Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Table of Contents
Preface .................................................................................................................................................. i Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... i Francis Asbury Methodist Missionary to America ........................................................................... 1 Bishop Asbury Visits the Earnest Family in Eastern Greene County .................................................. 1 Bishop Asbury Visits the Van Pelt Family in Western Greene County ................................................ 2 The Van Pelt and Crosby Families of Western Greene County ........................................................... 2 Camp Meetings in Greene County ....................................................................................................... 4 Early Roads in Greene County ............................................................................................................ 7 Life on the Road with Bishop Asbury ................................................................................................. 7 Epilogue ............................................................................................................................................... 8 Additional Historical Notes ................................................................................................................. 9 Special Appreciation ........................................................................................................................... 10 References ............................................................................................................................................ 10 About the Author ................................................................................................................................. 11 Map of Greene County circa 1795 ....................................................................................... Back Cover
Preface
This article is not intended to be an exhaustive work to cover all the people and places related to the time of Francis Asbury. Information of a general nature is included to provide historical context for the readers. My primary purpose is to unveil the story of Benjamin Van Pelt, a pioneer preacher who moved to the Fairview-ThulaMcDonald community in western Greene County in 1790 and died there in 1817. This is the community where the author was born and completed high school. I am indebted to the many historians and writers who across the years have inspired me to read and appreciate the history of our region. The words in this document are largely my own interpretation of the facts as others and I have discovered them amid a wide variety of sources and personal conversations. I am especially indebted to the following for their assistance: William Bill Bradley, Wayne Conduff, Geneva Dyer and Jim Snowden.
Introduction
This report links Methodist Bishop Francis Asbury (1745 1816) with another pioneer friend and pastor, Benjamin Van Pelt, who moved to western Greene County in 1790 and very soon thereafter established a meetinghouse for the benet of his community. Church historians have identied several key historic sites within Holston Annual Conference, which encompasses Southwest Virginia, East Tennessee and a portion of Northern Georgia. The relationship between Francis Asbury and Benjamin Van Pelt has long been known, but the location of Asburys frequently mentioned Brother Van Pelt and his meetinghouse remained a mystery. Bishop Asburys journal gave the only clue: Van Pelts was located on the north side of Lick Creek, on what is now the road from the mouth of Lick Creek to the village of Mosheim, about four miles north of Warrensburg. In reading Asburys journal, one notes that the Van Pelt home was a frequent stopover for Asbury. I became intrigued with the idea this meetinghouse must have been located in my home community. Bishop Asbury notes in his journal a visit to Warrensburg in the fall of 1809; following which the Warrensburg Methodist Church was organized in 1810. We may safely assume that Van Pelt was a participant in the organization of this congregation. During the late 1700s and early 1800s, Greene County was a wild and untamed country. It was a difcult time and into this raw wilderness would ride a young British Methodist preacher by the name of Francis Asbury. Of course some days were better than others, as the cartoon below by John Lawing in a 1978 issue of Christianity Today magazine illustrates so well.
Bishop Asbury Visits the Earnest Family in Eastern Greene County, Tennessee
During his visits to Greene County, Asbury most often stayed with two Greene County families. The Felix Earnest family who lived along the Nolichucky River near Chucky in eastern Greene County and the Benjamin Van Pelt family, who lived near the community of Thula in western Greene County. Henry Earnest settled on the Nolichucky in 1779 and built a family home and community fort, which is located on Tennessee Highway 351/Chucky Pike at the Nolichucky River. The nearby Ebenezer Methodist Church, organized in 1792 by the Earnest family, is one of the oldest churches in East Tennessee. Bishop Asbury ordained Felix Earnest, brother of Henry Earnest, Jr., a Methodist preacher in 1806. Ebenezer Church was the site for at least six sessions of the Holston Annual Conference meetings, the rst of which took place April 27, 1795.
The Earnest Family home and community fort where the local folks would gather for safety in the event of threat. Bishop Asbury would have stayed here during his visits with this family. This is a wonderfully preserved pre-1800 house located at the Nolichucky on TN Route 351/Chucky Pike, Greene County, Chucky, TN. Photo by Ron Matthews 30 Aug 2007
Bill Bradley near Felix Earnests grave in Ebenezer Cemetery with Ebenezer United Methodist Church in the background. Photo by Ron Matthews
Bishop Asbury Visits the Van Pelt F amily in Western Greene County
When Asbury was headed west, he often rode from the Earnest home to the Benjamin Van Pelt home and meetinghouse in the Thula Community of western Greene County. The Reverend William Burke wrote, At an early time, Benjamin Van Pelt moved from Alexandria, Virginia, and settled on Lick Creek, Greene County, Tennessee. He had considerable talent and was useful in that new country; several societies were formed by his ministry, and one of the rst Methodist chapels in this country was Van Pelts Meetinghouse. He was one of the Fathers of Methodist Class Meetings in Tennessee. Like Felix Earnest, Benjamin Van Pelt was ordained as a Methodist minister by Bishop Asbury. Although Van Pelts Meetinghouse did not survive to our day, it was an important place of Christian worship for this community from 17901816. Asbury was introduced to Benjamin Van Pelt, Sr., during his visit with Peter Van Pelt on Staten Island in 1771. Filled with the hope of land and opportunity, Benjamin and Mary Collins Van Pelt moved from Staten Island to Alexandria, Virginia. From there, they joined the movement of settlers from Virginia into the wilds of Western North Carolina; now East Tennessee. The astute Bishop Francis Asbury realized his evangelist mission would require him to follow the people in this westward journey. And so he did, preaching the gospel to all who would listen. It is no surprise that Asbury would nd a warm welcome at the Van Pelts home, his old friends from Staten Island who preceded him to Greene County.
