Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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i NEWS-SUN-CITiZEN — TRICENTENNIAL EDITION November 12, 1R70 Central Methodist Church Name Changed In 1901 'L | d F I Jk Holy Trinity Lutheran Was Organized In 1890 Holy Trinity Lutheran Ch urch, Little Mountain, S.C. was organized in 1890 with many of her first members coming from the Mount Tabor Congregation which had been organized for ten years at that time. The Rev. J.K. Eflrd was present at the organizational meeting and served as her first pastor. On January 1, 1891 the charter members of Holy Trinity held their first service and united with the Tennessee Synod. Th ese 34 charter members were: Simeon Miller, J. H. Hipp, A. Noah Boland, D. Walter Boland, George Shealy, Jr., David Boland, J.D. Long, George W. Long, William L. Riser, Jacob K. Shealy, Walter C. Bush, Ja mes H. Wise, Ernest Boland, Elizabeth Slice, J. Elizabeth Long, Polly Long, Mary E. Bush, Elizabeth Miller, Nora Miller (Wise), Mary Miller, F. Jane Hipp, Catherine Ramage, Martha A. Boland, Emma Bo land (Brady), Mary C. Boland, Ada Boland (Davis), EUa D. Boland, Elizabeth Lathan, Fl orence E. Shealy, Annie Boland, Tina B. Hamiter, Margaret R. Long, Martha E. Shealy, and Mary L. Riser. The first council consisted of three elders: Simeon Miller, Noah Boland, and David Boland; aid wmiorn pi- s|r, J.H. Hipp, and J. H. Wise. In 1893 the number wa/. incre ased to twelve and in 1931 mem bership on council was increa sed to sixteen. Immediately after organiza tion Holy Trinity congregation began making plans for building a church. A plot of land which is part of our present church grounds was purchased from Mr. Noah Boland for $5.00. The first church building was 35 x 56 feet, with a vesti bule in front 8 x 24 feet and a room 4 x 8 on each end. There were hand made altar pulpit, and pews made like those in Luther Chapel (Redeemer, Newberry) with a total cost of the building amounting to $465. The building was painted by members. On Saturday afternoon, Octo ber 3, 1891, after completion of the building, the cornerstone was laid with services conduct ed by the pastor, J.K. Efird, assisted by the Rev. R.A. Yoder of Hickory, North Carolina. The following articles were placed in the cornerstone: Bible, hymn book, church paper (Tessessee Synod paper) Lutheran Visitor, and other church literature to gether with a list of church members and donations. On the following day, the first Sunday in October, the church was ded icated and the sermon was preached by the Rev. Yoder. It is for this reason that annual Homecoming Services are held the second Sunday in October to avoid conflicts with World Communion on the first Sun day in October. By the end of 1893 Holy Trinity membership had incre ased from 34 to 127 adult mem bers. The first wedding recor ded in the record books was that ofNora Miller and James H. Wise on June 6, 1893. The first confirmation class of Holy Trinity consisted of seven members: Moody Boland, Jam es L. Boland, Nettie Boland, John A. Bush, Lula Lathan, Mary Jane Long, and Sallie Shealy, Confirmed April, 1891. In June of 1893 a constitu tion was approved by the cou ncil and presented to the con gregation. From 1892 to 1895 and from 1899-1901 Pastor S. L. Nease supplied Holy Trinity as weU as St. John’s, Pomaria. In 1895 the congregation was placed in the pastorate with Macedonia Lutheran Church and remained as a joint parish until 1945. Pastor A.G. Voight sup plied part of the year 18% until the arrival of Pastor H.P. Counts. The GeorgeSwittenberg home was purchased at a cost of $676 for a parsonage, and after a few minor repairs to the stables and the cleaning of the well, the pastor moved into his new home. The same foundation remains as part of our present parsonage. During 1896 more land was obtained and the present church cemetery was begun. The first member of the church to pass away was John George Shealy, a charter member born in 1815 who died January 16, 1892. His great grandchildren who are members of Holy Trinity today are: Mallow Wheeler, Forrest Charles Shealy, Ernestine CaldweU, Raymond Shealy, Fred Shealy, Russell Shealy, Burnell Holland, Carlton Bow ers, Caroline Frick, and John Henry Shealy. It was during the pastorate of the Rev. H. P. Counts that Holy Trinity began to ask for pledges and to use offering en velopes. Sunday School rooms were added in 1902. Until 1912 Services were held twice mon thly on the first and third Sun day mornings, but in 1912 the pastor's salary was raised $440 to the total of 4440 per year with the request that ser vices also be held on the se cond and fourth Sunday nights. The first mention of a fund for a new church was record ed in 1913. The present brick -structure was built in 1917 at a cost of $14,000 including $1,200 paid for chancel furni ture