■*
—
A
SHORT ACCOUN
OP THE
CONG 11 HGrATt ON YLi HIT
AT MIDWAY, GEORGIA..
ruiu.i-irEi> b\ : miiEs t •
Go call thy soift mH: uc nom what a debt
They owe their ancestors.
Akensidk.
4
Sbatauuiali:
1'ftlNTED BY THOMAS PUKH
V
1940.
m- - ■ '
A
SHORT ACCOUNT
OF THE
CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH,
AT MIDWAY, GEORGIA.
BY JOHN B. MALLARD, A. IKE.
PUBLISHED BY REQUEST-
Go call thy sons: instruct them what a debt
They owe their ancestors.
Akbhside.
Satoartmacft:
PRINTED BY THOMAS PURSE
1840*.
A SHORT ACCOUNT, &c.
In the beginning of the year 1630, a Congregational Church
was gathered at Plymouth, in England, of persons who intended to
come to America for the purpose of enjoying those religious pri¬
vileges, which the measures of Bishop Laud denied them at home.
They observed a day of fasting and prayer to seek divine assis¬
tance. In the after part of the day, they chose and called the
Rev. John Warham,* a famous preacher of Exeter, and the Rev.
John Maverick, to be their spiritual guides, who expressed their
acceptance and were separated to the special care of the intended
emigrants. The Rev. John White of Dorchester, being present,
preached in the fore part of the day.—[Prince's Chronology, 271.
On the 30th of March the emigrants embarked ; and in May
following, arrived at Nantasket,f where they were put ashore in a
forlorn wilderness, destitute of any habitation, and most other ne¬
cessaries of life. Some of them procured a boat, and, ascending
Charles River, until it became shallow and narrow, landed their
goods at a well watered place, whence a few days after, they re¬
moved to Mattapan, which was a fit place to turn their cattle up¬
on. Here they began to build a town, which they called Dor¬
chester, because several of the settlers came from a place of that
name in England, and also in honor of the Rev. John White, of
Dorchester, who was an active instrument in promoting the settle¬
ment of New England ; and who, subsequently, was appointed as¬
sessor in the Westminster Assembly of Divines, called by the
long Parliament.—[Prince 277 ; Harris's account of Dorches¬
ter, 4, 5.
The first inhabitants of Dorchester came chiefly from the coun¬
ties of Devon,.Dorcet and Somersetshire. They were a godly and
religious people, and many of them persons of note and figure, be¬
ing dignified with the title of Mr., which but few in those days
were.—[Harris, 6.
In the year 1635, Mr. Warham, accompanied by a large part of
the Church, removed from Dorchester, and settled at Maltaneang,
* Mr. Warham used notes in preaching, " yet he was applauded by his hearers as one of the.
most animated and energetic preachers of his day," <*■
t Now called Hull, near Boston.
4
now called Windsor. After their departure a new Church was
gathered at Dorchester, and Mr. Richard Mather chosen its Pas¬
tor.—[Harris, 8, 11.
In October, 1695, a Church was gathered at Dorchester, with a
design to remove to Carolina, to encourage the settlement of
Churches and the promotion of religion in the Southern planta¬
tions. Mr. Joseph Lord was ordained tor its pastoral care, and
preached from Matt, v : 13: "Ye are the salt of the earth." Mr.
Morton gave the charge, and Mr. Hobart the right hand of fellow¬
ship. Mr. Danforth preached to them at parting, from Acts, xxxi:
4, 5, 6. Their friends accompanied them to the shore, where, af¬
ter kneeling down, and mingling their supplications to the God of
all grace, they took leave of one another, with every expression
of christian tenderness and brotherly love. On the 20th of De¬
cember, the Church, with its Pastor, arrived safely in Carolina,
and, on the 2d of February following, the Lord's Supper was,
for the first time, administered in this colony. "You well know,"
says Mr. Danforth in his valedictory sermon, "that there is not in
that country either ordained minister or any church in full gospel
order, and so, neither imposition of the hands of Presbytery, nqr
donation of the right hand of fellowship to be expecfted there, or
from any place much nearer to them than ourselves."—[Harris,
12; Gilder sleeve's Pentury Sermon.
The emigrants formed a settlement on the north-east bank of
Ashley River, about eighteen miles from Charleston ; and, in honor
of the place from which they emigrated, they named it Dorches¬
ter. A part of the settlement was called Beech Hill.
The successor of Mr. Lord was the Rev. Hugh Fisher, who
died October 1734. The Rev. John Osgood succeeded to the pas¬
toral charge, and was ordained in 1735.
The situation on Ashley River being unhealthful, and the quan*
tity of lands too small for the inhabitants, in the year 1752, they
projected a settlement in Georgia. At this period the records of
Midway Church begin. x
"Our Ancestors having a greater Regard to a compact Settle¬
ment and religious Society, than future temporal Advantages, took
up but small Tracts of Land : many of which also, after their de¬
cease, being divided amongst their Children, reduced them still to
smaller. In Consequence of which our Lands were generally soon
worn out. Few had sufficient for the convenient support and main-
tainance of their Families, and some none at all. Young People
as they grew up and settled for themselves, were obliged to move
out from us, for want of Lands. For these reasons several Persons
:>
among us seemed very much inclined to move out from us, and
had several times searched for some other Place in Carolina, pro¬
per for the Settlement of a Society, but could find none capacious
and convenient enough for that purpose : notwithstanding which,
the same disposition to remove, continuing with several, occasion¬
ed some serious Reflections on the state and circumstances of this
church; and it was_ thought probable that unless some tract of
Land, suitable for the j^nvenient and compact settlement, and
support of a Congregation found, to which we might re¬
move and settle in a body, th^ 0n'c'e^ W0l,ld in a few years at
most, be dispersed, so as not to be ble of supporting the Gospel
among us. Especially if we should lose our present Pastor ; and
which in that case seems not unlikely, be any considerable time,
without the administration of Gospel ordinances among us ; the.
only circumstance which at present detains many, otherwise quite
inclined to remove from us."
"Upon these considerations a removal of the whole Society
seemed adviseable, and haveing heard a good character of the
Lands in Georgia, 'twas thought proper that some should take a
journey to that Collony, and search out some place there, conveni¬
ent for our purpose, which was accordingly performed, at several
Inquisitions, and issued, at length, in a tolerable satisfaction, as to
the capacity of the place, and a remove hereupon, more generally
concluded on."
" On Monday 11th of May, Anno 1752 three Persons of our soci¬
ety set off from Beech Hill for Georgia, to view the Lands there.
On the 16th they arrived at Midway,* the place proposed. After
a few days stay, haveing viewed Midway swamp, and apprOveing
of it, and heard of large quantatys of good Lands adjoining, they
returned home with an account of what they had seen and heard.
The people were differently affected with the relation of what they
had discovered. Several used their endeavours to frustrate the
scheme, notwithstanding which, an inclination to remove seemed
considerably to get the ascendant."
About this time (1752) a petition was prefered to the council
of Georgia, and a grant of thirty-one thousand nine hundred and
fifty acres of land was obtained.
" In the beginning of August six persons set off by Land, and se^
ven more by Water, to survey the Lands and make Settlements.
Those by land being disappointed in the coming of the Schooner,
* So called on account of its supposed equal distance from the. rivers Ogechee and Alatamaha.
1)
on board of which were their Provisions and Negroes, were obli¬
ged to return without accomplishing all they int°r.ded. Such as
were onboard the schooner, meeting with contrary winds, were so
long in their passage, that they spent most of their provisions before
their arrival, and were therefore obliged to return. On the 15th,
while the schooner lay in the harbour, (near#fet. ^ thrine s Island,)
there arose a hurlicane, which was in O , . the most violent
that ever was known since the seff'",,>-> oi the English there,
which, in many places, left no^ £0"*^ m twenty standing. On
the 16th they attempted to put . ' oe?M and could not, and there¬
fore went within land to Tf^. .»here meeting with head winds
they sailed up to Savana, where several leaving the vessel, went
home by land. The rest who remained in her, had a tedious long
passage, and were met by a second hurlicane before they got home,
but were then also in a safe harbour. In their passage to Georgia,
one negro fell over board and was drowt.ed, and those who went
tip by land had two of their horses drowned in their return. These
adverse providences were very discouraging to most, and brought
•the affaire of our removeing to a very considerable stand."
On the 6th of December, 1752, Mr. Benjamin Baker* and fami¬
ly, and Mr. Samuel Bacon and family arrived at Midway and pro¬
ceeded to form a settlement. Mrs. Baker died on the day after
iheir arrival. Soon*after, Messrs. Parmenus Way, William Ba¬
ker, John Elliott, John Winn, Edward Sumner and John Quar-
terman arrived and began to settle. Finding a general disposition
in the people to remove, the Rev. Mr. Osgood went into the new
settlement in March, 1754, and the whole church and society
gradually collected and settled there.