worship location in western Greene County and may in fact, slightly predate Ebenezer in Eastern Greene County. Benjamin Van Pelt, Jr. (b. 01 Jun 1775 d. 1842) married Susannah Sucky Crosby (b. 22 Aug 1772 d. unknown) in 1793 in Greene County, perhaps in Van Pelts Meetinghouse. Susannah was the daughter of Uriel and Susannah Conway Crosby. Benjamin Van Pelt, Jr., was the son of The Reverend Benjamin Van Pelt and Mary Collins Van Pelt. They lived on property adjacent to Benjamins parents from 1793 until sometime after the death of his father in 1817. Benjamin Van Pelt, Jr., and family moved to Ohio, where he was known among the pioneers as a wheelwright, and also as an occasional preacher for the Methodist church. He was a man of wide inuence, and one of the important gures of the early days of Adams County, Ohio, where he lived twenty years, and after that in Highland County, Ohio. He served his country as a soldier of the war of 1812. His children were fourteen in number: Joseph A., Benjamin, John, Ptiley, Anna, Susannah, Nancy, Margaret, Mary, Elizabeth, Maria, Penina, Sarah and Lydia. They are buried in Jackson Township, Highland County, Ohio in Coss Cemetery on Coss Road, Belfast, Ohio. (Source: Tony Keltz, descendent of Benjamin Van Pelt, Jr., and Susannah Sucky Crosby Van Pelt.) Joseph Van Pelt, a brother of Benjamin, Jr., in 1801 received by deed transfer his fathers 200 acres in the FairviewThula community on which Van Pelts Meetinghouse was located. Following the death of his father in 1817, Joseph sold the property and moved his family to Blount County, Tennessee. The Van Pelt family had moved from Greene County by or before 1820. The organization of Concord Baptist Church and the death of Benjamin Van Pelt most likely resulted in Van Pelts meetinghouse becoming obsolete and it faded into history. The Reverend R.N. Price, who wrote the classic ve-volume work, Holston Methodism: From Its Origins to the Present Time (1904) describes Benjamin Van Pelt in volume one, page 135f:
One of the rst Societies in East Tennessee was organized in the residence of Benjamin Van pelt, in Greene County, and a chapel named Van Pelts Chapel was built before the year 1792. This was the fourth Methodist meetinghouse in the Holston Country, and the third in Tennessee, of which we have any account ... At an early date there was a camp ground at Carters Station, in the western part of Greene County, and possibly a Society and chapel. In 1792 a society was organized on the south bank of the Nolichucky, a few miles east of Greeneville. This Society consisted at that time largely of the families of Henry and Felix Earnest. Soon after the organization of the Society a meetinghouse was built and christened Ebenezer. The Society having been organized between July and September, 1792, it is possible that the meetinghouse was built that fall ... It is safe to say that the meetinghouse was erected either in 1792 or 1793.
Some readers may question the reliability of a count of ten thousand at Carters Station. It is always possible that a number was misread or that it is an example of ministerial estimation. Regardless, we may safely assume there were a lot of folks at the camp meeting! We know people from Warrensburg and Thula were present at Carters Station and that Benjamin Van Pelt was one of the preachers.
Carters Station United Methodist Church, Greene County, Mosheim, TN. This view is near the grave site of Rev. Benjamin Williams. These grounds include the location of the Carters Station Campground. Photo by Ron Matthews
Deed of Conveyance of 200 acres by B. Van Pelt, Sr. to Joseph Van Pelt, son of Sr. 23 Dec 1801 including Potters Creek: Witnesses: Benjamin Lanstrum and Benjamin Van Pelt. Reserves in Van Pelts Greene County deed states: the use of the dwelling house said Benjamin lives in with what other privileges said Benjamin shall think proper during his natural Life, and the Life of Mary his Beloved and Lawful wifelikewise because James shall have peaceably that part the said James now occupieth if he continues in his own person seven years from this date. Likewise the meetinghouse and one acre of land shall be Judged most convenient reserved forever for the Methodist use. In Testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and afxed my Seal this 23rd Day of December 1801 as above written. Signed, Sealed and Delivered in the presence of Benjamin Lanstrum (son-in-law) and Benjamin Van Pelt.
The 200 acres once owned by Benjamin Van Pelt and on which Van Pelts meetinghouse was located, may be viewed looking south and west from the front of the Fairview Baptist Church.
