USA > North Carolina > Sketches of North Carolina, historical and biographical : illustrative of the principles of a portion of her early settlers > Part 21
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Born in Scotland, of pious parents, who were well situated in point of religious privileges, he was early placed with a merchant to learn the duties of the counting-house. Providentially removed from the situation in which he was placed, he was induced to seek for better things in the Province of Virginia, a region to which many young Scotchmen turned their eyes with empty pockets, and hearts full of hope. Here he engaged with a merchant for a time, and felt in his absence from religious instructions and restraints the overcoming power of temptation, which for a time prevailed over his early instructions and pious resolutions. Leaving the counting- house, he commenced the employment of a teacher of children ; and while thus engaged his own reflections led him to painful and alarming convictions of sin. He describes his state of mind thus : " On the commission of sin, after I conceived the Almighty had partly forgot it, or his anger somewhat abated, I would go and con- fess it with many tears, and thus got ease-encompassing myself with sparks of my own kindling. But I was taught by a book I got about this time, that I must go farther yet, and enter into special covenant with God. Well, after this I felt pretty secure, till, by the kind providence of God, I was brought to a congregation of Pres- byterians, where I had good books and preaching pretty fre- quently." The effect of preaching, however, was not to human appearance of much effect, except to make him see the inconsistency of his course. After remaining a year in this congregation, he re- moved to another and opened his school. Of his exercises of mind and heart he thus writes : "Here, by what means I cannot tell, it being so gradual, I got such astonishing views of the method of salvation, and of the glorious Mediator; such sweetness in the duties of religion ; such a love to the ways of God ; such an entire
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resignation to and acquiescence in the divine will; such a sincere desire to see men religious, and endeavor to make those so with whom I conversed, that after all my base ingratitude, dreadful back- slidings, broken vows, frequent commission of sin, loss of fervor, and frequently lifeless duties since that time, I must, to the eternal praise of boundless free grace, esteem it a work of the Holy Spirit, and the finger of God."
Prayer became " his very breath," and he engaged in it as often as three or four times a day ; meditations on divine things filled his heart with joy. "I used, when alone, to speak out in meditation, and do esteem it an excellent medium to fix the heart on the work." He goes on to say about the continuance of his exercises : "Thus I went on my way rejoicing and serving God for the space of a year and a half; I was generally full of warmth, nor could I take the Bible or any religious book into my hand but I would find some- thing suited to the present state of my soul, and in my prosperity I thought I should never be moved."
He notices an error he fell into about this time,-judging others' experience too much by its agreement or disagreement with his own-his intercourse with men led him to judge more favorably of his fellow professors, " having learned not to make my own ex- perience a standard for others, nor confine the Almighty to one par- ticular way of bringing his children to himself."
His desire to bring men to Christ led him to frequent efforts in private to convince and persuade ; and from being thus engaged in private, he desired to be able to preach the everlasting gospel to all men. "I can boast of but little success in these endeavors, yet my feeble attempts produced in me an indescribable desire of declaring the same to all mankind to whom I had access ; and as I could not do this in a private station, I was powerfully influenced to apply to learning in order to be qualified to do it publicly."
In consequence of this desire he prepared to go to Pennsylvania to commence his studies, but was prevented by sickness ; and, eventually, in the year 1751, went to reside with the Rev. Samuel Davies in Hanover. With that eminent man he pursued his studies till his voyage to England in the service of Princeton College; and after his return, till the time of his licensure, which took place at Cub Creek, then in Lunenburg county, Sept. 29th, 1758. The cer- tificate signed by Samuel Davies, Moderator, and John Todd, Clerk, is preserved, though in a mutilated condition ; its wording is some- what different from the form now used, as for instance-" he having declared his assent to, and approbation of, the Westminster Con-
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fession of Faith and Directory, as they have been adopted by the Synod of New York, agreeably to the practice of the Church of Scotland," &c.
During his residence in Hanover, he was sustained in part by the kindness of friends, and in part by spending some hours each day in teaching, till the time of his marriage to a Miss Anderson, which event took place in 1755. From that time till his course of studies was completed he was sustained by teaching children, and by the resources of his wife, living, as he says in the last entry in the jour- nal, June 13th, 1757, in a " house 16 by 12 and an outside chimney, with an 8 feet shed-a little chimney to it." On the day of this last date the chimney of the shed was shattered by lightning, the rest of the house and the other chimney, which was much higher, together with the eleven persons in the house, himself, wife, and infant child, his wife's sister, six scholars and a negro boy,-all escaped unhurt.
