was preached by Elder J. J. L. Sherwood. He was again elected moderator and Elder W. C. Parks was re-elected clerk.
The principal theme of this session appears to have been educa- tion. A strong report on the subject by Elder W. C. Parks was followed by the taking of individual pledges for Oak Hill Acad- emy amounting to $124.00. Two trustees for the school were named at this session, to-wit :
William Carson to succeed William Barker and William Hal- sey, to succeed J. H. Perkins, deceased.
Three agents were appointed to collect funds for Oak Hill Academy, as follows :
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S. D. Moore, for the lower end of the association ; Elder W. C. Parks, for the middle section, and James Eller for the upper end.
Elder I. W. Thomas, associational missionary, made a notable report, very pleasing to the association, and was continued for another year. Ten pastors reported having received salaries aggregating $246.80, an average of $24.68 each. The highest salary reported was $50.00 and the lowest $7.13. The associa- tion reported having given $83.80 for home missions, meaning "associational missions." Six churches reported Sunday schools, with 251 pupils.
The seventh annual session of the New River Association was held with Galena Church, beginning October 4, 1877. The same officers were re-elected and Elder W. C. Parks preached the opening sermon. As at previous sessions, much time was devoted to education and it is noteworthy that at this session, following a strong sermon on the subject by Elder Sherwood, a collection amounting to $10.75 was taken for foreign missions. I know that to the present generation, accustomed to thinking in terms of hundreds and thousands of dollars, the figures that I give in this narrative from time to time appear trivial and of small im- portance, but it must be borne in mind that I am telling the story of the beginning of things and that in those days people had not learned to give freely. In fact, there was little to give in those hard days following the Civil War and a gift of $10 then was equal to a gift of many, many times ten dollars today. It is also noted at this session that the churches of the association had given a total of $14.50 for foreign missions.
Eight churches reported having paid their pastors a total of $40 and the lowest $6.92. This last amount was paid to me by my first church. I was then a boy-preacher, eighteen years of age, and in order to serve my first church I travelled sixteen miles, or thirty-two miles per round trip, twelve times per year.
The churches of the association reported fifty-four baptisms during the year and five churches reported Sunday schools with 254 pupils.
The 1878 session, which was held with White Top Church, beginning August 22nd, was marked by continued interest in Oak Hill Academy. The same officers were re-elected and Elder A. Stamey was the introductory preacher. At this session the name of Elder J. F. Maiden appears in the minutes, he having been
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selected to serve as associational missionary following the session of 1877. He made his report for the year and was re-elected.
At this time the association reported a total membership of 799. Four of the churches reported Sunday-schools with 206 members and nine churches reported pastors' salaries aggregating $168.68, the highest being $31.85 and the lowest $3.75. This latter amount was not the salary paid by my church, as the figures show that my church paid me $5.37 that year.
The ninth annual session of the New River Association met with Mount Pleasant Church, six miles north of Jefferson, in Ashe County, on September 5, 1879. Elder L. D. Vaughan preached the introductory sermon. James Eller was elected moderator and L. N. Perkins clerk and treasurer. It is worthy of note that for the first time laymen came to the fore-front and were honored by election to the highest posts in the association, these two fine Baptist laymen succeeding Elders J. J. L. Sher- wood and W. C. Parks who had been at the helm continuously for the preceding eight sessions of the association.
At this session State Line Church, in Taylor's Valley, Tennes- see and Virginia, was admitted to the association. Elder J. F. Maiden presented his report as associational missionary and was continued for another year, the churches and individuals pledg- ing $100 for his support. Following report on education by H. A. Eller, the association went on record as endorsing Wake Forest and Richmond Colleges and Oak Hill Academy, but no pledges were taken for Oak Hill. R. W. Young was appointed trustee of Oak Hill Academy succeeding A. J. Greer, who had moved out of the association's bounds.
Ten churches reported having paid their pastors $210.89, the highest salary being $38.80 and the lowest $6.60. Eight churches reported Sunday schools with a total of 453 pupils. There were at this time seven ordained preachers in the association and seven licentiates.
The association closed with a great sermon by Elder J. J. L. Sherwood, which I still recall with pleasure. His subject was "The Transfiguration" and he handled it in masterly fashion, making a deep impression on his audience.
