USA > South Carolina > History of the Presbyterian Church in South Carolina, Vol. II pt 1 > Part 27
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PURITY CHURCH, in Chester District, is about two miles from the Court House, on the road from Chester village to Rocky Mount. As we have seen, the Rev. Thomas Neely was pastor of this church at the close of the first decade in this century. "Owing to feeble health," says Rev. John Douglas, in his history of this church, " he was not able dur- ing the few last years of his life, to apply himself with much energy or efficiency to his work, though he rarely failed to meet his appointments." He was " suffering" under a wast- ing disease, from which few recover and by which many are carried away." "Of his acceptance and fidelity we may judge from the affection and regard with which his memory is still revered by those who sat under his ministry. There was nothing like a revival of religion during his ministry ; nor were there any internal dissentions to mar the peace of the people of God. The fallow ground was broken up and the good seed sown, the harvest of which future laborers were to enjoy the privilege of reaping."
Mr. Neely died November, 26th, 1812, aged 41 years, 3 months and 21 days, and was buried in the church yard of Bullock's Creek. He was united in marriage with Miss Martha Feamster, by whom he had a daughter and a son who were left orphans at an early age, for she survived him but a short time, She died February 24th, 1814, and was buried in the same grave with her departed husband.
The church was now left as sheep without a shepherd. What Presbyterial supplies they had from 1812 to 1815 is
270
PURITY CHURCH.
[1810-1820.
unknown. For the years $815 and 1816 they procured the labors of Rev. Francis H. Porter. Mr. Porter was the son of David Porter, of the congregation of Bethesda. in York. His primary education he received from his pastor, the Rev. Robt. B. Walker. At a proper age he repaired to the High School of Dr. James Hall, in North Carolina, and there perfected his attainments in the higher branches of learning, and, under the same teacher, pursued the study of theology. He was licensed by the Presbytery of Concord in 1812. He had charge of Mount Zion College at. Winnsboro, and, for a time, preached in that vicinity. At the time of his taking charge of Purity Church, he was a married man. Two of his chil- dren lie buried in Purity Cemetery, and one survived his brief residence here, and others were subsequently born to him. Four of his sons have been ministers in the Presbyterian Church. (All of them, Abner, Rufus, David, Joseph, have now passed away.) He remained here two years, in the last of which he encountered some unpleasant opposition from those who were offended at the use of Watts' Psalms and Hymns, which may, perhaps, have been the cause of his re- moval. After this, for two years, the church had only occa- sional supplies. Mr. Porter is said to have preached also at Concord a portion of his time while residing within the bounds of this congregation, and ministering to it in things spiritual.
After this he removed to Asheville, N. C., and ministered to the Asheville, Rimm's Creek, and Swanano Churches, and, at the same time, conducted a flourishing classical academy.
In the year 1819 they obtained the labors of the Rev. Aaron Williams, for a part of his time, then a licentiate of Concord Presbytery.
The original elders of this church began to disappear by removals and death. James Williamson had returned to Bethesda congregation, where he died; William Bradford became an elder at Fishing Creek; Robert Boyd remained with the same congregation ; John Harden died, February 28, 1816, at the age of 53; Andrew Morrison also had died, when in June, 1818, John Walker, Charles Walker and Matthew McClintock were elected to the eldership, and were ordained by Rev. John B. Davies, of Fishing Creek.
EDMONDS' CHURCH, alias Pleasant Grove, continued under the ministerial labors of Rev. Thomas Neely until the year
271
1810-1820.] FISHING CREEK-BULLOCK'S CREEK.
1812. After his death the church withdrew from Presby- tery and connected themselves with the Independents, or the followers of the Rev. Wm. C. Davis.
FISHING CREEK, which is situated near the creek of that name, about two miles below where the York and Chester line crosses that stream, was still served by that indefati- gable minister of Christ, Rev. John B. Davies. This church shared richly, from time to time, in the quickening in- fluences of the Holy Spirit. These seasons were of shorter or longer duration, from two to four or five years. Christians were quickened and encouraged, sinners were awakened and constrained to take refuge in Christ, and numbers were added to the church. The first of these seasons commenced in 1802, and continued about four years; the second in 1817. and continued two years. Encouraging indications of the Divine Presence were observed two years before, in 1815. At the beginning of this decade, in 1810, the com- muning members of this church were 79 or 80 to 83. In April, 1820, says Rev. Mr. Saye, there were 162, an increase in the ten years of 83. In 1812 the name of James Seele disappears from the list of eiders, and James .E. McFadden and John Boyd are added to it.
