Today yet another African American congregation in the South is established. In North Carolina the white Baptist Church of Chapel Hill grants the wishes of black members to start their own congregation. Church minutes record that, “On motion it was unanimously voted that the colored patrons of this church be allowed to withdraw from the…
Today Texas Baptist layman, lawyer and former slaveowner Jacob Eliot takes “the oath of allegiance to U.S. government.” Eliot, however, yet often refers to black individuals with the phrase, “belongs to.” Many other white Southerners also continue thinking of black persons as property, rather than free persons. In many instances, local Baptist church records employ…
During the war Sussex County, New Jersey harbored an inordinate amount of Peace Democrat sentiment, evidenced in a solid majority vote for George McClellan, running against Abraham Lincoln, in the November presidential election. Sussex County is also a place where the Baptist presence is strong, evidenced at local fairs and celebrations, during which the Baptist…