Thomas Motherwell Preble (1810–1907) was a
Free Will Baptist
Free Will Baptists or Free Baptists are a group originating from General Baptists that emphasizes the teaching of free salvation and free will. The movement can be traced back to the General Baptists in 17th century England.
In 1702, Paul Palm ...
minister in
New Hampshire
New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...
and a
Millerite
Millerite or ''nickel blende'' is a nickel sulfide mineral, Ni S. It is brassy in colour and has an acicular habit, often forming radiating masses and furry aggregates. It can be distinguished from pentlandite by crystal habit, its duller ...
preacher. After accepting the teachings of
William Miller, Preble was
excommunicated
Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to deprive, suspend, or limit membership in a religious community or to restrict certain rights within it, in particular those of being in communion with other members of the con ...
from his church.
Preble appears to have accepted the seventh-day
Sabbath
In Abrahamic religions, the Sabbath () or Shabbat (from Hebrew ) is a day set aside for rest and worship. According to the Book of Exodus, the Sabbath is a day of rest on the seventh day, Ten Commandments, commanded by God to be kept as a Holid ...
in 1844, possibly from Frederick Wheeler or someone associated with the
Washington, New Hampshire, church. Preble was the first Millerite to advocate the Sabbath in print. In the Feb. 28, 1845, issue of the ''Hope of Israel'', an Adventist periodical in
Portland, Maine
Portland is the List of municipalities in Maine, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine and the county seat, seat of Cumberland County, Maine, Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 at the 2020 census. The Portland metropolit ...
, was reprinted in tract form in March, 1845, with the title, ''Tract, Showing That the Seventh Day Should be Observed as the Sabbath.'' This tract led to the conversion of
J. N. Andrews and other Adventist families in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
, Maine, as well as to
Joseph Bates.
Two years later, however, Preble repudiated the Sabbath and later wrote some articles against the Seventh-Day Sabbath in ''
The World's Crisis'' and a book, entitled ''First-Day Sabbath''.
Family History
Preble's great-grandparents were massacred by Natives in 1758 in Woolwich, Maine. Their children, among whom was Preble's grandfather, Ebenezer Preble Jr., were captured and sold to the French in Quebec, Canada, from where they were later found and brought back by their maternal grandfather. Preble's father, Motherwell Preble, was named after Thomas Motherwell, who married Rebecca Preble, the sister of Ebenezer Preble Jr. and who was also captured by the Indians.
[For T.M. Preble's genealogy, se]
Descendants of Robert Preble
in which his murdered great-grandfather is person no. 23, his captured grandfather, Ebenezer Jr., is no. 32, and his father, Motherwell, is no. 42.
See also
*
Millerites
The Millerites were the followers of the teachings of William Miller, who in 1831 first shared publicly his belief that the Second Advent of Jesus Christ would occur in roughly the year 1843–1844. Coming during the Second Great Awakening, ...
* ''The
Seventh-day Adventist Encyclopedia'', 1996 ed., has a helpful biographical entry on T. M. Preble.
*
Ellen G. White Estate's ''Legacy of Light'' CD-ROM.
Notes
External links
''A Tract, Showing that the Seventh Day Should be Observed as the Sabbath, Instead of the First Day; “According to the Commandment.”''by T. M. Preble
''The First-day Sabbath, Clearly Proved by Showing that the Old Covenant, or Ten Commandments, have been Changed, or made Complete, in the Christian Dispensation''by T. M. Preble, Buchanan, Michigan, W. A. C. P. Association, 1867.
''The Last Tragedy of the Indian Wars: The Preble Massacre at the Kennebec''by Rev. Henry O. Thayer
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Preble, Thomas M.
1810 births
1907 deaths
Millerites
People excommunicated by Baptist churches