The tenth annual session of the association met with Apple Grove Church in Ashe County on September 2, 1880. The in- troductory sermon was preached by Elder William Fisher. Elder S. Blackburn was elected moderator and Elder W. C. Parks was
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THE NEW RIVER (VA. ) BAPTIST ASSOCIATIONS
elected clerk and treasurer. At this session there were reported the deaths of W. W. Fuqua, first principal of Oak Hill Academy; Elder Stephen Ross and Elder W. P. Long, all of them strong men of God, who left their impress upon their times. Elder Ross, as has already been told here, was instrumental in organiz- ing many churches of the association and the Baptists are greatly indebted to him for his wonderful pioneer work in our moun- tains. The association passed suitable resolutions concerning them.
At this meeting the association met for the first time J. F. Spainhour, the new principal of Oak Hill Academy, a man who was destined to mean so much to that institution in the years that were to come. He was one of the really great educators of his day, a man who loved teaching and was born to it. He set Oak Hill upon a high plane and by the force of his intellect and fine personality, kept it there through years of disappointments, discouragements and troubles. It is good to be able to record that his interest in education has not lessened with the years and that he stands out today as a leader in educational circles of the State of North Carolina. He is now State Senator from his dis- trict and made a splendid record at the 1927 session of the North Carolina General Assembly.
From the minutes we find that in 1880 the association had 886 members, in sixteen churches. Eleven of these churches paid their pastors salaries aggregating $203.44, the highest salary being $36.90 and the lowest $2.32. Eight churches had Sun- day schools with 369 pupils.
The eleventh session of the association met with Liberty Hill Church, in Grayson County, on September 2, 1881. Elders J. J. L. Sherwood and W. C. Parks were elected moderator and clerk, respectively, and the introductory sermon was preached by Elder W. R. L. Smith, a delegate from the General Association of Vir- ginia. Elder J. T. Kincannon, D.D., was present as a delegate from the same association ; Elder William Fisher, from the Appo- mattox Association, in Virginia ; Prof. J. F. Spainhour, from the Brushy Mountain Association, and J. S. Poe, from the Raleigh Association, in North Carolina.
While there is no record of his appointment at the previous session, we find Elder William Fisher making his report as asso- ciational missionary, succeeding Elder J. F. Maiden.
2
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At this session Elder A. Stamey proposed a plan for the erec- tion of a missionary Baptist church on his lands, offering to do- nate the lands for it. The plan was approved and donations pledged by those present sufficient to insure the erection of the building. Snow Hill Baptist Church, in the lower end of Gray- son County, Virginia, is the result of this movement and is a monument to this noble, generous and faithful servant of God. He sleeps today in the grave-yard at this church, under a beau- tiful monument erected by his children, which bears no record of his having been a Baptist minister or of his having been the founder of this church.
The association had at this time seventeen churches, with 852 members and six Sunday schools, with 314 pupils. There had been thirty-six baptisms during the year and Elder Fisher, the associational missionary, had been paid $127.30 and had preached one hundred sermons in the association.
The session of 1882 met with Grubbs Chapel Church in Gray- son County. Elder A. Stamey preached the opening sermon and Elder W. C. Parks, who had served so long as clerk, was elected moderator. WV. H. Blevins was elected clerk and treasurer.
I was greatly interested in Blevins, for the reason that he was converted under my ministry when I was just a boy and he asked to be the first person to be baptized by me. I baptized him in Big Horse Creek on February 11, 1877. He was the son of a splendid Baptist minister, Armstrong Blevins, who died on June 14, 1868. I have already mentioned his connection with the work in this section and his passing.
Two new churches were received at this session, these being New Hope Church, in Alleghany County, and Laurel Church, in Smythe County, Virginia.
