Hickory Grove Church (6)
ORGANIZED BY 1841
The exact year that Hickory Grove Church was established remains uncertain. Nonetheless, historical records available online, not readily accessible until recently, confirm that it was organized as a congregation about two decades before the construction of its building in 1860. The definitive evidence, buried deep in various church conference meeting minutes, indisputably indicates Hickory Grove had formed as a church assembly by 1841.
Charles C. Ware, Litt.D. identified what may be the earliest known mention of Hickory Grove Church. In his 1942 book, Dr. Ware reported twelve years (1841-1852) of detailed annual meeting minutes of the Bethel Conference, previously called the Bethel Free Will Baptist Conference. These minutes provided information from member church "letters" that documented the specifics of each church's ministry for the year.
Held at the Piney Grove Meeting House in Sampson County in October 1841, letters from 43 churches in twelve North Carolina Counties were submitted for the Conference meeting. Among these was a letter from Hickory Grove Church of Bucklesberry, one of six member churches in Lenoir County. The other five churches were Bethel, Lousan Swamp, Sandhill, Wheat Swamp, and Woodington. In her 1977 book, author Naomi D. Holder concurred that these six churches all had functioning congregations in Lenoir County by 1841.
The 1841 Hickory Grove Church letter confirmed 28 members, one death, two baptisms, and a $1.00 contribution to the Conference for that year. Along with the other five Lenoir County churches, Hickory Grove was again named in the1842 Conference meeting minutes. The church letter once more confirmed 28 members, but there were no deaths, no baptisms, and a $0.00 contribution to the Conference that year.
Hickory Grove did not submit an annual church letter to the Conference over the next ten years from 1843 to 1852. At the final 1852 Conference meeting, only two of the six original Lenoir County churches (Wheat Swamp and Woodington), included with Hickory Grove in the 1841 and 1842 minutes, were still listed with church letters. These two were joined by three other Lenoir County churches–Christian Chapel, Kinston, and Rose of Sharon.
The absence of Hickory Grove Church letters to the Bethel Conference from 1843 to 1852 did not mean the Church was inactive or that its congregation had disbanded. Additional historical records, to be shared in future columns, confirm Hickory Grove was associated with another church conference during this period.
Next month's article will discuss Hickory Grove's earliest years as a Free Will Baptist church. Interested readers may enjoy a previously published, two-part Bucklesberry article titled "Steamer Kinston 1883" available at https://t.ly/kNFV- and https://t.ly/n950I.
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