Daniel Marshall arrived in the Colony of Georgia on this day in 1771. He was originally from New England, but he had been serving the Lord with Shubal Stearns in North Carolina for a while before feeling led of the Lord to move south. Stearns and Marshall were “Separate Baptists” which means only that they had been raised among the Congregationalists and had separated themselves to join the few Baptists who were in New England at the time. They believed in the doctrines of sovereign grace, just as did the churches of the Philadelphia Association and 95% of the rest of the Baptists in America.
In 1772, Marshall established what is believed to be the first Baptist church in Georgia, just outside of what is now Augusta. He served as its pastor until his death in 1784, when he was followed by his son Abraham.
A 1757 Georgia law prohibited any worship which was not “according to the rites and ceremonies of the Church of England,” but Marshall took no notice of that particular order. Then one day as he kneeled before his congregation in prayer, he felt a hand on his shoulder and a voice declared, “You are my prisoner.” Before Marshall could assure the constable that he would appear in court the following day, Mrs. Marshall quoted several scriptures to the young officer; a man named Samuel Cartledge. At court the next day Marshall was ordered to leave Georgia, but he responded with the words “Whether it be right obey God or man, judge ye.” He was released, but he did not leave the colony.
Oh, and Samuel Cartledge, the twenty-one-year-old constable? In 1777, he was saved by the grace of God. He became a deacon and was later ordained as a Baptist preacher. He served the Lord as a pastor and missionary in Georgia and South Carolina until his death at age ninety-three.