Tarrant County, TXGenWeb
Mount Gilead
Baptist
Church and Cemetery
History of Mount Gilead Baptist Church
Editor's Note: The following history of Mount Gilead Baptist Church was prepared from the Home-Coming Annual of the church published in 1959.
Mount Gilead Baptist Church was established over 100 years ago and has the distinction of being the first church organized in Tarrant County, the county having been created on December 20, 1849, and organized on August 5, 1850.
The parent church of Mt. Gilead Baptist Church was the Lonesome Dove Baptist Church which had been established in February 1846 in Denton County (then Fannin). As other settlers moved in, the more distant members of Lonesome Dove were dismissed to form churches of their own. On the "third Saturday of June 1850, Lonesome Dove dismissed several members and granted them the privilege of constituting a church on the head of Bear Creek." This resulted in the organization of Mt. Gilead Church by John A. FREEMAN, David MYERS, and J. FYKE on July 13, 1850, in the private residence of Daniel BARCROFT. The church built its first place of worship in March or April of 1851.
There were eight charter members listed: John A. FREEMAN, Daniel BARCROFT, Ireneus NEACE and wife, Lucinda NEACE, Paemelia ALLEN, Abby or Abbie DUNHAM, and two slaves, Ambrose and Carolin COLLARD. The first deacons were Brother John A. FREEMAN, and Brother Daniel BARCROFT, the former was the first pastor of the church. He served until March 1857 when he moved to California. The membership had grown to seventy-five in the six years he was pastor.
In 1858, Brother MUG was the pastor; Brother DOBKINS came as pastor in 1859. It was during this year that a band of indians came through on a raid and burned the little log church, the meeting place of the Mt. Gilead Congregation. Brother DOBKINS left the pastorate in 1860. As a result of the oncoming Civil War political strife over the State Rights question, the spiritual growth and development of the church was greatly retarded. By the end of the war, the church had only seventeen members as shown in the Minutes of the West Fork Association.
The records of 1868 show a renewed interest with the building of a new house in which to worship. Pastors serving from 1867 to 1879 were Brother W. W. MITCHELL, Brother Jack HOGAN, Brother A. J. HALFORD, and Brother J. Q. BURNETT. At the time of Brother BURNETT's resignation in 1879, the church had 200 members, a remarkable growth from the seventeen members in 1865.
Then there came a period when the church was pastorless, "a great trouble crept in" and the church was disrupted. Many members withdrew; churches were established elsewhere.
Beginning in 1886, Mt. Gilead Baptist Church became a member of the Tarrant County Baptist Association. The Minutes of that organization show that through the years problems still arose, but were settled amicably. Growth in membership necessitated a new building, or rather a face-lifting, and then an educational building in 1953. In 1959 a recreational building was added.
Mt. Gilead Baptist Church has been "a place of refuge for the sinsick and the troubled and the tired." It served as the only schoolhouse in that part of the county until about 1910. "Many, many pioneers of the olden days and now pioneers of the jet-age look to this church as a provider of spiritual food."
[This article was accompanied by an inventory of Mount Gilead Cemetery,
however it included only inscriptions showing birth dates prior to 1860.
The following complete inventory of 1981 is annotated in
highlighted text where the
earlier inventory shows a discrepancy. -ry]
The following inventory appeared in the February 1982 issue of
Footprints, the quarterly publication of the Fort Worth Genealogical
Society. It is reprinted here with permission.
Mount Gilead Cemetery
In the spring of 1981, the Mount Gilead Cemetery Association and the Tarrant County Historical Commission began a cleanup and restoration of this cemetery in Tarrant County, Texas. Many stones were found which may not have been inventoried previously. This cemetery is divided into two parts by a creek and is located at the intersection of Bancroft Road and Mt. Gilead Road, northeast of Keller. Inventoried by Michael E. Patterson.
