REV. HUGH MCALPIN
4TH PASTOR, 1876-1880
7TH PASTOR, 1883-1887
OF HERRIN FBC
In 1840, he arrived in Salisbury, North Carolina and began work as a supervisor in a textile mill.
In March of 1843, he married Miss Charlotte Allen, in Lexington, North Carolina. They raised 10 known children.
In 1847, McAlpin was licensed by the Rockfish Church in Sampson County, NC.
In 1848, he was ordained by the Cape Fear Baptist Association.
In 1850, he began pastoring at Boykin's Chapel (Sampson Co, NC) and served there for about 20 years.
He led a "great revival" in 1853 at teh Cedar Creek Baptist Church in Fayetteville, NC. Church membership increased to 115.
During the Civil War, he visited the Confederate Army camps as a Chaplain.
In 1871, he was elected moderator for the Baptist Eastern Association. Around the same time, he was elected as a Trustee to Wake Forest College.
In 1876, McAlpin moved his family to Southern Illinois and began pastoring at Herrin's Prairie, at what would become the Herrin First Baptist Church. He served for one year. In his spare time, he was a farmer. He returned to Herrin FBC in 1883 and served until 1887.
From the Marion Monitor, May 26, 1881:
“Rev. Hugh McAlpin, of the Baptist Church of this city, immersed four converts in the Aikman pond, near this city, last Sunday afternoon in the presence of a large congregation.”
In 1886, he helped start the Carterville FBC with 12-14 members of the Hurricane Missionary Baptist Church.
His wife Charlotte passed away in 1890. Rev. McAlpin passed away as a result of paralysis, on February 20, 1895. They are buried in the McAlpin Cemetery, located near the Williamson County Airport in Illinois.
“... Rev Hugh is remembered as a Baptist Circuit rider who lived with his family on McAlpin Hill, a short distance to the northwest of Bainbridge. Among his characteristics were his ability as a pulpit orator, his influential sermons with their warmth and deep understanding, and moreover his life as a Christian influence wherever he went…”
Some of the churches Hugh McAlpin served in:
Rockfish Church, Sampson County NC
Boykin’s Chapel, Sampson County NC
Cedar Creek Baptist Church, Fayetteville NC
Clinton Baptist Church, Clinton NC
Herrin’s Prairie Baptist Church, Herrin IL
Marion FBC, Marion IL
Williams Prairie Church, Johnston City IL
Carterville FBC, Carterville IL
Hurricane Church, Carterville IL
