USA > North Carolina > Mecklenburg County > Charlotte > The history of Steele Creek Presbyterian Church : Mecklenburg County, Charlotte, North Carolina > Part 2
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Two hundred years in time, five thousand miles in distance from Scotland to Steele Creek, but, by the grace of God, the stalwart men and women who settled in this part of our country made this come to pass. From a feeble beginning the early settlers from various parts of the Old World forged the foundation of a powerful and great nation with an unshakeable faith in God and church.
IO
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5 MCCALL '76
1778
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North Carolina
1754. June17. To the King's most Excellent Majesty. presentation. Hismajesty, the Draughts
May it please your majesty General structions of those In Obedience to your Majesty's thur Dobby Order in Council dated the 25. ofantry Trade for :Gov? of 17 Carolina1 753, We have prepared Draught of General Instructions and of those which relatedto the acts of Trade and VER MAJE Navigation for Arthur Detto Eggs, TE ACEROEL whom your Majesty has been please to appoint Governor of the Province of North Carolina, in which Draught "We have made alterations from and additions to the Instructions given by your Majesty to Gabriel Johnston Eog!" the late Governor of the said Province in the following Particular;
Thomas Neally 47 4. byt ty bo3 20 thenby ON the Waters of Stal truck! John Jayher 120 Do 450 d' On the Waters of Sugar freek? John Whileside 213 0 375 d. In the Waters of Steel Creek -Martha Rea 150 De 40226 aptek On the Feder Branch of the Hill : William Brunel 1:30
De 430 20 Cetro, On the Waters of Sugar Brock.
Thomas Pth BC
9: 40 d' d'
150 D. 46 a" On the Hill Branch of Sugar 370 2: 47 de On the Walord of Sugar Creek
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CHAPTER II
The Name: Steele Creek
Names are often given to places or objects through association. This appears to apply to Steele Creek Church, as well as other early churches located near waterways or rivers in this region of North Carolina. Many of our waterways bear the names of Indian tribes, such as Sugaw (Creek) and Catawba (River).
The Reverend John Douglas tells us that Steele Creek Church takes its name from a creek because the tract of land originally designated for a church building was located on the headwaters of a small stream, Steele Creek.
Apparently there were two tracts of land chosen for Steele Creek Church. The first was obtained from Robert Broomfield; whether it was purchased or was a gift is not known. The tract consisted of about two acres on the headwaters of Steele Creek. This creek originates from a spring on the property currently owned by the Rufus Grier family at Shopton. The spring, near the rear of the Grier dwelling, is the source of a small stream known as the east branch of Steele Creek, while the west branch begins in a spring on the farm of Mr. Howard Porter. The two streams join on the farm of Mr. Ralph Grier below the present Steele Creek Elementary School. The combined streams flow in a southerly direction to a point near Fort Mill, South Carolina, where they enter Sugar Creek and, farther on, the Catawba River. The second tract of land, which is the present site of the church, lies approxi- mately one mile farther north on N.C. Highway 160 near the headwaters of Beaver Dam Creek. This creek originates from a
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spring on the property near the present American Legion Hut. The site is described in a deed dated January 7, 1771, at the Charlotte courthouse.
When Robert Broomfield purchased three hundred acres of land from William Bigham and wife Sara, the following reservation was made:
"four acres of said land, including the old and new meeting houses, the graveyard and the spring on the north side of said meeting houses, only ex- cepted and exempt in deed for the use of the Congregation."
The reason for change of location is the possibility that when the members of the congregation were ready to erect a permanent church building, they considered the two acres near the Rufus Grier place insufficient in size for their needs and, therefore, chose the larger tract. The church no longer owns the first site.
The name of the stream is claimed to have originated because a Steele family owned a home near the stream, but it has been difficult to connect the Steele family with the stream Steele Creek. There is no land grant or recorded deed for ownership of land by a Steele family among records, either in Anson or Mecklenburg Counties of that date. Nevertheless, association with the Steele family appears to have validity. Following the uncovering of a foundation of a house in a field on Mr. Ralph Grier's farm near the junction of east and west branches of Steele Creek, he was told that it was referred to as the "old Steele house" located in the vicinity of the trading post near Fort Mill, South Carolina. It was near Catawba Indian territory.
In the Record Room of the British Museum in London, there is recorded a land grant to Thomas Neely of six hundred acres of land on the water of Steel (English spelling) Creek, Province of North Carolina, 1751. Among these same records is a land grant to John Whitesides of five hundred seventy-five acres of land on the
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waters of Steel Creek, Province of North Carolina.1 This is the first documentary evidence of what may be our stream, Steele Creek.
