USA > South Carolina > Charleston County > Charleston > Two centuries of the First Baptist Church of South Carolina, 1683-1883. With supplement > Part 3
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The Rev. Isaac Chanler, (1733), born in Bristol, England, May 10, 1700; married Elizabeth Hux- ley, of Uxbridge, Hertfordshire, England; had children named Mary, Ann, Susannah and John (who married a descendant of Governor Win-
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throp). The distinguished Dr. Isaac Chanler, of New York, the venerable Rev. A. W. Marshall and his sons, R. M. and A. W., are descended from him.
The Rev. William Peavitt (of 1730) after the death of Paul Grimball, (secretary of the Province and a member of Governor Archdale's Council), married his widow. . She afterwards became a Mrs. Smith, the same who left a legacy of £1,500 to the Church of Philadelphia.
The names of the Revs. William Frie, White, Wheeler, Sandiford, Peter Bainbridge, Thomas Simmons (1728), Robert Ingraham (1733), appear among the records, the most of them from Eng- land. Whom they were or who are their de- scendants is unknown.
Rev. Samuel Stillman, D. D., who died in Bos- ton, was a member of the old Church and was licensed by it to preach.
The Church on Stono had as members a family of Guerins. Barnard William Elliot married Elizabeth and Fannie Guerin, daughters of Matti- son Guerin and Elizabeth Sandiford, of 1732. This family also intermarried with that of the Rev. Francis Pelot and Mrs. Elizabeth Conger.
The names of members who appear prominent in the denomination are: Joseph Zealy, Joseph
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Parmenter, Isaac Thomas, P. and William Tilly, Thomas Grimball and his wife Providence; Ephraim Mikell, families of Bullien, Atwells, Ra- vens, Elliots, Caters, Blakes, Whitakers, Barkers, Chapmans, Bryants, Butlers, Governor Mortons, son and wife, Joseph Morton, William Sadler, Thomas Graves, John Elliot, John Sheppard, John Wells, Charles Odingsell, Samuel Screven, Wil- liam Elliot, Richard Bedon, Sr. and Jr., Benjamin Child, Francis and Mary Sheppard, Charles Fa- bien, Jacob and Susannah Bradwell, John Angel, Elizabeth Bedon, Thomas Ramsay, Joyce Griffin, Elizabeth Salter, Sarah and Susannah Peacock, Ann Main, Elizabeth Chanler, Deacon Thomas Garcia, Providence Hutchinson, James Fowler, Martha DeHarriette, Benjamin DeHarriette (is not this the Heriot family of the present day)? Eliza- beth Gibbs, Justrus Stoll, Thomas Rivers, Patrick Hinds, David Williams, John Rivers, Deacon Gour- lay, William Hogg, Derry Gillison, Charles Bealer Henry Holcombe, Silas Mercer, Benjamin Moseley, Alexander Scott, Edward Mathewes, James Sweat, Henry B. Inglesby, Isham Gardiner.
Mrs. Hepzibah Townsend, of Edisto, the mother of the Hon. John Townsend and of Mrs. Thomas P. Smith, built the church on that island by her own exertions.
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Atxout 1738 the Rev. Robert Williams imi- grated to Pee-Dee. He was born at North Hampton, N. C., in 1717. His daughter first married Arthur Hart and afterwards Moses Mur- fre. His son David, born February 1, 1739, died January 1, 1776; he married a sister of Arthur Hart, and had a daughter, Mary Ann, born April 16, 1772; the married John McIver; they had four sons-John E., Alexander, David Rogerson, Thomas, and a daughter, Eliza, who married John Davis. David Rogerson Williams, known as General and Governor, married Miss Powers, of Providence, R. I., and had one son, Col. John N. Williams, of Society Hill. Col. George W. Mc- Iver's family are descended from the Rev. Robert Williams.
Rev. Nicholas Bedgegood, born at Thornbury, Gloucester, England, January 30, 1731, son of Nicholas and Ann Bedgegood, went to Welch Neck Church 1759, . married a Miss Murphy. Nicholas Bedgegood of Marlboro' was the only son: he died 1774; preached sermon before the Court of Common Pleas in 1772, as was the cus- tom at that time.
MEMOIR OF WILLIAM SCREVEN.
BY REV. HENRY SWEETZER BURRAGE, D.D.
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MEMOIR OF WILLIAM SCREVEN.
