Merle mentions Casper Miller and his son Adam. I am descended from a John Miller family of Washington District, NC, later Carter Co. Tennessee. John and his many sons were combatants in the Revolution. Members of Sevier's 'over the hill' contingent. They are reported as blacksmiths at the 'shelving rock' on Little Doe River, at Crab Orchard. This family was out of Pennsylvania. This family returned to Crab Orchard when hostilities ceased, but by 1820 were Regular Baptists (AKA Primitive Baptists) and split between Kentucky and Indiana. George Miller, a son of John took his family to Indiana, and by 1820 most were in Montgomery county. The Sugar Creek Congregation of Regular Baptists was theirs. Before 1834 the congregation was ready to branch out, and settlements in Mercer County, Illinois were available. The Millers and several other related families were the first to settle in Millersburg, in Mercer County, forming the Edwards River Congregation. "EDWARDS RIVER The first record of The Regular Baptist Church of Jesus Christ, of Edwards River, is the minutes of a meeting of the members, held at the house of George Miller, on Edwards River, July 21, 1838, of which meeting Jeremiah Swofford was chosen moderator, and Abraham Miller Jr., clerk. This meeting was held within the present limits of Perryton township. Meetings were held in the private houses of members until a meeting held in the house of Gabriel M. Barkley, in Farlow's Grove (now in Preemption township), December 22, 1838, the next regular meeting was appointed at the school house in Sugar Grove (now Perryton township). March 23, 1839, they voted to appeal to Henderson Church for letters of dismission and help to constitute them into a separate church. Their prayer was granted, and the Edwards River church was constituted June 29, 1839, by Elders Joseph Jones, Charles Vandeveer, and Hiram Bowman. The members at the constitution were: Joseph and Rebecca Jones; George, Mary Ann, and Julia Ann Miller; Abraham Miller, Jr.; John and Sarah Farlow; Roswell and Mehitable Stanard; Youngs Green; Michael Donahoo; Gabriel M. and Hannah R. Barkley; Mary Miller; and Susannah Shelley. Gabriel M. Barkley was chosen first deacon of the church, and Abraham Miller Jr., first clerk. Elder Joseph Jones was the first moderator and pastor. The records of New Hope Church for May 1839 show that a request was received from the brethren of the arm of Henderson Church, delivered by brethren Joseph Jones and John Farlow, and agreed to send brethren the Saturday before the fifth Sunday in June, Charles Vandeveer, Peter Butler, John Riggs, and James Kelsey. The Edwards River Church united with and remained a member of the Spoon River Association during its existence. The first delegation from this church was Joseph Jones, Gabriel M. Barkley, George Miller, John Farlow, and Abraham Miller Jr., who were appointed to sit in council with and constitute a church at William Denison's. It was agreed at this time (1839) to hold meetings one-half the time at Sugar Grove and one-half the time at Farlow's Grove. The last regular meeting of this church was held October 9, 1847, when, "after consultation and due deliberation being had the church and council thought it expedient to letter each other out and so become dissolved, inasmuch as the members are moving away out of the bounds of this church." Most of these members shortly thereafter removed to Oregon territory. source: http://www.carthage.lib.il.us/community/churches/primbap/FamHist- Mercer.html (History of Mercer County, E. H. Hill & Co., Publishers, Chicago, Illinois, 1882) Page 306" The area of Edwards River was built up and by 1847 the Congregation was being dissolved, and the membership moved, via the Coon-Miller wagon train, to Linn County, Oregon, whereas they joined the Little Bethel Church of Regular Predestinarian Baptists, which was under Rev. Joseph Warren Turnage, of Clay County, Missouri, the town was once again known as Millersburg, being established on the land of George Miller, who donated a portion of his land for the Little Bethel Church and Cemetery, and is currently a part of Albany, Oregon. Abraham Miller, Jr. a son of George Miller, married the widow of Rev. Turnage, Elizabeth Crowley Dagley, and took over the Congregation. His previous wife, Julia Ann Morgan, of Pennsylvania, died shortly after arriving in Oregon. The last of the Millers to leave Illinois and move to Oregon was Isaac Newton Miller, a brother of George Miller. He departed in 1851. The people who had bought the land from the Edwards River Congregational, were apparently very happy to see the "strange" people go. SOURCE: Early Memories, Written by Irene Clark Davis for her sister, Ada E. Brown "Now it is the spring of 1848 and Father moved to Sugar Grove. So does Uncle Gibbs and Uncle Gabriel. At the Grove we find seven Miller families. Father bought of a man by the name of Crull. Uncle Gibbs bought Mr. Griswald's farm. Uncle Gabriel rented a place. Uncle Ransom soon came to be followed by Lewis and Ware Long. The neighborhood entirely changed in the space of two years. Not a Miller left. Four Miller brothers had come to the Grove from some western part of the state, many years before. Some of them had planted fruit trees that were now bearing. In those days grafting and budding were not known and the seedling is slow to bear, so I conclude they had been there 15 or 20 years. Their several names were Abraham, Isaac, John, and George. All good religious people. Had a mill for lumber, grist mill, a log house for school and church. "In 1850 all the elderly ones except Isaac Miller and his family left for Oregon. In 1851 Isaac left, leaving no one by the name of Miller. The Grove now began to be a different place. People from eastern states moved in. I heard Ma tell Pa that she liked