MOUNTAIN CREEK MEETING HOUSE CEMETERY c.1789), Anderson County, SC A.K.A. Bethesda Baptist (1812) & Mountain Creek Baptist (1869) Version: 3.0 Effective: 14-Jul-2005 Text File: A207.TXT Image Folder: A207 ******************************************************************************** REPRODUCING NOTICE: ------------------- These electronic pages may not be reproduced in any format for profit, or presentation by any other organization or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the recording contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the following USGenWeb coordinator with proof of this consent. Paul M Kankula - nn8nn (visit above website) SCGenWeb "Golden Corner" Project Coordinator Anderson: http://www.sciway3.net/scgenweb/anderson-county/ Oconee: http://www.rootsweb.com/~scoconee/oconee.html Pickens: http://www.rootsweb.com/~scpicke2/ DATAFILE INPUT . : Paul M. Kankula at (visit above website) in Jul-2005 David S. Payne at otime1@yahoo.com in Jul-2005 GPS MAPPING .... : Gary L. Flynn at (visit above website) in Mar-2004 HISTORY ........ : Ernest C. McCown at Mountain Creek Baptist in Jun-1947 IMAGES ......... : Paul M. Kankula at (visit above website) in Mar-2004 TRANSCRIPTION .. : Wendy Campbell at wcampbell4@hotmail.com ******************************************************************************** CEMETERY LOCATION: ------------------ 6 miles SW of Anderson Latitude N34 26.428 x Longitude W82 43.032 CHURCH/CEMETERY HISTORY: ------------------------ Historical sketch of Mountain Creek Church. Read at the dedication of the Sunday School Annex on June 29, 1947 by: Ernest C. McCown, Church clerk. The first recorded minutes of Mountain Creek church are dated Oct 4, 1798 but there is evidence that the church was organized by 1789 or perhaps a few years earlier. At first Mountain Creek Church was established as an "arm" of Shockley's Ferry Church, but in Feb. 1812 it was formally organized as an independent church. At this time the name was changed from the Mountain Creek meeting house to Bethesda Baptist Church. In 1869 the name was changed back to Mountain Creek, probably because the Methodist had a nearby church with a similar name. There have been four Church buildings. The first was a log building which stood about three hundred yards to the rear of the present building near the old cemetery. The second stood about where our Sunday School rooms are now. It was also a log building. The third was a frame building which was just in front of the site of the present school house. The fourth building is the present one. Erected in 1870 by Preistly Masters at a cost of $1550. Three times this building has been altered and improved, including the recent addition of eight Sunday School rooms. In looking over the early records we find many familiar names among the founders of the church and members and deacons in there first few years. Among these names are, Burriss, Chamblee, Davis, McGregor, Watson, Chastain, Hembree, Armstrong, and Stevenson and others. The Halls, Masters, McCowns and McGills came only a few years later. Mountain Creek along with the other early Baptist churches was noted for it's strict discipline. Members were dealt with sternly for minor infractions of church rules. One man was churched for cheating a neighbor in a horse trade. Another was excluded for charging a brother the exorbitant price of sixty cents a bushel for corn. One was excluded for playing baseball. (There were fanatics even then) Mountain Creek was involved in the mission controversy which rocked the Baptist denomination in the first half of the nineteenth century. In 1823 Cooper Bennett who had been pastor since the beginning was dismissed for the then heretical doctrine of foreign missions. He was never formally re-elected pastor, but in his extreme old age he preached from this chair with great force and effectiveness. The mission controversy raged for quite a while. In 1838 Mountain Creek along with a number of other churches withdrew from the Saluda Association, because the association had after long controversy joined the State Baptist Convention which was missionary. But after two years the church voted to return to the Saluda Association. Some of the anti-missionary or Hard shells withdrew but gradually drifted back. Since then there has been no serious division in the church although everything has not always been unanimous. Until the 1870's negroes were members at Mountain Creek Church. Generally they were very devoted and well thought of by their while brethren although they were slaves. But soon after they were freed they began to drift away. Some of the older ones died as members of the church. Early church gave the pastors wheat, corn and other produce but the first recorded salary was paid to Rev. Baxter Hays in 1867. The salary was $40. Per year. The church had pastors deacons and church clerks from the beginning but not until 1847 did it have a treasurer. Sunday school and WMU aroused opposition from some of the old timers as being unauthorized by the bible. Three pastors deserve notice because of length of service. Cooper Bennett served 34 years, W.B. Hawkins 20 years and Baxter Hays 17 years. Cooper Bennett's service was continuous. Five ministers of the gospel have been ordained by Mountain Creek. In the order named they were Jacob Burriss, Asa Avery, R.H. Burriss. John Shaw and Frank Hawkins. Through the years the church has made steady progress in membership and in service of the Lord. There has been no sensational growth, but most of the time the promotion of Christianity has gone steadily forward TOMBSTONE TRANSCRIPTION NOTES: ------------------------------ a. = age at death b. = date-of-birth d. = date-of-death h. = husband m. = married p. = parents w. = wife GLENN, B.F., b. 28-nov-1836, d. 7-aug-1862 GLENN, Cynthia Watson, b. 3-sep-1835, d. 13-sep-1892,w/o b.f. glenn, GLENN, D. Ashmore, b. 12-nov-1858, d. 18-jan-1863 WATSON, D.K., b. 5-feb-1797, d. 5-apr-1884 WATSON, Jonathan J., b. 26-apr-1818, d. 14-jul-1845 WATSON, Mary, b. 4-jun-1792, d. 7-jul-1878, w/o david watson WATSON, Mellisa, b. 16-aug-1814, d. 8-jan-1877 WATSON, Sarah Gary, b. 18-feb-1801, d. 22-may-1838