The old house where Samuel Harris lived and preached was drawn of a map when he estate was divided.
Samuel Harris helped establish a church down the creek from his house. I was born on a farm upsteam on this old church on Lawless Branch of Fall Creek.
One of the most famous early Baptist preachers was a very important leader in both politics and the military in colonial Virginia. Samuel Harris was born in Hanover County, Virginia in 1724 and settled very early just across Fall Creek on the road north from Danville was later established.
Samuel Harris was only 23 years old when he began his work with the Church of England. An oath of allegiance was required of colonist in Virginia. Beginning in 1606, King James who some people think wrote the Bible, required an oath of “uttermost faith and allegiance to the King’s majesty” from everyone leaving for America to work in the Virginia Company.
Samuel Harris would have made the required oath to King George II, who was born in 1683 and ruled from 1727 until 1760. The short version was:
" I, Samuel Harris, do sincerely promise and swear that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to his Majesty, King George the Second. So help me God."
The full version was:
" I, Samuel Harris, do truly and sincerely acknowledge and promise, testify and declare, in my conscience, before God and the world, that our Sovereign Lord, King George the Second, is lawful and rightful King of this realm and all other his Majesty's dominions and countries hereunto belonging; and I do solemnly and sincerely declare that I do believe in my conscience that the person pretended to be Prince of Wales during the life of the late King James, and since his decease pretending to be, and taking upon himself the style and title of the King of England, or by the name of James III, or of Scotland by the name of James VIII, or the style and title of King of Great Britain, hath not any right whatsoever to the crown of this realm, or any other dominion hereunto belonging; and I do renounce, refuse and abjure any allegiance or obedience to him, and I do swear that I will bear faithful and true allegiance to H. M. King George II, and him will defend to the utmost of my power against all traitorous conspiracies and attempts whatsoever which shall be made against his person, crown or dignity ; and I will do my utmost to endeavor to disclose and make known to his Majesty and his successors all treasonable and traitorous conspiracies which I shall know to be against him, or any of them ; and I do faithfully promise, to the utmost of my power, to support, maintain and defend the successor of the crown against him, the said James, and all other persons whatsoever, which succession, by an act entitled 'An act for the further limitation of the crown and better securing the rights and liberties of the subject,' is and stands limited to the Princess Sophia, late Electress and Duchess, dowager of Hanover, and the heirs of her body, being Protestants ; and all other these things I do plainly and severally acknowledge and swear, according to these express words by me spoken, and according to the plain and common sense understanding of the same words, without any equivocation, mental evasion, or secret reservation whatsoever; and I do make this recognition, acknowledgment, abjuration, renunciation, and promise, heartily, willingly, and truly, upon the true faith of a Christian, o help me God."
On December 7, 1747, Samuel Harris began is his position with the church, or the government, which were all in one at that time, at a salary of 1,000 pounds of tobacco a year. He was appointed as a “Reader” for the south fork of the Roanoke River. The south fork of the Roanoke River is the Dan River of today. This indicates that he may have been living on Fall Creek at this time.
In October of 1748, Harris was sworn in as Deputy Sheriff for Lunenburg County, which at that time included all of what became Halifax County in 1752 and Pittsylvania in 1767.
On June 14, 1794, Samuel entered for 5,000 acres on Fall Creek. On this, his large “home tract,” which was 6,592 acres at the time of his death, he called home until he died.
In 1750, he again took the oath as reader with his salary increased to 1,200 pounds of tobacco a year.
Samuel Harris was present at the first meeting of the county court for Halifax County on April 8, 1752. Halifax was sectioned off from Lunenburg, but the new county was still very large. The area is now the counties of Halifax, Pittsylvania, Henry, Patrick and the southern part of Franklin. The county levied each white male over 18 and each slave over 16 a tax of 21 pounds each. Not counting women and children, there were only 634 men and slaves in all this vast area. The tax to be collected amounted to 13,314 pounds of tobacco. The money was used to operate the government and courts system.
