AN HISTORICAL SKETCH
of the
Long Cane Associate Reformed
Presbyterian Church
By
Nora Marshall Davis, M. A., D. Lit.
Director of the Historical Markers Survey of South Carolina
Prepared for
The Historical Markers Survey of South Carolina
O. H. Doyle, Supervisor
Nora M. Davis, Director
Forward
It is a distinct privilege to write this forward for the historical
sketch prepared and delivered by Dr. Nora Davis in connection with the historical
meeting at old Long Cane Church on October 27, 1940. The outstanding feature
of this occasion was her paper prepared with painstaking care after thorough
research setting forth the long and honorable history of this notable church
of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Synod. The thoroughly scholarly character
of this history makes it a work of outstanding worth. All of us who love
old Long Cane owe to Dr. Davis a debt of continuing gratitude for the labor
of love expended in the preparation of this interesting brochure.
R. C. Grier
Office of the President
Erskine College, Due West, S. C.
November 15, 1940
Fearful of more Indians and of worse barbarity, following
the Cherokee and the Creek massacres, the people of the Long Canes settlement
took refuge in such neighboring fortified places as they were able to reach,
forts prepared for just such emergencies. In these forts the school house
served also as a meeting house, where the inhabitants assembled for worship.
These forts, or blockhouses, afterward became churches. In
an Act, dated February 7, 1780, the church at Fort Boone was incorporated
"as the Presbyterian Church called Fort Boone congregation at Long Cane Settlement".
Fort Long Cane became this church, the Lower Long Cane Associate Presbyterian
church (subsequently the Associate Reformed Presbyterian church). Fort Long
Cane, however, was a little less than a mile distant from here, a short
distance east of the old mill formerly known as Gervais Mill, then Andrew
McCombs' Mill, and now Bradley's Mill. Descending the Austin Davis hill
on the eastern approach to Long Cane bridge, and looking across the ravine
to the opposite hill, one can see the ruins of the old John Kennedy home,
on the top of Fort Long Cane Hill.
About the time of the construction of these forts, Providence
was shaping events in Ireland. On May 10, 1764, petitioned by members and
friends who had preceded him to America, and influenced by favorable descriptions
of New York by Robert Harper, of Kings College (Columbia University), Dr.
Thomas Clark, with about one hundred families of his parishioners and neighbors,
left Newry, Ireland, for America. Their arrival on the following 28th of
July was announced in the New York Gazette of August 6th as follows:
"Last week in the Ship John, from Newry, Ireland, Luke Kiersted,
master, there arrived about three hundred passengers, a hundred and forty
of whom, together with the Rev. Clarke, embarked on the 30th ult., with
their stores, farming and manufacturing utensils, in two sloops, for Albany,
from whence they are to proceed to the lands near Lake George, which were
lately surveyed for their accommodation, as their principal view is to carry
on the linen and hempen manufacture to which they were all brought up."
The remainder, who did not go with Dr. Clark to Stillwater
and subsequently to Salem, New York, formed the nucleus of Little Run, Long
Cane, and Cedar Creek (later Cedar Springs) churches. Dr. Clark and his congregation
are said to be the only known ecclesiastical body that came to America as
an entirety, pastor, ruling elders, and communicants, with no break in their
religious services.
Long Cane Associate Reformed Presbyterian church was organized
in 1771 as Associate Presbyterian church. Whether Dr. Clark visited this
part of his congregation when he came to the Waxhaws for three weeks in 1770
in obedience to Presbyterys order of November, 1769, is not definitely stated
in available records; but the centennial memorial exercises to Dr. Clark
at the meeting of Synod at Long Cane in 1871 give credence to the natural
supposition that he did visit his people at Long Cane during his three weeks
stay at Waxhaw, and that this church was organized in 1771. Dr. Clark, in
1779, again visited, this time by order of the Presbytery, that part of his
former congregation which settled in Abbeville County, S. C.; yet no records
show the organization of a church on this visit. When he again visited the
congregation, in 1782, Long Cane is listed among the churches at which he
preached.
The first stated supply of Long Cane Meeting House was the
Rev. William Ronaldson (sometimes written Donaldson), who came to America
in 1773. The Rev. William Martin, who came to America in 1772, from Ballymena,
Ireland, and who was pastor at Catholic church, Chester county, preached at
Long Cane some time between 1772 and 1775. Whether other visiting ministers
did we have found no record. The Rev. William Ronaldson was the stated supply
from 1774 to 1781, at the same time he was stated supply at Joppa and at Poplar
Springs, Georgia. This term of service at these churches is supported by
Dr. Lathan's statement that it is probable that from the fall of 1779 to
the summer of 1782, there was no Associate minister in the South, in good
and regular standing, except a Mr. Ronaldson. Because of Mr. Ronaldsons
strong Tory sentiments, he was requested to discontinue his preaching at
Long Cane.
Very little has been recorded about this Rev. William Ronaldson.
He was a man of wealth and influence; was born, educated and licensed in
Scotland, and was ordained at Scavvagh, near Loughbrickland, in 1759. As
previously stated, he came to America in 1773, and became a member of the
Associate Synod. He served as stated supply at Joppa, Jefferson county, Georgia,
at Poplar Springs, Georgia, and at Long Cane, South Carolina, 1774-1781.
After being banished from these charges for his objectionable Tory views,
he returned to Charleston, South Carolina, where he died of ship fever, 1783.
For lack of time, no attempt is made to give even an incomplete
list of the Revolutionary soldiers of this church. The very fact that the
Rev. William Ronaldson was dismissed because of his Tory sentiments - was
told that he need not preach to them any more - is proof that this church
espoused the cause of the colonies.
Evidently the Rev. John Jamieson, who came to America in November,
1783, supplied here sometime during 1784. Synod records state that he preached
for a year among the churches in the South; and the fact that he carried
to Synod, May 1785, the request of a number of people in and about Mecklenburg
and Rowan counties, N. C., and Rocky Creek, Cannons Creek and Long Cane,
S. C., who are "destitute of a settled ministry to be taken under the judicial
care of this Synod" proves unquestionably that he had preached among these
churches thus petitioning.
Long Cane's next pastor was the Rev. Thomas Clark, M. D. Soon
after his release, at his own request, from his Salem, New York, congregation
in 1782, Dr. Clark again visited this congregation, and spent the remainder
of that year, 1782, and the greater part of 1783 in the congregation of
Long Cane, Little Run (Little River) and Cedar Springs (organized in 1782
and then called Cedar Creek). Sometime during the summer of 1783, he returned
North and identified himself with the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church
(organized in 1782); and during the next two years he labored as a missionary
among the churches of this branch in the North.
In May, 1785, Long Cane Church and others destitute of a settled
ministry desired to be taken under the care of the Associate Reformed Synod;
whereupon the Synod Resolved, "That the desire of these people be complied
with, and that the Second Presbytery be directed to take them under their
immediate change, and that Mr. Clark and Mr. Houleston be appointed to supply
the people in North Carolina and South Carolina as soon in the fall as practicable".
