History of the Rappahannock Association of Virginia
The Rappahannock Association of "Old School" Baptists was organized in 1837, after about six of the oldest, soundest, and most well-established churches withdrew from the Shiloh Association, on account of their change in principles from the doctrines of sovereign grace, to the arminian modern missionary system of beliefs and practices. These churches included Battle Run (organized 1773), Thornton's Gap (1787), Gourdvine (1791), Robinson River (1790), Carter's Run (1769), and Chesnut Fork. Elder Thomas Buck, Jr., apparently served as moderator of the Rappahannock Association throughout its existence, which was until 1855. In 1856 the churches agreed to merge with the Ebenezer Association. The following letter, written by Bro. William W. Covington, of the Thornton's Gap Church, gives a first hand account of the issues which resulted in the formation of this new association the following year.
For the Signs of the Times.
Woodville, Rappahannock Co., Va., August 27, 1836.
My Beloved Brother Beebe:--- In my letter of the 25th June, published in the 17th number of the present volume of the Signs of the Times, two items which were written on the back of an extra scrap of paper, fastened on the bottom of the 4th page of the letter, and designed merely as an explanatory note, &c. . . . When I wrote that letter I was not in possession of the Minutes of the Shiloh Association, of 1834, and attempted to quote a resolution of her adoption from memory, but find upon examination of the Minutes now in my possession, that my memory did not serve me with precision; and lest the legitimate father, whosoever he may be, of that darling bantling, as well as its adopted mother, (the majority of the Shiloh Association of 1834,) complain of a mutiliation, suppression, or a non-exhibition of some of its most prominent and admired features, I will here present for your gaze and admiration (if indeed you can see any thing in it to admire,) the full face, that you may behold its exquisite symmetry, and its just proportions, -- here it is,
"Resolved, As the opinion of this Association, that the Missionary, Bible, and other benevolent operations in progress at the present day, are apt and efficient means in the hands of God in carrying on his gracious designs."
And now that you have seen it, my brother, how do you like it, and what think you of it? Survey well its features, feel carefully about its crown and the parts adjacent, examine minutely and critically all the knots and protuberances thereof, and tell me if you can, its lineage, its genius, and its promise. It looks to me, my brother, like a very brat of Ashdod; but as I am no adept in the art of physiognomy, and am totally unacquainted with the science of phrenology, if indeed a science such there be, I may have mistaken the little urchin altogether; but,my brother, I am strongly inclined to the opinion that the little syccophantick fellow is very near akin to anti-christ, that man of sin, the son of perdition, whose coming saith the apostle, is after the working of satan, with all power, and signs, and lying wonders; and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish, because they received not the love of the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. I remember well the time, place, and many of the circumstances that accompanied the introduction, first reception, and final adoption of this little, ugly, squint-eyed, diabolonian stranger, into the once peaceful, united, and consistent and happy Shiloh Baptist Association, upon whose walls, with great propriety, may "Ichabod," now be written; for truly may it now be said, the glory of Shiloh is departed. Yes, my brother, she is shorn of her chief, her principal men, her brightest jewels, her principal, terrestrial ornaments of an affectionate daughter, bereft of her aged and beloved parents, by whose wise counsel her steps had been safely and peaceably conducted through many great and severe trials, during, and through many successive years. Elder Lewis Conner, that justly renowned, venerable, and venerated father, now no more in this world, save in the hearts and recollection of his old fashioned friends and acquaintances generally, and his regular old fashioned Baptist brethren universally, who are at all acquainted with his history, may with propriety be called the father of the Shiloh Baptist Association, for at his mouth and from his lips did she as a first daughter, receive her name in the year 1812, from which time, until about the year 1830, this aged father, whenever present, and he was scarcely ever absent, filled the Moderator's chair, and presided over the deliberations of the then united and happy Shiloh; and this he did frequently by an unanimous vote, I believe; and always by an overwhelming majority, and I here affirm without the fear of contradiction, that under his auspices, that no such Babylonish Diabolonian Renegado, as that mentioned above, ever was, or ever could have been adopted into the Shiloh family. This consistent, cool, and clear-headed orthodox, logical, able, and beloved minister of the New Testament, whose praise was, and ever should be, in all the churches of Shiloh, as well as all others at all acquainted with his name, character, and virtues, as were all the churches of the old, renowned and orthodox Ketocton, aided and sustained by the firm, steadfast, uncompromising, and orthodox, William Fristoe, a most able expositor of the Holy Scriptures, and who was a frequent, welcome visitor and messenger from the Old Ketocton, together with the steadfast Elders and messengers of Shiloh; such as the animated, zealous, rhetorical and beloved Elder William Mason; the orthodox John Koontz; the steadfast Anderson Moffitt; the modest, retiring, but nevertheless, zealous, consistent, experimental, orthodox, steadfast, and beloved Ambrose C. Booton; and the zealous, bold, yet unassuming, orthodox, assiduous, and uncompromising Thomas Buck, Jr., resisted, effectively resisted, for a succession of years, all the profound logic and classical eloquence of a Luther, whose surname is Rice, to draw him, (Conner) and with him Shiloh, into the visionary schemes of the Baptist Board of Foreign Missions.
