In an Earlier Day: Gathering Congregational Histories

While browsing through the 1943 volume of The Christian Observer this morning, looking for articles by a particular author, I noticed the following short piece, relevant to our work here in gathering the histories of PCA churches.  This article provides some comparison with how that work was proceeding in the old Southern Presbyterian denomination in 1943:

THE RECORDS OF SOUTHERN PRESBYTERIANISM.

The women of the Presbyterian Church in the United States in recent years have been doing excellent work in compiling the history of the Church.  Led by Mrs. William T. Fowler, of Lexington, Kentucky, whose articles appear frequently in the columns of The Christian Observer, and who is historian of the Committee on Woman’s Work, hundreds of women in the local churches, and in the Presbyteries and Synods, have compiled for permanent preservation the local and sectional records and historical sketches which as the years pass would become increasingly difficult to find, if indeed they did not altogether cease to exist.  As general historian of the committee, Mrs. Fowler since 1927 has been assembling this historical material for preservation in the Historical Foundation’s library at Montreat. The following comparison will reveal something of the work that is being accomplished :

In 1930 there were eighty-one Presbyterial historians who reported manuscripts from 1,396 churches. Last year, 2,269 histories or supplements were added, an increase of 544 over the previous year and of 1,037 over the year 1939-40. At the end of the last church year, there were 202 standard binders in the library and a number on order.

All of this is in addition to the work done by church historians through the regular channels. At the present rate, in a few more years, if they are not already so, the records of the Presbyterian Church in the United States will be the most complete of any denomination in the world.

It has been a labor of love on the part of the women, hundreds of whom have been faithful in the tedious and painstaking work necessary to such an undertaking.

[excerpted from The Christian Observer 131.5 (3 February 1943): 2.

Short and Easy Questions for Children, at First Beginning (1825)

Bound with one recent accession here at the PCA Historical Center–of a copy of the Shorter Catechism, printed in 1825–there is a brief catechism titled Short and Easy Questions for Children, at First Beginning. The earliest example that I can find of this catechism is from 1770:

The A, B, C. With the shorter catechism : appointed by the General Assembly, to be a directory for catechising such as are of a weaker capacity. To which is added, some short and easy questions and answers for children at first beginning.  Glasgow: Printed by John Robertson, 1770. 24 p.; 8 vo.

As an exercise for another day, it will be interesting to compare this catechism with the previously mentioned Children’s Catechism authored by Joseph P. Engles (1840).   Here below is the text of Short and Easy Questions for Children, at First Beginning.

Short and Easy Questions for Children at First Beginning.

