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Published: 08 December 2012

A Brief History

 

Drawing by Michael W. Holcomb 2008

In 1660 and 1662 Yeopim King Kiscutanewh granted land to Nathaniel Batts and George Durant recognized as the first land deeds in North Carolina. By 1697 the Yeopim leaders complained to the colonial government about nearby European settlers encroaching on their lands. In 1704 the Executive Council granted 10,240 acres (16 square miles) along both sides of the North River to the Yeopim Nation. The deed for the reservation granted the Yeopim exclusive hunting and fishing rights. The area known as Indiantown was only about six miles north of Raymons/Raymonds Creek where the first worshipers of what would become Shiloh Baptist Church first began to meet.

 
(Courtesy of Wilson Library, University of North Carolina.)

 

The beginnings of Shiloh Baptist Church are humble and span back to before 1727, when a Baptist missionary named Paul Palmer, organized the Shiloh Baptist Church. William Burges (spelled with one “s”) was the first pastor. The total population of the area known as North Carolina was about 30,000 people. The entire Albemarle area accounted for approximately 4,000 residents. In 1711, the Tuscarora Indians, who lived on the southern side of the Albemarle Sound, went on the warpath and almost overwhelmed the colonists of the Albemarle region. The Yeopim/Yawpim Nation who had settled around the North River on the nearest reservation to what is now the township of Shiloh, in Camden County were not greatly involved in the Tuscarora Wars since the two tribes were not allied with one another. Most likely, there were more Indians than colonists living in the area around the shores and rivers of the Albemarle region. Since the colonists were scattered and transportation was difficult, the organized church began meeting once a month in the home of William Burges which was located about three miles south of the present location of Shiloh Baptist Church at the head of Raymons/Raymonds Creek. Prior to 1775, present day Camden County was still a part of Pasquotank County requiring that official business be carried across the Pasquotank River to be recorded.

The earliest known existing record of the Shiloh Baptist Church is a petition to the Court of Pasquotank Precinct, requesting that the court record the meeting of the Baptist Congregation. This petition was signed on the bottom right by William Burges; also to the left are the signatures of Paul Palmer, Francis Brocket, Thomas Herenton (modern spelling Harrington), William Jones, Philip Torksey (there are several modern spellings including Toxey and Doxey), Robert Wasson, and Charles Scarborough (once misinterpreted from the script on the original document as “Leutrough”). Shiloh Baptist Church is the oldest continually worshipping Baptist church in North Carolina. By 1727 people were worshiping in the home of pastor, Rev. William Burges. The number of worshipers grew and in 1736 Reverend Burgess built a small church next to his home. The petition was made by the church to the King's Court September 5, 1729 for them to continue worshiping as they had been for several years. A photographic copy is available in the church today.

According to Morgan Edwards, an early Baptist Historian, a meeting house was built on the land of the pastor, William Burges in 1736. Edwards gave the membership at that time as about 30. His records also show January 20, 1758, as the date when the constitution of the church changed from the General to the Particular Order. He lists the names of 12 members who had "embraced the Particular Scheme" and states that "in 13 years they increased from 12 to 192 and that most of the brethren of the General Persuasion had rejoined them." When these 12 defected to the Particular Baptist, they erected a separate meeting house, described by Edwards as being fifty feet by twenty-five feet on the ground owned by the pastor, John Burges, son of William Burges. The meeting house was located on Portahonk Creek, a distance of about three miles from the 1736 meeting house, and across the road from the present building.

The new location near the present location was now about halfway between Raymons Creek and Indiantown. A marker was placed on this site in 1974. In 1723, the Yeopim Indians had gained permission to sell their reservation land and began to sell their land in multiple parcels over time. By this time the Yeopim leaders had taken on English names such as John Durant, John Barber, John Hawkins, Henry Gibbs, and George Durant so it becomes difficult to determine from any surviving primary documents the degree of interaction between the church and the Yeopim people from the reservation. Evan Forbes served the church as pastor 1829-1842, 1845-1848, 1851-1853, and 1853-1857. James Forbes and his family, originally from Scotland, were admitted to North Carolina on October 20, 1701. James Forbes was granted 532 acres on the east side of the Pasquotank River on October 21, 1715. This land was adjacent to the Yeopim Reservation so it is reasonable to think that there was at least some interaction between the Forbes family and the Yeopim. Wesley Episcopal Methodist Church in Old Trap began meeting around 1834. Providence Baptist Church located in what is now Shawboro in Currituck County was originally called Providence Meeting House in 1817 and was constituted as a Baptist church in 1826. Although the evidence is mostly circumstantial, it is likely that if the Yeopim Indians accepted Christianity and assimilated with the Colonial Europeans that Shiloh is where they would have had the greatest opportunity to do so.

