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Howdy all,
Speaking of info from "from strange places," or at least a strange person!
Though I'm not familiar with Early CREWS, one must remember that there are two main CREWS families in Forsyth/Stokes/Surry Counties, NC. One descends from James CREWS (b. ca. 1740, d. 1831) and Emelia [surname unknown]; the other descends from David CREWS (b. 1735, d. 1826) and Sarah GOOCH (b. 1743, d. 1842). [NOTE WELL: These dates may not be quite accurate, and I'm not sure from where I got them.] To complicate things, I've heard of a third line, with which I'm unfamiliar, that descends from a Matthew CREWS starting about the mid-1800s in Forsyth County.
James CREWS and David CREWS were both born in Hanover Co., VA, and I've seen genealogies/pedigrees that have their ancestors as Quakers from Devonshire, England. They are probably related, but I haven't seen anything that links them. I think the surname changed from CREW to CREWS during their generation.
I'm descended from both James and Emelia CREWS and David and Sarah GOOCH CREWS. I'm also a member of the sixth generation to attend Crews United Methodist Church, but I quit after completing confirmation classes and declining to join the church when I was twelve. Within six months, soon after my thirteenth birthday, I saw the light and became an atheist ( http://www.CompleatHeretic.com/bio/atheist.html )! It's usually dangerous to get me seriously pondering things.
Even so, Crews Church is an important part of my personal and family history as I am descended from the founders (ggg-grandson of Peace CREWS and Phebe HESTER and gg-grandson of Cornelius CREWS and Martha WESTMORELAND) and four generations of my ancestors (a set of ggg-grandparents, two sets of gg-grandparents, a set of great-grandparents, and a set of grandparents) are buried there. Many, if not most, of the others interred at Crews UMC are my relatives in some manner, including six of my grandmother's seven siblings, most of whom were very important in my upbringing ( http://www.CompleatHeretic.com/pubs/essays/growinup.html ).
Though not the founders, the descendants of James and Emelia CREWS were/are members of Crews Church and are buried in the cemetery. This includes Sarah Martha Jane CREWS (b. 20 Mar 1862, d. 12 Dec1929) and her husband William Masten Robertson (b. 9 Jan 1853, d. 12 Jul 1933). My gg-grandmother Florina Elizabeth CREWS (b. 1 Nov 1840, d. 1 Dec 1923), wife of my gg-grandfather Alexander Gilbert WHICKER (b. 10 Aug 1845, d. 27 May 1916), makes me a member of this family; both are buried in the Crews Church cemetery as well.
The primary founders of Crews United Methodist Church are descendants of David and Sarah GOOCH CREWS through their son, Joseph Peace CREWS, Sr., as follows:
Joseph Peace CREWS, Sr., son of David CREWS and Sarah GOOCH, born 19 Apr 1782, Surry Co., NC, died 9 May 1874, Forsyth Co., NC. He married 2 Nov 1802, Stokes Co., NC, Elizabeth ROBINSON, daughter of Jacob and Rebeccah ROBINSON, born 19 Nov 1782, Surry Co., NC, died 12 Aug 1861, Forsyth Co., NC. Joseph, Sr. and Elizabeth are buried in the Crews Family cemetery which I rediscovered earlier this year; they are my gggg-grandparents.
Joseph Peace CREWS, Jr., son of Joseph Peace CREWS, Sr. and Elizabeth ROBINSON, born 26 Dec 1826, Stokes Co., NC, died 8 Oct 1911, Forsyth Co., NC. He married 26 Jul 1847, Stokes Co., NC, Phebe HESTER, daughter of Robert HESTER and Sarah WHICKER, born 4 Apr 1823, Stokes Co., NC, died 31 Jan 1899, Forsyth Co., NC. Peace (Joseph, Jr.) and Phebe are buried in the Crews United Methodist Church cemetery; Phebe was the first to be interred there; they are my ggg-grandparents.
Cornelius Elijah CREWS, son of Joseph Peace CREWS, Jr. and Phebe HESTER, born 12 Feb 1848, Stokes Co., NC, died 30 Jul 1919, Forsyth Co., NC. He married 3 Oct 1869, Forsyth Co., NC, Martha Susanna WESTMORELAND, daughter of Martin WESTMORELAND and Nancy E. FULP, born 24 Oct 1852, Stokes Co., NC, died 4 Jun 1931, Forsyth Co., NC. Cornelius and Martha are buried in the Crews United Methodist Church cemetery; they are my gg-grandparents.
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(Transcribed by James Matthew Wallace, 16 November 2001, from the back page of the Crews United Methodist Church bulletin/program for the funeral of his great-uncle Kenneth Arlington WHICKER (b. 13 Mar 1905, d. 25 Dec 1984) who is the great-grandson of Joseph Peace CREWS, Jr. and grandson of Cornelius and Martha CREWS mentioned below. And yes, Uncle Ken was just ornery enough to actually die in the early morning hours of Christmas Day!)
HISTORY OF CREWS METHODIST CHURCH
In 1896 while serving the Kernersville Circuit of Kernersville, Bunker Hill, Love's and Bethlehem Methodist Episcopal churches, the Reverend W.M. Curtis preached to a small group of forty-three people at Crews School House, a one room frame building then located in the woods behind the present church building. From this church school, Crews Methodist Church was organized and built in the year of 1897.
The first church was a plain, one room frame structure with a steeple. At the back of the building was a small cemetery. The building was erected at a cost of approximately one thousand dollars. Joseph Peace Crews, Jr., gave over half of the amount with the rest of the money being donated by the other members. Cornelius and Martha Crews gave the land from which the church was built on. Joseph Peace Crews, Jr., secured the workmen and supervised the building of the church himself.
In 1932 the first church building was moved from its original site a few hundred feet to face the Reidsville Highway. The sanctuary was completely remodeled, church school rooms were added, a basement dug and furnace installed. After work was completed, the church began to grow and a greater interest was manifest by the membership. Under the leadership of Reverend Moody Nifong, a new brick parsonage was built in 1936 at a cost of two thousand dollars.
As the church continued to grow the membership began to think about an adequate brick structure. In December 1943, the frame church building was completely destroyed by fire. Under the tireless leadership of Reverend E.A. Lamb, plans were formulated and a fund-raising campaign began to secure the money needed for the new brick church. Work on the new edifice started in 1944. While the new church was under construction, the congregation met at City View School for worship services. Owing to a shortage of building materials caused by the Second World War, the brick structure was not completed until 1946 at a cost of $25,000.
In 1957, under the relentless leadership of Reverend Jack Caudill and Charles Mecum, a new Christian education building was constructed and completed in 1958 at a cost of $55,000. The new unit was built in order to reduce the overcrowded Sunday School classes and to provide more room for the church to grow.
In 1978, construction began on the new parsonage for Crews church. Led by Reverend William B. Ellison, Calvin Owens and many others, work was completed on the new parsonage in the Spring of 1979 at a cost of $75,000.
The first eighty-six years of Crews Methodist Church are past. But the pioneers of its days and years have left a challenge to the present membership to continue to grow in spirit and in numbers for the future. Under the guidance and daily inspiration for better living which our pastor brings us, let us carry on with unfaltering devotion to the work which our forefathers began eighty-six years ago.
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Hope this has been helpful.
–Matt Wallace
James Matthew Wallace Institute for Genealogical Research
URL: http://www.CompleatHeretic.com/genes/
The genealogy web site of a severely disturbed individual
E-mail: JMWallaceIGR@yahoo.com
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