Q. Who created you?
A. God.

Q.  Of what were you made?
A.  Of the dust of the earth.

Q.  What doth that teach you?
A.  Humility.

Q.  For what end were you made?
A.  To glorify God.

Q.  Are there more Gods than one?
A.  One only.

Q.  How many persons are there in the Godhead?
A.  Three

Q.  What are these?
A.  The Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.

Q.  In what estate was man created?
A.  In a holy and happy estate.

Q.  Did he continue in that holy and happy estate?
A.  No.

Q.  How fell he from it?
A.  By breaking covenant with God.

Q.  How many covenants are there?
A.  Two.

Q.  What are these?
A.  The covenant of works and the covenant of grace.

Q.  With whom was the covenant of works made?
A.  With the first Adam.

Q.  What was the condition of the covenant of works?
A.  Man’s perfect obedience.

Q.  With whom was the covenant of grace made?
A.  With Christ the second Adam.

Q.  What is the condition of the covenant of grace?
A.  The righteousness of Christ.

Q.  Whom did Adam represent in the covenant of works?
A.  All mankind descending from him by ordinary generation.

Q.  Did Adam keep the covenant of works made with him?
A.  No.

Q.  How did he break it?
A.  By eating the forbidden fruit.

Q.  Did all mankind break that covenant in Adam?
A.  Yes.

Q.  What estate are we then born in?
A.  A sinful and miserable estate.

Q.  Is there any way to be saved from that sinful and miserable estate?
A.  Yes.

Q.  Who is the Saviour of sinners?
A.  The Lord Jesus Christ.

Q.  Whose Son is he?
A.  The eternal Son of God.

Q.  Which person of the Godhead is Christ?
A.  The second person.

Q.  Who sanctifies sinners?
A.  The Holy Ghost.

Q.  Which of the persons of the Godhead is he?
A.  The third person.

Q.  How many natures hath Christ?
A.  Two.

Q.  What are these?
A.  The nature of God, and the nature of man.

Q.  Had he both these natures from eternity?
A.  He was God but not man from eternity.

Q.  When became he man?
A.  In the fulness of time.

Q.  What hath Christ done for us in our nature?
A.  He fulfilled the law and satisfied the justice of God.

Q.  When did he that?
A.  In his life and at his death.

Q.  What sort of life did he live?
A.  A sorrowful life.

Q.  What sort of a death did he die?
A.  The cursed death of the cross.

Q.  How many offices hath Christ?
A.  Three.

Q.  What are these?
A.  The office of a prophet, of a priest, and of a king.

Q.  Do you need a Saviour in all these offices?
A.  Yes.

Q.  What need have you of him as a prophet?
A.  To cure my ignorance.

Q.  What need have you of him as a priest?
A.  To atone for my guilt.

Q.  What need have you of him as a king?
A.  To deliver me from bondage.

Q.  How many commandments are there?
A.  Ten.

Q.  How are they divided?
A.  Into two tables.

Q.  How many are in the first?
A.  Four.

Q.  What do they contain?
A.  Our duty to God.

Q.  How many are in the second?
A.  Six.

Q.  What do they contain?
A.  Our duty to man.

Q.  Are you able to keep the commandments of God?
A.  No.

Q.  How many sacraments are there?
A.  Two.

Q.  What are these?
A.  Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.

Q.  Who appointed these sacraments?
A.  Christ, the king and head of the church.

Q.  For what end did he appoint them?
A.  To be seals of the covenant of grace.

Q.  In whose name were you baptized?
A.  In the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.

Q.  What doth your baptism teach you?
A.  That I am filthy and polluted by nature, and that there is cleansing virtue in the blood of Christ for me.

Q.  What comes of the wicked after death?
A.  They are sent to hell.

Q.  What sort of place is hell?
A.  A place of everlasting punishment.

Q.  What comes of the righteous after death?
A.  They go to heaven.

Q.  What sort of a place is heaven?
A.  A glorious place, where the redeemed will be for ever praising God.

Willison’s Advice to Parents and Children

The Rev. John Willison [1680-1750] wrote extensively and in particular wrote a number of catechetical works.  Among them is found his “Advice to Parents and Children”.  It is interesting to compare this piece with the previously posted introduction by Joseph Engles.

Advices by John Willison.

To Parents.

Christian Parents,
The laws of God and nature, and your engagements at baptism, bind you to be faithful in the education of your young ones.  Do you love your children? Are you careful to provide for the maintenance of their dying bodies,—provide also for their souls that must live eternally. Do you learn them to speak and go, teach them also how to escape the flames of hell? O parents! Would you be free of your children’s blood? Then pray for them in secret, and pray with them, and let them see how earnest you are for their souls’ well-being; curb every vile thing in them as soon as it appears. Instruct them that God is the author of all their mercies; and that therefore they must ask a blessing on their food; and give thanks to him for it. Teach them to pray; and put them to it, both morning and evening every day, but more frequently on the Lord’s day. Provide Bibles for them, Confessions of Faith, and other good books. When they come to years, tell them of the vows you took on you at baptism in their name, and put them to renew them personally. Warn them against restricting themselves to their forms of prayer; but tell them to be adding and using new words and expressions of their own framing, because God loves those words best that come from the heart.

To Children.

Dear Children,
Remember you Creator and Redeemer in the days of your youth : make your acquaintance timeously with God and Christ by prayer; bring all your wants and complaints to him, and pour out your hearts into his bosom.
Study to get the Lord’s Prayer, the Creed, and the Ten Commandments, and some of the sweet Psalms of David by heart, as soon as you can; and likewise the Shorter Catechism, which is an excellent compend of Christian doctrine. Far better is it to store your memories with these things, than with ballads, songs, and idle stories.
Dear children, the time of youth is a choice season, improve it well; you are the hope and comfort of ministers, as well as your parents; O hearken to their counsels, and not to the devil’s temptations. Shun the company of all lying, swearing, and wicked children; and delight in the company of those that are piously inclined. Beware of cards and dice, and other bewitching games; especially, remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy; take heed to your thoughts, words and actions; and attend to sermons carefully, and be ready to give some account to your parents, and mind what wise Solomon saith, Prov. xxii, 22. “Hearken unto thy father that begat thee, and despise not thy mother when she is old. A wise son maketh a glad father.” Your parents indeed must be accountable to God for you, but remember, if you do not obey their instructions, your blood will be upon your own heads. Do not think that justice will spare you because you are young, if it find you Christless, prayerless, and living in sin. No, no, you may see graves of your own length, and sculls of your own size in the churchyard, and hell fire will burn green trees as well as old stocks. O then! Would you be saved from hell and be happy for ever? Flee from the devil and sin, to our Lord Jesus Christ your Saviour, that saith of little children, “Suffer them to come unto me, for of such is the kingdom of God:” And when once you have fled to Christ, see that you abide with him all your days, and never go back to sin again. Entreat him to give you his Spirit to guide and lead you through the world, and to help you to look up and cry, “Abba Father.” It is only the Spirit of God that can teach you best what to pray for, and how to pray.