The CHURCH OF RICHARDSON, or formerly LOWER FISHING CREEK, as it had been called during the preceding decade, was a part of the pastoral charge of Rev. J. B. Davies. The church was smaller in size than the Church of Fishing Creek, having less than one-third as many members. Governor Wil- liam Richardson Davie and his family supported this church as long as any of them remained in the community, but the tide of emigration was always setting against it.
BULLOCK'S CREEK .- We have seen that Rev. William C. Davis became pastor of this people in 1806, and that he con- tinued his labors among them for four years of the last decade until 1810. "Shortly after Mr. Davis's settlement here he broached and published certain views of Christian doctrine which were at variance with the received doctrines of the Presbyterian Church, as stated in our Confession of Faith, for which he was arraigned before an Ecclesiastical Court."
We have before seen that the First Presbytery of South Carolina had been dissolved at its own suggestion, a part of its members and churches annexed to the new Presbytery of Harmony, and the other portion, in which was W. C. Davis
272
ABJURATION OF W. C. DAVIS. [1810-1820.
and his adherents, to the Presbytery of Concord, in the hope that in that Presbytery he might be subjected to discipline, and the eyes of his adherents be opened to his aberrations in doctrine. An extra meeting was called by the Presbytery of Concord to consider his case, when Mr. Davis, aware that it must now progress to a termination, determined to decline the jurisdiction of the Presbyterian Church, and declare inde- pendence. He, therefore, sent his declinature to the Presby- tery of Concord, as follows :
"To the Reverend Presbytery of Concord, to sit at Hopewell Church, on the third Wednesday of this instant, or when- ever or wherever said Presbytery may sit ; and through them to all the judicatories of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America :
" OCTOBER 9, 1810.
"AFTER MATURE DELIBERATION : In the presence of the Om- niscient God, with the day of judgment in my eye ; in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, who alone is Lord of the conscience ; and Head of the Church; under the influence of the Word of God; I do hereby declare that from the date of these presents, I am and do hold myself to be withdrawn from the government of the Pres- byterian Church in the United States of America, and am con- sequently not amenable to the rules, cdicts, discipline, or com- mands of said Church, from henceforth, sine die. Amen."
The Presbytery did not consider this act of his as a sufficient ground on which to stop the process; he was cited a second time, and as he persisted in his contumacy, the Presbytery proceeded agreeably to the rules of discipline, and suspended him; and at length he. was deposed, for his continued con- tumacy, in 1812.
Mr. Davis assembled his congregation of Bullock's Creek, at which were present many of the members of Salem Church. Sixty-one were present at this meeting. By a vote of 52 out of 61 persons present, they withdrew from the jurisdiction of the Presbytery, and forwarded their proceedings to that body. To these documents the Presbytery replied through their committees in separate communications to Mr. Davis and the congregation. But both parties adhered to the positions they had taken, until all efforts proving unavailing, the sentence of deposition was pronounced.
They formed themselves into an independent community,
273
SALEM CHURCH.
1810-1820.]
under the title of " The Independent Presbyterian Church." He, however, labored amongst them but for a short time, until he removed to the West. After the removal of Mr. D. the congregation returned again to their connection with the Presbyterian Church, in the year 1817, and obtained the labors of Rev. Aaron Williams, a licentiate of the Presbytery of Concord, who was ordained and installed pastor over the church in August, 1819. Mr. Williams also became pastor of the adjoining Church of Salem, which had gone with Mr. Davis. By these untoward circumstances the congregation was greatly reduced in its numbers and its harmony destroyed, and became separated into two jarring societies. Who con- stituted their first bench of Elders is not certainly known, but as nearly as can be remembered they were John Dickey, Joseph Feemster, Stewart Brown, John Smith, Henry Plexico, Allen Dowdle."-[MS. of Rev. J. B. Davis.]
