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rnT VT.TV TO 77. NEWBERRY, S. C, FRII)AY' AUGUST 23. 1907. CORNER STONE FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH LAID HISTORY OF CHURCH PAST SEV ENTY-FIVE YEARS. Historical Address of Rev. Luther Broaddus Delivered in 1882-Al so Historical Sketch by Rev. G. A. Wright. The exercises at the laying of the corner stone of the First Baptist church on Tuesday afternoon were opened with the song, "Praise God From Whom all Blessings Flow", be ing followed by a prayer by the pas tor, Rev. G. A. Wright. Then "How Firm a Foundation" was sung, after which Rev. Mr. Wright read the sec ond chapter of Second Samuel and also II Chronicle, 6th Chapter and the 8th Psalm. Mr. Wright then made the follow ing address: "When it was decided to hold these exercises of the laying of the corner stone, it was not intended to 1ave an elaborate address, but simply to meet here as a church and as christians of the community, men and women in terested in the welfare of the com munity, to hold a simple service, sing ing praises to God, the giver of every good and perfect gift; and' lift our hearts in prayer to Him, seeking His guidance in all that we undertake; for he is today our God as he was the God of our fathers; He today is our refuge, as He was their refuge; God is our refuge and strength, a present help in need. "Last week I wrote to the presi dent of Furman University, hoping that we could have him with us on -__,_this occasion, and finding we could -not, 1 then wrote to Dr. Bagby, of Greenville, It was hot our intention to have these deliver an elaborate ad dress, but to take part in the simple exercises that we are holding now. "Yieader house has stood there for two generations, and four have wor shiped there. For the past seventy five years that church building has stood and in some respects iF q good 4 building today. It has serve .cs day and grenerat.ion. We need a larger bui lding, we~ need a more substantial building. We have not been able to carry out the original plan, as we had proposed. Those who come after us will be able to carry the work to comn .pletion, we ho~pe. We need to hav e buildings erected to His service. We Deed to realize that God expects it, and not be' say, "that is good enough." The best is good enough, and only the best. We are standing on the shoulders of the past. The history,of the past is ours and we need to realize the heritage we have. "A father once sat on the platform when his son was delivering his grad uating address and some one said that the boy was an improvement on-his father, and the father said he ought to be, for he is standing on the shoulders of his father. So we ought to be. "As the. Emperor Napolepn was traveling with his,.troops through the empire of the Pyramids he pointed to them and said: 'Soldiers, forty cen tuuries look down upon you,' and as we walk down and read the epitaph of the heroes of the past, are . We ashamed of them? By a single touch these saintly souls are depicted as having passed frorn the arena. *As they look down on us as we run our race: as we bear our burdens, and as they are there and we recognize that they are there, we should go forth and bear the buidens that are ours. They are witnesses to the love of our God; they are witnesses to the power of His cross, and they are witnesses ras were Moses and Abraham, and as all of these were, so we are witnesses of the power of faith. They are wit nesses also of our lives, of our strug gles, of our victories and of our de feat. Seeing, therefore, that we are "encompassed by so great a cloud of witnesses". let us then run with pa tience the race that is set before us. Today we believe that the spirits of away. They are compared to a great cloud. There is said to be one of the most famous pictures in the world the infant Saviour in the arms of its mother-that never attracted very much attention until recently, when the dust of centuries was washed away and they discovere:d in the clouds faces of angels. "In some theaters here tier rises above tier until forty or fifty thou sand people can witness those who fight or those who run. If we could lay aside the veil, and could our spir itual' vision be clear and we could see as they see and hear as they hear, we believe that we could see many of onr own loved ones, who have crossed over and 'are at rest from their labors today, and whose works follow tham, and we could hear from them the shouts of applause. Seeing then we are "encompassed by so great a cloud of witnesses", let us lay.aside every weight and the sins which be set us and run with patience the race that is set before us. Let us then, forgetting the things that are behind us, reach out to the things that are before us; straining every nerve to gain the crown and have God as a purpose in the life of every indivi dual. May we realize that purpose and follow in God's work, so that in the end we may hear, 'Well done thou good and faithful servant, enter thou into the joys of thy Lord.' "Let us so live that at the end we may hear from these. 