After some three months had passed away, he received with great joy a letter from his father announcing his safe arrival at Philadelphia, after a prosperous voyage of thirty-five days, which, at that time, was reckoned a speedy trip. It stated that he had been so highly favored as to find the Anti-Burgher Synod of North America then assembled in the city, and had been very kindly received by the members upon presenting his testimonials from the Presbytery of Market Hill and the church at Ahorey. This letter is dated May 27, 1807, and continues as follows:

"What a debtor am I to the grace of God! and what a debtor are you, my dear Jane, and you, my dear little ones, for whom I am ardently praying to that gracious God that hears and helps and saves all that call upon him in truth! for these kindnesses conferred upon me are also for your sakes, that, through his mercy, we may yet praise him together in the congregation of his people. To call this in question would [85] be to belie his goodness. And you, dear Alexander, upon whom the burden lies at present, and must for some little time longer--I hope not longer than we expected at our parting--be sure you make it your chief study to do all to please and nothing to offend that great God who has raised such friends and conferred such friendships upon your father, both at home and abroad, and especially when he became a stranger in a strange land. But what do I say? A minister or a member of Christ's Church is a citizen of the world, as far as the Church extends. *     *     *     *     My dear Jane, let nothing discourage you. Turn to God; make his word and will your constant study, and rely upon it that as 'the days wherein you will have seen and years you grief have had,' so the Lord will make you glad, and satisfy you with his tender mercies. My dear children, let me address you together: if you have any sympathy, any sincere affection for a father who cannot cease to love you and pray for you so long as his heart shall beat or tongue be able to articulate, see that you follow the directions that I gave you at my parting, whether by word or writing. Be a comfort to your mother; love, cherish and pity one another. Love the Lord your God; love his Son Jesus Christ, and pray to the Lord constantly and ardently for me your poor father, who longs after you all, and who cannot rest, if the Lord will, till he has prepared a place of residence for you all, where I trust we shall spend the rest of our days together in his service."

      This letter also, together with others breathing the same affectionate and religious spirit, Alexander reverentially copied upon the pages of his note-book, in which he had already numerous selections from Young, Johnson, Buffon, Beattie, and other esteemed authors: for it was his custom to write down, for his future use, and in order to impress them the more upon his memory, those passages in the books he read that particularly pleased him.

[Memoirs of Alexander Campbell, Vol. I, pp. 85-86.]

      The extract of Thomas Campbell's letter to his family (May 27, 1807) was first published in Robert Richardson's Memoirs of Alexander Campbell, Vol. 1 (Philadelphia, PA: J. B. Lippincott, 1871), pp. 85-86.

      Pagination in the electronic version has been represented by placing the page number in brackets following the last complete word on the printed page. The extract of Thomas Campbell's letter has been set in Century Schoolbook typeface and set off as a block quotation. Robert Richardson's narrative has been included to provide historical context and continuity. I have let stand variations and inconsistencies in the author's use of italics, capitalization, punctuation, and spelling in the letter.

      Addenda and corrigenda are earnestly solicited.

Ernie Stefanik
Derry, PA

Created 9 January 1998.
Updated 8 July 2003.