SALEM CHURCH, on the west side of Broad River, in Union District, was formed by the early labors of W. C. Davis, was received under the care of the First Presbytery of South Caro- lina, March 7, 1810, and sympathised with their pastor. There were members of Edmond's Church which eventually went over to him, and who sympathized with him during the whole period, as also there were in the congregations of Shiloh, and in Olney, in North Carolina. Delegates from all these churches met in Bullock's Creek Meeting House, in October. 1813, and framed a Constitution, consisting of the radical arti- cles of the faith and discipline of Mr. Davis, and of the inde- pendent sect which he established. This Constitution was sent to a printing office in Salisbury, N. C., for publication, but the printer dying before the Constitution was put to the press, the manuscript was lost. The congregation of Salem, as well as that portion of Bullock's Creek congregation, the large majority of which, according to the authority from which we now quote, [Historical Sketch of the Independent Presbyterian Church in the United States, Columbia, 1839,] sided with Mr. Davis, were greatly discouraged when the pastor, and a licentiate in the ministry, Robert M. Davis, (licensed we suppose by the Congregational Presbytery of Bullock's Creek,) removed with some of the members of the church to the West. It was after the departure of Mr. Davis, and the arrival of Rev. Aaron Williams, that the remarkable revival commenced which visited so many churches. "On
18
274
BETHESDA.
[1810-1820.
the first Sabbath in August, 1817," says Rev. Robert B. Walker, in a letter to the editors of the Evangelical Intelli- gencer, published in Charleston, " where, on a sacramental oc- casion, at Bullock's Creek Church, the Lord appeared in the galleries of His grace, and poured out of His Holy Spirit, tlfirteen were added to the church, and many were awakened. At the close of the meeting it was announced that the Sacra- ment of the Lord's Supper would be administered at Salem, a branch of the Bullock's Creek Church, on the fourth Sabbath of the same month. The appointed day arrived, the people met, the ministers of the Gospel attended, and twenty-one were added to the church." The letter, a part of which this is an abstract, proceeds to describe the Sacrament at Bethesda and at Bethel, makes allusion to the work at Fishing Creek, Beersheba and Olney. See Evangelical Intel- ligencer, Vol. I, pp. 149, 237. A writer in the Weekly Re- corder, whose letter is dated October 14, 1818, says : "In Bullock's Creek many (perhaps to the number of 78 at one communion) have turned from the error of their ways."
BETHESDA, in York District, still had the labors of Rev. Robert B. Walker bestowed upon it. Among the ministers who originated in this congregation was the Rev. Francis H. Porter, of whom we have spoken while giving the history of Purity Church.
After his residence in North Carolina, there referred to, he came back to South Carolina, and conducted an Academy at Cedar Spring, preach- ing meanwhile at Fairforest and perhaps Nazareth Churches. He visited Alabama as early as 1818, held a two days' meeting there, and administered the Lord's Supper under a spacious oak. He repeated his visit in 1821, and held a similar meeting. On both these occasions parents carried their children thirty miles to have them baptized. He removed from South Carolina in the spring of 1828, and joined the Presbytery of South Alabama. He there labored both as a preacher of the gospel and an instructor of youth. He supplied, respectively, the churches of Flat Creek, in Monroe County ; Good Hope, in Lowndes ; Pisgah and Selma, in Dallas ; and Hebron and New Hope, in Green County. As a preacher, he was solid, sound, practical and instructive. As a teacher, he had many peculiar qualifications, and was eminently successful, having been the educator of many distinguished men, among whom are ex-Gov. Swain, of North Carolina ; ex-Gov. Gist, of South Carolina. His earthly labors ended in 1845, when he passed to his rest, in the 59th year of his age. He was buried at Bethsalem Church, in Green County, Ala. His death was deeply regretted, and his memory duly honored by the Presbytery of Tuscaloosa and the Synod of Ala- bama, as their minutes of October, 1845, declare. He married the daughter of Rev. C. D. Kilpatrick, of North Carolina. [MS. of Rev. Jno. S. Harris and Dr. Nall's " Dead of the Synod of Alabama."]
275
BETHESDA.
1810-1820.]
Another of the ministers who rose in this congregation, was Rev. John Williamson, a son of the Elder, Samuel Williamson, who received his classical education under Mr. Walker. He was licensed to preach in 1812, and settled in North Carolina. From 1818 his labors were be- stowed upon the church and congregation of Hopewell. in North Caro- lina, where he died in 1841. He was a man of brilliant and vigorous mind-fluent and chaste in his style and delivery, polished and agree- ible in his manners, and a highly esteemed and useful minister of the rospel. He left his widow and children a large worldly estate, as well as a holy and exemplary life, to be enjoyed as their heritage. [MS. of Rev. J. S. Harris.]