'Well done,' and that they, too, may wel come us into Thy presence." The older representatives of the church, Messrs. E. B. Wilbur, James McIntosh and R. Y. Leavell; and a younger representative, Mr. James A. Burton, Jr., lowered the stone. The articles were then placed in the stone as follows: First, the Holy Bible, next, the constitution of the church organized September 30, 1831, which was read by the pastor; then. a memorial discourse, which was de livered by the Rev. Luther Broaddua on January 1, 1882, and historica'l ad dress delivered by Rev. G. A. Wright, Sunday, August 18, 1907, and then the names of the officers of the church, of the Sunday school and al so the building committee, the archi tet and the contractor, and the co pies of the two town papers, the Ob server and The Herald and News, ofE August 20. 1907, Baptist Courier of August 21, 1907, and last, a book written by one of the deacons of the church who now has his reward, "Re minisences of Newberry,'' by John B. Carwile. A prayer was then offered by the Rev. P. B. Mitchell, pastor of East Side eh*urch, after which "Stand up, Stand up for Jesus'' was sung and the benediction was pronounced by Rev. D. G. Phillips, pastor of the A. R. P. church. .In this connection we print below a historical address, which was de livered in the church by the Rev. George A. Wright on last Sunday morning, covering the history of the church from 1881 up to the present Fime. We also reprint an address, covering the first fifty years of the history of the church, which was de livered by 'the Rev. Luther Broaddus, Ithe then pastor, on January 1, 1882. The church had this address printed in pamplet form, but we understand that these pamphlets are now very rare. These two addresses by Mr. Wright and Mr. BroaddL's contain a lot of valuable historical information and we have no, doubt will he read with mueh interest by the readers of IThe Herald and News. HISTORICAL ADDRESS BY REV. GBORGE A. WRIGHT. On Jan. 1, 1882, a memorial dis. ,couse was delivered by the pastor of the church, Rev. Luther Broaddus, in which he gave a history of the church from the date of organization September 30th, 1831 to 1881. It is ours to give in brief, the history from 1881 to 1907. It is not necessary for one to be ab sent from a home, a church, a com munity twenty-five years, to notice the changes; they may be more marked in tm rempets, but iher are those which so affect us for time and eter- I nity that we cannot forget them i' 1 we would, nor would we if we could. Some .f t Cm X I lg the e.m to blee ing, eyes are red with weeping, and tears brim into pools. "We are hereI not to weep, but to rejoice that we l have been counted worthy to be as sociated with such a band of worthies as those who constituted the Newber ry Baptist church of other days. Among the noblest and best of earth,. and heaven has no purer. And some of these have entered upon their re- 1 ward within the last twenty-five years. "They rest from their labors, and their works do follow them." In that memorial discourse this question is asked, "What shall this church be for 1 the next fifty years? If the past fifty were marked by distinguis.:hcd attainments and abundant labors the next fifty ought to be still more so." We have in part answered the ques tion, for twenty-five years have pass ed, during which time we have been building upon the foundation laid by others, and writing history for future generations. There are some here who have been privileged to work in the church through these tw4nty-4five years and some who may be privileged to work through the twenty-five be fore us. Let us turn our faces to the light and walk in the light even as He is in the light, that we may be a light. This church has been in exis tence long enough to prove to the community whether or not our prin eipl,_, are%i?rth anythin- .o the wfrld. They have been embodied in the lives of men and women who would have gone to the stake in their defense. It is impossible for us to make mention of all who have had part in the history of the church these twen tr-five years. At the beginning of this - period, Rev. Luther Broaddus was the pastor, and Bro. John B. Car wile, W. T. Wright, John R. LeS vell, James McIntosh were deacons; Bre. John S. Carwile, church clerk, and Bro. James McIntosh, treasurer. Rev. Luther Broaddus resigned