Elder Lewis Conner, the recollection of whose virtues, may it be my privilege to ever cherish with profound veneration and love, was gathered to his Father', some time in the month of March, 1832. Then (as I am informed by Captain Zephaniah Turner, of Woodville, who married the younger of this beloved father's only two daughters) in his 87th year, 60 of which I am warranted in saying (for I had it from his own mouth) had been devoted to the service of his Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, of whose unsearchable riches he delighted much to speak on all suitable occasions, and no others; for he was no fanatick, he well knew that there were important civil duties for him to perform as well as for others, and that his private and public religious duties and services combined did not exempt or exonerate him from a constant regard to, and faithful discharge of the same. He baptized me, my brother, in the fall of 1812. I love his memory. He served his county (Culpeper) of a part of which a new county, called Rappahannock, has recently been made, with great dignity and applause, many years as a magistrate; filled, and passed through the high sheriffialty with honor to himself, and with benefit to his country, for whose freedom and emancipation from British despotism, oppression, and tyranny, he in his younger days made bare his arm and breasted british steel. Of him as a man in the civil relations of life, much, yea everything can be said in his praise, and nothing to his disparagement; and in a word, my brother, I feel that I hazard nothing in saying that he did, both in a civil, and in a religious point of view, keep his garment clean and unspotted from the world to the last of his earthly existence.
I heard the last sermon that this aged and beloved father ever preached: it was on the 11th day of February, 1832. He stood in that desk at old Battle Run, where I recently, for the first and only time saw your face in the flesh, and where, to the great joy and comfort of my heart, I heard you preach, and ably defend those solemn gospel truths which had been so long and ably defended in that desk and elsewhere, by this venerable father. His text on that occasion I have not yet forgotten. It is on record in Paul's famous letter to the Ephesian brethren, 3:8, "Unto me, who am less than the least of all the saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ." And indeed, my brother, of Christ's unsearchable riches, I never heard a sermon, or discourse, more to my full satisfaction.
This aged Father, though very infirm, did on this occasion, preach with much apparent ease, he manifested much, not overheated, fiery, but mild, and properly tempered zeal -- his voice was strong, loud, and sonorous, and he held out, old, feeble, and infirm as he was, to preach a sermon of usual, if not of more than usual length for him, for he was always remarkable for comprehending a great deal in a few words, and rarely ever took up more time than from half an hour to an hour in preaching a sermon -- he never wearied his hearers with long harangues, and vain repetitions about saving souls by human means, and human instrumentality; and just here I will venture to say, that he never preached a modern missionary sermon in all his life; and just here I will venture to say, that he never preached a modern missionary sermon in all his life; could he have been persuaded to engage in that sort of work, he might probably have lengthened out his discourses to the extent that a certain individual, by the name of Frost, remarkable for proplexity sometimes did, and who at one time attached himself to, and traveled with William F. Broaddus, who this keen-sighted Father, as it would seem, viewed as the Boss of the missionary shop, set up within the bounds of the Shiloh Association, in as much as he took occasion to say of Frost, as I am informed, that he was the journeyman of William F. Broaddus, a remark, I am sure, that this old Father never would have made, had he approved of the course, pursued by William F. But of the doings of William F., and his journeyman Frost, as well as the doings of some other "spiritual aeronauts," who have flown off at a tangent, and are wildly wending their way into the illimitable wilds of fanatical ether, I will not now particularly speak.