Mr. Osgood having settled at Midway, a meeting was called of
all who were "attenders on his ministry," to make provision for a
place of worship, when it was determined that a " log house for
* Benjamen Baker was bom in Dorchester, S. Carolina, in 1717. At th£ age of 23, he attend¬
ed general Oglethorpe in his expedition against St. Augustine. In 1776—fifteen years after a
settlement had been formed, and a church planted at Midway—Mr. Baker's house, with all his
furniture, books, and the records he had been making for five years previous, was destroyed
by fire. He suffered many hardships during the contest between Great Britain and het Ameri¬
can colonies, in which contest he warmly espoused the American cause. His house was rifled;
his bedding and clothes were taken from him; his son John and himself were imprisoned; and,
on several occasions, he " could see no probable way of getting bread." In 1776, he " was en¬
gaged for almost a week, in studying and writing for the public, comparing several constitu¬
tions of Government, and endeavouring from these to compile one suitable for the province"
of Georgia, " in order to be proposed by the members of this (St. John's) parish to the next
Provincial Assembly, for its adoption." He was a highly respected member of the church,
and, for more than twenty-seven years, the Society's clerk. He died at Midway in 1785, and
fei't several volumes of manuscripts.
i
the present should be immediately put up 011 Midway neck, which
was accordingly executed and the first sermon was delivered in
it on the 7th June, 1754; the congregation having met the four
preceding Sabbaths in private houses. .
These pious emigrants, " sensible of the advantages of good or¬
der and social agreement, and wishing to lay a foundation, by the
blessing of God, of peace and harmony" among themselves, came
together at the "log meeting house," on the 28th of August, 1754,
and, at that time, "agreed upon and entered into, articles and rules
of Incorporation.By these articles and rules they bound them¬
selves "jointly among and with one another," to assist in the build¬
ing of a meeting house, and to contribute according to their cir¬
cumstances for the support of the gospel and its ordinances : to
submit such disputes as might arise amongst them, to the arbitra¬
tion of some person or persons appointed for that purpose, and
. " to stand to their determination to choose annually three or
more select men for managing the public business of the society:
to meet annually at the meeting house, to consult about the neces¬
sary business of the society : to determine by a majority of votes
of the members of the society every common matter of a secular
nature, but in the choice of Pastors, and in judging of their ortho¬
doxy, soundness, and due qualifications, to allow members of the
church, in full communion, a double vote : and, as one great end
of their removing into Georgia, was that they might leave their
" children after them, compactly settled together," they agreed
and promised that no member of their society should " sell his
settlement or tract of land, or any part thereof, to any stranger or
person out of the society, without first giving the refusal of it&
purchase to the society." At this meeting the following quaeries
were proposed to the convened members.
" First, Whether such persons as had fixed upon their lands,-
but were themselves absent and have begun no settlement here,
shall be allowed votes ? Carried in the negative."
" Second^ Whether the virtue of a vote shall be allowed to each
of such persons as have begun settlements among us, but are them--
selves absent? In answer to which it was voted, that a privilege
should be allowed to each of them, proportioned to the probability
apparent to us, of their coming to live among us."
" Third, What virtue of votes shall be allowed to each of the
last mentioned persons? Determined as follows : to Messrs. Jo¬
seph Bacon, one whole vote ; Johnathan Bacon half vote ; Rich¬
ard Woodcrajft a quarter; Isaac Bradwell a quarter; Mrs. Rebec-
ca Quarteiman a quarter."
"Fourth, Shall minors have a vote? Carried that such as are
present shall have a half vote."
At a subsequent meeting it was determined, that "the meeting
house be built at the cross paths, on the north side of the north
branch of Newport swamp, forty-four feel in length, thirty-six
wide, with a pitched roof, hipped at one end, and a small steeple
at the other." •
" September 8th, 1754.—The Lord's Supper was for the first
time administered among us."
"December 3d, 1755.—Was kept a day of thanksgiving in this
society."
" June 24th, 1756.—Was kept a day of fasting, chiefly on ac¬
count of the prospect of a war, and the sufferings of some of our
neighbouring Collonies from savage enemies."
" July 28th, 1756.—A. fast was kept on account of a drought."
" September 8th, 1756.—Began to raise the meeting house on
the neck between Midway and Newport."
" January 2d, 1757.—T^he first sermon was preached in the
meeting house."
"February, 1757.—Henry Ellis Esq. arrived, Lieutenant Go-
vernour of this Collony, who had been for some time before, im¬
patiently expected, as many were much dissatisfied with the go¬
vernment of Mr. Reynolds, which appeared to many to be very
arbitrary, and to be influenced very much by John Little, his
clerk and confident who had by artifice, got himself elected a mem¬
ber of the Assembly and Speaker of the House; the said Little
was this evening, hanged and burnt in effigie, and otherwise in¬
sulted by the mob."
" March 1st, 1758.—It was determined that the select men
should employ some person to take care of the meeting and ves¬
try houses, to shut, open, and keep them clean, and that two
pounds seventeen shillings one penny and three farthings sterling,
shall be allowed to such person for so doing."
" December 7th, 1763.—The Rev. Mr. John Alexander preach¬
ed on Sabbath before last. Was so well approved of, that a num¬
ber at our Library meeting* agreed to propose to the congrega¬
tion to give him a call, as assistant to the Rev. Mr. .Osgood, to
preach chiefly at Sunbury. On the 19th he had a unanimous call
from the congregation."
* Midway Library Society—This Society ia now called the " Midway and Newport Library
Society," and has a Library of more than 500 volumes. It is a continuation of a Library Socie.
ty formed at Dorchester, in South Carolina, called the Dorchester and Beech Hill Alphabet So*,
ciety, and is, probably, more than one hundred years old.
9
As this is the only mention made of Mr. Alexander in the church
records, as well as from what follows, it appears that he did not
accept this call.
"June 18th, 1767.—Society convened in order to give the Rev.
Mr. Edmonds a call, as co-pastor with the Rev. Mr. Osgood, to
preach chiefly in Sunbury, and if agreeable, to supply the inhabi¬
tants of the Alatamaha.','
" August 9th, 1767.—Mr. James Edmonds and family arrived
in Georgia on a call from the society. Preached at Midway on
the 2(>th, and at Ala^maha on the 30th and 31st, and agrees to
supply them once a month for the first year."
The meeting house being finished, its pews were assessed and
rented for the payment of the pastor's salary. This assessment
was annual. The amount subscribed for building the house of
Worship, vestry and parsonage, regulated the right of the choice
of pews. A failure on the part of any member to pay the annual
rale upon the seat he had chosen, was a forfeiture of his right of
choice for the succeeding year.
A regulation intended to guard against the intermixing of stran¬
gers with their number, had already been agreed upon. In sup¬
port of this regulation, a resolution was now adopted for prevent¬
ing any member of the society from disposing of his right in the
meeting house, to any person except " to such as the church shall
approve, of." These measures did not, prob*ably, arise from a
narrow and illiberal spirit on the part of the settlers, but from a
concern for the morals and piety of their children, who were sui-
rounded by ungodly neighbors, and whom they wished " to leave
compactly settled together fn the possession of the same gospel
privileges" which they had enjoyed.
Although this church was of the dissenting order, and its mem¬
bers contributed voluntarily for the support of the gospel among
themselves, yet they were not unmindful of the advantage of making
some permanent provision, to meet their annual expenses. A le¬
gacy having been left to the society by Mr. Clark, it was thought
advisable to seize upon this as a favorable time, for making an at¬
tempt to endow the church; accordingly at a meeting of the con*
gregation, it was determined that "Mr. Clark's legacy should be
reserved for the beginning of a fund." This determination, how¬
ever, they were, a few years after* constrained to relinquish. Be¬
ing in debt, and the meeting house being too small for the accom¬
modation of their growing numbers, they thought it necessary " to
decline the thought of a fund for the present, and to apply Mr.
Clark's legacy in building an addition to the house of worship."
2
10
" June 9th, 1771.—The Rev. Mr. Osgood being in a bad state
of health', preached but one sermon."
" 16th.—Was so ill as not to preach at all."
" 17th.—Rode in a chaise to Sunbury ; went on board a vessel
to be carried out upon the salts, to which he had been advised by
his physician."
"21st.—Returned home very ill; very little hope of his ever
preaching again entertained by himself or others."
"26th.—The society met, drew up and agreed to a call to be
sent to New Jersey for a minister, and agreed to have public wor¬
ship continued amongst us, by reading sermons on Sabbaths."
"May 5th, 1773.—Was set apart for a day of fasting and prayer
and to consult what measures to pursue, in order to have the
preaching of the gospel continued among us, with the administra¬
tion of its ordinances, our present reverend pastor being entirely
unable to minister now among us, and it does not seem at all
likely that he ever will be able again. A sermon was read, and
our reverend pastor, Mr. Osgood, made the first prayer, and at
the conclusion gave a short, warm and pathetic exhortation, which
he said might be his last. (It proved to be so.) Upon consulta¬
tion of the church, Parmenus Way, Esq., and Benjamin Baker,
were appointed to write frequently to the college in New Jersey,
in behalf of the church, respecting the call there sent for another
minister."
In their letter to the Rev. John Witherspoon, president of the
college in New Jersey, they earnestly entreat his assistance : that
he would, with the advice of Robert Ogden, Esq., who had resi¬
ded for some time among them, choose out, and press the accept¬
ance of their call upon some meet and suitable person, " to come
and assist, and if need should so require it, to succeed the Rev.
Mr. Osgood in the sacred charge of preaching the gospel." They
desire and request that "he be a man of moderate principles;
sound in the articles of faith, and one who receives the Westmin¬
ster Confession ; a moderate calvinist." They desire that in point
of church government, he should be of their particular " persua¬
sion yet " should there be any small difference o'f opinion, as to
any particular mode or manner of administration, not essential,"
they hope "a mutual forbearance would prevent any disagree¬
ment contrary to the peace of the gospel."
