USA > South Carolina > History of the Presbyterian Church in South Carolina, Vol. II pt 1 > Part 22
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217
WHITE BLUFF.
1810-1820.]
pastor and people. Before the sessions of November, 1819, his ministry on earth was terminated. "Since our last ses- sions, departed this life, in the lively hope of a glorious im- mortality, our beloved brother the Rev. Ebenezer B. Caldwell pastor of the Church of Waynesboro." [Minutes of the Pres- bytery of Harmony, Vol. I, p. 323.]
THE CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH, OF WHITE BLUFF, in Chatham County, Georgia, made application to the Congre- gational Association of South Carolina on the 8th of May, 1810, for the ordination of, Mr. Lycan D. Parks, a licentiate of the Presbytery of Concord, whom they had called to be their pastor. The application was signed by David Johnson, Daniel Keefer, Geo. Nungizer, Geo. Poullen, N. Adams, and E. Floyd. Mr. Parks produced a dismission from the Pres- bytery of Concord, was examined as to his own religious experience, read a confession of his faith, and the Association having received competent satisfaction, complied with the re - quest of the congregation of White Bluff, and resolved that his ordination take place on the following Sabbath, at the Church in Archdale street ; that Dr. Hollingshead preach the sermon, Mr. Price offer up the ordination prayer, and Mr. Floyd deliver the charge. This was accordingly done, Mr. Parks was furnished with a certificate of his ordination, and a letter was addressed to the congregation of White Bluff signed by the Moderator and Scribe. [MSS. Minutes of the Association, pp. 54, 57.
Notwithstanding the existence of a Congregational Associ- tion in Charleston, the churches of that order or their candi- dates for the ministry seem to have sought licensure and ordination from Presbytery. Nor did the Presbytery of Har- mony decline upon such occasions to meet for the transaction of business in their congregations. This was the case with the church and congregation of White Bluff which had so lately applied to the Congregational Association. On the 2Ist of December, 1811, at a meeting of the Presbytery of Harmony, during its fourth session, held in Savannah from 20th to the 30th of that month, Thomas Goulding, of Sunbury, was received under its care as a candidate for the ministry. He was licensed at the eighth session of that Preshytery, at Augusta, on Sabbath, the 31st of October, 1813. At the 12th stated sessions at Columbia he received through the Presbytery a call to the church at White Bluff and at an in-
218
MIDWAY, LIBERTY COUNTY. [1810-1820.
termediate session held at the latter place he was ordained and installed over that congregation in the form provided in the form of government of the Presbyterian Church. John R. Thompson, D. D., preached a sermon from 2 Tim., 24, 25, Rev. William McWhir presiding, and delivering the charge to the minister and people. This ordination and instal- lation took place on the 27th of January, 1816. Here he labored faithfully, acceptably and successfully through the remainder of this decade. (Minutes of Presbytery of Har- mony.)
CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH AT MIDWAY, IN LIBERTY COUNTY, GEORGIA .- The Rev. Cyrus Gildersleeve was still pastor of this church at the commencement of this decade. In 1811 he re- linquished his pastorate in Georgia and was soon after settled over the church in Bloomfield, New Jersey. He died in Elizabethtown, in 1838, aged about 69 years.
The Rev. Murdoch Murphy who had been received by Harmony Presbytery from the Presbytery of Orange, Decem- ber 27, 1811, at its sessions in Savannah, succeeded Mr. Gildersleeve.
Soon after Mr. Murphy had settled at Midway the inhabit- ants were called upon to arm themselves in defence of their country's rights, in the war familiarly known as the war of 1812. In Septembr, 1814, the descendants of the heroic men of the American Revolution formed a committee of safety, and commenced the building of "Fort Defence" and pro- tected the country from the predatory detachments of Admi- ral Cockburn, whose main occupation was to plunder the merchant of his merchandize and the planter of the products of the soil. [The Congregational Church of Midway, Ga., by John B. Mallard, A. M., Savannah, 1840.]
At the intermediate Presbytery at White Bluff, Mr. Robert Quarterman, a Deacon of the Midway Church, was taken under the care of Presbytery as a candidate for the ministry. He was licensed on the 7th of November, 1819, during the twentieth regular session held at Columbia.
We now turn our attention to those churches which are more strictly Presbyterian. And we again mention as the oldest of them all, the FRENCH PROTESTANT CHURCH OF THE CITY OF CHARLESTON. It seems to have remained for seven years without a pastor. " In 1816 the Rev. Robert Henry, a native of Charleston, who had spent some years in
219
1810-1820.] FRENCH CHURCH, CHARLESTON.