I will neither attempt at present, "to allure them to the temple of truth," nor say to them, "Go and encounter the perils of that land where angels fear to tread." The land of unauthorized and doubtful experiment, you will very naturally suppose, that being a land whereon both saints and angels fear to tread, but not so the new lights: but of this, more another time; for at present, I have a little more to say of the sage, the venerable and beloved Conner. I recollect remarking to him, after he had closed his sermon above noticed, and had come down from the pulpit, that he had on that occasion, been wonderfully supported, he instantly replied, "Brother Covington, I beat myself, for the last time I attempted to preach before this, my voice sunk in about ten minutes after I had began, and I then thought that I should never be able to preach again." He attended meeting the following days at Battle Run, and gave our beloved brother, Elder Thomas Buck, Jr., a cordial and hearty invitation and welcome, to accept the call and invitation of the church, (not to supersede him in the pastoral office, a measure foreign to the wishes of the church, and to which Brother Buck could not have been induced to accede, for although he consented to become his successor after his death, to supersede him in his lifetime he never would have consented) to attend them statedly, once in two months, to preach for them, and to perform for them those official and efficient services, which the age and infirmities of this superannuated servant of Christ warned the church against longer imposing upon him. This aged, beloved, and able minister of the New Testament, had exercised the pastoral office, for a long succession of years, in three of the churches of the formerly Culpeper, but now Shiloh Association, viz: F. T., Battle Run, and Thornton's Gap.
He had resigned the pastoral care of the F. T. Church, where had been his membership more than forty years; some few, perhaps four or five years previous to the incidents related above, and was succeeded by William F. Broaddus, who was at that time, recognized by most of the Baptists of Shiloh, as an old fashioned Virginia Baptist. He resigned the care of Thornton's Gap Church about two years before his death, and was succeeded by Cumberland George, whose claim to the title and name of old fashioned, regular, Virginia Baptist, no one, I believe, had at that time, for a moment doubted. And now in the month of February, 1832, we behold him, at his own option, as in the two former cases, having pressed and urged the necessity of measures, from the consideration of his advanced age and consequent infirmities, resigning up, as far as the church, and brother Buck would consent he should with the most heartfelt satisfaction, his last charge, Old Battle Run, into the hands of his and our beloved brother Buck, the only genuine son in faith and practice, of the three that succeeded this beloved father in the pastoral office: a bold charge, this, my brother, but I make it fearless of consequences, for it is most incontestibly sustained by various recent developments. I call brother Buck a son a genuine son, because he tenaciously adheres to the faith and practice of those ancient father, who till within the last four or five years, presided over and controlled the deliberations of Shiloh, and because, although now a beloved father in the Old Ketocton, he was once a son and licentiate of Shiloh. This partial resignation of Old Battle Run, by our beloved Elder brother, and his recommendation of brother Buck, was, I believe, his last official act relative to the concerns of the church. On this occasion he did not ascend the pulpit; he sat among the members, heard brother Buck preach, and then stood up in the midst of his brethren and the congregation, and made a few pertinent, interesting, and instructive remarks, among which, the following declaration struck me with much force, and I still remember it distinctly. I have been, said this servant of the Most High, a professor of religion sixty years, and in some degree a public speaker during that time, and in all this time, said he, I have never had occasion to change my sentiments with regard to religion, nor my practice materially. And here, my brother, is a consistent regular old fashioned Virginia Baptist for you, not in name only, but in truth and in deed; one whose fixed, settled, and determined opposition, and effectual resistance for a long succession of years, to all transcendant "exertions" of the friends of the wonderful modern missionary "operations" to draw him, and with him, the Shiloh Association, into their visionary schemes, is well known to hundreds now living; and Luther Rice, and many of the "spiritual aeronauts" of Shiloh, could, if they would speak out, testify to the truth, that under the auspices of the renowned Conner, aided and sustained by such Elders and steadfast brethren as William Fristoe, William Mason, John Koontz, and Anderson Moffitt, all of whom have been gathered to their fathers, together with Elders Daniel James, Ambrose C. Booton, and Thomas Buck, Jr., still living, and a host of steadfast brethren of the old regular order, who in those days represented the churches in their associate capacity, not even the privilege of taking up a public collection for missionary purposes, in the name, and under the sanction of the Shiloh Association, though urged upon her, session after session, by one and another of these "spiritual aeronauts," this missionary craft could ever be obtained. But no sooner was this aged father