Rainbow Church

Submitted by Carol P. Martoccia

from documents provided by Martha Mewborn Marble

 

According to the "History of Rainbow Church," a new circuit called Contentnea (then spelled Contentney) was formed in 1790. It encompassed portions of Greene (then Dobbs), Wayne, Craven, Lenoir, and Pitt Counties. The list is verbatim, but I rephrased the text.

 

From the History of Rainbow Church comes the following list of preachers

who served during the 1790 -1830 time period.

 

 

1790 Rev. John Baldwin

1791 Rev. Aquilla Sugg & Rufus Wiley

1792

1793 Rev. William Bellamy

1794 Rev. Samuel Ansley

1795 Rev. Jonathan Bird

1796 Rev. Lawrence Mansfield

1797 Rev. William Lambeth

1798 Rev. William Kenyon

1799 Rev. Benjamin Matthews

1800 Rev. John King

1801 Rev. John Gamewell

1802 Rev. James Chappell

1803 Rev. John Gibbons

1804 Rev. John Gamewell & James Jennings.It is now Goshen and ContentneaCircuit

1805 Rev. James Boyd It is this year Trent, Goshen & Contentney & Goshen

1806 Revs. Wm. Barnes, J. E. Glen & B. Arendall. This year Trent

1807 Revs. Edmond, William Murphrey & H. E. Hall

1808 Revs. John C. Ballew & Nathan Weedon. This year it is Trent circuit.

1809 Rev. John Owen, Rev. William Floyd & Rev. T. J. Cook

1810 Rev. Caleb W. Bell. It is called New River circuit now.

1811 Rev. Robert Burns

1812 Rev. Edmund Wright

1813 Rev. James Morris

1814 Rev. James Thomas

1815 Rev. John Doyle

1816 Rev. Elijah Sparks

1817 Rev. William H. Starr

1818 Rev. Wm. D. Barrett and Russell Browder

1819 Rev. George Burnett

1820 Rev. Archibald Robinson

1821 Rev. Thompson Garrard

1822 Rev. Thompson Garrard & David Ellis

1823 Rev. Benton Freld

1824 Rev. Rufus Wiley. It is Trent circuit again.

1825 Rev. Curtis Hooks

1826 Rev. Curtis Hooks

1827 Revs. William Jones and John Carson

1828 Revs. David Roberts & John I. Head

1829 Revs. Wilson Barcliff and V. Eskridge

 

This information came from the Church Records of Rainbow Methodist Church

located in Snow Hill, NC....Greene County

 

 

More Names From Rainbow Church History

First, I think it is interesting to see where the name "Rainbow" comes from.

"The first preacher cose well the site for a church, then a well wooded

hillside, spring of sparkling water flowing at the foot of the hill and a

stream running in rainbow circle nearby, called Rainbow Creek, possibly so

named by the Indians because of its resemblance to the rainbow."

 

Samuel C. Hooker lived a short distance southeast of the site and,

although he was not a member of the congregation, he rode all over the

community and gathered the neighbors together while the preacher preached

to them in his barn. Later, he did become a member of the church.

 

The Rev. William Ormand, the founder of Ormond's Chapel, in his diary

speaks of hearing Rev. Mr. Whatcoat (later Bishop Whatcoat) hold services

at Rainbow Church as early as 1796.

 

West of the Church a few miles away lived Rev. John Gibbons who son, Rev.

Henry H. Gibbons and grandson Rev. Lemuel Gibbons were both honored members

of the NC Conference. Rev. Henry H.Gibbons' first charge in 1850 was the

Snow Hill circuit which included Rainbow Church. A great grandson of Henry

Gibbons is Henry Rouark who is also a minister.

 

Also a few miles away lived William H. Cunninggim (a local preacher) and

his eldest son, W.H. Cunninggim, Jr. and son-in-law, Rev. Levi Branson.

Jesse A. Cunninggim, the second son was an itinerant preacher. Four

grandsons of W.H. Cunninggim, Sr.....William L and Jesse Lee Cunninggim,

and Allison L. and J. Marvin Ormond all were preachers. A great

granddaughter of W.H. Cunninggim,Sr was the wife of Rev. T.M.Grant. She was

also the great, great granddaughter of Samuel C. Hooker....no name was

given for her.

 

1837...Rev. Daniel Culbreth was a pastor

1866...Rev. J.B. Martin

Paul Carraway, Joseph Wheeler, W.S. Chaffin, D.A. Watkins, James b. Baily

and T.P. Ricuard served the Circuit at some time.

1874...Rev. M.C. Thomas

1875...J.P. Simpson

1878...W.H.Call

1881...John N. Andrews was on the charge for 2 years

1883-4 J.W. Jenkins

1884-8 Peter L. Herman

1889 ...J. E. Thompson

1890 ...J.T. Abernathy 1890

1891...W.J. Gay

1892...N.E. Coltrane

1893-6...D.L. Earnhardt

1897-8...L.J. Holden...died in 1899

August 1899-Dec. 1899 ...H.M. North

1900...C.W. Robinson

1901-4 E. Pope

 

In 1903 the Snow Hill circuit was divided...the part called the Hookerton

Circuit included Rainbow, Ormand's Chapel and Hookerton Churches...Later a

church was built at Maury.

