Pilgrims Rest Baptist Church

A History

Typed for internet by Janie Dillon, Asheville NC

Pilgrims Rest Church Cemetery

Surveyed and Typed by Barbara Toole, Cottondale, FL

To get more information on Pilgrims Rest Church e-mail bjtoole@digitalexp.com
Barbara and Leroy Toole, Cottondale, Fl.

On June 17, 1987, the Pilgrim Rest congregation authorized G. B. Harvell, Jr. and J. C. Johnston to write a history of the church. This is a compilation of two histories, the first edition, covering the period 1925-1987 which was published in 1987, the second edition covering the period 1881-1925.

Al though tradition has Pilgrim Rest as being established in 1845 there is no mention of it in any of the following Associations. The Suwannee Association, organized in 1835, later changed to Suwannee River Primitive Baptist Assoc. in 1845, or the Florida Association, which covered the area east of the Apalachicola River. In 1881 the first mention of Pilgrim Rest in made when it petitioned to join the West Florida Baptist Association, which covered the area west of the Apalachicola River. The church was found to be orthodox and admitted. Delegates were John Parrish and John Shouppe. The Pastor was D. A. Skipper and the clerk was J. J. Bailey of Campbellton. Membership was 21. Twenty five cents was given for minutes and 75 cents to the Association.

Nov. 24, 1905 Pilgrim Rest united with the newly organized Bethel Assoc. J. W. Johnson was pastor, messengers were R. L. Deese, J. J. Jiles and John Parrish. Membership was 79. Pilgrim Rest left Bethel Assoc. October 23, 1925 to join the newly organized Jackson County Assoc. which was renamed the Chipola Baptist Assoc. in 1946. J. W. Kent was the Pastor. Messengers were W. A. Bruner and wife, J. Archie Campbell and wife Saluna Campbell. Membership was 68.

Unfortunately, all records are missing prior to 1943. A handwritten notation on one of the church property deeds reads "organized 1845 on creek west of Underwood Crossroads." Property records at the Jackson County Courthouse reveal that the land on which the Lovewood Free Will Baptist Church now stand was originally granted to John W. Underwood in 1858. Thus, it can be assumed the Pilgrim Rest was first organized west of the present Lovewood Free Will Baptist Church and Drummonds Cross roads near Little Alligator Creek on County Rd. 164, once referred to as the Cera Gorda to Marianna Rd.

An article in the Graceville News around 1970 written by Frances Walker states that " the church was organized in 1845 in a "brush arbor" in a place called Alligator Creek.:" It stayed there a few years and moved to a new site in the Lovewood Community. After a few more years they sold the building to the Free Will Baptists and moved to the present location in the Glass Community just off Highway 169 between Graceville and Cottondale. The land was deeded to the Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church of the West Florida Baptist Assoc. by J. C. and Sallie Glass on January 1, 1897. The road by the property was then known as the Orange Hill to Campbellton road. The road in now called Woodrest Road.

One-half acre of the property was deeded to the Jackson County Board of Public Instruction on July 17, 1899. J. D. Shouppe and Calvin Toole signed the deed for the church. An additional one-half acre was deed to the School Board on Sept. 4, 1928. The School was known as the Pilgrim Rest Public School and stood approximately where the pastorium now stands across the road from the meeting house.

Church members George Carter, Wallace Campbell, Pruitt Glass and other can remember attending the school. Mrs. Margie Justice was teacher there when her younger sister Lucy Shouppe Harvell attended.

The school was closed in 1950 and the building moved to the Cottondale School for a lunch room, and the one-acre was deeded back to the church on Oct. 24, 1950.

