News

August 24, 1832.   Northumberland Baptist Association in Pennsylvania resolved to found a university in Lewisburg, PA because it was “desirable that a Literary Institution should be established in Central Pennsylvania, embracing a High School for male pupils, another for females, a College and also a Theological Institution.” In 1846, the “school preparatory to the University” opened in the basement of the First Baptist Church in Lewisburg. Known originally as the Lewisburg High School, it became, in 1848, the Academic and Primary Department of the University at Lewisburg. In 1886, the name was changed to Bucknell in honor of William Bucknell, a member of the Board of Trustees, whose large donation kept the institution from collapse.  ABHS has a collection of correspondence and historical catalogs from Bucknell.  We also have biographical information and an image for William Bucknell.

August 21, 1773.  A warrant for the arrest of Nathaniel Sanders was issued by Culpepper County, VA.  Sanders and William McClannahan had been granted a license (by the county) to preach in limited areas, but they found that this limitation was contrary to their call to preach anywhere against the inconsistencies of the established church’s clergy.  Sanders was convicted and served an unknown period of time in the Culpepper jail.  One of ABHS’s oldest reference books (Asplund’s Baptist Register, 1790) shows Sanders at the Mont Poney church in Culpepper County with a membership of over 270.

August 19, 1770.   Reverend Hezekiah Smith of Haverhill, MA, founded the Baptist Church in Stratham, NH.  Smith was a chaplain in Washington’s army during the Revolutionary War, and he traveled extensively in New England on evangelistic tours.  ABHS has some of the Stratham’s original church records, and several books that contain biographical information about Smith.  One reference books notes that he baptized 35 people in one month in the area around Stratham.

Aug 15 Just added to our online catalog ArchivesSpace:  Harold W. and Hulda Smith, missionaries to Burma from 1911 to 1939. The collection has photographs, Hulda’s journal, letters and pamphlets.

August 13, 1808.  Isaac McCoy was licensed to preach from Silver Creek Baptist Church in Indiana.  McCoy became a pioneer missionary to American Indians and Director of the American Indian Mission Association.  ABHS has his papers, including correspondence, an autobiography and the manuscript of History of Baptist Indian Missions. In addition, there are books and articles about McCoy in the archives.

August 11, 1822.  Helen Maria Griggs was baptized and joined a Baptist church in Brookline, MA.  She offered herself to go to Burma, unmarried and alone, but the board had never sent a single lady to the mission field alone.  After examination, the board appointed her in 1829.  Before she sailed, however, she met and married Francis Mason, a student at Newton Theological Institution.  Their journey to Calcutta took 122 days; they then went on to Burma. Helen became proficient in the Burmese and Sgau Karen languages and was able to teach and write in both.  On a furlough to the States, she left her children in the care of family while she went back to Burma.  Although many children and even adults did not survive the conditions in the mission field, Helen was criticized for leaving her children.  Her decision was defended by the editors of Christian periodicals and attitudes quickly changed although the pain of leaving children did not.  Helen wrote:  “We have heard of the tortures of the Inquisition; but I do not know that they could exceed this self-sacrifice.”  ABHS has the record of many missionaries which show the illnesses, deaths, and sacrifices they endured.

August 8, 1789.  Virginia Baptists met with President George Washington to lobby for guarantees of religious liberty.  The Congress of the fledgling United States voted on the first version of the Bill of Rights on August 24, where the religious liberty provision was the third article.  ABHS has many statements, letters and books about the Baptist’s fight for religious liberty.

August 4, 1842.  Franklin College became the first college in Indiana to admit women.  Founded in 1834, it is a liberal arts college with over 1000 students, now about half women.  ABHS has historic information from Franklin College.

August 3, 1836.  August Hopkins Strong was born in Rochester, NY.  He was President of Rochester Theological Seminary in 1872-1912. A noted theologian, he was also a pastor in Massachusetts and Ohio.  The Rochester Theological Seminary merged with Crozer Theological Seminary  and Colgate Theological Seminary to become Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School.  ABHS has many records from all three schools and CRCDS as well as the papers of A.H. Strong, including his autobiography (4 volumes), lectures and sermon.  Part of the ABHS archives were houses at Colgate Rochester until about 2007.

July 31, 1861  Helen Barrett Montgomery was worn in Kingsville, OH.  She is known as an educator and writer, but was also a social reformer.  In 1921 she was elected the first woman president of the Northern Baptist Convention and the first of any religious denomination in the U.S. Before that, 1899, she was the first woman elected to the Rochester (NY) School Board, and any public office in the city.  This was 20 years before women had the vote.  She was also a scholar, publishing a translation of the New Testament from the original Greek, the first woman to do so.  ABHS has many articles written by Montgomery, and many books and articles about her.

American Baptist Historical Society is delighted to announce that Dr. Jenny Manasco, CA, has joined the professional team.  The search committee identified Manasco as the applicant whose training and experience best fit the needs of the Historical Society.  After earning a master of Library Science degree, Manasco worked fifteen years as librarian and archivist at Union University in Jackson, Tennessee.  During that time she became a Certified Archivist and received a Digital Archives Specialist certificate.  Prior to that, she earned an M.Div. and a Ph.D. (Old Testament Languages and Literature), both from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

As Digital Collections Specialist Manasco will be primarily responsible for digital archives at ABHS.  The digital project has two main foci:  the digitization of portions of current collections and the archiving of born-digital documents.  Manasco has begun by increasing accessibility to the catalog of books in the American Baptist Samuel Colgate Library.