There were many land grants to early members of Steele Creek Church recorded in the court records of Anson and Mecklenburg Counties during the period 1751 to 1756. Some of the boundaries were given as being east of the Catawba River and west of Sugar Creek, but none referred to Steele Creek. The reason for exclusion in land grants recorded locally is unknown, except that the creek was a limited reference point in comparison to the size of the land grants.
Further supporting evidence for the name Steele comes from records of trade between early settlers and the Indians. About 1643, a trading post was opened at Fort Henry, Virginia. By 1750 the trading path had been extended to Salisbury, North Carolina, crossing Crane's Creek, Buffalo Creek, Coddle Creek, Mallard Creek and Rocky River. As it continued southward at a place near the present site of Concord, the path branched, the western fork passing near the site of Charlotte, Steele Creek, and Pineville, continuing along the west bank of Sugar Creek and to what is now Fort Mill in South Carolina. The eastern branch of the trading path was widened to accommodate ox carts and covered wagons. It eventually became the stage coach route from Salisbury to Camden, South Carolina, crossing the Catawba River at Nations Ford near Fort Mill.
To trade with the Catawba Indians required a license from the State of Virginia. On April 17, 1751, Robert Steele of Virginia was licensed as a Catawba trader. In the colonial records of South Carolina, there were several entries of his activities among the Catawba Indians. He delivered goods to them on February 14, 1751. In 1752, he was appointed a Justice of the Peace by Governor Glen of South Carolina. Steele was noted for rescuing Indians who were being sold as slaves.
1. Mecklenburg (North Carolina) Registry; Book 15; P. 49.
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In 1752 Robert Steele wrote Governor Glen that the Northern Indians had invaded the territory of the Southern Indians and had killed fourteen persons, including eight Catawbas. The Governor sent bullets and gunpowder to provide protection. In 1753 Robert Steele delivered a letter from King Haigler of the Catawba Nation to Governor Glen asking the settlers to purchase land from the Indians rather than taking it without compensation. This is the last reference to Robert Steele found in any available records of North and South Carolina. The Catawba Nation reservation included land bordering on the Catawba River of North and South Carolina.
Robert Steele could have been killed by unfriendly Indians, as was John Lawson, the surveyor. Lawson was accused of giving Indian land to settlers. This was a problem as can be seen with the Catawba Indians. Lawson, as evidenced in his history Voyage to Carolina, knew many Indian traders and told how the traders often built cabins on Indian territory to be near those selling furs. Since no title to land granted or sold to Robert Steele can be found in the records of Anson or Mecklenburg County, the foundation to a house on the Grier property known as the "old Steele house" must have been the foundation of a cabin used by Robert Steele, for the Grier property was part of the Indian reservation.
If this is our Robert Steele and the one for whom the creek and church were named, he deserves to be remembered for his service to North Carolina, the Catawba Indians, and Steele Creek com- munity.
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PICTURES OF STEELE CREEK MINISTERS
James Bell Watt 1858-1860
John Douglas, D.D. 1866-1879
J. T. Plunkett 1881-1882
Turner Ashby Wharton 1889-1894
Archibald Alexander Little 1895-1901
Price Henderson Gwynn 1901-1906
George F. Robertson 1907-1908
Wilburn A. Cleveland 1909-1912
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John W. Orr 1912-1920
John Mack Walker, D.D. 1920-1947
Watt M. Cooper 1949-1957
John R. McAlpine, III 1957-197 1
Lewis W. Bledsoe 197 2-
Steele Creek Presbyterian Church ministers with no pictures:
Rev. Robert Henry
1766-1767
Rev. James McRee 1778-1797
Rev. Humphrey Hunter 1804-1827
Rev. Samuel Lytle Watson 1829-1840
Rev. Albertus Leander Watts 1841-1853
Rev. George Dickison Parks 1856-1858
Rev. Samuel Carothers Alexander
1861-1865
Rev. A. P. Nicholson 1883-1886
Rev. W. O. Cochran
1887-1889
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REGISTER OF PASTORS
I.
