Basil Manly Jr. (December 19, 1825 – January 31, 1892) was an American
Baptist
Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...
minister and educator. He was one of a group of theologians instrumental in the formation of the
Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBTS) is a Baptist theological institute in Louisville, Kentucky. The seminary was founded in 1859 in Greenville, South Carolina, where it was at first housed on the campus of Furman University. The s ...
in South Carolina.
Early life and education
Basil Manly Jr. was born December 19, 1825, in
Edgefield District, South Carolina to
Basil Manly Sr. (1798–1868), a prominent Baptist preacher and educator.
He and his family moved to
Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Tuscaloosa ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Tuscaloosa County, Alabama, Tuscaloosa County in west-central Alabama, United States, on the Black Warrior River where the Gulf Coastal Plain, Gulf Coastal and Piedmont (United States), Piedm ...
, when Manly Jr. was 12 years old, as his father was president of the
University of Alabama
The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, the Capstone, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of ...
(1837–1855) for nearly 20 years. He grew up in a
planter's family; his father enslaved 40 people. In Tuscaloosa, Manly Jr. was baptized at age 14 after reading a biography of
Jonathan Edwards Jonathan Edwards may refer to:
Musicians
*Jonathan and Darlene Edwards, pseudonym of bandleader Paul Weston and his wife, singer Jo Stafford
*Jonathan Edwards (musician) (born 1946), American musician
**Jonathan Edwards (album), ''Jonathan Edward ...
. He graduated from the University of Alabama in 1843.
[
He was licensed by the Baptist church to preach the ]gospel
Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...
at age nineteen. He enrolled at Newton Theological Institution in Massachusetts. In 1845 after the Southern Baptist Convention
The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), alternatively the Great Commission Baptists (GCB), is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist organization, the largest Protestant, and the second-largest Chr ...
was formed, Manly Jr. transferred to Princeton Theological Seminary
Princeton Theological Seminary (PTSem), officially The Theological Seminary of the Presbyterian Church, is a Private university, private seminary, school of theology in Princeton, New Jersey, Princeton, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Establish ...
.[
His father had drafted the "Alabama Resolutions", which formed part of the case for separation of the convention from northern churches. The Newton seminary was affiliated with the rival ]Northern Baptist Convention
The American Baptist Churches USA (ABCUSA) is a mainline Protestant and Baptist Christian denomination. It is a reorganization from 1907 of the Triennial Convention. The Triennial Convention was renamed as the Northern Baptist Convention in ...
at a time of deepening sectional strife prior to the American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
.
Manly graduated from Princeton in 1847. He married Charlotte Whitfield Smith in 1852 and they had two sons and a daughter. He remarried in 1869 to Harriet Summers Hair, and they had one son.[
]
Career
Manly was the pastor of First Baptist Church (Richmond, Virginia) from 1850 to 1854.
With John Albert Broadus
John Albert Broadus (January 24, 1827 – March 16, 1895) was an American Baptist pastor and President of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
Early life
Born in 1827 in Culpeper County, Virginia, Broadus was educated at home and at a priva ...
, William Williams, and James Petigru Boyce
James Petigru Boyce (January 11, 1827 – December 28, 1888) was an American pastor, theologian, professor, chaplain, and a principle founder of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
Biography
Early life
James Petigru Boyce was born in ...
, he was instrumental in the formation of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Greenville, South Carolina
Greenville ( ; ) is a city in Greenville County, South Carolina, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 70,720 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, sixth-most pop ...
. The seminary was central to the formation of the Southern Baptist Convention and its ministers. In 1877 the seminary moved to Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...
. With Broadus, Manley was also one of the first leaders of the Sunday School Board publishing operations.
Manly was president of Georgetown College
Georgetown College is a private Christian liberal arts college in Georgetown, Kentucky. Chartered in 1829, Georgetown was the first Baptist college west of the Appalachian Mountains.
The college offers over 40 undergraduate degrees and a Mas ...
from 1871 to 1879.
Basil Manly Jr. died at his home in Louisville on January 31, 1892. He was buried at Cave Hill Cemetery.
Works
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References
Further reading
Guide to the Manly Family papers, W. S. Hoole Special Collections Library, The University of Alabama
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Manly, Basil Jr.
1825 births
1892 deaths
American Baptist theologians
Princeton Theological Seminary alumni
Southern Baptist ministers
Baptist ministers from the United States
Burials at Cave Hill Cemetery
Southern Baptist Theological Seminary people
19th-century American clergy