• Ancestry and Early Life
• His Father's Early American Experiences, 1807-1809
• Turbulent Years, 1811-1830
• Later Significant Developments, 1830-1866

      The home in which Alexander was reared influenced his life and actions throughout his years. His home life was the source of much of the preparation and education which he drew upon all his life. His parents were godly people. His father, Thomas, was born in County Down, Ireland, on February 1, 1763. He was deeply religious in nature. Early in his life he decided to enter the ministry of the Seceder Presbyterian Church. Thomas' education included three years at Glasgow University and completion of a course of study at the Anti-Burgher Theological School. After completing this phase of his education, he was licensed as a probationer by the Seceder Presbyterian Church in Ireland.

      Thomas married Jane Corneigle, a twenty-four year old girl of French Huguenot background, on June 1, 1787. The first of their eight children, Alexander, was born some fifteen months later, September 12, 1788, in Ballymena, County Antrim, Ireland.^{1} After the birth of Alexander, Thomas continued to teach at Sheepbridge and Market Hill to augment his income as well as to preach as a probationer.

      In 1798, the Thomas Campbell family moved to a place near Rich Hill, where they lived on a farm while Thomas preached at Ahorey. The year 1805 brought the opening of a private academy with Thomas as the headmaster and his seventeen year old son, Alexander, as his assistant. Later, as the family finances improved, the family moved from the farm to the town of Rich Hill.

      Thomas Campbell was concerned about the divisions in the religious world, particularly in his own communion, the Seceder Presbyterian Church. Thomas was a member of the Old Light, Anti-Burgher, Seceder Presbyterian group. He was so concerned about the divisions in the Presbyterian Church that he tried to effect a union between the Burgher and Anti-Burgher factions.^{2} The General Associate Synod in Scotland, after hearing the proposal, expressed disapproval of the measure and it was pursued no further. The union was accomplished two decades later in 1820.

      While preaching at Ahorey and Rich Hill, Thomas and Alexander would often exercise the privilege of "occasional hearing." This was simply an opportunity afforded by the Seceder Church to its ministers and members to hear preachers from other denominations. This gave the Campbells the opportunity to hear men like Roland Hill, James Haldane, Alexander Carson, and John Walker. These men were called "independents," because they did not belong to the established Presbyterian bodies.

      The strain of the years of preaching and teaching began to take its toll on the industrious Thomas Campbell. His physician told him that if he continued his present pace his life would be in jeopardy, and recommended a sea voyage. So, at the age of forty-four, Thomas set sail for America on April 8, 1807. He spent thirty-five days on the ship Brutus.

      Alexander's education was largely under the tutelage of his family members. He spent most of his youthful years on the farm near Rich Hill, attending several schools in the area. He spent some time at the elementary school in Market Hill, where he was a boarder with a local merchant. Two or three years were spent under the instruction of his uncles, Archibald and Enos, who had an academy in Newry. Later, he was taught by his father in the academy Thomas established at Rich Hill. [1]

      Alexander's love of sports and lack of attention to his studies prompted his father to engage him in field labor for some years. As he matured, so did his love of books and learning. He determined to become "one of the best scholars in the kingdom."^{3} His father endeavored to give him a broad preparatory education.

He managed to perfect his son in the preliminary English branches, and to give him such instruction in Latin and Greek as would enable him, should opportunity ever present itself to enter the classes of the university.^{4}

      Alexander's spiritual life was influenced greatly by his home life. Spiritual matters were of supreme importance in the Thomas Campbell household and were not to be treated lightly. "It was their rule that every member should memorize, during each day, some portion of the Bible, to be recited at evening worship."^{5} In his later years, Alexander recalls the influence of his parents in his life.

I can but gratefully add, that to my mother as to my father, I am indebted for having memorized in early life almost all the writings of Solomon--his Proverbs, his Ecclesiastes and many of the Psalms of his father David. They have not only been written on the tablet of my memory, but incorporated with my modes of thinking and speaking.^{6}

      Alexander's observance of the actions and attitudes of the organized religions with which he had contact also shaped his spiritual growth. In his own denomination, he often encountered a narrow-minded, legalistic view of the Scriptures and religious fife. Appeals for church reform were ignored; observance of the church sacraments were neglected.

