Sarah Flu(c)ker

Nancy Glass

George Lea

Lucy Lea

Mary Leverette

*Dorcas MERCER

*Silas MERCER

Elizabeth Parker

William Parker

Jesse Tolbert

Rebekah Turner

Florannah Winkfield

Anna Winkfield

Susannah Anderson

Francis Atchinson

Asa Atkins

Elizabeth Autry?

Jacob Autry

John Bankston

Hannah ?Bassas?

Joseph Bays

Mary Bays

Binney's Ephraim [perhaps "Burney’s"]

Moriah Blanks

Wm Blanks

Mary Bullock

Jane Burmels?

Simon Burney

Burney's Benjamin

Edward Butler

Elizabeth Butler

Jacob Car__

Hart Champion

Lucy Champion

*Jane CHIVERS

*Jimmah CHIVERS

*Sabary CHIVERS

*Thomas CHIVERS

CHIVERS's ______

Hannah Cohran

Cook's John

Cook’s June

Cook’s Stephen

Lydda Crabb

Elizabeth CRAFFORD

CRAFFORD’s Anny

Rebekah Craft

Jesse Crenshaw

Presus Crinshaw

Crutchfield's James

Isbel Davis

Samuel Davis

Franky Day

Robert Day

Charles Dean Senr

[Illegible] Deans Junr (?)
[Perhaps "Charles Dean, Jr."]

Elizabeth Dean

Francis Dean

John Dean

Nathaniel Dean

Dean's Mary

Dean’s Monday

Dean’s Winny

Dermott's Betty

Dermott's Lidda

Dermott’s Matt

Hannah Digby

Wm Digby

Nehimiah Edge

Tabitha Evans

William Evans

John Ewards

Mary Ewand [Ewards?]

Finley's George

Finley's Jude

Mary Fluker

Sarah Fluker

Wm Fletcher (?) Fluker (?)

Phiby Foster

William Foster

Francis Gafford

Gafford’s Winny (?)

Elizabeth Gethright

Anne Gillman

Nancy Glass

Sarah Glass

Zacharah Glass

Zacharah Glass, Snr.

Zachariah Glass

Anna Golson

Golson's Sam

John Graham

Grant’s Adams

Grant’s Ami

Grant’s Charles

Grant's Jack

Grant's Jude

Grant’s Philip

James Hammitt

L___ Hammitt

Martha Harkins

Walton Harris

Robert Harris

Heard's Aggy

Anna Hendricks

Phebe Hubbart

Francis Jordan

Bridget Justins (?)

Joseph Ketchin

Martha Kitchen

John Lawson

Lucy Lea

Rhoda Lea

___ Lea Nora Jean

John Leverett Dead

Mary Leverette

Charles Mattox

Elizabeth Mattox

Rachel Mattox

Rebekah McGinley

Deborah McGinty

Jane McGinty

Robirt McGinty

*__nnis MERCER [Probably Annis Green MERCER, the wife of Thomas MERCER.]

*Dorcus MERCER

*Jacob MERCER

*Jesse MERCER [About Jesse MERCER, see the articles below.]

*Rhoda MERCER

*Sary MERCER

*Sail? MERCER [Probably Jael Green MERCER, the wife of Jacob MERCER]

*Thomas MERCER

*Timprinse MERCER

John Middow

D. O. Milly

Elizabeth Moncrief

Elizabeth Moncrief Junr

Josiah Moncrief

Marcy Moncrief

Joseph Moran

?_ehalah Moran

James Moris

Bridget Mulky

Elizabeth Mulky

John Mulkey

Nelson's Sal

Binjamin Ozburn

Nancy Osburn

William Osburn

John Perry

PHILIP's Sam

Mary Pinkston

Pinkston's Jack

Pinkston’s Lean [probably "Leanne"]

Pinkston's Rachel

A_____Pollard Dead

Samuel Pope

Sarah Pope

Elizabeth R___

Jonathan Ragan

Anne Ragans

Nancy Ragans

Ragin's Bob & Betty

Absalom Ramy

Peggy Rice

John Roberson

Anna Robertson

Delpha Robertson

Francis Robertson

Jane Robertson

Moses Robertson

Stacy Robertson

Susannah Robertson

Thomas Robertson

Wm Robertson

Robert Rowid?

