Williamsburg County, South Carolina - Chapter 6: Churches and Churchmen, 1923

While the original settlers of Williamsburg came to the township on Black River primarily for economic reasons, yet the congregational religious principle, which had grown in the majority of them for centuries and which was largely responsible for their temporary impoverished con¬ dition, was, in fact, the cause of their migration into this wild country.

Until the adoption of the United States Constitution in 1789, the Church of England determined the ecclesi¬ astical polity of South Carolina. The colonists were forced by law to support the Church of England and this was the only church recognized as such by law. No man could hold office under the government unless he were a com¬ municant of the Church of England and would take an oath that for one year prior to his accession to office he had not received the sacrament of communion except from the hands of a priest of the established religion, and, when a man took the oath of office, he was required, then and there, to receive the Holy Sacrament administered ac¬ cording to the ritual of the Church of England. Further¬ more, no man was allowed to teach school in the colony unless a communicant of the Church of England and duly licensed for such purpose by the Lord Bishop of London.

When Williamsburg Township was surveyed and laid out on August 28, 1736, the most desirable acre of ground in the town of Williamsburg was reserved for the Church of England, and an adjoining acre was granted for the Churchyard. These two acres of land were those making up the northwestern half of the block in Kingstree where¬ on the Bank of Kingstree now stands. At the same time, one hundred acres of glebe land on the northern boundary of the town of Williamsburg, adjoining the lands of John

But the Church of England and its " Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts" were never too seriously concerned about the religious condition of the "Poor Protestants" of Williamsburg. A few times between 1735 and 1750, the Rev. John Fordvce, minister of Prince Frederick's Church of Winyaw, and the Rev. Joseph Bugnion, minister of Orangeburg, visited the town of Williamsburg on Easter, Whitsuntide, and Christmas, and conducted services, baptized a few children, and re¬ ceived nominal contributions from these poor Protestants in Williamsburg, but no Church of England was erected or even undertaken in this township on Black River.

Practically all of the original settlers in Williamsburg Township were of the Congregational or Presbyterian faith and their exceeding enthusiasm was shown in the promotion of Presbyterian principles. Although many of them inclined to the Church of Scotland as "reformed" by John Calvin and John Knox, yet in heart they were adherents of the untouched ancient doctrines.

On July 2, 1736, the following "indwellers in Williams¬ burg" met and formed the Williamsburg Presbyterian Congregation, which congregation has maintained its or¬ ganization continuously until the present day: John Witherspoon, John Fleming, William James, David Wil¬ son, Jajnes Bradley, Robert Wilson, John Porter, David Pressley, Robert Ervin, William Pressley, John Hender¬ son, William Frierson, Thomas Frierson, William Syms, David Allen, John James, James McClelland, and David Witherspoon.

This congregation petitioned for a grant of land for erecting thereon their Meeting House, but the Colonial Governor did not act promptly on their petition. Two years later, in 1738, they secured from Captain Roger Gordon two acres of land on the eastern boundary of the platted "Town of Williamsburgh", and there built the Wil¬ liamsburg Meeting House. On this spot, the congregation worshipped continuously until 1890, when the church was moved to Academy Street in the town of Kingstree. The lot was then devoted exclusivelv to the use of the white people of the vicinity as a burying ground.

The title to this property was made to the following as trustees of the Congregation : James Bradley, William Syms, David Allen, William Janies, John James, John Porter, Jaimes McClelland, and David Witherspoon. This Congregation chose as its first elders, John Witherspoon, John Fleming, James McClelland, James Bradley, Wil¬ liam James, and David Witherspoon. This Session of Elders and its successors have played a remarkable part in the administration of the law of Williamsburg, civil and religious, until this day.

The first Williamsburg Meeting House was built of logs and was used until 1746, when the log structure was re¬ placed by an excellent house of worship. William Swinton, a prominent member of Prince George's Church, left a legacy of one hundred pounds in his will for aiding the erection of this second Meeting House.

