This came from Mary Meyer, an Abernathy researcher...sometimes I get emails as attachments and my browser won't let me cut and paste info into a new email anymore...long story...so that's where this came from...Char ****************** THE QUAKERS OF BUSH RIVER About three and a half miles Southwest of Newberry, hear Bush River, and one mile this side of old Langford's Mill (once called Mendenhall's Mill), can be seen among a patch of small oaks and hickories , the old Quaker cemetery. Here is silence, ever as a quiet reminder of a once large community of Friends, and their church which once stood by its side. Here the members that included many families within a radius of several miles, as far as Saluda River and Little River, would come on Sundays, spend the day,and with customary quiet humility and feelings of strict adherence to their religion, worhip God in their own way. Tradition is that nearly a thousand Friends are buried in the cemetery, most of them without markers. The first monument which attracts the visitor when he enters is the very tall, tapering monument in the family plot of Rev. Thomas Frean, who though he married in a Quaker family, lived among them, became a Methodist minister; and later changing his views as to his concepts of the Bible became a Baptist. Some of the large land owners in that community during the early periods were: Jacob Chandler, Israel Chandler, Timothy Pugh, Issac Jenkins, Sr. Isaac Kirk, John Kelly, Samuel Kelly, David Jones, Hugh O'Neall, Joseph Coppock, and others. The first Quaker settlers also included William Coats, William Miles, John Furnas, Rober Evans, David Jenkings , William O'Neall, Enos Elleson, William Wright, John Embree, Moses Embree, Benjamin and Joshua Inman, and Thomas Pearson. The friends, as the name typifies and represents the real name of the organization, were from Pa, The Quaker State. Some of the Quaker colonies from Pa. first settled in Western NC and on Bush River in SC before the Rev. War. The old Quaker Meeting House on Bush River became a central point for meetings. About 1796, some members living in the neighborhaood of Rocky Spring branch organized the Rocky Spring Meeting, and built there a small church on two acres of land which was given by Thomas Pearson, a well-to-do Quaker. The trustees were Samuel Miles and Samuel Teague(the latter was a small boy during the Rev. War, but having seen his father shot in the back by Tories, joined the American forces as soon as they would receive him. to take revenge upon them). Unique in their customs, having staid qualities of character, strict adherence to their church views, they were nevertheless citizens possessing much patriotism. Opposed to war they largely remained among themselves during the period of the Rev, but some of their young men became American soldiers after the war started. At a later time, during their monthly meetings their ministers preached against war. and at one meeting which was held at Wrightsboro Ga. in 1803 , Rev Zacariah Dicke, an evangelist, predicted a great internecine(??) war would come in the distant future. He said that the child was then born who would see it,and the civil war came fifty eight years later. A few years after this meeting in Ga. the Quakers sold their lands, manumitted their negroes, and moved to Ohio, from where many removed to the state of Indiana and other Northwestern states. The Quaker styles of clothes indicated much of their character, habits and thoroughness. The men wore broad-brimmed hats, with low crowns, straight-breasted with collars, coats, knee breeches without suspenders of plainest colors, held up by large buttons, plainly visible on the shirts or bodies. The women wore white beavers having more indentations for crowns, brims about six inches every way, and secured on the head by plain white ribbons, passing through loops; or the plain silk bonners called hoods, long waisted gowns or petticoats that spread out in wide circles, and touching the gound. When the Friends moved to Ohio, other colonies moved to that state from Wrightsborough, Ga. and from Guildford Court House, NC, about hte same time, Apparently they all had some agreement or understanding in regard to their leaving. Very few Quakers remained in Newberry but those that remained were gradually absorbed by other churches . Many Quakers descendants of the colony that left Bush River for the Northwest became distinguished citizens in their respective communities. One of the O'Neall family settled in Indiana (a small town in that state was named Newberry, for their native town in SC) Taken from NEWBERRY COUNTY-SOUTH CAROLINA - Historical and Genealogical Annals, by G.L. Summers --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.225 / Virus Database: 107 - Release Date: 12/22/00