Ministers and preachers of Township 5: 1870 - 1880: Sylvester Brown Gaskill

In 1870 there were still no black ministers in the post-Emancipation churches of Township 5, Craven County, NC. That is not to say that there were no sermons delivered by black exhorters or preachers, but the occupations of the majority of men in the township were related to an agrarian society.

In 1870, James Walker Hood was living with his wife and three children in Raleigh, NC.

By 1880, however, one black preacher 

emerges in Township 5: 

Sylvester Brown Gaskill. 

1880: Township 5, Craven, NC:
Roll: 959; FHF: 1254959; Page 190B;
Enumeration District 37; Image: 0548.

In 1900 he was enumerated as a Minister in Township 5. By 1910 he was deceased, his family had moved to Beaufort (Carteret County), and his name sake -- the son of David E. and Lessie (Davis) Gaskill -- was born (about January 1910).

One interesting note: after the 1860 Census, no more white Methodist Episcopal Ministers nor Free Baptist Ministers were enumerated in Township 5.

Reconstruction Churches and Social History, Part 2

When I began my focus on the development of the rural religious community of North Harlowe,  North Carolina, I directed my attention to Bishop James Walker Hood.

In August I had emailed Sandy Dwayne Martin, the author of the book, For God and Race, requesting guidance on accessing archival materials of the AME Zion in the light of the closure of the Walls Heritage Center at Livingstone College in Salisbury, NC. Since a bulk of Dr. Martin's research was conducted at the Walls Center, I had hoped that he might be able to share some of his gleanings related the Bishop Dr. Hood's missionary activities in the rural areas of Craven County.

Just last week I received a reply from Dr. Martin, giving me several leads and contacts, for which I am greatly appreciative. However, his personal research

". . . did not focus very much on the communities and churches which Bishop Hood founded or in which he operated."

 So, the three leads he recommended are on the top of my list for this week's correspondence:

1. Hood Theological Seminary in Salisbury, NC;
2. Church School Literature Department of the AMEZ Church; and,
3. Evans Metropolitan AME Zion Church in Fayetteville, NC (Bishop Hood's home church).

Developing parameters for researching family church history

A cousin asked today. . .

Question for you...I was raised in a White Methodist Church...A black Presbyterian Church...and in the Summers I would be at the AME Church with my Grandmother. I did visit the Black Baptist Churches and have visited at least 40 to 50 other churches through campaigning.I know they all have their own church histories. My question to you is...are you looking at all the various types of Black Churches in the Harlowe, Craven County area, and also looking at the Political make-up of each church? 

Good questions! The purpose of my particular research is to reconstruct the greater religious and social atmosphere of the area where my husband's ancestors lived, which acts as a backdrop for the book I am writing. It also allows me to become more sympathetic with specific struggles and victories within the community.

So, to answer the first part of this question:

No, I do not plan to examine all the various types of Black churches in the area. I plan to focus on the older family churches formed by Northern missionary efforts during Reconstruction which have significant impact on our ancestry. 

 Let's take a look at the older family churches found within the Havelock, NC area.

• Piney Grove AME Zion, Temple's Point Road
• Hyman Chapel AME Zion, Highway 101
• Zion Temple AME, Adams Creek
• Green Chapel Missionary Baptist, Hickman Hill Road
• Craven Corner Missionary Baptist Church
• Pilgrim Rest United Church of Christ, U.S. Highway 101
• Purvis Chapel, Craven Street, Beaufort

While there are many other churches in the greater New Bern/Havelock/Beaufort area of Craven County, the above churches have cemeteries which have been recorded on family death certificates, and which have been spoken about by living family members. 

So, the first step in establishing which churches you need to focus your historical research on is to make a list of those recorded in your ancestors' obituaries (church membership) and death certificates (church cemeteries).

To answer the second part of this question: 

My only interest in the church's political involvement came from my readings about  Bishop James Walker Hood, who advocated for equal educational opportunities for Blacks. In 1864, free public education was a new notion; however, most articles in the North Carolina Times, such as the following one, advocated for education of white children:

North Carolina Times, New Berne, Wednesday, Mar. 16, 1864

It appears, however, that the provision "for the moral and religious training of the colored children of North Carolina" came from a combined effort of the Union Army and Northern philanthropy. And years later, Bishop Hood strongly advocated for the education of Blacks.

North Carolina Times, New Berne, Saturday, March 25, 1864

From Bishop Hood to local ministers

In 1867, Bishop Joseph Jackson Clinton offered missionary Hood a position to stay in New Bern; however, he addressed his desire to move on to the eastern and western portions of North Carolina. His short three-year stay  was not what I had expected when I went into this research. He accepted a pastorate at Fayetteville, NC where he he was positioned closer to Raleigh, allowing him greater opportunity for political advancement.

So, after pinpointing his Craven County involvement to a period between 1864-1867, I turned my attention to Hood's sermons from that period.

Was there anything evident in his messages to the Church that would hint of his political and social aspirations for his people in the way that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. had presented?

While waiting for two books of Hood sermons to arrive via InterLibrary Loan (ILL), I turned my attention to the Census between 1850 and 1930. . .

Who were the men noted as ministers in Township 5? What were their affiliations? On what level of the family tree might they have made an impact? And what would tracing their family over time show about their careers? 

Early Stages of Forming a Reconstruction Church & Social History

When I first began my search for histories of the local churches in eastern Craven County, North Carolina I had very little to go on. 

Beginning with the Hezekiah Carter Timeline: 1874-1922, I started filling in the gaps with bits of religious history I came across. According to the online history of Piney Grove AME Zion Church, Rev. James Walker Hood arrived in New Bern, NC on January 20, 1864.

In order to learn more about this period, I first read the book, For God and Race: The Religious and Political Leadership of AMEZ Bishop James Walker Hood, by Sandy Dwayne Martin. The biography divides Hood's life into six parts, starting at 1831 and ending with 1918. 

I focused my attention on Part II: Chapter Two: Hood's Religious Activities in the South, 1864-1872. Martin's attention, however, is fixed on the first two AMEZ churches established in New Bern and Beaufort, NC. No mention is made of visits inland to the forested areas of North Harlowe and Havelock. 

The question remains:

As a missionary, did Hood preach in the rural areas of the county, or did representatives of the community go to the city to hear him preach and then report back to their church family?