Look To Heaven

By, Ann Marie Scott

 

            According to Harold G. Sanders in his introduction to the book, Baptists in Kentucky: 1776-1976, editedby Leo Taylor Crismon, “They came preaching—those freedom-loving, rugged pioneers from Virginia who explored and evangelized the Territory of Kentucky in the last half of the eighteenth century. Generally uneducated…they were convinced of their God and His mission. They shaped the character of the Wilderness Road and the Bluegrass, built their homes, churches and schools, leaving a legacy of freedom which we enjoy today.”

            In 1780 after the founding of the new nation in 1776, early Baptists came into Kentucky—first through the Cumberland Gap from Virginia and North Carolina and later down the Ohio River from Pennsylvania and Maryland. The first three preachers to enter the area were Squire Boone (1769), and shortly afterwards, Thomas Tinsley and William Hickman. Additional preachers soon followed. All were uneducated and according to Frank S. Mead, an eighteenth century writer, quoted in the above mentioned book, “ No spot was too hard to reach, no town too tough to tackle. Was there drinking and carousing, fighting, gambling, killing, horse-stealing or horse racing? He fought it…. He stood for law and order if he had to stand alone…. When he dropped on the Wilderness Trail, the churches he’d left behind him carried on.”

            Daniel Boone’s brother, Squire Boone, accompanied Daniel on an expedition into Kentucky Territory as early as 1769. Baptist written history states that William Hickman recorded that he learned to preach from Thomas Tinsley in Kentucky Territory, and he (Hickman) preached his first sermon in Harrodsburg in the spring of 1776. It is recorded that Squire Boone had been in Louisville and in Meade County prior to 1776. Squire Boone is the first to have performed a Baptist wedding when the wedding of Samuel Henderson and Elizabeth Callaway took place on August 7, 1776, in Boonesboro.

            Frank M. Masters in his book, A History of Baptists in Kentucky, states that in 1779 Squire Boone moved his family down the Kentucky and Ohio River to Louisville where he “…purchased some lots and erected a cabin at the mouth of Beargrass Creek.” Squire Boone is said to have preached the first Baptist sermon in Louisville. Squire was a politician and statesman; he was a member of the first Kentucky Convention held in Danville, December 27, 1784. Boone helped lead the delegation seeking separation from Virginia.

            Two years after Squire Boone’s first recorded sermon in Louisville, the first Baptist church in Kentucky was organized at Severns Valley (now Elizabethtown) on June 18, 1781. This was followed on July 4, 1781, by Cedar Creek Church (Nelson County) and on the second Sunday in December 1781, the Gilbert’s Creek Baptist Church near Lexington. Both Severns Valley and Cedar Creek are still in operation today. The third Church, Gilbert’s Creek, was a transplant from Upper Spotsylvania, Virginia. Pastor Lewis Craig brought the entire congregation through Cumberland Gap and “…arrived in Garrard County on the south side of the Kentucky River, on the second Sunday in December, 1781.” It was called the Traveling Church and it took them five months to reach their destination. The church was a Separate Baptist church; this church is not in existence today.

            The early churches were isolated by distances from each other and by theologies; some were Regular Baptist and some were Separate Baptist. The first controversy among Baptists in Virginia was Particular (believing in strict Calvinism and adhering to the Philadelphia Confession of Faith), and General (believing salvation open to everyone who wants it), and Separate (evangelical, Calvinistic, but accepting no creed other than the Bible). Many Virginia Baptists left the state to get away from these philosophical differences and to get away from persecution by the Anglican Church of England (Crismon, ed. 1975).

            On June 25, 1785, the Regular Baptist churches of the time met in South Elkhorn Church between Frankfort and Lexington and organized the first association. The first question considered was that the Philadelphia Confession of Faith must be strictly followed. The Separates rejected this and left. The Elkhorn Association was formally organized on September 30, 1785, at Clear Creek Church in Woodford County. Today, Elkhorn is the second largest association in the state; Long Run is the largest.

            The second Regular Baptist association to organize was Salem Association; this occurred at Cox’s Creek Church (Nelson County) on October 29, 1785. Severns Valley (Elizabethtown), Clear Creek (Shelby County), Bear Grass (near Louisville) and Cox’s Creek were the first members (Crismon, ed. 1975).

            After the Revolutionary War (1776) large numbers of veterans came to Kentucky to claim land grants given to them by Virginia. These and other migrants came into Henry County, Kentucky, via the Wilderness Trail and by river down the Ohio and up the Kentucky to Drennon Creek. The first Baptist Church to be organized in Henry County was Fox Run (Eminence Baptist) in 1794. It was a Regular Baptist and met at the home of James Hoagland near Mulberry Road about four miles east of the present day site of Eminence. The fifteen people who formed Fox Run were dismissed by letter from Brashears Creek Baptist Church in Shelby County. Fox Run (Eminence) was probably affiliated with Salem Association until 1803 when it became one of the sixteen churches that formed Long Run Association (Spencer, Vol. I, 1885). Prominent names in the early history of Fox Run were John Whitaker, Joshua Morris, Alan McGuire, and Samuel Vancleave (Crismon, ed. 1975). Land was purchased in Eminence in 1867 and a building was erected and the congregation continued as Fox Run. In 1901 the name was changed to Eminence Baptist Church. The present building was dedicated May 7, 1905.

