The GOLDSTON Family

of Chatham County, Goldston, N. C.

A Few Things I Remember

About Goldston Methodist Church

By George M. Rives

Goldston, N. C.

(Written about 1961)

(Transcribed from documents saved by Kathleen Goldston Stout 12/30/2002)

Several times I have been asked to write a short article on the history of the Goldston Methodist Church; but as I have no written records of the Church to which I can refer, and since I have never had any part in keeping these records, all I know about the church is my own personal memory, plus a few things I have heard other people say about some things which took place before I was born, or when I was too young to know about such things.  Therefore, up to the present time, I have asked to be excused from the task, as I had very serious misgivings as to my ability to write anything that would really be worth while.  But now, since I am the oldest citizen of the Town of Goldston (I am 88 years old) and realizing that I do not have many more days to spend on these mundane shores, I have decided to risk trying to write just a few lines, with the sincere wish that what I have to say maybe read by a few of my friends, possible after I have passed.  But in case what I have to s ay shall be regarded with disfavor, I suggest that the old waste-basket and this old ash can are always within easy reach, and this little scrap of paper can very easily be disposed of.  At any rate, here we go with my little story.

The History of the Goldston Methodist Church properly begins with the organization of the old Corinth Church, which was about 1875.  I have procured from the Register of Deeds a copy of the deed to the land on which this Church was built.  The deed was executed b the late Joseph John Goldston and his wife, Eliza L. Goldston, and the Goldston Trustees of the church named in the deed were as follows:  William Alston Rives, Mark Bynum, J. Guthrie, Thomas Jefferson Goldston, Andrew Jackson Goldston, Joseph J. Goldston, and D. C. Elkins.  Of these seven trustees, two were my grandfathers, those being William Alston Rives and Mark Bynum.  The three Goldstons who were Trustees were three brothers who lived in the Goldston Community and were sons of Joseph John Goldston and Martha K.  Rives, who lived on Bear Creek, about a mile from the present Town of Goldston.

Of these original Trustees, William Alston Rives lived on Bear Creek, about two miles from Goldston.  He was born in 1803 and died in 1883.  Thomas Jefferson Goldston lived about a mile east from Goldston on the Goldston-Pittsboro Road where Charlie Fields, Sr., now resides.  He was born in 1828 and died in 1898.  Andrew Jackson Goldston lived at the old Goldston home place mentioned above.  (see map below)  He was born in 1835 and died in 1893.  Daniel C. Elkins was the only one of the seven Trustees who resided with within present limits of the Town of Goldston.  I do not recall the date of his birth and his death, but he was buried in the Goldston Cemetery.  As to the other Trustee named in the deed, J. Guthrie, I am not quite sure which of the Guthries this was, but I have assumed that this was James (or Jimmie) Guthrie.  If this is correct, this Mr. Guthrie lived just east of Bear Creek, north of the Goldston-Pittsboro highway, where this highway crosses Bear Creek, and he was the father of two prominent Methodist preachers, these being Thomas W. Guthrie, who was at one time a Presiding Elder and he lived at Rockingham after retiring from the ministry.  The other preacher mentioned was J. O. Guthrie, who lived in Raleigh for many years and was in the Life Insurance business after he finished with preaching.

The Mr. Jimmie Guthrie mentioned in the preceding paragraph married a Miss Clegg, who was a sister of Mary Clegg, who was Mark Bynum’s first wife.  After Grandpa Bynum’s first wife died, he married Miss Fannie Guthrie, who was a niece of his first wife.  This always impressed me as being rather unusual, for a man to marry his first wife’s niece.  All the Bynum children, and also the grandchildren (including me) called the second Mrs. Bynum “Cousin Fannie” as long as she lived.

