MEMORANDA CONCERNING THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN RULING ELDERS OF BETHANY CHURCH

Submitted by Nancy S. Bell

Source: Historical Sketch of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church of Bethany, Lee County, MISS; by the pastor, Rev. Samuel A. Agnew; Louisville, KY; Brewers' Printing House, 80 Fifth Avenue; 1881. (photocopy from Erskine College, Due West, SC.)

THOMAS BRYSON is a son of James and Elizabeth A. (Blakely) Bryson, and was born in Laurens District, South Carolina, April 6, 1807. Married Miss Martha Milam, in 1829; joined the A. R. Church, at Bethel, about 1834; was ordained an elder at Providence in 1846 or 1847; moved to Tippah county, Mississippi, in 1851; was elected elder at the organization of Bethany, June 5, 1852. Mrs. Martha Bryson died August 7, 1857. Thomas Bryson died April 9, 1859, aged fifty-two years and three days.

SAMUEL BRYSON is a son of James and Elizabeth A. (Blakely) Bryson, and was born in Laurens, South Carolina, August 15, 1809. Married Miss Jane Milam, December 5, 1833; joined the A. R. Church, at Providence, when it was organized; moved to Itawamba county, Mississippi, in 1851; was elected and ordained a ruling elder when Bethany was organized, June 5, 1852. Mrs. Jane Bryson died August I, 1857. Mr. Bryson again married Mrs. Margaret A. Crockett, October 25, 1860. He is the senior elder at Bethany.

JOHN KING CROCKETT is a son of Eli and Ann (Morrow) Crockett, and was born in Lancaster, South Carolina, October 27, 1794. Married Miss Rachel Gillespie, in 1817; moved to Fayette county, Tennessee, the spring of 1838, and to Tippah, Mississippi, the fall of 1838; joined the A. R. Church, at Ebenezer, in 1843; moved to Tishomingo county, in 1851; was elected and ordained an elder when Bethany was first organized, June 5, 1852. Mrs. Rachel Crockett died September 12, 1857. Mr. Crockett moved in 1859, to Choctaw, Mississippi, to live with a daughter. He died at the residence of his son, Archibald Crockett, Lafayette county, Mississippi, October 9, 1869, aged seventy-four years, eleven months and twelve days.

MATTHEW HUNTER was born in Laurens, South Carolina, in 1786. Married Miss Mary Nichols, ------; joined the A. R. Church, at Head Springs, at an early day, and was ordained an elder there, probably before 1836; moved to Mississippi, in 1852; was elected an elder at Bethany, July 16, 1853. Mrs. Hunter died December 24, 1855. Mr. Hunter removed to South Carolina, in 1856; died December 31, 1869, aged eighty-three years.

DR. ENOCH AGNEW is a son of Samuel and Malinda (Dodson) Agnew, and was born in Abbeville, South Carolina, October 30, 1808; graduated a Doctor of Medicine at Charleston, South Carolina, in 1829; joined the A. R. Church, at Due West, South Carolina, 1832. Married Miss Letitia S. Todd, daughter of Andrew Todd, of Laurens C. H., South Carolina, November 22, 1832; was one of the first settlers of Due West, South Carolina; moved to Tippah (now Union} county, Mississippi, in 1852; was ordained elder at Bethany, August 5,
1853; was clerk of the session from that time to his death. Died March 2, 1871, aged sixty-two years, three months and two days. Mrs. Agnew died February 28, 1879. Dr. Agnew is the father of the present pastor.

MATTHEW HUNTER BRYSON is a son of Robert and Sarah (Hunter) Bryson, and was born in Laurens, South Carolina, March 29, 1817; moved to Lexington District, and was probably ordained an elder in the A. R. Church there. It is thought that he, at an early day, joined the A. R. Church in Laurens. Married Miss Mahala Pulliam, of Abbeville, November 16, 1840; moved to Oktibbeha county, Mississippi; thence to Tippah county, Mississippi, where Mrs. Bryson died July 10, 1852. He married Miss Emily Bryson March 10, 1853; moved in 1853 to Pontotoc county; was elected an elder at Bethany, April, 1854. Died November 24, 1862, aged forty-four years, seven months and twenty-five days. Mrs. Bryson died January 25,1878.

JAMES WILSON AGNEW is a son of Samuel and Malinda (Dodson) Agnew, and was born in Abbeville, South Carolina, August 13, 1814. Married Miss Elizabeth D. Richey, December 22, 1836; joined the A. R. Church, at Due West, South Carolina, in 1838; merchandised in Due West; removed to Lincoln county, Tennessee, in 1848; was ordained an elder at Prosperity, Lincoln county, Tennessee, in 1849; moved to Tishomingo county, Mississippi, in 1855; elected an elder at Bethany, April, 1856. Died August 10, 1856, aged forty-one years, eleven months and twenty seven days.

JAMES WILEY is a son of Thomas and Margaret (Young) Wiley, and was born in Abbeville, South Carolina, June 25, 1819; removed in childhood to Lincoln county, Tennessee; joined the A. R. Church, at Prosperity, Tennessee, under the ministry of Rev. Henry Bryson, about 1832. Married Miss Mary N. Galloway, July 4, 1839; ordained an elder at Prosperity, in 1849; moved to Tippah county, Mississippi, in 1855; elected elder at Bethany in 1856; removed to Pontotoc county, in 1860, and now is a ruling elder of the Hopewell congregation.

