Index of Ministers Ansley, Marlin Armstrong, James Bacon, Augustus O. Battle, Dr. Cullen Bedgewood, Nicholas Bledsoe, Miller Botsford, Edmund Brantly, William T. Byne, Edmund Callaway, Joshua S. Callaway, William A. Carter, James Cartledge, Samuel Clark, John H. Clay, Joseph Collins, Henry Conner, Wilson Cooper, John W. Crawford, Nathaniel M. Davis, Jesse M. Davis, Jonathan Davis, William Dawson, John E. Dennard, Jared Sanders Dunham, Jacob H. Fleming, Robert Goss, Benjamin Goss, Horatio J. Granberry, George Hand, Henry Holcomb, Henry D. D. Holmes, Adam T. James, John Johnson, Jarvis G. Jones, Adam Kilpatrick, J. H. T. King, Jacob Law, Josiah S. Law, Samuel S. Lumpkin, Jack Mallary, Charles D. Marshall, Daniel Marshall, Jabez P. Matthews, James Mercer, Jesse Mercer, Silas Milner, John Milner, John H. Mosely, Eliljah Mosely, William Newton, William Penfield, Josiah Perryman, Elisha Perryman, James Polhill, Joseph Polhill, Thomas Posey, Humphrey Postell, Edward P. Reeves, James Reeves, Jeremiah Rhodes, Thomas Ross, John Sanders, Billington M. Savage, Loveless Scott, Alexander Screven, Charles O. Sherwood, Adiel Singleton, William Stocks, Hon. Thomas Swanson, James F. Sweet, George D. Tharp, Vincent Thornton, Dozier Thornton, Vincent Travis, Jesse Trice, Thomas C. Vining, Jeptha Walsh, Thomas Warren, Kittrel Whatley, Samuel Whitten, James Wilkes, Thomas U. Winn, Thomas Sumner Wyer, Henry Otis Georgia Baptists By Jesse Harrison Campbell Transcribed by: Angela D. Sutherland - Bagley 01/07/2009    Charles D. Mallary January 23, 1801 Charles Dutton Mallary was born of worthy and respectable parents, in West Poultney, Rutland county, Vermont, on the 23rd of January, 1801. One of his brothers, Rollin C. Mallary, became an eminent lawyer, and represented his native State for many years in the United States Congress, where he occupied a commanding position as a debater, and exerted, as chairman of the committee on manufactures, a powerful influence in directing the legislation of the country. After completing the usual preparatory studies, the subject of this sketch entered Middlebury College, in August, 1817. He was a college-mate, if not class-mate, of that distinguished Methodist divine, Rev. Stephen Olin, and also of Rev. Dr. Howe, of the Presbyterian Theological Seminary at Columbia, South Carolina. He graduated in August, 1821, with the first honor a fact sufficiently indicative of his superior talents and his diligent application as a student. From his earliest years he had been the subject of deep religious impressions, which he was accustomed to ascribe in large measure to the instructions and prayers of his pious parents, especially of his devout and honored mother. In the sixteenth year of his age, during the prevalence of a revival, he experienced that great moral change which renewed his heart and gave him a trembling hope of salvation. Shortly after this occurrence he entered college, and then, owing to various circumstances, a long season of doubt and declension ensued in his spiritual history, which gradually darkened into dejection and despair. The distress of his mind was similar to that of Bunyan, and the poet, Cowper, in their awful days of desertion. Indeed, his companions trembled for the stability of his reason, and he himself was conscious of treading on the brink of insanity. At length, through infinite mercy, the cloud broke and rolled away; his feet were taken out of the horrible pit, and he stood on the rock of ages, with a new song in his mouth. After canvassing the comparative claims of the various denominations, (his inclinations rather leaning to the Congregationalists,) the path of duty became plain, and he was baptized into the fellowship of the Baptist church in his native town, in June, 1822, by the pastor, Rev. Clark Kendrick. After his graduation Mr. Mallary spent a year as a teacher of youth in his native State. In October, 1822, he bent his steps southward, and, passing through Charleston, settled for a while at Cambridge, Abbeville district, South Carolina. Before leaving Vermont, his mind had been exercised with reference to the ministry, and he had resolved, so soon as providence should show an open door, that he would engage in preaching the gospel. Circumstances now being favorable, he commenced this work, and was soon licensed as a minister. Early in the year 1824, in obedience to a call from the Baptist church in that place, he removed to Columbia, the capital of the State, where he was ordained in April of the same year. Here, too, on the 11th of July, 1825, he married Miss Susan Mary Evans, daughter of John and Sarah Evans, of Georgetown, South Carolina, and grand-daughter, on the maternal side, of that eminent man of God, Rev. Edmund Botsford. In this union, according to his own testimony, he found "more unalloyed enjoyment than generally falls to the lot of man." The excellent companion of his youth, and the mother of the only two children who survive him, Charles and Rollin, died of consumption, at Milledgeville, Georgia, in 1834. At the expiration of two years, Mr. Mallary left Columbia and settled below that city, in what is known as the Fork, taking charge of the Beulah and Congaree churches. In 1830, he accepted a call from the Baptist church at Augusta, Georgia, where he remained four years. In 1834, he removed to Milledgeville. Here, however, his pastorate was brief, embracing not quite two years. A constitution, feeble at best, and often assailed with attacks of illness, disqualified him to a considerable extent for the steady, wearing round of pastoral duties, and necessitated frequent changes in his place of abode. The years 1837, 1838 and 1839 he devoted as an agent to the interests of Mercer University. The year 1840 he was employed as a missionary in the service of the Central Association. Perhaps this was the period of his highest usefulness. His powers were fully matured. He moved in congenial and appreciative circles. The peculiar exigencies of the denomination roused all his sacred energies, and thus these few years in Central Georgia witnessed the best results of his public career. In company with Dawson, Campbell and others, he engaged in extensive preaching tours, and in protracted meetings, which were attended with memorable revivals, and which operated powerfully in giving tone and character to the Baptists of Georgia. He seemed to live daily in the very atmosphere of heaven. Every effort, whether of preaching or exhortation, was attended by the unction from above, and christians improved in knowledge and holiness, while sinners, in great numbers, were added to the churches as seals of his ministry. In December, 1840, he was married to his second wife, Mrs. Mary E. Welch, of Twiggs county, Georgia, a woman of very superior talents and worth, and most happily adapted to cheer his own disposition, which was rather prone to dejection and melancholy. She preceded him but a little to the skies, having died suddenly on the 28th of August, 1862. After this second marriage, he took up his abode in Twiggs county, near Jeffersonville, on his wife's plantation, where he resided for several years. Though now in a somewhat sequestered situation, where most ministers would have considered themselves entitled to retirement and repose after so many labors, he indulged in no relaxation. Like his Master, he sanctified even his hours of rest with benevolent deeds. His recreations were other men's toils. During the period of his residence in Twiggs county he served, more or less, the following churches: New Providence, Macon, Forsyth, Evergreen, Jeffersonville, Irwinton and Wood's meeting-house. It was through his efforts, and mainly at his expense, that a comfortable house of worship was built at Jeffersonville, and the churches at that place and at Evergreen were started through his instrumentality. But in 1848 the LaGrange church summoned him from his laborious retreat. He responded to the summons, and, though constantly failing in strength, continued in this connection for four years. In 1852, finding it impossible to prosecute his pastoral labors, he retired to the neighborhood of Albany, where he passed the remainder of his days in such services as his physical infirmities permitted. He loved to preach, and he never ceased preaching until the end. His finished his useful career at Magnolia Springs, Sumter county, on Sunday noon, the 31st of July, 1864, aged sixty-three years. In turning from this meagre outline of the more marked events and incidents in his career, it is exceedingly difficult to present in any moderate limits a just review and estimate of his character and services. As we attempt to recall him to our attention and survey, what, we naturally ask, most distinguished him as a man? What, in particular, constituted his individuality, gave him his definite "form and pressure," and raised him above the dull uniformity of the great human mass? One reply springs to the lips of all who knew him well: his piety. He was singularly and greatly good, a distinction "above all Greek or Roman fame;" and this was his general reputation. He was marked by more christian virtues and by fewer faults than any man the author has ever known. He was by nature an amiable man, formed to love and be loved, peaceful in spirit, and wholly free from a temper violent and petulant in its manifestations. He was also a man of stern integrity, of incorruptible honesty, and withal of unflinching fidelity to his convictions of right and truth. Without being aggressively bold, he did not in the least lack decision and firmness, and his characteristic gentleness never sank into tame compliance with the demands of error and injustice. Probably no ill natured or carping man of the world, nor splenetic church member, ever seriously questioned his essential uprightness. On such a basis as this the fabric of his piety was reared. Over such amiabilities as these it cast its heavenly charm, while it woke in his own heart a variety of new and sacred passions. His piety was ardent and intense, manifesting itself, not in occasional raptures and excited emotions, but in a habitual frame of devotion. Religion was the atmosphere in which he lived, moved and had his being. He did not separate his life into sacred and secular, saying, this is for God, and that is for the world, it was all for God. His religion sanctified his recreations, and gave a heavenly flavor to his worldly enjoyments. He loved much. The name of Jesus was fragrant and precious to him, always in his heart, and often on his lips. He loved the brethren. He was a lover of all good men. Though a devoted Baptist, holding our distinctive principles as firmly and conscientiously as one could well do, he still consorted joyfully and fraternally with all who honored the Saviour and bore his image. He was emphatically a man of prayer. "The spirit of grace and supplications" was possessed by him in a measure which, it is believed, has seldom been equaled, and never surpassed, in modern times. Early in his ministry, he laid out for himself a regular plan of prayer, assigning certain general subjects to each day in the week, to which he faithfully adhered. Dr. Mallary was singularly kind and charitable in his judgments of others. He was never heard to utter a biting sarcasm, a stinging jest, a cruel innuendo, nor even a word that savored of slander against a fellow-creature. He literally almost seemed to "think no evil." He always put the best possible construction upon conduct, and when compelled to condemn, he did it with pain and sorrow, and, very likely, with the final suggestion of some extenuating or hopeful view of the delinquent. He was no severe critic or censor of his brethren. He appeared absolutely a stranger to that mean spirit which, I am afraid, has been the too just reproach of the ministry: a spirit of envy, jealousy and rivalship. It gave him no pain that a brother should outshine or outstrip him, and it did not seem to occur to him that a minister, by superior gifts and graces, could ever be in his way. He was a model church member, which is not always the case with retired preachers. He was the pastor's friend and counselor. He did not plead or employ his ministerial prerogative as a ground of exemption from ordinary duties in the church, but bore his own burden, and often more than his own, with cordial patience. The blessing of the peacemaker was on him. His own spirit was tranquil and