Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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* * * NEWS-SUN-CmZEN TRICENTENNIAL EDITION Newberry County, S. C7, November 12,1970 \m mm Macedonia Lutheran Church Organized In School House The first public worship ser-. ▼ice of what was to be Mace donia Lutheran Church was? held in the school house that* stood near where the present church stands in the fall of 1847. The Rev. George Halti- wanger, Sr. conducted the ser-. vice and continued to preach once a month until his death in 1849. In the fall of 1843 plans were laid for the construction of the first house of worship. This building was completed and dedicated inSeptemberl849 with the Rev. Haltiwanger, Sr. Mr. Michael Sultan gave three acers of land to the congre gation on which the first church was built. These three acers were cut off from a tract of land just east from where the present church now stands. This original tract of land is now covered with the waters of Lake Murray. However, the church was relocated to its present site before the waters of Lake Murray were impounded. It is not definitely known who the 23 charter members were. It is known that David Epting and Hezekiah Dreher approa ched Rev. George Haltiwanger to conduct the first service. Other names that can be men tioned with a degree of certain ty are, Mr. and Mrs. William Epting, Miss Mary Fulmer, Mr. and Mrs. John Long, Mr. and Mrs. William Ballentine, Mr. and Mrs. Fred Derrick, Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Shealy, Jacob Hil ler, and the Rev. D.L Dreher. Other family names that may have appeared on the list are, Todd, Lybrand, Sultan, Fulmer, Holman, Harman, Hamm and others. The first building was a frame structure. At different times additions, alterations, and re pairs were made on the ori ginal building. This first build ing made no provision for a place for negro slaves owned by members of the congre gation. It is said of them, “the early lutherans treated their slaves as members of their own fam ilies. They took them to church and gave them instruction in pastorate of the Rev. J.A.Sligh, 1866-1881 and 1889-1890 it is recorded that the Holy Comm- union was administered regu larly to negro members. Even after being set free many of the negro slaves remained with their former “masters" until natural death removed them from this life. Even as late as 1900 some of them were living in houses provided by the family to which they once belonged. The Rev. J.J. Long became pastor of Macedonia in July 1912. Soon after his arrival the people began seriously to consider the condition of their old church building which had stood for more than half a century. On the 13 of April 1913 a vote was taken which resulted in a unamious deci sion for a new church. For $65.00 the Council en gaged Mr. L.F. Frick, an ar chitect of Little Mountain to furnish designs to select from, and to aid in directing the work of building the new church. By the first of March 1914 the people began to place materials on the ground. A contract was made with Mr. W.T. Livingston of Newberry for $800.00 to do the mechanical work, and the church which is the second one to be built on the ground was completed, and ready for the first service on January 9, 1915. The first hymn sung in the new church was, “There Is A Fountain Filled With Blood." Pastor Lone preached on the subject,“The Rich Fool." Marion Guy, son of Mr. and Mrs. Marion W. Long was made a member of the church by in fant baptism at the first service. The following day, Sunday, January 10, 1915 Harris Clay- borne Amick, Noah Michael Shealy, Charles Holmes Epting and Yance Leroy Amick were received into the church by confirmation. From this time to the day of dedication a num ber of gifts and memorials were mKKmmnS It Has Been Our Pleasure To Serve The People Of Newberry County For Many Years —And We Look Forward To Much Progress In The Years To Come. We are proud of our County and State and extend our congratulations on the 300th Anniversary of South Carolina. Newberry Electric Cooperative, Inc. "Home Owned And Operated" Newberry, S. C. received by the congregation. “On Sunday, May 27, 1917, a congregation of about one thousand persons (1,000) as-^ sembledat Macedonia Church to engage in the Dedicatory Service of the new church building which is the second to be built on our church lot. At 11 a.m. the Rev. J.W. Hor- ine, D.D., Editor of the Luth eran Church Visitor, Columbia, S.C., preached the dedicatory sermon, using as his text, “But the Son of Man hath not where to lay His Head. After the morning service dinner was served on the church ground. At 2p.m. the new church was solemnly dedicated to the wor ship of God. The dedicatory ser vice was conducted by Dr.Hor- ine. Following the ceremony the Rev. W.H. Greever, D.D., Edi tor of the American Lutheran Survey, Columbia, S.C., made an encouraging address comm ending the congregation for its united consecration. He stres sed the importance of giving our sons to the Gospel Ministry. He asked how many ministers had gone out from the congre gation, and was informed that two of her sons were now pre aching the Gospel." Sidney Calhoun Ballentine was born July 4, 1865, was baptized and confirmed in Mac edonia Church. He graduated from Roanoke College with first distinct!cm in 1890, and from Mt. Airy Lutheran Theological Seminary in 1894, and was ordained on May 28, 1894 in St. Johannes German Lutheran Church, Philadelphia, Pa. He served parishes in South Car olina and Virginia, retiring from active service in 1938. He passed to his eternal reward on November 20, 1944. Arthur Wellington Ballentine was born March 17, 1885, was baptized and confirmed in Mac edonia Church. He attended the local schools; graduated from Newberry College in 1907, tau ght school the winter of 1907- 1908; and graduated from the Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary in 1911. He was ord ained in SL Mark's Evangelical Lutheran Church, Goodman, Mississippi, on July 2, 1911. He served parishes in Mississ ippi, Georgia, South Carolina and Virginia. He is now retired