At this first court meeting, both and the first Clerk of Court George Currie took an oath: “We George Currie and Samuel Harris do subscribe to be conformable to the doctrine and discipline of the Church of England as by law established.
That same year, 1752, Samuel Harris became one of the first two representatives for Halifax in the House of Burgesses in Williamsburg.
In 1753, “Dissenters” put in a petition for a “Meeting House for Divine Worship” and “Whereupon William Russell agrees to lay off and ascertain three acres for that purpose.” Dissenters were anyone who worshiped outside to the established Church of England. Samuel Harris later became a part of the Baptist and was among the earliest and most influential of those who opposed public funded and controlled religious worship. Dissenters were at times tolerated and at other times severely punished for there choice of religion. Samuel Harris met with violent opposition for his preaching in Culpepper County by a crowd with whips, clubs and other weapons. He left that night and went to Orange County, where he was “dragged by the hair from his out-door pulpit, tried and condemned by an orthodox court.”
Before the Revolutionary War, the Church of England maintained a Glebe. The Glebe was a working farm to produce income for the Parson and the work of the church. Read about Pittsylvania's Glebe at: "The King's Preacher."
http://rdricketts.com/blog/2008/04/
In 1753 Samuel Harris was appointed a Justice of the Peace. In July of that year, settlers along the way were ordered to mark a road from William Bean’s house to the courthouse at Peytonsburg. The first Halifax courthouse was on the present line between Halifax and Pittsylvania. Bean lived on what is now the Berry Hill Road near where the Oak Hill Plantation house was built in 1825. In 1768, William Bean sold his land and moved to that part of North Carolina, which became Tennessee. It is said that his was the first white child born in Tennessee.
This road crossed Sandy River at a ford below what is now Moorefield’s Bridge, and continued to cross Sandy Creek at a bridge just below where Beavers’ Mill was built in 1792. The road then crossed Fall Creek just below the house of Samuel Harris. He was ordered to survey the road from Fall Creek to Sweeting Fork following the path of the present Spring Garden Road (SR 640) to the courthouse.
Samuel Harris was also a military officer. He was a colonel in the British army and commanded Fort Mayo during the French and Indian War. Future president George Washington came to inspect the fort in 1756. Back in 1748, Harris entered for a tract of 5,000 acres on the Mayo River. That same year the law was changed to allow a new patentee to apply for land previously claimed but not used. In order to keep title to the land, the owner was required to “keep there for three years three neat cattle or six sheep or goats for every 50 acres. Persons working a stone quarry, coal or other mine for three years would save 100 acres from lapsing. Every three acres cleared, fences and kept for three years for pasture would save 50 acres. Five pounds spent on buildings, planting trees, or other improvements would 50 acres. Sufficient seeding and planting would save the land from forfeiture forever.” This would be an exorbitant amount of work to have preformed 75 miles from home.
Samuel Harris was riding along Hickey’s Road in full military dress in 1758 when he came to a meeting of a Baptist group. The meeting was being held at Capt. John Buckley’s Stony Hill Muster Ground near Allen’s Creek. The old Buckley cemetery near the road leading to Brookneal, just up the hill from Allen’s Creek in Pittsylvania County.
The “Baptist Murphy brothers” were preaching. He was converted that night to serve God. He gave up his sword and military duties and preached the Word of God for the rest of his life.
A petition to protest taxation for the support of the established church was signed in November of 1784 by Harris and 310 other men from Pittsylvania County. The petition was directly involved in convincing Thomas Jefferson and James Madison to fight for a Bill of Rights to the Constitution.
It is said that Samuel Harris rode on horseback to New York City and attended the inauguration of Pres. George Washington in April of 1789. Harris was commissioned by the United Baptist Churches Convention meeting in Richmond on August 8, 1789 to compose a letter to Pres. George Washington stating the concern that the new Constitution did not fully guarantee religious liberty. James Madison led the fight by the Federalist to convince Congress to approve the addition of the Bill of Rights to the Constitution which was approved in 1791.
