Greenbrier Baptist Church Records, Part 3
Additional records, not part of the article in Parts 1 and 2
I have a few documents that are just “scraps,” and I don’t remember where I got them. However, I have had them for many years.
The first two items below are actually two halves of the same document from the earliest church minutes and were not included in the article I previously cited. These are dated 1782-1783.
I do not know the date of the next document. It appears that transcription/notations were added much later. Near the bottom, I see the names of William Johnston and Elizabeth Hicks Johnston. Elizabeth was the sister of Catherine Hicks Skaggs. It is difficult to say much else about William Johnston because there were three people named William Johnston who lived in the same area.
The document below is clearly marked 1835. At this time, members of John Skaggs’ family were beginning to leave the church, but both John and Catherine “Kitty” Hicks Skaggs were still alive.
I would like to identify some of these people since I have researched the family and can differentiate people with similar names.
I don’t know who the first two people are, but the next two are Thomas (1744-1837) and (second wife) Sally Alderson (d. 1835). Thomas was the brother of Rev. John Alderson (1738-1821). Susan Hicks Jarrett (d. about 1838) was the sister-in-law of John Skaggs (d. 1839) and sister of Catherine Hicks Skaggs (d. 1851), who are next on the list. Sally Skaggs Ellis (b. abt. 1811) was Sarah, daughter of John and Catherine Hicks Skaggs and second wife of James Ellis (1774-1845). Catharine “Kate” Skaggs jun. (1803-1853) was the sister of Sally Skaggs Ellis and was also the daughter of John and Catherine Skaggs.
I am not sure who Thomas Jones, Polly Charlton, and Jane Jones are. Polly Skaggs Foster (1789-1875) was another daughter of John and Catherine Skaggs, as was Susan Skaggs Ellis (1800-1880), wife of Joshua Ellis (son of James Ellis (above). Polly Ellis Skaggs (1805-1880) was married to Oliver Skaggs (1805-1877), son of John and Catherine Skaggs. The next three names are Nancy Hill, Winney Dempsey, and Sally Taylor, but I have not researched those names. Jos: (Joseph) Alderson (1771-1845) was the son of Rev. John Alderson; Polly Newman Alderson (d. 1857) was Joseph’s wife. I have no information on George Sidenstricker.
I don’t know where I found the next page, but it was taken from the Journal of the Greenbrier Historical Society, a publication I have not seen. It appears to be a list of the past and present (at the time of writing) members of the church. As you can see, Bailey and Ann Wood, who were charter members of the church, had left. They moved to Nicholas (later Fayette) County, but I have no idea why they left at different times. Jean Alderson Withrow was the daughter of Thomas Alderson and his first wife Hannah and was married to Robert Withrow. William Withrow was the brother of Robert Withrow and Willliam’s wife was Susannah Skaggs Withrow, sister of John Skaggs and daughter of Thomas Skaggs (d. 1806). I have not researched the others, but William Wood may be my ancestor by the same name who was son of Bailey and Ann Wood.
I think I’ve shared with you everything I know about Old Greenbrier Baptist Church. Feel free to identify any of these people that you may have researched. Let me know if you want more information about the people I have discussed.
Thomas Anderson and his daughter, Jane, are my ancestors. I know at one time, Thomas was excommunicated from the church for misbehavior, but was later back in the church, and I believe he was a clerk. This information comes from a letter I received from a clerk from the church.