“,,,
and you just don’t know what all I had to go through to
even be here today.”
As
though being shaken awake from a fitful dream, the pastor
caught those last few words from Mrs. Johnson. She had embarked
on one of her weekly soliloquies of woe and now waited for
affirmation from her spiritual leader. “Yes, sister, “ he
replied,” there is always sacrifice in serving our Lord.”
However, before he could point out that what she was experiencing
might not qualify as sacrifice she interrupted, “Yea, and
all who live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.”
Satisfied with her own affirmation of costly discipleship
evidenced by driving her new Oldsmobile a whole three miles
to church, Mrs. Johnson hurried out the door of the church
building with a wave and a smile.
Pastor
Wilkins had a very different emotion. He was not at all
pleased with his words or those of the satisfied saint now
on her way to a date with Sunday pot roast and the Green
Bay Packers. For some reason Brother Wilkins felt led earlier
that morning to walk through the church cemetery as he gathered
his thoughts for the day’s sermon. For almost one hundred
and seventy five years the saints and not-so-saintly had
been laid to rest on these grounds. There were the shiny
new marble tombstones of the recently departed.
There were also the weathered, white and black tinged reminders
of people whose names had long since been forgotten. Rich,
poor, free and slave all had been buried on that same piece
of real estate in a place called Simpson County, Mississippi.
As
the pastor walked through that place his mind whirred with
thought. His sermon that day was to be, “What mean these
stones?” He was prepared to tell his congregation of how
Israel was told to take stones from the bed of the parted
Jordan River and build an altar. When the next generation
asked, “What mean these stones?,” they were to recount how
God had brought them into the Promised Land. God warned
Moses years before that Israel would quickly forget their
spiritual heritage and would often need reminders of the
blessings of God and the faithfulness of their forefathers.
Now that the sermon had been preached, Brother
Wilkins thought of the morning. Mrs. Johnson wasn’t the
only fly in the ointment that day. First there had been
the argument that arose between the preacher’s kids and
mom over what clothes to wear that day. Then, only one faithful
man showed up for prayer time before Sunday School. Added
to that was his own nagging realization that maybe the pastor
didn’t understand fully himself what it meant to sacrifice
for Christ. So, instead of heading straight for the parsonage
John Wilkins found himself once again walking through those
silent reminders of the past. What would these stones of
remembrance say if they could speak? What stories of faith
and perseverance could they tell? What were these people
like who came to settle in Simpson County Mississippi and
found Baptist churches in the early 1800’s? How could this
young pastor get his own people too see that the present
is never disconnected from the past? How could he get them
to understand, “What means these stones?”
What
began as a whim turned into a
passion. Pastor Wilkins began to research the beginnings
of Baptist work in Simpson County. He gathered mounds of
paper which told sketchy stories of various pioneers of
the area. Now he could begin to tell the story of this people.
But where to start? Perhaps the story of Simpson Baptist
Association could begin like any other history. . It could
begin with names and dates - names like Josiah Simpson for
whom the county was named. Simpson was a former Pennsylvanian
and educated at Princeton. He later lived at Green Hill,
near Natchez, and became a territorial judge of Mississippi.
Then there would be names of people, names of churches,
things they did, things they said. And so on and so forth.
“No!, thought Wilkins, “there must be a better way to tell
this story. Let’s see maybe we should go back to where it
all began.
Chapter One:
The Story Begins
John
Guynes sat in the crowded pew of the Hebron Baptist Church
of Lawrence County and listened intently. Samuel B. Mullen,
the pastor of Sardis Baptist Church in Copiah county led
in prayer and then called the delegates to order. A roll
was called and a vote taken to form a new body to be named
the Strong River Baptist Association. It was a new body
but Guynes was not new to Baptist work. His church, like
the others gathered, was a long standing member of the Pearl
River Association, the second oldest Baptists association
in the state of Mississippi. This was truly a great day
for these 17 churches spread out over four counties. There
were over 600 Baptists believers in theses little fellowships
separated by miles of vast forest land but connected by
a common desire to see the Kingdom of God built up in their
state.
As reports were given, John couldn’t help be find his
mind wandering to other events in the Guynes family. News
had come of a new addition to their family on the edge
of Simpson and Copiah counties. A baby girl by the name
of Matilda had been born. Little did he know that Matilda,
like many women in her day, would die young. Matilda later
married John A. Barlow of Harrisville and left this earth
at the premature age of 24. Even in 1853 life was still
hard for the people of Simpson, Copiah, Lawrence and Rankin
counties. Money was scarce, travel was arduous and it
was still very much a young land.
Those first delegates were still of
the era that could remember the stories of their
fathers and how they traveled to a place called Mississippi.
