Rev. Joshua Starr Sr.'s Family Tradition is strong that Joshua (b. 17 OCT 1778 d. 22 OCT 1822) founded the first Methodist Church in GA. This errs: he was only eight years old when the first Methodist Conference was held at Mulberry Fork in now Elbert County. His parents probably worshiped at nearby "Liberty Church" which was located near the Kettle Creek Revolutionary War Battle Site. It's name reflected the attitude that all "orthodox" religions were welcome to hold services in the building when it wasn't in use by the Presbyterian congregation which built it. It was at Liberty Church where Bishop Asbury presided December 26, 1808 over the combined GA and SC Methodist Quarterly Conference "trial" for candidates wishing to become Methodist ministers. Particular questions asked at this session included personal views on slavery. Some of these newly licensed ministers became prominent in the itinerancy in SC, GA and AL. [West p.600] Sometime after this, the Presbyterian meeting house fell into disuse. Joshua may have been active in the resurgence of interest in religion between 1815 and 1822 which resulted in the building of a new meeting house, called Salem. This one was built along the Greensboro Road on Starr's Hill. (Warren p.158) This area is now in eastern Taliaferro County at the intersection of Greensboro Road and Melear's Bridge Road which crosses the Little River by a ford just a mile or so east of the confluence of the North and South Forks of that river.(Lunceford pps.4,15) Since there is some truth in every family legend, his children might remember him as a major force behind Salem which gave rise to their later statements of him as "founder of the first Methodist Church in GA." Although no official conference record exists of him as a minister, it is believed he served in that capacity at Salem. The location of nearby Melear's Bridge Road is significant; Joshua married Fenton MELEAR late 1790s. She was the daughter of Richard and Martha "Patty" Melear (Wilkes Co. Deed Book YY, p. 618); her sister, Hannah, married Joshua's younger brother, Samuel. Wilkes Co. probate records list Joshua as guardian of several minor orphans and co-executor of several estates; this is an indication of his stature in the county at the time. He died prematurely 22 OCT 1822, leaving a wife and several minor children. Fenton sold their residence in Wilkes Co. 24 FEB 1825 [Deed Book HHH, p 518]; as a resident of Henry County, she won land in Lee County on the 1827 lottery. Although not on record, surely she was a charter member of Liberty Chapel. Fenton (Melear) Starr died 8 SEP 1836 in Henry County. Joshua and Fenton had thirteen known children: Sarah "Sallie" Darley b. 22 NOV 1799 d. aft 1880 Dale Co. AL married John W. POYNER 18 DEC 1817 in Wilkes Co. GA. According to her Claim for Widow's Pension for Service in the War of 1812 (Nat'l Archives) her husband was drafted into the GA militia at Washington, in Wilkes Co., SEP 1814 for a six month tour of duty. He was discharged at either New Orleans or Mobile JAN 1815. They were married near the town of Washington in Wilkes. Under places they lived after his service, she indicates they moved to Henry Co. and then Troup Co. GA; from there they went to Chambers, Henry and finally Dale Co. AL. where she was residing at the time she filed the claim. John d. 10 FEB 1867. Their family Bible records the following births children: Thomas W. J. 26 APR 1819; Martha A. 20 OCT 1821; James M. 1 JUN 1824; Joshua S. 2 AUG 1827; Samuel S. 20 MAY 1830; Sarah P. 22 MAR 1832; Mary G. (?) 18 NOV 1834; John H. 4 MAR 1841. (4) Rev. William Henry [see later] Richard Capel b. 3 FEB 1803 d. 15 MAY 1809 Martha Hardwick b. 11 NOV 1804 m. William J. SAPPINGTON 6 DEC 1821; Rev. John Wesley (6) Rev. James Russell (7) Barsheba b. 10 JAN 10 1810 d. 2 JUN 1881 Atlanta. She m. Samuel OGLETREE According to her obit: "There is no record of the time of her conversion, but it was early in life...Sister Ogletree, true to the faith of her fathers, manifested the same attachment to Methodism, so characteristic of the large family of that name. She was left a widow some thirty-eight years ago, with a large family, and in straitened circumstances...She outlived nearly all the members of her father's family. The soil of Texas and Alabama contains the sacred dust of two of her brothers who died in the itinerancy, leaving behind them