PRIMITIVE BAPTISTS, MARKETS, AND SLAVERY. By Matthew Bailey

PRIMITIVE BAPTISTS, MARKETS, AND SLAVERY By Matthew Bailey

Introduction Nearly as soon as Baptists arose in the 17 th century they divided over Calvinism. General Baptists believed in free will and that Christ died for all. Particular Baptists believed in predestination and that Christ died for the elect. This division continued as Baptists came to America. The 1742 Philadelphia Confession of Faith mirrored the Calvinism of the 1689 London Baptist Confession. Free Will Baptists reflected the General Baptist belief that Christ died for everyone. Given this longstanding doctrinal disagreement, it is easy to assume that 19 th century Baptists divided into Missionary Baptists and Primitive Baptists because of Calvinism. 1 Missionary Baptists, while not going as far as Free Will Baptists, softened Calvinism. In a reaction to Missionary Baptists, Primitive Baptists hardened their belief in predestination. However, recent historians argue that the division was not this simple. For over a century, historians ignored antimissionism and marked the debate off as a curious, whimsical, or irrelevant exercise. 2 This changed in 1945 when Gaylord P. Albaugh argued that the cause of antimission was the fear of the union of Church and State. 3 Twentyfive years after Albaugh s article, Bertram Wyatt-Brown noted that historians were still not very familiar with antimissionism. 4 Wyatt-Brown claimed that the antimissionists were a rural, economically insecure people and that the division was a result of deep-seated class antagonisms within the South. 5 Deborah V. McCauley and Wayne Flynt both challenged Wyatt-Brown, arguing that antimissionism was not the religion of the poor. 6 Recently, James Mathis argued that contrary to current historical opinion, the dispute over missions centered not on political, social, sectional or economic factors but on religious issues. 7 However, his data indicates otherwise. Using church membership lists and the 1850 Muscogee County census, he 2

shows that Mt. Olive Primitive Baptist Church was older, poorer, more female, and less involved in the market economy than its Missionary Baptist counterpart, Harmony Baptist Church. 8 In this paper, I argue that the Missionary Baptists were greater participants in the emerging market economy than the Primitive Baptists as evidenced by the Missionary Baptists greater number of slaves. In order to make this argument, I examine the 1825 division of the Red River Baptist Association on the Tennessee/Kentucky border and the formation of the Bethel Baptist Association. Using association minutes and the 1820 and 1830 U.S. censuses, I show that the Missionary Baptist messengers owned significantly more slaves per person than Primitive Baptist messengers. Additionally, Missionary Baptist churches were larger and baptized more than Primitive Baptist churches. I compare the Red River Baptist Association data with data from the nearby Elkhorn Baptist and Licking Baptist Associations in Kentucky. Like the Red River Baptist and Bethel Baptist associations, Missionary Baptists in the Elkhorn Baptist Association had larger churches and owned more slaves per person than Primitive Baptists in the Licking Baptist Association. The Story of the Red River Baptist Association The Red River Baptist Association formed out of the Cumberland Baptist Association, which in 1806 divided its land into two parts. Churches south and south-east of the Red River Ridge stayed with the Cumberland Association. In 1807, twelve churches on the north and north-west formed the Red River Baptist Association at Forts Meetinghouse near the Kentucky border, later called Red River. Eight churches were in Kentucky, and four churches were in Tennessee. 9 3

Like many Baptist associations throughout the country, the Red River Baptist Association grew quickly. In 1810, the association had twenty-seven churches. Three years later, it had expanded to 43 churches. 10 This growth led to the formation of the Little River Baptist Association in Caldwell County, Kentucky on October 2, 1813 by fifteen Kentucky churches, three Tennessee churches, and one Illinois church. This division of territory left the Red River Baptist Association with 19 churches and 1,001 members. However, by 1822, the Red River Baptist Association doubled its membership with 30 churches and 2,078 members. 11 Growth did not mask the division that existed within the Red River Baptist Association. Since 1817, the association s ministers periodically disagreed over the extent of Christ s atonement and the use of gospel invitations toward the lost. Young ministers, such as Reuben Ross, used evangelistic methods that increased conversions. Some old ministers doubted if these conversions were real. To them, the young ministers betrayed the purity of the church by letting people in too quickly. However, once the doors were open to new members they were impossible to close. Congregational polity gave new members the same voting rights of longtime members. Undoubtedly, the new members supported the evangelistic methods that they were converted with. In 1815, the Red River Baptist Association began communicating with the Baptist Board of Foreign Missions. The association sent a copy of their minutes to the board and requested that a copy of the board s minutes be sent to them for the further information of the ministers and people within the bounds of the association. 12 In 1817, the association requested that the churches express their approbation or disapprobation over correspondence with the board. At the same time, Reuben Ross began to use new evangelistic methods. Calvinistic ministers were convinced that Ross was in error and sent Sugg Fort to correct him. However, Ross convinced 4

