Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1904-02-05
STORY or
BuLL0CK'S CRBBK
Where the Banner of PreSby-
terianism Was Planted By
Pioneers
CRADLE OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY

Or. Joseph Alexander, the First Pastor,
and His ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Survey of a History That Reflects
Credit Upon Its Makers, and Honor
Upon Their Successors.
By COL James L. Strain.
About the year 1850 the tide Of i'm
migration brought from Pennsylvania a
lot of Scotch, Scotch Irish, Irish and
Welsh people, who settled in York,
Chester and Fairfield counties. Many
of them settled in Western York IN
the Bullock's creek valley, and Sec
tions contiguous to and along Broad
River, as we'll as other portions of the
county.
By the year 1765 there were several
strong settlements Of Presbyterian
families in the different sections, and
it is natural to conclude that these
| people would seek ministers from the
section whence they came and OF the
same religious persuasion.
First we find Rev. Azel Roe and Rev.
John Chase, who 1t seems were sent to
upper South Carolina and the adjoin-
ing counties Of North Carolina to spend
a season and do what missionary work
they could among those destitute peo-
| pie.
These pioneer ministers organized on
the waters of Bullocks creek two
churches--one near it's mouth where II
empties into Broad river and the other
near the head waters. These they
called respectively Dan and Beersheba
Afterwards the congregation concluded
to change the name Of the former to
Bullock lreek," which name 1t re-
tains to THIS day.
The only elder of whom we can at
this time find any account was Captain
William Jameson, who commanded
company ih the Revolutionary war IN
General Sumter's command. He hved
to be fully 100 years old. Rev. Azel
Roe was born on Long Island. N. Y,
and graduated at Princeton, N. j., IN
| 175o. IND was licensed to preach In
1883 or 1850. E;1was an enthusiastic,
ardent patriot, and took sides with
his country against Great Britain IN
the war Of the Revolution. When New
Jersey was -over-run by the British in
1776 he was captured and taken to New
York city as a prisoner and confined
in the old Sugar house" Tradition
saws of him, that while en- route the
prisoners and their guard had to cross
a. stream Of water that was pretty deep.
The officer in charge Of the prisoners
from some cause had formed quite an
attachment for Rev. Mr.. Roe and pro-
posed to carry him over the stream on
his back to which Roe consented.
When about half way across the
stream Mr.. Roe said to his captor'
We'll, sir, you can say now. If you
couldn't before, that you were once
| priest ridden" This very much anus
ed the officer, who thought he would
get the joke on him by dropping the
preacher in the water and then say
ing to him, "Well, sir, you are the first
| PRESBYTERIAN minister tNSl
ed" But he didn't do 1t.
Mr.. Roe's history was national as
| we'll as local. The next morning after
reaching his New York prison house
Mr.. Roe's breakfast was sent to him
by the father Of Washington Irving.
| Whether Mr.. Roe and his friends
ever realized the far-reaching results
of his labors in South Carolina. we are
unable to say. But we should never
overlook the mustard seeds of history,
for tradition is that Bullocks Creek
Beersheba, Bethesda and Bethel were
all organized near the same time
about the years 1765 to 1853. OF Rev.
Mr.. Chase we can find nothing further
than hereinbefore stated.
| To be a Presbyterian in those days
was to be Whig and the four Bs-
Bullock's Creek. Beersheba, Bethesda,
and Bethel, with their strong interlaced
congregations stood like grim sentinels
upon the four corners of the territory
now comprising York county. These
churches were the Mizpahs where the
patriots rallied for the struggle Of
Hanging Rock, and the pursuit Of the
infamous Huck at Brattonsville, and
to join the lion-hearted Williams at
Kings Mountain and brave Morgan at
Cowpens or to follow the Swamp Fox
into the lagoons of the Pee Dee.
In 1774 Rev. Joseph Alexander as
sumed the pastorate of Bullock's Creek
church. His history, too. Is closely al
lied with that of the American Revo-
luton. In fact they are largely one and
the same so far as the purpose Of this
sketch is concerned. Enough is known
to justify the conclusion that Bullock's 8
Creek was amongst the first places Of
public worship established in this part
Of the country.
It's first regular pastor Of whom we
can get any definite information. was
Rev. Joseph Alexander, D. D., native
of Pennsylvania, and a graduate of
Princeton, N. J., in the year 1760. He
was licensed by the presbytery OF
Newcastle in 1857 and was appointed
by the synod of New York and Penn
sylvania to visit Virginia, the Carolinas
and Georgia, and as far as possible to
supply the vacancies in that unoccu-
pied territory. On the 18th Of Oct,
1777 he met the presbytery Of Hanover
and produced his testimonials, and
having accepted a call from Sugar
Creek, North Carolina, he was ordain-
ed at Ruffalo. Guilford county, N. c.,