Miscellaneous Notes

History of Mitchell Baptist Church

Submitted by Linda Goetz. Linda writes that her grandfather, Rev. Robert Harper Dudley, one of the pastors of this church wrote a pamplet on the history of the church in 1913 before he attended the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1916. It names some of the residents of Glascock County during this time frame.

HISTORY OF MITCHELL BAPTIST CHURCH by: Rev. Robert Harper Dudley, Sr.

There were two main reasons why Mitchell Church was organized: First, a new railroad had come through the country, and the town of Mitchell was begun. Some of the wealthiest and most progressive members of Friendship owned the land, or much of the land, in and around the town; these, like all good business people, knew that the value of their property would be greatly enhanced if a church were organized and a good house of worship erected. They saw that their temporal interests would be centered there, and they wisely decided to let their spiritual interests center there also.

Second, there were many members of Friendship who were opposed to progress, and who were unwilling for the more progressive members to move out of the old routes of comparative idleness. Here was a chance for greater freedom, and wider fields of usefulness; and twenty-six of the more progressive members seized upon the opportunity to organize a church at Mitchell.

Organization.

It was the good fortune of these members to secure one of the most desirable presbyteries obtainable, in the late and dearly beloved Dr. B. H. Ivey, Rev. P. G. Veazy, and Dr. A. Chamblee who met them at Friendship Church, Saturday, June the seventh, 1901, and organized Mitchell Baptist Church. A majority of the charter members are still with us and they have the welfare of their church still at heart.

Our House of worship.

It is to the late Dr. B. H. Ivey that our people are mostly indebted for our present house of worship, for tit was he who drew the plan of the building; and his own hands wrought with the workmen, thus inspiring and encouraging the work. We of the membership who knew him, seem often to feel the presence of his spirit as we sit together in the church-house worshipping God.. The work on the building was begun, July the ninth, 1901.

First Regular Conference.

The first regular conference was held August 1,.

First Messengers to Association,

The first regular messengers to the Association were elected September 6, 1901, and they were, C. E. Snider, Dr. B. B. Kitchens, A. M., and E. E. Kitchens. Brother C. E. Snider has been an elected messenger ever since, and has served as treasurer of the Association for several sessions, with business ability.

First Sunday School.

On September 22, 1901, A. M. Kitchens was elected superintendent of the Sabbath School, and he served faithfully and efficiently for several years.

First W. M. S.

With the organization of our S. S., came the organization of the first W. M. S., of which Mrs. Mollie Nunn was chosen president.

Our Pastor.

We are glad to record the name of Dr. B. H. Ivey as that of our first pastor. Never has a Georgia Baptist Church had a better pastor than Dr. Ivey. He has left us an abiding admiration for brevity; liberality, and punctuality. We began with a model pastor.

From our second pastor, A. D. Kendrick, we were recipients of lessons of energy in business and variety in method.

Those who enjoyed the happy privilege of knowing our third pastor, the late and lamented A. J. Murphey, can not easily forget his sweetness of spirit, and his keen insight into the Scriptures. It was a very sad day for our little church when the Angel of Death bore him from earth to Heaven. So hard was it to find one like him that we were several months in choosing his successor: but we found him at last in R. M. Rigdon of Mercer University. At no other period of our history has our church grown so in number as it has during his ministry.

Though he is with us now, we were forced to give him up so that he could finish his seminary course.

God was with us again in our choice of a pastor, for we secured the services of Rev. H. P. Beob, and in him we found a deep and fearless preacher of the word. His splendid voice for singing was of great service in his pastoral work. His successor was Rev. N. W. Cox, and no preacher in the state has a better memory. He stood firmly by his convictions, and battled valiantly for the right.

After his resignation we had to secure supply work till the first of June last: then Brother Rigdon began his present pastoral work.

He is receiving a larger salary that we ever before paid a pastor, but we are well able to pay a man for two Sundays.

Our present Needs.

Our town has outgrown the seating capacity of our church, so we need more room. Our wealth has outgrown our investments in the King s business, so we need more generosity. We have much hidden strength and talent among us, so we need more consecration. We have unpraised heroes in our midst who would be cheered and inspired by a sincere word of commendation, so we need more encouragement. And we need more love.