laid low beneath the clod, and Booton and Buck driven from the counsels of Shiloh by the aberations, and the inconsistent, disorderly courses and practices of those "spiritual aeronauts," who for the last four or five years have presided over the controlled the deliberations of Shiloh; then the artful William F. succeeded in obtaining leave, for the first time in the history of Shiloh, to take up a public collection in her name for a missionary purpose. This favorite design of the missionary craft, so long and so eagerly sought for, was carried out and accomplished at the Shiloh Association of 1832, only a few months after the decease of the much lamented Conner. The measure was, however, promptly opposed and strongly debated against, as I am informed, by brother R. I. Tutt, a son-in-law of Elder Conner, and who had as clerk, served most efficiently this association during the space of twenty years. He voluntarily resigned his clerkship at the Shiloh session of 1827, at which time, the following resolution was unanimously adopted by the Association, and spread upon her minutes, viz:
"On motion, it is unanimously Resolved, That this association express their grateful acknowledgements to Elder L. Conner for twenty years faithful services as Moderator, and to brother Rl. I. Tutt, for his services as clerk for the same time."
Now, my brother, what must we think of that individual, who, being baptized by Ambrose C. Booton, a regular old fashioned Virginia Baptist, and by him conducted into the house of God, and there cordially and affectionately received as a regular old fashioned Virginia Baptist, as he professed to be, and by them kindly and affectionately treated, during his residence among them, he having borne about him the distinguishing characteristics of a regular old fashioned Virginia Baptist, like themselves, and who, upon changing his place of residence, and coming into the bounds of Elder Lewis Conner's operations, and being regularly and affectionately dismissed by his regular old fashioned Virginia Baptist brethren, who first received him into fellowship, licensed him to preach, and parted with him with reluctance, and who was by this aged and renowned father in the gospel, embraced as a son, treated with fatherly affection, cherished, sustained, encouraged, and promoted, being by him recommended to that church, where he (Conner) held his membership during the greater part of his spiritual life, as a suitable and proper old fashioned Virginia Baptist preacher, to succeed him (Conner) in the pastoral office, to resign which, his great age and increasing infirmities strongly urged him, and by which he was ultimately compelled to yield, notwithstanding the great anxiety of the church to retain him as their pastor during his life, which they would no doubt have done, had he lived near their meeting house, but his place of residence was now little less, if any, than 20 miles distant. I say, my brother, for an individual thus circumstanced, as William F. Broaddus was, to apostatize from these, his ancient fathers in the gospel, who, he will not, I presume, with all his hardihood and mendicancy, venture to affirm, only by implication, and the most insiduous silence of their faith and practice, did not walk in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord, blameless, Luke 1:6, argues, it seems to me, either a most lamentable dereliction of principle, a most extraordinary derangement, or hallucination of mind; but my cousin William F. Broaddus, be not startled, my brother, he is my relation, and one too in whom I once much delighted, and in whom I should again much delight, should it please the Father of all mercies to restore hjim to as great a degree of spiritual, as he has (it is said) to a mere moral state of temperance and sobriety - is not the only "spiritual aeronaut," now flying with immense velocity through the lower regions or circumambiant air or atmosphere, intent upon gaining or penetrating into the illimitable wilds of ether; or in other words, the higher or upper regions, the ethereal heavens, in a vehicle which I shall take the liberty to call a Shiloh balloon, but which is so full of ballast, or heavy dead matter, that it never can, I am persuaded, rise above, or get beyond these nether regions whence it emanated, or received its origin. This balloon was shot off, or put in motion, in the fall of 1832, at the Bethel meeting-house, in the County of Culpeper, and State of Virginia; and as every one may not know the literal meaning of balloon, I will just remark that "Johnson, improved by Todd, and abridged by Chalmers, says a balloon is a ball stuffed with combustible matter, which, when shot up into the air, bursts into bright sparks of fire, resembling stars. An aeronaut, you know, is one who has sailed through the air in a balloon, and who, although he may find himself among sparks of fire that resemble stars, yet he may be as far from the kingdom of God, as he that is almost persuaded to be a christian. But, my brother, my principal design in making you this communication, is to vindicate the injured cause of my Lord and Master, Jesus Christ; and that of my old school brethren generally, and especially to disabuse those ancient fathers mentioned above, of that abuse which I conceive to be heaped upon them by these spiritual balloon sailors, who now govern and control the affairs of another Shiloh, which is not another, but there be some that trouble her, and I hope that neither she nor they, will imagine that I am become their enemy, because I tell them the truth.