(The old wood church was replaced by the present building in the early years of 1950. That building had no Sunday School rooms. It was heated by a wood heater. Each Sunday School class was held in a differant section of the church, but all were in the same room.(sactuary) Barbara Toole)

Ministers
Name	Date		Name	Date
D. A. Skipper	1881		C. E. Patrick	1941
Robert Harris	1883		C. B. Martin	1942
J. W. Johnson	1885		D. Archie Johnson	1943
John M. Long	1886		Charles Temples	1947
J. F. D. Richter	1889		W. Taylor	1950
Sam Williford	1895		Earl Deese	1953
W. M. Sapp	1896		R. S. Land	1955
S. W. Locke	1897		J. T. Hagler	1958
R. W. Lewis	1899		L. P. Myers	1959
M. P. Gillimore	1900		Willard Bowman	1961
J. D. Courtney	1901		J. W. Ellison	1964
W. H. McIntosh	1904		Clay E. Edmondson	1965
A. B. Wombel	1908		Pamer, Shelby	1968
J. M. Land	1911		Eugene Broome	1969
L..N. Jones	1918		H. V. Douglas	1971
Fred Hawk	1919		LeRoy Lewis	1974
J. W. Land	1927		H. E. Nichols(Int.)	1975
J. W. Kent	1925		Jerry Davidson	1975
E. S. Lester	1928		J. W. Lee (Int.)	1976
A. D. Halstead	1930		Dean Gatch	1977
E. E. Henry	1933		W. N. Snipes	1979
C. E. Nelson	1938		Davis Black	1982
Robert Middleton	1940		J. C. Johnston (Int.)	1991
Highest number of Baptisms in a Year
Name	Year	#	Name	Year	#
S. W. Locke	1897	22	J. M. Land	1911	33
M. P. Gillimore	1900	22	W. Bowman	1962	45

Church membership was 21 in 1881, 161 in 1911 and 194 in 1974 Present membership is 85 resident and 74 non-resident.

Deacons
Calvin Toole		Vernon Fred Thompson		Nov. 1953
J. N. Parish		Willis Christmas		Nov. 1953
W. R. Bruner		Paul Martin		Sep. 1962
J. B. Toole		R. C. Miles		Sep. 1962
J. A. Toole		Carl Yon		Sep. 1962
Pete Toole		Pruitt Glass		Oct. 1963
John Jones		Jack Sosby		Oct. 1963
R. C. Miller		Columbus Justice		Oct. 1963
Archie Campbell		Harry Chuites		Sep. 1966
T. V. Toole	Sep. 1943	G. B. Harvell		Nov. 1971
Henry Kittrell	Nov. 1945	Hoyt Andrews		Mar. 1980
Allen Carter	Nov. 1945	Elliot Hill(Yokefellow)
George Carter	Nov. 1953
Leon Myers	Nov. 1953	Yearly rotation of Chairman began in Oct. 1966
Bud Christmas	Nov. 1943

Women's Work in The Church

In the beginning, Churches were governed by its white male members; but the "sisters" were allowed to vote in the selection of a pastor, in appointment of delegates to the Assoc. and in the reception and exclusions of members.

Male and female members at times sat on opposite sides of the sanctuary. Pilgrim Rest records showed separate membership rolls for males and females from 1896 through 1901.

The first women's work in the State of Florida began in 1825 by the Campbellton Bapt. Ch. when the first Women's Missionary Society (WMS) was organized. in 1894, Women's work became fully autonomous and the name changed to Women's Missionary Union (WMU). The WMU also included the Girl's Auxiliary (GA's),

Sunbeams and for the boys Royal Ambassadors (RA's) Credit for stewardship habits must be fiven to these women.

Their main function was:
1.To collect money for missions
2. To encourage young people to give their lives to missions
3. To give direct support to mission projects such as the Lottie Moon Christmas offering for Foreign Missions and the Annie Armstrong Easter offering for Home Missions.

The Earliest mention of any women's work at Pilgrim Rest was in 1929. Then in 1939. There was no mention again until 1962. In 1963 the enrollment for WMS was 16 and GA's was 34. The GA activities continues until 1982.

