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| 23rd & Delmar Church of God In Christ |
Recently, I came across a picture of my maternal
grandfather, George Watson with a group of people in a church setting. As I looked at the picture I began to wonder
what church was it taken in and the timeframe.
At that moment I realized in tracing my roots, I had not given much
thought to looking at the clues in my family’s church affiliations. My mother shared with me years ago her family
attended 23rd and Delmar COGIC after they migrated to St. Louis and
later to another assembly, Holy Ghost Tabernacle COGIC. The photo had me intrigued, so I began to look
into which church the photo was taken in and when. I also wanted to know when they attended 23rd
and Delmar and when the family moved to the next assembly, if it was possible
to find out why?
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| Grandfather George - Back row on left & Daniel Gaines - Back row center |
As I continued to look
through the treasure trove I came across a calendar from 2008. It was a calendar commemorating the church’s
100th year in existence.
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| Elder & 1st Lady Bostick |
I began looking through the
calendar at other photos taken during the church’s history.
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| Men in Sanctuary |
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| Outside the Church |
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| Baptizing at the Riverfront - Mississippi River |
Bingo!! The background of this photo identified the
church from above that included my grandfather.
Based on the dates of when the family migrated to St. Louis and other information
shared, placed the timeframe somewhere in the early-1940s.
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| Inside Sanctuary at 23rd & Delmar COGIC |
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By the late 1940s the family,
reason unknown, moved to another assembly, Holy Ghost Tabernacle COGIC. Once again, my grandfather is shown in the
photograph.
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| Holy Ghost Tabernacle COGIC |
I went to visit a relative
and showed both photos to her. She
identified another relative, my maternal grandmother’s brother Daniel captioned in the first photo and recognized
her own picture in the one above - Holy Ghost Tabernacle!
In 1956 mother moved a final time to another
assembly, Christ Southern MB Church.
When tracing your roots it is
vital to leave no stone unturned. Those
small tidbits of information may lead you to key dates and important events
where your ancestors were a part.
Interesting.
ReplyDeleteKeep up the good work with determination and tenacity, you never know what you'll turn up.
ReplyDeleteThank you Mrs. D.
DeleteThe Photos wer Awesome. Great Perspective about the History of the Church. This was a vital piece of our History and it can't be left out the our Narrative. You can glean so much information from these Church Histories. Great Piece Linda!
ReplyDeleteThank you True! Yes you can. It was very vital to our history.
DeleteAnd photos, you might find some good photos! Did your family move closer to the churches they began attending? Although there can be many other reasons for changing church. Did any of the earlier churches split due to a church fight?
ReplyDeletePastor Gore TRULY walked with the Lord!!! He Pastored our church, Christ Second Baptist, from 1950-1989. He declined at first due to the fact he was already pastoring, but he stated that the Lord gave him the vision of a "small, nude baby lying in the aisle needing care." He said the Holy Ghost told him to accept the pastorate, and we were truly blessed through his ministry. I believe we'll never see such a preacher and teacher on this side of glory!
ReplyDeleteI see my granddaddy Rev.Allen Smith with his guitar
ReplyDeleteYep Rev Allen Smith, I am so glad I found this. by the way my name is Eric Smith, I was looking to see if I could find pics of His Wife Virlee Smith as well.
DeleteLinda Simms are you or your husband related to any Simms from Winona, Montgomery County, Mississippi?
ReplyDelete