MT. ZION CHURCH OF CHRIST
In Monroe County, Ohio
Mt. Zion Church of Christ was built in 1903. The previous church on this location was
established
in 1853 as the Bracy Church. This
article was published in The Spirit of Democracy, Tuesday, December 30,
1980. It was provided for use on this
site by Lena Kahrig Pettit
Established in 1853 as the Bracy Church, a meeting house was
erected on a wagon road (now St. Rt. 26) about a half-mile north of Sunfish
Creek and in the northeast quarter of Adams Township’s section no. 7 (T-5,
R-5). Samuel Bracy (April 13, 1797-April 16, 1847) and wife Phebe (March 6,
1795-May 21, 1872) were early settlers of a large tract of land in sections no.
7 and 1, and built a house in the southwest quarter of section no. 1. William
(January 1, 1825-July 6, 1893) and Deborah (Bracy) Steele (March 18, 1825-May
4, 1903) were later owners of that portion of the Bracy tract. Samuel Bracy
died before the Bracy Cemetery was established. He and Phebe were laid to rest
in the Pleasant Grove Methodist Cemetery (St. Rt. 26) in the northwest
one-fourth of the northeast quarter of Adams Township’s section no. 8 ( T-5,
R-5). The cemetery was established much earlier but Martha Dent (born-ca. 1774)
deeded land to Pleasant Grove officials on April 11, 1848.
The Bracy Church building was erected on land then owned by
Samuel and Phebe’s son George W. (May 18, 1819-March 29, 1904) and wife
Elizabeth S. (Coates) Bracy (1823-1910) Benjamin C. Coates (May 16, 1819-March
24, 1900), a brother to Elizabeth, married Louisa Ellen Minor (January 23,
1823-December 25, 1891) on March 15, 1842. They moved into a log house on
Sunfish Creek (Center Township) in the northeast quarter of section no. 13
(T-5, R-5), were early members at Bracy, and were laid to rest in its cemetery.
Louisa was the daughter of Theophilus Minor, Sr., (May 26, 1770-March 2, 1851).
A son to William and Francis (Phillips) Minor, Theophilus, Sr., was a Monroe
County Associate Judge (1823-1830), a County Auditor, and taught in
“subscription” schools. He taught in the Howell log school building which was
located near to the present St. Rt. 26 bridge across Sunfish Creek. Harrison
(“Harry”) Howell sold the land it stood on to Schumachers.
In 1860, George Richner (1833-February 1, 1915) erected a
large frame farmhouse for George and Elizabeth (Coates) Bracy. It stands today
and out a lane a short distance east of Mt. Zion Church building. George
Richner was the son of Claudius, Sr., (born 1782) and Margaret (ca.
1793-November 22, 1874). Born in Bavaria (Germany), Claudius hired out on a
whaling vessel to earn passage fare to America. He departed Lancaster County,
Pennsylvania, about 1810, and settled land near the junction of standing Stone
Run and Sunfish Creek. Claudius, Sr., and Margaret were buried in the Bracy-Mt.
Zion Cemetery. John C. Richner (April 16, 1783-January 28, 1867) a bachelor
brother to Claudius, was also buried there.
William, Sr., (March 20, 1809-April 25, 1874) and Mary
(Wright) Hill (September 8, 1811-November 28, 1891) were early members of Bracy
Church and resided in a brick house (C. R. no. 1) in the west 1/2 of the
northeast quarter of section no. 8 (T-5, R-5). Their daughter, Sarah, was
married to Levi Richner - a son to Claudius and Margaret. Mary Richner (October
25, 1829-January 22, 1866), a sister to Levi, was married to Aaron Pugh
(September 10, 1832-February 14, 1916) on April 15, 1858, by William D. Patton.
Aaron and his second wife Mary (Hickman) Pugh (August 1, 1844-September 11,
1906) were buried at Ozark. Married in Green Township on October 24, 1830,
Peter (b: October 2, 1807) and wife, Sarah (Hickman) King (b: January 27, 1812)
moved into the northwest quarter of Adams Township’s section no. 2 (County Road
no. 6) in 1866, were faithful members at Bracy (November 11, 1817-January 14,
1895), a son to Samuel and Phebe, and wife Clarissa (McMahon) Bracy (June 15,
1821-June 12, 1887) were members at Bracy Church. They moved from section no. 7
to section no. 3 (T-4, R-4) and John operated a mill near to the mouth of Piney
Fork Creek. Mary Bracy (February 24, 1859-August 10, 1883), a daughter to John
and Clarissa and buried at Bracy-Mt. Zion, was married to Benson Taylor on
December 2, 1874, by Elder G. F. Strickling. Ben and Mary Taylor died of
consumption. Joel Taylor, a brother to Benson, married “Jennie” Coates,
daughter to Ben and Louisa, on December 26, 1872.