Dr. Clark came South sometime during the latter part of that
year (1785) and began to labor permanently, as subsequent events proved,
in Abbeville County.
On June 1, 1786, at the meeting of the Associate Reformed
Synod, at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a call to the Rev. Thomas Clark, with
a petition from the united congregations of Little Run, Long Cane, and Cedar
Creek (Cedar Springs) to admit the said Dr. Clark to the pastoral charge
of the said congregations was read. This call had previously been made out,
March 7, 1786, and, according to tradition was signed by Robert Foster,
John Cochran (two of those who had accompanied him from Ireland), Elijah
Sinclair, and a Mr. Patterson. Synod sustained the call; and as Dr. Clark
was then laboring among the very people who petitioned for his settlement
as pastor, Synod directed that he continue to labor among them till provision
be made for his regular installment.
Since Dr. H. T. Sloan, who had the Minutes before him when
he wrote his sketch of the two churches, states that the Minutes contained
no record of an installation service, the natural inference is that Dr. Clark
refused to be installed on the same ground that he had refused a similar
service at the Salem, New York congregation: that he had been installed pastor
at Ballibay, Ireland, July 23, 1751, and that the relationship had not been
severed. That he was not installed is given definite support by the fact
that at the meeting of the Presbytery of the Carolinas and Georgia at Long
Cane, June, 1791, a request was made for the installation of Dr. Clark over
these two churches. Dr. Clark died the following December, and there is no
known record of his installation between June and December.
During Dr. Clark's pastorate, a larger and better church replaced
on the same site the original log church. The enthusiasm of the pastor was
shared by the members. All the nails in that new church were wrought. Too,
tradition relates that Miss Jennie Young, who lived where Mr. Cowan Young
now lives, forded Long Cane Creek each day with warm dinner for the workmen,
a deed that is still a memorial unto her.
The tradition that this church was built on the James Hutcherson
Survey is supported by the fact that the land of Mary Hutcherson, his daughter,
bounds the property on almost all sides; and also by the fact that additional
land was given by Mary's estate to the Church. John Creswell was a chain-bearer
when the additional land was laid off. Mary Hutcherson's mother was a daughter
of William Robinson, an elder in the Church; and Mary's home stood just
beyond the church yard. In her home was a prophet's chamber, which was frequently
occupied by visiting ministers.
Dr. Clark's last sermon was preached at Long Cane Meeting
House, December 25, 1791. On the same day he read the citation of the death
of Robert McCarter. Dr. Clark died in the evening of the following day,
December 26, 1791. (His probated will and the sale of property and the notice
of his death in the Charleston Gazette prove that he died in 1791, NOT 1792,
as is frequently stated). On his desk, at which he was found dying, was
A Pastoral and Farewell Letter to the Associate Congregation of Presbyterians
in Ballibay, Ireland, the last sentence of which was, What I do thou knowest
not now, but shalt know hereafter. Thus passed a man whose godly example
was his best advise, a man of great eccentricities, but wholly devoted to
the cause of Christ, and in active labors exceeding abundant.
Following Dr. Clark's death, Long Cane had supplies for four
years. During the first year, The Rev. Peter McMillan (frequently written
McMullan in American records), pastor of Due West, supplied as often as
he could. At the October 12, 1795 meeting of Presbytery at Cedar Springs,
Long Cane and Cedar Springs presented a call for the Rev. William Dickson;
this call, however was not accepted.
In the meantime, the Rev. Alexander Porter, born (in 1770)
and reared near Parson's Mount (so called from the owner of this mount and
surrounding land, James Parson, a lawyer, of Charleston), Abbeville County,
the first native-born minister of the Presbytery of the Carolinas and Georgia,
has completed his literary and his theological training at Dickinson College,
Pennsylvania. Having been licensed to preach by the Second Associate Reformed
Presbytery of Pennsylvania, he returned home and began to preach at Long
Cane and Cedar Springs, January 1, 1797. On March 22, 1797, a call was moderated
for him, signed by the following members:
William Hill, Adam Hill, Simon Beard, Hugh Beard, Robert Smith,
Pat Quin, John Campbell, Nat Weed, Reuben Weed, William Dale, Jr., James
Nelson, William McDonald, Jr., Peter Totten, William Deal, Sr., Andrew White,
Jr., Matthew Shanks, Adam Beard, Samuel Patterson, John Wilson, John Beard,
John Kown, David Wiley, Thomas Wiley, John Learry, Robert Jones, James Hawthorn,
William Pressly, Samuel Spence, Thomas Jordan, Angus Massey, Henery (Henry?)
Weems, Thomas McBride, George Hearst, James McBride, Hugh McBride, Thomas
McMillan, Gilbert Wilson, William Stewart, John Foster, Joseph Jones, John
Young, James Foster, Jr.
Also, David Kenedy (Kennedy?), Nathanial Weed, Sr., Samuel
McClinton, George Con, John Hearst, John Devlin, Thomas Mealey, David Cochran,
Archibald Thompson, Jane Vickery, Bart. Weems, Sr., James Foster, Sr., Mary
Black, Robert Crawford, Andrew Paul, John Lesley, Samuel Young, Robert Margey,
William Black, Andrew Jones, John Morrow, Sr., James McBride, Jane Patten,
John White, William Cochran, George Macbeath, Robert McMical, Samuel Leard,
James Foster, John Waddle, Andrew English, Jr., Samuel Foster, Sr., James
Cochran, Archibald Thompson, Jr., Samuel McClinton, Sr., Samuel McClinton,
Jr., Robert Bradford, Mary Ann Nannaway, John McCullough, Rosanah McKinney,
Marget Riley, Jane Hannah, Edward Wailes, Mary Boggs, Griel Findley, James
Smith, John Kown, William Fife, James Gray, Jr., James Patterson, Charles
Beaty, John Beaty, Jr., Andrew Cochran, James Thompson, John McClinton, Archibald
Morison, Hugh McCullough, Alexander Patterson, William McBride, John Robertson,
John McBride, Thomas McBride, James McCormick, John Gilmer, John Deal, William
Etward, Samuel Leard, Abraham Little, Thomas Hearst, Timothy Russell, John
Miller, John Cooey (Couey?), James Conn, Agnes Irwen, Elizabeth Boggs, Elias
Gibson, John Pressly, John McGaw, James Bonner, John Leard, John Thompson,
Andrew McCormick, Robert Taylor, Michel McClimmins, Mary Glasgow, Andrew Ewart,
John Campbell, Pat Bradley, James McMillan, George McFarlin, Ann Lessly,
John Patterson, Pat Gibson, Jr., James Shanks, William Buck, John Beaty,
Sr., Francis Hunter.
