Record volumes (1877-1987, undated) including Great Swamp Primitive Baptist Church Record, 1884-1980; Record of Primitive Baptist Church at Great Swamp, 1877-1915; [Great Swamp Church] Members / Conferences, 1916-1930; and loose material removed from Garner Family Bible including letters, clippings, emphemera, and Garner family genealogical information, ca. 1878-1987, undated
The Great Swamp Primitive Baptist Church began about 1776 as the Tar River branch of the Flat Swamp Primitive Baptist Church of Pitt County, North Carolina. In 1795, they petitioned to be dismissed from the Flat Swamp church and constituted as the Great Swamp Church. The original church was located four miles north of Greenville, North Carolina. In 1922, the church sold their original church and built a new church on property they already owned on Cotanche and East 10th Street in Greenville. Two blocks of Cotanche was renamed Forbes Street , and the church still stands at 913 Forbes Street. By 1980, the fellowship of the Great Swamp Church had dwindled, and the church dissolved that year.
Marvin Elias Garner (1918-1981) was the last pastor for the Great Swamp Primitive Baptist Church. Marvin Garner joined the Great Swamp church in July 1956, became a church deacon in March 1957, and was ordained as a minister for the church in January 1959. He served as pastor until the church dissolved in 1980.
Sources below.
1 Copeland, Elizabeth H. Chronicles of Pitt County, North Carolina, 1982. Greenville, N.C.: The Society, 1982, p. 117
2 Biggs, Joseph. A Concise History of the Kehukee Baptist Association, From Its Original Rise to the Present Time. [Tarborough (N. C.)]: Printed and published by George Howard, office of the Tarborough Free Press, 1834, p.281.
3 Hunsucker, Sandra E., Patricia M. Moore, and Elizabeth H. Sparrow. Chronicles of Pitt County, North Carolina. Volume II. Winston-Salem, N.C.: Published by Pitt County Historical Society in cooperation with Jostens Pub. Co, 2005, p. 208.
4 Bell & Howell Information and Learning, Sanborn Map Company, and NC LIVE. Digital Sanborn Maps, 1867-1970. North Carolina. [Ann Arbor, Mich.?]: ProQuest Information and Learning, 2001. http://sanborn.umi.com/.
5 Cotter, Michael, Kate Ohno, and Mary Hollis Barnes. The Architectural Heritage of Greenville, North Carolina. Greenville, N.C.: Greenville Area Preservation Association, 1988, p.112.
This collection consists of the three ledgers containing the records of the Great Swamp Primitive Baptist Church and items removed from the Garner Family Bible.
The first ledger contains the minutes of the conferences from January 1884 through March 1980. Initially, the Church held the conference monthly on Saturday before the fourth Sunday of the month. Beginning in 1939, they held the conferences quarterly on the Saturday before the first Sunday of March, June, September, and December. Entries include the date of the conference, the moderator, and the proceedings. Proceedings always began with prayer followed by the reading of the minutes of the previous conference. The fellowship received new members at the conferences. Conferences heard letters from the Association or sister churches. Members volunteered to visit sister churches or reported on visits to sister churches at conference. The conferences also considered resolutions of respect. Beginning in 1916, conference reports included treasury records.
The second ledger is the treasury records from 1877-1916. Benjamin Fleming, a deacon and the treasurer for Great Swamp Church, created this record volume. The third ledger contains attendance and records of conferences from 1917-1930. Ella Briley, the church clerk, created this ledger. The first ledger, described above, includes copies of records of conferences but the record of attendance at conference is unique to this volume.
This collection also contains items removed from the Garner family bible. The contents include both church-related and family-related items. Church-related items include Rules of Conference, A Church Covenant, programs, one letter, a map of the Holy Land, and newspaper clippings. Family-related items include genealogical charts of the descendants of Eli Garner and the descendants William Gill. It also contains greetings and correspondence from the children of Marvin Garner.
Gift of Ms. Grace T. Garner
Encoded by Apex Data Services
Processed by Darcy Guill April 2010
Literary rights to specific documents are retained by the authors or their descendants in accordance with U.S. copyright law.