R EV. DR. H. S. BURRAGE, of Portland, Me., was expected to present, at the celebration, a paper on the first pastor of the church, William Screven. Circumstances preventing his attend- ance, he was applied to for the paper immediately after the Bi-centenary. The document had been donated to the Historical Society of Maine; but, after some correspondence, the original paper was cheerfully sent by the author, from which an exact copy was taken, as follows :
" It is an interesting fact that the first Baptist Church in Charleston, South Carolina,-the oldest of all the Baptist churches in the Southern States -was organized in the latter part of the seven- teenth century at Kittery, in what was then known as the Province of Maine, now the State of Maine. The first information we have concerning the presence of Baptists at Kittery is contained in a letter which Humphrey Churchwood, a member of the Baptist Church in Boston, but a resident of
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Kittery, addressed to his brethren of Massachu- setts Bay, January 3, 1682. The letter reads as follows :
" Humphrey, a servant of Jesus Christ, to the church which is at Boston : grace be with you, and peace, from God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comforts, who comforteth us in all our tribulations that we may be able to comfort them that are in any trouble, as we are comforted of God. Most dearly beloved brethren and friends, as I am, through free grace, a member of the same body, and joined to the same head, Christ Jesus, I thought it my special duty to inform you that the tender mercies of God in and through Jesus Christ, hath shined upon us by giving light to them that sit in darkness, and to guide our feet in the way of peace; for a great door, and effectual, is opened in these parts, and there are many ad- versaries, according to the Ist of Corinthians 16: 9. Therefore, dearly beloved, having a desire to the service of Christ, which is perfect freedom, and the propagating his glorious gospel of peace and salvation, and eyeing that precious promise in Daniel the 12th, 3d: . 'They that turn many to righteousness shall shine as the stars forever ;' therefore I signify unto you that here [are] a
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competent number of well established people whose hearts the Lord hath opened insomuch that they have gladly received the word and do seri- ously profess their hearty desire to the following of Christ and to partake of all his holy ordi- nances, according to his blessed institutions and divine appointment; therefore I present my ar- dent desire to your serious consideration, which is, if the Lord see it fit, to have a gospel church planted here in this place; and in order hereunto, we think it meet that our beloved brother, William Screven, who is, through free grace, gifted and endued with the spirit of utterance to preach the gospel, being called by us, who are visibly joined to the church. When our beloved brother is or- dained according to the sacred rule of the Lord Jesus, our humble petition is to God that he will be pleased to carry on this good work to the glory of his holy name, and to the enlarging of the king- dom of his beloved Son, our dear Redeemer, who will add daily to his church such as shall be saved; and we desire you in the name of our Lord Jesus not to be slack in this good work, believing verily that you will not, and that you are always abound- ing in the work of the Lord, and we humbly crave your petitions for us to the throne of grace, and we commend you to God and the good word of
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his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you an inheritance among them that are sanctified."
Concerning the previous history of Mr. Scre- ven (to whom allusion is here made, and who was probably the bearer of this letter) but little is known. It is inferred, for reasons that will be given subsequently, that he came from Somer- ton, in Somersetshire, England. After his settle- ment at Kittery he is first mentioned in a deed in which, Nov. 15, 1673, Elizabeth Seely granted ten acres of land on the west side of Spruce Creek, Kittery, at what was known as Carle's Point to William Screven for eleven pounds "current pay" of New England. He is next mentioned in the record of his marriage, July 3d, 1674, to Bridget Cutts, a daughter of Robert Cutts, one of the three brothers so prominent among the early settlers of New Hampshire. John, the oldest, was the first president of New Hampshire; Robert, the youngest, settled at Barbadoes, in the West Indies, where he married, as his second wife, Mary Hoel. Subsequently he came to New England and first lived in Portsmouth, in the Great House (so called) at the foot of Pitt Street. Afterward he removed to Kittery, where he was extensively engaged in ship building. He had two sons and four daugh-
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ters. It was the second of these daughters, Bridget Cutts, whom William Screven mar- ried.
From the manuscript records of the Prov- ince of Maine, we learn that at a County Court held at York July 6, 1675, among several "pre- sentments " by the Grand Jury was the follow- ing :
"We'll present William Scrivine for not fre- quenting the publique meeting according to Law on the Lord's days." (Early Records, vol. 3, p. 396).
"This person presented is remitted because in evidence it appears that he usually attends Mr. Mowdy's meeting on the Lord's days." (Early Records, vol. 3, p. 315).