Rev. Robert Henry 1766-1767
2. Rev. James McRee 1778-1797
3. Rev: Humphrey Hunter 1804-1827
4. Rev. Samuel Lytle Watson 1829-1840
5. Rev. Albertus Leander Watts 1841-1853
6. Rev. George Dickison Parks 1856-1858
7. Rev. James Bell Watt 1858-1860
8. Rev. Samuel Carothers Alexander
1861-1865
9. Rev. John Douglas
1866-1879
IO. Rev. J. T. Plunkett
1881-1882
II. Rev. A. P. Nicholson 1883-1886
I 2. Rev. W. O. Cochran 1887-1889
13. Rev. Turner Ashby Wharton 1889-1894
14.
Rev. Archibald Alexander Little
1895-1901
15. Rev. Price Henderson Gwynn 1901-1906
16.
Rev. George F. Robertson 1907-1908
17. Rev: Wilburn A. Cleveland
1909-1912
18. Rev. John W. Orr 1912-1920
19. Rev. John Mack Walker
1920-1948
20. Rev. Watt M. Cooper
1949-1957
2I. Rev. John R. McAlpine, III
1957-1971
22. Rev: Lewis W. Bledsoe 1972-
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1760
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CHAPTER III Early History (1760-1800)
Foote in his Sketches of North Carolina states that Steele Creek has no history. This blunt remark brings a rejoinder from the Reverend Douglas: "This we are unwilling to concede. She is a church with a history, but destitute of any written records for fourscore years of her existence."1 In this chapter and those that follow an attempt will be made to describe most of the significant events in the church's history. The major resource from the earliest point until about 1870 is the first edition of the church history prepared by the Reverend Douglas. Some supplementation has been added from records gathered by the Committee responsible for this Revised Edition. Besides these chapters covering main events, such as tenures of pastors, more detailed accounts of events concerned with buildings or property, burial grounds, and church organiza- tions are set forth in other chapters.
Although there is no record of a specific date for an organized church at Steele Creek, it is generally conceded that a congrega- tion was organized in 1760. Long previous to that time, there was occasional preaching in Steele Creek by missionaries and travelling preachers. It is probable that the Reverend Hugh McAden passed through and preached in the community as early as 1755 or 1756 and was afterwards succeeded by the Reverends Elihu Spencer, Robert McMordie and others. Those who did attempt to feed the scattered flock came from afar and had to be supported almost entirely by outside sources, the local settlers themselves being able to contribute very little towards defraving expenses. The early
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missionaries travelled by the Indian trader paths.
According to Foote's Sketches of North Carolina, the Union of New York and Philadelphia Synods in 1758 brought a request for a supply pastor from the inhabitants of North Carolina between the waters of the Yadkin and Catawba rivers. It is not clear if Steele Creek was identified in this request. The 1761 Minutes of the Synod show that pastors were requested for Southern vacancies. The Reverend Caldwell of the Synod of New York applied for the appointment to North Carolina. The first marked grave in Steele Creek cemetery bears the date 1763, which lends further support to organization prior to this date.
Having settled the time when Steele Creek Church was orga- nized as satisfactorily as the "tradition of the elders" and the dry bones of chronology will enable us, we now, with very few written records to aid us, will endeavor to trace the history of the church from 1760. For many years our only authentic source is The Records of the Synod of New York and Philadelphia. As a point on outside history we should be aware that at first, and prior to the organiza- tion of the General Assembly, the Presbyterian Church of the United States was composed of a single Presbytery, Philadelphia, consisting at its organization in 1706 of only seven ministers and their churches. This continued as the only advisory and governing body until 1717. The church had then so increased it was deter- mined to sub-divide the existing body into at least three other Presbyteries, which were to constitute a Synod and hold annual meetings. Thus the Synod of Philadelphia was formed in 1717, and continued to be the chief judicatory of the church till 1741, when a division took place in the Synod, due to a diversity of sentiment among its members called "Old and New Sides." It was then divided into two coordinate bodies, called the Synod of Philadel- phia and the Synod of New York. These two separate bodies continued until 1758, when the two were formed into one Synod, called "The Synod of New York and Philadelphia." This continued
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until 1788, when this Synod was divided into four Synods: New York and New Jersey, Philadelphia, Virginia, and the Carolinas. Out of these was formed the General Assembly which met for the first time in Philadelphia, May 21, 1789, and was opened with a sermon by the Reverend John Witherspoon, D.D., after which the Reverend John Rodgers, D.D., was elected the first Moderator.
