Provided by Prince William Public Libraries | Written by Darlene L. Hunter, RELIC Library Technician
“The Occoquan Baptist Church, also known as Bacon Race and Oak Grove, was the first Baptist Church in Prince William County. It became an important part of a group of Primitive Baptist Churches in Prince William County—Occoquan, Quantico, and Beulah.
“These were called Smootite Churches, named for the charismatic Pastor (addressed as Elder), William M. Smoot, who preached at each of these Churches at different times from 1874 to 1938” (Hunter, 2013).
From 1890 to 1938, Elder Smoot published a monthly newsletter called “The Sectarian” about the church. One feature of this publication was obituaries, which included members of the Prince William Primitive Baptist Churches and surrounding areas, as well as past members and friends of the church. African Americans were also members of these Baptist churches. Often, this newsletter was the only place where these obituaries appeared.
RELIC has a large collection of donated issues of “The Sectarian.” Darlene L. Hunter, RELIC staff member, and Margaret B. Binning, RELIC volunteer, have compiled an index to the obituaries. This index, titled “The Sectarian-Obituary Notices 1890 to 1938,” also includes copies of the actual obituaries.
This obituary index is just one of many research tools available at RELIC. Visit RELIC at Central Library or send an email inquiry to LibRELIC@pwcgov.org.
References:
Hunter, Darlene L. “History of Occoquan Baptist Church, Prince William County Virginia (Also Known as Bacon Race and Oak Grove).” Ruth E. Lloyd Information Center (RELIC), Sept. 2013, eservice.pwcgov.org/
