This document summarizes sources for researching Primitive Baptists and provides guidance on finding relevant materials. It notes that church and association records, periodicals, and writings by and about Primitive Baptists can provide information but are difficult to locate as they are scattered across small repositories without centralized control. The document recommends searching WorldCat and the Internet Archive as starting points and provides a list of selected archives in various states that may hold relevant source materials.

1. Documenting
Primitive Baptists:
Finding Your Way to and
through the Sources
Laura M. Botts, Mercer University
ALABI/BHHS
Sioux Falls, SD, June 5, 2014

2. What’s in a name?

3. What’s in a name?

4. What’s out there?

5. What’s out there?
• Church and association records
• Periodicals
• Writings by and about Primitive Baptists
• Originals, microfilm, digital items

6. Why are these sources
hard to find?

7. Why are these sources
hard to find?
• There are no Primitive Baptist seminaries to
hold the records.
• Churches and associations maintain their
own records. Associations often do not have
official headquarters.

8. As time goes by, materials
are lost.

9. There are other challenges.
• Small repositories that do acquire Primitive
Baptist materials may not have everything
cataloged in-house, much less have it online.

10. • Even larger libraries and archives may not
know what all they hold.
• Mercer University has 22 records for
Primitive Baptist periodicals in the library
catalog but about 81 titles on our shelves.
• What happened?

11. Titles change. A lot.

13. Subject headings may
be incomplete.

16. Split happens.
• “In the twentieth century, schism occurred
within the Primitive Baptist movement, and
four subgroups emerged:
• Single-Predestinarians
• Double-Predestinarians
• Modified Primitive Baptists
• Primitive Baptist Universalists”
The Story of Baptists in the United States,
Pamela R. Durso and Keith E. Durso

17. Wait, what?

18. One example…
• The Primitive Baptist Pulaski Association (I)
was constituted in 1839.

19. One example…
• The Primitive Baptist Pulaski Association (I)
was constituted in 1839.
• A division in 1892 led to the creation of
another group (II) that also kept the original
name AND claimed an 1839 origin.

20. One example…
• The Primitive Baptist Pulaski Association (I)
was constituted in 1839.
• A division in 1892 led to the creation of
another group (II) that also kept the original
name AND claimed an 1839 origin.
• Yet another split in 1927 led to a third group
(III) that kept the name and date as well!

21. One example, cont.
• The second group (II) was also called the
Pulaski No. 2 Primitive Baptist Association.
This group disbanded sometime after 1908.

22. One example, cont.
• The second group (II) was also called the
Pulaski No. 2 Primitive Baptist Association.
This group disbanded sometime after 1908.
• In 1937 the original group (I) changed its
name to the Pulaski Association of Primitive
Baptists.

23. One example, cont.
• The second group (II) was also called the
Pulaski No. 2 Primitive Baptist Association.
This group disbanded sometime after 1908.
• In 1937 the original group (I) changed its
name to the Pulaski Association of Primitive
Baptists.
• The third group (III) disbanded between 1954
and 1987.

24. Where should I look?

25. Where should I look?
• WorldCat (www.worldcat.org): keyword
search for “Primitive Baptist” yields 2585
results with the ability to select books,
serials, archival material (212), etc. “Primitive
Baptists” has 2994 results, 156 of which are
archival.

26. Where should I look?
• Internet Archive (archive.org): hundreds of
digitized minutes, periodicals, pamphlets,
etc.

27. Digitized hymnal from
Internet Archive.

28. Where should I look?
• Mount Zion Primitive Baptist Church
(http://www.mountzionpbc.org/): digitized
and retyped sermons, books, articles, and
more.

29. Where should I look?
• Individual libraries and archives have
holdings that may not be listed elsewhere.
• Contact them directly for assistance.
• Don’t forget state archives and local history
collections at public libraries or historical
societies.

30. Selected Archives by State

31. Selected Archives by State
• Samford University Library, Birmingham, AL:
http://library.samford.edu/about/sc/aboutsc
.html
• Florida Baptist Historical Society, Graceville,
FL: http://floridabaptisthistory.org/

32. • American Baptist Historical Society, Atlanta,
GA: http://abhsarchives.org/
• Mercer University Jack Tarver Library, Macon,
GA:
http://libraries.mercer.edu/tarver/archives
• Progressive Primitive Baptist Library &
Archives: 8 S. Zetterower Ave., Statesboro,
GA; 912-489-5762

33. • Primitive Baptist Library, Carthage, IL:
http://www.carthage.lib.il.us/community/ch
urches/primbap/pbl.html
• Southern Baptist Theological Seminary James
P. Boyce Centennial Library, Louisville, KY:
http://library.sbts.edu/

34. • Duke University David M. Rubenstein Rare Book &
Manuscript Library, Durham, NC:
http://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/
• Primitive Baptist Library: 4023 Highway 87 North,
Elon, NC 27244; (336) 584-8390
• Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary Library,
Wake Forest, NC:
http://www.sebts.edu/Library/default.aspx
• Wake Forest University Z. Smith Reynolds Library,
Winston-Salem, NC: https://zsr.wfu.edu/special/

35. • James B. Duke Library, Furman University, Greenville, SC:
http://library.furman.edu/specialcollections/
• Special Collections, Carson-Newman University, Jefferson
City, TN:
http://www.cn.edu/undergraduate/resources/library/librar
y-resources/special-collections/baptist-archives
• Southern Baptist Historical Library and Archives, Nashville,
TN: http://www.sbhla.org/coll.htm
• Tennessee State Library and Archives, Nashville, TN:
http://www.tn.gov/tsla/Collections.htm

36. • Texas Baptist Historical Collection, Dallas, TX:
http://texasbaptists.org/partners/texas-baptist-historical-
collection/
• Special Collections, Carson-Newman University, Jefferson
City, TN:
http://www.cn.edu/undergraduate/resources/library/librar
y-resources/special-collections/baptist-archives
• Virginia Baptist Historical Society, Richmond, VA:
http://www.baptistheritage.org/

37. Any questions?
Laura M. Botts, Mercer University
laura.botts@gmail.com
Images: Sir John Tenniel, 1820-1914