the most useful emigrants … to the former South Carolina is indebted for
arising out of the conflict with episcopacy, fled first to Barbadoes, and thence removed to Maryland, where he made an extensive purchase of land, covering much of the present site of Washington and Georgetown. He sent home to urge his friends and neighbours to join him in his exile, and had influence enough to induce about two hundred to come over. They arrived about 1690, bringing with them their pastor the Rev. Nathaniel Taylor, and formed the church and congregation of Upper Marlborough.
As early as 1684, a small colony of persecuted Scotch, under Lord Cardross, settled in South Carolina, and a colony of Irish under Ferguson. In 1737, it is said "multitudes of labourers and husbandmen" from Ireland embarked for Carolina. In 1764, "beside foreign protestants, several persons from England and Scotland, and great multitudes from Ireland settled" in that state. Within three years before 1773, sixteen hundred emigrants from the north of Ireland, settled in Carolina. Dr. Ramsay says, "of all other countries none has furnished the province so many inhabitants as Ireland. Scarcely a ship sailed from any of its ports for Charleston that was not crowded with men, women, and children."5 These were almost entirely presbyterians. There was no catholic place of worship in Charleston before 1791. In another place the same author says, "the Scotch and Dutch were the most useful emigrants … to the former South Carolina is indebted for much of its early literature. A great proportion of its physicians, clergymen, lawyers, and schoolmasters were from North Britain." Edisto Island was settled by emigrants from Scotland and Wales.7 The inhabitants were either presbyterians or episcopalians, the former were the more numerous. The time of the organization of the presbyterian church there is not known. But in 1705, Henry Brown obtained a grant for three hundred acres of land, which in 1717 he conveyed to certain persons in "trust for the benefit of a presbyterian clergyman in Edisto Island." In 1732, another donation was made for the benefit of a minister "who owns the Holy Scriptures as his only rule of faith and practice, and who, agreeably to the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, shall own the Westminster Confession of
Faith, with the Larger and Shorter Catechisms as a test of his orthodoxy, and that before the church session for the time being, before his settlement there as the rightful minister of the aforesaid church or congregation." (Vol. ii. p. 558.) The Scotch and Irish were also among the early settlers of Georgia.
From this slight and imperfect view of the several classes of people by whom our country was settled, it is evident that a broad foundation for the Presbyterian Church was laid from the beginning. The English puritans were all Calvinists and many of them presbyterians. The Dutch were Calvinists and presbyterians; a moiety, at least, of the Germans were of the same class. All the French protestants were Calvinists and presbyterians, and so, of course, were the Scotch and Irish. Of the seseveral classes, the Dutch and Germans formed distinct ecclesiastical organizations, and subsist as such to the present time. In a multitude of cases, however, their descendants mingled with the descendants of other presbyterians, and have entered largely into the materials of which our church is composed. The same remark applies to the descendants of the French protestants, who have generally joined either the episcopal or presbyterian church. The early influence of the New England puritans was, as has been seen, nearly confined to Long Island and East Jersey. Of those who settled in Jersey, a portion were, no doubt, inclined to congregationalism, others of them were presbyterians. All the ministers, according to Mr. Andrews, were of the latter class. The strict presbyterian emigrants, Scotch, Irish, Dutch, and French, laid the foundation of our church in New York, East Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and the Carolinas, through which provinces, as has been shown, they were early extended in very great numbers.
This review accounts for the rapid increase of the presbyterian church in this country. In about a century and a quarter, it has risen from two or three ministers to between two and three thousand. This is no matter of surprise,
when it is seen that so large a portion of the emigrants were presbyterians. As they merged their diversities of national character into that of American citizens, so the Scotch, Irish, French, English, Dutch, and German presbyterians became united in thousands of instances in the American Presbyterian Church. Having the same views of civil government, our population, so diversified as to its origin, forms a harmonious civil society; and agreeing in opinion on the government of the church, the various classes above specified, formed a religious society, in which the difference of their origin was as little regarded as it was in the state.
The review given above of the settlement of the country shows also, that nothing but a sectional vanity little less than insane, could lead to the assertion that Congregationalism was the basis of presbyterianism in this country, and that the presbyterian church never would have had an existence, except in name, had not the congregationalists come among us from New England. The number of puritans who settled in New England, was about twenty-one thousand. If it be admitted, that three-fourths of these were congregationalists, (which is a large admission,) it gives between fifteen and sixteen thousand. The presbyterian emigrants who came to this country by the middle of the last century, were between one and two hundred thousand. Those from Ireland alone, imperfect as are the records of emigration, could not have been less than fifty thousand, and probably were far more numerous. Yet the whole Presbyterian Church owes its existence to the mere overflowings of New England! It would be much nearer the truth to say, that presbyterians have been the basis of several other denominations. Half the population of the country would now be presbyterian, had the descendants of presbyterians, in all cases, adhered to the faith of their fathers.