Introduction to the Children’s Catechism (1840)

Q. 1.   Who made you ?
A.  God.
Q. 2.  What else did God make ?
A.  God made all things.
Q. 3.   Why did God make you and all things ?
A.  For his own glory.

So begins the Children’s Catechism, a work intended to serve as an introduction to the Westminster Shorter Catechism.  The author of the Children’s Catechism was Joseph Patterson Engles, a man almost entirely unknown today, though his Catechism remains in print and widely used.  Engles authored several catechetical helps, but this one work alone remains in use to this day.
He was the son of Silas and Annie Patteson Engles, born in Philadelphia on 3 January 1793.  He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1811 and was subsequently appointed co-master of a Grammar school which operated under the auspices of the University.  In 1817 he began working alongside the Rev. Dr. Samuel B. Wylie in the operation of an academy, remaining at that post for another twenty-eight years after Wylie’s departure.  In February 1845, Engles was elected by the Board of Publications of the Presbyterian Church, U.S.A. to serve as Publishing Agent.  He is also noted as having faithfully served as an elder in the Scots Presbyterian Church up until the time of his death on 14 April 1861.  Nevin’s Encyclopedia comments that “He was a gentleman of varied literary acquirements, and of signal affability and kindness.  The spiritual element of his character was pre-eminent; it entered into his daily life and walk, it permeated all he said and did; to visit the widow and the fatherless, and keep himself unspotted from the world, was his earnest desire, and fully was it realized.”
[to date, I have not been able to locate a portrait or photograph of Mr. Engles]

Earlier today a patron of the PCA Historical Center asked about the Introduction to The Children’s Catechism, also written by Engles.  In turn it seemed appropriate to open with the above brief biographical sketch.  Here now is the text of the Introduction:

TO PARENTS AND TEACHERS.

You have an awfully responsible office in being entrusted with the training of immortal spirits for the service  of God on earth and for glory in heaven.  The temporal welfare and  the  eternal salvation not only of your own children, but of future generations, may depend upon your faithfulness in the discharge of this duty.  The prosperity, and even the continuance, of the church of God on earth are connected with the religious education of the rising generation.  To aid you in this all-important task the following little work has been written, and is humbly offered to your  acceptance.  Brevity and conciseness have been studied in the composition of it as far as the nature of the   subjects treated of would allow.  But much of the benefit to be derived from this work will depend on the judgment and care exercised in the use of it.  Without these requisites even the words of inspiration may be perverted to convey defective or erroneous views of truth ; and with them even an imperfect work like the present may be made a “ light to the feet and a lamp to the path” of your interesting charge.  Be admonished then to enter on this “work of faith and labor of love” “with diligence, preparation and prayer.”  Endeavor to impress the minds of the dear children with the importance of understanding what they learn.  Be not satisfied with the verbal accuracy of their answers.  Encourage them to ask and be ready to answer questions for information, while you gently check a spirit of idle curiosity.  Endeavor to make what most children consider an irksome task a pleasing and profitable study.  Be not discouraged nor chafed in your minds if you find that “ line upon line and precept upon precept” are required to overcome the dullness or heedlessness of your youthful disciples.  Remember the words of the divine Teacher, who, when inviting sinners to become his disciples, said, “ Learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart.”  And emulate the spirit of the pious mother who, when asked by a witness of her patience and successful perseverance in the instruction of one of her children, “ How could you repeat that sentence to the child twenty times?” answered, “ If I had repeated it only nineteen times I should have lost my labor.”
Acting thus in the spirit of faith and prayer, you shall in due time reap the fruit of your labors, and when your heads are laid low in the dust your children shall rise up and call you blessed.

 

 

CATECHISM.

Q. 1. Who made you ?

A. God.

Q. 2. What else did God make ?

A. God made all things.
Q. 3. Why did God make you and all things ?

A. For his own glory.

Temperature & Humidity

The temperature in the Archives today is a pleasant 67.7 degrees Fahrenheit.  But then, the temperature is always right about there.  We have good control over the temperature.
Not as much with the humidity and it varies a bit.  Today it measures 53%, which is about where you’d want it, to maximize preservation of the materials stored here.