After a faithful, pious and successful discharge of the minister
rial office, for more than thirty-eight years, Mr. Osgood died in
the beginning of August, 1773. After his death, care was taken
to sustain public worship; the Rev. Dr. Zubly, occasionally, and
licentiates more statedly, performing the service.
11
Early in January, 1774, a call was made out and sent to the
Rev. Mr. Roberts.
Mr. Roberts having signified his acceptance, and having ex¬
pressed a desire to know whether it was the wish of the Church
that he should preach by note or without, was informed that a
large majority of the membeis of the church was in favor of his
using notes. In Marcli following, it was voted at a meeting of
the society, that " Mr. Roberts should officiate among us by pray¬
ing and reading printed or Mr. Osgood's manuscript sermons, and
follow his studies." *
In 1777, Mr. Moses Allen was called to the pastoral charge of
the church, and preached his first sermon at Midway on the 22nd
of Juue, from Acts xiv : 15.—[B. Baker''s MS. Diary, penes me.
The Midway settlement constituted a considerable part of what
in the early division of the province of Georgia into parishes, was
called St. John's parish. The inhabitants of this parish, though
distinguished chiefly for their high regard to the institutions of re¬
ligion, were not unmindful of their civil rights. During the strug¬
gle between Great Britain and her American Colonies, they enga¬
ged decisively in the cause of their country. They embraced the
earliest opportunity of acceding to the Continental Congress. At
a provincial congress held at Savannah in January 1775, they in¬
formed the other parishes, assembled on tha£ occasion, that they
had already acceded to the General Association, and earnestly re¬
quested them to accede to it. Disappointed in the expectation of
this measure,1 they applied to the South*Carolina committee of
correspondence, to admit them to an alliance with them, and re¬
quested them to allow trade and commerce to be continued to
them. " Connected with Carolina as a distant parish of the same
province, we must," they say, "be considered as comprehended
within the spirit, and equitable meaning of the Continental Asso¬
ciation, and hope you will not condemn the innocent with the
guilty, especially when a due separation is made between them."
Their address having been laid before a full committee of the Co¬
lony of South Carolina by Daniel Roberts, Samuel Stevens, and
Joseph Wood, an answer was given to them, expressing the high¬
est sense of their arduous struggles in favor of the common cause
of America; but recommending the laying of their cause before
the ensuing Continental Congress, as the only means to put them
in the situation they wished, which the committee apprehended to
be entirely out of their power.
Upon the receipt of this answer, they considered in what man¬
ner to conduct themselves in the present situation, and it was con-
12
eluded, that, until they could obtain trade and commerce with
some other colony, it was absolutely necessary to continue it in
some respects with their own, and determined that it be carried on
under the following regulations: "First, That none of lis shall di¬
rectly or indirectly purchase any slave imported at Savannah, till
the sense of the Congress shall be made known to us. Second,
That we will not trade at all with any merchant at Savannah, or
elsewhere, that will not join in our associating agreement, other¬
wise than under the inspection of a committee for that purpose
appointed, and for such things as they shall jOdge necessary, and
when they shall think there are necessary reasons for so doing."
A committee was then appointed to sit weekly for those purposes,
and it was resolved, that a delegate be sent from this parish to the
Congress to be held at Philadelphia in May next. On the day ap¬
pointed for that election, (21st March,) at a full meeting, Dr.
Lyman Hall* was unanimously chosen.—[Drayton's Memoir^
Holmes' Annals.
This procedure subjected them to an uncommon degree of suf¬
ferings and sacrifices. In the month of November 1778, the so¬
ciety was broken up and dispersed by the British Army from Flo¬
rida. Some fled into Chatham county, and some into Carolina.—
The aimy laid waste all before them, burned the meeting house,
almost every dwelling house, and the crops of rice then in stacks,
drove off the negroes and horses,, carried away the plate belong¬
ing to the planters, and wantonly trespassed upon the sacred dwell¬
ings of the dead.f "M»ost of those in the fort," says Mr. Benja-
* Lyman Hall, A. M., was a native of Connecticut, and was graduated at Yale College in
1747. He at first made Theology his study and profession; but he afterwards studied medi¬
cine, and, removing into Georgia, established himself as a physician at Sunbury. He took an
early and decisive part in defence of the Colonial rights. In 1774 arid \!7o he attended the re-
publican conventions of Georgia, as a delegate from the Parish of St. John's. Upon the ac¬
cession of the Colony to the Continental Association, Dr. Hall was chosen a delegate to the ge¬
neral Congress by the whole province. He was an active and useful member of that body, and
subscribed tfee Declaration of Independence. In 1783 he was elected Governor of Geoigia.—
During several of the late years of his life, he resided at his plantation, near Savannah; but to¬
ward the close of it, he removed into Burke county, where he died in 179& His manners were
easy and polite, and his deportment affable and dignified. " Though wariji and enthusiastic,
he had the guidance of a sound judgment." The following is his verbal account of the influ¬
ence of the speech of Mr. John Adams, on the question of American Independence : "It con.
vinced the doubtful, emboldened the timid, confirmed the resolute, and animated the decisive."
{Holmes' Ann.; Allen's Biographical Dictionary.
tThe following is an extract from a Poem, composed by John Baker, sop *>-'—
Yfhich I find among the MSS. of the latter.
Where'er they march, the buildings burn,
Large stacks of rice to ashes turn :
And me a pile of ruin made,
£?£bre their hellish malice staid.
13
min Baker, at that time the society's clerk, " were so terrified that
they fled from it to get over Ogeechee Bridge with their families,
none remaining but mine, upon which 1 moved with mine into the
woods, and encamped. On the 26th, I iode oft'early in the morn¬
ing towards the meeting house, for intelligence. Saw a number
of horsemen riding to meet me w ith pine bushes in their hats.—
Without any pause, I rode on till I met them. The officer spoke
very roughly to me; ordered me in the most stern manner to dis¬
mount, which I did. Soon after, a messenger came from the chief
commander, the He*:. Col. Prevail, with an order that I should be
conducted to him, which I was glad of. When I came to the
commander-in-chief, he inquired whence I came. I informed him
of my camp and family in the woods. The colonel, sensibly
touched with my family, especially my wife, with a child not six
weeks old, lying out in the woods, advised me to get my family
Jipme immediately, and to keep within the limits of my own plan¬
tation, assuring me, that in that case, none of us would be mo¬
lested."
In December Savannah was reduced by the British troops, com¬
manded by Col. Campbell. At this time the Rev. Mr. Allen was
taken prisoner, and sent on board the prison ships. Wearied
with a confinement of several months in that loathsome place,''
says Dr. Ramsay, "and seeing no prospect relief, he deter¬
mined to attempt the recovery of his liberty, by thiowing himself
into the river, and swimming to an adjacent point; but he was
drowned in the attempt."
The society of Midway being broken up and dispersed, their
settlements were possessed by a body of lawless and ungodly men.
" How have I been distressed," says Mr. Benjamin Baker, " when
considering the church broken up af?d driven from this place, and
no appearance of religion in this neighbourhood, except in three
families, and they at such a distance from each other, as not to
see each other but very seldom. Confusion, and disorder, and
violence seem, to reign in this place. It appears to me that there
Nor did their boundless fury spare,
The house devote to God and prayer:
Brick, coals and ashes shew the place,
Which once that sacred house did grace.
The churchyard, too, no better sped,
The rabble, so against the dead,
Transported were with direful fumes,
They tore up and uncover'd tombs.
14
is hardly a more wicked people than those among whom I live.—
A company is now banded together, and incorporated under offi¬
cers, to stand by and protect each other in all kinds of villanies—
no man's lile or propertylseems to be safe in this place."*
On the prospect of peace, the inhabitants of Midway returned
to their settlements, and became re-established in their former
rights and privileges.
Gratefully sensible of the obligations which, as a people, they
were under to their God, and the God of their fathers, they gave
not sleep to their eyes, nor slumber to their eyelids, till they had
built a house for the Lord, a habitation for the mighty God of Ja¬
cob. Influenced by a religious regard to the rising generation,
they statedly assembled on the Lord's day, read practical dis¬
courses, and unitedly joined in the public exercises of praise and
devotion. For a long time had they hung their harps upon the
willows and wept at the remembrance of Zion. Their soul ha<j^
longed, yea even fainted for the courts of the Lord ; their heart
and their flesh had cried out for the living God; but when God
turned again the captivity, as the streams in the South, then was
their mouth filled with laughter, and their tongue with singing.
Prompted by a pious solicitude for the regular administration
of the word and ordinances, they made seasonable and repeated
exertions, for procuring an ordained minister—but with disap¬
pointment.
In May 1784, Mr. Holmes being in South Carolina, the church
and society at Midway feecame acquainted with his intentions of
entering on the work of the ministry, and made application to him
to come and preach there, for the space of one yeai. The urgen¬
cy of the request, and the peculiar situation of the church, con¬
curred to render a compliance with this invitation apparent duty.
.* Benjamin Baker's MS. Diary, penes me—from which the following verses are extracted.
Fields once her {Midway's) glory and her pride,
Weeds, grass and briars now do hide:
And worst of villains make their home, r
Where flames had happen'd not to come.
