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| The Following is a Portion of : _________________________________________________________________________________ "SILVER CREEK CHURCH -- Country Correspondent" Minutes of the 10th annual meeting of the Silver Creek Cemetery Association in 1885, published in the National Democrat newspaper in Jeffersonville, Indiana on May 22, 1885 Transcribed by James D. VanDerMark, April 1995 Proofread against the original by Rhonda Couch Clapp, October 1998 Republished in the Bicentennial History of Silver Creek Baptist Church (now known as Stony Point Christian Church), published November 22, 1998 _________________________________________________________________________________ Truly this is historic ground. First, it is historic because of the character of the people themselves who first settled here. They were not adventurers seeking chance fortunes, those curious for the new and novel; they were not a set of frontiersmen, going to a new and wild country, settling for a few weeks or months, making a living the most dishonorable and expecting to move on farther into the wilds as civilization should come up with them. They were none of these. They were people of enterprise, thrift and intelligence. Standing first in the communities from which they came, as noble and good citizens. They came here to stay. They came here to make for themselves and their families permanent homes. They brought with them civilization, character and Christianity. We shall say more in particular of these people farther on in our paper. Second, the place is historic because of the times at which these people settled here. It was in about the year 1797 that the first settlements were made in this vicinity. All was then a dense wilderness, a gigantic forest. Wild and ferocious animals roamed at large, wolves, bears, panthers and venomous serpents. Not only these of the dumb brute creation were here to frighten, terrify and destroy the first settlers, but here was found an enemy in human form, an enemy most to be dreaded and feared by all enemies, the Indian. An enemy ever on the alert to pillage, burn, kill and massacre. The English incited and encouraged the Indian to his deeds of enmity and treachery which made him the Indian, all the more to be dreaded and feared, his diabolical deeds being begotten by the most formidable, strategic and intelligent enemy of the American people and reaching most effectively the frontier settlers of the country. Forts or block houses were built in the various neighborhoods for safety from the Indian. He was the constant dread both by day and by night. The people were ever on the lookout for him. A man never went to his place of labor without taking with him his gun. The gun was the settlers implement of defense as well as a means of procuring food in the way of wild game. A neighbor visiting a neighbor always had along with him his gun, expecting at any moment on his way he might meet with an Indian. The preacher preached with his gun by his side, and, we guess, that when he prayed he laid as firm a grasp with his hand upon his gun as ever did his soul lay hold of the doctrine of God�s efficacy to answer prayer. Every strange history would suggest the coming of Indians, and often they did come too. The woman trembled in awe of them; the little ones thought every strange comer an Indian. In their sleep they had horrid dreams of him. One of the most painful massacres committed by Indians, occurred near here in September 1811, the Pigeon Roost massacre, a most dreadful tragedy. Of the wild animals, many of us here today can well remember hearing our fathers and grandfathers tell how the wolves would annoy them, killing their hogs and sheep, and often threatening the settlers themselves; how many bears they had killed, how nearly they came being killed by bears; how bears and panthers had run them home to their houses. Just the other week, I chanced at the home of a neighbor, John P. Nicholson, and he told me that some years ago my grandfather, John McCoy, stopped with him, and while there, cited him to a certain place near his house, the place where the Sinking Fork sinks, and said, �There in 1806 I shot and killed a large black bear.� So also, have we heard of the poisonous snakes, mad dogs and other dangerous animals which constantly gave annoyances. As before stated, some of the best men and women belonged to old Silver Creek church. It might be asked, who were they? Let us read from the church roll and see. I shall read from the roll up to about 1825, beginning at the first. John Fislar, Sophia Fislar, John Pettit, Catherine Pettit, (Constituent members) William Coombs, Sr., John Dunlop {Dunlap}, Jeremiah Dunlop {Dunlap}, Elizabeth Shipman, Elisha Carr, Nancy Carr, Sarah Boyse, James McCoy, Hezekiah Applegate, Rachel Combs, William Combs, Hannah Combs, Nancy McCoy, William Goodwin, Nancy Goodwin, Thomas Downs, Priscilla Downs, Rachel Worrall, John Boyse, Jincy McCoy, Jane Biggs, Spencer Collins, Catherine Collins, Rebecca Safiers, John Peyton, Charlotte Peyton, Christiana McCoy, Isaac McCoy, Ann Combs, Jesse Tuel, Elizabeth McGuire, Zebulon Collins, Joseph Pound, Tenny Peyton, John Biggs, Elizabeth Peyton, Martha McGuire, Isaac Burge, Sarah Payne, William Moore, Elizabeth Moore, Boyse {Royse} McCoy, William E. Collins, Phoebe Collins, Thomas Broadstreet, Lurene Broadstreet, John Skelton, William McCoy, Elizabeth McCoy, Joseph Cunningham, Peggy Cunningham, Joseph Skelton,Sarah Skelton, Lydia Nugent, John Stuart, Elizabeth Short, William Huff, Robert Sellers, Amos Littell, John Norris, William Watts, Jane Gray, John T. Littell, John Griffin, Isaac Worrall, Jeremiah Payne, (of the old roll): Would you know who are buried yonder, especially the leading families? Come with me to the graveyard; here we see a tombstone, grown old by reason of age, which marks the grave of Mr. Francis McGuire. He died Oct. 1805. He was the first person buried in this cemetery. His death occurred before the birth of the oldest person present here today. We can learn but very little of Mr. Francis McGuire. He lived on the farm known as the Anson Farm. We do not know if he was connected with any church or not. We find the names of Elizabeth and Martha McGuire on the roll of Silver Creek church, and we are inclined to think Elizabeth was his wife. Mr. McGuire died suddenly of fever. |
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