USA > Virginia > City of Norfolk > City of Norfolk > Centennial of Court Street Baptist Church of the city of Portsmouth, Virginia > Part 1
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5
CENTENNIAL
Court Street Baptist Church, OF
PORTSMOUTH, VIRGINIA.
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY
3 1833 06853 4707
١
Affectionality A& Quent 11
CENTENNIAL
OF
Court Street Baptist Church,
OF THE
CITY OF PORTSMOUTH,
VIRGINIA,
Held September 8th, 1889.
PHILADELPHIA: THE JAS. B. RODGERS PRINTING COMPANY, 52 AND 54 NORTH SIXTH STREET. 1890. 1
7
PREFACE.
T HE Court Street Baptist Church, in the City of Portsmouth, decided to celebrate the Hundredth Year of its existence .* The best manner of doing so was not so easy to decide. The arrangement finally agreed upon seemed entirely satisfactory. Rev. C. H. Ryland, D.D., was selected because of his peculiar adap- tation to deliver an address upon the History of the Virginia Baptists. Then, to have the connection between the Baptists of the State and the Court Street Church brought into harmony and made complete, Rev. George J. Hobday, who is a son of the Church and one of her brightest ornaments, was selected to write the History of the Church. And to make the record symmetrical, Rev. J. W. M. Williams, D.D., who was the first man the Church ever sent into the ministry, and who has occupied a prominent position in the Baptist Denomination for nearly half a century, was asked to furnish an outline of the Preachers whom the Church has sent into the ministry. This book is the result of their labors.
A. E. OWEN.
* This meeting was held in the audience-room, Sunday, Septem- ber 8, 1889.
3
1
CONTENTS.
.
I. INTRODUCTORY ADDRESS, PAGE. 7 By REV. CHARLES RYLAND, D. D.
II. HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE COURT STREET BAPTIST CHURCH, PORTSMOUTH, VA., . . . 21 By REV. GEORGE J. HOBDAY.
III. AN ADDRESS-ON THE PREACHERS WHO HAVE GONE OUT FROM THE CHURCH, . 66
By REV. JOHN W. M. WILLIAMS, D. D.
7
COURT STREET BAPTIST CHURCH,
PORTSMOUTH, VIRGINIA.
INTRODUCTORY ADDRESS,
BY CHARLES H. RYLAND, D.D., Secretary of the Virginia Baptist Historical Society.
" Call to remembrance the former days."-HEB. X. 32.
TF HIS great assemblage attests the interest taken in the occasion which brings us to- gether. This Church, these surroundings, are historic. Why should we not urn the ashes of the dead, and speak of labors that will never die? To write the history of the one hundred years of church life here enacted, and thus pre- serve it for the encouragement of the living and the instruction of succeeding generations, seems no less a privilege than a duty.
The immediate review of the official records of the century's work you have committed to other hands. If it be true, as Carlyle says, that " histories
7
8
COURT STREET BAPTIST CHURCH.
are as perfect as the historian is wise," then you will have not only a graceful, but most trustworthy tribute from my friend and brother, a son of this Church, than whom no one is more competent to tell the story.
I am here in the name of the Virginia Baptist His- torical Society to express the interest they take in your notable anniversary, to congratulate you upon the achievements of the past, and to rejoice with you in the unfoldings of Providence which seems in the unity and faith which mark the present to be leading you on to yet nobler and more successful attainments.
Your beloved pastor, in his call upon me for this service, said I must preach, and from God's Word I have culled a suggestive thought, around which I shall try to weave, in brief speech, a few of those thrilling facts and illustrative incidents which anticipated the events, of which the historian shall speak at a later hour. If the student of na- ture can "find tongues in trees, books in running brooks and sermons in stones," surely, out of the history of God's people called by the Baptist . name, as grafted upon the early annals of our land, there shall not be lacking in the great issues which heaven joined under their leadership profit- able and inspiring lessons for their children.
INTRODUCTORY ADDRESS. 9
Let it not be supposed, because one hun- dred years is a long time as it reaches far back into the past, that the planting of this Church marked the beginning of Baptist history in Vir- ginia. Back of the one hundred years you cele- brate lies almost another century of seed-time and harvest, when the soil was virgin and the laborers were few; when there lived men "fired with a zeal and courage no obstacle could impede "-he- roes akin to those of old, " of whom the world was not worthy "-upon whose banners were inscribed those God-given, world-enlightening, liberty-se- curing, soul-saving principles, whose planting here made America free, and whose ultimate enthrone- ment will surely break and remove the shackles of despotism the world over.
