Baptists Lobby for Religious Liberty

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.

Theologian August Hopkins Strong Born

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 housed at Colgate-Rochester until about 2007.

Stephen Gano, Physican and Pastor

August 2, 1786.  Stephen Gano was ordained into the ministry by his father, John and several other pastors in the Gold Street Baptist Church in New York City.  A medical doctor by profession, he had been captured at sea in the Revolutionary War, escaped from Turk’s Island where the British left him and 34 others, recaptured and repatriated in a prisoner exchange.  After his ordination he served at the First Baptist Church in Providence, RI where he served until his death in 1828.  He increased the membership of the church from 165 to 647.  ABHS has many articles on the life of Stephen Gano and several books on the Gano family.

Helen Barrett Montgomery–Woman of Firsts

July 31, 1861  Helen Barrett Montgomery was born 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.

God’s Ambassador to the Mississippi Valley

July 25, 1817, John Mason Peck and his family began their journey west in a small, one –horse wagon.  Over a thousand miles and four months later they reached St. Louis. Peck preached up and down the Mississippi Valley, starting churches, preaching to the Indians and pioneers alike.  He also founded what later would become Shurtleff College in Illinois and established a Christian periodical.  ABHS has a portrait of Peck, his correspondence (1833-1852), and several writings, including a memoir.

West Henrietta Baptist Church Named Younger Award Winner

The American Baptist Historical Society awarded the George D. Younger Award for Excellence in Local or Regional American Baptist History to the West Henrietta Baptist Church (West Henrietta, NY).  Along with a certificate honoring the church, a   check for $100 was  presented at the July 2 ABHS Breakfast at the Biennial Mission Summit in Portland, OR.  West Henrietta Baptist Church has been added to a plaque honoring awardees that hangs in the Historical Society Reading Room.

Chosen from about a dozen entries, West Henrietta demonstrated how they met the criteria, especially in their outreach beyond their congregation.  Their year-long celebration of their history resulted in several outcomes which have strengthened the church:

Compiled a book with information on members of a historical Sunday School class that was subsequently featured on NYHeritage.com and is available in local libraries.

Established a closer relationship with other community churches inviting Choirs to join together for Easter music.

Built new relationships with former longtime members contacting former members and their families.

Positioned the church to participate fully in the town’s 2018 bicentennial developing a working relationship with the town historian, learning their own history and creating a permanent History Room in the church.

Became a resource for the town Historical Society.

Improved the church’s social media presence, including an updated website and new Facebook page.

Prepared to participate knowledgeably in New York Landmarks Conservancy’s open house “Stained Glass: Windows on this World and the Next” by researching the background on their stained glass windows.

Founders Suffered Whipping

July 19, 1651.  John Clarke, Obadiah Holmes and John Crandall arrived in Lynn, MA, and began preaching illegally. Baptists were considered heretics and were banned from Massachusetts. He spent time in the Boston jail after preaching in Lynn.   Clarke eventually helped found Rhode Island and Providence Plantations.  Holmes was severely whipped for his heretical views. A year later he was named pastor of the Newport, RI, Baptist church where he stayed for 30 years.  Crandall was imprisoned and whipped, and eventually help found the Baptist church at Westerly, Rl.  ABHS has many articles and histories from the Baptist churches in Lynn.

Baptists Excused from Church Tax

July 16, 1759  Rev. Isaac Backus posted a notice at First Baptist Church of Middleborough, MA, that a list must be made of all who belong to the church.  This was so that they could be excused from the ‘church tax’ that each resident paid to support the Standing Order churches.  Backus spent a lot of time fighting to eradicate state support of churches.  He maintained that it robbed the local Baptist churches from building their own buildings, supporting their pastors, and establishing colleges to train preachers and expand their ministries.  Eventually the Religious Freedom Act was included in the Bill of Rights. ABHS has a collection of Isaac Backus’s papers including sermons, correspondence, and a journal of family data.  There are many of his writings at ABHS, also.

Judsons Arrive in Burma

July 13, 1813  Ann and Adoniram Judson arrived in Rangoon, Burma and began their mission work.  Ann died in 1826, but Adoniram worked in Burma for 37 years.  ABHS has several letters from Ann some of which deal with the change of views on baptism.  There are 5 linear feet of correspondence and other memorabilia of Adoniram’s.

Marcia Ingalls– Missionary in Burma

July 10, 1851  Marcia Dawes Ingalls, with her husband Lowell Ingalls, sailed for the mission station in Burma.  Even though Lowell died in 1856, Marcia continued her work  for 46 years.  She endured two fires that destroyed virtually all her personal property and feared for her life when the chief of a hostile tribe and his warriors approached her home.  She showed courage by confronting them kindly and told them stories about America.  They left without harming anyone.  ABHS has 16 folders of correspondence from the Ingalls.