The present sanctuary, which originally included a balcony for Negro Members, was built in 1848-49, at the cost of $2400.00. This meeting house was built on land included in John Burges' estate. In 1774, John's son, Dempsey Burges, conveyed the property to the Baptist Society.

 

 

This photograph made by Zoeller, Morgan Company around 1895 pictures the congregation of Shiloh Baptist Church soon after the steeple was added to the building. Mary and Luke Stevens donated funds and labor to add the steeple in 1878. Luke Stevens died from flu and pneumonia on March 8, 1878 and Mary Stevens died from the flu ten days later. (Courtesy of Linda Ann Mansfield.)

 

 

The deacons and pastor of Shiloh Baptist Church in 1895 are seated in chairs, two of which are displayed in the modern church. They are, from left to right, (first row) Joseph Morrisette, Samuel G. Squires, Reverend R. R. Overby (pastor), Nathan Stevens, Enoch Daily, Billy Stevens; (second row) Herbert Morrisette (boy), Elijah Staples, Charles Garrett, Charles Berry, John Godfrey, Marshall Toxey, Joseph Walston, and an unknown boy. (Courtesy of Linda Ann Mansfield.)

 

 

Eighteen Sunday School rooms were built in 1924 and fourteen more were added in 1954-55.

 

 

When the sanctuary was renovated in 1949, the baptistery was installed, the choir loft was built and an electric organ was purchased. This organ was replaced in 1973.

 

 

Reverend W. L. Barrs served as pastor of Shiloh Baptist Church from 1927 until 1928. Barrs and his wife have come back to visit the Shiloh Baptist Church ladies and they all have their picture made at Elizabeth City Beach in 1929. The boy at the front left is Marvin Jordan. (Courtesy of Linda Ann Mansfield.)

 

 

Some of the young women attending Shiloh Baptist church in the early 1950s are, from left to right, (first row) Mary Elizabeth Bartlett Gregory, Hasseltine Sawyer, Elizabeth Jordan Riggs, Nellie Cartwright Berry; (second row) Laura Lee Davenport, Mary Elizabeth Mercer, Mary C. Sawyer, and Florence Walston. The photograph is taken before the church was bricked. (Courtesy of Linda Ann Mansfield.)

 

 

In 1947 Shiloh Baptist Church underwent a major remodeling which involved replacing two front doors with windows and the single central window with a double door. Under the influence and guidance of Paul Palmer and William Burgess, Shiloh Baptist Church congregation began to continually serve the community of Shiloh as a Baptist Church since 1727 making it the oldest known Baptist church in North Carolina. (Courtesy of the Outer Banks History Center, Manteo, NC, David Stick Collection.)

 

 

The sanctuary was air-conditioned in 1969, and in 1974, air conditioning was installed throughout the rest of the church. New pews were purchased in 1955, and the structure was bricked in 1966. The Fellowship Hall, Pastor's Study, and offices were added in 1992. In 1994, the Children's Playground was built. Although the spiritual growth of the church cannot be accurately measured, a glimpse of its membership at specific times, during its history, might be significant. We do not know how many members there were when the church was organized in 1727. In 1736, the membership was given as about 30. By 1800, membership had increased to about 200. Associational minutes record membership in 1848 at about 369, 316 whites and 53 blacks. In 1857, membership had grown to 448, 369 whites and 79 blacks.

 

Services were interrupted during the Civil War, while Federal Troops occupied the building and used it as an arsenal. Associational minutes of 1890 list 91 male members and 316 female members. In 1925, there was a total of 461 members; in 1961, records show 617 members. In 2002, there were 457 members listed. In 2008, we had approximately 481 members on the church roll.