Disaster.

There is only one disaster to our church-house that we have to record, and that is the slight damage done by a stroke of lightning, this Summer. Dedication.

The dedication of our Meeting-House took place Sunday, May 31, 1902.

Gatherings entertained.

It has been the pleasure of our church to entertain our Association, our S. S. Convention, our General Meeting, and our W. B. M. U., and Sunbeams.

Flashes.

Brother C. E. Snider gave one fifth of the first salary paid our first pastor, and his gifts have been proportionately as large ever since.

Dr. B. B. Kitchens has given as much privately as Brother S. has publicly. This was done in charity practice and is not generally known.

Written October 18, 1913.

This unique gravesite resides in the Euphrates Baptist Church Cemetery near Edge Hill.is The headstone reads "Wiltshire, Pioneer, Father of Georgia." The grave itself has appearance of a natural rock outcropping. Several layers of irregular slagstone extend the full length of the grave and are 3 to 4-inches thick, and 3 to 4 feet wide, lying one over top of the other. The way they jutt out of the ground gave them a natural appearance, very much like a rock outcropping of overlying slabs. Nothing similar exist elsewhere in cemetery so it is assumed someone hauled the slabs of stone to the site and place them on the grave to preserve the it.

Most of the graves in the immediate vicinity of the Wiltshire grave were name Wilcher. This led me to believe that the name Wiltshire had been shortened to Wilcher, and that all of the graves were of the same family, given their close proximity. Something to think about, I believe.

An email from Sandy Wyman at Email: DixonDesc@aol.com on Sun, 26 Sep 1999, provides insightful information on the Wiltshire gravesite: She writes " I read about your having found the grave site of Wiltshire and your statement about Wiltshire possibly becoming Wilcher. You were right Wiltshire does = Wilcher. I am a descendant of Mary Wilcher & Richard Walden of Warren Co. Mary was the d/o Jeremiah Wilcher, Sr. Their son Amos Walden is my ancestor."

Additional, helpful information on the subject came from James H. Newsome" who lives in Warren County, a neighboring County to Glascock County. James wrote"

"Glascock County was formed out of Warren County so our histories are interrelated. Actually, most of Glascock County's early history is that of Warren County. Having researched my family's history for many years, I find it is almost impossible to separate the two.

I found your mention of Jeremiah Wilcher to be interesting because little attention is given to local history. I do not consider myself to be a Wilcher/Wilsher/Wilshire researcher at this time, even though I am a direct descendant of Jeremiah, Sr. My primary interest has been the Newsome family, which keeps me quite busy, but I will attempt to enlighten you about the Wilshires.

Jeremiah H. Wilshire was born before 1776 and is believed to come from Virginia. He married Jinny ? and the couple had five children. The name was shortened to Wilcher about this time. Much of the land around the Euphrates Church area of then Warren County was originally deeded to this family.

The most notable of the children was Jeremiah H. Wilcher, Jr. He was: Justice of the Peace in Warren County, Georgia from September 11, 1820 to 1831; a member of the Justice of the Inferior Courts in Taylor County, Georgia from February 7, 1852 to January 8, 1853; Justice of Glascock County, Georgia from 1858 to 1860; member of the Senate of the State of Georgia in 1858.

Jeremiah and Ruth Braddy Wilcher had seven children. Of these was William J. Wilcher, born March 22, 1822. He graduated from Law School in Sandersville, Georgia. While serving in the Georgia Legislature in 1875, William J. Wilcher, through a friend of his who was serving in the Legislature from Cartersville, Georgia, met and married Sallie Madison Wilsher of Amherst County, Virginia, born October 31, 1840. Sallie was the daughter of Lawson G. Wilsher and Pamelia M. Gooch from Virginia.

An item of interest is that Sallie was a descendant of the Madison family of Virginia. President James Madison was either her great-uncle or great-great-uncle. Sallie was a school teacher at Cartersville, Georgia. After the marriage, William J. and Sallie Madison (Wilsher) Wilcher moved to a plantation near a place called "The Skillet," and she later named it Edgehill. This community is still known as Edgehill, Georgia.