Europe pursuing his studies, who had acquired meanwhile a knowledge of several European languages and was highly educated in the several departments of learned study, return- ed to his native city, and through him the attempt was made to conduct the worship of the congregation alternately in French and English according to one authority* ; according to another, he preached in French once a month. (Duyck- inck's Cyclopedia of American Literature.) The services in English were conducted by means of a Liturgy for the Lord's Day made by Mr. Henry. In December, 1818, Mr. Henry was elected Professor of Moral Philosophy and Logic in South Carolina College at Columbia, and resigned his position in the Church of Charleston. A small congregation had been formed, but the experiment of service in French and English was not satisfactory. It made parties in the Church, and a few French gentlemen who were members of the Cor- poration induced that body to make another effort to revive the former French services, when the Rev. Mr. Courlat was elected to the Church." This took place in 1819. (From the MS. of Mr. Daniel Ravenel, to whom we have been in- detted greatly in the historic outline of this ancient church of the City of Charleston in our preceding pages.) Mr. (afterwards Dr.) Henry's ecclesiastical conviction was with the Old Scotch Presbytery of Charleston : "Robert Henry, Minister of the French Calvinist Church in Charleston, S. C.," begins his baptismal register, August 13th, 1815, in English: The last entry is, March 25th, 1818.
FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN THE CITY OF CHARLESTON. The Rev. Dr. John Buchan, was pastor of this Church at the beginning of this decade as the successor of Dr. Buist. How long he continued in this relation is not known to the present writer. The minutes of Harmony Presbytery show that on the 8th of April, 1813, at their sessions in Camden, a call from this church for the ministerial labors of the Rev. Aaron W. Leland was presented and read, accompanied with a letter from Mr. (afterwards Dr.) Leland accepting this call. Mr. Leland had been licensed on the 5th of April, 1811, had been ordained as an evangelist on the 3rd of May, 1812, and was installed on the 18th of April, 1813. in the First Presby- terian Church, Dr. Flinn preaching the sermon, and Dr. Montgomery presiding and giving the charge.
*Southern Quarterly Review for April, 1856, p. 189.
=
220
FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, CHARLESTON. [1810-1820.
Dr. Buchan attempted to apply Scotch rules in the admin- istration of church government, "and the Scotchmen of America could not stand it," and, to use the expression of our informer, "blew him up." There was a secession from the Scotch Church (the First Presbyterian), which built a new church for him in 1814, at northwest corner of Archdale and West Streets, and was known as THE ST. ANDREW'S PRESBYTE- RIAN CHURCH OF CHARLESTION. Dr. Buchan's mind became de- ranged, and he returned, at length, to Scotland. The con- gregation, without a pastor, discouraged, and burdened with debt, disposed of their premises on the condition that the church should be held sacred as a place of public Christian worship, and the ground attached thereto be continued as a cemetery. The First Presbyterian Church had erected a new edifice in 1814. during the pastorate of Dr. Leland, on the southwest corner of Meeting and Tradd Streets. A poor, wooden building had served the purposes of the congregation hitherto. The dimensions of the church were 120 feet long by 70 feet wide. The order, externally, is Roman Doric. The front exhibits a recessed portico, flanked by two towers surmounted by cupolas. The building is of brick covered with stucco.
The following information, derived from a sermon preached by Dr. Leland at the dedication of the present house of wor- ship on December 29th, 1814, may be of value to our readers : " At the close of the 17th century, soon after the first settlement of this city, a religious society was formed, chiefly by persons from Scotland and New England, who erected a place of religious worship, then called the Presby- terian Meeting. For more than thirty years they continued united, obtaining their ministers from the Presbyterian estab- lishments in Europe. At length. there appeared a disunion of sentiment upon the subject of ecclesiastical government ; the Europeans being zealously attached to the forms and discipline of the Church of Scotland, while the majority pre- ferred the Congregational or Independent system. This difference of opinion terminated in an amicable separation. This took place in 1832, when the Presbyterians, consisting of about twelve families, formed another society, purchased the ground adjoining this church, and erected a small con- venient place of worship. They guarded against the evils they had experienced, for in the titles to the land, it is ex-
221
FIRST PRESBYTERIAN.