When Matilda Guynes married John A. Barlow she married
into a family that could trace their roots back as far
as Sir Walter Raleigh. More importantly John’s forefather,
another John Barlow had been one of the first to make
the journey to central and southern Mississippi from northern
Georgia. So that is who will tell our story of how Baptists
found themselves in a place called Simpson County Mississippi
…
… John and Lydia Barlow had made up their minds. It was time to move
on to a new place. Wilkinson County Georgia with all of
its charm did not hold the appeal of a new frontier called
The Mississippi Territory. Land grants were being offered
in the vast area still under the general control of the
Governor of Georgia. Great tracts of virgin timberland awaited
those who were either foresighted enough or foolhardy enough
to make the journey. New Orleans, Baton Rogue and Natchez
all had been settled for some time but the interior country
of central and southern Mississippi was for the most part
uninhabited.
1811
interior Mississippi was uninhabited by the white man but
not by Native Americans. Great Native American nations existed
throughout the region between North Carolina and Mississippi.
The French had left the once proud nation of the Natchez
all but extinct but the Creek, Cherokee, and Choctaw still
ruled vast stretches of this virgin land. Just two years
later in 1813 the Creek Nation rose up against the inhabitants
at Fort Mims in southern Alabama and massacred nearly all
of the 550 people that had sought protection there. Though
there were few other such attacks a general panic enveloped
the citizens of the southern portion of the Mississippi
Territory. Rumors abounded of scalped men and abducted women.
Because
of the hostile territory between them and their promised
land of Mississippi, John and Lydia had to apply for a passport
from the Governor of Georgia before they could embark on
their journey. Finally the passport was signed by Governor Mitchell
on February 9, 1810 and in 1811 John and Lydia Barlow, their
children, several in-laws and seven inherited slaves headed
off for a new land. They carried with them the dreams of
every American pioneer, the faith of solid Baptists from
the Charleston tradition, and the hopes of a new place on
which to pin their family heritage. They also carried with
them unresolved issues which the Baptists of Simpson and
other counties in Mississippi would have to address sooner
or later. The “Indian Problem” as some called it was not
to go away quickly nor was it always dealt with in a Christlike
manner. Strong River Association had to address how to handle
the then vanquished remnants of those same Indian nations
early in its history. While Negroes were members of those
first churches, they were members as slaves not as freedmen.
That too would have to be dealt with somehow. But back to
our story.
Getting
from Northern Georgia to Mississippi in 1811 was no easy
matter. The United States of America was only 35 years old
and road systems to the West and South were almost non-existent.
To lead a family on such a trip was considered difficult
by all and insane by many. But neither Indians nor hardship
could hold back these adventurous folk. John, Lydia and
their little band loaded all that they owned and along with
other travelers gathered in the Pee Dee River Area. Located
in what is now Florence, South Carolina, the Pee Dee was
to people headed from the East Coast what St. Louis was
for those were headed further West. A few years earlier
and the Pee Dee would have been no place to bring a family,
even if it was for just a short stay. This was a place which
for years had been a very remote area; isolated from the
influence of church and state. Crime was rampant. Lack of
schools were a problem also. It was written at the time,
that the "lack of education led to idle, immoral lives-
follow hunting, shooting, racing, drinking, gaming, and
every aspect of wickedness, more rude in manners than the
savages around us". Fortunately some Welch Baptists
moved into area in 1738 and formed the Welch Neck Baptist
Church which had mothered the Ebenezer Baptist Church by
the time the Barlows came into town. Perhaps their family
worshiped at Ebenezer before embarking on their great adventure.
From there it was a 200 mile trip by pack mule to the
Houston River in Northeastern Tennessee. At that point
the settlers made their way South on the Warrior’s Path
and then the Wilderness Road ending at Kingsport, Tennessee.
By now they had taken weeks to travel a distance which
can be traveled in five hours by car today. Once at 
Kingsport
it was time to build a flatboat and float the family and
belongings down the Tennessee River near Knoxville. John’s
brow was furrowed as he sat quietly, studying the river
journey that lay ahead of them. This was the most dangerous
time of their lives. Indian attacks were common against
the flatboats. Lydia would steer the boat over the coming
days while John and the other men in their group watched
for and often fought off small bands of Creeks and Cherokees.
But all danger aside, they loaded up everything they owned
on the hastily built flatboat. Methodist Circuit Rider
Timothy Flint recalled that it was "no uncommon spectacle
to see a large family, old and young, servants, cattle,
hogs [on flatboats] ... bringing to recollection the cargo
of the ancient ark." These boats could range anywhere
from 20 to 100 feet long and really did have a resemblance
to the Ark of old. Though rough and sometimes crude, the
flatboats were the trains of their day. Children, rough
furniture, cows, pigs and chickens were all loaded aboard
and again the Barlows and Baptists were on their way to
Mississippi.
Following the Tennessee River they reached
the Ohio River at Paducah, Kentucky and from the Ohio
they finally entered the mighty Mississippi River. Moving
at whatever pace Big Muddy chose to take them the Barlow
clan floated past towns such as Memphis, Vicksburg, and
then Natchez. Past the dangers of Indians they now faced
the peril of robbers of the white variety. One such robber,
feared by all on the way, was Joseph Thompson Hare. Hare
had committed crimes everywhere from New York City to
New Orleans. While hiding out near Natchez, Hare wrote,
"Let not any one be induced to turn highwayman by
reading this book and seeing the great sums of money I
have robbed, for it is a desperate life, full of danger,
and sooner or later ends at the gallows." Indeed
his life did end at the gallows in 1818. God’s providence
smiled on the Barlows and protected them from such men.
