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Perry Baptist Church Had An Early Building Blown Down
Baptist Church
Bell Was Given
Confederacy
The Perry Baptist church was
organized March 31, 1838, with
the following members:
Allen Morris, minister from
Benevolence church, Crawford
county; H. B. Hathaway, deacon
from Mt. Olive church; Ann S.
Felder, H. Cornelia Hathaway,
Ephriam Kendrick, Martha J.
Kendrick, Nancy H. Hand, Char
ity H. Hand, Hinnant Byrd, Ma
ria Byrd, and Samuel Felder, dea
con from Mt. Olive church, the
total being 11.
The Perry Methodist church
tendered them the use of their
house of worship and services
were held once a month.
In May Rev. Allen Morris was
duly elected first pastor and
Ephriam Kendrick clerk. Rev.
Adam T. Holmes was chosen to
preach in the absence of Rev.
Morris.
In June the church building
was completed, on a hill on the
right side of the street as you en
ter town from the south.
In December 1838 Rev. Isaiah
Langley was called as pastor and
HOME JOURNAL, PERRY, GA.. THURSDAY, JULY 19, 1951
One Os Georgia’s
BUILDING
School Bus Bodies
FOR THE
NATION’S CHILDREN
, "" _ ■
, •
FORT VALLEY, GA.
I Hit
membership continued to grow
as the church did mission work
organizing new churches which
were called “arms”.
Rev. Langley served the church
until 1840 when Rev. Morris re
turned to the pastorate, after
which Rev. A. T. Holmes served
as pastor for 12 years.
In the latter part of 1846 a
presbytery was appointed and the
Rev, B. F. Tharpe was ordained
at Hayneville as a new minister
by Rev. C. D. Mallory. Rev.
Holmes continued as Perry pas
tor until 1852.
Missionary To Africa
In 1849 Rev. Jared S. Dennard
was licensed to preach and was
ordained, and later went as a
missionary to Africa where he
died of climatic fever.
The membership in 1849 con
sisted of 48 white and 48 colored
members. In 1852 Rev B. F.
Tharpe was elected pastor and
served continuously during the
50s and 60s.
Up to 1852 there had been no
Baptist Sunday school, but the
Perry Union Sunday School was
held at the Methodist church and
attended by all denominations.
In the first year of his pastorate,
Rev. Tharpe organized the Perry
Baptist Sunday School.
REV. J. M. TERESI
Baptist Pastor
In the years 1862-63 when the
War Between the States was rag
ing and the Confederacy lacked
material for making cannon, the
Baptist church donated its bell
for that purpose, as did many
other churches and institutions.
"Our bell,” writes a historian,
“was a good one. Its soft, mel
low clang had so often summoned
us to worship. We missed it.
It was sad indeed to part with
it.”
The location of the first house
not being a good one, a lot was
purchased where the residence of
L. M. Paul once stood (later H. T.
Gilbert home) and the project of
the removal of the building in
tact, on rollers began. A storm
arose and blew it down en route.
It was again erected on the
new lot—a new but not attrac
tive house over which there was
much dissatisfaction.
In K-f7 and 1878 earnest efforts
began to raise money to buy an
other lot and build a new house.
The present church is the result
of that labor. The heroic and
faithful work of our aldies, un
der the name of Ladies Church
Aid Society, contributed $1,300 of
the necessary funds. Rev. Thos.
E. Skinner preached the dedica
tory sermon in 1878.
Early deacons included Samuel
Felder, John Killen, Gilbert Bas
kin, W. T. Swift, Thomas M. Kil
len, W. H. Day, J. D. Martin, E. S.
Wellons and others.
In 1868 Rev. B. F. Tharpe re
signed but after Rev. W. C. Wilk
es served one year, Rev. Tharpe
was called for another year.
Rev. J. H. Campbell served five
years until 1876 when the Rev.
Tharpe was again called.
After that time the following
pastors served:
Rev. A. L. Manning, 1883; G. T.
Stansberry, 1886-87; J. B. Brew
ton until 1893; C. K. Henderson,
1894-95; and in 1896 Rev. M. A.
Jenkins, from Waynesville, N. C.,
began his pastorate.
(The above is taken from a
sketch written on April 5, 1896,
by Mr. Thomas M. Killen, church
clerk at the time, and included in
the History of Houston County.)
CAROLINIANS
POURED INTO
NEW COUNTY
An entire colony of South Car
olinians settled in Houston county
in 1836 and it was said that in
the 1840 and 50s “Carolinians fair
ly poured into Houston.”
From North Carolina came
Jas. A. Everett, Dempsey Brown
and Jas. E. Duncan, progenitors
of many Houstonians, and David
Halliburton.