Instead of preaching, prayers and praise, f
Now on the gospel holy days,
They race, and fight, and swear, and game,
Without regard to law or shame.
They arm,d, disguis'd, with faces black'd,
Do many villanies transact;
The few, few honest that are here,
Do often rob and put in fear.
15
He complied, anil, in August following, commenced his preaching
among them.
In June 1785, being about to return to New England, Mr.
Holmes received a pious and affectionate address, signed unani¬
mously by the members of the church and society, in which he
was earnestly solicited to become ordained, and to return and
minister unto them in holy things. With a peculiar reference to
this invitation he applied for ordination, and on the 15th of Sep¬
tember, 1785, was ordained accordingly, in the chapel of Yale
College. The Rev. Levi Hart preached the ordination sermon,
from Gal. i: 10. ^he Rev. Dr. Stiles made the consecration and
ordaining prayer; the Rev. Dr. Williams gave the charge, and the
Rev. Warham Williams the right hand of fellowship. In Novem¬
ber following, Mr* Holmes returned to Georgia, and entered upon
the public ministry.—[Memoirs of the Church at Midway, annex¬
ed to Mr. Hart's Sermon, at the ordination of Mr. Holmes.
*** Towards the close of the year 1788, the neighbouring Indians
becoming troublesome, forts were built and other measures taken
for the security of the lives and property of the inhabitants. But
notwithstanding these defensive measures, the Indians succeeded
in capturing and carrying off a number of negroes. " Yesterday
morning," says Col. Stewart in his letter to Col. Maxwell, dated
26th September, 1788, " after the robbery was committed at Mr.
Quartermann's plantation, I started with twelve men on the trail
of the robbers. Four miles above Doctor's creek, I came to a
place where the trail divided, one making for Oswald's Bluff, the
other for Beard's. Being very desirou^of re-taking the proper¬
ty, but not knowing with which party they were, I was induced
to divide my small, though brave, party. Lieut. Way of the first
company took out six men, and pursued the trail towards Oswald's
Bluff—with the remaining six I proceeded towards Beard's. I
came up with them about half past twelve, and made a charge up¬
on them. They immediately faced about, and, seeing my small
number, met me with great courage. After killing two of themy
I ordered a retreat: two of our horses being wounded, and think¬
ing it prudent to retire to get Lieut. Way's party. But on my re¬
turn, about two miles from the place of action, I fell in an ambus¬
cade, in crossing a small branch, when an unfortunate young man,
William Quarterman, received a mortal wound. After coming
with Way's party, being late in the day, and not having any pro¬
visions, I was induced to return." Georgia Gazette.
In 1791,' a committee consisting of James Maxwell, Daniel Ste-'
wart, Rev. Abie] Holmes, Henry Wood, and John P. Martin, was
JO
appointed to present an address, in the name of the Church and
Society at Midway, to President Washington, who was at this
time in Savannah, on a visit to Geoigia. In this address, the
committee expressed their happiness in having an opportunity of
making known their attachment to the President, and the pleasure
they felt in his election to the p-esidency of the United States.—
"Though situated at the extreme part of the Union, we have,"
O 1 f
they say, " gratefully to your knowledge, that we already expe¬
rience the propitious influence of your wise and parental adminis¬
tration."
"To the troops situated on our frontiers by*your order, and to
the treaty lately concluded with the Creek nation under your aus¬
pices, are we indebted, under Providence, for our present tran¬
quility. The hatchet is now buried, and we smoke with our In¬
dian neiglibours the calumet of peace."
" Distant as our situation is from the seat of government, per¬
mit us to assure you, that our influence* however inconsiderable**
in the national scale, shall not be wanting in encouraging submis¬
sion to the laws of the United States, and thus under God, perpet¬
uating the blessing of an efficient Federal Government, now so
happily established."
"I learn with gratitude," replies the President, in his answer to
this address, "your attachment to my person, and the pleasure
you express upon my^election to the presidency of the U. States."
"Your sentiments on the happy influence of our equal govern¬
ment, impress me with the most sensible satisfaction. They indi¬
cate the great interest of 'humanity—they reflect honor on the li¬
beral minds that entertain them, and they promise a continuance
and improvement of that tranquility, which is essential to the wel¬
fare of nations, and the happiness of men."
"Continue, my fellow-citizens, to cultivate the peace and har¬
mony which now subsist between you and your Indian neighbours."
*******
"A knowledge of your happiness will lighten the cares of my
Station, and be among the most pleasing of their rewards."
Georgia Gazette, 1791.
About this time the ill health of Mr. Holmes, and that of his
wife, concurred to render the relinquishment of his pastoral charge
apparent duty. The state of his health having been submitted to
the consideration of the surviving members of the council, which
had ordained him to the work of tne ministry, they judged it pro¬
per that his pastoral relation to the church and society at Midway
should be dissolved.
17
In the mean time this church and society had observed a day of*
fasting to seek divine direction in the exertions they should make
to supply the place of Mr. Holmes, whose "labors of ministra¬
tion they highly esteemed and upon consultation, it was agreed
that a letter should be written to the Rev. Dr. Rogers of New
York, praying that he would use his influence to prevail upon
some meet and suitable minister of the gospel to take the pastoral
charge of their church.
It is probable that Dr. Rogers made known their wish to Dx1.
Woodhull of New Jersey, as through the recommendation of the
latter, Mr. Cyrus Gildersleeve, a native of New Jersey, was invi¬
ted and earnestly solicited to settle at Midway. Mr. Gildersleeve,
having expressed his acceptance, went into Georgia in 1791, and
early in December, entered upon the discharge of the ministerial
office.
c-^A Jew years after Mr. Gildersleeve's arrival at Midway, the
society at this place appointed James Powell, Benjamin Law,
Henry Wood, John Stacy, John "Warren, Simon Fraser, James
Cochran, Thomas Bradwell, and the Rev. Mr. Cloud, to act with
the Rev. C. Gildersleeve, Peter Winn, Daniel Stewart and Thos.
Stevens, appointed Commissioners of an Academy to be esta¬
blished in the county, in devising some suitable plan for the pro¬
motion of education ; the result of which proceeding was the es¬
tablishing of an academy, near Riceboro', called the Newport
Academy.
Early in February 1811, Mr. Gildersleeve, in a written commu¬
nication to the church and society, expressed his expectation of
leaving them in the ensuing spring. In this communication he
assigns as his only reason for contemplating a removal from "the
dear people of his charge," his wish to be with his " children, and
to have them in a healthy clime." In April following he preach¬
ed his farewell sermon from Acts xx: 32, and soon after embark¬
ed for his native State.
The Rev. ^urdock Murphy, a native of North Carolina, suc¬
ceeded to the pastoral charge, which relation he sustained for
more than eleven years.
A few years after Mr. Murphy had settled at Midway, its inhab¬
itants were called upon to arm themselves in defence of their
country's rights. The impressment of American Seamen by the
British, and the violation of the rights and peace of the American
coasts by the British ciuisers, were looked upon by the Congress
of the United States, as acts which justified an immediate appeal
to arms.
3
18
The descendants of those brave men whose decisive measures,
at the revolution, had accelerated the accession of the colony of
Georgia to the Continental Union, were not backward in espous¬
ing the cause of their country.
About the middle of September, 1814, the citizens of Liberty
county met at Riceboro' and appointed Gen. Daniel Stewart, Wil¬
liam Fleming, John Winn, John Stacy, John Elliott, John Stevens
and Joseph Law, to be a committee to sit monthly for the purpose
of taking into consideration the state of the county. This com¬
mittee was styled the " Committee of Safety,'Vand was fully autho¬
rized to call upon the inhabttants of the county for so much labor
as appeared to them necessary to put the county in a state of de¬
fence ; and in case of refusal on the part of any, to " advertise the
names of such in the most public places, thereby holding them up
to the public contempt, for having disgraced the character of the
citizen and the patriot."
In their letter to Maj. Gen. Pinckney, the Committee of Safe¬
ty informed him of their willingness to repair, at the expense of
the county, the fortifications in Sunbury, and to garrison the town,
provided the United States would furnish the garrison with two
eighteen pounders and suitable ammunition.
Gen. Pinckney, in an interview held with the Committee of Safe¬
ty at Midway meeting house, advised the erection of a tower, as
requiring a less garrison and affording a better defence than any
other kind of fortification. Whereupon the committee determin¬
ed to erect a tower instead of a fort. But finding it impracticable
to obtain shells and other materials requisite for building a tower,
they abandoned the project, and passed a resolution te commence
immediately the building of a fort, to be called "Fort Defence;"
of which resolution, and the reasons of it, their secretary was in¬
structed to inform Gen. Pinckney.—[Minutes of the Committee of
Safety.
These bold and spirited measures, doubtless, protected the in¬
habitants of the county from the inroads of those predatory de¬
tachments which were sent out by Admiral Cockbui^i against the
sea-coast of Georgia; whose main occupation was, to plunder the
merchant of his merchandise, and the planter of the products of
the soil.
On the reception of the news of peace, the inhabitants of Mid¬
way laid aside their arms and returned to the pursuit of their res¬
pective vocations.
As a token of respect, and as an evidence of their attachment
to their pastor, the church and society appropriated the sum ©f
19
two hundred dollars, to be expended in purchasing a library, to be
given to the Rev. Mr. Murphy : they also granted him the privi¬
lege of spending six or eight weeks, once in every two years, in
visiting his friends and relations.