Sexton’s Tony

Rachel Shipley

Jacob Shorter

Mary Smith

Stokes' Aggy

Anne Stone

Susanna Talbert

Adam Tarrance

Silah Terrell

Wm Terrell's boy

Terrell's Aby

Terrell's Cuffy

Terrell's Fortune

Terrel's Grace

Terrell's Lucy

Terrel’s Mat

Terrell's Patrick

Terrell's Patty

Terrell's Sarah

Binjamin Thompson

Thompson's Jane

James Turner

Mishack Turner's negro woman

Rebekah Turner

Turner's Jamy (?)

Turner's Sam

Jane Vandamare?

Wm Watkins

Athnial (?) Weaver

Sarah Weavers

Charles Webb

David Welborn

John West (?)

Samuel Whatley

Samuel Whiting

Boling Williams

Elizabeth Wilson

Floranna Wingfield

Anna Wingfield

Thos Wingfield Dead

Wingfield’s Silky

Rebekah _arra

Jesse Mercer, born in North Carolina Dec. 16, 1769, was the son of Rev. Silas Mercer, a Baptist preacher who moved to Wilkes County in the early 1770's and founded several pioneer churches. He baptized Jesse Mercer at the age of 18, and the youth at once started holding prayer meetings in the log home of his grandmother. He married Miss Sabrina Chivers of the Phillips' Mill community when 19, and was ordained for the ministry at 20. Sardis Church, originally called Hutton's Fork, was Mr. Mercer's first charge. In 1796 he succeeded his father as pastor of the Phillips' Mill Church, which he served for 39 years, baptizing 230 persons. He also served as pastor of Bethesda Church (1796-1827); Powell's Creek Church, in Hancock County (1797-1825); and the Baptist Church at Eatonton (1820-26).

Mr. Mercer's first wife died Sept. 23, 1826 and in his loneliness he moved to Washington. In December, 1827, he married Mrs. Nancy Simons, a wealthy widow, who joined him in large gifts to Mercer Institute.

Early in life Mr. Mercer had published a popular song book under the title "Mercer's Cluster." In later years he published the "Christian Index" and a Temperance paper in Washington. In 1828 he became the first pastor of the Washington Baptist Church, which he served until his death in 1841.

[b. Halifax County, N. C., Dec. 16, 1769; d. Butts County, Ga., Sept. 6, 1841]. Son of Silas Mercer, able pioneer minister and the eldest of eight children, five boys and three girls. His formal education was obtained under the tuition of John Springer, a Presbyterian minister and Princeton graduate who lived near Washington, Ga., and embraced some knowledge of learned languages. He had an additional year of study under a man named Armor in Salem Academy, a school maintained by his father, the first private Baptist school in Georgia.

Although reared an Episcopalian, Silas Mercer became a Baptist from conviction. He baptized his 17-year-old son Jesse into the membership of the Phillips' Mill church. At the age of 20, Jesse Mercer was ordained as a minister, and in 1789 he began his first pastorate at Hutton's Fork (now Sardis) which had been established by his father. Following the death of his father in 1796, he moved back to the old family home in Wilkes County to administer the estate. He became principal of Salem Academy which his father had founded, continued to serve as pastor of Sardis, and accepted calls to the other three of his father's churches, Phillips' Mill, Wheatley's Mill (later Bethesda), and Powelton, and served them for 39, 32, and 28 years respectively. One of these, Powelton Church, was one of the chief rallying points of Georgia Baptists.