Also James Gray, Sr., Margaret Meaben, James Hawthorn, Martha
Downey, Elizabeth Chalmers, Andrew Paul, Samuel Foster, Jr., Samuel McClinton,
James McClinton, Robert Gibson, John Gibson, Joseph Couey, Hugh McCormick,
Gennit Quin, Alexander Spence, Arthur McCrery, Alexander Clark, John Tygart,
Robert Hearst, John Diffur, John Douglas, James Foster, Jr., John Gaston,
William Nelson, James Young, Robert Kewn, Robert Foster, James Lesley, Agnes
Rogers, Collen Forbis, James Forbis, Frederick Hart, Malcolm Kays, Robert
Corley, William Foster, Enos Crawford, Jr., William Norris, William Clark,
William White, Robert Cravin, Rowland Kewn, Anthony Tittle, John McBride,
William McDonald, William Henderson, William Robinson, Jane Patten, Arthur
Morrow, Sr., Arthur Morrow, Jr., James Morrow, John Morrow, Jr., John Black,
Joseph Hearst, John Anderson, David Anderson, Alexander Gaston, John Kewn,
John Beard, John Wilson, James McBride, John Morrow, Thomas Lindsey, Joseph
(James?) Lindsey, Robert McDonald, John Pinkerton, Simon Beard, Samuel Stewart,
James Anderson, Samuel Pressly.
Mr. Porter was installed pastor of these two churches, April
2, 1798, at Long Cane. Rev. John Hemphill, D. D., delivered the charge to
both pastor and people. Thus was devolved on the youthful pastor the herculean
labors of one of the largest (charges) in the Presbytery.
Return for a moment to the boyhood of the Rev. Alexander Porter,
who was made fatherless when a very young boy. After the fall of Charleston,
and while the people were still in the old Pickens Block House at Abbeville,
the following men were sent to Coronaca Creek for a much-needed supply of
corn: Hugh Porter, the Rev. Alexander Porter's father, Jared Liddle (Liddell),
Enos Crawford, Andrew White, Matthew Thompson, James Beard, a Mr. Smith,
a Mr. Finley, John Pickens, a brother of General Pickens, and others. Soon
after crossing McCord's Ferry in the early morning, they were attacked, when
ascending the hill leading up to where Mr. West Cromer subsequently lived,
by a party of Tories; Enos Crawford, Hugh Porter, and John Pickens were killed
on the spot.
Many of the important transactions of the Second Presbytery
are identified with either Long Cane or Cedar Springs, since fifteen meetings
in fourteen years (Presbytery convened more often then than now) were held
at these two churches, although the Presbytery included forty-three churches
from Mecklinburg, North Carolina, to Louisville, Georgia. Doubtless the
somewhat central location of these churches accounts for this. In subsequent
years these churches had a vital connection with Erskine College and the
Seminary: Cedar Springs is inseparably linked with the first and third steps
in the establishment of these institutions; and at Long Cane the second
and intermediate step was taken, March 1831, when the Rev. Samuel Pressly
and the Rev. E. E. Pressly were appointed a Committee "to consider the propriety
of establishing within our bounds an Academy for the particular purpose
of training up youth for the sacred office." At King's Creek, April, 1825,
Synod resolved to establish an institution for the education of young men
for the ministry, and had appointed Dr. John Hemphill, of Chester, Professor
of Didactic and Polemic Theology; and Dr. John T. Pressly, of Cedar Springs
and Long Cane, Professor of Original Languages, Biblical Criticism, and
Church History. The young men spent six months in special study at the homes
though many miles apart, of the respective teachers. After Dr. Hemphill's
resignation in 1827, Dr. John T. Pressly was appointed, November, 1827,
sole Professor of Theology in the Seminary established by the Synod. In
1831 Dr. John T. Pressly's acceptance of the presidency of the Allegheny
Seminary left our church without a Professor and without a Seminary (which
had been Dr. Pressly's home at Cedar Springs); hence this second step taken
at Long Cane in 1831.
The Rev. Alexander Porter resigned the Long Cane charge, September
15, 1803, on account of his weak state of health and the uncommon largeness
of his charge. After he notified the congregation of his anticipated resignation,
a congregational meeting was called at the home of Mr. James McBryde to
determine upon a plan of procedure; none being agreed upon, a meeting was
next appointed at Cedar Springs, when a majority present resolved to divide
the charge. Cedar Springs then petitioned Presbytery for Mr. Porter as stated
supply. Mr. Porter was accordingly released from Long Cane, September 15,
1803, and accepted the call to Cedar Springs alone, at a call meeting, January,
1804, on condition that he be allowed eight Sabbaths.
Long Cane was so much dissatisfied with this arrangement that
the congregation, at the same meeting at which the relation was dissolved,
September 15, 1803, asked for a certificate, which was granted, but which
the congregation did not subsequently use.
Unfortunately, from this date until February 28, 1828, the
Church experienced a period of lean years, a period of internal strife. After
Long Cane withdrew from Cedar Springs, Robert Irwin and Isaac Grier, who had
been ordained in 1802, were appointed to supply this Church, one day each,
during the winter. When Presbytery met at Cedar Springs, March 1805, Long
Cane petitioned for the administration of the Lord's Supper, catechizing,
and a supply of sermon, which request was granted and Mr. Porter was appointed
to assist. In April, 1805, the congregation prepared a call for Robert Kerr,
of one of the Pennsylvania Presbyteries, and forwarded it to the General Synod,
but it was returned to the Synod of the Carolinas. About twelve families,
it is said, continuing dissatisfied because they were too far to attend
Cedar Springs, and because they received few supplies at Long Cane, eventually
withdrew from this church and joined Hopewell, a neighboring Southern Presbyterian
church.
The remnant was torn, partly, at least, because of a different
ecclesiastical influence that was brought to bear upon the members: one
part was inclined to Southern Presbyterianism and Hymnody; the other part
remained true to the church of their fathers and Psalmody. The Rev. W. R.
Hemphill, had, in 1799, introduced and the church adopted the following
addition to its rules adopted in 1797: "Nor shall any composure merely human,
be sung in any of the Associate Reformed Churches". Their use of hymns,
therefore, was in direct violation of the rules of the Associate Reformed
Presbyterian church. A number of Presbyterian ministers during this period
preached here; they obtained permission, however, on condition that they
would always give place to the Associate Reformed ministers. The Rev. Henry
Reid preached for a time, pursuing the temporizing policy of Psalms one
half the day and Hymns the other half, which was followed with the usual
disastrous results to the cause of an inspired Psalmody, and the peace of
the Church. Dr. Moses Waddel, the Rev. Mr. Carter, and the Rev. Mr. Boyle
also preached here occasionally.