pacific, and, so far from widening breaches and exasperating dissensions by a fierce temper of partisanship, he labored to compose strifes and reconcile alienated brethren. He was a willing and generous contributor of his worldly substance to every good cause. In his ministrations, he insisted much on the duty of giving, a duty he never undertook to discharge by proxy. His caution in speaking of the faults of others has already been referred to. It is proper to add that he rigidly ruled out of his speech all foolish jesting, and more especially all that approached impurity. While occasionally indulging the quiet humor of delicate wit, of which he had a rich vein, his conversation was never stained by malice or pollution. He seemed to accept, as a rule for himself, that maxim of the ancient Persians, which pronounced "unlawful to speak of what it was not lawful to do." His politeness may be said, in part at least, to have been a development of his piety. If politeness may be defined as kindness, expressing itself in kind and self-denying acts, he was a model of this cheap yet potent virtue, immeasurably superior to Chesterfield, or any of his school. While he never affected the airs and artificial graces of a polished man of society, and would have scorned them, if he could scorn anything, he was still a pattern of courtesy, and was guided by the nice instinct of christian feeling to the performance of those various acts which marked him for a true gentleman. If there was any defect in his christian character, perhaps it was a lack of that sort of cheerfulness which gives to piety a pleasant and winning aspect, and which, in particular, recommends it to the young. Though removed as far as possible from a morose and prim severity, he displayed a little too much, probably, the sad and sombre side of religion. It is thought his usefulness would have been enhanced if the bright and joyous elements of piety had been more conspicuous in his life. The mention of this defect as the most serious which criticism can suggest in the review of his christian character, only serves to demonstrate how extraordinary that character was, and how far elevated in holy grandeur above the vast majority of latter day examples of saintship. And yet Charles D. Mallary entertained the most painful conceptions of his own utter unworthiness, and worthlessness even, in the sight of God. Indeed, his unaffected humility was one of the most striking traits of his piety. His views of the exceeding sinfulness of sin, and of the holiness of God, were such as to bow him in the very dust. A delicate spiritual modesty softened and refined every manifestation of his inner life. A volume that would do justice to his piety would be a book of devotion not inferior to the biographies of Henry Martyn, Samuel Pearce and Edward Payson. While Dr. Mallary will be remembered for his goodness, that goodness would not have been so conspicuous and noteworthy, if it had not been associated with a mind of uncommon capacity and vigor. His intellect and heart operated in delightful harmony, imparting to each other light and strength, and, in their blended movements, their almost perfect synthesis, presenting us with a complete and effective character. His mental endowments were of a very high order. It would, doubtless, be extravagant to assert for him the possession of that sort of ability which originates new thoughts, strikes out new paths of investigation, and makes memorable contributions to the stock of human knowledge. It is only a very few, in the long succession of ages, who can justly be assigned to this intellectual rank, and be classed with those sceptered kings in the realms of thought, "who rule us from their urns." But, while not claiming for him this style of greatness, we insist that his talents were such as to make him a man of special mark. To the more solid qualities of the understanding, such as a quick and clear perception, a calm, sound judgment, a tenacious memory, a capacity for bold and vigorous thinking, he added a fertile fancy and a soaring, creative imagination, which enabled him to illustrate and adorn whatever he touched. His grasp of subjects was broad and firm, indicating intellectual strength and comprehensiveness. His mental operations were distinguished, not so much by formal logical processes--by regular advances, in which each minute step was ostentatiously displayed--as by rapid intuitions, and by a series of steadily progressive leaps and bounds towards his goal. Without any technical elaboration and parade of argument, he was still a solid and able reasoner. There was great symmetry and admirable balance in his intellectual constitution, no one faculty being developed out of proportion to, and at the expense of, another faculty. Had his will been a little more positive and imperative, and his taste a little more exacting, his mental conformation would have gained somewhat in imposing and attractive force. This richly endowed intellect had been well disciplined and furnished with ample stores of knowledge. He was fortunate, as we have seen, in his early opportunities of education, and these he zealously improved. Subsequently, he had been, as circumstances allowed, a diligent student. His range of acquaintance with books was extensive. There were few subjects, even outside of his profession, with which he was most surprisingly familiar. In theology, and the history of religious opinions, he was well read. The degree of Doctor of Divinity, conferred by Columbian College, District of Columbia, though little prized by him, was richly merited. He retained, beyond what is common among our working ministers, his knowledge of the ancient classics, and a marked fondness for their beauties. Indeed, his tastes were quite scholarly, and had his mode of life been more settled and regular, and his health more favorable to the pursuit, he would doubtless have acquired distinction as a man of profound and varied learning. Under proper influences, he would have made a Biblical critic and commentator of rare excellence. His thorough common sense and solid judgment, along with the spiritual insight and intuition of his deep piety, would have constituted him a theological teacher of the style of the "judicious Hooker," and the yet more judicious Andrew Fuller. Of the gifts and graces of Dr. Mallary, we have pleasing memorials in his various printed works. He figured in his day more than most of our leading ministers as a writer and author. He entertained an exalted appreciation of the power of the press, and from no mere scribbling propensity, no weak ambition to see himself in print, but from a solemn conviction of duty he wrote much. He was master of a facile pen, and of a style characterized by numerous excellencies. It was always correct, smooth and animated, often ornate and eloquent. His leading productions are the "Life of Botsford," "Memoir of Mercer," "Soul-Prosperity," "Sanctification," "Sabbath-School Instruction," "Simple Rhymes for Children," "The Alphabetical Dinner." "Prince Alcohol," an allegory in the style of Bunyan, and almost worthy of the immortal dreamer himself, was published many years since by the American Tract Society and obtained an immense circulation. The poetical talent of Dr. Mallary was remarkable, and, if thoroughly cultivated, might have achieved for him distinction in this department of literature. A little before his death he completed a didactic poem which had occupied his leisure hours for many years. It is entitled "Lord's Day Musings," written in blank verse, and extending through seven books. His contributions to the "Christian Index," on a great variety of subjects, always arrested attention and repaid perusal. His chief fault as a writer consisted, probably, in a certain diffuseness of style and a lack of that sententious brevity or terseness which keeps the mind alert and expectant. In the too limited authorship which characterizes the Baptist ministry of Georgia and of the South, he occupies a foremost place. All that he ever published was like himself, pure, and good, and kind." He never wrote A line which, dying, he could wish to blot. " But, after all, it was probably in the pulpit that Charles D. Mallary gave the highest exhibition of the rare and various gifts with which he was endowed. First for his goodness, his holiness, and next for his power as a preacher, is he likely to be longest and most widely remembered. In his generation, among the Baptist ministers of Georgia he had few equals and no superior. The pulpit was the throne where he seemed most at home, in the fullest command of all his powers, and the most perfect display of all his sacred passions. He was emphatically an able preacher, replete with rich thought, mighty in the scriptures, lucid and happy in the method of his discussions, and powerful in the arguments with which he defended and enforced his positions. He loved what are called the "doctrines of grace," and often presented them as pulpit themes with masterly strength and consummate skill. He was a truly eloquent preacher, gifted with a rare command of appropriate, energetic and beautiful language in which to clothe his sublime conceptions. His occasional hesitation for a word, perhaps, rather heightened than impaired the effect of his preaching, since that hesitation was almost sure to terminate, not in a lame and impotent escape from the difficulty, but in a new and bolder outburst of impassioned thought. His imagination was one of the most striking of his intellectual endowments, and, when fired in the discussion of divine truth, it often bore him to the highest heaven of invention, sweeping his hearers along with him "beyond the flaming bounds of space and time," up to" The throne of God, the sapphire blaze, Where angels tremble as they gaze." He was an exceedingly ingenious preacher, not in the sense of being able to excite attention by the petty conceits, smart surprises and startling paradoxes of sensation sermonizers, but as conveying truth, like the great Teacher, by similes, parables and happy illustrations. It was this peculiarity which gave him in large measure his enviable distinction as a preacher for negroes and children. His preaching was strongly marked by that indescribable excellence denominated unction, the blending of sincerity, earnestness and tenderness. He impressed all hearers with the conviction that he believed what he spoke and felt what he believed. In the pulpit he betrayed little self-consciousness and no vanity. He seemed conscious only of his Master's presence and claims. He kept himself behind the cross and lost himself in the theme. He showed his greatness as a preacher by being nearly always equal to great occasions, although in his esteem there were no small occasions. At associational meetings, with an audience of thousands gathered in the grand temple of nature, his powers acquired their freest play, his feeble form dilated and became instinct with strange vigor, his long arms swung about him with Titanic energy, and his voice, in tones of organ-thunder, poured out the sublime thoughts and emotions with which he almost seemed inspired. Many of his sermons were very memorable and produced impressions which will long live in tradition. He never affected the arts of the orator, though he naturally adopted many of the best rules of the rhetorician and elocutionist. He spoke right on as his heart prompted, careless of gesture, intonations and all the niceties of style and manner. Indeed, it was unfortunate that he did not pay more attention to these minor matters. Had he cultivated and disciplined his naturally fine voice, and pruned away certain little infelicities of manner, and kept his pulpit forces more compactly together and more thoroughly in hand, his preaching would have gained considerably in its uniform impression. In his sermons, as in his writings, a certain diffuseness of style and a negligence of minute graces, together with a prolix tendency and a disposition to multiply divisions where differences were not sufficiently broad, constituted his most serious faults. But on the whole, while not a perfect pulpit model for imitation--as no minister is or should be regarded--he was a preacher of such compass and force, such fidelity and affection, such stately eloquence and childlike simplicity as is rarely vouchsafed to the church of Christ. It is natural to think of Mallary as a preacher in connection