The Period 1834 to 1836 when Dr. Thomas was in Richmond occupies 80+ pages in Robert Roberts’ Biography of Dr. Thomas, all but one page deals with his activities as the editor of the “Apostolic Advocate.” This in turn is mostly devoted to the beginning of his disputes with Alexander Campbell, as echoed in their respective journals. The disagreement started with re-baptism and was inflamed by Dr. Thomas’ “Information wanted” which, among other items, disputed the conventional belief in the immortal soul. The details of the disputes will not be described in this series, but their impact on Dr. Thomas’
other activities will be considered. The implication in the biography is that Dr. Thomas was a lone voice in the wilderness, with few friends and little influence. The contemporary records do not give quite this picture -as we will describe in a later article.
It is clear the bulk of Dr. Thomas’ time in Richmond was occupied in three other areas: his work at the Sycamore Church, his preaching journeys, and his medical practice. Of the last we can say little other than that it declined considerably after his first year in Richmond, because of his frequent absences. The other two areas are the subject of this particular article.
Evangelist at the Sycamore Church, Richmond
According to the minutes of the Sycamore Church, Dr. Thomas was appointed evangelist in 1834; he confirmed this in his long series on the “Reformation in Richmond,” published in the Apostolic Advocate in 1838. This church was formed in April, 1832 by the defection of 69 white members of the First Baptist Church in Richmond, which at the time had 300 white members and over 1000 colored. The list of dissenters was presented by William Bootright, who became the local agent for Alexander Campbell’s Millennial Harbinger. Bootright, the first agent for the Apostolic Advocate, was the person to whom Dr. Thomas’ letter of introduction was made out, and he became Dr. Thomas’ chief ally in Richmond. By March, 1833, they were meeting in a brick building supposedly called “Sycamore Church, from the sycamore tree which throws its refreshing shade over the entrance to its doors.” Dr. Thomas, with his knowledge of the participants, states that the major cause of the division was not over beliefs but over the allegation of drunkenness made against one of the group: only 3 or 4 Campbellites were among the 69. Three other names of interest appear before Dr. Thomas arrives:
- James Malone, a deacon probably at whose son’s house Dr. Thomas later lodged for eight years.
- David Burnett, a prominent Campbellite preacher who baptized Ellen Thomas, and who was invited to become minister after spending some time in Richmond but declined.
- Joseph Woodson, who re-baptized Ellen Thomas, and was one of the signatories present on the original covenant.
Notes from the church history
The published history of the church states “The first regular pastorate was filled by John Thomas, recently of Philadelphia, and not long from England, who preached his first sermon in Sycamore on May 15, 1834. He was a man of intellect and culture…His ministry closed in 1836.” The contrast between the London accent of Dr. Thomas and the Irish Brogue of Alexander Campbell must have been striking. (Incidentally, there is a somewhat unflattering picture of Dr. Thomas in this history that looks as if it were taken much later in Dr. Thomas’ life -but differs from all the pictures in our literature I have seen.)
There are other names given in the records of the church that recur in the emergence of our denomination. Allen Magruder, one of Dr. Thomas’ most prominent supporters, was an elder in 1839, as was Reuben Coleman. Coleman was the most implacable adversary of Dr. Thomas, and I am sure the fact he was minister of the church from 1849 to 1853, at a salary of $1,000 per year, had much to do with Dr. Thomas’ removal to New York — but that is part of another episode. Dr. Thomas was later particularly bitter toward Coleman, calling him “Elymas” (Acts 13:8).
Little financial gain to Bro. Thomas
It must be stressed that Dr. Thomas took little benefit financially from his pastorate. According to the record in the Apostolic Advocate of 1838, he was given only $100 in a little over two years, and that by private donation. He supported himself by “the practice of medicine, the Advocate, and some funds from the sale of real estate of a relative.” He was also, it is clear, supported on his travels by those to whom he went to speak.
Striving for a high standard
From the history of the Sycamore Church, and from Dr. Thomas’ comments, it is clear that he did not have an easy time as the pastor. He “aimed at nothing short of an entire and uncompromising restoration of the Christian religion in theory and practice, in heart and life, in public and private, to a rivalry with the Apostolic Age, spiritual gifts and miracles only excepted.”
There was much skepticism that he would succeed, even from his chief supporter, William Bootright. The fact that the members did not meet when Dr. Thomas was absent, and the unflattering remarks Dr. Thomas made about the character of many of the members, makes it not surprising that Dr. Thomas became discouraged. He was also accused, apparently quite unfairly, of overcharging some of his medical patients.
