RE: Upper and Lower Fishing Creek Churches If there is someone that finds an error on the following please, please correct me. This is my understanding of the Fishing Creek Churches in Chester County there were two ~ the Upper and ~ the Lower ~ The Upper Fishing Creek Church still stands today and is better known as Fishing Creek Presbyterian Church and is located in N Central Chester County between Main Fishing Creek and South Fishing Creek. see map http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/m/c/c/Mark-Mccullough-GA/PHOTO/0004photo.html?Welcome=1092199142 ~ The Lower Fishing Creek Church exists no longer and was known by the following four names: Sharon Meeting House > Lower Fishing Creek Church > Richardson's Presbyterian Church > Burnt Meeting House It is shown on above map link as Richardson's Presbyterian Church in eastern Chester Co east of where Tinker's Creek flows into Fishing Creek I found the following on Lower Fishing Creek Church in an old CDGS Bulletin ~ ~ Burnt Meeting House ~ From data by Jean C Agee on Burnt Meeting House.... [CDGS Bulletin Vol IV #1 Mar 81 - pp 12-13] '' Burnt Meeting House is a sobriquet applied to a cemetery that was located at the second site of the Lower Fishing Creek Church. The Lower Fishing Creek congregation met first at a meeting house called Sharon. This was the name of the church building as late as 1786 as can be proven by estate settlement of Col James Ferguson. There was a congregation at Lower Fishing Creek as early as 1755 as can be proven by the Journal of Rev Hugh Meiden, a missionary from the Synod of New York and Philadelphia. He states in his Journal that he preached at James Patton's Sabbath 16 Nov 1755. Rev. Saye concludes that this was in the bounds of lower Fishing Creek as the Pattons were members of that congregation at a latter date. Candor McFadden writing in his journal gives the following description of Fishing Creek Settlement, which points to the fact that in 1766 there was a church in the settlement, with a regular schedule of services. ''Friday July 18th, 1766, set out from the courthouse [Charlotte] and crossed Sugar Creek, an exceedingly grassy country but thinly populated. A few miles further came to the nation. It is a tract of country 15 miles square 7 1/2 on each side of the Catawba River, with a vast extent of old Indian fields on the east side of the river but the Indians moved a few miles down the river though I saw many of them. Here I crossed the Catawba River about twenty miles from Mecklenburg. It is a large river about 100 perches [perch is 5 1/2 yards] over and in season rideable. It makes it course of about 200 mile passing by a famous trading place called Pinetree [Camden] and receiving the Congaree it falls into the sea about 70 miles east of Charleston. About 10 miles over this river, I came to Fishing Creek where the road to Saluda crosses it. [This would be on present highway 72 about at the present border of Chester and York Counties.] Here I turned down the creek southeastwardly 15 miles and proceeded no further. It is a large creek, runs very deep and slow with a fine level country about it and thickly settled some places. Here the Rev William Richardson has a congregation, to whom he preaches one Sabbath in Three. He is esteemed a very worthy man and labors faithfully among them. The rest of his labors is spent about ten miles distant in a place called the Waxhaws, on the east side of the river. Here I am now about 50 miles from Pinetree and about 180 miles from Charleston, and about 40 miles from Broad River and about 100 miles to Saluda River. I am now ten miles in the south province. The land hereabout is exceedingly fruitful in many places, but thin, although it produces excellent pasture, so that they who get a p! iece of land may keep what stock they will of all sorts.'' Squire John Gaston was one of the early settlers of this region. In 1760 he was residing on the southwest bank of Fishing Creek within a few miles of Cedar Shoals. His is the first grave marked in Old Burnt Meeting House. John Gaston, Esq. b. 1700 d. 1782 Esther Waugh Gaston/wife of John Gaston b. 1715 d. 1789 [her grave is the 3rd oldest marked grave] The Culps or Kolbs were also residents of the area and members of this congregation. The second oldest marked grave is that of Dorothy Obenchen/dau. of Samuel Abenschon/wife of Benjamin Kolb d. 1786. Other families in the early church were Ferguson, McKinney, McFadden, Pattons, Passel, Fudge, Taylor, Adams. Mr. Saye in his history believes that John Gaston, Esq. was probably an elder. By 1792, James Crawford and Walter Brown were elders. Mr. Richardson supplied this church until his death on 20 July 1771. After his death there were several supply pastors, but by 1773 this church and upper Fishing Creek had called Rev. John Simpson, who was ordained and installed in 1774. He continued pastor until after the Revolution. It is interesting that Rev Simpson shouldered his musket and fought with the men of these congregations. He was such a moving force that the British burned his house and would have hung him, if they could have caught him. The church was revived under the labors of Mr. John Brown, who was supplying Waxhaw, Mr. William G Roseborough was called by the congregation and probably served the years of 1795--1796 and 1797, but because of poor health had to return the call after two years. The year 1798 again found the church now called Richardson's united with upper Fishing Creek in a call to Mr. John B. Davies. He was installed May 14, 1799 and served Richardson's Church until 1831. He gave up the pastorate of Richardson at that time, having served the congregation 33 years. When Mr. Davies began to supply the church in April 1798 there were 44 members. He added to the rolls up to Oct 1, 1799 seventeen members making a total of 61 communicants. The Session of April 1799 had the following additions William Davidson, James Gaston, Joseph Gaston, Isaac McFadden, and Felix Davies. On the 10th August 1822 Alexander Crawford, Isaac McFadden and Robert White were set apart as elders. During the ministry of Mr. Davies there were added to the rolls upon examinations 78 members, by certificate 29 giving a total of 107 additions. Dismissed during the same period were 115, 20 members died, 212 infants were baptised and 10 adults. The last report states that the roll had 26 communicants. This loss of membership was probably due to removals of the congregation to western lands. The McFaddens, Culps, Gastons and other families had moved from the bounds of the church. You were particularly interested in a deed from Benjamin Kolb to this congregation. This deed is to be found in the clerk of courts office, Chester County, SC Book N, Page 334. Benjamin Culp, Chester District SC to James Crawford and Isaac McFadden as trustees for the Presbyterian Congregation of Richardson's for $10 to me in hand paid do sell a tract of land lying on the branch of Tinkers Creek, which is a branch of Fishing Creek being part of a tract of land originally granted to John Culp. The date of this deed is 27 Nov 1804. This may have been when the Meeting House at the cemetery burned. The site chosen was down Fishing Creek about 2 miles from the site of the second church, rather than in the Burnt Church. The congregation split because the people on the west side of the creek wished to move the church nearer to their homes. This was done when they organised Cedar Shoals Church, June 22, 1834. Families drawn from Lower Fishing Creek were: Joseph Gaston, Esq., James G! aston, William A. White, Isabella Walker, Mary White, Daniel Green Stinson, Esther Stinson, Lemuel Davidson.'' [end] Question: Does anyone on the list have any thing on Cedar Shoals Church?