the pastorate of the Ninety Six church to become pastor of the Newberry Baptist church, and began his work, Jan. 1,.1878, and remained pastor up to the time of his death, October 26, 1885. His influence, along with that of Dr. J. J. Brantly who was pastor from 1850 to 1866, will live in the church as long as the church lives. No church ever had a more faithful pastor. By his consecrated life arnd ministrations of love he won not only the hearts of his own members, but the confidence and affection of the entire community. The love that this church had for him is set forth in resolutions adopted Jan. 3, 1886. He was a member of that Virginia fam ily that has done so much for the de nomination and for the world, and his life has added new luster to the name.! He was a brave soldier of the Confed erate army, a faithful servant of his Lord, a good preacher, a sympathetic pastor. He coined on his heart the ex periences of his people, and bore themn in his petitions to a throne of grace. In 1870. Bro. 0. T. Scott, John B. I Carwile, John R. Leavell and Wil lam T. Wright were- ordained dea cons of the church. They had been act ing sometime befbore this, for we find that Jno. B. Carwile was elected in 1856, and Bro Wright and Leavell in 1868. Each of these served ifi this capacity until the day of his death. Bro. G. T. Scott died in 1876, and Brother James McIntosh was eleeted deacon. A notice of Brother Scott may be found in the memorial dis course of Bro. Broaddus. Bro. W. T. Wright died Nov. 29th, 1884, he was born August 20th, 1830. He united with the church by letter from the Baptist church at Madison, Ga., Jan. 20th,! 1835. He was fjthful in the discharge of his duties as he conceived them, he was zealous for the church and believed in exercising the discipline necessary to keep her pure,, he was not afraid to follow in duty's path, he believed not only in having1 a name to live but manifesting its power. On the 3rd Sunday of Jan. 1886,' Rev. C. P. Scott, of Richmond, Va.. entered upon 'his duties as pastor of Ithe church and served until March 30th, 1890, when he resigned to aeg ept the pastorate of the church alt Warrenton, Va. He is now pastor of' the Baptist church at Barton Heights,. Ricmond, Va. The church was sup >lied by different pastors through !it the state until Feb. 8th, 1891, --hen the present pastor took charge. Bro Y. J. Pope ,was ordained dea ";n June 26th. 1S87. Dr. James C. Turman of Greenville preaching the crnnon. July 14th, 1895, Bro. John S. "atwile, Robt. Y. Leavell, and W. H. lunt were elected deacons and on he 5th Sunday of September follow nig were ordained, Dr. Chas. Manly, of. Greenville, preaching the sermon. 3ro. Carwile lived but a -few months tfter bis ordination entering into -est December 10th, 1895. He was he youngest son of John B. Carwile, ind grandson of John S. Carwile, vhose name he bore worthily. His trandfather was the first deacon of Ie church. John S., Jr., was borh kpril 20th, 1858. On April 10th, 1881, ie was elected clerk of the church and was clerk at the time of his death. Phe last record made by 1im bears the date of April 14th, 1895. After that on ac ount of failing health he was not bble to attend the services of God's ouse regularly. No church ever had L more efficient clerk. There is no :rouble tracing his records. He wa t one time superintendent of the 3unday-school. He always took an ac :ive part in it, and all the other work )f the church, never a service that he vas not present, if it were possible, ie loved children and they loved him, uld to him and Mrs. S. M. Redus is lue the credit of the orzanization of ;he Sunbeam Soelty. He v::.3 bright ind cheerful and had the f.culty of ;ransmitting it to others. A large :rowd gathered at the Baptit church n his honor, and many were the words of praise by the representatives rom all the churches in the town. On the 7th of May, 1897, Bro. John 3. Carwile fell on sleep. He was born ,1ietown of Newberry Novi 24th, 825, and, with the exception of twc r three years lived in North Car )lina, his .entire life was spent in qewberry and he had much to dc with the financial, intellectual, moral, ind spiritual wellbeing of the corn unity. For many years he was onneeted with the National Bank )f Newberry. His book, " Reminis yences of Newberry", f1r. iishes delightful readiil:. annd con tains valuable infomaa concern ing Newberry and he.r people of thai time. He united with the church upor a profession. of faith in Christ Aug 1th, 1841.' Hg was debcon fron 1856 to 1897. 