On the second Sunday of April 1835, a group of people gathered by Chatata Creek and constituted New Friendship Church. We do not know a lot about those gathered that day, but we can conclude that they saw the importance of having a local church in their community. As more people began moving into the area that was once part of the Cherokee Nation, churches played a central role in the life of these small communities.
New Friendship is just one example of many churches that began in this time. Some have ceased to be, but others have flourished and continued to impact the Cleveland and the surrounding areas with the good news of the gospel. Our aim is to continue the legacy of faith that these pioneering families began all those years ago.
For those who really love history, the following is the most accurate accounting of NFBC’s constitution as a church. According to the minutes of Hiwassee Baptist Church (est. 1812), in April 1834 they “received by letter Isham Simmons. The church agreed to appoint a meeting at Mr. Simmons on Chatytee [Chatata] Creek on the second Saturday in May and appointed members with church authority to receive members.”
Those members included John Roberts, his wife (unnamed) and son (Lorenzo Roberts), Isham Simmons, Sterling Camp, William Price and his wife (unnamed), John Courtney, and Ezekiel Word.
In February 1835, Hiwassee Baptist Church received a petition from the “arm of this church on Chatety [Chatata] Creek for our ministerial help and deacons helps to tend their meeting in April and for the arm to be examined and if thought fit to keep house for the Lord to constitute them and to assist them in the administration of the Lord’s Supper.”
In April 1835 the Hiwassee Baptist Church minutes record that “the arm they have become a constitution.”
After being constituted as a self-supporting church, they returned the minutes they had kept while being an arm of the Hiwassee Church. In these minutes, they record the names of other members who were received and the setting aside of their pastor and first deacon.
Second Saturday [of May] 1834
The arm [of] Hiwassee Church [met] according to appointment…received Phoeby Simmons, Charlotte Edwards, Elizabeth Edwards Yoakum by letters and Miller Simmons by experience.
Second Saturday in June, 1834
The arm of Hiwassee Church met….received by letter David, a man of color, owned by John Simmons.
July Second Saturday 1834
The arm of Hiwassee Church met.
[Note: Minutes are missing for August through October]
November 1834
The arm of Hiwassee Church met…agree that Brother Isham Simmons shall have license to exercise his gifts.
December 1834
The arm of Hiwassee Church met…received by letter Sarah Yoakum.
[No minutes for January]
February 1835
The arm of Hiwassee Church met…received by letter John B. Cate and by experience his wife Tamsey Cate.
Agree to pertition Hiwassee, Big Spring and Salem, New Hopewell Churches to help them constitute themselves into a church.
Received by letter James Mayfield and his wife Susanna.
March 1835
The arm of Hiwassee Church met…received by letter Andrew J. Cate and John Clark and his wife Eleanor Clark…agreed that John B. Cate be their deacon if they are constituted a church.
April 1835
The arm of Hiwassee Church met…received Thomas Epperson and his wife Salley Epperson and Moses C. Clark and wife Margot Clark also Robert Kess and wife Elizabeth Kess.
This is a true record from the arm on Chataty [Chatata] Creek held at John Simmons.
Returned by their clerk John Roberts.
Minutes of the Hiwassee Baptist Church, McMinn County, TN:
May 1835
Received a petition for [from] New Friendship Church…and appointed Brother Edmon Prather clerk. [Note: This is the first mention of the name “New Friendship”.]