f 7j >
f be llrrali\ '
? \ - '
rue* OSE DOLLAB PBB TEA.. \ "TRUE TO OURSELVES, OUR COUNTRY AND OUR COD. ? bi?0L7OOP,BTF^B~^
VOL. 22. SMITHEIELD, X. C.. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 30, 190IL ~ N034.
SMITH FIELD BAPTIST
CHURCH.
A Brief History of its Foun
dation and Progress.
Smithtield Missionary Baptist
church was organized on the 14th
day of July, 1882. While the
record does not say so, it is pre
sumed that the organization was
effected in the old Academy build
ing,Jwhich was torn down a few
years ago Subsequent records
show that the meetings were held
in tne school buildiug until a
house of worship was erected a
few years later. The record of
the organization is as follows:
"Smithtield, July 14, 1832.
"Elders William Clark, William
B. i iuton and James Dennis be
ii (.resent at a protracted meet-)
iii_ Smithtield, and there being
p.. ???ut several individuals who
tin : been baptized upon the pro
le.--' n of their faith in the Lord
Jesii Christ, and not being con
stituted a church, nor regularly
belonging?o any church, the be- j
fore alludeu to individuals all be
ing present, the constitution be
ing read to them (whicn see) and
meeting their unanimous appro
bation, were then regularly con
stituted a church, by the above
mentioned ministers, in the fear
of irod and to the honor and
glory of God's grace.
"Signed, Win. U. W oeon, Clk
"A true co.<y,
j o 'ieu. Guy, Clk. '
The 1; members constitu
ting this church is us follows:
Males?Daniel boon, David
Lunceford, David H, Bryan, Mat
thew McCullers, John T. Hayles,
William 11. Watson, William S.
Ballenger, Adin Roberts, Samuel,
Pool William H. Guy. Larkin
\ \ -.'V. " .
. #?>).' Yi-:liit-is. - hi
e.i, Con_ _il ow'fell,Zeciieriah Har
rison, Matthew A vera, 17.
Females?Louisa Boon, Patsey
Borden, Elizabeth Broadstreet,
Julia Sanders, Martha A vera.
Maria A vera, Elizabeth Talton,
Sarah McCuller*, kerou Sanders.
Mary Carter, Nancy A vera, Griz-<
za Ann* Sumner. Sarah Bryan,
Nancy Stevens, Mary A vera, Fat
sey Fool, Sarah Fool, Fenny
Clark, Elizabeth Britt, Pherebe
Helme, Emily S. Ballenger, Fat- J
sey Gulley, Elizabeth Sanders,
Mary Terrell, Nancy Smith, Eliz
abeth A vera, 2<>. t
The next uieetiug of the church
was held August IS, 1832, when
thirteen other persons were ad- \
ded to the church upon a profes-!
sion of their faith. At this meet
ing Daniel Boon, David 11. Bryan J
and William h. Guy were elected:
deacons and William 11. Watson
clerk. Elder James Dennis was
called to the pastorate of t he
church an 1 accepted the same.!
The deacons were ordained on
August 21, by the laying on of
hands of Elders Trottmau aud
Dennis. This day was set apart:
by the church as a day of fasting [
and prayer.
At a conference of ttie cDurcn i
held on Saturdaj', September 22,
1882, a resolution was passed
instructing the clerk to address a
letter to the Raleigh Association
asking for admissiou into that
body. Brothers Daniel Boon
and Harry \vera were appoint
ed delegates to the association!
to bear the communication.
It seems that the church met
every third Sunday and Satur-,
day before. A church conference (
'was held at each Saturday's
meeting at which the peace and
harmony of the church was dili
gently inquired into. At almost
every meeting several new mem
bers were ftddei to the church,
aud occasionally a disorderly
member was excluded.
The members of this church
early believed in contributing to
the support of the church as will
be seen by referring to the min
utes of the conference held Feb
ruary 22, 1833. On that day a
committee was appointed to see
each member and find out how
much each was willing to pay
yearly to the support of the
church.
