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CHURCHES OF BERTIE COUNTY

|African-American Churches |Episcopal | Methodists


BAPTISTS
Kehukee Baptist Association Churches founded in 1765 was the foundation for the early Baptist Churches.   Read more about this Association.

Chowan Association was organized 1806 at Salem M.H. on Newbiggin creek, Pasquotank county, May 16, 17, & 18.[All churches East of the Roanoke River were dismissed from the Kehukee Association to form this new division]
Read more about Chowan Association.

Bertie County Baptist Churches
List of Bertie Churches in 1881
Church    Location  Date org   admit to Assoc. Remarks

Bertie.....Bertie....1750......1806...Changed to Sandy Run 1825

Capehart's .Bertie...1823......1825
Cashie......Bertie...1778......1806 Received into Kehukee 1778
Coleraine...Bertie....1789.....1806 First called Wiccacon
Connaritsa..Bertie....1790.....1807
Green's X Roads.Bertie.1874....1874
Holly Grove..Bertie....1804....1825
Lawrence's X Roads..Bertie 1875.1875
Mars' Hill.....Bertie....1854...1855
Outlaw's Chapel.Bertie...---....1806  Dropped 1825
Republican......Bertie....1834..1835
Roquist.........Bertie....1878..1879
Ross'Meeting House........Bertie....1804..1806
Siloam Baptist Church 1879
Sandy Run.......Bertie....1750..1806 Called Bertie till
1825                     Mem. Orig K. Ass. K. Ass met here in 1784
White Oak.......Bertie....1856...1857

Baptist Churches established after 1881

Askewville Baptist 1912

Aulander Baptist 1885 -Membership Rolls

Center Grove Baptist 1897    (Aulander)

Faith Baptist-1963

First Baptist - Lewiston-1883

Edgewood Baptist - Windsor North - 1951

Elm Grove Baptist - 1895

Kelford Baptist - Kelford - 1898

Holly Grove Baptist - 1804

Merry Hill - 1910 Powellsville Baptist -1909

Riverside Baptist - Colerain - 1913

Wakelon Baptist - Colerain - 1940

Bertie Church - Sandy Run
The oldest Baptist Church in Bertie County is the Sandy Run Church now located in Roxobel. Originally it was know as the "Bertie Church" and its members came from the Baptist Church which had been founded at Meherrin. Sandy Run was about 25 miles south and a few miles from Sandy Run which flows into the Roanoke River.

Sandy Run Baptist Church

Celebrates their 250th Anniversary Sept 10, 2000 !

Early Membership List

For more information, see the manuscript by John E. Tyler, written in recognition of the Bicentennial (1750-1950)

SANDY RUN BAPTIST CHURCH, Roxobel, NC
The Bertie Ledger-Advance, Windsor, NC, September 28, 1972, Section C-5:
Sandy Run Church, the oldest church in Bertie County, was the fourth established church in North Carolina. Its earliest location was not far from the town of Roxobel somewhere in the vicinity of Bishop's Mill Pond.

Due to lack of records, the date of organization and records of organization are not definite. One records states that Sandy Run was formed about 1740 from a branch of the Meherin Church of Hertford County and during the next decade was closely associated with the Kehukee Church that was located across the Roanoke River. In 1750 Sandy Run was established as an independent church.

Like other Baptist churches established in North Carolina before 1755, Sandy Run was originally a General Baptist Church--one that adhered to the Arminian or Free-will doctrine.

During its early years, the members of Sandy Run seemed to have been disorganized and often pastorless. There is no record of the first ministers. The earliest minister of whom there is recorded evidence was Thomas Pope, a native Virginian.

During the 1750's the General Baptists of North Carolina began to feel the influence of the Particular Baptists, a group that adhered to the Calvinist doctrine, a more rigid doctrine than that professed by the General Baptists. Due to the warm missionary zeal of Robert Williams of Northampton County and representatives of the Philadelphia Baptist, Sandy Run was re-established in 1756 under a constitution which adhered to the beliefs of the Particular Baptists. The church in conference disbanded the organization that previously existed and those who desired to come into the new order were required to come under a new examination conducted with much rigidity.

In 1769, the Kehukee Association was organized with Sandy Run Church as one of the original churches of that association.

After the death in 1772 of its pastor, James Abingdon, Sandy Run Church fell into disorder, its membership was greatly reduced and division took place. A few faithful members asked the Kehukee Association in 1773 to investigate the situation. This investigation ended with Lemuel Burkitt, one of the association's representatives and a native of Chowan County, as minister of Sandy Run.

Under the guidance of Elder Burkitt, the church witnessed a great revival and membership rose to 217 in 1777. A branch of Sandy Run gathered near Potecasi, Connarista and Pleasant Grove and each unit eventually became a separate unit.

During the Great Revival at the beginning of the nineteenth century, Elder Burkitt preached with great acceptance at revivals in Kentucky and Tennessee and at home in the Kehukee Association. Congregations numbering as many as 4,000 were present to hear him preach.

