Washington Roebling (1837-1926): Man and Myth “The Traveling Church” - a Brief History
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Bulletin of the Kenton County Historical Society Website: www.kentoncountyhistoricalsociety.org Email: [email protected] P.O. Box 641, Covington, Kentucky 41012-0641 (859) 491-4003 November / December 2014 “The Traveling Church” — A Brief History Two Sides of Local Pioneer, Jacob Fowler Washington Roebling (1837-1926): Man and Myth “The Traveling Church” - A Brief History Robert D. Webster The history of the Baptist movement in the The two main directors of the group were state of Kentucky, and that same region even before Rev. Lewis Craig and Captain William Ellis. Craig statehood, is a story of epic bravery, determination served as the religious leader of the expedition, while and devotion. While these pioneer preachers entered Ellis was chosen as the military commander. what is now Northern Kentucky with their families as early as 1783, the overall movement to present-day Captain William Ellis was an experienced Kentucky began several years earlier. officer in the Continental Army and well respected in the area. He and Peter Durrett, the slave of neighbor In 1775, a few of the earliest explorers to Joseph Craig, formed a working relationship and the enter what is now Kentucky were believers of the two men explored into Central Kentucky on several Baptist faith. While none settled in the new territory occasions between 1775 and 1780. In 1778, Ellis at that time, they were among the men who reported and Durrett accompanied Col. John Grant and his back the tremendous opportunities and beautiful party as they established one of the earliest outposts landscape and resources in what would become the in the wilds of Kentucky. Grant’s Station was located nation’s fifteenth state in 1792. between Bryan Station and Lexington, but with con- stant Indian raids there, the Grant party returned to In 1779, Virginians John Taylor, Joseph Virginia temporarily, before later helping to establish Reading, and Lewis Lundsford visited the region, but what became Grant’s Lick in present-day Campbell also returned to Virginia. County. Clearly, when organizers of The Traveling Church were looking for an experienced military-type In September 1781, however, an incredible man to escort them into the Kentucky wilderness, event took place in the area around Spotsylvania Ellis and his slave companion prove the perfect County, Virginia, that would have a great impact on selection. Kentucky’s early settlement. A group of Baptists nearly 300 strong, including at least a dozen preach- The Craig Family was not only prominent in ers, left churches such as Upper and Lower Spotsylva- Virginia, but would soon be well-known throughout nia, Blue Rock, County Line, Nottaway, Wilderness all of Kentucky. The patriarch, Taliaferro “Toliver” and others, on a journey into the new Kentucky. Craig, Sr. (1704-1795), was a famed frontiersman Indeed, these congregations migrated in one body to and militia officer in Virginia. He married Mary the new frontier. Hawkins in 1730 and the couple settled at Spotsylva- nia County, Virginia, where they had 11 children: Well-organized, these men, women, children, Toliver, Jr., John, Jossie, Lewis, Elijah, Joseph, Jane, slaves, pack horses, cattle, and loaded wagons formed Sarah, Benjamin, Elisabeth, and Jeremiah. Like a convoy several miles long as they passed through many in the region, the Craig family became early the Cumberland Gap and into Central Kentucky. In converts to the Baptist religion. However, in the a movement known as “The Traveling Church,” these 1760s, Lewis was jailed in Fredericksburg, along with pioneer families left the safety and tranquility of colo- many other locals, for preaching without a license. nial Virginia and risked everything they had, includ- This, of course, was one of the main reasons The ing their lives, relocating to Kentucky with the pur- Traveling Church was organized. Brothers Lewis, pose of establishing Baptist churches and spreading Elijah, and Joseph Craig, along with William Cave, a the gospel west of the Allegheny and Appalachian relative of the Craig family, are arguably the reason Mountain range. for the incredible success of the coalition. 2 During the famous migration, Elijah Craig Church was soon organized there by Elijah, his fa- stayed in Virginia temporarily, working on the issue ther, and several others. Elijah soon bought 1,000 of religious freedom with James Madison. He joined acres of land there and laid out the town. He oper- the rest of his family in about 1785. Early historians ated the first grist mill, the first filling mill, the first believe Madison was influenced by the preaching of rope works, and the first paper mill in Kentucky. jailed Baptist ministers such as Elijah and his broth- Elijah became a man of great wealth, with 1,500 acres ers, and that those memories shaped the language at his farm overlooking all of Georgetown. about freedom of religion that he inserted into the Bill of Rights