and pews. In 1922 the church was dedicated during the pastorate of the Rev. John J. Long, and ail day services were held with a picnic dinner on the grounds. Kerosene lamps were first used in the church but were replaced by acetylene gas lights. These lights were discarded for electric lighting in 1926. Holy Trinity has always been a teaching church as is eviden ced by the fact that in Feb ruary, 1894 the Sunday School teachers requested the church council to effect an organiaz- tion and to elect officers for the Sunday School. The first superintendent elected was J.H. Wise. Others who have served in this capacity were: Pastor S.L. Nease, A.N. Boland, Dr. J.M. Sease, W.A. Counts, C.E. Wheeler, G.B. Derrick, W.B. Shealy, and our present super intendent who has served for many years, Murray Counts. The first recorded organiza tion for children was the Cradle Rolls, in 1908, with 31 enrolled between the ages of one and six. Mrs. W.A. Counts was the first superintendent. This work has grown through the years and subsequently changed names to the Light Brigade, then the Children of the Church, and now the Week Day Church School. In this present pro gram there are approximately 100 children enrolled, classes meet once each week and in clude instruction for children from nursery age through the age of confirmation. On Sunday night, September 20, 1914 the young people of the church were organized by A.J. Bowers, Virgil B. Sease, and Pastor Long. In 1922 this organization became known as the Luther League. The present League of Holy Trinity meets each Sunday night, is one of the strongest, most active, and largest youth programs in Newberry County, and is under the supervision of Mr. and Mrs. Carl Bowers and Mrs. B.A. Cumalander. The women of the church were organized in 1894 and continued as the Women’s MissicmarySo ciety until later becoming the Women of the Church. When the ULCA merged to become the LCA it became known as Luth eran Church women. This or ganization is divided into five groups each meeting monthly. In 1924 the Men’s Federation of Holy Trinity was organized later to become known as the Brotherhood in 1938 and.today as Lutheran Church Men. Ushers for the congregation are served by this group and they sponsor the Boys Scout troop which is also an active organ ization of Holy Trinity^, Other ministers who have served this congregation incl ude the Rev. O.B. Shearouse (1905-1912), J. B. Harman (1923-1925), Dr. E.Z. Pence (1928-1942) who served as pr esident of the South Carolina Synod during this period, Al bert Stemmermann (1942-1947) Dr. L. Grady Cooper (1948- 1953), and Garth L. Hill (1954- 1969). Dr. J. C. Sease was elected treasurer of the church in 1938 and served in that capacity for 20 years. Mrs. B.M. Wise served our congregation as or ganist for over 30 years.Mr. Noah Boland, who was instru mental in the establishment of Holy Trinity, faithfully served as an officer of the church from the time oforganizationuntilhis death in 1934. Mr. W.B. Sh ealy served as Sunday School Superintendent for 38 years. Holy Trinity would not have acc- (omplished what it has todai if it were not for this type of constant offering of service by all of her members. The years 1961 and 1962 were great years for Holy Trinity. The Senior Citizens Club was organized, a cemetery endow ment fund was established, and the contract was let for the er ection of the new Parish Build ing during the pastorate of the Rev. Garth L. Hill. Today the congregation consists of 485 baptized members, with 375 confirmed members. The pre sent officers of the Council are: David S. Matthews, Lay Chairman; Everett Lake, Sec retary; and Joe E. Lake, Trea surer. Mrs. John Boland has served faithfully as organist for the past several years. Although Holy Trinity has been without the services of a full time pastor since June, 1969 she has continued to grow, and all of the activities of the various organizations have fun ctioned effectively with receipts surpassing those of any period in the history of the church. The members of Holy Trinity are grateful for the capable su pply services of Pastor Harry Webber, Chaplain of Newberry College, and the Rev. Joe Holt who is doing graduate work at the State Hospital, and for the messages brought to us by the seminarians and other visiting ministers, during this interim period. The church has just purchas ed a new Allen Electronic Or gan, and has spent approximat ely $6,000 renovating the par sonage for the next parsonage family. On March 1,1970 a call was extended to the Rev. Ch arles B. Dawkins, a native of Newberry County, who has been serving the Board of World Missions in Japan for the past 12 years. Pastor Dawkins has accepted this call and will be gin his work at Holy Trinity on or before September 1,1970. The congregation now looks for ward to working with Pastor Dawkins and it is our prayer that under his capable leader ship, Holy Trinity will con tinue to grow and to witness toward furthering God’s king dom. * * * "It is a useful employment for societies as well as indiciduals to look back through their past history and mark dealings of a kind Providence towards them.