Mrs. Sabrina Chivers Mercer died on this day in 1826. She was the faithful companion and help meet of the well-known Baptist, Jesse Mercer. They were married nearly forty years. She passed away while traveling home through South Carolina with her husband after attending the Triennial Convention of that year.
Jesse Mercer – born just before the war in 1769 – was the son of Silas Mercer. Silas was from Georgia and an Episcopalian before the Lord saved and called him into the Baptist ministry. When his son Jesse was converted, it was his father who baptized him. Three years later, at the age of twenty, his father was involved in his ordination.
When Silas passed away, Jesse was invited to become the principal of his father’s school, Salem Academy. He also accepted calls to become the pastor of his father’s three churches. In this position Jesse Mercer found himself at the center of Baptist life in the state of Georgia. In addition to his churches he carried out an itinerant preaching ministry, distributing tracts and books wherever possible. He was an ardent supporter of missions among both the black and white populations. He encouraged Sunday schools and was a champion of temperance. Also, Mercer was a trustee of Columbian College, Washington, and was the first president of the school which eventually bore his name.
Jesse Mercer may not be as well-known a name as some, but in the State of Georgia it is highly revered.