Joanne, My Stricklands attended this Cheraw Hills then later Sawmill and finally Bennettsville Baptist or today Thomas Memorial. There is a little booklet that Thomas Memorial put out about the history of the church. In it it explains how the church started, about Pledger's sawmill, etc. Last year at our reunion we drove down to Sawmill and walked around the grounds and cemetery and I read from this booklet about the forming of the church. There is a path through the cemetery that you can walk out through and see the Pee Dee River. It looks sort of like a bluff or point there. This booklet lists the early members of the church and my Stricklands are listed. Have you seen this booklet? If not I would be glad to copy it for you and send it to you. Doris Strickland Blythe Charlotte, NC ---------------------------------------------- Original Message From: "Joanne Harley"<harleyclan@coastalnet.com> Subject: [SCMARLBO-L] SAWMILL BAPTIST CHURCH Date: Sun, 10 Mar 2002 16:51:36 -0500 >Thank you for the information on the Sawmill Baptist church, Jeff. I >believe , after reading everything, that the first group to break away from >the Welsh Neck group had some kind of meeting house in Cheraw Hill, >organized in 1782, and the group that broke away from it organized the Old >Sawmill Baptist Church which was probably built on the two acres of land >stated in Capt. Phillip Pledger's records as being given to the "Baptist >Church" in 1785. Pledger's son- in- law, Tristram Thomas is buried there >with his second wife. It states that Rev. Joshua Lewis preached at both >Cheraw and Sawmill and died ca. 1812, and is buried at Old Sawmill. The >congregation built a new Sawmill in 1820, but left it to go into the new >city limits where the new courthouse was being built with a new church in >1832 which is probably the Thomas Memorial Baptist. At any rate, the old >Sawmill Church predates Cashway by about three years, which was organized >by Moses Pearson and some of his friends : > >" Moses Pearson then helped established the Cashaway Neck Church of Christ >on the banks of the Great PeeDee River in Marlboro Co. in 1788 near the >border with Darlington Co and next to the present Hwy. #34. The members had >broken away from The Welsh Neck church and had been meeting at Pearson's >house until they arranged for the land and building of the Cashaway church. >Moses Pearson & Joseph Allison, for ten pounds sterling, bought one acre of >land from John Brown near Brown's Mill on Cleveland Hill for said church. >Other names as witnesses: Matthew M. Murfee, Jesse Brown, Rachel Pearson, >attested to before Tho. Evans in 1792. > >It seems like I saw something along the way that pointed to Pledger having a >mill. Will have to dig further. > > >Joanne > > > > > > > > > _____________________________________________ Free email with personality! Over 200 domains! http://www.MyOwnEmail.com