      The Campbells were also affected by the Independents, such as J. A. Haldane, Robert Haldane, and Greville Ewing, whose teachings were in sharp contrast to the Calvinistic doctrines of the Presbyterian Church. Many of the Independent churches were simply congregations under the leadership of an individual, with no strong religious organization for the group. The people were pious and hard working. Bible study and private interpretation of the Scriptures were encouraged. The weekly observance of the Lord's Supper and offerings were attended to. These and many other concepts would lead Thomas and Alexander to break from the Presbyterian Church and attempt to bring about the religious union both dreamed about.

      Thomas Campbell stepped off the Brutus and first set foot on American soil on May 13, 1807. After landing in Philadelphia, he presented his credentials to the Associate Synod of North America and was assigned to the Presbytery of Chartiers.^{7} This presbytery had jurisdiction over Washington County, Western Pennsylvania, where Thomas settled in order to be with some of his former friends from Ireland who had come to America some time before.

      In the session of the Presbytery of Chartiers held on June 30, and July 1, 1807, at the Harmony Meeting House, Thomas was assigned his ministerial duties. He was to be an itinerant minister, traveling to many different churches during the remainder of the year. It was the policy of the Presbytery to require an explanation from any minister for failure to meet his appointed meeting. There is no record of Thomas failing to carry out his duties.

      Thomas Campbell's trouble with the Presbytery of Chartiers arose when John Anderson was required to give the Presbytery an explanation as to why he failed to assist Thomas in the celebration of the Lord's Supper at Buffaloe at its meeting on October 27, 1807. Anderson [2] replied that he had refused to assist Thomas because of testimony he had heard concerning Campbell's beliefs. The meeting revealed that Anderson had acted upon the testimony of William Wilson, who stated that he had heard Thomas express publicly opinions which he felt were contrary to the Presbyterian confession of faith. It was upon Wilson's testimony that Anderson decided to neglect his appointment.^{8} The Presbytery accepted Anderson's reason. The opinions which Thomas had expressed dealt with his disagreement with certain church doctrines and customs. The Presbytery investigated the charges against Thomas, and decided to suspend him temporarily from his ministerial duties.

      Thomas appealed his case to the higher church court, the Associate Synod of North America. The Synod investigated the charges against Campbell, which resulted in three major actions. The action of the Presbytery of Chartiers was judged irregular. The suspension of Thomas was reversed by the Synod. The third action taken by the Synod was that it decided to review the case. In its subsequent investigation, the Synod found Thomas' answers "unsatisfactory and highly equivocal" concerning the charges about faith in Christ and confession of faith.^{9} Discipline was rendered on May 27, 1808, when Thomas was rebuked and admonished by the moderator.

      The Presbytery was angered because its decision had been reversed by the Synod for its improper proceedings in the matter. Thomas returned to the Presbytery after two months' absence but found no preaching appointments waiting. The Presbytery would not allow the matter to drop and tried to inflict a higher censure upon Thomas than the discipline meted out by the Synod.

      On September 14, 1808, Thomas submitted a letter to the Presbytery in which he declined their authority over him. This letter had been originally submitted to the Synod on May 27, 1808, in which Thomas renounced their authority concerning him, but he withdrew the letter. This statement of disclamation of the Presbyterian's authority was accepted by the Presbytery. The letter was a formal statement of his actions taken toward the Presbytery on September 13, 1808, the previous day. The Presbytery accepted the letter and voted for his suspension.

      The Synod was informed of the actions of both parties by the officials of the Presbytery. The Synod during its meeting on May 23, 1809, instructed the Presbytery to take Campbell's name off its roll. It was also noted in the meeting that Thomas had returned the fifty dollars given to him by the Synod when he came to America in 1807.

      The Presbytery continued to summon Campbell to appear before it but no reply was made by Campbell until April 17, 1810. The substance of his reply is not known. On April 18, 1810, the Presbytery finally and formally deposed Campbell from his offices and privileges as a minister of the Gospel.

      The defrocked Thomas Campbell continued to preach. He began preaching in the homes of his friends "General" Thomas Acheson, James Foster, Thomas Hodgens, and Abraham Altars. His preaching acquired enough of a following that on August 17, 1809, the Christian Association of Washington was formed, and Campbell became the guiding force of a society organized for the propagation of the simple gospel. The purpose of the Association was stated in the following terms:

That we form ourselves into a religious association under the denomination of the Christian Association of Washington, for the sole purpose of promoting simple evangelical Christianity, free from all mixture of human opinions and inventions of men.^{10}