Speaking of preachers, Mr. Mark Bynum also had a son who was a Methodist preacher, this being George Compton Bynum.  He was educated at the University of N. C. and after he had finished school, he decided to enter the ministry.  He died when he was about 35 years old, about the time I was born.  This being the case, it was very natural for my mother, Sallie Bynum, to name her oldest son (that’s me) for her oldest brother, so they decided to call me “George”.  There were also three Methodist preachers who were named for George Compton Bynum, these being John Compton Humble, Hilary Bynum Humble and George Humble.  At the time of his death, George Bynum was preaching in Randolph County, one of his churches being Rehoboth Church, where the elder Mr. Humble as a member; so three of the Humble boys were named for the young minister.  I mention George Bynum because of the connection with old Corinth, and because J. C. Humble was our preacher many years later.

Andrew Jackson and wife Catherine "Kate" Rives were living with their father, George's Uncle Joe (Joseph John Goldston).  1878 was the year Hugh Peoples Goldston was born.

This was in the period we sometimes speak of as the “horse and buggy” days;  but, as a matter of fact, at that time very few country people had buggies, as the country people were very much impoverished by the terrible devastation wrought by the War Between  the States.  So when most of the folks went to Church or went visiting, they had to walk or go in the old farm wagon.  On this trip I remember seeing the old Church and also the stakes which had been set up by the railroad engineers when they surveyed the route of the proposed railroad, which was constructed a few years later.

My next recollection of Corinth Church was in 1880, when I heard a Mr. Arnold preach in the church.  I was only 8 years old at this time, but I remember some of the things the preacher said.  He was from Jonesboro and he was accompanied by his wife and small daughter named Pearlie Arnold.  The Arnolds went home with the Bynum family that day for dinner and they spent the afternoon with the Bynums.  I was also there with my father and some of my brothers and sisters and there were also some other visitors there.  As about a dozen of us sat on the porch of the Bynum residence, little Perlie Arnold stood up and sang very beautifully that sweet little children’s song “I Want to be an Angel”.  This little song was published in a little song book, the name of which was “Happy Voices”.  I remember most of the words, some of which are as follows:

 I have not heard the little song in perhaps 75 years, but the words and the tune are still fresh in my memory.

The church building of old Corinth was erected on the one acre plot of ground purchased from Uncle Joe Goldston, as already mentioned.  The lot was located directly across  the Railroad from where the Depot now stands, the building being perhaps about 150 feet from the Railroad Track, and about midway between where Mrs. Ethel Brooks’ residence now stands, and where Walter Goldston’s Hatchery is now located.  The building was just a plain, frame structure, without any steeple or belfry or other ornamentation, and the building was never painted, either inside or outside.  The building was in use as a church from 1875 until 1893, when the congregation moved into a new building which was erected in 1892.  Corinth Church was included in the old Deep River Circuit which was in the Fayetteville District.  Back in the 1890’s there were about eight churches in the Deep River Circuit, these being Asbury, Bethlehem, Corinth, Fair Promise, Carbonton, Meroney’s, Jones’ Chapel, and at one time High Falls, Cumnock being added about this time.  I do not recall the exact date that the Deep River Circuit was discontinued, but think it was in the last decade of the 19^th century, and also the name off Corinth was discarded and was changed to Goldston Church about this time.

Another time I remember being at Old Corinth was in 1886, the occasion being the beginning of a revival meeting.  The preacher that year was Mr. Cutchen (I do not remember his initials).  The sermon that day was preached by Rev. W. F. Thom, a Presbyterian minister who lived at Gulf for many years.  He was a tall, red-headed man and was a good preacher and a find Christian man, but he was one of those preachers who always write out their sermon in full and in delivering his sermon, he held up the manuscript in front of him and read it just as one would read a book or a newspaper.  When Mr. Thom was preaching, I did not see Mr. Cutchen, but I think he was kneeling down in the pulpit all the while.  The pulpits in those days were boxed up affairs, about waist high, with a hinged door on either side so that when a man stood up in the pulpit, all the folks in the pews saw of his was from his waist line upward.  Brother Cutchen was a terribly nervous man and did not get along well with his members and had had considerable trouble with some of the leaders of the Church, and when Mr. Thom called on him to lead the prayer at the end of the sermon, Mr. Cutchen was in a very hysterical state of mind and he spoke in a half-sobbing tone of voice that was distressing to hear.  I have never herd such a prayer in all my life as that was.  One sentence I remember, which was a sample of what he had to say, Brother Goldston won’t help me and Brother Ausley won’t help me.  Lord, have mercy on their niggardly souls.”  The prayer was quite long, but when it was finally ended, I opened my eyes and looked up toward the pulpit.  However, Mr. Thom, the preacher, was nowhere to be seen.  I have always heard that he “went o”, which was near the side of the pulpit, and I have never known what became of him.  I heard he remarked to some one on the outside “that man is crazy!”

