Information Sheet

 

 

R         Emmaus Baptist Church (Washington County, Mo.).

395                  Records, 1861‑1989.

                                    Five volumes.

 

MICROFILM

 

 

 

These are records of the Emmaus Baptist Church, a United Baptist congre­gation near Cour­tois in the southwestern corner of Washington County, Missouri.  The records include minutes of meetings, membership records, and miscellaneous church papers.

 

The Emmaus Baptist Church is located one mile south of Courtois, Missouri.  The small con­gre­gation includes members from the area along the upper Courtois and Huzzah creeks be­tween the village of Courtois and the town of Viburnum in northwestern Iron County.  The church was or­ganized on 11 February 1861, when six members were ap­pointed to draft a con­sti­tution.  J. G. Rutter was appointed pastor and M. S. Wiman, church clerk.  One of the first orders of business was the drafting of a petition asking admittance of the Emmaus Church into the Franklin United Baptist Association, which was granted.  Delegates from Emmaus at­tended the Franklin Associa­tion meetings until the church transferred to the Cane Creek Bap­tist Associa­tion, with which the church is presently affiliated.  The fledgling congregation held regular meet­ings during most of the Civil War.  There are no records for April 1864 through February 1866, but a notation in the re­cord book indicates that there may have been meetings for which there are no minutes.  Al­though membership has declined somewhat in recent years, the congregation con­tinues to meet at Emmaus Church.  Present membership includes about fifteen individuals.

 

The records of Emmaus Church reflect a typical rural Baptist church.  The records con­sist of five volumes which contain primarily the minutes of church meetings.  The minutes be­gin with the organiza­tional meeting of the church in February 1861 and continue through De­cember 1989.  The minutes are complete with the exception of the period 1877‑1900, for which there are no minutes.  Church business as indicated in the minutes included the acceptance and dismissal of members, adjudicating complaints against members, ordaining ministers and engaging pas­tors, and appoint­ing delegates to the annual meetings of the Franklin United Baptist Association and the Cane Creek Baptist Association.  Delegates to the annual associa­tions also carried funds subscribed by Emmaus Church to subsidize the printing of the minutes of the association, and to support mission work.

 

Membership records are found in four of the five volumes.  An at­tempt to compile a com­plete list of members from earlier records may be found in Volume 5.  However, the list does not include the names of the earliest members, among whom were James V. Carty, M. H. Dotson, John Godby, R. S. Laramore, John A. Love, Samuel Lucass, James Nipper, J. G. Rutter, and W. S. Wi­man.  The Laramore family of Washington County have been active throughout the history of the church as members and officials, and are currently the custodians of the records of Em­maus Church.

 

 

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