| Section East of Creek
|
|
| HARE, Irena J. | born and died December 15, 1912 |
| BLEVINS, M. J. | June 21, 1869 - July 1, 1922 |
| BLEVINS, T. M. | Feb. 24, 1870 - Jan. 25, 1912 (wife of MJB) |
| CARMICHAEL, Helen | Mar. 23, 1931 - Apr. 26, 1934 |
HARRIS, Harve |
|
| HILL, John H. | 1836 - 1885 |
| HILL, Mahulda Ann | 1839 - 1923 (wife of JHH) |
| HILL, Perlie | Sept. 20, 1888 - Sept. 20, 1890 |
| DRAKE, Mrs. Marcella C. | died Jan. 5, 1948 aged 91-2-11 |
| DRAKE, Claudia Walker | 1889 - 1933 "Daughter" |
| SPARKMAN, Evie B. | Nov. 1, 1875 - Apr. 26, 1909 "wife" of G.O. Sparkman" |
| SMITH, W. J. | Jan. 9, 1855 - March 29, 1917 |
| SMITH, Fannie E. | Mar. 20, 1862 - Oct. 17, 1942 (wife of WJS) |
| SMITH, Willie | 1888 - Aug. 18, 1909 "son of W.J. and F.E." |
| McCAIN, Thomas | Dec. 6, 1859 - Dec. 3, 1899 |
| McCAIN, Mrs. M. A. | Oct. 26, 1865 - July 8, 1913 (wife of TIM) |
| WARREN, W. A. | July 5, 1883 - March 22, 1899 "son of B.E. and L.A." |
| WARREN, N. G. | May 25, 1898 - July 23, 1898 "son of B.E. and L.A." |
| WARREN, L. A. | Dec. 1, 1856 - Nov. 15, 1899 (wife of BEW) |
| BATES, Ida | Oct. 15, 1871 - Jan. 10, 1902 (wife of WAB) |
| KING, Willie | Dec. 1, 1897 - July 1, 1899 "dau. of J.T. and J.E." |
| McCAIN, M. E. | Sept. 18, 1861 - Mar. 17, 1885 (wife of RCMc) |
| BATES, A. | Dec. 14, 1828 - Mar. 26, 1908 "Father" |
| BATES, E. | Dec. 2, 1833 - Dec. 26, 1914 "Mother" (wife of AB) |
| RANDOLPH, J. L. | Apr. 10, 1858 - Dec. 29, 1890 |
| QUEDENFELD, Hermann | May 16, 1856 - July 29, 1891 |
| BEAN, Jamima | July 13, 1822 - June 26, 1888 "Mother" |
STANFIELD, Jenette |
June 30, 1890 - Sept. 30, 1890 "dau. of J.M. and S.F." on same stone with Jamima Bean |
| NEACE, Ethan Allen | July 23, 1874 - May 20, 1921 |
| NEACE, Minnie Lee | July 7, 1878 - Sept. 14, 1963 (wife of EAN) |
| NEACE, Guy L. | Feb. 3, 1906 - July 12, 1924 |
| NEACE, Thomas I. | Feb. 2, 1872 - Aug. 2, 1923 |
| NEACE, Ora M. | Jan. 5, 1876 - Mar. 25, 1956 (wife of TIN) |
| NEACE, infant | Sept. 10, 1880 - July 15, 1881 "son of T.A. and S.J." |
| NEACE, Thomas A. | Nov. 19, 1843 - Jan. 28, 1929, The earlier inventory reported the name as Thomas W. Neace |
| NEACE, Sarah | October 10, 1843 - Jan. 20, 1913 (wife of TAN) |
| NEACE, James E. | Nov. 3, 1869 - Aug. 28, 1919 |
| NEACE, David I. | Dec. 1, 1880 - Dec. 25, 1882 "Son of J.R. and E.L." |
| NEACE, Joel R. | Feb. 3, 1858 - Jan. 30, 1883 |
| McCALL, Rosa Lee | Dec. 19, 1889 - July 20, 1891 "dau. of S.F. and Roxie" |
| BLEVINS, Vergil | 1910 - 1915 |
| ROGERS, H. H. | May 25, 1846 - Aug. 18, 1918 "Father" |
| ROGERS, N. M. | May 10, 1851 - Nov. 4, 1922 "Mother" (wife of NMR) |
| DAVIS, Z. D. | 1849 - 1917 "Mason", The earlier inventory reported his name as "J. (?) D. Davis" |
| DAVIS, Rosa | 1855 - 1882, The earlier inventory reported 1858 as the year of birth. |
| DAVIS, Sue | 1859 - 19__ (no date carved on stone) |