At a Court held at Wells, July 4, 1676, Mr. Screven was appointed a constable for "ye lower part of the River." In 1678 and in 1680 he was appointed to serve on the grand jury, and at the General Assembly, held at York, June 30, 1681, he took his seat as a deputy from Kittery.
It is evident from these records, as well as from Churchwood's letter, that in his religious views Mr. Screven was not in harmony with the " Stand- ing Order." He was nevertheless esteemed as a citizen, and was rapidly advanced to positions of official trust.
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Churchwood's letter shows that at the time to which it refers there were Baptists enough in Kittery-in part doubtless as a result of Mr. Screven's labors-to warrant the formation of a Baptist Church. The nearest church of the same faith was that in Boston to which this letter was addressed, and which was organized in March, 1665, sixteen years before. Churchwood's letter evidently secured for Mr. Screven a hearty wel- come from the church in Boston, and he was admitted to membership in the church. After hearing him preach they at once acceded to the request of the brethren in Kittery, and gave to the newly ordained the following certificate, dated January II, 1682 :
" To all whom it may concern :- These are to certify, that our beloved brother, William Screven, is a member in communion with us, and having had trial of his gifts among us, and finding him to be a man whom God hath qualified and furnished with the gifts of his Holy Spirit, and grace, en- abling him to open and apply the word of God, which through the blessing of the Lord Jesus may be useful in his hand, for the begetting and build- ing up of souls in the knowledge of God, do there- fore appoint, approve and encourage him, to exer- cise his gift in the place where he lives, or else-
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where, as the providence of God may cast him : and so the Lord help him to eye his glory in all things, and to walk humbly in the fear of his name."
This certificate was signed in behalf of the rest by Isaac Hull, pastor of the church, and John Farnum.
Meanwhile this movement to establish a Bap- tist church in Kittery became known there, and excited probably not unexpected opposition. Un- der date of January 25, 1682, Mr. Churchwood addressed another letter to his brethren in Bos- ton, in which he says :
"I thought good to inform you that since our beloved brother Screven went from us, who I trust is, by God's mercy, now with you, by his long absence from us, he has given great advan- tage to our adversaries to triumph and to en- deavor to bear down that good beginning which God, by his poor instrument, hath begun amongst us: and our magistrate, Mr. Hucke, is almost every day summoning and threatening the people by fines and other penalties, if ever they come to our meeting any more, five shillings for every such offence."
He adds that he also, on the previous day, was brought before the magistrate, who de-
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manded of him how he spent his time. In the presence of the magistrate, also, he had a long discussion with Mr. Woodbridge, the parish min- ister, concerning infant baptism, etc.
Mr. Screven in a short time-possibly after a visit to Mr. Miles, the pastor of the Baptist church in Swansea-returned to Kittery, and entered on the work to which he had been set apart by his brethren. The opposition which dur- ing his absence had been manifested toward his associates was now transferred to him, and from an entry, without date, in the Early Records of the Province (Vol. 4, p. 254) it appears that he was summoned in a short time to appear before the provincial authorities. The record is as fol- lows :
" William Scrivine, upon rumors and reports from a common fame of some presumptuous if not blasphemous speeches about the holy ordi- nance of baptism which should pass from him. Wherefore, being informed, we sent for said Scrivine by a special warrant to York, where upon examination he did not absolutely deny his charge, but after it was proved he seemed to own and justify the matter of his speeches. In his second charge, though he positively denied the first about his child, for infant baptism he said
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was an ordinance of the Devil as the testimonies declare, he replied that he conceived it no ordi- nance of God, but an invention of man. What was it? and put us to prove by any positive com- mand in the Gospel, or Scriptures, that there was infant baptism, and, according to our understand- ings, he endeavored to make good the matter of his words, and to put the manner of them into a smoother dress, mincing the matter, as Edw. Rishworth told him; whose reply was that minc- ing was to put it in better terms than it deserved, charging Mr. Hooke with prejudice, who brought him thither, and desired not to be judged by . him.
" After some further discourse we required said Scrivine to give security sufficient to the treasurer of the Province of a bond of one hun- dred pounds to answer his charge at the next Court of Pleas holden for this Province, or we must make him his mittimus and send him to the jail; which, said Scrivine refusing, accordingly was done."