with the ministerial associates of his life. Of course it would be improper to compare him with any of those brethren still living with whom he delighted to labor, and it is a delicate task to institute a comparison between him and any of those companions who are now sharing with him the heavenly rest. There is one name, however, which involuntarily starts up at the mention of Mallary, as if united with it. We mean, of course, Dawson. This noble pair of brethren lived out their days in mutual esteem and love. They preached much together, they were singularly as one in their views of most subjects, and they co-operated heartily in promoting the same great objects. In the pulpit they were somewhat alike, and yet they were different. Dawson was more graceful, Mallary was more profound; Dawson was more impassioned, Mallary was more thoughtful. Perhaps Dawson had more genius; Mallary had more discipline and culture; Dawson was more moving; Mallary was more convincing; Dawson understood the nice cords of human nature something better, and how to strike them; Mallary was more thoroughly acquainted with great truths in their relations and harmony; Dawson's preaching was more popular and immediately effective; Mallary's was better adapted to be put in print and read at the fireside. It is instructive to reflect how little the settlement of the question, "Who was the greater preacher?" concerns them as they mingle in those associations where all the disputes and ambitions and rivalries of earth seem so mean. Few men of his generation have been equally active and useful with Dr. Mallary in promoting those great enterprises of benevolence which form so marked a characteristic of our age. He was an early, zealous and persevering advocate of the temperance cause. The claims of ministerial and general education found in him a devoted and self-sacrificing friend and champion. Sabbath-school instruction enlisted his warmest sympathy, and evoked some of the best productions of his tongue and pen. The missionary work, whether foreign or domestic, had not, perhaps, in the State of Georgia, another such toiling, believing, praying friend. His was eminently a missionary spirit. He was emphatically a working christian, combining, in an extraordinary degree, the active and contemplative elements of religious character. No danger that he would rust out. As a useful man, who faithfully served his generation, he had in his day few equals. Even should his name be forgotten, his influence will live in the endless succession of gracious causes and effects, striking on ward and downward "to the last syllable of recorded time." It has been said of some eminent man, that nothing in his life so little became him as his manner of leaving it. It was not so with Mallary. His death was perfectly congruous with his life just such as could have been desired, and would have been expected. Without extraordinary pangs of physical suffering, in full possession of all his mental faculties, soothed by the affectionate ministries of his children, he sank to his rest as gently as a wave dies along the shore when the storm has ceased. In the language of the finest epitaph of pagan antiquity, "his death was the close of a beautiful day." At the earnest solicitation of his friends, he had repaired to Magnolia springs, Sumter county, Georgia, several weeks previous to his death. As his end drew near, he lay completely passive in the divine hands. He said, "I am afraid to live, but not afraid to die;" and yet he was resigned to remain or depart. All day long, and most of the night, he discoursed concerning the Saviour and that heaven which was so near. At times he became so intensely interested in these glorious themes, that he would raise himself and sit erect in bed--a thing which ordinarily he was unable to do without assistance--and deliver exhortations so solemn and touching as to melt the most callous of his attendants to tears. When admonished that such exertions would injure him, he replied, "It does not harm me to talk of Jesus." He spoke much of his old friends, living and dead, alluding particularly to Mercer, Sanders, Dawson and others who had gone before and with whom he expected soon to renew his intercourse. He thanked God for his sufferings, as well as for his ease; and when asked, "Are you suffering much?' replied, "Yes, some, but Jesus is in the room; the room is full of ministering spirits!" His last words were, " Sweet" (clapping his hands,) " Home!" His end was not so much a death as a transition and transfiguration--not so much an unclothing, as a being clothed upon with the shining vestments of immortality. In contemplating such a termination of life as this, such a perfect euthanasy, we may well exclaim: "Is there a deathbed, where a christian lies? Yes, but not his: 't is death himself that dies." This brief review of the life and labors of this great and good man would be incomplete and unsatisfactory to his friends, and unjust to his character and memory, if no notice were taken of the position he occupied in regard to the great struggle for Southern independence, which was going on during the last four years of his life, and was still undecided at the time of his death. "The lost cause" was, of all earthly concerns, the nearest and dearest to his heart. Though he never took any part in politics--having rarely voted during a period of forty years--yet few men better understood the structure and history of the government, and no man was more devotedly attached to the Constitution and the Union. He watched with intense interest the great political movements which, from time to time, agitated the country, and mourned over the folly and fanaticism of the people and rulers. For some years previous to the war, he indulged the hope that our sectional difficulties might be settled, and that a terrible struggle might be averted. But soon after the "John Brown Raid" in Virginia, he went on a visit to his friends and relatives in his native State, (Vermont,) and was convinced from what he saw and heard, that war was inevitable. In a letter to his oldest son he says: "I have no hope of the country. Nothing but the power of a merciful God can save us from war and ruin. I fear that in his wrath he will punish the wickedness of the people. The North seems blind to its own interests, and determined to destroy us. The Constitution is no longer respected, and the higher law doctrine is embraced by all classes. Infidelity is on the increase, and religion in all the churches is sadly declining." His views of the condition of affairs remained unchanged, and after his return to his home he expressed the opinion that the union of the States would be severed, and separate governments established, or that a great military government would succeed, in which the South would be powerless. When the secession of the Southern States took place and they declared their independence, he approved most heartily of their action and sanctioned it by his vote. Though doubtful of our success, he never doubted the justice of our cause. After the conflict of arms began, his heart and soul was in it. In addition to the morning and evening family devotions, he spent half an hour of every afternoon in prayer for the Confederacy. Not only did he pray for the cause, but he contributed liberally of his means towards its support, believing that the principles of both civil and religious liberty were involved in the issue. Of African slavery, as it existed in the South, he was a zealous advocate, firmly believing it was sanctioned by divine authority. He looked upon it as the means appointed by providence for the civilization and evangelization of the African race. The violation of the provisions of the Constitution he considered a great sin; but the violation of God's providence by the abolition of slavery, he considered a greater sin. He expressed the opinion that abolition would result in the extermination of the negro race in America. In the last days of his life, his interest in the great cause seemed to increase. He heard that Atlanta had fallen: "Who knows, said he, but what I may be captured before I am called away?" And when asked how he would feel about it, answered, "Well, I will say to them, I am a poor old rebel do with me as you like." Daniel Marshall It is a matter of sincere and deep regret, that the accounts we have been able to collect of this pioneer of the Cross are so very meagre. We have learned only enough to make us earnestly desire to know more. He was born in 1706, in Windsor, a town in Connecticut. He was brought up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, by respectable and pious parents, and being hopefully converted at about twenty years of age, joined the then standing order of Presbyterians in his native place. The natural ardor of his mind soon kindled into the fire of a holy zeal, which raised him so high in the estimation of his brethren that they called him to the office of a deacon. In the exemplary discharge of his duty in this capacity, he continued near twenty years. He was in easy circumstances of life. During this period, he married his first wife, who soon died, leaving one son. At thirty-eight years of age, he heard that son of thunder, Rev. George Whitfield. With many other worthy people in New England, he became firmly fixed in the belief that the "latter day glory" was just at hand, and that it was his duty to do all he could to hasten it on. Some sold, gave away, or left their possessions, as the powerful impulse of the moment determined, and, without scrip or purse, rushed up to the head of the Susquehanna to convert the heathen. Daniel Marshall was among those who became missionaries to the Mohawk Indians. Sustained by faith, and urged on by a burning zeal, without hope of reward on earth, he relinquished his comfortable home in New England for a hut in the wilderness; the pleasures of refined society for the company of savages; plenty for want. These things he bore cheerfully, with a wife and three children, for eighteen months, during which period several of the Indians became obedient unto the faith, having been hopefully converted. War among the savage tribes occasioned his reluctant removal from among them. He pitched his tent a short time in Pennsylvania, and removed thence to Winchester, Virginia. Here he became acquainted with a Baptist church, adopted their sentiments, and in the forty-eighth year of his life, he and his wife were immersed. This was followed by a license from this church to preach the gospel, wherever, in the providence of God, his lot might be cast. God owned his labors. Many souls were soon awakened and converted. Once more his zeal impels him to plunge still deeper into the moral wilderness before him. We next find him at Hughwarry, North Carolina, where numbers were converted under his ministry. Thence, he proceeds to Abbott's creek, in the same State, where he was the instrument of planting a flourishing church, of which he was ordained pastor by his brothers in law, Rev. Henry Leadbetter and Rev. Shubael Stearns. In one of his excursions into Virginia about this time, he baptized that remarkable man, Colonel Samuel Harris, who, himself, immediately became a flaming torch amidst the surrounding darkness. Marshall and Harris made several tours together, and planted the gospel as far as James river. Not many years elapsed before he took an affectionate leave of his charge in North Carolina, and settled on Beaver creek, South Carolina. Here, also, a large church was soon raised up under his ministry, and which was, for a time, the object of his tender care and solicitude. His next removal was to Horse creek, about fifteen miles north of Augusta. The fruits of his labors here also appeared in a respectable church, whose sons, raised up under his care, have diffused the light of divine truth through various benighted regions. From Horse creek he made his first visit to Georgia, and preached the gospel in St. Paul's parish. This parish extended from Bean's creek on the south to Broad river on the north, and to the Ogeechee on the west. During his first visits he preached in private houses; but about his second or third visit, he had meeting in the woods, under a grove. While engaged in prayer, in the opening of the service, he was arrested by Constable Cartlidge, (afterwards a physician, and baptized by Mr. Marshall, and who continued steadfast in the faith until his