Chapter 3
The Churches
General Baptist Connections at Chalybeate-----Chalybeate Springs Methodist Episcopal Church-----Cemetery Stone in
Chalybeate Springs Methodist Church Cemetery for Rev. James M. McIntyre, Green
River and Henderson Circuit, Green River District, Kentucky Conference,
Methodist Episcopal Church-----Pentecostal Services
General Baptist Connections at Chalybeate
According to Paul Sigler in Oklahoma the Siglers were Baptists in Virginia,
North Carolina and Robertson County, Tennessee. The General Baptist denomination
originated as the Liberty Association in southern Indiana. The Liberty
Association organized and established the Union Association in the Tradewater
region of western Kentucky. Jacob Holeman is listed as the leader of the Union
Association in the history of the Liberty Association, excerpts of which have
been provided to me by Mamie Tate.
Jacob Holeman and Caswell Mason are credited
with establishing the Enon Baptist Church on the Crittenden County and Caldwell
County line. Dr. Ishmael Oakley has stated that Amos Mansfield Sigler was a
Baptist minister in the Shady Grove area on the same county line. Both Caswell
Mason and Amos Sigler married sisters of Jacob Holeman.
Amos Sigler has at least
three children, three grandchildren, and one great grand child buried in the
cemetery at Chalybeate. Jacob Holeman has at least one son and a grandchild buried in
the cemetery at Chalybeate. One of Caswell Mason's sons buried his first
wife in the Cemetery at Chalybeate.
Chalybeate Springs Methodist Episcopal Church
In 1786, the Methodist Church in America sent two missionaries to Kentucky
and established the Kentucky Circuit. A few years later they divided that
circuit into the Kentucky Circuit and the Cumberland Circuit. In 1796, the
church established the Western Conference which included almost everything west
of the Appalachian Mountains. In 1812, Kentucky was divided between the
new Ohio Conference east of the Salt River and the Tennessee Conference west of
the Salt River. In 1820, the Kentucky Conference was established and
included all of Kentucky. During the period of 1844 -1846, the group of
Methodists who supported slavery split away from the Methodist Episcopal Church
and formed the Methodist Episcopal Church - South. The Kentucky Conference
became a part of the Methodist Episcopal Church - South. A group of
Methodists from Kentucky attended the 1848 General Conference of the Methodist
Episcopal Church and indicated that they did not want to be a part of the
Methodist Episcopal Church - South and the Methodist Episcopal Church decided
that the provisions of the Plan of Separation were not binding.
"Following 1848 the Methodist Episcopal Church felt free to organize
congregations in Kentucky wherever a constituency could be found. These
congregations were made charges of the Ohio Conference until the Kentucky
Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church was organized in 1853."
In 1939, the two groups....North and South...came together in Kansas City to
form The Methodist Church. The information used in this paragraph is from Methodism
in Kentucky, Roy Hunter Short, One of the Bishops of the United Methodist
Church, published by The Commissions on Archives and History of the Kentucky and
Louisville Conferences, The United Methodist Church, Academy Books, Rutland.
It has been determined that Chalybeate Springs Methodist Episcopal Church was
a part of the Green
River and Henderson Circuit, Green River District, Kentucky Conference,
Methodist Episcopal Church.
The words of the deed for the Chalybeate Springs
meeting house lot state:
"for the use of the ministry and membership of the Methodist Episcopal Church
in the United States of America"
A
stone in the cemetery reads "Rev. J. M. McIntyre, Ky Conference M. E.