In the absence of data from his own hand, the following extracts from the Records of Hanover Presbytery will afford information respecting this interesting man,-
" Hanover, 28th April, 1757. The Presbytery appointed Mr. Pattillo as piece of trial, to be delivered next June, a sermon on Acts xvi., 43, first part .- " To him give all the prophets witness :" and an Exegesis-" Num Pona Inferorum sit æterna." On the ap- pointed day these were considered and approved.
Cub Creek, Sept. 28th, 1757. Mr. Pattillo opened Presbytery with a Lecture on Daniel, 7th chapter, 19th to 27th verses : and a Sermon on the 27th verse of the same chapter. He was then ex- amined on Divinity, on his religious experience, " and on review of sundry trials he has passed through, they judge him qualified to preach the gospel; and having declared his assent to, and appro- bation of, the Westminster Confession of Faith and Catechism, and Directory, as they have been adopted by the Synod of New York, the Presbytery doth authorize him to preach as a candidate for the Ministry of the Gospel, and recommend him to the acceptance of the Churches; and they order Messrs. Davies and Todd to draw up a certificate according to the purport of this minute; and appoint ( Alexander Craighead) the Moderator to give him solemn instruc- tion and admonition with respect to the discharge of his office, which was done accordingly."
Providence, 26th April, 1758. Petitions for supplies were con- ' sidered. One from Hico-" formerly under the care of the Phila- delphia Synod-particularly for Mr. Pattillo." Calls came in for
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him also from Albemarle, Orange and Cumberland. The Presbytery agreed to give him till the next meeting to consider them.
Cumberland, 12th July, 1758. " Rev. Henry Pattillo and Wm. Richardson have been set apart to the work of the holy ministry, by fasting, prayer, and imposition of hands,"-a certificate ordered. At the same meeting he was appointed Stated Clerk.
Hanover, Sept. 27th, 1758. Mr. Pattillo accepted a call from Willis, Bird and Buck Island. With these congregations he re- mained about four years. At a meeting of Presbytery, Providence, Oct. 7, 1762, he was dismissed from this charge, the people " being unable to give him a sufficient support." In 1763, May 4th, at Tinkling Spring, he agreed to supply Cumberland, Harris Creek and Deep Creek. With these congregations he continued about two years. At a meeting of Presbytery, Hico, 2d October, 1765, a call for his services was presented from Hawfields, Eno and Little River. This call he accepted, and removed to the State of North Carolina, and there served the church about thirty-five years in Orange and Granville counties.
At a meeting of Presbytery, Buffalo, Rowan county, N. C., March 8th, 1770, Messrs. David Caldwell, Hugh M'Aden, Joseph Alexander and Henry Pattillo, and Hezekiah Balch and James Criswell, united in a petition to Synod to be set off as a Presbytery by the name of Orange,-" where two of our ministers reside," is given as the reason for the name. This year the counties of Guil- ford, Wake, Chatham and Surrey, were set off to counteract the in- fluence of the regulators.
Mr. Pattillo continued with the congregation of Hawfields, Eno and Little River, till the year 1774, when he removed.
In the year 1775 he was selected for one of the delegates for the county of Bute (now Warren and Franklin) to attend the first Pro- vincial Congress of North Carolina. Its sessions commenced August 20th, in Hillsborough. There were two other ministers in the Con- gress, Green Hill, a Methodist, from Bute, and William Hill, the father of the present Secretary of State of North Carolina, a Baptist from Surrey.
The last resolution on the first day was, " that the Rev. Henry Pattillo be requested to read prayers to the Congress every morning ; and the Rev. Charles Edward Taylor every evening during his stay."
