Jesse Mercer

MERCER, Jesse, clergyman, was born in Halifax county, N.C., Dec. 16, 1769; son of the Rev. Silas Mercer born 1745. His parents removed to Georgia in 1775, and settled in Wilkes county, but returned to North Carolina at the outbreak of the Revolution, where he remained until 1788, when he once more settled in Georgia. He was almost wholly self-educated, and was received into the Baptist church in 1787. He was married, Jan. 31, 1788, to Sabrina Chivers, and was ordained, Nov. 7, 1789, by the Rev. Silas Mercer and the Rev. Sanders Walker. He was pastor of churches in Greene, Oglethorpe, Wilkes, Hancock and Putnam counties, 1789-1840, during which time he travelled extensively throughout the state. Among these pastorates was the Baptist church in Washington from January 20, 1828, until his death in 1841. He was also the leader of a political party in Wilkes county, and was sent by them as a delegate to the state constitutional convention in 1798. He was president of the general Baptist missionary convention, 1816, and represented the board in the general conventions of 1820 and 1826. He was for a time corresponding secretary of the board of trustees of the co-operating Baptist associations for instructing and evangelizing the Creek Indians. He organized the general committee of the Georgia Baptists, which resulted in the Georgia Baptist convention, and was president of the
convention for eighteen consecutive years, and presiding officer of the Georgia association up to the time of his death. He was influential in establishing Mount Enon academy in Richmond county in 1807, and was one of the founders of Mercer Institute, Penfield, Greene county, in 1833, named in his honor, which became Mercer university*in 1837, and was removed to Macon in 1870. He gave the sum of $40,000 to the university during his life and by will, and served as a trustee, 1838-41. He gave about $25,000 to other religious and educational institutions, among them Columbian college, Washington, D.C. He received the honorary degree D.D. from Brown university in 1835. He edited the Christian Index, the first Baptist newspaper published in Georgia, which he purchased of Dr. W. T. Brantly, of Philadelphia, in 1833, and established at his home in Washington, Ga., and in 1840 he gave it to the Georgia Baptist Convention. He collected a volume of hymns entitled Mercer's Cluster, and is the author of: History of the Georgia Baptist Association (1836). On December 11, 1827, he married Nancy Simons, and on May 21, 1841, Nancy Mills Simons Mercer died. Jesse Mercer served for the last time as moderator of conference for the Washington church. He died September 6, 1841, in Butts County and was buried at Penfield, Greene County, Georgia.

On the 31st of January, 1788, being then in his nineteenth year, he was united in marriage to Miss Sabrina Chivers, daughter of Mr. Joel Chivers, and at the time of their marriage, step-daughter of Mr. Oftnial Weaver, of Wilkes county. She was a pious and orderly member of the Phillips' Mill church, having been baptized about the same time that Mr. Mercer became a member. This union seemed to have been peculiarly suitable, and was the source, in after years, of much domestic enjoyment. Miss Chivers was a poor orphan girl, bringing to her husband upon their marriage, a no larger portion of worldly goods than a feather bed; yet she possessed what was far more essential than mere earthly treasures, piety, prudence, industrious habits, and a heart devoted to the comfort and usefulness of her companion. The writer cannot forbear, in this connexion, presenting in her favor, the testimony of one that knew her well. " She was indeed a help-meetfor her husband; for, beside her ordinary domestic duties, she spun and wove with her own hands, all the cloth he wore, and gained not a little renown through the country, for the neatness and beauty of her manufacture. Notwithstanding she was a most affectionate wife, and delighted in the company of her husband, she was very careful to throw no obstacle in the way of his fulfilling his appointments punctually, and was always mindful to have his clothes put up, and every thing ready. She submitted with great fortitude to the lonely life that she led in his absence, which was relieved only by the company of one of her maiden sisters, (of whom she had several,) who usually staid with her. It was from a proper estimate of the importance of the work in which he was engaged, and not from any indifference towards him, that she so cheerfully gave up his company. If there was a probability of his detention by high waters and inclement weather, she could hardly be drawn off to talk of any thing else; and accustomed to his punctuality, she would be constantly peering' through a little chink, (she had one opening towards each end of the road,) looking with the liveliest interest for his return. As soon as he appeared, she would cry out ' yonder he comes! poor thing!' and dropping every thing, would run out to meet him with the greatest joy.

