Ray City History Blog

Reverend Albert Ross Starling was pastor of an African-American church at Ray City during the early 1900s.  He also served as pastor of New Bryant Baptist Church in Milltown, and First Baptist Church of Waycross, and several churches in Brooks County.

Albert Ross Starling, 1920

Neither races nor nations rise or develop as a whole. It is all a matter of individual progress, and no race can rise above the level of the individuals of which the race is composed. It sometimes happens that the progress of a people is best illustrated for a given period by the life of some man cotemporary with that period. For instance, the life record of Rev. Albert Ross Starling, a successful Baptist minister of Waycross might be used to illustrate the progress of his people since the Emancipation, as he was born soon after the war and so represents in his own life and work practically the period of freedom. The date of his birth was April 10, 1867, and the place was in Brooks County. His parents were Joe and Martha (Calker) Starling. His maternal grandparents were Shiloh and Betsy Calker.  As a boy young Starling worked on the farm.

His education was begun in the local schools of Brooks and Thomas Counties. In 1890 he finished the Normal Course of the International Correspondence Schools at Scranton, Pa., and in 1918 he finished the Theological Course of Princeton University at, Princeton. Ind., and received from the institution the D. D. degree. He had grown to manhood before he became active in the work of the Church and was a man of thirty years of age with a family before he dedicated himself to the preaching of the Gospel. In 1898 he was ordained to the full work of the Gospel ministry by the Elizabeth Baptist Church of Brooks County and has since made a record which has endeared him to his people. His first pastorate was the New Zion Baptist Church which he served one year and repaired the church. Since then he has served a number of other churches which have prospered under his administration. He preached at New Macedonia for twelve years, bought land and built a new house of worship. He pastored Centenary seven years and remodeled the church. St. Paul five years and built a new church. One of his most successful pastorates has been the New Bryant Baptist Church at Milltown where he is now (1919) in eleventh year. With his coming the congregation took on new life and a commodious new house of worship was erected. An historical sketch of this has been published under the direction of the pastor. In 1913 he accepted the call of the First Baptist Church of Waycross, where he resides. The house of worship has been completed and the congregation strengthened. Other churches he has served are Ray City and Pleasant Hill.   Rev. Starling ministers to his people in every helpful way and grows in the esteem of his congregation from year to year. He is an effective speaker and has had a fruitful ministry. He is Clerk of the New Bryant Association and a trustee of Central City College.
As a young man and even in the early years of his ministry he taught school for more than a dozen years. More recently he has devoted his entire time to the work of the ministry. He is a regular attendant at the State and National Conventions.

Among the secret orders he is identified with the Masons, Pythians, Odd Fellows and is State Auditor for the Eastern Star.
His property interests are at Boston and in Brooks County. His experience as a teacher and preacher leads him to believe that the thing most needed by the race is efficient educational and religious work and leadership.

First African Baptist Church, Waycross