This condition brought about a definite but temporary schism
in the Church. Dr. Howe gives the following record of those inclined to
Hymnody:
At the meeting of Presbytery of South Carolina at Fairforest,
September 25th, 1812, a petition from Lower Long Cane congregation, formerly
attached to the Seceders or Associate Reformed, praying to be taken under
its care was laid before that body. This church had preferred a request
to Presbytery at a previous meeting held at Duncan's Creek, 1812, for the
ordination of Mr. Henry Reid, who, probably, had been preaching to them
as a licentiate. The Presbytery regarded itself constitutionally barred
from attending to the spirit of the petition, perhaps because that church
was not under its jurisdiction. After mature deliberation had thereon, the
prayer of the supplication was granted and their elder, Robert McCullough,
was invited to a seat in Presbytery. (Minutes of Second Presbytery of South
Carolina, September 26, 1812).The Presbytery seems to have proceeded with
some measure of caution. It could not view the petition of Lower Long Cane
in the light of a call from that people for the ordination of Mr. Reid as
their pastor, yet it appeared to be their desire that the ordination should
take place for that purpose. Upon the whole, taking into consideration the
peculiar situation of that congregation, they resolved that should a regular
call for Mr. Reid be brought from that people to Presbytery at their next
stated sessions (Mr. Reid having intimated that he would accept it) they
would proceed to his examination. A call was regularly presented at their
next meeting and Mr. Reids trials were entered upon. The Committee, Messrs.
Andrew Brown, Hugh Dickson, and Wm. H. Barr, to whom his lecture and sermon
were submitted, reported unfavorably upon them at a pro re nata meeting
at Varennes, April 30, 1813, as advancing doctrines at variance with our
standards, the symbols of our faith, and the word of God.
After the presentation of this report and its formidable array
of divergencies from our standards of doctrine, Mr. Reid was called forward,
and after a lengthy and amicable conference, with some explanations, he
disavowed (as he had done previously at his licensure) the sentiments which
were considered exceptionable. At a pro re nata meeting at Lower Long Cane
Creek Church, May 12th, 1813, Mr. Reid was ordained and installed, Doctor
Waddel, presiding, Wm. H. Barr, preaching the ordination sermon, from Ezek.
iii, 17, and a suitable charge being given to the newly ordained minister
and the congregation. At the meeting the Rev. Alexander Porter, of the Associate
Reformed Church was present as a Corresponding member.
In the minutes of the General Assembly, of May, 1814, Lower
Long Cane was reported among the churches of the Presbytery of South Carolina,
and Henry Reid as its pastor.
At the October sessions, Mr. Reid obtained leave to spend
three-fourths of his time, till the next stated sessions, without the bounds
of the Presbytery, it being understood that it was with the concurrence
of the congregation over which he had been installed. On November 4th, 1814,
Mr. Reid was dismissed from the pastoral charge of Lower Long Cane, and
from the Presbytery, to join the Presbytery of Hopewell, and Lower Long Cane
became vacant, and it was so reported in the Assembly's minutes of 1819.
The remnant of the Church that had continued faithful to the
church of their fathers and to Psalmody, however, regularly sought the Word
and Ordinances at the hands of the Associate Reformed Presbytery. They petitioned
Presbytery at Cedar Springs, March, 1815, for the moderation of a call for
the Rev. Robert Irwin as stated supply. Cedar Springs made a similar request;
and at the ensuing meeting of Presbytery the joint call to Mr. Irwin was
presented. Strange to say, however, the support promised was deemed by the
Presbytery not sufficient, and the call was never put into the hands of Mr.
Irwin.
During this season of destitution the members adopted an excellent
practice of meeting on Sabbath at the home of an elder or of a member in
different sections for prayer and praise, reading and catechetical instruction,
and occasionally the reading of a sermon from some book.
In September, 1815, Long Cane petitioned Presbytery for preaching
and for the ordination of elders.
Both Long Cane and Cedar Springs petitioned Presbytery for
the moderation of a call for the Rev. John T. Pressly, who had been born and
reared in that community, and who had been licensed at Cedar Springs, July
3, 1816. For some unstated reason, the call was made out to Cedar Springs
alone. Presbytery, however, directed the pastor installed to supply Long
Cane if requested.
In April, 1823, Long Cane petitioned Presbytery for one-fourth
of the Rev. John T. Presslys time; but since "the congregation of Cedar
Springs is able and desirous to retain the whole of Mr. Pressly's ministerial
labor, and are unwilling to give up, statedly, and portion", the Presbytery,
at its December, 1823 meeting at Cedar Springs, Resolved that "it is not
expedient, under existing circumstances, to grant the petition of Long Cane".
Dr. Pressly and others, nevertheless, continued to give Long Cane occasional
supplies.
About 1825 or 1826, the tide of emigration to the west and
southwest so greatly weakened the two congregations, especially Cedar Springs,
that the two congregations were again united, at the petition of Long Cane
on February 28, 1828.
Dr. Pressly resigned this charge, November 10, 1831, to accept
the presidency of Allegheny Seminary, Pittsburgh, Pa. Following his resignation,
the two churches experienced a somewhat long period of destitution. This
time, Nullification was the disturbing factor, dividing the neighborhood
and antagonizing families. Dr. H. T. Sloan's moral, when later commenting
upon this political disturbance in the church may not be amiss today when
petty politics and selfish ambitions too frequently motivate the conduct
of church officials and of church members: "May this condition prove a warning
to all others to keep out of party politics and forget not to serve the Lord".
In January, 1834, these churches made out a call for the Rev.
John G. Witherson, a probationer of the First Presbytery; this call, however,
was not accepted.
In November, 1835, they addressed a similar call to The Rev.
James L. Young; he too, declined. During 1836, the Rev. W. R. Hemphill,
son of the Rev. John Hemphill, and a probationer of the First Presbytery,
came, by order of Synod, and preached four Sabbaths and one week-day. Then
he returned to the Allegheny Seminary to complete his studies. In November
of the same year, Presbytery sustained a call for him, which call had been
carried up to the First Presbytery by Col. John Hearst. Dr. Hemphill accepted
sometime during that winter and arrived at the home of Dr. G. W. Pressly,
June 28, 1837, and was ordained at Cedar Springs, December 6, 1837.
Long Cane and Cedar Springs had no deacons until the Rev.
W. R. Hemphill's pastorate. Prior to this time, a Collector was appointed
in each Elder's Quarter, who was met on the first Wednesday of July and
of January annually in their own quarter, and those that could not pay in
July must be positive in January or they must give their note to the Collector
and those who will not comply with these terms must give up their seat in
the Meeting House.
Sometime during his pastorate, the Rev. W. R. Hemphill preached
on the subject of deacons, and had the following deacons ordained: W. K.
Bradley, David McLain, Andrew P. Weed, and John McCreary, all of whom are
still listed as deacons, March 9, 1850.
In October, 1848, the Rev. W. R. Hemphill was elected by the
Synod to the Chair of Latin in Erskine college, which position he accepted;
and he demitted the Long Cane and Cedar Springs charge. Of him it is said,
"He measured up to the standard of pastoral excellence furnished by his
predecessors".
