Talk:Pine Chapel, Jefferson, TN

From: Leota Bennet Subject: [WALKER_SHORTLIST] Re: Keywood Methodist Conference Date: June 9, 2008 10:33:59 AM EDT To: [email protected]

My understanding is that the second conference not the first was the double host event. I used the wrong dates. The Manheim Church history is a bit different in some areas to the Price articles. That may be where I confused the issues. Both families lived near each other and were strong Methodist and carried their religion with them.

I followed the links and in the Pine Chapel article, the George Turnley who married Charlotte Cunningham is my gggg-uncle. His sister is my direct line ancestor. George and Charlotte Cunningham Turnley are buried in the Pine Chapel Cemetery. A few years ago I understand it was "plowed" over to build more subdivision. Shame for Shame! There were 16 people buried in that cemetery in a mass grave. The last known Indian attack in that area occurred in 1793 or 1794. They killed a woman and her son who were washing clothing on the French Broad River near the Oak Grove Community (north side) and Pine Grove Community (south side). As they progressed they killed a total of 16 people before either "running"away or captured. The surviving people hurriedly buried the dead and pursued the killing party. One of the scouts was James (?)Cunningham, a son of Arabella Cunningham, a brother to Arabella Cunningham Winton, and Charlotte Cunningham Turnley. His death was gruesome and is lightly described in Ramsey's Annuals of Tennessee.

I believe among the dead was Joseph Elias Barron and his wife. They were killed by Indians in that general area in August 1794. He was a religious leader who lived in Pittsylvania County Virginia in 1768. He was assigned by a religious group their with his son-in-law William Dodson to serve on the Kantuck Circute. Joseph Barron had a brother and other family members to move to the western Watauga Settlement or Brown Settlement, just east of the French Broad Settlement. They lived in the present day Pulaski County Kentucky area. William Dodson had married Sarah Barron, the daughter of Joseph Elias Barron. He gave the original 40 acres of land for the town of Somerset, KY. He had family in East Tennessee also.

Another note is the grandson of Charlotte Cunningham Turnley attended West Point graduated in 1848. Parnmus Taylor Turnley's roommate was the later General "Stonewall" Jackson. He did not like later President Grant very much. That in its self is a long story. PT Turnley served on the Western Front at the beginning and was sent abroad at the end the Civil War. He later became a judge in Chicago and was the last member of his West Point Class to die.

All these families lived with Walkers every where they traveled. Small world. Leota

From: Jerry Brimberry To: <[email protected]> Sent: Monday, June 09, 2008 9:28 AM Subject: [WALKER_SHORTLIST] Re: Keywood Methodist Conference

Thanks Leota for the information and for overlooking two errors in my previous reference to the Keywood Methodist Conference. In addition to a memory lapse on your first name, I state that John Walker's parents hosted the Conference when I meant his wife's parents.

Historical documents comport with your description that the Conference was conducted over several days in several locations in the general vicinity of Clinchburg a few miles northwest of the Glade Spring/Bakers Creek area and an even shorter distance from Saltville. Without disagreeing with any of the valuable information you provided, the fact remains that multiple historians such as Summers and at Emory and Henry College as well as the Methodist Church, whether correctly or incorrectly, have long referred to the Methodist Conference attended by Bishop Asbury in 1788 as the "Keywood Conference".

A historical marker was placed there many years ago on private property the location of which appears on official Virginia state maps. "Keywood" is a corruption of Stephen Cawood's surname. As described by an official Methodist website (Item 1 below), Stephen Cawood (Keywood) and his wife Esther (Berry) Cawood hosted the final sessions of the conference in their home. Their daughter Hester Cawood married John Walker, the son of William and Elizabeth Walker of Laurel Fork. Their marriage was performed in 1792 by Reverend Nicholas Reagan who also resided in Clinchburg and is described by Methodist historians as being very "circumscribed" or limited in his travels owing to age. Two years earlier, Reagan also performed the weddings of Peter Broomberry/Dicey Walker and James Meek/Spicy Walker in 1790. The biological relationship, if any, between Dicey/Spicy and the children of William/Elizabeth Walker of Laurel Fork is unknown. However, the distance between the Old Kirk/Meek Stone House and the Cawood homeplace/Reagan's residence is about four miles, with the headwaters of Bakers Creek near McCall's Gap splitting the distance.

For further information see: the official website of the United Methodist Church.