the savor of good names, and of grand evangelical work... [Original newspaper clipping in hands of descendant isn't dated; nor is paper identified.] (8) Rev. Joshua Jr. [see later] (9) Mary Pauline "Polly" b. 10 NOV 1812 d. 3 SEP 1883 Union Co AR. She m. Elihue CRAWFORD 11 APR 1831 in Henry Co. GA. Per obit written by daughter Mary F. Johnson, for the El Dorado (AR) Eagle, Thursday, September 20, 1883, she and her husband shared 52 years together: "Their devotion to each other and to their Church grew stronger as age advanced...it has ever been their delight to entertain their ministers at their home, and not only ministers of their own beloved Methodist Church, but of every Christian denomination. Mother had five brothers, four of whom lived and died old men in the ministry...The Revs Henry and Joshua Starr died but a few years since at Starrville, Texas, where they are today remembered as the fathers of Methodism in Texas, having gone there about forty years ago to preach the Gospel;...Of ten children, six preceded her to the tomb; the aged husband and father, with the remaining four, are left..." (10) Fenton b. 10 JUN 1815 m. Berriah KING 6 OCT 1831; (11) Enoch George b. 15 APR 1817 d. 30 MAY 1817; (12) Samuel Turner b. 26 MAR 1818 d. 17 JAN 1873 Tallapoosa Co. AL. m. Lettie Fulton 25 OCT 1835. According to family historian Lucius E. Starr, he was called "wild and wayward Sam". (13) Margarette Lee b. 25 APR 1820 d. 26 SEP 1888 Cass Co. TX. She m. Watson Atwood CRAWFORD 2 OCT 1834 in Henry Co. GA. Rev. William Henry Starr William Henry, who seems to have always gone by Henry, was the eldest son, but second child, of Joshua and Fenton (Melear). Born in Wilkes Co. GA March 28, 1801, he led his siblings on a westward journey which took him to Henry County, GA, Chambers County Alabama and finally Smith Co. Texas. Before leaving Wilkes Co., Henry married Mahala BIRD 18 DEC 1821; she was the daughter of Williamson and Elizabeth (ROBARDS). Although how he got the land is not known, and thus we do not know when they left Wilkes, he appears in Henry County 2 JUL 1825 selling Lot #59 in District 3 to brother John for $250. [Deed Book C/D, page 473] After a possible sojourn in Troup Co. GA, they eventually arrived in Chambers County, AL 1830s; likely they traveled probably with brother John Wesley and his family. There is no Conference record for his ministry in Georgia; Alabama Conference records indicate he was "one of several ministers licensed to preach by the Quarterly Conferences of the Lafayette Circuit in 1839." (West p. 511) By 1850 Henry and Mary were living in Chambers Co. were he is listed on the census as a 49 year old Methodist minister with property valued at $2,480. His 50 year old wife Mahala and nine children were living with him. Family records show a total of 13 children for this couple: Williamson Bird (1824-1876); Frances (1826-1896); James N/H. (d.1863); Mary (b.1830); Mahala Anne (1832- 1899); John Wesley (d. young); Amanda Fletcher (1834-1900); Sarah B. (1836- 1903); Jane (b.1839-1869); Joshua (d. age 12); Henryetta (Quill); and twins d. infancy. Mahala died after this census; the widowed Henry married March 18, 1852 the recently widowed Mrs. Mary Hawkins. Mary and her first husband, Thomas, appear on the 1850 census with their three children: Mary G. "Tug", William F. "Billy" and Thomas N. Henry and Mary Starr had three children of their own: Emma, Madora and a female named "Henry". Henry and Mary moved to east Texas with their combined families circa 1854, settling several miles northeast of Tyler on Ray Creek. Many large springs are located in this part of Smith County. Here, Henry served for several years as an unpaid minister for the local Marvin Methodist Church with his younger brother Joshua (Jr). At the time of his death he owned 1,683 acres. William Henry Starr died 28 JUL 1864 at the home of his daughter Mary McDougal; he is buried in the nearby Starr/Hawkins Cemetery. Rev. John Wesley Starr Third son John Wesley was aptly named, for he was the most prominent of the Starr Methodist ministers. Born in Wilkes County 7 AUG 1806, he married Hannah MILLER 23 DEC 1824. Wilkes County records show his mother sold the land she lived on early 1825; Henry County deeds record John's purchase of a lot belonging to brother Henry later that year. Thus, John W. Starr is in the right time and place for, and his later