On the 29th of that month Rev. Mr. Boyd presented to the Con- gress 200 copies of the Pastoral letter of the Synod of Philadelphia on the subject of the war. They were distributed among the mem-
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bers, and a sum of money appropriated to the use of Mr. Boyd, by an order on the treasurers, from the public funds. Dr. Witherspoon of New Jersey was Chairman of the Committee that prepared the letter, which was unexceptionable in its principles, except in one point, in which it is behind the movements in Mecklenburg,-it speaks of reconciliation with the mother country as possible, but as a consequent of a vehement struggle. It however exactly suited the prevailing feeling in the Provincial Congress of Carolina, the majority of whose members were not prepared to declare Independ- ence at that time, as appears from their proceedings on Monday, September 4th, on the subject of the Confederation of the United Colonies.
" The Congress, resolved into a committee of the whole, have ac- cordingly and unanimously chosen the Rev. Mr. Pattillo, chairman ; and after some time spent therein came a resolution thereon."
" On motion, Mr. President resumed the chair, and Mr. Chairman reported as follows, to wit:"
" That the Committee have taken into consideration the plan of General Confederation between the United Colonies, and are of opinion that the same is not at present eligible. And it is also the opinion of the Committee that the Delegates for this province ought to be instructed not to consent to any plan of Confederation which may be offered in an ensuing Congress, until the same shall be laid before, and approved by, the Provincial Congress.
" That the present association ought to be further relied on for bringing about a reconciliation with the parent state, and a further confederacy ought only to be adopted in case of the last necessity.
" Then on motion resolved,-The Congress do approve of the above resolutions."
At their meeting next spring in Halifax, 1776, the Congress took the ground of Independence some two months before the action of the Continental Congress, as related in the chapter on the Declara- tion of Independence.
It will be borne in mind that Mr. Pattillo lived in the midst of the Regulators ; that some of their largest assemblages were in the bounds of his large field of labor. And while there was more igno- rance, than he wished to see, among his charge, could they be an ignorant uninformed people ?
In the year 1780, Mr. Pattillo became the pastor of Nutbush and Grassy Creek, in Granville county, and gave to them his last labors, ripened by age and experience. These two congregations were composed at first of emigrants from Hanover, New Kent, and King
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and Queen, in Virginia, converts under the preaching of Rev. Samuel Davies and his coadjutors. Howel Lewis, Daniel Grant, and Samuel Smith, were the leading persons in Grassy Creek. Mr. Lindsey, Mr. Simms and Mrs. Gilliam, the leading ones in Nut- bush.
It is the tradition that the first sacramental occasion held by Pres- byterians in Granville was in 1763, by William Tennant, Jun. By order of the Synod of New York and Philadelphia the Presbytery of New Brunswick ordained him for a southern mission in 1762. His reasons for not going that year were sustained. He made a visit the next year, 1763, in obedience to the direction of Synod- " to go and supply in the bounds, and under the direction of Hano- ver Presbytery six months at least." The place in which the ordi- nance was administered was an unoccupied house belonging to Howel Lewis, about one mile and a half from where Grassy Creek Church now stands. The congregations were, it is said, regularly organized by Mr. James Criswell, who was licensed by Hanover Presbytery in 1765, and supplied these congregations for some years. Mr. Pattillo was his successor.
Mr. Tennant is represented as being of a cheerful disposition. Finding Mr. Lewis in a state of mental depression to which he was subject, and desponding on the subject of religion, he made no di- rect effort to dispel the gloom, but entered into cheerful conversa- tion on the subject of salvation. Hearing Mr. Lewis order the ser- vant to take Mr. Tennant's horse and give him some sorry fodder (that is corn blades)-" you give my horse sorry fodder," exclaimed Mr. Tennant, as if he took the word sorry in its usual signification, " a pretty fellow indeed !" The suddenness of the retort changed the whole course of feeling in Mr. Lewis : he burst into a hearty laugh, and his depression was gone ; and in his attendance on the ministrations of the gospel from Mr. Tennant, received great com- fort and advantage.