      The Association built a meeting house on the Sinclair farm near Mt. Pleasant, Pennsylvania. In the home of Mr. Welch, Thomas Campbell penned a most remarkable document. In order to explain to the religious world the actions of the Association, the [3] Declaration and Address of the Christian Association of Washington was written. This document has been called "the Magna Carta of the new religious movement,"^{11} and "one of the immortal documents of religious history."^{12}

      The Declaration and Address is a call for unity in the religious world. The organizational and spiritual goals were set forth in the beginning pages of the document. The spiritual goals were as follows:

That this society by no means consider itself a Church, nor does it assume to itself that powers peculiar to such a society; nor do the members, as such consider themselves as standing connected in that relation; nor as at all associated for the peculiar purposes of Church association; but merely as voluntary advocates for Church reformation; and, as possessing the powers common to all individuals, who may please to associate in a peaceable and orderly manner, for any lawful purpose, namely, the disposal of their time, counsel and property, as they may see cause.^{13}

      Thomas' family in Ireland received a letter from him in March, 1808, stating that he was sufficiently settled for them to come to America. Preparations were made, and on October 1, 1808, his family set sail on the Hibernia for the United States. On October 7, 1808, the ship hit a submerged rock and sank. The ship's company and passengers made it safely to the Island of Islay. It was during the shipwreck that Alexander resolved to give himself wholly to the ministry of Christ.

      After deciding that it was too late in the year to attempt another voyage, Alexander and the other members of the family made their way to Glasgow, where Alexander enrolled in Glasgow University. During his studies at the University, he met several Independent preachers of the city and adopted many of their teachings. Greville Ewing, particularly, had a great influence on him. His changing religious sentiment caused him to refuse to participate in the semi-annual communion service just before leaving Scotland. By not partaking of the communion, but instead returning the token (a symbol of his worthiness as a communicant) he broke from the Seceder Presbyterian Church.

      The University closed its session in May 1809. These eight months were the only university education Alexander received. In late summer the American journey was resumed. The Thomas Campbell family arrived in the United States on September 29, 1809. On October 19, 1809, the Campbells were reunited. During the family separation, Thomas and Alexander had severed their relations with the Seceder Presbyterian Church and acquired similar religious views.

      In 1810, Thomas Campbell was approached by some Presbyterians who urged him to seek affiliation with the Presbyterian Church for himself and the Christian Association of Washington. The Christian Association had no formal ecclesiastical affiliation, but many of the members were from a Presbyterian background. Application was made to the Synod of Pittsburg for admittance and it was rejected. The Synod decided that the plan of the Association would have a negative and harmful effect on religion, and that the Synod did not agree with Thomas' personal religious beliefs.

      The rejection of the Association by the Synod of Pittsburg caused an action by the Association which Thomas wanted to avoid. He realized that the Association could not remain a loosely-organized group of people. The ministerial and spiritual needs of the members were not being met. So, on May 4, 1811, the Christian Association of Washington was organized [4] into an independent congregation called the Brush Run Church.^{14} Three church members, Joseph Bryant, Margaret Fullerton, and Abraham Altars, did not partake of the weekly communion service. When questioned about the reason for their refusal, these individuals stated that they had not been baptized in any form and thus felt unauthorized to join in the observance of the ordinance. After much discussion with the members of the church, Thomas agreed that immersion was the proper baptismal mode. Thus, these persons were immersed in Buffaloe Creek by Thomas Campbell on July 4, 1811. However, the matter was not pressed nor was immersion made a requirement for church membership. Those persons who wished to be immersed were, and the majority of the church eventually followed suit. Those who did not desire to be immersed left, leaving Brush Run composed of immersed persons. Thomas, Alexander, and their families were among those who were immersed. It was after this action that Alexander emerged as the dominant force in the Brush Run Church.

      This action aligned the church more closely with the Baptists than with the Presbyterians. In 1815, the Brush Run Church applied for membership in the Redstone Baptist Association. Many historians give the date as 1813, but the minutes of the Redstone Baptist Association show the following action on September 2, 1815:

[Item] 5. A Letter from a Church in Washington was read, requesting union with this Association, which was unanimously granted.

[Item] 6. Likewise a letter was received, making a similar request from a church at Brush Run; which was also granted.^{15}

      The union with the Redstone Association was a conditional one.

The church of Brush Run did finally agree to unite with that Association on the ground that no terms of union or communion other than the Holy Scriptures should be required. On this ground, after presenting a written declaration of our belief (always distinguishing betwixt making a declaration of our faith for the satisfaction of others, and binding that declaration on others as a term of communion) we united with the Redstone Association.^{16}

This union was not without opposition. William Brownfield, Secretary of the Redstone Association, opposed the union unless the Brush Run Church adopted the Philadelphia Confession of Faith as an authoritative creed.^{17} Pressure within the Association toward the church caused it to be disfellowshiped by the Association in 1824.

