I like history. I especially like when I find information that links an ancestor to some interesting part of history.
I decided last night to look at a branch of my husband's family that I hadn't looked at in a while. I began with what I already knew: Vines Smith, the father of Josephine Smith Higgins, was in the 1850 Coosa County, Alabama census. He has an entry on Findagrave.com that says he was born 1794 in SC and died 1857 in Alabama and is buried in the Ebenezer Methodist Cemetery in Coosa County, but no headstone photo accompanies this entry. Another website, trackingyourroots.com, lists those same dates for an unknown Smith in what is called the Higgins Cemetery, in Coosa County. Some quick internet searches found various postings on genealogy message boards. There were others researching this same tree and I admit to following their trail. It is so much easier when you know where to look!
Over and over I saw researchers saying that Mr Smith was living in Clarke County, GA around 1830 but moves to Coosa County, Alabama by 1840. This was verified by the census records. Then, I found the tidbit that made it interesting, at least to me.
His name came up in a book titled, "History of the Baptist Denomination in Georgia" in the University of Connecticut Libraries archive that you could read online. I already told you I like history. But I also like church. I like the Bible. For the most part, I like Baptists, since I am one. So this intrigued me.
Vines Smith had signed his name to a protest against his local Baptist Association, the Sarepta Association, in 1836 for joining the larger state convention. At first glance, they seemed to be protesting missions. But, I didn't really understand the bigger picture, what was going on at the time and what this meant. I wanted to know if this ancestor was a "good guy" or a "bad guy" in this church dispute. Did he do the right thing? I also wanted to know if this was "my" Vines Smith, or possibly someone with the same name. So, I kept searching.
I found out the Sarepta Association did include Clarke County where Vines Smith was known to live. Next to Vines Smith's name on the document was the place name "Big Spring". I found out that "Big Spring" is called Watkinsville today, a place near Athens, GA in Clarke County. So it is quite possible this is "my" Vines Smith.
I also found other sites that summarized Baptist history and tried to explain the division that was arising at the same time that a revival was taking place. One site said that those that withdrew formed their own association called "the Oconee Association." Going from there, I found that this was the beginning of the distinction between Primitive Baptists and Southern Baptists. I found explanations of doctrine, predestination, and traditions. I learned about the Second Great Awakening and how this inspired missionary societies and missionary work. I admit that I can really get sucked into research...
Was Vines Smith on the "right" side of the dispute? Honestly, I'm not sure if I would have agreed with him on this one. But I'm glad he stood up for what he believed and registered his protest. He was lobbying for the free exercise of his religion, and that I do support.
Did this dispute have anything to do with the fact that four years later he leaves Georgia and moves to Alabama? I don't know. But I'm still intrigued, so I'll keep looking.