The church has not been without some controversy. As mentioned earlier, in 1758 the membership split over doctrinal differences. The minutes of the Kehukee Association reveal that Shiloh Church was admitted to that association in 1771, but was expelled in 1775 because the church and pastor, Henry Abbott, took a stand against proposed reforms. The church was readmitted in 1778 and remained with that association until 1806, when the Chowan Association was formed.

There have been four name changes since the church was formed. The first name given to the church was Burges' Meeting House. It was changed to North Meeting House and later, to Camden Meeting House. In 1812, the name Shiloh was adopted. The name Shiloh is biblical and means peaceable or pacific. Shiloh was the ancient city of Ephraim, which was one of the earliest and most sacred Hebrew sanctuaries.

• In 1831, Sunday School was organized within the church.
• We do not know when the Women's Missionary Union (WMU) was organized, but it was listed in the associational minutes in 1906.
• In January 1919, Reverend Joel Brown became the first full time pastor.
• The first Training Union was organized in 1921.
• Shiloh extended its ministries to the surrounding area by organizing nine churches:
       Pungo, now known as Oak Grove Baptist, Princess Anne County, VA, in1762
       Yoppim, in Chowan County, NC, in 1771
       Cowenjock (now spelled “Coinjock”), in Currituck County, NC, in 1780
       Knobs Crook, now known as First Baptist, in Elizabeth City, NC in 1786
       Flatty Creek, now known as Salem Baptist, in Weeksville, NC, in 1790
       Sawyer's Creek, in Camden, NC 1790
       Shady Grove, in Currituck County, NC, in 1828
       Oak Ridge, in Riddle (Camden County) NC, in 1889
       Pleasant Grove, in Indiantown (Camden County) NC, in 1891
       (Oak Ridge, and Pleasant Grove no longer exist, though Shiloh Baptist absorbed much of the memberships of the two churches.

Many ministers have been ordained here at Shiloh Baptist. They are listed as follows:

William Burges Sr., William Burges Jr., John Burges, Joshua White, Thomas Etheridge, David Duncan, William Lurry, David Biggs, Lemuel Burkitt, Evan Forbes, Jesse Bray, Benjamin Dozier, Abner Berry, Wells Briggs, Charles S. Burgess, John L. Pritchard, A.W. Burfoot, Gideon Bray, Charles B. Williams, M.B. Toxey, James B. Sawyer, Don Clinton, Steve Hughes, Kenneth Wallace.

The most noted of these, was Dr. Charles B. Williams. Dr. Williams was ordained in 1890 and later became an educator and author. He taught Greek at Southwestern Seminary, from 1905-1919. He held the position of Dean the last six years at Southwestern. He served as president at Howard College from 1919-1921. Dr. Williams went on to Mercer University, in Georgia, where he taught New Testament Interpretation for four years. He then became a professor of Greek and Ethics at Union University in Tennessee until 1932. Dr. Williams most noted literary work is his translation of the New Testament into the language of the people. (Moody Press 1949) In 1941, Dr. Williams returned to Shiloh and served as pastor until 1946.

In 1968, Shiloh Baptist extended its ministries by broadcasting the Morning Worship Service over the radio in Elizabeth City, NC, at WCNC. The broadcast continued until 1980.

Shiloh Church has also be influential in political affairs. One of our early pastors, Henry Abbott, was elected to both the State Congress Meetings in Halifax, NC in 1776. On April 12, 1776, the first Congress adopted the famous Halifax Resolves. The last paragraph of the Halifax Resolves reads in part: "Resolve, that the delegates for the Colony in the Continental Congress, be empowered to concur with the delegates of the other colonies in declaring Independency...”

The Provincial Assembly met again in Halifax, in November of that same year. One of Abbott's assignments was with a "committee to form, and lay before this House a Bill of Rights, and form a constitution for the government of this state." Tradition credits Abbott with being the author of Article Nineteen of the State Constitution, "That all men have natural and inalienable rights to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of their conscience.”

Dempsey Burges was a member of the majority of the congress convened during the Revolutionary period, including the two at Halifax, in 1776. Burges became Lt. Colonel in the Continental Army, during the Revolutionary War and was a member of the United States Congress from 1795-98. According to Baptist Historic Papers, in 1776, the deacons of Shiloh Church were asked by the newly elected governor, to serve as Magistrates and Conservators of the peace, until the machinery of state government could be put into operation.