Speaking of “looking up” after prayer, I would have this to say in regard to people’s attitude toward prayer, contrasting the custom in vogue at the present day with the old-fashioned way of my boyhood days.  Back in those days, when the preacher said:  “Let us pray,” a great many of the folks got down on their knees and the others at least bowed their heads and closed their eyes and tried to join with their hearts in the prayer that was being offered.  Nowadays, if one were to kneel in Church, I suppose that he would be considered a fit subject for “Dix Hill,” or some other mental institution.  I think that we should have more reverence and respect for the House of God than most of us know at the present time.

I have known all the preachers since 1880 who served the old Deep River Circuit, and later the Goldston Charge, and might be able to name them all.  However, I shall not try to name all of them now, but will mention a few of the ones I heard preach in Old Corinth after 1880.  The first I remember was Rev. Philip Greening, who was here for 4 years, from 1882 to 1885.  He was an Englishman, having been born in England and immigrated to America.  He was a good man and a very good preacher.  He spoke with a noticeable British accent, and also had the habit of pronouncing an “H” before every word beginning with a vowel, and leaving off the “H” in all words which begin with an “H”.  This was peculiar to some of the Britishers of that day, though not all of them spoke that way.  Mr. Greening, for instance, in pronouncing the word “ell” would put on the H and call it “Hell”;  but in pronouncing the word “hell” he would leave off the “H” and call it “ell”.  They told it on him that he said on one occasion that he “was building a h-ell to his house to put the Presiding Elders in.”  Mr. Greening lived to be quite old and lived at Stedman, N. C., after he retired.  When the District Conference met here with the Goldston Church in 1919, he was here and I remember seeing him.

Some of the other preachers I heard preach in the old church were E. L. Stamey, J. R. Scroggs, and Dr.  J. T. Gibbs, these three being Presiding Elders, while D. C. Geddie, A. D. Betts and S. Chaffin were pastors.  I did not hear Mr. Chaffin at Corinth, but heard him a number of times at Meroney’s, as I attended that church more often when I was a boy.  I joined Meroney’s Church in 1893.  I was transferred to the Goldston Church in 1900, so I have been a member of the Goldston Church for more than 60 years.  Speaking of old Brother Chaffin, who was pastor here about 1888 or 1889, he was the father of L. M. Chaffin, who served the Goldston Charge for 4 years, about 1928.  This was a case of “like father, like son;” and when I heard the younger man for the fist time, I recognized his father’s voice, which I had heard about 40 years before.  Both these preachers were of the old school type, being strict fundamentalist in their doctrine, and very plain in their habits and way of life, and also in their preaching.  They did not hesitate to “call a spade a spade,” and they always hewed to the line, regardless of where the chips might fall.

In regard to the old Church building (Corinth), when it was abandoned in 1893 (The year A. J. Goldston was killed in a rifle accident) the building was sold to Bynum & Paschal, merchants, who used it for several years as a cotton storage warehouse.  It was finally sold to W. P. Kirkman about 1910 and the lumber was used in building a barn or livery stable.  Some of the lumber can still be seen as weather-boarding in Ozzie Oldham’s barn.

