SHILOH UNITED METHODIST CHURCH CEMETERY, Anderson County, SC a.k.a. > South Shiloh M.E. Church & A002 Richardson Family Version: 3.0 Effective: 3-Aug-2006 Text File: A257.TXT Image Folder: A257 ******************************************************************************** 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 Apr-2005 GPS MAPPING .... : Gary L. Flynn at (visit above website) in Dec-2003 HISTORY ........ : Shiloh United Methodist Church IMAGES ......... : Paul M. Kankula at (visit above website) in Dec-2003 RECORDING ...... : ____________ at ____________ in _______ ******************************************************************************** CEMETERY LOCATION: ------------------ 2 miles west of Piedmont. Latitude N 34 41.904 x Longitude W 82 30.103 CEMETERY HISTORY: ------------------------ Shiloh is located at 135 Reid Bagwell Lane in Piedmont, SC and is in sight of the junction of SC highway 29 and Interstate-85 in Anderson County. This year's Homecoming is special in that the new sanctuary will be consecrated. Lawrence B. Evans was the architect from Tallahassee, Florida and Robinson Construction Company was the general contractor from Easley, SC. Construction began in 1995 and was recently completed in August 1996. During the construction, Shiloh's Family Life Center served as temporary sanctuary. The previous sanctuary, constructed around 1938, suffered roof and foundation deterioration due to age, plus there were other problems that relate to today's building codes. Shiloh's governing body formed a building committee to investigate the best direction of building reform. The committee returned with cost and efforts to restore the old building and an alternate plan to demolish the old building to build anew. After membership review and voting, the latter was decided upon. Shiloh has a long and fine history in this upstate corner of South Carolina. In a community known back then as Golden Springs, there was a general merchandise store which handled the mail delivered by pony express from Williamston Railroad Station. In this early 1800 community, the Holy Spirit directed the organization of a church. It began as Shiloh Methodist Episcopal Church in 1815. Land for the building site was donated by the late David Spearman family. He was a strong layman who gave leadership for many years. From the beginning until the present time, his descendants have been members of this church. Shiloh's first building was of log construction, which was replaced before the Civil War by a frame building in 1860. This frame building served as sanctuary until it was replaced by the former brick building in 1938 that stood until 1995. Now in a forth sanctuary, members worship in a grand and beautiful sanctuary. Known are all the names of all the ministers who served Shiloh from 1852. Records prior to that date are lost. Some ministers were appointed for a second time, some were not ordained and served only a short time in the ministry. There is very little information about them, but back in the 1800's, known as "Exhorters", we would call them "Lay Speakers" today. Since the beginnings, Shiloh has been a growing church, always expanding and improving, but sharing their ministers on a charge with other churches. Year 1951 changed that when a parsonage was built and Shiloh became a station charge. Mr. & Mrs. Tom Bagwell donated the land and the frame construction became a reality due to the skilled hands of church members and local friends. The late Rev. Victor M. Ross was our first full time pastor. A fellowship hall was erected in 1954 and named after the late Mr. Edward King, a beloved layman. In 1985, the Family Life Center was dedicated. This center consists of a gymnasium, eight Sunday school classrooms and a completely renovated kitchen and fellowship room. The local community also uses this center during elections. Many, many families have been raised and continue to worship at Shiloh, clinking to this beautiful country parish. But their have been several to answer the call to serve the Lord further, as pastors or missionaries. William Major, Ordained Minister (Ret), served in SC Conference; Roy Major, Ordained in North Georgia Conference; Miss Frances Major, Ordained Minister & Missionary to India; Mrs. Lois M. Ford, Teaching Ministry at Arizona Indian Reservation; Miss Patsy Major, Music Teacher, Kentucky Mountain Bible College; Wayne Major, Ordained Minister in SC Conference; Julian Weisner, Ordained Minister in SC Conference; Charles Aiken, Founder of Boys Home that serves homeless boys; Tony Medlin, Ordained Minister in SC Conference; Scott Robinson, Ordained Minister in SC Conference; James Bruce, Ordained Minister in SC Conference; Jack Bagwell, singing professionally with Palmetto