R. F. Young and L. D. Vaughan were appointed trustees of Oak Hill Academy, succeeding Elder J. J. L. Sherwood and W. A. Carson, who had moved out of the association. At this point, Elder Sherwood, who had served the cause faithfully and effectively as associational missionary and pastor of various churches and who for nearly ten years had served as moderator of the association, passes out of our history. He moved to Watauga County, North Carolina, where he soon took equally high rank among the Baptists of that county and for many years was one of the leading pastors of the Three Forks Association. He had much to do with the making of this great association,
THE NEW RIVER (VA. ) BAPTIST ASSOCIATIONS
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REV. J. J. L. SHERWOOD
4
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HISTORY OF THE ASHE (N. C.) AND
which deserves a history of its own and I hope that some day it will be written. When it is written, much space will be devoted to this good man.
The minutes for this session show that the association had a total membership of 822. There had been forty-four additions during the year by baptism and all of the churches reported $456.47 paid to pastors, the highest receiving $30 and the lowest $2.70. Small amounts were reported for State Missions, Home Missions, Board of Education, Sunday School and Bible Board and Foreign Missions, the amounts ranging from 93 cents for ministerial relief to $5.86 for foreign missions. I do not give these figures by way of criticism of the churches or of the preach- ers of this day. Our people were not informed on these subjects and our preachers did not know how to present them intelligently. I have already made mention of the poverty of our people in those hard days and it goes without saying that the full force of hard times fell upon the preachers of those days. It would have required a full measure of grace, grit and courage in a preacher whose family was suffering for the bare necessities of life and whose salary was anywhere between $2.70 and $10.00 per year, to have pressed upon his congregations the matter of giving to missions, etc. It should be remembered that the average church in that day and time was against giving to any cause.
However, some of us learned that the way to success and to better salaries lay through constantly preaching the gospel of giving, not only for the needs of the immediate community but for the work of the Baptists in the State, in the Nation and in foreign fields. When Baptists began to realize their responsibili- ties for the saving of the world, they began to take better care of their preachers.
The 1883 session of the association was held with Forest Home Church, beginning on October 4th. Elder L. D. Vaughan preached the introductory sermon. Elder W. C. Parks was elected moderator and H. A. Eller, clerk and treasurer. One new church, Wytheville Baptist Church, of Wythe County, Vir- ginia, was admitted at this session.
Elders A. S. Murray and L. D. Vaughan made their reports as associational missionaries. There had been fifty-seven bap- tisms during the year and the total membership was 961. No mention was made in the minutes of this session as to Sunday schools.
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An incident of this session is worthy of mention here. James Eller presented a very strong report on foreign missions and it was followed by a discussion that aroused great interest. In the midst of it a young preacher jumped to his feet and said :
"Let's take up a collection for foreign missions. I have but fifty cents in the world and I want to give that right now."
His enthusiasm was contagious. Many wept and when the hat was passed, there was collected more than the entire association had ever given for foreign missions in one year before that time.
In 1884 the association met with Baptist Union Church in Grayson County, the session beginning on September 4th, with the introductory sermon by Elder J. F. Fletcher, from the text II Cor. 4:5. The officers of the previous year were re-elected.
One new church entered at this session, this being Snow Hill Church in Grayson County, mention of which has already been made. Its letter was presented by its organizer, Elder A. Stamey, who invited the association to meet with the new church the next year. The invitation was accepted. One church, New Hope, asked for and was granted a letter of dismission.
Elders Murray and Vaughan, associational missionaries, made their reports for the year. Elder Vaughan had received from the churches $31.45 for his services and Elder Murray $44.50. There had been eighty-five baptisms during the year and the total membership of the association was 1,074, in twenty-one churches. Thirteen churches reported Sunday schools with 661 pupils. There were thirteen ordained ministers in the association and five licentiates. A total of $62.63 had been contributed to all of the boards.
In September, 1885, the association held its fifteenth annual session with Snow Hill Church and Rev. W. C. Parks preached the opening sermon. I use the prefix "Rev." here for the reason that the clerk uses it in his minutes and I have used "Elder" for the same reason, and will continue to use them in the same way.
The officers of the previous year were re-elected. No business of importance was reported at this session. Twelve churches reported Sunday schools with 656 pupils and the total member- ship of the association was 1,101, there having been added by baptism during the year 101 persons.
The sixteenth annual session was held with White Top Church, in Grayson County, beginning on September 3rd, 1886. Rev.
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C. J. Woodson preached the opening sermon, Rev. W. C. Parks was elected moderator, and J. R. Hicks was elected clerk and treasurer.