      Tensions were strained in 1816 when Alexander preached his Sermon on the Law at Cross Creek, Virginia, August 30, at the regular meeting of the Baptist Association. In spite of opposition to his preaching, Alexander proclaimed the message which "afterwards involved me in a seven years' war with some members of said association, and became a matter of much [5] debate."^{18} The sermon was not in harmony with the accepted Baptist doctrine of the day. Alexander preached that both the Old and New Testaments were inspired of God, but only the New Testament was binding upon and the authoritative rule for the Christian. The official response is found in the minutes of the Association dated September 2-4, 1817.

Having received several charges and complaints against the doctrines maintained by the Church of Brush Run and more especially against a sermon preached before the last association by Alex'r Campbell one of the elders. Resolved that having heard a written declaration of their faith as well as verbal explanations relative to the charges made against him, we are fully satisfied with the declarations of said Church.^{19}

      His sermon did not cause Alexander or his father to be totally ostracized from the body, for in the following years, both men held official positions within the Association. Alexander served as the clerk in 1817, 1818, 1819, and moderator in 1820. Thomas held the position as moderator in 1822. Both men wrote associational letters for the Association to the members which were published in the minutes. Alexander wrote the circular letter in 1817 and the corresponding letters in 1819 and 1821. Thomas wrote the circular letter in 1816.

      In 1818, Alexander opened "a classical and mercantile academy,"^{20} Buffaloe Seminary, in his home at Bethany, West Virginia, to educate young men for the ministry. Buffaloe Seminary existed for four years until in 1822 Alexander was forced to close the school due to a failure to attract a significant number of students to keep it open. During these years, the Campbells' opponents in the Redstone Association would not forget Alexander's tenets preached in his Sermon on the Law and strove to cause trouble for them.^{21} The opposition to the Campbells in the Association came to the forefront in 1823. In August of 1823, Alexander learned that his opposers were trying to secure messengers who were hostile toward the Campbells to attend the next Redstone Association meeting. The Campbells' antagonists were intent on excommunicating them from the Association at the September meeting. In order to foil the plan of exclusion, Alexander Campbell and thirty-two members of the Brush Run Church withdrew from the church on August 31, 1823. These individuals then established a church at Wellsburg, Virginia. Alexander Campbell in the second volume of the Baptist, related the event in these words,

I should have observed that a church was organized in the town of Wellsburg in 1823, which was composed for the most part of members dismissed from the church at Brush Run, of which I was appointed a bishop.^{22}

Richardson, in his Memoirs of Alexander Campbell, reproduced the letter issued by the Brush Run Church which testified to the good standing of the out going members.^{23} Alexander attended the September meeting of the Redstone Association but not as a messenger from the Brush Run Church. As he was no longer a member of the Brush Run Church, and not under the jurisdiction of the Association, the plot to disfellowship him was not successful.

      In 1824, the Wellsburg Church requested admittance into the Mahoning Baptist Association in Ohio. The church was accepted into the Association and continued in its fellowship until the Association's dissolution at Austintown, Ohio, in August, 1830. The Association became an annual meeting for worship and to hear reports of the progress of the churches.

      Thomas and the remaining members of the Brush Run Church continued in the fellowship of the Redstone Association until their exclusion from it in 1824. The official reason for the exclusion was an informality in their church letter. [6]

[Item] 7th. The representatives of the church at Brush Run; not able to give satisfactory reasons for the informality in their letter, were objected to.

[Item] 9th. Resolved, that this Association have no fellowship with the Brush Run Church.

[Item] 10th. Resolved that the 11th. article of business in the Minutes of 1816, be null and void.^{24}

The informality was the failure of the church to affirm their acceptance of the Philadelphia Confession of Faith as the authoritative creed of the congregation.

      In 1826, thirteen sister churches were disfellowshipped by the Association for the same reason.^{25} The excluded churches met together in Washington, Pennsylvania, on September 7, 1827, and formed the Washington Baptist Association.

      As late as 1830, the Association's actions pertaining to the Brush Run Church were still being dealt with. In the minutes of the September, 1830 meeting, the actions of the 1824 meeting were explained and rendered binding.

