History of Baptists in Alabama

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The history of the Baptist movement in the state of Alabama predates Alabama statehood.

Contents

First Baptist churches

The first Baptist church in what was then the territory of Alabama was the Flint River Baptist church founded by twelve people on October 2, 1808, at the house of James Deaton a few miles to the north of Huntsville (now known as the Flint River Primitive Baptist Church [1] [2] ). [3] [4] [5] The pastor was John Nicholson. Prior to that there had been several Baptist preachers in the territory, including John Canterbery and Zadock Baker. Several more churches were founded over the next few years. [3] The second Baptist church was founded on June 3, 1809, [4] originally named West Fork of Flint River Church, although renamed to Enon Baptist Church shortly thereafter. [6] (In 1861 the Enon church moved to Huntsville, and was renamed the First Baptist Church of Huntsville in 1895. [6] ) John Canterbery was the church's first pastor, called on August 5, 1809. [6]

Associations and conventions

The Flint River Association, the first and oldest association of Alabama Baptists, was founded on September 26, 1814. [3] Flint River Baptist Church [7] and Enon Baptist Church were charter members. [6] Initially, several of the FRA's members were churches from Tennessee. [3] The Flint River Association is still in existence today, consisting of three Huntsville area Primitive Baptist Churches, Briar Fork Church, Hurricane Church, and Flint River Church. [8] The first church in the southern part of the state was Bassett Creek church, founded by J. Courtney in 1810. By 1820 there were 50 Baptist churches in the state; in 1821, there were 70. Numbers continued to grow in subsequent years, with 6 Baptist Associations and 128 churches in 1825; 250 churches in 1833; 333 churches in 1836; and 500 churches and 30 associations in 1840. [3]

The geography of the state in the 19th century, with highly different political and economic groups physically isolated from one another by poor transport and communication links, resulted in several Baptist conventions emerging. The most well known, and largest, was the Alabama Baptist Convention founded in 1823 near Greensboro. Members of Siloam Baptist Church in Marion and the Alabama Baptist Convention founded Judson College in 1838 and Howard College, later renamed Samford University, in 1841. But there were others. The General Association of Middle Tennessee and North Alabama was founded in 1841, the East Alabama Baptist Convention in 1856, and the General Association of South Eastern Alabama after the U.S. Civil War. [9]

Not allowed to be part of the Alabama Baptist Convention during that time, African American Baptists had their own conventions, separate from the white organizations. The Alabama Colored Baptist State Convention, which changed its name in 1974 to the Alabama Missionary Baptist State Convention, was founded in 1868 in Montgomery and by the turn of the 21st century comprised over 1000 churches. In 1898, the New Era Progressive Baptist State Convention split from the ACBSC, and another split in 1920 spawned the New Era Baptist State Convention. The Progressive National Baptist Convention, the fourth of the four major conventions in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, was formed in 1961 after disputes over leadership at the National Convention and over civil rights. [10]

Historical record

Much of this history is recorded in the library of Samford University. Baptists are the largest denomination in Alabama, and the University records include full minutes of congregational meetings throughout the state, the personal papers of many Baptist churchmen, and all issues of the Baptist newspaper, The Alabama Baptist from 1835 onwards. [5]

See also

Related Research Articles

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James A. Ranaldson was a Baptist missionary who was active in the Mississippi Baptist Association and one of the founders of the Alabama Baptist Convention.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">James H. DeVotie</span> America Baptist minister (1814–1891)

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julia Tarrant Barron</span> American philanthropist (1805–1890)

Julia Tarrant Barron (1805–1890) was a founder of Judson College in Marion, Alabama, and Howard College, renamed subsequently to Samford University now located in Homewood, Alabama. She also co-founded The Alabama Baptist newspaper with pastor Milo P. Jewett and donated the land for the construction of the Siloam Baptist Church. She was posthumously inducted into the Alabama Women's Hall of Fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maud McLure Kelly</span> American lawyer, suffragist and historian (1887–1973)

Maud McClure Kelly was an American lawyer, suffragist and historian. She was the first woman to practice law in the state of Alabama and worked for the Alabama Department of Archives and History after her retirement from law.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martha Foster Crawford</span> American writer and missionary

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References

  1. ↑ "Centennial celebrations". Archived from the original on 2011-07-09. Retrieved 2010-10-11.
  2. ↑ "History". Archived from the original on 2010-09-22. Retrieved 2010-10-11.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 William Cathcart (1881). "Alabama Baptists, History of". The Baptist Encyclopedia. Baptist History Series. Vol. 1 (reprinted by The Baptist Standard Bearer, Inc. 2001 ed.). Philadelphia: Louis H. Everts. pp. 14–15. ISBN   978-1-57978-909-1.
  4. 1 2 Wayne Flynt (1998). Alabama Baptists: Southern Baptists in the heart of Dixie. Religion and American culture. University of Alabama Press. pp. xix. ISBN   978-0-8173-0927-5.
  5. 1 2 Alice Eichholz (2004). Red book: American state, county & town sources (3rd ed.). Ancestry Publishing. pp.  26. ISBN   978-1-59331-166-7.
  6. 1 2 3 4 C. Laura; C. Sara; M. Hugh; M. Jack (2006). Alabama Historical Association Markers (2nd ed.). Jack Hood. p. 163. ISBN   978-1-4259-2186-6.
  7. ↑ Hosea Holcombe (1840). A History Of The Rise And Progress Of Baptists In Alabama. Philadelphia: King and Baird Printers. pp. 108.
  8. ↑ Minutes of the Flint River Association, 2009
  9. ↑ Wayne Flynt (1998). Alabama Baptists: Southern Baptists in the heart of Dixie. Religion and American culture. University of Alabama Press. pp.  61. ISBN   978-0-8173-0927-5.
  10. ↑ Wayne Flynt (2004). Alabama in the twentieth century. University of Alabama Press. p. 459. ISBN   978-0-8173-1430-9.

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