            The second Baptist church to organize in Henry County was Drennon Creek (New Castle) on April 6, 1799. It was organized by William Hickman who is listed in Baptist in Kentucky, 1776-1976, as one of the first three preachers to enter Kentucky. Hickman had considerable influence on Kentucky Baptist Churches; He was born in Virginia but moved permanently to Kentucky in 1784 and remained in Kentucky until his death in 1834. He served as pastor of several early Kentucky churches and organized Elkhorn Church in 1788 (Crismon, ed. 1975). Drennon Creek, which changed its name to New Castle in 1829, built a red brick building called “The Old Rock;” the deed was dated April 30, 1801 (Henry County Court House Deed Books). The Old Rock was destroyed by fire January 1, 1920, and a new building was finished in 1923. Instrumental in the development of the early years of the church were Isaac Malin, Jeremiah Vardeman, Silas Noel and Edwin Gardner Berry (Henry County Historical Society, 1995). Jeremiah Vardeman (1775-1842) was a very successful evangelist born in Virginia and raised in Lincoln County, Kentucky. He was ordained at Cedar Creek Church (Nelson County) and is credited with conducting several revivals resulting in remarkable numbers of conversions. “He could be heard in the open air for a great distance” (Crismon, ed. 1975). The church was a member of Elkhorn Association from its founding until it joined the Long Run Association in 1804. In 1847 New Castle joined the Sulphur Fork Association and finally, Henry County Baptist Association in 1915 (Henry County Historical Society, 1995).

            The first revival period in Kentucky began in 1784 under Lewis Craig, the pastor of the Gilbert’s Creek Church, that traveled to Lincoln County from Virginia. The revival began in Clear Creek in what is now Woodford County and was led by Craig who was then pastor of South Elkhorn Baptist Church. John Taylor and William Hickham were also leaders. The revival spread to Cox’s Creek in Nelson County. The Salem Association of Regular Baptists was founded during this revival and included all of the Baptist churches west of Frankfort except Brashears Creek (Shelby County) which had been destroyed by the Indians and the members dispersed to other churches. Brashears had started Fox Run (Eminence) Baptist Church (Boles, 1972).

            What is known as The Great Revival of 1800-1803, “…spread with great rapidity over the entire country from the Atlantic Coast to the extreme frontier settlements in the Great West. In no other locality was it so deep and powerful as in Kentucky where the people had been most profane in their every day conversation and blatant in the coarsest type of infidelity” (Spencer, Vol. I, 1885). A preacher by the name of Barton Stone of northern Kentucky went to a gathering in the Green River area and observed a revival meeting. He reported that people “jerked” and had convulsions and lay on the ground writhing in “spasms” (Crismon, ed. 1975). Stone then brought the revival spirit to Port William (Carrollton) at the point where the Kentucky and Ohio Rivers meet. At this place a man by the name of Alan McGuire (sometimes spelled Allen) was converted and took the message back to Henry County. He was baptized into Drennon Creek (New Castle) Baptist Church by Isaac Malin, the first preacher known to settle in Henry County (Spencer, Vol. I, 1885).

            Alan McGuire’s life changed as a result of accepting Christ as his personal savior at “The Great Revival.” He became an evangelist and helped to start several new churches in Henry County before spreading the Gospel to other states. Some men from the small hamlet of Chiltonsville heard him preach and they were inspired to start a Baptist church in their area.

