The Clear Creek Church in Woodford County was constituted by John Taylor, as a result of the first revival in Kentucky, led by this noted pioneer preacher. Many of the members of the South Elkhorn Church were living on Clear Creek, and among them the revival fires were kindled. During the Summer of 1784, John Taylor settled in Woodford County. He says: in a "little cabin (sixteen feet square, with no floor but the natural earth, without table, bedstead or stool)." He says, "On my settlement at home, I had nothing before me but hard labour, being entirely in the woods. . . After getting another little cabin up and fixed for winter; our first work was to make fence rails, and enclose all the land we intended to clear through the winter."
He then tells how the revival began. In the winter of 1784-5, they began to hold night meetings in their little cabins in the woods. "There seemed to be some heart melting move among the people. The first, I recollect, was at a night meeting at my little cabin; though the night was wet and dark, and scarcely a trace to get to my house, the little cabin was pretty well filled with people, and what was best of all, I have no doubt the Lord was there; a Mrs. Cash, the wife of Warren Cash, was much affected, and soon after was hopefully converted. Others were also touched to the heart, who afterwards obtained relief in the Lord."
Mrs. Cash as far as known was the first fruit of the Lord "in the far famed Blue Grass Region of Kentucky." She was born in Virginia, the daughter of Elder William Basket, being one of thirteen. children. Her father being a prosperous man in Goochland County, Virginia, she received a fair education for the times. In November 1783, she was married to a soldier, who had served in the war for Independence, by the name of Warren Cash. He was wild and reckless, and was illiterate, not able to read. After their marriage, they moved to Kentucky and settled in Woodford County. Soon after Mrs. Cash's conversion in the cabin, she won her husband to Christ and began to teach him with good results. He later became a useful preacher, due largely to the tutoring of his faithful wife.
As a result of this work of grace, the members of the South Elkhorn Church, who lived in the Clear Creek vicinity, agreed to go into the organization of a church nearer their homes. Accordingly, the Regular Baptist Church on Clear Creek was constituted. This was the tenth church gathered in Kentucky, and the second located on the north side of the Kentucky River. There were about thirty members in the constitution of the church, and among them were four ordained preachers -- John Taylor, William Cave, James Rucker, and John Dupuy. The persons, who had been converted during the previous winter, had not been baptized, but as the revival continued on through the year about twenty were baptized into the Clear Creek Church.
During the winter of 1785 after the constitution of the church, the question of calling a pastor began to be agitated. John Taylor says: ". . . when this talk came to my ears, it gave me alarm, thinking the peace of the church might be broken on this question, for I had seen much trouble at times in Virginia, in choosing a pastor, where there was a number of preachers. . . Two of the preachers that were with us, Dupuy and Rucker, had been pastors in Virginia, and a number of their old flocks, then members of Clear Creek church, my own fears were, that we should have a heavy church contest, which of them should ,be the pastor; but the question was brought into the church, and the day fixed on to choose a pastor, help's sent for to Elkhorn and the Great Crossings to install (as they called it,) a pastor in the church. I think it was at our March monthly meeting, the help's came, perhaps six or eight, Lewis Craig acted as the moderator. His mode was to ask every member of the church, male or female, bond or free, who do you choose for your pastor. I think the church was now about sixty in number. I must confess it filled me with surprise, when the first man that was asked answered that he chose me; and my astonishment continued to increase, until the question went all round, only one man objected, but Lewis Craig soon worked him out of his objection, for it lay in thinking my coat was too fine."
lt is interesting to hear John Taylor describe how he was installed as pastor of the Clear Creek Church. They met the next day and proceeded with the ceremonies, "After preaching had ended, the moderator, Lewis Craig, called the Church together, informing them, if they were of the same mind, they were the day before, I had agreed to serve them. The voice of the church being unanimous, those helps proceeded to instal me, as they called it, into the pastoral care of Clear Creek Church. Their mode was three of them to kneel down with me, while, they all laid their right hands on my head. Two of them prayed, after which the moderator took my right hand into his, and gave me the solemn charge to fulfill the duty of a pastor to the church. After which he called forward the church, each to give me the right hand of fellowship, as their pastor. This soon produced more heart-melting effect than we had ever before seen at Clear Creek; what wrought most on my feelings was, almost every sinner in the crowded house, pushed forward, either looking solemn as death, or in flood of tears, to give me their trembling hands. From that day's meeting, an instantaneous revival took place in the settlement of Clear Creek. That summer I baptized about sixty of my neighbours, and a number of them among the most respectable."
The same year a house of worship was built, and the pastor's salary was fixed at seventy dollars, and the next year one hundred dollars was added, all to be paid in produce. The pastor kept the list, and gave credit to the members when the commodities were delivered. "Of the one hundred and seventy dollars, only forty was paid."
Elder Taylor remained as regular pastor for three years, and resigned because of some contention in the church. However, he continued to minister to the church until the Spring of 1795. In the great revival of 1800-02, the Clear Creek Church partook of the blessing and grew to about 500 members. During the twenty years following this great revival, the church had a number of pastors among whom were Jacob Creath, Henry Toler, and others at different times, but during the period the old church steadily declined. Under these discouraging conditions, some of the older members, began to turn to the founder and first pastor of the church, John Taylor, who was then living in Franklin County, twenty miles away.
On the third Saturday in January, 1822, the church extended a unanimous call to their dear former pastor, though he was now in his seventieth year. He did not agree to become pastor, but promised to visit them as often as he could, until they could secure a pastor. The church owned a commodious brick meeting house, but John Taylor perferred to hold services in the homes of the brethren, as in the old days. A revival began almost immediately, and continued through the year. More than 160 were baptized. ========= [From Frank M. Masters, A History of Baptists in Kentucky, 1953, pp. 33-35. Scanned and formatted by Jim Duvall.]
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