Newspapers / The Franklin Press and … / Dec. 12, 1929, edition 1 / Page 14
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PAGE FOURTEEN A !:srt History cf Ths Lkccri County Bsptiits The history of Macon County Bap tists began with the establishment of the Franklin Baptist church ' May 4, 1822. The old minutes of the Franklin cliurch begin with these words : "In the Cherokee Purchase, Haywood county, N. C, May 4, 1822, the Presbytery consisting of Elders Stephen White and Adam Come, met on the day above written, and after prayer and preaching, twenty mem bers presented themselves with let ters from different churches, and gave themselves up into the hands of- the Presbytery to be constituted into a 'church, etc. The names of the first members constitute a roll call of the first citi zens of the county: Thomas Kimsey, deacon; Zachariah Peak, Green H. Freeman, John B. Moore, Benjamin Stitesr. John Stewart, James Bryson, deacon; Nancy Kimsey, Sarah Peak, Nancy Freeman,' Milley Moore, Nancy Hall, Charity Stiles, Mary Davis, Ra'rfiel U. Connell, Mary Ann Stew art, Ann Bryson, Elizabeth Bryson, Citharine Shields, and Elizabeth Red mond." , Beniamin Stiles was the first clerk of the church. The first meetings of. the church were held at Sugar ' Xtnr Pronlrtin and Coweta. aWaitinC decision as to the permanent loca tion of the church house. On July 17, 1822, Elder Humphrey Posey, who at that time represented the Philadelphia Baptist association as missionary among the Indians, pre sented his church letter and the let ter of his wife, Lettie Posey, and they became members' of the Frank lin Baptist church. It was agreed that the meetings of the church should continue to be at Coweta and Suugar Fork respectively, or al ternately. The town had some land here, but there was little or no town here to occupy the land. The settlers of the county were scattered over the hills and valleys of the section. From items secured at random from the inhabitants' of the section, we may piece up a picture of the pleasant and primitive times when the early citizens came intq the, sec tion. Indians were still occupying the beautiful valleys. They ate corn hash, , or nonuny, ana Deans, aim pumpkins, - and ' frogs, and ' wild game and fish. The ground hog was served up in many a savory dish. The o'possum was easily caught with dogs, and often adorned the table. Rac coon was a savory meat for , the , pioneers, "Wild turkey and duck and squirrel and quail were plentiful. Klder Humohrev Posev was much beloved by the Indians. They aided him in erecting hs first home of log construction. Some of. the logs which were placed in 'this hut are still in existence near the road leading to Bryson City.' These logs are at pres ent built with others into a barn on the farm pf one of the descendants of these early Baptists. ' The roads, were , very bad in win ter. Often " as ,tlie settlers plugged along through the mud a singletree .would break and camp would have to be made .in .the rain until reme dies could be discovered. Much. hard ship was encountered by the early settlers. Houses had to be built, seats, chairs, and stools had. to be made, tables h;1 I to be manufactured. Barns -and' stalls had to be erected. Tools, had to be made or sharpened. Blacksmiths played a large part in the early history of. the county. Every large farm would have its own forge. There was at; appreciation of educa 7 GOOD COFFEE WITH CHICORY ! A perfect blend of Coffee and Chicory, such as our Gold Ribbon Brand, means healthier, tastier, stronger, more economical coffee. Use just half as much as of ordi- iiaiy v-uiicc. idsic day. tion and culture among the early whites. Good schools were provided by private funds at several localities, some of them far up in the hill tops. ... . . i Higdonville and Hamburg formerly had good schools. Higdonville is said to have been the seat of, educa tion for Macon county. The early families displayed, a great deal of superior taste in matters of honor, industry, culture, and piety. ' The school teachers of the early age were often men of taste" an personal pride. A story is told of a certain young school teacher who wore a beaver hat when he went a-court-ing. One day while ; passing over Cowee creek with his courting clotbef and his beaver hat on, he' was stutyjr ing what he would say to hisjEr pected bride, and his horse's fp;t slipped on a rock, and the yot;- courtier ieu imu inc crccn, wuue ,yf horse's body -fell across him,- crusig and killing him. His devoted liffifff took his hat unto herself and kept it as a love tokenand her age;i son has it to this day. Of cours .U-fo hard to eet an education in those days. Some men did not lefrneir w f letters until after they wejre njarried, and then their wives had ,J9neach them to read. The beautiful valley of the Little Tennessee was very much like th$ valley of Sleepy Hoi low, and many of the teachers were doubtless duplicates of the . celebrated Ichabod Crane, pictured so adeptly by Washington Irving. Witch and goblin stories were told to the childdren in . the old days to scare them into obedience. It was often said that Indians ' stole t white children and carried them off. A lady tells how on one. occasion a good Indian was visiting her home. He took the baby into his arms to pet and caress it. AH at once with out notice, he rose" up and began to run away across the field with the baby. The mother was noi afraid, because she knew the good old In dian was only teasing her.' After awhile the Indian came back bringing the .child and laughing at his prank. The Ammons family came into the section soon after the year ,1S2. Among ther older members, of $ this noted family were Jphn and Joshua Ammons. Joshua Ammons was a great . missionary , and - traveller, , He stole .away fromhis ffarm jwpfkto the yarious settlements and preached in the little log huts and gathered congregations which were later to be, formed into churches. Through many a creek he waded, through many a dark forest he treaded his way, on missions of evangelization. He climb ed the mountain heights and passed over to tell the story of Jesus to the people on "yanside." Among other citizens of the early days were Thomas Clemmons, Samuel Rose, Joseph Welch, James Poteat, and David Peak. James Whitaker was a man of culture and was a ready pens- man. He was for a long time clerk of the Franklin church. Among oth er families who were in these parts prior to 1824 were families of the following names : Woody, Davis, Gore,' Phillips, Buchanan, Hibberts, Wilkins, Riddle, and Dickey. The Willmores were in the section also. One memmber ,of this family became a much beloved arid leading citizen. . Rev. Joshua Ammons taught the Indians how to remember when Sun day came, by boring seven holes A peg was placed in a hole each day until the pegs : we're all - in their places, then the pegless hole repre sented Sunday. In it no work was to be done. Only deeds of love and IMPROVED ucuciuus liavur 10- y . ' . j V mercy and worship were to occupy the mind on that holy day. Tom Crawford came, into the sec tion over one hundred , years ago. He was the ancestor of the exten sive and honorable Crawford family which is scattered over the hills. This family has had a reputation for rectitude and honor and dependabil ity. This is one of the greatest things that can be said of any fam sly. Industry, thrift, and piety are discovered among their ranks.. They have made good citizens. They have helped to make the public senti raent that makes Macon county fear the liquor traffic and its evils. The son of Tom Crawford' was George Crawford. GeOrge has a son named John, who will be one hundred years old the coming Christmas day. Jphn is the oldest child of seventeen children in his family. He now lives n Clay, county.. ''Mrs. 'Ellen Crawford' has a rolling pin to make biscuits with, that George Crawford whittled out with his knife a hundred years ago or over. His wife was Lorena Moore. Lorena may have used the rolling pin on George's head, but one of his descendants says she did not knock out any hair, if she did. George lived to the ripe age of ninety four years and had a heavy coat - of hair in his old age. George had six sons to go to the Civil War and all came back alive. Emerson was the only son that was wounded. .. ;. , .,. A bullet entered ' his right shoul der and came out on his left shoul der, He was also shot in the hand. He? was : not shot in the : back. ;The Crawfords. always faced the front. They rhet the enemy face to, face. . (Continued next week) : Seme Things I Notice There are some things I notice con cerning the Baptist church of Frank- On." They spea themselves. I notice that there are 176 who have agreed to read the New Testa ment through. This is a good thing. The 'church is established on the prhv ciples of r the New Testament. The Christ of the New Testament is the fcnly- heidtof the' churchi