            Alan McGuire, born August 21, 1768, in Pennsylvania, had only three months formal school training and was self-taught. In 1788 he traveled west of the Allegheny Mountains into Kentucky Territory, which was the “Wild West” of that day, and there he settled in Lexington. Later, he and his wife and children moved “…to the woods of Henry County and settled near the village of Smithfield” (Spencer, Vol. I, 1885). According to the document, Sulphur Fork: The History of an Ancient Church, 1801-1910, by Ernest F. Ransdell, the church that was to grow out of Sulphur Fork and become the Campbellsburg Baptist Church was gathered on July 11, 1801, by Alan McGuire, Isaac Malin (well known in Henry County for starting churches), James Dupuy (a famous pioneer preacher), and charter church members Wharton Ransdale, Lawrence Sanford, Conradus Pyles, Samuel Nelson, and Robert Webb. The story of the Ransdell family printed in Henry County, Kentucky, 1798-1995, published by the Henry County Historical Society, adds the names John Ransdell, brother to Wharton, and Thomas Jefferson Ransdell, cousin to Wharton and John. Minnie Ransdell Chilton, current member of the Campbellsburg Baptist Church, states that her uncle always said that there were eight original members – Wharton Ransdell, John Ransdell, Thomas Jefferson Ransdell, Lawrence Sanford, Conradus Pyles, Samuel Nelson, Robert Webb, and an eighth whose name had been lost. The church was named Sulphur Fork for the creek that ran near the site of Chiltonsville. Chiltonsville eventually changed its name to Campbellsburg (Drane, 1948). These eight men and their families met in the home of Wharton Ransdale until a meetinghouse was built. The Ransdales later began spelling their name, Ransdell, for the American spelling of dell, which means wooded, secluded hollow, rather than the English spelling of dale which means the same thing. The church became part of Salem Association with Corn Creek (Trimble County), Burkes Branch (Shelby County), Severns Valley, Clear Creek, Brashears and Cox’s Creek. Armed guards were posted at the door in shifts to protect the devout from Indian attack. Our early church had numerous obstacles to overcome, but they looked to heaven for their help and strength in establishing a tiny enclave of devotion and faith in the wilderness.

            Minnie E. Ransdell Chilton, lifelong member of our church, is a direct descendant of John Ransdale. She has in her possession the copy of a document that chronicles some of the life of these two men. From this work we learn what it was like in the Chiltonsville area in 1801. Wharton and John came to this country from their ancestral home, Ravensdale, in England and settled in Virginia. They left Virginia because of religious persecution of Baptists. They came to Kentucky over the Wilderness Trail blazed by Daniel Boone. They and their neighbors built cabins twelve or fourteen feet square with a huge fireplace at one end for cooking and heating. There were no windows and the only source of light was the fire or candles. Tables and stools were constructed of rough slabs of wood attached to wooden legs. It was not possible to transport fine furniture or much else over the Wilderness Trail as yet. Beds were made by attaching poles to a wall and supporting them by upright poles pounded into the dirt floor of the cabin. Slabs of wood covered the poles, and tree boughs, grass, and leaves were placed on the “bed”. Blankets or animal skins were laid on top of that. It was very different from the fine home they left in England. Food was mostly wild game, berries, grapes, and vegetables they grew. They had cattle, hogs, and sheep, which they brought with them. They accepted these hardships as the price they had to pay for wresting their land claims from a wild, yet wonderful, and beautiful place.

            We have no church records in our possession before 1830. Our oral tradition has been that a fire in 1809 and a fire in 1827 destroyed the minutes books. This writer discovered that Paul Graham Chilton, one of the two last living members of Sulphur Fork Primitive, has in his possession a minutes book dated 1809-1827. Mr. Chilton graciously let this writer read the book. The 1801 founding of the church until the third Saturday in May, 1809 book did burn, however, when our first log church burned. Early history of our church can be gleaned from J.H. Spencer’s account of early Baptists in Kentucky, other old books, and other local church histories. We know from journals that the first church meetings were held in a home near Sulphur Creek and near where the present day cemetery is located. Armed guards watched the door during services. The men, who were charter members and were mentioned above, may have given the earliest sermons. Isaac Malin, Alan McGuire, and John Dupuy may have preached some sermons. The first pastor was a Bro. Tharpe; there is no record of his first name. According to R.O. Barnett and Betty Sue Heilman Chilton in “Church History of Campbellsburg Baptist Church,” printed in Committed to Faithful Men and Women, “ Bro. Tharpe was a cripple and could not travel to the several surrounding churches, as was the custom of the pioneer preachers…he was forced to sit while he preached.” Maude Drane in her history of Henry County states, “The Campbellsburg Baptist Church was constituted in 1801 with Rev. Tharp of LaGrange as its first pastor.” A second pastor named J.B Tharpe served 1885-1890 and he is sometimes referred to as “the cripple” so there is some confusion as to which Tharpe preached from a wheelchair.

