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Archiver > GAFULTON > 2003-09 > 1064243652


From: "Carole Johnson" <>
Subject: [GAFULTON] Birmingham College
Date: Mon, 22 Sep 2003 11:14:12 -0400


Dear List,
I've written before regarding the history of Birmingham United Methodist Church in Alpharetta. I have stumbled across some information in the 1894 issues of the Cherokee Advance. Included in those issues are ads for the school of Birmingham College and for a store owned by John H. Johnston.

The ad for the college stated that boarding was available. Do any of you have any ancestors who attended the school? At that time the funding was through the North Georgia Conference of the Methodist Church. The president of the College was Lamont Gordon.

The area around the crossroads of Birmingham Highway (then called Roswell Orange Road) and Birmingham Road
(then called Hickory Flat Road) was pretty prosperous.

John H. Johnston owned the store at the cross roads and later sold it to the Buice Family who continuously operated a country store until just a couple of years ago. There is also an ad for the "New" store owned by Mr. Johnston in 1894 papers.

I can't find a burial place for John Johnston. Methodist records lists him as a local preacher, meaning he was not licensed to preach. He was used as a supply preacher at Hickory Flat Methodist as well as the Birmingham Church. I think it is highly likely that he is buried in the church cemetery on Taylor Road, but have no proof. I've identified a family that I think might be his in the 1880 census. If it is the correct family they were actually living in the Little River area of Cherokee
at least during the census. Others who might have been church members were also in that area. The area the church is in is very close to the Fulton/Cherokee line.

I recently met with a representative of a well respected funeral home in Roswell at the cemetery. He feels that there are probably upward of 100 people buried in our cemetery with only about 20 some-odd in identifiable graves. The cemetery is in remarkable condition despite the many years of neglect.

I am very committed to preserving this cemetery and the history of the Birmingham United Methodist Church.
Records prior to 1980 are practically nonexistent. I have managed to contact several ministers who served in the 1950s onward. All of those I've been in contact with were Seminary students at the time of their service and were also serving other churches in the charge and can't offer much in the way of history.

If anyone has any information, I'd really like to hear from you.
Thanks,
Carole Johnson

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