State Quartet for over 40 years going through-out the nation. o----------o I've just heard stories about Shiloh UMC. I don't know how much is true or facts and have not pursed them. I'm told that the original church building and cemetery were on down the road from the present church building. The old cemetery was destroyed and trailers were near or put on it. I took that to be the old Richardson Cemetery (the last one I sent to you) which was on down the road next to Hurricane Creek. A memorial stone for the Richardson family was erected in the present Shiloh UMC Cemetery. The destroyed cemetery was really a private cemetery that was used before the first Shiloh Church building was built. The second building was built a long time ago at the present Shiloh UMC location. The old cemetery is across the road. A lot of that space filled up and the cemetery expanded to take up both sides of the road. They are still burying there. The new Shiloh UMC was built around the second building in 1996. A Shiloh Church building was there long before 1996. I'd call the new building an expansion. Lowry Wilson o----------o A002 Richardson Family Cemetery: Shiloh Road & Oliver Park 3 miles SW of Piedmont Estimated GPS = Latitude N 34 41.29 x Longitude W 82 30.19 Jessie Daucus "J. D." Allison told of his Great, Great, Great Grandfather, Mathias Richardson, Jr., and wife, Mary Tindall, plus others being buried in an old family cemetery on Shiloh Road. The cemetery was destroyed long ago and a trailer park put on the property. The markers were piled up on the bank of Hurricane Creek next to the cemetery. Today, there are no signs left of the old cemetery or markers. Relatives erected a memorial marker for Mathias and Mary Tindall Richardson in the A257 Shiloh UMC Cemetery located on Shiloh Road. RICHARDSON, Mathias, b. 12-jun-1785, d. 22-jun-1871 RICHARDSON, Mary Tindall, h. mathias richardson Lowry Wilson o----------o Per: Ross Smith's Anderson County Book-of-the-Dead list the following Richardson's buried in BOTD #133 Shiloh Methodist. RICHARDSON, John, b.04-17-1808, d.07-18-1875 RICHARDSON, Mathias, b.04-20-1822, d.10-05-1965 RICHARDSON, Mathias, b.01-12-1785, d.06-22-1871, w. mary tindall RICHARDSON, M.L., b.03-22-1848, d.10-14-1887, h. j.g. Richardson TINDALL, Mrs., b., d., a. 93y, h. mathias richardson o----------o Per: Anderson County Cemetery Survey Books. These are at Shiloh Methodist Church cemetery ... RICHARDSON, John, b. 11 April 1808 instead of the 17th. RICHARDSON, M.L., b.1887, d.(stone broken)[he/she's not with the others] RICHARDSON, Mary Tindall, d. age 93, w/o Mathias Richardson, Sr. RICHARDSON, Barbara Gambrell, b. 21 May 1824, d. 24 Oct 1890 RICHARDSON, Sion, b. 10 Sept 1824, d. 17 April 1895 This cemetery listing is not in alphabetical order so I am assuming that they were written down in the order that they came to them... saying that, there is another group of Richardson's nearby: RICHARDSON, Sara Prince, b. 5 Feb 1886, d. 28 June 1887, d/o J.M. and M.P. Richardson. RICHARDSON, Lena, b. 11 May 1881, d. 6 Sept. 1881, d/o J.M. and M. P. Richardson. RICHARDSON, Sion Prince, b. 1 July 1882, d. 3 Nov 1882, s/o J.M. and M. P. Richardson. There are over a thousand graves in the current Shiloh cemetery. MaryClyde Mungo o----------o Church history in the Powdersville area can be traced back as far as the Revolutionary War. A young man named Moses Holland moved from Virginia and settled near Williamston in 1788. He started a church there and people from the whole area would go there once a month or so for services and revival meetings. But that's a pretty good trip, even today, so it wasn't too long before enough Baptists in this area formed their own church around the Brushy Creek area. So they called it "Brushy Creek Baptist Church". They changed it in 1791 to "Brush Creek," because of the Brushy Creek Baptist Church in Greenville. The first pastor was Rev. Carter Tarrants. There is some debate as to where the church was, exactly. Some say it met in front of Claude Merritt's home. Others say it met in front of Harve Merritt's home. Either way, it's easy to see who the oldest family in the church is. There are still more than 30 members of the Merritt family at Siloam today. Eventually, this Brushy Creek group divided up into separate communities to meet closer to home. Mt. Pisgah Church was formed, and in 1821 the name of "Siloam" first appeared as part of the Pendleton District of Baptist churches. In 1828, some land was donated and a log meeting house was built across the road from where Siloam's sanctuary is today. A number of pastors served Siloam through those years. In 1891, the membership was 151 and the pastor's annual salary was $82. They met in that log meeting house until it was finally torn