            The first log church was built in 1803 on land donated by member, G.W. Moore. Paul Graham Chilton states that according to oral tradition of Sulphur Fork Primitive Church its original site was on what became known in modern times as “the tunnel farm.” If one travels to the end of Boyer Lane and gazes out over the fields to the property through which the old railroad tunnel cut, one may see where the land gift begins. Willard Boyer, who owns a farm on Boyer Lane, confirmed this statement. Willard stated that when Edward Tandy owned the tunnel farm Mr. Tandy kept it mowed, and some tombstones were clearly visible on the top of the hill just above the tunnel. Some of the markers were not commercial stones, but were hand-hewed rock. Willard’s son, Mike Boyer, states that during the 1970’s there was a train wreck in the tunnel and a chemical spill onto the land surrounding the tunnel ruined the land for farming and the railroad had to buy the property. Mike says the property has not been mowed since the CSX Railroad has owned it, and now the area is so overgrown with vegetation that it is impossible to get to the site. The railroad tunnel is gone now, removed when Interstate 71 was built, but one can see the location from northbound Interstate 71 where the railroad bed cuts through limestone walls and crosses under the interstate highway just before the Campbellsburg exit. The location is approximately one half mile as the crow flies from the present day Masonic Cemetery. Mr. Chilton states that a man from Sulphur investigated the site years ago and found some old tombstones under the sod. Kathryn Boyer Brent Dunaway confirms this and says that the man’s name is Bryan Morris. Mrs. Dunaway also said that one of the stones could be clearly read, and it bore the name, “Sagerser.” The name Sagerser, is on the membership roll in our 1831-1857 minutes book. The first log church burned in 1809 with the records in it, and a second log church was built on the same site and completed in 1810. It had a large open fireplace in the center of the room (Ransdell, 1910).

            The 1809-1827 record in the possession of Paul Graham Chilton begins in May after the first log church was destroyed. The 1809 minutes state that the membership met at the home of John Ransdell while the second log church was being built. Samuel Nelson is clerk and the earliest writings concern letters to association meetings, attending association meetings, and accepting church members by letter, profession of faith, and “received by experience.” Mr. Chilton states that “the old people” said that meant accepting people who claimed to have had a vision or revelation from God, much like the Old Testament prophets.

            The early records all begin with, “…after preaching, proceeded [sic] to business.” After the business meeting the closing ritual would be prayer and then the words, “Dismissed in peace.”

            Between 1801 and 1809 we have on record that Alan McGuire traveled throughout southern Kentucky and deeper into the south organizing and starting churches. He organized at least twenty-four and perhaps more during his lifetime. In 1809 Alan McGuire returned to Henry County and assumed the pastorship of Sulphur Fork, thus becoming the second pastor after Bro. Tharpe. “Alan McGuire was the most distinguished preacher within the boundaries of Sulphur Fork Association in his day” (Spencer, Vol. I, 1885). He was instrumental in the spiritual life of Drennon Creek (New Castle), East Fork (Smithfield), Fox Run (Eminence), Eighteen Mile (LaGrange), Pigeon Fork (Oldham County), Union Spring in Henry County, as well as Sulphur Fork.

            Early minutes of 1809 give insight into how the church functioned. “May, third Saturday, 1809: Silas Foree appointed to see Bro. Gail Jackson and give reason for not coming to Saturday meetings.” A later entry date, “June, third Saturday,1817: All free male members who fail to attend three church meetings in succession shall be requested to come forward and show the cause of such failure.”

            Black brethren and sisters were mentioned in the 1809 record as either belonging to a church member or identified as free, but their names did not appear on the church membership list until 1827.

            The July 1809 meeting lists that the trustees were to collect “subscriptions” to pay for the second log church and oversee its construction. These men were John Ransdell, Wharton Ransdell, Conradus Pyles, and Samuel Nelson.

            The early preachers were self-taught and traveled from church to church on a rotating basis. Many preached for several years before being considered worthy of being ordained. Some could preach and not be the pastor. A church may have had a pastor who preached as well as several visiting preachers who relieved the pastor. Early preachers were not paid a salary; they received a love offering or sometimes food such as chickens or hams if no money was available. Alan McGuire served from 1809 to 1819. Often during that time he was away on missionary trips or helping to start new churches. Our church is fortunate to be associated with such an important figure in what was then “The West.” His great missionary zeal was to be continued in our church. He left to take his missionary work to Missouri but never forgot Sulphur Fork; he returned occasionally and wrote often. He died in Missouri in 1834.

            “April, third Saturday, 1809: Sally Ringo received by experience.”

            “October, third Saturday, 1815: “…endeavor to procure some fit person to preach the Gospel on the western frontier.” Alan McGuire was often absent on missionary work and the church had to have replacement preachers.

            The November, 1815, entry concerns the church calling Amelia White to appear to answer “…the reports in circulation unfavorable to [her] character.”

            The minutes contained several notations of “…collecting money for unfortunate widows.”
            “April, third Saturday, 1816: Contribu[tion] for the missionary support ordered to forward to Harrods Creek by Bro. Alan McQuire.”

            “April, third Saturday, 1817: “…received by experience, Polly Nelson, Polly Meade, Nancy Nelson, Sally Demaree, Polly Barter, Nancy Scott, Sally Elston, Frances Sanford.”

            “June, third Saturday, 1817: “…received by experience, Bro. P. Thomas, Polly Ransdell, James Scott, Edy Elston, Wm. Ball, John Brown.”