One new church, Rural Glen, was received at this session and letters of dismission were granted to Landmark, Forest Home and Mount Pleasant, these churches withdrawing for the purpose of entering into the organization of the Ashe and Alleghany Association.
The statistical tables for this year show that there had been a total of seventy-nine baptisms during the year and that the churches comprising the association had 1,112 members. Twelve churches reported Sunday schools with 724 members. Fourteen churches reported having paid their pastors $281.06 and the associational missionary had been paid $78.20. The association had increased its gifts to missions and other causes.
The seventeenth annual session of the New River Association met with Pleasant Home Church in Ashe County on September 1, 1887, and the introductory sermon was preached by Elder L. D. Vaughan. Elder W. C. Parks was made moderator and Elder E. W. Rudy was elected clerk and treasurer.
The Wytheville Church was dismissed to join the Lebanon Association. Mount Pleasant Church, which had withdrawn from the association the previous year for the purpose of enter- ing the Ashe and Alleghany Association, made application for re- instatement. This church had been unable to secure member- ship in the Ashe and Alleghany for the reason that it could not, or rather would not, comply with an article in the constitution of the Ashe and Alleghany Association which denied membership to any church that held in fellowship a member who drank spirit- uous liquors as a beverage, or engaged in the manufacture and sale of such liquors. The Mt. Pleasant Church had one or more influential members who were actively engaged in the liquor busi- ness. When these matters were explained to the New River Association, that body very wisely refused to re-admit Mt. Pleas- ant Church.
With the doors of both associations closed against it and with no other churches extending fellowship to its members, the Mt. Pleasant Church soon went out of existence. Some of its mem- bers went to Landmark Church and others joined in the organi- zation of Healing Springs Church.
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REV. L. D. VAUGHAN
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HISTORY OF THE ASHE (N. C.) AND
All of the fifteen churches of the association were represented and they reported seventy-three baptisms during the year. The total membership was 924. Elders G. M. Burcham and L. D. Vaughan, associational missionaries, presented their reports for the year. Preaching during this session was done by Elders L. D. Vaughan, G. M. Burcham, J. R. Robbins and T. M. Honey- cutt.
The 1888 session met with Rural Glen Church, near Independ- ence, Virginia, on August 30th. Elder J. M. Pilcher, secretary of the Sunday School and Bible Board, Richmond, Virginia, preached the introductory sermon. Elder L. D. Vaughan was elected moderator and W. W. Lovelace was made clerk and treasurer. Two new churches, Corinth and Haw Orchard, were received and all of the churches were represented. Pleasant Home Church was granted a letter of dismission to join the Ashe and Alleghany Association. Elder A. S. Murray and Elder L. D. Vaughan were appointed missionaries, the latter to labor in Carroll County and the first-named in Grayson County. W. G. Young, presenting the report on missionary work in the associa- tion. had recommended strongly that "the missionaries be con- fined to smaller fields until they are thoroughly cultivated." Being a farmer and one of the best of his day, he used the phrase- ology of a farmer to point out a mistake that the association was making and it is evident, in the instructions to the two mission- aries just referred to, that the association did not fail to get the point and that they saw things as he did.
On September 10, 1889, the association met in its nineteenth session with White Top Church and Rev. D. J. Harris preached the introductory sermon. Rev. W. C. Parks was re-elected mod- erator and Isaac Edmondson was elected clerk and treasurer. Among the visiting ministers at this session were noted D. J. Harris and J. F. Maiden, of the Lebanon Association; I. M. Carter, E. Tucker, Creed Roberts and J. F. Fletcher, from the Ashe and Alleghany Association, and W. W. White from the Brushy Mountain Association.
The association "heartily endorsed the Sunday school and Bible Board and our colporter, W. J. Satterfield." All of the reports at this session are incomplete. Only ten churches were repre- sented.