| DAVIS, infant | no dates "child of Z.D. and R.D." |
| NEACE, I. R. | Nov. 5, 1816 - Apr. 16, 1879, The earlier inventory reported a second stone (broken) that read: I. R. Neace, d. Apr. 16, 1879, Age 62 yrs. 5 mos. 10 da. |
| NEACE, Lucinda L. | Dec. 22, 1818 - Jan. 15, 1884 (wife of IRN) |
| NEACE, C. C. | Feb. 6, 1846 - July 8, 1930 |
| R. R. N. | fieldstone - no dates adjacent to C. C. Neace |
| HARRELL, William Edward | Sept. 21, 1859 - Feb. 24, 1942 |
| "A" only on fieldstone | no dates, 25' southwest of Quedenfeld headstone. (fieldstone now replaced with brick) |
| Section West of Creek
|
|
| WHITE, Tomey | concrete curb only with letters drawn in concrete before drying |
| DODSON, William F. | Oct. 23, 1855 - May 23, 1877 "son of A.N. and J.A." |
| CHAPMAN, A. J. | June 17, 1848 - Mar. 31, 1877 |
| LIPSCOMB, Charlie and Eddie |
born and died Nov. 12, 1870 "lived 3 hours, sons of C. and M.A." grave marked with cast iron crypt |
| LIPSCOMB, Thomas Dabney | Jan. 1, 1868 - July 27, 1870 "son of C. and M.A." grave marked with cast iron crypt |
| BLACK, Ada | Mar. 11, 1874 - Aug. 2, 1874 (stone is now shattered and unreadable) 20' northeast of headstone of Susannah Davis. |
| SHORT, Elder Josias | Apr. 16, 1833 - Sept. 1, 1880 |
| SHORT, Julia A. E. | May 29, 1839 - Apr. 8, 1876 "wife of Josias, dau.of Nathaniel and Elizabeth Peters", The earlier inventory reported the father as "Nathaniel S." and 1879 as the year of death. |
| COOK, Harmon W. | Oct. 14, 1856 - Oct. 1, 1884 |
| CHANEY, William H. | Aug. 14, 1808 - Aug. 1, 1883 |
| CHANEY, Elizabeth A. | Oct. 5, 1825 - Dec. 8, 1881 (wife of WHC) |
| WEAVER, W. W. | Aug. 1, 1835 - Dec. 14, 1887 (sandstone, broken into pieces) |
| MILLS, Lemma | Oct. 29, 1859 - Sept. 1, 1879 |
| "Our Baby Arthur" | July 25 - Oct. 3, 1879 (stone shattered, surname unreadable) |
| "Our Little Alva" | July 25, 1877 - Oct. 2, 1878 (surname not readable) |
| KIRKPATRICK, Garrett H. | Oct. 13 - Oct. 19, 1879 "Son of Thos. and M.E." |
| DWIGHT, J. M. H. | (handcarved on Garrett H. Kirkpatrick stone) |
| KIRKPATRICK, Henry H. | Oct. 25, 1880 - Dec. 1, 1880 "son of Thomas and M.E." |
| EDWARDS, A. J. | May 2, 1825 - May 5, 1878 "consigned to Jesus by J.M. Edwards" |
| EDWARDS, Cynthia C. Hill | Dec. 19, 1848 - Jan. 27, 1874 (wife of E.A. Hill), The earlier inventory reported this as "Cynthia C. Edwards wf of E.A. Hill." |
| HILL, Adaline | Apr. 10, 1822 - Aug. 5, 1886 |
| HILL, Clement L. | Dec. 17, 1872 - July 4, 1900 "Mother" (wife of T.A. Hill) |
| WRIGHT, Robert | Oct. 4, 1836 - Oct. 13, 1877 |
| WRIGHT, Lucinda C. | Dec. 23, 1845 - Apr. 21, 1877 (wife of RW) |
| THOMPSON, S. H. | June 18, 1845 - Aug. 9, 1923 |
| THOMPSON, Mary A. | Oct. 26, 1847 - Feb. 14, 1899 (wife of SHT) |
| THOMPSON, Thomas J. | Dec. 17, 1814 - July 16, 1896 |
| WISE, David | Aug. 5, 1833 - Sept. 20, 1902 |