            “July, third Saturday, 1818: Sister Agnes Sidebottom explained herself agrieved with Sister Peggy Williams. The church proceeded to appoint a committee to try to settle the above differences which committee succeeded to get them to bear with each other.”

            Following Alan McGuire in 1819, and serving until his death in 1825, was Peter Vories who had worked for many years at Sulphur Fork Church by the side of Alan McGuire. Vories was our pastor but he continued to preach on a rotating basis at New Castle (now called New Castle and not Drennon Creek), and Fox Run (Eminence) and is prominent in their church histories. He joined Sulphur Fork in 1817 and was baptized and licensed to preach by Alan McGuire. According to J.H. Spencer in Vol. II of his history, Peter Vories was “…a young preacher of unusual piety and ability…. In the midst of a career of great usefulness, he was called from the field of labor to his reward above, October 26, 1825. He left several children.”

            The following notation from the minutes relates that the church sent James Scott and another member to see John Edrington about some infraction that the church considered unchristian behavior. Bro. Edrington did not greet them cordially. “January, third Saturday, 1821: After prayer proceeded to business. Information was given that there was a difference in existence between Brethren John Edrington and James Scott. It was agreed that a committee of seven brethren be appointed to examine into the same and make a report immediately. V. Nelson, J. Webb, G. Foree, R. Thomas, G. Bradley, Wm. Mulliken, a member from Union Spring, and Archibald Bailey from Buck Run were appointed accordingly, who made the following report: Bro. Edrington charged with giving Bro. Scott the ____(word not decipherable) when [Scott was] going with a Brother to talk peaceable with him. Also, [Edrington] threatening to knock the butt off of him (Scott) and binding him (Scott) over to the peace without provocation and contrary to scripture. We the committee think him (Edrington) not a fit member of society in his present standing. Which report was concurred in by the church.”

            “June, third Saturday, 1821: After prayer the reference concerning Bro. Brown taken up who is charged (Brown) with going to a knife battle and acting as a second in a fight and he is considered no more of us.”

            “June, third Saturday, 1821: We hereby authorize Bro. John A. McGuire to exercise those public gifts with which the Lord has bestowed on him when and where he may think it expedient. P. H. Vories, moderator, J.A. McGuire, clerk.”

            In 1825 John W. Thomas, a member of Sulphur Fork, replaced Vories after his death and served until 1831. Bro. Thomas was not ordained as a preacher until 1827 according to early church minutes. During Thomas’ ministry the Sulphur Fork Association was formed in 1826. Our church along with Pattons Creek( Sligo), Lick Branch, East Fork (Smithfield), North Six Mile, Union Spring and Pigeon Fork (Oldham County) withdrew from the Long Run Association to begin the new association.

            During Thomas’ ministry the revolutionary movement known as “Campbellism,” named for Alexander Campbell, began to have an influence in our area in 1826. Many people were confused by this new doctrine and it caused discord in the church. Campbellism started simultaneously in Kentucky and Pennsylvania in 1826 according to the Encyclopedia Americana. The movement began in 1803 with a Presbyterian minister in Kentucky named Barton Stone. (Stone brought the message of The Great Revival to Port William in 1801.) His belief was that all followers of Christ were “Christians” only and should be called that and not separate into denominations. They used the Bible as their one source of authority and they believed all Christians should worship together as they wished and take communion together. They wanted the strong denominational differences to cease. Many members of Sulphur Fork withdrew and joined what became known as The Disciples of Christ, or the Christian Church. They were also called “Campbellites.”

            Also, under John W. Thomas, in February of 1827, the second log church, built on the foundation of the first log church, burned to the ground. (No doubt because of that open fireplace in the center of the building) The congregation decided not to rebuild there. They moved to another site and built the third meetinghouse of brick which they completed in 1828 at a cost of $468.00. It was 25x50 feet and was built under the supervision of the following members: David Elston, J.H. Foree, James Scott, Peter Foree, John Ransdell, Sr., and D. Owens (Ransdell, 1910). Recorded in the minutes is the following report: “The meetinghouse [is to] be only 25 feet wide and 10 feet high with wall plates and girders and ceiling to the rafters and collar-beams and that the second payment of the subscription be postponed until the first day of April 1827 and Brethren W. Ransdell, John Ransdell, J. Bradly, P. Vories, Jr., David Elston be appointed to let out the work to the lowest bidder on the first Saturday in April 1827 and they are also to superintend the work for which work the church with such assistance as our friends may please to give us agree to pay. Agree also that the stone, brick, and carpenters work be let out separately. The stonework to be finished by the first of August, the brickwork by the first of October and the carpenter by the first of November. One half the money to be paid to the undertakers each job by the first of November and the balance by the first of May 1828. J.W. Thomas, Moderator, J.A. McGuire, Clerk.”

