Bramlett Methodist Church

The courthouse records contain a deed covering two acres of land bought by Nathan Bramlett "for the purpose of securing a meetinghouse thereon, standing and to remain for the use of the Methodist Church," dated 1807.

Unlike most churches, the cemetery was established first. Local tradition tells of a stranger traveling through the country who asked permission to leave his wagon in the woods for the night. Next morning, Nathan Bramlett found the lifeless body of the man; and knowing neither his name nor the place from which he had come, Mr. Bramlett gave the stranger a decent burial on the church acreage. Later a cemetery was laid out around the mound marked by a simple soapstone identification.

By 1834 the brush arbor previously used was replaced by a rectangular building of logs with a balcony for the slaves who came to church with their masters. In 1871, a second building was constructed which served the congregation of Bramlett Methodist Church until 1920.

According to the earliest record, George W. Moore served as pastor of the Cokesbury District, of which Bramlett was a part. Other early records show the members to have been "indulging in such amusements as cannot be used in the name of the Lord," thus calling for church discipline which caused complications in the life of the church.

Bramlett, the founder of the church, willed his entire estate to the Methodist Episcopal Church upon his wife's death.

From A Laurens County Sketchbook by Julian Stevenson Bolick, Pages 60 - 61.


Stones erected at (located inside the church) Bramlett Methodist Church, Woodruff, Laurens Co., SC.:

Epitaph of Nathan Bramlett:
"Sacred to the memory of Nathan Bramlett, who was born on this 20th day of July, 1766 and died on the 18th day of March, 1841, leaving an affectionate wife and many relations and friends to bemourn thie unparable loss. At the early age of 16 he attached himself to the church and lived a humble follower of Jesus Christ for 50 years. He was a pious class leader of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He was a kind an affectionate husband, a sincere friend and devoted christian. He attained in society an invitation as a neighbor. He was kind and obliging as a christian meek. Erected by the SC conference of the M.E. Church, South".

Epitaph of Elizabeth Bramlett:
"Sacred to the memory of Mrs. Elizabeth Bramlett, born Jan. 1765 and died July 17, 1844. She was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church fifty-five years, and after adorning her character with a christian life she died in the faith. This stone is erected by order of the SC Conference of the M.E. Church, South, and let her own works praise her in the gate".



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