Whereas the items of business of the Association contained in the minutes for the year 1824, and numbered 7 and 9, concerning the exclusion of the Church at Brush Run, (of which Thos. Campbell and his son Alexander were members,)^{26} are indefinite as to the cause of exclusion: And this Association having received some communication from a distance, requesting more specific information as to the cause of their exclusion: Therefore unanimously, Resolved, that for the satisfaction of all concerned, we now further state, that their exclusion was on account of being erroneous in doctrine, maintaining namely, the essential derivation and (---)^{27} of the true and proper Deity of Christ and the Spirit; that faith in Christ is only a belief of historical facts, recorded in the Scriptures, rejecting and deriding what is commonly called christian experience; that there is no operation of the Spirit on the hearts of men, since the days of pentecost, &c.^{28}

      Alexander published the Christian Baptist from 1823-1830. It will be discussed in another part of this paper. On July 5, 1830, he ceased publishing this periodical and continued publishing the Millennial Harbinger, which he had begun in January, 1830. It was published for four years after his death in 1866. The Harbinger was instrumental in shaping the thought and goals of the movement.

      The passing of 1831 and the beginning of 1832 brought a major change to the followers of the Campbells and B. W. Stone. The new development was the merger of the Disciples and Christian congregations into one religious communion. Such a union was not uncommon. Disciple and Christian congregations had worshiped informally together prior to the consolidation in 1831, but the occasions were not common. The emphasis and support of the leaders of both groups plus the encouragement of the periodicals, The Millennial Harbinger and the Christian Messenger were major factors in the move toward union.

      The impetus toward the union effort of 1831 was the friendship of John T. Johnson, minister of the Disciples church at Great Crossings, Kentucky, and Barton Stone, minister of the neighboring Christian church in Georgetown, Kentucky. These two men also shared a mutual goal in the promotion of Christian unity. Under the leadership of these two men, the two congregations began to worship together as one body. [7]

      These men were encouraged by the response of their respective congregations and began to broaden the opportunities for union. Joint meetings of interested individuals from both groups were held in Georgetown, Kentucky, during December 25-29, 1831, and Lexington, Kentucky, during January 1-4, 1832. These gatherings were mass meetings in which the possibilities of union were discussed. The Lexington meeting was held in the Hill Street Church. "Raccoon" John Smith and Barton Stone were two of the speakers during this meeting. Both men preached and urged the union of the two groups. Smith spoke first and Stone followed with his address. Barton Stone, as he concluded his sermon, offered Smith his hand as a sign of friendship and concurring desire and commitment to the union. Following the two addresses, the persons in attendance who were in favor of the union, expressed the desire by offering to one another their hands in friendship and fellowship. These individuals then agreed to such a merger of the two groups. The next day, the Lord's Day, was marked by a union communion service in which both groups once more affirmed the union.

      These meetings were the merging of the desires and goals of these particular individual Christians. The merger did not necessitate the automatic merger of the two separate groups beyond those individuals present in the two meetings in Georgetown and Lexington. Union between the individual congregations of the Reformers and Christians was a matter of choice, although such an action was urged by the leaders of the two groups.

      An elder from each group, John Smith from the Disciples and John Rogers of the Christians, rode together to the churches of Kentucky, exhorting both groups to follow the union meetings at Georgetown and Lexington.^{29} The successful union of the two groups was shown in the fact that Johnson became the co-editor with Stone in the publishing of the Christian Messenger in 1831. The road to consolidation of these two groups was not an easy one. There were times when the subsequent united groups would divide over various issues but generally would reunite into one body. Ultimately, most of the congregations of the two groups in the state came together. There were some churches which did not join the union and became part of the Congregational churches which in 1931 formed the Congregational Christian Church. This body in 1957-1961, merged with the Evangelical and Reformed Churches to form the United Church of Christ.

      Alexander continued to take an active role in the leadership of the movement. During his lifetime, he engaged in numerous debates, both oral and written. He began two educational ventures, Buffaloe Seminary (1818-1822) and Bethany College (1841), which were two pioneer institutions among the Disciples in the nineteenth century.

      He conducted many tours of the country, visiting and encouraging the brethren. He continued to edit and publish the Harbinger until one year before his death, when W. K. Pendleton took over. Campbell's son, William, handled the labor of managing his property while his father was in ill health.

      Alexander's health continued to decline. He died at 11:45 p.m. on March 4, 1866. His biographer, Robert Richardson, conducted the funeral services. Alexander was laid to rest at Bethany in the family cemetery. [8]