This was the largest building in the township until the War of the Revolution. It faced the East and was located in the Western part of the present Williamsburg cemetery. As one entered he came first to the Deacons' seats, ele¬ vated about six inches above the floor of the aisle. Back of the Deacons' seats, and elevated twelve inches higher, was the pew for the Ruling Elders, larger than that of the Deacons', and about square. Back of the Elders' pew and three feet higher and up against the wall was the pulpit. The pews were all high-backed. The head of each family owned a pew and the Church and the Minister were sup¬ ported by a tax on these pews. Some of the pew owners were not members of the Church, yet each pew owner had an equal voice and vote in the congregational meet-

In 1770, on account of the rapid growth of the colony, both by birth and by new immigrants from Ireland, this house of worship was doubled in size, which was done by extending the side opposite the pulpit.

It was customary among the Presbyterians of ancient Williamsburg to leave something, if not more than one hundred pounds or fifty acres of land, in their wills to their church. Among the first bequests to the Congrega¬ tion were those of James McClelland, John Blakeley, James Blakeley, John Watson, John Scott, and Nathaniel Drew. Frequently, outsiders remembered this Congrega¬ tion at the King's Tree and made bequests. Henry Sheriff, of James Island, and William Swinton, of Georgetown, were among this class of non-residents. When one now looks over the list of valuable bequests to this congrega¬ tion during the first century of its existence, he wonders why the present Williamsburg Presbyterian Church cor¬ poration is not as wealthy as some other ancient church or¬ ganizations in America.

The first minister of the Williamsburg Presbyterian Con¬ gregation was the Reverend Robert Heron, of Ireland, who served three years, returning to his native land in 1740. The next minister was the Reverend John Rae, installed in 1743. He was a "high church" Presbyterian and saw that everything done in this pioneer settlement congre¬ gation was according to the ritual of the most elect and select Church of Scotland. He required his congregation to fast and pray on Saturday, listen to his four hour sermon on Sunday, and spend Monday in thanksgiving that they had heard such a wonderful discourse.

Mr. Rae was not much of a Puritan, since he did not preach about drinking whiskey, horse racing, and permit¬ ting slaves to work for themselves on Sunday, but he was a great Presbyterian advocate. His sermons were remark- able displays of theological learning. He hated the Roman Catholic Church a great deal more than he did the Devil, and feared God to the limit of his capacity.

May 19, 1752, the following officers of the Williamsburg Congregation signed the Confession of Faith: John Rae, minister; John James, James McClelland, James Wither¬ spoon, John Leviston, Robert Witherspoon, Samuel Fulton, Robert Wilson, Robert Paisley, Gavin Witherspoon, Wil¬ liam Dobein, Elders.

Mr. Rae served the congregation eighteen years and died in 1761 at Salem. He was buried in the Williamsburg churchyard, although the exact location of his grave is unknown. He was a man of strong personality and was very influential in his congregation. Dr. J. R. Wither¬ spoon says he went about "with unwearied diligence and fidelity reproving the negligent, encouraging the doubt¬ ful and desponding, visiting the sick, comforting mourn¬ ers, and relieving the distressed."

This Williamsburg Presbyterian Congregation was the only religious organization maintained in Williamsburg Township until 1786. Out of the township, prior to the Revolution, there went several colonies who formed Pres¬ byterian Congregations in other sections, and the Wil¬ liamsburg Church may rightfully regard them as offspring. Among these may be mentioned : Salem Black River, Aimwell on the Pee Dee, and Indiantown.