How long he remained in jail we are not in- formed. . April 12th, 1682, he was brought before the Court at York, and the examination resulted as follows ;
" This Court having considered the offensive'
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speeches of William Screven, by his rash, incon- siderate words tending to blasphemy, do adjudge the delinquent for his offence to pay ten pounds into the treasury of the county or province. And further the Court doth further discharge the said Screven under any pretense to keep any private · exercises at his own house or elsewhere upon the Lord's days either in Kittery or any other place within the limits of this province, and is for the future enjoined to observe the public worship of God in our public assemblies upon the Lord's days according to the laws here established in the Province, upon such penalties as the law requires upon his neglect of the premises." (Early Records, vol. 4, p. 261.)
Mr. Screven seems to have paid no heed to. this order, and his case was brought before a general assembly of the Province held at York, June 28, 1682. The record of the action taken is as follows :
" William Screven appearing before this Court and being afore convicted of the contempt of his Majesty's authority by refusing to submit himself to the sentence of the former Court, prohibiting his public exercises referring to some irreligious speeches uttered by him, and upon examination before this court declaring his resolution still to
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persist in the same course, the Court tendered him liberty to return home to his family, in case he would forbear such kind of disorderly and tur- bulent practices and amend for the future. But he refusing, the Court required him to give bond for his good behavior, and to forbear such con- temptuous behavior for the future, and ordered that the delinquent should stand committed until the judgment of this court herein be fulfilled. After which said Screven coming into the Court, did, in the presence of the said Court, and presi- dent, promise and engage to depart out of this Province within a very short time." (Early Rec- ords, vol, 4, p. 23).
It is evident from these words that Screven and his associates had now come to the conclusion that if at Kittery they could not have freedom to worship God according to the dictates of their consciences, they must seek that freedom else- where. But, as yet, they had no church organiza- tion, and it was evidently deemed desirable that such an organization should be effected before their departure. Accordingly, September 13, 1682, Mr. Screven sent a letter to the Baptist church in Boston, requesting the church to send its pastor and delegates to aid in the organization of a church. In this letter he said :
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"To Thomas Skinner, Boston, for the church :
" Dearly beloved brethren in the Lord Jesus Christ, the King of saints. I and my wife salute you with our Christian love in our Lord Jesus, hoping through grace these few lines will find you in health of body and mind. Blessed be God for Jesus Christ, in whom he is pleased to account his saints meet to be partakers of the blessed rest pro- vided for them in his mansion-house eternally in the heavens. That will be a happy day when all the saints shall join together in sounding of his praise. The good Lord enable us to prepare for that blessed day. To that end, brethren, let us pray, every one himself, for himself, and for one an- other, that God would please to search our hearts and reins so as that we may walk with God here, and hereafter dwell with him in glory."
He then refers to the fact that his mother-in- law had become a Baptist, and expresses the desire that the pastor of the church in Boston with other delegates, should visit Kittery, and assist in the organization of a church.
To this request the church acceded, and its pastor, Rev. Isaac Hull, accompanied probably by other members of the church, soon made his way to Kittery. There, September 25, 1682, with what service we are not told, a covenant was entered
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into and signed by William Screven, Elder; Hum- phrey Churchwood, Deacon; Robert Williams, John Morgandy, Richard Cutts, Timothy Davis, Leonard Drown, Wm. Adams, Humphrey Axell, George Litten, and several women.
It has been supposed that Mr. Screven and his associates left Kittery not long after the organiza- tion of the church. Time, however, would be required for the consideration of a desirable loca- tion as well as for the disposal of property, and for providing means of transportation when the matter of location had been settled. It is certain from the Province Records that Mr. Screven and his " Baptist Company " were at Kittery as late as October 9, 1683, for under that date, in the record of a court held at Wells, occurs this entry :
" Order about Will. Screven. William Screven, being brought before this Court for not departing this Province according to a former confession of Court, and his own choice, and denying now to fulfill it, this court doth declare that the sentence of the General Assembly, bearing date the 28th of June, 1682, stands good and in full force against the said William Screven during the Court's pleasure." (Early Records, vol. 4, p. 295).
This order does not seem to have hastened the departure of Screven and his associates. At
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the Court held at Wells May 27, 1684, this action was taken :
"An order to be sent for William Screven to appear before the General Assembly in June next." (Early Records, vol. 4, p. 173).
As no further record in reference to Mr. Screven appears in the Records of the Province, it is probable that he and his company had made all their preparations for removal, and, before the time of the meeting of the General Assembly arrived, had left their homes on the Piscataqua for a new settlement, where they could enjoy un- disturbed freedom to worship God in accordance with their religious convictions.
