Teri, John T. Christian wrote in his "History Of Baptists of Louisiana" (published 1923) that: "Rev. D.I. Purser was called to the pastoral charge of the Valence Street Church and his brother, Rev. John F. Purser, was called to the First Church." [Both in New Orleans ca. 1895]. There are other mentions of these two preachers. Rev. David Ingram Purser, D.D. has a brief biographical sketch in Durham and Ramond's "Baptist Builders in Louisiana." (1934 pp. 418). He also mentions children of his named: Rev. D.I. Purser and Rev. F.M. Purser of Oxford, Mississippi. I'm personally very familiar with the Welch surname in Louisiana Baptist history but would have to re-read my files to bring back to memory all the reasons why. Thanks for your words. Most of the books I have quoted are in the Baptist Building in Alexandria, La. from the Louisiana Baptist Association. Randy Willis ----- Original Message ----- From: Teri Welch To: LARAPIDE-L@rootsweb.com Sent: Monday, September 08, 2003 7:01 PM Subject: Re: [LARAPIDE] Amiable Baptist Church was 175 years old Saturday, September 6, 2003 Hi there, I just had to let you know how much I enjoyed reading this post. I am researching Welch and Purser lines from around Cheneyville - they moved there from Copiah County, Mississippi in 1873. My great-grandfather, A.C. Welch and his family were Baptist and belonged to the Beulah congregation, as did my grandfather, W.W. Welch and his wife Kate. My father was baptized at Beulah and became a deacon there at an early age. A.C. Welch's wife was a Purser before marriage. Her cousin (with whom she was raised) was named Robert Higdon Purser. I found and old obituary he wrote about her and was convinced from reading it that he must have been a Baptist minister - and later found out I was correct. From what I have learned, there were many Pursers who were Baptist minister. In any event, my own family are Baptists here at First Baptist in Lafayette ( don't know if it came from Vermilion Baptist) - but it seems my family has benefited from the work done by Rev. Willis for over 100 years and I certainly enjoy reading the history of it. Where do you find the book about Baptist History in La.? It sounds interesting as well. Again, thanks for the posts - they are very interesting. Teri Welch ==== LARAPIDE Mailing List ==== Have you backed up your data lately?