William Calmes Buck

Portrait of William Calmes Buck scanned from an etching in his book "The Philosophy of Religion", South-Western Publishing House, Graves, Marks & Company, Nashville, Tennessee, 1857.

William Calmes Buck (1790–1872) was an American Baptist minister, author and editor, and commentator on slavery.

Biography Buck was born on August 23, 1790, in Shenandoah County, Virginia, near what is now the town of Front Royal. In spite of having only a basic formal education, he became a prominent Baptist minister, editor, author and denominational leader serving in Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi and Texas. Self-taught, he became fluent in Latin, Greek and Hebrew and was known as “Dr. Buck” at Baylor University where he was a lecturer in his later years.

Buck's parents and grandparents were farmers. His grandparents, Charles and Letitia (Sorrel) Buck were among the early settlers of the Shenandoah Valley and had owned about 3000 acres of land. The Bucks were Baptist and donated land for the Waterlick Baptist Church.

William Calmes Buck then married Isabella Miriam Field on Jun. 30, 1829 in Woodford County, Kentucky. She, the daughter of Willis Field and Isabella Miriam Buck, was a first cousin once removed to William Calmes Buck. She was born on Aug. 16, 1809 and died on Mar. 18, 1852 at the age of 42 in Nashville, Tennessee. She was buried in Woodford County, Kentucky. Their eleven children were: Charles Willis Buck, William Thomas Buck, John Field Buck, Emma Buck, Giddings Judson Buck, John Samuel Buck, Willis Field Buck, Silas Calmes Buck, Thomas Buck, Paul Buck, and one stillborn child.

In later years in Kentucky, W. C. Buck was founder and first pastor of the East Baptist Church of Louisville, editor of the state Baptist paper, compiler and publisher of a Baptist hymnal, and co-founder of a Bible society which later merged with what is now the American Bible Society. Upon leaving Kentucky, he held a denominational post in Nashville, Tennessee and later was pastor of the First Baptist Churches of Greensboro, Alabama, Selma, Alabama, and Columbus, Mississippi.

James M. Pendleton, a friend and colleague of W. C. Buck, disagreed with his editorials on slavery and wrote his own series of letters intended for publication in the Baptist Banner. However, Buck would not publish Pendleton’s letters. Pendleton then had his letters published in an emancipationist newsletter, the Louisville Examiner.

Death William Calmes Buck died on May 18, 1872, at the age of 81 in Waco, Texas. He was buried in Old First Street Cemetery, Waco, Texas. His tombstone is in the shape of a pulpit.

Publications William Calmes Buck was the author or editor of “The Baptist Banner and Pioneer”, Louisville, Kentucky, 1839 – 1850. "The Baptist Hymn Book", J. Eliot & Company, Louisville, Kentucky, 1842. "The Baptist Hymn Book", revised and enlarged, 42nd edition, G. H. Monsarrat & Co., Louisville, Kentucky, 1847. "The Slavery Question", Harney, Hughes & Hughes, Louisville, Kentucky, 1847. "A Brief Defense of the Antiquity, History & Practice of the Baptists", McDowell & Kimbrough, Columbus, Mississippi, 1854. "The Philosophy of Religion", South-Western Publishing House, Graves, Marks & Company, Nashville, Tennessee, 1857. “The Science of Life”, 1858. “Are You a Backslider?”, A Tract for the Army, 1861. “Confession, A Fundamental Doctrine of the Gospel Economy”, ca 1861 – 1865.