The first House of Worship or Church built on the ter¬ ritory now known as Williamsburg County was the Black Mingo Meeting House located on Church Creek in the corner where the Williamsburg-Georgetown County line road leads to the South from the Georgetown-Kingstree highway. This was an excellent brick structure, forty by sixty feet, and was erected in 1726 for use by the religious Dissenters in that Black Mingo community. The Reverend Elisha Screven, an Antipaedo Baptist Minister, was the moving spirit in the building of this Church, contributed

Although it was largely through Screven influence, money, and energy that the Black Mingo Church was built, since there were few of the Baptist faith in the community, this ancient Church was soon dominated by the Presbyterian element in the Congregation; and, after the death of the Reverend Elisha Screven, it became known as the Black Mingo Presbyterian Meeting House. It was used, from its beginning, by dissenting congregations, first come, first served. The Reverend John Baxter was the first Presbyterian Minister who preached there. In 1729, he baptized John Nelson, son of George and Helen Nelson, the first baptism among the Calvanists in Wil¬ liamsburg. This Church was the first structure erected by a dissenting congregation between the Santee and the Cape Fear Rivers.

The records of this old Church have all been lost. Here and there one finds reference to it and its congregations in old diaries written in that period. The last reference to it is found in the Indiantown Session Records of June 20, 1824, and reads as follows : "Mrs. Margaret McConnell was received into this Church on reputable testimony of her having been an acceptable member of the Black Mingo Church, this Church being now extinct."

The walls of this old Church stood until about 1890, when the bricks were hauled away and used for planta¬ tion purposes. The church site is yet plainly discernible, and about four acres of ancient graves, with a few old tombstones, still tell simple tales of the men and women who there more than a century ago lived and labored.

Indiantown Presbyterian Congregation consisted of John James, Robert Wilson, David Wilson, William Cooper, Sr., William Cooper, Jr., Robert McCottry, George McCutchen, George Barr, Thomas McCrea, Robert Wither¬ spoon, James McCutchen, and about fifteen other heads of families when it was organized in 1757. The first Indiantown Church was built that year on the four acre lot of ground left in the will of William Thompson for that pur¬ pose. Mr. Thompson also bequeathed one hundred pounds sterling towards the building. John James, Robert Wil¬ son, and David Wilson were its first elders and the Rever¬ end John Knox its first minister.

There were many causes contributing to the founding of Indiantown Church. Williamsburg Township had over¬ flown into this district, as had the Black Mingo section, and those who had settled in the Indiantown community had prospered. The founders of the Indiantown congrega¬ tion [were, for the most part, the sons of settlers in Williamsburg Township.

At that time, there were two flourishing Presbyterian Churches in Williamsburg, the Williamsburg and the Black Mingo Churches. The founders of these two churches had come from Europe and were belligerent dis¬ senters. Many of them had actually witnessed, and some of them felt, the fires of religious persecution adminis¬ tered by the political state church. These Presbyterians represented one of the extreme factions in the religious life of the English speaking peoples for many genera¬ tions. While the Roman Catholic Church had been the organization of the other faction, and while the Church that was created with the view of reconciling these two extreme factions had succeeded in becoming the Church of England, neither the extremists of the Presbyterian fac¬ tion nor those of the Roman Catholic faction accepted the Church of England as constituted, but both factions hated it to the limit of their ability.

These Scotch-Irish Presbyterians, who came to Wil¬ liamsburg, were, for the most part, uncompromising in their religious conceptions. The ancient Presbyterian doc¬ trine was very largely monotheistic, strikingly similar to that of Judaeism. The Roman Catholic Church made

Jesus Christ outstanding in the Holy Trinity. The Church of England adopted very largely the Roman Catholic idea of Jesus Christ. Scotch-Irish Presbyterians hated any¬ thing that had in it a suggestion of the Roman Catholic Church, and so the Presbyterian Churches at Black Mingo and at Williamsburg, following the doctrines of the Church of Scotland, were practically Unitarian. Their ministers were called to preach by virtue of their being entitled to certain hereditary rights under the British Government, the right of presentation to a benefice inherent in certain families, were educated in Scotland and Ireland, and preached in this country the doctrines of the Church of Scotland.

There are now, in old diaries, minute books, and other ancient documents, references to more than one hundred sermons preached by these ministers in these two old Williamsburg Churches and not one of these sermons was based on a text taken from the New Testament. The Church of Scotland ministers of that day seemed to over¬ look the New Testament. One finds among the original Presbyterians who came to Williamsburg Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Moses and Aaron, Nathan and David and other Old Testament names, but he looks in vain to find a man called Matthew, Mark, Luke, Paul, Silas, or Cornelius.