In tracing the successful planting of Baptist Churches in Virginia, the most reliable accounts point clearly to the territory now comprising the Portsmouth Association as the spot where church organization first took shape. There were, be- yond doubt, in Virginia and in her sister State of North Carolina, as early as 1695, scattered com- munities of our brethren ; but not until the yeomanry of Isle of Wight and Surry Counties asked friends in London for "ministers to in- struct and guide them," and the coming of Elder
1
10
COURT STREET BAPTIST CHURCH.
Robert Nordin in 1714, did the purpose to form a Church bring forth fruit. On the banks of the James, within easy reach of the spot where your " vine and fig-tree " are now so luxuriously grow- ing, the first Baptist Church on Virginia soil was planted one hundred and seventy-five years ago. Within a brief period other Churches sprang up, both in Southern Virginia and Eastern North Car- olina, and about 1765 united in forming the Ke- hukee Baptist Association. This union continued till 1790, when the Virginia Churches withdrew, and, under the hospitable roof of this Court Street Church formed another sisterhood, which contin- ues to this day. There were nineteen Churches which constituted this band.
Two facts are mentioned in Read and Burkitt's history, bearing on this separation, which will inter- est you : first, that " the division was not occa- sioned by any discordant principles, nor want of love, but for convenience ; " and, second, "The first meeting was at Portsmouth, in Virginia, and for that reason and from the polite treat- ment of the gentlemen of that town, it took the name of the Virginia Portsmouth Baptist As- sociation."
Without going further into the Portsmouth his- tory, it is appropriate for me to say that similar
INTRODUCTORY ADDRESS. 11
movements to that which established the first Church in Lower Virginia were made at a some- what later date in other parts of the State. It seems plain that the Baptists entered the State from three directions. These streams united, and in a few years the liberty-loving Baptists became a power in the land.
It is well known that at this period of Virginia history great questions were stirring the public mind. Some of these were incident to the rising desire of the people to be free from the political control of the mother country, and others from a no less strong wish and purpose to break the fet- ters of ecclesiastical domination by which they were bound.
The Baptists, active in their espousal of both of these great movements, were especially con- spicuous leaders in the promulgation and defence of soul liberty.
That is a very circumscribed and unjust view of Baptist principles and distinguishing char- acteristics which narrows down their creed and defines it to be "immersion the only Baptism." High up among the articles of their faith stands that doctrine which necessarily precedes per- sonal acceptance of Christ, and consequently repentance, faith and baptism. The doctrine
1
12
:
COURT STREET BAPTIST CHURCH.
is this: the inherent right of every soul to de- cide for itself upon all matters of religion, with- out human dictation or control,-or, in other words, absolute freedom of conscience and com- plete separation between " Church and State." However divided upon minor points of faith and practice, all history proves that the Baptists of Colonial Virginia, from whatever point they came, were united upon this great cardinal doctrine of the word of God. Dr. Semple graphically de- scribes the immediate issue before our fathers, when he eloquently says, alluding to the condition of things in the Colony and their relation thereto: "There was an established religion ; the Neb- uchadnezzars of the age required all men to bow down to the golden image; these Hebrew chil- dren refused and were cast into the burning fiery furnace of persecution."
With their eye fixed upon this boon they were not slow to recognize the fact that the right to worship God as they pleased was inseparably connected with the freedom of their country. " From the beginning. unremitting in their exertions to obtain liberty of conscience," they were everywhere known in their political creed as " republicans from interest as well as principle ; " winning as the reward of their splendid patriotism
INTRODUCTORY ADDRESS. 13
the rich praise of George Washington, who de- clared, "They have been throughout America uniformly and almost unanimously the firm friends of civil liberty, and the persevering promoters of our glorious revolution."
