On
the afternoon of Sept 5, 1886, a group of christians met on the farm of Mr. O.
F. Chamblee in Choctaw Co, northwest of Weir, MS.
These people with letters of
dismissals from other Baptist churches expressed their desire to organize a
Baptist church.
Rev. W. H. H. FANCHER, Rev.
Marcus A. spanGERS, and Rev. J. W. SIMS formed a Presbytery to officiate for the
organization of the new church.
The following persons were
accepted as charter members: Mr. & Mrs. C. A. FRANKS, Mr. & Mrs. H. J.
COBB, Mr. & Mrs. A. W. CHAMBLEE, Mr. John DAVES, Miss Mary DAVES, Mr. &
Mrs. O. F. CHAMBLEE, Mr. N. W. NAIL, Mr. George DAVES and Miss Nannie
DAVES.
Rev. FANCHER read the Articles of Faith and Church Covenant and they were adopted by
the members extending their right hand. Mrs. O. F. CHAMBLEE proposed the name
New Haven for the new church and it was unanimously adopted by motion.
O. F. CHAMBLEE and
Mr. H. J. COBB were ordained as deacons. A young local minister, Rev. J. H. D.
WATSON, was called as pastor. That night a revival began with Rev. FANCHER and
Rev. J. W. SIMS conducting the services.
Regular service dates were
decided to be on the fourth Saturday and Sunday of each month, with the first
regular date being Sunday, Sept 4, 1886.
Mr. A. W. CHAMBLEE was
appointed church clerk protem and in Dec, he was elected church clerk, serving
in this position until 1904.
Mr. N. W. NAILwas also
ordained as a deacon in Dec.
New Haven became a member of
the Louisville Association.
In 1887, Mr. O. F. CCHAMBLEE
and Mr. A. W. CHAMBLEE gave an acre of land for a building and a cemetery. Rev.
E. A. FANT and Rev. W. H. D. WATSON assisted in the revival held in 1887. The
pastor was J. H. D. WATSON and church clerk was Mr. A. W. CHAMBLEE.
In 1888, the paster
was still Rev. J. H. D. WATSON and Mr. A. W. CHAMBLEE remained the church
clerk.
Rev.
C. W. HENSON and Rev. W. H. D. FANCHER assisted in the revival in 1889. Rev. J.
H. D. WATSON was still serving as the pastor of the church and Mr. A. W.
CHAMBLEE remained the church clerk.
On Feb 5, 1890, Mrs. Sam
CAMPBELL and her baby were the first ones buried in the cemetery. The revival
this year was conducted by Rev. E. A. FANT and Rev. C. W. HENSON. Rev. J. H. D.
WATSON remained the pastor and Mr. A. W. CHAMBLEE remained the church
clerk.
1891,
Rev. C. W. HENSON and Rev. M. A. spanGERS conducted the revival services. Rev.
J. H. D. WATSON remained the pastor and Mr. A. W. CHAMBLEE remained church
clerk.
Noted
changes in 1892 were that the church became a part of Chester Association. Rev.
J. H. SARGENT was the pastor and Mr. A. W. CHAMBLEE was church clerk.
There were no noted
changes in 1893; Rev. J. H. SARGENT was pastor and Mr. A. W. CHAMBLEE was church
clerk.
In
January, 1894, the editor of the Baptist layman requested an address of a member
that would receive the paper free and share the news with other members of the
church. Rev. J. H. D. WATSON and Rev. C. W. HENSON assisted in the revival of
1894. Rev. J. L. SARGENT remained pastor and Mr. A. W. CHAMBLEE continued
serving as church clerk.
In 1895, the church
membership had grown from the thirteen charter members to a total of 95 members.
Rev. J. L. WILSON was the pastor for the period of time between Jan. and
Oct. At this time, Rev. J. H. D. WATSON was called as pastor and Mr. A. W.
CHAMBLEE was church clerk.
In 1896 and 1897, Rev. J. H.
D. WATSON continued serving as pastor and Mr. A. W. CHAMBLEE remained church
clerk.
New
deacons, Mr. J. A. FRANKS and Mr. J. A. CCHAMBLEE were ordained in 1898. In Aug,
Rev. C. A. HICKS assisted in a revival. Pastor was still Rev. J. H. D. WATSON
and church clerk was Mr. A. W. CHAMBLEE; both continuing to serve in these
positions through 1899.
In 1900, Rev. J. H. D. WATSON
remained as pastor and Mr. A. W. CHAMBLEE remained as church clerk. Rev. J. L. SARGENT assisted in the revival in 1900.
During the year of 1901, Rev.
J. W. SIMS served as pastor and Mr. A. W. CHAMBLEE continued serving as church
clerk.
1902
and 1903, Rev. J. T. SARGENT served as pastor and church clerk continued to be
Mr. A. W. CHAMBLEE.
In Jan, 1904 Mr. J. A.
CHAMBLEE was elected as church clerk and he would serve in this position until
1937. Rev. J. W. SIMS died in April and in June, Rev. J. H. D. WATSON was
called to serve as pastor for the remainder of the year. In Aug, 1904 a building
fund was started for a new church.
In 1905, plans were made for
the new church building. Mr. & Mrs. J. A. CHAMBLEE signed the deed for three
acres, which included the original one acre. The plot was in the SE corner of
Sect 32, Township 18, Range 9 E. The north line is 4 rods north of the present
building, the three acres extends 32 rods south of this line; 15 rods wide from
section line to the west. Rev. J. L. SARGENT assisted in the revival this year.
Rev. J. H. D. WATSON continued as pastor and J. A. CHAMBLEE continued as church
clerk.
Membership in 1906 has increased to 137. The revival was conducted by Rev. R. A. EDDLEMAN and Rev. Walter SARGENT. Rev. J. T. SARGENT continues as pastor and Mr.
J. A. CHAMBLEE as church clerk.
The revival of 1907 saw the
greatest revival in the history of the church. There was an addition of 81 new
members, 62 by profession of faith and 19 by letter and restoration. Rev. R. A. EDDLEMAN remained pastor and Mr. J. A. CHAMBLEE remained church clerk.