The following is a transcription of the booklet
written by Mildred Rule. Because it has not yet been compared to the
original text for errors or omissions, you may prefer to
view the .pdf scan of the
original booklet by clicking here.
(Copy of booklet provided by
Mike Spiker and posted with permission by Nelson Zinn.)
***
The South Fork Baptist Church - A History - August 1979
Commentary: Recently
while reading for the first time the minutes of the early meetings of
the South Fork Baptist Church I became so intensely interested and
impressed by the significance of what I was reading that I felt
impelled to take notes of things I personally wanted to remember.
Then it occurred to me that many others who would have no opportunity
to read the minutes would be interested and that we all might benefit
by having a record of our “Roots”. This history is the result of my
conviction that we owe a great debt of gratitude to our forefathers
and others who, in spite of hardships, difficulties, and oft-times
human failings, adhered to the Christian principles as taught in the
Bible as a way of life, and established and kept alive this church as
a fulfillment of their belief. We have a priceless heritage passed on
to us by God-fearing men and women who sought to live and rear their
children in the fear and admonition of the Lord so I am writing this
LEST WE FORGET.
Mildred Wilson Rule
*******************
The South Fork
Baptist Church is an organization belonging to the Harrisville
Association. Its place of worship is near the Ritchie County line in
Southwest District of Doddridge County, West Virginia, and is situated
on the ridge road connecting the communities of Oxford, on the South
Fork of Hughes River, and Summers, on the Middle Fork of Hughes
River. At different times of the church’s history, the post offices
at Oxford, Holbrook, and Summers served the neighborhoods where most
of the members lived. The post office now serving the area is West
Union (Route 1).
The authentic date of
the organization of the church is believed to be November 1, 1841.
That date was written in one of the books of minutes as the time of
the church’s organization and, since that clerk was a direct
descendent of some, and personally acquainted with others, who were
charter members, it is reasonable to assume that the date is
authentic. The minutes of the meeting held, more than two years after
that date, on February 27, 1844 is the first written record we have of
its activities. Minutes have been faithfully kept of the transactions
at the business meetings for most of the years since that time.
The first fifteen
names on the church roll in the book of minutes starting in 1844, were
probably the charter members. At least the records show that all
fifteen were members prior to 1844. The names are as follows: George
W. Zinn and his wife Sarah Gray Zinn, Thomas S. Gray and his wife
Rachel Zinn Gray, William Gray and his wife Nancy Gray, Jonathan Miney
and his wife Rebecca Miney, Bartlett Waldo and his wife Jane Waldo,
Godfrey Carroll, Samuel G. Rodgers, Elizabeth Gray, Rachel Miney, and
Sophia Amelia Zinn.
Three of the charter
members, George W. Zinn, Rachel Zinn Gray, and Sophia Amelia Zinn were
the son and daughters of John and Ruth Gandy Zinn, early settlers in
the area. Through the years many others of the John Zinn family
became members of the church and there has never been a time since the
church was organized, including the present, that there were not
descendents of that family numbered among the active members. Sophia
Amelia Zinn married Thomas E. Davis and lived at Harrisville. She
became the mother of Thomas E. Davis, Jr., grandmother of Thomas J.
Davis, Dr., and great-grandmother of Thomas J. Davis, Jr. All three
were Harrisville lawyers and Thomas J. Davis, Jr. is still practicing
there. She was also the grandmother of Winifred Davis, wife of Judge
Homer B. Woods, and has had nine descendents who have practiced (or
are still practicing) law or who married lawyers.
Another son of John
and Ruth Gandy Zinn who was a pioneer member of South Fork was
Granville M. Zinn. He and his wife, Rosetta Lowther Zinn, were
received by baptism in 1845 and were still active members until his
death in 1891 and hers in 1912.
The first minutes
were written by Samuel G. Rogers who married Narcissus Zinn, another
daughter of John Zinn. They lived near Oxford and had two sons.
After her death he remarried and moved to Preston County being granted
a letter of dismission in 1856.
The first church
building was a log cabin built near the present location of The Oxford
Baptist Church, which is approximately three eights of a mile from the
South Fork of Hughes River on the road that follows Sugar Run
South-eastward. The building was probably erected soon after the
church was organized and at first had seats made of split rails with
pegs driven in them for legs. Although meetings were held there
regularly the building was not finished for several years as the
following excerpts from the minutes indicate:
Jan. 20, 1849 –
“Resolved that Bro. G.W. Zinn, Bro. S.G. Rogers, Bro. T.S. Gray be
appointed to attend to getting the material to finish the meeting
house.”
Resolved that Bro. G.
Carroll get all the help he can to do the work on the meeting house.”