Nov. 1903-Dec. 1906 Rev. J.P. Pate

Dec. 1906-Dec. 1909 Rev. R.F.Taylor

Nov. 1909-Dec. 1911 Rev. M.D. Giles

Dec. 1911-Dec. 1913 Rev. W.E. Hocut

Dec. 1913-Dec. 1917 Rev. J.W. Bradley

Dec 1917-Nov. 1919 Rev. T. McGrant

Nov. 1919-Nov. 1921 Rev. R.H. Broom

Nov. 1921-Nov. 1925 Rev. R.R. Grant

Nov. 1925-Nov. 1926 E.N. Harrison

Nov. 1926-Nov 1929 Rev. R.J. Lough

Nov. 1929-Nov. 1932 Rev. J.C. Humble

Nov. 1932- Nov. 1936 Rev. J.G. Phillips

Nov. 1936- May 1941 Rev. J. Herbert Miller

May 1941-Nov. 1947 Rev. E.R. Shuller

Nov. 1947-Nov. 1949 Rev. C.E. Vale

Nov. 1949-Nov. 1952 Rev. C.T. Rogers

Nov. 1952-Nov. 1954 Rev. Ben Boone

Nov. 1954-June 1960 Rev.W.R. Crowder

In 1890 one acre of land north of the Church grounds was donated by John W.

Dixon, Jr. and wife, Mary F. Dixon to begin a cemetery.

 

Some of the ladies mentioned in the history during the 1920-30 time period

were: Mrs. Harry L. Taylor, Mrs. Felix Moor, Mrs. Elizabeth Edwards, Mrs.

J.R.Tyndall, Mrs. Charlie Albritton.

 

At one time there were portraits of Rev. William H. Cunninggim, Sr., Rev.

Henry H. Gibbons, Rev. Jesse A. Cunninggim, and Rev. Nathan A. Hooker.

There was also a bronze tablet in memory of Samuel C. Hooker. A fire on

January 25th, 1937 destroyed the Church and the portraits therein.

 

 

Rev. Nathan Anderson Hooker

A sketch taken from the History of Rainbow Church, Greene county, NC

(I am just taking the facts....dates, names, etc. from this document.)

Born October 10, 1816 near Rainbow Church, Greene County...the son of James

Wesley Hooker and Elizabeth House, grandson of Samuel C. Hooker and wife, a

Miss Blanchard.

 

Joined the annual North Carolina conference at Mocksville in 1840 and was

sent to the Mattamuskeet Circuit.

 

Married Catherine HAll Fulford of Carteret County.

Was sent in 1861 as a missionary to a "colored" church in New Bern. It is

said he commanded the esteem and respect of his charge and served them

faithfully until he was sent away by Union authorities. He and his family

moved to Kinston...along with a number of women and children...all refugees

in his charge.

 

The capture of New Bern left him without a Church. His mother and his

stepmother had died and his father and his sister Sallie and his Aunt Mary

(Pollie) Hooker Lane, a widow lived together on a farm in the Rainbow

section. He and his wife lived with this extended family. He took charge of

a postoffice in Hookerton, took up shoemaking. After the war and

reconstruction, he entered circuit work again.

 

He and his wife had 3 sons...all who died young, and four daughters.

Mary Elizabeth attended Greensboro College, taught school and never married.

Sue never married.

Fannie married Ervin Whitehurst

Julia married Haywood McKinnie

 

Rev. William Henry Cunninggim

The name Cunninggim was originally Cunningham and was Scottish. The NC

branch consisted of Jesse Cunninggim, the father of William Henry

Cunninggim and they lived in the extreme southern part of Green County near

Wheat Swamp, where with his wife Polly Moore Cunninggim reared a family of

2 sons and 4 daughters.

 

William Henry was born August 5th, 1804. He married Edith Gibbons Edwards

July 28th, 1825. They established their home 2 miles southwest of Rainbow

Church. to this union were born:

Elizabeth Hardy...married Blaney Pridgen

William Henry, Jr. married Louisa Hardy

Mary Cooper married William B. Hooker

Marinda Gibbons married 1st Charles Hill

2nd Josiah Aldridge

Jesse Anderson married Lucy Armfield

John Wesley married Mary Jane Bryan

Edith Ann Sarah married Rev. Levi Branson

Nancy Jane married John J. Ormond

Theodosia Margaret married Frederick G. Griffin

Catherine Noble married Nathaniel S. Richardson

Louisa Frances died in infancy

 

Two sons became ministers...William Henry, Jr...became a local minister but Jesse Anderson chose the itinerancy. Two gransons were preachers...Rev. William L. Cunninggim and Rev. Allison L. Ormond.

Two other gransons are members of the NC Conference...Jesse L. CUnninggim, was President of Scarrett College and Rev. J. Marvin Ormond was an instructor at Duke. Four granddaughters and one great granddaughter "have blessed parsonage homes"..Addie Cunninggim McCullen, Lillian Branson Simmons, Fannie Cunninggim Bailey and Marie Hooker Grant in the NC Conference and Daisy Branson MArshman in the North Georgia Conference.

 

His first wife died May 12, 1865.

He married Mrs. Margaret McGowan Williams later.

He died on Sept 22n, 1874

 

(This concludes any genealogical material from the History Of Rainbow Church.)

 

 

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