Francis Makemie

The Rev. Francis Makemie, the organizer of the first Presbytery in America (Philadelphia Presbytery) The Rev. Francis Makemie (Standing) before Lord Cornbury on 23 January 1707 for preaching without a license from the British Crown.

Francis Makemie (1658–1708) was an Ulster Scots clergyman, widely regarded as the founder of Presbyterianism in the United States.

Early and family life Makemie was born in Ramelton, County Donegal, Ireland part of the province of Ulster. He attended the University of Glasgow, where he experienced a religious conversion and enrolled as "Franciscus Makemus Scoto-Hyburnus". He was ordained a minister by the Presbytery of Laggan in West Ulster in 1681.

Ministry in America

At the request of Colonel William Stevens, an Episcopalian from Rehobeth, Maryland, the Rev. Makemie was sent as a missionary to America, arriving in Maryland in 1683. The Rev. Increase Mather, a Congregationalist, praised the 'Answer' as the work of "a reverent and judicious minister".

In 1692 he was granted land in Accomack County, Virginia.

While living in Barbados, Makemie wrote 'Truths in a True Light, or a Pastoral Letter to the Reformed Protestants in Barbadoes' on 28 December 1696. They had two daughters, Elizabeth and Anne. This case became a landmark victory for religious freedom in America. The controversial Lord Cornbury was recalled to England the following year.

Publications Makemie's publications included;

Catechism (1691) Truths in a New Light (1699)

Around the 200th anniversary of the Presbyterian Church's founding, outsiders were shocked to find Makemie's gravesite on the former plantation in dilapidated condition. They worked to stabilize it and erected a statue and memorial marker. During this period, the surrounding community was experiencing economic prosperity, leading to the renovation of the church he had founded in Accomac, Virginia (named in his honor). Additionally, they purchased a disused Methodist church in Onancock, Virginia, demolishing it, and built a new structure named after his wife Naomi, in 1903.

Makemie Woods campground, owned and operated by the Presbytery of Eastern Virginia of the Presbyterian Church (USA), is named in honor of Francis Makemie. The camp is located between Williamsburg and Richmond, Virginia.