USA > Tennessee > Bedford County > History of Tennessee, from the earliest time to the present; together with an historical and a biographical sketch of Maury, Williamson, Rutherford, Wilson, Bedford and Marshall counties, besides a valuable fund of notes, reminiscences, observations, etc., etc, Vol.2 > Part 9
USA > Tennessee > Marshall County > History of Tennessee, from the earliest time to the present; together with an historical and a biographical sketch of Maury, Williamson, Rutherford, Wilson, Bedford and Marshall counties, besides a valuable fund of notes, reminiscences, observations, etc., etc, Vol.2 > Part 9
USA > Tennessee > Wilson County > History of Tennessee, from the earliest time to the present; together with an historical and a biographical sketch of Maury, Williamson, Rutherford, Wilson, Bedford and Marshall counties, besides a valuable fund of notes, reminiscences, observations, etc., etc, Vol.2 > Part 9
USA > Tennessee > Maury County > History of Tennessee, from the earliest time to the present; together with an historical and a biographical sketch of Maury, Williamson, Rutherford, Wilson, Bedford and Marshall counties, besides a valuable fund of notes, reminiscences, observations, etc., etc, Vol.2 > Part 9
USA > Tennessee > Williamson County > History of Tennessee, from the earliest time to the present; together with an historical and a biographical sketch of Maury, Williamson, Rutherford, Wilson, Bedford and Marshall counties, besides a valuable fund of notes, reminiscences, observations, etc., etc, Vol.2 > Part 9
USA > Tennessee > Rutherford County > History of Tennessee, from the earliest time to the present; together with an historical and a biographical sketch of Maury, Williamson, Rutherford, Wilson, Bedford and Marshall counties, besides a valuable fund of notes, reminiscences, observations, etc., etc, Vol.2 > Part 9
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Up to this time there had been but little if any trouble in the church respecting doctrines. There was very general if not universal assent to the great fundamental doctrines of the church, which were strictly and with some of the ministers hyper-Calvinistic. These were particular and unconditional election and reprobation, that Christ died only for the elect, that none of the elect could by any possibility be lost, and that none of
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the non-elect could by any possibility be saved. But now the doctrine of election and the extent of the atonement, whether it was general or limited in its design, began to agitate the church. A similar contro- versy occurred in eastern Kentucky about 1780, resulting in a division of the denomination into regular and separate Baptists. The result in Tennessee was the same, only more widely felt. The origin of this con- troversy in Tennessee seems to have been as follows: Elder Reuben Ross, who had emigrated from North Carolina in 1807, settling near Port Royal, Montgomery County, and preaching mainly in that and Stewart County for many years, during his early ministry became much troubled and perplexed over the doctrines of election and predestination. He could not reconcile with his own ideas of justice the thought that God in the plenitude of His wisdom and goodness had doomed to ever- lasting misery and to eternal bliss separate portions of the human race, from before the beginning of time, without reference to their merits or de-' serts, simply because it was His own will and pleasure so to decree. His study of the sacred Scriptures led him to the opposite conclusion The sacred writings declare that God's tender mercies are over all His works, that He is no respecter of persons, but in every nation he that fears Him and works righteousness is accepted of Him.
Upon his arrival in Tennessee Elder Ross found his fellow Baptists entertaining rigid Calvinistic views with great tenacity, and although out of respect for the opinions of the many great and good men who had lived and died in that faith he had not publicly opposed their doc- trinal teachings, yet he could not but doubt their correctness, and in order to fully satisfy his judgment of the Biblical soundness of his own views he brought to bear on the study of this question all the faculties of his · mind, using all the means in his possession to the investigation of a sub- ject which he felt to be one of the most important in the entire range of Christian theology. In the Old Testament no passage bearing upon this subject is more remarkable perhaps than that found in Ezekiel, chapter xviii, verses 21 to 32 inclusive. These various texts seemed to him to prove conclusively that man's salvation is conditional instead of uncondi- tional, and the more he studied the Bible the more settled was he in the conviction that this is the true position. The underlying principle of ends accomplished by the adoption of means is everywhere visible in na- ture and the world, and using this as an analogy Elder Ross had his con- viction strengthened that salvation, if obtained at all, is obtained or achieved by or through efforts put forth by ourselves, or that it is condi- tioned on the employment of proper means. The first sermon in which this doctrine was clearly and distinctly enunciated was preached in July, 1817,
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at the funeral of Miss Eliza Norfleet, who had died a short time previously at Port Royal, Tenn. This sermon was a remarkable one, not only for the deep impression made on the minds of the auditors, but also for the im- portant consequences which followed. The substance of the sermon was that although the human race is in a state of alienation from God on account of disobedience and rebellion against His laws, yet Christ, by His suffering and death had made an atonement sufficient for the sins of the whole world; that salvation is free to all who will accept the terms, repentance, faith, love and obedience, to become followers of the meek and lowly Jesus; that while the Holy Spirit is given to influence men to believe in Christ, yet He never operates on the human soul in such a way or with such power as to destroy its free agency, and hence with man is left the fearful responsibility of determining whether he will be saved or lost, that the election spoken of in the Bible is not uncondi- tional, but always has reference to character and conduct, etc.
