Smyrna times., 1904-07-06
Smyrna Presbyterian Church.
j. l.. ESTLN,

A brief outline of the history of the
Smyrna Presbyterian church taken
! from the minutes of the session anC
church register. The records now il
possession of the church are not earlier
than 1918 as prior to this date the Older
There is nothing definite as to the date
of the construction of the first church
building or the names, of those who
engaged in the original enterprise.
The first building, that few now having
ever remember to have seen, stood
about the centre of the old Presby-
terlan cemetery, and the earliest ac.
count of it is that the building was too
much out of repairs for worship, and
IN 1918 committee was app )inted to
solicit funds for its repairing. In re-
spOnse to the appeal the committee
reported that they had raised the sum
of $4S, 90. The record reads, "The
contributors to the Presbyterian
church near Smyrna assembled at the
church April 1lth, 1919, aud finding
the church nearly completed, requested
Samuel Murphy and William Kennedy
to represent the congregation at a
meeting of Presbytery to be held in
Wilmington, Sept. 1919. At the same
meeting of the congregation, John
Clark, Samuel Murphy, Samuel Ca.
hOon, William Leatherbury and Will
liam Kennedy were unanimously
elected to serve as trustees. On Thurs
day June 22nd, 1920 the church was
organized by Presbytery, by the elec-
ton of Samuel Murphy, an ordained
ruling elder from Pencader Presby-
terlan church to take the same in the
Smyrna Presbyterian church. Also at
this meeting Capt. John Matthews aud
Lewis Prettyman were elected ruling
elders, and their ordination was fixed
to take place Sabbath, June 25th, 1920.
After sermon by a minister of the
Presbytery, whose name is not given,
Rachel CahOon, widow of Samuel Ca.
hOOn and her four children were
among the first to receive the Sacra
ment of baptism in the church.
United With the Forrest Presbyter rian Church
March 22nd, 1921, at meeting of
the congregation it was resolved to
unite with the Forest PRESBYTERIAN
church and committee consisting of
Doctor Richard E. Cochran of the
Forest church, and John Clark,
Thomas Jaminson, George Shannon of
the Smyrna church, were appointed to
wait on Doctor Miller of Princeton
College, New Jersey to request him to
send a young man from the Theologi-
cal Seminary to act as their Pastor.
AT this same meeting a committee was
appointed to communicate with the
Drawers Congregation at Cantwell's
Bridge to cOnsultas to the propriety of
union services for the three congrega-
tons. These three congregations
united, and on Feb 10, 1922 they cal
led to the Pastorate Rev. Joseph Will
son. The Smyrna church taking as it's
share and agreeing to pay S166 towards
the salary of Mr.. Wilson. The old
church is described as stately
structure built on the plan of the old
Drawers church, gable end to the
road with heavy cornice extending en-
tirely around it, the pulpit was half
way to the roof with sounding board
overhead, and the inside furnished
with plain high back pews. At present
there is not vestlge of the old church
left. The bodies of the dead and slabs
and monuments, mark the place which
was its former site. This is the end of
this period as all religious worship
from 1896 to 1916 were entirely sus-
pended, and the old building from
neglect began to decay and fell into a
heap of ruins.
Reorganization Took Effect in Smyrna In lS46.
In 1916 there was a reorganization.
The record from the church register is
as follows: "a church edifice having
been purchased by Messrs. Presly
Spruance, Ayres Stockley, John Mus
tard, Thomas B. Lockwood, James L.
Bewley and John Vangezel, trustees
for the Presbyterian congregation of