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| Finch and Anna Shiplet's Letter
of Dismissal |
Moving your membership from one church to another was different in the 1800s
than today (at least in the Baptist churches). Instead of the new church you're
joining requesting your letter from your former church, you took your letter
with you to your new church.
Toward the end of the century, the church began putting a time restrictions on
the letters; in other words, the letter was good for a limited time only. It
seems some members were requesting their letters, but then weren't joining
other churches in a timely manner. This time limit may have led directly to
today's practice of granting a letter only after one has joined with another
church "of like faith and order."
Below is the Finch and Anna Shiplet's letter from
Line Creek Baptist
Church, which comes from Louetta Shiplet's book, The Descendants of
Finch Shiplet. We don't know where they went after Line Creek, but they
didn't leave the area. It's possible they never joined with another church.
Anna died in March 1852 in Pulaski County. Finch remarried to Lucretia Reynolds
in 1853 in Laurel County; he passed away in 1858. Lucretia joined at Line Creek
in 1860.
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"We the United Baptist Church of Christ at Line Creek do hereby certify
that our beloved Bro Finch Shiplet & Sister Anna his wife are members in
good standing & full fellowship with us & are Dismissed from us when
joined to another Church of the same Faith. This done by order of the Church
the 4th Saturday in Oct 1850.
"W.F. Richardson, Mod
"F.L. Warren, Clk"
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