The South Carolina Baptist Historical Collection at Furman University is a comprehensive archives that documents individuals, churches, and associations in South Carolina Baptist history. Located in Greenville, South Carolina, it is housed in the Special Collections and Archives department of the James B. Duke Library.
The history of the collection begins in 1830 when the South Carolina Baptist Convention asked Furman University, at the time known as the Furman Academy and Theological Institution, to create an archives for Furman records and denominational resources. The academy's fledgling library, just four years old, contained only a few donations and professors' personal collections. [1] Over the next sixty years, the library grew and its collection of Baptist materials was formally organized into the Baptist Historical Collection. Professor Harvey Toliver Cook was the man responsible for the compilation and appellation of the collection. [2]
When Furman University moved to its new campus in the late 1950s, the South Carolina Baptist Historical Collection received renewed attention. Loulie Latimer Owens, co-founder of the South Carolina Baptist Historical Society, was hired in 1961 as Furman's first Special Collections Librarian. [2] [3] She helped relocate and reorganize the collection in its new home in the Pitts Wing of the Duke Library. [1]
Although Furman University and the South Carolina Baptist Convention separated in 1992, the Baptist Historical Collection was still considered the official repository of the convention until 2002. At that time, the convention decided to begin maintaining its own organizational records; however, Furman continues to house records pertaining to individual churches, associations and individuals in the convention. Currently, the collection boasts records for more than 500 Baptist churches and contains numerous published books as well as church histories, congregational records, associational minutes, biographical materials, newsletters, hymnals, and sermons. [4]
Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only, and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul competency, sola fide, sola scriptura and congregationalist church government. Baptists generally recognize two ordinances: baptism and communion.
The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist denomination, and the largest Protestant and second-largest Christian denomination in the United States. The word Southern in "Southern Baptist Convention" stems from its having been organized in 1845 in Augusta, Georgia, by Baptists in the Southern United States who split from the northern Baptists over the issue of African-American enslavement; citing biblical texts, the SBC strongly opposed its abolition.
Greenville is a city in and the seat of Greenville County, South Carolina, United States. With a population of 70,720 as of the 2020 Census, it is the sixth-largest city in the state. Greenville is located approximately halfway between Atlanta, Georgia and Charlotte, North Carolina along Interstate 85. Its metropolitan area also includes Interstates 185 and 385. Greenville was the fourth fastest-growing city in the United States between 2015 and 2016, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Easley is a city in Pickens County in the State of South Carolina. Most of the city lies in Pickens County, with a small portion of the city in Anderson County.
Furman University is a private liberal arts university in Greenville, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1826 and named for the clergyman Richard Furman, Furman University is the oldest private institution of higher learning in South Carolina. It became a secular university in 1992, while keeping Christo et Doctrinae as its motto. It enrolls approximately 2,700 undergraduate students and 200 graduate students, representing 46 states and 53 foreign countries, on its 750-acre (304 ha) campus.
Erskine College is a private Christian college in Due West, South Carolina. It is an undergraduate liberal arts college and a graduate theological seminary. The college was founded in 1839 by the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church. Its sports teams compete in NCAA Division II as a member of Conference Carolinas.
James Petigru Boyce (1827–1888) served as a Southern Baptist pastor, theologian, author, seminary professor, and founder and first president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBTS) is a Baptist seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. It is the oldest of the six seminaries affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). The seminary was founded in 1859 in Greenville, South Carolina, where it was at first housed on the campus of Furman University. The seminary has been an innovator in theological education, establishing one of the first Ph.D. programs in religion in the year 1892. After being closed during the Civil War, it moved in 1877 to a newly built campus in downtown Louisville and moved to its current location in 1926 in the Crescent Hill neighborhood. In 1953, Southern became one of the few seminaries to offer a full, accredited degree course in church music. For more than fifty years Southern has been one of the world's largest theological seminaries, with an FTE enrollment of over 3,300 students in 2015.
Duke Kimbrough McCall was an American Christian religious leader who served as Chief Executive Officer of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) Executive Committee, as president of two theological seminaries, as president of the Baptist World Alliance, and as a Baptist pastor.
The South Carolina Poetry Archives at Furman University is a collection of published works, manuscripts, and ephemeral materials from over one hundred authors. It is housed in Greenville, South Carolina, at the Special Collections and Archives department of the James B. Duke Library.
Basil Manly Jr. (1825–1892) was an American Baptist minister and educator. He was one of a group of theologians instrumental in the formation of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in South Carolina.
Luther Rice was an American Baptist minister who, after a thwarted mission to India, returned to America where he spent the remainder of his career raising funds for missions and advocating for the formation of a unified Baptist missionary-sending body, which culminated in establishment of the Baptist Triennial Convention. He also raised funds to establish The Columbian College in Washington, DC.
Stewart Cleveland Cureton, also known as S. C. Cureton, was an American clergyman and civil rights activist.
The South Carolina Baptist Convention (SCBC) is a group of churches affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention, located in the U.S. state of South Carolina. Headquartered in Columbia, South Carolina, the convention is made up of 44 Baptist associations and around 2,000 churches as of 2010.
The Baptist State Convention of North Carolina (BSCNC) is an autonomous association of Baptist churches in the state of North Carolina. It is one of the state conventions associated with the Southern Baptist Convention. Headquartered in Cary, North Carolina, the convention is made up of 77 Baptist associations and around 4,300 churches as of 2012. The convention is led by three officers, elected annually during the annual meeting of the convention. The three officers elected to serve the convention for 2022 are: President, Dr. Micheal Pardue, and First Vice-president, Rev. Quintell Hill and Rev. Jason Miller. The convention is also led by an Executive Director-Treasurer (EDT). The current EDT is Rev. Todd Unzicker, who was elected by the convention in May 2021.
William Bullein Johnson was an American Baptist minister, one of the founders of the South Carolina State Baptist Convention in 1821, and later was the first president of the Southern Baptist Convention from 1845 to 1851. Johnson is also the founder of Johnson Female Seminary, later renamed Johnson University, in 1848 the predecessor to Anderson University.
Richard Furman was a Baptist leader from Charleston, South Carolina, United States. He was elected in 1814 as the first president of the Triennial Convention, the first nationwide Baptist association. Later he was the first president of the South Carolina State Baptist Convention.
Basil Manly Sr. (1798–1868) was an Alabama plantation owner, Baptist preacher, slave owner, pro-slavery lobbyist, and official chaplain to the Confederate States of America.
The Citadel–Furman football rivalry is an American college football rivalry game played by The Citadel Bulldogs football team of The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina and the Furman Paladins football team of Furman University.