Soon after the church was or
ganized steps were taken to build
a house of worship The first
^ record of this work is found in i
i I
the minute* of the conference heW
May 18, 1H.?{<$. On t\u\t Jay the
following resolution vas passed:
"Resolved, That wlim the Bap
tist church in 8mith|eld shall
have been completed, ir,shall he
the duty of the Secretary to
transcribe in the cburcn hook,
the subscription list, together
with the name of each individ
ual, and the sums by theij sub
scribed. that posterity* liuay
know by whose liberaliti\*aid I
church was built and mo\l>ar- ;
ticularly, that thev may Auow |
what denomination of Christians
was entitled to supremacy."
On August 17, 1888, Rawom
Sanders and David Thomson vere
appointed delegates to attend
the Raleigh Association "to be
held in the neighborhood of
Smithfield and to commence the j
Thursday before the first Lord's |
Day in October next." Tin
treasurer was directed "to pat '
over to the brethren above named
two dollars for the use of the
\*HL? t. T, , jjTw
MlrHFtBLD OAl'tl - ? ( "
i 'f V " -T"^ tlrir:i.pr-i:T,T?^ ? ? *" jlj- .ijiux.l.jiiuilw__ HUM j
above association and also j
money to defray the publication
in the newspapers of the Camp
Meeting in the vicinity of Smith
field."
The record for the third Sat Air
day in December, 1833, is as fol
lows: "In consequence of theab
seuce of Brother James Dennis
and more particularly the raiD.y
bad weather there was no preach
ing on this lay, but on Sunday
Brother David Thomson address
ed the congregation who appear
ed to be not only attentive but
serious."
lhis church, which has done
much for the cause of missions,
began this work in its early life.
At a conference held September
1!), 1835, the delegates to the
Raleigh Association were in
structed to advocate the contin
uance of the work of theitinerant
preachers within the oouuds of
said association. At this same
meeting a contribution of ten
dollars was voted to "brother
Oakley for services rendered as
an itinerant preacher within the
bounds of this association."
At theJOctober meetingm 1835,
the church appointed David
Luceford a delegate to the Bap
tist State Convention, This is
the first record we have of the
church being represented in the
Convention.
We have no record when the
church held the first meeting in
its own house of worship. It is
evident that as soon as the
church was organized a building
committee was appointed and
steps were taken to erect a house
as soon as possible. From the
best knowledge obtainable, we
think that the house was com
pleted about the close of the
year 1835. Rut the records
show that the building was not
paid for then and that Elder
David Thomson, who was quite
a well-to do man, advanced the
money to complete the building.
In July, 1838, t he church passed
an order to pay Elder Thomson
the sum of $232, which he had
advanced on the building At
the May meeting in 1839 a com
mittee was appointed to raise
funds to paint the church both
inside and out. In 1841 the
belfry was completed
Mr. Thomas Ives, fat he* of our
townsmen. John and Walter
Ives, was one of the carjienters
who built the church. Mr. Ives
was a member of the church end
died here about 1S">7.
During tiie church's early hie
tory it licensed two of its mem
hers to preach, Viz: David Thom
son and bryan Holland, both
these men were men of ability
and thoroughly interested i:i
their Master's work. It is large
ly through the efforts of Eider
Hollaud that bethesda church
was orgauized. He held a meet
ing in that section in 1S41 ami
several joined and an arm of Hia
Smithfieldchurch was established,
bethesda church was organized
March 1S42, with 24 members
From this beginning bethesd.<
chutch has grown to be a very
large and infieuontial one.
During the e-rl.v days of the
church its discipline was very
strict, as will be found from such
resolutions as the following
"Itesolved, That the names of
the members of the church be
called once a quarter and any
member neglecting to attend
two quarterly meetings without |
a justifiable excuse shall be dealt:
with for a breach of the church i
covenant." This order was
passed at the March meeting,
1839. The subsequent history
of the church tor the next few
years shows that they tried to
live up to this resolution.
