The Rev. Paymus Nutt (ca. 1817-ca. 1899)

The Rev. Paymus (Pyramus) Nutt, born into slavery, helped organize four African American churches in Northumberland County after the Civil War. In 1866 he co-founded First Baptist. Shiloh Baptist, established in 1867, called him to be its first (interim) pastor. He was ordained there and served about 10 years. In 1867 Nutt also became the first pastor of Zion Baptist, Lottsburg, where he served for 25 years. He helped establish Lively Hope Baptist Church in 1880 and was the Northern Neck Baptist Association's first moderator. The Freedmen’s Bureau identified Nutt as one of seven local African Americans qualified for officeholding under military Reconstruction.