What became of Gambill's Hollow Church?

Judge Johnson J. Hayes, in his book “The Land of Wilkes”  (1) quotes from the surviving records of (old) Roaring River Baptist Church, which is one of the oldest Baptist churches in Wilkes County.  Judge Hayes wrote that Roaring River Baptist Church:

“voted to let a church be constituted in Gambill’s Hollow, if they were found ready and ripe for it. It was constituted April 10, 1786. This was the beginning of the Baptist Church of South Fork of Roaring River. Gambill’s lived on south prong of Roaring River, as shown by numerous grants to William Gambill.” 

Judge Hayes did not indicate in his book when the last reference to Gambill’s Hollow or South Fork of Roaring River Church occurred in the minutes of (old) Roaring River Church. He did say that:

“it has not been possible to determine what became of South Fork of Roaring River Church. There is some speculation that the present church called Walnut Grove is its successor but we are unable to verify it. However, the subsequent fellowship between Walnut Grove and Old Roaring River does indicate Walnut Grove is the successor to the other.”

So where was Gambill Hollow (South Fork of Roaring River) Church located? We don’t know.

In the 1790 census, there were three Gambill households in Wilkes County. One was Martin Gamble, whose deed records indicate that he lived near the New River in what later became Ashe County. Another household was headed by Jno. Gambell, whose land was located along the Middle Fork of Roaring River. The third household was headed by Mary Gambill, widow of William Gambill, who died before February 1779, and who owned about 900 acres of land, at least some of which was located on the South Fork of Roaring River.  Upon William’s death, his plantation went to his wife during her lifetime, and then to his son, Jesse Gambill, who sold the land to his brother-in-law, Robert Johnson (the one born in 1783 – there have been several Robert Johnsons!)  The land was passed down through the Lewis Johnson family, and a portion of that land is now owned by a Johnson descendant, and located on what is now called Cabin Creek Road in Hays.

No references have been found in any old deeds concerning a church building or church property. It was common practice for churches to meet in the homes of members, rather than construct a separate church building, so perhaps this occurred with Gambill's Hollow Church.

While Gambill's Hollow Church (or South Fork of Roaring River Church) has disappeared over time, there is a creek called Gambill Creek, so named since the land containing this creek was purchased by William Gambill in February 1817.  (2)   However, the church at Gambill's Hollow predates the purchase of this particular piece of land by about thirty years. So it makes the location of the church unlikely to have been located on Gambill Creek or along Gambill Creek Road.

Gambill's Hollow (South Fork of Roaring River) Church was likely located on what is now called Cabin Creek Road, where an early Gambill settler, William Gambill, did indeed own land along the South Fork of Roaring River. The church  was almost certainly attended by Gambills and others living in the area.  While land ownership of William Gambill and his widow, Mary Gambill, can be traced through deeds, there is no record of a separate church property. And apart from references such as (old) Roaring River Baptist Church minutes, there are no surviving minutes from Gambill's Hollow (South Fork of Roaring River) Church to help identify the location of this early church.

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(1) Johnson J. Hayes, The Land of Wilkes (Wilkesboro, North Carolina: Wilkes County Historical Society, 1962. Reprint, Wilkes Heritage Museum, 2010)  

(2)  Wilkes County, NC,  Deed Book 24, Page 45, Sheriff's Sale of George Lewis land to William Gambill, February 4, 1817; located at Wilkes County Courthouse, Wilkesboro, NC

Rev. Calloway Blevins

Calloway C. Blevins was born January 26, 1847 in the Whitehead community of Ashe County, North Carolina. (Alleghany was formed from Ashe in 1859, and Whitehead is now located in Alleghany County. This explains why sometimes his birthplace is given as Ashe and sometimes as Alleghany.)

Calloway was the son of Andrew F. Blevins and his wife, Susan Joines Blevins, the oldest child in a large family.

Rev. Calloway Blevins  (click to enlarge)

Calloway, also know as "Callie", married Lucinda Caudill, the daughter of Stephen Caudill and Huldah Adams in 1865.  Callie and Lucinda had eleven children together.  Following Lucinda's death in 1911, Callie married a second time to Fannie Emaline Adams, who was a widow.

Rev. Calloway Blevins was a well-known Baptist minister who preached in many churches in Wilkes, Ashe and Alleghany Counties in northwest North Carolina and beyond. He participated in the organization of many churches in the area, and was instrumental in forming the Stone Mountain Baptist Association in Wilkes County, North Carolina, in 1897.  The History of the Stone Mountain Baptist Association, 1897-1976, compiled by the Associational Historical Committee, with Paul W. Gregory as chairman, included this statement:

from History of the Stone Mountain Baptist Association   (click to enlarge)

An entry in the Heritage of Wilkes County, Volume 2, written by descendant Ursula Blevins Profitt, includes this information:

Written by descendant Ursula Blevins Proffit  (click to enlarge)

This undated newspaper clipping, in the possession of a descendant, refers to Rev. Blevins' service as Moderator of the Stone Mountain Baptist Association.

Callie and Lucinda  (click to enlarge)

The following obituary was published in a local newspaper following the death of Calloway Blevins on August 7, 1924:

Obituary  (click to enlarge)

Rev. Calloway Blevins and his wife, Lucinda Caudill Blevins, are buried in the church cemetery of Walnut Grove Baptist Church in Hays, North Carolina. Their joint marker is located immediately behind the church sanctuary.

Rev. C. Blevins  (click to enlarge)

Lucinda Blevins  (click to enlarge)

This map shows the location of Calloway and Lucinda's homeplace in the Walnut Grove community (as identified by his great-grandson, my father-in-law) as well as the location of Walnut Grove Baptist Church, where Callie and Lucinda are buried.

Map from Google Earth  (click to enlarge)

Rev. Calloway Blevins was my father-in-law's great-grandfather. Callie Blevins died six years before my father-in-law was born.

Blevins research

I've been doing some research on the Blevins family recently. Not distant research on early Blevins ancestors in my husband's line...no, I've been trying to sort out his THREE different lines that lived in the same community. There were a LOT of Blevins families in the Walnut Grove area of Wilkes County and in Ashe and Alleghany.

And yes, I called them different lines. But, according to other researchers and y-DNA testing, they are really all related. No wonder I'm confused!

Walnut Grove

Walnut Grove is a (very) small community about twenty miles north of North Wilkesboro, North Carolina. Located at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountain, many of the earlier residents moved back and forth across the Blue Ridge from Ashe and Alleghany Counties in NC, as well as communities in southwest Virginia.

Walnut Grove has a rich farming heritage, but following World War II, families began moving closer to town for manufacturing jobs. Since then, the community has changed. There are fewer farms (except for several large chicken farms) and the area has mostly family homes, vacation homes and hunting cabins.

Both of my in-laws grew up in this community, as did their parents and their grandparents. My in-laws attended the same church and the same two-room elementary school. They knew many of the same folks, and several of their family branches are intertwined, so "community" genealogy is almost a necessity there.

My in-laws are among those who moved a little closer to town, and my husband didn't grow up in the community. But he spent a lot of time with his grandparents, and his parents continued to make the short drive to worship at the church they grew up in.

(click to enlarge)

And although we live thirty miles from the church, my husband and I continue to attend there, as well.