Jan. 28, 1854 – “On
motion, appointed Bro. G.W. Zinn to collect money for the purpose of
finishing the meeting house and fencing in the cemetery and to
superintend the work.”
Jan. 26, 1856 – “Paid
Bro. T.S. Gray for filling the windows with glass, $1.00.”
March 1858 – “A deed
of Conveyance for meeting house lot and graveyard was read and, on
motion, received.”
“On Motion, appoint
by ballot Deacon T.S. Gray, G.G. Griffin, and Jacob Mason as trustees
of said property.”
The first minister
was Rev. James S. Griffin who lived at Lumberport in Harrison County
and was one of the pioneer ministers of the Baptist church in what is
now West Virginia. His field of work was in Harrison, Doddridge,
Ritchie and surrounding counties extending as far as the Kanawha
Valley. He served the South Fork Church off and on from its beginning
through October 1853 with a record of one sermon preached in November
1866.
In the spring of 1852
Rev. Griffin’s son, George G. Griffin and his wife, Juan Fernandez
Zinn (another daughter of John and Ruth Gandy Zinn) with their two
daughters, Virginia and Caroline, moved from Harrison County and
located in Doddridge County near the Ritchie County line on the head
of Bear Run. They were received into the church by letter in June
1852. They bought and cleared a farm (later owned by their grandson,
Homer Wilson) and here they had eight more children. In 1878 they
moved to Holbrook where they lived the rest of their lives.
Eventually all ten of their children became members of the church and
some of their descendents are still active members.
In each new book of
minutes the first item to appear was a copy of the Church Covenant and
Articles of Faith setting forth the principles of Christian belief and
with the stipulation that they be read to the church on request.
Added to that was “Rules of Decorum” a list of rules which, in one
case in 1859, was written by the pastor and deacons, then discussed
(at great length) in business meetings, then finally adopted by the
church. The first of these rules were instructions for the order of
conducting business meetings. Some of the other Rules of Decorum
which seemed to be rather rigidly enforced were as follows:
“No member shall cast
any reflections or make remarks on the slips, failures, or
imperfections of any other member on pain of the censure of the
church.”
“In-as-much as order
and decency becomes the House of God no whispering or laughing in the
time of a speech, no loitering or lying down in time of a session will
be expected.”
“Any member failing
to attend three church meetings in succession will be required to give
satisfaction to the church for their absence.”
“Whereas there is
much evil attending the use of intoxicating liquors, Resolved
therefore that we make the manufacturing, selling and drinking of
ardent spirits as a beverage a test of fellowship.”
In 1880 the rule
concerning missing three meetings in succession was struck from the
books.
We are told that, in
the early church, discipline was strict and the church was concerned
about the life and conduct of its members. That Statement is borne
out by a look at how some of these rules were enforced. A true story
(handed down by word of mouth) from the days when it was very improper
to laugh in church and when parents believed that to spare the rod was
to spoil the child, concerned the two sons, eight and nine years of
age, of one of the deacons of the church. One night while an elderly
man was praying in a slow drawling tone of voice, outside an open
window, a cow “bawled”. The old man lifted his head, looked around
and said, “Who’s thata mockin’ me?” The little boys laughed and were
spared a “whipping” by their father for laughing in church only
because their mother intervened.
Besides parental
discipline, the church members had ways of disciplining each other.
If there were “differences” between members, if someone was reported
as having committed some act unbecoming a church member, or had missed
three meetings in succession, a committee was appointed to
investigate. Often the specific charge was not recorded. If the
minutes read, “The committee reported and was discharged” and the next
motion read that the one who had been visited by the committee was to
be “Excluded”, one could only assume that the report had been
unfavorable. If the committee recommended that either one, or both,
of those having difficulties make acknowledgement before the church
and they failed to do so, they were usually excluded. If the
committee of church members failed to resolve the difficulty,
neighboring churches or the Association were asked to send a committee
to investigate. A few were excluded for intoxication, or as one clerk
put it “For getting drunk and using bad language”, a few for adultery,
several for “absenting themselves from the church” (being absent more
than three meetings), and some for “contempt of the church” (failure
to acknowledge their wrongs). The frequency with which such incidents
were recorded in the early minutes shows a conscientious effort on the
part of the members to carry out this section of the church covenant:
“Walking together in brotherly love, we will exercise a Christian care
and watchfulness over each other and faithfully warn, rebuke, and
admonish one another…..”. There is evidence that occasionally in
their zeal for “warning, rebuking, and admonishing” they forgot about
“walking together in brotherly love”. The fact that so many did
“acknowledge their wrongs”, as the church required them to do, showed
not only a kind of courage and seriousness of purpose in living a
Christian life but also a determination to remain church members and
carry on the work of the church.