Church. Born 7 Nov 1834. He died at his post 12 Apr 1864. This stone is a tribute of
affection erected by the Ky Conference M. E. Church." The original
stone also had the following " Pritchell &
Wills, Madisonville Ky." However, the bottom of the stone has been
broken and those words are no longer on the stone. photo
Correspondence from the archivists of the Indiana Conferences of the
United Methodist Church at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, have
provided the following information : "When he died on April, 12,
1864, James McIntyre was assigned to the Green River and Henderson Circuit of
the Kentucky Conference. He was on trial, serving his second appointment
for the conference, and not yet ordained, which explains why we could find no
obituary for him." The Green River and Henderson Circuit was a part
of the Green River District with I. F. Harrison serving as P. E. There
were three churches, one parsonage, and 212 members in the circuit in 1864
and it was the largest circuit in the district. The documentation which has been provided for this
information is page 6 of the minutes of the Kentucky Conference which was held
in Augusta, Kentucky, on February 25-29, 1864, with Bishop Matthew Simpson
presiding. Correspondence from the archivists of the Kentucky Conferences
of the United Methodist Church at Kentucky at Kentucky Wesleyan College in
Owensboro, Kentucky, have provided information that M. Simpson was the bishop of
the Kentucky Conference M. E. Church (North) in 1864.
A special "thank you" is extended to John R. Riggs,
Linda Butler, and William E. Bartelt of the Indiana Conferences of the United
Methodist Church and Richard A. Weiss and Becky Rightmyer of the Kentucky
Conferences of the United Methodist Church.
The word South is not mentioned on the deed or on the memorial marker. If Chalybeate had
been affiliated with the Methodist Episcopal - South in 1877, that word would
have been included on the deed and the marker to indicate that relationship. Once again,
the community stood alone and was surrounded by the mainstream church in the
region. By the time that the north and south groups came back together in
1939, the Chalybeate Springs Community had ceased to exist. However,
the ownership of the meeting house lot should still be with the current day United
Methodist Church and should have followed the organizational and administrative
changes. That should make the Kentucky
Conference of the United Methodist Church the owner of the property.
After Jacob and Malinda died, their children deeded one acre of land which
included the meeting house lot to the trustees of the Chalybeate Methodist
Episcopal Church. (Webster County,
Kentucky, Deed Book 12, pages 10 and 11) A copy of the original deed has
been given to me by John and Ada Sigler. I have copied the words of the deed
below. Click on the word "deed" to be taken to the deed. A
pole is a surveyor's measure and is equal to 16.5 feet. The acre is
described as 20 poles by 8 or 10 poles (330 feet by 132 feet or 165 feet) and is
similar to the dimensions and shape of a football field. However, the dimensions of the parcel of land on this deed
are approximate. They are stated in terms of "about" and
"more or less". The current boundaries of the cemetery and
meeting house lot are enclosed by
a fence on three sides and the county public road right
of way on the fourth (north) side. The property is basically a rectangle
with its long axis almost exactly north northeast. The approximate lengths
of the sides are 251 feet (south), 445 feet (east), 475 feet (west) and 242 feet
(north). The north boundary deviates from the rectangular pattern because it
follows the route of the old public road. The approximate area of the
currently known cemetery and meeting house lot should be somewhere around 2.64
acres. However, the cemetery and church property has not been surveyed by a
licensed surveyor and this description is not intended for legal purposes.
This survey was done by an Eagle Scout with a compass, a 300 foot tape measure
and a 100 foot tape measure. The date of the survey was December 15, 2001.
The cemetery is on the southern two-thirds of the property. The county
maintains an access road to the northeast corner of the property.
The deed
states that the acre is to be used as a place of Divine Worship for the use of
the ministry and membership of the Methodist Episcopal Church in the United
States of America. It also mentions the General Conference and the Annual
Conference within whose bounds the acre is located.
The current day United Methodist Church should have information about the
existence of the Chalybeate Springs Methodist Episcopal Church. As a
minimum, it should have records which indicate the names of the pastors assigned
to the church or the circuit of which it was a part. The main questions
with regard to this issue remains "Where were the records of the Kentucky
Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church maintained during the period from
1844 to 1939 and where are they archived today?"
Pentecostal Services
During the second quarter of the 1900's a local community group held services
at Chalybeate. The group was Pentecostal. Local resident Cletus
Woodring attended
religious services there as a young child and through his high school
high school years.