In all the wills of the pre-revolutionary period, the first paragraph dedicates the soul of the testator to God. There are shown in them two ideas of Christ - the Presbyterian, which does not call His Name; and that of the Episcopa¬ lians and the Baptists, which does. A typical Church of Scotland Presbyterian was James McCown, who says, Principally and first of all, I give and recommend my soul into the hands of God that gave it, and my body I recommend to the earth to be buried in decent Christian burial, nothing doubtful but at the general resurrection, I shall receive the same again by the mighty power of God."

Contra, the first clause in the will of Nathaniel Snow, Church of England : "First and principally recommending my immortal soul into the hand of Almighty God, my Heav¬ enly Father, trusting in the merits of my Blessed Saviour for pardon and remission of all my sins and an happy ad¬ mission into the regions of Bliss and Immortality. " Also, the will of Isaac Chandler, Baptist : Principally, I com¬ mend my soul into the hands of Almighty God and my body to the earth to be decently buried in the hopes of a joyful resurrection at the last day unto Life Eternal by the Mighty Power and through the merit of Jesus Christ, our Mighty God and Saviour."

The original Presbyterians who came to Williamsburg scorned the celebration of Easter or Christmas, declaring that they were of heathen origin and unworthy of the Church. Until this day, some men and women in Williams¬ burg seriously object to special Easter and Christmas dec¬ orations and music, even in other churches than their own.

While the Church of England exercised over lordship of the colony of South Carolina until the War of the Rev¬ olution, and built its churches and supported its minis¬ ters out of public funds, it allowed a large measure of freedom to dissenting congregations. The young men who grew up in Williamsburg gradually assimilated the Ameri¬ can Presbyterian idea and accepted Jesus Christ and the Holy Trinity. The Black Mingo Church from 1726, when it was founded, until 1811, when it became extinct, was, for all practical purposes, a Unitarian Church. The Wil¬ liamsburg Presbyterian Church did not worship Jesus Christ nor say much of His Divinity until its union with the Bethel congregation in 1828, ninety-two years after it was organized. The Indiantown Church was dedicated to the Holy Trinity at its foundation and many of these younger Presbyterians from Black Mingo and Williams¬ burg united with the Indiantown Church for the reason

An act of the Colonial Assembly of 1706, generally known as the Church Act, divided South Carolina into ten parishes. Craven County was one of these Parishes. In 1721, the Parish of Prince George Winyaw was established - bounded on the Southwest by the Santee River, on the northeast by the Cape Fear River, on the east by the ocean, and on the west by the Indian country.

In 1734, Prince Frederick's Parish was divided from that of Prince George Winyaw. In 1713, on a beautiful bluff on Black River, probably the most striking river scene in South Carolina, Prince Frederick's Church was built. When Prince Frederick's Parish was separated from Prince George's Parish, it was intended that this Prince Frederick's Church should be included in Prince Frederick's Parish; however, the eastern line of Prince Frederick's Parish as established by law was afterwards found to be west of the church. This church remained, however, for nearly half a century the place of worship for the few adherents of the Church of England in Prince Frederick's Parish, which later became Williamsburg.

The pew holders in Prince Frederick's Church in 1734 were as follows: John Brown, John Lane, Reverend Thomas Morritt, John Thompson, Daniel Shaw, Francis Avant, John Wallace, Esq., Captain Anthony White, An¬ thony Atkinson, John White, Paul Laroche, William S winton, John Borrell, Josias Dupre, and Caleb Avant. All of these men lived along Black River, some of them as far westward into the present Williamsburg County as Indiantown and Cedar Swamp. This Prince Frederick's Church was wealthy. The Reverend Mr. Morritt, who conducted services one Sunday in each month of 1735 in Georgetown and three Sundays at Prince Frederick's, admitted that his income was more than $7,500.00 a year.