At the June meeting 1839,
Thomas Lockliart and Ransom
Sanders were chosen deacons and
were ordained at the August
meeting.
In 1841, nine years after the
church's organization, it was
decided to raise the pastor's
salary to $125 per year.
The uien who were the backbone
of this church in its early days;
believed in taking care of the old
and worn ouc preachers, and in
1840 the delegates to the Ral
eigh Association were instructed
to vote for the raising of a fuud
for superannuated preachei-s
The foregoing is a brief history
of the church from itsfounda ion
to 1844. The records of the
church from 1844 to 1868 lave
been lost and we are compelled
to pass over this period, oue of
the most interesting and perhaps
the most trying period in toe
life of the church.
Elder James Dennis served the
church as pastor from its foun
dation to 1844, and perhaps
longer. From what we can learn
of him, he was a man of great
power and influence. During his
ministry here the church grew
very rapidly, scarcely a monthy
meeting passing without adfi
tions to the ctiurch, and sone
times there were as many as 15
who asked for baptism at the
regular Saturday conference
We would be very gladtokvw
more of Elder James Dennis Jand
should any reader of this sV
happen to know anything of him
or his history, the writer would
greatly appreciate having it sent
to him.
The next record we have is of a
conference held on December 15,
18(58. it that time the pastor
was Elder Weaver and E. 8. Moore
was clerk Protein.
For twenty years or more after
1870. the church had many ups
and downs. In 1870 there were
abeut 80 member-. Through
4
nonie cause these began to drop ]
off, one by one, until a few years i
later there were scarcely a dozen (:
active members in the church , I
Dr. \V. B. Harrell was pastor !
in 18(lft and 1870, resigning in <
December of the latter year. He i
was succeeded by Dr. William i
Royall of Wake Forest < 'ollegi'
who served the church only a few
months, having been called to
the church in Charlotte. There
is no record of any church meet
ings from September 1N72, to
?I u 1 v 1873. and again from March
187-4, to February 1873. It was
perhaps during these years that
old AuiOt Putney Crocker looked
after hbe church. It is said that
she went to the church on the
regular meeting Saturday of each
month, swept out the church,
and knelt down in prayer asking
that (iod would yet revive the
church. This good old lady was
given a home by Mr. P. T. Mas
sey as long as she lived. During
these dark and gloomy years
there was an occasional service
held at the church by some min
ister of other denominations and
at one time, it has been said,
that a'church of another faith
ai d order was about to be orga
nized, when old Aunt Patsey
Crocker went and cluimed the
church building in the name of
the Baptists. It is largely
through her influence and faith
' *l;e ideutity of the
Mist nonary Fapttofc church at
iL.: plac; laintai '.
The pastors of the chip -a e
since Dr. Royall have been in -
cessive order as follows: Re?c.
F. R. Fnderwood, C. J. Nelson,
I^evi Radford, Jno. F. Ellington,
Jno. I>. Davis, J. K. Howell. L.
C. Brickhouse. J. R. Jones, W. C.
Nowell, O C H ?i F. H Pis
ton, J. ? !' '11' ' ?> ! . Tot ' :
and Jm 'A ski; e
During r.-h vea -
?->- and . if to* been hifurn J ,i -
h ""I'h, 'Hi'! esp
?. ... Rev. Jno. W. So tile has
been its pastor. He was called
to the pastorate of the ehurchon
December 13, 1897, and since
that time he has worked earnest
ly and faithfully for the cause in
thiscouuty. During his pastor
ate here the membership has in
creased from about 00 to more
than 100.
Iu 1899 thecburcb decided that |
they needed a larger and better
house of worship. On February
20th, of that vear, a building
committee was appointed to
take the matter in charge. But
nothing was done except raising
some little money until the fall of
1901, when a building lot on thei
corner of Johnson and Fourth
Streets was purchased, the price
paid being $.700.
.!. W. SUTTLE. Pastor
l Hmlthfield Baptist Church.
I The work on the new church
fvas begun on April 10, 1002.