Fairview Baptist Church is in the left of photo. Bays Mountain is in the background. Benjamin Van Pelt, Sr.s property was in the area fronting this church. This view is looking north from Easterly Road, the old pathway to Warrensburg. Photo by Ron Matthews 24 Apr 2008
L to R: Geneva Dyer, Wayne Conduff, and Dr. Grady Winegar. Benjamin Van Pelt once owned the acreage in the background, which is directly across from the front of Fairview Baptist Church. Photo by Ron Matthews 21 May 2008
L to R: Geneva Dyer, Wayne Conduff, and Ron Matthews standing on the west side of the Fairview Baptist Church parking lot. The store building on the left and the Bible house near center background are on property once owned by The Rev. Benjamin Van Pelt. It is most probable that his chapel was located somewhere in this view and perhaps in the area immediately around the Bible house. The old Revolutionary War veterans cemetery was nearby and we know Van Pelts house was on the road from the mouth of Lick Creek to Blue Springs. Photo by Dr. Grady Winegar, 21 May 2008
This house near Fairview Baptist Church on the road from McDonald to Mosheim is believed to be the approximate location of the home and meetinghouse of Benjamin Van Pelt, Sr. Photo by Ron Matthews
Our next mission was to discover the location of Benjamin Van Pelts grave. To date, we have found no identiable grave stones in the local cemeteries with the Van Pelt name. The Reverend Doug Smith, former pastor of Morristown First United Methodist Church, and friend of Jim Snowden, who grew up in this community and whose father once owned the local store, told Jim about our quest. Jim questioned his mother, Laura Maude Ailshie Snowden and his uncle, James Spud Ailshie, who told him about an old cemetery on this former Van Pelt property located on the opposite side of the road from the Ailshie Cemetery. James recalled a local tradition that this cemetery contained Revolutionary War soldiers. All the markers were crude eldstones and they were removed when Mr. Ben Bible purchased the property. Mr. Ailshie also remembered there was a spring near the store, but it was covered over when the store was built. We will never know for certain, but it is reasonable to assume that Benjamin Van Pelt, Sr. who died 23 Aug 1817 was buried in this cemetery. Van Pelt lived in the Fairview-Thula community from 1790-1817. During that time, Bishop Francis Asbury often stopped to visit in the Van Pelts home and preach in the community meetinghouse located on the road to Mosheim.
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It is difcult to imagine how rugged and dangerous East Tennessee was at this time. Roads were little more than cleared paths and the maintenance of those roads was delegated to those who lived along the way. Francis Asbury often rode his buggy as far as the Van Pelts, where he left them and borrowed one of their horses for his ride into Kentucky. Van Pelts provided a safe and comfortable way station for Bishop Asbury. Benjamin became an enthusiastic follower of Christ and eventually was ordained as a local Methodist preacher. His meetinghouse, no doubt a typical crude log structure so common in that day, served the entire community as a place of frontier worship.
Epilogue
Francis Asbury died in 1816 at 71 years of age. Benjamin Van Pelt, Sr. died in 1817 at 77 years of age. For their time, they lived a long life; since the average lifespan for a circuit-rider was relatively brief. They burned with a love for God and Gods people. Those who responded to such love returned it in kind. The early settlers of western Greene County and indeed, all America, are indebted to Francis Asbury for helping spread the Good News of Gods mercy and grace across Americas early frontier. We also owe a debt of gratitude for the legion of unsung heroes, such as Benjamin Van Pelt, Sr. and Felix Earnest and their families. They rose to the challenges of the frontier, journeyed into the unknown wilderness, and made a better life for themselves and their descendents. Even by todays travel standards, it is a long way from Staten Island to Greene County! Thank God they came our way and passed along a good measure of their hope and faith for we who followed them. Ron Matthews Maryville, Tennessee July 4, 2008
Matthews Gap as viewed west thru Bays Mountain into Hamblen County. Photo by Ron Matthews
Pilot Knob. A prominent landmark near the Gap Greek Community along the road from Van Pelts to Carters Station. Photo by Ron Matthews
The Mouth of Lick Creek and the Bend of Chucky is the area of the Cooper Farm in extreme western Greene County. This is the same area where in October 1776, John Sevier and his army camped overnight before their march across the Nolichucky and up Long Creek to its head, then down Dumplin Creek to the French Broad River. They forded the French Broad near Buckingham Island, went up Boyds Creek to its head and then down Ellejoy Creek to the Little River in Blount County. The army passed the present site of Maryville and on to the Cherokee towns on the Little Tennessee River near present day Vonore.
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References:
R.N. Price. Holston Methodism. 5 vols. Nashville; Dallas: Publishing House of the M.E. Church, South. Smith & Lamar, Agents. 1908, Vol. 1, pages 134-135 & 193f. The Journal of Francis Asbury. Greene County Tennessee Deed Book 6, page 438 December 23, 1801. Benjamin Van Pelt to Joseph Van Pelt.
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