In 1806 all churches of the Kehukee Association that were east of the Roanoke River were dismissed by letter to form the Chowan Baptist Association. Thus Sandy Run was a member of the new organization. Elder Burkitt was largely responsible for Sandy Run's becoming one of the outstanding churches during the later 1700's and early 1800's.

Between 1803 and 1821 Sandy Run Church was moved from its first location to Sandy Run on the Northampton - Bertie boundary about a mile from the town of Roxobel. In 1854 it was moved to its present site in the town of Roxobel.

The year 1883 saw Sandy Run join the West Chowan Association and the Lewiston Church cut off from Sandy Run. In 1898, 24 of the church members were dismissed by letter to form a church at Kelford. Part of the congregation at the Aulander Church were former members at Sandy Run.

On July 24, 1936 the fine wooden church building was struck by lightening and burned to the ground. Work began immediately to replace it with the brick church which now serves the congregation.

Since its dedication the church has been improved by the addition of two large classrooms in 1954 and bathrooms in 1957. The church-owned parsonage is located in Roxobel. Since 1961 the church has had a full time pastor."
Taken from the Minutes of the West Chowan Baptist Association.

The Baptist Archives are described in the Bibliography Section .

Wake Forest Library Holdings-Microfilm.
Sandy Run Baptist Church (founded 1740), Roxobel, NC
Records, 1773-1804, 1821 (Broken series).  1 vol.
(Manuscript).
CRMS 059.

Sandy Run Baptist Church (founded 1740), Roxobel, NC
Records, 1773-1804.  (Broken series).  1 vol.
(Microfilm).
CRMF 811.Wake Forest Collection.

Capehart's Baptist Church

Capeheart's Church Photo from Neil Baker

Capeheart's Church- close up Photo from Bill and Dee Miller

Capeheart's Window

History
Membership Lists - Bk 1 and Bk 2   Bk 2b
Minutes

The church was originally made up of 74 members from Wiccocon (Colerain) and Cashie churches, dated 12/10/1824.
The following churches branched off from Capeharts.
Lawrence Baptist Church 1874
Merry Hill Baptist Church in 1910
Mt Gould organized Sept 6, 1913 --later changed name to Riverside Baptist Church

"CAPEHARTS BAPTIST CHURCH - Merry Hill
The Bertie Ledger-Advance, Windsor, NC, September 28, 1972, Section D-9:Used with permission of Harry Thompson
Capeharts Baptist Church, located in White's Township, was organized and constituted on December 10, 1824, with 74 charter members who had taken letters of dismission from the Wiccacon and Cashie Baptist churches. Of these 74, 64 were white and 10 colored. The constituting presbytery consisted of Elders A. Biggs, Reuben Lawrence and William I. Newbern.

Elder Lawrence was called as pastor and Charles Cobb was elected clerk.

Capeharts Church voted to petition the Bertie Union and the Chowan Baptist Association for membership in these bodies in 1825. In that same year she licensed her first native son granting to William W. Pierce authority to preach 'in the bounds of this church and the neighboring churches if he thinks proper.'

The first missionary society was formed in 1847. As further expression of her missionary concern, Capeharts voted in 1849 to support a minister to travel and preach within the old constitution, with the clerk instructed to draw up a new one in accordance with the Confession of Faith adopted by the Chowan Baptist Association in May, 1849.

In addition to the original meeting house, the congregation occupied two other houses of worship throughout the years. The first was completed and occupied in 1870. The present structure was completed and dedicated in 1918. A Sunday School annex was built in 1927, with a wing added to this structure in 1964.

The decision to enter into a full-time program of ministry in 1953 necessitated the construction of a parsonage. This structure was completed in record time, with the new pastor and his family moving into the building in November, 1953."

Cashie Baptist Church

Another Baptist congregation was the "Cashie Church" which was established in the Windsor area. For information see: The Baptist Church at Cashie (1770-1970) by Raymond Hargus Taylor. Contains history as well as membership lists which contain early Negro members as well.

CASHIE BAPTIST CHURCH (1771), BERTIE CO., N.C. RECORDS, 1791-1925. 3 vols., 12 items. Minutes of church conferences from Apr. 2, 1791 to Jan. 15, 1924, including membership rolls, biographical sketches, ordinations, treasurer's RECORDS, obituaries, and Sunday School materials. Loose items include a photocopy of the church deed (1776); church letters; correspondence, 1883; financial papers, and membership RECORDS, 1874, 1884. 5 inch Hollinger Box. Note: Filmed copies of these records are on CRMF 0649. CRMS 005. Wake Forest Collection

The Bertie Ledger Advance, Windsor, NC, Spetember 28, 1972, Section B-2:
The history of the Cashie Baptist Church dates back over almost 200 years of growth and service. In the year 1770, the Elder Jeremiah Dargan and his wife, Anne Moore, with small beginnings and great faith, organized Cashie Baptist Church.