" Rev. Sanmel Williamson, D. D., was also from Bethesda, being a brotlier of the former. After an academical course under Father Walker, he was graduated with distinction in the South Carolina College in 1818. After a few years of teaching and private study of theology, he was licensed by Concord Presbytery, and preached at the churches of Prov- idence and Sharon, in Mecklenburg County, N. C., and taught an Acad- emy in the bounds of the former. After a pa-torate of about fifteen vers, he was elected a Professor in Davidson College, an office he weepted in 1838. much against the wishes of the congregations, and he was shortly afterwards promoted to the Presidency of the same Insti- ution. This position he filled until 1854, when he resigned and retired to the Church of Hopewell, and served that people until 1856, in the fall of which he removed to Washington, Arkansas, where he is still an ged but active pastor. The writer hopes to be pardoned in saying of Dr. Williamson that his partialities for him are very great. Nor are they unreasonable when, besides his real worth, it is known that he married our parents, baptized ourself and brother and sisters, buried our ancestry, taught us the alphabet, led us through college as the president and pastor, and, lastly, received us into the communion of the church Of him as a son may Bethesda ever be proud." Ibid.
The elders who were inducted into their office in this decade were Frank Ervin, born in York District, received into the church in 1802, ind promoted to the eldership in 1812 After several years' of official luty, in which he exhibited more than usual religious fervor and zeal or the cause of God, he voluntarily demitted the active exercise of his office, and partially withdrew, owing to some change in his doctrinal views, from the communion of the church, but afterwards returned, and lied much lamented, February 8th, 1839, aged 70."
" James Black was elected to fill the vacancy occasioned by the death of his father in 1812, and faithfully did he execute the duties of his office until he removed to Alabama in 1820. He died in Mississippi."
Robert Robertson, a native of North Carolina, was admitted to the eldership in 1815. He was a man of exemplary Christian character. Ie removed to Hall County in 1826, where he died in 1840."
" Allison Hope was born in Cabarras County, N. C., in 1780 When quite a young man he came into the bounds of Salem Church, in Union District, in which, for a short time, he was an elder. In 1812 he removed o Bethesda, and was re-elected an elder in 1815. After twenty-three 'ears of devoted service here he was constrained, by the necessitous condition of the Church of Mount Pleasant, just organized near his residence, to transfer his services thither. But after a few years that church was dissolved, and he returned to Bethesda, and rested from his abors, August 29th, 1842, being 62 years old. His wife, whose maiden
276
BETHESDA.
[1810-1820.
name was Jane Moore, survived him several years, and of his children. Robert S was invested with the office so long and exemplarily filled by his father."
" In 1817 a precious season of divine grace was expe- rienced in this church. Concerning this the Rev. R. B. Walker wrote in one of the periodicals of the day as fol- lows: 'The communion at Bethesda was held on the second Sabbath of September, five weeks after that of Bul- lock's Creek, and two after the Salem meeting. Bethesda. once remarkably favored of the Lord, was now sunk into a state of languor as to divine things. Many had begun to fear that the Lord had forgotten to be gracious, that His mercy had clean gone forever, and that the harvest was past and the summer ended, and many were not saved. The services of the sanctuary commenced on Friday. Almost every brow appeared to indicate deepening impressions and a desire to hear the words of eternal life. Forty joined the church and partook of the Lord's Supper for the first time. The weather was unpleasant, rain poured down in almost incessant tor- rents, which were exceeded in nothing unless in the showers of divine grace.'
" The crowds in attendance were not so large, and the num- bers under divine influence were not so great, but in the judg- ment of the most competent observers, the church received more real strength than in the great revival fifteen years before. The precise number brought to the Saviour cannot be ascertained, but it far exceeded the number first admitted to the Lord's Supper before mentioned, and on good authority we may say that two hundred at least were gathered in as the fruits of this revival.
" In the midst of the excitement and ecclesiastical changes wrought by William C. Davis, between 1807 and 1812, no commotion ruffled the serenity of Bethesda. Her elders, in the persons of Thomas Black and Elias Davidson, were pres- ent in the Presbyteries where his case was under adjudication, and always gave, by vote, judgment against him. And al- though Mr. Davis had, at one time, many admirers in the congregation and many personal friends, yet he eventually had no adherents to his erratic creed, and so the church lost no members by the schism; and only a few families, and those by intermarriage, have sought church membership with his followers. The storm raged and deeply agitated some
277
1810-1820.] EBENEZER-BEERSHEBA-SHILOH.
surrounding churches, yet it ieft Bethesda unmolested and united."