In 1823, Mr. Murphy removed to Alabama and was succeeded
by the Rev. Robert Quarterman, who Avas ordained on the 27th
of May of the same year, In March, 1836, the Rev. I. S. K. Ax-
son, a native of Charleston, South Carolina, was invited to settle,
as colleague, with the Rev. Mr. Quarterman. Mr. Axson accept¬
ed the invitation, an^l preached his first sermon at Midway, on the
24th of April, 1836.
List of the early settlers at Midway, and the time of their arri¬
val. Those in italics brought their families.
JBenjamin Baker, 1752
Samuel Bacon, .1752
Par menus Way 1753
John Stevens, 1754
Richard Spencer, 1754
Richard Baker,— -1754
Josiah Osgood, 1754
Samuel Way, 1754
John Elliott,- ,.1754
John Quarterman, 1754
Rev. John Osgood, 1754
Sarah Mitchell, 1754
John Mitchell, 1754
Samuel Buiyiley, .1754
Edward Way, 1754
Edward Sumner, 1754
William Baker 1754
John Shave, 1754
Nathaniel Way, - 1754
John Quarterman,. .1854
Moses Way, 1754
Benjamin Andrew, 1754
Thomas Peacock, 1754
John Gorton, 1755
John Winn, ---1755
John Lupton 1755
Joseph, Bacon, 1755
Joseph Massey, 1755
*
Andrew Way, 1755
Isaac Girardeau, 1755
William Graves, 1756
John Stewart, 1756
John Stewart, Sen., 1756
John Graves, 1756
Daniel Dunnom, 1756
Richard Girardeau, 1757
Samuel Jeans, — —1758
James Andrew, 1758
Lydia Saunders, 1758
Palmer Goulding, _ - - 1759
20
The following Tables are compiled from the Church Records.
Year.
Births.
Deaths
Year.
Births
Deaths
Year.
Births.
Deaths
1754
4
2
1771
15
8
: 1788
2
35 d
1755
6
2
1772
21
14
1789
11
17
1756
14
3
1773
18
24 b
1790
21
25
1757
14
2
1774
11
16
1791c
12
34
1758
11
6
1775
7
*18
' 1792
3
30
1759
20
5
1776
17
10
1793
26
19e
1760
16
1
1777
15
15
1794
17
11/
1761
13
6
1778a
20
8
1795
21
18
i762
13
4
1779
1^96
,17
8
1763
14
4
1780
1797
22
l4g
1764
15
5
1781
1798
26
22
1765
2
8
1782
6
1799
16
17
1766*
6
19
1783
5
3
1800
20
20
1767
4
21
*4784
6
5
1801
18
37h
1768
6
12
1785
6
17
1802
11
20
1769
10
15
1786
15
8
1803
22
1770
1
10
1787
4
8
4^
* Number of Church members this year 125, male members 54, female members
a. In November of this year, the Church and Society were broken up and dispersed. Began
to settle again in 1782
b. This year died the Rev. Mr. Osgood, '■ who had been pastor of the Church 33 years and
four months, wanting two or three days."
c. Number of Church members this year 147.
d. John Quilling, Rogers, and Samuel Bennett, killed hy Indians.
e. William Spencer killed by a fall from his horse, December 26.
f. Joseph Andrews killed by lightning, March 27.
g. Number of Church members this year 159.
h. William Bennet killed by^i fall from his horse. May 14. Thomas Stevens, jr., killed by a
fall from his horse, July 6. " Edward Stevens, and Sarah his wife, Dr. Lathrop Holmes, and
Sarah his wife, Mary O. Stevens and Sumner and James Stacy, and William and Mary, child¬
ren of Francis Ross. These nine persons sailed from Newport, on the 6th of April, for New
York. The vessel in which they sailed h3S wtee been picked up a wreck, and no account of
the persons."—[See Biographical Sketch~qf Dr. Holmes.
The following are the Names of Deacons of the Church at Midway.
William Baker, i
John Winn,
Thomas Quarterman,
Thomas Stevens,
William Quarterman,
William Baker, sr.,
Peter Winn, I
James McCullough,
Lazarus Mallard,
John Stacy,
R. Quarterman, c
William Fleming, <
Chosen.
Died.
Chosen Died.
1767
1786
1785
1791
1785
1801
1791
1794
1795
1798
1798
1824
1801
1806
1806
1814
1809
1818
1811
1816
1820
Joseph Law,
Thqmas Mallard, /
Moses W ay,
John Quarterman,
John O. Baker, g
Samuel Jones, «
John Dunwody, fel
Nathaniel Varnedoe,/
W. E. Quarterman, /
Samuel Spencer, f
Ezra Stacy, f
1820
1820
1835
1835
1835
1838
1829
1831
1836
a. Mr. Baker was, probably, chosen in Carolina, b. In 1808 Mr. Winn became a member of
the Baptist Church,4n Sunbury. The first pastor of this Church was the Rev. C O. Screven
>yho died about 1829, and was succeeded by the Rev. Josiah Law. Mr. Winn died in 1824 —
his eon, the Rev. Thos. Sumner Winn, was the first pastor of the Newport Church, which was
constituted in May 1818. d. Licensed, 1819, to the work of the ministry, by the Harmony Pres¬
bytery. e. Removed to Alabama, Feb. 1820, where he died in July following. /. Now living
g. Living at present in Pennsylvania, h. Living at present in Cobb County, Georgia-
MEETING HOUSE.
1 "N
The first house for public worship, was erected on Midway neck,
near to where Mr. Thomas Mallard's plantation now is, and was
built of logs. ^
About the middle of the year 1754, measures were taken for
building a new meeting house. Mr. James Maxwell was employ¬
ed to saw the timber for it, and the Rev. Mr. Osgood, Samuel
Burnley, Richard Bakei, Edward Sumner, and Benj. Baker, were
appointed to determine its size and form. It was erected at the
cross paths, on the north side of the north branch of Newport
^Tv'amp, 44 feet by 36, with a gallery 48 feet in its story, and a
pitched roof, hipped at one end and a sn^all steeple at the other.—
The steeple was placed west, and the pulpit north. This house
was destroyed by fire in 1778, by a body of armed men under the
command of Col. Provost. -
At the close of the revolution, a coarse building was put up near
the place where the old meeting house siood, 40 feet by 30, with
" posts in the ground, and the sides filled up with poles." Three
doors were made in it, one in each end and one in front. In de¬
ciding upon the site of this house, the Society was much divided,
fifteen voting that it should be built near the place where the old
meeting house stood,and fourteen against it. This house was en¬
larged in 1785. At the same time, a shelter was erected at its
south end, for the accommodation of the negroes.
The present meeting house was erected in 1792, almost on the
very spot occupied by the one destroyed by fire. Its site was de¬
cided on by 34 votes to 29. The body of this house measures 60
feet by 40. Its gallery is large and commodious. The pulpit is
placed at th^ east side. Near the foot of the pulpit stands a mar¬
ble font, presented to the church by the Rev. Wm, McWhi,r, D. D.,
whose labours of love in preaching the gospel, and whose untiring
zeal in supporting all literary and benevolent objects, will long be
remembered by the members of this Church and Society.
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
OP THE
MINISTERS OF MIDWAY CHURCH.
—:—o
Joseph Lord, first'minister of Dorchester, S. C., was a native of
Charlestown, Mass^i and was graduated at Harvard College in 1691.
For some time he was employed as a school master in the town of
Dorchester, Mass. In 1695, he was ordained pastor of the church
which was gathered in this town with the design of removing to
South Carolina. They arrived on the 20th of December, and be¬
gan a settlement on Ashley river, which they named Dorchester.
_It is not known how long Mr. Lord remained in Carolina, but he
r el if fried to Massachusetts, and was installed over the Church in
Chatham, June 15th, 1720. He died June 6th, 1748.—[Allen's
Biog. Diet.; MS. Letter of Dr. Harris of Boston.
Hugh Fisher succeeded Mr. Lord. Of Mr. Fisher we can find
no memorial. He died Oct. 6th, 1734.—[Church Records.
John Osgood was born in Dorchester, S. C.; graduated at Har¬
vard College in 1733, and ordained as the successor of Mr. Fisher,
March 24th, 1734. He was greatly beloved by his flock. In one
of his letters, dated "Dorchester, April 24th, 1746," to the Rev.
Mr. Balch of Dedham, Mass., his classmate at College, he writes,
" My people are much impoverished byftthe stagnation of trade,
occasioned by the war, so that we can hardly sell our rice ; but I
believe no people in the province are more kind to their minister.
I am sensible they overrate their present unworthy pastor. Thro'
God's blessing we live in much love and harmony. It has pleased
God also to give a considerable increase to our church, I hope of
such as shall be saved. About two years ago the number of com¬
municants in our church were but little above thirty, now they are
above sevepdf."
The care he bestowed on the education of his children appears
from the following extract taken from a letter of his to the Rev.
Mr. Badger of Natick, dated "Dorchester, April 6th, 1752:—I
shall only add that my Sally has been closely engaged in learning
Latin about a month ; has this day begun to write versions of Eng¬
lish into Latin—she desires her respectful compliments, and hopes
to be able to talk Latin with you by the time you come to Dor¬
chester."