It is to be remembered, that the emigration of New England men westward, did not take place, to any great extent, until after the revolutionary war; that is, until nearly three-fourths of a century after the Presbyterian Church was
founded and widely extended. At that time western New York, Ohio, and the still more remote west was a wilderness. Leaving that region out of view, what would be, even now, the influence of New England men in the Presbyterian Church? Yet it is very common to hear those, who formed a mere handful of the original materials of the Church, speaking of all others as foreigners and intruders. Such representations would be offensive from their injustice, were it not for their absurdity. Suppose the few (and they were comparatively very few) congregationalists of East Jersey, had refused to associate with their Dutch and Scotch presbyterian neighbours, what great difference would it have made? Must the thousands of presbyterians already in the country, and the still more numerous thousands annually arriving, have ceased to exist? Are those few congregationalists the fathers of us all? The truth is, it was not until a much later period that the great influx of congregationalists into our church took place, though they are now disposed to regard the descendants of its founders as holding their places in the church of their fathers only by sufferance.
Sectional jealousies are beginning to threaten the safety of our country. They surely ought not to be brought into the church. They cannot be avoided, however, if arrogant and injurious assumptions on either side are allowed. The above remarks are made with the view of suppressing such prejudices. This can be effected in no other way, than by preventing unjust and irritating claims. Justice is the only stable foundation of peace. It is the peculiar characteristic of America, that it is the asylum of all nations. The blood of the Huguenots, of the Puritans, of the Dutch, of the Germans, of the Scotch, and of the Irish, here flows in one common stream. A man, therefore, must fight against himself who would contend for any one of these classes against all others.
CHAPTER II
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH FROM 1705 TO 1729
Introductory remarks.—Design of the chapter to exhibit the character of the Church during this period.—Origin of the congregations connected with the presbytery of Philadelphia at the time of its organization.—Origin of the ministers who constituted that presbytery.—Ministers connected with the church at the formation of the synod.—Ministers who joined the synod from 1717 to 1729.—Standard of doctrines assumed by the presbytery.— Form of government established by the presbytery.—Government of the individual congregations.—Powers exercised by the presbytery over the churches.—Its authority over its own members.—Peculiarities in its modes of action.—The powers of the synod.—Its peculiarities.—Examination of Mr. Gillespie's overture respecting acts of synod; and of president Dickinson's four articles relating to church government.—Conclusion.
IN the preceding chapter, it was shown that the materials of the Presbyterian Church were, towards the close of the seventeenth and beginning of the eighteenth centuries, widely scattered over the middle and southern states; and that these materials increased with great rapidity for a long series of years. It was shown also that a large proportion of all the emigrants who arrived in this country, during that period from Great Britain and the continent of Europe, were Calvinists in doctrine and presbyterians in discipline. It was natural that the Puritans from New England who settled in the middle provinces should unite in ecclesiastical connexions with these European emigrants. These Puritans were all Calvinists; many of them were presbyterians, and those who were congregationalists were accustomed to a far different platform from any now in force. They were familiar with the government of churches, by elders, differing little in their functions from those in the Presbyterian Church. Their synods, especially in Connecticut,
were clothed with the power, which at present would be considered as little short of presbyterianism. That the early Puritans were rigid Calvinists, no one has ventured to deny. Cotton Mather informs us, that a gentleman in New England having published a book in which he attempted to prove "that Christ bore not our sins by God's imputation, and therefore also did not bear the curse of the law for them, the general court of Massachusetts, (the supreme civil authority,) concerned that the glorious truths of the gospel might be rescued from the confusion whereinto the essay of this gentleman had thrown them, and afraid lest the church of God abroad should suspect that New England allowed such exorbitant aberrations, appointed Mr. Norton to draw up an answer to that erroneous treatise. This work he performed with a most elaborate and judicious pen, in a book afterwards published under the title, 'A discussion of that great point in divinity, the sufferings of Christ; and the questions about his active and passive obedience, and the imputation thereof.' In that book the true principles of the gospel are stated, with so much demonstration, as is indeed unanswerable. The great assertion therein explained and maintained is, according to the express words of the reverend author, 'that the Lord Jesus Christ, as God-man, and mediator, according to the will of the Father, and his own voluntary consent, fully obeyed the law, doing the command in the way of works, and suffering the essential punishment of the curse, in the way of satisfaction unto divine justice, thereby exactly fulfilling the first covenant; which active and passive obedience of his, together with his original righteousness, as a surety, God, of his rich grace, actually imputeth unto believers; whom by the receipt thereof, by the grace of faith, he declareth and accepteth as perfectly righteous, and acknowledgeth them to have a right unto eternal life.' And in every clause of this position, the author expressed, not his own sense alone, but the sense of all the churches in the country; in testimony whereof there was published at the end of the book, an instrument signed by five considerable names, Cotton, Wilson, Mather, Symmes, and Thompson, who, in the name of others declare, 'As they believe, they also profess, that the obedience of Christ to the whole