" For the first.ten or twelve years after their marriage, she was, in the strictest sense, a keeper at home, and proved herself a most frugal and industrious wife ; in which respect, indeed, few females ever excelled her. She was extravagantly fond of infants and children, (it mattered little whose they were,) caressed them much, and treated them with the uttermost tenderness and affection. In the absence of these objects her passion seemed to be transferred, in a measure, to the young of the inferior animals, such as lambs, pigs, and even poultry, which she would feed and nurse with great care. After this, when the family had become more affluent, she travelled much with her husband, and eventually died in the upper part of South Carolina, in the month of September, 1826."

But to return to the history of Mr. Mercer, " I do not remember distinctly," says his uncle, " how he employed himself for the first year after his marriage, but am under the impression that he went to school. He lived in his father's house. His father gave him a hundred acres of land about a mile distant, and in the Fall or Winter of that year, he erected upon it a neat log-cabin, and opened a small farm to which he removed, and where he resided for two years." In the mean time he zealously prosecuted his ministerial labors, expounding the scriptures in an orthodox and able manner, and affording gratifying evidence to those who heard him, of his rapid advancement in the knowledge of divine things. A short time before the com • pletion'of his twentieth year, he was called by the church to ordination, and was solemnly set apart to the work of the gospel ministry. From his credentials, of which the following is a copy, it appears that his father, Silas Mercer,and Sanders Walker were the officiating ministers.*

LITERARY INSTITUTIONS.

MERCER UNIVERSITY.

THE Georgia Baptist Convention, at its annual session in the spring of 1831, at Big Buckhead church, Burke county, adopted a resolution to establish a classical and theological school, the main object of which was the improvement of the rising ministry. If memory is not at fault, the resolution was offered by Rev. Adiel Sherwood. That school was located in Greene county, at what is now known as the village of Penfield, and was called Mercer Institute, in honor of Rev. Jesse Mercer. The village was named Penfield, in honor of Mr. Josiah Penfield, a deacon of the Baptist church in Savannah, who had bequeathed to the Georgia Baptist Convention, for ministerial education, the sum of twenty-five hundred dollars; this amount to be paid by his executors, when the Convention, or its friends should have raised an equal amount for the same object. Mercer Institute was opened as a Manual Labor School, the 2d Monday in January, 1833, with thirty-nine pupils, (seven of whom had the ministry in view,) Rev. B. M. Sanders, Principal, and one assistant. Its only buildings were "two double log cabins," which served as dwelling, dining-room, dormitories, etc., for both teachers and students. This unpretending Seminary subsequently became Mercer University—how, we proceed to show. (For a more full account of Mercer Institute, see sketch of Rev. B. M. Sanders.)

For the following facts, the author draws almost exclusively from reports adopted by the Georgia Baptist Convention, which he uses freely without further notice. In the year 1835, there was an effort made by a portion of the-Presbyterian denomination to establish a college under their auspices at Washington, Wilkes county. A considerable subscription was made up for the enterprise, but the Washington project failed, and their Institution was located at Midway, near Milledgeville, and is now known as the Oglethorpe University. (If any shall infer that tho Presbyterians thus became the leaders of the Baptists in the matter of a denominational school in Georgia, it is only necessary to remind them that " Mercer Institute " had been in successful operation moro than two years. Tho Baptists were foremost in their educational movements in this State.) In the meantime tho inquiry was propounded, " why may not tho Baptists have a college at Washington?" To use the language of the venerable Mercer, " the notion took like wild-fire." Large portions of the subscription made for the Presbyterian project were transferred, and new ones added. Rev. William H. Stokes and Dr. William H. Pope were particularly active in forwarding the enterprise, the latter performing much voluntary service in getting up the subscription.