It was in the Powelton conference in 1801 that the foundation was laid for the missionary work of the Georgia Association, especially to the Creek Indians. In the Powelton conferences in 1802 and 1803, the general committee of Georgia Baptists for itinerant preaching and missionary work was formed. In 1822 the General Association of Georgia Baptists (changed, in 1827, to Georgia Baptist Convention) was organized. It held its first meeting in Powelton in 1823, and during the first eleven years of its history it met seven times in churches of which Jesse Mercer was or had been pastor.

At the age of 19 Jesse Mercer married Sabrina Chivers, who was his wife for nearly 40 years. Throughout his ministry he was an itinerant volunteer missionary and preached to many congregations in various localities in the belief that only through itinerant preaching would the gospel be carried to needy people in sparsely settled areas. On his trips he carried the tracts and books of the American Tract Society for gift and sale and also gave his support to mission work among the slaves. He was an ardent supporter of missions, Sunday schools, and temperance and financed the Temperance Banner, the first temperance paper in the South. He was a successful businessman as well as a preacher and philanthropist of his day.

For many years Jesse Mercer was the recognized leader of the Georgia Baptist Association and in the Georgia Baptist Convention. He served as clerk of the association for 21 years, as moderator for 23 years, and as writer of its history. He was president of the Georgia Baptist Convention for 19 years, from its founding in 1822 until 1841, when feeble health made his attendance impossible. He was a trustee of Columbian College in Washington, D. C., and the first president of the board of trustees of Mercer University, which bears his name. He was an able advocate and a liberal patron of education, particularly ministerial education, as indicated in his conducting Salem Academy for two years following his father's death, in his gift of $2,000 for the first msisionary to Texas, William Melton Tryon, and in his support of Mount Enon Academy, Columbian College, and Mercer Unviersity.

He attended four meetings of the Triennial Convention and preached the convention sermon in 1826. While returning from this meeting and en route home through South Carolina, Mrs. Mercer became seriously ill, passed away, and was buried at Andersonville, S. C. Soon Mercer's own failing strength led him to lighten his work. He moved to Washington, Ga., where he founded the First Baptist Church in 1827, became its pastor, and served until his death 14 years later in 1841.

In Dec., 1827, he married Mrs. Nancy Simons of Wilkes County, the Gentile widow of a wealthy Jew, Captain Abraham Simons.

Aside from his father, the one who most influenced his interest in missions and Christian education was Luther Rice, whose service to missions and Christian education was nationwide. Jesse Mercer had the qualities of statesmanship in a high degree. He played the leading role in the organization of the Georgia Baptist Convention for collective counsel and co-operation, in the founding of Mercer University for the training of ministerial and lay leadership, and in the purchase and gift to Georgia Baptists of the Christian Index for publicity and promotion, which he published for seven years. His Cluster of Spiritual Songs, many of which were produced by him, went through several editions and was a worthy contribution to American hymnology. He also wrote A History of the Georgia Baptist Association (Washington, 1838).

Biographical Sources:
Mallary, C. D. Memoir of Jesse Mercer, 1841.
Campbell, J. H. Georgia Baptists Historical and biographical, 1874.

.© 1998, Southern Baptist Historical Library & Archives

Jesse Mercer was born in Halifax County, North Carolina, on December 16, 1769. He was the son of Silas Mercer an able pioneer minister, and the eldest of eight children, five boys and three girls. His formal education was obtained under the tuition of John Springer, a Presbyterian minister and Princeton graduate who lived near Washington, Georgia, and embraced some knowledge of learned languages. He had an additional year of study under a man named Armor in Salem Academy, a school maintained by his father, the first private Baptist school in Georgia.

Although reared an Episcopalian, Silas Mercer became a Baptist from conviction. He baptized his 17-year-old son Jesse into the membership of the historic Kiokee Church. At the age of 20, Jesse Mercer was ordained as a minister, and in 1789 he began his first pastorate at Hutton's Fork (now Sardis) which had been established by his father. Following the death of his father in 1796, he moved back to the old family home in Wilkes County to administer the estate. He became principal of Salem Academy which his father had founded, continued to serve as pastor of Sardis, and accepted calls to the other three of his father's churches, Phillips' Mill, Wheatley's Mill (later Bethesda) and Powelton, and served them for 39, 32, and 28 years respectively. One of these, Powelton Church, was one of the chief rallying points of Georgia Baptists.

