HISTORICAL SKETCHES

      

CANE CREEK BAPTIST CHURCH                                                                           

 

SAY “HELLO!” TO FOUR AND A HALF NEW PREACHERS !!!

 

Several years before her death, Rebecca Crawford undertook a wonderful project. She wanted to collect photographs of as many of our old preachers as she could. She contacted the Mt. Zion Association, the Baptist Historical collection at Wake Forest, and as many personal contacts as she could and came up with an amazing number of photographs. We don’t know exactly how many preachers we have had (because our early records were lost in a fire) but our best estimate is between 45 and 50. Rebecca found photographs of 27 of these, including one for Stephen Pleasant who was born in 1779. His photograph dates to the 1850s, which is about as early as photography was available. Rebecca was able to find photographs for all but eleven of our preachers who served us after photography became possible.

 

We have now found photographs of four ‘and a half” of the missing eleven. Their pictures will appear in the Cane Creek Church Photo Album later this Fall and Matt Hamlet has promised to make more display space for their framed pictures in the back hall of the Education Building.

 

These five men all attended Wake Forest College. Three of them graduated after Wake Forest began publishing its annual, called the Howler. So their senior portraits are there for the copying. This tells us what they looked like at about the time they were our preachers. The Howler also revealed the fact that it was not unusual for Wake Forest students enrolled in the ministerial program to finance their education by preaching in rural churches.

 

W. T. Baucom served us in 1911-12 while a student at Wake Forest. The Howler for 1913 says the following:  “Baucom is old enough [age 30] to be somewhat “sot’ in his ways.  But generally, he is “sot’ on the right side of every question and it takes a Socrates and Demosthenes combined to move him. He has a clear conviction on what his life’s work shall be, and is one of the few members of the Ministerial class who makes all-round college students. For three Saturdays and Sundays in the month, during his last three years at college, Baucom has used his melodious voice the expound the truth to the “brethren” of three of the country churches, and in this way he has succeeded in paying his way through college. Still, when the athletic games come on, he is always there and stretches his lungs to their fullest capacity in rooting for his Alma Mater. Baucom will go to the Louisville Seminary next year to continue his course of preparation for the ministry and we predict for him success.” Baucom was a Chaplain in World War I. He died in 1972.

 

S. C. Hilliard (born 1886) served us in 1910 and 1911. A 1912 graduate of Wake Forest, The Howler, said this about the 26 year old Wake County native: “This is the biggest man of the class. Of a towering physique and weighty intellect, he towers far above his fellows. A keen student in affairs of state, possessed of a tongue that could convince Prof. Lannau that the moon was made of green cheese, he is a debater of parts. It is told that those Davidson debaters listened in fear and trembling to the mighty roaring of his voice and it is a matter of history that the judges fell over each other to hand him their decision, and that a half hour later a fair damsel in the audience delivered him her decision, also favorable. On the gridiron he has used his mighty brawn while the multitude looked on in wonder and amazement. He is a ministerial student, and since his sophomore year has held down with great effect the pastorate of divers churches.  His success is so clearly assured that it is useless to waste words in prophecy.” Tragically, he did not have the opportunity to fulfill this prophecy. He died in the influenza epidemic of 1918.

 

R. E. Clark was born in Apex and served us in 1909-10. The Wake Forest Howler for 1910 says, “Here is an ardent believer that  ‘there is a divinity that shapes our ends, rough hew them as we will.’ A promising minister of the gospel, whose mild manner, graceful and eloquent delivery, will sway audiences gathered together, from the ‘highways and hedges,’ hamlets and cities. Self-confident, enterprising, with the hermit’s love for seclusion and the devotion of a great man to his duties, he promises us that old age shall not find him like the belated virgins nor over eager to accomplish the impossible. Content with the present only when it gives promise of a better future, he seems to the stranger, eccentric and cranky; but to those who know him best, he proves himself an unassuming gentleman.” In 1913, Clark earned a PhD in Sociology from the University of Pennsylvania and taught at various colleges. He died in Florida in 1970.

 

Two of our new photographs predate the Howler. So individual portraits are not available. But beginning about 1874, Wake Forest made group photographs of the graduating class.

 

James Willie Watson served us in 1892-94 and was in the Wake Forest graduating class of 1886. He was ordained in 1889 in a ceremony led by a former Cane Creek preacher, J. C. Hocutt. He also led the congregations at Antioch, Bethel, and Lystra. While at Lystra, he founded Fairview Academy. It is possible that Watson laid the foundation for what our next preacher, J. F. MacDuffie, accomplished when he began Orange Grove Academy.

 

Claude E. Gower (1854-1914) served us served us in 1883-84. He was born in Wake County and graduated from Wake Forest in 1881. We ordained him in 1883. He also preached at Graham and Mebane. While here, he bought and lived in the house now owned by Mae Crawford. In 1890, he suffered a nervous breakdown and seldom preached after that. At the time of his death, he was living in Jacksonville, Florida. Our photograph shows the Wake Forest graduating class of 1881. The picture was taken at a time when it was thought fashionable to have people staring at various points in the room and not at the camera. Unfortunately we don’t know which one Rev. Gower is, so we can only count this as “half” a preacher.                                       Ed Johnson