Elder Dargan was a devout Christian, a zealous minister of the gospel. He found the people of the Windsor area ready to hear his preaching. At first, services were held in private homes, frequently at the home of a Mr. Sowell, or Sewell, and soon the number of members increased.

Elder Dargan was greatly persecuted by a few, as were Baptists in other places at that time and some attempted to silence his preaching and hinder his work.

This local opposition did, however, prevent for a time the erection of a Baptist church house in the Town of Windsor itself, so Dargan bought an acre of land about a mile east of Windsor, near Sandy Point, on which he erected a house of worship about 42 feet square.
Here the people came to worship. It was called Cashie, taken from the name of the river that flows by Windsor.

Elder Dargan continued as pastor of Cashie Church until his death on December 25, 1786. After his death the church was without a regular pastor until July 6, 1794, when Aaron Spivey was ordained to the ministry and on that day became pastor of Cashie Church.

The minutes of the conferences of this church since 1791 have been well kept and the roll of members contains every rank of citizen and every business and profession of this historic county. A great many strong and influential men and women of Bertie County have been members of Cashie. For more than a half century, in this church master and slave worshipped together.

When the Chowan Association was formed in 1806, Cashie Church became a member of that body and remained so until the West Chowan Association was formed in 1883. The first session of the West Chowan Association was held at Cashie Church in 1883.

For convenience, the church was moved to its present location in Windsor in the year 1853. However, services were held occasionally out at the old church building for several years in deference to the sentiments of the other members of the church.

The house of worship in Windsor was not completed fully until 1854. The building then erected served the congregation until 1910, when it was removed and the present brick structure was erected. Additions have been made since then to meet the growing needs, as the church has gone forward in size and in the outreach of its ministry to the people.
The first educational building was started in October, 1949 and completed in July of the following year. Shortly afterwards, the church was renovated in the interior and a new carpet laid over the auditorium floor. The educational building was dedicated on May 4, 1952.
In 1950 the church built a new parsonage on the lot where the old parsonage stood directly behind the church. In 1959 under the leadership of the Rev. Charles Duling the church launched an intensive campaign to raise funds for a second educational building. By the end of 1960 there was approximately $20,000 in the building fund.
With the coming of the Rev. E. Len Weston as pastor, a building committee was elected and plans secured to erect the proposed building. Construction was started in April of 1961 and the building was completed and occupied on the first Sunday in October of the same year.

In addition to the educational building, the sanctuary has been air-conditioned and redecorated, the old educational building has been remodeled, a carport between the two buildings has been built and a parking lot and driveway built. Air conditioning units have been installed in the new educational building with equipment to serve 216. The building has been furnished throughout with new equipment and the church can accomodate 500 in Sunday School."

Colerain Baptist Church

Colerain Baptist Church

Photo from David Miller
A
Obituary of Rev. Nowell-pastor 1836-1857

Sunday School membership   1909 -1910

1920 Church Membership

Connaritsa Baptist Church

Conaritsa Baptist 100th Anniversary

Conaritsa Baptist History -- 1930

Conaritsa Baptist
200th Anniversary

Wake Forest Collection.
(founded 1797/98), Aulander, NC Records, 1851-1876. CRMF 673.
Connaritsa Church records burned about 1850. A very few of the records, which were not in the church still survive. They were able to get bits and peices of the Church's history prior to that fire from other Church records. The Republican Church grew out of the Connaritsa Church. Connaritsa is an active church today.

CONNARITSA BAPTIST CHURCH, Aulander, NC
The Bertie Ledger-Advance, Windsor, NC, September 28, 1972, Section D-1:
The Connaritsa Baptist Church was constituted in 1789 from part of the Sandy Run Baptist Church in Roxobel. It is located on the State Highway leading from Aulander to Windsor, at a crossroads about four miles south of Aulander. This was not the original site of the church. The first structure, a log one, was located a mile farther south up in a field.

The charter members of the church were few in number but firm was their foundation in faith. In 1851 the membership had increased to 257; 62 white male members; 140 white female members, 19 colored male members, and 36 colored female members.

In June 1852 Wiley Dunning became Connaritsa's pastor. At this time the debt for the new meeting house was all paid. The protracted meetings held at the church often lasted from 10 days to two weeks. At one meeting held in 1869 seven ministers had charge of the service.

Approximately 40 people were converted during one revival meeting. Not all the meetings were confined to the church, some were held at 'Williford's School House' or at 'Brother Cook's Old House' during the summer.

In August 1883, some of its members left Connaritsa to join the new church at Lewiston. In September 1886, 31 members were lost to the New Baptist Church in Aulander.

Connaritsa Baptist Church was 100 years old in 1889. The committee for the Centennial Celebration consisted of C.T. Jenkins, W.H. Mitchell, J.H. Evans, W.G. Burden and A.J. Dunning.

The congregation and this celebration was estimated to number between 25 and 3,000.

