Presbyterian Church

Selected by Georgia stakeholders and funded by the DLG, these materials document the Church’s interaction with slavery, emancipation, and religion.

These collections are:

Lexington Presbyterian Church (Lexington, Ga.) records, 1822-1916.

The names of enslaved church members may be found inside this collection. It’s possible that these are the sole documents proving that some of these people actually existed. There are also records of famous academics and politicians who lived in Oglethorpe County, Georgia.

Henry Newton papers, 1842-1900.

Henry Newton grew up in Athens, Georgia, as a Presbyterian preacher. In 1841, he received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Georgia, and in 1845, he received his master’s degree from Columbia Theological Seminary. Newton preached to both enslaved and liberated African Americans throughout the state from 1845 to 1897 in several northeast Georgian churches.

These projects are the Columbia Theological Seminary’s second collaboration with the DLG.

Ashley Simpson, former president of the Athens Historical Society and Georgia historical marker researcher, describes the importance of having these materials available for research freely online:

“Digitization has allowed historians, genealogists, family researchers, and the merely curious to see and use records without harming the originals.

During COVID, we discovered that we could all work with the digitized manuscript simultaneously by working remotely.

Access to digital copies of original documents permits some claims to be verified and some misinformation to be disproven.

Granting digital access to the Henry Newton papers and the Lexington Presbyterian Church records facilitates a greater understanding of daily life and the rich historical background of northeast Georgia. ”

View these collections online

About Columbia Theological Seminary

Columbia Theological Seminary exists to educate and nurture faithful, imaginative, and effective leaders for the sake of the church and the world. It is an educational institution of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and a community of theological inquiry, leadership development, and formation for ministry in the service of the church of Jesus Christ. Visit ctsnet.edu for more information.

Selected images:

Page selected from a group of 19th-century handwritten letters. Christian Observer, May 6, 1886 — Christian Observer, May 6, 1886. Courtesy of Columbia Theological Seminary. Three letters written by Reverend Henry Newton to the editors of the Christian Observer regarding the controversy surrounding James Woodrow and the theory of evolution. In the first letter, Newton clarifies the nature of the investigation into accusations against Woodrow. In the second letter, Newton describes the evolution debate happening in the Presbyterian church, claiming that the church has no say in scientific theories and vice versa. In the third letter, Newton admonishes the false persecution being advanced against Woodrow by enemies within the church. From notes: Contains three letters to the editors of the Christian Observer regarding the deposition of James Woodrow in the evolution controversy in the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.

Page of 19th-century ledger featuring lists of hand-recorded financial transactions — Accounts and expenses, 1853-1870, page 39 of 166.
Account book of reverend Reverend Henry Newton. This account book features lists of transactions, family expenses, monies paid out, and produce received from churches, all dating from 1853 to 1870. In addition, there is a list of sermons performed by Newton organized by the book of the Bible from which they came. Also included are notes on a contract for building additions to Newton’s home and a list of sermons ‘Preached to Negroes at Thyatira at Jefferson at Concord.’

Page of 19th century church record book/ledger with handwritten accounts of church-related events. — Book “A” Record of Presbyterian Church at Lexington, 1822-1874. Courtesy of Columbia Theological Seminary. Page 24 of record book of the Presbyterian Church at Lexington, Georgia covering the years 1822 to 1874. This book covers various happenings pertaining to church events, polity, and membership. It lists baptisms and sacraments performed, changes in church leadership, including ministers and elders, changes in congregants, including those joining and those leaving the church, and news of major events in nearby Presbyteries. The Lexington Presbyterian Church records document the names of enslaved members of the church, and it is not unlikely that for some of the names provided it is the only existing record that these people ever lived.

Page of 19th century ledger featuring lists of hand-recorded financial transactions "Family Expenses." — Title: Accounts and expenses, 1853-1870, page 110 of 166. Courtesy of Columbia Theological Seminary Description: Account book of reverend Reverend Henry Newton featuring lists of transactions, family expenses, monies paid out, and produce received from churches, all dating from 1853 to 1870. Includes a list of sermons performed by Newton organized by the book of the Bible from which they came. There are also notes on a contract for building additions to Newton’s home and a list of sermons that includes those preached to African Americans.

ATHENS, Ga. — Three new collections featuring historical resources related to the Presbyterian Church, Presbyterian educators, and their role in Georgia history are now available through the Digital Library of Georgia.

Housed at Columbia Theological Seminary, the resources are freely available online thanks, in part, to the DLG’s competitive digitization grant program, a funding opportunity intended to broaden DLG partner participation in statewide historic digitization projects.

The three digital collections are:

Joseph R. Wilson papers, from the late 1800s, including the sermons of Presbyterian minister and educator Joseph Ruggles Wilson dating 1858 to 1893. View at dlg.usg.edu/collection/gcl_wilson.

Wilson served as pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Augusta, Ga., and at First Presbyterian Church in Wilmington, N.C. He also taught at Columbia Theological Seminary and Southwestern Presbyterian University and was the father of President Woodrow Wilson.

John Newton Waddel papers, 1821‐1881, including manuscripts and print material belonging to John Newton Waddel (1812-1895) and Moses Waddel (1770-1840). The father and son were Presbyterian ministers and educators in Georgia and Mississippi. View at dlg.usg.edu/collection/gcl_waddel.

Moses Waddel served as the fifth president of the University of Georgia. John Newton Waddel served as president of Presbyterian Synodical College in LaGrange, Tenn., and as chancellor of the University of Mississippi.

Presbyterian Church in the U.S. Presbytery of Hopewell minutes, 1797‐1866, the official minutes of the Presbytery of Hopewell, the first Presbytery in the state of Georgia. View at dlg.usg.edu/collection/gcl_hopewell.

The Hopewell minutes provide descriptions of early missionary efforts among Native Americans, deliberations about slavery, and other collective decisions that offer perspectives from the state of Georgia between the Revolutionary War through the Civil War. Special thanks to the Northeast Georgia Presbytery for permitting the digitization of these records.

Erskine Clarke, professor emeritus of U.S. religious history at Columbia Theological Seminary, describes the research significance of these three collections:

“The Wilson sermons will have interest for anyone wishing to probe the religious life of Woodrow Wilson. In addition, they will provide insight into the theological assumptions and rhetorical and homiletical strategies of an influential nineteenth-century Georgia pastor.

“Presbytery minutes are rich resources for cultural and religious history, and the years of the Hopewell minutes (1797-1866) will be of great interest to historians working in that period of Georgia history.

“The links with the University of Georgia presidents are astonishing. The Waddel papers are even more exciting…To have these important documents available online will be a great gift to those who in the future explore the history of Georgia.”

About Columbia Theological Seminary

Tag: Presbyterian Church

Resources related to the historic role of the Presbyterian Church in Georgia now freely available online