Elder Lewis Conner was in fact, a genuine bona fide, Virginia Baptist of the old, regular order, and how exceedingly degenerated must that son be, who can dare attempt to purloin from him, that honor, and from those too who acted with, and sustained him during twenty years faithful services as Moderator of the then happy, but now distracted and divided Shiloh: and yet such an one there is, and others are not clear, Oh! shame, where is thy blush!
Elder William F. Broaddus has recently trumpeted through the Religious (as it is called) Herald, that he is an old fashioned, Virginia Baptist, and to sustain, as it would seem, his claim to the name of Old Fashioned Virginia Baptist, he proclaims it upon the house top, and sends it upon the pinions of the wind, to the north, south, east, and west, that he is in favor of the General Association of Virginia, Baptist Triennial Convention, Virginia Foreign and Domestic Bible Society, Baptist Camp Meetings, and anxious benches; and in short, the whole list of working operations. Here, my brother, we discover that William F. is in favor of a host of operations, which he and others denominate instruments in the hands of God in carrying on his gracious designs, and here I feel constrained to remark, notwithstanding all my former partialities and prepossessions in favor of William F. Broaddus, that for and with his many aberrations, inconsistencies, tergiversations, and departures from the ancient faith and order of those old fashioned Virginia Baptists above mentioned, I have no fellowship, and I should feel that I had proved recreant to the old fashioned Virginia Baptist cause, and to the cause of my Lord and Master, not to raise my solemn protest against his whole list, and system of working operations, which are evidently (to me, at least) nothing more nor less than the devices of men, the trickery of the anti-christ, played off under the specious name of benevolence, for the nefarious purpose, as it seems to me, of robbing the saints of their liberties as the children of Go, and of bringing them into bondage to the powers of darkness, whose forces are mustering the missionary, bible, and other (so called,) benevolent operations and exertions in progress at the present day, into the ranks of opposition, as I conceive, to the only effectual operation in the regeneration, conversion, and eternal salvation of a poor lost sinner, and that is the operations of the Holy Ghost, an operation which our "spiritual aeronauts" omit altogether in their enumeration of exertions, operations, &c., which they call instruments in the hands of God in carrying on his gracious designs, and which they eulogize as exertions "to send out the knowledge of salvation through the length and breadth of our ruined world," more transcendently glorious than ll the exertions that ever preceded them, under the christian dispensation, the person exertions of Christ and his apostles not excepted - Oh blasphemy!!! May the Lord forgive them this great sin, and purge their conscience from dead works, to serve the only true and living God.
We Old School Baptists have no faith in any operation as saving, save the operation of the Holy Ghost, an effectual operation, not induced by any exertion or operation performed by man, but wholly gratuitous, divinely free, sovereign and independent; for the God whom we Old School Baptists delight to worship, "will have mercy on whom he will have mercy," and it is his divine prerogative to quicken whom he will; and as hard, difficult and impossible as it is for Arminian or New School Baptists to "Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord," yet Old School Baptisst have, under the teachings and operations of the Holy Spirit been taught, not only to "wait upon the Lord and keep his way," Psalms 37:24, but also to stand still and wait for the Lord's order to move forward, knowing "Blessed are all they that wait for him." Isaiah 30:18. Under the gracious operation of the Holy Spirit, the dead sinner, dead in trespasses and sins, is not only quickened into spiritual life, but is also purified and made zealous of good works, and so peculiar in his faith and practice, that he becomes an inexplicable mystery to all those who are under no better influence, or more saving operation than the modern Missionary, Bible, and other (so called) benevolent operations in progress at the present day.