ITheiwork was pushed as rapidly
(lis possible, but the church was
iilit completed until July, 1903.
Tmouirh Snot comple ed, services
i?<Mre first bf Id in the new church
' iflrch 22nd, of this year.
'?he church building is one of
thmbest and) most commodious
in Mhe county and stands as a
iiioimjment tb the earnestness
and yfcuthfulnmss of the Baptist
jieoplM of thie dlace. In this work
they iMive be \generonsly aided
by th^?- friei of other denomi
nation St. The urch as it stands
comph V|pd has < ih?t in the neigh
borhoooMof f'
TLeeA?"ch hai'luring the As
sociation? vfMr now closed
railed thV?um| If $1,007.00 for
church 1?Bdiiu iand other pur
po#es;in ^nt \ $40.00; State
Missions, $37.50; Home Mis
lione, $15 00; Foreign Missions, |
[?2l).o7; Minister's Belief Fund,.
flO 00; Ministerial llducatiou, 11
f0.l)7; Orphanage, $11.5)3; Sun- '
lay School expenses, $50.00;
>t her objects, *.ss 27; Castor's i
?salary, $250,00. Total, $1,5+5 -
25.
The Kmitlitiekl Baptist Church, I
while not strong in numbers or
wealth, has been a great power
for good iu this section. It has i
been a nuclues from which has
grown an influence which has
been ttie means of the establish
ment of several churches, among
them being Bethesda, (already
mentioned above) Sardis, l'isgah,
Blackmail's Grove, Hood's
Grove, (organized October 17,
1003) and perhaps others.
Khiloh hutch, organized in
1800, was constituted by mem
bers, pri 1- c tally from this church,
among it -' i being D. H. Hol
land, V\\ . r II. Moore and Wil
liam H. s ders.
Dr. W if Harrell, in a letter
published in the North Carolina!
Baptist two years ago. says that
it was through the influence of
Mr. Alfred Holland, a deacon
and also clerk for many year
of the iSmithtleld church, that
the Baptist church in Winston
was established.
No one can measure the iullu
ence of the church here. It has
been through all the 71 years of
its existence as a city set on a
hill. Jt has had its dark and
.'.?itiomv days. Yet it has stead
? 1" p e<j ' -ward, looking on
ward o d i 1 i t better
day. it i'.'a i future
before it and ah lc Chris
tianity will bid a,t God speed us it
marches onward an the cause of
righteousness. y
TL . b VSSITKR,
Hmithlield. N. C Oct ?o, 1 903.
A CHANGF 'V TM? PQffT-QFFICE.
Postmaster Massey Is About to
Lose His Job. Says He Will
Fight to the End.
The following dispatch ap
peared in Tuesday's Charlotte
Observer concerning the Smith
tield postmastership:
"Washington, Oct. 20?The |
removal of Postmaster J. I).
Massey of Smithfield, N. C., is!
recommended by the postofficej
inspector who was sent to that
place to make an investigation
of the charges preferred against
the official. The inspector's re-<
port occupied the position on the
desk of Fourth Assistant Post
master Bristow, but it will be
acted upon soon, and then State
Chairman Rollins will be asked
to name a successor to .Mr. Mas
sev for the Smithfield office "
It will be remembered that
charges of immoral conduct were
preferred against Mr. Massey
sometime ago and the Depart-1
meat at Washington sent an
inspector here to investigate
them. The Washington dispatch
above alluded to says that Mr. [
Massey emphatically deuies all
charges of wrong-doing.
Wednesday a representative of
The Hekald called on Mr. Mas
sey and asked him if he was going
to make any fight to retain the
postoffice. He said that he was
going to fight the matter to the
end, that he was not going to
give up until he was thrown out.
Me was tben asked it ne nad trie
support of the Republican leaders.
He sayed that he was backed by
quite a number of strong Repub
licans in- this state. We then
asked him if State Chairman
Hollins or National Committee
man Robinson was on his side.
He replied that he did not know
how they stood.
There are already two applica
tions for the place, J. Primro
Parker and J. Wayland Allen
There is also talk that .Tames I).