A call was prepared, March 9, 1850 for Dr. H. T. Sloan, who
had been licensed, September 22, 1848. He accepted the call, placed in his
hands, September 19, 1850, and signed by the following heads of families:
Elders: George W. Pressly, John Devlin, John Bradley, James
Drennan, Archibald Kennedy, Robert Drennan, James Harper Foster, Pat H.
Bradley.
Deacons: A. P. Weed, W. R. Bradley, John McCreary, David McCain.
Heads of Families: J. J. Devlin, Robert Devlin, M. D., A.
Bradley, Thomas McDill, John Faulkner, William Gibson, James Lessly, John
E. Pressly, S. B. McClinton, R. W. Lites, David Wiley, Thomas McBride, William
Watson, Leroy Purdy, John Creswel, John Robinson, Jr., F. B. Robinson, Matthew
Goodwin, William Cowan, J. W. Hearst, J. L. Devlin, J. J. Shanks, Adam Wideman,
John Brown, T. F. Lanter, Samuel Jordan, J. B. Adamson, Simpson Evans, A.
S. Evans, Samuel Goodwin, J. P. Kennedy, J. L. Pressly, John McDonald, Harvey
Drennan, A. B. Young, E. J. Kennedy, John R. Martin, James C. Martin, William
Fell, John Robinson, A. L. Wideman, David Morrah, A. P. Conner, James
Richey, T. M. Chiles, J. L. Hearst, Bartholomy Jordan, John Bradley, Jr.,
George Young, Josiah Patterson, Andrew Brown, John M. Young, John Watson,
William McDonnald, James Creswell, William Davis, James McGill, A. P. Evans,
A. Little, Isiah McCormick, A. B. Boyd, Alexander Stewart, Wilson Watkins,
James W. Frazier, Samuel Agner, J. L. Morrow, Isaac Kennedy, J. L. Little,
Bird Bluford, Joseph Creswell, William Robinson, J. C. Lindsay, John Creswell,
Joseph McBride, Jonathan Jordan, George Davis, D. W. C. Tollotson. (There
was a total membership of 233; 216 white and 17 colored members).
Dr. Sloan's ordination and installation took place at Long
Cane on the first of November following. The Rev. J. Galloway preached the
sermon; the Rev. E. E. Pressly ordained the pastor; the Rev. J. P. Pressly
addressed the pastor; and the Rev. W. R. Hemphill, addressed the people.
After preaching a special sermon to the children, December
15, 1850, from Ecclesiastes 12:1, "Remember now thy creator in the days of
thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou
shalt say, I have no pleasure in them", Dr. Sloan organized on that day the
first Sabbath School at Long Cane. Henceforth, Sabbath School was held regularly
except during two months in mid-winter. Dr. Sloan himself served as Superintendent
until 1885, and during the years 1889 and 1891.
In 1855, Long Cane lost its last charter member, Miss Ann
McCracken, at the age of 92 years.
This present building was constructed during Dr. Sloan's pastorate,
Mr. Henry Jones, contractor, and dedicated by Dr. Sloan, July 20, 1856.
The text of his dedicatory sermon was Habakkuk 2:20, "But the Lord is in
His Holy Temple; let all the earth keep silent before Him". The structure
remains as originally built except for one change: a part of the amen corners
was made into small rooms that you see on each side of the pulpit. This change
was made about 1892, after the church discontinued the use of the Session
House, which served also as a school house, and which stood in the edge of
the woods just back of the church and across the present road (the old road
ran in front of the church). The Session House was sold to Mr. John Brown,
and the money received was used in adding the two small rooms previously
mentioned. Mrs. J. P. Crawford says they were built by a Mr. Patterson, of
Anderson county, then living at the old Bradley place.
The Long Cane and Cedar Springs congregation showed its patriotism
and suffered its losses during the Confederate War. The Church observed
June 6, 1861, as a day of fasting and prayer, a day set apart by President
Davis to be observed by the Confederate States of North America. The preaching
service was held at Long Cane.
The pastor, Dr. H. T. Sloan, left home for camp about the
middle of August, 1861, (was appointed chaplain, July 20, 1861), as Chaplain
in Orrs regiment. During his absence, the two churches were supplied chiefly
by the Rev. W. L. Pressly and the Rev. J. H. Myers. Dr. Sloan was at home
on furlough, March 16, 1862; and on the following August 1, he was reported
as having returned home, "very much emaciated by sickness and exposure in
the camp of the Confederate Army."
The following members died or were killed in service:
John Bradley, Jr., enlisted April 4, 1862, Co. G, Fourteenth
Regt. Infantry; killed in battle of Ox Hill, Virginia, Sept 1, 1862.
James M. Kennedy, enlisted April 15, 1861, Co. C, Seventh
Regt. Infantry; killed at Sharpsburg, Maryland, Sept. 17,1862.
John McQuinns, enlisted April 15, 1861, Co. C, Seventh Regt.
Infantry; wounded, Sept. 13 1862, at Maryland Heights; and died there October
1, 1862.
James M. Purdy, enlisted January 3, 1862, Co. H, Nineteenth
Regt. Infantry; died of disease at Danville, Kentucky, September 30, 1862
Thomas Jordan, died in hospital in Richmond. (No record in
Historical Commission of South Carolina - Confederate Records are incomplete).
Thomas M. Chiles, enlisted May 14, 1862, Adjutant in Seventh
Regt. Infantry; wounded at the battle of Maryland Heights, Sept 13, 1862,
and killed in battle at Sharpsburg, September 17, 1862.
William Gibson, died of disease contracted in camp below Charleston.
(No record in Historical Commission).
Samuel P. McGaw, enlisted July 20, 1861, Co. B First Regt.
Rifles (Orrs Regt.); died at Lynchburg, Virginia, Dec 11, 1862.
George Austin Davis, died in Reeds Hospital, Lynchburg, Virginia,
Dec. 21, 1862, of quinsy. Buried in old Methodist cemetery there. (No record
in Historical Commission).
James A. Wilson, died April 20, 1863, in Richmond, Virginia
hospital. (No record in Historical Commission).
J. D. Malone, enlisted July 20, 1861 (3rd Cpl.), Co. B, First
Regt. Rifles (Orrs Regt.); Killed in battle of Chancellorsville, May 3,
1863.
J. F Martin, enlisted July 20, 1861, Co. B, First Regt. Rifles
(Orrs Regt.); killed in battle of Chancellorsville, May 3, 1863.
William Bradley, enlisted August 17, 1861 (3rd Cpl.) Co. G,
Fourteenth Regt. Infantry; died May 20, 1863, from wounds received at Chancellorsville
May 3, 1863
Henry D. Gray, enlisted August 15, 1861, Co. G, First Regt.
Rifles (Orrs Regt.); killed in battle of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, July
3, 1863.