The Civil War years
was a time of great turmoil, with many families and churches divided
by their opposing views. This proved to be a stormy period for The
South Fork Baptist Church. Apparently factions had developed in the
church, so in the fall of 1861 the church dismissed their pastor and
disbanded, not meeting again in the church building until the summer
of 1864. During that period some of the members began to meet and
hold services in the Ridge School House, a log building approximately
three miles Southeast of the original church building. After passing
the church building the road ascended the hill at the head of Sugar
Run and, for about a mile and a half, followed the ridge that
separates Bear Run and Lower Run. The Ridge School House stood in the
field (now owned by Enid Zinn) a few hundred feet from where the ridge
road started to descend the hill toward Summers following Zinn Run to
Middle Fork of Hughes River. At a service held in the Ridge School
House in June 1864 several young people confessed their faith in
Christ and expressed a desire to unite with the church. Since they
had not been meeting as an organized church, the group decided to make
an effort to get the South Fork Church together again. A meeting was
held at the church building on July 23, 1864. A discussion was held
as to whether they should consider themselves The South Fork Baptist
Church. The clerk wrote, “We decided we are the church”. For about a
year they carried on the work of the church, calling a pastor,
receiving new members, etc. But there were protests because in
September 1864 the group calling themselves the church asked three
neighboring churches to send men for a committee “to adjust the
differences between us and those that have dissented from us”. The
committee decided that the group that had been meeting was the true
South Fork Church. However, that did not settle the matter as is
indicated by the minutes of November 1866; there is record of another
committee of three deacons from other churches being called to decide
“who is the South Fork Church proper”. This time both sides agreed to
abide by the decision of the committee. After a very thorough
investigation the committee reported that both sides had been too
hasty, that there had been hard sayings on both sides, affected
reconciliation between the two factions, and declared that the
majority, or the ones who had been meeting, were the church.
From 1864 for over
four years the church held most of its meetings in the original church
building during the summer months and in the Ridge School House during
three or four of the winter months. After the summer of 1868 the
church did not return to the church building but contained to meet in
the Ridge School House for a period of about four years. At the
meeting on December 7, 1872 the church voted “To move her place of
worship to the school house on Lower Run below B.L. Wilson’s.” (That
log school house still stands across the road and near the W. Frank
Osborne residence.) The church met in the Lower Run school house for
several months until a new church building was completed in 1873.
In March 1870 the
church voted “To appoint a committee to take into consideration the
propriety of building a church house and pick on a location”. The
committee consisted of G.M. Zinn, S.V. Brown, M.B. Zinn, Joshua
Wilson, and G.G. Griffin (who was later replaced by Joseph A.
Summers). The new church house was a frame building 30 by 40 feet and
was built on a half acre lot that was deeded to the church by S.V. and
Sarah E. Brown in 1871. That lot is now a part of The South Fork
Cemetery. The committee made arrangements to have the lumber sawed at
the old mill at Holbrook and secured Andrew Yaler and the Yaler
Brothers to build it with the help of the members and friends of the
church. The first meeting held in the new building was on September
28, 1873.
The South Fork
Cemetery began its existence in 1889. The minutes ofr May 11, 1889
contains this sentence, “On motion the church return their thanks to
Sister Brown for the offer made to the church for a half acre of land
adjoining the church property for burial purposes”. The deed was not
secured until two years later but the land came into immediate use for
its intended purpose. Homer Wilson often told that, at the age of 16,
he helped dig the first grave in the cemetery, that of his cousin,
Allison VanHorn, and later planted at the head of the grave a cedar
shrub that had been supplied by his mother, “Jennie” Wilson, who said
that would probably be the only monument Allison would ever have. The
slender shrub grew to be about eight feet tall and remained there
seventy years. In 1959 it was cut down and replaced by relatives with
a small bronze plate to mark the grave. There are other tombstones in
the cemetery on which the date of death is indicated as prior to 1889
but those bodies were moved from other burial places.
An iron fence was
built around the cemetery in 1904 at a cost of $250.00. Since then
that fence has been repaired and finally all replaced but still
remaining from the original fence is the arch over the entrance
bearing the name, South Fork Cemetery. Additional land has been added
to the original half acre. When the present place of worship was
built in 1909, the old church building was torn down and the lot on
which it had stood was taken into the cemetery. In 1929 a triangular
plot of land on the Southeastern side of the cemetery was acquired
from Homer Wilson, who then owned the “Brown” farm and in 1960 an
additional plot at the back or Northeastern side was obtained from
Homer Wilson’s estate.
The present church
building was erected in 1909 and dedicated June 26, 1910. It was
built across the road from the old structure on one end of the grove
which had been purchased for $25.00 from R.A. McClain and wife and J.A.
