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Francis Makemie (1658–1708) was anUlster Scots clergyman, widely regarded as the founder ofPresbyterianism in theUnited States.
Makemie was born inRamelton,County Donegal, Ireland part of the province ofUlster. He attended theUniversity of Glasgow, where he experienced a religious conversion and enrolled as "Franciscus Makemus Scoto-Hyburnus".[1] He was ordained a minister by the Presbytery of Laggan in West Ulster in 1681.[2]
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At the request of Colonel William Stevens, anEpiscopalian fromRehobeth, Maryland, Rev. Makemie was sent as a missionary to America, arriving inMaryland in 1683. He initially preached inSomerset County, Maryland, and established theRehobeth Presbyterian Church the oldest Presbyterian Church in America, near theCoventry Parish Church which Col. Stevens attended. The ruins of Coventry Parish Church still stand nearby.
Makemie also supported himself as a merchant and travelled among other Scots-Irish communities, many of which were isolated and often suspicious of each other.
In eastern Somerset County (which becameWorcester County, Maryland in 1742, whereAll Hallows Episcopal Church would be erected about a decade later ), Makemie founded the first Presbyterian community in theTown of Snow Hill, established in 1686 and named after a London neighborhood. Snow Hill was become the centre of the Presbytery of Snow Hill, which received a charter from Maryland's General Assembly, but was never activated.
Nonetheless, a Presbyterian Church was established early on in Snow Hill.The currentMakemie Memorial Presbyterian Church is the fourth building on the site and the congregation's third location in Snow Hill. The first building was situated near thePocomoke River, the primary means of travel in the 17th and early 18th centuries. Makemie often travelled along the river to visit his congregations at Rehoboth and other distant locations, as well on what later becameU.S. Route 13 down theDelmarva Peninsula. This original log building was eventually replaced by a frame structure, located a big further away from the water but still prone to flooding.
Makemie travelled widely along the American coast between North Carolina and New York, and was involved in the West Indies Trade. In 1692, the same year he was granted land inAccomack County, Virginia, he and seven other Presbyterian ministers gathered inPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania, and either at that time or in 1706, founded thePresbytery of Philadelphia, the first its kind in America, with Makemie serving as its moderator. He also helped establish churches inSalisbury,Princess Anne,Berlin andPocomoke City and two places on theEastern Shore of Virginia, all inAccomack County further down theDelmarva Peninsula.
In 1691, Makemie's 'Catechism' challenged some of the beliefs of theSociety of Friends. Abolitionist QuakerGeorge Keith published a reply, and Makemie responded in the 'Answer', which Congregational Rev.Increase Mather praised as the work of "a reverent and judicious minister".
While living inBarbados, Makemie wrote 'Truths in a True Light, or a Pastoral Letter to the Reformed Protestants in Barbadoes' on 28 December 1696. The work was published in Edinburgh in 1699, the same year Makemie returned to Accomac. He presented a certificate from Barbados and was allowed to preach in his dwelling inPocomoke, Maryland, or at designated locations inAccomac, Virginia. He later travelled to London to resolve questions regarding his handling of episcopal duties in his ministry, and brought back two missionaries.
In 1707, Makemie was arrested byLord Cornbury, thegovernor of New York, for preaching without a Crown-issued license, as required under the Toleration Act. He spent two months in jail before being released on bail. At trial, he produced his preaching license from Barbados, and was acquitted, though he faced heavy legal costs.[3] This case became a landmark victory for religious freedom in America. The controversial Lord Cornbury was recalled to England the following year.
Makemie and his wife Naomi purchased a plantation along Holdens Creek inTemperanceville, Virginia inAccomack County, not far from the county seat. There, he spent his final years and died in 1708. The community he helped establish still today.
Around the 200th anniversary of the Presbyterian Church's founding, outsiders were shocked to find Makemie's gravesite on the former plantation in dilapidated condition. They worked to stabilize it and erected a statue and memorial marker. During this period, the surrounding community was experiencing economic prosperity, leading to the renovation of the church he had founded inAccomac, Virginia (named in his honor). Additionally, they purchased a disused Methodist church inOnancock, Virginia, demolishing it, and built a new structure named after his supportive wife Naomi, in 1903.[4]
Makemie Woods campground, owned and operated by the Presbytery of Eastern Virginia of the Presbyterian Church (USA), is named in honor of Francis Makemie.[5] The camp is located betweenWilliamsburg andRichmond, Virginia.[6]
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