Baxter Church & Cemetery Study Guide

 

Quiz

Directions: Answer each question in 2-3 complete sentences.

1. According to the cemetery register, what is the earliest recorded birth year and what is the latest?
2. What is the significance of the notations “w/o” and “h/o” on the cemetery register?
3. Who is recorded in the cemetery register as having died due to being killed by a falling tree?
4. What are the listed dates for the construction of the Baxter Presbyterian Church and when was it officially dedicated?
5. What was the initial reason that members of the Liberty Church founded a church at Baxter?
6. How was the Baxter church building affected by the Civil War?
7. What was the role of Miss Margaret Pritchard at the Baxter Church?
8. Who were the first ruling elders of the Baxter Church?
9. What auxiliary organization was organized in 1905 and who assisted in it’s organization?
10. In 1939, what amount was raised by selling farm products at the “Day of Ingathering”?

Quiz Answer Key

1. The earliest birth year listed in the register is 1824. There are numerous individuals with no death date listed, but the latest birth year listed is 1967.
2. The notations "w/o" and "h/o" indicate the relationship between individuals listed on the cemetery register. "W/o" stands for "wife of" and "h/o" stands for "husband of."
3. Robert Crue is recorded in the cemetery register as having died due to being killed by a falling tree. His date of death is also given as 10/25/1886.
4. The Baxter Presbyterian Church was built in 1858 and was dedicated on August 27, 1858. A dedicatory sermon was preached by the Rev. C.M. Lee, using the text from Psalm 127.
5. Members of the Liberty Church founded a church at Baxter because the journey to Liberty Church on horseback or in “little shying wagons” was too difficult and far. They were approximately ten or twelve miles away and the journey was described as very “wearisome”.
6. During the Civil War, Federal troops occupied the newly constructed Baxter church and left the building in a state of disrepair. It was described as a "wreck" after their departure.
7. Miss Margaret Pritchard was a member of the Baxter church and served as a missionary to Korea. She went to serve and teach nursing to the natives in a hospital there.
8. The first ruling elders of the Baxter Church were Robert D. McCutcheon and Robert Curry. They were elected following the church’s organization on August 21, 1858.
9. The Ladies Aid Society was organized in 1905 and Miss Flora Woomsey of Greenbank assisted in the organization of this group.
10. In 1939, the congregation raised $42 by selling farm products at the “Day of Ingathering”. This was part of the church’s efforts to become self-supporting.

Glossary

Auxiliary: A group providing support or assistance to a main organization. In the church context, these were often groups like the Ladies Aid Society or the Woman’s Auxiliary.

Dedicatory Sermon: A formal address given at the dedication of a building or institution. In this case, the sermon marked the official opening of the Baxter Church.

Elders: Leaders in a Presbyterian church, typically lay members of the congregation, elected to help guide the church’s spiritual and administrative affairs.

Foreign Mission Field: A geographical region where missionaries go to spread their religious beliefs. In the Baxter context, this involved sending a nurse to Korea.

Presbytery: In the Presbyterian Church, a regional governing body composed of ministers and lay representatives of several local churches. The Baxter church was part of the Greenbrier Presbytery.

Ruling Elder: See “Elders”

Supply Preacher/Minister: A pastor who fills in temporarily when a church does not have a regular pastor. These pastors did not commit to serving one congregation full-time.

Union Sunday School: A Sunday school that is not associated with one specific church, but is rather organized by a group of different denominations. These often predate the foundation of individual denominational churches.