Summers and wife in 1871. The building committee consisted of J.K.
Wilson, J.M. Osborn, Lee Campbell, Ezra Bell, and William Campbell.
The committee named M. Homer Wilson as foreman and he planned and
built the sanctuary with the help of many members of the church. The
total cost of the structure was $2275.00, all of which had been
collected before the dedication except $316.77 which was raised at
that service. The dedicatory sermon was presented by Rev. Marshall A.
Summers, the dedicatory prayer by C. Ernest Wilson, who also gave the
sermon in the afternoon service. Both of them were former members of
the church and both had been ordained to the ministry at South Fork.
An article clipped
from a newspaper of 1920 had this about the dedication: “The crowd
attending the dedication was estimated at from 1500 to 2000 people…The
church is a beautiful one…with twelve elegant memorial windows with
cathedral glass, all placed by friends in memory of departed ones,
most of whom were for years members of the Old South Fork Church…One
of the best bells in the country is on the church and can be heard for
miles around.”
It is of interest to
note that the name one of the charter members of the church, Godfrey
Carroll, appears on one of the memorial windows. His wife, Mary,
became a member in 1845, four years after the organization of the
church. Other pioneer members whose names are on one of the memorial
windows are Granville Zinn and his wife (Rosetta). They were also
received into the church in 1845.
Many customs have
been followed consistently throughout the life of the church. From
the first, the church, regularly each year, has sent delegates to the
Association. In early days the moderator appointed three delegates,
appointed someone to write a letter to the Association (sometimes the
clerk, sometimes someone else), appointed a committee to examine the
letter, had the letter read to and adopted by the congregation; then,
after the Association, heard a report from the delegates who
attended. The church still participates in Associational work.
Seldom was any
mention made of the name of the Association or of where it was to
meet. One reference in pre-Civil War days was made to the
Northwestern Association. Whether or not South Fork remained a member
of that Association until joining The Harrisville Association is
unknown. In August 1889 a motion read, “That the clerk insert in the
letter to the Association a request for a letter to join the new
Association”. Since the first meeting of The Harrisville Association
was held in 1889 the South Fork delegates were probably present at
that meeting. In the South Fork minutes for August 1890 we read, “On
motion, electing delegates by ballot to The Harrisville Association
that meets with The Union Baptist Church at Cairo, August 20, 1890.”
G.G. Griffin was treasurer of The Harrisville Association for a period
of 15 years.
Where the
Associations had met in previous years is unknown but the first record
we have of its having been held at the South Fork is in 1893. The
minutes for June 2, 1892 include, “on motion to ask the Association to
meet with us next year”. In the minutes for July 3, 1893 we read, “On
motion to appoint a committee of three for arrangements during the
Association”. One item, however, was not left for the committee to
arrange as can be seen by this quote from the minutes for August 12,
1893, “On motion that the church grants B.J. Hudkins privilege of
furnishing lemonade and water on the grounds during the Association.”
The committee for arrangements for the Association was J.K. Wilson,
H.C. Zinn, and S.G. Zinn.
Another event
faithfully arranged each year has been the holding of a revival. In
early years a revival was often called “A meeting of days”, a
“protracted meeting”, or as one clerk so aptly put it, “We protracted
our meeting from day to day”. Revivals were usually held during the
winter months until the automobile began to replace horses as a means
of transportation when it became the usual thing to have revivals
while the weather was “good” before the roads got “bad”.
Until the early
1900’s it was the usual practice to baptize those who presented
themselves as candidates for baptism without any delay even though it
meant breaking the ice on the water in the creek to be able to “hold
the baptizing”. Often, the minutes reveal, if someone presented
themselves for baptism in a service the congregation “repaired to the
waters” immediately after that service where the ordinance of baptism
was administered. For most of the present century it has been the
custom to wait for warm weather before holding baptismal services. As
a result a “baptizing” was often held only once or twice a year. At
least during the early part of the present century the announcement
that a baptismal service was to be held would often result in its
being attended by a sizable crowd. Even though the customs pertaining
to “baptizings” have changed somewhat the ordinance of baptism by
immersion still remains one of the cherished Baptist beliefs.
[PICTURE
HERE: South Fork Baptist Church Baptismal Service June 30, 1918 –
Rev. Ofa Bennett, Pastor (Middle Fork – Near Jacob Spiker residence)]
From the beginning of
the church for nearly a century it was the usual custom to have
meetings (with a sermon followed by the business session) on one
Saturday a month, with a worship service, often called “preaching”, on
the next day, Sunday. During the first quarter of this century the
regular schedule (the majority of the time) was business meeting at
2:00 P.M. or 2:30 P.M. on the Saturday before the fourth Sunday in the
month, Sunday School at 9:30 A.M. (every Sunday during the six
“summer” months), and “preaching” following Sunday School on the
fourth Sunday. In 1928 the time of the business meeting was changed
to Saturday night. Since then there have been many changes in both
the time and frequency of the meetings of the church to suit changing
circumstances.