And I will here repeat that the operation of the Holy Ghost, is the only effectual operation in the regeneration, conversion, and eternal salvation of a sinner, and consequently supersedes the necessity of those operations and exertions of men's devising, so much eulogized at this day by the modern missionary craft, who, notwithstanding their departure from the faith and order, or practice of those old fashioned Virginia Baptists above named, do still claim to be regular, old fashioned Virginia Baptists; but between whom there is, we are persuaded, no more likeness than there is between Ashdod and Shiloh, David and Goliath, light and darkness, or Christ and Belial. But, my brother, it seems to me, that the time is come when "Seven women shall lay hold of one man, saying, we will eat our own bread and wear our own apparel; only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach." Isaiah 4:1.
And now, brother Beebe, that you may clearly understand, and fully know what were the views, and what the general course pursued by the Shiloh Association, from the time that I became acquainted with her in 1813, until the present time, I must beg leave to lay before you sundry items extracted verbatim from her Minutes.
In her Minutes of 1813 is the following record, viz: One of the queries from Linville's Creek Church, to wit: What are the privileges and duties of female church members in the business and government of the church? Answer: It is the opinion of this Association, that the rights and privileges of females, are equal with those of males in the Church of Christ, except in voting wherein the government of the church is concerned: in that case the law of nature, and the holy scriptures decidedly give the preference to males, to which the females ought to be subordinate. This answer was dictated by Elder William Fristoe, and was unanimously adopted by the Association.
In her Minutes of 1816 is the following record, viz: "Brother Luther Rice, agent for the Baptist Board of Foreign Missions, being present was invited to a seat. Brother Tutt, our Clerk, informed the Moderator that he had received a letter from the corresponding secretary of the Baptist Board of Foreign Missions, together with twenty copies of their second annual report, which were laid upon the Clerk's table. Brother Rice then informed the Association that the object of the Board was to open a correspondence by receiving annually a copy of our Minutes, and in return, for us to receive their annual reports. The subject was taken up and discussed, and on the question being put, whether the Association would enter into the proposed correspondence or not, it was decided in the affirmative by a large majority."
"On motion of Brother Thomas Buck, Jr., and seconded, it is recommended to the churches, to take into consideration the subject of Baptist missions, and contribute such pecuniary aid, as they may in their liberality be disposed to afford."
"A Circular from the Baptist Board of Foreign Missions, was by the clerk, presented to the Moderator, which was read, and after some additional remarks from Elder Rice, as to information that has transpired since the date of the Circular, was laid upon the Clerk's table."
In her Minutes of 1822 is the following record, viz: "Brother Luther Rice was, by the Moderator, invited to a seat. The Clerk laid before the Moderator, a communication from the board of managers of the General Convention of the Baptist denomination, in the United States, for Foreign Missions, &c. &c., which was read by the Moderator, and laid upon the table."
"The Moderator read a communication from Elder John Bryce, accompanied by six copies of the Minutes of the Virginia, Baptist General Meeting of Correspondence, held in June last, requesting that the same might be laid before the churches for their consideration, until the next association, which was agreed to, and the copies distributed accordingly."
"The proposition made by Elder Luther Rice, for adopting measure to entitle this Association to become a member of the General Convention of the Baptist denomination of the United States, for Foreign Missions, &c &c. was considered, and on the question being put, was disagreed to unanimously." And here, my brother was a most glorious victory. Rice, the captain general of the Foreign Missionary Board, was, you see, at the close of the third campaign, and after much hard fighting, put completely to the rout, by the well trained bands of Shiloh, whose visible captain general, was Elder Lewis Conner, who was, no doubt, illuminated, influenced and directed in his course by the word of God's testimony, and the unerring Spirit of him, whom Old School Baptists delight to honor, and contemplate as the Great Captain of their salvation. Rice has never dared to renew the war, so signally was he defeated. But it is not my object to enlarge upon the subject of this glorious conquest, but rather, simply to state the facts, and leave it to him that reads, to make his own comment.
Rice, the captain general of the Baptist Board of Foreign Missions, was, as we have seen, signally defeated at the battle of Gourd Vine, (the session of 1822, was held with the Gourd Vine Church,) and in the fall of 1823, William F. Broaddus takes the field in favor of the General Association of Virginia.