In October of the same year, tho project was brought to the notice of the Georgia Association, at its annual session in Augusta, and was faverable entertained by that body.

The next year the plan was submitted to the Convention at its session in Talbotton, May, 1836. A subscription of some forty or fifty thousand dollars was tendered to the denomination, on condition that they should establish a college at Washington. The proposition was accepted, and it was agreed that the institution should be known as 'The Southern Baptist College." Agents were sent out to increase the subscription ; a charter was obtained from tho Legislature; and at the next annual session of the Convention, at Ruckersville, Elbert county, a subscription of $100,000 was reported as having been made up, this being the amount agreed on as essential to justify tho commencement of the enterprise. Of this amount about S40,000 were subscribed in Wilkes county, Rev. Jesse Mercer having increased his first subscription of $3,000, to the liberal amount of $10,000.

About this time a terrible financial crisis had overtaken the country, followed by a pecuniary pressure, well calculated to dampon tho zeal of the most ardent friends of the college. Many began to fear it could not be sustained, and at the same time afford to Mercer Institute the support it so much needed, and who finally urged tho abandonment of the Washington location and concentration on the Institute. This produced some warm discussions in the Board of Trustees, (which had been appointed by the Convention,) Sanders being in faver of .Penfield, Mark A. Cooper in faver of White Hall, near what is now the city of Atlanta, and Mercer, with some others, strongly opposing any change. While this subject was under discussion, on one occasion, tho venerable Mercer became quite impatient, if not indignant, and withdrew from his seat as chairman, refusing to preside. As soon as this ebullition of feeling subsided, however, being urged to resume the chair, he did se. Nothing definite, however, was done at that meeting, which was held at Washington. But at a subsequent meeting of the board, August, 1837, at Athens, the following resolutions were adoped by a large majority:

"Resolved, That the important business of raising and endowing a Southern Baptist College in Georgia, intrusted to the care of this Board, has been maturely examined and inquired inte. They have duly considered the means and resources required therefor, and are of opinion that it is inexpedient to undertake the building of a college under present circumstances. The reasons that have brought the Board to this conclusion are, in part, the following: First, the embarrassment of the times; 6ccond, the differing views of brethren in regard to tho plan proposed; lastly, the inadequacy of the means in hand.

"Be it therefore resolved further, That the whole subject be referred to the executive committee of the Baptist Convention for the State of Georgia, with the recommendation of this Board that they surrender the present charter and abandon the enterprise, or seek to set on a footing a plan that will command the resources demanded for the accomplishment of the great undertaking."

By virtue of this movement, the Washington project was virtually dead, though the Board of Trustees went through the formality of surrendering up, by resolution, the charter and project to the Convention.

(The friends at Talbotton had made a vigorous effort to have the Southern Baptist College located at that place, and Kev. Robert Fleming attended the Convention at Buckersville, in 1837, with a subscription of about $50,000 00 ; but this overture seems to have met with but little encouragement.)