The Sunday School is
believed to have been organized in 1852 although the minutes of the
church give no hint that there were any Sunday School meetings until
in 1910 a motion passed that the church elect officers of the Sunday
School. For the most part, the Sunday School has been considered a
separate organization from the church which may explain why there was
little or no reference made to it in the early minutes. In a
genealogy of the Griffin family the statement is made that G.G.
Griffin, in 1852, helped organize the first Sunday School in his
neighborhood, which has been in session every summer since. Proof
that Sunday School was indeed organized by 1852 and also an indication
of what the early meetings were like is found in an old book (among
the books of the church minutes). This book was evidently a Sabbath
School record book. Under the date July 1852 is a list of names of
those who had “paid to the Lyberry” (library). (Probably today that
would be called paying for literature.) Then follows a list of female
class members and male class members with a number after each name
indicating how many Bible verses they had “learned by heart”. Then
later they had Testament classes, No. 1, No. 2, etc. In this same
book we read, “Sabbath School organized on May 3, 1963 at the school
house on the ridge by electing Joseph A. Summers, Supt., J.H. Pierce,
Assistant, and Jacob A. Mason, Librarian”. Then follows a list of
class members and a list of those who had paid for the library.
By the early 1900’s
the program of most sessions of the Sunday School followed this
routine: First was opening exercises led by the superintendent. Then
the classes assembled in different corners of the building to study
the lesson. There were four classes, the primary or “card” class
(named for the picture cards given each Sunday to each member of the
class), the Junior Class, the Young Peoples Class and the Adult or
“Old Folks” Class. Following the lesson, the closing exercises
included the report of the secretary who told how many were present in
each class and the amount of the collection. Then an opportunity was
given for the little children to give recitations or Bible verses that
they had memorized. A beloved teacher of the “card” class for many
years was Mrs. Bettie Griffin, who died in 1916.
Several young men
have been licensed to the ministry of the Gospel by the South Fork
Church. Perhaps the action was not equivalent to granting a license
but in the minutes for June 1844 we read, “Resolved that we liberate
Bro. G. W. Zinn to exhort when he chooses”.
The names of those
granted licenses are: William G. Zinn in 1869, Marshall A. Summers in
1882, Alexander S. Holden in 1889, C. Ernest Wilson in 1904, Strother
Campbell in 1908, W. Frank Osborne in 1929, and Lawrence McCloy in
1929.
Three of those
granted licenses have been ordained at South Fork. All three had been
brought up in this church and were members at the time of their
ordination.
The first to be
ordained was Marshall A. Summers, son of Joseph A. and Nancy Wilson
Summers. He was licensed on September 10, 1882 and ordained on
February 8, 1885. An item of interest is that Marshall Summers was
received into the church and was baptized following the first worship
service that was held in the “new” church building on September 28,
1873, then thirty-seven years later gave the dedicatorial sermon for
the present church building in 1910. Sometime after his ordination
Mr. Summers left the state returning in 1903 and worked for several
years for the Baptist General Association of W.Va. (now the W.Va.
Baptist Convention). In the February 1979 issue of the West Virginia
Baptist in the article, “Looking at Our Roots” (a summary of Baptist
work at the state level), by the Rev. Bryce W. Griffith, President of
the West Virginia Baptist Historical Society, is the following:
“A call was extended
to Marshall A. Summers to become General Missionary (as the position
was then called) by the Executive Board in July 1903. Mr. Summers had
been a missionary for the Minnesota State Convention but was
apparently a West Virginia native. After a visit to inspect the new
field, he entered upon the work immediately.” Mr. Summers held this
position for eight and a half years leaving in January 1912 to accept
a similar one in Oklahoma.
In a comparison of
1903 and 1911 the author of the above named article points out the
great strides made under Mr. Summers’ leadership in many areas of the
Baptist work during that period and among other things mentions that
“150 new churches had been organized and 160 new church buildings
erected, 79 of them dedicated by Summers”. One of the 79 was The
South Fork Baptist Church.
An account of the
dedication of the South Fork church that appeared in The Baptist
Banner in 1910 read thus: “Rev. M.A. Summers preached the dedication
sermon. He was born and raised in this community and the people feel
justly proud of him and his work”.
