One of the early branches of south west Tennessee was Knob Creek. Formed by Elder J. J. Fuller, it included just a handful of members.The Knob Creek Branch was part of the South West Tennessee Conference. It is a small community about 10 miles south west of Lawrenceburg, Tennessee. Even today it is a distinctly rural location.
Below is a list of the baptisms at Knob Creek.
Polly Houser (nee Shaffer): Baptized September 25th, 1883; Died in full faith September 3rd, 1885
Eveline Finney (nee Spiers): Baptized October 25th, 1883; widowed before 1880.
Matilda Green: Baptized October 25th, 1883; Excommunicated for apostasy June 7th, 1885
Aurena Marinda Spiers: Baptized Nov. 1st, 1883; Excommunicated for bad conduct Oct. 25th 1886.
John R Spiers: Baptized March 13th, 1884; died 1889 in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee.
Sarah Spiers (nee McGee): Baptized March 13th, 1884
In the summer following the batism of John and Sarah Spiers, "Elders J. A. Ross and A. J. McCueston were harassed considerably. While holding meeting in Knob Creek they were accosted by a fiendish mob of five, armed with hickory cudgels and warned to leave the county before 10 o'clock next day. Despite their portentious premonitions the Elders unrelentingly prosecuted their labors warning the people of the dangers of living in Babylon and partaking of the sins of the world."
No baptisms were reported after the mob violence. Two members were excommunicated, a third passed away. Reports about branch membership were noted twice a year, in February and August and continued until August 31st, 1888.
In 1895, when Elder Willard Washington Bean made his visit to Cane Creek, he met with the "Uncle" Fin Houser who told him quite a story about his conversion. Today, the area is part of the Lawrenceburg Ward.
2 comments:
Bruce, how aware do you think people in the modern wards, like Lawrenceburg, are of the early church activity in their neighborhoods? It seems like Uncle Fin and others like him could be points of great pride in a town ("we were here EARLY!!"). It would be sad if they were completely unknown.
Using my stake as a measure, most members aren't aware of local history within their lifetime, let alone further back.
A small handfull of members, maybe a dozen, can recall where the ward met in the 1960's when they had to clean the beer bottles out of the rented hall they used as a chapel. To them that is when the church started in Tennessee.
Less than one pecent know about the Pennington family, or the Harris family, or Uncle Fin, who joined the church over a hundred years ago.
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