Jesse Mercer
Encyclopedia
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
minister and a founder of Mercer University
Mercer University
Mercer University is an independent, private, coeducational university with a Baptist heritage located in the U.S. state of Georgia. Mercer is the only university of its size in the United States that offers programs in eleven diversified fields of study: liberal arts, business, education, music,...
in the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
. Born in North Carolina on December 16, 1769, he was the son of Silas Mercer, a Baptist minister who moved his family to Wilkes County, Georgia
Wilkes County, Georgia
Wilkes County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of 2000, the population was 10,687. The 2007 Census estimate shows a population of 10,262. The county seat is the city of Washington. Referred to as "Washington-Wilkes", the county seat and county are commonly treated as a...
in the early 1770s. Silas Mercer founded several pioneer churches and convinced his son to follow him into the ministry.
Jesse Mercer was baptized by his father at the age of 17, married Sabrina Chivers of Wilkes County at age 19, and was formally ordained into the ministry at age 20. Sardis Church, originally called Hutton's Fork, was his first charge. In 1796, Mercer succeeded his father as pastor of the Phillips' Mill Church, which he served for 37 years. He also served as pastor of Bethesda Church (1796-1827), Powell's Creek Church, in Hancock County, Georgia
Hancock County, Georgia
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 10,076 people, 3,237 households, and 2,311 families residing in the county. The population density was 21 people per square mile . There were 4,287 housing units at an average density of 9 per square mile...
(1797-1825), and the Baptist Church at Eatonton, Putnam County, Georgia
Putnam County, Georgia
Putnam County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of 2000, the population was 18,812. The 2007 Census Estimate showed a population of 21,251...
(1820-26). Mercer was president of the Georgia Baptist Convention for 19 years, from its founding in 1822 until his death in 1841.
Mercer's first wife died on September 23, 1826. He then moved to Washington, Georgia
Washington, Georgia
Washington is a city in Wilkes County, Georgia, United States. The population was 4,295 at the 2000 census. The city is the county seat of Wilkes County...
, and in December 1827 married Nancy Simons, a wealthy widow who joined him in making large gifts to Mercer Institute
Mercer University
Mercer University is an independent, private, coeducational university with a Baptist heritage located in the U.S. state of Georgia. Mercer is the only university of its size in the United States that offers programs in eleven diversified fields of study: liberal arts, business, education, music,...
, a boys' manual labor school affiliated with Georgia Baptists. Mercer provided a founding endowment and served as the first chairman of the school's board of trustees. In return, the school was named in his honor. The institute was renamed Mercer University
Mercer University
Mercer University is an independent, private, coeducational university with a Baptist heritage located in the U.S. state of Georgia. Mercer is the only university of its size in the United States that offers programs in eleven diversified fields of study: liberal arts, business, education, music,...
in 1838 after the Georgia General Assembly
Georgia General Assembly
The Georgia General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is bicameral, being composed of the Georgia House of Representatives and the Georgia Senate....
granted a university charter.
Mercer published a popular hymnal
Hymnal
Hymnal or hymnary or hymnbook is a collection of hymns, i.e. religious songs, usually in the form of a book. The earliest hand-written hymnals are known since Middle Ages in the context of European Christianity...
titled Cluster of Spiritual Songs in 1810. In later years, he also published the Christian Index, which became the newspaper of the Georgia Baptist Convention. Mercer published a temperance newspaper in Washington, Georgia
Washington, Georgia
Washington is a city in Wilkes County, Georgia, United States. The population was 4,295 at the 2000 census. The city is the county seat of Wilkes County...
, though he at first was against the temperance movement
Temperance movement
A temperance movement is a social movement urging reduced use of alcoholic beverages. Temperance movements may criticize excessive alcohol use, promote complete abstinence , or pressure the government to enact anti-alcohol legislation or complete prohibition of alcohol.-Temperance movement by...
. In 1811 he wrote the circular letter for the Georgia Baptist Association in which he defended the Baptist rejection of alien immersion (immersions performed in non-Baptist churches) on the basis of Baptist successionism
Baptist successionism
Baptist successionism is one of several theories on the origin and continuation of Baptist churches – also known as "Baptist perpetuity" or "The Trail of Blood". It is the theory that there has been an unbroken chain of churches since the days of Christ which have held similar beliefs of the...
. In 1828, Mercer became the first pastor of Washington Baptist Church where he served until his death. Mercer died in 1841 and is buried in Penfield, Georgia
Penfield, Georgia
Penfield, Georgia, in the United States was established shortly after 1829 in Greene County, Georgia, and named in honor of Josiah Penfield , a Savannah merchant and silversmith, who bequeathed $2,500.00 and a financial challenge to the Georgia Baptist Convention to match his gift for educational...
.
A dissertation on Mercer's life and frontier experience was completed in 1950 at the University of Texas by Robert W. Mondy
Robert W. Mondy
Robert William Mondy was an historian of the frontier experience in the American West and South, who spent thirty-nine years, from 1935–1974, on the faculty of Louisiana Tech University in his native Ruston in Lincoln Parish in north Louisiana.Mondy was the older of two children born to Thomas...
, the late professor of history at Louisiana Tech University
Louisiana Tech University
Louisiana Tech University, often referred to as Louisiana Tech, LA Tech, or Tech, is a coeducational public research university located in Ruston, Louisiana. Louisiana Tech is designated as a Tier 1 school in the national universities category by the 2012 U.S. News & World Report college rankings...
in Ruston
Ruston, Louisiana
Ruston is a city in and the parish seat of Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 20,546 at the 2000 census. Ruston is near the eastern border of the Ark-La-Tex and is the home of Louisiana Tech University. Its economy caters to its college population...
, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
.