*When the Baptist Convention of Georgia resolved to elevate Mercer Institute to the rank of a university, the first thing they needed was an endowment. Brother Mallary was selected as the man to raise it. He was then pastor of the Baptist church at Milledgeville. So thoroughly was he interested in this enterprise that he gave up his church and accepted the agency, still, however, making Milledgeville his headquarters. At that time the Georgia Railroad was building. It had hardly reached Greensboro. The Central Railroad had not reached much farther than Millen. Hence an agent in those days had to rely upon private conveyance to canvass, the State. This made the work very laborious. And to increase the difficulty the strength of the denomination was, for the most part, in the country churches. But Brother Mallary, though in feeble health, was equal to the situation. With his horse and buggy he went forth on his lonely drives over all the territory of the Convention that he might find those Baptists who were willing to help endow the university. He sometimes found them in groups, by so arranging his movements as to be on hand as often as possible at the conferences of the churches, and at as many associations as he could attend; but he took care to appeal to individuals also when he had opportunity to do it.
While engaged in this work, he did not forget his ministry. He preached wherever he found an open door. And no doubt his power in the pulpit and the influence which it gave him over the affections of his brethren contributed greatly to the success of his agency. By the time Brother Mallary had finished his work he was widely known and greatly beloved throughout the State.
Such was his success that he was able in about two years to report to the Convention an endowment of sixty-five thousand dollars. All of this, except what little cash may have been given, was in notes bearing interest at eight per cent, per annum.
The first Board of Trustees met in Penfield in 1838 to organize the faculty of the university. As a member of the Board, I was present on that occasion. It was perfectly manifest, in a few minutes after the Board came together, that Doctor Mallary was the choice of the brethren for the presidency of the college. I think there was not a dissenting voice. My impression is that he was elected by acclamation; but, at any rate, the demonstration in his favor was so outspoken that Brother Mallary felt it his duty to reply to it. In a very feeling speech he decisively declined the proposed honor. He based his decision upon the ground that his convictions of duty would not permit him to accept a position that would greatly hinder his ministerial usefulness. The brethren were convinced that it was needless to press the matter any further. The incident clearly shows how completely this good man had devoted himself to the work of preaching the gospel.

Jesse Mercer (1769-1841)

Jesse Mercer was a prominent Baptist pastor, philanthropist, and publisher. He focused much of his efforts toward promoting cooperation among Baptists in antebellum Georgia, particularly for the support of religious benevolence and ministerial education. Mercer University in Macon is named for him.

Mercer family


The patriarchal head of the Mercer family was a native of Scotland, who emigrated to this country about the close of the seventeenth century. The paternal grandfather of Jesse Mercer was one of his children, and was born in Virginia, in 1713. He married his first wife in that state, by whom he had three children, Lydia, Silas and Rhoda. His second wife was Sarah Simmons, of Currituck county, North Carolina, by whom he had nine children ; viz. Jacob, Thomas, Sarah, Chloe, Mary, Vashti, James, Caleb and John. Two only of this numerous family are now living, Mr. James Mercer of Coweta county, and Col. John Mercer of Lee county. 


Jesse Mercer's Grandfather:


The father removed from Virginia to North Carolina, (at what time it is not certainly known,) and resided in Currituck county and elsewhere in the state until about 1767, when he emigrated to Georgia and settled in what is now Wilkes county. He and his family suffered many hardships during the revolutionary struggle. He was upwards of sixty years of age at the commencement of the war, and although from age and infirmity he performed no actual service, yet he embraced in feeling the cause of his country, with patriotic zeal. Two of his sons, Jacob and Thomas, notwithstanding they had families, were engaged in active service during nearly the whole war, the care of their families in the mean time devolving mainly upon their aged parent. He died at the residence of his son Silas, in Wilkes county, in the seventy-seventh year of his age. Through youth and middle age he was a High Churchman, arid for a long time officiated in North Carolina as clerk of the parish, and perhaps as curate. In his old age he and his wife professed conversion, embraced the peculiar sentiments of the Baptists, and were baptized, probably by Daniel Marshall.



Jesse Mercer was born in Halifax County, North Carolina, on December 16, 1769, and migrated to Georgia with his family when he was a child. He converted to Christianity in July 1787, and his minister father, Silas Mercer, baptized him into the membership of Phillips Mill Baptist Church in Wilkes County. Less than a year later, the young Mercer married Sabrina Chivers. After Mercer's ordination as a Baptist minister in 1789, the Presbyterian pastor John Springer provided him with several years of ministerial education at Springer's home near Washington, Georgia. Mercer's first
pastorate was at Hutton's Fork Baptist Church in Wilkes County, where he lived for most of his life. He would eventually pastor seven churches in Greene, Hancock, Oglethorpe, Putnam, and Wilkes counties. Mercer served several of these congregations at the same time, and the average length of his stay at each pastorate was more than twenty-one years.

