The first Free Will Baptists in America were known as General Baptists and can be traced to Chowan County in eastern North Carolina and to the year 1727. Paul Palmer, a local landowner, had been mentioned in the North Carolina court records as early as 1720. Though there is some indication that he might have been involved with the Quakers earlier, he was clearly in the General Baptist camp by 1727. Palmer’s first General Baptist church consisted of 32 members and was planted near the present community of Cisco. In 1729, another followed in Pasquotank County at the home of William Burges. Palmer was a gifted church planter who had little interest in serving a settled pastorate. This task was left to such faithful followers as Joseph Parker, a charter member of the first church, and his cousin, William Parker. As a result, these followers of Palmer probably had the most profound impact on the fledgling Free Will Baptist denomination. Churches founded by and served by the Parkers would later become known officially as Free Will Baptists. Near the end of the 18th century, James Roach succeeded Joseph Parker in his General Baptist work at Little Creek, Grimsley, Wheat Swamp, Louson … Continue reading Free Will Baptists in America