So John and Lydia along with a number of other
settlers continued down the Mississippi River until they
reached the Homochitto River of South Mississippi. By
now the Barlows had traveled 1700 miles by wagon, mule,
foot, and water. They had faced Indians, yellow fever,
flooded rivers, hunger and isolation. It had taken eleven
months of perseverance and faith. But at last, they were
home.
There was still much to do after arriving
in their new land. Some of those great forests had to
be cut down to build homes. Wild game was abundant as
were fish from the rivers. Unlike the Creeks, the Choctaw
Indians of Mississippi were for the most part friendly.
The Choctaws contributed greatly to the success of the
migrating folk from the Eastern Seaboard. Their trails
became the first roads used by white 
men.
While most of the Choctaws had moved further north in
Mississippi by 1824, Westville was still seen as a major
crossroads for Indian trails. . The great chief Pushmataha
was made Chief of the Choctaw Nation in 1812. Pushmataha
was greatly admired by then General Andrew Jackson and
was buried in the Congressional Cemetery in Washington
with honors at his death. Thus the Choctaws posed no problem
for these arrivals to the Mississippi Territory. But other
dangers lurked around the bend and in the heart.
Somehow
John ended up settling in what is now Perry County where
he soon became a constable. Life was good in the new land
but as always man carries not only his dreams but his nightmares.
For deep and bitter reasons John and Lydia were divorced
in 1827. After surviving all the rigors of a pioneer journey
they had fallen to that most deadly of enemies, the human
heart. John died two years later of yellow fever and was
buried near Natchez. Lydia and the children ended up in
Simpson County.
It
would be easy to forget, for those raised on Roy Rodgers
and John Wayne, that in the early 1800’s it was Mississippi
that was called the great Southwest and not Arizona. Dodge
City out in Kansas was still a dream when Westville in central
Simpson County had already become somewhat notorious as
a place for hard drinking and sometimes hard fighting. The
people who found their way to Mississippi were for the most
part hard-working farmers whose parents and grandparents
had come to America from Scotland, Ireland and England.
The majority were of Scotch-Irish descent and they brought
with them the characteristics of Highlanders. "Every
man did what was right in his own eyes, but in spite of
a general recklessness, there was a rough code of honor
and honesty which was rarely broken. The settlers lived
a life of great toil and many privations …"
As
in most areas, water was as important if not more so than
any other consideration in deciding where to settle. Among
others, James Briggs, James McDuff, and James Powell planted
their lives and fortunes at Vaughn’s Creek in Southeastern
Simpson County. These three James’ all became influential
leaders in the early years of the county. Briggs was later
elected sheriff, McDuff built the first mill at Vaughn’s
Creek and Powell was pastor of Strong River Baptist Church
for a number of years.
Down
in the Southwestern corner of Simpson County on the Lawrence
County Line settled the Murrays, Walkers, Boggans, Weathersbys,
Fortenberrys, Shivers, and Tolers. No three families played
a greater role in the early growth of Baptist that than
the Murrays, Walkers and Tolers. People to this day who
live in Simpson County know exaclty where Boggan Ridge is.
Though it has lost its charter, thousands of cars pass Weathersby
every single day on US 49.
In the
South Central part of Simpson County was Good Water Creek.
Many settled in the genereal area but none so remembered
as Phillip Magee. About five miles from Westville another
community formed near the Strong River. Among those first
settlers were David
Bishop, John Phillips, L.G. Gibson, Alex McNair, and Nathan
Bush. Strong River Church became the first Baptist Church
organized inside the county of Simpson in 1827.
Bethlehem Church, formerly called Fork and founded
over in Copiah County was nearby in the Union community.
To the Northeast of Simpson County people settled in what
became known as Pearl, named after the river upon whose
banks they settled. All the way across the county was Bouie Creek
where Mt. Zion Church was moved from Covington County.
Sometimes, history
is forged as much by seeming accidents as intentional plans.
Early in the Spring of 1829 settlers in four ox-drawn wagons
were traveling together toward the "Big Road"
on their way to Natchez. When these hardy souls got to Limestone
Creek it had overflowed the banks leaving no way of crossing.
These four families made camp, planted crops and before
long had decided to just put down stakes where Providence
had led then. Before long there were Buckleys, Barlows,
Bridges, Harris’s, Mahaffeys, Guynes, Neelys, Berrys, Keens,
Tuckers and many others in what came to be called Harrisville.
Thus
did Baptists arrive in Simpson, Lawrence, Copiah, and Rankin
counties of Mississippi. Some came like the Barlows. Others
traveled down the Natchez Trace. Still others came by way
of Mobile. There
were mountain people, Scottish Highlanders, and the descendents
of English aristocrats. They all came for the fresh water
and abundant timber. They came with their hopes, their dreams,
their faith and their churches. They also came with their
fears, their failings and their sins. After all, that is
why there is a church. Sheep need a fold and a shepherd
and there were now sheep in Simpson County.
