Some historical notes from Salisbury Church:

In 1879, Salisbury boasted three blacksmiths, a doctor, a postmaster, a justice of the peace and a Masonic lodge.  However, there was no church.  Several people from the Salisbury community were traveling a mile south to worship in a church that was called “Little Flock.”  One mile could be a formidable distance in those days, so they decided to gather for worship right in town.

One of those blacksmiths was my ancestor, Samuel French.  The doctor was Alexander McGahan, Samuel French’s son-in-law.  Samuel French’s son Arthur French was postmaster for a time, but I don’t know whether 1879 was one of those years.

A letter written by George Giffin shortly before he died (1870) mentioned that he had heard Samuel French’s son John French preach at Little Flock.  John French, George Giffin’s son-in-law, became a circuit rider in the United Brethren in Missouri and Kansas around 1875.

I don’t get “one mile could be a formidable distance.”  In 2016, a mile took me a half-hour when I was slow and tired (I had already walked 66 kilometers).  Twenty minutes for a casual stroll when I first start out.  A mile should have been trivial for a younger person in 1879 who had never seen a car.