the new neighbors better than the old ones. They were so different, (more sociable, I suppose) such as Ma had always associated with." Jeff Scism, IBSSG Merle C Rummel wrote: > Thanks much - > > This is a start on what needs to be done on these known Brethren in the > Carolinas. I will save this in my files, with some of the previous > information on these churches and families. I am using them to assist > in the Kentucky Migration - but this is a lead on those Brethren > families who remained in the Carolinas. I still want to know more about > the Crane Creek Church (just found a Brethren Casper Miller, who lived > at Salisbury, his son Adam moved to Washington Co IN, 1824). > > Roger Sappington presented what he could find out on the Carolina > churches in his History of the Brethren in North Carolina. This is the > next step, because there is more information like this out there. I'm > finding in Kentucky that the main way to learn of these churches which > have disappeared, is to trace the families. And that is what we are > doing in our family genealogies. That is what I've been doing with > these Kentucky families -where they came from. > > I've told myself I'm taking a break on the work on the Kentucky Book > (some of these "new" families need more research), maybe I'll pull > together a start on these Carolina churches (my daughter is not going to > be happy). > > I do have another interest here, included in your answer. Who is this > Christopher Guise? There is a major frontiersman of western > Pennsylvania, Christopher Gist. This Christopher Gist had a > "plantation" near Uniontown PA. He led General Braddock's army toward > Fort Duquesne (1755). He was an early explorer into Ohio. He moved > south, presumably to Georgia. He signed the petition from Fort > Redstone, with the Brethren of Brothers Valley and Washington Co PA. I > picked up a copy of his "Journals", at Fort Necessity last summer (and > haven't ready it yet). Is there a connection of these two men? or are > they the same man? Was Christopher Gist Brethren? > > The Brethren Encyclopedia was written what 30 years ago. I know I wrote > on what I knew then, and some of that has since proven to be incorrect. > I'm finding the same true about what others wrote. And there is a lot > more The 4th Volume was to correct these, but I admit, I didn't send > anything more in, partially because I'm still finding out new things. > But it is like Jeff Bach just reminded me - at some point, we have to > present what we know now. > > Merle C Rummel > > >> There were three Brethren churches west of the Catawba River. The earliest >> church, Killians Meeting House, later became regular Baptist and was located >> in eastern Lincoln County. It began in the middle 1750's with Christopher >> Guise (variously spelled) and Abraham Earhard as ministers. Mountain View >> Baptist has an older cemetery which is the remnants of Lebanon Lutheran >> Church. Lebanon was a later Lutheran church of Killians Meeting House. >> Evidence suggests that Killians Meeting House was originally a union church >> of Lutheran, Reformed, and Brethren. Rev. Lemuel Saunders, apparently a >> regular Baptist, came to minister to the remains of the Brethren at Killians >> Meeting House after the American Revolution. Many Brethren moved away just >> before, during and after the Revolution. Some were Tories and Neutrals and >> some just moved. >> >> Two other Brethren churches located in western Lincoln and western Catawba >> County were both named Thessalonica. Their ministers were Henry Rhodes and >> Lorentz Linhardt. I believe that members of the Thessalonica located in >> present western Lincoln County joined Mt. Zion Baptist Church near present >> Cherryville in present Gaston County. Many of the Catawba County members of >> Thessalonica, the Millers and Bakers, moved to Cape Girardeau Missouri where >> Peter Baker established a Brethren congregation around 1800, the Whitewater >> congregation. They intermingled with the Rowan and Uwarrhi (spelling) >> Hendricks. The Catawba County Thessalonica Church also became regular >> Baptist Church. >> >> The two Thessalonica Brethren churches were served by Henry Rhodes and >> Lorentz Linhardt. Both died in early 1830's and apparently no other >> Brethren ministers served these congregations. Members apparently then >> joined regular Baptist churches. >> >> More research needs to be done on these churches. I have seen no evidence >> that the Brethren Church even recognizes Linhardt and Rhodes as ministers. >> I have primary documentation that they were Dunker/Tunker ministers. >> >> I am not at all certain about the Rowan and Stanley County, NC churches. >> >> Hope this helps, >> >> > > > ------------------------ > Search the Archives at http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/index/BRETHREN > ------------------------ > Support Our Sponsoring Agency > The Fellowship Of Brethren Genealogists (FOBG) > For further information contact Ron McAdams mailto:McAdamsr@hotmail.com > ------------------------ > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to BRETHREN-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > -- Jeffery G. Scism, IBSSG ~~ "No one more sincerely wishes the spread of information among mankind than I do, and none has greater confidence in its effect towards supporting free and good government." -- Thomas Jefferson (letter to Trustees for the Lottery of East Tennessee College, 6 May 1810) Reference: The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, Washington, ed., vol. 5 (521) Visit http://ibssg.org/blacksheep/ For the Intl. Blacksheep Society of Genealogists website Putnam County Indiana http://ingenweb.org/inputnam/ Montgomery County Indiana http://ingenweb.org/inmontgomery/bios/ Fountain County Indiana http://ingenweb.org/infountain/