law, which is the law of righteousness, is the matter of our justification; and the imputation of our sins to Christ, and thereupon his suffering the sense of the wrath of God upon him for our sins, and the imputation of his obedience to us, are the formal cause of our justification, and that they who deny this, do now take away both of these, both the matter and form of our justification, which is the life of our souls and of our religion, and therefore called the justification of life.' " With men holding such opinions, presbyterians might well unite. To what extent these doctrines have become obsolete in New England, it is not for us to say. Dr. Beecher, in relation to a cognate doctrine says, "our Puritan fathers adhered to the doctrine of original sin, as consisting in the imputation of Adam's sin, and in a hereditary depravity; and this continued to be the received doctrine of the churches of New England until after the time of Edwards. He adopted the views of the reformers on the subject of original sin, as consisting in the imputation of Adam's sin, and a depraved nature transmitted by descent. But after him, this mode of stating the subject was gradually changed, until long since, the prevailing doctrine in New England has been, that men are not guilty of Adam's sin, and that depravity is not of the substance of the soul, nor an inherent physical quality, but is wholly voluntary, and consists in the transgression of the law, in such circumstances as constitutes accountability and desert of punishment." It is not to be presumed that all the New England clergy would assent to the correctness of this representation of their rejecting the doctrines of the puritans and of Edwards, any more than the advocates of those doctrines would assent to the correctness of the exposition here given of the doctrine of depravity. Still no one doubts, that there has been an extensive change of views in New England upon all these subjects; and that the doctrines which the early puritans declared to be the life of their souls and of religion, are by very many rejected.
The change has been equally marked as it regards discipline. Elders have been long discarded from their churches. No synod has been held in Massachusetts for more than a century. The Cambridge platform has
become a dead letter; and a system differing but little from independency, has taken the place of the original discipline of their churches. It would, therefore, be a great mistake to suppose that the New England people, who before the middle of the last century associated themselves with the Presbyterian Church, brought with them the views on doctrine and discipline, which, to so great an extent, now distinguish the church in that part of our country.
It is the object of the present chapter, to ascertain and exhibit the character of the Presbyterian Church in the United States, during its forming period; that is, from 1704 or 1705 to 1729. For this purpose it will be necessary to ascertain, as far as possible, the origin of the several congregations of which the church was originally composed; and the origin and character of the members of the first presbytery; to learn what standard of doctrine was assumed by them, and what form of government they instituted and administered. This latter point can, of course, best be learned from the record of their proceedings, by ascertaining what powers the presbytery exercised over the churches, and over its own members; and what relation the synod, after its formation, assumed to the presbyteries and churches.
The first subject of investigation, then, is the origin of the early presbyterian churches. It might be inferred from the statements in the preceding chapter, that presbyterian churches would be formed nearly cotemporaneously in various parts of the country. And such in fact was the case. In a letter written by the presbytery of Philadelphia to that of Dublin, and dated 1710, it is said, "In all Virginia we have one small congregation on Elizabeth river, and some few families favouring our way in Rappahannoc and York; in Maryland four, in Pennsylvania five, in the Jerseys two, which bounds with some places in New York, make up all the bounds from which we have any members from, and at present some of these are vacant."
Of the church on Elizabeth river little is known. It seems from commissary Blair's report on the state of the church in Virginia, that it existed before the commencement of the last century. From the fact of Mr. Makemie's directing in his will, that his dwelling house and lot on Elizabeth river, should be sold, it has been inferred that he had resided there before he moved to the opposite side of the Chesapeake, and that the church in question was gathered by him. If so, it must have been formed before 1690; for at that time Mr. Makemie was residing on the eastern shore. Others have supposed that the congregation was composed of a small company of Scotch emigrants, whose descendants are still to be found in the neighbourhood of Norfolk. Though reported by the presbytery, they seem to have had little connexion with that body. The name of their pastor, the Rev. Mr. Macky, never appears on the minutes as a member.
