4 comments

  1. JHumbug Graham, I thought you might enjoy this article.

  2. Lynn Jones I think you might be interested in some of this Presbyterian history.

  3. I read this just now. Thanks.

  4. I am so confused. I got the following passages from “Life and Legend of Lawrence County,” citing “History of the Courtland Presbyterian Church” by Mrs. D. L. Martin, Jr. The history in this article doesn’t even mention a Presbytery of North Alabama. Was this NOT the Cumberland Presbyterian Church? I know Cumberland split off from the main Presbyterian body, but I kind of thought all the Alabama Presbyterian churches were Cumberland. Can anybody help? (The Patrick White who was a ruling elder was my ancestor.)

    “Presbyterianism was brought into Alabama from the Carolinas
    in 1817 and the first church of the denomination was organized in
    Huntsville in 1818. In 1821, John Allen, pastor of the Huntsville
    church, came to Courtland where he organized the second oldest
    church in the North Alabama Presbytery. It was first called the
    Church of Nazareth and was changed to Courtland Presbyterian
    Church in 1833…

    “The Presbyterial connection prior to 1825 cannot be ascertained.
    On April 8, 1825, the Synod of Tennessee through representatives,
    set up the Presbytery of North Alabama at Nazareth Church, Court-
    land. At this meeting, extracts from the minutes show there were
    eight ministers and seven ruling elders present. They were Andrew
    K. Davis, John Allen, Hugh Barr, Joseph Wood, Allen A. Campbell,
    William Porter, Robert M. Cunningham and James Sloss, ministers.
    The elders were John Clopper, Courtland; William Smith, Arthur
    Beattie, Tuscumbia; George Shields, Muscle Shoals; Thomas Mor-
    row, New Providens; and Patrick White. The Courtland Presby-
    terian Church was in Presbytery of North Alabama from 1825 until
    in October, 1843, the Presbytery met in Tuscumbia Church and
    organized the Tuscumbia Presbytery which lasted until 1868. “