C. Ernest Wilson was
the second minister to be ordained at South Fork. He was licensed on
the date March 5, 1904. His ordination service was conducted October
29, 1904. He was the son of James K. and Virginia Griffin Wilson, and
for about fifteen years had been a teacher. For one year after
deciding to enter the ministry he was pastor of the Cove Baptist
Church resigning in the fall of 1905 to attend Crozier Baptist
Theological Seminary at Chester, Pennsylvania. He and his family
spent the summer of 1906 at their farm home (the home once owned by
Samuel V. Brown). There his wife (Ella Maxwell Wilson) died on August
1. Mr. Wilson returned to school and graduated from Crozier in the
spring of 1908. He immediately became pastor of a Baptist church at
Wellsburg, West Virginia and had an apparently very successful
ministry of three years duration. It was while he was pastor of the
church in Wellsburg that he participated in the dedication program at
South Fork. The article from The Baptist Banner reporting the
dedication (referred to previously) had this to say about him: “In
the afternoon Rev. Ernest Wilson preached a splendid sermon. Rev. Mr.
Wilson is one of our rising young ministers and has a bright future
before him”.
A little less than
two years later he died at the age of thirty-eight, only four years
after graduating from the seminary, cutting short what promised to be
a ministry of great service. He had remarried and left his wife, the
former Ida Nestor, and an infant son. His son, Ralph Wilson, is now a
member of the Vienna Baptist Church, Vienna, West Virginia.
The third to be
ordained to the ministry was W. Frank Osborne. He was granted a
license to preach the gospel at the business meeting held October 26,
1929. His ordination service was conducted at South Fork on August
30, 1931. He began his ministry fifty years ago in August 1929. His
first church was Smith Chapel which he served while attending high
school in Harrisville.
In the course of his
ministry Rev. Osborne has been pastor of 17 churches in six counties,
Ritchie, Doddrige, Harrison, Wirt, Calhoun, and Pleasants. He served
as pastor of Cairo Baptist Church 40 years, Straight Creek 23 years,
Prosperity 20 years, Spruce Creek 20 years, and South Fork 10 years
He served as
moderator of the Harrisville Association for six years (1943-1948).
He has performed 650
wedding ceremonies.
The esteem in which
he is held by his many friends and those he has served as pastor is
attested by the number of funeral services he has been asked to
conduct. During his 50 years in the ministry he has conducted 1317
funeral services.
Rev. Osborne and his
wife, the former Sylvia Cutright, have lived for many years on Lower
Run a short distance down stream from the farm on which he was
reared.
The ministers who
have served the church as pastor with the approximate dates of their
pastorates follow: James S. Griffin (served the church off and on
from the date of its organization until 1866), A.C. Holden (1844),
Wilford Drummons (1850-51), John Woofter (1855-57) (He was the
grandfather of Emery J. Woofter for so long pastor of the Salem
Baptist Church), Joseph Smith (1857-61), Tillman Kemper (1864-66), J.
Bennett (1867-68), George A. Woofter (1869-76) (He was a nephew of
John Woofter, the former pastor, and was a Civil War veteran,
enlisting soon after his ordination. He was pastor during the
erection of the church building in 1872-73 and later married Orvilla
Summers, daughter of Joseph A. and Nancy Summers, whom he had baptized
while he was pastor), G.H. Gaines (1877-78), John Stump (1880-87), L.D.
Hall (1887-88), A.J. Robinson (1888-1902), W.S. Monroe (1902-07), Ben
P. Holden (1908-13) (was pastor when the present building was erected
in 1909), Ofa Bennett (1914-20), J.E. Elliott (1921-22), Edwin
Waggoner (1924-26), Nelson H. Bartlett (1928-33), J.A. Young
(1933-38), John A. Kyre (1939-40), H.V. Layhew (1940-42), W.R.
Griswold (1943-44), J.W. Burch (1945-46), W. Frank Osborne (1948-58),
Ray Bartlett (1959-1964), N.H. Bartlett (Interim 4 mo. In 1946), Ray
Bartlett (1964-68), Arthur Spring (1970-1973), Arthur Cox (1974-still
serving).
There have also been
many ministers who supplied the pulpit at various times but were not
designated as pastor. Some of those whose names appeared in the early
minutes were Joseph Barnett, W. Whitehead, Thomas Drummons, Aaron
Barnett, E.M. Hall, and Allison Barnett. James Woods, grandfather of
Judge Homer B. Woods, often assisted John Woofter in revivals. In
more recent times some of the names of ministers who conducted one or
more services were William S. Oliver, L.S. Vannoy, Clyde Curry, Henry
Langfit, B.A. VanHorn. Many other ministers have preached at South
Fork whose names did not appear in the minutes.