Pilgrim Rest Women who have served as WMU directors.
Mrs. J. A. Toole	1929
Mrs. A. A. Cawthorn	1939
Mrs. Minnie Brige	1962-64
Mrs. Columbus Justice	1965-70, 1986
Mrs. Vaughn Douglas	1971-73
Mrs. Pruitt Glass	1974-80
Mrs. Joyce Sabastine	1975-77
Mrs. Juanita Gatch	1978
Mrs. Margaret Chuites	1980-85
Mrs. Hoyt Andrews	1981-83
Mrs. Eva Perrine	1984
Mrs. Mildred Thompson	1987
Mrs. Davis Black	1988, 89
Mrs. G. B. (Lucy) Harvell	1990-91

Brotherhood

The Brotherhood movement began in 1926. During the depression years it was dropped. In 1946 the Brotherhood Department of the Florida Bapt. Convention was formed. The Royal Ambassadors were transfered from the WMU to the Brotherhood in 1954. The first Brotherhood in Pilgrim Rest was 1962.
A RA Chapter was also organized.

Brotherhood leaders
Douglas Birge	1962-64, 67
George Goodwin	1965-66
J. D. Alexander	1968
M. C. Justice	1969
R. C. Miles	1970-72
Earnest Sabastine	1974
James Shirley	1980-82
The Brotherhood and RA organizations are dropped in 1983.

Music

A piano was purchased in 1955. One was given to the Church by Mr. and Mrs. Clifford H. Alford. Seventy-five mew Baptist Hymnals (blue Cover) were purchaed in March 1966 with each family buying one book for each member of the family.

In 1966 the church began observing the fifth Sunday night as a time for singing.

In 1981, new Baptist Hymnals (red cover) were purchasedd. In 1983, a new piano was purchased at a cost of $1,500. Several different song books have also been purchased for the choir.

Song leaders have been, Jim PILCHER,Jesse TOOLE, Erasumus SHOUPPE, and Pruitt GLASS who has served since 1960.

Piano players have been, Mrs. Jesse TOLLE, Miss Pearl TOOL, Mrs. Geraldine BRUNER, Jeniffer MILES, Sonya HARVELL JOHNSON, Mrs. VINSON, Beth TOOLE, Robbie FLEMING, Mrs. HOYT (Be ) (Note: the next letter looks like a 2 but could be an a) ANDREWS, Mrs. Fred (Mildred) THOMPSON, Rachael GATCH, Anita WHITE and presently, Mrs. David (Marie) REGISTER.

Dec. 8, 1976, Dr. J. W. Lee (interim pastor) asked to be given permission to represent Pilgrim Rest in observance of the Lord's Supper at the Tomb in the Holy Land. Approved.

Pilgrim Rest observes the Lord's Supper the first Sunday night of each quarter.

The present communion table was givent o the church in memory J. D. (Doc) Shouppe.

Missions

Pilgrim Rest has always been a mission-minded church. It supports the Southern Baptist Cooperative Program. The first gift in the amount of $5.75 was given in 1931 In 1945, total mission gifts amounted to $271.64. In 1966, $450.00 went to the Coop. Program; $87.00 to Home Missions, $36.00 to Foreign Missions and $42.00 to the Chipola Assoc. In 1984, the Coop. Program gift was $1,300.00, $367 to the Assoc., $105 to the Florida State Convention, $311 to Foreign Missions and $783.00 to other causes making a total of $2,173 gifts to mission that year.

During Dec. of each year the church takes up a Lottie Moon Christmas offering for Foreign Missions and a Annie Armstrong Easter offering for Home Missions.

An offering is also taken on Mother's Day for the Children's Home. $175.00 was given in 1991. Birthday monies are also given.

Pilgrim Rest presently gives 10% of all undesignated offerings to the Coop. Program and 3% to the Chipola Assoc.

Typed for internet by Janie Dillon, Asheville NC
To get more information on Pilgrims Rest Church e-mail Barbara and Leroy Toole, Cottondale, Fl.

You are our  3231 Visitor -- thanks for stopping by!

Return to Jackson County FLGenWeb Project Web Site

This page designed and
created by BettyJames Smith
5 Jan 1999