In 1990, Shiloh church history added a new page. Earline Revelle was ordained as the first woman deacon to serve in the church and served Shiloh Baptist Church as an active deacon for three terms.

In 1995, Andrea Garrett was hired as an American Sign Language Interpreter.

In May of 2000, Shiloh Baptist embarked on a more relaxed style of worship. The Early Worship Service began. It provided a relaxed atmosphere with Praise and Worship Music, a condensed version of the sermon for the 11:00 Worship Service, and a more contemporary worship experience. This worship experience still goes on in 2015.

Additional information is available from:

Shiloh Baptist Church
PO Box 31
Shiloh NC 27974

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Published: 08 December 2012

Historic sites in the Courthouse Township of Camden include a church, a Masonic Lodge, and several houses of historic significance.

St Joseph Episcopal Church

St Joseph Episcopal Church stood in front of the Camden County Courthouse a little to the north on NC Route 343. The church was built on land donated by Thomas Sawyer shortly after 1715. Picture was taken about 1915.

Widow's Son Masonic Lodge

The Widow's Son Masonic Lodge is located on NC Hwy 343 just south of the Camden Courthouse. It was built in a Greek Revival architectural style, and serves as a social gathering place for the Masonic Order in Camden County. According to the National Register of Historic Sites, the period of historical significance for the building itself is somewhere between 1850 and 1899, with the actual date of construction unknown, but was probably built sometime prior to 1815. According to the Masonic Grand Lodge of NC Archival Data, in 1820, Widow's Son Masonic Lodge No 75, joined with the Masonic Grand Lodge of NC and is still an active member. (The Masonic Grand Lodge of NC was organized in 1787).

Caleb Grandy House

Below is the house that belonged to Caleb Grandy, Camden's first Sheriff. The house was built in 1787, and still stands. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Milford House

Milford House, also known as Rolfe-Green-Sawyer House, is the oldest known two-story brick house still standing in North Carolina. Milford House is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It's construction date (1746) is inscribed on one of its chimney bricks. The brickwork is of Flemish bond design with glazed headers. Milford House features plastered cove cornices, which are unique in colonial architecture south of Maryland. In the pictures shown below, farm animals can be seen, and thus it is easy to surmise that the house was once part of a farm or plantation during the height of its hayday back in the 1800's.

 

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Published: 08 December 2012

Shiloh had its beginning as part of "Danson's Grant", a tract of 3640 acres between Portohonk Creek and Arnuse Creek. This tract of land, later called "Danson Manor", was shown on the map which Edward Moseley published in 1733. William Burgess purchased a large section of Danson Manor and moved his church family, organized in 1727, to Portohonk Creek. A new church was built for the Baptist congregation. The church acquired the name "Shiloh Baptist Church" in 1812.

Before long, many people moved into the area and the bay fronting Danson Manor developed warehouses for shippers. Windmills were built along the bay. Ultimately, five windmills dotted the bay and the first name given to the area was Milltown.

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Later as land travel became more accessible and people moved inland, the area became known as Shiloh, probably deriving its name from the Baptist Church. Shiloh became the official name for the area when the post office opened in 1827. The Baptist Church now existing in the township of Shiloh was built in 1849.

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Published: 04 December 2012

What's In A Name? Moses Grandy Trail

By Bill Bartell, © November 23, 2009, The Virginian Pilot, Excerpt Reprinted by Special Permission

If Moses Grandy had lived in an era other than pre-Civil War Virginia and North Carolina, he might have been one of Hampton Roads' most prosperous businessmen. His fate was to be born a slave in Camden County, N.C., in the late 1700s and to come of age when there were few options for escaping the cruelties of bondage.

But he found a way, through hard work and a strong intellect, not only to endure but to prosper, buy his freedom and tell his life story to abolitionists, who used it to enlighten people about the evils of slavery.

His was a hard existence cutting timber and running boats along the snake-infested Great Dismal Swamp Canal. He also worked with white merchants bringing goods into port in Norfolk and Portsmouth. It was not uncommon for an owner to allow slaves to engage in private enterprise as long as the owner shared in the profits.