Like Mr. Tennant, Mr. Pattillo was a cheerful man, but far re- moved from all levity. He says he had a touch of melancholy in his constitution. His circumstances were always narrow, and his generous feelings and numerous family prevented much increase of his worldly possessions. His numerous calls as a faithful and popu- lar preacher, added to his vocation as a classical teacher, hindered his pursuit of knowledge, of which he had an unquenchable thirst. His health frequently became very delicate under his continued and exhausting services ; and in 1782 under the influence of ill health, he made a will which is yet preserved, from which we extract the
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following : " I adore the blessed Providence that more especially watched over me and wonderfully governed my steps; that at the commencement of my manhood rescued me from the ways of sin and the paths of the destroyer ; that made it good for me to bear the yoke in my youth ; that after many discouraging disappoint- ments which I afterwards found were merciful interpositions of di- vine goodness, my way was opened to an education, and I was carried through it, though poverty and a melancholy constitution darkened my prospects, and threatened to stop me at every turn. The same divine goodness and free mercy that had thus far indulged my ardent wish and daily prayer, that I might be qualified both by heaven's grace and human learning to preach the everlasting gos- pel, was graciously pleased to call me thereto, and set me apart by the laying on of the hands of the Presbytery. Having, therefore, obtained help of God, I continue to this day, having nothing to complain of my adorable Master, for goodness and mercy have followed me all my life long; but have to accuse myself that in ten thousand instances I have come short of the glory of God, and have been a very unprofitable servant, in not promoting to the utmost my own salvation and that of others. And a great aggra- vation of this guilt is, that wherever I have preached the gospel God has honored me with such a share of popularity and the favor of mankind, as have opened a door for much more usefulness than I have had zeal and diligence to improve. Look, gracious God, on a creature all over guilt and imperfection, through the all-perfect righteousness, wondrous sufferings and glorious resurrection of my Lord Jesus Christ, on whom I cast myself for time and eternity.
" As to my mortal part, let it return, when He that built it pleaseth, to the dust from whence it was taken, and in the next burying-place to which I may die. I commit it to him who perfumed the grave for his people's calm repose; who acknowledges his relation to them even in the dust, and I am sure will new create it by his power divine."
. By a short will which he made Dec. 19th, 1800, not long before his death, it appears that in 1784, the " united Presbyterian con- gregations of Grassy Creek and Nutbush, by their ruling elders, purchased of Mr. Thomas Williamson and others, a tract of three hundred acres of land, on Spicemarrow Creek, whereon I now live; and as the said elders commissioned and empowered the late Colo- nel Samuel Smith as their agent to make a deed in fee simple for the said land, to the said Henry Pattillo, which deed was proved and admitted to record by the court of Granville county, at their May
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term, 1784, on the express condition of my continuing till death or disability, the minister of said congregation." This condition was fulfilled, and a small patrimony was thus secured to the family of a laborious and successful minister of the gospel, who had neither disposition nor opportunity to accumulate wealth.
Mr. Pattillo pursued and finished his classical and theological course with Mr. Davies in Hanover. Mr. Davies contemplated his spending some time in college. From the short journal of Mr. Pattillo, we learn the cause why he never followed out the design of his much loved instructor. At the time he drew up his short ac- count of his experience, August 10th, 1754, while Mr. Davies was absent on a voyage to England, he says-" I have thus been sup- ported by the mere bounty of others, which, to the praise of God be it spoken, has always been sufficient, though on the receipt of one supply, my faith has been frequently baffled to see where the next should come from. My discouragements are chiefly these. The difficulties of learning ; the loss of at least one-third of my time, and Mr. Davies's voyage to Europe, which has left me without a teacher this year past ; together with the weakness of my faith in God's providence respecting my support." Mr. John Blair was then on a visit to Mr. Davies's congregation, as a temporary supply in his absence. Of him Mr. Pattillo makes this short remark-" what a burning light he is!" In the few leaves of the journal left, which gives here and there a notice up to June 18th, 1757, which day the remarkable thunder shower took place, as mentioned above ; he dwells mostly on his own Christian experience. He makes no par- ticular mention of Mr. Davies's presence, or family, or preaching ; mentions Mr. Todd's meeting, but says nothing of him-neither names the persons with whom he was pursuing his studies in com- pany.
On Monday, May 30th, 1755, he makes the following entry : " Agreeable to a plan agreed on among us who are studying with a view to the ministry, this day is set apart for fasting and prayer. Though my wants be so numerous that I could not name them in a whole day-the principal blessings I am this day in pursuit of are- 1st, Quickening and vivacity in religion ; 2d, That I may pursue my studies assiduously, and that the great end of them may be the glory of God, and the salvation of men; 3d, That religion may revive where it is professed, and spread where not yet known."