In 1736, the Reverend John Fordyce became the minis¬ ter of Prince Frederick's Parish "in the room of" Reverend Mr. Morritt. Mr. Fordyce resigned in 1741. In 1743, Rev¬ erend Mr. Fordyce held communion services at the King's Tree on April 3rd and July 1st. His collection taken on these two occasions amounted to about $55.00.

Prince Frederick's Church had an eventful history. Its records were kept and throw much light on the beginnings of Williamsburg. In 1756, the Church wardens and ves¬ trymen wrote a letter to the Lord Bishop of London com¬ plaining of spiritual conditions in Prince Frederick's Parish. The letter was signed by John White, George Atkinson, William Green, Anthony White, James McPher¬ son, William Walker, James Crockett, and Charles Woodmason, and begged for a Minister to succeed the Reverend Michael Smith, who, they said, had done more injury to the cause of virtue, religion, and the Church in three years time than "his successors could repair in many." They wrote that this Parish was the largest and most populous in the province, yet, "though numerous in inhabitants, the members of the Church are widely scattered and but few in number."

They state that the people of this section were for the most part of the communion of the Church of Scotland, being settlers from Scotland from the North of Ireland. The Church of Scotland then had two Meeting Houses in the Parish, one at Black Mingo and one at Williams¬ burg and large congregations at each of these places. They say that "Our back country", meaning Williamsburg, "is filled with numbers who never saw a minister of the Church of England."

The letter also states that the Reverend Mr. Smith did make "a Tour into these remote Parts of the Parish, But He had better stay'd at home, for the Consequence has been, that thro' his indiscreet Carriage, (We shd rather say immoral Conduct), among them, instead of bringing them over, and joining them to the Communion of our Church, he has unhappily driven them to send for Ana¬ baptist Teachers from Philadelphia, who dip many, and form them into Congregations; so that the regaining of them, and making them Members of the Established Chh will (we judge) be attended with great Pains, if not an im¬ possibility."

In the following year, Charles Woodmason, Register of Prince Frederick's Parish, wrote the Lord Bishop of Lon¬ don the following: "Our Parish Church, Parsonage & Glebe is daily falling to Ruin by being unoccupied. That there are now 4 Meeting Houses in this Parish, and two more talked of being built, (wch Increase would not have been except thro' Weakness, Supineness, & Immor¬ ality of our Incumbents) Whereas, had we Godly Minis¬ ters, Chapels of Ease would probably be raised in their places, and less Room for the Sectaries to spread them¬ selves. That the People of the Lower Part of our Parish, are a sober, sensible & literate People, those of the upper part, far otherwise; whose Numbers daily increase by Refugees from ye other Provinces. That if a Minister be not settled here soon, the defection from the Church will be so great, as hardly to leave enough Church Members to form a Congregation.

"That Itinerant Teachers from the Noard, are Yearly making of Converts that illiterate Persons set up for Pastors ; That the Presbyterian Missionaries from the Northern Colleges, use unwearied pains & Diligence to extend their Influence & Interest, to the hazard of this whole Parish being soon entirely in their Hands; That this Prospect grieves every true Son & Well-wisher to the Church of England, while our Establish'd Clergy calmly look on, But that our Assembly, Alarm'd at our Situation, has lately divided into this extensive Parish, taking a New one out of it, to be called by the Name of St. Mark alloting also 100 L stg. pr. ann. for an Itinerant Minister to oflici-

On August 10, 1756, thirty-two Acadians were sent to Prince Frederick's Church and distributed among the good people of that Parish for sustenance and support. Among these Acadians were Joseph Durong (Durant) and his wife, Ann Lambert ; and their children, Mary, J osette, Ann, Margaret, Mary Ann, and Rosalie; John Daigle and his wife, Rosalie Richard, and their child, John Baptist; Peter Lambert and his sons, Peter and John; Francois LaBlanc and his wife, Magdalene Comie, and their chil¬ dren, Josetta, Ozick, Magdalene, Tesslie, and Margaret; Paul Oliver and his wife, Magdalene Bourk; Margaret Daigle Forrait and her three children, Paul, Larion, and John Baptist; John Baptist Porrier; Michell Porrier, Peirre Caisee ; Michell Lapierre ; and Renaie Drowhanny.

