As a young girl, going to the “Country” was fascinating to me. I remember my grandparents getting ready for church. My grandfather was a deacon in the church and my grandmother was the secretary. They would dress in their finest. My grandfather, dapper in his suit and my grandmother parading around commanding our attention and asking us, “how I look?”. Don’t say she looks good, you had to go above and beyond with the compliments. And beautiful she was.
The Primitive Baptist Church grew out of the Baptist church. Primitive Baptists did not agree with the Baptist Church’s leaning toward missionary work, but sought a more conservative approach to religion. The Church is Calvinistic in it’s doctrine of predestination. As with many denominations, African Americans split with the white churches to worship on their own.
Mt. Olive is located off of US Highway 27 in Louvale, Stewart County, Georgia. There is the main sanctuary and attached to it is the kitchen and eating area. My grandfather sketched out the floorplan of the kitchen on a piece of cardboard at our kitchen table.
The deacons sit on one side of the church, the women of the church on the other side. The Elders are in the pulpit.
Various families, mainly the women of the church would bring their boxes where congregants will file by and partake in the food after church on the third Sunday, which is when the Church held services.
My grandmother would cook a literal box of food, whole meals, for the church. Collard greens, turkey dressing, field peas, cornbread, sweet potato pies, potato salad and all kinds of delicious food. None for us at home! You had to go to church if you wanted a plate.
There is a cemetery behind the Church. It has been said that there are more graves in the woods behind the graves that you can see.
I am not sure when Mt. Olive was founded.
According to Find A Grave, the oldest grave in that cemetery belongs to Laura Thomas, born 1851 and died 1919. There are many of my ancestors buried there, including my maternal grandparents, great grandparents and great-great grandparents.
My aunt was able to get a copy of church minutes from the 10th Annual session of The Union Primitive Baptist Association. This session was held with Macedonia Church in my hometown of Columbus, Georgia, October 17 – 19, 1890. Mt. Olive was represented by Elder B. F. Daniel, B. F. Nicholson and W. W. Armor. The Church had 33 members in 1890.
The Church held services on the third Sunday because back in the day, the Elder would visit several churches, and Mt. Olive’s date happened to fall on the third Sunday.
I remember my grandparents hosted Elder Charlie White (Uncle “Char-lee”) Elder White was my grandmother’s uncle, her mother’s big brother. I was the type of kid that hung around the elders and I was right there listening and learning. Maybe that’s why I love genealogy today, it was always a part of me. To this day, I have Elders in the church from my family. My grandmother’s baby brother John Dent and my cousin Louis Thomas.
My other memory associated with the church is the singing, or a better description would be “sangin”! At this church, they sing acappella, call and response. Whenever I am in the church, I can close my eyes and hear my grandmother’s voice. The same voice that would wake me up on the weekends, singing her hymns while she was cooking breakfast or preparing her box for church. I would be completely mesmerized!
She can be heard on the track “He is the One” among other tracks on a recording my cousin, Tyrone Wilson made some years ago.
Below is also a visual and audio of singing at Mt. Olive.
Although I am not a member of Mt. Olive, nor am I a Primitive Baptist, this Church is a big part of my ancestral roots and it means a lot to me.