| WISE, Nancy | May 6, 1834 - May 16, 1879 (wife of DW), The earlier inventory reported 1872 as the year of death. |
| JAMES, Mary J. A. | Oct. 1, 1832 - July 30, 1879, The earlier inventory reported that she was the wife of J. J. James. |
| LAMKIN, John | Jan. 29, 1819 - Aug. 18, 1870 "Mason", The earlier inventory reported that his middle initial was "L." |
| LADD, Elzira E. | 1853 - 1880 |
| ELSTON, D. E. | Jan. 19, 1825 - Feb. 14, 1896, The earlier inventory reported the death date as Jan. 1, 1825. |
| ELSTON, C. B. | Jan. 17, 1869 - Feb. 21, 1905 "son of D.E. and H." |
| ELSTON, Hannah | June 10, 1840 - June 18, 1913 (wife of DEE) |
| ELSTON, Lucy J. | Apr. 5, 1874 - Sept. 30, 1894 |
| ELSTON, John D. | Apr. 10, 1866 - Jan. 19, 1885 |
| ELSTON, Mary E. | Feb. 26, 1864 - Feb. 27, 1876 |
| ELSTON, infant son | Jan. 1, 1879 - Mar. 4, 1879 |
| (the last four were children of D.E. and H. Elston) | |
| ELSTON, L. | died Sept. 1894 (data from stone now weathered away) |
| GIVENS, Clarissa | July 2, 1861 - Mar. 20, 1865 "I'll Lie By Mother Til Christ Appears" |
| EVANS, Rebcab (sic) | July 3, 1793 - Oct. 31, 1863, The earlier inventory reported her name as "Rebeah Evans" and 1798 as the year of birth. |
| McCARTY, Mollie C. | Apr. 26, 1870 - Nov. 8, 1876 "dau, of C.A. and M.S." |
| CREED, John C. | Feb. 5, 1812 - Feb. 11, 1894 |
| CREED, Sarah | Aug. 13, 1814 - Dec. 11, 1884 (wife of JCC), The earlier inventory reported the death date as Aug. 3, 1814. |
| BOSWELL, W. H. | Oct. 19, 1829 - Feb. 5, 1876 (cairn, crudely lettered fieldstone at head, now broken), The earlier inventory reported the death date as Oct. 11, 1829. |
| STEEN, Henrietta | died Oct. 3, 1876, aged 7 mos. 27 days "dau. of J.A. and R." |
| STEEN, infant | died Sept. 1, 1877 "son of J.A. and R." |
| CRAWFORD, Ada O. | Apr. 19, 1852 - July 28, 1871 "wife of Jack" and "dau. of D.M. and Lucinda Davis" |
| CRAWFORD, infant | died Aug. 5, 1871 "infant of Jack and Ada O." |
| DAVIS, David M. | Oct. 23, 1819 - Apr. 24, 1881 |
| DAVIS, Lucinda | Jan. 12, 1821 - Sept. 15, 1904 (wife of DMD) |
| DAVIS, Lucinda Eller | Jan. 4, 1872 - Apr. 1885 "dau. of I.C. and A." |
| ____RETT, W. J. | died April 22, 1876, age 17, cairn, with broken sandstone headstone (6' north of Lucinda Eller Davis) |
| A. H. | limestone only (27' north of Joyce cairn and fenced area) |
| JOYCE, James | Jan. 3, 1810 - Aug. 15, 1882 |
| JOYCE, Miranda B. | Nov. 26, 18__ (stone broken) - Dec 15, 1878 (wife of J.J.), The earlier inventory reported the death date as Dec. 13, 1873. |
| JOYCE, Lucy | Aug. 27, 1834 - Apr. 13, 1901 (wife of N.L.J.) |
| JOYCE, Norvel L. | 1846 - 1919 |
| PHILLIPS, Mary | 1791 - Feb. 1856 |
| JOYCE, Adrienne A. | Apr. 25, 18_4 - March _4, ____ (stone weathered), The earlier inventory read: Adrienne ?, April 25, 1840 - Mar. 15, ? [no surname was given] |
| JOYCE, Margaret E. | Feb. 28, 185_ - ____ (stone weathered) |