A son of William Screven, also named Wil- liam, remained at Kittery. There are several references to him in the recently published " York Deeds." As Mr. Screven married Bridget Cutts, July 23, 1674, I am inclined to think that this son William was by a former wife, as he is said to have represented the town of Kittery in the Gen- eral Court in 1694.
The place selected for the settlement was on Cooper River, not far from the present site of Charleston, South Carolina.
Mr. Screven called the name of this settle- ment Somerton. It is from this fact that an
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inference has been drawn with reference to Mr. Screven's home in England. Ivimey, in his His- tory of the English Baptists, says that in 1655, Rev. Henry Jessey, a Baptist minister of London, was invited to visit his brethren in Bristol. Bap- tist principles he found had spread into many adjacent parts, and congregations in Wells. Ciren- cester, Somerton, Chard, Taunton, Honiton, Exe- ter, Dartmouth, Plymouth, Lyme, Weymouth and Dorchester were also visited. In the following year these churches asserted their union in a common declaration of faith, entitled " A confes- sion of Faith of several churches in the county of Somerset, and in the counties near adjacent." The confession was signed by twenty-five per- sons, ministers and laymen, in behalf of the whole, and among the signatures is that of William Screven, of Somerton. This was in 1656. Mr. Screven, who established the colony at Somerton, South Carolina, was at that time twenty-seven years of age. As his whole career in this country shows, he was a man of more than ordinary ability. We know of no reason, therefore, why he may not have been the William Screven who signed the Confession of 1656, while the fact that he gave the name of Somerton to his settlement on Cooper River, in South Carolina, affords at
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least a plausible ground for such an identifica- tion.
About the time Mr. Screven established his colony at Somerton, there came into the same neighborhood from the west of England, Joseph Blake, the friend and trustee of Lord Berkely, one of the Lords Proprietors, and with him a number of "substantial persons." Mr. Blake's wife and her mother, Lady Axtell, united with Mr. Scre- ven's church; and Mr. Blake, although not a member of the church, entertained Baptist views. With six others he was appointed to revise the Fundamental Constitutions, prepared for the Lords Proprietors by the celebrated John Locke, and he succeeded Governor Archdale in the gov- ernment of the colony at the close of the year 1696. His position and influence greatly strength- ened the Baptist cause in the colony. Widely known as a wise and honored magistrate, he died September 7, 1700.
A number of colonists also from the north of England, chiefly Baptists, came to Carolina with Lord Cardross not long after the arrival of Mr. Screven's company, and settled at Port Royal. The neighboring Indians, however, proved hostile, as did also the Spanish settlers of St. Augustine ; and "they soon, certainly before 1686, made their
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way to the mouth of the Edisto River, where they located, and those who were Baptists attached themselves to Mr. Screven's church, adding still further to its strength and influence.
Charles-Town, as the settlement on the neck of land between Ashley and Cooper Rivers was now called, began to attract colonists about ten years before Mr. Screven and his company estab- lished themselves at Somerton. Its facilities for commerce did not escape the attention of the new colonists; and before the year 1693 the larger portion of the members of the church had re- moved from Somerton to the Neck. It became necessary, therefore, that the meetings of the church should be transferred thither also. At first the meetings were held in the house of William Chapman, in King Street. In 1699, William Elliott, one of the members, gave the church the lot of land on Church Street, on which the meeting- house of the First Baptist Church in Charleston now stands, and a house of worship was erected on this lot in that or the following year.
Mr. Screven was now more than seventy years of age, and his health having declined, he asked to be relieved of the duties of his sacred office. His request was granted, and he addressed some words of affectionate counsel to the church em-
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bodied in a treatise entitled "An Ornament for Church Members." The manuscript was carefully preserved by the church and published after Mr. Screven's death. No copy of this treatise, as far as I can learn, has come down to us. Morgan Edwards, who, a century ago, journeyed from New Hampshire to Georgia, gathering " Materials To- wards a History of the Baptists," had a copy in his possession, probably while in Charleston. A quo- tation which he made from the closing paragraph is as follows: "And now, for a close of all, my dear brethren and sisters (whom God hath made me, poor unworthy me, an instrument of gather- ing and settling in the faith and order of the gos- pel), my request is that you as speedily as possi- ble supply yourselves with an able and faithful minister. Be sure you take care the person be orthodox in the faith, and of blameless life, and does own the confession put forth by our brethren in London, in 1689."
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