The Reformation of the 1500's gave birth to Protestantism and had a tremendous impact on man's social life that is felt today across the United States. John Calvin (1509-1564) was one of the chief leaders in the Reformation and with the movement there followed religious and political opposition from church and civil leaders of the old establishments. Calvin's influence was strongly felt among his followers, who insisted that they share in political and religious affairs. They supported constitutional government which provided for separation of church and state and representative democracy. These central themes came to America with the Huguenots, Puritans, and other religious groups.
During the long struggle in America over ownership of the New World by Spain, France, and England, England was victorious, but due to geographical and political change, she was not able to impose her well established religious order on the Americans. Although dissenters experienced hounding, mockery, insults, heavy fines, whippings, and imprisonment, they continued to resist. The American Revolution ended the British impediment, and as the West expanded, many refractory groups were organized and built houses of worship.
Presbyterianism was developed in Long Island in 1640 under the influence of John Calvin's theology. Presbyterianism was the leading religious force of the early years and dominated religion in the South during the Revolutionary period and the missionary movement of the 1800's.
The Presbyterians were on better terms with the Established Church in the Colonies than the Methodists and Baptists, and this relationship caused strong resentment between groups, especially among Baptists whose doctrine appealed to the common people. Another factor was social standing and the fact that Baptist practices weakened the foundation of the religious ritual and formality practiced by the early churches. The first Presbyterian church was probably New Bethel established in Sullivan County between the forks of the Holston River in 1782. A Presbyterian church was established in Big Valley in Union County in 1800, and a Presbyterian group, including the Ledgerwood family operated for awhile in Beard Valley; but these organizations soon died out because the church was unable to secure educated pastors, who the church insisted should lead their flocks.
The Methodists trace their beginning to John Wesley, a Church of England clergyman in the 1700's. Wesley brought his doctorine to America preaching in New York in 1766. The Revolutionary War interrupted the spread of Methodism because most early Methodists were Tories. After the War, fetters applied by the British were removed, and Francis Asbury rode horseback across the New Frontier, establishing churches and spreading Methodist doctrine. Wesley's theology, like that of the Baptist, appealed to many, especially the poor and oppressed.
The frontier Methodist church enriched the common speech with such words as "Amen," "Amen Corner," Hallelujah" and "Praise the Lord." The "anxious seat" was equivalent to the Baptist's "mourners bench." A distinguished quality of Methodists was their singing; "they literally sang themselves into the hearts of people." The roots of this tradition go back to Charles Wesley, brother of the founder, John Wesley, who wrote the words to 6,500 hymns. Later many of the hymns were sung by Methodists and Baptists congregations. Wesley set the pattern of the Methodist's approach when he said, "Methodists alone do not insist on this or that opinion, but they think and let think." The first Methodist, Jeremiah Lambert, arrived in the Watauga settlement in 1782. The first Methodist church in Tennessee was Acuff's Chapel near Blountville in Sullivan County established in 1783.
Rodger Williams left the priesthood of the Church of England and fled to America. In Providence, Rhode Island, he and a dozen friends baptized each other by immersion, establishing the first Baptist church in 1639. The primary distinction between regular Baptist and Primitive Baptist is the latter's worship by foot-washing and absence of Sunday schools. Sinking Creek Baptist Church was probably the oldest Baptist church in Tennessee. Matthew Tolbett Jr., from Bedford County, Virginia, is claimed to have organized and served as first pastor of Sinking Creek. As religious worship spread over the mountains frontiersmen adopted a religious creed which was intensely democratic and individualist and did not include social distinction.
Up until the turn of the nineteenth century, Presbyterianism had been the leading creed west of the Allegheny Mountains. There were a few Episcopalians and adherents of the Reformed Dutch and German churches; but, aside from the Presbyterian, the Methodist and Baptist were the only sects powerfully represented. The Great Revival of 1799 and 1800 was mainly carried on by Methodist and Baptist and under their guidance these denominations sprang to the front and became the leading religious forces in the frontier communities.