activities suggest, he was likely a moving force behind the formation of Liberty Chapel. Although one son says John Wesley was admitted to the GA Con ference in 1826 at the age of 20, official records show he received his license to preach 17 SEP 1830. [Lawrence p.526] For the next four years he rode a wide range of circuits which included the towns of Columbus, Macon and Athens. Quoting a tribute to him printed in Alabama Conference papers: "He was a man of very limited education indeed so poorly qualified was he in this respect, that, even at the time of his joining the Conference, it was thought by some to be very doubtful whether he could ever succeed. But by devotion to his books and to his work he became a very successful preacher." [Crain/Wenzel p.72] In 1837 he was ordained by Bishop Morris and assigned to the Madison Circuit. DEC 1839 he transferred to the Alabama Conference where he continued to travel the circuits for another twenty three years. Deemed one of the builders of Alabama Methodism, he "worked tirelessly and became conspicuous in the Conference where he served as presiding elder for many of his circuits. One record reveals something ofhis work among the Negroes. He made a tour of the Chattahoochee Mission to colored people in 1842 preaching at six different plantations in five days. He was the presiding elder of Montgomery District in which the mission was located." [Ibid p.73] Continuing the tribute: "Brother Starr was devoted to the Church, and was an uncompromising Methodist. He was ever a friend to his brethern in the ministry. He made it a point in life to govern his family; and his children have grown up useful and influential members of society. He was remarkable for his devotion to the long-established usages of Methodism. He was constant in his attendance upon class meetings, and the love-feast constituted a most important part of his quarterly-meetings exercises .." Rev. John Wesley Starr died in Bibb County, Alabama 20 FEB 1870. He is buried "In a lonely spot in an old field two or three miles West of Wesley Chapel, about 10 miles Northwest of Centreville. Wives of itinerant preachers deserve special recognition; they almost single handedly ran the household and farm while looking after a growing brood of children. A tribute to Hannah says: "Reverend Starr always contrived to have a home of his own, where he with the help of his industrious and economical wife always afforded a pleasant resting place for many a weary and worn itinerant in what they called the preacher's sanctum." [Ibid] Hannah (Miller) Starr was born 6 NOV 1808 to John Paul MILLER and Elizabeth (SHUPTRINE); she died 16 FEB 1891 at the home of her son in Camden, AL. She is buried next to her husband. They had thirteen children, many of whom followed their father into the ministry. (1) Elizabeth Fenton (1826-1862) married James Andrew RAY 1848 (2) Joshua F. (1828-1856) m. Adaline M. FAIRE 1852 (3) John Wesley "Jack" Jr. (1830-1853) He graduated from Emory College at Oxford, GA and was admitted to the Alabama Conference JAN 1852; his first assignment was Wesley Chapel (now St. Francis Street Church) in Mobile. He died 20 SEP 1853 of yellow fever. A large monument in Magnolia Cemetery honors the memory of three Methodist ministers who remained in the city to tend the dying: Augustus H. Powell, Jacob S. Hughes and John Wesley Starr Jr. Knowing his chances of surviving were slim, he wrote a farewell letter to his parents August 29: I am now in Mobile, surrounded by the dead and the living...I am visiting the victims of the plague. I am called to the funeral of one, and before I leave the grave my ears are met by the cry of another bereaved one, asking me to attend the burial of a departed relative. I return to the city from the home of the dead and find the sick growing worse, and new victims falling prey to the ravaging fever...the disease has just begun its ravages, not withstanding there were twenty-seven burials on yesterday...I do not say that I expect to live or die...I have asked God to work in me His own will, having I trust, no other motive than the glory of God...In the ministry I have passed my happiest days. To preach the gospel is the work to which I am sure I am called, and having committed myself to that work, I have endeavored diligently to discharge it...I now feel that my shortcomings are forgiven, and that my peace is made with God...If I die, I believe that I shall be saved...