I have never seen a list of the charter members of the old church, but I will mention a few families who lived in the Goldston community, some of who I know were members at one time or another.  First, all of the original 7 trustees had good-sized families and many of their children joined the Church when they were old enough to be members.  I have already named these trustees, so I will not repeat them more.  Other families I recall were J. B. Ausley and wife, J. F. Ausley and wife, with their children, and Miss Lou Ausley, a maiden sister, J. W. McIntyre, John Phillips, T. M. Bynum and wife, who came to Goldston in 1885, and two years later L. F. Paschal and his family moved to Goldston.  Mr. Paschal never joined this Church himself, being of the Baptist faith, but he was a regular attendant of the Church and Sunday School, and taught the Bible Class for many years, and was liberal in his contributions to the Church.  Mrs. Paschal and Mrs. T. M. Bynum were sisters, and were staunch Methodists, as was their sister, Mrs. F. C. Watson.  These three ladies were nieces of the three Goldstons already mentioned as original trustees.  Some other families of those days were T. W. Moses & wife, F. C. Watson, Miles Barber, Mrs. Mary Barber, T. J. Barber and many others.

When the congregation of the Goldston Methodist Church moved from the old Corinth Church building in 1893, H. M. Jackson was the pastor of the Goldston Charge.  The new church building was located on the lot purchased from Joseph J. Goldston and wife Jennie Goldston, (Virginia Bynum Goldston) this lot consisting of two acres and is located between the Goldston-Pittsboro Road and the Goldston Cemetery, the lot including also the public school house, which was located there at the time.  Mr. Jackson lived many years after leaving Goldston and died not so long ago in 1941.  He was succeeded by H. G. Stamey who was pastor for 4 years.  After him, we had B. B. Holder for 2 years, then B. H. Black for a short while.  He was succeeded by J. H. Frizzelle in 1900.  After Mr. Frizzelle, we had Rev. J. C. Humble for 4 years.  I have previously mentioned Mr. Humble as having been named for my uncle, George Compton Bynum.  The trustees of the new Church were J. F. Ausley, T. W. Moses, and W. T. Dowdy.  The members of the church for the first decade after 1893 were largely the ones who had belonged to old Corinth Church, some of which I have named in the preceding paragraph.  About 1895, Mr. C. W. Womble, with his family, moved to Goldston and became members of the Goldston Church.  Mr. & Mrs. Womble were very devout Christians and so were their children.  If I remember correctly, there were 10 of the children who became members of the church sooner or later.  Two of this family, A. M. Womble and Mrs. E. M. Harris, Sr., are still active members of the Church and Church School.  One of the Womble boys, the youngest, C. W. Womble, became a preacher and has been a member of the Western N. C. Conference for many years.  One of the girls, Miss Lucille Womble, married a Methodist preacher,  J. W. Hoyle, Jr., who is also a prominent minister in the Western N. C. Conference.  I think that it is not too much to say that this large family has perhaps meant more to the Goldston Church than any other family, unless we count the various families by the name of Goldston as being one big family.

With reference to Rev. J. W. Hoyle, mentioned above, he is the son of J. W. Hoyle, Sr., who was our pastor from 1907 to 1911, and this Mr. Hoyle is still living and resides at the Methodist Home in Durham.  His first wife was a most devout and consecrated Christian and she taught the Adult Class in the Church School for some time before they left Goldston in 1911.  She made it a rule to read through the entire Bible once every year, and she was a fine Bible scholar.  When she moved away in 1911, there was nobody to succeed her as teacher of the class but just poor old me, so I took over as a sort of substitute, until we could make some better arrangement.  However, the hoped-for teacher never did come along, so I just had to mess along the best I could, as a kind of makeshift, for nearly a half a century.  Mr. Gullipher did finally come to my rescue in 1950, but through up his hands after two years and said he was through.  So he and I, with some help from Mr. A. K. Miller, kind of alternated until 1956, when I sent in my final resignation, being too decrepit to continue any longer.  At that time the old class decided to call the class “The George Rives Sunday School Class.”  I do not feel I am worthy of this, but appreciate the honor most sincerely.  In 1956, Brother Samuel Cheek took over where Mrs. J. W. Hoyle, Sr., had left off in 1911, and became teacher of the old class and he is doing a fine job.  I think he is just the one w have been looking for during the last 50 years.  I wish for him and all the other members of the class the greatest success and happiness that can come to us in the present life; and in the future, a home with God and the Angels, in the “House not made with hands, Eternal in the Heavens.”  This also applies to the other members of the Sunday School, and to all the members of the Church, and to all my other friends in the Town of Goldston.  I love every one of you, and I say to you, in the language of “Tiny Tim", Gold Bless you every one!