Fort that he was in error. When Fort reported this to the elders who sent him, his brethren turned from him as one no longer of their faith. 13 By 1821, the Red River Baptist Association had dropped correspondence with the Baptist Board of Foreign Missions. Conflict in the Red River Baptist Association grew throughout the first half of the 1820s. In 1820, the subject of the expediency or inexpediency of dividing the association arose among the members. 14 Daniel Parker, the antimissionist founder of the Two-Seed-in-the-Spirit Predestinarian Baptists, preached at the association meeting. That same year, the Mount Gilead, a leading Missionary Baptist church, prayed for help, in a case of difficulty between her and west fork of Red River. 15 Absalom Bainbridge, the leading Primitive Baptist minister, pastored the West Fork of Red River Church. In 1819, Mount Gilead had explosive growth, baptizing 97 new members compared to West Fork of Red River s three baptisms. By 1820, Mount Gilead had 131 members compared to West Fork of Red River s 55 members. In 1823, Absalom Bainbridge argued in favor of the doctrine of predestination in the circular letter. Spencer described the letter as written in a very obscure and metaphysical style. 16 It stood in stark contrast to the simple evangelistic method of Reuben Ross, who was elected moderator of the association in 1823. In that same year, Ross had a charge brought against him by Christopher Owens, a member of the Spring Creek Church, for preaching unscriptural doctrine. 17 The church unanimously voted against Owens charge. The 1823 Red River Baptist Association meeting was particularly divisive. The association had previously given the churches a query on whether or not to divide. Nine churches were in favor of division, eighteen were against it, and two were neutral. During the meeting, there was a motion to read the rules of decorum, along with the association constitution 5

and the 1853 Abstract of Principles. At one point, Ross was accused of not preaching according to the Abstract of Principles. 18 He replied, The creed is the work of man; the Bible, of God Prove that my preaching is not in accordance with the Bible, and I submit. Quote the Bible, and I listen with reverence; but not the creed I stand here able to prove, as I think, that the doctrinal views I advocate are in accordance with the sacred oracles. That the Atonement is general and unlimited, sufficient for all. That salvation is offered to all who will accept it, without money or without price. That all men are the proper subjects of the gospel address, and that the gospel is indeed the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth. 19 After this address by Ross, his opponents proposed that the whole subject be dropped, and that they should live in peace. 20 The Division of the Red River Baptist Association The conflict over the new evangelistic practices continued to fester through 1825, when finally the Red River Baptist Association divided into two. The association meeting that year appeared normal. Like previous years, the association received correspondence from and corresponded with the Kehukee Baptist Association and others. The Red River Baptist Association agreed to drop our correspondence with Cumberland association till we hear from them [emphasis mine]. 21 However, that Sunday they chose to divide and recommend this advice to the churches. We recommend to the association to divide herself into two associations, the upper district to be called the Red River association, & the lower to be called giving each and every church in each district choice which association she will join & live in; and further, if this plan should be adopted; we recommend to the association to advise the churches if any members or members 6

should be dissatisfied on conscientious sentiments of religion to give them letters of dismission to join a church in either association. 22 The Primitive Baptist churches remained in the Red River Baptist Association, and the Missionary Baptist churches left to form the Bethel Baptist Association. The Red River Baptist and Bethel Baptist associations headed in opposite directions. The Red River Baptist Association moved toward hyper-calvinism and declined in numbers. The Bethel Baptist Association moved away from Calvinism and increased in numbers. After the division in 1825, the Red River Baptist Association had 18 churches and 829 members. The Bethel Baptist Association had 12 churches and 1,018 members. In 1827, the Red River Baptist Association advised the churches comprising this body not to invite the preachers in Bethel Association to preach to them, or preachers or laity to sit with them in conference, or to commune with them. 23 However, many people and churches did not follow this rule, and in 1828, it was rescinded. In 1831, the Red River Baptist Association made another move away from the Bethel Baptist Association. Someone requested that the association give its view on Sunday schools, tract, Bible, missionary, and Campbellism. The association argued that these were not of divine appointment antichristian and not of the kingdom of saints. Finally, in 1837, the Red River Baptist Association letter stated that we are not to give for the purpose of spreading the gospel, or having it more extensively circulated; because that belongs exclusively to God. That same year, the Red River Baptist Association numbered 13 churches and 425 members. By 1880, it had 7 churches and 118 members. On the other hand, the Bethel Baptist Association joined the Kentucky Baptist Convention. In 1834, they resolved to recommend to the churches, the encouraging of Sunday Schools within the bounds of their respective congregations. 24 Reuben Ross was the moderator of the Bethel Baptist Association every year 7

