The Edith Grace Traver Papers, RG 1078, is now in our online catalog. This collection includes correspondence, diaries, 300 photos of China and its missionaries, Chinese language material, hymns and notebooks about Chinese history and missions.
The picture above is of some metal hair decorations and the one here is of Chinese wood and fabric shoes.
Follow this link to our online catalog: https://libraries.mercer.edu/archivesspace-priv…/…/109/edit…
October 15, 1752. Elizabeth Backus, a fifty-four widow and mother of Reverend Isaac Backus, was arrested and imprisoned for two weeks for failing to pay the church tax that went to the official (Congregational) church. In 1728 an Act was passed by the General Court of Massachusetts, exempting Baptists from the tax, but that was the personal tax only, the property tax was still liable. ABHS has many writings of Isaac Backus and microfilms of his personal papers.
October 14, 1774: The Warren Association in Massachusetts petitioned the Continental Congress for religious liberty. The Warren Association was in the vanguard of the battle for religious freedom in early America. Baptists had been persecuted throughout their history; their struggles to attain their “privileges” led to the insertion of the anti-establishment clause in the Bill of Rights. In 1774 the Warren Association sent a delegate to the Continental Congress in Philadelphia to plead for religious freedom. Two years later, when a Baptist meeting in Pepperell, Massachusetts, was broken up by a mob, the Warren Association published an account of the affair, and engaged the people of Pepperell in a pamphlet war until they “made the town ashamed of what they had done.” ABHS holds the Warren Association Minutes from 1767.
October 14
Berean Baptist Temple, Bridgeton, NJ, celebrates their 125th anniversary under the leadership of Rev. Kenneth James Scovell.
Springdale Baptist Church, Marysville, OH, celebrates their 150th anniversary under the leadership of Rev. C. Rorke Warne.
The First Baptist Church of Chicago, IL, celebrates their 185th anniversary under the leadership of Rev. Dr. Jesse M. Brown.
Scaffold Lick Baptist Church, Lexington, IN, celebrates their 200th anniversary under the leadership of Rev. David L. Culley.
First Baptist Church of Saratoga Springs, NY, celebrated their 225th anniversary under the leadership of Rev. George Stefani.
October 11, 1665: Four Baptists were brought before the Massachusetts court and told to cease ‘schismatical practices.’ Puritans in Massachusetts were not open to any other practice of religion, and Quakers, Baptists and Anglicans were not allowed to preach. When King Charles II (of England) insisted, Massachusetts passed a law deliberately using the king’s language, allowing anyone “orthodox in religion” to practice in the colony; however, they also defined such orthodoxy as consisting of views that were acceptable to local ministers. This effectively negated the law, because there were probably no ministers in the colony who would agree that other protestants satisfied their idea of orthodoxy. ABHS has pamphlets and other histories of the struggle for religious freedom.
October 10, 1779: David Benedict born in New England. Although he was apprenticed to a shoemaker, he went to school, including Brown University. While in seminary Benedict preached for Baptists in Pawtucket, RI, and following his graduation he was ordained and became the pastor of the newly established First Baptist Church in Pawtucket. Benedict traveled (on horseback) collecting materials about Baptists, and sent out questionnaires for his History of the Baptists in the United States which was published in 1813. ABHS has a copy of Benedict’s History, and is it used frequently by staff and researchers alike.
October 8. 1609. John Clarke was born in Suffolk England. He was a physician, Baptist minister, co-founder of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, author of its influential charter, and a leading advocate of religious freedom in the Americas. He arrived in Boston where Baptists were considered heretics and were banned, in 1637 and decided to go to Rhode Island. But Clarke wanted to make inroads there and spent time in the Boston jail after making a mission trip to the town of Lynn. The fledgling Rhode Island colony needed an agent in England, so Clarke handled the colony’s interests. All of the other New England colonies were hostile to Rhode Island. After the restoration of the monarchy in England in 1660, it was imperative that Rhode Island receive a royal charter to protect its territorial integrity. It was Clarke’s role to obtain such a document, and he saw this as an opportunity to include religious freedoms never seen before in any constitutional charter. He negotiated for months with Connecticut over territorial boundaries. Finally, he drafted the Rhode Island Royal Charter and presented it to the king, and it was approved with the king’s seal on 8 July 1663. This charter granted unprecedented freedom and religious liberty to Rhode Islanders and remained in effect for 180 years, making it the longest-lasting constitutional charter in history.
October 7
First Baptist Church, Howell MI
, celebrates their 180th anniversary under the leadership of Rev. Herbert C. Wilson, Jr.
Shiloh Baptist Church, Columbus, IN, celebrates their 150th anniversary under the leadership of Pastor Ancel Harden.
Mt. Olive Baptist Church, Akron, OH, celebrates their 100th anniversary under the leadership of Pastor William C. Bunton.
October 6
New Covenant Baptist Church, Pottstown, PA celebrates their 25th anniversary under th
e leadership of Pastor Melody Walden. (Pictured right)
First Baptist Church of Rochester, NY, celebrated their 200th anniversary under the leadership of Rev. Brent Bowden.