I mean this ragged little Epistle to be a sort of “Last Will and Testament”; or as a “Farewell Address”; and I with to dedicate these few feeble remarks to my old class, and to the Sunday School, and to the Methodist Church of Goldston, as a whole, together with any other friends I may have in Goldston.

Resuming the history of the Church, after about 1911, I will be very brief in what I have to say concerning its history in recent years, as those facts are well remembered buy the younger generation, but I will mention a few of the pastors we have had, and a few facts I may happen to recall.  I will say again, though, that I am writing only from memory; and since memory is always treacherous, my remarks are very far from perfect.  Maybe when you are as old as I am, you can understand my predicament I am placed in.

After Mr. Hoyle, we had as pastor Mr. M. D. Hix for a year or two, and then Mr. M. D. Giles for 4 years.  Of all the preachers we have had in the last 50 years, from an oratorical standpoint, I think he, His, was the most eloquent speaker we have ever had.  He was some-what handicapped in his work by having to live alone in the parsonage.  His family remained in Durham where his children were in School.  I think the ideal pastor is one whose wife and family are with him, and when they cooperate with him in his work.  Some years afterwards, Rev. L. C. Sell was with us, and he also kept “bachelor’s call” as did Mr. Hix.  Mr. Giles was very popular, and was greatly assisted by his good wife.  After those already mentioned, we had for a season (I am not giving them in exact chronological order) E. C. Maness, Mr. Salyer, Mr. N. M. McDonald (at the time of the First World War) and then R. T. Taylor and M. B/. McLamb.  Mr. McLamb was quite popular and was with us (I think) about 4 years.  In the late 1920’s we had Mr. Lynn Chaffin, whom I have already mentioned as a very unique character; but he was a grand man, full of works and the Holy Ghost.  In more recent years, Brother W. J.  Underwood was with us for 10 years, which was the longest pastorate anyone ever served on the Goldston Charge.  Some other pastors in recent years have been A. B. Strickland, G. C. Kinlaw, C. K. Wright., E. G. Cowan, Vernon Tyson, G. T. Barnes, and our pastor at the present time, Rev. Howard R. Porter.

Among our preachers whom I have regarded as being very close friends have been C.O. Durant (1906-1907), N. M. McDonald, M. D. McLamb, W. J. Underwood, G.C. Kinlaw and Vernon Tyson.  Mr. Tyson was a great favorite with the people and I regard him as being one of the “up and coming” preachers of the Conference.  He comes of a gifted family of preachers, his father having been a preacher, and his five brothers are all preachers. Vernon is a born preacher, and is now associate pastor at Edenton Street, Raleigh.  The old Romans had an old adage like “poeta nascitur, non fit”, (a poet is born, not made) and this also applies to preachers in a sense; but of course they must have some of the Holy Spirit before they are prepare to do effective work as a pastor.

Speaking further of the church buildings, the house that was built in 1892 continued to be used for preaching services until 939, when the Memorial Chapel was completed, and the congregation moved over there for church but as the Chapel had no Sunday School rooms, the Sunday School continued to use the older building until the end of 1960 when the new education building was completed, and at that time the old building was vacated and is now being offered for sale.

The new education building completed last year (1959), is an annex to the Chapel Building and was erected at a cost of around $35,000 and is quite substantial and has ample room to accommodate the needs of the Church School for many years to come.

