History of the Church

In accordance with the action of the New Orleans Presbytery, taken at New Iberia, Louisiana on April 23, 1897, Rev. W. J. McMillan visited Abbeville on May 2. After a sermon in the Methodist Church, based on Job 9:2, Rev. McMillan proceeded to organize a Presbyterian Church in Abbeville. A total of ten people requested membership in the church: six by certificate and four by profession of faith in Christ as their personal Savior. The group was constituted as a Church according to the Word of God and the faith and order of the Presbyterian Church of the United States.

In the beginning, services were held in the Methodist and Baptist Churches in Abbeville. From the time of its organization in 1897 until the ordination and installation of the Rev. B. O. Wood in 1915, the Church was served by the Presbytery's Evangelists under the supervision of the Home Mission Committee. Since these Evangelists had obligations to congregations other than the one in Abbeville, they were only present on the Sabbath an average of once per month.

Beginning in 1908, under the leadership of the Rev. M. R. Paradis, Presbytery's Evangelist of Canadian-French heritage, and with the support of the Session, religious services began to be held in homes in the country east of Abbeville on Sundays. Prayer Meetings were also conducted in French and English.

The one organization around which the history of the First Presbyterian Church has been centered was first known as the Presby­terian Ladies Aid Society, organized June 6, 1905. On October 1, 1931, this organization was changed to the Woman's Auxiliary of the Presbyterian Church, and later to the Women of the Church. The first president of the Ladies Aid group was Mrs. E. P. Putnam, Sr. During the first few years, the main work of the Ladies Aid group was securing funds for building a church.

On June 16, 1899, Lot 71 of the Megret Addition to the Town of Abbeville, 90 x 140.6 feet, where the Church now stands, was purchased from Henry Leguinec for the sum of $300.00 Some nine years later, with funds raised by the Presbyterian Ladies Aid Society and a gift of $900.00 from a Mr. Hardy of New Orleans, work on the present building started.

No-one knows the exact date work began. It must have been after November 15, 1908, at which time the Session agreed to support Rev. Paradis in the matter of holding services in the country. By Rev. Paradis' efforts, many country people came into the church by profession of faith. Moreover, they contributed most of the labor to build a home for the church. There was only one paid carpenter, with all other work contributed by the membership. We know the building was completed before May 1911. At a Congregational Meeting at that time, by unanimous vote, Mr. E. W. Stebbins was authorized to settle the indebtedness due to Summers Lumber Company, by signing a note for same in the name of the Church. Also in the minutes of a meeting of the Session in June 1911, it was written, "The Session met in the Church."

Even after the church was built, services were continued in the country. Lillian Derveloy tells of a prayer meeting at the home of D. V. Randall to which she, with her organ, was transported by wagon. This was before the days of good roads and automobiles.

The date November 15, 1915 will long be remembered in the history of the Abbeville Church because Rev. B. O. Wood was ordained as a Minister of the Gospel and also was installed as the first Pastor of this Church. Rev. Wood served the Church as Pastor from 1915 to 1922. During this time, the Church grew rapidly in number. It also became more visible in the Community, as its activities grew. The country prayer meetings were continued on a weekly basis in the homes of the people.

It has been said, "Mr. Wood was more than a pastor; he was a citizen of the community." He was active in the Boy Scouts and the Masonic Order. He organized the first Boy Scout Troop in Vermilion Parish and was its first Scout Master. Rev. Wood left the Abbeville Church in 1922, and went on to serve churches in Texas. He died in December 1980.

Between 1922 and 1938, the church remained without a called minister. However, those years were not without significant growth in the life of the Church. The Manse Foundation was started on June 8, 1938 and the building was completed by August 10 of that same year. The building committee consisted of George Eldredge, W. B. MacMillan and Vic Schriefer. The general contractor was E. P. Putnam. The lot upon which the Manse is located had been purchased on July 22, 1918 for $1,600.00, but this amount was reduced by the sale of a portion of the property to Marcellus Harrington for $1,000.00 on August 23, 1925.

In 1938, the Rev. O. G. Henry accepted a call and became the second full-time pastor. At the time of his arrival, he was single but after several months in Abbeville, he married and became the first pastor to move into the newly-finished Manse.

The last addition of Church property was the purchase of the house and lot to the north of the Church from Murphy Ardoin. This purchase was made January 14, 1958 with the Church being represented by Vic Schriefer and Guy Broussard.

Following the departure of Rev. Henry, the Church's next Pastor was Rev. I. H. Williams. He was ordained and installed in 1941. After two years, he was replaced by Rev. D. E. Goldsmith, who also remained two years. Rev. McGehee came to the Church in 1947 and remained until 1950. During Rev. McGehee's pastorate, the Ardoing Building, which served the Church as the christian education building, was enlarged. Rev. McGehee was followed, in 1951, by Rev. Fleming who remained almost one year. The next pastor, Rev. F. R. Dinkins, who had just graduated from Austin Theological Seminary, came to the Church in June 1953. He left in May 1955 to serve as a missionary in Brazil.

