News

On January 21, 1525, Anabaptists (Baptists) organized for the first time under the leadership of Conrad Grebel near Zurich, Switzerland. ABHS has a biography of Grebel, and many books and articles about the Anabaptists in Europe.

January 16, 1821: Prominent black missionaries Lott Cary and Collin Teague sailed to Liberia from Norfolk, VA.  ABHS has a folder of Lott Cary’s correspondence as a missionary.  His information is in our on-line collection called ArchivesSpace.

January 12, 1724:  Samuel Harris, the persecuted defender of religious liberty, was born in Hanover County, VA.  ABHS has booklets, tracts and sermons about the importance of religious liberty (especially in the matter of baptism) in colonial America, some dating to 1700.

January 8, 1841.  Judson College was chartered in Marion, AL, as Judson Female Institute.  It was founded by members of Siloam Baptist Church; the three individuals  who were most instrumental in the founding were Julia Tarrant Barron, General Edwin D. King, and Milo P. Jewett.

January 7, 1821: The first Baptist church in Florida was organized.  It is the Pigeon Creek church in present-day Nassau County.  ABHS has original church records from many states.  The earliest is First Baptist, Philadelphia, dating to 1691. ABHS gives anniversary certificates to churches who request them for a significant anniversary.

January 5, 1527:  Felix Manz, Swiss Anabaptist, was sentenced to death by the Zurich Council for his beliefs.  Freedom of religion was not a common concept prior to the Constitution of the United States.

December 30, 1798: Isaac Backus, a pastor in Massachusetts, commented against the Federalist Party foreign policy in opposition to France.  ABHS has 28 items and 3 reels of microfilm in the Isaac Backus collection.  It includes correspondence, sermons, diaries and travel journals.

On December 24, 1915, William H. Doane, composer and hymnist, died in South Orange, NJ.  Doane composed “To God Be the Glory” and tunes to several Fanny Crosby hymns.  ABHS has over 11 linear feet of items pertaining to Doane’s business dealings, charitable endeavors, personal finances, and family photographs and memorabilia. Copyright registrations for Doane’s hymns and sheet music are also part of this collection. The photo accompanying this post is a picture of Doane at the organ from the William Howard Doane collection.

December 20, 1943: Eleven Baptist missionaries were captured and put to death by the Japanese in the Philippines.  ABHS has many folders of information about these martyred missionaries and their short time hiding in the jungle at Hopevale before they were captured. The accompanying drawing is of the Hopevale chapel.

December 16, 1769: Jesse Mercer, hymnist and co-founder of Mercer University was born in Halifax County, NC. ABHS is located on the Mercer University (Atlanta) campus.

December 15, 1836:  The first Baptist Church in Australia, Bathurst Church, was constituted by John Saunders.  ABHS has the original church records from many churches dating back to the 1691 records from First Baptist Church in Philadelphia.

On December 7, 1951, the first Baptist Women’s Day of Prayer was held.  It has become an annual event of the Baptist World Alliance (BWA).  ABHS holds BWA archives including correspondence, World Baptist Journal, office files and program information.

December 7, 1951: The first Baptist Women’s Day of Prayer was held.  It became an annual event of the Baptist World Alliance.  ABHS holds many records from BWA including correspondence, financial records and conference programs.

On this day (Dec. 6) in 1776, the Virginia Assembly, led by Thomas Jefferson, passed a law denying funds for the Episcopal Church.  In most European countries, the state church gets government money.  This was also true in this country in colonial times. Now in this country no church gets government money to benefit the worship and religious program.

We have received $160 in gifts today, Giving Tuesday.  Our goal is $3000.  Please help us reach our goal.  Your gifts allow ABHS to preserve collections like original church records, and personal papers; open its doors to researchers who are writing dissertations, books and articles; and to help local churches know what and how to preserve their own records.

Nov. 1, 1812:  Luther Rice, the father of American Baptist of foreign missions, was baptized in Calcutta, India.  He returned to the USA to raise money for missionaries like Adonirum and Ann Judson.  ABHS has his journals and correspondence dating from 1803.