John A. Weed, died at Staunton, Virginia, July 11, 1863. (No
record in Historical Commission).
Lieut. J. T. Jordan, (according to church record), mortally
wounded at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania; died July 3, 1863. (The Historical
Commission gives no verifying record; it gives the following service of
a James Turner Jordan, Pvt.: Enlisted July 20, 1861, Co. B, First Regt.
Rifles (Orrs Regt.) ; wounded at Fredericksburg; furloughed home; detailed
in hospital at Richmond and later in Quartermaster Dept.; served throughout
the war).
J. C. Martin, died at Petersburg, Virginia, October 4, 1863
- age 26. (No record in Historical Commission).
Robert McClair, enlisted September 23, 1861, Co. C, Seventh
Regt. Infantry; killed in battle near Chattanooga, Tenn., September 24,
1863.
J. H. Morris, enlisted January 28, 1864, Co. B, Fifth Regt.
S. C. Cavalry; wounded in battle of Trevillian Station, June 12, 1864; died
in hospital of wounds June 23, 1864.
Thomas C. Bradley, enlisted July 1, 1862 (4th Cpl.), Co. C,
Sixth Cavalry; killed in battle of Trevillian Station, June 12, 1864.
John Bickett, killed below Richmond, Virginia, January 28,
1864. (No record in Historical Commission).
Robert Drennan, killed near Petersburg, Virginia, July, 1864.
On Monday afternoon, September 18, 1871, during the meeting
of Synod at Long Cane, Synod celebrated the centenary of the organization
of Long Cane congregation. Drs. Boyce and Hemphill, and the Rev. A. R. Ross.
the Rev. David Pressly, and the Rev H. T. Sloan made short addresses. Mrs.
W. R. Bowen, a ten-year-old eyewitness, said recently that the ministers
gathered about the two old oak trees (one of these was killed by lightning
a few years ago; the other, though damaged, is still standing) at the back
of the church where benches had been placed for the occasion, and where as
the speaker stated, Dr. Clark had first preached one hundred years ago. After
the talks made at the two trees, Dr. Clark's tree-pulpit, the ministers,
clad in long black Prince Albert coats and tall beaver hats, and many with
long beard almost to their waist, filed two abreast along the east side of
the church and entered from the front.
Long Cane church organized a Foreign Missionary Society, April
4, 1874, with the following officers: Dr. H. T. Sloan, president; David
McClain, first vice president; P. H. Bradley, second vice president; J.
L. Pressly, third vice president; E. W. Watson, secretary; J. H. Chiles,
treasurer; and A. T. Wideman, J. J. Shanks, W. K. Bradley, Wm. P. Kennedy
and S. B. McClinton, executive committee. On August 30, 1874, this society
agreed upon the following objects:
1. The establishing of Foreign Missions.
2. The support of Foreign Missions with their means.
3. Cooperation with the United Presbyterian Church.
4. Selection of field to be left to choice of Synod.
During his pastorate, Dr. Sloan organized three churches:
Lodimont, Troy, and Bradley. In the spring of 1875 Dr. Sloan organized a
new congregation in Abbeville County, Lodimont (Mt. Carmel), with 23 members,
of whom three were elders and two were deacons. Lodimont, once called Little
River, was a community church organized sometime prior to 1805; but on May
8, 1875, it became an Associate Reformed Presbyterian church, presided over
by Dr. H. T. Sloan. On Saturday, May 14, 1881, the Session of Long Cane and
Cedar Springs voted to build a church at Troy, for the benefit of members
in that quarter of the congregation, and the following were appointed to
investigate and make arrangements: Capt. P. H. Robinson, S. O. Young, P.
H. Bradley, William P. Kennedy, A. B. Kennedy, James Truitt, Dr. J. D. Neel,
R. W. Lites, and A. T. Wideman. The church was completed by the spring of
1882, and the congregation organized June 4, 1882, with thirty-three charter
members, only one of whom is now living, W. H. Robinson, of Troy. Frederick
C. Cook, and J. N. Dendy were elected ruling elders; and R. W. Lites, R.
J. Robinson, A. B. Kennedy, and W. C. Robinson were elected deacons. The
Bradley church, says Mrs. M. Bradley, in her sketch of that church, was organized
in 1887, and was made part of Dr. Sloan's charge; on January 13, 1892, Cedar
Springs and Bradley became one charge, and Long Cane was henceforth an independent
charge. Although Dr. Sloan did not organize the Abbeville church, Nov. 25,
1889, nine of the fourteen charter members were from the Long Cane and Cedar
Springs congregation.
No colored members are reported from Long Cane and Cedar Springs
after 1880.
The Centennial of the organization of the Presbytery of the
Carolinas and Georgia, organized at Cedar Springs meeting house, February
24, 1790, was held at Long Cane, February 24, 1890, because says Dr. Sloan
we had held a centennial of the congregation at Cedar Springs in 1879 (it
was held there June 21, 1879). Dr. Lathan says it was organized at Long
Cane, which was a term generally applied to the whole area of Abbeville
County, in which area both churches, under one pastorate, were located.
(Notice that Dr. Lathan does not say Long Cane Meeting House. Dr. Sloan,
who quoted from the minutes, which he states were before him, and which
unfortunately have since been lost or destroyed, and old Dr. S. A. Agnew,
one of the best informed men of his day, say that this Presbytery was organized
at Cedar Springs meeting house. At this centennial celebration Dr. Sloan
presided and the following men were the principal speakers: the Rev. James
A. Lowry responded to Dr. Sloan's words of welcome; Dr. Robert Lathan made
the historical address; Dr. J. E. Pressly spoke on Secession Churches of
Ireland and Scotland, their Doctrines and Trials; Dr. J. I. McCain, The Reformation;
and Dr. E. E. Boyce, Necrology. On motion of Dr. Lathan, the Centennial meeting
adjourned to meet at Cedar Springs, Abbeville county, on 24th of February,
1990.
On account of failing health, Dr. Sloan resigned this charge
in 1890. Dr. G. W. Pressly frequently entered in his business Ledger the
following comments, after giving Dr. Sloans text: "excellent sermon, a wonderful
discourse, a most melting and sweet discourse, etc". A long pastorate, such
as was Dr. Sloan's, with enduring love and abiding reverence and influence,
is a tribute to both pastor and people.
On December 5, 1891, the Rev. R. F. Bradley became pastor
of Long Cane church. On the following January 13, 1892, as previously stated,
Cedar Springs and Long Cane again separated: Long Cane has since remained
an independent charge; and Cedar Springs and Bradley thereafter formed one
charge.
While pastor at Long Cane church, the Rev. R. F. Bradley began
to publish monthly a two-page paper entitled The Psalm Singer. With his
press in the third story of his home, with his oldest son, W. R. Bradley,
as Printers Devil, and with himself as editor and chief contributor, he
published for two years, 1885-1886, this small paper, after which time he
sold it to the Rev. George Warrington, Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania. It had
the honor of proposing the first Pan Psalmody Council, held in Belfast,
Ireland.
