The next destination on my Virtual Hike was the Old Concord Church near Carlisle, Kentucky.

The previous destination on my virtual hike was East Union, Kentucky.

You can see in the map the location of the historic Concord church building is less than five miles from the East Union church location.

Here is a hand drawn map that I found showing the area. You can see the possible site of the cabin of Adam Kern just down the road from the former site of the Hinkson Creek or East Union Dunker meeting house. Adam Kern was my 5th Great Grandfather.

The virtual route to the Old Concord Church was through rural areas with parts of it lined by trees.

It also ran along some creeks as they also followed the low areas between rolling hills.

It also passed by many farms and fields.

The site of the Old Concord church building is overgrown with trees. The building was destroyed some years ago by a tornado and only ruins remain among the trees.

The Old Concord Church has a family connection as it was here in about 1818 my 4th Great Grandmother Susanah Kern became a member of the Newlight congregation that was meeting there. She would have grown up in the Dunkard congregation near her home in the East Union area.

In 1818 the East Union Dunkard church would still not have joined the Newlights in what was to become the Restoration Movement. Her soon to be husband Adam Sears would become a preacher and worked with churches in Indiana, Iowa and Missouri. Susanah and Adam were united in marriage by Adam’s cousin Peter Hon in 1819, which shows a connection between the Newlights and the Dunkard Association at that time.

For those who are looking for connections between the Stepstone Creek church of Christ and the followers of Barton W. Stone, here is one of them.

I am inserting a notice from The Christian Record here that gives a short synopsis of the life of Susanah Sears:

 Dear and Beloved Bro. Goodwin: It becomes my painful duty to inform you and the readers of the Record, of the death of my dear companion, Susanah Sears, who departed this life. October the 2d, after an illness of 8 months, caused by bruises she received by falling; most of which time she was helpless. About two months before her death, she lost her mind, and continued so until a few moments before her death, when she recognized her friends, and spoke a few words of consolation, and then calmly fell a sleep in the arms of our blessed Redeemer. She became a member of the Newlight church at old Concord,Nicholas County, Ky, at the age of 17 years: 4 years after she united with Dunkard church, in Indiana; remained 10 years with that denomination, when a union was effected between the Baptist, Dunkards, New Lights and Reformers, and she went into the union with her companion and continued there until her death. She died in her 59th year leaving seven daughters and her companion to mourn her loss, but we mourn not as those who have no hope, for we have confidence in him in whom she trusted, and are sure that if we continue faithful we shall meet again where there will be no more separation forever.

Eld. Adam Sears. Jefferson Co, Iowa Oct 5, 1859

For more about early Restoration Movement history see my previous Virtual Hike posts.

Since I am virtually in Kentucky my destinations have been where some of my ancestors and families lived in the early 1800’s.

The next stop on my Virtual Hike is at another historic church building, but it does not have a direct family connection.

I am still working on the route past this area as I have learned a lot more about how migration routes changed as the frontier pressed further west.

Steven

Images in this post are from Google Maps and Street View

WwRI – Written With Real Intelligence