down in 1896. A new meeting house until it was finally torn down in 1896. A new church was built there that was used until 1965. In 1907, there were two mission groups at Siloam. The "Willing Workers" were led by John Bridges and the "King's Messengers" were led by Mrs. Eva Barr. The Bridges and Barr families are still in the church today and the older ladies' class is still called "The Willing Workers". That year, $100 was given to missions. Just the year before, the total offerings for Siloam were less than $200. In 1913, wings were built on each side of the church for Sunday School rooms. There were 152 enrolled in Sunday School. Jesse Q. Merritt was elected as Choir Director, a position he held for 35 years. His wife, Mrs. Mattie Merritt, was called the "Hat Lady" because she always wore a big hat to church. In 1947, the church building was brick veneered and ten new Sunday School rooms were built. An indoor baptistry was installed. There are some funny stories told in the church history book about baptisms. During all the previous years, people were baptized in the creek that runs on the back of the property behind the cemetery. Later, a concrete pool was installed by the creek. It was always difficult to get the young candidates to behave when they went into that cold spring water. The outdoor baptismal pool still stands today. It is about 4 feet x 8 feet with three or four steps going down on one end. After the baptistry was moved indoors, the water was given a chance to warm up some before they used it. While it was still new, Rev. Charlie Candler went by the church on a Saturday to see if it had filled up for services the next day. When he came into the building, he found his two young sons, using the baptistry for a swimming pool. Church historians say that if you knew Charlie Candler, "You could be sure that this never happened again." In 1950, Siloam held a revival meeting that lasted three weeks, with 64 baptisms. That year, the church membership was 530. Total gifts were $14,188 and missions giving totaled $2,707. In 1955, Jack Ward became pastor and the church grew steadily during these years. Land was purchased across the road from the church and a decision was made to build a new church. In 1961, they began to set aside funds for this and in 1964 began to build the existing sanctuary and the north wing. On Easter Sunday 1965, the new building was occupied. The membership had grown to 688 by 1968. Pastor Joel Jenkins came in 1969. It was during these years that Jack Ward's vision to grow the church paid off. The membership nearly doubled to 1205, with 887 in Sunday School. On Easter Sunday, 1973, the church debt was paid off. On Easter Sunday, 1975, ground was broken for the new educational wing and the Christian Fellowship Building. On Easter Sunday, 1976, these buildings went into service. In June 1987, Dr. Michael Cloer became pastor of Siloam. At that time, there were 1,653 members and 652 in Sunday School. Steve Ellis came the following year to lead worship and praise. Building and progress continued with the new two-story Children's Building in 1989 and the start of Siloam Christian School in 1994. During the 13 years of Pastor Cloer's leadership, Siloam became a very different church. Pastor Cloer's passion was for Siloam to be "salt and light" in the Powdersville area. He led Siloam in bringing the gospel to neighbors and also to the lost, all around the world. He organized "Pastors for Fife," an organization of pastors and churches, organized to fight abortion. As a result of this type leadership, Siloam began to attract people who really wanted to follow such a leader, and also began to lose some who could not. Under the enthusiastic leadership of Steve Ellis, the worship style of Siloam also changed. With the church logo and motto of "Spirit and Truth," Siloam continues to seek to worship God with music and praise that are a balance of traditional hymns as well as an up-beat, more contemporary style. Add to this, the continuation of a centuries-old tradition of strong Biblical preaching. God truly blessed Siloam through the ministry of these two men. In August 2001, Dr. Donald R. Dunavant, former Vice- President of Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary with a Ph.D. in Missions, became pastor of Siloam. lie brings a love for the scriptures as well as a heart for people. Pastor Don, Brother Steve, and the rest of the staff are prepared to lead Siloam to do God's will in winning the lost both here and around the world, as well as growing the saved. By: Piedmont Baptist Association 2003 TOMBSTONE TRANSCRIPTION NOTES: ------------------------------ a. = age at death b. = date-of-birth d. = date-of-death h. = husband m. = married p. = parents w. = wife >