1810-1820.]
pressly stipulated that it is for the use of a Presbyterian Church, according to the forms and discipline of the Church of Scotland, having ministers ordained in the Presbyterian form, believing in the Westminster Confession of Faith, and to be converted to no other purpose forever. The names of these patriarchs of our congregation were James Abercrombie, John Allen, Daniel .Crawford, John Bee, John Fraser, George Duraff, and James Paine. Their first minister was the Rev. Hugh Stewart, from Scotland. His place was supplied by the Rev. Messrs. Grant, Kennedy, Lorimer, and Morrison, who successively filled the pastoral office until the year 1763, At that time the Congregation had so increased that a con- siderable addition was made to the church to render it more capacious. The trustees then were George Marshall, William Woodrup, George Inglis, Dr. John Murray, William Simp- son, George Murray, Alexander Rantowl, and James Grind- lay. The Church chose for their pastor, the Rev. Dr. Hewat, of Edinburgh, who continued with them until 1775, when, on account of the Revolutionary war, he returned to England, and afterwards settled in London. At the time the church was dispersed by war, the trustees and leading members were Messrs. Robert Phelps, Robert Brisbane, William Glen, Robert Wilson, William Ancrum, Robert Rowand, Andrew Marr, Alexander Chisolm, William Wilson and James John- ston ; when 1,455 pounds currency was the sum annually subscribed for the support of the minister. In 1784 the Church was reorganized, at which time Dr. Robert Wilson, Messrs. David Lamb, James Gregorie, John Mitchell, and James O'Hear were elders. The Rev. James Graham offici- ated as minister until 1788, when Rev. Mr. James Wilson, a clergyman of the Church of Scotland, then residing in New York, was called to the pastoral office, which he held for four years, when ill health caused him to resign. The corpora- tion then addressed a letter to Rev. Drs. Robinson and Blair, requesting them to choose and send them a clergyman, when the church had the distinguished felicity to obtain the Rev. Dr. Buist. He arrived in Charleston in June, 1793, and was installed in November following. The congregation flourished under his ministry. Near the close of his life, it was deter- mined to erect a new church, and considerable progress made in providing funds, when the church was called to mourning by the sudden removal of their pastor. The important va-
222
SECOND PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
[1810-1820.
cancy was filled by Rev. Dr. Buchan, from Edinburg, who was succeeded, in 1812, by the present pastor," i. e., " Rev. Aaron W. Leland, D. D. Under him the present edifice was completed, and at that time, as I gather from a tablet in the church, the following gentlemen were elders : Robert Wil- son, Robert Rowland, Thomas Ogier, David Haig, James Blair, David Lamb, Samuel Wilson, George Macaulay and John Champney. Dr. Leland was followed by a Mr. Reed.
The only thing which enables me to approximate the num- ber of communicants, is the number of " tokens " used upon communion occasions. There were two hundred of pure silver; and five hundred of alloy, and all were generally given out. The congregation must have been large. These tokens were used until the beginning of the war, when they were captured or destroyed with the Federal occupation of Colum- bia, where with the church records they had been sent for safety. They were circular, in size slightly larger than a quarter, and upon on side had the figure of a burning bush, inscribed by the motto " Nec tamen consumebatur ;" on the other the representation of a communion table with the cup and bread, under which were the words, "Presbyterian Church of Charleston, S. C., 1800," and around it. "This do in remem- . brance of me." It may be of interest to know that for years this Church had its own hearse. . The tablets within, and the tomb-stones around it, bear some of the most honored names connected with the history of this city.
With grateful remembrances, I am sincerely yours.
W. T. THOMPSON.
THE SECOND PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH AND CONGREGATION IN THE CITY OF CHARLESTON proceeded to carry into execution their purpose to erect a house of worship of ample dimen- sions and an ornament to their city. But previous to this, an organization in due form was effected.
