Ashland Memories: Rev. George Gordon and the Free Presbyterian Church
The “vexed question” of slavery agitated the Presbyterian churches of Savannah during the 1840s and 1850s.
Rev. Alexander Scott, who served Savannah’s Presbyterian Church from 1856 to 1870, composed a short history of that church at the time of his departure.
In the spring of 1842, at Rev. Shearer’s invitation, a debate was held in the church between two scholars on the merits of the Anti-Slavery Society. The debate lasted three days and kindled a good deal of animosity. Shearer was blamed by many, and as his position became “unpleasant,” he ended up resigning.
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After Shearer’s departure, the congregation composed a resolution, which read as follows: “Resolved. That we the church of Clear Creek do feel it the duty of our minister to preach against slavery, as a sin, on all suitable and proper occasions, and that he will treat it in common with other sins, just as the Bible treats it.” This resolution was adopted on November 1, 1842, by a vote of 16 to 3.
Scott concluded that “while the whole congregation was anti-slavery, yet the majority never became radical.” However, he attributed this to the fact that the most radical individuals split from that church to form the Free Presbyterian Church on February 24, 1851.
Rev. Thomas M. Finney was their first minister, and he was succeeded by his brother-in-law, Rev. George Gordon. When the Free Presbyterian denomination established Iberia college in Morrow County in 1854, Gordon became its president. He frequently visited Savannah, preaching and staying with local families.
The Free Presbyterian Church of Savannah remained a small congregation. In 1854, about 25 people split from the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, and a “large number” of these joined the Free Presbyterian Church. They acquired the old Associate Reformed Church building in 1855.
Gordon was popular among those who shared his views. A 1906 history of the United Presbyterian Church characterized Gordon as “a very radical and fearless advocate of the anti-slavery principles.”
An incident in September 1860 led to Gordon being considered by some as a martyr to the anti-slavery movement. Slave hunters and U.S. marshals pursued some fugitive slaves to Iberia in Morrow County where they were sheltered by locals. A violent confrontation ensued, and as a leading citizen, Gordon was charged with violating the Fugitive Slave law.
Gordon was found guilty at his trial in December 1861. He addressed the court, saying that “his conduct was guided by the express will of God as recorded in the Scriptures, a standard clearly opposed to the fugitive slave enactments, and not recognized by the U.S. Court.”
Gordon was sentenced to six months in prison and fined $500. During that time, Jane Lawson of Savannah went to the jail so that Gordon could officiate at her wedding on Christmas Day 1861.
Local church leaders met at the Baptist Church of Savannah on December 16, 1861. Rev. Carman of the Baptist Church, Rev. McCutcheon of the Ruggles Congregational church, Rev. Scott of the Presbyterian church, and Rev. Bruce of the United Presbyterian Church all spoke in support of Gordon. They passed resolutions which were then published in the newspaper.
Gordon had served half of his sentence when he was pardoned by President Abraham Lincoln, but his health was ruined. He died in December 1867, having lived to see the successful conclusion of the Civil War. His modest grave marker in Iberia reads “Here lies the remains of one who, in life, was faithful to God’s poor.”
This article originally appeared on Ashland Times Gazette: Ashland Memories: Rev. George Gordon and Fugitive Slave law