The church clerks
have been: Samuel G. Rogers (4 years), Jonathan Miney (3 years),
Godfrey Carroll (1 year), G.G. Griffin (6 years), Richard Hickman (8
years), Samuel V. Brown (37 years), M. Homer Wilson (20 years), W.
Frank Osborne (4 years), Earl Zinn (1 year), Eva Griffin (2 years),
Carson Gaston (10 years), Enid Zinn (37 years).
The treasurers have
been: Thomas S. Gray, Granville M. Zinn, J.K. Wilson, H.C. Zinn, J.M.
Osborn, Okey Zinn, E. Wilson Osborn, Judy Grimm Moran, and Barbara
Ball.
The trustees have
been: Thoams S. Gray, G.G. Griffin, Jacob Mason, George W. Zinn, S.V.
Brown, Richard Hickman, J.A. Summers, Jessee Leason, Samuel G. Zinn,
M. Bruce Summers, Lee Campbell, William Hudkins, C.C. Dillie, Jacob
Spiker, Clyde Gray, E. Wilson Osborn, Lester Grimm, Donald Grimm,
Wallace Haught, Miles Ball.
The deacons have
been: Thomas S. Gray, Samuel G. Rogers, Godfrey Carroll, G.G.
Griffin, Joseph A. Summers, George M. Zinn, James K. Wilson, A.H.
Knight, A.E. Hudkins, C.E. Wilson, J.M. Osborn, Jacob Pierce, Audra E.
Wilson, Clyde Kemper, Jamie A. Williams, Earl Zinn, Bradford Spiker,
E. Wilson Osborn, David Locke.
The following quotes
from the minutes of various dates reveal some great changes that have
taken place during the 138 years since the church was organized:
1864 – “Motion that
we meet at the Ridge School House at early candlelighting time”.
1856 – “On motion we
appoint G.G. Griffin to furnish candles and keep the meeting house
lighted during our protracted meeting.”
1874 – “On motion the
church tenders her thanks to E.W. Summers for 1 bracket light (oil).”
1902 – “On motion we
adjourn till next Sat. night at early lamplighting.”
1946 – “On motion the
moderator appoint a committee to look after securing electricity for
the church and the material for the wiring.”
1889 – “Whereas we
are aware that the pastor has no horse to ride to do his work,
therefore resolve that the church pledge themselves to raise $25.00 to
purchase a horse, and notify the other three churches where the pastor
preaches and request them to do all they can in helping to purchase
the horse.”
1891 – “On motion
that the church arranges to buy an organ.”
1931 – “The president
of the Womens Mission Circle presents a piano to the church.”
1855 – “Member agrees
to furnish fuel for the church house for one year for $10.00.”
1855 – “The treasurer
reports $9.70 collected for the first quarter (for church expenses).”
1855 – “Call an extra
meeting for the purpose of raising money for paying the pastor.”
1856 – “On motion we
pay our pastor $75.00 a year and appoint a committee to procure
subscription for same.”
1853 – “Amount
collected for missions $4.60 (for the year).”
1888 – “The church
appoints three missionary collectors, names to wit, Ella Griffin,
Grace Summers, and Ada Brown.” (Three months later the committee
reported that the amount collected was $1.30 for home missions, $2.43
for state missions, and $2.43 for foreign missions).
1907 – “Mission money
collected for the year, $26.23.”
1877 – “On motion to
buy 1 dozen cheap hymn books for use in the church.”
1928 – “Budget system
adopted.”
1928 – “The Womens
Mission Circle was organized”. The mission circle still is active and
the church has been greatly benefited by the interest and
accomplishments of the circle in the more than 50 years of its
existence.
After 1900, from time
to time, there were more marked increases in the church budget than
had occurred before. Before the turn of the century, when pastors
salaries were mentioned it was always as $75.00 or $100.00 a year.
Gradually, however, the pastor’s salary was raised as well as the
wages for the sexton and the caretaker of the cemetery. From the
first it was customary to appoint a committee or an individual to
collect money for each item of the church’s expenses such as pastors’
salaries or missions, until the budget system of handling church
finances was adopted in 1928. This soon proved to be more effectual
than other methods of raising money for the expenses of the church.
The report sent to the Association in 1962 is representative of the
modern day budget. The church budget has continued to increase
gradually until the present time even though membership has
decreased. The 1962 report included the following: Missions and
other benevolences $393.70, Associational Expenses $8.00, Operating
Expenses $180.00, Salaries $400.00, Total $981.70.