In November of 1899, a building committee was appointed and after a lengthy consultation it was resolved that they build a new house of worship. The building committee conferred with a carpenter from Gates County, who advised them that it would be more economical to tear down the old house and use the same timber in the construction of the new building. During the time the new house was being built, meetings were held in the church grove.

The new building was completed in April 1901 and dedicated in August 1904. In June 1905, a committee of ladies was appointed to solicit funds for purchasing an organ. A singing school was held during the last part of July and the first of August in 1906 with Russel Myers as song master. During the years 1926 to 1940 the church was rebuilt. The present church chapel has a seating capacity of 800. Another highlight of the life of the church was the service in 1936 when all mortgage notes were settled and burned at a public meeting."
Notation: Taken from the Minutes of the West Chowan Baptist Association.




Greens Cross Roads

Greens Cross Baptist Church (founded 1874), north of Windsor, NC on Hwy 17 going east.   Records, 1879-1974. CRMF 674.Wake Forest Collection.

The Bertie Ledger-Advance, (Green's Cross) Windsor, NC, September 28, 1972, Section D-1:
In the community of Greens Cross, then called Oakie Woods, people lived too far from their churches to walk and go very often. Some, whose memberships were at Cashie, Ross and Capeharts, started having community prayer meeting in the homes. Then they started Sunday Meeting in a log house near Blueridge Swamp. They built a small building at the cross roads and the Sunday meeting went on. Saturday, January 14, 1874, a church was organized with 25 members. They named it 'Greens Cross' in memory of Uncle Billie Green, who once lived there.
The next day, Joseph W. White was ordained to the ministry and was the first pastor with a salary of 40 dollars a year. He served until 1883.
Jessie R. Matthews was taking the work of pastoring at the same salary as the previous pastor. During his ministry in 1885, the second house of worship, a larger and better building, was built. The Rev. Matthews served until January, 1889.
Brother Barnes entered the work in January, 1919, and in March of the same year plans were made and work soon started to build the present church building which was completed and dedicated on November 29, 1923. The Rev. N.J. Todd preached the dedication sermon.
The fifth Sunday in December, 1922 Dancy S. Dempsey was ordained to the full ministry of the gospel. During his stay Mrs. J.H. Barnes organized the first Sunbeam Band.
The Rev. Finch came in 1924, left in 1929. The summer of 1926 the first Baptist Young People's Union was formed. H.G. Bryant came but stayed only 15 months leaving in 1929. During the time of the BYPU was brought up to standard and Riverside dropped out of the field.
Thanksgiving night, 1921, Mrs. D.L. Cobb gave the church a lot for a parsonage. December 8, 1936, the structure was built and dedicated. Mrs. Burch organized the first Girls' Auxiliary.
J.O. Walton was called and entered the work the first of July, 1934. The church bought its first piano and got rural electricity. He resigned December 31, 1938.
A tornado struck the community February 21, 1939. It damaged the parsonage. Many homes were completely gone or damaged. Three people were killed, others hurt.
June 10, 1952, the Rev. J.O. Walton, started to work. Under his ministry a deep well was drilled at the parsonage, a new floor was put in the church with new carpet and on the third Sunday in November, dedicated the new educational plant. He served one year leaving June 10, 1953.
The Rev. Maurice McLain is the present pastor at Greens Cross."