Grandy earned enough money to buy his freedom three times - the first two times his masters stole it and kept him in bondage. After finally being freed, he earned enough to buy the freedom of his wife and other relatives as well.

For the full Virginian Pilot story, Click here.

Summary of Moses Grandy's Autobiography

Moses Grandy was born a slave in Camden County, North Carolina, in 1786. He was his mother's youngest child. At least eight of his brothers and sisters were sold by his master, Billy Grandy, to other slave-owners. When his master, Billy Grandy, died, the slaves owned by Grandy were divided among Grandy's children. Moses and his mother went to Grandy's son James. Moses was about 8 years old at the time.

Moses new master James Grandy was also 8 years old at the time, and so as was the custom at the time, until the owner came of age the services of any slaves that he owned were auctioned off on a yearly basis at the County Courthouse each year in January. This was a common practice for slaves owned by masters who were under aged. "In being hired out, sometimes the slave gets a good home, and sometimes a bad one: when he gets a good one, he dreads to see January come; when he has a bad one, the year seems five times as long as it is." (quoted from Moses Grandy. Narrative of the Life of MosesGrandy, Late a Slave in the UnitedStates of America.) During his youth, Moses was hired out many times, to both good and bad employers.

Sometime after James Grandy came of age, Moses married a slave belonging to Mr. Enoch Sawyer. This would be his 1st wife. She was later sold to a Mr. Rogerson, while Moses was working on a boat.

"On the Friday, as I was at work as usual with the boats, I heard a noise behind me, on the road which ran by the side of the canal: I turned to look, and saw a gang of slaves coming. When they came up to me, one of them cried out, "Moses, my dear!" I wondered who among them should know me, and found it was my wife. She cried out to me, "I am gone." I was struck with consternation. Mr. Rogerson was with them, on his horse, armed with pistols. I said to him, "for God's sake, have you bought my wife?" He said he had; when I asked him what she had done; he said she had done nothing, but that her master wanted money. He drew out a pistol, and said that if I went near the waggon on which she was, he would shoot me. I asked for leave to shake hands with her, which he refused, but said I might stand at a distance and talk with her. My heart was so full, that I could say very little. I asked leave to give her a dram: he told Mr. Burgess, the man who was with him, to get down and carry it to her. I gave her the little money I had in my pocket, and bid her farewell. I have never seen or heard of her from that day to this. I loved her as I loved my life." (quoted from Moses Grandy. Narrative of the Life of MosesGrandy, Late a Slave in the UnitedStates of America.)

Even after coming of age, James Grandy continued hiring the services of Moses out to others. One of Moses employers, a Mr. Grice whom Moses had served faithfully and developed a sort of friendship, advised him that he should try to buy his freedom from his master. Moses had, after all, been very good at obtaining profit for those whom he had worked and had been able to save a portion of his earnings for himself. So he went to his master, negotiated a price, then set about earning that amount and paying his master in portions getting receipts along the way until it was paid off. When the final payment was made, his master tore up all the receipts and refused to grant him his freedom papers.

While Moses thought he was free, he was not and he was sold to a Mr. Trewitt by James Grandy. Mr. Grandy's sister, a Mrs. Grice felt bad about the whole deal and sued her brother James on behalf of Moses in an attempt to obtain Moses freedom. The courts sided with James Grandy, saying that Moses and all he could do belonged to James and that he had a right to do as he pleased with him and all his earnings and property until he had taken him to the Court House and given him his freedom papers. As a result of the court case, the sale of Moses to Mr. Trewitt was made to stand. Moses went to work for Trewitt, who made a deal with him: If Moses would pay him the same amount of money he paid his prevoius master plus the $600 that was paid to purchase him Trewitt would give him his freedom papers. (Clarification: Moses paid his masters a cut of his earnings from employers for which he was hired out.) Moses agreed to this arrangement. It took him 2-1/2 years to complete payment to Trewitt. Trewitt failed to grant the freedom papers, sending Moses instead with a letter to a Mr. Mews regarding a mortgage that had apparently been taken out on Moses himself. Apparently, Trewitt defaulted on the mortgage and the ownership of Moses again changed hands. Mr. Mews informed Moses that Enoch Sawyer wanted to buy him. This was not an arrangement that Moses was altogether in favor of, but Mr. Sawyer twisted his arm by way of refusing to let Moses see his wife (Moses 2nd wife was a slave owned by Enoch Sawyer, just as his 1st wife had been). Moses relented and agreed to be sold to Enoch Sawyer.

