1846

This is a record of activities of First Baptist Church of Washington, Georgia, during the church year shown in the title above and ending September 30 of that year.

The church was without a pastor at the end of the church year, Nathaniel Macon Crawford having resigned the pastorate during the year to become  pastor of First Baptist Church, Charleston, SC.

The Georgia Baptist Association of churches met at Powelton Baptist Church in  Hancock County on October 9, 10, 12 following the end of the church year. This church  elected as messengers to attend that meeting members shown after Labels below..

The church letter reported  members gained by baptism: 1, gained by letter: 1, lost  by dismissal: 10,  lost by exclusion: 3, lost by death: 1, and total remaining: 153 , and of these 21 were white and  132 were black.

1842

This is a record of activities of First Baptist Church of Washington, Georgia, during the church year shown in the title above and ending September 30 of that year.

The church elected Jesse Mercer as pastor on January 20, 1828; he died in Butts County September 6, 1841, and was buried in Penfield. Columbus Franklin Sturgis had been working with Jesse Mercer before his death and may be considered to have succeeded him as pastor.

Columbus Franklin Sturgis, 1809-1877, served for a time as Jesse Mercer's associate and also his successor as pastor of the Washington Baptist church. It may be considered that he became pastor upon Jesse Mercer's death in September 1841 and left the pastorate sometime after October 1842.

The first Bible and hymn book for the pulpit were purchased in 1842 at a cost of $9.75.

The church had as pastor at tbe end of the church year Columbus Franklin Sturgis.

The Georgia Baptist Association of churches met at Long Creek Baptist Church in Warren  County on October 7, 8, 10 following the end of the church year. This church elected as messengers to that meeting the members shown as labels below.

The church letter reported members gained by baptism: 35, gained by letter: 0, lost by dismissal: 5 , lost by exclusion: 3, lost by death: 3, and total remaining: 182.

1841

This is a record of activities of First Baptist Church of Washington, Georgia, during the church year shown in the title above and ending September 30 of that year.

The church elected Jesse Mercer as pastor on January 20, 1828; he died September 6, 1841 in Butts County  and was buried in Penfield.

The Georgia Baptist Association of churches met at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Wilkes  County on October 8, 9, 11 following the end of the church year. This church elected as messengers to that meeting the members shown as labels below.

The church letter reported  members gained by baptism: 53, gained by letter: 11, lost  by dismissal: 2 , lost by exclusion: 6 , lost by death: 2, and total remaining: 147.

1840

This is a record of activities of First Baptist Church of Washington, Georgia, during the church year shown in the title above and ending September 30 of that year.

The church elected Jesse Mercer as pastor on January 20, 1828, and he remained as pastor at the end of the year.

The Georgia Baptist Association of churches met at Bethesda Baptist Church in Greene County on October 16, 17, 19 following the end of the church year. This church elected as messengers to that meeting the members shown as labels below.

The church letter reported  members gained by baptism: 14, gained by letter: 0, lost  by dismissal: 1 , lost by exclusion: 1 , lost by death: 2, and total remaining: 87.

1839

This is a record of activities of First Baptist Church of Washington, Georgia, during the church year shown in the title above and ending September 30 of that year.

The church elected Jesse Mercer as pastor on January 20, 1828, and he remained as pastor at the end of the year.

The Georgia Baptist Association of churches met at Double Branches Baptist Church in Lincoln County on October  11, 12, 14 following the end of the church year. This church elected as messengers to that meeting the members shown as labels below.

The church letter reported  members gained by baptism: 3, gained by letter: 3, lost  by dismissal: 1 , lost by exclusion: 1 , lost by death; 2, and total remaining: 68.

1828

This is a record of activities of First Baptist Church of Washington, Georgia, during the church year shown in the title above and ending September 30 of that year.

The church elected Jesse Mercer as pastor on January 20, 1828, and he remained as pastor at the end of the year.

The church began in 1827 as arm of Phillips Mill Baptist Church.

The Town of Washington, Georgia, in the Ceded Lands of original Wilkes County, was 47 years old before a Baptist church was constituted within its boundaries.

James Armstrong, pastor of the Fishing Creek Baptist Church, could have been the leader in erecting a building in which to organize the Washington church. On March 10, 1826, with four others as trustees- Bolling Anthony, John M. Butler, William G. Gilbert, and Osborne Stone- a lot was purchased. These men are listed as "trustees of the Baptist Church in the town of Washington," with Armstrong as chairman.

On March 10, 1827, Phillips Mill Baptist Church minutes report the establishment of an arm in Washington with "James Armstrong and James Carter of Fishing Creek present." The first record of a building is found when the General Association of the Baptist Denomination in Georgia, held April 27, 1827, "convened in the house of worship just completed in the town for the Baptist Church."

Georgia Baptists: historical and biographical

 By Jesse Harrison Campbell:


6. The sixth session was at Washington, in April, 1827. The Flint River auxiliary was admitted as a constituent: John Reeves and Benjamin Willson, messengers. Fifty dollars were appropriated for theological works for indigent ministers, and J. Toole andThomas Walsh (lately a Methodist) were beneficiaries.

No detailed description can be found of the building which seems to have been last used for the centennial celebration of the Georgia Baptist Association in 1884.

The Phillips Mill minutes report a conference held at Washington on May 26, 1827, when several were received into the fellowship and one was dismissed. On December 8, 1827, the Phillips Mill minutes report that the "branch of the church at Washington petitioned to form a constitution and become a separated church." This was done on December 29, 1827, with James Armstrong as Moderator and Billington Sanders as clerk. The Washington minutes begin on this date and indicate that the newly-formed church held a conference on January 20, 1828, and called Jesse Mercer as pastor. His years as first pastor include a record surpassed by few pastors in Georgia. The church itself remained small. Minutes show 230 additions during his pastorate, with 135 of them black. Ninety-nine of these came by letter, mostly for the rural churches. Eighty-five of the blacks were by "experience."


The Georgia Baptist Association of churches met at Shiloh Baptist Church in Greene County on October  10-13 following the end of the church year. This church elected as messengers to that meeting the members shown as labels below.

The church letter reported  members gained by baptism: 9, gained by letter: 6, lost  by dismissal: 0 , lost by exclusion:  0, lost by death: 1, and total remaining 24.