Having finished his sermon he descended from the pulpit or platform erected in a grove of shady trees, and without exchanging a word with any one returned directly to his home, twenty miles distant. His auditors generally approved of the sentiments expressed in his sermons, but a small group of elderly, dignified and gray-haired men, who could clearly see the tendency of such preaching, earnestly attempted to decide on what course it was best to follow. At length it was decided to send Elder Fort to expostulate with Elder Ross upon the strangeness of his views, and to persuade him, if possible, to reconsider his position and save his church from the great reproach that must otherwise come upon it of falling into the grievous heresy of Arminianism. Elder Fort en- tered upon the execution of his mission, saw Elder Ross, and returned to his friends converted to the views of Elder Ross. The new views spread quite rapidly among the Baptist Churches, as all new views upon re- ligious doctrines are sure to spread more or less widely, whether scrip- tural or unscriptural, true or false.
The preaching of the new doctrines went on. In some churches the majority of the members were in their favor; in some the majority were in favor of the old, while in others the members were about equally divided. If any one, dissatisfied with the new or old doctrines preached in his church, desired to sever his connection therewith, he was given a letter of dismission to any other church holding views similar to his own. In 1823 Christopher Owen, a worthy member of Spring Creek Church, of which Elder Ross was then pastor, preferred charges against him of preaching unscriptural doctrine, but as the church decided by a unanimous vote that the charge could not be sustained, it was withdrawn. In the
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same year a convention of delegates from the churches of the Red River Association met in the Union Meeting-house, Logan County, Ky., for the ostensible purpose of restoring peace within its limits. Upon the meet- ing of the convention, however, it soon became apparent that many mem- bers of the convention were determined upon obtaining peace by bring- ing Elder Ross to trial and by condemning and suppressing his opinions. A charge was preferred against him of preaching doctrines contrary to the "Abstract of Principles," which took him somewhat by surprise, but upon recovering himself he demanded a trial upon the question as to whether his preaching was contrary to the Bible. This demand took the convention by surprise, and as no member of it was willing to meet him on that ground, his trial did not come off. Peace, however, had departed from the church by the introduction by Elder Ross of his heretical opin- ions; hence when the association met next year he proposed a peaceful division of the association, upon which proposition the association acted, and as a final result the convention which met October 28, 1825, organ- ized the Bethel Association, into which the following churches entered: Red River, Spring Creek, Drake's Pond, Mount Gilead, Bethel, Little West Fork, New Providence and Pleasant Grove. Afterward Elkton, Lebanon, Mount Zion, Russellville and Union joined the association. The original number of churches in this association was eight, and the membership about 700; before the death of Elder Ross the number of churches had increased to sixty-two, and the membership to more than 7,000, and this, notwithstanding the withdrawal of many of its members to join the movement for reformation which finally culminated in the formation of the Christian Church. The churches that thus seceded and formed the Bethel Association were called Separate Baptists. But after the formation of the Bethel Association and the advent of the "Cur- rent Reformation," as Alexander Campbell's movement was called, there were a number of years of comparative peace. Progress had been made, harmony as a general thing had been preserved, and the members of the Baptists had increased in about the same proportion as the population of the State. But the work of evangelization had been performed by indi- vidual ministers at their own convenience and expense. About the year 1833, however, a general revival began, and the importance of an organ- ized plan for supplying the destitute with the gospel, and of extending the influence of their denominational principles, was clearly seen and felt. A plan was therefore originated in Middle Tennessee by Garner Mc- Connico, James Whitsitt and Peter S. Gayle, at Mill Creek, near Nashville, in October of this year, a Baptist State Convention being then organized. Three boards were appointed to conduct its affairs, one for each grand
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division of the State. This plan being found impracticable, the East Tennessee Baptists withdrew and formed the General Association of East Tennessee, the principal ministers engaged in this work being Samuel Love, James Kennon, Elijah Rogers, Charles Taliaferro, Richard H. Taliaferro, Robert Sneed and William Bellew. This movement imparted new life into the great body of the church, filled the ministry with re- newed zeal, and considerably increased the membership of the Baptist Church in the State, though one of the results was the secession of a few thousands of anti-Mission Baptists. One peculiar feature of Baptist evangelization, especially in early days, was this, that their efforts were mainly expended in the country, as was also largely the case with the Methodists, while the Presbyterians, who insisted on an educated min- istry, and later the Episcopalians, were for the most part confined to the towns and cities. The result of this division is even yet visible in certain portions of the State.