 The Goldston Memorial Chapel was built by the children of the late Walter L Goldston and his wife, Mrs. Vallie Gilmore Goldston, and was dedicated as a Memorial to their father and mother of the family.  The building was first intended to be used jointly by the Methodists, the Baptists and the Presbyterians of the Goldston community.  However, as the Baptists had a very good church building of their own, they decided to continue using their own church, leaving the Chapel to be used by the other two denominations.  The Chapel, however, is often used by others for weddings, funerals, and other special occasions.  The Goldston Memorial Chapel was erected at a cost of about $17,000, the money being furnished by the family of Walter Goldston.  The building was planned by Rev. C. Wade Goldston who is now a professor at Louisburg College and also preaches on occasion.  To Wade Goldston, therefore, we are indebted for the magnificent Chapel, though presumably, a large part of the money was given by his brothers who live in Texas.  There were 4 of these brothers:  Walter Leon, William J., Alton and Clarence.  These boys all took the advice of Horace Greeley to “Go West, young man, and grow up with the country”.  These 4 brothers really did that very thing.  Alton Goldston is now a prominent physician at Amarillo, Texas.  Clarence is a lawyer at Houston, while Leon and William really “struck it rich” in the oil business in Houston.  Leon died about 3 years ago (1958) and his estate was appraised at $8,000,000.   He made many contributions to the Church and to other worthy causes; and when I used to be one of the stewards of our Church. I often wrote to him for a little help on our budget.  He was very liberal and usually sent me a check for around $100.

From 1885 until 1921 there was only one Church in the town of Goldston, and that was the Methodist Church.  During those years, there were a number of Baptist families, and many of these were very faithful and helpful in attending our Church and Sunday School.  To mention a few, I think of Mr. Hugh Womble and his family.  There were 3 girls in this family, Misses Janie, Bessie and Vallie, and they were often seen at our place of worship.  Then there was Mr. Hugh Phillips and his good wife and several children who were very regular attendants.  Also T. P. Murchison and his family.  In addition to these, there were several Barber families who often went to our Church, particularly Mr. W. M. Barber’s daughters, Miss Jennie, Vada, Margaret, Emma and the younger girls.  Mr. O. E. Barber and his wife finally united with the Church when they were somewhat advanced in years.

In 1921, the Baptist Church of Goldston was organized, and had their services in the School Building for 3 years or more.  In 1924 they laid the foundation of their Church Building, which was completed a year or two later.  The Church membership of this church has steadily increased until they have gone ahead of our Church, and the end is not yet.  Some of the first preachers of the Baptists were O. B. Mitchell, Mr. Broom, E. W. Byerly and L. P. Soots.  Mr. George M. Graham is the Baptist minister at the present time (1960).  He has served as pastor of this Church since 1942 and his [popularity is attested by his long service.  I am very fond of him as a friend and as a preacher, and he and I are real “buddies”.  I used to hear him preach quite often when I was younger than I am now.

The Presbyterian Church was also organized about this time, or a few years later, by Rev. Jonas Barclay who resided at Pittsboro at that time.  Mr. Barclay was a fine old Christian gentleman and was one of the best Bible scholars I have ever heard preach.  He lived to be quite old and died at Charlotte only a year or two ago, at a ripe old age.  The Presbyterian membership was rather small, but they built a small Church about 19225, but they used the Memorial Chapel after it was built in 1939. The Presbyterians have not been able to procure a regular preacher for several years, so they have discontinued holding regular services, although the Church organization is still in effect.  The lost pastor they had, as I member, was a Mr. Pool, and another pastor I recall was Rev. Mayes Clarke.  I used to attend their meetings frequently and enjoyed being with them.