Constitutional Convention

Mercer extended his influence as a Baptist minister through his participation in several state and national organizations, denominational and otherwise. As a delegate to Georgia's constitutional convention in 1798, he helped to defeat a proposal that would have made ministers ineligible to hold public office in Georgia. The convention's delegates also gave Mercer the responsibility for writing the section of Georgia's constitution guaranteeing religious liberty to the state's citizens. Mercer made a run for the state senate in 1816 but was unsuccessful.

Baptist Leadership

Delegates from various churches formed the General Association of Georgia Baptists in 1784, the state's first Baptist association, and Mercer eventually became one of its most prominent leaders. Mercer served as the organization's clerk for twenty-one years and as its moderator for twenty-three years. He also wrote its history in 1838. When Baptists organized the Georgia Baptist Convention in 1822, Mercer chaired a committee to draft a constitution and became the organization's first president. He continued to serve as president until his death in 1841. From 1817 to 1835 Mercer also served four times as a delegate to the Triennial Convention, an early national Baptist body.

Baptist Publications:


In addition to writing a history of the first Baptist association in Georgia, Mercer contributed to the religious life of Baptists through other publishing efforts. Many Baptist churches lacked hymnals, so Mercer compiled and published a volume in 1810 entitled The Cluster of Spiritual Songs, Divine Hymns, and Sacred Poems. Mercer eventually published seven editions of this hymnal, and 33,000 copies were distributed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, alone by 1829. In 1833 he purchased the Christian Index, a Washington, D.C., newspaper begun approximately a decade earlier as the Columbian Star. He later moved the newspaper to Washington, Georgia, and then to Penfield, giving it as a gift to the Georgia Baptist Convention in 1840. Mercer also financed and published the short-lived Temperance Banner, the South's first newspaper designed to expose the dangers of alcohol abuse.

Baptist Education

Mercer became a strong advocate of education for pastors, despite the fact that some of the state's Baptists opposed denominational efforts to support ministerial training and religious benevolence. When his father died in 1796, Mercer became the principal of Salem Academy in Wilkes County. This school, originally founded and operated by his father, was the first educational institution established under Baptist auspices in Georgia. Mercer later became a trustee and supporter of Columbian College (later George Washington University) in Washington, D.C., for many years. He is most recognized, however, for helping to found and support the school that bears his name—Mercer University.

Baptist Colleges:

Jesse Mercer and the school's founders did not initially intend to offer a collegiate education when they opened Mercer Institute in Penfield in 1833. However, Mercer was later inspired by the state's Presbyterians, who founded Oglethorpe University in 1835, and he pushed his fellow Baptists to support a "Southern Baptist College." The original plans for an entirely separate school largely failed, but the interest in creating a Baptist college eventually culminated in Mercer Institute's becoming Mercer University late in 1837. Jesse Mercer served as the first president of its board of trustees. Aided by the wealth of Nancy Simons, a widow who became his second wife in 1827, Mercer personally contributed one-third of the school's total endowment by 1840. He bequeathed most of his large estate to the institution after his death, and at least six other educational, mission, and benevolence organizations gained portions of the rest of his assets.

From Charles Dutton Mallary:

Receiving Members:

In receiving members into the church, he exercised a prudent caution. Whilst he would not throw impediments in the way of the worthy and deserving, he was not favorable to that incautious haste with which some ministers hurry individuals forward to baptism. He desired to find, in every case, a eound scriptural experience. That comfort which is preceded by clear and profound views of the evil nature of sin, and the awful plague of the human heart, in connexion with a proper conception of the plan of salvation by a crucified Redeemer, afforded him great satisfaction. He once exposed and rebuked some mistaken notions of Christian experience in a rather singular manner, and yet in a way quite in character with himself. An individual came before the church for the purpose of giving some account of what he conceived to be the dealings of God with his soul. He had considerable to say about his own tenderness and feeling, and seemed to lay much stress on that fact, without being able to give a very satisfactory account of the reason why he felt so much. Mr. Mercer related an anecdote. "When I was a boy," said he, " my father sent me out into the woods to call up the stock. I took my wallet of corn and went out, and to amuse myself, called the swine in a very sad and melancholy tone. As I was proceeding in this way, the first I knew I found myself weeping at the mournful sound of my own voice." The application of the circumstance was not difficult. The individual concerned, and all present, were very forcibly reminded, that mere tenderness and animal excitement, form but a small part of Christian experience.