In 1847 the Baptists in East Tennessee numbered 19,963, of whom 6,573 were anti-Mission, In 1858 the Regular Baptists had increased to 19,103, the anti-Mission portion remaining at about the same numbers as above given, while in 1880 the Regular Baptists amounted to 45,000 white and 2,000 colored, and the anti-Mission Baptists to 5,000, in all a trifle over 52,000.
In Middle Tennessee some years after the division into Regular and Separate Baptists, as the result of Elder Ross' preaching, the doctrines of the reformation reached this part of the country, and produced a. profound sensation among all classes of the people. Campbellism and .anti-Campbellism were endlessly and bitterly discussed. Quite a num- ber of Baptist preachers embraced Campbellism, and in some instances, where the preacher was of a superior order, almost the entire congrega- tion went over with him. This was the case with the First Baptist Church at Nashville, which had grown up to be a large and flourishing community, having a membership of over 300. Their pastor was the Rev. Phillip S. Fall, who was young and talented. All of the members except about twelve or fifteen went over with their pastor to the reforma- tion. The feature of the new doctrine which had most influence with the people was that of "baptism for the remission of sins." On all occasions the reformers promised forgiveness of sin and the gift of the Holy Spirit to. all those who would make the "good confession"-that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, promise to obey the gospel and submit to immersion. The terms seemed so easy that many accepted them and were baptized, while others, fearing that there might be some mistake, hesitated until they should be able to show forth "works meet for repent-
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ance." The controversy over the doctrine of the reformation was ex- ceedingly bitter for a number of years: and when the smoke of the battle had cleared away, a new denomination was added to those which some erroneously thought too numerous already, but the Bethel Baptist Asso- ciation retained its numbers, strength and prestige at the end of the strife, having over some sixty churches within her limits.
The few Baptists who in Nashville adhered to the faith reorganized their church, and for a time had for their pastor Elder P. S. Gayle. In 1833 Elder Gayle resigned, and the church hearing of a remarkable debate at Norfolk between Rev. R. B. C. Howell, of Virginia, and an Episcopal minister, from which the Baptists of Nashville concluded that Dr. Howell was the man needed to combat the heresies of Campbellism, and extended to him a call to the pastorate, which he accepted in 1834. Dr. Howell labored with such ability, enthusiasm and success that within a few years the Baptists in Nashville had regained their lost ground, had built the fine church building on Summer Street between Cedar and Union, and had a membership of over 500.
After the East Tennessee Baptists had withdrawn from the State Convention, as above recorded, those of Middle Tennessee likewise with- drew and formed an independent organization, which they named the General Association of Middle Tennessee. Northern Alabama was after- ward added to the association, In addition to its evangelical work, this General Association, aided by each of the other divisions of the State, established Union University at Murfreesboro, which, after a somewhat brief career, was finally suspended in 1873 by a general convention, which established the Southwestern Baptist University at Jackson. In Middle Tennessee the Baptists have the Mary Sharpe Female College at Winchester.
West Tennessee was not favored with Baptist influences until about the time of the revival in 1833. Since then they have made substantial progress. Some of their early pioneer ministers were the following: Jerry Burns, Thomas Owen, P. S. Gayle, C. C. Conner, N. G. Smith, -- Collins, George N. Young, J. M. Hart and David Haliburton. West Tennessee Convention was formed in 1835. By this convention Brownsville Female College was established. In 1876 Middle and West Tennes- see dissolved their separate organizations, and with a few churches in East Tennessee, again formed a State Convention. At the end of 100 years' labor of the Baptists in Tennessee, the numbers in the three great divis- ions of the State were as follows: East Tennessee, 19 associations and 45,000 members; Middle Tennessee, 10 associations and 22,000 members; West Tennessee, 7 associations and 20,000 members. Besides these,
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there were in the State about 8,000 anti-Mission Baptists and 20,000 col- ored Baptists, making a grand total of 115,000 members of Baptist Churches in Tennessee.
