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October 25, 1962:  Ralph Elliott was fired by Midwestern Seminary (an SBC affiliated seminary) in the midst of the controversy over his Genesis interpretation. The controversy erupted at Midwestern in 1961 when Ralph Elliott, the chair of the Old Testament department, authored a book published by Broadman Press titled The Message of Genesis. Elliott used a historical-critical method of interpretation to examine the first book of the Bible, arguing that it was not literal history, but that it could be religious truth nonetheless. Elliott assumed multiple authors for Genesis and concluded it was full of “symbolic stories” not to be taken as “literally true,” such as: Adam and Eve were not actual historical figures, the flood was local, and Abraham did not actually hear the voice of God commanding him to sacrifice Isaac.    ABHS has several of Elliott’s books and holds his personal papers.

October 24, 1826:  Ann Hasseltine Judson, one of the first American overseas missionaries, died of smallpox in Burma at age 37.  She was a teacher from graduation until her marriage to Adoniram Judson in 1812.  During the first Anglo-Burmese war (1824–26), her husband was imprisoned for 17 months under suspicion of being an English spy, and Ann moved into a shack outside the prison gates so as to support her husband. She lobbied vigorously for months to convince the authorities to release her husband and his fellow prisoners, but her efforts were unsuccessful. She also sent food and sleeping mats to the prisoners to help their time in prison to be more bearable.  After her husband’s release they both remained in Burma to continue their work. Ann wrote a catechism in Burmese, and translated the books of Daniel and Jonah into Burmese. She was the first Protestant to translate any of the scriptures into Thai when in 1819 she translated the Gospel of Matthew.    ABHS has her letters from Burma and the books she translated in the archives as well as books about her and her work.

October 21, 1795.  David Irish established the first Baptist church in Cayuga County, New York, in the Finger Lakes area.  He was sent out by the Massachusetts Baptist Missionary Society.  This was a frontier area at the time, and pastors like Irish helped settle and expand our nation.  The Massachusetts Baptist Missionary Magazine, published by the society, published a letter from Rev. Irish in the December, 1812, issue.   The MBMM became the Baptist Missionary Magazine,  which eventually evolved to the American Baptist.  ABHS has a complete set of all the issues of these magazines.

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 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 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.

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, 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.