Governing Churches:

In expounding and carrying into practical effect the principles of gospel discipline, Mr. Mercer was truly a master in Israel. He had studied the regulations of the Saviour for the government of his church with the greatest attention, and though, upon every point, bis decisions may not accord with the opinions of all his brethren, yet on the whole, he must be regarded as one of the most judicious, correct, and able expounders of discipline, that has ever been connected with the Baptist denomination. With just and sound views upon nearly every subject connected with the government of the church, he united an admirable talent for administering that government wisely and efficiently. He generally acted with great faithfulness, firmness, and decision, feeling that for the proper exercise of the ministerial authority, which he had received from the great head of the church, he was to be held accountable. " He used frequently to impress on his brethren," says a Christian friend, " in regard to discipline, the importance of straight-forward business, and not to delay when matters were ripe for settlement. He was opposed to 'dodging' and attempts at creeping out of responsibility. ' It does not become the gospel. If I go according to the scriptural path,' he would observe, ' I am safe, whether we exclude or retain.'"
He presided at his church conference meetings with much gravity and ministerial decorum; calling up business according to some just method, and not allowing questions under consideration to be entangled and swallowed up with extraneous matter. During the discussion of a subject, irregularity and disorder seldom went unreproved ; " even the whispers of an old sister," says one, "could scarcely escape a reprimand." A listless and languid manner of attending to the business of the L( rd, he greatly disapproved. Many years ago, the clerk of one of his churches was calling over the names of the male members preparatory to the adjournment of the conference. It was a cold day and a cold church. The members answered to their names in such a lifeless tone of voice, that they could scarcely be heard; and in some cases, the languid answer would not come until the name had been two or three times repeated. The clerk, however, patiently continued to call the names, and attentively to listen for the answers, until he had finished the list. Mr. Mercer, whose head all the while had been hanging very low, arose from his seat with much concern on his countenance, and gravely said, " well, brctJircn, if your religion is as weak as your voices, it is weak indeed ; let us pray." The reproof was deeply felt, and during the prayer, which was the concluding service, many heavy groans were heard, apparently acknowledging the justness of the minister's rebuke. " Its good effects," adds the narrator of the above circumstance, " were manifest for a great while, and I doubt if its influence is entirely lost to this day."

Meeting Appointments:

Mr. Mercer was remarkably punctual in meeting all his appointments. It would be difficult to find a brighter example in this respect, in the whole history of ministerial labor. Nothing but sickness, or some other unavoidable necessity was ever allowed to keep him from his meetings, or even to delay his arrival at the appointed place later than the usual hour. Small impediments he found no difficulty in surmounting. For instance, if he came to a creek swollen to a dangerous torrent, he could strip his horse, drive him across the stream, and with his saddle and saddle-bags on his back, search out for himself a crossing place on some log or fallen tree. This he once did on his way to a Saturday meeting at Bethesda. At the next monthly meeting, some of the brethren in making their excuses for absence at the previous conference, observed that they started for the meeting, but upon finding the creek impassable, they returned. " If you had waited a little longer," replied Mr. Mercer, " / would have shown you the way." No man was better qualified than he, to show to others the Way in regard to the prompt and exact discharge of duty. On another occasion, after he had been for a long time engaged in the ministry, he was travelling in his carriage, and was compelled, by high waters, to turn aside from his meeting, and spend the Sabbath at the house of a pious Baptist sister. He seemed very restless, and often walked the house in great apparent disquietude. The kind sister inquired into the cause of his uneasiness. " Ah," said he, " I feel like a fish out of water; this is the very first time, since the commencement of my ministry, that I have been absent from public worship on the Sabbath, when my health would allow tny attendance/'
He was equally punctual in his attendance on the business meetings of his brethren, where his presence was expected ; and when present on such occasions, he was not like many, who hurry business through to a premature conclusion, or break abruptly away before it is finished; he could find time and patience for the due consideration of every important matter, and seldom left till the business of the meeting was all properly disposed of.

