Georgia Baptist Convention of 1829

By Shaler Granby Hillyer


In 1829 the Georgia Baptist Convention met in Milledgeville. It was my good fortune to be present on that occasion, not, however, as a delegate; for I was not then even a church member. Nevertheless it has ever been a source of pleasure to me that I had the opportunity of being near that Convention—so signalized in the history of Georgia Baptists.

I was, with many others, the guest of Doctor Boykin, the father of Rev. Samuel Boykin and his brother, Rev. Thomas C. Boykin. In Doctor Boykin's house I had the pleasure of meeting some of the leading men of the Convention and hearing them talk. Doctor Sherwood and Doctor Mercer were there. These I had known before. In their tours of preaching through the State they had sometimes been entertained at our humble home. Another distinguished man whom I met was Rev. James Shannon, at that time pastor of the Baptist church in Augusta.

With the exception of these three, I knew personally only four or five of the delegates present.

The Convention held its sessions in the State Arsenal, while preaching was provided for every morning and night. By the courtesy of the Methodist brethren, these services were held in their meeting-house, because it could accommodate a larger audience than the Baptist house. And it was also convenient to the place where the Convention had to meet. The congregations were very large and the preaching was excellent. Mr. Shannon and Mr. H. O. Wyer, from Savannah, especially, made a profound impression upon the people. It was difficult to say which of them was the greater.

The matter which most deeply engaged the attention of the Convention was the Penfield legacy. The history of this legacy is given so fully in our records that it is hardly necessary to repeat it here. Nevertheless, for the sake of many who may not have had access to the records it may be useful to state briefly the facts.

Deacon Josiah Penfield, of Savannah, had recently died. In his will he had bequeathed twenty-five hundred dollars to the Georgia Baptist Convention, to be devoted to the cause of ministerial education among our young men in Georgia, on condition that the Convention would raise an equal sum to be added to it for the same purpose.

To meet this condition and thus to secure the legacy was the problem that confronted the Convention of 1829. And nobly did they meet it. But there is a small inaccuracy in the account of this case, as given in the "History of Georgia Baptists," compiled for the Index in 1881, which deserves to be noticed.

In that account we are told how the twenty-five hundred dollars were raised. It gives twenty-six names with the amount subscribed by each one. But when we add up the several subscriptions as given, the aggregate is only twenty-four hundred and fifty dollars, instead of twenty-five hundred—the sum required to secure the legacy. The question at once occurs: Whence came the other fifty dollars ? I think I can answer that question.

Though not a member of the Convention, yet I was in the midst of many Baptists, all of whom were interested in what was going on at the Arsenal. Hence I learned some things about the doings of the Convention from the conversation of those around me. I think it was near the close of the Convention when some one in the parlor, at Doctor Boykin's house, announced to the company that Mr.* Mercer had saved the Penfield legacy. The parties present were evidently much pleased.

As I understand the case it was about this way: The committee appointed to see what could be done towards raising the twenty-five hundred dollars, after as thorough a canvass as they thought it worth while to make, reported the subscriptions. When added up, however, it was found that the aggregate fell below the required amount. What was to be done? There were perhaps a few moments of disappointment. Brother Mercer, however, relieved the situation by adding to his subscription the whole of the deficit, and thus completed the required amount.

The above is the version of the story which I have all these years held to be the correct one. I have often spoken of it to groups of brethren, and I have never heard it disputed. I am persuaded, therefore, that it is substantially correct. And if so, it is certainly due to the memory of Doctor Mercer that it should not be forgotten.

There were twenty-six subscribers, it seems, to that twenty-five hundred dollars. This gives an average of a little over ninety-six dollars to each one. That was

•note.—Dr. Campbell says that the decree of D.D. was conferred upon Mr. Mercer by Brown University; bat his intimate friends seldom used the title, knowing it would not be agreeable. Thns it is natnrally dropped when he is spoken of in a familiar way. For similar reasons the title Is sometimes omitted, in this work, in the case of other brethren.—Editor.

a liberal subscription for only twenty-six people to make. And great has been the result of that day's work in the Convention of 1829.

That twenty-five hundred dollars secured the Penfield legacy. Every man's dollar was worth two; for when the legacy and the subscriptions were united, the Convention had in hand a fund of five thousand dollars devoted to the education of ministers. That five thousand dollars was a God-given boon to the Baptists of Georgia. It quickened into some degree of life the zeal of our people for the improvement and elevation of our ministry. Like a seed dropped into good ground, that fund began to grow, and is still growing—slowly, it may be, but it is still growing—and we hope ere long to see it expand into a magnificent endowment for Mercer University.

But let us never forget that the first design of the fund of 1829 was to promote ministerial education. This design, is the glory of our beloved University. In spite of its limited resources, during the first fortyone years of its life, counting from 1833, it educated a hundred and twenty preachers. If to these be added those who have been educated in like manner during the succeeding twenty-two years, the number would probably reach nearly two hundred. Such are some of the fruits of that little seed that was planted in 1829.

Now, brethren, the object of these reminiscences is not merely to gratify our sentimental feelings for things that are passed, but it should be to gather, from the example of our fathers, fuel to kindle our zeal, in the same great work, up to flaming enthusiasm. That fund which Penfield started, as I have already said, has been growing; but, compared with the sublime end we have in view, it is still far short of what is needed. Mercer University was consecrated by its founders to the glory of our great Redeemer, and she is now stretching out her hands imploringly to every Baptist in Georgia for help to accomplish that glory. She is asking you, now, for only one hundred thousand dollars. This would be only one dollar apiece for one hundred thousand Baptists. Only see how easily the sum might be raised.