Nov. 3, 1635:  Roger Williams was banished from the colony of Massachusetts because he preached religious freedom, and the colonists had set up a Puritan theocracy.  No one who was not a member of that church had any rights in the colony.

Nov. 4, 1752.  Over 100 years after Williams’ banishment, Isaac Backus was still fighting the state church’s tyranny.  ABHS has published sermons, correspondence and a journal of family data in our collections.

Nov. 9, 1800.  Mary Webb organized the first missionary society called Boston Female Society for Missionary Purposes.  Women’s Missionary organizations started schools, training centers, community centers and other mission programs.  They also recruited and trained women missionaries to staff  these programs.  Women’s Baptist Home Mission Society of the East, which was organized in Boston in 1877, was one of these.

Nov. 11:  Veteran’s Day. Baptists have been ministering to veterans from the time of the Revolutionary War, when David Jones was a military chaplain and the Civil War, when Joanna Moore taught veterans to read and write.  WW I and WWII, the Vietnam War and more recent conflicts have seen Baptist chaplains and Baptist soldiers.  ABHS has the personal correspondence and diaries of David Jones and a Letterbook with two sets of letters (1865) and goodbye notes from soldiers of the 56^th US Colored Infantry in Helena Arkansas (from the collection of Joanna P. Moore).

Nov. 15, 1961:  The Progressive National Baptist Convention was organized in Cincinnati.  ABHS has many books and newspaper articles about the history of the Progressive Baptists, as well as the Progressive News and the Convention minutes.

Nov. 18, 1961:  Isabel Crawford,died in Winona, NY.  She was a missionary to Native Americans.  ABHS has a collection of her papers and photographs, information about which can be found on our online archive, ArchivesSpace. The picture on this post is a Kiowa drawing from the Isabel Crawford collection.

Nov. 19, 1774:  Isaac Backus returned to Middleborough, MA, to find Baptists slandered as enemies of America (see November 4).

Nov. 24, 1910:  John E. Clough died in Rochester, NY.  Sent by the American Baptist foreign Mission Society to the Telegues of South India, he served for 46 years.  ABHS holds published and unpublished manuscripts of his, as well as correspondence, diaries, photographs, scrapbooks and biographical information.  His second wife was Emma Rauschenbusch.  ABHS has the missionary letters of John Clough from 1864-1918 and of Emma Rauschenbusch from 1920-1940.

Nov. 28, 1629:  John Bunyan, author of The Pilgrim’s Progress, was born in Elstow, England.     ABHS has many copies of this work, the earliest dating from 1676.   The theme of the fall-Winter 2014 issue of the American Baptist Quarterly is “John Bunyan and the Baptist Academy.”

Nov. 29, 1908:  Adam Clayton Powell Jr.  was born in New Haven, CT.  A preacher and congressman, he is also known for his civil rights work.

ABHS has set a goal of raising $3,000 on Giving Tuesday, November 29.  This comes after Black Friday and Cyber Monday.  One way to participate in our fundraising goal and Cyber Monday is to do your Amazon purchases through smile.amazon.com.  Choose American Baptist Historical Society to receive a small percentage of what you spend. Prices are the same as if you were using the regular Amazon web address.  You can also give on Giving Tuesday (or any time) through our secure donation site, just click on the GIVE NOW button to the right.

New collections arrive each week. Creating an inventory and simple finding aid for a small handful of records plus storage in our climate-controlled, secure space costs $50 annually.  Larger groups of records cost more to prepare for storage, as well as for the space required. For one collection of 38 cubic ft boxes, 31 minute books, and a few oversized items, storage costs alone are $1000 per year, with additional dollars required for staff care, archival materials, or assistance for and supervision of those who want to read these records.

 

Primary Source, the ABHS quarterly newsletter, is now available in a digital edition which features color photos and embedded links. If you would like to receive this new digital copy, we need your email address. Please email us at abhsoffice@abhsarchives.org and put Digital Primary Source in the subject line. You will receive your Primary Source long before the US Postal Service delivers the paper copy.