In her Minutes of 1823 is the following record, viz: "Brother William F. Broaddus laid before the Association 20 copies of the Minutes of the General Association of Virginia, which were distributed to the churches (through their messengers,) for consideration until our next Association. The Clerk presented to the Association, a copy of the proceedings of the Baptist General Convention, at their third triennial meeting, and the 9th annual report of the Board of Managers, &c., which were directed to be laid on the table."
In her Minutes of 1824 is the following record, viz: "The subject of the General Association of Virginia, which was referred by our last Association to the consideration of the churches, was taken up. By the letters from the churches to the association, it appears that a majority of them are opposed to a union with the said association.
In her Minutes of 1825 is the following record, viz: "Brethren J. Bryce and James McDaniel, the Messengers from the Baptist General Association of Virginia, explained at considerable length the object of the said General Association, and in conclusion requested this Association to appoint messengers to visit them at their next meeting, to be held in Fredericksburg, in June next."
On a motion made and seconded, "Resolved, That the said request be agreed to; and Brethren John Ogilvie, Edward D. Shipp, W. F. Broaddus, and James Garnett, Jr., be appointed to attend accordingly, and make report to the next Association."
In her Minutes of 1826, is the following record, viz: "Brethren John Ogilvie, Edward G. Shipp, and Willilam F. Broaddus, three of the members appointed to attend the Baptist General Association in June last, made a full report touching that subject; but this association, being sentimentally opposed to the General Association, refused to enter the report upon the Minutes."
Another glorious victory of the Shiloh patriots, with their old beloved general, Lewis Conner, at their head.
In her Minutes of 1827, is the following resolution, quoted in a former part of this communication, but which I beg leave here to report, as wish it to be kept in remembrance: "On motion it is unanimously Resolved, That this association express their grateful acknowledgements to Elder Lewis Conner, for 20 years faithful services as Moderator, and to Brother R. I. Tutt, for his services as Clerk for the same time."
In her Minutes of 1831, is the following record, viz: "A motion being made to take into consideration the subject of a Domestic Missionary Society, Resolved, As a body we will not meddle with missionary efforts, but leave them to the individual exertions of our members and brethren." Elder Lewis Conner presided as Moderator of this Association, which was held with the Battle Run Church.
In her Minutes of 1832, is the following record, viz: "On application, leave is given to William F. Broaddus to make a collection in this congregation, for the benefit of the Virginia Baptist Educational Society." Here was a fire-brand thrown in by William F. Broaddus, and the beginning of strife and division in the Shiloh Association.
"Elder Lewis Conner having gone to his final rest, since our last meeting, this association hereby expresses its high sense of the loss it has sustained. Elder Conner, after a pilgrimage of 86 years on earth, after preaching Jesus for more than 60 years, and acting as Moderator of our body 22 years, in full triumph of faith, has ascended to his Redeemer and God. May he long be remembered."
In her Minutes of 1833, (William F. Broaddus, Moderator,) is the following record, viz:"Brother G. W. Latham, submitted the following resolution, Resolved, That we approve the object and publication of the Baptist General Tract, and that we recommend the formation of Auxiliary Societies, and the circulation of their tracts."
"Elder Ira M. Allen gave an interesting and animated relation of the object and publications of the said society, and affectionately asked our concurrence in the recommending the same to our brethren. After some further remarks by our brethren, the question was taken, and the resolution was adopted by an overwhelming majority."
"On motion, leave was granted by the Association to Elder James E. Welch, to address the congregation on behalf of the American Sunday School Union, and to make a collection."
"Leave was also granted to Elder Ira M. Allen, to address the congregation on behalf on the Baptist General Tract Society, and to make a collection."
Conner, the anti-missionary Conner, where is he? He has finished his course with joy, and is gone to his final rest. Broaddus, the missionary William F. Broaddus, where is he? He is in the land of the living, a member and chief ruler of the Shiloh Association, which Association, under the influence of her present leaders, viz: William F. Broaddus, Cumberland George, James Garnett, Jr., Edward G. Shipp, and Silas Bruce, has changed her original ground, and is now another thing from that which she was in the days of her ancient fathers.
ELDER W. W. COVINGTON.
