Rev. Samuel Lytle Watson
Pastor, Bethel Presbyterian Church, 1840-1882
Samuel Lytle Watson served Bethel from April 25, 1840-Sept. 17, 1882. He was born Feb. 5, 1798, in the southern part of the Bethel Community about seven miles from the church. His parents were David and Margaret Adams Watson. He was the nephew of Rev. James Samuel Adams who had just resigned his charge as the Stated Supply at Bethel.
When Samuel Lytle Watson was an infant, his mother carried him in her arms on horseback to Bethel Church and he was consecrated to the Lord in baptism. The sacrament was administered by Rev. George G. McWhorter, the pastor. At that time his parents dedicated him to the gospel ministry, of which, however, he was never informed until he had entered upon his theological studies.
Samuel Lytle Watson received preparatory training in the noted academy of the Rev. J. McKumie Wilson, DD, which was located in Cabarrus County, NC. He graduated in 1820 from the South Carolina College of Columbia, South Carolina (currently known as the University of South Carolina.) He taught for two years and then entered the Theological Seminary at Princeton, New Jersey. He spent three years there and completed the regular course in theology in 1826. In November 1826 he was licensed as a probationer of the gospel ministry by the Presbytery of South Carolina. He immediately went upon a missionary tour to Alabama, being the first to preach at the capital city of Montgomery, Alabama. He was ordained an evangelist March 15, 1828, and became pastor of Steele Creek Presbyterian Church, Mecklenburg, North Carolina in 1829.
While at Steele Creek he married Nancy Hannah Neel on Nov. 16, 1830. They were the parents of eight children. Three of their children died in infancy. One of their sons became a Presbyterian minister.
Rev. Watson received a call from Bethel Church and on April 25, 1840 he was installed as pastor of the church. During his tenure at Bethel the first Deacons were elected in 1845. The present day church building which is the fourth building was constructed in 1873 and the Ladies Aid Society was organized in 1876.
Rev. Watson became known as “Father Watson” to the people of Bethel. On Sept. 17, 1882, after serving Bethel for forty-two years, Rev. Watson resigned due to infirmities of age, being eighty-four years old.
In personal appearance Rev. Watson was tall, slender and perfectly erect. He served in the ministry of the Presbyterian Church for fifty-six years. He was a good and faithful minister.
On Nov. 13, 1882, Rev. Watson died at his residence about a mile and a half from Bethel Church where he had resided during his long pastorship. He is buried in Bethel Cemetery beside his wife who died in 1857.
Biographical note provided by Cary and Helen Grant of Bethel Presbyterian Church.
A Harpe Consulting Project