" At a meeting in January 25, 1810, a subscription paper was presented for the signatures of those who wished to be- come members of the Second Presbyterian Church, to be governed by prescribed rules and by-laws, when the following persons signed their names, viz : Benjamin Boyd, Stephen Thomas, Robert Fleming, Richard M'Millan, Caleb Gray, Richard Cunningham, James Adger, John Porter, William H. Gilliland, Alexander Gray, John Blackwood, John Cun-
223
1810-1820.] SECOND PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
ningham, Alexander Henry, John M'Dowell, William Wal- ton, Samuel Robertson, John Walton, Thomas Fleming, John Robinson, James Beggs, George Robertson, J. C. Martindale, John Brownlee, William Scott, John Johnson, Charles Robiou, William Aiken, George Keenan, Archibald Grahame, James Carr, Lewis A. Pitray, James Leman, John Noble, David Bell, James Evans, John Ellison, B. Casey, William M'Elmoyle, John Davis, William Pressly, Thomas Johnson, George Miller, James Blocker, Robert Belshaw, Samuel Corrie, Samuel H. Pratt, James Pennal, Thomas A. Vardell, John Steele, Nathaniel Slawson, John C. Beile, William Por- ter, Samuel Patterson, Samuel Browne, John M. Fraser, Thomas Milliken, John Smyth, John Mushet, John Crow, John Geddes, Peter Kennedy. James Wall, Charles Martin, Alexander Howard, William Thompson, John Dunn, William Smith, William L. Shaw. Edward Carew, C. B. Duhadway, Samuel Pilsbury, William Scott, R. Gailbraith, Richard Fair, Edward M'Grath, James Cooper, William Simms. It was dedicated to the worship of Almighty God, by a sermon from the Rev. Dr. Flinn, on Wednesday, April 3d. 1811 ; and con- nected with the Ecclesiastical Judicatories of the Presbyterian Church. This was the first session ever held in Charleston, by a Presbytery, connected with the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, in these United States :* The Charleston Union Presbytery also held its first session in this church, April 10th, 1823. Thus was consecrated to the service of religion, that edifice in which we and our fathers have so delightfully and profitably waited upon the ordinances of the sanctuary. The sermon preached on that occasion is still extant, though rarely to be met with ; but few who were present on the interesting occasion survive to tell its tale.
Although great munificence was exercised by the founders of this church, its cost far exceeded both their expectations and their means. By the account of the Treasurer presented up to April, 1812, it appears that the sum of fifty-five thou- sand five hundred and forty-eight dollars had been expended, and that a large amount would be still necessary to carry out the plans and pay the incurred debt. To meet this, a heavy assessment was laid upon the pews of the church, in March, 18II ; and another, to three times its amount, in December,
*The first session of Harmony Presbytery was held in the First Pres- byterian Church, March 7th, 1810.
224
REV. DR. FLINN.
[1810-1820.
1815. Notwithstanding these efforts, in June, 1816, it ap- peared that the sum of thirty-one thousand one hundred and fifty-six dollars twenty-five cents was still due, when it was resolved to sell all the pews on which the assessment had been paid."
" The first pastor of this church was the Rev. Andrew Flinn, D. D. He was called in February, 1809; installed April 4th, ISII. Dr. Flinn was born in the State of Mary- land, in the year 1773, of honest and pious, but humble parentage. When he was about a year old, the family mi- grated to Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, where his father died in 1785. For his early education, as well as moral training, he was indebted to a mother, characterized by sin- cere and ardent piety. Through the kind assistance of some friends, the buddings of his genius were encouraged by the fostering spirit of a liberal education. He entered the Uni- versity of North Carolina, where he was graduated with con- siderable distinction in the year 1798. He engaged in the study of theology, under the care of the Presbytery of Orange, and was licensed to preach the gospel in 1800. He soon gave proofs of that eloquence, piety and success with which he afterwards labored in the ministry. His first pastoral con- nection was with the church in Fayetteville, North Carolina, where he remained a few years ; afterwards he removed to Camden, and from thence to the united congregations of Bethel and Indiantown, in Williamsburg, South Carolina. From this place he was called to Charleston in 1809, where he organized this church, dedicated this house of worship, and built up this congregation. In 1811 he was honored with the degree of D. D. by the University of North Carolina. In IS12 he was a delegate to the General Assembly, preached the opening sermon, and was elected Moderator. In 1813 he again preached the sermon at the opening of the Assembly from the words, ' Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life' On February 24th, 1820, in the forty- eighth year of his age, after a long and painful illness, Dr. Flinn was removed from the scene of his earthly labors. During the whole of his sickness, he was eminently sup- ported by those truths he had long, faithfully and ably preached to others. His last moments were employed in taking a solemn and affectionate farewell of his mourning family, and his surrounding friends, in which he exhibited
225
REV. DR. FLINN.
1810-1820.]
that serenity of mind, and that deep impression of soul, which belong to those who die in the Lord. He then, with great composure, raised up his hands and eyes to heaven, and said, 'Jesus into thy hands I commend my spirit.' Being charac- teristically an extemporaneous speaker, using but partial notes, Dr. Flinn has left behind him no other publications than a few sermons, which were published during his life."
The elders who served during Dr. Flinn's pastorate were : Benjamin Boyd, ordained March 4, 1810 ; died January, 1811. John Cunningham, ordained March 4, 1810 ; died November, 1815. William Pressly, ordained February, 1812; died 1820. Henry Bennet, ordained July 9, 1812 ; died 1820.