death in about 1825,) and security for his appearance at Court was given by Hugh Middleton who resided just across the Savannah, on the South Carolina side. Mrs. Marshall, who was present, quoted several texts of Scripture with so much force as to confound the opposers and convict several persons. The services then went on, and after preaching two persons were baptized. The Monday following, Mr. Marshall and his security went to Augusta and stood his trial before Colonel Barnard (or Barnet) and Parson Ellington, of the Church of England. The latter seemed rather to take the place of the magistrate, and began the trial by commanding the prisoner to read a chapter in the Bible. This done, he abused him considerably, and ordered him to desist from preaching in the province. In the words of the apostle, when similarly circumstanced, he replied, " Whether it be right to obey God rather than man, judge ye." Colonel Barnard, the magistrate, was afterwards hopefully converted, and though deterred by the opposition of his wife from being baptized, was a zealous christian, and used to exhort his neighbors to flee the wrath to come. Thus it appears that it was not without stern opposition that Baptist sentiments were introduced into Georgia; that it was at the cost of much toil, and sacrifice, and insult, that our fathers purchased for us the religious privileges which we now so richly enjoy. On the first of January, 1771, Mr. Marshall came with his family and took up his final earthly residence at the Kiokee. The following spring the church was constituted, and is famous for having furnished materials for several other churches, and for having produced several eminent ministers of the gospel. Among these were Sanders Walker, Samuel Newton, Loveless Savidge, Alexander Scott and Abraham Marshall. This church prospered greatly, until the country became involved in the horrors of the revolutionary war. Even those troubles were not sufficient to drive her faithful pastor from his post. Like John, he stood by his master, while all men forsook the province and fled. As a friend to the American cause, he was once made a prisoner and put under a strong guard, but obtaining leave of the officers to have religious service with the guard, he spoke with such power and demonstration of the Spirit that officers and guard were amazed and confounded, and he was safely and honorably discharged. No fear of man could make him forsake his duty; for such, in his view, was the providence of God, that every bullet had its commission, and every individual person could but accomplish his will. Hence, on one occasion, when a party of tories demanded of him where he had concealed his horses, he sullenly refused to utter a word, although repeatedly threatened with death. This scene continued until his wife could bear the suspense no longer, and undertook herself to make the disclosure. The testimony on all hands is, that he was not remarkable for native strength of mind, but that he had high moral courage, untiring perseverance, flaming zeal, and that he was strictly pure in his manner of life. These qualities were at that time (and indeed are at all times,) more commanding of the respect of the world than the most splendid talents and the richest stores of learning. Such a man was needed in those times to stand up for religious toleration, to introduce the light into vast regions of moral darkness, and through the agitating times of the revolution to be the embodiment, and, as it were, repository of the principles of the gospel. He accomplished the work for which God seems to have protracted his life, and at his departure, having reached a good old age, and seen one descended from his loins, taking up his work, it is no wonder he had a peaceful and happy death. That event is thus described by his son, Rev. A. Marshall, "In his family he invariably performed his usual round of holy duties, till the morning immediately preceding his happy change. Fully apprised of this as at hand, and perfectly in his senses, he expressed distinctly and emphatically his steady and increasing confidence of future bliss. The following, taken by me, in the presence of a few deeply affected friends and relations, were his last words: 'Dear brethren and sisters, I am just gone. This night I shall probable expire; but I have nothing to fear. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith; and henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness. God has shown me that he is my God, that I am his son, and that an eternal weight of glory is mine.'" "The venerable partner of his cares, (and I may add, faithful assistant in all his labors) sitting bedewed with tears by his side, he proceeded, 'Go on, my dear wife, to serve the Lord. Hold out to the end. Eternal glory is before us!' After a silence of some minutes, he called me and said, 'My breath is almost gone. I have been praying that I may go home to-night. I had great happiness in our worship this morning, particularly in singing, which will make a part of my exercise in a blessed eternity.' Now, gently closing his eyes, he cheerfully gave up his soul to God, with whom, I doubt not, he walks high in salvation and the climes of bliss. This solemn event took place at the dawn of the 2d day of November, 1784, in the seventy-eighth year of his age. A suitable discourse to his memory was delivered by Rev. Charles Bussey." Mr. Marshall, after all his sacrifices for the cause of Christ, was blessed by a bountiful Providence with a sufficiency of the meat that perisheth, and left behind him an estate of considerable value. This was not the result of any special efforts of his to acquire property, and still less the benefits of his arduous labors in the ministry. But it was owing chiefly to the advantageous settlement he made at a time when the price of land was low, and to the quantity of land he was induced to take up on account of his numerous sons. Jabez P. Marshall Jabez P. Marshall was the eldest son of the venerable and lamented Abraham Marshall. He had an only brother, and they were the only children of their father; and as they were the children of rather his old age, like Jacob of old, he entertained for them a peculiar fondness. Jabez grew up rather in a prodigal way; full of the fashion and the pride of life, he exhibited very little regard for religion, though his father took great care to bring him up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. He was desirous also to afford him every opportunity for improvement and for the acquisition of that knowledge which he thought necessary to his future usefulness. Still, however, Jabez was bent upon a course of evil, frivolity and vanity. While at college in Athens, Georgia, he was very wild, and seemed more like a son of an infidel than of a pious, gospel minister. Some of his friends feared that all the care and expense of his anxious father would be lost or turned to bad account. But it was pleasing to the Lord, about the time our young friend graduated, or soon after, to bring his mind under serious conviction for sin. He saw himself a sinner, justly condemned by the holy law and exposed to everlasting wrath and misery. He knew not what to do. It was then that he inquired anxiously what he must do to be saved? but could find no relief by all that he could do, until he at length came to rely simply and alone upon Christ and him crucified. In him he saw a righteousness every way sufficient to justify him against all the claims of Divine Justice, to pardon all his sins, though mountain high in magnitude and in number, and to render him accepted in the beloved. Upon this he united with the church at the Kiokee, and soon after began to exhort his fellow-men to flee from the wrath to come. In due time he was licensed to preach, and not a great while thereafter he was ordained to the work of the ministry. There was something in our young brother, perhaps constitutional, which gave him an air of vanity and fickleness, and from which many of his friends feared for his success; but he rose above all their fears, and soon convinced them that he was a chosen vessel of the Lord to be an able minister of the New Testament. He succeeded his father in the pastoral office in the Kiokee church, in which he served with increasing affection and usefulness until his death. As regards his religious sentiments, he was strictly a predestinarian. His theme was free grace. He believed that man, as a sinner, is totally depraved and dead in trespasses and sins, so that nothing good can be done until that state is changed; and that this can be done alone by the spirit of life in Christ Jesus. But still he held men to be morally bound to obey God, according to his righteous claims on them as rational beings, accountable for the right use of their natural powers, and justly condemned for not rendering them back to God in holy obedience. That none did this, and consequently all were justly condemned. He inculcated practical religion on professors as the only evidence of a gracious state and the means whereby they can glorify God. He was a thorough-going missionary, and engaged in all the benevolent plans of the day, zealously advocating every scheme which seemed to be calculated to carry out the commission and fulfill the commands of Christ. As a preacher he was studious, aiming constantly at a strict compliance with the injunction of Paul on Timothy, regarding it as an injunction alike upon all that minister in holy things: "Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." As the priests were to bring none but beaten oil into the tabernacle for light, our brother thought it wrong for him to bring discourses into the church, which cost him no care, and in this sense attempt to worship God with unbeaten oil. In the delivery of his sermons he was clear, zealous and touching. Sometimes, apart from his eccentricities, which were regretted by his friends, he was eloquent and profound. As regards his general course, he was persevering, punctual and indefatigable. His body was frail and his constitution weak. It is believed his incessant labors and the little care he seemed to take of himself, were the cause, speaking after the manner of men, of his early removal. The immediate cause of his death was the measles, which excited the latent diseases of his constitution, baffled all medical skill, and terminated his earthly existence, in April, 1832. James Matthews Sr. The subject of this memoir was born in Virginia, the 15th of October, A. D., 1755. His parents were Moses and Sarah Matthews, who were poor but reputable members of the "High Church," as it was then called, but without any knowledge of the regenerating influences of the Holy Spirit. Consequently they taught their son nothing of the necessity of the new birth. While James was quite an infant, his parents moved to South Carolina, where he grew up to manhood, with scarcely any other improvement than that gained by the labors of the field in procuring the necessary support for the family. It pleased the Lord, in his fifteenth year, to excite in him a solicitude about his future state. It was not, however, until August of his seventeenth year, that he became the subject of those heart searching convictions which resulted in his being brought, about the middle of October, into the liberty of the gospel by faith in Christ. After enduring many doubts and fears for several months, he was baptized in March the following year, 1773, by Jacob Gibson, the venerable pastor of the Baptist church on Little river, (or Broad river,) South Carolina, with which church he united. Under the ministry of Mr. Gibson he was nurtured for several years. About this time also, his parents, much to his comfort, became hopeful subjects of divine grace and united with the same church, in which profession they lived happily, and died hopefully in a good old age. Soon after our brother had obtained hope in Christ, his mind became impressed with the condition of his fellow-men, and under a discourse from Elder A. Marshall, of Georgia, his feelings became so elevated that, ere he was aware, he was exhorting the people. After he was united with the church, his desire to do good to the souls of his fellow-creatures increased, and he became more deeply impressed with the duty of engaging in the ministry. But he was still deterred by his want of suitable qualifications. To supply his want of education, he endeavored to make