With clean hands and uplifted brows they came out of the stern strife of the long War of Independence, and with united voice exclaimed, " Blessed be God, all scruples now are removed by the glorious revolution, which gives all under its auspicious government equal and impartial liberty ! "
But the recital I must so briefly make of the work and labor of love of our fathers will not be complete without at least a glance at the keen sufferings they endured to win the priceless jewel of soul freedom and place it in the corner-stone of America's Temple of Liberty. I can but par- tially withdraw the veil which hides the events of far-off years, and yet the few disclosures which greet your eyes will surely stir your hearts, warm your blood, incite to profounder gratitude and prompt to nobler endeavor. It is said that the chamois, swift of foot, when pursued by the hunter is never satisfied till it climbs the rugged steeps and slakes its thirst in the highest, boldest springs of the Alpine range. So, when pressed
1
14
COURT STREET BAPTIST CHURCH.
by the questionings and defamations regarding the Baptists, which, though lulled, have not wholly subsided, do we love to climb and drink from those fountains of unselfish devotion and vicarious suffering found in the headlands of our history. I believe that, like myself, you will never fail to find in what our sires bore that which will purify, enlighten and stimulate.
The first instance of actual imprisonment for conscience' sake of which we have account oc- curred in Spottsylvania County, in June, 1768. Several Baptist preachers, among them John Waller, James Childs and Lewis Craig, were seized by a sheriff while in the act of conducting the worship of God, and carried before a magis- trate in the meeting-house yard. The officer compelled them, under bonds of one thousand pounds, to appear at Court two days after. When they appeared before the Court they were vehe- mently accused of disturbing the peace, and a lawyer who prosecuted them said : "May it please Your Worships, these men are great disturbers of the peace. They cannot meet a man upon the road, but they must ram a text of Scripture down his throat." Refusing to quit preaching, they were sent to close jail, where they were kept, one of them four weeks, the rest forty-three days.
INTRODUCTORY ADDRESS. 15
The historian Semple says : " As they were mov- ing on from the court-house to the prison through the streets of Fredericksburg they sang the hymn,
' Broad is the road that leads to death.'
This had an awful appearance " and no doubt deeply stirred the public mind. While they were in jail they preached through the grated windows to the crowds that gathered. When they were re- leased, "which was a kind of triumph, they re- sumed their labors with redoubled vigor, gather- ing fortitude from their sufferings and thanking God they were counted worthy to suffer for Christ and his Gospel." The same history tells us that in like manner William Webber and Joseph Anthony were seized and imprisoned in Chester- field County Jail. The people had invited them to come and preach for them, and the simple success of the gospel was the inflaming cause of their rigid treatment. Refusing, as had their brethren in Spottsylvania, to promise that they would cease preaching, they were kept in confinement four long months. Five other ministers were at dif- ferent times incarcerated in this same prison for preaching the gospel.
In August, 1771, Elders. Webber, Waller, Greenwood and Ware were seized by a magis-
1
16
COURT STREET BAPTIST CHURCH.
trate and two sheriffs in the County of Middlesex and thrust, 9 o'clock one Saturday night, into the horrid jail at Urbanna, where they lay (fed a part of the time on bread and water) for forty-six days. In the Richmond College Library are pre- served the original orders for the arrest, trial and imprisonment of these godly men, which expressly recite that they were thus imprisoned because they had "taken upon themselves to teach or preach " and were acting " under pretense of the exercise of religion in other manner than accord- ing to the liturgy and practice of the Church of England."
In 1772 a fourth instance of imprisonment for preaching occurred in King and Queen County. James Greenwood and William Lovall were seized while preaching and imprisoned sixteen days. In March, 1774, when Piscataway Church in Essex County was dedicated, a warrant was issued for the arrest of all the Baptist preachers who should attend. Four were arrested and three sent to prison.
Near by your own Church home, Elders Bar- row and Mintz were seized by wicked and ungodly men, dragged from the pulpit down to the water of Nansemond River, in order, they said, "as they loved dipping, to give them enough of it."
INTRODUCTORY ADDRESS. 17
Repeatedly holding them under the water until they were nearly drowned, they would raise them up and ask them "if they believed." At last Elder Barrow said, "I believe you will drown me." They were then released.
But I cannot enlarge upon these cruelties. I have but given samples of the indignities to which the heralds of the cross were subjected. Truly might Bishop Hawks, the Episcopal his- torian, say, " Cruelty taxed its ingenuity to devise new modes of punishment and annoyance." Semple says of one preacher, John Waller, that he lay at different times one hundred and - thir- teen days in four different jails, "besides suffering buffetings, stripes, reproaches, etc."