It is not easy to reconcile altogether the statements given in the presbyterial letter quoted above, with the facts recorded on the minutes. For example, it is said there were four churches in Maryland in connexion with the presbytery in 1710, whereas the minutes mention at least five. It is probable, however, that when two congregations were under the care of the same pastor, they were not counted separately. These congregations were Upper Marlborough, Snowhill, Rehoboth, Monoken, and Wicomico. The first of these was formed by a company of Scotch emigrants, who came to this country with their pastor, Rev. Nathaniel Taylor, about the year 1690. The other four churches were in Somerset county, on the eastern shore, and were the fruits of Mr. Makemie's labours. Of this there can be no reasonable doubt, as his memory is still cherished among them, and as there is neither tradition nor record of any other presbyterian minister in that district at the date of their formation.2 Of Snowhill, Mr. Spence gives the following account: "A town to be called Snowhill, was established in Somerset, now Worcester county, by an act of the provincial legislature, passed in 1684, and I believe," he adds, "that the presbyterian church in that place is nearly or quite as old as the town. Snowhill was settled by English episcopalians,
and Scotch and Irish presbyterians; and it is certain that persons resided there at the time, or soon after the time in which the town was laid out, who were afterwards members of the presbyterian church. My ancestor, to whom I have already alluded, was a ruling elder in that church." Of this family of churches Rehoboth is commonly considered to be the eldest. It consisted originally of English dissenters. Their first pastor was the Rev. Mr. Makemie, who, in his will, directs his executrix "to make over and alienate the lot on which the meeting house is built, in as ample manner, to all intents and purposes, as shall be required for the ends and uses of a presbyterian congregation, as if I were personally present, and to their successors for ever, and to none else but to such as are of the same persuasion in matters of religion." It may be inferred from the terms of this bequest, and from the character of its founder, that this church was strictly presbyterian; a point which, it is believed, has never been disputed.2 The congregations of Monokin and Wicomico were under the pastoral care of Mr. McNish, and were organized before 1705, the date of his application to the court for permission to preach. It can hardly be presumed that these five presbyterian congregations with distinct church edifices, some of them within fifteen miles of each other, could, at so early a period, and in so thinly settled a part of the country, have been formed in a few years. And as they all existed prior to 1705, and as Mr. Makemie had resided and laboured in that district for near twenty years before that date, it is altogether probable that several of them were formed before the commencement of the last century. That they were all presbyterian churches never has been questioned. As early as 1723, as appears from a recorded deed, the church at Monokin had eight elders.
The presbytery state in their letter that they had five congregations in Pennsylvania, in 1710. The minutes, however, furnish the names of the following places, viz. Philadelphia, Neshaminy, Welsh Tract, New Castle, White Clay, Apoquinimi, and Lewes. Welsh Tract is first mentioned in the following minute, 1710: "Upon information that David Evans, a lay-person,
had taken upon himself publicly to teach or preach among the Welsh in the Great Valley, Chester county, it was unanimously agreed that the said Evans had done very ill, and acted irregularly, in thus invading the work of the ministry, and was thereupon censured." It may be inferred from this, that Mr. Evans was in some way connected with the presbytery, but not that there was a church already organized among the Welsh. White Clay Creek, New Castle, and Apoquinimi were associated, as appears from the following record made in 1709: "Ordered that Mr. Wilson, (pastor of New Castle,) preach at Apoquinimi once a month upon a week day, and one Sabbath in a quarter till the aforesaid meeting, provided always that the Sabbath day's sermon be taken from the White Clay Creek people their time." These three places of preaching, therefore, were probably numbered as one congregation in the presbytery's letter.
The first church in Philadelphia was organized about 1698. A number of English and Welsh dissenters together with some French Protestants had for some time been accustomed to assemble for religious worship, in connexion with a few baptists, in a store-house at the corner of Chestnut and Second streets, belonging to the Barbadoes company. Neither party had a settled pastor, but the Rev. Mr. Watts, a baptist minister of Pennepek, had agreed to preach for them every other Lord's day. This gentleman says in his narrative, "that divers of the persons who came to that assembly were presbyterians in judgment; they having no minister of their own, and we having hitherto made no scruple of holding communion with them in the public worship of God." The presbyterians, probably finding themselves unpleasantly situated, determined upon calling a minister, and invited the Rev. Jedediah Andrews, from Boston, who accepted their invitation and arrived in Philadelphia in 1698. Shortly after his arrival, dissentions arose between the baptists and presbyterians, which resulted in their separation. The former withdrew leaving the latter in possession of the store-house, where they continued to worship until 1704, when they removed to a new meeting-house on Market street.