During the World War, 1917-1918, the following young men enlisted
for service:
Bowen, John Creswell, SCNG, June 15, 1916, CAC 5 Co. NCNG
CAC 10 Co. C Def of Charleston to Dec. 10, 1917; Battery B 61 Artillery
CAC to discharge. Mec. June 15, 1916; Corp. August 23, 1917; Sgt. Sept.
5 1917; 1 Sgt. May 5, 1918. AEF July 17, 1918 to Feb. 17, 1919. Honorably
discharged March 3, 1919.
Bradley, Eustice Uel, 2 Lt. FA from ORC Ft. Myer, Va. Tng.
Cp. 12 FA to May 20, 1918; 318 FA to Nov. 2, 1918; 137 FA to discharge. Cp
Lee, Va.; France. AEF March 11, 1918 to Dec. 23, 1918. Honorably discharged
Feb. 18, 1919.
Bradley, Francis Wright, Appt 1 Lt. AGD Aug. 15, 1917 fr CL
capt. Nov. 6, 1918; Maj. May 30, 1919. Statistical Sec. AGD to Nov. 6, 1918;
Corps of Interpreters to May 30, 1918; Inf to discharge France; Cp. Dix,
N. J., Cp. Gordon, Ga., AEF May 11, 1918 to Sept. 20, 1919. Honorably discharged
October 7, 1919. Awarded British Military Cross and Authorization Certificate.
Awarded Belgian Croix de Guerre. Awarded French Legion of Honor (Chevalier)
decoration and certificate. Awarded Italian Groee di Guerra.
Bradley, Robert Foster, Jr., 1 Lt. Inf. Dec. 15, 1917 fr ORC
Ft. Oglethorpe, Ga. Tng Cp. Tng Cp. Hq. 38 Inf. to - ; Hq. 2 Army to discharge.
Cp. Greene, NC; Cp. Upton, N. Y., AEF March 28, 1918 to May 10, 1919. Honorably
discharged May 31, 1919.
Awarded SS.
Dansby, William Luther, National Army, September 3, 1918,
L Regt. FA Replacement Draft Cp. Jackson, SC to Dec. 10, 1918; Battery C
60 FA to discharge Pvt. Honorably discharged January 28, 1919.
Long, William Pressly, National Army, May 25, 1918. Depot
Brigade to July 20,1918; Cp. Jackson Aug. Automatic Replacement Draft to
Aug. 20, 1918; 6 Battery FA Replacement Draft to discharge. Pvt. AEF Sept.
8, 1918 to June 5, 1919. Honorably discharged June 14, 1919.
Long, Wylie Kennedy, National Army, Sept. 5, 1918. Medical
Department to discharge. Pvt Honorably discharged Feb. 27, 1919.
Morrah, Uel Wideman, SCNG April 13, 1917. Machine Gun Co.
1 Inf. SCNG (MG Co. 118 Inf.) to discharge. Pvt. lcl June 25, 1917; Corp.
Feb 23, 1918 AEF May 11, 1918 to March 27, 1919. Honorably discharged March
31, 1919.
Morrah, Samuel P., Jr., enlisted in the Enlisted Reserve Corps,
June 2, 1917, Atlanta, Ga.; served in QMC to discharge. Corp. Aug. 1, 1917;
Sgt. October 20, 1917; Pvt. June 1, 1918; Corp. Sept. 16, 1918; Sgt. November
1, 1918; Sgt. 1cl Feb. 5, 1919. Honorably discharged March 18, 1919.
Wideman, Boyce, enlisted in the Enlisted Reserve Corps, May
7, 1917, New York; Private 1cl Aug. 9, 1917; Cook June 1, 1918; served in
Medical Department, Base Hospital 2 to honorable discharge, February 17,
1919; served overseas from May 14, 1917 to February 3, 1919.
Young, David Abner, National Army, Sept. 3, 1918. 156 Depot
Brigade to discharge. Pvt. Honorably discharged Dec. 17, 1918.
Young, John Henry, National Army, Aug. 12, 1918. Co. L 56
Pioneer Regt. Inf. Aug. 12, 1918 to Sept 23, 1918. Pvt. AEF Sept. 4, 1918
to Sept. 23, 1918. Died of pneumonia Sept. 23, 1918.
Young, Robert Perrin, National Army, Aug. 5, 1918. 63 Co.
Syracuse Recruit Cp. NY to Sept. 12, 1918; 301 Guard & Fire Co. QMC
to Dec. 14, 1918; 302 Guard & Fire Co. to discharge. Pvt. 1cl Sept.
2, 1918. honorably Discharged Jan. 24, 1919.
Young Thomas Oliver, National Army, July 25, 1918. Co. F,
58 Pioneer Regt. Inf. to Aug. 6, 1918; Co. F, 3 Pioneer Regt. Inf. to discharge.
Pvt. AEF Aug. 30, 1918 to March 31, 1919. Honorably discharged Apr. 23,
1919.
The Rev. R. F. Bradley resigned the Long Cane charge in October,
1930, on account of the infirmities of age. He died March 8, 1932, and lies
buried among his forefathers in the Long Cane cemetery, the first pastor
of that church to be buried in its cemetery.
The Rev. W. C. Kerr began serving Long Cane as stated supply,
November, 1930, and is still serving this congregation faithfully in this
capacity.
The Sabbath school superintendents of Long Cane are as follows:
Dr. H. T. Sloan 1850-1885,
1889, 1891
E. W. Watson
1886, 1887, 1883 (?), 1890
W. P. Wideman 1893-1909
W. H. Kennedy 1910-1922
Charlie Dansby 1922-1931
Reese O. Young 1931-1937
Horace Brown
1937-
Some of the first known elders of Long Cane and Cedar Springs
are: Robert Foster, Elijah Sinclair, Mr. Patterson, James McBride, Arthur
Morrow, Robert Gibson, William Robinson.
The following were elders when the Rev. Mr. Porter was called,
and they are believed to have served under Dr. Clark, as there is no report
of any ordination in the interim: James McBride, Alexander Smith, Robert
Foster, Samuel Foster, Arthur Morrow, Andrew Jones, Robert Gibson, James
Cochran (clerk in 1799), William Pressly, James Foster.
Additions February 24, 1800: William McGaw, John Patterson,
John Young, Archibald Thompson (clerk in 1800), Samuel Leard, Hugh McBride;
about 1811: Mathew Shanks and John Young, and Robert McCullough was in 1812.
1817-1831 (under Dr. John T. Pressly): Old Master Foster,
James Foster, Hugh McBride, James Cochran, John Devlin, William Dale, Robert
Drennan, Samuel McQuerns. Subsequently: Robert Foster, Dr. Samuel Pressly,
William Dale, Jr.