During the summer of 1955, the last charter member, Mrs. E. P Putnam, Sr., passed away at the age of 95. The Rev. James Terrell became Pastor of the Church in November 1955. During the first two years of Rev. Terrell's ministry, the membership grew from 93 to 119. The women's organization was divided into two circles, one which met in the afternoon and the other which met at night. The Sunday School averaged about 70 in attendance. A new nursery department was started in early 1957. Other departments included kindergarten, primary, junior, a combined intermediate and young people's class and one adult class. Rev. Terrell left the Church in Abbeville in June 1964. In his nine years, membership had increased to 140.

In July 1965, James Sawyer was ordained and installed as Pastor of our Church. During his service to the Church, the Church was seriously damaged by Hurricane Betsy and was repaired. Other work was done to improve the Church's property, in part due to the generosity of the Presbytery. Rev. Sawyer left the Abbeville Church in February 1970.

The next Pastor, Rev. Laurance Jackson, Jr., was installed in November of 1970. During his tenure, the Diaconate of the Church was abolished. The Deacons' duties were assumed by the Session. Also, the Presbyteries of Louisiana and New Orleans were combined to become the Presbytery of South Louisiana, in the Synod of Red River. Rev. Jackson left the Abbeville Church in 1975.

The next pastorate was that of Rev. Dr. Stephan Aschmann. Dr. Aschmann was installed in October 1976 and served until December 1981. Dr. Aschmann was particu­larly adept in the art of getting along with and leading people. He was ably assisted by Mrs. Aschmann, who was the organist in the latter years of his pastorate. During Rev. Aschmann years of service, a number of individuals died who had been instrumental in the birth and growth of the Church: Margaret Kerksieck in October of 1980, Celia Smiley in March of 1981, Nellie Delino in June of 1981, and Carl Pundt in May of 1981. Also during Dr. Aschmann's tenure, the Church adopted a formal Charter which was recorded with the local Clerk of Court and with the Secretary of State of the State of Louisiana.

In January of 1982, Mrs. Sawyer (Bootsie) White accepted the position as Organist for the Church.  Over the years, she donated her time and talents in other ways as well - including serving as the Church treasurer.  She retired from this music ministry in the fall of 2005, when she and her husband Sawyer moved to Lafayette.  

June of 1982 marked the beginning of the pastorate of Rev. John T. Wamsley. Paul Wamsley, a ruling elder at the First Presby­terian Church in Baton Rouge, was in attendance at his son's ordination and installation. The congregation reluctantly agreed to a dissolution of the pastoral relationship of Rev. Wamsley in December of 1985 to allow him to move to First Presbyterian Church in Marlin, Texas.

Following Rev. Wamsley's departure, the Church was served by Rev. Leonard Swinney from January to June of 1986, and Mr. Kenneth Jatko from 1986 to 1993.

In February 1994, Rev. Joan Yates became the Church's Stated Supply and then a called minister. Her husband was a called minister of the Presbyterian Church in Crowley. During her tenure, the Church celebrated its 100th birthday. During Rev. Yates period of service, the Ardoin Building, the house on the property purchased in 1958, was sold by the Congregation to make room for additional off-street parking. Rev. Yates special gift was her ability to tell a story, to teach the members about the faith through story telling. The Revs. Yates moved to serve churches in North Carolina in May of 1997.

Rev. Patrick Wadsworth, a Methodist minister by training, became the next minister at the Church. He served as interim minister from September 1997 until March of 1999. Following this period of service, he worked as a pastoral counselor in Vermilion Parish and later served in other interim pastoral roles in the Parish.

In April of 1999, Rev. Carole Howard Merritt was ordained and installed as the minister of the Church. Like Rev. Yates before her, Rev. Merritt's husband also serves as a called pastor, in this case, of the First Presbyterian Church of New Iberia. Rev. Merritt's special gift was her joyful spirit and her visual artistry. Rev. Merritt accepted a call to a Church in Rhode Island in early 2002.

During the summer of 2002, the Church was under the care of the Rev. Paul Henschen who served as the Interim Pastor until early September. He then accepted a call to a church in Kentucky.

The Church is currently shepherded by the Dr. Mickey Byrd, a Commissioned Lay Pastor who also works as a Professor of English at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. He began this role in the middle of September 2002 and continues through the present time.

Sources of information and authoring / editing notes: This History was compiled from the Minutes of the Session, notes of Margaret Kerksick, Frank Beatty, and Donald Hudson. Editing was done at various times by Patrick Harrington and Dr. Lani Smith. This version was edited most recently in June 2006.