Primitive Baptist Congregation, Josephine City
A Primitive Baptist congregation that the People's Journal's church directory listed at Josephine City, preaching every fourth Sunday under Robert Williams, in January 1912 and February 1914. A May 1913 notice has Rev. Robert Williams of Millwood holding meeting there every fourth Sunday without naming a denomination.
What the sources support
The People's Journal's church directory of January 1912 listed a Primitive Baptist congregation, with Robert Williams as pastor, preaching in Josephine City every fourth Sunday. A May 1913 notice has Rev. Robert Williams of Millwood holding meeting at Josephine City every fourth Sunday of the month, without naming a denomination.
See the source and its limits
The People's Journal's church directory of January 1912 listed a Primitive Baptist congregation, with Robert Williams as pastor, preaching in Josephine City every fourth Sunday. A May 1913 notice has Rev. Robert Williams of Millwood holding meeting at Josephine City every fourth Sunday of the month, without naming a denomination.
What the source supports
That the newspaper's January 1912 church directory listed a Primitive Baptist congregation at Josephine City under Robert Williams, and that a May 1913 notice has a Rev. Robert Williams of Millwood holding meeting there on the same schedule.
Uncertainty
A directory listing is an announcement of an intended schedule, not a record of services held. The congregation's building, its formal name and its relationship to the 'Old School Church' named in the same paper are not established here. Both notices are from the same newspaper and are not independent of each other. The 1913 notice names no denomination, and that it concerns the same congregation as the 1912 listing is not established.
Source
Evidence role: supports. The January 1912 directory entry naming the pastor, the place and the monthly schedule.
People's Journal, Berryville, Va., 1 January 1912, Vol. XVII No. 192
G. L. D. Harris, editor and proprietor · 1912-01-01 (publication)
Locator: Page 2, standing church directory
Relevant passagePRIMITIVE BAPTIST--ROBERT WILLIAMS, pastor. Preaching every Fourth Sunday, in each month, in Josephine City, at 3 o'clock p. m.
Checked: Existing OCR reviewed. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: peoples-journal. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
Evidence role: supports. The May 1913 notice: the same minister's name and the same fourth-Sunday schedule at Josephine City, but no denomination named. Same newspaper, so it is not an independent witness.
People's Journal, Berryville, Va., 1 May 1913, Vol. XVII No. 108
G. L. D. Harris, editor and proprietor · 1913-05-01 (publication)
Locator: Page 1, standing church directory
Relevant passageRev. Robert Williams, of Millwood, will hold meeting at Josephine City, every 4, Sunday in month.
Checked: Existing OCR reviewed. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: peoples-journal. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check (Claude Opus 5) · 2026-09-08. How this project checks its sources
The People's Journal's church directory of February 1, 1914 lists the Primitive Baptist congregation in Josephine City on the fourth Sunday, with Brother Robert Williams.
See the source and its limits
The People's Journal's church directory of February 1, 1914 lists the Primitive Baptist congregation in Josephine City on the fourth Sunday, with Brother Robert Williams.
What the source supports
That the directory of February 1914 listed a Primitive Baptist congregation at Josephine City on the fourth Sunday with Brother Robert Williams, as the January 1912 directory had listed one with Robert Williams as pastor.
Uncertainty
The wording is a condensed transcription of the People's Journal item, not a quotation checked against the page; the newspaper OCR was not re-read for this claim. The printed page was not recorded. A directory lists a schedule, not services held, and the congregation's building and formal name remain as unestablished as the earlier entries leave them.
Source
Evidence role: supports. The February 1914 directory entry for the Primitive Baptist congregation.
People's Journal, Berryville, Va., February 1, 1914, Vol. XIX No. 117
G. L. D. Harris, editor and proprietor · 1914-02-01 (publication)
Locator: Standing church directory, printed page not recorded
Relevant passageA.M.E. -- Rev. R. A. Mays, preaching every second Sunday. ... Primitive Baptist ... in Josephine City, fourth Sunday, Brother Robert Williams.
Checked: Existing OCR reviewed. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: peoples-journal. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
Evidence role: contextualizes. The January 1912 entry that first lists the congregation.
People's Journal, Berryville, Va., 1 January 1912, Vol. XVII No. 192
G. L. D. Harris, editor and proprietor · 1912-01-01 (publication)
Locator: Page 2, standing church directory
Relevant passagePRIMITIVE BAPTIST--ROBERT WILLIAMS, pastor. Preaching every Fourth Sunday, in each month, in Josephine City, at 3 o'clock p. m.
Checked: Existing OCR reviewed. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: peoples-journal. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check (Claude Opus 5) · 2026-09-14. How this project checks its sources
Also indexed as: Primitive Baptist.
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