Botsford, Rev. Edmund, came to Charleston, S. C., in 1766. November 1

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Daily Baptist Encyclopedia Post by Jim Curran

Botsford, Rev. Edmund, came to Charleston, S. C., in 1766. November 1 of the same year he was converted under the ministry of Oliver Hart, “a day,” says Mr. Botsford, “ of light, a day of joy and peace.’’ Having expressed a wish to enter the ministry, he was placed under the instruction of Mr. Williams, a learned and pious member of the church. Mr. Hart directed his theological studies. He was licensed in February,.1771, and ordained March, 1772. The fathers of those days regarded, more than we do, the injunction, “ Lay hands sud- denly on no man.’ Dr. Manly, Sr., says, ‘‘’The young men were not ordained until they had vis- ited some of the churches and preached before the Association and obtained their approbation.” He labored with great acceptance in Charleston for a time, and then traveled and preached exten- sively and with eminent success in several States. He finally settled in Georgetown, 8. C., where he was the beloved and honored pastor for twenty-three years. There he rested on the 25th of December, 1819, in the seventy-fifth year of his age. Mr. Botsford had a strong faith in the Saviour’s abiding presence, and he enjoyed much of the Spirit’s power in his heart. His labors in Geor- gia were eminently blessed, and he is revered as one of the illustrious and heaven-honored founders of the Baptist denomination in that State, and he has the same distinguished position in the Baptist history of South Carolina. From the Baptist Encyclopedia by William Cathcart photos from Findagrave