attainments in learning by every means in his power, but, for want of time and books, he never attained to that degree which he so much desired. The revolutionary war taking place, he was called into camp. Surrounded by loose, carnal company, he had but little opportunity, and less suitableness of spirit, for preaching. Still he could not be at rest. When far advanced in age, he wrote to a friend that from the first dawn of his christian hope his mind was impressed with the duty of publicly exhorting, though he had no expectation of entering upon the ministry--nay, the very thought was too much for him--but he could not suppress the desire to do good to his fellow-men. He was much disposed to solitude, and sought occasions to ride alone to meeting. One Sabbath morning, when thus riding alone on a private road, he was impressed to turn aside for prayer. He did so, and while at prayer the words, "I have chosen you to preach the gospel," seemed, like thunder, to burst from heaven into his heart. But instantly he felt a violent opposition to what seemed to him the will of God. He went to meeting in extreme anguish. At the close of the prayer the minister said, "Send thy gospel far and wide; and for this end take thy gospel ministers near thee." At hearing these words he seemed himself to be taken near, even into the arms of the Saviour, and the words, "I have chosen you to preach the gospel," rushed with double force on his mind, and he trembled, so that he could scarcely regain his seat. This left an abiding impression on his mind that God had called him to preach the gospel to a dying world. But still he hesitated, under an appalling sense of his want of qualifications. In the meantime, he had married a Mrs. Jenkins, a member of the church, by whom he had one son. But it pleased God soon to remove her from him by death. This trying bereavement was the occasion of his becoming excited to a more active discharge of his duty, to which he was also encouraged by having received the approbation of the church to preach the gospel. In 1782, he moved into the State of Georgia with his motherless little boy, and united with the Red's creek church, under the care of Elder L. Savage, in Columbia county. He preached among them, and traveled as he had opportunity for two or three years. Having gained their approbation and esteem, he was called to ordination, and came under the imposition of hands by a presbytery, namely, Elders L. Savage, D. Tinsly, S. Walker and A. Marshall, in 1785. With these excellent men he lived in high esteem, both as a christian and as a minister, during their lives. He now went forth as a missionary of the cross, filled with a fervid zeal for the Lord and an ardent love for the souls of men. He soon acquired general esteem, and his career promised, as it has by the grace of God accomplished, much usefulness. He married his second wife in 1786, Miss Rebecca Carlton, who was his mourning relict. She proved to be a help meet for him indeed, and "helped him much in the gospel." Of the twelve children, three of the sons and an infant daughter, as also his first born son, are gone to their long home. One of the sons has since the death of his father, been ordained to the gospel ministry. The latter is a hopeful exhorter; and the other three are moral and respectable citizens. The three daughters all profess hope in Christ. It was not long before our brother attracted the attention of the churches, and was called into their service. The first church he was engaged with, was situated on Briar creek, in Burke county, at Botsford's old meeting-house. This church was constituted before the revolutionary war, under the ministry of that venerable man of God, Rev. Edmund Botsford, after whom it is called to this day. During the war it had dwindled almost to extinction; but after his connection with it, the work of the Lord prospered under his labors. And in one year he had the unspeakable joy to lead seventy hopefully redeemed sinners into the yielding stream, and bury them in baptism with Christ, in hope of a glorious resurrection with him into eternal life. The work spread and two other churches were constituted, and the foundation of another was laid, which afterwards was built up. The two constituted were at Buckhead and Mobley's pond. In the former he baptized about fifty; and many others in the latter, as well as at Rocky creek, a branch of one of the churches. But falling sick, and remaining with his family in a declined state of health, he deemed it expedient to leave the low country. He moved to Wilkes county, and settled on a farm on Clark's creek, which was his unchanged residence till death. Here he soon became a member, and the pastor of the church at Clark's station. He undertook the pastoral care of this church about the year 1789, and continued it about fifteen years. During this period he enjoyed much satisfaction. He had the esteem and confidence of church and people; and labored much night and day for their good. His zeal and fervent mind for the prosperity of the church and for the salvation of his congregation are embalmed with his devout prayers and many tears, in the tenderest recollections of his numerous and affectionate surviving friends. But the season was barren--a wide spreading religious dearth afflicted the State in many sections, and few churches suffered more than that at Clark's station. From the records of the Association it appears, very few were added to this church by baptism during his connection with it. At length a contention took place in the church, which disposed him to resign his office, and to unite himself with his sister church at Fishing creek. Of this church also, he became the pastor a few years before his death. In this relation he continued as the pastor in much affection, till age and disease made it necessary to retire from the office. But he continued a member in much christian love and esteem with all the brethren till his death. The church was in a very declined state when he joined it, and received but few additions, (chiefly of blacks.) Of late, however, a happy revival has taken place, and within two years nearly a hundred members have been added. It is now in a good state of resuscitation and joyful increase. He was called to the pastoral supply of several other churches, according to the custom in this part of the country, of having only one church meeting in a month. In this relation he was engaged with the church in Elbert county, at Hebron. He had been instrumental in gathering and constituting this church in the early part of his evangelical ministry, but when he moved down the country, Jeremiah Walker, from Virginia, became their pastor. He had been the subject of most shameful apostasy [apostacy], and professing restoration, he also professed a change of sentiment, and adopted certain unscriptural opinions. He was instrumental in drawing off a part of the members to his sentiments, and soon (for his powers of argumentation were great,) spread the defection into other churches, and succeeded, by the help of some other preachers, in effecting a division in the Association. This division among the Baptists (for at this time there was only one Baptist Association in Georgia,) filled the State with controversy. In those severe conflicts which tried men's souls, our beloved brother was much shaken. He was affectionately connected with several of the seceding party, and very much so with Mr. Walker, which circumstance contributed not a little to his indecision and want of firmness. But it pleased the Lord, as he believed, to save him from this unsoundness of mind, and more than ever to confirm his sentiments respecting the sovereign and free grace of God. In reference to this fact only a little before his death, he wrote to a friend thus: "My life is just gone--but had I a thousand lives and ten thousand tongues, I would willingly spend them all in the delightful work and in preaching the same doctrines, and in the same denomination. I say the same doctrine, for once the great Jeremiah Walker had well nigh led me to embrace the Arminian sentiments. Had it not been for my experience, the works of Providence and grace, more especially the character and goodness of God, I should have embraced those delusive errors." However, after his engagement with the regular part of this church, the death of Mr. Walker occurred, and his influence died with him. Several of the disaffected members returned and sought union again with their deserted brethren, and better times ensued. He had the happiness of receiving sixty or seventy to baptism and the fellowship of the church in the term of his service with them, which was about twenty-five years. But the meeting-house being situated between Broad and Savannah rivers, and other churches being constituted in more commodious places contiguous, and the number of members diminishing by deaths and removals, the church was regularly dissolved and the members united with the adjoining churches. Our brother was early in his ministry engaged with the church at Rocky Spring. The church was situated in Wilkes (now Lincoln) county, near the Savannah river. Here he labored with good effect and much harmony and christian affection for thirty years. He enjoyed two precious revivals, and baptized many happy believers. His own is, "That in one of these gracious seasons I baptized near by one hundred," and it is a fair calculation that in the other, and at all times, he did not receive less than one hundred. But we have no data at hand which will precisely show how many. The veneration and christian estimation in which he was held by church and people, fully appears in a letter and resolution he received from them on the occasion of his leaving. He served the church also as a pastoral supply for twenty years or more at Newford. This church lies in the northeast of Wilkes county, and here the labors of our brother were blessed with two precious revivals, in which he baptized more than a hundred, and saw the work of the Lord prosper in his hands. Here he labored until afflictions, a few years before his death, made it necessary to retire from all his pastoral services. In the same capacity he also attended a church in South Carolina, at Buffalo. In this church he had not the happiness to enjoy much success. He continued his labors for five years, baptized a few only, and declined his attendance. He then gave his services to the church at Greenwood. Here he enjoyed a good degree of success. In the short time he was engaged with this church he baptized about fifty. But some young ministers being raised up, after two years he left the church to their care and retired. In the course of his ministry, which continued upwards of forty years, he aided in the constitution of five churches and in the ordination of twenty-one ministers, and was the instrument of much usefulness. He died in a good old age of seventy-three years, highly esteemed for his work's sake. In his civil and social life he was innocent, honorable and generous. As a christian, he was devoted and persevering. As a minister, in prayer fervent, in exhortation warm, in doctrine clear--in all, ardent, zealous and indefatigable. He lived as he died, in the Lord. His views of himself were very humble; he walked much in the vale of tears, and conversed much with his own heart. He often complained of his want of spiritual comforts to his confidential religious friends. Yet he was often on the mount enjoying the light of heaven and of God. He was particularly anxious for the salvation of his children. He was zealous to "bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord." He poured out his prayers and strong cries to God for them; yet he saw no lasting symptoms of permanent hope until they were all grown and chiefly settled in families. This gave him "great heaviness and continual sorrow in his heart." He made several unsuccessful efforts to have them all assembled together once before he died, that he might detail to them his own christian experience and ground of hope, and address to them, as it were, his dying admonition. This he effected, in connection with a meeting to be continued several days, held at the church near him, some time before his death. One evening they all repaired to his house together with several of his brethren in the ministry, and having called the attention of all, he stated his earnest desire for their salvation, and his reasons