Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Consolation Universalist Church, Gratis, Ga

The formal name of the Universalist Church in Gratis Georgia was "Consolation church". The Universalist Register says the church was built in 1886 (and organized in 1887), made of wood and costing $500. That would make it the same age and likely construction as many other southern Universalist Churches. The church was gone by the great depression, but still active as of 1902. I have no source of data from the 1900s to the early 1930s. Ellen Adams was the clerk of the Church in 1902. I'm not 100% sure where that church was in Gratis. Next to the Adams Family Cemetery?

Gratis in the 1890s was the home of two Universalist ministers.
James Harrell Park (1829-1903) ordained to the Universalist ministry in 1860. Missionary Baptist minister up to that time. Called by some "the Love Minister" -back when that would be a band of honor. Not sure when he moved to Gratis, seems to be in the late 1880s. He is no known kin to Martha Ellen Adams Parks.
T. H. Gunter, I admit to knowing nothing about, other than he was in Gratis in the 1890s.

Ellen Adams lived to 1941, and is buried beside her husband in the Adams Family cemetery.

2 comments:

Boy in the Bands (Scott Wells) said...

Well, the Adams Cemetery looks to be the rectangle at the edge of the woodlot. I wonder if the red roofed house dates to the period. If it does, it might contain the old Consolation church. That's been known to happen.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&time=&date=&ttype=&q=gratis,+ga&ie=UTF8&ll=33.873925,-83.658442&spn=0.002975,0.005021&t=h&z=18&iwloc=addr&om=1

Anonymous said...

The now red roofed house was originally the home of John Adams. He once owned 1000 acres in Gratis.