Bush Arbor Primitive Baptist Church in Caswell County. It was estab¬
lished in 1808.
Bush Arbor
Sidelights on (lie church's l!t(i
years of service, along with some
information about liow the
Primitive Baptists came to \orth
Carolina.
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THE UK has always boon in my
iniml, and doubtless in the minds
<.f many, the question of whence
I’umetli to North Carolina the Primi¬
tive Baptists.
Elder W. Currie King, now of
Cm-nsboro, pastor of Bush Arbor
since 1928 and pastor, also, of Me* ‘ray
in Alamance (bounty ami Tate Street
Primitive Baptist Church in (Jrcens-
Irtiro, as well as moderator of I pper
Country Line Baptist Association,
has enlightened me on the subject.
He says:
"In June, 1701, a band of Baptists,
numbering sixteen, of South Wales,
England, sailed from Milford Haven,
with one of their number, Thomas
(•riflith, as pastor. They sailed on
the James and Mary, and landed in
Philadelphia on .September S, 1701.
This small band of Baptists, in 1703,
bought a tract of land from William
Penn, containing 30,000 acres, which
was known as the ‘Welsh Tract,’ in
New Castil County, Delaware. A
small meeting house was built on this
tract of land, in which they wor¬
shiped until 1746. when a brick struc¬
ture was erected, the briek being
shipped from South Wales, England,
anti conveyed by mule-pack to the
site of the building. This old brick
building is still in the service of the
Lord ami is well preserved.
“From this church, many more
churches were organized as offsprings
of this body. From 1800 to 1S30
the Baptist church had Income estab¬
lished throughout the South, and
much confusion had arisen in their
ranks in regard to missions and tract
societies. Therefore, in a session in
1831 of the Baltimore Association,
which was the first to be established
in America, it was agreed that the
Baptists bad become a divided bouse
and that something must be done
about it. Therefore, the Blaek Rock
Church invited a convention to be
held with them on Friday, September
28, 1882, which convention marked
the general division of the Baptists.
From and after that meeting the two
factions were known as the ‘Old
School,’ or Primitive Baptist and the
•New School’ or Missionary Baptist.
This division was widespread and
soon became a dividing factor among
the churches of North Carolina and
Virginia.
“We have plenty of history behind
the cause and the coming of the first
sixteen Baptists to America, which is
recorded in the London Confession
of Faith, but this brief summary
which I have given you will give you
sonic idea of the background of the
early Baptist Church in this country."
So spake Elder Currie unto me.
Unable to restrain my sense of
humor longer, permit me to face¬
tiously remind my good friend, able
preacher and the highly successful
business executive of the Sinitli-
Douglass Company, that my old
friend, Judge John Ilosea Kerr,
father of the popular Congressman
and in descent from Elder John Kerr,
was accustomed in his lifetime to
stoutly contend that the Baptist
Church was founded by “John the
Baptist.”
Bush Arbor Church, of which Elder
Currie King is pastor, was organized
on February 8, 1808, with Richard
Martin as its first pastor. It is
legended that its first meetings were
held under a “bush arbor,” from
whence it derived its name. One thing
of peculiar interest is that the first
meeting was held on the Second Sun¬
day, and for 135 years this Sunday
of the month has seen tho assembling
of the faithful. The day of service
lias never been changed. Tho same
may be said for the Saturday meet¬
ings, which have always preceded the
Second Sunday services. Another
thing of interest about the Bush
Arbor Church is that it has never had
hut one pastor who was not reared in
the community. It has hail six pas¬
tors, who have served on an average
of 22 years each. It seems, according
to the church records, there was no
regular pastor in the years 1S61-G3,
although Elder William Burns filled
the pulpit during the dark days of the
vacancy. These pastors, I give you
in chronological order: Richard Mar¬
tin, John 1. Stadler, William Burns,
F. L. Oakley, Y. I. Chandler, B. F.
McKinney and W. Currie King.
Elder King tells me that it is his
understanding that the division, or
split-up, of the Baptists in Caswell
took place at Bush Arbor in 1832. The
debate, for and against, was led by
Elder John Kerr on tho affirmative
and Elder John T. Stadler on the
negative. The Kerr faction with¬
drew, and established what is known
as "Kerr’s Chapel Missionary Baptist
Church.”
Shortly before his death, Dr. Billie
Potcat, who was, to quote his own
language, “very properly born in the
(Continued on page I wenlysix)
