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- As our
pioneer ancestors pushed westward, one of their greatest concerns was
the establishments of religious services and finding a way to fulfill
their spiritual needs.
- For
the first decade or so in each new settle the only religious services
were occasional gatherings in the homes with preaching by a traveling
preacher who chanced along. Often they were hard pressed for a man of
the cloth to conduct marriage ceremonies, funeral rites or baptisms.
Dedicated
zealous men arose to meet these needs...men who rode innumerable miles
on horseback, fording rivers and braving Indians to bring comfort in
time of trouble and to help the scattered settlements keep in touch
with the world. These early preachers' Bibles in their saddle bags,
have a special place in religious history.
To
write the history of the Methodist Church in Cherokee County, one has
to go back to the circuit riders. The Methodist church was the first
denomination to make use of these roving preachers on the frontier. The
circuit riders have been described as dedicated, zealous men who rode
innumerable miles on horseback, fording creeks and rivers and braving
Indians and the wilderness, to bring comfort to pioneers in time of
trouble and to advance the work of the church in the new west.
Reverend David R. Stanford - Circuit Riding Preacher Was Early Settler
O. S. Wight - Circuit Rider Preacher
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