Following the organization and adjustment of the bounds of the congregations in North Carolina in 1764 by the Commission appointed by the Synod of New York and Philadelphia, calls were sent in for pastors from Steele Creek, Providence, Hopewell, Centre, Rocky River and Poplar Tent. The Reverend Alexander Craighead was already settled as pastor at Sugar Creek. These are the seven colonial churches of Mecklenburg, sometimes likened to the seven churches of Asia. That same year the Reverend Charles J. Smith was sent, and that year the Synod, knowing the condition of many of the congregations in North Carolina, of their wishing to be properly organized and have their boundaries defined, appointed the Reverends Elihu Spencer and Alexander McWhor- ton to go as missionaries to organize churches and adjust certain boundaries. They accomplished their tasks. The Synod defrayed their expenses.
In 1765 an application for supply pastors was sent to the Philadelphia Synod from those residing between the waters of the Yadkin and Catawba Rivers. Particular mention was made for the services of the Reverend Spencer and the Reverend McWhorton, showing they had labored in the area before. That same year calls were prepared for the Reverend McWhorton from Hopewell and Centre churches, but for certain reasons were not presented to him.
When the Reverend Alexander Craighead ended his successful labors in March, 1766, he was the solitary minister between the Yadkin and Catawba rivers. It was not until some years later that a minister settled south of the Yadkin River. In 1766, the Reverends
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Nathan Kerr from the New York Presbytery; George Duffries and Robert McMondie of the Presbytery of Donegal; and David Caldwell were appointed by the Synod to serve in North Carolina. Also during that year a call for the settlement of the Reverend Kerr among them was brought in from Steele Creek and New Providence. The Sugar Creek and Rocky River churches made a request for the Reverend Kerr. For reasons not given he declined all calls.
First Pastor - Reverend Robert Henry (1766-67)
In 1766 Steele Creek called and secured the Reverend Robert Henry of Donegal Presbytery as the first settled pastor. He served both Steele Creek and Providence churches. He transferred from Cub Creek, Charlotte County, Virginia. There are some indications that the Reverend Henry had been to Steele Creek previously. His tenure was brief as he died May 8, 1767. Of his origin, age, time of licensure, we know nothing except he was a member of Hanover Presbytery when it was set off in 1755. His name does not appear in the Minutes of the Presbytery until the year of his appointment.
We have no means of determining with certainty the elders serving during the time of the Reverend Henry. Their names tradition has forgotten, and no written records are available. The first elders of whom we find any account, some of whom may have served with the Reverend Henry, were William Barnett, Walter Davis, Robert Irwin, Hugh Parks, David Freeman, Joseph Swann, Zaccheus Wilson, and Andrew McNeely.
From 1767 until the Reverend James McRee arrived in 1778, Steele Creek had no settled minister nor a regular supply unless the Reverend Thomas Reese came during his connections with the Providence church. We find, however, that in 1767 missionary appointments were made for the destitute congregations in the region. Missionaries serving in the area about that time were the Reverends Andrew Bay, Elam Potter, John McCreary, Joseph Alexander, James Latta, Jr., Thomas Jackson, Josiah Lewis, and
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Anderson. In way of confirmation of service on the part of some of these, an application came from the Steele Creek and Providence churches for the Reverend Josiah Lewis, John McCreary, or Elam Potter. Such a request no doubt stemmed from their previous services. During 1769 and 1770 we find no report of the church or any part-time ministers; it is possible one of the above remained in the area. We think this probable as in 1771 Steele Creek made a request to the Synod for a supply, particularly requesting the labors of the Reverend Josiah Lewis. At this same session, a call also came from Briar Creek and Queensborough churches in Georgia for the Reverend Lewis. We presume he declined all offers because in the same year the Reverend Elam Potter was ordered to spend six months in the churches of southern North Carolina to preach and catechize the children. In 1771, the Reverend Joseph Smith was appointed to visit the southern vacancies and directed particularly to spend five weeks at Steele Creek.
The Synod appointed in 1772 two licentiates of the New Brunswick Presbytery, the Reverend Simpson and the Reverend Wallace, as supply for six months and for as much longer as they could conveniently stav. In spite of having no regular pastor following the Reverend Henry and no records of date of first construction, apparently the congregation had constructed a church building prior to 1771 as evidenced by the deed mentioned in Chapter II.
