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Finding Your Folks: History of Fayetteville First Baptist By JUDY FOWLER KILGORE Most of you know I wear a couple of hats here at The Citizen. On Wednesdays, at home, I’m the genealogy columnist, of course. But on Mondays and Tuesdays, at the office, I’m the religion editor, responsible for going through all the church bulletins, newsletters and news releases and gleaning all the news I can on religious events happening in Fayette County. That was how I learned about the upcoming gala celebration of the Fayetteville First Baptist Church’s 175th anniversary. I did a short story for this week’s Wednesday paper, based on information sent me by Jeanette Ballard, saving the big story for next week, to be written by one of our staff writers, Frank Lynch, who presently is a member of that church. Jeanette’s story contained all the pertinent historical information but did not mention any of the people who were responsible for starting the church — its genealogy, so to speak. That’s what I’d like to cover here, since the church was begun in 1828, just a scant 7 years after the formation of Fayette County itself, making the founding people pioneer settlers of the area. Most of this information comes from the official “History of Fayette County, Georgia,” written back in 1977 by my dear friend, Carolyn Cary. According to the article by Jeanette and confirmed in the history book, several ministers in the area, along with a small group of people, constituted the ayetteville First Baptist as Shiloh Baptist Church on March 31, 1828. Counseling ministers were the Rev. James Head of Whitewater Baptist, the Rev. Barnabas Strickland of Teamon Baptist, which was near Sunnyside in Spalding County, and the Rev. Spencer Stamper of Zebulon Baptist. The first meeting place was about five miles down what is now Redwine Road. William Bennett donated two acres of land for the church and cemetery in 1828, and added another four acres in 1835. In 1839, one and a half acres in Fayetteville, the site of the present church, was deeded by Jesse Ward to Caleb Simmons and Jesse Pope, trustees of the church, for $75, and the congregation began to think about a move to Fayetteville proper. About this time there was a split in the church over the primary focus, which was, is, and always has been missions, and dissenting members formed another church, Ramah Baptist. This church is no longer in existence. In 1842, the church was moved to Fayetteville and the land where the church originally was located reverted back to the Bennett estate. In 1851, after obtaining its charter, the church was named The Baptist Church of Christ at Fayetteville. Incorporating the church were John and Jeptha Murphy, who were brothers, and John D. Stell. Three years later, in 1854, the name was changed to Fayetteville Baptist Church. Several ministers pastored the church from 1828 until 1842, including William Yates, William Bennett, William Hudson, E.Y. Duke, A. Brown, Robert M. Stell and Robert Fleming. Fleming was the last pastor of the church in its old location, and first pastor in the new location. The building at the old site was moved to Fayetteville and used until a new one was built in 1859. The building committee appointed in 1858 to construct the new building consisted of members John M. Murphy, Peter E. McElroy, and Young L. Wooten, and Fayetteville citizens T.M. Jones, William T. Thurmond, M.M. Tidwell, and John I. Whitaker. Two others were added later, John Favor and Willis Whitaker. The building was used for 67 years. New buildings were added over the years and the present church encompasses a huge complex on Stonewall Avenue in present downtown Fayetteville. The church did not begin having services every Sunday until the mid 1940s. In the 1800s and early 1900s, baptisms were held at Bennett’s Lake. Records of members baptized include S.A. Burks, Sarah Jane Burks, Mrs. Mamie Burks Allen, Laura Thornton, and Braxton Blalock. Sunday school was begun in 1876 and L.F. Blalock was the first superintendent. The Baptist Young People’s Union (BYPU) was organized in 1921 and soon grew to three unions for different age levels under the leadership of Mrs. L.A. Ingram and Mrs. James Wallis. Pastors who served the church from 1842-1977 include the Revs. Robert Fleming, William McBride, J.C. Coleman, J.D. Stell, J.M. Murphy, Leonard T. Doyal, T.F. Faulkner, James H. Hartsfield, A.E. Cloud, D.L. Duffie, G.B. Davis, P.S. Lawson, Aaron E. Cloud, J.C. Camp, J.G. Kimball, I.G. Woolsey, D.A. Brown, A.C. Smith, J.W. Beck, F.M. Blalock, W.A. Brooks, E.R. Pendleton, D.M. Pressley, W.A. Johnson, G.W. Wood, J.S. Knowles, W.H. Robinson, L.P. Glass, C.L. Fotte, G.W. Garner, John H. Knight, Charles M. Brewer, A.D. Howard, Fred Thomas, Judson Jones, Glen Waldrop, P.M. Acker, E.J. Hatcher, Charles Elder, Durwood Davis and Jack Overton. The present pastor is Frank Ellis who has pastored the church since 1993. Many of the surnames in this article may still be found in the local Fayette County phone book. They came, they stayed, and they made Fayetteville First Baptist Church what it is today, a church still focused on local, national and international missions. Congratulations to this outstanding church on 175 years of service! I welcome your letters about genealogy and info on south metro Atlanta families. Send them 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.)
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