            There is confusion as to where the third church was located. Our church’s oral tradition has it located on the G.W. Moore property gift. Paul Graham Chilton says the oral tradition of Sulphur Fork Primitive Baptist has it located on the lot where the present Sulphur Fork Church stands. Ernest F. Ransdell in his History of an Ancient Church states: “ On June 16, 1821, Wharton Ransdell for $1.00 and love of the Christ-cause, gave one acre of land on the New Castle and Port William (now Carrollton) Road for a new church-site, deeding it to the trustees.” The deed is recorded at the courthouse as 1821, but no mention is made of building a meetinghouse there in 1827. Neither the 1809-1827 minutes book in the possession of Paul Graham Chilton, nor the 1831 minutes book in our possession make any mention of being on the 1821 Wharton Ransdell propery gift. It does seem odd that the church would accept land in 1821 and needing to rebuild in 1827 not relocate there. However, one must take into account that written history of Baptists in Kentucky all state that there was friction between the missionary and the anti-missionary cause in the late 1820’s and throughout the 1830’s. Wharton Ransdell was the leader in the anti-missionary cause, and that cause was in the minority at Sulphur Fork. Would the majority have voted to build a church two miles away on a prominent anti-missionary member’s land when they had their original land gift and it was large enough to build on a different site? Many congregations across Kentucky split over the missionary/anti-missionary issue and formed separate churches. Sulphur Fork, splitting in 1840, was far from being the first. Also, the gentleman from Sulphur, Mr. Morris, found a tombstone on the G.W. Moore property gift that had the name, Sagerser, on it. The name, Sagerser, did not appear on our roll until 1831 – four years after the third church was built.

            Sulphur Fork continued to hear from Alan McGuire through visits and letters, and they collected money to send to him for missionary efforts in Missouri. In 1828 another revival burst forth in northern Kentucky and the greater Bluegrass area, and Sulphur Fork Church was a part of that. John Alan McGuire, son of Alan McGuire, was one of the leaders. Under John W. Thomas and John Alan McGuire, 167 people were baptized into the fellowship of Sulphur Fork (Spencer, Vol. I, 1885). John A. McGuire, among others, started the Hillsboro Baptist Church in 1829. Its first pastor was John A. McGuire, and John A. McGuire became co-pastor of our church with John W. Thomas in 1830. He continued as pastor of Hillsboro until a member of that fellowship could take over. Hillsboro Baptist Church was destroyed years later by a tornado and the membership dispersed to Sulphur and Campbellsburg; they did not rebuild.

            In 1831 John W. Thomas moved to another state and John A. McGuire became full pastor and stayed until 1845. L.D Alexander and J. B. Davis are also listed in business meeting minutes as being preachers in the church during John A. McGuire’s term. Lewis D. Alexander is described by J.H. Spencer in Vol. I of his history as very successful and popular. He states that Alexander was not educated “…and his grammar was bad.” He goes on to say that his simple delivery and sincere manner was understood by all. He came to Kentucky from North Carolina in 1803 and died in Owen County in 1862. Edwin Gardner Berry, a preacher of the area, and long time pastor of Fox Run (Eminence), was called to help Sulphur Fork as a preacher on a rotating basis with John A. McGuire. This allowed McGuire, like his father before him, to continue missionary work and help start new churches. According to J.H. Spencer in Vol. I of his book, Edwin Gardner Berry came to Henry County in 1824 from Clark County. He was said to have a beautiful singing voice and taught music. He had eighteen children and raised and educated all eighteen and “…gave them a comfortable start in life and left an estate of $25,000.” According to Spencer, “He was not a brilliant preacher but was plain, practical and sound.”