In 1754, as lias already been mentioned, Mr. Osgood followed
his church and sociefy to (heir new settlement at Midway, in Geor¬
gia. In a letter to Mr. Badger, dated "Midway, May 23d, 1755,"
he thus writes : " As to my family circumstances, I have been very
happy in a second, as I was in my first marriage. My oldest
daughter, Sally, has been married about eight months, to a young
man of our society of an agreeab^s character—his name John
Quarterman. My health has been restored and continued, and I
am now pretty comfortably settled in my new'r habitation."
On the 20th June, 1773, Mr. Osgood atte/.5ed public worship
foi the last time. He died August 2d, 1773. The good of the
society lay near his heart, in his last moments. He took an af¬
fectionate leave of his family, and a little before his death, cried
out " O, my friends, how sweet it is to be with Jesus."
A few years previous to his departure, he wrote to his wife and
children a letter of advice and exhortation, of which the following
is a copy :*
" To my Dear Wife and Children, that may be the Inheritors of my
Temporal Interest after my Decease, I Earnestly Kecommend ; Be kind
to one another—Be kind to your Poor Relations, and to the poor In Gene¬
ral, as God may Prosper you, and they may need. Do the just and kind
part also to my poor Negroes that may come into your hand, Remember¬
ing that you also have a Master in Heaven, and who maketh thee to differ!
Above all things Chooso the good part, and lay up your Treasure in Hea¬
ven. The Time is Short, and All things are hastening to their End ! O
Sit loose to the world which is but vanity. Let Christ be your Life.—
Then to Die will be your Everlasting Gain. May the Eternal God Bless
you, and keep you from Etui*! And O may we meet with joy unspeakable
in the Everlasting kingdom of Our Dear Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
JOHN OSGOOD."
The Rev. Dr. Zubly of Savannah, in his funeral sermon, on the
occasion of Mr. Osgood's death, says : " His tender regard for his
congregation, and his anxiety that they might be kept together,
engaged him to remove into this province, and to share with them
all the inconvenience that attend the settling of a wilderness ; and
he lived to see their endeavors so blessed, as to turn this wilder¬
ness into a garden, and the desert place, into fields which the Lord
hath blessed. Near forty years did he continue to minister in holy
things among you ; all this time, you were in his heart, to live and
to die with you. He was the father and friend, as well as the
* The original is in the possession of Mrs. Winn of Walthourville, a descendant of Mr. Os¬
good, who kindly favored me with the use of itj and of other interesting MSS. from which most
of the particulars, recited above, have been derived,
shepherd of his flock. It may with justice be said, no congrega¬
tion was happier in a minister, and no minister happier in a con¬
gregation."
Mr. Osgood's sympathy and affection as the friend of his peo¬
ple ; his labors as the servant of Christ; his watchfulness as the
bishop of souls ; his care as the shepherd of his'flock ; his piety,
fidelity, and success in tjhe ministerial work, will be remembered
to his praise, for generations to come: and are now stars in the
crown of his rejoicing in heaven, for they that be wise shall shine
as the brightness oil the firmament; and they that turn many to
righteousness as the stars forever and ever.
" A letter of prudent advice and religious council to his chil¬
dren, by the late Rev. J. Osgood," was published by J. J. Zubly,
Savannah, 1774.'.'
Moses Allen, was born in Northampton, Mass., Sept- I4th,
1748. He was graduated at the College in New Jersey, in 1772;
anu^was licensed by the Presbytery of New Brunswick, Feb. 1st,
1774. In December of this year, he passed a few days with his
friend, Mr. James Madison, in Virginia, at the house of his father
Col. Madison, and preached repeatedly at the Court house. In
March following he preached at Christ Church Parish, about 20
miles from Charleston, in South Carolina. Here he was ordained
March 16th, 1775, by the Rev. Mr. Zubly^Mr. Edmonds and
William Tennant. He preached his farewell sermon in this place
June 8th, 1777, and was soon afterwards established at Midway
in Georgia, to which place he had been Earnestly solicited to re¬
move. In 1778, his society was broker* tip and dispersed by the
British Army from Florida, under the command of Col. Provost.
At the reduction of Savannah by the British troops, Mr. Allen
was taken prisoner. The Continental officers were sent to Sun-
bury <>n parole, but Mr. Allen, who was chaplain to the Georgia
brigade, was denied that privilege. He was sent on board the
prison ships. In attempting to recover his liberty, by swimming
to land, he was drowned. His body was washed on a neighbour¬
ing island, was found by some of his friends. They request¬
ed of the captain of a British vessel, some boards to make a coffin,
but could not procure them.
Mr. Allen always appeared among the foremost in the day of
battle, and on all occasions, sought the post of danger, as the post
of honor. The friends of independence admired him for his po¬
pular talents, his courage, and his many virtues. The enemies of
independence could accuse him of nothing ihore than a vigorous
exertion of all his powers in defending the rights of his injured
4
26
country. He was eminently a pious man.—[Allen's Biographi¬
cal Dictionary.
Abiel Holmes, D. T)., M?as born on the 24th of Dec., 1763, in
Woodstock, a town formerly belonging to the jurisdiction of Mas¬
sachusetts, but now lying in Connecticut. His father, Dr. David
Holmes, a practicing physician, served for three campaigns during
the war in Canada, as a captain in the regiment of Col. Fitch. In
the contest between Great Britain and her ^merican Colonies, he
was one of the earliest engaged in the struggle. On the first in¬
telligence of the battle of Lexington, Dr. DavHd Holmes joined the
American Army in his professional character as a physician, and
continued in the service until the fourth year of the war, when,
worn down by the labors and fatigues of the camp, he returned
home, and shortly after expired, in the fifty-eighth year of his age.
At the time of the death of Dr. David Holmes, his son Abiel had
reached his sixteenth year, and was then nearly prepared^for__his
collegiate course. On the first Sabbath in March, 1781, he was
admitted by President Stiles a member of the Church, and on the
10th of Sept., 1783, was graduated at Yale College. In 1785, he
was ordained to the pastoral care of the church and congregation
at Midway, in Georgia; and he continued to discharge the duties
of his ministry among this people till June, 1791, when ill health,
probably the effect,^ the climate, compelled him to leave the State.
He had, the year before, become a son-in-law of President Stiles,
having married his daughter Mary. The first congregational
church in Cambridge paving become vacant by the death of Mr.
Hilliard, Mr. Holmes w^s invited to supply his place, and having
accepted the invitation, was installed as pastor on the 25th of Jan.,
1792. This relation he sustained for forty years. He died at
Cambridge, in christian peace and hope, on the 4th of June, 1837.
Dr. Holmes always remembered with affection the church and
society at Midway. In one of his letters to Mr. Lazarus Mallard,
he writes : " The interest you are pleased to take in my happiness
receives my grateful acknowledgements. My Midway friends—
once my pastoral charge—lie near my heart, and it viFill ever afford
me peculiar delight to know that I retain a place in their remem¬
brance and affections." "To receive tokens of frjendly remem¬
brance from my christian friends any where," says he, in a letter
to Mrs. Wilson, grand-daughter to the Rev. Mr. Osgood, " affords
me great pleasure ; but in no instance, is the pleasure so great as
when I receive them from my dearly beloved friends—once my
pastoral charge at Midway. God in his providence, callfed me very
early in life to minister among you in holy things, and- instead of
27
4 despising ray youth,' you received me with great candor and
kindness, and I have reason humbly to hope that my poor labors
were not in vain in the Lord. Thus did you become greatly en¬
deared to me, and had not my own health, and that of the dear
friend of my bosom, rendered it my apparent dujy to leave you, I
think I should gladly have passed my remaining days with you,
and have been willing to spend and be spent for you."
On the occasion of^the loss of the schooner Sally at sea, on
board of which wetS1 a number of Dr. Holmes' friends, among
whom was his brottier Lathrop, a practicing physician, he thus
writes to his friend and correspondent, Mr. Lazarus Mallard
"You must, I presume, before this, have received the entire con¬
firmation of.the melancholy event of the loss of the schooner Sally,
and of our very dear friends. It is truly a very affecting stroke of
Divine Providence. The way of God is in the sea, his path is in
y the great waters, and his footsteps are unknown. The reasons of
this7"and of many other dispensations of his providence, are to us
unfathomable. But all his ways are perfect. * * * * One
affecting memorial of our departed friend, is now in my posses¬
sion. * * * * The piece of my dear sister's handkerchief
was, by some means, lost, before it reached me."
The death of President Stiles, placed in the hands of Mr.
Holmes, by a special bequest, no less tharJ^prty volumes of the
valuable manuscripts, which contained the results of the Presi¬
dent's extensive inquiries. Judging that these manuscripts fur¬
nished copious materials for the biograpj^ of their author, and
"in compliance with the wishes and afrvice of several judicious
friends," Mr. Holmes undertook the "arduous and delicate task"
of writing the life of President Stiles, "hoping that such a work
would subserve the interest of religion and of science." This
work was published in May, 1798.
While the Life of President Stiles was in the press, Mr. Holmes
was elected a member of the Massachusetts Historical Society.—
In 1813, he succeeded the Rev. Dr. Elliott as Corresponding Sec¬
retary of thfSaistinguished Society, which office he continued to
fill for more than twenty years.
In 1805, hjs American Annals appeared in two volumes, octavo.
