Traveling Church Lists
To Kentucky From Virginia
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
--
Published Sources:
The Travelling Church & Fredericksburg Baptist Church
George W. Ranck
Rev. Oscar Darter
Publ. 1891
Publ. 1959
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
--
Kentucky
On pages 30 - 31 of his 1910 book The Travelling Church, subtitled "An
Account of the Baptist Exodus from Virginia to Kentucky in 1781 under the
Leadership of Rev. Lewis Craig and Capt. William Ellis," Professor George W.
Ranck produced a partial list of the familes that were part of this historic
journey.
He writes:
How many died on the way, how many were slain by savage foes and how many
were injured for life by exposure no records remain to tell nor is there a
list extant of the heroic men and women who survived the perils of the
wilderness and planted the banner of their faith at Gilbert's Creek. The
names of some of them, however, have been secured and are herewith
appended... These names were obtained from family records, "Ford's
Repository," "Virginia Baptists," "Ten Churches" and
"Spencer's History of
Kentucky Baptists. " In most cases only the family name was given without
either the names or number of the members of the family. The names secured
are:
ALLEN ELLY PRICE
ASHER EASTIN ROBINSON & Wife
BLEDSOE GARRARD RAMSEY
BOWMAN GOODLOE RUCKER
BARROW HUNT SHACKELFORD
BURBRIDGE HART SHIPP
BUCKNER HICKMAN SHOTWELL
CRAIG, Toliver & wife HICKERSON SINGLETON
CRAIG, Lewis MARTIN SMITH
CRAIG, Joseph MOORE SANDERS
CAVE, William MORTON STUART
CURD MARSHALL TODD
CARR MORRIS THOMPSON
CREATH MITCHUM WALTON
DUDLEY NOEL WOOLFOLK
DUPUY PAYNE WATKINS
DARNABY PARRISH, Timothy WALLER
DEDMAN PARRISH, James WARE
ELLIS, William & PITMAN WOOLRIDGE
ELLIS' family of 5 PRESTON YOUNG
other members
On pages 4 and 5 he adds:
It was plain that something very unusual was transpiring at an isolated
building in Spottsylvania County, Virginia, one Sunday morning in September,
1781. The house, which stood on the old Catharpin road leading to the then
little village of Fredericksburg, and which was located about four miles
south of the spot since known as Parker's Station, was surrounded by such a
gathering of men, women and children, slaves, pack horses, cattle, dogs, and
loaded wagons as had never been seen in the county before, but there was no
unseemly disorder and but little noise except such as came from fretful
infants and from the bells of the grazing stock. The crowd was too great for
the house and most of the people were assembled under the trees in front of
it where the women had been provided with seats. It could not be a
camp-meeting - there were no signs of either cheerfulness or enjoyment. It
was not a funeral though all were sad and many were deeply dejected. It was
"farewell Sunday" at Upper Spottsylvania (Baptist) Church - the next morning
the congregation was to start in a body for Kentucky.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
All kinds of property were disposed of, all kinds of arrangements were made
and the Farewell Sunday found them heavy-hearted but ready for the start with
packing completed, homes abandoned and surrounded by friends who had gathered
from far and near to bid them a last and long good bye. Of those not a few
were Baptist preachers of Spottsylvania and the neighboring counties. Among
them, according to tradition, was Elijah Craig, the bold exhorter of the Blue
Run church who had lunched in jail more than once on rye bread and water for
conscience sake; Ambrose Dudley who had often labored with him; William E.
Waller, pastor of County Line and William Ellis the aged shepherd of the
Nottaway flock who had realized what "buffetings" meant long before the
Revolution brought its blessed heritage of religious freedom. They had many
relatives among the departing throng and all of them but the venerable Ellis
soon followed them to the land of Boone. John Waller, pastor of Lower
Spottsylvania Church, and the most picturesque of the early Baptist ministers
of Virginia was also there. He was the "Devil's Adjutant" no longer. The
former persecutor, whole-souled in everything he undertook, had for years
been one of the staunchest defenders of the people he had once so
energetically reviled.
One familiar figure was misssing from the crowd. John Clay, the struggling
preacher for the struggling church in the flat and desolate "slashes" of
Hanover was not there. Only a few weeks before the father of the eloquent
"Harry of the West" had ceased from his labors forever. Preachers were not
lacking in the expedition itself. Joseph Bledsoe of the Wilderness Church and
father of the afterwards noted Senator Jesse Bledsoe of Kentucky; Joseph
Craig, "the man who laid down in the road"; William Cave, a connection of the
Craigs, and Simeon Walton, pastor for a season of Nottaway Church, were four
of probably a dozen preachers who accompanied it. Many more came after them,
so many in fact that an early chronicler of the church in Virginia calls
Kentucky "the vortex of Baptist preachers."