Brothers of Sallie Madison Wilsher: Robert C. Wilsher, in 1863 went into active service as a member of Company G, 51st Virginia Infantry, captured at Waynesboro and held prisoner at Fort Delaware; Stafford K. served in Company I, 19th Virginia Infantry, and was wounded at Gettysburg; William P. served in Company I, 19th Virginia Infantry; Charles T. served in Company I, 19th Virginia Infantry; James L. died of typhoid fever, Army Camp - Texas.

Sallie Wilcher taught school at Edgehill and died March 2, 1908 in the school room while school was in session. She is buried in Pleasant Grove Cemetery in Avera, Georgia. William J. Wilcher died June 23, 1904, and is buried in Euphrates Church Cemetery.

The union of William J. and Sallie Wilsher Wilcher produced four children. The youngest of these was my grandmother Dramantha Ruth Wilcher, known as "Baber," who was born on July 20, 1882. Baber married my grandfather Charlie Nathaniel Newsome on November 17, 1907.

Although this is only a brief history of the Wilcher family of Glascock County, it puts a story with the grave and headstone of Jeremiah H. Wiltshire " Pioneer, Father of Georgia." Many Wilchers and descendants of this family still live in Glascock County and surrounding area. "

Submitted by Olivia Saffold

The following was taken from Souvenir Program of Centennial of Glascock County, Georgia, 1857-1957, October 27-31, 1957. It is not considered to be copyrighted material. However, if someone knows different. please let us know and we will remove it immediately:

Submitted by Olivia Saffold

 


Obituary for Judge Kent, a grandson of Thomas Kent and wife, Jerusha Bryant, of Warren and Glascock Counties.  Olivia





 


        "(SAVANNAH MORNING NEWS, Tuesday, November 22, 1949)


                 JUDGE W.B. KENT DIES AT SARDIS


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                      LAST RITES WEDNESDAY


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                     Prominent Montgomery Co.


                      Jurist Succumbs at 79"

Survivors include his wife, Mrs. William B. Kent, Sr., of Alamo; one daughter, Mrs. W.W. Hillis of Sardis; one son, William B. Kent, Jr., of Alamo; two grandchildren, Mrs. A.P. Sherrill of Walnut Hill, Fla., and Wyecliffe Hillis, Augusta, and one great-grandson, Alan Sherrill, Jr.

The Judge was the last of a family of nine to survive. He was a former judge and solicitor of city court of Montgomery County. He represented both Montgomery and Wheeler County in the General Assembly and introduced the bill creating Wheeler County. He was the first Ordinary of Wheeler County.

Judge Kent received two degrees from the University of Georgia in 1897. He was also an alumnus of Mercer University. He was captain of the Georgia championship football team of 1897 and was captain of the team when Richard Von Gammon, the famous Georgia quarterback, was killed playing against the University of North Carolina. After this a bill was introduced and passed in both houses outlawing football in the state of Georgia.

Judge Kent and Mrs. Von Gammon, Richard's mother, were instrumental in having the governor veto this measure--therefore he earned the title of having helped save football in the state of Georgia.

He was grandmarshal of the Masons of Georgia and was also a trustee of the Masonic Hall for several years. He was a Shriner and held 25 and 50 year medals from his Masonic Lodge." -- Source: SAVANNAH MORNING NEWS, Tuesday, November 22, 1949

Bastonville School, located in the community of Bastonville, GA., is in total ruins today but at one time was a beautiful brick building schoolhouse. The first Bastonville School was built on land that Fannie Irene Sturgis and Mattie Barksdale donated to the Glascock County Board of Education on October 20, 1919. Mrs. Martha Silas of Gibson GA taught in the second school that was built in 1938-1939 as a first year teacher. It was built on land deeded to the Board of Education by Mrs. Lillie Mae McNair. That school burned in March 1941 and was rebuilt and reopened in 1943 at the same site.

If anyone has any additional information, or a photograph of, the Bastonville School, please contact Ray Thigpen. We are desparately seeking any photographs of either school. We are writing the history of the Bastonville School and could really use some photographs. Any items provided, will be scanned and then the originals returned to its owner.

We have tentatively scheduled a Bastonville School Reunion on June 22, 3pm at Purvis School, Warren County, GA. Please inquire for additional details and for registration (no charge for attendance at the Reunion; but we may pass the hat to cover some expenses).