A new and greatly enlarged edition of this work was printed at
Cambridge in 1829, under the author's own laborious and accu¬
rate supervision. The first edition of the American Annals was
reviewed in England a few years after its publication, with, it is
said, kindly expressions of approbation; and in 1813 this work
was re-published in London. " Take it all in all," says a writer
28
in the North American Review, " the Annals of Holmes constitute
a work, which, in its kind, has never been equalled among us, and
has few parallels any where. The accomplished annalist feared
no labor; he was indefatigable in hie love of truth. He had seen
much of the worlt?-: his correspondence was wide ; his zeal untir¬
ing. No student of our history, but owes him gratitude."
About the commencement of the present century, Mr. Holmes
united with a few friends in forming the " ^ociety for promoting
Christian knowledge," of which Society he'vCis President at the
time of his death. He was Vice President of the " Board of Com¬
missioners of the Society in Scotland for promoting Christian
knowledge a director of the " American Education Society;"
a member of the Boards of Trust of the Theological Institution at
Andover, of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, of the
Philosophical Society of Philadelphia, and of the American Anti¬
quarian Society.
"The important character of pastor, leader and guide, Dr.
Holmes sustained with high respectability, much consistency, uni¬
formity and meekness. * * * * Never in extremes or chargea¬
ble with extravagance, his deportment and character united, in no
common degree,—the gentleman, the scholar and the Christian."*
Cyrus Gildersleeve was born in South Orange, New Jersey, in
1769. After he hadU^aished his Collegiate course at Nassau Hall,
he studied Theology under Dr. Woodhull of Monmouth. In 1791
he was invited by the Qhurch and Society at Midway, to supply
the place of Mr. Holies, Having accepted their invitation, he
went into Georgia, and,' about the middle of December, com-,
menced his public preaching among them.
In 1792, Mr. Gildersleeve returned to New Jersey, and, upon
application to the Presbytery of New Brunswick, was ordained to
the work of the Ministry, with a peculiar reference to the Church
at Midway. At the close of the year, he returned to his flock,
among whom he laboured, with great success, for more than nine¬
teen years.
In 1811, Mr. Gildersleeve relinquished his pastoral charge at
Midway, and soon after was settled over the Church in Bloom-
field, New Jersey. He died in Elizabethtown 1838, aged about
69 years.
" Jenks' Memoir of the Rev. Dr. Holmes,printed in the Collections of the Massachusetts His-
t orical Society.
RULES
• SOR. THE
GOVERNMENT AND DISCIPLINE
OP THE
CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH,
A.T
MIDWAY, GEORGIA.
" Resolved, That N. Varnedoe, S. Spencer, and J. B. Mallard, be a
Committee to attend to the publishing of the Rules."
" Resolved, That the Roles be published with the Account of the
Church-"
. ^[Minutes of Session.
RULES, &c,
In presenting to the C^listian public, that form of government and disci¬
pline, which we have adopted, we have thought proper, by way of in¬
troduction, to state some of those general principles, by which we have
been governed.
CHAPTER I.
PRELIMINARY PRINCIPLES.
^ViTa-re unanimously of the opinion:
1st.—That God alone is Loid of the conscience, and hath left
it free from the doctrines and commandments of men, and that the
Holy Scriptures are the only rule of faith and manners.
2nd.—That no Church judicatory ought to'pretend to make laws
to bind the conscience in virtue of their own authority, and that
all their decisions ought to be founded on therevealed will of God.
3rd.—That in perfect consistency with ths above principle of
common right, every Christian Church is entitled to declare the
terms of admission into its communion, rvnd the qualifications of
its members. Vy
4th.—That it is incumbent upon the Church, to censure, or cast
out the erroneous and scandalous, observing, at all times, the rules
contained in the word of God.
CHAPTER ZZ.
OF THE CHURCH.
1st.—Jes^i?.£hrist, who is now exalted, above all principality and
power, hath created in this world a kingdom, which is his church.
2nd.—The universal Church consists of all those persons in
every nation* together with the baptized children, who make pro¬
fession of the holy religion of Christ, and of submission to his laws.
3rd.—A particular church consists of a number of professing
christians, who are in full communion: with their baptized off¬
spring, associated together for divine worship and godly living,
and submitting to a cer/ain form &f government.
: ^eded by the Session, and ordained by
. ^.Ta'nd by prayer.
^ '^er business of the deacons to distribute the
m€re* ■
^.-o-ffientri to the communicants, and the alms of the
^rr^rTto its indigent members. >
• 3rd.—It is also made the duty of the deacon*to inquire into all
rumors disreputable to the christian character 01 any member of
the church, and report all such cases to the Session, as they may
think worthy of discipline. Also to take notice of all who stay
away from the Lord's table, to inquire privately into their reasons*
and if deemed insufficient, to advise them as to the propriety and
duty of complying with the command of our ascended Lord. It
shall likewise be their duty to report all such as disregard their
advice, to the Session of the Church. ^
4th.—The office of deacon is perpetual. And while we allow
of the retirement of a deacon from active duty, when his services
have become unacceptable, so that he can no longer be useful, or
when he has become disq-ualified by age or infirmity; yet r.o dea¬
con is allowed to withdraw on his own responsibility. The Ses¬
sion must judge of the necessity which exists for his retiring and
without the consent of t^ir judgment, founded on examination of
the whole matter, he cannot withdraw from the duties of his office.
[See chap, x., see. 5.
CENTER VIII.
OF THE COMMITTEE OF EXAMINATION.
1st.—The Session shall appoint a committee, consisting of nine
or more persons, to be styled "The Committee of Examination.1'
2nd.—The Committee of Examination shall be appointed for
two years, and shall make their report at each regular meeting of
the Church Session.
• •
3rd.—It is the duty of each member of the committee to give
religious instruction, regularly, to all coloured persons applying
unto him for the same, and when they give sufficient evidence of
•conversion, together with an acquaintance with the doctrines and
duties of Christianity, to direct them to appear before the examin¬
ing committee at one of ftieir regular meetings, in order to be ad¬
mitted members of the church.
4th.—It is also the duty of the committee to meet with the Ses-
ston, m
munion, to examine ^
for church membership.
5th.—The examining committee
colored part of the congregation int<!
members of that committee. That each o\
take charge of one of those parts/ and appoE
watchmen over thej^ftne, Tvhose duty it shall be to watch
conduct of thosetaommitted to his care; to advise and wai
the same, and report his proceedings once a month, or oftcner to
the committee man for his district, who shall exercise a constant
supervision over said district, and report the state of morals and
delinquencies to the Session at their regular meetings.
CHAPTER IS.
OP THE SACRAMENTS OF THE CHURCH.
The Sacraments of the Church are two—Baptism and the
Lord's Supper.
CHAPTER S.
OF BAPTISMS?
1st.—Baptism is not to be unnecessarily delayed, nor to be ad¬
ministered in any case, by any privale^gerson, but by a minister
of Christ, called to be a steward of the mysteries of God.
2nd.—It is usually to be administered in the Church, in pres¬
ence of the congregation ; but there^nay be cases when it may be
expedient to administer this ordinance**1 private houses, of which
the minister is to be the judge.
3rd.—The Sacrament of Baptism is but once to be administer-
ed to any person.
4th.—Baptism is not to be administered to any that are out
of the visible church, till they profess their faith in Christ and
obedience to Him : but the infants of such as are members of the
visible^ciiurch and in full communion are to be baptized.
5th—As we consider it a great sin to neglect or contemn this
ordinance, it shall be the duty of the deaeons to speak privately
with all such parents whom they shall consider as having unneces¬
sarily delayed the baptizing of their infants, upon the propriety
and duty of complying with the requisitions of the church; and
upon refusal or further delay on the part of such parents, they shall
be reported to the Session, as liable to church discipline.
«1|!ffcTi,"nrc
- 'Ss dfi indirect control
'^^r^tlias over the parent. Every
^ ^i-<5q«ire such parents as are members
cv^-n.. their children, and to walk before
Tgospel. The church is bound to see that
•£% to call to Solemn account all its members who
or violate these duties. *
, r-IJ'th.—Believing it to be irreconciliable with atw scriptural views
of the nature and importance of baptism, that^liildren should be
baptized, and left, in other respects, undistinguishable from unbap-
tized children, it shall be the duty of the pastor to call together,
from time to time, the baptized children of his flock, question them
on the Assembly's Catechism, and give such instruction as may
tend to their spiritual edification.
8th.—When unbaptized persons apply for admission to the
church, they shall, in ordinary cases, after giving satisfaction as
their knowledge and piety, make a public profession of their faith
in the presence of the congregation, and thereupon be baptized.
CHAPTER SI.
OF THE LORD'S SUPPER.
1st.—The ordinance of^he Lord's Supper shall be administered
in this church, once in e»er'y three months, if practicable, the pri¬
vilege of which every member in good standing is expected to
enjoy. *
2nd.—It is proper that p^Wic notice be given of the administra¬
tion of the ordinance at lear^'three weeks before, and that on some
hTf
day of the week previous to the administration, the people be in¬
structed in its nature, so that all may come in a suitable manner
to this holy feast.
3rd.—Those who are to be admitted to this ordinance, are to be
examined as to their knowledge and piety, and to be propounded
before the congregation, at least the Sabbath before the adminis¬
tration. But there may be cases when it will be proper *to pro¬
pound on the lecture day preparatory to the administration of the
Lord's Supper, of which Session is to be the judge.
