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Submitted: 3/30/09 • Approved: 5/27/16 • Last Updated: 12/2/16 • R172659-G0-S3
Oakland United Methodist Church was founded in 1849 by James Ford (1811- 1895), a settler from West Virginia. Ford was a licensed Class Leader in the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and organized a group for worship near here in the home of Jonathan Hardin (1800 - 1869). The group met at Hardin's until Ford built a log church at this site in 1862. In 1866, Joseph Kirby Parsons (c.1800 - 1874) and his family moved to this area from Jefferson County, Alabama. His Grandson Marion Parsons (1860 - 1867) was the first person buried in Oakland Cemetery. About 1876, Rev. Albert G. Duran (1851 - 1937), a Methodist minister moved to this area from Marshall County, Mississippi. Over the next 60 years, "Brother" Duran married over 200 couples and held scores of funerals in this community.
The church met in the log building until 1889, when a commitee headed by brothers James W. Parsons (1853 - 1901) and Elisha E. Parsons (1856 - 1934), grandsons of J.K. Parsons, erected a frame structure across the road from the original log church. This building served the congregation until it was replaced by the present rock building erected on the same site in 1952.
Dedicated in memory of:
Rev. Albert O. and Elias Loyd Duran,
his son,
Joseph W. and Mollie Parsons Duran,
and grandson
Claude B. Duran,
all of whom are buried in this cemetery.
1996
Contributed on 3/30/09 by mountain_veteran
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Record #: 172659