A bit of history on Newberry County SC... ----- Original Message ----- From: meyerma@webtv.net Subject: John and Rhoda as newlyweds Hi Cousins and Others, Scroll down and read Val's note first, and then come back up here and read mine. This discussion about John and Rhoda began with speculation about what their lives were like when they were newlyweds at the time of the American Revolution. They married in 1775. Our data indicate that their first baby did not arrive until June of 1781. Val joined the DAR on John's records and she tells us that while he did perform patriotic service, he was not a "soldier" (as was his brother James), so does that mean that he was not "off at war"? Part of his patriotic service was hauling freight (supplies for soldiers?) by wagon. Does that mean he was or was not away from home a lot? I'm trying to bring together some bits of information and make a story out of it, as well as make sense of it. I'm humbly asking for your help. If you disagree with a conclusion I reach, please speak up. We know that our Abernathys (and the Hunters) were "Seceders" or ex-Presbyterians (some joined the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church and some became Baptists). As far as I know, the records of the Bush River Baptist Church do not include John Abernathy as a member, but his slave Wolly was a member, and his daughter-in-law was a member, and his parents-in-law were members as well as other relatives of his wife. Bush River Baptist Church was constituted in 1771. In 1773, Thomas Norris, a licensed preacher of the Baptist Church of Little Saluda in Edgefield district was called to be pastor and he was ordained the same year. O'Neall (ANNALS OF NEWBERRY COUNTY) states: "Elder Norris...was pastor during the troublesome times of the revolution. He taught the doctrine of 'non-resistance' and for this boldness in preaching he was shut up in the old prison of Ninety-Six...Finally, he was released without condition and continued to preach until he passed away in 1780." The original church clerk (Michael Landers) wrote: "Mr. Norris continued their minister until 1780, when he was suddenly taken from them by death to the great grief of all of them. They were now left in a distressing siuation under the loss of their minister together with the distressing scene of the late American war which appeared to threaten their dissoltuion; but suffice it to say that amidst all their distresses they were enabled to attend constantly to their stated appointments for public worship, united in the strongest bonds of brotherly love, they thus attended to the duties of their station. They were however encouraged by the hope that this loss would be repaired by Mr. John Cole,Sr., whose ardent and warm exhortation did encourage them that he would be singularly useful - in the 1781, he was called by the church to be their preacher, whose earnest and laborous preaching greatly strneghtened their former hopes of his being qualified for the work of the ministry" [ordained in 1783]. O'Neall also states that Rev. John Cole, Sr. was the third pastor of Bush River Baptist Church and he died in 1816, having been pastor for 35 years. "He had seen the church begin as a little flock, grow, increase, and become as a great army." He was pastor during the great American Revolution and had brought his charge safely through this terrible war." >From the history of Bush River Baptist Church written in 1934 by Mrs. C. M. Smith: "The present Mrs. W. J. Langston (whose husband preached at Bush River from 1883 to 1892), whose great, great grandmother, Mrs. Mary Golding Leonard, widow of Laughlin (pronounced Lockly) Leonard, was the second wife of Rev. John Cole, Sr., gives us this sketch of the death of Laughlin Leonard. This sketch is given here to show how our forefathers and mothers suffered: "The second wife of the Rev. John Cole was Mrs. Mary Golding Leonard, whose first husband, Captain Laughlin Leonard, was a revolutionar soldier. During the Revolutionary period Mary Leonard performed these two notable deeds of valor. In Feb. 1781 she learned that the Tories, led by the dreaded Col. Wm. (Bloody Bill) Cunningham, were planning to surprise the patriots on the west side of Little River and knowing well the fate of those who fell into his cruel hands, she imemdiately set out to give warning. When her errand was successfully accomplished and her excitement had subsided, she realized that she had crossed the river at a point where there was neither bridge nor ford, and from that time until her death, some 50 years later she was never able to recall just how she made the crossing. "But the feet of Mary Leonard were destined to cross darker and deeper waters than the swift current of Little River, for the Tory fury that had raged for over 2 years in the 96 District culminated in Nov. 1781 in the 'Masscre of Hay's Station'; and upon that bloody field lay the body of her husband, Laughlin Leonard. After this terrible massacre by Cunningham and his men, not an able bodied man or boy over twelve years of age was left to help the suffering or bury the dead. In this extremity, Mary Leonard attended only by her slave girl, Calami, walked three miles to the massacre ground and searched among the smoking ruins until she found the body of her husband. With the help of her faithful slave, she placed the body on a rough sled and commenced the homeward journey. Over the rugged road, past trampled fields and ruins of neighboring houses, they dragged their piteous burden, until at last, exhausted, they reached her own desolate home. "Another duty now confronted Mary Leonard, she must put away the body of her husband. For years her lips could not frame the details of that lonely burial, for with only the help of the slave girl she dug a grave near her home, and in it laid the body of the brave soldier. No neighbor nor relative was with her, for they, too, were passing through like sorrows, for as O'Neall relates 'The hills of the 96 District echoed to the wail of fourteen hundred widows and orphans.'" *** The newlyweds may have had a lovely marriage, but the setting for their first years together was far from serene. [Donna and Clara, 96 District is the part of South Carolina which includes present-day Newberry Co. and other surrounding countiues. Our ancestor John Abernathy married Rhoda Davis in 1775 in Newberry Co. SC.] My Grandmother Abernathy was Dorthuyla Nelson Cole, daughter of David Lawson Cole, thought to have been born about 1820 in VA. I do not know if there is a connection between our COLE line and Rev. John Cole, Sr. who pastored the Bush River Baptist Church in Newberry Co. SC (but I'm dying to find out). The history booklet prepared for the 225 anniversary celebration of Bush River Baptist Church in 1996 (from which I took all this information) includes the following (which I include here or future reference regarding the COLE line): "On March 13, 1802, as the record goes: 'It was agreed to call Brother William Cole to ordination and to send for Richard Shackleford, Joshua Palmer and Jesse Owen to attend on Friday before the first Sunday in May to ordain him to the ministry,' but on March 23 of the same year, he passed away." Some of you would like to know that "In 1802 there was a great revival of religion...the Spirit ofGod was pervading the whole community and that all were rising up and crying out 'men and brethren, what shall we do to be saved?' From Aug.22 until Oct. 30, 94 persons were received and baptized on profession of faith" (O'Neall's ANNALS) into the membership of Bush River Baptist Church in Newberry Co. SC. This revival was connected with the great awakening in the West [I think she means Kentucky], which spread eastward and southward and entered the state at the Waxhaws, according to Mrs. C. M. Smith, who wrote the history of BRBC in 1934. In 1802, my (also Lou's, Clarence's, Donna's and Clara's) ancestor Samuel Abernathy was four and one-half years old. Val's ancestor Sarah Abernathy Hunter was 21 years old, she had been married 4 years, and she already had 2 sons. She and her husband, as far as I know. were affiliated with the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church at Headspring in Newberry Co. SC, right Val? The Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church at Prosperity (Frog Level) was built in 1802 and the congregation was organizedd with Abram Carmichael and Abram Young as elders. Val, do you think the formation of that church in 1802 had something to do with the revival in 1802? For the benefit of my readers other than Val, I want to explain that the parents of Sarah Abernathy's husband William Hunter were members of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Chruch at Prosperity in Newberry Co. SC, and they (Nathan Hunter, Sr and Mary Young) are buried there. Kristen, can you write a story from all this? for our grandchildren? (For all of you other than Kristen, she is our cousin and is already an accomplished author of books such as BREAKING RANK.) Mary Alice___________________________________________________________ Get a sneak preview of the new MSN: http://preview.msn.com/