The Great Revival or Great Awakening as the religious movement was called, produced a new and exciting form of preaching and worship service that changed to permit increased participation by the laity. Revivalism became widely accepted as a means of converting people to a particular church and emphasized an individual religious experience rather than the religious doctrines of a special church.
This issue divided some congregations and denominations but supporters of the movement insisted that such an experience was proper as a test of membership in a church, while opponents declared that a person could belong to a church without undergoing such an experience.
The Great Revival was accompanied by scenes of intense excitement under a vast wooded wilderness and evolved into religious camp-meetings and religious festivals. At daylight worshipers were summonds to prayers with preaching, praying, and singing that went on without intermission under tremendous emotional stress. Whole communities became fervent professions of religion.
Will Thomas recalled that the Great Revival brought Bishop Soule to Big Creek Gap where a great revival was held that "stirred up all of Powell's Valley." Thomas remarked "that this revival was such as we know nothing about in this materialistic and humanistic time. Out near the iron furnace a Methodist camp ground was established and Amos Maupin, Isaac Petree, John Kincaid, David Sharp, and many others, built cabins to occupy when camp-meetings were held. Labon Sharp with slave-labor burned brick and erected Soule's Chapel near the site of Col. Harvey LaFollette's mansion that was a notable influence in the community for many decades." Following the Great Revival the religious movement spread across the country and many new community churches were established.
The first church buildings were plain and unimpressive as were the cabins of the pioneers. Whether built of poles, hewed logs or, later, with other materials, they were remarkably alike in form--rectuanglar one-room meeting houses with dirt floor and crude seats. Through these organizations noble and determined men and women laid the social and governmental foundation in the West. Immigrants coming after the Revolution built upon that foundation and developed Tennessee economically, politically, and culturally.
Although Baptists outnumbered other denominations in Union County, there was a greater concentration of Methodist organizations in the Loy' Cross Roads area in the early years. One finds that King's Chapel Methodist was established in Poor Land Valley one mile east of town (organized in 1885) on the Jacksboro Road; Mitchell-Fox Methodist Church located one-forth mile from the cross-roads (established in 1889); New Prospect Methodist Church also known as Rich Hollow Church, located near the junction of Powell and Clinch Rivers; Oak's Chapel Methodist Church located west of Clear Creek on a lot off Jacksboro Road (See Jacksboro Road); Sharp's Station Methodist Church (South) established one and one-half miles east of the village; Packett's Chapel Methodist Church in Poor land Valley (established in 1882); Big Valley Methodist located one mile west of Loy's town (organized in 1890); and Macedonia Methodist (organized in 1836), known as Clear's Class, first building erected in 1844 in Campbell County. This was probably the first Methodist Church in the area.
Methodist churches in the Loy's Cross Roads area had supply pastors" assigned from the parish located at Andersonville, a few miles away. One of perhaps six educated ministers from the parish were assigned to a church from one to four years.
Methodist churches baptized babies soon after birth by sprinkling or later as confessions were announced. Revival services held by Methodist and Baptist churches were often attended by both denominations in the Loy's settlement.
The Baptist churches in the Loy' Cross Roads area were, Big valley Baptist Church (organized in 1850) between the town and Sharp's Chapel; Oklaona Baptist Church (established in 1894); and Loy's Cross Roads (Loyston) Missionary Baptist Church (established in 1885) in the village proper.
Baptist churches held to explicit rules for its members and often "churched" its members for non-attendance, drinking of spirited liquors, swearing, gambling, fornification, and other infractions of the church rules. Both educated and uneducated ministers tried their hands at interpretation of foreordination, predestination, and other scriptural writings. At the same time some churches were in dissension over antimissions, secret orders (lodges), and salaried ministers. Differences in opinions regarding biblical interpretations and beliefs often divided churches and caused a disassociation in some congregations and a "split" resulted.