The General Association of East Tennessee which covered the ground in the Tennessee Valley, met at Island Home Church, Knox County, October 8, 1SS5. After full discussion it was resolved to discontinue the organization and to connect themselves with the State Convention ; and thus the Baptists of Tennessee became united in their denominational work. The following statistics are giving from the Baptist Year Book for 1886: The entire number of white Baptist associations was 40, and of colored 9; there were 725 white ordained ministers, and 170 colored ; 17,068 white Sunday-school scholars, 2,473 colored; 86,455 white church members, and 20,0SS colored, and the value of the property belonging to white churches was $686,860, and of that belonging to colored churches $35,000; though of the latter, the value was reported from only two asso- ciations: Elk River and Stone River. Besides the institutions of learning incidentally mentioned above, there are in Tennessee, belonging to the Baptist denomination, the Western Female College at Bristol, Doyle Col- lege at Doyle Station, and Roger Williams University at Nashville.
It is a remarkable fact, that the Episcopal Church* was considerably later in finding its way into Tennessee than the Presbyterian, Methodist or Baptist. Its numbers were not swelled by converts from the great revival, for that occurred in the first years of the century, from 1800 to 1812 or 1813, while the first congregation of the Protestant Episcopal Church in Tennessee was organized at Franklin, Williamson County, August 25, 1827, by the Rev. James H. Otey. A brief resume of the reasons for this late appearance of this denomination in this State is in reality a part of its history, and will doubtless be expected by all the readers of this work. The colonists from England were very generally those individuals who desired to escape from the intolerance of the Church of England. New England was settled by the Puritans, New York mainly by the Dutch, Pennsylvania by the Quakers, and Maryland principally by the Roman Catholics. The preponderating influences among the set- tlers of Virginia and the Carolinas were against the Church of England; but the great obstacle with which the Episcopal Church in America had to contend was that it had no bishop, no head, no leader, no adminis- trator. Children and adults could be baptized at the hands of the clergy, but no one could have confirmation or the "laying on of hands." Can- didates for the ministry were obliged to undergo the hardships and dan-
*Adapted largely from a manuscript history by Rev. W. C. Gray, read before the Tennessee Historical Society, November 11, 1854.
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gers of a long ocean voyage, in order to be ordained in England, and in some instances these candidates did not return. In addition to this many of the clergy of the Church of England, residents in this country after the Revolution, either from too little patriotism or too much Erastianism, or other cause, refused to remain in America and returned to England. This action on their part caused the transfer to the remnants of their deserted churches the bitter hatred which was then so bounteously being showered on the mother country. All these unfortunate circumstances led to great laxity of discipline; many unworthy and some who had been deposed continued in this country to exercise their ministerial functions and their evil course of life with impunity; hence the growth of the church was necessarily słow.
While the Episcopal Church was in such an imperfect condition in America, Methodism, which as yet however had not separated from the Church of England, was making a profound impression in both countries, and was drawing multitudes of members out of the church into the new enthusiasm, and preparing the way for the separation which some think came all too soon. But in 1784 the first bishop was consecrated for the American States, and in 1787 two others.
The Rev. James H. Otey, who organized the first Episcopal congrega- tion in Tennessee, was a Virginian by birth, and was educated at Chapel Hill, N. C. He received deacon's orders October 10, 1825, and the office of priest June 7, 1827, at the hands of Bishop Ravenscroft. He was at Franklin, Tenn, which place is now looked back to as the birth- - place and cradle of a diocese now rejoicing in its strength. The Rev. Mr. Otey organized his congregation in the Masonic Hall in Franklin, and he preached in Columbia, where he also organized a church. Still later he held occasional services in Nashville. Besides Mr. Otey there was then but one clergyman in the State, the Rev. John Davis, who had been sent by some Northern missionary society. In 1829 there were two additional clergymen in the State. The first convention of the church was held in Masonic Hall, in Nashville, July 1 of that year. The Rt. Rev. John Stark Ravenscroft, D. D., bishop of North Carolina, was pres- ent, in spite of failing health and rough roads, to preside and to aid in framing a constitution and canons for the church in Tennessee. On that day was formed the Diocese of Tennessee. Besides the presiding officer there were present at this convention the Rev. James H. Otey, of St. Paul's Church, Franklin; the Rev. Daniel Stephens, of St. Peter's Church, Columbia, and the Rev. John Davis, deacon and missionary. Christ Church, Nashville, was represented in this convention by the fol- lowing laymen: Thomas Claiborne, George Wilson and Francis B. Fogg;
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St. Peter's Church, Columbia, by James H. Piper; St. John's, Knoxville, by G. M. Fogg, and St. Paul's, Franklin, by Thomas Maney, P. N. Smith, B. S. Tappan and William Hardeman. In the report of the committee on the state of the church is found the following: "From what has been effected within a few years past by the exertions of a few who have stepped forward and, under the most discouraging circumstances, lent their aid to advance the interests of religion and virtuc among us, we may form the most pleasing anticipations of future success. A few years since the Episcopal Church was hardly known in this State; her spirit- stirring liturgy was unheard within our borders. Now three altars have arisen, and it is cheering to know they are crowded by pious and devoted worshippers of the Most High God." At the time of this convention, so far as was known, there were not fifty communicants in the State.