*—Bishop Meade. And the record of Methodism in Newberry County should cause us to raise our hearts in gratitude to God for its wonder- fill preservation and should make us of today more faith ful and zealous in using the pro per means for its further ad vancement The first settlers of South Carolina were of different re ligious persuasions. None of these sects had any particular connection with the government, nor had any sect pre-eminence over another. The plan in the New England states of co-ex- tending settlement and religious instruction by having a meet ing-house and a minister as appendage to every new town was far from being common in the Carolinas; and the district in which Newberry was situated was no exception to that rule. As for Methodism, it was not introduced by immigration from Europe as were introduced the Lutheran and Presbyterian ch urches, but by the evangelical labors of itenerant preachers; then too, the early Methodist churches were generally organ ized in private homes, not being served by resident pastors, but by itinerant preachers who were usually changed annually and who served large numbers of preaching places. Very few records were kept; hence lit tle of the valuable history of Methodism in Newberry Coun ty during the first half century of its existence remains. The history of Central is the history of the circuit from the organization of this in 1832, until it was made a station in 1854. It is believed that the first Methodist Society in Newberry County was organized by Ed- (CON’T FROM PAGE 4) improvements were made in the financial structure of the Col lege and three buildings were constructed: the present Cro mer and Kinard dormitories and Kaufmann .Hall, the student union and dining hall. Dr. Kauf mann was followed by the current president, Dr. A.G.D. Wiles During the 1%0’s the College' more than tripled the value of the physical plant with the con struction of four major build ings. Plans for a new $550,000 music building were approved by the Board of Trustees in the spring of 1970. At the same time the Col lege’s physical plant was ex panding, the Lutheran school’s student body increased to its present 805 students and 60 full-time and seven part-time faculty members. The curriculum has also undergone substantial revision during the past decade with the introduction of new majors and the adoption of the 4-1-4 cal endar. The new calendar con sists of a four-month term in the fall, a one-month session in January, and a four-month term in the spring. The short January session gives students an opportunity to travel, to fo cus upon independent research, or to pursue contemporary issues that are not easily in cluded in a semester’s course of study. Through Creative and res ponsible education, the College is actively continuing its ori ginal mission of training young men for the ministry. There are enough alumni of the Col lege who are presently in the ministry to supply three fourths of the 380 pulpits in the College’s three Lutheran supporting Synods. The College has also been noted historically for its pre paration of young men and young women for elementary and se condary school teaching and for work in the fields of sci ence and business. Presidents of Newberry College Reverend Theophilus Stork, D. D.-1859-1860; Reverend James Allen Brown, D.D.-1860-1861; Reverend J.P. Smeltzer, D.D.- 1861-1877; R ever end GeorgeW. Holland, D. D. -1877-1895; George B. Cromer, LL.D.-1895 -1904; Reverend James A.B. Scherer, Ph. D., LL.D.-1904- 1908; Reverend J. Henry Ha rms. D.D.-1908-1918;S.J. Der rick, LL.D.-1918-1930; James C. Kinard, LL.D., LittD., L. H.D.-1930-1945; C. A. Kauf mann, A.M., LL.D.-1954-1960; A.G.D. Wiles, PH.D. Litt. D LL.D.-1960- . The history was compiled largely from: J. Benjamin Bed- enbaugh, "A Centennial History of Newberry College: 1856- 1956.* S. T. Hallman, D.D., editor, “History of the Evangelical Lu theran Synod of of South Caro lina, 1824-1924.