On the 3rd of November, 1770, Mary Bonnell died under suspicious circumstances. The matter of her sudden pass¬ ing created great interest in all this community. After she had been buried thirty-six days, her body was raised from its grave and examined by Samuel Nesmith, Esq., Coroner, "For our said Lord the King," and his Coroner's jury composed of James Lane, Foreman, Bartley Clark, Elias McPherson, Richard Green, Francis Green, William Green, William Green, Sr., Francis Futhy, John Glenn, Sr., Daniel Williams, James McPherson, and John McCrea. The first sessions of this Jury were held in the Prince Frederick's Church but later meetings were had at Black Mingo.

The last record in "the Register Book" of this old Prince Frederick's Church on Black River is a petition to the Church wardens for the assistance of an old woman who had been of good behavior and of good reputation in Wil¬ liamsburg for more than thirty years. It was dated the 21st day of January, 1778, and signed by the following: James McCollough, Andrew Patterson, John Jones, Wil- liam Scott, William Cooper, James Daniel, George Mc- Cutchen, John Scott, Thomas McConnell, Alex. H. Crasener, William Miller, William Dobien, William Hamilton. This petition was filed, but never was heard, for the last meeting of the officers of this old Church had been held and its doors had been closed forever, but for nearly a hundred years thereafter people of the community used this old Churchyard as a burying ground. It is situated on a high bluff on the convex side of the river where its deep dark waters form a crescent, the horns of which seem to pass into infinite distance, fading away in fringes of live oak and cypress.

Prior to this time, many, even of its officers, had with¬ drawn from the Church and united with the Black Mingo and the Indiantown Presbyterian Churches. Among these may be mentioned William Wilson, Thomas G. Scott, John Ervin, Thomas Goddard, Francis Britton, Jr., Daniel Mc- Ginney, John McDowell, Moses Britton, John James, Hugh Ervin, James Lane, William McCottry, Adam Mc¬ Donald, Jatnes McPherson, George Burrows, Edward Plowden, William Gamble, William McGee, Moses Brown, John Futhy, Alexander McCrea, Benjamin Duke, Thomas Potts, William Hamilton, and Thomas McCrea. The com¬ municants of this Church who retained their connection with the Church of England transferred their membership to the Church at Georgetown.

The Santee French Huguenots built a Chapel of Ease a few miles North of Lenud's Ferry on the Britton's Ferry road about 1730, and another Chapel of Ease on Murray's old field near Murray's Ferry, where they worshipped in their native tongue but according to the ritual of the Church of England. The use of the French language in these Chapels of Ease along the Santee for more than half a century had a great influence in determining the language used in Williamsburg. Until the present day, one finds many French idioms in the speech of the Wil-

At the beginning of the War of the Revolution, there were large congregations supporting the Williamsburg Church at Kingstree, and the Black Mingo Church on the Kingstree-Georgetown road, which two churches were con¬ nected with the Presbytery of Scotland; about one hun¬ dred families supporting the Indiantown Presbyterian Church, which belonged to the Presbytery of Orange, an American organization; a few members of the Church of England living along what is now the Williamsburg- Georgetown County line, some of whom worshipped in Georgetown and others at the Chapel of Ease near Lenud's Ferry; and a few other communicants of the Church of England, who worshipped at the Chapel of Ease at Mur¬ ray's old field near Murray's Ferry. There were prob¬ ably a dozen Baptists in the Black Mingo community and nearly every one of these was a lineal descendant of the Reverend William Screven. At the outbreak of the Revo¬ lution, at least ninety-five per centum of the people of Williamsburg were Presbyterians.