The twentieth session of the association, which met at Young's Chapel Church, at Oak Hill, on September 4, 1890, found fif- teen churches represented and there were present several notable
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visitors, among them being Prof. Edmond Harrison of Rich- mond College; Rev. Samuel Sanders of the Valley Association; Rev. D. A. Glenn, Rev. J. F. Maiden, Judge A. P. Cole, Rev. Noah C. Baldwin, M. D. Houston and M. M. Morris of the Lebanon Association; Rev. D. S. Hubbel of the Appomattox Association ; Rev. J. J. L. Sherwood, Prof. J. F. Spainhour and N. H. Shipley of the Three Forks Association; Rev. D. M. Stamper, Rev. E. W. Reedy, Rev. W. H. Gwaltney and W. C. Fields of the Ashe and Alleghany Association, and Rev. W. J. Satterfield of the Blue Ridge Association.
Rev. W. C. Parks was again elected moderator and I. N. Young was elected clerk and treasurer. Rev. D. S. Hubbel preached the introductory sermon.
Snow Hill Church sent up the following query :
"Shall we receive members into our church from the Meth- odist Church without re-baptizing them?"
To this query the following very positive answer was returned :
"Your committee cannot see the propriety of a discussion of this subject but would refer any one, and especially Snow Hill Church, to the Bible and to the practice and history of the Baptist church as a guide and would answer : "No-never."
The reports submitted at this session were of very high order and showed marked improvement in the matter of pastors' sala- ries and contributions to missions. The association had a mem- bership of 846 and had received by baptism during the year seventy-eight members.
The 1891 session of the association met with Snow Hill Church, on September 3rd. Rev. L. D. Vaughan was elected moderator and Rev. J. F. Fletcher clerk and treasurer. Sixteen churches were represented.
Following the report on state missions, which was of unusual interest and aroused considerable enthusiastic discussion, dele- gates from fifteen churches pledged $96.00 for the cause.
Rev. J. H. Lewellen, of the Yadkin Association, submitted the report on temperance and the following resolution was adopted :
"Resolved, That we, the New River Association, will not hold in our communion any church that holds in its com- munion any member who manufactures, deals in or drinks, ardent spirits as a beverage."
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A resolution was passed heartily endorsing the efforts of Rev. J. F. Fletcher, who had come into the association from the Ashe and Alleghany Association during the year, toward erecting a house of worship and establishing a Baptist church at Independ- ence, the county seat of Grayson County. It was announced that Col. J. W. Vaughan and wife had donated a desirable lot in the town of Independence for the new church and the association gave them a vote of thanks and appreciation for the gift. The delegates present pledged a total of $1,100.00 for the building. The building campaign was entirely successful, resulting in the erection of a commodious brick church, the best within the bounds of the association, and a credit to the Baptists of the county- seat.
According to reports submitted at this session, the association had nine ordained ministers and four licentiates. The total mem- bership was 975 and there had been added by baptism during the year ninety-six. Five Sunday schools were reported, with a total membership of 322.
The twenty-second annual session of the association met with Grubbs Chapel Church on Sept. 1, 1892, and the officers of the previous year were re-elected. When the roll of churches was called it was found that all of the churches were represented by letters and delegates and three new churches, Friendship, Inde- pendence and Valley View, presented credentials and asked for membership in the association. They were received with great enthusiasm, the large congregation of delegates and visitors rising and singing. "All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name."
This session was marked by preaching of very high order by Rev. D. S. Hubbel of the Appomattox Association; Rev. Elihu Tucker of the Ashe and Alleghany Association; Rev. J. J. L. Sherwood of the Three Forks Association; Rev. J. M. Mc- Mannaway of the Clinch Valley Association; Rev. J. T. Fowlkes of the Mountain Union Association, and Rev. V. I'Anson of the Lebanon Association.
The executive committee of the association, composed of J. D. Perkins, M. B. Young and G. W. Brewer, made the following report :
"J. F. Fletcher has been secured as missionary and for the ten months ending August 31st, has preached 156 sermons, has religiously visited 172 families, has travelled 1,500
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THE NEW RIVER (VA.) BAPTIST ASSOCIATIONS
miles, and has organized two churches. He has witnessed thirty-seven professions of religion, baptized nine and has collected for the boards, including the orphanage, $101.00."
Every heart was saddened by the announcement at this session that Rev. W. C. Parks, a leading spirit in the association from its organization, had died during the year. A committee was named to draft an obituary of this good man, the committee being composed of J. L. Young, J. D. Perkins and R. F. Young.
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