Going back again to my own Church, I would like to say that I am very glad to have been a member of the Goldston Methodist Church for more than 60 years, and my association with the Church and the Sunday School has been one of the sweetest memories of my life, and it has meant a very great deal to me.  I have always loved the Church, and fully agree with the Psalmist when he said “I was glad when they said to me; Let us go up to the House of the Lord.”  In the last 50 years, I estimate that I have stood up more than 2,000 times and tried to explain the best I could some of the verses of God’s Holy Word; and thought I feel that my efforts have been rather feeble, if I have accomplished even a small amount of good in trying to help others, I shall be happy to have the approval of the Master above.                                                                                                       

Before closing this little miscellaneous jumble, I would like to mention a few of the ones who are among our most active and dearly beloved members at the present time.  To begin with, some of the old standbys are H. C. Watson, A. M. Womble, Mrs. F.C. Olive, Mr. & Mrs. E.M. Harris, Sr., and others; among the younger people, we have Mr. & Mrs. Samuel Cheek, who are especially active, and also Mr. & Mrs. A. D. Pearce, Mr. & Mrs. A. W. Goldston, Mr. & Mrs. E. M. Harris, Jr., Mr. & Mrs. Frank Hayes, Mr. & Mrs. Sonny Goldston. Mr. & Mrs. Wilson Burke, Mr. & Mrs. Loomis Burke, Mr. & Mrs. Roy Stout, Mr. & Mrs. Charlie Fields, Sr., Mr. A. E. Miller, Hugh Dixon and Mrs. Dixon, and many others equally as loyal and helpful as the ones I have named.  Mr. A. K. Miller has especially been very efficient and helpful, having served the Church in many capacities, as Charge Lay Leader, Steward, Teacher, and other ways.

 If you ask me who has attended more services at the Church than any others, in the last 65 years, including Sunday School, Preaching, etc., I would nominate the following:  H. C. Womble, Mrs. Emma Paschal Womble (deceased) and George E. Rives (the old foggy man).  Mrs. Emma Womble should also be mentioned as having served as pianist and organist longer than anyone else.  She was a very talented musician and served as a pianist from the time she was but a girl until her death in recent years.  She was always on the job, and loved the Church and particularly the music.

 Among the Sunday School superintendents we have had, Mr. C. W. Womble served for the longest time.  He began when he first came to Goldston in 1895, and served almost continuously as long as he was able to work.  I do not recall the exact number of years, but it must have been at least 30 years.  The first Supt. I remember was Andrew Jackson Goldston, who held forth at old Corinth Church as far back as 1890.  A few of the Superintendents in more recent years have been J. G. Goldston, E. M. Harris, Jr., George E. Rives, Jr., Frank Hayes and others.  Our present Superintendent is Mr. A. D. Pearce, who is making good.

 I will mention again some of our ministers whom I have regarded as being outstanding in their services as pastors.  Of course, the first I will speak of is D. C. Geddie, who was on the Deep River Circuit in 1890, and was the first preacher to live in the Goldston Parsonage.  The preachers before that time, or some of them, lived at Mt. Vernon Springs.  I have never known whether the Church owned a parsonage at Mt. Vernon, or it may have been a rented house.  Mr. Geddie was a young man and he was a fine preacher and a consecrated Man of God.  His wife was a Miss Maxwell, from Roseboro, N. C.  While this couple was living in the parsonage, little Miss Ruth Geddie was born, and she was the first baby born in the Goldston parsonage.  Mr. Geddie was not returned to Goldston in 1892 and not only the Church members, but the whole community were very much disappointed, for he was very popular.  He was promoted to a better Charge and preached for several years, but died relatively young.  About 2 years ago (1958) I saw Mrs. Geddie’s name in the State Magazine and I wrote to her in Whiteville, N.C., to ask whether she was the same Mrs. Geddie I used to know here.  I asked about “Baby Ruth” and was anxious to know about the rest of the family.  She wrote me a nice letter telling about little Ruth and the rest of her family.  A sister of Mrs. Geddie, Miss Alice Maxwell, married L. M. Goldston, of Goldston, and was the mother of Jack and Raymond Goldston and also Janie Kate Goldston, who married Johnny Jones of near Pittsboro. With further reference to the old parsonage that was first occupied by Mr. Geddie, this building was erected in what is commonly known as East Goldston.  This building is a neat little cottage structure, and is more suitable for a modern home than the old building, which is now out-moded, and one of the old time preachers spoke of it as just “an old sort of a barn”.   The old building is at present used as one of the units in the “Gwyn Rest Home for Elderly People”.

