The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1913-10-01


in the erection of the new building.
The Sunday school, one of the largest
in the city, has more than three hun
dred on its rolls and is rapidly grow
ing, having more than doubled it's
numbers since the old church was pull
ed down. The church is in a flourish
ing condition and is doing much to
build up boys and girls and men and
women into better citizens and Chris
tians.
Rev. d. NJ. Mcleod the beloved
pastor of the church, who has done
much to aid the building committee
and members in their self-imposed
task, came to Sumter in December of
1910. He was not I. stranger here at
that time, however, as he is native
of Sumter county (now Lee county,,
having been born at Bishopville and
raised at Lynchburg. He has done
good among the people of Sumt I'D
among his flock since his arriV e
and they will all regret exf = ely
to see him removed by the cf 8 hce,
and hope that that time WHY = hg in
coming. :.
The members of the = & COM
mittee, all belong to > .ethodist
families. have already @ mention
ed, Messrs. L. ID. JeD chairman;
S. w. stubbs, G. A. > on and c. E.
Hurst, Secretary-Th~ er. They have
long been pillars in the Methods.
church and they deserve much praise
and credit for the part they took in
the building Of the new edifice.
Mr.. c. T.. Hurst is chairman of the
board of stewards and Mr.. A. r,
| Flowers is secretary and treasurer of
the board. The other members are:
j. H. Clifton, w. B. Burns, w. A.
Brown, X. ID. Epps, A. r. Flowers, L.
ID. Jennings, II w. McCollum, l.. /.
Parrott, b. c. Wallace, j. K. Cross
well, w. b. Boyle, J. T. Brightswell,
L. w. Folsom, John T. Green, C. e.
Hurst, c. S. Mason, r. o. Purdy, S.
w. Stubbs, ]. j. Wescoat
The board of trustees of the church
is composed of Messrs. G.. A. Lennon
! Fl. G. Hill, J. p. Booth, w. b. Burns,
j. A. Mood, w. w. Rowland andSA. B.
Stuckey, chairman.
The Woman's Church Building So
ciety. Mrs. Lille DuBose Knight, pres
lidcnt; Mrs. g. + ,.stubbs, secratary-
treasurer. e
! Choir: Mrs. Geo. E. Beaumont,
director; Miss Julia Rowland, organ
ist.
Sunday School, c. NJ. Hurst, super
intendent; S. X Rowland, assistant
superintendent; r. A. Dixon, secre-
tary; b. c. Wallace, treasurer; Miss
Irma Smith, Organist
In the Methodist church are to be
found many of the prominent business
men Of the city and some of the
oldest families in the county, Meth
odism in Sumter County being as old
as the county itself. The first authen-
tic record of the establishment of a
Methodist Church in the county
shows that there was preaching in or
near Sumterville in 1885, although 1t
Is quite possible that there was
preaching here by Methodist circuit
riders before that time. The districts
or circuits, as they were called then,
generally took their names from the
rivers which were in the territory
which the circuit rider was supposed
to cover. Sumter was in those DAYS
in the Santee District, as detailed by
the Rev. A. M. Chrietzberg in his in
teresting History of early Methodism
in South Carolina, the circuit being
formed sometime about the eighties,
and only short time prior to the first
Methodist Conference in South Caro-
lima.
The accounts say that the first
church in this section was establish
ed about 1890, probably somewhere
between what is now First and Second
Mill. However, before this date there
is reported to have been preaching by
the circuit riders in the house Mr..
Naples one of the ardent believers in
the faith. Richard Singleton and
Richard Bradford were two of the
leading members of this first Green
Swamp" church, which was after
wards abandoned, when another
church was established in the nearby