History of Greens Cross Baptist Church >From January 17, 1874 to November 1, 1930
By Mr. G. W. Castelloe
After having prayer meeting and Sunday School in a small one-room building in the cross roads, near where the present building now stands, conducted by the late Joseph W. White and others, a conversation between brothers Miles Mizelle and Bytha Leggett, in the fall of 1873 voiced the desire that a church be built, and from these remarks the good went forth.
On January 17, 1874 twenty-five members from Cashie and Capehart and Ross Baptist Churches met for the purpose of organizing Greens Cross Roads Baptist Church. Elder Edward Pierce, B. F. Barber, and Joseph W. White composed the Presbytery, with G. W. Cobb as secretary. The sermon was preached by Rev. Edward Pierce. At this meeting the church rules and covenant were read and adopted. On the next day, Sunday, January 18, the same presbytery met to ordain Joseph W. White, to the full work of gospel ministry. The ordination sermon was preached by Elder B. F. Barber, the Bible was presented by Elder Edward Pierce, and benediction by the new candidate, Joseph W. White.
At the above meeting the church called Joseph W. White for its first pastor, at a salary of $40.00 per year which he accepted. Also at this meeting they decided to call the church Greens Cross Roads, a name chosen in honor of Mr. Billie Green, who lived near the cross roads. >From this meeting in January 1874, we have no records until March 1879, but by tradition we learn that brethren W. H. Pierce, Eli T. Mizell, Bytha Legget, Z. W. White, Alonzo Asbell were its first deacons and Z.W. White the first clerk. We find in January meeting in 1880 that there was a written permit given Bro. Bytha Legget to preach the gospel.
After nine years of pastorate of Joseph W. White, the church called Bro. Jessey R. Matthews, who was at that time a member of Connarista Baptist Church. He accepted the call and was to receive the same salary of $40.00 per year, and served until January, 1889 and resigned. Then Brother Bytha Legget served six months, and in July the same year the church called Rev. S. F. Bristoe of Lewiston, N. C., and took the work in September 1889 at a salary of $75.00, but in 1890 the salary was raised to $80.00. In December 1893, Rev. S. F. Bristoe resigned, and Brother Geo. W. White, of Chowan county was called and accepted the work in February, 1894. In October 1894 he was ordained to the full work of the gospel ministry, with D. Cale, and Joseph Tinch as presbytery. In November, 1896, Bro. S. B. Barnes was called to the pastorate and took up the work in January, 1897 and served until December, 1898 and resigned. The church then called Rev. E. S. Pierce of Gates county and he began the work in January, 1899 and served until December 1901 and resigned the work to pursue studies at Louisville Seminary. The church then called W. P. Jordan, at a salary of $125.00, and accepted the work in January, 1902, and served until December, 1905, when health failed him. In February, 1906 the church called Rev. C. E. Edwards, and he entered upon his work as pastor the following March and served until December, 1907, at which time the church called R. D. Stevenson, who entered upon his new work January 1908 and served until March, 1909 and resigned. Rev. M. A. Adams of Ahoskie, N. C. was called to succeed him, and began his work in April of the same year and served until September, 1910, at a salary of $150.00, and J. R. Pace supplied the remainder of the year. In October, Rev. T. T. Speight of Bertie Co. was called and accepted the work and entered as pastor January, 1911 and served until December, 1914. The church then called Bro. N. J. Todd, a student in high school at Winterville, N. C., and took the work in February the same year and served until September, 1918, when he resigned to enter Wake Forest College.
At the close of the ministry of Brother N. J. Todd, the church went into a field with Capehart, Riverside, and Ross, and called Rev. J. H. Barnes of Raleigh as their pastor. He served for five years for a salary of $350.00. The church then called Rev. A. Finch of Spartanburg, S. C., and he also served five years at a salary of $406.25. Rev. H. G. Bryant, of Clarksville, Va. was then called and he served for fifteen months at the same salary. Rev. G. W. Burch, of Charlotte, N. C., the present pastor was called and entered upon the work as pastor, June, 1930.
The church has had nine clerks as follows: Z. W. White, served for seven years; H. T. Cobb, served four years: J. R. Castellow served for four years; M. W. White, served for six years; W. T. Asbell, served for three years; M. W. White, second term of one year; G. A. Conner, served for two years; G. W. Castellow, second term, served for seventeen years; then the present clerk, R. L. Mizelle was elected. The church has had three houses for worship. The second building was built in 1885, under the pastorate of J. R. Matthews, and with minor repairing this building was used until 1919. At the February meeting in 1919, there was a building committee appointed, consisting of J. A. Mizelle, A. D. Cale, to draw plans and look after building and new church. The work was soon begun which resulted in the present building being dedicated to the Lord on Thanksgiving Day, November 28, 1923. The dedication sermon by the former pastor N. J. Todd, subject: Christ or Modernism. This being the ministry of the Rev. J. H. Barnes.
Greens Cross Baptist Church has ordained three ministers to the full work of the Gospel ministry as follows: Joseph W. White at its organization in 1874; George W. White was ordained on the fourth Sunday in September, 1894 by Dancy Cale, Joseph Tinch. D. Cale preaching the sermon and Joseph Tinch presenting the Bible. Dancy Spurgeon Dempsey, one of its home boys, then a student at Wake Forest College was ordained in December, 1922. S. F. Bristow, R. B. Lineberry, L. E. Daily, G. D. Legget, as presbytery. The sermon was preached by L. E. Dailey, and some remarks by Pastor J. H. Barnes.
The first W. M. S. was organized in November, 1896, with Mrs. Martha E. Castellow, president; and Miss Victoria Castellow, secretary. From this beginning there has been a great progress made, and at present there is a large, active society.
As you will notice in the outset of this paper that the Sunday School had a large part in the beginning of this church. And as the church grew the Sunday School carried its part of the load. Also we know that most all of the country Sunday Schools at that day went into winter quarters, until about 1900. Since the year 1900 we have had an evergreen Sunday School, and in 1928 it was fully graded, and in 1930 went on the standard approved list.
We are glad to note that the spirit of Missions has been in the church from its beginning.
The first report from the association was made in conference June, 1879 by Z. W. White and Wm. H. Pierce, then known as the Chowan Association. In 1882 delegates were sent to the association at Harrellsville in the favor of dividing the association, which was done.
The West Chowan Association met in its first session in the fall of 1883 at Cashie Baptist Church, and since that time Greens Cross Roads Baptist Church has been represented at every Association.
Greens Cross Roads Baptist Church is located in Bertie County, being the tenth Baptist Church organized in the county and the twenty-third in the West Chowan Association. The church is situated on the national highway leading from Windsor to Edenton, and is four miles from Windsor, the county seat of Bertie County.
On Thanksgiving night, 1931, at the close of the service our pastor stated to the church that Mrs. D. L. Cobb had offered to give a lot to the church on which to build a pastor's home. The church accepted the gift and in a few days a committee was appointed to lay plans to build a parsonage. In a few days lumber was hauled on the ground and the work began. In about sixty days Pastor Burch moved into a seven-room parsonage home. At church conference in January, 1932, the church appointed G. W. Castelloe, G. E. Lawrence and W. W. Mizelle trustees to have a deed drawn up for the lot in March, 1934. Rev G. W. Burch resigned in June, 1934. Rev J. O. Walton was called and came on the field in July, 1934. The church was painted in the fall of 1935. On the third Sunday in December, 1935, the parsonage debt was paid off and the note burned. Rev. G. W. Burch preached the sermon.
A new Bible was bought for the pulpit in September, 1936, costing $20.00. In the summer of 1937, four new classrooms were built to the church, and the church connected light with the light line from Windsor to light the church and parsonage.
Rev. J. O. Walton resigned in October, 1938.
Rev. W. O. Andrews was extended a call and accepted the call and began work January, 1939. In a few weeks after he had moved into the parsonage on February 21, 1939 at about ^ o’clock in the afternoon the community was visited with a severe tornado that destroyed about 21 homes, tearing the top up on the parsonage and wrecking the back in of the church.
The Red Cross put the top back on the parsonage. The tornado killed two of the church members, Mrs. G. R. Lawrence and Mrs. J. B. Mizelle, but the church went on in a great way.
Brother W. O. Andrews served the church in a great way for two and one-half years and resigned. Rev. M. R. Brown supplied for a few months.
The church called Rev. E. R. Stewart our present pastor. He accepted the call and came on the field to serve Greens Cross, Ross, Elm Grove and Capeharts Churches, January 1, 1942.
At this time the church installed water works in the parsonage at the cost of $350.00. In August, 1943 the church was repaired and painted inside and outside at a cost of $400.00. One hundred new song books were purchased. Five pecan trees were set out in the spring of 1943. In September the church installed a service plaque at a cost of $47.50.
The B. Y. P. W. work began in 1926, being organized by Rev. H. G. Bryant from Murfreesboro. From this small beginning the B. Y. P. W. has grown to large proportions in the church. At the coming of the Rev. E. R. Stewart a Baptist Training Union was organized with departments for Story Hour, Junior, Intermediate, Senior and the Baptist Adult Union, meeting each Sunday night.
Eleven former pastors have passed on to their reward as follow: Reverends J. W. White, Jessie R. Matthews, Bytha Leggett, S. F. Bristoe, Geo. W. White, W. P. Jordon, E. S. Pierce, T. T. Speight, S. B. Barnes, M. A. Adams, N. J. Todd. We will never forget to cherish their memory. From a small struggling band of faithful, God-fearing, consecrated men and women, the old church has been carrying on in the name of Christ, until its present membership is 339. May the torch of celestial fire handed us by this faithful band, which has been a light unto the pathway, and a lamp to the feet of many who have passed through the sacred walls, and who have bowed at her sacred shrine, never be allowed to go out.
Provided by Daisy M. White. Typed and Contributed by Neil Baker