From South Carolina came
Samuel Felder, who filled a large
place in the religious and educa
tional activities of the county and
was one of its wealthiest men;
Major Joseph Palmer, Capt. F. M.
King, Judge S. D. Killen, John M.
Giles, Dr. P. B. D. H. Culler, Capt.
W. M. Davis, William Brunson,
Dr. C. H. Richardson, George S.
Riley, John J. Hampton, Capt.
John A. Houser and many others.
PERRY BAPTIST CHURCH several years ago constructed a large
tvo-story Sunday School annex on the rear of the graceful old
church building which has been the center of a great deal of religi
ous, family and civic history in the community. The Rev. James
M. Teresi is pastor.
County Baptists
Long Sought
Gospel Spread
T u e mission spirit was strong
in Houston county Baptists al
most from the start of the church
in this section, and they took the
lead in missionary, temperance
and Sunday School work, accord
ing to Dr. Walter M. Lee’s “His
torical Sketch of Houston County
Baptists.”
There was much dissension in
1837 when the Echeconnee Bap
tist Association declared Sunday
Schools, temperance societies, Bi
ble societies and education to be
“unsupported by divine revela
tion and therefore unscriptural
and anti-Christian.”
The Perry church and many
others in the county withdrew
from that association and formed
the Rehoboth association and
continued busy in missionary
work, founding new churches, or
ganizing Sunday Schools and
sending out missionaries and
preachers.
Early Missionary
Rev. Jared A. Dennard, stud
ied law in the Perry firm of Kel
ly & Rice but was ordained as a
minister and missionary, went to
Africa and died there of climatic
fever. The famous Rev. B. F.
Tharpe was ordained at Hayne
ville and organized the first Per
ry Baptist Sunday School in
1852.
Rev. A. J. Cheves, named after
the missionary Adoniram Judson,
was a religious leader in the
county. Prof. Henry Hudson spent
several years in the educations 1
development of vouth, among his
pupils being Rev. Henry Carr
Hornadm'. later pastor in Amer
icas and Atlanta.
Other Raut’st leaders were the
Rev. Kittrell Warren, father of
the celebrated Dr. L. B. Warren,
formerly of the Home Mission
Board forces; Elder John W.
Cooper, fa'her of Rev. George F.
Cooper; Rem John H. Clark, who
served churches in Macon. Dooly
Lee and Houston counties; and
Rev. Jes>e R. Horne who d’d pio
neer work in Houston, Pulaski
and Dooly.
“HAVE MET THE ENEMY
AND THEY ARE OURS”
“We have met the enemy and
they are ours—two ships, two
brigs, one schooner and one
“sloop” is the famous report of
Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry,
American naval hero for whom
Perry was named.
In the war of 1812, he built and
commanded the fleet which won
the celebrated Battle of Lake
Erie over the British, wresting
control of the lake
and establishing himself as one of
the chief heroes of American his
tory.
PERRY'S 3 CHURCHES
HELPED EACH OTHER
FROM BEGINNING
It is a significant fact that
Perry’s three churches, all well
over 100 years old, helped each
other to grow in good works.
The Methodist church was
founded first—and its first
Sunday School, organized by
Col. Howell Cobb, was called
Perry Union Sabbath School
and was attended by Baptists
and Presbyterians as well as
Methodists.
Then when the Baptist church
w’as organized, the Methodists
urged them to hold services in
the Methodist church until the
Baptists could build a meeting
place of their own.
This was done for several
months—and then, many years
later, when the Presbyterian
church was organized, its con
gregation met in the Baptist
church at the earnest invitation
of the Baptists, until the Pres
byterian church building was
erected.
Baptist Church
At Henderson
Founded 1829
Henderson Baptist churcli was
organized Aug. 17, 1839, “by a
superior type of farmers, cattle
men, slaveholders and slaves,” it
s recorded in an “Historical
Sketch of Houston County Bap
tists” by Dr. Walter M. Lee, pas
on of the First Baptist church
of Cochran in 1923.
Milton Tillinghast, a licensed
egro minister, was a member of
this church but when Negro
embers withdrew after the Civ
il War, he lived in Perry, was
highly esteemed by his white
brethren, says the historian, and
his labors among his race were
very fruitful.
The Henderson church grew
apidly up to the Civil War, with
66 members being added in one
evival under the ministry of
lew J. R. Horne. Membership
dropped to 44 after the removal
of the Negro constituency follow
ing the war.
After that, the historian says,
“Houston county Baptists set an
example for the entire state in
the concern which they felt for
the spiritual welfare of the ex
slaves. A solicitous supervision
was maintained by me white
churches over their late slaves
and they were taught both pub
licly and privately by pastors and
laymen how to manage and con
duct the affairs of the kingdom.
To have apples free of w'orms
and rot, follow a spray schedule.