            Many in the church objected to the missionary zeal of Sulphur Fork Church and controversy continued until a final explosive confrontation in 1840. Other Baptist churches in the county and elsewhere had been having controversy about the missionary and anti-missionary factions during that year (Spencer, Vol. II, 1885). By autumn of 1840 it was known throughout the association that there was a serious breach at Sulphur Fork. The anti-missionary group objected to sending money to John A. McGuire in Louisiana and supporting him in his mission outreach. The majority of the congregation still believed that mission work was their duty as Christ had said, “Go ye therefore and teach all nations…”—The Great Commission. That autumn the Sulphur Fork Association met at East Fork (Smithfield). The moderator of the association from the previous year was Robert W. Ricketts, pastor of Mt. Pleasant Baptist near Pleasureville. (Mt. Pleasant had been formed by the consolidation of Rock Lick and North Six Mile churches and was anti-missionary.) Ricketts had been a member of New Castle Baptist and was ordained and licensed to preach by that church. All knew that Sulphur Fork Baptist was sending two separate delegations, each claiming to be the legitimate messengers, according to J.H. Spencer in his History of Kentucky Baptist, Vol. II, 1885. The clerk from the previous year was John A. McGuire, pastor of Sulphur Fork. According to Spencer, Ricketts believed that if he could prevent the reading of the church letters until after the new officers were elected, the anti-missionary group could elect their own people, and only read the letter of the anti-missionary minority from Sulphur Fork. The minority had given notice to the association that they had split from the majority and that they were the legal church with the name Sulphur Fork (Spencer, Vol.ll, 1885). Ricketts preached the introductory sermon for the day and then opened the meeting as moderator from the previous year. John A. McGuire, pastor of Sulphur Fork, and clerk from the previous year, began to read the letter from the majority, or missionary group. Ricketts called him “out of order” and stated that letters could not be read until officers were elected and without electing officers, the association did not exist, so no letters could be read. Much debate erupted according to our church minutes. Ricketts then stated he was in charge and “…power is in my hands.” John A. McGuire argued that he was only an officer of the body that he said did not exist and he (Ricketts) could not rise above the rules and constitution of the association. McGuire stated that the minority had a right to be heard in its complaints against the majority, but had no right to stop the proceedings of the meeting. The moderator ruled McGuire’s appeal to the association members out of order. A member of another church delegation moved that the letter from the majority of Sulphur Fork Church be read. The moderator declared, “Out of order.” Several other motions were put on the floor to the moderator and all were declared out of order. Finally, McGuire moved that the meeting be adjourned, and this was declared out of order, too. Eventually, it was decided to meet on the next day.

            Many more people were present the next day and the meeting had to be moved outside of East Fork Church for fear the second floor balcony would collapse. The moderator, Robert W. Ricketts, called the meeting to order and immediately declared the clerk, McGuire, to be removed from office. He appointed Samuel Rush to be clerk. The people assembled apparently put up quite a heated and loud discussion. It is recorded in the church minutes that a man named F.H. Goodrich read an article of impeachment hastily put together. It declared Ricketts impeached for incompetence for denying the existence of the Sulphur Fork Association. The clerk then was the only acting officer left. The clerk, John A. McGuire, nominated his friend, Edwin Gardner Berry of Eminence, for moderator. Berry was then elected moderator. Ricketts and his followers left the group and moved to another part of the yard and formed a new association which they called Mt. Pleasant Regular Baptist Association. In 1846, Ricketts and his wife, Sarah, joined Sulphur Fork (the anti-missionary minority) and Ricketts became pastor of that church in 1850 (Ransdell, 1910). The Sulphur Fork Association proceeded to name John A. McGuire as clerk for another term and went on with the association business.

            The two groups, irrevocably split, had to decide on how to share the meetinghouse—the red brick structure erected in 1827/28. At an October, 1840, business meeting, it is recorded, “Motion adopted that the majority occupy the house on the 1st and 3rd Saturdays and Sundays and the minority occupy the house on the 2nd and 4th Saturday and Sunday….”

            In our minutes dated November 1844, the clerk writes, “…a committee appointed to visit the other church claiming an interest in this meeting house (meaning the minority or anti-missionary group) to either buy the house from them or sell the house to them.”
At the next business meeting a month later it was reported by the committee, “They will neither buy nor sell.” Minutes over the next two years show that the missionary majority sought money from the congregation to buy land and build a meetinghouse so they would not have to share the building with the minority. Through the years the missionary group began to refer to the anti-missionary group as, “The Hardshells.” Eventually, groups such as this who were anti-missionary and did not believe in having music and musical instruments in the meetinghouse became known as “Primitive Baptists.”

            In 1845 John A. McGuire resigned as pastor to do missionary work in Louisiana. The church promised to support him in this endeavor and he would write regularly and tell of his progress in starting churches. McGuire left this body of believers with a new church in progress. They had purchased a small plot of land on the east side of what is now known as US 421 and Lake Road (Henry County Court House Deed Records). This church was frame and completed in 1846 while D. Newton Porter was pastor. D.N. Porter was born in Henry County in 1816, one of fourteen children in a poor household. He did not attend school but read and learned on his own. He began teaching school before he was sixteen. Sixteen years later at the age of thirty-two he took a course at Georgetown College and “read medicine.” He was graduated in 1851 at the top of his class, but he had been practicing medicine for sometime before that, according to Spencer. He was baptized into the church at Campbellsburg at age thirteen and licensed to preach by our church in 1839 and ordained in 1841. His first church was Eighteen Mile Baptist in LaGrange and the church grew. He moved to Eminence and set up a practice of medicine and preached as a supply preacher to churches in his area that he could reach from his home in Eminence. “He was a man of extensive reading and untiring industry, well versed in Theology and a fair speaker” (Spencer, Vol. I, 1885). Porter was to be interim pastor until John A. McGuire returned.