Lawrence Baptist Church

(founded 1874), Windsor, NC. Exists today - 6 miles south east of Windsor on the Cooper Hill Rd. Records, 1874-1992. 18 vols. 1 folder. CRMF 974.Wake Forest Collection.

Mars Hill Baptist Church - (Trap)

(founded 1854), Colerain, NC Records, 1854-1978. CRMF 675.Wake Forest Collection.
The Bertie Ledger-Advance, Windsor, NC, September 28, 1972, Section D-11:
In 1853, in a little village near what is now Trap, there was a meeting of the residents in a school house about one-half mile from the present site of the Mars Hill Baptist Church. These prayer meetings lasted for 12 days under the leadership of the Rev. B.B. Williams. Following the meetings there was a baptismal service in which the Rev. John Nowell administered the ordinance of baptism.

A number of members from Colerain Baptist Church who lived in the Trap area decided to take their letters from the Colerain Church, unite with the people who had been baptized and constitute a new Baptist Church. With the assistance of James Delk, Thomas Hoggard and Moses L. Mizelle, a church was organized on September 29, 1854.

The decision was to call the church the Mars Hill Baptist Church, having chosen the name of Mars Hill from Acts 17:22.

The letters were received by the Presbytery consisting of Elders Delk, Hoggard and Mizelle and the church was declared organized. The first business of the newly organized church was the adoption of the rules of Decorum and Covenant of Faith.

