Amos Cooper Dayton
Encyclopedia
Amos Cooper Dayton was a physician
, Baptist
minister, author, editor and educator, perhaps best remembered for his religious novels of the late 1850s and his role in the Landmark Baptist movement.
, April 1, 1811, the son of Robert Dayton and his wife. He attended local common schools, then went to college. Dayton graduated from medical college in 1834.
. He stayed there until 1852. Dayton was reared Presbyterian, but was influenced by meeting J.R. Graves. He united with the Baptists in 1852.
J. R. Graves, Dayton, and James Madison Pendleton
were known as "The Great Triumvirate" of the Landmark movement. From 1854 through 1858, Dayton was the corresponding secretary of the Southern Baptist Convention
Bible Board. He moved with his family to Nashville, Tennessee
to take the position. Both Graves and Dayton were members of the First Baptist Church of Nashville.
Dayton made significant contributions to the Landmark
movement of the mid-nineteenth century in the area of religious fiction, which "popularized Landmark tenets." His most serious novel, Theodosia Ernest, or, The Heroine of Faith, was published in 1856-1857 in two volumes. The first volume presented issues related to baptism
, and the second discussed church polity. Theodosia Ernest originally appeared as a series in The Tennessee Baptist in 1855.
In 1857, R.B.C. Howell, a critic of Landmarkism, became pastor for a second tenure at First Baptist of Nashville, where he served until 1868. Howell had a struggle for control with Graves, described as the greatest controversy for the Southern Baptists until the "fundamentalist-moderate" controversy of the last decades of the twentieth century. It resulted in arguments over church discipline, and Graves' being excluded from the church and Dayton's being forced to resign from the Bible Board.
In 1858, Dayton published Pedobaptist and Campbellite Immersions, a review of numerous Baptist writers on issues related to baptism. It is considered the classic Landmark statement on this topic. He also served as associate editor of The Tennessee Baptist for about 18 months in 1858-1859.
J. R. Graves
was the most prolific writer and outstanding leader of the Landmark movement. But, the 20th-century theologian J. E. Tull concluded that Dayton's 1858 book was "the most cogent attack upon 'alien immersions' which the Landmark movement produced."
He published the Baptist Banner in Atlanta, Georgia
(1863–1864). At the time, he was pastor of Houston Lake Baptist Church and First Baptist Church, and the president of Houston Female Institute, all in Perry, Georgia
.
at Perry, Georgia on June 11, 1865. He was buried in the Evergreen Cemetery.
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
, Baptist
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, author, editor and educator, perhaps best remembered for his religious novels of the late 1850s and his role in the Landmark Baptist movement.
Earl life and education
Dayton was born at Plainfield, New JerseyPlainfield, New Jersey
Plainfield is a city in Union County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population increased to a record high of 49,808....
, April 1, 1811, the son of Robert Dayton and his wife. He attended local common schools, then went to college. Dayton graduated from medical college in 1834.
Career
By 1839 Dayton and his wife had moved to Mississippi, where they lived in Columbus and Vicksburg, while he had a practiced as a dentistDentist
A dentist, also known as a 'dental surgeon', is a doctor that specializes in the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases and conditions of the oral cavity. The dentist's supporting team aides in providing oral health services...
. He stayed there until 1852. Dayton was reared Presbyterian, but was influenced by meeting J.R. Graves. He united with the Baptists in 1852.
J. R. Graves, Dayton, and James Madison Pendleton
James Madison Pendleton
James Madison Pendleton was a leading 19th century Baptist preacher, educator and theologian.-Early life:James Madison Pendleton was born November 20, 1811, in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, the son of John Pendleton and Frances Jackson Thompson. He was named for President James Madison. When he...
were known as "The Great Triumvirate" of the Landmark movement. From 1854 through 1858, Dayton was the corresponding secretary of the Southern Baptist Convention
Southern Baptist Convention
The Southern Baptist Convention is a United States-based Christian denomination. It is the world's largest Baptist denomination and the largest Protestant body in the United States, with over 16 million members...
Bible Board. He moved with his family to Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
to take the position. Both Graves and Dayton were members of the First Baptist Church of Nashville.
Dayton made significant contributions to the Landmark
Landmark
This is a list of landmarks around the world.Landmarks may be split into two categories - natural phenomena and man-made features, like buildings, bridges, statues, public squares and so forth...
movement of the mid-nineteenth century in the area of religious fiction, which "popularized Landmark tenets." His most serious novel, Theodosia Ernest, or, The Heroine of Faith, was published in 1856-1857 in two volumes. The first volume presented issues related to baptism
Baptism
In Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
, and the second discussed church polity. Theodosia Ernest originally appeared as a series in The Tennessee Baptist in 1855.
In 1857, R.B.C. Howell, a critic of Landmarkism, became pastor for a second tenure at First Baptist of Nashville, where he served until 1868. Howell had a struggle for control with Graves, described as the greatest controversy for the Southern Baptists until the "fundamentalist-moderate" controversy of the last decades of the twentieth century. It resulted in arguments over church discipline, and Graves' being excluded from the church and Dayton's being forced to resign from the Bible Board.
In 1858, Dayton published Pedobaptist and Campbellite Immersions, a review of numerous Baptist writers on issues related to baptism. It is considered the classic Landmark statement on this topic. He also served as associate editor of The Tennessee Baptist for about 18 months in 1858-1859.
J. R. Graves
James Robinson Graves
James Robinson Graves was a US Baptist preacher, publisher, evangelist, debater, author, and editor. He was born in Chester, Vermont, the son of Z. C. Graves, and died in Memphis, Tennessee. His remains are interred in Elmwood Cemetery in Memphis.Though raised in a Congregational background, he...
was the most prolific writer and outstanding leader of the Landmark movement. But, the 20th-century theologian J. E. Tull concluded that Dayton's 1858 book was "the most cogent attack upon 'alien immersions' which the Landmark movement produced."
He published the Baptist Banner in Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
(1863–1864). At the time, he was pastor of Houston Lake Baptist Church and First Baptist Church, and the president of Houston Female Institute, all in Perry, Georgia
Perry, Georgia
Perry is a city in Houston county in the U.S. state of Georgia. It is part of the Warner Robins, Georgia Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 9,600 at the 2000 census. This town is the county seat of Houston County...
.
Death
Dayton died of tuberculosisTuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
at Perry, Georgia on June 11, 1865. He was buried in the Evergreen Cemetery.
Works
- Theodosia Ernestor, or, The Heroine of Faith, 1857, text online, Providence Baptist Ministries
- http://books.google.com/books?id=JGkNAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=Pedobaptist+and+Campbellite+Immersions&source=bl&ots=GSUwxF6IuM&sig=rgu0Udx5BlMxAL4DJWO6YXScCR8&hl=en&ei=Bwl3TIvyC43vngfj-8TBAQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBIQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=falsePedobaptist and Campbellite Immersions: Being a Review of the Arguments of Doctors Waller, Fuller, Johnson, Wayland, Broadus, and Others"], Nashville, TN: South-Western Publishing House, Graves, Marks & Co., 1858
Further reading
- James E. Tull and Morris Ashcraft, High-church Baptists in the South: The Origin, Nature, and Influence of Landmarkism, Macon, GA: Mercer University Press, 2000 - revised, condensed and updated version of Tull's 1960 classic study of the movement
External links
- "A. C. Dayton", Tennessee Baptists, Knox County, TN Website