 Some other popular preachers have been J. H. Frizzle (1900), C. O. Durant (about 1906), M. D. Giles (about 1915), M. D. McLamb (in the 1920’s)  and several others whom I’ve already mentioned, including Mr. Vernon Tyson of recent years, who was one of the best loved of all the preachers we have ever had. I have already named some of the Presiding Elders we had in the old day, such as Mr. Stamey (E. L.), Mr. J. R. Scroggs, and Dr. Gibbs.  About the turn of he century we had Rev. B. R. Hall., William H. Moore, John R. Brooks, Dr. J. T. Gibbs, again, several years later Mr. Willis, D. E. Brantly.  Our present District Supt. Is W. L. Clegg, whom I regard as one of the best preachers in North Carolina.  I have not tried to name these preachers in regular order as to time, but just as I thought of them.

 I would also like to mention some of the great women of our Church, those who have been real “Mothers in Israel”, God bless them.  In the old days there were such women as Mrs. Kate Goldston (nee Katherine Rives), Mrs. Jennie Bynum Goldston, Mrs. Lou Ausley, Mrs. J. F. Ausley, while a little later on were Mrs. Emma Moses, Mrs. Noah Cheek, and others.  Mrs. Moses was a daughter of Uncle Joe Goldston, and her husband was Thomas V. Moses, a son of Rev. T. C. Moses, who was a Methodist preacher in the good old days.  Mr. & Mrs. T. W. Moses were fine people and I knew them quite well, as I lived in their home for several years as a boarder in the late 1890’s.  Both were very devoted and consecrated Christians and loyal friends.  Another of those Godly women, these “Mothers in Israel”, was Mrs. Noah Cheek.  She was always ready to help those who were sick or needed help in any way.  No other woman who ever lived in Goldston ever attended so many “Birthday Parties”, and no doubt many people who are alive today would not be alive had it not been or her merciful ministrations and kindly care. 

 Mrs. C. W. Womble (Miss Della) was another faithful Christian who was “not far from the Kingdom of God” and was ever ready to lend a helping hand to those in need.  She was of the old time “shouting Methodist” type, and would sometimes get happy in Church.  On these occasions her face would shine with such an Angelic expression that everyone who saw her would not doubt that she really had the Spirit of the Lord in her heart, and her face was beautiful to behold.  Besides these mentioned, there have been many other noble women in our Church, such as Mrs. E. N. Gilmore, Mrs. C. D. Martin, who is now the oldest living member of the Church, and at the present time we have a number of fine Christian Characters among the good women, such as Mrs. Olive, Mrs. Loomis Burke, Mrs. Margie Goldston and Mrs. A. W. Goldston, just to mention a few.

One of the most active branches of the Church is the Women’s Society of Christian Service, which at this present time is divided into two circles, known as the “Emma Moses Circle” and the “Alice Green Circle”.  The first named of these circles, The Emma Moses Circle, is very appropriately named in honor of Mrs. Emma Moses, of whom I have already spoken in the preceding paragraphs.  The other circle was named in honor of Miss Alice Green, who spent many years in China as a Christian Missionary, and she was almost an angel, even while here in this present life.  She was not a member of the Goldston Church, but she had a number of relatives living in the town of Goldston.  Her father was living here at the time of his death, and he was buried in the Goldston Cemetery.  So when Miss Alice died, she was placed by the side of her father.  The two W. S. C. S. circles are doing a great work in the Church, helping sick people and others in needy circumstances, making many benevolent contributions to a great many folks in need.  I do not have any figures on their various monetary expenditures, but know they have been very liberal and unselfish in their work.  We just couldn’t have a Church without the help and cooperation of these dear women folk.  They are the life of the Church when it comes to Christian Service.

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