Hi, Jon! Nice to know you are on this list. I have several of Ron Nelson's works, and also several of Ralph Harrelson's. I met him a few years ago when he attended a meeting where I was invited to preach. He was a thorough historian, and through him I learned that Brushy Fork church was organized in 1843, not 1820 as had been published (as though it were a continuation of the Bankston's Fork church). The coin has now flipped, as I recently obtained part of the early records of the Big Creek Church in Hardin county, and have written an article for our PB Library Quarterly and for my book, about this church, which will show that the First Baptist of Elizabethtown could NOT have been a continuation of Big Creek, (and therefore the oldest Baptist church in Illinois), as has been published. We are all very prone to make mistakes if we rely on information that is not substantial proof. I am willing to discuss this in a measured way and not make any sweeping conclusions until all the facts are in, but it appears fairly certain to me at this point. Elder Robert Webb On Wed, 8 Nov 2000 19:47:00 -0600 "Jon Musgrave" <jmusgrave@onecliq.net> writes: > Phil, > > The church published its history in the fall of 1996. Ron Nelson and > the > late Ralph Harrelson authored it. Liberty started out as the first > Emancipation (anti-slavery) Baptist church in southeastern Illinois. > I do > not know if the church has any more copies available for sale. > > Jon Musgrave > www.IllinoisHistory.com > ________________________________________________________________ YOU'RE PAYING TOO MUCH FOR THE INTERNET! Juno now offers FREE Internet Access! Try it today - there's no risk! For your FREE software, visit: http://dl.www.juno.com/get/tagj.