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St. Barnabas Mission, St. Paul Parish, Summerville, South Carolina

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Date: 1883 to 1939
Location: Summerville, Dorchester, South Carolinamap
Surname/tag: Driggers, Huff, Grooms, Davis, Stephens
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St. Barnabas Mission was a combination of health clinic, school and church run by the St. Paul Episcopal Church of Summerville, South Carolina. It was conceived to help "the Summerville Indians" who were comprised of the mixed raced descendants of local Native American tribes. [1]

In 1883, Rev. Legrande F. Guerry (father of the late Bishop Alexander Guerry) [2] who was the pastor of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Summerville, South Carolina, decided to attempt outreach to the people in the more rural areas outside of the city. [3] He approached a Mrs. Driggers who he felt would have a degree of influence as she had a large number of children and grandchildren in the area. [4] Mrs. Driggers is never identified by her first name but some possibilities include Hester Driggers, Celia Driggers, Nancy Burbage Driggers, and Martha Driggers. [5] Though Mrs. Driggers was a Baptist, she welcomed the preacher into her home and the first meetings were held there and were attended by many children (many who were her grandchildren) and a few adults. [6]

Mrs. Driggers' house where services were first held

After several years, the number of people attending grew and Rev. Guerry obtained permission to build a small building on a vacant lot to house a school house. The building was put up by the Reverend and some of his small flock. Services were held there as well as school being taught. After several more years, this building became too small to serve the needs of those who attended and the Mission began looking for alternatives. The chapel was consecrated on Easter Monday of 1895 by Bishop Capers.[7]

A biracial woman by the name of Kitty Springs, born Catherine Smith, who had been involved with the Mission for many years, donated a small piece of land. She also mortgaged one of her cottages and took out a loan to gather funds for the new building.[8][9] [10] Construction of the Chapel began around October of 1887[11] and was built at the intersection of Main Street and Highway 78 in Summerville. The structure was built in the late Gothic style and has an interior of Georgia Pine.[12] An alter which was made by cabinet maker Jeff Braid and reading desk were presented to the Mission in July of 1888.[13][14] A bell tower was added in August, 1894, followed by a bell in November. The bell was rung for the first time on the death of Bishop William B. W. Howe (Date is not noted).[15] By 1896, the Mission was serving 42 families made up of 185 people.[16]

St. Barnabas Chapel
Interior View of St. Barnabas Chapel

Rectors of the Missionl included: Rev. LeGrande Guerry, Rev. Percival Whaley, Rev. James Glass, Rev. Carl Jagar, Rev. A. Ernest Cornish, and Rev. F. W. Ambler.[17]

Around 1896, the Mission also began being used as a charitable infirmary run by William Russell Dehon. [18] Mr. Dehon is also credited with helping to build the chapel and was a lay reader within the church. The Prioleau Infirmary which later became to Dorchester Hospital is said to be a direct offshoot from the mission work. Dr. Samuel Priouleau was the town doctor and Miss Aimee Parker was the nurse who served the community.[19]

The Samuel Prioleau Infirmary

The Shepard School was built on the property around 1900 and served the community as a day school. By 1930, the students had been absorbed into the regular school system.[20] The following women worked at the school as teachers throughout its existence: Miss Lelia Anderson, Miss Lise Thompson, Miss Caroline Dickenson, Mrs. Claudia Fishburne Thurston, Miss Minnie Marshall, Miss Olive Veronee, Mrs. Maggie Lou Waters Carpenter, Mrs. Kate Simons Cornish, Mrs. Mary Smith Hutchinson, Mrs. E. H. Hutchinson, Mrs. William Doar, and Mrs. George Tupper.[21]

In 1939, St. Barnabas Mission became dormant and was sold in 1945 to the Reformed Episcopal Church to use as a seminary and was moved about a half mile to the site of the Cummins Theological Seminary. It was renamed the Bishop Pengelley Memorial Chapel.[22] In 1981, it was moved again to its present location at 705 S. Main Street in Summerville and is known as St. Paul's Reformed Episcopal Church.[23]

Sources

Kwist, Margaret Scott. Porch Rocker Recollections of Summerville, South Carolina. Summerville, South Carolina: Linwood Press, Inc., 1980.

Marshall, Martha B. Stories from the Mission Field in the Pinelands Of South Carolina. Round Robin to the Junior Auxiliary Series, Publication no. 34. Hartford, Connecticut: Church Missions Publishing Company, 1900.

St. Barnabas Mission. In St. Paul’s Parish, Summerville, S.C. Pamphlet. The Vestry of St. Paul’s Church, Summerville, S.C. 11 February 1896.

St Barnabas Mission (Summerville, South Carolina). Registry and Ledger 1885-1898. South Carolina Historical Society, Charleston.

South Carolina. Charleston. News and Courier. 17 November 1946.

South Carolina. Charleston. The Post and Courier. 23 April 2012.

South Carolina Picture Project. https://scpictureproject.org : 2018.

Thorndale, William and William Dollarhide. Dorchester County, South Carolina Historic Resources Survey. Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1987.