PRESIDENTS OF THE CONGREGATION .- Benjamin Boyd, elect- ed 1809. Samuel Robertson, elected 1810. Stephen Thomas, elected 1813. Wiliam Smith, elected 1815. Samuel Patter- son, elected 1818. Thomas Fleming, elected 1819.
The reports made to Presbytery for the year ending April, 1812, show that the additions to the membership for that year had been 77, making the total of communicants 91. The additions of next year were reported to be 30 ; the total mem- bership, 116. The additions, April 14, 1814, 9; the total, 120. The additions reported for the year 1815 were 57; the total number of members, 176. The reports in the following years are not given in the Presbyterial records, but these show a state of great prosperity in this (at that time) infant church.
The city of Charleston included at the close of this decade some 24 or 25,000 souls. A census was taken in the sum- mer of 1820, and gave 24,780 as the population of the city. It was taken however, in the summer at which time from 1,500 to 2,000 of the inhabitants were usually absent, princi- pally at the North. Including the suburbs the whole popu- lation was 37,471. Of this the half or more were of the Afri- can race. Among the whites there was more than usual re- finement, intelligence and wealth.
Among the Churches which are represented in this history while there was a general accordance with the Westminster Confession of Faith and Catechisms as to doctrine, in church government there was less, some constructing their church discipline according to the Presbyterian and some according to the Congregational order, and both perhaps mingling the elements of the one discipline somewhat with the other. And perhaps there was wanting sometimes that fraternal spirit
15
226
ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION.
[1810-1820.
which can deal temperately with differences of practice in that wide and comprehensive work in which the ministers and elders in the church are called on to be employed.
The question of territorial jurisdiction was revived again as has been mentioned in our preceding pages. And the Rev. Dr. Henry Kollock and the Rev. John Brown were appointed a committee to draught a letter to the Rev. Mr. McLeod on this subject and forward it to him or lay it before Presbytery at their next meeting. This letter was reported to the Presbytery at its meeting in Charleston in April, 1811, ap- proved and ordered to be signed by the Moderator and sent to Mr. McLeod.
A very intemperate pamphlet from the pen of Rev. Raphael Bell a member of the Presbytery of Charleston, which reflects little credit upon himself, and we may hope, did not faithfully represent the temper of his brethren, appeared from the Charleston Press and was reprinted in 1817. In this an at- tempt of the Charleston Presbytery to form a union with the General Assembly about seventeen years before is referred to, and it is said, "when the Presbytery asked their Congrega- tions' permission to do so, 'they opposed and absolutely re- fused their assent to this measure ;' alleging as their reason, 'that they could not dispense with divine service for nearly three months in the year, while their ministers were gossip- ing over the country, attending Synods and General Assem- blies, which in no way whatever, promoted their spiritual im- provement.'
"Nolumus leges mutare hactenus usitatas atque probatas. 'We will not change our ancient and venerable customs, said they, we wish our Presbytery to continue (as it has always existed from the first settlement of this State, and which has been found, by long experience, the only test of ability, fully to answer all the purposes of religious instruction) an indepen- dent one-independent of Synods and General Assemblies, which were only intended to retain ministers in their Churches contrary to the wishes and intentions of the people. One court was fully sufficient to try the disputes that might un- fortunately arise between them and their ministers." The people then, are to be blamed, and not the Presbytery, if it has not yet connected itself with the General Assembly. We have waited with patience for some overtures; but we have waited in vain. It is not true that we were ever invited to
227
RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES EFFORTS.
1810-1820.]
join the Harmony Presbytery. We have had no communi- cation's ;- we expected some written propositions, but none have ever been received; the resolve of the General Assembly requires that we should effect a compromise." We know of no subject of difference or controversy that requires to be com- promised. The supposed subjects of difference or controversy are directed in the event of a failure to be submitted to the Synod of the Carolinas. It could hardly be expected that a corporate independent body, having a status atque nomen juris would submit its rights and property to the decision of a body having no legal existence or competent jurisdiction, who are suspected to be our enemies, and who are publicly noted for an instance of persecution and op pression that has no parallel in the records of our State.". The pamphlet is otherwise full of bitterness, ascribing the secession in the Independent Church, in the case of Mr. Forster to "the same ecclesiastical junto." The pamphlet abounds in personalities, chiefly directed against Dr. Flinn, and does little credit to the head or heart of its author. The Rev. Raphael Bell was born in the Brewington settlement, was educated under Dr. Buist, was a teacher in Charleston College, in 1807, and previous to this, had been licensed by the Charleston Presbytery .*
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