It was in the Powelton conference in 1801 that the foundation was laid for the missionary work of the Georgia Association, especially to the Creek Indians. In the Powelton conferences in 1802 and 1803, the general committee of Georgia Baptists for itinerant preaching and missionary work was formed. In 1822 the General Association of Georgia Baptists (changed, in 1827, to Georgia Baptist Convention) was organized. It held its first meeting in Powelton in 1823, and during the first eleven years of its history it met seven times in churches of which Jesse Mercer was or had been pastor.

At the age of 19 Jesse Mercer married Sabrina Chivers, who was his wife for nearly 40 years. Throughout his ministry he was an itinerant volunteer missionary and preached to many congregations in various localities in the belief that only through itinerant preaching would the gospel be carried to needy people in sparsely settled areas. On his trips he carried the tracts and books of the American Tract Society for gift and sale and also gave his support to mission work among the slaves. He was an ardent supporter of missions, Sunday schools, and temperance and financed the Temperance Banner, the first temperance paper in the South. He was a successful businessman as well as a preacher and philanthropist of his day.

For many years Jesse Mercer was the recognized leader of the Georgia Baptist Association and in the Georgia Baptist Convention. He served as clerk of the association for 21 years, as moderator for 23 years, and as writer of its history. He was president of the Georgia Baptist Convention for 19 years, from its founding in 1822 until 1841, when feeble health made his attendance impossible. He was a trustee of Columbian College in Washington, D.C., and the first president of the board of trustees of Mercer University, which bears his name. He was an able advocate and a liberal patron of education, particularly ministerial education, as indicated in his conducting Salem Academy for two years following his father's death, in his gift of $2,000 for the first missionary to Texas, William Melton Tryon, and in his support of Mount Enon Academy, Columbian College, and Mercer University.

He attended four meetings of the Triennial Convention and preached the convention sermon in 1826. While returning from this meeting and en route home through South Carolina, Mrs. Mercer became seriously ill, passed away, and was buried at Andersonville, S.C. Soon Mercer's own failing strength led him to lighten his work. He moved to Washington, Georgia, where he founded the First Baptist Church in 1827, became its pastor, and served until his death 14 years later in 1841.

In December, 1827, he married Mrs. Nancy Simons of Wilkes County, the Gentile widow of a wealthy Jew, Captain Abraham Simons. She shared wholeheartedly in all Mercer's plans and benefactions. They agreed that their possessions should go to religious causes. He outlived her by four months and carried out their agreement in bequests in his will to the Baptist Convention in the United States for Foreign Missions, the American Baptist Home Mission Society, the American Baptist Publication Society, the American Tract Society, the American and Foreign Bible Society, Columbian College, and Mercer University.

Aside from his father, the one who most influenced his interest in missions and Christian education was Luther Rice whose service to missions and Christian education was nationwide. Jesse Mercer had the qualities of statesmanship in a high degree. He played the leading role in the organization of the Georgia Baptist Convention for collective counsel and cooperation, in the founding of Mercer University for the training of ministerial and lay leadership, and in the purchase and gift to Georgia Baptists of the Christian Index for publicity and promotion, which he published for seven years. His Cluster of Spiritual Songs, many of which were produced by him, went through several editions and was a worthy contribution to American hymnology. He also wrote A History of the Georgia Baptist Association (Washington, 1838).

The D.D. degree was conferred upon him by the board of fellows of Brown University in 1835. In deference to his wishes the title was used but little, and his host of friends continued to address him in the endearing terms of "Father" and "Brother." He devoted his best energies to Mercer University, giving large sums of money for its support while he lived and making it the principal legatee of his estate when he died.

This article was written by Spright Dowell, President of Mercer University from 1928-1953. It can be found in The Encyclopedia of Southern Baptists, Vol II, p. 848, 1953.

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