[He regrets his debts amounting to $210.25 and assures everyone he would have paid them if he had lived.] My books, a small number--may be sent to my father's house, where my younger brothers, I trust, will make better use of them than I have done. My manuscripts, mere hurry graphs, full of errors of every possible sort--are few and worthless, perhaps to everybody but me. My father may dispose of them as he sees proper, provided he keeps them together. Some men die and leave their sermons to younger brothers, who may be called to the ministry...I prefer to say to my brothers: Do as I have tried to do (However far I have succeeded I leave you to judge) Get help from no other quarter but from the Holy Ghost, as the interpreter of the Bible, and as the guide 'to lead you to truth'. This is good counsel. I might say much more, but let this suffice. Only let me add once more that God is good. To be sure His providence placed me in the midst of the pestilence. But this, it was plain to see, was the design of Providence to take from me my life. He meant only to free me from its ills, and introduce me through death unto life which lacks nothing of being perfectly blessed and glorious...All that God does is good, however it seems." A member of the Mobile community wrote his mother assuring her everything was done to save her son. He ends with: "Thus died the most exemplary youthful minister of the Gospel; and truly can I say one more abstracted from the world and devoted to God and His Cause I have never known." [Original in hands of Starr descendant.] (4) Sarah Matthews (1831-1879) m. Jacob S. HANSBERGER 1855. One daughter, Mary Catherine, married Rev. Leander Cotton CALHOUN of the Alabama Conference 1849-1925; another daughter, Hannah Elizabeth, and her husband George Nelson COOPER, were parents of Rev. George Frederick Cooper of Tarrent City. (5) James Wesley (1835-1902) m. Adele Tholozon BRIGHT in 1890 Emory Parks d. young; (7) Dr. Lucius Ernest (1838-1913) m. Mary Eloisa TEPPER 16 JAN 1879; (7) Mary Frances (1840-1919) m. Rev. William Maltbie WINN 1870. Rev. Winn joined the AL Conference (Mobile Division) in 1869, but joined the North GA Conference in 1884. One of their sons, Rev. Elisha Starr Winn, was a Presbyterian minister in Fitzgerald, GA. Rev. Elisha's son, Rev. William M. Winn was a pastor of a Methodist Church in Atlanta. (9) Wilbur Fisk born 1842, named for the Bishop, died 1864 in the Civil War; (10) Elbert Soule (1845-1908) m. Sallie Ann BENNET 27 OCT 1868. Their daughter Estelle m. John William BUTTERLY; two of their children continued the Methodist tradition: son Rev. Elbert Soule Butterly and son-in-law Rev. Spencer C. KIMBROUGH of the North Alabama Conference. (11) William Henry Stephen d. young; (12) Catherine d. age 16. Rev. James Russell Starr James R., sixth child of Joshua Sr. and Fenton, was born 25 ARP 1808. According to the memoir published in Southern Christian Ad vocate, he joined the Methodist E. Church at age 15; this would be the Salem Church in Wilkes Co. He moved with his mother to Henry Co. in 1825 where he married Phoebe REYNOLDS later that year. They joined the southwestward migration in 1829, settling a few years in Troup Co. GA before moving on to Chambers Co. AL in 1834. While in Troup Co. (1833) he received his license to ex hort and four years later (1837) he was licensed as a local preacher. However, "...there being proof that he had been engaged in some fraudulent transactions, the Quarterly Conference decided that he be deprived of his official standing...then at the Quar terly Conference March 31, 1838, he applied for a license to preach which after examination, was granted." [West p.508] He served in this capacity until his death 16 JUL 1840; Phoebe died 4 MAY 1892; they are buried in the Roxanna Cemetery, Lee Co. AL. Their children were: (1) Joshua Purifoy (1828-1901) m. Priscilla Virginia FOX; (2) Sarah (1830-1877) m. Ruffin WEBB in Lee Co. AL; (3) Martha b. 1832; (4) John P. (1833-1895) m. Nancy Deronda (HENDERSON) Strong 22 DEC 1865; (5) Almeda (1835-1885) m. Elijah William REEDER; (6) James b. 1838; (7) Asbury b. 1839 Joshua Starr Jr.'s Family Joshua Jr. is the last of the Minister sons of Joshua Sr. and Fen- ton. Born 1 OCT 1811 in Wilkes Co., he was only eleven years old when his father died. He moved to Henry County with