H.H. Byrum and John A. Green were elected deacons and ordained. B.B. Williams was called as pastor of the church and duly ordained to the full work of the ministry. G.N. Green was appointed clerk.

The Rev. B.B. Williams served the church as pastor until the War Between the States. During the war Williams served as chaplain in the Confederate Army. Without a pastor, the church failed to meet regularly, the reason for this being that most of the men of the community were also enlisted in the Confederate Army.

Without leadership in the church, strife, contentions and ill will crept in. Consequently, when the war ended the church was disorganized, divided and pastorless. However, on the 25th day of February, 1866, the people met to reorganize the church so that it could again work in peace, union and fellowship. B.B. Williams, Lemuel Evans and John Williamson were found to be in full fellowship and composed the basis for reorganization.

On February 16, 1903, a destructive storm swept through the community and greatly damaged the church building. A committee consisting of Joseph M. Phelps, Josiah Brown and Bennie Brown was appointed to examine the building and determine the possibilities of repairing it for purposes of worship. At the next service, held in the Perry school house, the committee recommended that the building be moved and a new one erected in its place. The church accepted their recommendation with the condition that the damaged church be repaired and used until a new one could be built.

The members of the Mars Hill Church assembled on September 29, 1904, to dedicate their new building. The old building which had been renovated was moved on other church lots and the house and lots were deeded to the Bertie County School Board to be used as long as the county needed them for educational purposes.

Tragedy struck the church again on June 26, 1940, when the building was completely destroyed by fire. The church, accustomed to overcoming difficulties, began immediately to erect a modern brick building at a cost of $18.000. The building was designed by men of the church and much of the materials and labor were donated."
Notation: Originally taken from the Minutes of the West Chowan Baptist Association.


Aulander

1885-1995 Aulander's Centennial, History of Aulander, NC Compiled by the Historical Committee for the Centennial Celebration of the Town of Aulander - Mrs. Edward Blanchard, Co-Chairman, Mrs. Sarah Mitchell, Co-Chairman - (and list 27 other people who contributed to the publication) - Centennial Committee Mrs. Elizabeth Nelson, Co-Chairman, Mrs. Artie Tayloe, Co-Chairman and (13 other names of people who contributed effort to this publication)

October 1972 issue - Town Of Aulander, N.C., History Of Aulander Compiled by the Aulander Historical Committee for the celebration of the 250 Anniversary of Bertie County.

In 1886 a group of members from Connaritsa and Dudley's Grove (now Oak Grove) Baptist Churches joined together and established the Aulander Baptist Church.

AULANDER BAPTIST CHURCH, BERTIE COUNTY, NC

The Bertie Ledger-Advance, Windsor, NC, September 28, 1972, Section D-2:
The first Baptist Church in Aulander was instituted in 1886, with the members from the old Dudley's Grove--two miles distant--and other neighboring churches joining with the Aulander people.

This first church was located on what is now the Ahoskie-Powellsville road. The cost of construction was, according to the records, $1,300. The church could seat 500 persons.

Among the pioneer builders of the industrial life of the town are found many of the same names of those constituting the first Aulander Baptist Church.

The Rev. C.W. Scarboro was the first pastor. The Rev. L.M. Curtis, from Sampson County, served the longest.

As the town grew, the church was moved into the incorporated limits and many of the members moved their membership back to the old Dudley Grove Church, which is now known as Oak Grove Church on the Ahoskie highway.

In 1925 a large, new church building was erected at a cost of $55,000 and a commodious parsonage, at an approximate cost of $7,000 was built. A large debt was on the property for a number of years, but during the pastorates of the Rev. Lonnie Sasser, the Rev. W.P. Milne and the Rev. Joseph Folds, it was liquidated and the notes were burned at a public ceremony in 1946.

During the pastorate of the Rev. James O. Shurling the church was completely renovated. Again in 1972, under the direction of the Rev. Van Modlin, repairs were made to the church basement."

The following from Aulander Historical Booklet
The first location of this church was on the corner of Pine Drive and East Main Street (now Powellsville Road). According to records the cost of construction of this church, with a seating capacity of 500, was $1,300. The first pastor was the Rev. C.W. Scarboro. The Rev. L.M. Curtis of Sampson County served longest. When the church was moved inside the corporate limits to the corner of Harmon and Canal Streets, a few members returned to the Dudley's Grove Church. The present church was erected on the same location in 1926 at a cost of $55,000 and a parsonage at a const of $7,000. It wasn't until 1946 that this debt was liquidated and the notes burned at a public ceremony.

The First Baptist Church, organized in 1893, was located on Rogerson Avenue with the Rev. W.D. Early as pastor. In 1919 land was bought from R.J. Dunning and the church was moved to its present site on South Commerce Street. This church was damaged by fire in 1960 and since then it has been remodeled and brick veneered. In 1909 a lot next to the Joe Burden residence was given by Mrs. Ella Harmon Burden to the Rev. Hersey Parker on which was built the Parker Meeting House. After the death of Rev. Parker in 1916, the fellowship services of this church were discontinued. A few years later Raymond S. Burden acquired this lot and built his home.


