3310 Due West Highway
City Directories and History: The Methodist Church in America was formally organized in Baltimore in 1784 and immediately thereafter their circuit riders became familiar figures in upper South Carolina. Although the Baptists and Presbyterians proceeded them in this section, the Methodists soon gained a firm foothold. Their first church in Anderson County, built about 1788, was at Ebenezer in the southeastern part of the county. The present building is the fourth on that spot. The Rev. R.L. Kennon was the Ebenezer congregation’s first pastor. He would later become one of the founders of Methodism in Alabama.
Bishop Francis Asbury, America’s first Methodist bishop, preached at Ebenezer in 1805 and tradition has it that people traveled for miles merely to see him pass along the road. There is in the present church a table on which the itinerant evangelist Lorenzo Dow had to stand in order to see and be seen by the great congregation which thronged to hear him preach. The church also treasures a bookcase made over a hundred years ago by Mr. Marion Kay and the pulpit furniture given in May’s memory by his descendents.
From very early days there was a Sunday school in connection with Ebenezer Church. Not only was the Bible taught, but the pupils were instructed in the ‘three R’s,” and one of the earliest day schools in this part of the state was maintained among the people of the Ebenezer congregation.
One of the founders and organizers of this first Methodist church was Mr. Elijah Brown who always entertained the preachers on that circuit in his home. Other prominent names in the early congregation were Martin, Carpenter, Kay, Keaton, and Hanks, the last two families still having members attending Ebenezer. As in the case of most of the early churches, its members were buried in the churchyard and this cemetery is a particularly large and interesting one. (Source: Anderson County Sketches, Anderson County Tricentennial Committee)
The present church was built in 1909, designed by Joe Hembree, and constructed by Dave Scoggins.
Martin Township embraced the old Ebenezer Church neighborhood. From very early days a school has been located there. Varennes Presbyterian Church and Bethel Baptist Church are within a short radius from Ebenezer, all of long standing. In this instance a man was honored in the naming of the township, and the fact of his name being chosen testifies to his popularity. He was Colonel John Martin, born September 1, 1793, on the place where he lived and died, about half a mile from Ebenezer church. His father was Roderick Martin, one of the pioneer settlers of Varennes section. His mother was a widow, Mrs. Taylor, when she and Mr. Martin married. John was their only child.
When only nineteen years old John Martin volunteered in Captain Thompson’s company, made up of Pendleton and Abbeville district: men, and served through the War of 1812. At the time of his death in 1880 he was probably the last survivor of that company. As long as he lived he drew a pension for service in that war. John Martin married Cynthia Rutledge, daughter of another pioneer settler. To this couple were born sixteen children, eleven of whom lived to be grown-eight sons and three daughters.
Mr. Martin’s early experience in war gave him a taste for the military, and in early life he became captain of “Bear Creek Company,” and later colonel in the Fourth Regiment of South Carolina Militia, In 1832 he represented the county in the Legislature. In 1836 he became ordinary of the county. In 1846 he was elected sheriff, and again in 1854 he held that office. He was a delegate from Anderson county to the State Convention which passed the Ordinance of Secession. When, in 1860, volunteers were called for, he enlisted in Captain Anderson’s company and went with them to Columbia, taking with him his old rifle, which he called “Old Friday.” The authorities appreciated his patriotism, but decided that he was too old for service, being at that time 67 years of age. It was with difficulty that the old man was persuaded to return home and leave the fighting to younger men. Colonel Martin was a great sportsman and hunted often, especially wild turkeys, which were abundant in his day.
Although a man of fine moral character, for many years he belonged to no church, and was on that account a source of grievance to the preachers of the locality. At old Ebenezer the earnest and consecrated Mr. Hodges was pastor. After long thought on the subject, and probably heart-felt prayer, the good man decided that it was his duty to go and talk to Colonel Martin about his soul, and urge upon him the propriety of becoming a church member. One of Colonel Martin’s customs was to invite visitors to walk down to his mother’s spring, a cool and beautiful spot. It was there that Mr. Hodges broached the subject near his heart. The minister put all of his eloquence into his fervid speech. After his impassioned talk he paused for a reply. Colonel Martin was silent a few minutes, then in a most interested manner said: “Mr. Hodges, do you see that tall pine over there? Well, sir, on that tree I once killed the biggest turkey gobbler you ever saw.”
That was the end of Mr. Hodges’ attempts to convert “the old sinner.” However, whether in consequence of Mr. Hodges’ talk or for some other reason, Colonel Martin later became a member of Ebenezer church. His kindness of heart and sympathy led him on several occasions to give his signature as security for friends, and the result was the usual one-he had the money to pay. When he was sheriff he was sometimes known to pay unfortunate people out of debt, rather than sell them out of home. In spite of, or perhaps on account of, these kindly losses, Colonel Martin became for his time and section a man of wealth.
Another of the early settlers in the locality was Elijah Brown, also a man of means, and one who believed in education. He belonged to Ebenezer church and was a prominent supporter of the adjacent school.
In Martin Township before the War Between the States there was a young couple who fell in love with each other and planned to be married. They were Newton W. Parker and Miss Kay, daughter of Francis Marion Kay, a faithful member of Ebenezer church. But war was declared and in place of getting married young Parker went with the army to Virginia. In 1864 the young soldier got a furlough and came home on a visit, and while there married his sweetheart. The couple lived to be very old; they not only reached their golden wedding day, but passed it by ten or more years. Mr. Parker had two sisters who lived to be over ninety years old. (Source: Traditions and History of Anderson County by Louise Ayer Vandiver)
Additional Links
- Ebenezer Methodist Church Graveyard Find-a-Grave Entry
- Ebenezer Methodist Church Graveyard Index
- Under the Kudzu, Episode 31: Ebenezer Church
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