"A superb study of Primitive Baptist belief and practice in a specific region of the South. Expands our knowledge of an often neglected group."--Bill Leonard, Dean, School of Divinity, Wake Forest University Between 1819 and 1848, Primitive Baptists emerged as a distinct, dominant religious group in the area of the deepest South known as the Wiregrass country. John Crowley, a historian and former Primitive minister, chronicles their origins and expansion into South Georgia and Florida, documenting one of the strongest aspects of the inner life of the local piney-woods culture. Crowley begins by examining Old Baptist worship and discipline and then addressing Primitive Baptist reaction to the Civil War, Reconstruction, Populism, Progressivism, the Depression, and finally the ferment of the 1960s and present decline of the denomination. Intensely conservative, with a strong belief in predestination, Old Baptists opposed modernizing trends sweeping their denomination in the early 19th century. Crowley describes their separation from Southern Baptists and the many internal schisms on issues such as the saving role of the gospel, the Two Seed Doctrine, and absolute as opposed to limited predestination. Going beyond doctrine, he discusses contention among Old Baptists over music, divorce, membership in secret societies, sacraments administered by heretics, and rituals such as the washing of feet. Writing with insight and sensitivity, he navigates the history of this denomination through the 20th century and the emergence of at least twenty mutually exclusive factions of Primitive Baptists in this specific region of the Deep South.

On October 16, 1869, Atlanta businessman John J. Thrasher purchased land lot No. 254, approximately 250 acres in southwestern Gwinnett County. He envisioned a resort town at the first stop north of Atlanta on the Atlanta & Richmond Air-Line, which was then under construction from Atlanta to Charlotte. When the railroad arrived in 1870, Thrasher subdivided his acreage and sold lots to investors and residents from Atlanta and surrounding farming communities, such as Pinckneyville and Flint Hill. Thus, he established the town of Norcross, naming it for his good friend and fellow Atlanta pioneer, Jonathan Norcross. Images of America: Norcross tells the stories of the town's founders, residents, and visitors, combining everyday lives with historical events that stretch over 140 years. The rich history includes pioneers, Civil War veterans, former slaves, railroaders, baseball players, preachers, teachers, politicians, bootleggers, entrepreneurs, US presidents, and the 1996 Olympic torch.

Transcribed minutes from Macedonia Baptist Church, Mendenhall, Simpson County, Mississippi 1841 - 1899. You can find names received by experience/letter, baptisms, restored members, membership rolls, select female maiden manes, slave member names, slave owners, dismissal requests, excluded members, death dates of select members, pastors, church clerks, deacons, delegates.