Siloam Baptist Church

AUGUST 2, 1981 - author unknown

Siloam Baptist Church in Indian Woods, Township of Bertie County, as an institution, dates from 1885, but for five or six years prior to that, services had been conducted by Elder Bythiel Leggett, first in his own yard, then in an old store and finally in the community school house. The story of the beginning of this church is an interesting one.

In 1879, Elder Bythiel Leggett, moved with his family from the Greens Cross section to the old Speller Plantation, owned at that time by Mr. Walter Miller and Dr. H. V. Dunstan. He found a few white families in the community. The large plantation there were worked, for the greater part, by Negro share-croppers. These were the ex-slaves and their descendants. There was neither a church nor a school in the community.

Elder Leggett had moved from a community in which the church had played a very important part in the lives of the people. When he saw that the people in this section fished, hauled fertilizer, and did other work on the Lord’s Day, he became very conscious of their spiritual needs. He set to work at once to provide religious services for his family and his neighbors.

He first began to preach in his own yard to people who gathered there on Sundays, among these were many ex-slaves who stood on the outer edges of the cross. As his congregation grew, Elder Leggett, now a licensed minister, moved into an old store located at the junction of the Grabtown and Spellers Ferry Roads. Here a Sunday school was organized.

Soon after this, new families began to move in. Among these were the Gregory’s, Holders’, and Spencers’. Soon a new school district was formed and a schoolhouse built on land given by Judge James Bond. The first teacher of the new school was Charles Blomfield Speller whose many lineal descendants live in the community today. Church services and Sunday School were now held in the school building. It was located on the Grabtown Road near an old mill pond which provided facilities for administering baptism rites. The first Sunday School and Church Statistics report reads as follows:

Sunday School Report
Superintendent			--	D. P. Holder
Officers and Teachers		--		8
Average Attendance		--		5
Scholars			--	           32
Average Attendance		--	           21
Conversions			--		0
Contributions			--		$3.44


Church Statistics

Sabbaths of Preaching		2
Received by Baptism		2
Received by Letter		6
Restored		           12
White Males		           10
White Females			8
Total Whites                            18      

Pastor    --    B. Leggett
Clerk     --    Charles Bond

In 1885, before the schoolhouse was moved, a series of revival services were held during a severe drought. Mr. George D. Leggett recorded his remembrance of these services as a boy. “I remember in one of these meeting which was in very dry summer weather, special prayers were offered to the Lord for rain. That P.M. we walked home in the rain; boys and girls barefoot, old men bare-headed rejoicing as they went their way. Happy day in these meetings. There were many converts, many of them Mothers and Fathers”.

As a result of this manifestation of Divine power, there were many conversions. The congregation became too large for the capacity of the school building. Plans were made for erecting a church. Reverend Jeremiah Bunch, Reverend Edward Pierce, and Reverend Bythiel Leggett were influential in setting this movement on foot. Reverend Leggett was called to the pastorate of the new church. A. A. Pope was elected clerk and J. H. Skiles and Henry Casper were elected deacons. It was not until 1889 that the building was completed. It was built near the site of the first school. In 1904 and again in 1922, the building was enlarged and repaired.

With the exception of a few years, Reverend Bythiel Leggett served as pastor of Siloam Baptist Church from the time of its organization until his death in 1908. Since that time, his son, Reverend George D. Leggett also served as pastor from 1922 until 1935. Although he is now gone to be with the Lord, his wife, Mrs. Josephine Leggett, continues to be faithful to this church, and is our oldest living member.

By 1929, highway 17 had been constructed and Spellers Ferry had been abandoned. It was thought advisable to move the church to a new site which would be more accessible. It was moved to a site on Grabtown Road, given by Mrs. Lee Bond. As the body of believers at Siloam began to grow, so did the building. Classrooms were added and dedicated in August, 1955.

Although the building was adequate to meet the needs of the congregation, there was instilled in many of the members a vision of a new Sanctuary. As with any new venture of faith, it took a while for the vision to move through the entire fellowship. The present location of the building was not large enough for a new Sanctuary. Land was donated by Mr. Arthur Leggett and plans were drawn up to move the existing structure to a site on Cedar Landing Road, and build a new House of Worship. In July, 1978 the building was moved; all in one piece. It was the largest building ever moved by the Lilley Brothers firm in Washington, N.C., and received much publicity throughout the county.

As the building of the Siloam Baptist Church moved, so did their faith. In the Spring of 1979, ground was broken to begin building on the new Sanctuary, which was to connect to the original structure. Some of the work was contracted, but most of the work has been done by members themselves.

We have reason to praise the Lord, this day of August 2, 1981. From our reception into the West Chowan Baptist Association in October, 1886, to the present, God has been rich in blessing us, over and above our measure of faith.


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