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Petersen, Bo. “Missing Piece: overlooked historic figure had role in creating the old Dorchester County hospital”. The Post And Courier (Charleston, South Carolina), 23 April 2012, B1.
  2. ↑ Archer, Mildred M. “Historic Summerville Mission is Sold for Use of Seminary,” News and Courier (Charleston, South Carolina), 17 November 1946, p.7, col.1,2.
  3. ↑ “History of the Mission,” St. Barnabas Mission. In St. Paul’s Parish, Summerville, S.C., pamphlet, The Vestry of St. Paul’s Church (Summerville, South Carolina), 11 February 1896, p.5.
  4. ↑ “History of the Mission,” St. Barnabas Mission. In St. Paul’s Parish, Summerville, S.C., 11 February 1896, p.6.
  5. ↑ Barry Hoff suggests these possibilities as they were all grandmothers who were still alive at the time and lived in the area.
  6. ↑ “History of the Mission,” St. Barnabas Mission. In St. Paul’s Parish, Summerville, S.C., 11 February 1896, p.6.
  7. ↑ “History of the Mission,” St. Barnabas Mission. In St. Paul’s Parish, Summerville, S.C., 11 February 1896, p.6.
  8. ↑ Archer, Mildred M. “Historic Summerville Mission is Sold for Use of Seminary,” News and Courier (Charleston, South Carolina), 17 November 1946, p.7, col.1,2.
  9. ↑ Petersen, Bo. “Missing Piece: overlooked historic figure had role in creating the old Dorchester County hospital”. The Post And Courier (Charleston, South Carolina), 23 April 2012, B1.
  10. ↑ “History of the Mission,” St. Barnabas Mission. In St. Paul’s Parish, Summerville, S.C., 11 February 1896, p.7
  11. ↑ St Barnabas Mission (Summerville, South Carolina). Registry and Ledger 1885-1898, p. 1, South Carolina Historical Society, Charleston.
  12. ↑ Archer, Mildred M. “Historic Summerville Mission is Sold for Use of Seminary,” News and Courier (Charleston, South Carolina), 17 November 1946, p.7, col.1,2.
  13. ↑ Archer, Mildred M. “Historic Summerville Mission is Sold for Use of Seminary,” News and Courier (Charleston, South Carolina), 17 November 1946, p.7, col.1,2.
  14. ↑ St Barnabas Mission (Summerville, South Carolina). Registry and Ledger 1885-1898, p. 1, South Carolina Historical Society, Charleston.
  15. ↑ St Barnabas Mission (Summerville, South Carolina). Registry and Ledger 1885-1898, p. 1, South Carolina Historical Society, Charleston.
  16. ↑ “History of the Mission,” St. Barnabas Mission. In St. Paul’s Parish, Summerville, S.C., 11 February 1896, p.7
  17. ↑ Archer, Mildred M. “Historic Summerville Mission is Sold for Use of Seminary,” News and Courier (Charleston, South Carolina), 17 November 1946, p.7, col.1,2.
  18. ↑ Kwist, Margaret Scott. Porch Rocker Recollections of Summerville, South Carolina (Summerville, South Carolina: Linwood Press, Inc., 1980), p.?
  19. ↑ Archer, Mildred M. “Historic Summerville Mission is Sold for Use of Seminary,” News and Courier (Charleston, South Carolina), 17 November 1946, p.7, col.1,2.
  20. ↑ Thorndale, William and William Dollarhide. Dorchester County, South Carolina Historic Resources Survey. Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1987.
  21. ↑ Archer, Mildred M. “Historic Summerville Mission is Sold for Use of Seminary,” News and Courier (Charleston, South Carolina), 17 November 1946, p.7, col.1,2.
  22. ↑ Thorndale, William and William Dollarhide. Dorchester County, South Carolina Historic Resources Survey. Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1987.
  23. ↑ South Carolina Picture Project (https://scpictureproject.org : accessed 22 August 2018), "St. Paul's Reformed Episcopal Church- Summerville, South Carolina."




Images: 6
The Samuel Prioleau Infirmary
The Samuel Prioleau Infirmary
Interior View of St. Barnabas Chapel
Interior View of St. Barnabas Chapel
Mrs. Driggers' house where services were first held
Mrs. Driggers' house where services were first held
St. Barnabas Chapel
St. Barnabas Chapel
Children of St. Barnabas Mission
Children of St. Barnabas Mission
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Huff-4960 Barry Huff
My brother Rev. Donald Hoff obtained some of this same info in the 1990s from St. Pauls I believe, in it my father William Herbert, his siblings Naomi Elizabeth, Rosalie Violet, Louis Alan, John Henry Huff were all baptize at St Barnabas Chapel in 1909.

My grandmother with her siblings 20 years earlier was baptized at St. Barnabas with many cousins that lived on the out shirts of Summerville around Carnes Crossroad Berkeley.

Before that some of my families of Huff as well as Driggers attended Ridge Baptist Church in Summerville 1870s, it the Ridge ledger it mentions some of the Driggers like my 2nd gt grandmother Hester Driggers and Celia Driggers both originally of Sumter before 1860 as dead so they did attend at some point. Some later were expelled for joining other churches but were still allowed to be buried with family members at Ridge Baptist Cem., 1880s my grandmother, siblings, her parents, uncles, aunts, cousins began holding their own service which formed into the membership of St. Barnabas Chapel.

Not all of the Driggers of Berkeley then originated from Sumter, just the families of John & Hester Driggers(my 2nd gt) and Daniel & Celia Driggers. when they moved to Charleston Dist. in the 1850s there were other Driggers cousins living there since the 1790s which were Elijah Driggers & Doney Owdom/Odum( my 4th gt) descendants and others. My gt grandmother Naomi Driggers originally of Sumter married a cousin, my gt grandfather Lewis Driggers abt 1874 whose family had already lived in St James Goose Creek 84 yrs, four generations.

posted by Barry Huff
edited by Barry Huff
Parker-11287 Kathleen Parker
The original ledger and registry books from the Mission are available at the South Carolina Historical Society in Charleston, South Carolina. I have scans of the three registers if anyone needs something from them.
posted by Kathleen Parker

Categories: St. Barnabas Mission, Summerville, South Carolina