EBENEZER was still a part of the charge of Rev. R. B. Walker. It most probably shared in the work of grace with the neighboring Church of Bethesda, and in which other churches in this vicinity, from 1817 to 1819, participated. . It was connected now with the Presbytery of Concord. Its last report to the First Presbytery of South Carolina, before its dissolution in 1810, gave it forty-four members in communion, with seven baptisms of infants.
BEERSHEBA, in York, was ministered to, as a stated supply, through this decade, by Rev. James S. Adams, who at first divided his labors between this church and Olny, in North Carolina, and afterwards between this and Bethel (York). It reported in 1810 one hundred and thirty members, a number which probably it never afterwards exceeded. It shared in the revivals of 1817 to 1819, which, to the churches of this neighborhood, was a season of refreshing from the presence of the Lord. [Rel. Intelligencer, New Haven, Nov., 1817, p. 464. Christian Spectator, New Haven, Aug., 1819, p. 442.]
UNITY. in York District, was one of the vacant congrega- tions of the First Presbytery of South Carolina at its disso- lution, and became connected, with others of this region, with the Presbytery of Concord. Its history during this decade is unknown to us. From the minutes of the General Assem- bly for 1819 we learn that, with Providence Church, North Carolina, it was a part of the joint charge of the Rev. James Wallis, whose death occurred in that year. See Vol. I. 668, Note.
SHILOH, formerly Calvary, on King's Creek, in the north- western corner of York district. Besides the labor's of Rev. James S. Adams, who supplied it for some years, it was favor- ed at one time with the services of Rev. Henry M. Kerr. Probably this was earlier than this decade. Under their labors this church seemed to prosper. This was succeeded by a season of long and dreary night. The ways of Zion . mourned, and a high degree of spiritual declension became prevalent. [MS. of Rev. J. B. Davies.]
" For ten or fifteen years," continues Mr. Davies, " the means of grace were not enjoyed ; the house of worship went to ruins, and the attention of the people was only now and then, at intervals of months, and sometimes of years, called
278
BETHEL (YORK).
[1810-1820,
to the ministrations of the gospel. During this period of darkness and declension, removals took place by which the Presbyterian Church was completely disorganized and dis- persed. The Baptist denomination formed the congregation of Antioch under very promising circumstances."
,It was claimed by Rev. Wm. C. Davis and his followers as one of the constituent portions of the Independent Presbyte- rian Church. In the minutes of the Assembly for 1819 it is set down as one of the vacant churches of the Concord Presbytery.
BETHEL (York) .- The vacancy in this church continued until 1811, when the Rev. James S. Adams removed his resi- dence to Bethel, the place of his nativity, and was employed by the congregation as a stated supply. He continued his labors among them for many years beyond the period con- cerning which we now write. He was a man after the Mas- ter's own heart, a good man and full of the Holy Ghost. It was during this period that this church, in common with others, enjoyed a special outpouring of the Holy Spirit. In a letter of Mr. Adams to Mr. W. W. Woodward, of New Haven, dated " York District, S. C., October 27, 1817," he says : " We have had a glorious revival of religion in this country. It commenced in July, and has made its way into a number of our churches. I have attended five communions in the churches around, including my own, and we have admitted 162 to the church for the first time ; a large propor- tion of whom are young people ; but we have some of all ages. The work appeared to spread with great rapidity. It differs from the former revival we had in this country in several particulars. In this we have no bodily exercises ; the work is powerful, but mental ; much weeping and praying. In this we have no opposition as yet." [Religious Intelli- gencer, New Haven, Vol. I, p. 464, for November, 1817.] The Christian Spectator, of August, 1819, says : "Several of the churches in York District, S. C., have been favored . with a ' time of refreshing from the presence of the Lord.' Very considerable additions have been made to the churches of Salem, Bethesda, Fishing Creek, Beersheba and Olney." [Chr. Spec., Vol. I, p. 442.] Another letter of - Rev. Mr. Adams to the Rev. R. S. Storrs, Jr., dated December 10, 1818, and published in the Boston Recorder, says : " A Bible So- ciety has been in operation with us for more than two years.
279
WAXHAW.
1810-1820.]
It is under the direction of our Presbytery. In all our con . gregations we have established Tract Societies. In my own congregation we have also established Circulating Library Societies, and we sometimes pay a little to the support of missions. Twelve months ago, at a communion season, the Lord was pleased to pour out His Spirit in a remarkable manner. From that time it has spread until all the churches in the district have partaken in the happy effects. If I am correct in my account, more than 400 have been added to our churches within these bounds. I have added to my two congregations 138, and the work is still going on."
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