FROM THE PRISONS OF VIRGINIA

TO THE FRONTIER OF PENNSYLVANIA

Ezekiel 2:1-10, “And he said unto me, Son of man, stand upon thy feet, and I will speak unto thee. [2] And the spirit entered into me when he spake unto me, and set me upon my feet, that I heard him that spake unto me. [3] And he said unto me, Son of man, I send thee to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that hath rebelled against me: they and their fathers have transgressed against me, even unto this very day. [4] For they are impudent children and stiffhearted. I do send thee unto them; and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God. [5] And they, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear, (for they are a rebellious house,) yet shall know that there hath been a prophet among them.  [6] And thou, son of man, be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns be with thee, and thou dost dwell among scorpions: be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house. [7] And thou shalt speak my words unto them, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear: for they are most rebellious. [8] But thou, son of man, hear what I say unto thee; Be not thou rebellious like that rebellious house: open thy mouth, and eat that I give thee.  [9] And when I looked, behold, an hand was sent unto me; and, lo, a roll of a book was therein; [10] And he spread it before me; and it was written within and without: and there was written therein lamentations, and mourning, and woe.”

JOHN CORBLEY, was a man of deep convictions and, being born in Ireland, was a prime example of the “Fighting Irish.”  One biographer gives the following description: “The Rev. John Corbley was the type of man, who makes his own history by his vigorous and active life.  When he took sides, it was not of the passive type of opposition, and right or wrong, he became a fighting champion for his chosen cause.  He was a militant crusader for any cause or controversy he saw worthy of his efforts.”[1]

His fight for religious liberty brought him into conflict with the state church in Virginia.  In Addition to Corbley’s preaching through the grates of the notorious jail of Culpeper County, Virginia, the Order Book of Orange County for the years 1763-1769, page 514, records the following:

This day (July 28, 1768) Allen Wiley, John Corbley, Elijah Craig and Thomas Chambers in Discharge of their Recognizance Entered into before Rowland Thomas Gent on being charged as Vagrant and Itinerant Persons and for assembling themselves unlawfully at Sundry Times and Places under the Denomination of Anabaptists and for Teaching and Preaching Schismatick Doctrines Whereupon the Court having Examined the Witnessses and heard the Counsel on both Sides are of the Opinion that the sd. Allen Wiley, John Corbley, Elijah Craig and Thomas Chambers are guilty of a Breach of Good Behaviour and Ordered that they enter into Bond.[2]

Under the Toleration Act of England, the officials could not prosecute the itinerant Baptist preachers for simply preaching and teaching; so they devised a way to bring them before the “Bar of Unjustice” on charges of vagrancy and disturbing the peace because they traveled widely and their success stirred up the state church clergy to wrath and violence.

Corbley’s familiarity with the courts and jails and Patrick Henry’s friendship to the cause of the Baptists, possibly motivated Henry later to appoint Corbley a judge or justice of the peace of Monongalia County, Virginia, now West Virginia.  However, Corbley was not on the great frontier to pursue law but to evangelize and plant churches.  He soon moved back to Pennsylvania in the Redstone Settlement, and it was here that he spent the last years of his life.

These years were no less eventful and vigorous than the early ones, being filled with adventure and conflict as well as suffering.  It was reported that he was imprisoned on a charge of complicity in the “Whiskey Rebellion” which involved the principle of “taxation without representation.”  Any threat to liberty and freedom certainly would challenge Corbley.  It is also recorded that during this period members of his family, including his wife, were massacred by the Indians.  The minutes of the Great Bethel Baptist Church of Uniontown, Pennsylvania, record that Corbley, one of the ablest preachers of his time at the age of forty-two, constituted a Baptist church at Forks-of-Cheat, now Stewartstown, West Virginia, with twelve members on November 5, 1775, and served as its first pastor.[3]

Corbley was one of those heros among Baptist on the early frontier of our great nation.  These Baptist heros were a peculiar stock of people with extraordinary conviction, strength of character, and a vigorous nature.  They also were endowed with a physical stamina that helped them endure the rigors of frontier life and the punishment of prison cells.  May our Lord raise up men and women with such qualities and constitutions to face the challenges of our day.

EWT

Taken from This Day in Baptist History Vol. 1 by E. Wayne Thompson and David L. Cummins

[3] Minutes of the Church Historical Committee, Great Bethel Baptist Church, Uniontown, PA., pp. 17-18.