'A man of sterling Christian character. He was interest sd in the church, giving time, money energy, for her his prayers ascended [t was a great deprivation when 01 ,ecount of feeble health he was fore ed to give up his active work. HE took great interest in the music, he trained the children in the Sunday school, and the choir of which he was a member. Some of us remember whai a rich mellow voice he had and car hear him singing now, "I am bound or the promised land'" and see or his face the expression which indi' eted that in spirit he was already there. The last of the four, who were or dained on the same jav, to finish his course, and receive the crown, was Bo. Jno. R. Leavell. He was borr Tov. 24th, 1820, near Bush Rivel Baptist church, he moved to the towi of Newberry about 1850. United witi the ebureh here by letter fro~m Busi River, May 27th, 1852. Fr'om 1868 to his death, he serve: as deacon and he was faithful in thi discharge of his duties. He put noth ng above the house of God and hi~ service, he took a deep interest in the work of the denomination in thi county and state, he was called the father of the Union meeting, he nev er missed a meeting unless providen tially hindered. Through his efforts some of the weak places in the county had pi-eaching. He was very mue inteested in the work at the Newber ry Cotton Mill, he taught in the Sun day school for a number of years He was largely instrumental in get ting their new ehurch building. H. was a regular attendant on the con venton of the state and served 01 some of the most important commit tees. He fell on sleep Feb. 6th, 1900 His spirit went to be with his maste and those with whom he had enljoye seh sweet fellowship on earth. :riy 14h, 1901, ro. M. Werts, an< John M. Kinard were elected dea cons and on J'an. 29th, 1902, Bro. E. B. Wilbur. Later Bro. Kinard and Wilbur were ordained, sermon preach ed by Rev. N. N. Burton, pastor of the West End Baptist church. Bro. Werts had been ordained deacon of the Mt. Zion church, so it was not necessary that he be ordained again. The last of the deacons to die was Brother Werts. I[e was born Dec. 17, 1827. For years he was a member of the Mt. Zion church and deacon. He mov ed to the town of Newberry and unit ed with the church Feby. 11th, 1894. He was a man of few words, quiet, unassuming, but his life impressed you that he had been with God and like Enoch he walked with him. He departed this life April 5th, 1907. We must make mention of those who worked in the Sunday school as teachers, and have entered upon their reward: Mrs. Kate Carwile, May 5th, 1883; Mrs. Moriat Gary, Sept. 12th, 1884; Mrs. S. E. Hunt, Dec. 20th, 1887; Mrs. Francis Higgins McIntosh, Sept. 22, 1890; Mrs. Linda Goggans, Feb. 11th, 1904; Mrs. G. A. Wright, Nov. 19th, 1900;. Mrs. S. M. Redus, Dec. 22, 1905; Mrs.-Helen Pope, Aug. 12th, 1906; Mrs. Annie H. Peoples, Jan. 11, 1907; Miss Mary Pope, Feb. 13th, 1907. There are many others whose vir tues are worthy of mention, whose lives like that of Dorcas were full of good works and alm deeds which they did, but time would fail to speak of them. Earth is richer for their having lived ,and their going from among us brings heaven neArer. Before the end of the next twenty-five years the death of many of us will have been recorded. Let us so live that those who are to follow us may think and speak of us as we now have the pleas ure of speaking of those who have preceded us. Their lives should be an inispiration to us. We believe that much of the his tory of a people may be found in their church records. We wish to call attention to one record whick. re veals a eondition that existed through out the south before the war and that is the attention that was given by the master to his slaves, the provision that was made for their spiritual im provement. They were members of the same ,church. they had the same minister. IThe gallaries found iir the old church Ies today were for them. T'his record shows that as. late as 1890, that there was one colored member of this church. Sister Janes Higgins, colored, died 1890. The parsonage was erected on the church lot in 1882 the committee making its final repor.t December 10th, 1882. Those who have been elected to )f11 offices in the church other than the office of deacon-Sunday school Superintendents: John S. Carwile, W. H. Hunt, E. B. Wilbur, John M. Kin ard. Clerks of the church: John S. Carwile, John M. Kinard, L. H. Hunt, R. W. Hutchinson, T. N. Parks. Treas urers: Jno. S. Carwile, L. A. Blanton, R. Y. Leavell, W. H. Hunt, M. L. Spearman and J. A. Burton.I While there has not been that de velopment along all lines that we may have desired, -'et we believe that there has been an advance. In benevolence. we have made progress, nmore system in givinr. Our vision is widening, our sympathies more arid monre encireling> the world. One of the mightiest agencies for the spiritual development of the church during these years hasI been the Woman's Missionary Society. More and more it is adding to the spiritual strength of the church. Somie facts Peneerning the newI buildinz: The first fund set aside as a building fu:>l was $250.00 Wqpeat h ed to t'he church by Mr. J. Alfred Crotwell. Tt wa:'s not thus sp,ecified by him but was designated as sueh by the church. The first record is April 25. 