Samuel Harris was only 23 years old when he began his work with the Church of England. An oath of allegiance was required of colonist in Virginia. Beginning in 1606, King James who some people think wrote the Bible, required an oath of “uttermost faith and allegiance to the King’s majesty” from everyone leaving for America to work in the Virginia Company.
Samuel Harris would have made the required oath to King George II, who was born in 1683 and ruled from 1727 until 1760. The short version was:
" I, Samuel Harris, do sincerely promise and swear that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to his Majesty, King George the Second. So help me God."
The full version was:
" I, Samuel Harris, do truly and sincerely acknowledge and promise, testify and declare, in my conscience, before God and the world, that our Sovereign Lord, King George the Second, is lawful and rightful King of this realm and all other his Majesty's dominions and countries hereunto belonging; and I do solemnly and sincerely declare that I do believe in my conscience that the person pretended to be Prince of Wales during the life of the late King James, and since his decease pretending to be, and taking upon himself the style and title of the King of England, or by the name of James III, or of Scotland by the name of James VIII, or the style and title of King of Great Britain, hath not any right whatsoever to the crown of this realm, or any other dominion hereunto belonging; and I do renounce, refuse and abjure any allegiance or obedience to him, and I do swear that I will bear faithful and true allegiance to H. M. King George II, and him will defend to the utmost of my power against all traitorous conspiracies and attempts whatsoever which shall be made against his person, crown or dignity ; and I will do my utmost to endeavor to disclose and make known to his Majesty and his successors all treasonable and traitorous conspiracies which I shall know to be against him, or any of them ; and I do faithfully promise, to the utmost of my power, to support, maintain and defend the successor of the crown against him, the said James, and all other persons whatsoever, which succession, by an act entitled 'An act for the further limitation of the crown and better securing the rights and liberties of the subject,' is and stands limited to the Princess Sophia, late Electress and Duchess, dowager of Hanover, and the heirs of her body, being Protestants ; and all other these things I do plainly and severally acknowledge and swear, according to these express words by me spoken, and according to the plain and common sense understanding of the same words, without any equivocation, mental evasion, or secret reservation whatsoever; and I do make this recognition, acknowledgment, abjuration, renunciation, and promise, heartily, willingly, and truly, upon the true faith of a Christian, o help me God."
On December 7, 1747, Samuel Harris began is his position with the church, or the government, which were all in one at that time, at a salary of 1,000 pounds of tobacco a year. He was appointed as a “Reader” for the south fork of the Roanoke River. The south fork of the Roanoke River is the Dan River of today. This indicates that he may have been living on Fall Creek at this time.
In October of 1748, Harris was sworn in as Deputy Sheriff for Lunenburg County, which at that time included all of what became Halifax County in 1752 and Pittsylvania in 1767.
On June 14, 1794, Samuel entered for 5,000 acres on Fall Creek. On this, his large “home tract,” which was 6,592 acres at the time of his death, he called home until he died.
In 1750, he again took the oath as reader with his salary increased to 1,200 pounds of tobacco a year.
Samuel Harris was present at the first meeting of the county court for Halifax County on April 8, 1752. Halifax was sectioned off from Lunenburg, but the new county was still very large. The area is now the counties of Halifax, Pittsylvania, Henry, Patrick and the southern part of Franklin. The county levied each white male over 18 and each slave over 16 a tax of 21 pounds each. Not counting women and children, there were only 634 men and slaves in all this vast area. The tax to be collected amounted to 13,314 pounds of tobacco. The money was used to operate the government and courts system.
At this first court meeting, both and the first Clerk of Court George Currie took an oath: “We George Currie and Samuel Harris do subscribe to be conformable to the doctrine and discipline of the Church of England as by law established.
That same year, 1752, Samuel Harris became one of the first two representatives for Halifax in the House of Burgesses in Williamsburg.