As pointed out in Chapter 1, the 1770's brought troubled times to all the colonies and those troubled times erupted in the Revolutionary War. Since there were few ministers in the area, and jealousies existed over who was loyal to England versus the revolutionary cause, there were probably few formal church services from about 1772 until the close of the war. During the war period travel was restricted by the British, thus a blockade prevented the southern portion of the church attending any of the meetings of the Synod in the north. This likely accounts for the
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silence as to any applications from churches of this area, and it may also be the reason little could be found on what the church did from 1772 to 1775.
Many of the Steele Creek congregation had been engaged in this fearful struggle for their altars and firesides; and some of her members, - yes, of her elders - by their faithful service, earned for themselves a fame, which every patriot son or successor may well be proud of and desire to keep alive. There is no portion of the State whose early record presents a more glowing page of pa- triotism and valor than Mecklenburg, of which Steele Creek is a component part. In Sweet's book Religion on the American Frontier we note this: "The first voice raised in America to dissolve all connection with Great Britain came, not from the Puritans of New England; not from the Dutch of New York; not from the planters of Virginia; but from the Scotch Presbyterians of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina."2 The character of her people was early shown. It may very justly be called the birth place of our national independence. For in the town of Charlotte, the county seat of Mecklenburg, on the twentieth of May, 1775, the patriots of Mecklenburg assembled in Convention at the same time that the first Provincial Congress of North Carolina was in session in Hillsboro, and the Continental Congress of North Carolina was in session in Hillsboro, and the Continental Congress was in session in Philadelphia, consulting for the welfare of the Colonies. This noble little band of patriots "assembled at a period of doubt, of darkness, and of danger, without concert with other States" (this State had already driven away her governor) "and now, without any assurance of support from any other quarter, did there dissolve the political bands which connected them with the mother country, declared themselves a free and independent people;" and set up a government of their own - this, more than a year in advance of the Fourth of July Declaration, 1776, which we are 2. William Warren Sweet, Religion on the American Frontier
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accustomed to acknowledge as the birthday of our national independence. Of this noble deed, as has well been said: "No inscriptions or tablatures, less broad than the earth itself can carry the information where it has not gone."3 Of whom was that Convention composed? What were the character and principles of the men who drafted and adopted this immortal document? It was not the offspring of any momentary excitement, or delirium of affected patriotism, but it was the natural off-shoot of their religious creed. Of the twenty-seven members who composed that Convention, nine or ten of them were ruling elders in the Presbyterian Church, and two of these, Colonel Robert Irwin and Zaccheus Wilson, were from Steele Creek. The names of these two will be found appended to the Declaration of Independence. General Irwin not only took an active part in this Convention, but exhibited the same zeal in attending all the meetings subsequently appointed for carrying it out. On April 4th, 1776, when the Mecklenburg "Memorial Association" sent a committee of three to the General Assembly of the State, then in session at Halifax, to incorporate"The Mecklenburg Monumental Association",General Robert Irwin was appointed one of the three. Also when delegates of the State met at Halifax on November 12, 1776, to form the Constitution, General Robert Irwin and Zaccheus Wilson were both members of that Convention.
The inhabitants in and around Charlotte were feared and detested by the British officers. Colonel Tarleton of the British Army said they were more hostile to England than any others in America. From this "Hornet's Nest", as General Cornwallis styled it, there were many dangers to be apprehended; so his missions had to go in and out in the most cautious manner. The spirit and effect of these early and noble efforts to promote independence and community spirit not only laid the foundation, but contrib- uted to mold the character and to elevate the people of Mecklen- 3. John Hill Wheeler, Historical Sketches of North Carolina. Vol. 2, p. 259.
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burg to the high and honorable rank of citizenship that has existed through many generations.
The immediate post-war period should have been one of reuniting communities and church, but serious turbulence con- tinued. Some of those coming into the area during the war and some of the natives returning after service elsewhere began to challenge the authority of the church. In the late 1770's the authority of the Bible underwent a sifting discussion such as Carolina had never seen. Debating societies formed for political purposes were common in the post-war period. Both political loyalties and points on religious adherences were debated. Against the assaults on religious teachings were the Reverend Joseph Caldwell of Sugar Creek and Reverend James Wallace of Provi- dence; both were sons-in-law of the Reverend John McKnitt Alexander. These two ministers stood as a break-water against the challenges and by their discussions, preaching, and moral influ- ences did much toward restoring stability.
A debating society formed with members from parts of Sugar Creek, Steele Creek, and Providence furnished the first circulating library. Many thought the library was disproportionate with infidel philosophy and infidel sentiments on religion and morality. Var- iances in opinions on emphases in religion had its effect on Steele Creek.
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