In 1852 (published in 1857), A.C. Dayton, former Presbyterian-turned-Baptist, wrote Theodosia Ernest, or, A Heroine of the Faith, which argues for credo-baptism by immersion.

In 1859, Robert L. Dabney wrote A Review of Theodore Ernest (also available at the EPP, originally titled, Fiction, No Defence of Truth: Or, A Review of Theodosia Earnest), of which T.C. Johnson said that Dabney "demolished the arguments for immersion."

In 1871, the Presbyterian Board of Publication published Theodore: A Story About Baptism by Annie Ketchum Dunning.

In 1876, the Presbyterian Board of Publication published a sequel to Thedore by Annie Ketchum Dunning called Grace Westervelt: Or, The Children of the Covenant. The PBP said of this:

I have perused the first two, and saw a copy of Theodore today. All together, it is a fascinating set of literature on the baptism question. Thoughts from anyone else?

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Andrew Myers
Husband of Jessica, Father of Jackson, Katie and Samuel
Member, Presbyterian Reformed Church of Northern Virginia
Warrenton, VA USA
Editor, The Matthew Poole Project

"Let your Morning Thoughts, and your last Evening Thoughts, be what shall become of you to all Eternity." -- Matthew Poole

I think William the Baptist may also have been a response to Theodosia Ernest.

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Chris Poe
Mandeville, LA

"There are the foolish fanatics always to be found in such a movement and always discrediting it--the lunatic fringe in all reform movements." Theodore Roosevelt

Chris -- Thanks for that. I was thinking of William the Baptist while studying these other works because of the timeframe (1877) and similar theme and style. But I hadn't run across anything specifically that links William the Baptist to the others, except that it too was published by the Presbyterian Committee of Publication. I know that James M. Chaney also wrote a sequel, Agnes, Daughter of William the Baptist (1894). Do you know of any other direct connections?

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Andrew Myers
Husband of Jessica, Father of Jackson, Katie and Samuel
Member, Presbyterian Reformed Church of Northern Virginia
Warrenton, VA USA
Editor, The Matthew Poole Project

"Let your Morning Thoughts, and your last Evening Thoughts, be what shall become of you to all Eternity." -- Matthew Poole

I wasn't aware of the sequel. Is it available online?

I think Dr. Rowland Ward may link the two works in his bibliographic essay in his Baptism in Scripture and History but I don't have it here with me to verify it right now. I know that he mentions Theodosia but I can't remember whether he mentions William or not. Chaney himself does not mention Theodosia Ernest in his introduction.

What I was thinking of in particular was that I recall Steve Owen once saying that William was a response to Theodosia.

I also noticed today that the mbrem.com aka "Sola Scriptura" website is no longer up. He used to have a very user friendly version of William posted along with a lot of other material. Maybe it just expired and will be back soon.

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Chris Poe
Mandeville, LA

"There are the foolish fanatics always to be found in such a movement and always discrediting it--the lunatic fringe in all reform movements." Theodore Roosevelt

Dayton, along with J.R. Graves and J.M. Pendleton was 1/3 of the "Triumvirate" of the Landmark movement among Southern Baptists in the 19th Century.

It's worth noting that the idea of "alien immersion" that Dayton attacks in his book is foreign to most Southern Baptists today (as is closed communion), although pockets of Landmarkism still exist within the SBC, as witnessed by the recent failure to remove Landmark language from the Arkansas Baptist Convention's constitution. The vote fell just short of the 2/3 needed.

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Chris Poe
Mandeville, LA

"There are the foolish fanatics always to be found in such a movement and always discrediting it--the lunatic fringe in all reform movements." Theodore Roosevelt

That's interesting -- thanks, Chris! No, I don't think Agnes is viewable online, but you can see the reference here as well as a brief bio on Chaney here.

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Andrew Myers
Husband of Jessica, Father of Jackson, Katie and Samuel
Member, Presbyterian Reformed Church of Northern Virginia
Warrenton, VA USA
Editor, The Matthew Poole Project

"Let your Morning Thoughts, and your last Evening Thoughts, be what shall become of you to all Eternity." -- Matthew Poole

Dr. Ward mentions both works in his book but does not say that William the Baptist was specifically a response to Theodosia Ernest, and neither does Chaney in the intro to William. They do date from generally the same period and both consist of imaginary conversations.

I found it interesting that Dr. Ward wrote in his brief survey of literature on the baptism controversy that Theodosia Ernest was issued anonymously despite the fact that it is probably what A.C. Dayton is best known for today. From what little I have read on this over the past few days I get the idea that Dayton was quite well known for it at the time as well. Perhaps it was initially published anonymously? It was originally published in a series in the Tennessee Baptist.

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Chris Poe
Mandeville, LA

"There are the foolish fanatics always to be found in such a movement and always discrediting it--the lunatic fringe in all reform movements." Theodore Roosevelt

I bought a few months ago a very good 2 volume copy from Theodosia Ernest, or, A Heroine of the Faith.
You can check this also out:
Theodosia Ernest by A. C. Dayton

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* Ralph Wilms (7-10-1974)
* Church : Christengemeente Roermond (The Netherlands)
* Credobaptist who hold towards Covenant Theology
* Husband of Reena & father of Naomie and Gideon
* 1729 Goat Yard Declaration of Faith
* 1646 & 1689 Baptist Confession of faith
* 1595 The Lambeth Articles
* 1618-1619 The Canons of Dordt