DID YOU KNOW THESE EARLY MEMBERS?

H B Clower

Henry Blaine Clower was born January 8, 1888 on a farm in the hill country of Floyd County Virginia, at a place known as Perry's Fork.  he was one of a family of eight sons and three daughters born to John Wesley Clower and wife.  The family, as might be expected from the fathers name, was Methodist.  At age fourteen Henry Blaine came with his family to West Virginia.  From 1908-1910 he was in the General Store business at Kaymoor.  In 1910 he came to Oak Hill and worked for a year in a store owned by Ashley Blake where the Midland Store building later stood.  From 1911-1915 he worked in a store owned by BC Peters.  On June 11, 1913 he married Miss Duncan in Charleston.  In 1913 he was employed by the Oak Hill Hardware Company.

HE served as recorder a number of times for the city of Oak Hill.  On coming to WV his parents settled anong the Dunkard Brethren and he joined that church.  Agter moving to Oak Hill he cast his lot wit the Baptists.  He became secretary of the Men's Bible Class and one of fifteen Deacons.  During the building program of eht new church he served on the finance committee.

Mrs. J E White

Mrs. White was a Virginian by birth and education.  Born in Portsmouth, Va, she was graduated form Portsmouth High School and form Virginia State Teacher College in Farmville. 

When coming to WV she first worked at the Baptist Temple in Charleston.  Later she came to Oak Hill and became superintendent of the Junior Department of the Sunday School here and led the Junior BYPU.  She slso served as church pianist and held offices in womens work.  She served on the staff of the church publication, the OHBC Messenger. 

According to her, the Junior Dept was the oldest fully organized in the OHBC Sunday School.  It began with six classes and included Mrs. JW Ray, IC Pennington, Mrs. CP Cobb, Mrs. Allie Brown, Ms Amy Mankin, & Mrs. Francis Boothe-Dillon.  The attendance at the start included an enrollment of about 50, averaging 55 weekly.

It has been said, "If you want something done get a busy person to do it,"  and that was certainly true in her case.  According to Shirley Donnelly, "No church ever had a more loyal, tireless, and consecrated Christian character than Mrs. White."

Mrs. Bessie Harvey Rule

Bessie Harvey was the daughter of Mr. & Mrs. John W. Harvey and was born near Sanger.  Her whole life was spent around the Oak Hill area.  She was the mother of two children, Ruth & John Ray Rule.

Mrs. Rule was educated at Oak Hill High School, graduating with the class of 1909, and then on to Marshall College in Huntington.  For a number of years she was a public school teacher.

She was Superintendent of the OHBC Primary Department, and was affectionately called by all, "Mrs. Bess"  According to the late Rev. Shirley Donnelly, "there was not a more faithful and efficient worker in the entire Sunday School than she."

According to Mrs. Rule, Mrs. Sallie Fitzgerald/Archer organized the Primary Department about 1912 when new Sunday School rooms were added to the old church building.  She indicated in 1927 when writing about the primary department, that the teachers included Mrs. Hattie Duncan Christian, Mrs. Cleo Blake Harland, Mrs. Ed Blake, Mrs., Roonie Blake Bibb, Mrs. Sadie Harvey Wilmer, and Miss Marguerite Blake.  Fifty children were enrolled with an average attendance of thirty-five.

Edgar Lee Boothe

Edgar Lee Boothe was born December 19, 1879 at Terry's Fork in Floyd County  Virginia.  He was the son of Irish immigrants who came to the USA sometime before the Civil War.  The father served in the Confederacy throughout the war.  Edgar was one of thirteen boys and four girls.

Many of the Boothe boys were mechanics in the Old Dominion.  their father had been a wheelwright, making buggies or surries, the forerunner of our automobiles.

Edgar traveled west to Oak Hill in 1902 and was married by Rev. G W Adams to Miss Mary Blake in 1907.  For a number of years he was the farm superintendent of Lundale Farms, belonging to CT Jones.  Later he owned the Excelsior Fruit Farm adjacent to Oak Hill.

In 1906 he was baptized into the fellowship of OHBC, serving as Deacon, President of the Men's Bible Class, leader of the Senior Boys BYPU, & served on the Finance Committee.

He was the father of six children, including our Anna Lou Holt and our late Martha Kate.

AREA CHURCH HISTORY

The first Baptist Church in what is now West Virginia was in the Eastern Panhandle at Mill Creek in Berkeley County.  This church no longer exists.

Click the logo above to access the  site of the West Virginia Baptist Historical Society!