February 20, 2012 Coats Museum News
The volunteers at the Coats Museum are excited about sharing our collection of black history during Black History Month. There is so much black and white history being lost every day because we wait too late to preserve it. One individual who has given years of his life to preserving the history of the Original Primitive Baptist Church is Elder J.M. Mewborn, a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
In fact, it was in Elder Mewborn’s history of the Bethel Primitive Baptist Church that we learned that the membership of the Bethel Church located in northeastern Grove Township on the county line had increased so much in 1905 and 1906 that the one acre lot belonging to the church could not accommodate the membership. The church could not acquire any additional adjacent land and that is when the predominately white church was given about two acres of land by a black family who where strong believers in the Primitive Baptist faith. After the black couple W.D. and Lenora D. Stewart gave the land, the church was moved across the county line road into Johnston County in 1908. This family and the other black families who attended the church moved later to other churches in the area.
A predominantly black church in the same northeastern section of Grove was the Black River Grove Primitive Baptist Church which was located on the current Johnson Road where Silas Moore Road enters. This is the same road on which the Black River Grove Colored School was located. It is interesting to note the memories o f Lamas Denning as told to his niece Lynda Butler. He recalled that his father Floyd L. Denning took him to that church to worship. The color of the skin did not separate the churches of the Old School Primitive Baptist Churches according to Mrs. Butler.
According to Book 171, page 189, in the Harnett County Register of Deeds records, on August 23, 1909, Samuel Cutts donated the land for the Black River Grove Church. The church was active until about 1989 when it discontinued services. John and Shelia Aldridge purchased the property and removed the building. They secured the large cemetery behind the church. This cemetery contains the graves of many of the prominent black families on this side of the Grove area and two markers record that the men were veterans who fought for our freedom. The McKoy and Lee families are connected to the church. Nellie McNeill Lee married Ira Lee in 1935. Ira was the son of Frank Lee and Lucinda Stewart Lee who attended the church. Ira lived in Coats after Frank died according to Nellie.
Another black church in the Coats Grove area is the Coats Chapel Freewill Baptist Church. Gale Walden Spears wrote for The Heritage of Coats, North Carolina in2005 that Jasper Baken Walden remembered that the site of the Coats Chapel Church and surrounding lands were originally owned by Joe and Susie Snead. The Sneads were parents of Lizzie Snead who married Loman “Cusie” Walden. Cusie was the grandson of Jake McKoy. After Mrs. Snead‘s death, Mr. Snead gave the land to Liza Massey and he returned to his Johnston County home place.
Mrs. Spears wrote that according to Mrs. Annie Ruth McNeill, Liza Massey was the mother of Missy, Melissa, and Maggie Massey. This family donated the Coats Chapel Church site to the Cape Fear Conference. Melissa was a well known teacher in the area. Missy married Herman Williamson. Their daughter Mary married Frank Cameron. Frank was one of the first licensed barbers in the Coats area and Mary was on the teaching staff at Coats High School for many years. Their daughter Susan was a student in my 11th grade English class in 1971-72.
Read next week’s museum news to learn m ore about the Coats Chapel and its members who date the church back to 1934.
The folks at the Coats Museum are so excited about the progress being made on our new exhibit hall. The public will be amazed at the artifacts that will be displayed. Andy Cole brought to the meeting of volunteers last Thursday night a Civil War rifle and a reloader for the ammunition belt for the WWII water cooled machine gun on display in the museum.
Please be mindful that this article appeared in the Daily Record on February 20, 2012.
The volunteers at the Coats Museum are excited about sharing our collection of black history during Black History Month. There is so much black and white history being lost every day because we wait too late to preserve it. One individual who has given years of his life to preserving the history of the Original Primitive Baptist Church is Elder J.M. Mewborn, a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
In fact, it was in Elder Mewborn’s history of the Bethel Primitive Baptist Church that we learned that the membership of the Bethel Church located in northeastern Grove Township on the county line had increased so much in 1905 and 1906 that the one acre lot belonging to the church could not accommodate the membership. The church could not acquire any additional adjacent land and that is when the predominately white church was given about two acres of land by a black family who where strong believers in the Primitive Baptist faith. After the black couple W.D. and Lenora D. Stewart gave the land, the church was moved across the county line road into Johnston County in 1908. This family and the other black families who attended the church moved later to other churches in the area.
A predominantly black church in the same northeastern section of Grove was the Black River Grove Primitive Baptist Church which was located on the current Johnson Road where Silas Moore Road enters. This is the same road on which the Black River Grove Colored School was located. It is interesting to note the memories o f Lamas Denning as told to his niece Lynda Butler. He recalled that his father Floyd L. Denning took him to that church to worship. The color of the skin did not separate the churches of the Old School Primitive Baptist Churches according to Mrs. Butler.
According to Book 171, page 189, in the Harnett County Register of Deeds records, on August 23, 1909, Samuel Cutts donated the land for the Black River Grove Church. The church was active until about 1989 when it discontinued services. John and Shelia Aldridge purchased the property and removed the building. They secured the large cemetery behind the church. This cemetery contains the graves of many of the prominent black families on this side of the Grove area and two markers record that the men were veterans who fought for our freedom. The McKoy and Lee families are connected to the church. Nellie McNeill Lee married Ira Lee in 1935. Ira was the son of Frank Lee and Lucinda Stewart Lee who attended the church. Ira lived in Coats after Frank died according to Nellie.
Another black church in the Coats Grove area is the Coats Chapel Freewill Baptist Church. Gale Walden Spears wrote for The Heritage of Coats, North Carolina in2005 that Jasper Baken Walden remembered that the site of the Coats Chapel Church and surrounding lands were originally owned by Joe and Susie Snead. The Sneads were parents of Lizzie Snead who married Loman “Cusie” Walden. Cusie was the grandson of Jake McKoy. After Mrs. Snead‘s death, Mr. Snead gave the land to Liza Massey and he returned to his Johnston County home place.
Mrs. Spears wrote that according to Mrs. Annie Ruth McNeill, Liza Massey was the mother of Missy, Melissa, and Maggie Massey. This family donated the Coats Chapel Church site to the Cape Fear Conference. Melissa was a well known teacher in the area. Missy married Herman Williamson. Their daughter Mary married Frank Cameron. Frank was one of the first licensed barbers in the Coats area and Mary was on the teaching staff at Coats High School for many years. Their daughter Susan was a student in my 11th grade English class in 1971-72.
Read next week’s museum news to learn m ore about the Coats Chapel and its members who date the church back to 1934.
The folks at the Coats Museum are so excited about the progress being made on our new exhibit hall. The public will be amazed at the artifacts that will be displayed. Andy Cole brought to the meeting of volunteers last Thursday night a Civil War rifle and a reloader for the ammunition belt for the WWII water cooled machine gun on display in the museum.
Please be mindful that this article appeared in the Daily Record on February 20, 2012.