his mother and siblings in 1825. He may have remained in Henry County with his mother until her death 1836. We know neither when nor where he married Martha HARRIS; they appear in southern Tallapoosa County with three children on the 1840 AL census. However, family tradition says he was preaching in nearby Montgomery Co. before this date. In 1841 he was officially admitted as a minister to the Alabama Conference. Like his older brothers, he joined the circuit traveling far and wide in the eastern Alabama counties: Macon, Tallapoosa, Russell and Montgomery. [West p,495] Con ference records abstracted by West show 1844 as the last year he had a charge in Alabama. However, it is believed he continued preaching in Al until their move to Texas. He was living in Macon Co. near Auburn in 1850. It is believed the family moved to Smith Co. Texas in 1852 along with brother Henry. This is the year Joshua purchased the tract where the site of Starrville was later situated. After Martha's death in 1866, he married Georgia Bartee 2 JUL 1868. He donated the site for the township Starrville with one stipula tion: "if the place ever tolerated a saloon the land was to revert to him or his heirs. So Starrville never had aloholic beverages." [Crain/Wenzel p.75 quoting Dallas Morning News] The article begins: "Starrville was a busy industrial town during the Civil War, but today it is only a quiet rural community. When Starrville was a thriving boom city, Tyler was only a growing com- munity; now the situation is reversed. The railroad went to Tyler and missed Starrville and then the latter began to decline. In its heyday, Starrville was visited regularly by a freight line of ox wagons from Shreveport. A public well, which never ran dry even in the severest drought, stood in the middle of the town." Starrville was again mentioned in a story about another in habitant Mr. J. W. Bryant [Dallas Morning News, 11 DEC 1932 "Early Days in Texas"] which gives us an idea what life was like in pre Civil War east Texas: "We were not long in discovering that we had not left all the hardships of life in Georgia. East Texas was reeking with malaria and it was quite the custom for everyone to throw a chill every other day. It is the peculiarity of this malady for the victim to think while he is wrestling with a chill that he cannot possibly survive it, and to feel the very next day that he never was in better case in his life. I never heard of anyone dying while doing a chill." Today, only the cemetery and an historical marker stand where this village once stood. Rev. Joshua was a leading citizen--founder and minister of the Starrville Methodist Church; he also fostered a public school and was the first Worshipful Master of the Masonic Lodge. He resided southwest of Starrville where he died 26 OCT 1873. He lies in an unmarked grave; some say he is buried in Starrville and others at Center Cemetery near Owentown. His and Martha's children include: Russell L. b 12 NOV 1832; Wil liam Samuel b. 22 JAN 1835 d. 12 SEP 1835; John M. b. 9 SEP 1836; Priscilla Ann b. 28 MAR 1839; Adalaide Victory b. 15 AUG 1841; Joshua Soule b. 26 OCT 1843 d. 27 JAN 1844; Martha Adline Langford b. 13 FEB 1847; Robert Adams b. 19 JUL 1849. SOURCES: Family data contributed by several descendants; THEY FOLLOWED THE SUN by Crain and Wenzel; METHODIST PREACHERS IN GA: 1783-1900 by Harold Lawrence; MARRIAGE AND DEATH NOTICES FROM THE SOUTHERN CHRISTIAN ADVOCATE; vol. 1 by Holcomb; GREENE COUNTY DEMOCRAT, Feb 23, 1956 "Heroes of the Cross: Methodist History of John Wes ley Starr" by Conferance and family historian Frank S. Moseley; same article appeared in "Heroes of the Cross" ALABAMA CHRISTIAN ADVOCATE, 13 DEC 1955. DICTIONARY OF AL BIOGRAPHY by Owens, vol. 4; HISTORY OF METHODISM IN ALABAMA by West, 1893, reprint 1983; abstracts of HENRY CO. DEED BOOK; CHRONICLES OF WILKES CO. GA by Warren; EARLY RECORDS OF GA in two vols by Davidson; CHRONICLES OF WILKES COUNTY, GA: FROM WASHINGTON NEWSPAPERS 1889 1898 edited by Mary B. Warren; CHRONICLES OF WILKES COUNTY GEOR GIA, by Bowen, Simpson and Wooten. TALIAFERRO COUNTY GA: RECORDS AND NOTES by Lunceford. METHODIST PREACHERS IN GEORGIA:1783-1900 by Harold Lawrence. EARLY GA WILLS AND SETTLEMENTS OF ESTATES, WILKES CO. by Sarah Quinn Smith. PINE BARK AND SPRING WATER: A HISTORY OF THE PINE SPRINGS COMMUNITY, SMITH COUNTY, TEXAS by His- tory Committee.