Z 1988.000 Old Madison Presbyterian Church Session Book

The Old Madison Presbyterian Church was originally formed about four miles west of Canton, Mississippi, on June 22, 1845, under the name of Madison Presbyterian Church. The congregation soon built a meeting house on land donated by one of the founding families, Mr. and Mrs. A. J. Alsworth. The original building burned in 1868, and the present structure was built. Membership declined as church members moved into Canton during World War I. The church was inactive by 1938, and it remained so until the mid-1940s. The Reverend John Talmage of Canton undertook an effort to revive the church in 1943. It was reorganized under the name of Old Madison Presbyterian Church in 1945. Membership grew steadily, and between 1951 and 1953, an annex for Sunday school classes and meetings was added to the church. The congregation averaged around fifty members until about 1963. There was no minister from 1969 until at least 1974. The congregation left the Presbytery of Central Mississippi for the Presbytery of the Mississippi Valley of the National Presbyterian Church in 1974.

This collection consists of a session book of the Old Madison Presbyterian Church dating from June 1845 to October 1891. The first entry records the first meeting of the congregation on June 22, 1845. It also lists the events associated with Sunday services, as well as summarizing weekday meetings of the elders. Of particular interest are the adults and childrens baptismal and membership rolls. Entries in these rolls record the names of slaves (designated as "servant" or "servant of") who were members of the church.

1. Session Book. 1845-1891. 1 bound volume.