and Constitution. Other leaders of The Traveling Church in- clude many names now famous in Kentucky’s early The Traveling Church came first to the Dix history. Ambrose Dudley was one of the first preach- River area of present-day Lincoln and Garrard Coun- ers at Bryan Station, and then founded David’s Fork ties, where Rev. Lewis Craig established Craig’s Sta- Baptist Church nearby. His son, Thomas P. Dudley, tion. In December, 1781, with Lewis Craig preach- is regarded as the most distinguished of the Baptist ing, the group held their first organized religious preachers of Kentucky. He later settled at Winches- services in Kentucky. Nearby, they founded Gilbert’s ter, Clark County. William E. Waller was the minis- Creek Church, situated about three miles south of ter at County Line Church in Virginia. His son, present-day Lancaster. In a short time, various mem- John Waller removed to Northern Kentucky soon bers and sub-groups dispersed, eventually establishing after coming to Kentucky. He helped build the block- both settlements and churches throughout the state, house at Maysville in 1784, and then proceeded to especially in Central and Northern Kentucky. settle present-day Falmouth, in Pendleton County. Joseph Bledsoe was the preacher at Wilderness In 1783, Rev. Lewis Craig established a Church in Virginia and replaced Lewis Craig when new church at Elkhorn Creek. He remained there he left Gilbert’s Creek Church to found the church nine years before moving his family to Mason County at Elkhorn Creek. Joseph’s son, James, was an early near Dover, and in 1793 the Old Bracken Church at senator from Kentucky. Minerva was formed. He not only served as the first pastor, but is considered the father of the Bracken John Suggett, Sr. (1751-1834), the son of Baptist Association. Lewis Craig traveled throughout James and Jemima Spence, married Mildred Davis the new state helping his group organize churches in in Virginia. His sister, Jemima Suggett, married Col. every corner of the Commonwealth. He died in Robert “Robin” Johnson, patriarch of still another Bracken County in 1825. family famous in pioneer Kentucky. The Suggetts are listed among the brave souls who defended the In 1790, Peter Durrett and his wife united fort at Bryan Station from the infamous Indian their followers into the First African Church, later attack. Robert and Jemima Johnson later founded the First African Baptist Church in Lexington. It is what became Warsaw, Gallatin County. They were the oldest black Baptist Church in Kentucky and the parents to Richard M. Johnson, future vice-president third oldest in the United States. of the United States. Col. “Robin” Johnson was the son of William Johnson and Elizabeth Cave Johnson, Benjamin Craig and his family soon settled and the Cave family is also extremely well known in at McCoull’s Bottoms (now Ghent) in present-day the early history of Northern Kentucky. Elizabeth Carroll County. The brick home he built there was Cave was the daughter of Benjamin Cave and Han- among the very first of that type ever built in the new nah Bledsoe. The Cave family, too, were among the Kentucky. When brother Elijah Craig came to Ken- defenders at Bryan Station. tucky, he established a settlement in present-day Scott County he named Lebanon, but that village name In 1794, William Cave and his family, along was later changed to “George Town” in honor of the with John Taylor, Absalom Graves, Joseph Reading nation’s first president. Great Crossing Baptist and a few others, migrated into Northern Kentucky 3 from the Lexington area. There, they founded the southeast of Bullittsburg – established by 77 original Bullittsburg Baptist Church in present-day Boone members mostly from Bullittsburg; Bethel Baptist County. By 1812, more than 150 people had been Church (1812), organized with the help of Presley baptized there. Among the more prominent names Peak, Asa Peak, Elijah Anderson, and Corelius include: Jameison Hawkins, James Cloud, William McLaughlin, near Union, Boone County; Mud Cave, Jr., George Gaines, Christopher Wilson, Lick Baptist Church (1804), located near what is Lewis Conner, William Montague, Abraham Depew, now US 42 and Route 338; Big Bone Baptist Church; Beverly Ward, John Ryle, Moses Scott, Uriel Sebree, Forks of Gunpowder Baptist Church (1812); East William Brady, Thomas Allen, James Ryle, Daniel Bend Church (1798), about five miles south of Mosby, Joseph Graves, James Graves, and Elijah Rabbit Hash; West Creek Baptist Church (1808) Hogan. At the height of its membership in the near the Licking River in today’s Bracken County; mid 1800s, the congregation was over 500 strong, Flag Spring Baptist Church (1833); Alexandria Bap- both white and black. tist Church (1820), organized with the help of mem- bers of Licking Baptist Church, with the Stevens and In 1803, the North Bend Baptist Association Gosney families; Oak Ridge Baptist (1844) founded was created during a meeting at Dry Run Baptist at the home of John Lipscomb, located along De- Church, in what is now Kenton County, Kentucky.