for wishing them all together and the design of his address. He then rehearsed at length his religious experience and hope of salvation, and with much affection and earnestness exhorted them to flee from the wrath to come--to Jesus Christ the only Saviour. All was solemn, impressive and interesting. It pleased God, a little before his decease, to bring his son, named after himself, to the hope of the gospel, and to incline his mind to the ministry. His daughters soon after became hopeful believers, and, just before his death, another son made a declaration of his faith in Christ and transmitted an account of his experience to his father, but it was not received by the family until it was too late. Our beloved brother was the subject of severe and protracted afflictions, which he bore with patience and fortitude. In addition to many other infirmities he lost his hearing. This was truly an affliction to him, as it broke off almost altogether his social enjoyments and intercourse. But it was observed that though he could not hear himself speak, he preached with more ardor and clearness than before. About two years before his decease he was sick, in the view of all his friends and of himself, unto death. He was happily sustained in his religious feelings. His beloved pastor, Rev. James Armstrong, visited him, to whom he said, "After my departure, I wish you, or my brother Jesse Mercer--if he returns home in time, (for he was in New York, attending the General Convention,) to deliver a discourse to my friends and brethren, from II. Corinthians, v. 8." But it was the will of God to raise him up, and he afterwards enjoyed pretty good health, and traveled and preached considerably. His last tour was to attend the General Association of Georgia, where he preached the closing sermon, under sensible indications, as was reported by them that heard him, that it was to be his last. In his final sickness he languished for many days. His faith was fixed and his soul serene. When prayer was about to be made, he perceiving it, said, "Pray not for my recovery, for I wish to go." When almost past articulation, he said to his much beloved brother Mercer, in broken accents, "I believe I shall die of this disease. "O, for some angel bands to bear My soul up to the skies, Where years of long salvation roll, And glory never dies." His pain in some measure ceased for some time before his death, and he lay quite composed, waiting till his change should come, which occurred on the afternoon of June 5th, 1828. His remains were deposited in his own grave-yard, at his late residence. A short time after, his funeral sermon was preached by Mr. Mercer, from the text of his choice, "Willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord." Jesse Mercer Notwithstanding an extended and most interesting memoir of Mr. Mercer has been extensively circulated in the State, from the pen of Rev. C. D. Mallary, the author of this work supposes his name, at least, ought to appear among those of his brethren. It is believed, however, that a very brief notice of him is all that is needed here. He was the son of Silas Mercer, one of the pioneers of the gospel in Georgia, and was born in Halifax county, North Carolina, December 16, 1769. He was the eldest of a family of eight children, consisting of five sons and three daughters. He was a most amiable and moral youth, having never been known to be overcome by passion, or to have used a profane oath. His conversion took place when he was about fifteen years of age, he was baptized in his eighteenth year, and soon after began to preach the gospel. His marriage to Miss Sabrina Chivers occurred in his nineteenth year, January 31, 1788, with whom he lived till the period of her death, in 1826. Mr. Mercer's opportunities for education in early life were very poor, and his subsequent improvement and usefulness seem to have been greatly promoted by his first wife. He was ordained before he was twenty years old, by Silas Mercer and Sanders Walker. Though so very young, he was called to the pastoral care of Hutton's Fork, (now Sardis,) in Wilkes county, which relation he sustained for more than twenty years. Such was his desire for education that, even after his marriage and ordination, he sold out his little farm and went to school two years to Mr. Springer, a Presbyterian clergyman, under whom he obtained some knowledge of the learned languages. From this time, the field of his labors was much enlarged, and we find him not only preaching to the churches at Powelton and Eatonton, (then the most important in the interior of the State,) but traveling far and near, and being well received everywhere. He was the most influential minister of his day, and perhaps the most distinguished minister of the denomination ever reared up in the State. Yet many others were more successful in gathering members into the church, and, indeed, of promoting revivals of religion. In 1798, Mr. Mercer was a member of the Convention which was appointed to amend the State Constitution. His services in that body were highly valuable. A lawyer moved that ministers of the gospel be ineligible to the office of legislator, which was warmly advocated by both doctors and lawyers. Mr. Mercer offered an amendment, to the effect that both these professions be included in the contemplated Act. The motion was speedily withdrawn. He offered once for Senator in the county where he then resided, but was not elected. Afterwards, he was urged to allow his name to be used for the office of Governor, but positively declined the honor. On several occasions did he represent his brethren in the sessions of the Triennial Convention of the United States, always with credit to himself and to the satisfaction of his constituents. The degree of Doctor of Divinity was conferred upon him by Brown University, though the title was seldom applied to him among his immediate friends, knowing it would not be agreeable to him. For many years he was moderator of the Georgia Association, of the Baptist State Convention, and, indeed, of all the general meetings of the denomination when he was present, and where it was meet he should act in that capacity. His second marriage was to Mrs. Simons. His approach to the tomb was gradual, he having experienced a low state of health for years before his death. This event, deeply lamented by thousands, took place at the residence of Rev. James Carter, Butts county, September 6, 1841. His remains were taken to Penfield, and buried near the site of Mercer University, named in honor of him. His estate, which was large for a Georgia minister, was bequeathed to the above University, and other benevolent objects. Seldom has the world been blessed with such a man as Jesse Mercer. Since the foregoing was published, Mr. Mercer has been grossly misrepresented in a work by W. H. Sparks "Memories of Fifty Years." It is charged that he took advantage of an invitation from the Legislature to preach a funeral sermon in memory of Governor Rabun, and instead thereof, delivered a bitter political harangue, aimed at Governor Clarke, Rabun's successor. The Journals of the Legislature show, on the contrary, that he preached, on that occasion, "a pathetic and appropriate sermon," which was published by that body, a majority of which were political friends of Clarke, and who had but recently elected him to office. Silas Mercer We take the following sketch of this good man, so prominent in the history of Georgia Baptists, from "Benedict's History of the Baptists:" Silas Mercer was born near Currituck bay, North Carolina, in February, 1745. His mother died while he was an infant; his father was a zealous member of the Church of England, and carefully instructed him in the catechism, rites and traditions of that communion. From early years young Silas was religiously inclined, but it was not until he arrived at manhood, that he was brought to the knowledge of salvation through a divine Redeemer. He was for a long time embarrassed and bewildered with that legal system which he had been taught in his mother church, and so deeply rooted were the prejudices of his education, that it took him long to learn that salvation is not of works. But he at length gained clear and consistent views of the gospel plan, and was through his long ministry a distinguished and powerful defender of the doctrine of free, unmerited grace. Until after his conversion, Mr. Mercer was most violently opposed to Dissenters in general, and to the Baptists in particular. He would on no account hear one preach, and endeavored to dissuade all others from attending their meetings. He most firmly believed what his father and parson had taught him, that they were all a set of deceivers, that their heresies were dangerous if not damnable, and that to hear one preach would be a crime of peculiar enormity. He knew, however, but little about them, only that they had separated from the church, and ought therefore to be opposed and avoided. For these reasons he continued a violent opposer to them, and zealously to defend the church; but his ingenuous mind could not long be restrained by the shackles of tradition, without examining things for himself; he therefore began a course of inquiries, which gradually underminded his traditionary creed, and led on to the Baptist ground. He first resolved to follow strictly the rubric of the church, both in doctrine and discipline; and finding it enjoined immerson, unless the weakness of the child required a milder mode, he had two of his children dipped. The first a son, in a barrel of water at the priest's house, and the other a daughter, in a tub, which had been prepared for the purpose at the church. The son was named Jesse, who has been a worthy minister in Georgia; he was baptized again, on a profession of his faith, and is of course an ana-Baptist. Mr. Mercer was also struck with the neglect of discipline in the church; he saw with pain that persons grossly immoral in many respects were admitted to their communion, and became convinced that things ought not so to be. Hervey's Theron and Aspasio started him from the Arminian system and set him on a train of reflections which issued in a thorough conviction of the doctrine of the gospel. He labored for a time to reform the church, but finding the building was too far gone to be repaired, he receded from it with reluctant steps, and became a Baptist when he was about thirty years of age, and continued from that time to the end of his life an ornament to their cause and a skillful defender of their distinguishing tenets. Few men, perhaps, have had more severe conflicts in renouncing the prejudices of education than Mr. Mercer. His kind but bigoted father threw in his way obstacles which he could not at first surmount; the church priest, and the whole Episcopal fraternity around him, used the most assiduous endeavors to prevent him from going amongst the heretical Baptists. The first of the denomination he ever heard preach was a Mr. Thomas, at that time a successful preacher in North Carolina. It was with much reluctance, and with many fearful apprehensions of the dangerous consequences, that he was induced to attend the meeting. But in spite of all his prejudices, the preacher drew his attention and led him to think that he was not such a dangerous deceiver as he had always before supposed. This was on Monday. The next Lord's day, the priest being absent, and his father being clerk, performed as usual the duties of his office. As yet none of the family knew that Silas had been to the Baptist meeting. After the service of the day was over, a person asked him, in the hearing of his father, how he liked the Baptist preacher? He was much confused and knew not what to answer; but his conscience obliged him to express some degree of approbation, at which the old gentleman burst into tears and exclaimed, "Silas, you are ruined!" and out he went, hastily home. Silas, alarmed, took hastily after him to soothe his grief and appease his resentment. The offended father and offending son were so deeply affected with the trifling affair, that they forgot their wives and left them to go home alone. The charm was now broken, and from this period Mr. Mercer began to entertain more favorable views of the people he had hitherto so much censured and despised. Not long after this he removed to Georgia, and settled in what is now Wilkes county, where, about 1775, he was baptized by Mr. Alexander Scott, and