And yet they would preach. They took as their motto the answer of the Apostles, "Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye." Animated by an ardent desire for the advancement of their Master's Kingdom, they sallied forth in every direction, spreading the tidings of peace and sal- vation wherever they went." " Without visible shield or buckler they moved on, steady to their purpose, undismayed by the terrific hosts of Satan, backed by the strong arm of civil authority. Magistrates and mobs, priests and sheriffs, courts 2
1
18
COURT STREET BAPTIST CHURCH.
and prisons, all vainly combined to divert them from their object. He that was for them was greater than he that was against them ; they found that
" Prisons would palaces prove, If Jesus would dwell with them there !"
As the reward of their devotion a triumph was meted out to them. "The decree finally went forth that none should , be forced to worship the golden image. The establishment was over- turned."
For the wisdom and godliness and courage of those times that tried men's souls, my brethren, we cannot be too grateful. The dissenters of this momentous period, led by the Baptists who labored and suffered more than they all, secured the boon. It has blessed the world.
No just tribute can ever be paid to what our fathers were able to accomplish for us. They rest from their labors and their works do follow them. While we enshrine them in our hearts, let me exhort you to cherish the principles for which they suffered. Write them upon the door- posts of your houses, teach them to your chil- dren, defend them with your ballots, pray for their spread the world over, for they are the prin-
INTRODUCTORY ADDRESS. 19
ciples of God's word and inseparable from the highest triumphs of the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Thus have I sought to sketch a few of the events which led up to the more settled and quiet era which gave birth to your venerable and hon- ored Church organization. By the time the great questions had become settled the Churches had multiplied in numbers and efficiency, district associations had been formed, a General Associa- tion had taken charge of the general interests of the denomination, religious freedom had been firmly established and there reigned throughout our borders peace and the blessings of stable government.
You will, my brethren, exalt the God of your fathers to-day. He planted us and He has up- held us. As to Israel of old, he has been the Pillar of Fire by night and the Pillar of Cloud by day, leading us out of the wil- derness of our trials and sorrows into a land that flows with milk and honey. As in your Church capacity you " call to mind the former days;" as you survey God's mercies within your own bounds and rejoice in the evidences of His Fath- erly care in all these years; as you raise the stone of help and crown it with your Ebenezer, saying,
1
20
COURT STREET BAPTIST CHURCH.
" Hitherto hath the Lord helped us!" you will pray that His truth may run and be glorified till the wide earth shall hear, and heed, and live by faith in His name. Amen !
1
PRESENT CHURCH BUILDING
HISTORICAL SKETCH
OF THE
COURT STREET BAPTIST CHURCH, PORTSMOUTH, VA.
BY REV. GEORGE J. HOBDAY.
A N hundred years ! How long it seems to man, how short it is to God! £ Not one here who has lived as long, not one, per- haps, whose memory can go back half as far, and, but for the connecting links in persons and rec- ords, the past would be a blank to us all.
One hundred years ago yesterday-that is, September the 7th, 1789-the Baptists in this city entered upon their career as a Church of Je- sus Christ, and we are here assembled to appro- priately celebrate her centennial anniversary ; to trace through all these years, as best we may, her works and ways, her bright days and dark days, her prosperity and adversity, God's dealings with her for an hundred years.
The task would be comparatively easy and truly pleasurable, if her earthly records were at hand, 21
7
22
COURT STREET BAPTIST CHURCH.
but, like many other churches, her record is chiefly on high, and will be revealed only when the books are opened in the last day. Still, there is much left us in records-private and public, civil and ecclesiastical-in persons in and out of the Church, from which we may gather material to weave an almost unbroken narrative for our consideration to-day.
Such a duty the Church has requested the writer of this paper to perform, and he now respectfully asks your attention to the result of his labors.
It would seem very proper to preface our sketch of the history of this Church with some account of the Baptist history in Virginia, but, as that duty will be performed by another speaker, we will content ourselves with a brief statement of the religious condition of the town at the time this Church began its career.
The oldest Church organization in the town is the Episcopal, Trinity Church, having been erected in 1762, just ten years after Portsmouth became a town.