In Sawyers service, Moses first worked in and about the Dismal Swamp Canal. Sawyer had made an agreement with Moses whereby Moses would pay Sawyer a certain sum over time for his freedom, and when it was all paid his freedom papers would be given to him. Sawyer's business fell on hard times and he had to sell off some 18 slaves, his share of the swamp, and 2 plantations. Moses was one of the slaves that Sawyer kept. Moses was made to work the fields with the rest of the slaves after this. Life was difficult, harsh, and often dangerous. Moses was forced to endure continuing hardship of seeing his wife abused and could not say anything about it for fear of being beaten or worse. He often saw others beaten, sometimes to death. Moses did his work to the best of his ability, and it was hard work. He was not used to such hard field labor, and the rations served were so small that he was starving. After 8 months working in the fields, he went to his master and told him that he could not stand being in the fields. When his master asked why, Moses said it was because of the harsh overseer (supervisor) in the field who would not give them enough food to keep them from starving. Sawyer agreed to have the overseer give each slave an extra pint of meal or corn each evening that would serve them the next day until breakfast (which didn't come until noon).

One day, Moses went to Sawyer and asked if he would take $600.00 for his freedom. Sawyer gave Moses a signed paper saying he would take that amount for his freedom. Moses then hired a horse and set off for Norfolk, to see some of the employers with whom he had worked in his youth. The first one he met with, Captain Edward Minner, agreed to provide the full amount and the next day went with Moses back to Camden to procure his release from Sawyers service. Upon finding Sawyer, Sawyer refused to let Moses go. Minner showed the paper to Sawyer and others present, as Sawyer was at Major Farrance's, at the cross canal. Minner asked Sawyer if the signature on the paper was in fact his own. Sawyer said it was his, but that he had changed his mind.

"Captain Minner stepped up to him and shewed him the paper he had given me, saying, "Mr. Sawyer, is not this your handwriting?" He replied, "Mistress said, the last word when I came away, I was not to sell him, but send him home again." Captain Minner said, "Mind, gentlemen, I do not want him for a slave; I want to buy him for freedom. He will repay me the money, and I shall not charge him a cent of interest for it. I would not have a coloured person to drag me down to hell, for all the money in the world." A gentleman who was by said it was a shame I should be so treated; I had bought myself so often that Mr. Sawyer ought to let me go. The very worst man as an overseer over the persons employed in digging the canal, Mr. Wiley M'Pherson, was there: he was never known to speak in favour of a coloured person; even he said that Mr. Sawyer ought to let me go, as I had been sold so often. At length Mr. Sawyer consented I should go for 650 dollars and would take no less. I wished Captain Minner to give the extra 50 dollars, and not to stand about it. I believe it was what M'Pherson said that induced my master to let me go"

It took 3 years to repay Captain Minner, thereafter securing his freedom papers. He was a free man. He left and moved to Boston where he worked and earned enough to later secure the freedom of his wife who he then sent after, bringing her up to Boston to live with him. His son's master later sent him a letter letting him know he could buy his freedom for $450, seeing this Moses set off on a voyage from Boston to Norfolk to secure his son's freedom. He took $300 with him in an attempt to purchase liberty for his son. His son's master would not take the $300, insisting on the full asking price of $450. And so, Moses returned home. Moses later returned to Norfolk on a subsequent voyage with the full price and secured his son's freedom. Moses continued throughout his life to track down his family, his daughters, sisters, brothers, other family members, securing freedom for those he could. Like the biblical figure who led the Isrealites out of the desert to freedom, Moses Grandy led his family to their freedom through his hard work and perseverance.

The full text of the autobiography Moses Grandy. Narrative of the Life of MosesGrandy, Late a Slave in the UnitedStates of America can be found at the following website: http://docsouth.unc.edu/fpn/grandy/grandy.html