from 1825 until 1850. He assisted with writing the circular letters in 1826 and 1836. The 1836 letter was a defense of unlimited atonement. The Bethel Baptist Association eventually became a mother association to other Kentucky Baptist Associations. John Taylor and his Thoughts on Missions John Taylor was a pioneer Baptist preacher in Kentucky and one of the founding members of the Red River Baptist Church and the Elkhorn Baptist Association. Additionally, he founded and aided many churches throughout his ministry. The life of John Taylor was curious to Benajah Harvey Carroll. Carroll, who identified him as one of the chief proponents of antimissionism, described his labors as almost apostolic. 25 Taylor was a famed proclaimer of the gospel a volunteer missionary an unpaid, unappointed evangel who took the gospel to people who seldom heard it, and who kept his eyes peeled for ideal sites for the beginning of new congregations. 26 Yet, on October 27, 1819, Taylor wrote an antimission pamphlet entitled Thoughts on Missions. Taylor was sixty-seven years old when he wrote Thoughts on Missions. He mentioned that he did not expect to see another year. Therefore, he wanted to write about some things that were troubling him. He was troubled by the evil that a number of messengers are members of the Legislature. 27 Even more, he was troubled by the evil of Missionary Boards, Conventions, Societies, and Theological Schools. Taylor noted that these give the appearance of having the innocence of a lamb. And yet, he wrote that they also had the appearance of great like the mystery of iniquity did in the days of Paul. What was the appearance of great? What was the mystery of iniquity? Taylor described Roman Catholic missions in Paraguay and mentions the Protestant missions that had occurred since Luther. He was 8

sickened at the romantic accounts of missionaries that insulted his understanding. Still, he was somewhat positive toward the Moravians who manifested the greatest sincerity of any other society and the English Baptist Mission to Calcutta. Taylor believed that most missionary systems were built on the desire to become great men rather than on the desire to serve. For Taylor, the desire to be great culminated in the Roman Catholic Church, who he viewed as the mystery of iniquity. Baptists who supported missions were following a path to Rome. He viewed the American Baptist Mission to that part of the world as preposterous. Taylor wrote that it would have never been thought of except for Luther Rice. He recounted his meeting with two young missionaries, who asked him what he had received from the people for preaching and found his answer to be a puny amount. Taylor reported that they made statements including, do you not know when the sponges are once opened they will always run? Taylor wrote that these young men were friendly and desired to be the friends of preachers in general. Yet, Taylor smelled what he called the New England Rat. 28 No love was lost between Taylor and the two American Missionary Baptist leaders Luther Rice and Adoniram Judson. Taylor told the story of Judson taking money from a poor soldier who barely supported his family. They took the money regardless of the family s wants. 29 In 1815, he heard Luther Rice preach at the Elkhorn Association meeting that year. Near the end of the sermon, Rice told the congregation that angels were hovering over the congregation, ready to depart to Heaven with good tidings. 30 Then he cried out, Stop, angels, till you have witnessed the generosity of this assembly. Next, twenty appointed men arose and collected money with their hats. Taylor despised incidents like that. He noted that both Rice and Judson were originally Presbyterian missionaries and questioned if they had really become Baptists, arguing that the use of much water was no evidence of their religious or political 9

principles being changed. Why, when these men became Baptists, did they not join the English Baptist Mission in Calcutta? Taylor answered that these two contemplated something much higher, and by which their names would be more aggrandized. They were on the verge of aristocracy, with an object to sap the foundation of Baptist republican government. 31 Taylor s differed with the missionary system over money, the centralization of authority, and his personal experiences with some of the Missionary Baptists. In Thoughts on Missions, he commented that the Missionaries have but little knowledge of the worth of property. 32 He recounted the trip James Welch made from St. Louis to Kentucky, who told a man of middling circumstances that he should give him fifty dollars, to help pay for my meeting house. Additionally, during the Elkhorn Baptist Association meeting, someone made the proposition to pay the clerk fifteen dollars. Taylor noted that this was three times the norm. However, Welch stood up and insisted that forty dollars was as small a sum as the clerk could do it for. Missionary Baptist leaders often came from other parts of the country and did not understand the local customs or culture. Many were young men who likely had a surplus of passion and a deficit of wisdom. It is understandable that some local people took offense at well-dressed individuals begging for money without understanding the work that earned it. Red River Baptists, Markets, and Slavery Missionary Baptist churches were larger than Primitive Baptist churches in the Red River Baptist Association. Between 1817 and 1820, the association grew significantly, from 1,095 to 1,864 members. The average membership of Missionary Baptist churches went from 55 in 1817, to 75 in 1820, and finally to 94 in 1825. On the other hand, the average membership of Primitive Baptist churches went from 39 in 1817, to 52 in 1820, and finally to 50 in 1825. After the 10