Another change
occurred in the year 1950. For more than a century no weddings were
held in the church sanctuary. The first wedding was on the afternoon
of Thursday, November 30, 1950 when Janice Zinn, daughter of Enid and
Earl Zinn, and David ale Ball, son of Sylvia and Toy Ball were united
in marriage. The wedding had been scheduled for the Saturday before
but on Friday there fell the deepest snow known to have struck the
area. It was impossible to travel so the wedding was delayed for
several days until it was possible to reach the church by walking or
traveling in a horse drawn sled. The Rev. W. Frank Osborne was the
officiating minister. Since then many weddings have been held at
South Fork including those of the daughter and both sons of the ones
who started the trend, Janice and Dale Ball.
South Fork has always
been a small church with a hundred members or less. It was organized
with about fifteen members and in approximately twenty years the
membership had increased to sixty. There is no record giving the
membership year by year except for most of the y ears since 1906 which
seems to have been the peak year with 105 members reported to the
Association. Like many rural communities, the area is more sparsely
populated than it once was, the family units are smaller, and many of
the younger people have left to live elsewhere so the membership has
dropped, more or less gradually, for many years. The number of
members reported to the Association for 1978 was 52.
[PICTURE
HERE: The South Fork Baptist Church In the year 1953]
The members of the
church have always taken pride in keeping the property in good repair
and in adding improvements when it was feasible to do so. It may be
of interest to list some of the major repairs and additions with the
dates when those things were done:
1915 – A new roof was
put on the church building at a cost of $77.17.
1916 – The side walls
of the church were repapered. The paper cost $7.00.
1920 – A gas line was
laid to the church building and gas stoves installed.
1922 – The cement
platform at the front of the church building was constructed. This
includes a monument to “the horse and buggy days” in the form of a
block of cement rising above the level of the platform at one corner
for the convenience of horseback riders in mounting and dismounting.
1946 – The building
was wired for electricity.
1955 – The papered
sidewalls were covered with Celotex paneling.
1956 – Plans were
made for a cinder block addition, 28 by 32 feet, to be added to the
pack part of the church building. This room was to serve as Sunday
School rooms, kitchen and dining room. The estimated cost for
materials was $1450.00. Clyde Gray was the carpenter and planned the
room.
1963 – The ceiling of
the sanctuary was refinished with celotex replacing the embossed metal
ceiling (which had deteriorated) used when the church was built in
1909.
1962 – The gas stoves
were replaced by floor furnaces.
1964 – A water system
was installed and rest rooms were finished in the cinder block
addition.
1979 – A gas forced
air furnace was installed.
Much of the life of a
church is not recorded in the minutes since they are primarily a
record of the formal transactions. The spiritual life of a church is
evidenced in the zeal and devotion of its members in carrying out the
purpose of the church and is reflected in the daily walk of those who
have pledged themselves to follow the principles of living a Christian
life as revealed by the Holy Bible. Down through the years there have
been faithful and consecrated men and women who have helped to keep
the true spirit of the church alive. Many may not have been those
whose names appeared in the minutes, or some may never have been known
to “speak out in church”, but by dedicated lives and according to
their talents they contributed much to the spiritual life of the
church.
The hundreds of
church meetings held through the years, the sermons preached, the
Sunday School lessons taught, the hymns sung, the prayers offered, the
revivals attended, the baptismal services conducted, the meetings of
the mission circle held, the contributions of money or time made, the
fellowship enjoyed while partaking of food spread on improvised tables
in the grove, the working together on a clean-up or repair project,
and the friendships formed are only some of the aspects of church life
that have contributed in varying degrees to furthering the way of life
for which the church stands. The influence of The South Fork Baptist
Church upon the lives it has touched, in its long history, and the
extent of that influence is immeasurable.
AFTERWORD
After completion of
the foregoing pages the following information pertaining to South
Fork’s affiliation with an Association (referred to on page 11) was
obtained:
“The Broad Run
Association was organized October 16, 1835 (six years before the
organization of the South Fork Church). At the time of its
organization, Broad Run Association comprised about one-fifth of the
area of West Virginia and included the counties of Harrison, Lewis,
Upshur, Webster, Braxton, Clay, Gilmer, Roane, Doddridge, Ritchie, and
part of Barbour, Tyler, and Monongalia.
There is a record in
the Associational minutes of “messengers” T.S. Gray, G.G. Griffin, and
Allison Barnett from the South Fork Church attending the 18th
Annual Meeting of the Broad Run Association in 1863.
The 43rd
Annual Meeting of the Broad Run Association was held August 31 –
September 1, 1881 at the South Fork Church.”
The above would
indicate that South Fork Church was a member of the Broad Run
Association from the time the church was organized until joining the
Harrisville Association in 1889.
Before the Civil War
there was a North Western Virginia Baptist Association that furnished
missionaries for parts of the area.
Perhaps that is the
Northwestern Association referred to in the church minutes for October
15, 1853.