Accrual to the Papers of Dr. William S. Barker, II

Received today, an accrual to the Papers of Dr. William S. Barker, II.
This is a small but important addition to the collection, the most notable portion of this addition being a select group of correspondence between Dr. Barker and Dr. Francis A. Schaeffer.  More details to follow on this correspondence.  Also included with this donation is a bound copy of Brian Wingard’s 1992 Westminster dissertation on the ecclesiology of James Henley Thornwell.

Here is a detailed list of the items included with this accrual:

Anonymous, “Why A Bible Presbyterian Church: What Every Christian and Church Member Should Know” Tract, single-sheet folded to 8 panels; 13 cm.

Ashcroft, Bruce, In Remembrance: The Centennial History of Trinity Presbyterian Church. [Montgomery, AL: The Church, Pb, 115 p.; 24 cm.

Brownlee, Charles L., “A Book of Remembrance”: A History of The Calvary Independent Presbyterian Church. Glendale, CA: The Church, 1976. Pb, [8], 136 p.; 21 cm.

Buswell, J. Oliver, Jr., Both Sides of the Baptism Question. New York: National Bible Institute, 1949. Pb, 48 p.; 20 cm.
_________________ “The Presbyter” St. Louis, MO: self-published, 1957. Tract, 20 p.; 21 cm.

Clark, Gordon H., “The Auburn Heresy” Philadelphia: Committee on Christian Education, The Orthodox Presbyterian Church, n.d. Tract, 8 p.; 16 cm.

Kellogg, Edward L., “Lest We Forget: An Account of the Events Leading to the Formation of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church” Philadelphia: Committee on Christian Education, The Orthodox Presbyterian Church, n.d. Tract, 16 p.; 16 cm. Reprinted, with alterations, from The Presbyterian Guardian.

Keyser, Leander S., “That Famous Auburn Affirmation” Tract, reprinted from Christian Faith and Life, October 1935.

MacCartney, Clarence Edward, “Come Before Winter” Tract, bound with “The Voice of Friendship and Affection”. Beaver Falls, PA: Geneva College, n.d.

MacRae, Allan A., “The Story Of The Bible Presbyterian Church” Wilmington, DE: Committee on National Missions of the Bible Presbyterian Church, n.d. Tract, single-sheet folded to 8 panels; 13 cm.

Richardson, Dr. John A., In Memoriam: John Robert Richardson, Jr., M.D., 1929-1984. Conyers, GA: Dr. John R. Richardson, 1984. Pb, 26 p.; 22 cm.
___________________, It’s God’s World. Conyers, GA: Dr. John R. Richardson, n.d.. Pb, 16 p.; 22 cm.
___________________, The Christ Of The Four Gospels. Conyers, GA: Dr. John R. Richardson, 1984. Pb, 36 p.; 22 cm.

Schaeffer, Rev. Francis A., “Baptism” St. Louis, MO: The Bible Presbyterian Church, 1947. Tract, 20 p.; 15 cm. “Preached in St. Louis, March 30, 1947.”
_____________________, “The Bible-believing Christian and the Jew” St. Louis, MO: The Bible Presbyterian Church, n.d. Folded, single-sheet tract, 15 cm. X 23 cm.
_____________________, Correspondence with Dr. Will Barker, 1982-1983. Includes addresses by Dr. Schaeffer, 1. “The Practice of Truth” (1966) and 2. “The Secular Humanistic World View Versus The Christian World View and The Biblical Perspective On Military Preparedness” (1982)

Singer, C. Gregg, et al., “The Presbyterian Church: A Manual For New Members” Asheville, NC: The Presbyterian Journal, n.d. Tract, 43 p.; 14 cm.

Taylor, G. Aiken, “Academic Freedom” Weaverville, NC: The Presbyterian Journal, 1963. Tract, 10 p.; 16 cm.
_____________, “How We Got Where We Are: Surveying Ten Years of Regress in the Presbyterian Church U.S.” [1961-1971] Weaverville, NC: The Presbyterian Journal, circa 1972. Tract, 16 p.; 22 cm.
_____________, “The Big Blame: Putting the Blame Where It Belongs” Weaverville, NC: The Presbyterian Journal, n.d. Tract, 8 p.; 17 cm.
_____________, “The Secularization of the Church: A look at the principal theological issue of the day” Weaverville, NC: The Presbyterian Journal, circa 1964. Tract, 10 p.; 17 cm.
_____________, “Two Revolutions: Comparing the aims of Marxism with those of liberal Christianity” Weaverville, NC: The Presbyterian Journal, n.d. Tract, 8 p.; 17 cm.

