Baptists on the American Frontier: A History of Ten Baptist Churches of which the Author Has Been Alternately a MemberMercer University Press, 1995 - 416 pages A History of Ten Baptist Churches, first published in the 1820s by author John Taylor, a pioneer Baptist farmer-preacher, has long been recognized as an indispensible source for first-hand information about the religious life of the early American frontier. In his history Taylor recounted the experiences of Baptists in Virginia who championed the cause of religious liberty. He then chronicled the movement of many of those Baptists, including himself, to the wilderness of central and northern Kentucky where their church communities both struggled and flourished. Taylor's vivid accounts are filled with colorful descriptions of church life, including revivalistic experiences and doctrinal debates; the challenges of being a minister, including coping with meager resources and mediating disagreements; and the problems of rural living, including the dilemma of slavery and property disputes. Chester Raymond Young has overcome the difficulties faced by the modern reader in deciphering the anacronisms, obscurities, and idiosyncrasies of Taylor's narrative. Young's edition, the first ever annotated one, features a logical division of Taylor's sentences and paragraphs, a full bibliography of relevant historical works, tables outlining frontier religious rhetoric, and an extensive system of annotation that clarifies and corrects Taylor's account. |
Contents
Lower I South River Church | 83 |
Lunie Creek Church | 119 |
Gilbert Creek Church | 157 |
South Elkhorn Church | 163 |
Clear Creek Church | 179 |
Bullittsburg Church | 259 |
Corn Creek Church | 309 |
Big Spring Church | 327 |
Buck Run Church | 343 |
Religious Rhetoric of the Frontier | 363 |
Bibliography | 371 |
EXTRA CONTENT | 387 |
Illustrations | 389 |
Index | 397 |
415 | |
Common terms and phrases
Ancestors and Descendants Baptist Church Baptists in Kentucky Baptists in Virginia baptized became began Boone County brethren brother Buck Run Bullittsburg Church called Campbell Christ Christian Repository Clear Creek Church congregation constituted conversion Corn Creek Church County Clerk County KY Creath daughter Deed Book Dorothy Thompson Elkhorn Association Fauquier County Forks of Elkhorn Frankfort Frankfort KY Franklin County Frontier Gallatin County Gilberts Creek gospel History Ibid James John Taylor Joseph Kentucky Baptists Kentucky Historical Society land Lewis Craig Lexington lived Lord meaning meeting meetinghouse membership miles ministry Minute Book months Mount Byrd moved Northern Neck noun Ohio ordained pastor perhaps prayer preaching Register religion religious revival Robert Carter III seemed Semple Separate Baptists Shenandoah sinners soon soul South Elkhorn Church South River Church Spencer Thoughts on Missions took verb Virginia Baptist Ministers wife William Woodford County Woolper worship young