| JOYCE, William H. | 1836 - 1854, The earlier inventory reported "Born M 3, 1830" (sic). |
| (above last four graves enclosed within a sandstone fence) | |
| JOYCE, Sarah E. | Aug. 12, 1852 - Sept. 19, 1871 |
| BYAS, Melvina | Aug. 8, 1822 - Oct. 31, 1906 "mother of Mrs. S.H. Thompson" |
| TAYLOR, John F. | Mar. 8, 1870 - Apr. 3, 1871 "son of Elisha and N.F." |
| BARCROFT, Ceolah | Oct. 18, 1871 - May 4, 1887 |
| BARCROFT, Winona | Sept. 9, 1869 - Mar. 1, 1872 |
| WILLIAMS, Texana | died Nov. 15, 1899 aged 50 years |
| BARCROFT, Gabriel L. | died April 24, 1873 |
| HILL, E. A. | June 3, 1882 - July 12, 1886, The earlier inventory reported the dates as June 3, 1839 - July 19, 1886. From: Mark Sheppard - The grave of E. A. Hill is that of Eli Allen Hill, b. 3 Jun 1839, d. 12 Jul 1886. My Grandmother was Martha Hill, daughter of Thomas Andrew Hill and Clementine Weaver Hill. Ella Belle was her sister. |
| PRICE, W. A. | Apr. 30, 1857 - Nov. 30, 1922 (Mason) |
| PRICE, William W. | Feb. 8, 1818 - Aug. 17, 1904 |
| PRICE, William Elbert | July 15, 1885 - Sept. 27, 1899 "Son of D.R. and M.V." |
| WHITE, L. C. | 1848 - 1929 |
| WHITE, Nancy | 1847 - 1889 (wife of LCW) |
| GRIMES, Rev. R. K. | June 30, 1845 - Apr. 2, 1921 |
| GRIMES, Annie B. | 1860 - 1937 (wife of RKG) |
| GRIMES, Juliet | Dec. 9, 1864 - Oct. 19, 1895 (wife of RKG) |
| EVANS, Herman Lee | Dec. 28, 1913 - March 30, 1914 "son of Earl and Grace" |
| MILLER, Mrs. O. E. | Sept. 18, 1882 - Mar. 14, 1915 (Woodmen of the World) |
| MILLER, infants | 1904 - 1904 "infant son and dau. of C.R. and O.E." |
| DAVIS, Nannie E. | 1855 - 1879, The earlier inventory reported her given name as Nanny. |
| DAVIS, infant | born and died 1879 "son" |
| DAVIS, Susannah | 1845 - 1896, The earlier inventory reported her given name as Susanna. |
| DAVIS, Willie | born and died 1882 |
| (the above four Davis inscriptions are on one monument) | |
| CAVINS, F. G. | June 7, 1836 - Feb. 11, 1908, The earlier inventory reported his name as F. C. Gavins. |
| CAVINS, Mary M. | Feb. 13, 1849 - Dec. 31, 1892 "wife of F.G.C.", The earlier inventory reported this as "Mary M. wf of F. C. Gavins." |
| CAVINS, O. L. | Feb. 22, 1881 - Nov. 15, 1889 "son of F.G. and Mary M." |
| CAVINS, Annie | Sept. 2, 1898 - Aug. 28, 1899 "dau. of W.M. and E.M." |
| ALLEN, D. | May 1, 1802 - Dec. 18, 1882 |
| PULLIAM, Rodolphus | 1855 - 1884 |
| PULLIAM, Sue | 1859 - 19__ [no death date inscribed] |
| DOUGLASS, Nancy A. | Sept. 19, 1822 - July 21, 1894 "born in Warren Co., Tenn." |
| GATES, Armindia L. | Jan. 6, 1859 - Jan. 24, 1884 "wife of T.J.G.", The earlier inventory reported the surname as Cates. |
| DOUGLASS, Martha R. | Dec. 5, 1857 - Oct. 4, 1894 "wife of W.L.D." |
| DOUGLASS, Chester B. | Mar. 30, 1892 - Mar. 4, 1893 "son of W.L. and M.R." |
| REYNOLDS, May | no dates |
| POWELL, Clinton N. | 1910 - 1972 |
| WHITE, John B. | 1855 - 1897 |
