Yalobusha Baptist Association Minutes
1850s

1850-1852

No minutes are available for these meetings.

The 1853 Associational Meeting was with Rehoboth church on September 24-27.

Officers were: J. G. Hall, Moderator; Hillary Talbert, clerk; Lewis Aldridge, treasurer.

Rehoboth church was in Yalobusha County.

Some statistics are missing, but the following churches seem to have been represented: New Hope, Pleasant Grove, Shiloh, Mt. Pisgah, Liberty, Preston, Turkey Creek, Good Hope, Ascalmore, Concord, Grenada, Rehoboth, Pleasant Prospect, Spring Creek, Providence, Cypress Creek, Duck Hill, Mt. Paran, Mt. Arrarat, Spring Hill. No delegates were named.

A noteworthy resolution was that authorizing the treasurer to give a receipt for the amount of $200.00 to the son and executor of the estate of John Poitevant, deceased. Mr. Poitevant, a member of Grenada Baptist Church, had left in his will $100.00 to the Association for Foreign Missions and $100.00 to Home Missions.

Trustees for the Yalobusha Baptist Female Institute were elected.

Reports emphasized the need of continued religious instruction for negroes. The suggestion was made that separate preaching services be held for white and colored. Some objections had arisen, apparently from non slave owners, to appropriating funds for a preacher for the colored. The objectors held that the slave owners should pay for this ministry to their slaves. All agreed, however, to the need for it. Missions to the Indians, some of whom were still in the area, were stressed.

At this meeting $50.00 were appropriated to sustain preaching at Charleston by the Rev. H. B. Hayward. Forty dollars were given the Greenwood Church to sustain preaching there by the Rev. J. G. Hall.

Churches of the Association gave the following amounts:
Foreign Missions $110.55; Indian Missions $103.65; Domestic

Missions $597.36; Ministerial Education $433.67; Bible Cause $30.9S; Printing Minutes $56.89.

No mention is made of the number of baptisms or members.

1854-1855

No minutes are available for these years.

The 1856 Associational Meeting was with Pleasant Grove church on September 26-29.

This church was located in what was then Yalobusha County. It is now Grenada County.

Pittsboro Church was admitted to membership.

AsSunday School in every church was first proposed at this meeting. A resolution passed to send all money on hand for Indian Missions to the Board at Marion, Alabama.

Trustees for Yalobusha Baptist Female Institute were elected.
Statistics: 23 churches; 1533 members; 84 baptisms.

The 1857 Associational Meeting was with Preston church on September 25-28.

Officers were: Elder W. B. Hayward, moderator; A.J. Holcombe, clerk; Lewis Aldridge, treasurer.

Elbethel (Paris) church was granted a letter of dismissal to join the Panola Association.

A resolution on the Mississippi Baptist, a paper published at Jackson, Mississippi, was passed though the content of the resolution was not given.

Trustees for Yalobusha Baptist Female Institute were elected.

The following churches were in the Association this year: Ascalmore, Duck Hill, Fellowship, Hopewell, Grenada, Liberty, Mt. Paran, Mt. Arrarat, Pleasant Prospect, New Hope, Preston, Rehoboth, Shiloh, Spring Creek, Spring Hill, Turkey Creek, Pittsboro, Mt. Vernon, Pleasant Grove, and Enon.

Statistics: 20 churches; lS25 members; 59 baptisms. Mt. Paren (now Hardy) had the largest membership with 170. Spring Hill the second largest with 160.

The 1858 Associational Meeting was with Spring Hill church on September 24-27.

Officers were: Elder Matthew Lyon, moderator; G .W. Aldridge, clerk; L. Aldridge, treasurer.

An Executive Board was mentioned for the first time and its membership given as follows: A. G. Boon, Moses Granberry, B. H. Hardy, H. B. Hayward, J. Griffis and John Roach.

A letter from Concord church asking re-admission to the Association was read. This request was granted and members received the right hand of fellowship from the other brethren.

Spring Creek church raised the following question at this meeting: "Do the scriptures justify a marriage the second time after a divorce, during the life of the husband or wife?" The question was referred to a special committee consisting of Elders J .G. Hall and H. B. Hayward. This committee reported the next day as follows: "Resolved, that we believe the Word of God to be the only rule of faith and practice for churches and that whosoever shall put away his wife except for fornication and shall marry another, committeth adultry, and whosoever marrieth her that is put away doth commit adultry. We further believe that our churches should not retain in their fellowship those who violate this gospel precept." This resolution was adopted by a vote of 23 to 1.

Sunday Schools in the churches were urged in a committee report. And a committee was appointed to attend the Southern Sunday School Conference in Memphis on Friday before the second Sunday in the following November.

Trustees for Yalobusha Baptist Female Institute were elected.

Statistics: 21 churches; 16" members; 170 baptiasms- Preston had the largest membership 211. Mt. Paran was next with 157. Preston had baptized 96 and Grenada 28.

The 1859 Associational Meeting was with New Hope church on September 23-26.

Officers were: Elder H. B. Hayward, moderator; E. J. Bullock, clerk; Lewis Aldridge, treasurer.

Delegates were appointed to a meeting in Oxford on Friday before the first Sabbath in the following November. The purpose of this meeting was to form a General Association for North Mississippi. Those appointed were Moses Granberry, J. G. Hall, A. C. Caperton, H. B. Hayward, G. Woodruff, B. Dogan, Thomas Gooch, Joshua Jones, G.C. Granberry, A.J. Holcombe, H. Bay, J. Boon, James H. Leigh. William Roane, W. B. Gentry, C. C. Campbell, W. T. Hardy, G. W. Williamson, Wm. Minter, L. Aldridge, W. C. Eggleston, J. C. Stokes, W. C. Boyle, D. Diltz.

Trustees for Yalobusha Baptist Female Institute were elected and a report on that institution was read by its secretary, G. W. Aldridge.

An obituary on Lemuel H. Sanderson was read. He was born in 1808 in Currituck County, N.C., and died in 1859 in Yalobusha Association territory. The place is not given. He was a missionary for the Association.

Statistics: 20 churches; 104 baptisms. Preston had the largest membership, 207. Mt. Paran was second with 154. Preston had the largest number of baptisms, 46. Elder H. B. Hayward was pastor there and his ministry was very fruitful.

Mt. Pisgah church presented a letter of dismisal from the Yazoo Association and asked to be admitted to this one. It was received.

Rules of Decorum were read and adopted. They were printed in the minutes of this session and are as follows:

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