In 1830 the Church in Tennessee was visited by Bishop Meade, of Virginia, and in that year was held its first diocesan convention. In 1831 Bishop Ives visited the State and presided over the convention held in Christ Church, Nashville, June 28. In 1833 there were in the diocese besides Mr. Otey, five presbyters and one deacon. The necessity of a bishop was sorely felt, and a convention was held in Franklin, on the 27th of June, for the purpose of electing one. The clerical votes fell with great unanimity upon the Rev. James H. Otey for bishop, there being but two votes against him, his own and that of the Rev .. George Weller, they being cast for the Rev. William Green, of North Carolina. The nomination was unanimously confirmed by the laity. Mr. Otey's testimonials were signed by the following clergy and laity: Revs. Daniel Stevens, George Weller, Albert A Muller, John Chilton and Samuel G. Litton, and by Messrs. John C. Wormley, George C. Skipwith, William G. Dickinson, B. S. Tappan, Thomas Maney, Mat- thew Watson, G. M. Fogg, F. B. Fogg and John Anderson. Several new parishes were received into union at this time, and the committee on the state of the church made an encouraging report. The Rev. Mr. Otey was consecrated bishop, at Philadelphia, January 14, 1834. Upon his return to his diocese he immediately set about devising plans for its more general good. "In his frequent and fatiguing rides through his own and adjacent dioceses he witnessed such an amount of ignorance and prejudice, and such mistaken views of religion, as often to make him groan in spirit. Preaching, preaching, preaching, was all that even the better part of the people seemed to care for. Worship, or prayer, was hardly a secondary consideration; and the ordinances of the church were regarded as little better than signs of church membership, or- cloaks, in too many cases, to cover up an immoral life. Each sect gloried
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in its peculiar "shibboleth;" the brief and undigested lessons of the Sunday-school constituted the chief, if not the sole, religious instruction of the young; and with few exceptions even the more intelligent seemed to have lost sight of the Church of Christ as a Divine institution, de- manding an unquestioning reception of its creeds and ordinances."* "To such men (as Bishop Otey) are we indebted for the civil and religious liberty which we now enjoy. 'To him his church is largely indebted for the prosperity which has marked its progress within the diocese over which he was called to preside, and he has bequeathed as a rich legacy to the entire church his spotless name and fame."+
The ignorance of the people of Tennessee with regard to the rites of the Episcopal Church is amusingly illustrated by an incident of his early ministry. One of the rude sons of the forest once said to one of his com- panions, "Come, let us go and hear that man preach, and his wife jaw back at him;" alluding to the responses made by Mrs. Otey, she being oftentimes the only respondent in the congregation. The clergy of the diocese in the year of the Bishop's consecration numbered 6 priests and 3 deacons, the number of the churches in the entire State had grown to 12, and the aggregate of actual communicants was 117. From this on, although there were numerous obstacles in the church, its growth though slow was steady. The ignorance of the people, and their prejudice against it, were very great. In order to remove the ignorance Bishop Otey's earliest efforts were devoted to the establishment of institutions of learning, based upon the principle of furnishing a Christian educa- tion to their students. He opened in his own house in Columbia a school for boys, which he named " Mercer Hall," and he, assisted by Bishop Polk, A. O. Harris and Francis B. Fogg, founded Columbia Female In- stitute in 1836. At the same time he had in contemplation the project of founding a University for the Southern States. This was undertaken in 1836, but was not consummated until July 4, 1857, when the " Uni- versity of the South" was formally organized, though the name was not fully adopted until the next year. This organization was effected on the summit of Lookout Mountain, near Chattanooga, there being present at the meeting the Bishop's of Tennessee, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana, together with some of the leading clergymen of all the Southern dioceses. A board of trustees was ap- pointed and Bishop Otey elected president.
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