My ancestor, Rawley Pinn, started a Baptist Church in the 1700's, which still exists today. The name of the Church is Fairmount Baptist, and it is in Stapleton Virginia (Nelson County). Church records have been kept from the 1700's, when members had to hide from the Anglicans & Episcopalians to have service. Rawley Pinn, was listed as Mulatto in the 1783 census, and was also a farmer in Amherst County. He was the first pastor and founder of Fairmount Baptist Church. The Baptist Movement was called the Great Awakening, and it was actually outlawed by the Anglican Church. In 1768, the Anglicans enforced the law against preaching by unlicensed dissenters, and about thirty-four Ministers were thrown in jail. I wonder how this happened since the point has been made that the Anglicans were not the law. Anita AMAZON.COM PURCHASE SITE - NOTES AND DOCUMENTS OF FREE PERSONS OF COLOR : http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1411603338/qid=1097778584/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/103-8775456-1855815?v=glance&s=books BOWDENS' OF POPES CREEK WEBSITE: http://www.orgsites.com/ca/mpbwdnfnd/index.html "The ruin of a nation begins in the homes of its people" African Proverb. ----Original Message Follows---- From: Holly Wilhelm <[log in to unmask]> Reply-To: Discussion of research and writing about Virginia history To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html