united with the church at Kiokee, by which he was almost immediately approbated to preach. At the commencement of the American war, he fled for shelter to Halifax county, in his native State, where he continued about six years, all of which time he was incessantly engaged in preaching as an itinerant in different places around; and it is found by his journal that, taking the whole six years together, he preached oftener than once a day, that is, more than two thousand sermons in the time. At the close of the war, he returned to his former residence in Georgia, where he continued to the end of his days. In this State he labored abundantly with good effect, and was the means of planting a number of churches in different parts of the country. He was justly esteemed one of the most exemplary and useful ministers in the Southern States. His learning was not great, but having a desire that his young brethren might obtain greater advantages than he enjoyed, he had set up a school at his house, procured an able teacher, and was in a promising way to promote the interests of learning in the churches around him; but in the midst of his benevolent plans and distinguished usefulness he was, after a short illness, removed from the scene of his employments, in 1796, in the fifty-second year of his age. The following portrait of Mr. Mercer's character is found in Mr. Semple's "History of the Virginia Baptists," page 82: "Mr. Mercer, both in countenance and manners, had considerably the appearance of sternness, and to feel quite free in his company it was necessary to be well acquainted with him. He seldom talked on any other subject except religion, and when in company with young preachers, or those who might question his doctrine or his opinions, his remarks chiefly turned on polemical points. He was indefatigable in striving to maintain his opinions, and for this purpose would hear any and all objections that could be raised, and would then labor assiduously to remove them. His arguments, however, neither in private or public life, were ever dressed with oratorical ornaments. He spoke and acted like one who felt himself surrounded by the impregnable bulwarks of truth, and therefore did not wish to parley." He was more distinguished as a preacher than writer, but he devoted considerable time to study, and the following pieces were the productions of his leisure hours: 1st. "Tyranny Exposed and True Liberty Discovered," in a 12 mo. pamphlet of sixty-eight pages, the design of which was to show the rise, reign and downfall of anti-Christ. 2d. "The supposition of the Divine Right of Infants to Baptism, from their formerly having a right to circumcision, confuted," being a letter to a friend. This piece was not printed. 3d. "The History of Baptism," carried to some extent, but left unfinished. 4th. Two "Letters on Election," left unpublished. John Milner Jr To write the biography of one who was more highly valued in all the relations of life by those who knew him best, or whose death was more lamented by a numerous circle of friends and acquaintances, rarely falls to the lot of man. The writer exceedingly regrets that this worthy man has left so few materials in writing to aid in making out this sketch of his life and labors. He was born October 17th, 1775. His father was a licensed preacher of the Baptist denomination, his mother a member of the same church, and a most godly woman. Old Mr. Milner, who was a staunch whig in the revolution, suffered much from history neighbors. On one occasion, while his wife was absent in the neighborhood, two of them came into his field, took two of his best horses from the plough, gathered together all his negroes and drove them off before his face, threatening to shoot him down if he spoke a word. They had not proceeded far when they met Mrs. Milner returning home. The negroes cried out in great distress, "Oh, mistress, de tories takin' us all off. Oh, mistress, what shall we do?" She answered, "Why, go back, every one of you. You shall not go off a step. Go right back home." "Oh, mistress, dey'll kill us." "No, they shan't kill you. Go back." The tories hung down their heads, while the negroes turned back with their mistress. His sons, John and Pitt, once set off to market with a loaded wagon, very early one morning, without having waited for family prayer, They had not gone far before their well trained team stalled, and they had to return home for help. The father used the circumstance to impress their minds with the importance of punctuality to our religious duties, especially family prayer. And he was so successful that they seemed never to have forgotten it. The subject of this notice took up the cross and prayed in his family long before he joined the church. His education was limited to the ordinary branches of English. He was not one who could boast that he had finished his education. He believed, on the contrary, that a minister of the gospel should never feel that his education is completed, but should continue through life to "study to show himself approved unto God." Woe to that minister, and to the people of his charge, who feels that he has no longer any occasion for improvement! On the 24th of December, 1795, he was married to Miss Eunice Callaway. Some years after their marriage, his wife became anxiously concerned about the state of her soul. Though he made no pretentions to religion at that time, yet he kindly invited Rev. Jesse Mercer to visit and converse with his wife. Mr. Mercer complied, and soon after he had the happiness to baptize Mrs. Callaway upon a profession of her faith in Christ. Several years intervened before Mr. Milner himself became interested about the great salvation. In a distressed state of mind, he went some distance to hear Mr. Mercer preach. Under the sermon he found no relief. His trouble was greatly increased. He followed the preacher to his horse, filled with awful sensations. In deep agony he grasped Mr. Mercer's hand, saying, "What shall I do? I am lost! I am lost!" Mr. Mercer calmly replied, "I was once at the house of a man, (alluding to his visit to Mrs. Milner,) whose wife was in awful distress, and when I tried to comfort her, her husband remarked, if he were in her place, he would believe in Christ. Now, I reckon the best way will be to go and believe in Christ." And so he left the poor man in deep waters. After a sore conflict,God was pleased to reveal his Son in him, while reading the following lines of Dr. Young: " The ransom was paid down; the fund of heaven, Heaven's inexaustible, exhausted fund, Amazing and amazed, poured forth the price, All price beyond And was the ransom paid? It was, and paid (What can exalt the bounty more?) for you!" He was baptized by Mr. Mercer at Sardis church, Wilkes county, February 22d, 1812. He was first appointed clerk of the church, then deacon, then exhorter. In these capacities did he serve several years before his ordination, which took place after his removal to Jones county, say in 1825. The presbytery consisted of Malachi Reeves, Benjamin Milner and Iveson L. Brookes. His labors were not confined to his own immediate vicinity, but were extended into remote regions. His preaching was well received wherever he went. On one of his preaching tours he fell in with a gentleman (as he believed, providentially,) from whom he purchased the tract of land upon which Barnesville, in Pike county, now stands. His oldest son made a settlement upon it, in visiting whom, from time to time, Mr. Milner found a few sheep scattered about in the wilderness, the country being then quite new. These he gathered into the church now known as Sardis, at Barnesville. This little band at first consisted of less than a dozen members. At the period of Mr. Milner's death, 1841, it had increased to near one hundred and twenty members. It was in 1827 that he left Jones county and settled near this church. Here again his zeal impelled him to press into the surrounding neighborhood, holding forth the lamp of life. Other churches were soon gathered, to which he ministered. As his bodily strength declined, his sphere of usefulness continued to enlarge. And as his end drew near his way was "as the path of the just, which shineth more and more unto the perfect day." No service was too arduous, no sacrifice too great, "so that he might finish his course with joy, and the ministry he had received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God." If such examples do not rouse us preachers of these days to a full sense of our responsibilities, it is feared we may be given over to blindness of mind and obduracy of heart. Oh, let us be followers of those who, through faith and patience, have inherited the promises. While Mr. Milner exerted a good influence in public, his social and private influence was still better. He was often heard to affirm, but not boastingly but with gratitude to God, that he had never sworn a profane oath, nor gambled to any amount, nor purchased a half pint of spirituous liquors. Such high toned morality is believed to be rarely found in the youth of this age of boasted improvement. He obeyed the injunction, "Husbands, love your wives." A more affectionate and attentive husband perhaps never lived. As a father, his examples, his counsels, and his prayers seem to have had a most happy effect upon his children, most of them being pious, and all of them persons of moral worth. Mr. Milner lived to a good old age, having died in his sixty-sixth year, January 21, 1841. For twenty years he had been a faithful laborer in his Master's vineyard. On the Sabbath preceding his decease he attended divine service at Sardis church and preached from Acts xiii. 38, 39. He had a slight attack (an affection of the heart,) on that day. On Monday evening it was renewed with such violence as to baffle all medical skill, and continued till Wednesday evening following, when death came to his relief. To a daughter he said, "I shall die, but I am not afraid of death." To his children he said, "Oh, my children, I have taught you in the way. I have kept the faith of the gospel." His burial was attended by a large and weeping assembly, and the church convened and expressed by resolution the estimation in which they held their late pastor. The limits of this work prevent us from enlarging this notice. John H. Milner It is matter of sincere regret that, for want of materials, so little can be recorded of this excellent man. If all the facts of his useful life, or any considerable portion of them, could be gathered up, they would doubtless form an entertaining and instructive volume. But, like most men of his day, he kept no record of his labors, so that we are left with the merest outline of his arduous life. He was born in Wilkes county, Georgia, July 24th, 1792, and died at his residence in Pike county, March 9th, 1857, in the sixty-fifth year of his age. He was the subject of strong religious impressions in early youth, and was hopefully converted and baptized by Rev. Jesse Mercer into the fellowship of the Sardis church, in his native county, in the sixteenth year of his age, of which church he was elected clerk soon thereafter. In the winter of 1816 and 1817, he removed, with his family, to Jones county, where he remained until 1824. His next removal was to Monroe county, where he became a member of Rocky Creek church, then under the pastoral care of that eminent and successful minister of Christ, Rev. John M. Gray. Towards the close of the great revival, which commenced in 1827 and continued more than two years, (the most memorable that has ever occurred in the State,) Mr. Milner was licensed to preach the gospel, viz.: in the early part of 1829. With the zeal of the Apostolic days, he threw himself into the glorious work then in progress, preaching from house to house, among his neighbors, and wherever an effectual door was opened to him. God gave him seals to his ministry from the first, and many were brought into the fold through his instrumentality. He was ordained at Shiloh church, Monroe county, in May, 1835, by a presbytery consisting of John Ross, Jonathan Nichols, Joseph Chipman and John Milner. In December of that year, he removed to Pike county, where he spent the remainder of his exemplary and useful life, restricting his labors mostly to that county, and to Monroe and Meriwether, though he occasionally sallied out into the regions around. No man was more noted for punctuality. He carried