No Respecter of Persons:

In his intercourse with his brethren, he was no reSpecter of persons ; there was great uniformity in tho manner in which he treated the rich and the poor, the ignorant and the more refined. When he visited his more distant churches, he would spend his nights, first with one, and then with another, without regard to the distinctions of rank and wealth ; leaving none any ground to make the complaint, which is sometimes urged against ministers, that he was always careful to search out those places where he could get the best suppers and the most comfortable bedding.

Benevolence:

It has already been intimated, that Mr. Mercer's churches were forward to acknowledge the claims of benevolence. In this respect, they stood in the front ranks. His own bright example, his frequent appeals from the pulpit, and his private, personal applications to persons in and out of the church, were generally successful in securing a respectable tribute for the treasury of the Lord. He accomplished less by the agency of societies, than many have done, thinking it best, in the general, for the churches, as such, to act as benevolent societies, without too many separate organizations.

From Shaler Granby Hillyer's "Reminiscences":

SECTION TWO.
JESSE MERCER.

My recollections of Doctor Mercer reach back to my early boyhood. His name was a household word in our home, and he was well acquainted with my parents long before I was capable of knowing his worth or appreciating his character. Nevertheless, the way in which I heard him spoken of by the older people impressed me very deeply—I thought of him as somehow superior to the common order of men.
I can distinctly remember my feelings the first time I heard him preach. I was still a young boy, but old enough to know that I had no religion, and my carnal heart made me really somewhat afraid to hear Mr. Mercer preach. So I quietly concluded that I would not attend his appointment. But when the day came and the other members of the family were getting ready to start to the meeting, my mother said to me, as if she suspected my intention, "Granby, I want you to go with us to hear Mr. Mercer to-day." I replied that I preferred to stay at home. She seemed a little perplexed, and giving me a searching look, as if she would read my thoughts, she said, "I know the reason you do not wish to go. You are afraid you will be converted." It was a home thrust. I parried it as well as I could, rather awkwardly I confess; but in compliance with her wishes I went with the family to hear Mr. Mercer—the man whom I had almost dreaded. Well, I heard the sermon, but I was not converted, for my foolish heart was darkened. His sermon, I suppose, was what his pious auditors expected it to be, but my state of mind rendered me incapable of appreciating it. Little did I then think that the time would come when I should sit without fear or dread and listen to him with delight as he expounded the riches of Divine grace through the crucified Redeemer. Thanks be to God, through that grace, such a time did come.
Doctor Mercer's preaching was sometimes expository, sometimes argumentative, but always instructive. His style was remarkably simple, but clear and forcible. His thoughts were rich and glowing, so that they seemed to lift his simple diction up to the realm of sublimity, evinced by the rapt attention of his hearers and the abiding effect of his discourses.
I witnessed a scene that would illustrate the sketch just given if I could only describe it. It was in 1836, in the town of Forsyth. There had gathered a large number of Baptist ministers, for the purpose of trying to bring about a better feeling between the missionary and anti-missionary Baptists. Brother Mercer was the moderator of that meeting. In order to convince the anti brethren that they misunderstood the views of missionary Baptists, a free discussion of the doctrines of grace, especially the doctrine of election, was allowed. Several speakers took part in the discussion. The interest in it was extreme. At length Doctor Mercer s was called on to give his views. Leaving the moderator's chair he walked down the aisle a few steps, that he might be in the midst of his hearers, and began to talk. His theme was God's electing love.
I was then but a stripling in the ministry. My theology was in its formative state. I had quietly accepted the doctrine of election, because it seemed to be taught in the Scriptures, but it had given me some trouble. I therefore paid profound attention. I can not, at this late day, give an analysis of his discourse, but his argument developed this conclusion: That the human heart being as it is—at enmity with God and dead in trespasses and in sins, no sinner without electing grace would ever accept the gospel. As he reached this conclusion the venerable speaker was deeply affected. Looking up for a moment he said with much emotion, "This is all my hope!" and burst into tears. The effect was electrical, people all about the house were wiping their eyes.
