Chavis Family

The Chavis family along with many other families have been vital to Beaver Creek Baptist Church. The Chavis family has been important to Beaver Creek Baptist Church throughout its history and their family names appear on the earliest church documents and the family can still be found in the church today.

(Please note that this page is under construction and is still incomplete. We invite you to share any additional information that you may have with us.)

Joseph Harmon Chavis

J. Harmon Chavis served many roles, including deacon of the church. The initials J.H. Chavis are printed in the Orangeburg Baptist Association Minutes from 1912 to 1935. In 1925, he is listed as Chairman Board of Deacons. In 1935, he was listed in the memorial section of the Minutes. Many of his descendants have served and continue to serve the church today.

George Robbie Chavis

George Robbie Chavis (G.R. Chavis) wanted to keep the church going and invested in the church. He married Ethel Bryan and they had 9 children which they raised in the church. G.R. Chavis first appeared in the Orangeburg Baptist Association minutes in 1916 as a delegate of the church. He served many roles in the church, but most remember him as treasurer. He also served as superintendent of Sunday school. His wife, Ethel, was a delegate of the church and her name is printed at Mrs. G.R. Chavis in the Orangeburg Baptist Association Minutes. She was also the church pianist until her daughter, Annie Chavis, took over as pianist.

Annie Mae Chavis

Annie Mae Chavis, daughter of George Robbie Chavis, served as church pianist for over 60 years. Annie is listed as the church pianist in the 1952 Orangeburg Baptist Association Minutes as Mrs. Woodrow Davis. She is said to have taken the job of pianist at the age of 16 and she retired in her 80s due to poor eyesight. She began having trouble seeing the music notes. She still continued to serve the church and played on special occasions until she went to her heavenly home in 2021.

Henry Chavis

Henry Chavis, son of George Robbie Chavis, was called to preach at the age of 12. He later became superintendent of Beaver Creek’s Sunday school for a short time. He eventually became pastor at a neighboring church. He is listed in the OBA Minutes in 1954. Though he has retired from preaching, Henry still preaches on special occasions.

Others

There are many descendants of the Chavis family that are still serving the church today.

Barry Chavis has focused his research on the Chavis family history and the Beaver Creek Indians. He is actively researching the church history with the goal of creating a book on the history of Beaver Creek Baptist Church.

Betty (Davis) Williamson, daughter of Annie Mae Chavis, is an active church member with her husband Ricky. They have helped with remodeling the church fellowship hall and landscaping.

Crystal Davis-Kinard, granddaughter of Annie Mae (Chavis) Davis, focused on researching the history of the church by reading newspaper archives and the OBA Minutes to gather history of the church with the end goal of creating this historical website.

Share Your Story

The Chavis family is not the only family that gave their time and resources to Beaver Creek. If you are a surviving family member of a contributing member, we invite you to share your family’s story with us so we may share your story here with others.