formation of the Bethel Baptist Association, Missionary Baptists continued to grow faster than Primitive Baptists. By 1833, the Bethel Baptist Association had 2,161 members compared to 652 members in the Red River Baptist Association. Missionary Baptist churches outgrew the Primitive Baptists primarily through new baptisms. The percentage of Missionary Baptist membership baptized the previous year was 32% in 1819, 18% in 1820, and 7% in 1825. The percentage of Primitive Baptist membership baptized the previous year was 16% in 1819, 8% in 1820, and 2% in 1825. In 1833, 30% of the Bethel Baptist Association s membership was baptized the previous year compared to only 14% for the Red River Baptist Association. Missionary and Primitive Baptists messengers had a similar number of free whites per household, but Missionary Baptist messengers owned significantly more slaves per household. The 1825 Missionary Baptist messengers had medians of eight free whites and five slaves per household in 1820 and six free whites and four slaves per household in 1830. The 1825 Primitive Baptist messengers had medians of nine free whites and one slave per household in 1820 and 1830. In 1833, Bethel Baptist Association messengers had medians of six free whites and four slaves per household, whereas Red River Baptist Association messengers had medians of eight free whites and zero slaves per household. The Elkhorn Baptist and Licking Baptist Associations One leading Primitive Baptist, Absalom Bainbridge, was an elder in the Elkhorn Baptist, Licking Baptist, and Red River Baptist associations. He preached the introductory sermon for the Elkhorn Baptist Association in 1806 and for the Licking Baptist Association in 1813, 1815, 11

and 1817. Reuben Ross stated that Bainbridge and other ministers from the Licking Baptist Association caused the troubles in the Red River Baptist Association. 33 On October 1, 1785, six churches formed the Elkhorn Baptist Association and adopted the Calvinistic London Baptist Confession of 1643. It was the oldest Baptist association west of the Allegheny Mountains. 34 A personal feud in 1809 led to the formation of the Licking Baptist Association in 1810. 35 A growing doctrinal division between Missionary Baptists in the Elkhorn Association and Primitive Baptists in the Licking Association aggravated the situation. There were attempts to reconcile the two associations. In 1826, messengers from the Licking, Elkhorn, Long Run, and Franklin churches met to bring about a union and correspondence between [the] Licking and Elkhorn Associations. 36 The Licking Baptist Association demanded that both associations keep the inviolate maintenance of the doctrine of Grace as revealed in the Bible, and set forth in the Philadelphia Baptist confession of Faith, with the distinct understanding that each association will protest against any and every departure therefrom. 37 The Elkhorn Baptist Association stated that they maintained the doctrine of Grace as revealed in the Bible and set forth in her constitution. 38 Both associations corresponded irregularly until 1836. 39 Missionary Baptist churches in the Elkhorn Baptist Association were larger than Primitive Baptist churches in the Licking Baptist Association. In 1817, Elkhorn Baptist churches averaged 52 members, and Licking Baptist churches averaged 42 members. The boom in membership in the late 1810s and early 1820s benefited the Missionary Baptists more than the Primitive Baptists. The average membership of Elkhorn Baptist churches went from 124 in 1820, to 132 in 1825, and finally to 154 in 1833. The average membership of Licking Baptist churches went from 43 in 1820 and 1825 to 45 in 1833. 12

