[Granville-Hough] 5 Jul 2009 - Presbyterians

[Trustees for Granville W. Hough]

Date: Sun, 05 Jul 2009 07:33:57 -0700
From: Granville W Hough <gwhough at oakapple.net>
Subject: Presbyterians -  5 July 2009

Before leaving the hobo stories, 
I want to note that my sister-in-law Dorothy Neville noted that there 
was a regular hobo transit center in Henryetta, OK, near the coal mines. 
The hoboes were quiet and law-abiding, and they had marked the homes in 
Henryetta where they could get handouts. For Kendrick and Susannah, 
great-grandma Steckelberg had a marked home and she never threw out 
coffee grounds until the next meal. The hoboes ate on the back porch 
whatever leftovers there were from the last meal. So that is how it was!

PRESBYTERIAN NEIGHBORS

No religious denomination is associated with the memory of Pappy Tom 
Sullivan or with his family. It is said he did not allow his sons to 
work or hunt on Sundays. As he did not read nor write, there was no 
Bible reading nor discussions recalled. From where he settled in Simpson 
County by 1823, there may have been start-up churches, but there is no 
recall of any participation within early Sullivan families. The first 
Presbyterian church within the area was started in 1827 by settlers 
along the eastern boundary of Simpson County near the Choctaw lands. 
There was a group which lived near the Three Chopped Way, perhaps near 
Martinville, and another group 12 miles south near Mount Olive. They 
decided to establish a church half-way between. It is said that this 
churchÆs location was established by one person walking south from the 
Walter NicholÆs place near the Three Chopped Way, and another person 
walking north from the John McNair place in Covington County near Mount 
Olive. The place they met was one mile west of the present day 
Smith-Simpson County line, and it became the site of the church, which 
was named Sharon. On 10 and 11 Nov 1827, Rev. Jacob Rickhaw led the 
organization of the church. John McNair and John McFarland were ordained 
as Elders, and Archibald Thompson was received as an Elder, as he had 
been so ordained in North Carolina. The other founders, received by 
certificate, were John and Elizabeth Campbell, Mary Thompson, Nancy 
McNair, Mary McFarland, Effy McFarland, Archibald G. Wilkinson, Mary 
Wilkinson, Duncan Little, Katherine Little, Katherine McNair, Mary Neill 
Little, widow Mary Little, Daniel McLauren, Margaret Buchanan; then the 
new members, received by examination, were John R. Little, Katherine 
Little, Mary McNair, Mary McFarland, John Buchanan, Mary Buchanan, 
Archibald McCollum, and Mary McCollum. By 1830, the congregation had 
grown enough to establish a new church, Hopewell, and some McFarland, 
Wilkinson, McLauren families went with it. This church was probably 
closer to the northern group, but that is only a guess. The Campbells, 
McNairs, Littles, Curries, and Buchanans stayed with Sharon, and they 
interacted with Sullivans through the years. This group also moved east 
into the new Smith County when it was formed, but they still attended 
Sharon.
Then in 1852, there was a doctrinal dispute within the Presbyterian 
Church as a whole, and the group in Smith County split away and 
established Calvary Presbyterian Church. They belonged to the new 
school, while Sharon remained old school. The Calvary founders were: 
August McColliver, James McGill, August McGill, Mary McGill, John P. 
Little, A. S. Little, A. J. Leggit, and Jim Coke. Later families known 
to the author were McNair, McCallum, Allen, Lack, Meadows, Austin, and 
Magee. Mize Presbyterian church was established in 1899 by Revs W. A. 
Hall and W. H. McIntosh, with fifteen founding members.
Sullivans interacted with their Presbyterian neighbors and saw the 
advantages of education, church discipline, Sunday School, and church 
cemeteries. When their close neighbors with Baptist heritage established 
Zion Hill church, the Sullivans joined in and soon became the largest 
family group, and, as population expanded, soon added other Baptist 
churches of Oak Grove and New Sardis. However, there was frequent 
intermarriage between Sullivans and nominally Presbyterian families. 
Soon all had a common SullivanÆs Hollow heritage. Numerous families of 
Sullivan Heritage adopted Calvary Presbyterian Cemetery and their family 
plots are there. Likewise, when some Sullivan descendants got settled in 
Merry Hell in Simpson County, they adopted Sharon Presbyterian Cemetery. 
Many Baptists from Concord and Pine Grove churches also adopted Sharon 
Cemetery, as our family did.
Perhaps not known to many is that in 1903, Great Grandpa Sampson Arender 
had some friction with some other members of the Salem Baptist Church on 
Upper Cohay and he withdrew his membership there and joined the Oak Hill 
Presbyterian Church, where he remained a member for the rest of his 
life. I have never located the site of this church, but think it was in 
Hachitabalou creek basin, somewhere between Salem and Shady Grove 
churches. It was not recorded just what the friction was; but it is 
known that Grandpa Arender generally got involved in any fighting taking 
place outside the old Salem Church, as a ôpeacemaker,ö of course. It is 
possible he ômade peaceö once too often.