Page 29 - Jefferson County AR 1889 History (Goodspeed)

A HISTORY O F ARKANSAS. +u 4p
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reaching above 300. Their choir is one of the beat known moderator. They have over fifteen chnrches

in the city. They have also a colored mission. in the county, with a membership of probably

The Hebrew Church began the congregation, 2,700. The largest chnrches are St. Paul's, Tay-

Anshe Emeth, at Pine Bluff, with the looation of lor's Chapel. Auburn, Cherry Hill, Hurricane and

Rabbi Aaron Reinacb, thesame year that, thnPres- Lake Side. Their property is estimated at $11,000.

byterians formed (1858). but no organization was The f i s t church organized was S t Paul's, at Pine

'effected until 1860. The few Jews in the city Bluff, in 1860, now the largest in tlle county.
succeeded in building a synagogue during the fol- The African Methodist Episcopal Churches of

lowing y w , and with the improvements since the county were fimt begun at the time that body

made, the edifice, surmounted with oriental min- organized, and are now a part of South Arkansas

areta, reaches a total cost of $20,500. The first Conference, which was organized in 1875, and of

rabbi regularly employed after the organization Pine Blnff district, which embraces twelve circnits,

was Rev. J. Blooh, who took charge of the congre- with a membership of over 1,000, and with pro-

gatiou in 1868, and four yearn later was succeeded perty valued at about $15,000. The largest cir-

by Rev. M. Flengel, of Quincy, Ill. Rev. M. cuits are Swan Lake, Round Lake and Bartholo-

Oreenblatt, of Shreveport, La., followed him in mew, while Pine Bluff station is the most extensive.

I 1876, and his s u m r s have been Dr. Ruben- The Methodist Episcopal Churches (colored)

stein, and h Baker, the present rabbi. The par- are of the Northern branch, and separated from

sonage was erected in 1878, and the society, under the African Methodist Episcopal Churot~. Those

the mccessive presidencies of Messrs. D. Bsch- in Jefferson Connty belong to Little Rock Confer-

affonburg, 0. Meyer, Jacob Bloom, Sr., Joseph ence, which was organized in 1879, and only in-

Altheimer and Charles Weil, bas prospered, and cludes abont a balf clozen appointments in the

,now numbers forty-eight male members. Their connty, of which Pine Blnff is the largeat, with a
choir is one of the best in the State. membership of less than 200, and a brick church

The colored churches have spmng up since the valued at $4,000.

war with a rapidity almost tropical in its lnx- The Colored Methodist Episcopal Church in

uriance. The denominations represented are the America is a recent separationof the colored mem-

Missionary Baptists, Primitive Baptists, African bers of the Southern branch of the Methodist

Methodid Episcopal Church, Methodist Episcopal Chnrch from that body. Comparatively little hm

Chureh,and Colored Methodist Episcopal Ohilrcb in been done so far.

America. The Baptists are offshoots of the white The Young Men's Christian Association of Pine

chnrches, the African is an independently formed Blnff was organized in 1889, and now have a fine

body, while the last two were divisions of the hall in course of erection, which will be equal to

Northern and Southem branches of Methodiata, any in the State, and is the gift of Mr. Joseph

respectively. The Methodid divisions were made I'derrill.

more recently than the Baptists. Other religious and moral movements have been

The Mieaionary Baptist Churches (colored) of much the same here as elsewhere.

the county have sprung up from time to time, The first officors of this county serving from

ever since the first independent organization in 1830 to 1832 were W. P. Hackett, judge; J. T.

1869, and even before the war services were held Pullen, clerk; Creed Taylor, sheriff; Peter Cter-

regdarly, though unorganized. What was known man, coroner; and N. Holland, surveyor. The

as McGuire's church, at PineBlnff, has been in ex- following include all county officers from date of

iatence since before the war. The churches of the organization, with t e r n of servica:

.! county belong to St. Marion Baptist Association, Judges: W. P. Hackett, 1830-82; Samuel C. t
which was organized in 1868, and of which Rev. Roans 1832-33; Creed Taylor, 1833-35; H. Brod-
George Robinson, of Pine Blnff, is an agedand well ford, 1885-36; Greed Taylor, 1836-38; W. H.

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