Missionary Baptists in the Elkhorn Baptist Association had a higher baptism to membership ratio than Primitive Baptists in the Licking Baptist Association. However, the difference between the Elkhorn and Licking Baptist associations was smaller than the difference between Missionary and Primitive Baptists in the Red River Baptist Association. The percentage of Elkhorn Baptist Association membership baptized the previous year was 22% in 1817, 9% in 1819, 4% in 1820, 3% in 1825, and 6% in 1833. The percentage of Licking Baptist Association membership baptized the previous year was 3% in 1817, 5% in 1819, 3% in 1820, 6% in 1825, and 5% in 1833. Missionary and Primitive Baptists in the Elkhorn and Licking Baptist associations had a similar number of free whites per household, but Missionary Baptist messengers generally owned more slaves per household. The 1825 Elkhorn Baptist Association messengers had medians of seven free whites and ten slaves per household in 1830. The 1825 Licking Baptist Association messengers had medians of seven free whites and two slaves per household in 1830. However, the data for 1833 presents a discrepancy regarding Primitive Baptist slave owners. The 1833 Elkhorn Baptist Association messengers had medians of six free whites and eight slaves per household. The 1833 Licking Baptist Association messengers had medians of eight free whites and ten slaves per household. A possible explanation for this is that many of the 1833 Licking Baptist Association messengers were not in the 1830 U.S. Census. Conclusion Missionary Baptists embraced the emerging market economy. They were comfortable with specialization in both business and religion. The missionary system was basically the market applied to evangelism. Just as a plantation owner delegated tasks to his workers, mission 13

boards delegated tasks to missionaries. Just as commercial farming produced more food than subsistence farming, the missionary system produced more converts than subsistence evangelism. Growth was evidence of God s approval. On the other hand, Primitive Baptists rejected the market economy. They did not delegate their physical or spiritual labor to others. They had smaller farms and smaller churches. If God called a man to preach, he did not need a mission board. If God did not call a man to preach, a mission board would do him no good. They did not believe that God used mission boards to call preachers. Throughout the 19 th century, Primitive Baptists continued to decline in membership. Eventually, they rejected the idea that God used any means, including the gospel, to regenerate the lost. 1 H. Leon McBeth, The Baptist Heritage: Four Centuries of Baptist Witness (Nashville, TN: Broadman Press, 1987), 717-723. 2 Jarrett Burch, Adiel Sherwood: Baptist Antebellum Pioneer in Georgia (Macon, GA: Mercer University Press, 2003), 65. 3 Gaylord P. Albaugh, An Encyclopedia of Religion, ed. Vergilius Ferm (New York: Philosophical Library, 1945), 27-28; Donald G. Matthews, Religion in the Old South (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1977), 124-128. Matthews agreed with Albaugh that the division was the result of the Primitive Baptist s opposition to the centralization of authority. 4 Bertram Wyatt-Brown, The Antimission Movement in the Jacksonian South: A Study in Regional Folk Culture, Journal of Southern History 36, no. 4 (Nov. 1970): 502-507, 511. 5 6 Deborah Vansau McCauley, Appalachian Mountain Religion: A History (Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press, 1995), 1-45, 110, 233, 398; Wayne Flynt, Alabama Baptists: Southern Baptists in the Heart of Dixie (Tuscaloosa, AL: University of Alabama Press, 1998), 32-34. 7 James R. Mathis, The Making of the Primitive Baptists: A Cultural and Intellectual History of the Antimission Movement, 1800-1840 (New York: Routledge, 2004), 1-12, 121-125, 127-147. 8 9 John H. Spencer, A History of Kentucky Baptists (1885), 2:226; Albert W. Wardin, Jr., Tennessee Baptists: A Comprehensive History, 1779-1999 (Brentwood, TN: Executive Board of the Tennessee Baptist Convention), 31, 105. 10 James Ross, The Life and Times of Elder Reuben Ross (1882), 123. 11 Spencer, A History, 2:229. 12 Ross, Life and Times, 278-291. 13 14

14 Ross, Life and Times, 145; Minutes of the Red River Baptist Association, 1820. 15 Minutes of the Red River Baptist Association, 1820. 16 Spencer, A History, 2:228. 17 Ross, Life and Times, 306-309. 18 19 20 21 Minutes of the Red River Baptist Association, 1825. 22 Ross, Life and Times, 306-309. 23 Spencer, A History, 2:230-231. 24 Minutes of the Bethel Baptist Association, 1834. 25 Benajah Harvey Carroll, The Genesis of American Anti-Missionism (Louisville, KY: Baptist Book Concern, 1902), 104-107. 26 Chester Raymond Young, Introduction, in Baptists on the American Frontier, ed. Chester Raymond Young. 3 rd ed. (Macon, GA: Mercer University Press, 1995), 82. 27 John Taylor, Thoughts on Missions (1819), http://www.carthage.lib.il.us/community/churches/primbap/thoughts2.html (accessed March 27, 2013). 28 29 30 Young, Introduction, 51-52. 31 Taylor, Thoughts on Missions. 32 33 Spencer, A History, 2:24-25. 34 2:7. 35 1:17. 36 Minutes of the Licking Baptist Association, 1826. 37 38 39 Spencer, A History, 2:20. 15