Volume IX of the Baptists in Early North America Series provides a unique window into the inner life of the Sandy Creek Baptist Tradition. The records of Sandy Creek Baptist Church in North Carolina were destroyed by a fire, leaving a gap in the historical record. Baptists in Early North America--Abbott's Creek, North Carolina, Baptist Church, Volume IX, containing the records of the first church founded by Shubal Stearns and Daniel Marshall after their Separate Baptist movement took off at Sandy Creek, helps to fill this gap. Abbott's Creek, like many churches in the Sandy Creek tradition, experienced significant growth during the Second Great Awakening. This growth was followed by an increase in church discipline, then controversy, and eventually schism over the newly formed convention system among North Carolina Baptists. The church split in 1832 with Abbott's Creek Primitive Baptist Church continuing with the majority of members and Abbott's Creek Missionary Baptist Church forming a new congregation a few hundred yards away. The records contained in this volume begin in 1783 when the church was reconstituted following the Revolutionary War and continue through 1836. The records cover the ministries of George Pope and Ashley Swaim and the church's controversy over mission methods focusing on the work of Samuel Wait. The annotations included along with the transcribed minutes include information about the work of the Sandy Creek Baptist Association, of which Abbott's Creek was a founding member. An extensive bibliography and indexes are included.
