Henry Pattillo
Henry Pattillo was a Scottish-American minister and author, born in the early 18th century in Dundee, Scotland. He immigrated to Virginia in 1740 with his brother George, where they initially worked in mercantile and educational roles before Pattillo pursued ministerial training. He convalesced for seven years in the home of prominent Presbyterian minister Samuel Davies, who mentored him in theology. Pattillo was licensed as a Presbyterian minister in 1758 after extensive examinations covering various subjects, including religious texts and philosophy.
He later settled in North Carolina, where he played an active role in the religious community and expressed opposition to the violent tactics of the Regulators during the 1768 uprising. As the political climate shifted towards revolution, Pattillo became a notable supporter of American independence. He is also recognized for his written works, including "A Geographical Catechism," aimed at helping individuals engage with news and history, and a collection of sermons that highlighted his contributions to early American religious thought. His legacy includes the Pattillo Papers, housed at the Union Theological Seminary in Richmond, Virginia, which provide insight into his life and work.
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Henry Pattillo
- Born: January 2, 1726
- Birthplace: Balermic, near Dundee, Scotland
- Died: 1801
- Place of death: Dinwiddie, Virginia
Biography
Henry Pattillo was the son of George Pattillo, who was connected to the Argyll family; his mother’s name was Jane. Henry grew up near Dundee, Scotland, along with his two brothers, George and William, and several sisters whose names are not known. In 1740, Henry and his brother George immigrated to the United States and settled in Virginia where they had relatives. After working in a mercantile establishment and teaching school, Henry decided to enter ministerial training. Initially he planned to go to Philadelphia to complete his theological studies, but illness kept him in Virginia. He convalesced in the home of Samuel Davies, a prominent Virginian Presbyterian, who housed and instructed theological students. Pattillo remained in the Davies household for seven years.
In 1755, he married Mary Anderson and they moved into a modest house which they shared with Mary’s sister, six students, a black boy, and later their own son. Henry mentions in his journal that the house was struck by lightning on June 13, 1757, but no one was hurt. On September 29, 1758, the Presbyterian Church court met at Cub Creek in Lunenburg County, Virginia, to license Henry Pattillo as a minister. His extensive examination included a discourse on Acts 10, an exegesis from an appointed question, a discussion of his religious experiences, and inquiry into his knowledge of logic, Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. After further examinations in ontology, pneumatics, ethics, rhetoric, natural philosophy, geography, and astronomy, he delivered a series of sermons before he received his license to preach. He was expected to travel to a number of different churches because there were few licensed Presbyterian ministers in the late 1750’s in North Carolina, where he later settled.
During the uprising of the Regulators against the government in 1768, Henry Pattillo opposed the violence of their tactics and joined with other preachers in a pastoral letter denouncing the Regulators as criminals. Within five years times had changed, and the breach between England and the American colonies had widened. Henry Pattillo changed from a loyal supporter of the British Crown to a prominent American revolutionary.
Among the more interesting of Pattillo’s works is his A Geographical Catechism, a work designed to assist those who had neither maps nor gazetteers to read newspapers and history as well as an almanac for farmers. The work was presented as a series of questions and answers, beginning with fairly simple questions and progressively becoming more complex. Pattillo also published his Sermons, which he proudly described as an American production. The collection is noteworthy because it included a letter dedicating one of his sermons to Francis Asbury, a rival Methodist. Pattillo left fragments of a journal, notebooks, and unpublished sermons collected as the Pattillo Papers in the Union Theological Seminary, Richmond, Virginia. This collection also contains his will, two letters to his wife, and several other manuscripts