1894, when the treasurer was authorized to receipt to Mr. R. L.' McCaughirin and deposit same in the Savinigs Bank. The first contribu-) tion designated by the donors for the new church building was given by the Active Juniore connisting of Misses Eunice Gideon, Carrie Pool, Bessie Burton, Atlee Goggans, Lucy Wright, Eva Goggans, Lillian Hill, Fannie Parks, Lulie Hunt. The amount was $5.50. Among the first contributions I ws 1 ian by Johnmnie Paysinger which he worked and made himselt Prom time to time there were special :ollections taken in the church and Sunday school and the ladies societies increasing the amount in the bank. We desire to make special mention )f the Ladies Aid Society; they have already given $1,000.00 and are still working. The first definite action on the part )f the church was taken March 21st, 904, by the appointment of ak eom nittee, by order of the church March L3, 1904, consisting of fifteen to soli ,it subscriptions, and the 1-st Sunday in June 1905, subscriptions were tak en publicly in the church. On October 8th, 1905, the following were appointed a building commit. tee: James McIntosh, R. Y. Leavell, E. B. Wilbur, T. C. Pool, J. A. Bur ton. Bro. McIntosh was made chair man and Bro. R. Y. Leavell seeretary. . Phe plans for the building were got ten up to by Wilson and Wendall, Df Columbia, S. C., in the spring of 1906 and adopted by the church, but were unable to get a satisfactory bid antil the spring of 1907.- The con tract was given to the Mallard Lum ber and Construction Co., Greenville, S. C. Dirt was broken June 20th, and the first brick laid July 10th, 1907. It is hoped that the church will be ready by the 1st of Ja:uary, 1908. We would not fail to make men tion in this connection and expression Df our appreciation the gift of $2, 955.50 which came through Sister S. E. Turnipseed from the estate of Sis ter Eliza R. Stewart. This was the amount left after having the Stewart lot in Rosemont Cemetery properly enclosed. Years ago Mrs. Stewart made provision in her will that what ever remained of the corpus of her estate at the death of Mrs. Turnip seed should go to Bros. John B. Car wile and James MeIntosh in trust for the Baptist church of Newberry, and the above amount was paid over to Bro. MeIntosh, as trilstee of thq Bap tist - ehurch. Mrs. Turnipseed was one of the largest contributors to the bviWftng fund. urs is a glorious heritage, let us realize -that it is a trust and hand. it over to those who come after us with proper usury. Our opportunities are riebher, our responsibilities correspond with thes-. , In the words of the be loved Broaddus, "'By the hallowed memories of the past, which are so sacredly cherished by the honored . names which she bears on her records by the influence of good or evil she must exert in the future by 'the love of the blessed Saviour who has watch-~ ed over her interests with tenderest solicitude through all these years. I call upon you to be true to this dear old church." "Tiove thy church, 0 God, Her walls before thee stand, Dear as the apple of thine eye, And graven on thy hand. "For her my tears shall fall; For her my prayers ascend, To her my cares and toils be given, Till toils and cares shall end." HISToaRCAL ADDRZSS BY -REV. LUTHER UEoADDUL Levitieus xxv., 10: "And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year." - The past is ours. The men who made it by their characters and lives have, by the records they left and the influence they still exert, transmit ted it as an inheritance. Its noble deeds are laden with lessons of in struction and its h'orsred names are redolent with inspiring influences for us. It is fit that we should stop some times, in our busy devotion to the de-. mands and the privileges of the pres et, and our ambitinus and anxious reaching out after the yet unsecured treasures of the future. and lay fresh hold upon this inheritance of the past. Fpecially is t.his right and desirable, when we have gained such an eminene as the close af a half century, and when we can look back upon such a record, so honored and so useful as that ;hich has been bequeathed to us vtov fmnde'n .'d 'ipporters of the Newberry Baptist Church. I desire today to trac. the course of this church through the half cen tury in the different departments of (Continued on page 2.)