Old Cane Spring Baptist Church Records, 1803-1995 | Eastern Kentucky University - Special Collections and Archives

By Jackie Couture

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Collection Overview

Title: Old Cane Spring Baptist Church Records, 1803-1995

Primary Creator: Old Cane Spring Baptist Church (1803-1996)

Extent: 0.88 Cubic Feet

Date Acquired: 11/01/1996

Subjects: Church history., Kentucky--Church history., Madison County (Ky.)--Church history., Religion.

Languages: English

Scope and Contents of the Materials

Old Cane Spring Baptist Church Records include four volumes of church records covering the years 1803 to 1992. The volume covering the years 1873 - 1896 is missing. The records include membership lists, monthly minutes and news clippings. The membership lists indicate that a member was deceased, dismissed or excluded and when and how they were accepted into the church. The minutes include changes in pastor, repairs to the building and conflicts between members and the church. The pulpit Bible has been annotated with dates that certain passages were used in the sermon. The records give insight into religious life in the 19th and 20th centuries and show the changes in the church during that time period.

Collection Historical Note

The Baptist Church of Christ Cane Springs Meeting House was founded 24 Aug 1803 in the northeastern part of Madison County on the waters of Muddy Creek. Reverend James Quisenberry and James Haggard were the first preachers and there were 39 members at the first meeting. The church affiliated itself with various Baptist sects throughout its history. Until the 1850s the church is referred to as the United Baptist Church of Christ of Cane Spring or Cane Spring Church of Christ. Beginning in 1854 the name changed to Predestinarian Baptist Church of Christ at Cane Spring. This name was used until 1868 when "Predestinarian" was dropped from the name. About this same time "Old" was added to the name. It wasn't until 1931 that the church was referred to as the Primitive Baptist Church at Old Cane Spring.

The brick two door meeting house was build in 1812-13 and is the oldest standing church building in the county. The church was quite active in its early years and in 1812 added 101 new members. Typical of early churches the deacons were very strict and members were excluded for reasons such as "the sin of drunkenness," "taking the United States money and refusing to bear arms," "playing the thimble," and "swearing an oath without being legally called on." The church membership dwindled after 1900, and by 1955 Jonathan Truman Dorris, in his book Glimpses of Historic Madison County, stated that the church was not on the active list. In 1996 the church had only 4 active members and officially closed its doors.

The pastors of the church were David Chenault, 1806 - 1840; W.S. Hickey, 1840 - 1847; G.W. Thomson, 1851 - 1586; William Rupard, 1856 - 1904; William H. Crouse, 1905 - 1907; J. Marshall Thomas, 1907 - 1911; James J. Gilbert, 1911 - 1923; W.L. Cash, 1923 - 1933; J.H. Keaton, 1933 - 1961; Claude Osborne, 1961 - 1969; T.W. Osborne, 1969 - 1976; Sam Spicer, 1976 - 1992.

Subject/Index Terms

Church history.
Kentucky--Church history.
Madison County (Ky.)--Church history.
Religion.

Administrative Information

Repository: Eastern Kentucky University - Special Collections and Archives

Acquisition Source: Riddell, Donnie

Acquisition Method: A permanent loan from Donnie Riddell, the pastor of the church.

Original/Copies Note: There is a bound photocopy of the minute books in the Reading Room.

Box and Folder Listing

Browse by Box:

[Box 1],
[Box 2],
[Item 1: Painting of Old Cane Spring Church, 2000],
[All]

Box 1

Barcode: 31234014110942

Folder 1: Minute Book 1, 1803-1841: One volume containing one membership list, minutes, the Constitution and Church Covenant, the Rules of Decorum, and the Constitution Terms of Union created in 1832.
Folder 2: Minute Book 1 Typescript, 1803-1841
Folder 3: Minute Book 2, 1830-1873: One volume containing Rules of Decorum, membership lists, and church minutes.
Folder 4: Minute Book 4, 1896-1959: One volume containing membership lists, minutes and Rules of Decorum. August 24 and 25, 1903 was the centennial meeting of the church and there is a brief history of pastors on that date. In the 1950s the minutes were not recorded each month and there is a large gap between 1953 and 1958 where no minutes were recorded.
Folder 5: Minute Book 5, 1959-1992: One volume containing church minutes and obituaries of members taped in the front and back pages of the volume.
Folder 6: Loose papers, 1879-1995: Loose papers found in the bound volumes include a partial membership roster from the missing volume 3, loose minutes, letters of dismissal, news clippings about Old Cane Spring Church, and obituaries that had come loose from volume five.
Folder 7: Minute Book 6, 1993-1996: This volume closes with the meeting that dissolves the church.

Box 2

Barcode: 31234014110926

Folder 1: Pulpit Bible, 1871: Includes some dates that seem to indicate that those passages were used for sermons.
Folder 2: Thank-You Cards: Sympathy thank-you cards found in the pulpit Bible.

Item 1: Painting of Old Cane Spring Church, 2000

Painted by Elaine Highley.