Primitive Baptist Library Research
and Work in Progress

Examples of research recently completed, or in process of being done at present:

1. A bibliography has recently been prepared for Elder Thomas H. Owen's History of the Church of Christ. We will be glad to send it to those who have the Owen's Church History, or anyone else who wishes to receive it. We have also compiled Elder Thomas H. Owen's other known letters and articles.

2. We have begun work on an "all-year obituary index," which consolidates the annual indexes published in various church papers. We presently have over 12,400 entries in this database, from the "Signs of the Times," for years from 1832 to 1920; 6,000 entries from the "Messenger of Peace", and smaller numbers of entries from the "Primitive Monitor," and other papers. Altogether, over 20,000 entries for obituaries have now been entered into our all-year database.

3. We hope to computerize some or all of the writings of Elder D. W. Owens, a long-time contributing editor for the "Messenger of Peace." We have copied a large file full of articles, enough to make a rather large book. We have done the same with the writings of a few others of our old writers, such as Elder John R. Daily and Elder Isaac N. Vanmeter. We have published virtually all of the writings of Elder Lemuel Potter.

4. We have begun transcribing the manuscript records of the Grand Prairie Church, in Crawford County, Illinois, which was organized in 1819. The minutes begin with January 1821; we have now transcribed them through 1827, and are working on 1828-1830.

5. We have completed the transcription of the records of Bethel Church, Cape Girardeau County, Missouri from 1806 to 1820. The remainder of the records known to exist through August 1867 have been copied in sufficiently legible form for our use. Bethel Church declared non-fellowship for the modern mission system in 1840. The Cape Girardeau Association had 20 churches at that time, and twelve stood against the mission system. The missionary Baptists have obtained ownership of the site of the log building of Bethel Church, in recent years, and are rebuilding the old log meeting house. We have recently obtained most of the minutes of the Cape Girardeau Association from 1824 to 1851.

6. We have recently finished transcribing the writings of Elder Joel G. Williams, of Ursa, Adams Co., Illinois.

7. We have now completed a republication of the minutes of the Salem Association of Illinois for the period from its organization in October 1835 through 1860.

8. We now have a hardbound reproduction of the D. H. Goble edition of Elder Wilson Thompson's Autobiography (we do not have a copy of the original edition).

9. We have begun the transcription of the Debate between Elder Joel Hume and Rev. Benjamin Franklin, at Mt. Vernon, Indiana, in 1853.

10. We have recently had numerous volumes of xeroxed church records, periodicals, and books bound at a bookbindery.

11. We now have a hardbound reproduction of Hancock County historian Thomas Gregg's major work on the Mormons, called "Prophet of Palmyra." 552 pages, published in 1890.

12. We have begun making digital photos, converting them to pdf files, and loading them onto disks (CD's and DVD's), as a means of trying to preserve our church and association records, and of some of our old periodicals.

Copyright c. 2006-2009. All rights reserved. The Primitive Baptist Library.