FRANCIS ARMOR YOUNG is a son of Francis and Nancy (Little) Young, and was born in Abbeville, South Carolina, December 7, 1810. He is a brother of Rev. J. L. Young. Married Miss Elvira Caldwell, December 17, 1834; joined the A. R. Church, at Generostee, Anderson, South Carolina, in 1839; was ordained an elder at Generostee in 1842; moved to ltawamba, (now Lee) county, Mississippi, in 1856, and was elected a ruling elder at Bethany, in 1857.

JAMES HUEY WALKUP is a son of David M. and Jane B. (Huey) Walkup, and was born in Union county, North Carolina, March 21, 1823; joined the A. R. Church, at Tirzah, North Carolina, about 1840; moved to Abbeville in 1845; lived in Anderson, 1850-1852; was ordained an elder about 1851, at Generostee Church, by Rev. J. C. Chalmers. Married Miss Margaret T. Ranson, daughter of Wm. Ranson, May 15, 1855; moved to Itawamba, Mississippi, in 1857; elected elder at Bethany, 1857; moved to Yell county, Arkansas, where he still lives near Marvinville, Arkansas.

ELIJAH WILLBANKS is a son of Henry Willbanks, and was born in Pendleton (now Anderson county), South Carolina, in 1802. Married Miss Nancy Pressly in 1824; joined the A. R. Church, at Generostee, in 1826 or 1827; was ordained an elder at Generostee, 1846; moved to Tippah county, Mississippi, in 1858; was elected an elder at Bethany in 1859; moved to Choctaw county, Mississippi, in 1860. Died February 27, 1869, aged sixty-seven years.

WILLIAM BRICE is a son of William and Elizabeth (Phillips) Brice, and was born in Fairfield, South Carolina, February 1, 1802; joined the
Presbyterian Church, near Winnsboro, previous to 1822; soon thereafter joined the A. R. Church, at New Hope. Married Miss M. E. Strong, August 15, 1848, and soon thereafter became a member of Hopewell, Chester, South Carolina; removed to Pontotoc, (now Lee) county, in 1859; was ordained a ruling elder at Bethany, July 24, 1860; withdrew from the A. R. Church, December, 1865; having renewed his connection with the church, he was re-elected elder May 16, 1880.

JOSEPH AGNEW is a son of Samuel and Malinda (Dodson) Agnew, and was born in Abbeville, South Carolina, January 4, 1821. Married Miss M. J. Barmore, January 12, 1843; joined the A. R. Church, at Due West, in 1853; removed to Tippah (now Union) county, Mississippi, in 1854; was ordained an elder at Bethany, July 24, 1860. He has been clerk of the session since April 15, 1871.

THOMAS EBENEZER WATT is a son of John and Sarah (Turner) Watt, and was born in Anderson, South Carolina, August 10, 1835. He joined the A. R. Church, at Bethany, in 1853, his parents having removed to Tippah (now Union) county, Mississippi, in 1847. Married Miss Margaret E. Bryson, January 17, 1861; was ordained an elder at Bethany, July 24, 1860. Died a member of the Thirty-second Mississippi Regiment, of camp fever, at his father-in-law's, Samuel Bryson, July 23, 1862, aged twenty-six years eleven months and thirteen days.

JOHN HADDON is a son of John and Lily Haddon, and was born in Abbeville, South Carolina, October 29, 1817. Married Miss Elizabeth Martin, January 12, 1843; joined the A. R. Church, at Due West, South Carolina, in 1845 or 1846; moved to Tippah county, Mississippi, in 1857; ordained elder at Bethany, July 24, 1860; killed by the fall of a rotten tree stump, January 15, 1868, aged fifty years, two months and sixteen days.

JOHN MAGILL is a son of James and Catharine (McAllister) Magill, and was born in Killwater Parish, Mooredike Townland, near the town of Larne, County Antrim, Ireland, October 31, 1824. Emigrated to South Carolina in 1839. Married Miss Vinecia C. Morrow, July 3, 1845; joined the Presbyterian Church at Lebanon, Abbeville, South Carolina, in 1846; moved to Florida in 1853; thence to Tippah (now Union) county, Mississippi, in 1860; joined the A. R. Church, at Bethany, in 1868; was ordained an elder at Bethany, August 2, 1869.

JOHN MARTIN is a son of James and Mary (Lindsay) Martin, and was born near Due West, in Abbeville District, South Carolina, July 16, 1821. Married Miss Sarah E. Watson, December 24, 1844; moved to Tippah (now Union) county, Mississippi, in 1853; joined the A. R. Church, at Bethany, in 1854; was ordained an elder at Bethany, August 2, 1869.

JOHN BROWN GALLOWAY is a son of Alexander M. and Nancy M. (Wiley) Galloway, and was born in Lincoln county, Tennessee, April 17, 1843. He made a profession of religion at Dalton, Georgia, while in the army, a member of the Thirty-second Mississippi Regiment, in April, 1864; joined the A. R. Church, at Bethany, in October, 1864. Married Miss M. E. McGee, October 9, 1867; was ordained an elder August 2, 1869.