Gov. Mike Huckabee's Buncombe Co NC Ancestors

Newfound Baptist Church is located in Buncombe County in the town of Leicester, about 8 miles NW of picturesque Asheville, NC. This church (NBC) is important to my family research due to the fact that so many ancestors and other relatives attended there from its founding in 1802. The survival of the church's monthly business meeting minutes has been a wonderful blessing to researchers over the years.

My gggg-grandparents attended NBC and raised their children in this church. John and Margaret Black Patterson were in their late 30's when the church began. Their son George (my ggg-gf) was born just a couple years prior to this, in 1800. We know our family attended the church through 1815. Other relatives attended longer also. Furthermore, one of the three Sarah Blacks listed on the 1807 membership list was most likely the mother of Margaret Black Patterson, and therefore my ggggg-grandmother. In fact, Sarah Black was Sarah Patterson Black, the aunt of John Patterson. Yes, that makes John and Margaret 1st cousins!

John Patterson was mentioned some 15 or more times in the church minutes from 1803-1815. For a time he was even the church clerk and would have been the one writing the minutes. Keep in mind however that all of the minutes prior to 1850 were re-written at that time to preserve them, so the existing minute books are only that old, and therefore not in John's hand. Nonetheless, John's wife was mentioned on four occasions, one of which recorded her as Peggy Patterson. No other known record documented her nickname to my knowledge, so already we see the importance of these church records.

Another family of interest is the Huckabee family. Three Huckabees were listed on the 1807 membership roll, including "Joshuay Huckkerby" and his wife "Jane Huckkerby", and their son "Berry Huckaby". Joshua Huckabee was recorded two more times as "Bro. Huckerby", on 19 Aug 1809 and 19 Dec 1812. Joshua and Jane Huckabee are not recorded again.

Berry Huckabee was recorded five more times under various spellings. Furthermore, his wife Elisabeth was mentioned three times.

• 20 May 1820, "Received Bery Huckkerby by ex [experience] into our church".
• 19 Aug 1825, "Bery Huckerby" was listed as a deligate to the conference.
• 19 Aug 1825, "Received Elisabeth Huckby by ex".
• 17 Dec 1825, "Berry Huckby and Elisabeth Huckby" applied for letters of dismissal and were granted such, along with several other members.
• 17 Mar 1827, "Appoints Bro. Bery Huckerby signing clerk", so obviously he was back in fellowship again.
• 17 Nov 1832, Received back into fellowship by "recantation" and then granted dismissals from membership for both "Berymon Huckaba and wife".

The Huckabee clan later moved to Georgia and Mississippi and then Arkansas.

Old Joshua Huckabee was born circa 1750 in VA.

His son Berryman "Berry" Huckabee was born in 1795 in VA.

His son William M. Huckabee was born 1817 in Buncombe Co NC.

His son Berryman William Huckabee was born 1851 in GA.

His son Lucius Elmore Huckabee was born 1876 in Arkansas. This man was the great-grandfather of Gov. Mike Huckabee.

Therefore, at Newfound Baptist Church in Leicester, NC during the early 1800's, Gov. Mike Huckabee's ggggg-grandparents (Joshua and Jane) and gggg-grandparents (Berry and Elisabeth) were in attendance at the same time my ancestors were. This is not meant as any claim to fame or any such notion. Simply an acknowledgment to the fact that we Americans have more in common than meets the eye on any given day. Trivial nuggets like this jump out at me and simply bring a twinkle to my eye.

It also makes me wonder how much more of this is out there, and we've simply missed it, usually because we don't know to look for it in the first place.

Small world.

Large family.