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Archiver > LARAPIDE > 2003-02 > 1044208216


From: "Randy Willis' Riata Talent" <>
Subject: Re: [LARAPIDE] Cheneyville history, Robert family
Date: Sun, 2 Feb 2003 11:50:16 -0600
References: <15c.1abbdd8a.2b6e9d63@aol.com>


By 1818, when Rev. Joseph Willis and others founded the Louisiana Baptist
Association at Cheneyville, he had been instrumental in founding all five
charter member churches. They were Calvary, 1812; Beulah, 1816; Vermillion,
1817; Aimwell, 1817 (also called Debourn); and Plaquemine, 1817. Aimwell was
about five-miles southeast of Oberlin, Beulah at Cheneyville, Calvary at
Bayou Chicot, Vermillion at Lafayette, and Plaquemine near Branch.

The surname Robert and Tanner were associated with Joseph Willis in early
1800 Louisiana.

For more information on Rev. Joseph Willis and early Louisiana Baptist
churches see: http://www.randywillis.org

Early Louisiana Baptist historian W.E. Paxton wrote of William Chaney and
early Baptist migration to Mississippi and Louisiana:

"They left South Carolina in the spring of 1780 traveling by land to the
northeastern corner of Tennessee. There they built three flat boats and when
the Holston River reached sufficient depth toward the end of that year, they
set out for the Natchez country of Mississippi by way of the Holston,
Tennessee, Ohio, and Mississippi Rivers. Those mentioned above traveled on
the first two boats; the names of those on the last boat are not known.
Those in the last boat had contracted smallpox and were required to travel a
few hundred yards behind the other two boats. Somewhere near the Clinch
River, on a bend in the Tennessee River near the northwestern corner of
Georgia, they were attacked by Cherokee Indians. The first two boats
escaped, but the third boat was captured. The price paid for this attack was
high, for the Indians contracted smallpox from them and many died."

"Those on the first two boats continued on their voyage and landed safely at
the mouth of Cole's creek about 18 miles above Natchez by land. Here in this
part of the state they lived. They called Richard Curtis, Jr., who was
licensed to preach in S. Carolina, as their preacher. He would later
organize the first Baptist Church in Mississippi, in 1791, called Sa1em. As
time passed the population increased. Some were Baptists such as William
Chaney from South Carolina and his son Bailey. A preacher from Georgia by
the name of Harigail also arrived here and zealously denounced the
'corruptions of Romanism.' This, along with the conversion of a Spanish
Catholic by the name of Stephen d'Alvoy, brought the wrath of the Spanish
authorities. To make an example of d'Alvoy and Curtis, they decided to
arrest them and send them to the silver mines in Mexico. Warned of this
plan, d'Alvoy and Curtis and a man by the name of Bill Hamberlin fled to
South Carolina, arriving in the fall of 1795. Harigail also escaped and fled
this area."

Rev. Joseph Willis also, made his first trip to Mississippi with Richard
Curtis, Jr. This trip was made without his family, as was the custom of the
time to venture farther west, find a safe place and then return for the
family.

Baptist historian, W. E. Paxton records the results of this first trip:

"They sought not in vain, for soon after their return they were visited by
William Thompson, who preached unto them the Gospel of our God: and on the
first Saturday in October, 1798, came William Thompson, Richard Curtis and
Joseph Willis, who constituted them into a church, subject to the government
of the Cole's Creek church, calling the newly constituted arm of Cole's
Creek, 'The Baptist Church on Buffaloe."

This church was located near Woodville, Mississippi and the Mississippi
River east of Alexandria, Louisiana. Joseph returned for his family by 1799,
but it would seem he might have made a trip across the river into Louisiana
before this date, since this is where he returned with his family.

Paxton also, writes a lot about the Tanner and Robert family.

Randy Willis

http://www.randywillis.org


----- Original Message -----
From: <>
To: <>
Sent: Sunday, February 02, 2003 10:12 AM
Subject: [LARAPIDE] Cheneyville history, Robert family


> Hi,
>
> New to list!
>
> I wonder if anyone can steer me to books (or websites or other resources)
on
> the origins/history of Cheneyville? Or Bayou Beouf? Or the earliest
Baptist
> Churches (ca 1813) in the area? Where can I find census, tax,deed,
marriage
> or death records for the area in the very early 1800's? (Not much at the
> GenWeb site...)
>
> My ancestor was Captain Peter Robert (1740-1815?) who travelled with a
large
> group of people from Santee (Charleston area) , SC (where he was minister
of
> the Huguenot Church) thru Woodville (Wilkinson Co), MS (where his son died
> and he gathered more supporters) into Bayou Beouf by 1813. Most of the
> people who travelled with him (up to a hundred) were his descendants or
> in-laws --among them the Tanners, Staffords, Grimballs and at least one
> Rutledge!
>
> The group joined William Cheney and Captain Peter became minister to his
> flock--Baptist, I believe. There is a book on some of the descendants of
> this family though it contains errors (like my whole line!). Are there
other
> books I might get? Are there historical or genealogical groups in the
area
> who've published pamphlets or have studied these families? Who can I
> contact?
>
> I'd like to find as much as I can on this group before March because I'm
> going to a memorial service for a descendant & I want to share as much as
I
> can with the group. I would really appreciate any info, any referrals,
any
> resource suggestions... Any ideas, folks? Any cousins out there? Any
> look-up volunteers?
>
> Scavenger hunt!
>
> * Is there a list of Captain Peter's fellow travellers/settlers? Or
> residents ca 1813?
> * When and where did Captain Peter die? Where is he buried?
> * His wife, Anne Grimball Robert died in 1825 in Bayou Beouf. Where is
she
> buried?
> * Is there a Robert family graveyard? Or a Bayou Beouf graveyard with
200
> year old graves?
> * What Baptist church existed then and are there records? Does it still
> exist?
> * I believe this group arrived ca 1813. Are there records/documents
still
> extant for the period (or were records destroyed by war or fire or
> flood?)
> * Captain Peter's daughter, Esther Susannah Robert, married Joseph
Rutledge
> in MS. I found her headstone in Forest Hill (Pineville?) -- at a
little
> family cemetery called Brewer-Moore. How did she end up there? And
where
> is James Rutledge?
> * Are there Robert descendants still in the area? How about Rutledges?
> * How could I find the actual land where the group lived? Is Bayou Beouf
a
> large place? Are there historical markers or homes or other buildings
from
> 1810-1830?
>
> Again, I'd be very grateful for any help - someday I'll get down there to
> research...
>
> thanks!
> Cyndi Rutledge in Baltimore
>
>
> ==== LARAPIDE Mailing List ====
> Have you backed up your data lately?
>
>


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