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This file is submitted by Robert A. Edwards of Benton, Arkansas. This file was provided by Mrs. Bonnie Montpelier of Marthaville, Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana for inclusion in the Natchitoches Parish page of the US GENWEB project.



BEULAH METHODIST CHURCH

Organized July 29, 1860



Beulah Methodist Church was organized on July 29, 1860. The Reverend B.F. Alexander, a circuit rider of the Methodist Church, and with the assistance of most of the members listed as having joined in 1860, Beulah Methodist Church began and it has never been without a pastor since its organization. The doors were open throughout the Civil War & Reconstruction Period, and for the duration of World War I and II. The first preachers, known as circuit riders, travelled long distances on horseback and served several charges. Some of the members of the church would build a room on to the back of their home for the preacher to stay while visiting his charges.

Beulah Methodist Church is located in the northwestern corner of Natchitoches Parish, approximately five miles North of Marthaville on Highway 487. The white building is the third to occupy the site since the organization of the church in 1860. The second building burned in 1924 after an election had been held there the day before. John A. Ingram donated lumber and hauled it to the site from his mill where he and other members from the community built the present structure. It sits just a few hundred feet from the highway with the Beulah Cemetery behind it. Forty acres was donated by Adam P. Massey on the 30th of November, 1861 for the purpose of a Church Edifice, Camp Ground, Burying Ground and Parsonage. School was held in the Church until a building was erected for classes. It sat across the road from the Church where Charley & Bonnie Montpelier now reside. Two tabernacles once sat on the grounds not far from where the church now sits. The first person to be buried in the cemetery was Maaka Massey, the nine year old daughter of Adam & Emily Massey. While services were being held, screaming was heard at the Bolton home about a half mile east of the church. When the men went to see what was wrong, they found that the young daughter of Nancy & Elijah Bolton had just passed away. They placed her next to Maaka. In May of 1988, a memorial marker was placed at the grave site of the two girls marking the graves of the first two to be buried in the Beulah Cemetery.

The data on the following pages was taken from the original records kept by members of the church. Unfortunately, over the years, pages containing names of members have been lost, but for the most part the records or intact. Both spelling and grammar are uncorrected. (Please be patient. This is a large file and may take awhile to load.)

BEULAH METHODIST CHURCH

Register of Members - 1860-1926









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