Louisiana - This mother Association held its fifty-seventh annual session with the Calvary Baptist church, Bayou Chicot, St. Landry parish, Sept. 30th. to October 3rd, 1875. Dr. B. W. Blakewood, moderator, and Eld. U W. Jarrell, clerk. Churches, 17; ordained ministers, 15; baptized, 72; received by letter, 32; restored, 7; dead, 17; excluded, 38; dismissed by letter, 89; total 883. The Sunday-school work is very gratifying. Number of schools, 11; officers and teachers 28; scholars, 254; volumes in library, 400; conversions, 0. The Association has had two missionaries, one all the time. Bro. Adolphe Stagg, one of the missionaries is a Creole and his labors have been among the Catholic Creoles. He has easy access to the population, and has baptized some. It would be a good work for any of our friends to send Bro. Stagg tracts in the French language to be distributed among these people. Such tracts can be had for a trifle of the American Baptist Publication Society, and may be procured through Bro. Mayfield.The Association also took hold of the centennial movement, and recommended to the patrons of the churches, Keachi Female College, Mississippi College, and Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
_________ Bayou Macon - This body held its fourteenth session with Providence Baptist church, Alto, Richland parish, October 15th to 18th. Hon. H. F. Vickers, moderator, and John A. Hamlar, clerk. The state of the churches are not tabulated for convenient reference, but I am able to glean from the report on the state of the churches the following facts: There are 16 churches of which only 10 represented; baptized, 18; received by letter, 30; restored, 5; excluded, 37; died, 20; total, 420. The totals of some of the churches represented not given. The figures above fall below the facts, as the statistics of one church is reported as mislaid. It is to be regretted that our people are very often careless about preserving their statistics. The field occupied by this body is one of the most Important in the State, but like most of our churches in Louisiana, there seems to be a lack of esprit de corps.
_________ Northwest Louisiana, (colored Baptists) - This is a new body composed of colored Baptists brethren, but in perfect harmony with their white brethren, with whom they hold the most fraternal relations. Many white brethren attended their recent session near Mansfield, and our dear Brother Hartsfield was their clerk. Their statistics show a good condition. Numbers of churches, 19; ordained ministers, 12; baptized, 119; received by letter, 26, restored, 29; dismissed by letter, 19; excluded, 41; dead, 21; total, 1307.
======= [From The Baptist newspaper, February 5, 1876. Scanned and formatted by Jim Duvall.]
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