October 5, 1783. William Carey was baptized in Northampton County, England. Carey is known as the “father of modern missions.” He was a Particular Baptist minister, translator, social reformer and cultural anthropologist who founded the Serampore College and the Serampore University, the first degree awarding University in India. He translated the Hindu classic the Ramayana into English, and the Bible into Bengali, Oriya, Assamese, Arabic, Marathi, Hindi and Sanskrit. When Adoniram and Ann Judson landed in India, they sought out Carey to talk about Baptist beliefs.
October 4, 1961. Walter Rauschenbusch was born in Rochester, NY. He is considered the father of the Christian social gospel. From 1891-1892, Rauschenbusch studied economics and theology at the University of Berlin and industrial relations in England, Rauschenbusch’s work influenced, among others, Martin Luther King; Desmond Tutu; and his grandson, Richard Rorty. Rauschenbusch’s view of Christianity was that its purpose was to spread the Kingdom of God, not through a “fire and brimstone” style of preaching, but by the Christlike lives led by its members. Rauschenbusch did not understand Jesus’ death as an act of substitutionary atonement; rather, he came to believe that Jesus died “to substitute love for selfishness as the basis of human society.” Rauschenbusch wrote that “Christianity is in its nature revolutionary” and tried to remind society of that. He taught that the Kingdom of God “is not a matter of getting individuals to heaven, but of transforming the life on earth into the harmony of heaven.” ABHS has a large collection of Rauschenbusch family papers, correspondence, photographs, and lectures.
Archives Month
Here in the state of Georgia, October is designated as Archives Month! Archives Month is a way to celebrate the value of Georgia’s historical records, publicize the many ways historical records enrich our lives, and recognize those who maintain our communities’ historical records. We here at the American Baptist Historical Society work to preserve such diverse materials as missionary correspondence and personal collections, American Baptist Church-USA organizational records, and original church records. Even though our records come from all over the world, we take the time this month to celebrate ALL Archives’ protection and sharing of original and unique records.
Sept 30. First Baptist Church in Danvers, MA, celebrates their 225th anniversary under the leadership of Rev. John G. Mulvihill.
Sept 30. First Welsh Baptist Church of Plymouth, PA, celebrates their 150th anniversary under the leadership of Rev. Anita J. Ambrose and Rev. John Shipulefsky
Ten years ago 18 tractor trailers loaded with historical documents and artifacts headed south for their new home in Atlanta. For several years ABHS had been looking for a location where the Samuel Colgate Historical Library, then housed in Rochester, NY, and the denominational archives of American Baptist Churches, USA, in Valley Forge, PA, could be consolidated into the single largest collection of Baptist-related materials worldwide, and housed with room for growth.
Meanwhile, at the Mercer Atlanta campus, president Bill Underwood and vice-president Richard Swindle were looking to strengthen institutional ties with Baptists so invited ABHS to come to Mercer. Dr. Swindle was especially instrumental in this effort, and in seeing that the space was configured for the Society’s needs.
Dr. Deborah Van Broekhoven, Executive Director at the time of the move, and other ABHS staff and volunteers packed thousands of books and archival boxes, planned the layout of 12,000 square feet of climate-controlled space, unpacked archives and library, and shelved them in the new location.
Today the resources of the Historical Society are used by people from all over the world. Scholars come from many countries, and Research-by-Mail requests from many more. Researchers consult missionary papers, pastors’ sermons, property records, collections of hymnals, documentation of foreign and home missions, and much more.
September 27. TODAY: The American Baptist Historical Society invites you to this year’s annual historical event “Baptist Social Ethics: Looking Back, Looking Forward” Featuring Dr. David Gushee. Beginning at 7 p.m., this lecture will be held in the AACC Auditorium on the 2nd floor. (2930 Flowers Road South, Atlanta, GA). The lecture will be followed by a celebration of ABHS’s 10th anniversary at Mercer. We will also mark the opening of Dr. Gushee’s papers to researchers.
Sept 26, 1832. Joanna P. Moore was born in Clarion County, PA. She became a lifelong teacher of freed slaves. She taught literacy, started boarding schools for younger students, and homes for the elderly. Her publication HOPE gave instructions for home schooling, called ‘Fireside Schools’. Moore also started training schools so others would carry on her teaching legacy. ABHS has some of Moore’s personal papers, photographs, and issues of HOPE from 1885-1961.
Arthur C. Whitaker, RG 1394
Whitaker was born in Massachusetts, served under General George C. Patton, and received four battle stars before being honorably discharged in 1946. He graduated from Gordon College, Harvard Divinity School and then Andover Newton. Whitaker was the first African American Executive Minister appointed in the ABC-USA. His papers include correspondence, news clippings and his writings.
Sept 23. Bethlehem Baptist Church of Ruff Creek, Prosperity, PA, celebrates their 175th anniversary under the leadership of Rev. David E.Earnest.
Sept 23, 1895. The National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc, was organized in Friendship Baptist Church in Atlanta, GA. It was a merger of the Baptist Foreign Mission Convention, the National Baptist Convention of America and the National Baptist Education Convention. Reverend E. C. Morris from Little Rock, Arkansas was chosen as the president of this merged body. ABHS has books and articles about the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc, the minutes of their conventions, as well as several National Baptist periodicals.
Sept 22, 1886. Ernest and Ida Roscoe arrived at Kodiak Island. They were the first Baptist missionaries to Alaska. Among other things, they started a school and the Baptist Mission at Kodiak. ABHS has a book their son, Fred, wrote of his life growing up in Alaska where there was no local government and no federal control except for customs collections.