About 1891, services were discontinued at Bracy. The
building was unoccupied for years and it deteriorated to the extent that, when
interest in holding services at the location was revived, it was razed and a
new building erected on the site. Evangelist McVey spoke on a Sunday, in 1903,
when the new building was dedicated by the newly organized Mt. Zion Church of
Christ members. Western Taylor was laid to rest in the cemetery the year of the
dedication. Wes (1845-1903) married Catharine Bracy (1850-1894) daughter to
John and Clarissa, and “Wes” and “Kattie" Taylor operated Taylor’s store,
with Twilight Post Office, in the southwest one-fourth of the southwest quarter
of Adams Township’s section No. 26 (T-4, R-4). Located a mile or so south of
Asbury Chapel (Adams sec. no. 32) and a stone’s throw from Canter one-room
school house. The post office received mail from Coates Station on the narrow
gauge railroad. The store and Twilight Post Office was operated by Jacob (April
14, 1881-March 15, 1933) and Ann (Pugh) Hopton (June 6, 1877-December 6, 1942)
for a time following the Taylors. Jacob and Anna later operated a store (County
Road no. 6) in Adams Township’s section no. 1. They were laid to rest in Mt.
Zion cemetery. Thomas H. Taylor married Caroline Willis on April 22, 1866, and
Tom and Caroline operated a store and post office on Irish Ridge. (Adams Township).
On January 1, 1874, George W. Coates (February 21,
1850-January 21, 1922) a son to Ben and Louise (Minor) Coates, married Mary
Jane Richner (April 20, 1852-August 28, 1928) a daughter to Isaac and Hannah
(McMahon) Richner, and in 1911 George and Mary Coates moved into the frame
“Bracy house” built in 1860 by George Richner. George and Mary Jane Coates were
laid to rest at Mt. Zion Cemetery. On May 5, 1915, William Coates, Sr.,
(November 26, 1885-August 12, 1973) were married by William D. Richner
(1869-1958) to Agnes Gallaher, a daughter to Cyrus, Sr., (April 12, 1866-July
18, 1951) and Louisa (Miller) Gallaher (March 13, 1869-May 17, 1936) who
married September 29, 1891. William D. Richner, a son to George and Margaret
(Henthorene) Richner, became a Monroe County Judge. Bill and Agnes Coates,
faithful members at Mt. Zion Church of Christ, resided in the “Bracy-Coates”
house until 1953. Agnes now resides in Woodsfield.
Some church leaders (Elders) in earlier Bracy-Mt. Zion
church history were J. W. “Wes” Coates (b-1855), a son to Ben and Louisa
(Minor) Coates. William Hill, Sr., was a leader in the earlier history of Bracy
Church but he and Mary were buried at the Bush Church Cemetery (St. Rt. 145)
near Malaga. Bill Hill died from internal injuries received when thrown down by
a horse he was leading. James A. “Jimmy” Truex (1859-1932) was an Elder and he
and wife Deborah (1860-1943) were laid to rest at Bracy-Mt. Zion Cemetery.
Leander Dee Bracy (b-1853), a son to George W. and Elizabeth (Coates) Bracy,
was an Elder. He was married to Kate Hager and was buried at Barnesville
Cemetery. George W. Bracy, Esq., was an Elder at Bracy and with the authority
to perform wedding ceremonies.
In 1953, fifty years after the Mt. Zion Church of Christ building
was erected and a century after Bracy Church was erected, special services were
held at Mt. Zion Church of Christ. Evangelist J. L. Hines, of Paden City (West
Virginia), spoke on a Sunday morning and again in the evening. The Ozark Church
of Christ members joined those at Mt. Zion for the Sunday’s services. Services
are still held at Mt. Zion Church of Christ. Members travel to church now over
roads less numerous and routed much differently and ride in conveyances
altogether different from those used by those first members who followed the
old wagon roads and foot paths up the hill to that first religious service at
Bracy Church in 1853, and to the dedication services at Mt. Zion in 1903.
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