and a guest at the Lowman Home. After a long time Macedonia is happy to have another son enter the Gospel Ministry. Geo rge David Swygert was born October 5, 1941, was baptized and confirmed in Macedonia Church. He attended the Chapin schools graduating from High School in 1959, Newberry Col lege in 1963, and the Lutheran Theo logical Southern Seminary in 1967. He was ordained lif' - . Incarnation Lutheran Church Columbia, S.C., May 26, 19671 He served St. James, Leesville, S.C., and is now serving, Grace, Bessemer City, N.C. In the late 1920’s the secur ing and clearing of land for the waters of Lake Murray forced many families from their homes and farms, thus reducing the membership by about one third. With the waters of the lake coming within only a few hun dred yards of the church, the future did not look too bright However, many faithful people held on,and today the future looks promising for the church. It was during the pastorate of the Rev. E.Z. Pence that Sunday School rooms were add ed to the rear of the church pro per. The addition is a two story structure. The congregation was in a pastoral charge with other con gregations, or congregation until July 9, 1961, when under the leadership of supply pastor H.S. Petrea she became self supporting, and immediately began with plans to secure a lot and build a parsonage. The lot was secured, some money bor rowed, the house erected and didicated April 28, 1963, and within 18 months the debt was paid off. Today Macedonia is a vigir- ous congregation vith a new determination to serve her community, and sharing grate fully in the larger ministry of the South Carolina Synod, and the Lutheran Church in Amer ica. In June of this year she began holding 8:00 a. m. woi>iup ser vice on the lake shore just beyond the church for vaca tioners, and summer residents of this resort area of New berry County in addition to her regular schedule of services. Also, this spring some imp rovements were made in the nave of the church, and the entire floor of the nave, chan cel and choir were carpeted. With a growing enrollment in her schools, the need for space for social activities, and admin istrative purposes, the congre gation is,,adding weekly to a building fund. The story of Macedonia is the story of her people and pastors working together (or the glory of God, the spread of the Gospel, and the deepening of their own spiritual life. From her beginning in 1847, Macedo nia has never been long with out the service of a pastor. Ler us just recite the names of the pastors without giving the date of their service, bat in the order in which they ser ved. The Revs. George Halti wanger, Sr., William Berley, James H. Bally, Samuel Book- night. J.A. Sllgfa. C.P. Boozer, J. D. Bowles, A. J. Bowers, etc A.J. Bowerw, W.A. Julian, J. H. Wyse, Jacob Hawkins, J.D. Klnard, H.P. Counts, S.L. Ne- ase, J.K. EflrdjO.B.Shearouse, J.J. Long; J.B. Harman, E.Z. Pence, Albert Stemmermann, L.H. Jeffcoat, J.H. Koch, Jr., H.S. Petrea (simply), W. E. Jernigan, F.A. Rice, and C.L. Richardson the present pastor. Today Macedonia is a congre gation of267 baptised members, 184 confirmed members, with active auxiliaries in all phases of the churches work. Welcome Newberry County & 1670-1970 We extend a warm welcome to all during our Tricen tennial Celebration. We are glad to be a part of Pro gressive Newberry County and extend best wishes to our state on her 300th Anniversary! Cannon’s Creek Cemetery Restoration Is UDC Chapter Project * From the years 1763 to 1775, Scotch-Irish colonists came from County Antrim, Ireland, and settled in the fertile re gion between Enoree River and the Dutch Fork in Newberry County. Thus began the history of the Associate Reformed Presbyterians in this county. These settlers were of the Co venanter persuasion, a Presby terian movement having orig inated in Scotland in 1638. A portion of Rev. John Ren- wick, Sr.'s congregation came from Ireland in 1767. In 1770 a larger portion with their pas tor came and settled near the others. Then in 1772 a third colony came. The Lord’s Sup per was first administered to these Christians in PatridkCa rmichael’s barn near what is known as Boyd’s Crossing be tween Newberry and Pros.- perity. Cannon’s Creek Church, na med for a nearby creek, was founded in 1772 with the Rev. John Renwick, Sr. as the first Associate Reformed Presby terian preacher in Newberry County. Rev. Renwick died Au- pst 20, 1775, and is buried in Cannon’s Creek Cemetery. The historic old church is no longer in existence; however, the rock pillars of the church may be seen across the road from the cemetery. The restoration and preser vation of Cannon’s Creek ce metery was chosen as the Tri centennial project of the Dray ton Rutherford Chapter, United Daughters of the Confederacy. This work was carried out under the direction of Mr. R.B. Baker with the help of Mr. J.C. Neel, the County Supervisor, and the Commissioner. Carpenter's Women’s Apparel Main Street Newberry, S. G Mxxx-x Burns & Summer Floor Coverings Newberry, S. G :-:-xw->x*x-w«x-x-:-x-:-:-Xv.-x<:-x-:-x-x<-:*xi«^-:-XsX-xwxw*wx%W:WSx:w?sx^ 1670 1970 SOUTH CAROLINA TRICENTENNIAL M70 1170 Tarleton's Tea Table Rock Cited In a history of Newberry Co. by George L. Summer, Sr., there is recorded tlw following: “Tarleton’s Tea-Table Rock- located about four miles North of Newberry Court House, to left of old road to Whitmire, about 200 yards behind some woods. It was there that the British officer, and his men, Col. Tarleton, camped several weeks while on their march to Ninety Six to help LordCom- waUis. Here they ate, and were served tea on the rock by some neighborhood young women who were instrumental in delaying their march; as the result of which his regiment could not contact Cornwallis in time from preventing the latter suffering a defeat from the hands of the Americans." The Town of Prosperity Extends An Invitation To Visitors And County Residents To Visit And Enjoy This Historic Section Of Newberry County. We Join With Others In Wishing Happy Birthday To South Carolina On Their 300th Anniversary The Town Of Prosperity South Carolina