Stephen Morgan, the first child of Perminter and Gracie Morgan was born March 4, 1776 in Rutherford County, N.C. and died Dec 14, 1859 in Buncombe County. He is buried at Flat Creek Baptist Church, which he organized in Buncombe County.
Stephen was married to Mary “Polly” Stanley on March 29, 1798. Stephen and “Polly” are the parents of four children. When and where “Polly” was born and buried is not known by this writer but she died March 18, 1818.
Stephen married the second time to Dorcas Elkins on Dec 3, 1818, and they had no children. Dorcas death date and place of burial are not known.
Stephen married thirdly Elizabeth Byrd and they also had no children. Nothing more is known of Elizabeth.
Stephen, like his illustrious father Permenter, was also a most prominent and revered
Baptist Minister in Western North Carolina. His labors covered a wide territory which was sparsely settled. For forty years, through heat and cold, through wet and dry he rode monthly on horseback to Grassy Creek Baptist Church in Madison County,N.C. to minister to his little flock and never missed an appointment, He organized Flat Creek Baptist Church in Buncombe County in the fall of 1811, giving the land for the church and cemetery. He was pastor of that church for forty five years, He was also instrumental in organizing churches at Little Ivy, French Broad, Locust Old Field, Newfound and Cane Creek.
Stephen’s life was a hard one but he was peculiarly suited to fill it. He was much in demand for Evangelistic work and in building up weak churches. He made annual trips to Knoxville, Tennessee or Greenville, S.C. to get the Associational Minutes printed. He was moderator of the French Broad Baptist Association for more than twenty years. He was a Bible scholar and met all issues with the sword of the spirit and never did his colors trail.
It is hard to imagine what the present conditions would be in this area of North Carolina had there been no Morgan to blaze the way. He was a great and good man and the Morgan spirit still hovers over the French Broad and Buncombe Associations to this day.
On one of his trips to Knoxville, Tennessee, he was asked by the people of one of the remote mountain villages to stop on his way back and hold services for them. Stephen agreed but on his way back, he was confronted by two ruffians who told him they were satisfied with their way of living, with their women and corn liquor and did not want or need his holding services. If he insisted on holding service, he would have to whip them first. Whereupon Stephen asked, “Both of you at once?” One of the men said, “No we will be fair, only one at a time.” Stephen then got down off of his horse and proceeded to beat the stuffing out of them both and went on into the village and held the service!
Stephen was laid to rest in Flat Creek Baptist Cemetery in Weaverville, NC
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