In the North

Please Note: These historical documents may or may not represent the current position of Free Will Baptists on any given issue. Many files are Adobe Acrobat (pdf) files. They are quite large and may take a long time to download. For ease of viewing, download only the files in which you are interested and read them at your leisure.

General History

Centennial souvenir of the New Hampshire Yearly Meeting, 1892
by Frederick Levi Wiley

Fifth Annual Report of the Anti-Slavery Society (1851)

Free Baptist Cyclopaedia, Illustrated, 1889

This significant work details the lives and organization of early Free Will Baptists. Compiled over a two-year period, this illustrated book published in 1889, remains one of the most significant sources of Freewill Baptist history. The Cyclopedia was compiled by G. A. Burgess and J. T. Ward.

History of the Baptists in New England
By Henry S. Burrage

History of the General or Six Principle Baptists
By Richard Knight

History of the Religious Denominations Now Existing in the United States
By I. Daniel Rupp

John Smith, Thomas Helwys, and the first Baptist Church in England

Memoirs of Eminent Preachers in the Freewill Baptist Denomination

Memorials of the Free Communion Baptists, Also Called Free Baptists

Minutes of General Conference of the Freewill Baptist Connection, Volume 1

Minutes of the General Conference of Free Baptists, Volumes 27-32

The Centennial record of Freewill Baptists, 1780-1880
By Jonathan McDuffee Brewster

The Dover Pulpit During the Revolutionary War
By Rev. George B. Spalding

The Freewill Baptist Register, Volumes 38-43
Published by the Freewill Baptist Connection

The Freewill Baptist Register, Volumes 44-48
Published by the Freewill Baptist Connection

The History of the Christian Church From the Birth of Christ to
the XVIII Century
By William Jones

The History of the Freewill Baptists: for Half a Century, Volume 1
By I. D. Stewart

The Rhode Island Freewill Baptist Pulpit
By Alvin Dighton Williams

Biographies / Autobiographies

A Consecrated Life: The Life and Labors of Rev. Ransom Dunn
By Helen Dunn Gates

Autobiography of Lemuel Norton
Printed by Horace C. Little

Fidelity and Usefulness: The Life of William Burr
By Rev. J. M. Brewster

Life and Work of A.D. Williams

A. D. Williams made significant contributions to the Free Will Baptist movement as an editor, pastor, educator, and home missionary. Editor of the Freewill Baptist Quarterly, he helped to establish FWB works in West Virginia, Nebraska, and Minnesota. He published several books including the Rhode Island Free Will Baptist Pulpit. In later years he became President of Oakland City College and helped establish the continued success of this General Baptist university. This biography was published by D. B. Montgomery, 1905.

Life Story of O.B. Cheney
From the Morning Star Publishing House

Memoir of Rev. George T. Day
By William H. Bowen, D.D.

Memoirs of the Life and Religious Experience of Ray Potter
By Ray Potter

Memoirs of the Life of David Marks  (high resolution version)
By Marilla Marks

The Eminent Dead or the Triumphs of the Faith in the Dying Hour
By Bradford K. Pierce

The Female Preacher or, Memoir of Salome Lincoln
By Almond H. Davis, Junia S. Mowry

The Life and Influence of the Elder Benjamin Randall Founder of the Free Baptist Denomination
(High Resolution Version)  By Frederick L. Wiley

The Life and Influence of Benjamin Randall by Frederick Wiley. “As with the heavenly bodies, so with some earthly bodies, in contemplation of them, we may “think God’s thoughts after him.” As with the heavenly bodies, so with Benjamin Randall. In his sterling ancestry, his eventful career, and his glorious ascension to the life more abundant, we have a clear illustration of the design, the providence, and the grace of God.”

The Life and Labors of Rev. Henry S. Gordon
By George A. Gordon

The Life of Clement Phinney
By Daniel McBride Graham

Clement Phinney was a Free Will Baptist evangelist born in Gorham, Maine in 1780. He worked faithfully as an evangelist. Written by D. M. Graham, this volume provides fascinating details about his life and ministry.

The Life of David Marks to the 26th Year of His Age
By David Marks

The Life, Experience, and Travels of John Colby
By John Colby

Written by Colby himself, this volume details his remarkable life and experiences. Colby only lived from 1787-1817. In those 30 short years he literally spent himself sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ. You will be blessed by the life and ministry of this great Free Will Baptist evangelist.

The Life of Elder Abel Thornton
By Abel Thornton

The Life of Elder Mark Fernald
By Mark Fernald

The Life of Rev. Martin Cheney
By George T. Day

The Life, Experience and Travels of John Colby
By John Colby

The Wonderful Wheel of Fortune: Founded on the Life of Solon Currier
By Solon Currier

The Life, Labors, and Travels of Elder Charles Bowles, of the FWB Denomination, Together With an Essay on the Character and Condition of the African Race
By John W. Lewis (Eld.), Arthur Dearing

Charles Bowles was born in Boston in 1751. His father was an African servant, his mother the daughter of Revolutionary War hero Col. Morgan. The book traces Bowles’ life, from his marriage to “his cousin” to his religious conversion and his life as a Free Will Baptist minister. The book includes two essays. The first denounces America’s “negro-hate” and its effort “to drive the colored man from within the pale of human society.” The second, by Rev. Authur Dearing urges readers to civil disobedience, because the Fugitive Slave Act is contrary to Natural Rights. The book gives its readers a glimpse into Free Will Baptist’s connection with the Abolition Movement of the 19th century.

‪Autobiography of Selah Hibbard Barrett, the Self-educated Clergymen

‪Containing the story of his education, his experience and conversion, his public and ministerial labors, together with an interesting account of his travels in various parts of the United States and Canada. Embracing a period of half a century. From 1822 to 1872, Volume 1.

Doctrine

Please note: These historical documents may or may not represent the current position of Free Will Baptists on any given issue.

A Treatise on the Faith of the Freewill Baptists, 1834
(first edition)

The Manual: The Scriptural Doctrine of the Trinity, Investigated and Defended
By M. W. Alford

Christian Baptism: The Duty, the Act, and the Subjects
By George Harvey Ball

Natural and Revealed Theology
By John J. Butler

Commentary on the New Testament: Critical andPractical
By John J. Butler

Persuasives to Early Piety: Interspersed With Suitable Prayers
By John Gregory Pike

The Church Member’s Book
Or, Admonitions and Instructions for All Classes of Christians
Published by the Freewill Baptist Connection

The Free Communionist
Unrestricted Communion of the Lord’s Supper With All True Believers
By M. W. Alford, John Butler, Enoch Mack, David Marks

The Scriptural Doctrine of the Trinity, Investigated and Defended
By M. W. Alford

Free Will Baptist Quarterlies

Published from 1853-1869, in seventeen volumes, the quarterly contained essays addressing subjects from Islam to the inspiration of Scripture, Slavery to the biblical role of the pastor. The pages of the quarterlies paint a vivid picture of the Free-will Baptist movement in the north during the mid-19th century.