            Church minutes dated December 1847, report: “Bro. J.H. Foree, E. Ragland, R. McAllister…appointed to settle the difficulty between Bro. Wm. L. Mead and the original building committee of this house in relation to the price of building it and report at our next meeting.” January, 1848, minutes include: “…committee testimony…report that after hearing testimony…they believe that Bro. B.F. Miles and Bro. Wm. L. Mead were undertakers of it…and $256.00 was paid to them.” No mention is made of the entire cost of the meetinghouse completed in 1846. Over the next twenty-eight years church minutes record numerous problems with the maintenance of the house; it was a constant struggle of patching and repairing.

            In 1848 John A. McGuire returned from his missionary work and resumed his pastorate of our church. Soon after he returned in August, 1848, the congregation voted to take the name of Baptist Church of Campbellsburg. The vote was unanimous. Most of the congregation rejoiced over the return of Bro. McGuire, but apparently there were some in the church who objected to him; the reasons for this were never implied or spelled out in church minutes. But J.A. McGuire would leave and return often as his missionary work continued. In 1852 he left again and the church voted to take “subscriptions” to support him with money while away.

            Elisha B. Stratton served as pastor from 1852 to 1854. He was raised in Cane Run (Port Royal) Baptist Church and ordained there. “He possessed excellent gifts and was endowed with extraordinary readiness of mind”(Spencer, Vol. II, 1885). Church minutes of August, 1854, state: “Church by her vote call Bro. J.A. McGuire to the pastoral care of the church. Bro. W.W. Foree and the deacons appointed to inform him of his call and also that the difficulties existing between him and Bro. R.H. Boulware be investigated on his return.”

            William Price is listed as interim pastor for 1854-1856 with E.B. Stratton and J.B. Porter listed as rotating preachers. J.B. Porter was a brother of D.N. Porter. The church had written J.A. McGuire in December of 1854, stating they still expected him to return as pastor. In February 1855, they wrote another letter saying they still expected his return. A note in April, 1855, minutes states: “Brethren J.W. Foree, E.B. Stratton, and the clerk, C.T. Scott, appointed to see the members of the church to know how many are for the call of Bro. McGuire and how many are opposed.” The business meeting of May 1855, states: “…after preaching by Bro. D.N. Porter, Bro. J.R. Scott brought charges against Bro. R.H. Boulware for his conduct toward Bro. McGuire and other Brethren. The investigation is referred until this day two weeks. Moved and seconded that Brethren D.N. Porter, J.B. Porter, E.G. Berry, and E.B. Stratton be invited to attend on that day. C. T. Scott, clerk, E.B. Stratton, moderator.” The next few pages of minutes that would have contained June, July, and August 1855, meeting notes were obviously cut from the minutes book. The next recorded entry states: “…By Recantation…the vote excluding Brother R.H. Boulware was reconsidered and he is restored to the fellowship of the church. C.T. Scott, clerk, E.B. Stratton, moderator.” Apparently, someone of the church did not want posterity to read of what went on in June, July, and August of 1855. The church still had the interim pastor, William Price, and no mention was made of a committee for a pastor search.

            When our church formed in 1801, it was apparent from later minutes that the congregation considered it very important that members be in harmony with one another. After the preaching of the day, if someone had a grievance against another member, he or she would rise and state it and the church would help resolve the problem. Depending on how the two parties reacted to the church’s suggestion, the members would vote “satisfied” or “not satisfied” with the parties in question. Usually, the matters brought before the church were “unchristian-like conduct” such as fighting, swearing, having an unresolved conflict with another member, alcohol intoxication, dancing, playing cards, etc.  

            We must remember that the early churches were small lights of intended goodness and they existed in a place and time that was considered uncivilized, rowdy, and dangerous. The area west of the Allegheny Mountains was the “West” of that day and the area, sparsely populated and fraught with the danger of Indian attacks, robbers, and murderers, was a place where vigilance was required. These hardy souls were attempting to carve out a home in the western frontier of the “Dark and Bloody Ground,” or Bright Meadow Land,” one a Shawnee word and the other an Iroquois word for Kentucky. The churches tried to bring good behavior and moral standards to the new territory. If they did not fight the tendency of man to sink to baser instincts, all would be lost in the attempt to make the land a suitable place for families to thrive physically, morally, and culturally.
The minutes are filled with entries such as the following:
           
            February 1832: “Bro. David Elston exhibited a charge against himself of having used improper and unchristian like language and after hearing his acknowledgement, the church forgave him.”

            March 1832: “Brethren Geo. Chilton, William Sanford appointed to see and request Solomon, a black slave belonging to Bro. John Ransdell, to attend our next meeting to answer to the charge of selling ardent spirits on the sabbath at a meeting.”

            April 1832: “The reference related to the case of Solomon taken up and from his acknowledgement the church agreed to bear with him for the present.”

            November 1859: “Bro. Wm. Stratton brought a charge against himself of being drunk. After hearing his acknowledgement the church voted satisfied.”