Suspicions of paid clergy
It is typical that early during his stay in Richmond, according to a long letter to the Millennial Harbinger written November 17, 1834, he was invited to participate in a quasi-religious procession. “I was invited as one of the Campbellite clergymen, as they are termed, to walk in this mock procession…In a letter to the Committee of the Marshaling of the Obsequies of La Fayette [Dr. Thomas wrote] ‘That though a preacher of the ancient gospel, neither I nor any of my fellow laborers have any pretensions to, nor do we wish to be esteemed as clergymen.” Dr. Thomas was then, and always was, deeply suspicious of any who were employed as clergy. One of the descriptions he used was “goat milkers” from “Milkers of the goats, and fleecers of the sheep” — men who robbed their congregations while feeding them husks.
It is therefore not surprising that Dr. Thomas left Richmond for an area where he was apparently more welcome. He took up residence on a tobacco farm in Amelia County, about 40 miles west of Richmond. He had bought this Liberty Plantation, as he says in the Advocate, about a year earlier, mainly for investment purposes, and had it farmed by slaves rented from a local landowner. According to the land records of the state, he bought the over 200-acre plantation from Paschal Townes and his wife Lucy on September 10, 1835 for $1700. Townes was leader of the Campbellite Church in Amelia, and Dr. Thomas was well thought of in the area.
Dr. Thomas spreads the Word
In the summer of 1834, Dr. Thomas started on the first of his summer preaching tours. These were to be a feature of the rest of his life, taking him further and further afield. From Nova Scotia to Iowa, he traversed most of the Eastern United States, often in most uncomfortable circumstances.
His first journey, as far as we can tell from his account in the Millennial Harbinger, was about 550 miles, all probably on horseback at about 50 miles per day. It included a visit to Fredericksburg, about 130 miles from Richmond close to the West Virginia border, where he met Albert Anderson. This was the man whose rebaptism the next year, at his request, started the dispute with Alexander Campbell -and Anderson supported Dr. Thomas for at least 30 years. He became a full-time worker for the Campbellites soon after this, and was prominent among that movement until forced out because of his support of Dr. Thomas in the late 1840’s. I believe some of his descendants are still to be found among Christadelphians in the USA.
Bro. Thomas’ independence of normal custom
In 1835, two incidents of particular note occurred. In Lunenburg County, after a two-day ride from Richmond, Dr. Thomas was lodged by the kindness of a doctor. His host became aware of the purpose of his visit, and having some Methodists in his household, Dr. Thomas was asked to pray. (By whom, the accounts differ.) Instead, Dr. Thomas “opened the scriptures concerning the way of salvation.” However correct Dr. Thomas was, this incident made him notorious and was still spoken of almost 50 years later by a resentful Campbellite, Dr. Chester Bullard. It exemplifies Dr. Thomas’ independence of “normal customs.” As he says, “But the condemnation of such affects me no more than the listless breeze. I seek not theirs nor their applause.” (We will discuss how the ecclesia at Good Hope in Lunenburg still meets in the same Church Dr. Thomas visited 160 years ago in our next article, God willing).
Meeting with the Dunkards
Another episode was a visit to the Dunkard settlement at a place called Maggerty, presumably very close to Fredericksburg, although the place is not now to be found on a large scale map of Virginia. Dr. Thomas had a long talk with Bro. John Bowman, and heard of their beliefs. “Triune immersion, washing of feet, bearing of arms, and wearing the beard were all mentioned.” Dr. Thomas was very interested in the reasons for their refusal to bear arms — and fully sympathized with the requirement for beards on their male members.
The point of interest to me is that the Dunkards were originally a German group, coming out of the same background as the current-day Amish and Mennonites — all sharing many of the same basic beliefs as the Anabaptist and other groups described in “the Protesters” by Alan Eyre. In addition, the Dunkards were influential in the group that was then called the “River Brethren” and became known as the “Brethren in Christ” in 1863. In modern times, Dwight Eisenhower’s parents were originally of this group, migrating from Pennsylvania to Kansas in the 1870’s. (It is interesting that his mother, Ida, was a pacifist all her life!)
Whether this was the only point of contact between Dr. Thomas and the most well known of the other American “Brethren in Christ” I do not know. Dr. Thomas comments, “Never did we leave any place with so much satisfaction at our visit as the Dunkard settlement, in the peaceful vale of Maggerty.”
The results of his travels in those summers of long ago were reflected in many supporters in the country areas of Virginia.
Note on Sources. The Apostolic Advocate, particularly of 1838, and the Millennial Harbinger give much information for this period.
I am indebted to Sis. Jean Wilson for sharing with me the result of her research, and particularly “A Century with Christ,” a history of the Sycamore Church. The account of the incident at Lunenburg is found in many places, including The Disciples in Virginia by Tyler, published in 1879.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One