The History of Inanda Baptist Church, Asheville, North Carolina / Compiled
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EST. 1884 COMPILED BY: LISA H. DEBRUHL COMPILED BY: LISA H. DEBRUHL COVER: The picture on the cover came from a bookmark. Rev. Bobby Smith had the privilege to visit the Holy Lands in the Spring of 1999. He brought back each member one of these bookmarks. The cross is made of Olive Wood from Gethsemane and the pressed flowers are from the Holy Land. The History Of Inanda Baptist Chruch Asheville, North Carolina Complied By: Lisa Honeycutt DeBruhl ©2000 To Order Copies Of This Book Please Contact: LisaH. DeBruhl 639 Brevard Road Asheville, NC 28806 Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2014 https://archive.org/details/historyofinandabOOdebr Contents Our Inanda 1 Timeline 2 Deeds 3 Community Maps 28 Map of South Africa 29 The Lindley Family 30 Lindley Home 32 Newspaper Articles 37 Photographs 39 Precious Memories 47 Cemetery Inscriptions 52 Cemetery Map 63 Membership Roll 64 1940 Minutes 90 1950 Minutes 118 1960 Minutes 134 1970 Minutes 145 1980 Minutes 157 1990 Minutes 166 Contributors 171 Resources 172 Index 173 Our Inanda Our story begins on December 24, 1884, this is the date when Inanda was established and dedicated to the Lord. The first pastor was Rev. William Springs. The first deacons were George W. Ballard, J. B. Ingle and J. H. Davis. Mr. Rufus Miller was the first Sunday School Superintendent and Church Clerk. As you read through these pages you will notice that J. B. Ingle and the Ingle family played a major role in the growth of the church. The beginning of our church has yet to reveal itself, and the meaning of Inanda has been found in South Africa. After several months of research I finally found the meaning of this word with the help of a few people in South Africa. It seems that there is a mountain named Nanda Mountain that is located in India. But in South Africa it is a Tributary of the Mgeni River, north-west of Durban. It takes its name from the Nanda Mountain. Of Zulu origin, the name means "equally extending', referring to the flat-topped nature of the mountain. In the Europeanized form 'Inanda' it has been applied to a mission station, area and other places in South Africa. After reading the meaning I pondered where did the people come up with a word that comes from so far away. After asking more questions and researching farther, the answer was found in a book that was written about the Historical Facts of Buncombe County in 1935. Mr. Landon K. Fender had remembered reading this and was the one who told me about this book. It all started with a woman by the name of Mrs. Clarence G. Mitchell that actually named the community Inanda. There is a section in this book that tells more about the Lindley family. The following is found about how the name Inanda found it's way to our mountains. Lindley Training School, as it was first known was built by Mrs. Clarence G. Mitchell, of New York in 1890 as a memorial to Dr. Lindley, her Father a missionary who spent the greater part of his life in South Africa. The site on Brevard Road, some three miles south of West Asheville named Inanda, after the South African town of Inanda where Dr. Lindley resided. What we do know about our church is that it was established in 1884, and this date is recorded at the Buncombe Baptist Association. Through the years a story as been told that there was a woman that would hold Sunday School underneath the Oak trees that stood at the edge of the road. And she was the one who started the church. No proof has yet been found if this story is true or who the woman was, however, Mrs. Christine Miller feels that if this story if found to be true, this woman could have been her grandmother (see precious memories). 1 I have been unable to find any church records or membership rolls for the beginning years of the church. I assume that when the church burned in 1935 all the records were destroyed in the fire. Being that it took the members several years to rebuild the church my guess is that they didn't start recording the minutes until 1940. However, someone did take the time to write down the information that is in the first paragraph. It is only a single sheet of paper and there are no other details. As mentioned before the church minutes start at the year of 1 940, but some of the details between 1884 and 1940 have been pieced together through deeds, memories, newspaper articles and general history about Buncombe County. The more important details that we know about our church are included in the book. We have chosen not to include the Budget Reports for the later years. However, a few from the 1940's are included. It is interesting to see the costs of items then. All names in minutes have been typed in bold print to better enable readers to find particular individuals, an ancestor, family member or perhaps themselves. Also, there is a list of members that have once passed or are still passing through our church doors. It is through God and the dedication of these people that our little church has survived through the years and grown into what we are today. Also, in the membership list please note that the original date of membership is the only one listed. Several members have left the church and later returned. In order to save space the other dates have been omitted. It should also be mentioned that in the cemetery records we are still unsure of how many people are buried in unmarked graves. The people that died from 1884 until 1913 are still unknown. It wasn't a requirement until 1913 that a death certificate had to be on file at the County Courthouse, in the county which the person died. With the help of Mrs. Helen Ingle Alexander, granddaughter of J. B. Ingle, we know that the first person buried at Inanda was Tinty V., infant son of J. B. Ingle that was born March 5, 1882 and died on April 9, 1882. So this tells us that the land was used for a burial ground before the church was built. Also, you will notice that the individuals in the cemetery section are numbered, these numbers coincide with the numbers on the cemetery map to help you better locate a particular grave in the cemetery. However, I have numbered the individuals that was found in the courthouse records, those numbers are recorded after the persons name { }. They are not Identified on the map, they are only numbered to enable us to keep track of just how many persons are buried in unmarked graves. We don't know what the original church looked like and I have been unable to find a picture of it. We do have pictures of the second church. Over the years the building as taken on new looks and additions. Included in this book are pictures from different time periods of the church. 2 " Let us hope and pray that we as a church family can continue and strive to preserve our history and to go forward carrying the Gospel to our community as we have done for the past 1 15+ years. Inanda Baptist Church started out as a little light on the side of the road and is now a strong and distinguished building, but our light is still shining just a brightly as it did years ago and may it continue to shine for generations to come. May each and every one of you always be filled with God's richest blessings. "Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick- and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may sea your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. (Matthew 5: 14-16) 3 . Timeline Of Inanda Baptist Church 1882 - First person is buried in the cemetery, T. V. Ingle. 1 883 - A parcel of land is purchased for church purposes for the amount of $52.50 by G.W.Ballard 1 884 - The church was established and dedicated. - Joined what is now know as the Buncombe Baptist Association. - Purchased a additional portion of land for the purpose of a church for $$.00. 1892 - First record found with the name of Vernon Hill Baptist Church. - Trustees of the church purchased additional land for amount of $5.00. 1893 - Name change back to Inanda Baptist Church, the community of Inanda was incorporated; charter repealed in 1901 1895 - George Vanderbilt somehow obtained a quick claim on the church property and surrounding properties. 1 901 - Community of Inanda become part, of the Lower Hominy Township. 1 917 - Part of the burial ground is deed to J. B. Ingle for the amount of $1 .00 for their desire to maintain and keep up the grounds. One-forth acre was sold. 1935 - The church burned down and would take three years to raise a new church. All records must have been destroyed in the fire, none have been found prior to 1940. (See: Precious Memories & Newspaper article). 1 938 - The new church was completed and dedicated on Palm Sunday. The new name was Inanda Memorial Baptist Church.