Amos Cooper Dayton (April 1, 1811 – June 11, 1865)James E. Tull and Morris Ashcraft, ''High-church Baptists in the South: The Origin, Nature, and Influence of Landmarkism''
Macon, GA: Mercer University Press, 2000, accessed 26 Aug 2010 was an American physician,

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

minister, author, editor and educator, perhaps best remembered for his religious novels of the late 1850s and his role in the

Landmarkism Landmarkism is a type of Baptist ecclesiology developed in the American South in the mid-19th century. It is committed to a strong version of the perpetuity theory of Baptist origins, attributing an unbroken continuity and unique legitimacy to ...

movement.

Early life and education

Dayton was born at

Plainfield, New Jersey Plainfield is a city in Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, known by its nickname as "The Queen City."

, April 1, 1811,In Tull's history, the birth year is given as 1811. the son of Robert Dayton and his wife. He attended local common schools, then went to college. Dayton graduated from medical college in 1834.

Marriage and family

Dayton married Lucinda H. Harrison and they had children together.

Career

By 1839 Dayton and his wife had moved to Mississippi, where they lived in Columbus and Vicksburg, while he had a practiced as a dentist. He stayed there until 1852. Dayton was reared

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

, but was influenced by meeting J.R. Graves. He united with the Baptists in 1852.

James Robinson Graves James Robinson Graves (April 10, 1820 – June 26, 1893) was an American Baptist preacher, publisher, evangelist, debater, author, and editor. He is most noted as the original founder of what is now the Southwestern family of companies. Graves was ...

, Dayton, and

James Madison Pendleton James Madison Pendleton (1811–1891) was a leading 19th-century American Baptist preacher, educator and theologian. Early life James Madison Pendleton was born November 20, 1811, in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, the son of John Pendleton and Fra ...

were known as "The Great Triumvirate" of the Landmark movement. From 1854 through 1858, Dayton was the corresponding secretary of the

Southern Baptist Convention The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist denomination, and the largest Protestant and second-largest Christian denomination in the United States. The wor ...

Bible Board. He moved with his family to

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

to take the position. Both Graves and Dayton were members of the First Baptist Church of Nashville. Dayton made significant contributions to the Landmark movement of the mid-nineteenth century in the area of religious fiction, which "popularized Landmark tenets." His most serious novel, '' Theodosia Ernest, or, The Heroine of Faith'', was published in 1856-1857 in two volumes. The first volume presented issues related to

baptism Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost inv ...

, and the second discussed

church polity Ecclesiastical polity is the operational and governance structure of a church or of a Christian denomination. It also denotes the ministerial structure of a church and the authority relationships between churches. Polity relates closely to e ...

. ''Theodosia Ernest'' originally appeared as a series in ''The Tennessee Baptist'' in 1855. In 1857, R. B. C. Howell, a critic of Landmarkism, became pastor for a second tenure at First Baptist of Nashville, where he served until 1868. Howell had a struggle for control with Graves, described as the greatest controversy for the Southern Baptists until the "fundamentalist-moderate" controversy of the last decades of the twentieth century. It resulted in arguments over church discipline, and Graves' being excluded from the church and Dayton's being forced to resign from the Bible Board. In 1858, Dayton published ''Pedobaptist and Campbellite Immersions'', a review of numerous Baptist writers on issues related to baptism. It is considered the classic Landmark statement on this topic. He also served as associate editor of '' The Tennessee Baptist'' for about 18 months in 1858-1859. J. R. Graves was the most prolific writer and outstanding leader of the Landmark movement. But, the 20th-century theologian J. E. Tull concluded that Dayton's 1858 book was "the most cogent attack upon 'alien immersions' which the Landmark movement produced."J.E. Tull, ''A Study of Southern Baptist Landmarkism in the Light of Historical Baptist Ecclesiology''
New York: Columbia University, 1960, p. 135 He published the ''Baptist Banner'' in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

(1863–1864). At the time, he was pastor of Houston Lake Baptist Church and First Baptist Church, and the president of Houston Female Institute, all in

Perry, Georgia Perry is a city in Houston and Peach counties in the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the county seat of Houston County. The population was 13,839 at the 2010 census, up from 9,602 at the 2000 census. As of 2019 the estimated population was 17,894. I ...

Death

Dayton died of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

at Perry, Georgia on June 11, 1865. He was buried in the Evergreen Cemetery.

Works

" Essay On The Teeth ". Circa 1850. Source unknown.
''Theodosia Ernest, or, The Heroine of Faith''
1857, text online, Providence Baptist Ministries
''Pedobaptist and Campbellite Immersions: Being a Review of the Arguments of Doctors Waller, Fuller, Johnson, Wayland, Broadus, and Others"
Nashville, TN: South-Western Publishing House, Graves, Marks & Co., 1858

Notes

References

External links

''Tennessee Baptists'', Knox County, TN Website {{DEFAULTSORT:Dayton, Amos Cooper 1813 births 1865 deaths People from Plainfield, New Jersey Southern Baptist ministers Landmarkism 19th-century deaths from tuberculosis Tuberculosis deaths in Georgia (U.S. state) 19th-century American clergy