(Photo by Calvin Shepherd - Use By Permission)
Alderson West Virginia - A History
Churches - Page One - Baptist Church
The
Old
Greenbrier
Baptist
Church
had
its
birth
with
the
Nation.
Cornwallis
surrendered
to
Washington
at
Yorktown
October
19,
1781.
Thirty-six
days
later,
"Elder"
John
Alderson
organized
the
Greenbrier
Baptist
Church,
November
24,
1781.
Since
then
dozens
of
writers
and
historians
have
eulogized
"Elder
John"
and
the
church.
Probably
the
most
nearly
accurate
history
is
that
written
by
his
son,
Joseph
Alderson,
in
1842
for
the
Greenbrier
Baptist
Association
of
which
he
was
Moderator.
At
a
meeting
of
the
Association
September
8
and
9,
1842,
the
Greenbrier
Church
was
represented
by
Joseph
Alderson,
Lewis
A.
Alderson,
and
George
Smithson.
Joseph
Alderson
was
requested
to
write
the
history.
Years
later,
this
history
was
reprinted
in
the
Beckley
Post-Herald
of
December
30,
1947.
Joseph
Alderson’s
history,
the
Minutes
of
the
Old
Greenbrier
Baptist
Church,
and other sources, are used for this sketch.
"Elder
John"
Alderson
was
pastor
of
the
Linville
Creek
Church,
Rockingham
County,
Virginia.
The
reason
John
Alderson
was
called
"Elder"
instead
of
Reverend
was
not
because
of
his
age.
Under
British
colonial
rule
a
minister
could
be
called
Reverend
only
if
he
served
as
pastor
of
the
Established
Church. So John Alderson was called "Elder" by custom.
Between
1773
and
1777
Elder
John
Alderson
visited
the
Greenbrier
area
and
baptized
three
people,
two
of
whom
were
John
Griffith
and
a
Mrs.
Keeny.
Early
in
1777
he
started
with
his
family
for
Greenbrier
to
establish
a
home
but
when
he
arrived
at
Jackson's
River
he
heard
Indians
had
attacked
the
Graham
home
killing
one.
(This
is
the
log
house
at
Lowell
near
the
highway.)
He
remained
at
Jackson’s
River
for
two
or
three
months,
and finally arrived at Jarrett’s Fort at the mouth of Wolf Creek in October 1777.
"Elder"
John
acquired
400
acres
of
land
on
the
south
side
of
the
Greenbrier
consisting
of
all
of
what
is
now
the
Monroe
side
of
the
Town
of
Alderson.
He
built
a
house
on
the
south
side
of
the
river
just
west
of
the
present
Alderson
Hotel.
His
brother-in-law,
William
Morris,
owned
525
acres
across
the
river.
Elder
John
Alderson
began
his
ministry
and
preached
in
the
various
forts.
By
November
24,
1781,
he
had
gathered
a
small
band
of
believers
and
the
Greenbrier
Baptist
Church
was
founded.
Twelve
charter
members
were
his
flock:
John
Alderson,
pastor,
Mary
Carroll
Alderson
(his
wife),
Thomas
Alderson
(his
brother),
John
Kippers,
John
Sheppard,
John
Skaggs,
Katherine
Skaggs,
Joseph
Skaggs,
Lucy
Skaggs,
Bailey
Wood,
Ann
Wood,
and
James
Wood.
The
Skaggs
family
came
from
Wolf
Creek
about
six
miles
south
of
the
church.
Their
descendants
are
still
prominent
in
Alderson.
Who
Kippers, Sheppard, and the three Woods were, is not known.
Some
of
those
first
members
lived
as
far
as
twenty
miles
from
the
church
and
Elder
John,
with
other
members,
held
church
meetings
in
other
places
such as Second Creek Gap, Big Levels above Lewis- burg, and on New River.
On
July
25,
1783,
the
first
baptism
was
conducted
on
Greenbrier
River,
and
four
members
were
baptized
on
New
River
August
8,
1785.
The
membership
was
growing
but
scattered.
In
addition
to
the
three
places
mentioned
where
meetings
were
held,
other
members
lived
on
Indian
Creek,
and one member, a Mr. Burr, lived on Spring Creek thirty miles away.
In
June
1783
it
was
decided
by
Elder
John
and
his
followers
that
a
church
should
be
built
and
the
next
year
on
July
4,
1784,
the
first
meeting
was
held
in
the
rude
log
structure.
The
first
church,
located
on
the
site
of
the
present
church,
was
25
by
17
feet
with
a
chimney
in
the
middle.
It
was
known as Greenbrier Meeting House.
The
church
was
across
the
river
from
where
Elder
John
lived,
on
an
acre
of
land
belonging
to
William
Morris,
who
gave
it
(with
no
deed)
for
a
house
of
public
worship
and
public
burial
ground.
Evidently,
before
the
Greenbrier
Baptist
Church
was
organized,
the
small
group
had
been
meeting
but
considered
themselves
a
branch
of
the
Linville
Creek
Church.
Thus
started
the
first
church
in
what
is
now
southern
West
Virginia.
Unlike
eastern
Virginia
there
were
no
restrictions
on
religions
or
denominations
in
the
Greenbrier
area,
and
Baptists
were
not
harassed.
In
1782
Greenbrier
Baptist
Church joined the Ketockton Association. Between 1785 and 1794, twenty- four members were added to the church rolls.
The
old
graveyard
back
of
the
church
was
first
designated
a
burial
ground
May
24,
1783.
As
said
before,
William
Morris
gave
the
acre
of
land,
but
no
one
bothered
about
a
deed.
It
was
not
until
October
22,
1825,
that
Joseph
Alderson,
who
had
bought
nearly
all
the
land
now
North
Alderson,
gave
the
land
by
a
formal
deed
to
the
church.
It
is
not
known
whose
were
the
earliest
burials
in
the
cemetery.
Some
of
the
oldest
grave
stones
are
gone,
some
are
not
legible.
The
oldest
person
with
a
legible
stone
is
Jonathan
Newman
who
was
born
December
25,
1730.
He
was
a
Revolutionary
War
veteran.
Near
his
grave
is
that
of
the
old
religious
patriarch,
Elder
John,
who
was
born
March
5,
1738,
and
died
March
3,
1821,
and
Mary
Carroll
Alderson his wife, 1739-1805. One gets a real feeling of early Alderson history by visiting the old, old cemetery.
Main Index
The contents contained in this series is copyrighted and the sole property of The Greenbrier Historical Society - Lewisburg, WV Used by permission - November 18, 2008
The History of Alderson, West Virginia
From The Journal Of The Greenbrier Historical Society On Alderson, West Virginia
Written by Kenneth D. Swope - Compiled and Transcribed by Barry Worrell