In 1753, “Dissenters” put in a petition for a “Meeting House for Divine Worship” and “Whereupon William Russell agrees to lay off and ascertain three acres for that purpose.” Dissenters were anyone who worshiped outside to the established Church of England. Samuel Harris later became a part of the Baptist and was among the earliest and most influential of those who opposed public funded and controlled religious worship. Dissenters were at times tolerated and at other times severely punished for there choice of religion. Samuel Harris met with violent opposition for his preaching in Culpepper County by a crowd with whips, clubs and other weapons. He left that night and went to Orange County, where he was “dragged by the hair from his out-door pulpit, tried and condemned by an orthodox court.”
Before the Revolutionary War, the Church of England maintained a Glebe. The Glebe was a working farm to produce income for the Parson and the work of the church. Read about Pittsylvania's Glebe at: "The King's Preacher."
http://rdricketts.com/blog/2008/04/
In 1753 Samuel Harris was appointed a Justice of the Peace. In July of that year, settlers along the way were ordered to mark a road from William Bean’s house to the courthouse at Peytonsburg. The first Halifax courthouse was on the present line between Halifax and Pittsylvania. Bean lived on what is now the Berry Hill Road near where the Oak Hill Plantation house was built in 1825. In 1768, William Bean sold his land and moved to that part of North Carolina, which became Tennessee. It is said that his was the first white child born in Tennessee.
This road crossed Sandy River at a ford below what is now Moorefield’s Bridge, and continued to cross Sandy Creek at a bridge just below where Beavers’ Mill was built in 1792. The road then crossed Fall Creek just below the house of Samuel Harris. He was ordered to survey the road from Fall Creek to Sweeting Fork following the path of the present Spring Garden Road (SR 640) to the courthouse.
Samuel Harris was also a military officer. He was a colonel in the British army and commanded Fort Mayo during the French and Indian War. Future president George Washington came to inspect the fort in 1756. Back in 1748, Harris entered for a tract of 5,000 acres on the Mayo River. That same year the law was changed to allow a new patentee to apply for land previously claimed but not used. In order to keep title to the land, the owner was required to “keep there for three years three neat cattle or six sheep or goats for every 50 acres. Persons working a stone quarry, coal or other mine for three years would save 100 acres from lapsing. Every three acres cleared, fences and kept for three years for pasture would save 50 acres. Five pounds spent on buildings, planting trees, or other improvements would 50 acres. Sufficient seeding and planting would save the land from forfeiture forever.” This would be an exorbitant amount of work to have preformed 75 miles from home.
Samuel Harris was riding along Hickey’s Road in full military dress in 1758 when he came to a meeting of a Baptist group. The meeting was being held at Capt. John Buckley’s Stony Hill Muster Ground near Allen’s Creek. The old Buckley cemetery near the road leading to Brookneal, just up the hill from Allen’s Creek in Pittsylvania County.
The “Baptist Murphy brothers” were preaching. He was converted that night to serve God. He gave up his sword and military duties and preached the Word of God for the rest of his life.
A petition to protest taxation for the support of the established church was signed in November of 1784 by Harris and 310 other men from Pittsylvania County. The petition was directly involved in convincing Thomas Jefferson and James Madison to fight for a Bill of Rights to the Constitution.
It is said that Samuel Harris rode on horseback to New York City and attended the inauguration of Pres. George Washington in April of 1789. Harris was commissioned by the United Baptist Churches Convention meeting in Richmond on August 8, 1789 to compose a letter to Pres. George Washington stating the concern that the new Constitution did not fully guarantee religious liberty. James Madison led the fight by the Federalist to convince Congress to approve the addition of the Bill of Rights to the Constitution which was approved in 1791.
Samuel Harris died in 1799, the same year as George Washington. He was buried near the house above Fall Creek where he lived for about 50 years.
//Copyright 2009 by Robert D. Ricketts. No part of maps or text may be used without written permission//