Loyston Baptist Church was a typical early Baptist organization. It had its beginning on December 26, 1885, when a deed for one acre joining the school property was donated by T. M. and Alice George and H. A. C. and Sarah Bradfute and presented to John Archer, H. L. Turner, and H. A. C. Bradfute, designated church trustees. During the organization church members pledged themselves to employ Elder John S. Lewis as pastor for twelve months and to pay him twenty dollars a year for his services.
Although the first minute book was used up and later lost, a new book began on the first Saturday of April of 1919. Transcribed in this volume is a list of the organization members, By-Laws, Rules of Decourum, and church membership roll. An amended roll was recorded on August 30, 1919 by Emma Turner, who served as church clerk and treasurer many years during the 1900's. Letha George was elected for a brief period in 1922.
Elder John S. Lewis was elected pastor at the organizational meeting, and his name was transcribed into the new book but many names of the early pastors were not recorded. However, J. D. Walker served as pastor in 1910 and was replaced by Goodson Demarcus in 1919. John Lindsay was elected pastor in February of 1920, but resigned, and Paris Brownlow Sharp was elected in August of 1920 to fill the unexpired term. M. P. Hill served as pastor in 1922 and George Hutchison was elected at the April, 1923 meeting. Luther Loy served as pastor for a time in 1923, followed by Joe Wolfengarger's election in February of 1925. George Hutchison was again elected pastor in March of 1926, to be followed by P B. Sharp again in 1930. Oley Dyke was elected pastor in 1933 and served until January of 1935 when the church property was purchased by TVA.
Loyston Baptist Church joined the Northern Baptist Association and was a member in 1910. The church supported Foreign Missions, Home Missions, State Missions, and orphan's homes. Gip Hill served as Sunday school superintendent for more than ten years. The Loyston Baptist Church and perhaps other Baptist churches in the area held baptisings in the mill pond on Buffalo Creek.
Following the sale of the church to TVA in 1935, a portion of the funds was used to purchase 4.4 acres of land from Albert Hutchison for the New Loyston Cemetery where 1400 graves were reinterred from the Norris Lake Basin. The church did not rebuild; instead members carried letters to churches near where new farms and homes were located. A number of members from Loyston Baptist Church joined Valley Grove Baptist Church on Highway 61 at Hickory Valley Road.
In an attempt to lighten the seriousness of church services, preachers often told jokes on themselves as well as other preachers and church denominations in the introduction of their sermons. Preachers were also the brunt of jokes in many communities. Jake Moore, for example, had a favorite story that he passed along to his listeners. Preacher George Turner of Warwick's Cross Roads was a Baptist minister with a great sense of humor who was noted for saying what he thought in words plain people could understand. He was the father of Henry Turner who married a daughter of John R. Cassell and had sons George Riley Turner and Andrew Jackson Turner, cousins of Jake Moore. Turner was in the pulpit at Alder Springs Church one Sunday morning during the Civil War. Hungry Rebel soldiers from Cumberland Gap were foraging in that area unbeknowing to the preacher or his congregation. His text was "The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong; neither riches to men of understanding". Rebel soldiers came galloping up the valley just as the preacher was warming up to his text. Bang! Bang! went the rifle shots, and pandemonium seized the congregation. The window behind the pulpit was open and Turner made an unceremonial exit and ran like a deer up through the woodland on the slope of Hinds' Ridge. He hit the trail into Kentucky, joined the Union Army near Barboursville where he served throughout the war. When he returned home he went to Alder Springs determined to preach from the same text. On this occasion, he proceeded with his remarks: "Brethern and sisters, the last time I was here the Rebels came and broke up the meeting. When they started shooting, I jumped through the window and ran. Bullets cut twigs from the trees over my head. I felt something warm run down my legs, thank God it wasn't blood."
See the list of area Churches affected by TVA land acquisition in the 1930's
For more information on this article or any article or publication of the Union County Historical Society please write them at:
Union County Historical Society
P.O. Box 95
Maynardville, TN 37807
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