Church History

Rev. Dr. John H. Leith compiled the volume Greenville Presbyterian Church: The Story of A People 1765 - 1997 which is available in bound copies and includes a 66 page account of the church's history, photos of the succession of ministers, appendices with lists of elders, deacons, clerks of session, presbyterian women, and other supplemental materials.
In order to help the church to cover some of the cost of printing these we ask for $10 for paperback, $15 for hardback. Those amounts do not fully cover the costs, so any additional donations would be greatly appreciated. Contact the church using the contact form to request a copy and to get current shipping cost information.
Historic Greenvale, Old Greenville Church, 1773 - 1923, PDF (19.9 Mb). This is an informal church history compiled by Rev. James M. Dallas (pastor 1911 - 1923). It is no longer available as a bound volume. Note: Rev. Dallas was convinced that the church's name had originally been "Greenvale." During his tenure the church went by that name but then reverted to "Greenville" afterward.
Greenville Presbyterian Church Documents
Some of our historical data are in the form of old documents, ledgers, newspaper clippings, etc. We want to make this information available to those doing historical or genealogical research. Please bear with us as we develop the website and organize this material.
- Greenville Presbyterian Church History, Supplement 1973, John H. Leith, PDF (5.6 Mb)
- Greenville Presbyterian Church Membership and Officer Ledger, c. 1900's, PDF (**Large file, 89.3 Mb**)
- South Carolina Presbytery Moderator's Sermon, Rev. Fred T. McGill, January 30, 1962, PDF (30.3 Mb) Click here for lower resolution & smaller file size version (10.1 Mb)
- Greenville Presbyterian Church land grant information PDF, Abbeville Land Grants II, Pt. 4, pp. 397-398, GEN 929.375 ABBEV
46th Annual Wyatt Reunion Combined with Allied and Associated Families,
June 15, 1952, compiled by Leonardo Andrea.
This extensive family reunion took place at Greenville Presbyterian Church in Donalds and marked the gathering of a very large group of family members and also other members of the community. The booklet that Mr. Andrea compiled contains a great deal of genealogical data on many of the families from the church and area.
Documents related to the church and our area
- Drake Family Tree, from James Drake and Agnes Breckenridge, married September 26, 1805
(if you have trouble viewing a file in your web browser, download it and view it on your computer)- TIFF image format, 300 dpi, 2.5 Mb OR 600 dpi, 6 Mb
- PNG image format, 300 dpi, 6.6 Mb OR 600 dpi, 15.5 Mb
- PDF Format, 300 dpi, 12.4 Mb OR 600 dpi, 27 Mb
- Newspaper Article by Rev. J.M. Dallas, pastor 1911-1923 regarding the cutting of 150 yr old Oak Tree at the Church, PDF (1.4 Mb)
- The Old Greenville Church in Donalds, South Carolina Magazine, November, 1953, PDF (2.5 Mb)
- GPC Wins SC Rural Church of the Year Award, Presbyterian Survey, December, 1953, PDF (2.3 Mb)
- Some Accumulated Stories about Life in Donalds Township from Newspapers & other Public Sources 1824 - 1915, Dr. Lowry Ware, PDF (4.5 Mb)
- A Sampler of Saints, Presbyterian Women History Booklet by Elizabeth Howell Verdesi and Sylvia Thorson Smith.
Due West "Dinky," former narrow gauge railway in the Donalds, Due West area
(Index Journal article, November 13, 1988)
Right click on the images and select "save image" or "save image as" to save a copy to your computer. Once it's saved on your machine you can open your file and zoom in to read the text more easily.
Women's Mission Conference at Montreat Conference Center, July 16, 1923 (click photo to open it in a lightbox)

(Click on the photo to open it in a light box in your web browser)
Woodlawn School between Shoals Junction and Donalds, SC:
1st Row: Edd Gordon, Frank Drake, Willie Drake, Jimmy Cothran, Newt Drake, Young Todd, Arthur Agnew, Walter Drake, Rob Drake
2nd Row: Tea Cora Drake, Pearl Drake, Agnes Drake, Dora Agnew, Maggie Robinson, Amanda Drake, Corinna Austin, Cora Haddon, Lucy Haddon, Paul
Haddon, Alpha Haddon, Alice Robinson, Cynthia Drake, Lula Cothran, Annie Haddon.
3rd Row: Teacher (unknown), Minnie Drake, Annie Drake, Mattie Robinson, Lillian Agnew, Mattie Drake, Ida Drake, Pauline Austin, Lois Drake, Sallie
Cothran, Rosa Drake, Teacher Lula Blackwell, Teacher Eunice Todd.
4th Row: Teacher (unknown), Clarence Mcmahan, Little John Drake, Willie Cothran, Alva Agnew, John A. Drake, Leland Smith, Sam Gordon, John W. Drake, Arthur Drake, Forrest Drake, Toby Cothran.