Excerpts from e-mail comments by Bill Davis:
In his book The Travelling Church, George W. Ranck listed the families above
as being part of the Travelling [sic]Church caravan. I believe that my
ancestor Benjamin Craig was part of the caravan because it was specifically
mentioned in an obituary of his son, George Craig, in 1833. I suspect
Jeremiah Craig came at that time also. Capt. John Craig and Joice Craig
Faulconer were already in Kentucky before the Travelling Church, and Rev.
Elijah Craig came to Kentucky a few years afterwards. I've always believed
that both Taliferro Craig Sr. and Toliver Craig Jr. were part of it. Surely
there were also numerous slaves, including a slave of Rev. Joseph Craig known
as Peter Durett or "Captain," who became the first Black Baptist minister in
Kentucky.
I received an inquiry from someone interested in locating a list of members
of "The Travelling Church" when it was in Virginia. I replied that it
probably is a misnomer to think of the Travelling Church as a particular
church. What's called the "The Travelling Church" was a caravan of 600 -
some
souls who were led by Rev. Lewis Craig into frontier Kentucky in 1781.
Certainly a good portion of the caravan came out of Craig's congregation,
hence the name Travelling Church, but I'm sure many of the others that came
were from some of the surrounding churches, their relations, and probably
anyone else that wanted to travel into frontier Kentucky in relative safety.
[This message then referred to Morgan Edward's lists of members of the Upper
Spotsylvania Church in Virginia, as copied in Oscar Darter's book,
Fredericksburg Baptist Church. See below.]
Virginia
Fredericksburg Baptist Church
Rev. Oscar Darter
Publ. 1959
In his book, Fredericksburg Baptist Church, Rev. Oscar Darter quotes two
lists from the records of the Baptist minister Morgan Edwards, a contemporary
of the preaching Craig brothers.
First, Darter quotes Edwards as saying:
The Upper Spotsylvania Baptist Church consists of two branches; one near
where is a house 40 by 24 built in 1769 on land given by Lewis Craig; the
other near Fredericksburg where is also a meeting house. The gospel was at
first preached here by Rev. David Thomas, then by Samuel Harris and others.
Converts to this ministry were:
Lewis Craig
Joseph Craig and wife
John Craig and wife
John Saunders and wife
Joseph Allen and wife, son and two daughters
Andrew Hampton and wife
Charles Robins and wife
John Martin and wife
John Haden and wife
James Gordan
William Cave and wife
John Bledsoe
John Hyat and wife
Phil. Conner and wife
Benj. Robertson
James True
James Haden
Reuben Young
John Price and wife
Joice Falkoner
Ann Cavender
Richard Cavenaugh
Ann Neal
______ Robison
Christopher Singleton
Thos. Heath and daughter
Jennings McDonald
James Evans
Elijah Howell
Lucy Martin, Senr. and Jr.
Frances Darnel
Mrs. Webster
Bartholomew Curtis (deaf and dumb man)
5 negroes, men and women
a total of 25.
Next, Darter quotes Edwards as giving a list of 25 persons, who were on Nov.
20, 1767 constituted into a church by James Reed, Dutton Lane and others.
Darter says these are the charter members of the upper branch of the Upper
Spotsylvania Church:
Lewis Craig *
John Waller
James Chiles
John Saunders *
Joseph Craig and wife *
Elijah Craig
Olden Wisdom
William Beckham
Joseph Spencer
James Crawford
Irene Saunders
Mary Darnel
Mary Brock and daughter
Mary Wigglesworth
Sarah Crawford
Bartholomew Curtis *
Nicholas Darnel
Martin Wisdom
Rachel Allen
Robert Huddlestone (a negro)
Thomas Martin
David Thompson
[* Denotes names on both lists]
Rev. Darter notes that this is a list of only 24 persons, and suggests that a
wife of John Saunders could be the missing 25th person. Darter states that it
is uncertain if any of these were members of the other branch of the Upper
Spotsylvania Church, meaning the one near Fredericksburg. So apparently both
of these lists are of members of the church located 20 miles southwest of
Fredericksburg, now known as "Craig's Church." The present Craig's
Church is
located in the small town of Paytes, Virginia. A granite monument marks the
original location out in the countryside.
Darter also quotes Edwards as saying the Upper Spotsylvania was a
"Remarkable-Mother Church, Louisa, Orange, and Lower Spotsylvania being it's
offspring." The Lower Spotsylvania Church "consists of four branches; one
near where is a meeting house, 32 feet by 28, built in 1768 on land given by
James Wigglesworth, the other in Caroline; the third in Essex and the fourth
in Middlesex. The families about [meaning in the neigborhood of Lower
Spotsylvania Church, later known as the Waller Church], whereof 216 persons
are baptized and in communication here." The bracketed part is in Darter's
text.
I don't know if any lists of members of these other churches are available. I
suspect that since Darter doesn't mention them, they are not available. Bill
Davis
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
--
Related Items and/or People
Bryan Station Defenders
Testifiers in An Early Court Case
Scott County KYGenWeb
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
--
Page created by: jog1(a)ix.netcom.com on: Thu May 9 12:45:31 1996
Changes last made April 3, 1999