Why call in the law? Just tell the church ...

One of the most interesting resources I have found for finding information on your folks is church records. Several church records have been saved in book form and some are now available on the Internet. Churches met in conference about once a month and did their official business, recorded names of new members and disciplined old ones.

I stumbled across the minutes online for the Baptist Church at Van Wert, now in Polk County but formerly in Paulding County, and was able to fill in a gap in the life of my GGGgrandfather, Leroy McWhorter. I had found him in 1820 in Greenville, S.C., but the next record I had of him was in 1847, when he was listed as being one of the founders and the first pastor of Macedonia Baptist Church in Carroll County. I was missing 27 years.

I was able to narrow the gap a little when I found a record of his not only joining, but also being appointed pastor of Van Wert in 1843. He was dismissed, at his own request, in 1847, with the notation in the minutes that he was "leaving the neighborhood."

When churches were formed, the minutes listed the tenets of faith (rules) of the particular church, gave names of those who came and went, those who were appointed to certain duties, and gave specific details on breaches of faith by some members and how the church dealt with them. The church also arbitrated disagreements between members. Who needed to go to court? The church would handle it for you.

To give you an idea of church business, I have quoted a few passages from the Van Wert minutes, graciously contributed to the Georgia Genweb Archives by Cassandra Robertson Newby. The Web address and instructions on how to access it appear at the end of this column.

Regular church attendance was mandatory if you were to remain a member in good standing. Listed in the basic tenets for Van Wert is the following:

" ... It shall be the duty of each free male member to attend the monthly conferences, and if any fail to do so, he shall render his reason at the next conference thereafter. For the second failure, he shall be admonished by the Moderator, and for the third, he shall be called for by the Church ..."

So much for sleeping in on a cold, rainy Sunday morning. If you didn't attend church, they came to your house and wanted to know why.

Misconduct of any kind was absolutely not tolerated. Drinking, dancing, playing cards, gossiping and, of course, living in adultery, were all offenses which could get you expelled.

But all was not lost. In many cases, you could appear before the church body, plead your case, and if you "made satisfaction," more than likely would be reinstated. So, the church, although harsh, was also forgiving.

On July 19, 1845, the minutes noted ... "When Brother E. D. Chisolm came forward and offered an acknowledgment for getting angry and shaking his fist in Isaac Roach's face. Was received. Also Brother Spratling came forward and offered an acknowledgment for getting angry which was received. Then called for reference. When the charge against Brother Roach was taken up and after a full investigation, the Church excluded him."

Apparently, brother Roach was not satisfied with the way the matter had been handled and let the church know about it.

If you didn't take care of your financial obligations, the church would hear that too. On Feb. 21, 1846, the minutes noted ... "a charge was brought against Brother Telford with leaving the neighborhood clandestinely, with debts unsettled, and for contempt of the Church privileges in not applying for a Letter ..." Brother Telford was excluded.

The nature of your business also came under church scrutiny, as in the case of Brother York. On July 14, 1860, the minutes noted ... "The committee to see Brother York reported and discharged. Brother York being present, stated that he did not consider it sinful to follow the trade in which he was engaged. The following charge was then preferred, to wit, that Brother York was engaged in keeping a retail grocery and a billiard saloon. On motion, then the Church withdrew his fellowship ..."

I think it was the billiard saloon that got him into trouble, don't you?

The funniest one I came across was that of Brother Flanegan who was accused of "whipping his wife" and, following a hearing, was excommunicated. (Whipping his wife, if indeed he did, was certainly not funny, but the resolution was.) Brother Flanegan apparently didn't give a flip. He wrote the church and told them to take a hike in the following letter dated May, 1856 ... "Brethren, you don't wish me to live with you, neither do I desire to do so. Excommunicate me and I will be as much delighted as some of you will be gratified. Hoping that the Lord will smile upon you and me, and that we may at last meet where strife, envying, malice, hatred and ungodly combination will never come. I am respectfully, Joel L. Flanegan."

On motion, the Church unanimously resolved to withdraw the fellowship from Brother Flanegan. Later, his wife and daughter, who were both given letters of dismission, were approached about not using them in a timely manner to join another church. Both ladies wrote back that they would return the letters when it was convenient to do so. One might think that the charges against Brother Flanegan may have been exaggerated.

More church minutes are online in the Gagenweb county pages and in the Gagenweb Archives. To get there, go first to the Gagenweb home page, www.rootsweb.com/~gagenweb/, and then to the county or archives pages of your choice. Hope you find some of your folks there.

Do you have ancestors who lived on the south side of Atlanta? Send their stories to The Citizen, Drawer 1719, Fayetteville, GA 30214; E-mail jkilgore@thecitizennews.com or jodiek444@aol.com.

Until next week, happy hunting!

(Judy regrets that time does not permit her to do personal research for others. She will willingly share research information on her own family lines, including collateral and allied lines.)