Parker, Chairman of the Republi
can Committee of this county,
will be a candidate. J. Primro
Parker is James D.'s brother,;
while Mr. Allen is his brother-in
law.
At Watson's you will find all
kinds of Gloves from acts, to
11.00 per pair.
O K Stoves and Ranges.
CLAYTON CHIPS.
Miss Isssie Barnes is a visitor
Qere this week.
Mrs. John A. Wilson, Wil
son's Mills, whs here Wedi sday.
Misses Sadie and Eula rind Mr.
John Jones spent Monday and
Tuesday here.
Mr. and Mrs. John S. Barnes
spent Sunday and Monday with
Mr. Barnes' mother.
New students keep coming' to
the Clayton High School. In two
weeks free school starts.
Miss Rosalie Harris who has
been visiting her brother Mr. M.
Harris left Tuesday for home.
Mrs. E. 8. Co its and children
were the guests of Mrs. N. B. Hales
Friday and Saturday of last
week.
M. and Mrs. C. W. Carter, Mrs.
E. L. Hinton, Mrs. C. M.Thomas
and Mrs Riley liulley attended
the association at Smithfield
Thursday.
Cotton went to ten cents Satur-;.
dny,and as a result, the greats"
rush of the season was >y.
Tuesday and Wednesday,
were some where near six hv?t
bales sold here on the/
days. ng styles
The Recital last Fri most this
ing, notwithstaudin^i^'i'INGS,
greeable weather,
nounced success. '
contest later in thj h t ?
interesting and inp? r
I). J. Thurston a to-date.
W. Shore wone th Ladk,g Migge8
Mr. Lofton E will sen aH ]ow
oldest men in Cla. , i.?
died at the home /' ' / .
I L. EM'" lorget that I
' ;? >tV' 2i> He !i-e.
j.u go -ftT>oot for siJ
on ac</cjiu q| ' , ex^iem"
He va* 'J - *
Bny?tW char.; ' . t. <-h ir<w\
was a faithful soldier until oiu
age sapped his strength, then he -
bore his afflictions as becomes
the children of Him. The funeral
was conducted at the Raptist
church Tuesday afternoon at
1:30 by Pastor C. W. Blanchard.
Afterward the remains were
taken to the family burial ground
for interment.
"YELIR."
MICRO NOTES.
Quite a number of our people
attended the Fair last week.
We are very glad to note that
Miss Sallie Talton, near this
place, is improving.
Mr. C. L. Matten has opened
up a nice line of goods at L. It.
Batten's old stand on Smith
Street.
.Mr. and Mrs. W. Batten spent
Saturday night and Sunday with
Mr. N. Weaver, of Holly Springs,
Mr Weaver wears a smile. It's
a Hue little boy.
Last Wednesday night Mr.
Silas Edgerton, one of Johnston
county's prosperous farmers,
happened to the misfortune to
lose his two story dwelling and
part of five bales of cotton. The
lossage is about # 1,500. He had
no insurance.
Mr. and Mrs. Ira Batten, of
Selma, spent part of last week
with Mr. H. Batten. They re
turned home Tuesday. Mr. Bat
ten and family and Miss Marine
Creech left Thursday to spend a
few weeks with their Cousin Mr.
J. C. Batten, of Green Cove
Springs, Fla.
Mr. Gaston Pittman had an
old timev corn shucking Wednes
day night. After the boys had
shucked a while Mr. Pittman
brought around some good cider
which pleased the boys very
well. Old timey jokes and a
heVthy glass of cider soon shuck
t 'he corn.
Mr. Oliver Smith, of near this
place, died last Saturday eve
ning. Mr. Smith was a good
neig tor and a kind and affec
tionate father. He leaves a wife
and s x c! 'dren to mourn his
loss. 'I a vocant place in that
home c. i ver be filled. We
hope he i teto reap a crowu
of glory, h 'V \\ <n le> Cic*-t h
conducted he S rial service.
Oct. 2>- S. W.