His law is given k in the New Testament. Therefore the members should know ml ' this book. I also notice that the regular Bible readers are also regular in their! at tendance at church and Sunday School." Those who are irregular are dwarfing their Christian life. Those who read the Bible and at tend regularly upon the church wor ship are the best supporters of the gospel with their means and prayers. Those who read the Bible are the best members of the B. Y, P U., the Sunday school, and the W. M. S! The Bible readers are 'developing their spiritual life and increasing their Christian fruitfulness. Regular Bible readers appreciate the sermons of the pastor "more and get more benefit from them.v Regular Bible readers are planting the seed which will bring an abun dant spiritual harvest. How can seed sprout ;and . grow, "when , it has , not been planted? Christianity is found ed upon the Bible. Bible readers are taking Christianity to heart Thev are honoring God, and God will un doubtedly build them up in the inner man. . 'i . . , . v vf V - Bible reading will produce character and dependability in people. We can not learn of God without learnincr how to live right. I admire this Bible reading plan. It will bear its fruit in due time. ; "' - . W. M. LEE. Baotist MW The street" in front of the church is now paved up to the sidewalk Rev. J. B. Stallcup has had charge of, the j collecting of: the money and v is in need of funds to complete the payment. Arthur Waldroop has been overseeing the work and has done a fine job. Shields and Duvall have aided the work by generous treat ment of the church. The pavement will make a great improvement in the appearance of the church, and will also make the approach to the church in wet weather far more neat and convenient. Let us help Bro. Stallcup in settl ing this bill, as he ; has given much hard work and, thought to it and has walked the streets'; in cold weather to get it done. 'The church should show its appreciation for this dear brother OURELY you're going nave at least one new pair of shoes in your ward robe for the holiday season and what better opportun ity can you hope for than our pre-Christmas sale of new footwear! Beautifully Styled PUMPS, STRAPS and OXFORDS $450 In all ' favored leathers and colors ALL SIZES AND WIDTHS SUPPERS . Specially low priced for the Christ , mas season $1-50 to $4.50 Ideal Gifts for Father, . Mother, Sister and Brother. THURSDAY, DECEfiB&l'te IVJ by helping him with this work which is for the Lord. The Sunday school was ; larger , in . ..v,. uivvii ivuuicij iUISWtl- cd to.their names. We missed those who were absent. The class of young married women was large and mc uucresi was gooa. jiro. J. M. Carpenter had a larger attendance. Paul Carpenter had a good crowd of men in his room up stairs tack Of the pulpit. Arrangements will be made to heat this room. This is the best room. in. the church. It is qujet, retired, and laree. It is the nastnX : 7 ' study room. Let our men from 24 to 41 till, it. -. The B. Y. P. U. will put on a pageant. Mrs. Peek is chairman of the committer on thp nacrpafif Thi - - --o story hour , was well - attended. The Seniors and adults bad ' interesting programs. The adult men are t at work. They are trying to be A-l. Two beautiful duets were rendered at the hours of worship. Alma and Merle Peek sang at the B. Y. PU; ; Bro. . Chas., - Blain " is getting 5hts records in shape for a modern Sun day school. Let us build " up the Sunday school. .There are 662 Bap tist prospects within a mile , of the . church, according to the census. Of t,very memoer snouia De in bunday school. - :, LETTERS TO rv SANTA CLAUS Prentiss, N. C, Dec. 1920. Dear Santa Clause I am a little boy 2 years old, and I live on .North Skeenah. On June 9th my daddy got drowned in a lake near Franklin. So I thought I would write to you and see if you would bring me something for Christ mas. I want a little hatchet and gun, and some candy, oranges, and apples. Last Christmas daddy got me candy but now he is not" here. I also . have two little sisters, one 4 years old and the other is 2 months old. Please bring them something, too. ' So I will close. From vour little ' boy, HOWARD WILSON HASTING. ( j Is " 1 ft.-.--. . . - mr -- IV ' t $ it t
The Franklin Press and the Highlands Maconian (Franklin, N.C.)
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Dec. 12, 1929, edition 1
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