The Trip Home

Levi Pigott was born in Beaufort, Carteret County, N. C. on April 21, 1831. His father was a shipbuilder and a sailor.
Levi became a preacher in the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. He traveled from N.C. to Kentucky and Arkansas, back to North Carolina and to Virginia. The following story is taken from his book about his life and describes a journey from Arkansas to Beaufort, North Carolina about 1870:

"While in Arkansas, I learned of the critical illness of my mother in Beaufort, N. C., and I at once started for home. There were no public conveyances of any kind, and wagons and mules were scarce; but we obtained one to take our beds and baggage, and, there being no room for us to ride, we went in company with others who were carrying their cotton to market, to the town of Camden, Arkansas, twenty miles distant, from which town we were to take a steamer down the Onchita.

"On the road to Camden it began to rain. My son and I had to walk about ten miles over this road, which was undulating and of red clay, making it bad for pedestrians like us; and my wife had to ride lying flat on the top of a cotton bale, which was under cover, the old-time way of traveling, and it was an extremely rough ride.

"My son and I were soaking wet; but on reaching Camden we found a ''Jewel" —the presiding elder of the district, and a Jewel by both name and nature—who received us very cordially and entertained us all night right royally with brotherly love and affection.

"Well, we lodged with Brother Jewel that night, and next day took a steamer down the Onchita river; then into the Black river; then into the Bed river; next into the Mississippi; thence to New Orleans, a distance of eight hundred miles. It took us four days to make the trip, having to stop at many landings to take on cotton, until we had nine hundred bales.

"We arrived at New Orleans about daylight, and remained until five o'clock that evening. As we passed through the city on the train we saw many oranges growing in the yards. At the same time snow was falling fast in large flakes; and the snow falling and the oranges growing seemed to be a contradiction; but so it was.

"From New Orleans we went on to Mobile, Alabama, traveling over some long trestles — one was twenty-five or thirty miles, if I recollect rightly — across the bays that made in from the Gulf of Mexico.

"We arrived home safe and found my dear, precious mother in bed; but she was so overjoyed at seeing us that she got up and never was sick after that until her death sickness — about five vears afterwards."

[Taken from Scenes and incidents in the life of a home missionary by Levi Woodbury Pigott: 1901. The entire book can be found at http://openlibrary.org/]

ELDER JOHN TANNER SHOT FOR BAPTIZING

Kehukee Association

One of the earliest Baptist Associations in America was formed in northeastern North Carolina. The Kehukee Baptist Association was founded in 1765 at the Kehukee meeting-house near Kehukee Creek in Halifax County, North Carolina. It included the following churches:

1. Toisnot, in Edgecombe County;
2. Kehukee, in Halifax County;
3. Falls of Tar River, in Edgecombe County;
4. Fishing Creek, in Halifax County;
5. Sandy Creek, in Warren County;
6. Sandy Run, in Bertie County;
7. A church in Camden County.

The Kehukee Association was the fourth Association of Baptist Churches in America. Philadelphia, formed in 1707, Charleston, formed in 1751, and Sandy Creek, formed in 1758, preceded the Kehukee Association. The first history of the Association was written by Elders Lemuel Burkitt and Jesse Read, and published in 1803.

Not everyone accepted the doctrine of the early Baptist Church and the pastors often endured persecution for their beliefs. One example involved Elder John Tanner, an Edgecombe County pastor, who was seriously injured and almost lost his life.

A woman named Dawson from Windsor in Bertie County, NC was converted. She wished to be baptiaed and to join the church of a certain Elder Dargan. Her husband was greatly opposed to it, and threatened that if anyone baptized his wife he would shoot him. For a considerable time, the baptism did not take place.

Eventually, Elder Tanner visited Elder Dargan's church at Cashie and Mrs. Dawson applied to the church for baptism. She related her experience and was received. It so happened that Elder Daran was old and feeble, and he asked Elder Tanner to carry out the baptism. It is not known whether Elder Tanner knew of Mr. Dawson's threat to shoot whoever baptized his wife, but, at any rate, Elder Tanner baptized Mrs. Dawson.

The following June, in 1777, Elder Tanner was coming to preach at Sandy Run Meeting House. Mr. Dawson had not forgotten his threat of revenge. He heard of the expected arrival of Elder Tanner and travelled from Windsor to Norfleet's Ferry on the Roanoke River. With a large horseman's pistol, he lay in wait near the bank of the river. As Elder Tanner and Elder Dargan came up from the ferry landing, Dawson shot Tanner at close range.

Elder Tanner was carried to the house of Elisha Williams, near Scotland Neck in Halifax County. Elder Lemuel Burkitt, who was co-author of an early history of the Kehukee Association, was present when the surgeon dressed Mr. Tanner's wound. He revealed that rhe result of the shooting was that seventeen shot went into Tanner's thigh. One of the shot was so large that it went through his thigh and into his clothing.

Mr. Dawson, frightened and fearing Elder Tanner's death and a charge of murder, sent a doctor to attend him, not just once, but on a daily basis. Tanner was ill and near death for several weeks before finally recovering. He never attempted to sue for any damage for the injury, regarding the matter as a persecution for Christ's sake.

In Virginia, Elder Tanner suffered further persecution for his beliefs. He was and six other preachers— William Webber, Joseph Anthony, Augustine Eastin, John Weatherford, Jeremiah Walker and David Tinsley— were jailed in Chesterfield for their preaching.

In describing the event, Burkitt and Read said, "The people were so desirous to hear preaching that they would attend at the prison, and the ministers would preach to them through the grates. In order to prevent their hearing, Colonel Cary had a brick wall erected ten or twelve feet high before the prison, and the top thereof fixed with glass, set in mortar to prevent the people from sitting on the top of the wall to hear the word."

Elder Tanner later moved to Kentucky and then to Missouri.

This story appears in several different places. Among them are:
1. Colonial Records. Vol. VIII.
2. History of Edgecombe county, North Carolina by Joseph Kelly Turner and John Luther Bridgers: 1920.
3. A history of Kentucky Baptists: From 1769 to 1885, including more ..., Volume 1 by John H. Spencer: 1886
4. A history of the Baptists in Missouri: embracing an account of the ... by Robert Samuel Duncan: 1882

A search of the internet will find a number of other references to the incident.