History of the
Providence Regular Missionary Baptist Association, Inc.
This great Association organized in 1834, near the slavery line and also having had the unpleasant experience of being denied Christian fellowship by their white brethren, made them more conscious of the task that lay before them in the fields of both religion and civil rights. Thus the name of the Anti Slavery attachment showed two things, they did express themselves as being against the institution of slavery and exponents of freedom. Thus when we look very closely at the exploits of such men as Reverend Patrick Williams, J.M. Riddle, L.V. Bryant, who continued to carry the torch light of freedom, justice and education, we understand by Providence Association deserves its name.
One of the things that merits mention in the fight for freedom and education is the fact that in Providence there has been a celebration of the Emancipation every year continuously since 1865. In this celebration many outstanding clergymen and laymen have sounded the trumpet of freedom and justice. Congressmen, governors, white and black, have joined in this great unbroken chain of celebration of the emancipation. Providence has continued to struggle through the years, using whatever means and persons at hand to further their grip on Religion, Education, Mission, Foreign and Home Mission, and Civic Righteousness. Rendville and Glouster, Nelsonville, and Athens all have been centers of activities as well as Gallipolis and Bidwell. Situated on the Ohio River where they were always fired by the underground railroads, stories of runaway slaves and the hot pursuit of the slave master, one can see where Providence was so alert and diligent in its effort to free the enslaved and to keep them free by the Grace of God. If you want a striking example of religion and education, yes the civic righteousness working together, here it is.
When the slavery question bursted into the open conflict called the Civil War, Providence was ready made for the old masters who crossed the Ohio River with their slaves and settled down in mass. There are a number of settlements in Ohio, but Providence alone has at least two. They were integrated in the life of the church and community, and today they are among the leading citizens of that area and the state. Tabler Town in Athens County, and Piketon and Blackfork in Piketon County, Greenville is also in this category.