Some time in the summer of 1755, he entered the married state. He had written to Mr. Davies on the subject, and received an an- swer stating objections to the prudence of the step at that time.
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The leaves of the journal on which the date of these events, and the principal objections of Davies were recorded, are lost. The opinion of his instructor overcame him, and he determined to aban- don the project, till he came to consider the situation of the young lady he had addressed, and whose affection he had won ; upon re- flection he determined to proceed in the business, and consummate the marriage ; believing it would not involve him in pecuniary dif- ficulty ; that it would not hinder his further study ; and lastly, " That Mr. Davies was so well known in the learned world that a person finished by his hand, would not come under contempt any more than many shining lights now in the Church, who were edu- cated before the college was erected."
That he pursued his studies with success after he was ordained to the full work of the gospel ministry and held a high rank as a classical teacher, is inferred from the fact that the college of Hamp- den Sydney, Prince Edward county, Virginia, in the year 1787, April 25th, while under the presidency of John B. Smith, conferred upon him the Degree of Master of Arts. The parchment is still preserved, and bears, in their own handwriting, the signatures of the President,-and John Nash, Arch'd McRoberts, James Allen, F. Watkins, Thomas Scott, Richard Foster, Richard Sankey, and Charles Allen, Curators.
In the year 1787, Mr. Pattillo issued from the press in Wilming- ton, a volume containing three sermons, viz., on Divisions among Christians, on the Necessity of Regeneration, and the Scripture Doctrine of Election. To these, were added an Address to the Deists, and an extract of a letter from Mr. Whitefield to Mr. Wesley. He appears to have been fond of the use of his pen, as far as his few hours of leisure would permit. A few manuscripts remain : some Essays on Baptism ; on Universalism ; a Cate- chism of Doctrine for Youth ; and a Catechism or Compend in Question and Answer, for the use of Adults. He also prepared a Geography for Youth, by way of Question and Answer, which must have been superior to any printed volume then in use. He also published a sermon on the death of General Washington. For about twelve years he taught a classical school in Granville ; part of the time on the place now occupied by M. J. Hunt, and part of the time at Williamsburgh.
He continued to serve the congregation of Nutbush and Grassy Creek, till his death in 1801, having nearly completed his seventy- fifth year. He finished his course at a distance from home, in Dinwiddie county, Virginia, whither he had gone as a minister of
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the gospel. The Rev. Drury Lacy, in the sermon he preached on the occasion of his death, says-" I was assured by the gentleman, at whose house he finished his course, that he exhibited the greatest example of resignation and tranquillity of mind he had ever seen."
The text chosen by Mr. Lacy was Romans xiv., 7 and 8; " For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself. For whether we live, we live unto the Lord ; or whether we die, we die unto the Lord ; whether we live, therefore, or die, we are the Lord's." In giving the character of Mr. Pattillo, he says-" Pos- sessed of an originality of genius, and endowed by nature with powers of mind superior to the common lot of men, he cheerfully determined to consecrate them all to the service of the Saviour in the gospel ministry. That the Scriptures were his delight, and that he meditated on them day and night, so as to become well- versed in their doctrines and precepts, all who had the pleasure of his acquaintance, all who ever heard him preach, and all who have read his printed works, cannot be ignorant. That he devoted his time and talents to the service of God, his works of faith and labors of love among you, and, as far as he had an opportunity, of travelling to preach, abundantly testify. His zeal was so far from being diminished by age, that it evidently appeared to increase ; as if the near prospect of obtaining the crown animated him to greater exertions to be found worthy of it. My hearers ! can you have forgotten the ardor and pertinacity of his prayers, the weight of his arguments, the fervor of his exhortations, and the persuasive- ness of his counsels ? Did he not visit your bedside when you were sick, and there communicate heavenly instructions to revive your fainting spirits, and pour forth the fervent prayer to God that your affliction might be sanctified ? And in the social intercourse of friendship, you must remember how readily he improved every occurrence to communicate useful and religious knowledge. That his life was a pattern of resignation and thankfulness, has been remarked even by those who had but a slight acquaint- ance with him. Always cheerful, he seemed more disposed to bless the hand of providence for the favors he enjoyed, than to think hardly of any afflictive dispensation he suffered. When was the tenor of his soul so lost and discomposed as to unfit him for the discharge of the sacred duties of his office ?"
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