this habit or virtue, as it deserves to be called into all his arrangements, whether social, religious or secular. Nothing but some providential interference prevented his attention to family worship, to his church meetings, or to any business engagement with his fellow-men; and he was always there at the appointed time. Surely his example, in this respect, is worthy of imitation. What a world of trouble would be prevented if all men, or even if all ministers, would govern themselves by the same rule! He believed the "strong doctrines of grace," as they are called, which are taught in the scriptures, and which he had learned from Mercer, Marshall and others, under whose preaching he was brought up. He had a heart ever aglow with warm, practical benevolence, which flowed out in streams, not only to the needy around him, but also to the heathen, even to the ends of the earth. He ever felt the deepest interest in the cause of missions, especially of foreign missions. The poor Indians excited his sympathies and called forth his fervent prayers. Yet no man possessed a more stern and inflexible character. No man was more firmly fixed in what he considered the principles of truth and righteousness than he. Faithfully did he serve his family, his generation and his God. At his own request, repeatedly made, both privately and publicly, his family had inscribed on his tombstone the words, "A sinner saved by grace." His death was sudden, resulting from a violent attack of sickness, of less than twenty-four hours continuance, his last sermon having been preached only two days previously. He died triumphantly, with his armor on. Oh! what a glorious death! The author has a most vivid recollection of the last interview he had with John H. Milner. It was the closing scene of the Flint River Association, at Griffin, the fall preceding his death, the exercises of which were conducted by him. He seemed to have a presentiment that his end was at hand; and that address, and that prayer those trembling tones, and those weeping eyes, left impressions not soon to be obliterated. Eliljah Mosely Was brought up as a preacher under William Davis, in Holly Springs church, Elbert county, where he was licensed. He was ordained September 5, 1807. In 1808, he joined Crooked Creek church, Putnam county, and was moderator of the Ocmulgee Association many years. In 1817, he accompanied Mr. Mercer to Philadelphia as a delegate from the Ocmulgee Missionary Society (of which he was president,) to the Triennial Baptist Convention of the United States, and heartily approved the measures adopted for a theological school. He was a preacher of great power. His opportunities for education in early life had been slender, but he had a strong native mind and an insatiable thirst for knowledge as he advanced in his ministerial career, because he discovered his need. Such men will gather up a valuable fund of information, whether they ever see a college or not. Such, too, derive great advantage from the labors and works of their more learned brethren. During the last war with England, say about 1813, he volunteered his services (whether as a chaplain or private soldier, the author is not informed,) in the army against the Creek Indians. He sustained a high reputation among the soldiers, to whom he frequently preached, and to whom he was greatly useful. Some may think he did even more than his duty, for, when the conflict came, he was in the thickest of the fight, and was wounded in defense of his country. About 1820, he removed to Alabama, and survived but a short time. A son of his, Rev. William Mosely, is a preacher in the Towalagi Primitive Association a man of reputable talents, but opposed to the institutions of the day. He is a man of logical mind, a natural orator, and is greatly admired and beloved by his friends. In 1840, during the presidential campaign, he felt it his duty to speak and to write on the affairs of the country, and his efforts were believed by many to have exerted a powerful influence in favor of Whig principles. In 1846, he ran for Congress against a distinguished opponent, but was beaten by a small majority. It is hoped he may yet see it his duty to adopt the views of his venerated father on the subject of benevolence, and employ his talents (which are of no mean order,) in building up where he has been wont to pull down. William Mosely October 21st, 1796 - March 6th, 1865 This brother, who was quite eminent in that portion of the denomination with which he was identified, was the son of Rev. Elijah Mosely, also an eminent man in his day. They were descendants of English and Welch parentage. William was born in Elbert county, Georgia, October 21st, 1796. His opportunities for education in early life were quite limited, his schooling amounting, in all, perhaps, to not more than twelve months. Yet, by assiduous application in later years, he increased this small stock so as to enable him to write with a good degree of perspicuity and force, and to speak with great fluency and power. He professed hope in Christ, and was baptized in 1821, where or by whom is not known to the writer, though it is believed to have been in Putnam county, and by his father. It was not long after his baptism that he entered upon the work of the gospel ministry, in which his zeal and talents soon rendered him quite conspicuous. He rose, as it were, at a bound to the front rank among the ministers of that day. Nature lavished her gifts upon him. Added to a fine and portly person and a commanding presence were a rich and sonorous voice, an easy and flowing elocution. Though his education was so defective, he never seemed at a loss for a word, and, when fully under the inspiration of his subject, he was sometimes powerfully eloquent, and was generally interesting. His sermons were frequently two hours in length, and sometimes three hours, yet his audiences seldom showed weariness, and never inattention. As was the custom of the times, he made tours among the churches which usually occupied several weeks, and in which he was accompanied by some other preacher. They generally both preached daily, having two sermons without intermission in each church they visited, and sometimes having night meetings at private houses. Mr. Mosely almost invariably attracted large congregations on these tours. He and Rev. James Henderson, of Jasper county, a man of good natural ability, though not the equal of Moseley, often made such tours in company. It is said he was instrumental in bringing many to a saving knowledge of the truth, and that the churches which he served as pastor enjoyed much prosperity. His talents proved a snare to him in one respect at least. In the midst of his successful career as a preacher, he suffered himself to become involved in politics. He wrote for the papers made "stump speeches," ran for the Legislature several terms, and once for Congress. His career as a politician began in 1840. In 1843 he was elected to the Senate of the State Legislature. In 1846 he was run for Congress against a popular and talented man, General Hugh A. Haralson, and lacked only a few votes of being elected, though his opponent was on the strong side (the Democratic,) in the District. After this he was several times a member of the Georgia Legislature, in one branch or the other. He maintained a respectable stand as a statesman, and was prompt and faithful in the discharge of his duties. He seemed to have acquired quite a thirst for popular favor, which of course injured him in his character and influence as a minister of the gospel. No matter what a man's talents may be, he cannot be preacher and politician at the same time without detriment to his clerical standing. He finally "broke down" as a politician, while his influence as a minister of the gospel had been sadly impaired. Though his father was an ardent and zealous advocate of the missionary cause and kindred objects, Mosely seems, from an early period of his public career, to have taken a decided stand against all such things. And when, from 1830 to 1840, the denomination in this State separated into the missionary and anti-missionary parties, he took sides with the latter, and maintained his position to a late period of life. He seemed honestly to believe that he and his party were "Old-side Baptists," by which title he generally designated them. Under this conviction, at the session of the Flint River Association at Holly Grove church, Monroe county, in 1837, he withdrew from that body, carrying fifteen churches with him, which were constituted into an Association called the Towaliga, at County Line church, July, 1838. For twenty-five years or more these two bodies have stood aloof from each other. The Flint made one or two overtures for correspondence, but the brethren of the Towaliga seem not to have been ready. It is gratifying, however, to add that negotiations for peace and christian correspondence are now progressing and have been for a twelve-month past, with encouraging prospects of success. The Towaliga has rescinded the "Thirteenth Article" of her creed, by which she had declared non-fellowship with all human institutions, as benevolent societies are generally termed by anti-mission Baptists. It will be a happy day for the Baptists of the South when these divisions shall all have been healed. Mr. Mosely removed from Putnam to Henry county, where he resided many years, and during a portion of which time he was engaged in merchandise, associating a distillery and the sale of ardent spirits with his store, which was a country stand. He seems very soon to have become convinced of the wrong of distilling and selling ardent spirits, for he promptly abandoned both, and would never afterwards even so much as drink spirits as a beverage. His merchandising proved to be an unfortunate business for him, for he lost nearly all the property he had ever made, which was not much. His circumstances were quite limited all his life. When Griffin became a thriving town he removed thither, where he remained until near the close of his life. The truth of history requires that we record one or two other facts which we would fain omit. He and his first wife, by whom he had nine children, separated and lived apart a number of years. He sued for and obtained a divorce, and immediately married again. This act was tolerated, if not approved, by a few of his friends. But the public condemned it, and none more emphatically than his brethren of the Towaliga Association and kindred bodies. He "lost caste" among them, declined re-election as moderator, (which office he had held from its organization,) and removed to Pike county, Alabama, where he soon died, March 6th, 1865. It is a source of satisfaction to add that he retained the exercise of his faculties to the last, and met death with the composure and joy of a true christian. We trust his soul is at rest. Since the foregoing was written, the author has obtained additional particulars concerning Mr. Mosely's residence in Alabama and his death. Rev. A. N. Worthy, an eminent minister in that State, says: "From the day he landed in Troy to that of his death, I was his constant companion, and stood by him in the hour of his death, and heard the last rumbling clod that fell upon his coffin. It affords me singular pleasure to bear testimony to his calm, christian resignation, and his entire resignation to the will of the Lord in all things. Among his last words were, 'All is well. Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly!' His anti-mission brethren treated him with marked coldness on account (as he believed,) of his changed views on the subject of missions." He did not think his mortal remains would be welcome in their church burying ground, for which reason he expressed the wish that he might be interred in the private cemetery of Mrs. Murphree, a member of the Missionary Baptist church at Troy; and he was interred, according to his wish, within fifty feet of said church. A beautiful grave mound and monument were erected over his remains by the ladies of the Troy church, and an appropriate notice of his death appeared in the Minutes of the Salem (Missionary) Baptist Association for the year 1867. It is somewhat remarkable that Mosely and Trice, who labored so long together in Georgia, should have died near each other in Alabama. The following also appeared in the Minutes of the Salem Association for 1867: ****** ©2007 - 2009 Genealogy Trails