| WHITE, Isabelle | 1860 - 1936 |
| J. B. P. | Sandstone head and foot stones found near Harmon W. Cook, north of Cook and south of fence, both say "J. B. P." |
| CARR, "Bud" | no dates [fieldstone painted silver] |
| CARR, "Nan" | no dates [fieldstone painted silver] |
| GARISON, Manerva Lain | died October 9, 1872 |
| SHARPLESS, Richard W. | May 25, 1863 - Sept. 21, 1916 |
| SHARPLESS, Sarah M. | Nov. 7, 1879 - Sept. 12, 1957 "wife of RWS" |
| SHARPLESS, Clyde W. | June 1, 1915 - Apr. 15, 1929 |
| RILEY, Thomas E. | 1895 - Mar. 29, 1930 |
| RILEY, Nannie E. | Dec. 2, 1898 - Feb. 10, 1977 "wife of TER" |
| HART, May Elizabeth | June 22, 1885 - Sept. 3, 1887 "dau. of Ben and R.N." |
| PRICE, John A. | no dates, sandstone cairn |
| C. F. | Sandstone found loose near Harmon W. Cook marked "C. F." |
| E. B. H. | Sandstone found near Clementine Hill - From: Mark Sheppard - The small grave next to Clementine Hill marked E. B. H. is the grave of Ella Belle Hill, b. 6 Nov 1896, d. 11 Dec 1896, the daughter of Thomas Andrew Hill and Clementine Lena Weaver Hill. |
| BURNETT | Sandstone found in cairn nine feet north-south by six feet east-west, marked "Burnett" |
| W. B. | Sandstone found six feet north of A. J. Chapman says "W.B." |
| Child's grave | Sandstone grave marker on child's grave six feet north of foot of Thomas J. Thompson says "October 10, 18__ - Sept. 5, 1869". The stone is broken and part is missing; was made by same person who made the marker on the grave of W.H. Boswell. |
| M. | Sandstone 21 feet north of Martha R. Douglass says "M". |
| May | Sandstone 16 feet south of Rodolphus Pulliam says "May". |
| BYAS, Landus | Sandstone found beside Melvina Byas marked "Landus Byas" |
| BYAS, R. | Sandstone found six feet east, 15 feet north of Melvina Byas marked "R. Byas" |
| P. | Adult cairn six feet northeast of Tomey White marked "P" |
| ? | White limestone, fragmented and mostly missing, found near Clarissa Givens; the fragments bear a partial inscription indentical to that on Clarissa Givens' stone. |
| 6 | Sandstone fragment found one foot west of John Lamkin, bears a "6"; appears to be the last digit in a year date |
| NEWTON, A. E. C. | Sandstone 12 feet east of A. J. Edwards marked "A. E. C." surname appears to be "Newton" |
| NANNY, Ida N. | Sandstone 27 feet west of A.J. Edwards marked "Ida N. Nanny" |
| PIPKIN, Myrtle | Sandstone "Myrtle Pipkin" |
| T. B. | Sandstone 15 feet southwest of D.E. Elston marked "T.B." |
| M. | Sandstone fragment marked "M" found near Harmon W. Cook |
| ? | Sandstone fragment marked "died March 7, 1883" found near Harmon W. Cook |
Many graves are in evidence which are now marked only with bricks and have no identification. Graves enumerated within this list do not necessarily lie in the order listed.
This page was last modified 17 July 2011.
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