Reverend Elam Stevenson was an American Methodist preacher, who ministered during the early 19th century in southern Tennessee. Elam Stevenson was born on September 24, 1787, in

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

. In 1805, Elam Stevenson married Lydia Catherine Payne. Lydia was born on August 16, 1787, in Burke County, North Carolina and is the daughter of William Payne and Catherine (Arnold) Payne. Stevenson was a well-respected Methodist minister and founded the Old Bee Spring Methodist Church in rural Bryson TN, where he and his wife are both buried. Elam and Lydia Stevenson lived nearly their entire lives in

Bunker Hill, Tennessee Bunker Hill is a location in Giles County, Tennessee Giles County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 30,346. Its county seat is Pulaski. History Giles County is named after William ...

. The 'White Frame' Bee Springs Church building (not original) still stands on the grounds and the spring still puts forth fresh cold water to be enjoyed by passers-by. Many ministers of the gospel, including four sons, have proceeded from the lineage of Rev. Stevenson. Reverend Elam Stevenson was of Scots-Irish descent, being the son of James Stevenson of Iredell, now Alexander County, North Carolina who was a Captain in the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

. Elam was the third son and the first of the family to join the Methodist Church. He professed religion in 1804 and joined the church in 1806. He was much opposed by his parents, who were

Presbyterians Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

(being of Scottish heritage), and they honestly thought he was being deceived by the false teachers who were to come in the last days. He was licensed to preach in 1813 and the same year moved to Giles County,

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

. In the Bee Springs Cemetery, Bryson, Tennessee, is the tombstone of the Rev. Elam Stevenson and his wife Lydia. This stone bears the following inscription "Erected to the memory of Reverend ELAM STEVENSON, born September 24, 1787, died March 13, 1875. Nearly 62 years a Minister of the Gospel. He was pure in heart and life". On the reverse side of the same stone appears the following inscription: "Erected to the memory of LYDIA STEVENSON, born August 16, 1787, died March 6, 1872. Nearly 70 years a Methodist. She consecrated her household to God and the Church".

References

All information from Church Records, Family Records, and Local Public Records of Giles County TN. {{DEFAULTSORT:Stevenson, Elam 1787 births 1875 deaths American people of Scotch-Irish descent Methodists from Tennessee 19th-century American Methodist ministers