#21 on RichmondTownship Map

Longitude:
94° 2'36.00"W

T51R28S04
SE1/4

Recorded by Pauline Brown, 1974.

New Hope Church was organized in 1827, as North Bluffton United Baptist Church at or near Bluffton, first county seat of Ray County. Original members were JAMES HOLMAN, NATHAN SMITH, JOSEPH BALLEW, JOHN BATEMAN, and AARON LINVILLE. Elder WILLIAM TURNAGE was the first pastor.

In 1829 they reported 48 members. The first building was early pioneer and was built soon after organization. In 1846 the church was moved to higher ground, thought to be the south side of the ridge on which the present New Hope Church is located. There must have been a cemetery started as farmers report having plowed up stones with inscriptions on them.

The burial place of Elder JAMES WILLIAMS, AARON LINVILLE, and other pioneer members is unknown. They may have been buried in the cemetery plot by the second church site.

Adjoining the New Hope Primitive Baptist Church.

Lookups by Joan Graham Atkinson

Genealogy Trails Transcription online

Others buried there are Elder William Brown, pastor of the church for a number of years, who served as a representative in the Missouri Legislature; Charley B. Brown, who served as a representative in the Missouri Legislature; and Andy Campbell, who served as Presiding Judge of Ray County.

The cemetery is incorporated, using the proceeds from the principal to care for the grounds.

Source: 1973 Ray County History