* ward Finch, in his home, lo cated near where Mt. Bethel Ac ademy was built about 1784. From The Observer for Dec ember 2, 1902: “The South Carolina Confer ence of The Methodist Epis copal Church South held its 117th annual session in New berry. This is the fourth ses sion to be held here, the first having been in 1856, the second in 1865 and the third in 1878. Newberry County was the first place outside of Charleston se lected for these annual gather ings, the eighth session com mencing January 1, 1794 being held at Finch’s in the fork of Saluda and Broad Rivers some twelve miles from Newberry. This was the seat of the Mt. Bethel Academy, founded by the early Methodists. Edward Finch gave 30 acres of land to the Institution. This is an old town- one of the oldest in the state. It was organized in 1785. The Meth odist Church was in the county, however, a year before the town was organized, being then offi-, dally represented by the‘Broad River Circuit’ extending from the Dutch Fork, in Lexington County to Pacolet in Spartan burg County. The circuit was restricted somewhat in 1794,there becom ing ‘Bush River Circuit’. In 1820 ‘Newberry Circuit ' was formed. Then it included every Methodist church in Newberry County except Ebenezer, near Maybinton, and Mt. Tabor, near Whitmire, and included also ‘ Hopewell, Salem and Sardis ch urches in Laurens County. Now it includes only Ebenezer, near Newberry, Lebanon, Trinity, and New Chapel. In 1854 the church in New berry was set off to itself and made a ‘station’, its first pas tor being John R. Pickett. The Methodist Church in the town of Newberry was organiz ed and the building erected in 1833. There seems to be no doubt that among those who un ited in the organization were: Philip Schoppert and his wife, Mrs. Polly Schoppert; Mrs. Schoppert, the mother of Ph ilip Schoppert; Martha Turner, Mrs. Sarah Lorick (now Mrs. Sarah Pope), Mrs. Precious Shell ( and probably Mrs. Sa rah Cheshire), Josiah Bishop and his wife; Thomas Pratt, Jr. and Daniel Boozer. The architect for the building erected ini 900-1901 was Mr. Hunt of Chattanooga, Tenn.,and the contractor and builder, Mr. C.C.Davis of Newberry, S.C.; the cost of the building about $12,000.00. The membership of the church was 266. The church was called sim ply the ‘Newberry Methodist Church’ until 1900 when the name was changed to ‘John stone Street Church’, the name being derived from the name of the street that ran in front of it. In 1901, when thenewchurch was completed on Caldwell St reet the name was changed to ‘Central Church’ and it is now so known. The pastor is the Rev. Walter L Herbert. The Board of Stewards of the church: John W. Chapman, W. W. Hodges, C.H. Cannon, J.W. White, J.H. Wicker, S.J. Woot en, P.C. Gaillard, R.L.Tarrant and W.G. Mayes. The Superin tendent of the Sunday School is C.H. Cannon and the secretary of the Sunday School, P.C. Gail lard .* Central Methodist Church of Newberry, S.C. is located on an entire city block, corner of Caldwell and Johnstone Streets. It is surroundedby a large lawn, with a stone terrace in front at the front entrance, which leads up wide stone steps to the porch, with an entrance on each side through a small vestibule. The interior presents an am- phitheatrical form of seats on a sloping floor, in the rear of the church an elevated pul pit, and in the center of it a large pipe organ. The building is constructed of beautiful white pressed brick. The architec tural style is Gothic, with tall steeples and high gables, with a steep roof. The arched eff ect is carried out in its porch entrances and its memorial windows of varied colored de signs. The Sunday School or “Ed ucational Building " as it is now called is in the rear of the building on the corner of Co llege and Johnstone Streets. This building was built during the pastorate of The Rev. R. L.Holvrod and dedicated as a memorial to Mary Frances Wr ight, mother of Mr. Z.F. Wr ight. A centennial celebration was held in the church on Novem ber 13, 1932, presided over by The Honorable Eugene 3. Bl- ease, at the time the Chief Jus tice of the South Carolina Su preme Court It was also a memorial meeting, commem orating the following members who were active in helping to build the new church: Former Chief Justice, The Honorable Y.J. Pope, The Honorable Z. F. Wright, The Rev. W.L Her bert ( one of the former pas tors of the church and presid ing Elder). Mrs. R.D. Wright and former Governor Cole E. Blease. In 1928 the Woman’s Mission ary Society celebrated its fif tieth anniversary, the first Wo man’s Missionary Society of the South Carolina Conference hav ing been organized in this ch urch in 1878. The church membership has constantly grown and the churcl occupies a prominent place air ong her sister churches. The church has been servei by many able pastors, some of which are: Coleman Carlisle, John Murro, Malcolm McPher son, J.W. Humbert, M.N. (Uncle Mark) Boyd, and also R.L.Holyrod, T.H. Vickery, our present pastor, George Duffle, .and many others. The Newberry Observer, Gen ealogical History-G. Leland Summer, Sr. Annals of New- berry-Chapman and O’Neal.and Newberry City Library & Ot hers. SOUTH CAROLINA TRICENTENNIAL We Are Proud To Have Been A Part Newberry County And We Welcome Of The Progress Of South Carolina. During Our Tricentennial Week And Extend Best Wishes To South Carolin< CANNON CONSTRUCTION 1732 Harris Street And SUPPLY CO. Newberry, S. C.