Van Horn, Leonard T., “Why I Left The Presbyterian Church U.S.,” French Camp, MS: Rev. Leonard T. Van Horn, n.d. Tract, 17 p.; 16 cm.

Wingard, Brian T., “As the Lord puts words in her mouth:” The Supremacy of Scripture in the Ecclesiology of James Henley Thornwell and Its Influence upon the Presbyterian Churches of the South. Philadelphia: Westminster Theological Seminary, 1992; Ph.D. dissertation. Hb, [7], 310 p.; 28 cm.

Witherspoon, William, The History of Westminster Presbyterian Church, 1853 – 1978. St. Louis, MO: Comfort Printing & Stationery Company, viii, 112 p.; 24 cm.

PCA Study on Divorce & Remarriage

Just posted this morning to the Position Paper section of the PCA Historical Center web site, a combined, single .pdf file with the entire PCA study on divorce and remarriage.
The index page for PCA position papers is here:
http://www.pcahistory.org/pca/index.html and the direct link to this new, single file is:
http://www.pcahistory.org/pca/divorce-remarriage.pdf
This should be a helpful convenience for many; the study has until now only been posted in sections due to its overall length.  Accordingly, printing was a bit inconvenient if you wanted to print the entire study.  Now it can be downloaded or printed as a single file, thanks to the work of Dr. Dennis Bennett, at Metro Atlanta Seminary.  Much appreciated, Dennis!

Rev. James O. Buswell, Sr., Evangelist

An accession from earlier this year : a promotional card advertising evangelistic services held by the Rev. James O. Buswell, Sr.,  with the services running from 28 February through 13 March, 1911.  The card states that these services were being held in “the Baptist Church” but does not name that church, nor do we know for certain the city where this occurred.  There is reference in the small print to Rev. Buswell having been a leading evangelist in the Chapman-Alexander campaign held in Chicago [16 Oct. - 27 Nov., 1910].[←click on the image to view a larger format]

Rev. Buswell was the father of the Rev. J. Oliver Buswell, Jr., who in turn was a leading voice in the old Bible Presbyterian Church and later served as Dean at Covenant Theological Seminary, from 1956 until his retirement in 1970.
[Item Accession #A010-024, now preserved as an accrual to Manuscript Collection #3, the Papers of J. Oliver Buswell, Jr.]

Six “new” Catechisms Added

The PCA Historical Center has a modest collection of various printings of the Westminster Shorter Catechism, along with some related items.  At present, the oldest of these editions in our collection is from 1809.  Click here to read a full listing of the collection.  And just this week, the following items have been added to that collection:

1. Two Short Catechisms, Mutually Connected, with an Address to the Rising Generation, by John Brown, to which is added The Gospel Catechism, Published by Samuel Findley, Cincinnati, Ohio, 1855.  Green paper cover, 96 pages, hand-sewn binding.

Two Short Catechisms, Mutually Connected, by John Brown, of Haddington

2. The Shorter Catechism, Analyzed, from the Second Schenectady Edition of 1825, by Gilbert McMaster, A.M., Printed by David Love, Dayton, Ohio, 1878.  Missing covers, 61 pages, hand-sewn binding.

The Shorter Catechism Analyzed, by Gilbert McMaster, A.M. (1878)

3. The Sabbath School Catechism, by a Friend of Children.  Published by Western Tract Society, Cincinnati, Ohio, 1883.  Missing covers, 32 pages, staple-bound.

The Sabbath School Catechism, by A Friend of Children (1883)

4. A Short Catechism for Young Children, by John Brown, Published by United Presbyterian Board of Publication, Pittsburgh, undated.  Missing covers, 32 pages, staple-bound.

A Short Catechism for Young Children, by John Brown, of Haddington (n.d.)

5. The Children’s Catechism for Families and Sabbath Schools, Published by United Presbyterian Board of Publication, Pittsburg, undated.  Brown paper cover, 32 pages, staple-bound.

The Children's Catechism (UPCNA, undated)

6. The Westminster Shorter Catechism, Ratified by the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States at Augusta, Georgia, December 4, 1861.  Published by John Knox Press, Richmond, Virginia, 1861.  Yellow paper cover, 32 pages; staple-bound.
This particular title often presents some confusion and misleads people to think that a particular copy was actually printed in 1861.  Rather, what it states on the cover is that the Presbyterian Church in the United States (aka Southern Presbyterian) declared (“ratified”) in 1861 at its formation that the Westminster Shorter Catechism was part of the constitutional standards of that denomination.  A number of features of this particular copy would indicate that this copy is easily from the 20th century and not nearly as old as one printed in 1861.  More about that later in another post, Lord willing.