About 1823 or 1824: Abraham Russell, John C. Couey, John Patterson.
In the fall of 1827: Samuel Young, John Kennedy, Josiah McGaw,
Hugh Cochran, James Drennan.
Added about 1829: James Foster, Samuel Morris.
About 1837: Adam Stewart, Robert M. Mealy, Archibald Kennedy,
D. P. Robinson (was in 1847), John Bradley, Dr. George W. Pressly.
March 9, 1850: George W. Pressly, John Bradley, Arch Kennedy, James
Harper Foster, John Devlin, James Drennan, Robert Drennan, Pat H. Bradley.
In 1851: James J. Shank, Andrew Jones Neel, John Bradley (was
in 1855), James Leslie, William Gibson.
Listed May 10, 1871: James Drennan, Andrew Jones Weed, David
McClane, Samuel B. McClinton, James J. Shank, Dr. Joseph L. Pressly, A.
T. Wideman, John H. Chiles, Pat H. Bradley.
Ordained January 1, 1874: Dr. J. H. McCreary, John L. Drennan,
Edmund W. Watson, William K. Bradley, W. P. Wideman (was in 1884), Wm. P.
Kennedy, B. F. Young, Dr. J. D. Neel (?).
Listed February 24, 1890: David McClane, James J. Shank, John
E. Bradley, Edwin Cowan, J. L. Pressly, M. D., W. P. Wideman, J. H. Chiles,
E. W. Watson, John Lyon.
Present elders (October 27, 1940): J. A. Young, E. C. Young,
Sr., R. P. Young, J. C. Dansby, W. T. Cowan.
As previously stated, the first deacons were: W. K. Bradley,
David McLain, Andrew P. Weed, John McCreary, Archibald B. Boyd (was in 1851)
Ordained April 5, 1860: Wilson Watkins, Joseph C. Lindsay,
Adam Wideman, William Butler.
Listed May 30, 1871: John McCreary, Joseph C. Lindsay, Adam
Wideman, Wilson Watkins, William Butler, William K. Bradley.
Ordained January 1, 1874: John McClinton, John E. Bradley,
Robert W. Lites, T. M. Jay (Dorie), John H. Morrah, John A. Devlin.
Listed February 24, 1880: W. W. Bradley, W. P. Devlin, J.
C. Kennedy, L. P. Morrah, John H. Morrah, J. H. Drennan, Robert Crawford,
E. W. Watson (clerk).
Present deacons (October 27, 1940): R. C. Young, E. C. Young,
Jr., J. C. Young, S. L. Long, Luther Dansby, David W. Wardlaw.
Of the sixteen Associate Reformed Presbyterian missionaries
on foreign fields the following are connected with Cedar Springs and Long
Cane either by birth or linage: Dr. J. G. Dale, Mrs. J. G. Dale (Dr. Kate
Neel Dale), Rev. John T. Dale, Rev. W. C. Halliday, Mrs. W. C. Halliday
(Flora Harper), Miss Mary Kennedy, Mrs. B. L. Hamilton (Mabel Pressly).
In addition to the churches which it has organized, The Long
Cane and Cedar Springs congregation has made large contributions numerically
to the following churches: Hopewell, Preble County, Ohio; New Zion (later
Spring Hill), Decatur County, Indiana; the Associate Reformed Presbyterian
Churches in Freestone County, Texas, the Associate Reformed Presbyterian
Churches in Cameron County, Texas; two churches in Southern Illinois; and
Lebanon, Wilson County, Alabama. Under the pastorate of Dr. J. P. Pressly,
the bench of elders of Lebanon Church was composed entirely of natives of
Long Cane and Cedar Springs: Joseph Jones, Samuel Young, Alexander Foster,
William Dale, John Norris, Robert McBride, and David Black.
The genesis of the Abolition movement is a part of the early
history of South Carolina and of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church,
in South Carolina. Before Wendell Phillips and William Lloyd Garrison began
to write in vehement language and to speak with passionate eloquence against
the institution of slavery, a whole settlement of Quakers had left Rayburn
Creek, Newberry County, to go into a non-holding-slave State; and large
settlements of Associate Reformed Presbyterians had left Hopewell, Chester
County, from Fairfield County, and from Long Cane and Cedar Springs, Abbeville
County, because of their opposition to slavery, and had formed Hopewell
Church, Preble County, Ohio. In 1826, an overture on the subject of slavery
was sent up to the Synod of the West by this Hopewell congregation in Ohio.
Not only the members of this church, as previously stated, were from South
Carolina, but also the pastor, the Rev. Alexander Porter, who was a native
of Abbeville County and the second installed pastor of Long Cane and Cedar
Springs. When this overture was presented to the Synod of the West, 1826,
only the First Presbytery of Ohio, says Dr. Lathan, was decidedly in favor
of it; and three of the six pastors of the First Presbytery were native-born
South Carolinians: Alexander Porter, of Abbeville County; Samuel P. McCaw,
of Abbeville County; and David McDill, of Chester County.
I shall close this sketch with the closing words of Dr. W. M. Grier,
uttered at the Centennial here in February, 1890:
"Shall we not this day pledge ourselves anew to those noble
principles which have given to us a system of doctrine and form of worship
simple and scriptural, and which anchors us to a foundation more enduring
and immovable than the everlasting hills - even the Word of God that liveth
and abideth forever."
Sources
Glasgows Cyclopedic Manual of the United Presbyterian Church.
New York Colonial Manuscripts endorsed Land Papers, Vol. 16.
Pittsburg-Xenia Seminary Records, Pittsburg, Pennsylvania.
Centennial History of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian
Church
Indian Book 6.
Notes of Miss Francis May Davis.
Council Journal, 1763-64, Vol. 30.
Howes History of the Presbyterian Church in South Carolina,
Vol. 1.
Sketch of Bradley Church, by Mrs. M. Bradley.
Journal of the House of Representatives, Vol. 41.
The Somonauk Book, Patten, 28.
Manuscripts in the Historical Commission of South Carolina.
Minutes of Cedar Springs and Long Cane Church.
Minutes of the Synod.
Notations in Dr. G. W. Presslys Ledger.
Dr. S. A. Agnew, in Greenwood Index-Journal, March 2, 1930.
The Abbeville Press and Banner, September 21, 1871.
Dr. H. T. Sloans Sketches of Long Cane and Cedar Springs.
McCalls History of Georgia.
Historical Collection of the Joseph Habersham Chapter.
Lathans History of the Associate Reformed Synod of the South.
Historical Foundation of the Presbyterian and Reformed Churches,
Montreat, N. C.
Official Roster of South Carolina Soldier, Sailors and Marines,
World War, 1917-18, Vol. 1.
History of the Congregations of the United Presbyterian Church,
1733-1900, Edinburgh, Scotland.
Division of Military and Naval Affairs of the Executive Department,
Albany, N. Y.
Office of the Adjutant General, Atlanta, Georgia.
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