Ed Quattlebaum is a detective whose passion is history.  A retired pastor and director of missions, his new career began on Mother’s Day 1998, when called to pastor Bethabara Church in Cross Hill.  Bethabara, founded in 1794, obviously had a long history but “No one could tell me the story.”

Quattlebaum’s love of history began at Furman University where he was a history major and continued during his studies at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.  The faculty taught the concept,   “Trying to go into the future without some concept of the past is like trying to plant cut flowers.”  Now in retirement, he rediscovered his love for history and a story that needed to be told.  Sarah B. Segars whose parents had been at Bethabara wrote a ten page history in 1956 but Ed felt additional research was needed to fully preserve the heritage of this early church.

His first stop was Furman University’s Baptist Historical Collection where Glen Clayton, then curator, helped him find microfilmed records of church minutes.  The next stop was the Caroliniana Library at the University of South Carolina in Columbia where he found the original 1801 – 1881 minutes and typed transcriptions.  During the Great Depression, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) typed the handwritten minutes of many churches as part of their work.  “The typed minutes are a blessing to researchers, their eyes and their patience.” 

The Caroliniana Library is a major source for Baptist records and holds the papers of notable Baptists such as Richard Furman, Oliver Hart and William Bullein Johnson in addition to church and association minutes.

Trips to libraries in Laurens, Whitmire, Greenville, Newberry and other places added additional information and as librarians learned of his project, they started setting aside or copying material related to Bethabara.  

Association minutes were also important.  A caution to researchers, “Be sure and check association records carefully because as the population of South Carolina increased and more Baptist churches were planted, boundaries changed to meet the needs of the churches.” 

Another helpful source of information came from the families of former ministers.  “I used the names of the pastors as the skeleton on which to build the history.  Each piece of new information added a realistic picture of a person.”  

He followed every trail tracing descendants to Summerville and as far away as Texas. Not only did information come from family genealogical files but a wonderful discovery was that of a descendant of Elder Martin Ball, pastor 1840-1844, is currently studying at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. 

One fascinating story followed the career of the same Elder William Ball.  A description of him by Reverend L. Ball states, “If …Ball failed to effect [sic] a move in a revival meeting on Sunday night, which had commenced on Saturday, and failed to make peace between parties at variance, no else need try.” 

Ball moved to Mississippi from Bethabara and served as a pastor and missions leader promoting the importance of home and foreign mission work.   Stories like this abound and give the history vitality and church members a sense of pride. 

“I also used local newspapers and world news to help readers understand the time period.  One example is five weeks when the church held no services because of the great Influenza Epidemic of 1918.” 

There were two specific mysteries.  The first was the church’s move from the 1794 site at the headwaters of Banks Creek on Chile’s Ferry road.  The minutes give no reason for the move and the deed for the current property was finalized in 1859.  

The first two deeds gave ownership to the church commissioners (deacons) and their successors. Incorporated in 2003, the land now belongs to the church.  “It’s important to have the deeds to verify dates and church incorporation.  But be prepared for some real surprises.”

The second mystery is the disappearance of all but one page of a handwritten history mentioned in the church minutes of 1895.  The minutes report one hundred hand-written copies were made but Quattlebaum is still looking to find a complete copy.

Bethabara’s history is more than a recitation of dates and times.  It is illustrated with pictures of eighteen of the former forty-two pastors.  These came from family members, other churches and a variety of sources. 

Under the church, he took pictures of the original hand cut timbers that form the foundation.  The axe marks are still clearly visible.  You can run your hand across them and sense the physical effort that went into building this pioneer church. 

Right now, the Bethabara history is in a loose leaf notebook.  Quattlebaum plans  to have it printed in book form.  “The roadblocks and frustrations have all been worth it as I have seen the story come together.

“Church members see the importance of their ministry not only in the community but in this country’s Baptist heritage.  It lets everyone rejoice that God has used Bethabara, its members and pastors for His glory for more than two hundred and ten years.” 

Quattlebaum encourages all who would be church historians, “Stay with the story because things open up in ways you can’t expect.”

Protecting church history and records isn’t just the task of historians but of everyone.  If your church has a story that needs telling, form a church history committee.  If you need help getting started, contact Mark Jeffcoat at the South Carolina Baptist Convention for additional help.  Remember, it’s not just your church’s story, it’s the story of all South Carolina Baptists. 

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Suggestions for researching your church’s story:
1. Check what church minutes are available.
2. Interview church members.
3. Check association minutes.
4. Contact the Baptist Historical Collection at Furman University.
5. Contact and visit other area and state libraries.
6. Contact family members of former pastors.
7. Read the Baptist Courier on microfilm.
8. Read area newspapers on microfilm for church references.