Next in order were the Methodists, of whom Dr. Bennett says : " Early in 1772 Robert Wil- liams, an Irish local preacher, licensed by John Wesley, appeared in Norfolk. He was invited to come to Portsmouth by one Isaac Luke." He
HISTORICAL SKETCH. 23
came and preached under two persimmon trees on the corner of South and Effingham Streets, probably on the very spot where our South Street Chapel now stands. In April, 1789, their mem- bership was 953, about equally divided between the white and colored people.
The Presbyterians did not come until later. Rev. John D. Paxton, the Presbyterian pastor in Norfolk in 1814, used to preach here occasionally, but the church was not formally constituted until 1822.
So, then, the Baptists were the third denomina- tion to establish a church in this city.
As to the town of Portsmouth, it had enjoyed that title only thirty-seven years, having been raised to that dignity in 1752. The government of the town was vested in nine trustees, with few and limited powers.
The United States Navy-yard, as such, did not exist, though there was a ship-yard at Gosport, which belonged to the Commonwealth. There was no court-house or jail, these buildings being at Berkley.
The inhabitants of the town were, for the most part, merchants and mechanics, chiefly ship car- penters, and a floating population of sailors.
The first Baptist preachers who visited this sec-
7
24
COURT STREET BAPTIST CHURCH.
tion were David Barrow and Edward Mintz, who, in 1778, preached at a private house near Sleepy Hole Ferry, on the Nansemond River, which re- sulted in the formation of the Shoulder's Hill Church in January, 1785. Some of the members of this Church lived in Portsmouth. There was also residing here Rev. Thomas Armistead, an officer in the United States army during the Rev- olutionary War, which had closed only seven years ago. He, with the assistance of Rev. Elijah Ba- ker, one of the most remarkable preachers of his day, and at this time a resident of Northampton County, Va., were instrumental in collecting the few resident Baptists, and suggesting to them the propriety of forming themselves into a Church of Jesus Christ, and accordingly applied to the Ke- hukee Association in May, 1789, " to send help to constitute them into a Church." Elders John McGlamre and David Barrow, with powers to add to their number, were appointed to perform that duty.
On Saturday morning, September 5, 1789, the committee met here, composed as follows : Elders David Barrow, Thomas Armistead, Elijah Baker and William Morrice and Laymen James Mc- Clenny, Levan Blake, Etheldred Lancaster and John Moore.
HISTORICAL SKETCH. 25
A committee on " order of business " was ap- pointed, and the Conference adjourned until 6 o'clock P.M. At which time the committee re- ported as follows :
I. "We, your committee recommend to your consideration the expediency of a Constitution in this place. Considered and agreed to by the Conference."
2. " We recommed also to your consideration, whether it would not be more to the glory of God, the benefit and convenience of the brethren and people of this place to establish a Constitution. Answered in the affirmative."
3. “ We recommend to your consideration what means would be most expedient to receive such Baptists in and about these towns that would wish to join our Constitution, who are members of no Church at present. Answered that when the Church is not particularly acquainted with them, to call on them for their experience."
A committee was then appointed to draw up a Church Covenant, and the Conference adjourned until Monday morning.
On Monday morning, September 7th, the Con- ference re-assembled, the Covenant was read, and the following brethren signified their willing- ness to go into the organization of the Church :
1
26
COURT STREET BAPTIST CHURCH.
Levan Blake, Thomas Crafts, Harrison Benthall, John Moore, John Foster and George Billups, six in all, and all males. There must have been some females ; if not, it is the first Baptist Church that we ever heard of that began its existence without a single female member. Still, we are following the record, and it is worthy of remark that this entry, standing, as it does, alone, on a fly-leaf of the oldest church record possessed by the Church, has been thus preserved to us by the forethought of some wise person, seemingly having been cop- ied from the minutes of the Kehukee Association for that year. There is no other record made of what the Church did for forty years. We know not who the Church officers were. We know not where the first meeting was held.
Another difficulty presents itself in the fact that for many years after this the Church here em- braced Norfolk as well in its organization. Still, there are evidences that the original meeting was held in Portsmouth, and that the constituent names mentioned above were residents of this town.
In the absence of Church records, we fortu- nately have some facts in the early history of this Church preserved for our use in Burkitt's History of the Kehukee Association, and Semple's His-
27
HISTORICAL SKETCH.
tory of Virginia Baptists, from which we will freely quote.
Burkitt says, "Elder Thomas Armistead was the first pastor who took the care of this Church and his labors were blessed for a season."
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.