Pocahontas Preachers

 

 

Pocahontas County’s early religious landscape was shaped by resilient circuit riders, frontier evangelists, and dedicated local ministers who traveled rugged mountain passes to serve the pioneer families of the region.

Ten prominent preachers who labored in Pocahontas County before 1900 include:

1. Rev. Absalom Andrew Sydenstricker (1852–1931)

• Denomination: Presbyterian

• Biographical Details: Born in Greenbrier County, Absalom Sydenstricker married Caroline Maude "Carie" Stulting in Pocahontas County in 1880. Her childhood log home in Hillsboro later became the birthplace of their daughter, the Nobel Prize-winning author Pearl S. Buck. Ordained as a Presbyterian minister, Sydenstricker devoted over 50 years of his life as a missionary to China beginning in 1880. He was renowned for his scholarly dedication, which included translating the New Testament from original Greek into local Chinese vernacular so it could be easily read by common citizens.

2. Rev. Dr. William Thompson Price (1830–1921)

• Denomination: Presbyterian

• Biographical Details: Perhaps the most famous historical chronicler of the county, Dr. Price was called as the first minister of the Marlin’s Bottom Presbyterian Church (later the Marlinton Presbyterian Church) when it organized in 1881. Beyond his ministerial work building up regional congregations, he was a prolific writer and historian. In 1901, he published Historical Sketches of Pocahontas County, West Virginia, an invaluable volume preserved from interviews with aging pioneers that documented the early lineages, struggles, and settlements of the region.

3. Rev. George P. Moore (1839–1922)

• Denomination: Methodist Episcopal

• Biographical Details: A great-grandson of pioneer Moses Moore, George P. Moore spent 64 years as a central figure in the Edray community. He was a multi-faceted local leader who served as a Methodist minister, bank president, superintendent of local schools, and a general merchant in the historic Barlow & Moore store established in 1867. Appointed postmaster at Edray by President Franklin Pierce in 1858 at just 17 years old, he became one of the longest-serving postmasters in U.S. history. Over his long ministry, he performed a substantial portion of the marriages and funerals in central Pocahontas County.

4. Rev. John Carney (Early 1800s)

• Denomination: Methodist Episcopal

• Biographical Details: John Carney was an influential early circuit rider and itinerant minister who traveled the rugged pathways of the Allegheny Mountains. He is historically credited with being instrumental in establishing some of the earliest formal Methodist classes and societies in Pocahontas County during the first half of the 19th century, laying the structural groundwork for the chapels that emerged along the local turnpikes.

5. Rev. William S. "Billy" Baird (1818–1877)

• Denomination: Methodist Episcopal (South)

• Biographical Details: Born in the region, Baird was a highly active circuit rider who operated throughout the Greenbrier Valley and Pocahontas circuits. Known for his powerful oratorical skills, he preached at a time when formal church buildings were rare, frequently holding services in private pioneer log homes, barns, and outdoor brush arbors. He was crucial in keeping scattered mountain congregations connected during the volatile decades surrounding the Civil War.

6. Rev. John Pinkerton (1811–1871)

• Denomination: Presbyterian

• Biographical Details: Rev. Pinkerton served as the long-term pastor of the historic Oak Grove Presbyterian Church in Hillsboro during the mid-19th century. He guided his congregation through the challenging years of denominational splits and civil strife, working tirelessly to maintain spiritual community and foster education in the Little Levels district.

7. Rev. Mitchell Dunlap (1819–1893)

• Denomination: Methodist

• Biographical Details: A native of the county, Dunlap was a respected local preacher whose ancestry traced back to the first wave of settlers on the frontier. Operating primarily out of the Deer Creek and Greenbank districts, he balanced a life of farming with answering the call to preach at various local schoolhouses and circuit outposts, providing steady spiritual guidance to families across the northern end of the county.

8. Rev. Thomas Biar (Mid-1800s)

• Denomination: Baptist

• Biographical Details: While the early religious history of Pocahontas County was predominantly dominated by Methodist circuits and Presbyterian congregations, Rev. Biar was one of the early Baptist evangelists who traveled into the mountain gaps. He was known for organizing independent missionary Baptist fellowships in small, isolated logging communities along the riverbanks before the arrival of the major railroads.

9. Rev. Joseph Brown (1809–1887)

• Denomination: Presbyterian

• Biographical Details: Rev. Brown was an energetic evangelist who frequently traveled between Bath County, Virginia, and the mountainous expanse of Pocahontas County. He preached regular monthly rotations at Oak Grove and early gathering spaces near Huntersville. He was highly regarded for his focus on youth education and was a driving force behind establishing early Sunday School unions in the county to improve literacy alongside scripture study.

10. Rev. Jesse Walkup (1810–1888)

• Denomination: Presbyterian / Independent

• Biographical Details: Born into an early pioneer lineage in the wider Greenbrier region, Jesse Walkup spent years preaching across the remote hillsides of southern Pocahontas County. He often worked closely with early ruling elders to set up prayer meeting houses. His home was historically noted as a frequent, welcoming refuge for traveling ministers of all Christian denominations, reflecting the cooperative spirit required of frontier ministry.