The effect upon myself was wonderful. All my trouble about the doctrine of election was relieved. Not that I was able to comprehend it in all its depths, but I was able to see that, human nature being as it is, electing love must be, if any are saved, an essential element in the great scheme of human salvation. True, in the application of this electing grace are mysteries which we can not now explain. Why the great Father should choose some, and not all, or why he should choose one, and not another, we know not; but we do know that he is infinitely wise and good, and therefore with profound confidence in his perfect rectitude, we can say from our hearts, "Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight."
Doctor Mercer's social qualities were such as to make him a most interesting conversationalist. Though strong in his will and firm in his purpose, yet he was never overbearing or abrupt in his speech, but always gentle and respectful to those around him. He sat among them as if he were one of them, apparently unconscious of his influence over his associates, who were willing to be silent that they might hear him talk.
In this connection it may not be out of place to mention an interview which I had with Brother Mercer only a few years before his death. It was in Macon. A meeting was in progress or had just closed. It happened that I and two or three others met Brother Mercer at the house where we dined. In the afternoon a little circle was gathered on the veranda, with him as the center of it. I wish I could report all the words that fell from his lips on that occasion, but that is impossible at this late day. I remember, however, his telling us an incident in his own experience, many years before, when he was on a preaching tour through the destitute regions of Northeast Georgia.
It was usual in those days for two ministers to go together on such excursions. Brother Mercer had with him on the occasion referred to Rev. Thomas Rhodes, who was an able preacher and at that time very popular.
One of their appointments was far up among the mountains. They knew not the place, nor did they know the people. Their aim was to preach the gospel to those who were almost destitute of it. When they reached the place they found no meeting-house—it was literally in the wood. But the people had made preparations for them as well as they could. They had cleaned a large space by removing the underbrush and cutting off such lower branches of the trees as were in the way. Rough seats, made chiefly of logs, were also provided, and last of all they had prepared a neat stand for the preacher. This was covered over with boards so that the preachers, at least, might be sheltered. These facts indicate that there were, around that faroff mountain, some who were eager to hear the gospel. And accordingly that grove was filled with a large congregation.
The preachers took their places on the stand. But as they looked out beyond the audience they discovered a dark and angry cloud rising high above the horizon. The people sat looking towards the stand. The cloud was behind them. They seemed not to have noticed it. After a brief consultation, the preachers agreed to leave it to the people whether they would prefer to risk the rain and hear the preaching or give up the preaching and seek shelter in the nearest houses. They said if the preachers were willing, they preferred to risk the storm and have the preaching.
Accordingly the services were opened. On such occasions both ministers were expected to preach; "and/' said Brother Mercer to the little circle in the veranda, "at that time we were both long winded." So a two hours' service, at least, was before them. The leading brother had hardly gotten fairly under way when the rain began. It came down in a steady, copious, protracted shower. But there was no confusion in the audience. When thoroughly drenched, they rose quietly to their feet and stood with outstretched necks and with their eyes fixed upon the speaker. The clouds at length passed over, and the meeting was closed. It was but a part of that itinerant labor which in the early decades of the century filled Northeast Georgia with Baptist churches.

CHAPTER II.
SECTION ONE.
CONVENTION OF 1829.

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.


Death of Mercer:


Mercer died in 1841 at the home of the Reverend James Carter in Butts County. He was buried in Penfield near the original site of Mercer University.