O'Kelly's Chapel
Posted by: 
showbizkid
N 35° 51.934 W 078° 56.663
17S E 685594 N 3970989
The site of the first congregation of the "Christian Church" - now the United Church of Christ. The site is on NC Highway 751 just south of the Durham County line in Chatham Couinty
Waymark Code: WMDVY
Location: North Carolina, United States
Date Posted: 05/30/2006
Views: 39
O'Kelly's Chapel, also called O'Kelly Chapel is one of the "mother churches" of the United Church of Christ. The Southern Conference of the United Church of Christ now owns the property and the church is used for special occasions only.
The Southern Conference of the United Church of Christ placed a marker at the site which reads:
"Named for Rev. James O'Kelly this chapel was erected on land acquired in 1803 by a congregation which he had organized in 1794. It is recognized as the first congregation of the "Christian Churches."
O'Kelly's Essay on Negro Slavery, published in 1789 was one of the earliest anti-slavery tracts by an American clergyman. An early proponent of ecumenicalism, O'Kelly was a Methodist preacher until 1792 when in a dispute over the authority of bishops he lead several ministers and their congregations in organizing an independent conference of the Republican Methodist Church. Two years later the secessionists took the name "Christian." In 1856 the Christian Churches formed the Southern Christian Conference which in 1931 joined with the Congregational Church to form the Congregational Christian Church. In 1957 the denomination merged with the Evangelical and Reformed Church to establish the United Church of Christ
James O'Kelly was born in Ireland or Virginia prior to 1741. He moved with his family to a home near here in 1797. he died October 16, 1826 and is buried in a family cemetery nearby."
The site is also the location of the O'Kelly Chapel Christian Chruch North Carolina Highway Historic Marker. There is also a separate James O'Kelly North Carolina Highway Historic Marker about four miles away in Durham.
To record your own visit to this waymark, take your own photo of the church and post it along with some comments about your visit. Logs must contain the required photo as proof of your visit. Thanks.