4th.—Believing that there is not a more solemn command; that
there is not one which addresses itself to the heart of a christian
in a more forcible or affecting manner, than " do this in remem¬
brance of me," we would consider all members of the church, who
unnecessarily stay away from the table of the Lord, as living in
the neglect qpiull^^
watch over one another , ^
who stays away from the JLlOTW
charity and love, inquire into his rt
insufficient, he shall speak to him upon
complying with the command of our ascenffill Lct
likewise be his duty to report all such as disregard nr
the Session of the chu^jPf^ **
5th.—It shall be mo^g especially the duty of the deacons to take
notice of all who stay away from the Lord's table, to inquire pri¬
vately into their reasons, and if deemed insufficient, to advise them
as to the propriety and duty of complying with the command of
our ascended Lord. It shall likewise be their duty to report all
such as disregard their advice, to the Session of the church.
6th.—If any member in the church covenant, withdraw from the
^communion of the church, and neglect, habitually, the ordinances
the^gospel: it is the duty of Session to deal with him as an of¬
fender.
7th.—The ignorant and scandalous are not to be admitted to the
Lord's table.
8th.—Members of sister churches, in good slanding in their own
church, and on good terms with this Church, are to be invited to
commune with us,
CHAPTER XII. *
OP DISCIPLINE/
t
1st.—Discipline is the exercise of th&*«utliority, and the ap¬
plication of that system of laws, which thej^^rd Jesus Christ hath
appointed in his word.
2nd.—The exercise of discipline is highly important and ne¬
cessary. Its ends are the removal of offences, the vindication of
the honor of Christ, the promotion of the purity and general edifi¬
cation of the church, and also, the benefit of the offender himself.
3rd.—An offence, is any thing in the principles or practice of
a church member, which is contrary to the word of God, or which,
if it be not in its own nature sinful, may tempt others to sin, or mar
their spiritual edification.
4th.-—The exercise of discipline in such a manner as will ed¬
ify the church, requires not only much of the spirit of piety, but
also much prudence and discretion.
5th.—Offences are either personal, or private, or public; to each
of which appropriate modes of proceeding belong.
B
iftNCES.
one, wherein a member of the
r^,/-<£i*o»low member, either in his person, proper-
•
^rP»j5^/§ftfmplaint or. information on the subject of person-
iSr'fnjuries shall be admitted, unles^ll^S^neans of reconciliation,
and of privately reclaiming the offender,^ave been used, which
are required by our Lord in Matt, xviii: lb, 16.
CHAPTER XIV.
OF PRIVATE OFFENCES.
1st.—Private offences are such as are known only to one indi¬
vidual, or at most, to very few.
2nd.—Private offences ought not to be immediately prosj^uffll*
before the Church Session, because the objects of discipline may
be quite as well, and in some instances much better attained by a
different course, and because a public prosecution, under such cir¬
cumstances, would tend unnecessarily to spread the knowledge of
the offence, to exasperate and harden the offender, to extend vexa¬
tious and angry litigations, and thus to render the discipline of the
church moie injurious than the original offence.
3rd.—In many Instances of private offence, it may be proper
to pursue the course prescribed by our Lord in Matt, xviii: 15,16,
in relation to persona?offences.
r
^CHAPTER SV.
OF PUBLIC OFFENCES.
1st.—A public offence is that, which is attended with such cir¬
cumstances as to require the cognizance of the Session.
2nd.—An offence, gross in itself, may be so circumstanced,
that it cannot be prosecuted to conviction. In suc|a cases, however
grievous it may be to the pious, to see an unworthy member in the
church, it is proper to wait, until God, in his providence shall
give further light, as few things tend more to weaken discipline,
and multiply offences, than to commence process without suffi¬
cient proof.
3rd.—When any person is charged with a crime, not by an in¬
dividual, or individuals coming forward as accusers, but by gene¬
ral rumor; the previous steps prescribed by our Lord in case of
immediate cognizance of1
4th.—The Session may, iff
cation, to appoint some of its mernbl
converse in a private manner with th$"
with a crime by general rumor, and if
endeavor to bring them to repentanefcfthan td^pro#-^
ly to citation.
5th.—When Sessioj^enters on the consideration of the crime
or crimes alleged, no more shall be done at the first meeting, unless
by consent of the parties, than to cite all concerned to appear at
the next meeting of Session, in order to have the matter fully in¬
vestigated, and also to direct the accused persons to abstain from
the communion table until the case is decided.
6th.—When an accused person or witness refuses to obey the
citation, he shall be cited a second time, and if he stjjl continue to
^ffTfuie^and no good reason is known for his non-attendance, he shall
be excluded from the communion of the church, for his contuma¬
cy, until he repent.
7th.—Session, before proceeding to trial, ought to ascertain,
that its citations have been served on the persons for whom they
were intended, and especially before it proceeds to ultimate mea¬
sures for contumacy.
8th.—Session may, and ought, if they thj-ak the edification of
the church require it, to prevent the accusecl person from ap¬
proaching the Lord's table until the charg§ against him can be ex¬
amined.
9th.—When a crime is alleged against jTy person or persons,
and he or they remove without of the bow^pif the church, before
the charge has been investigated, and a decision made, Session
shall, by no means, consider such persons as no longer subject to
their discipline ; but shall pursue such measures as they may think
best calculated to bring the accused to account, and the matter to
a final issue.
10th.—Wken a member is found guilty of the crime alleged, he
shall be rebuked, or admonished, or excluded from church pri vile--
ges, as the case shall appear to deserve, until he give satisfactory
evidence of repentance.
11th.—Such gross offenders as will not be reclaimed by the
private or public admonitions of the church, are to be cut off fiom
the communion, agreeably to our Lord's directions, Matt, xviii.
17: and the apostolic injunctions respecting the incestuous per¬
son, 1 Cor. v. 1-5.
3;:rioss--
t ^qjf, ^o,^^0^an.9jnUrch—
II' declare you entitled to
I •/*$' fellowship with us in the
.W '•1
-ApTration ofj,^^ you h^s^a^ed into a solemn
-^urcU,
whtcfh you cai> never be Veleasbth The vows of
w*will rest upon you through life—they-\Al follow you to
the!T)'af"bf God—f!ufy will abide with you through all eternity.—
Henceforth, the eyes oi une world will be upon yo'i, and as you
conduct in this mortal state, religion will be honored or disgraced.
If you live according to the rules of the gospel, you will be a com¬
fort to us,^imi(] our crown of rejoicing ; but if you turn back to the
beggarly elements of the world, yon will dishonor religion, grieve
the church, offend God, and crucify the Son of afresh, and
put him to an open shame. But we hope better things of you—'
even things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak.—
May Jehovah bless you, and keep you—may he lift up the light of
his countenance upon you—may he strengthen you by his grace,
and lead you by his spirit through this transitory life! And after
this warfare is accomplished, may we all be brought together into
that glorious church above, where our communion will be perfect
and our joy everlasting. *A'men.
r°~
form: of excommunication.
In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, who has armed his church
with a spiritual power, high and mysterious " to bind and to
loose"a—who has promised to ratify in Heaven, what, by his au¬
thority, is duly done on earthb—who has made it obligatory to
purge out all visible wickedness from his church0—and Ih&s com¬
manded, "if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator or
covetous, or an idolator or railer, or adrunkaid or an extortioner,d
or an heretic,e after the first and second admonition, to reject such
an one," and avoid him.f
a. Matt, xviii. 18. b. Malt, xviii. 18. c. 1 Cor. v. 7,13. d. 1 Cor., v. ,11.
c. Titus iii, 10. f. 2 Thesa., iii, 14 ; I Cor.-v. 11.; Titus iii, 10; Roir.. xvi. 17. .
I
scandal, reproac*^\ ^
ihousVi solemnly
cause,
varm&lFie hath
church," not ^ su^3et to ^er milder discipline,PI
to tjB^vay up^ightnessjbutseems joined to his iniquw^j|
- •' (n the n arm of the Lord Jesus, we command'
And now,
brethren, tWYe withdraw yourselves from him tha%jj^lketl» t
disorderly'6 iU3^"have 10 company with him, that he mTj
* , < vet dwHfc
asham*}/ •
'ie/f if peradventure Cr£
Spirit may be sa%d in the
brot
y be
him n«t as an enemy, but admorwsh him as a
ktajice, that
will give him repe
3ay of the Lord Jesus.
nuance,
"%L
a. 1 Cor. v. 6; Heb. xii, IS. b. Deut. xiii. 11. c. ICor, v. 3-^d. Matt, xviii. 17.
e. 2 Thcga. iii. 6. f. 2 Sheas, jii. 14,15. g. TCor. v. 5.
jfr*X - f
K ,ed <
,,7 • *-. jj?foul the boyn(tftr-p.'
V;.i it iias . . t. ■= s
tc,^- ^-"^"oPf.anpjhurch-
1^,< i], declare you entitled to
^"to fellowship uf. ^
tin one," and avoid hi
4
im
lis church
bind and to
rhat, by his au-
je it obligatory to
rc.hc—and h&s com¬
ber be a fornicator or
mkaid or an extortioner,d
id admonition, to reject such
a. Matt, xviii. 18. b. Matt, xviii. 18. c. 1 Cor. v. 7,13. d. 1 Cor., v. ,11.
p. Titus iii, 10. f. 2 Thess., iii, 14; I Cor.-v. 11; Titus iii, 10; Rorr.. xvi. 17. .
t