Rev. William Cummins Davis Collection - Accession 1782

The Rev. William Cummins Davis Collection consists primarily of a bound 1823 volume titled Lectures on the New Testament: In Which the Four Evangelists Are Harmonized, and the Work Interspersed with Critical Notes and Observations on Several Passages. Published posthumously by Davis’s eldest son, the Rev. Robert M. Davis (1793–1824), this volume is one of eight issued in a projected series originally intended to comprise only two volumes. The work compiles sermons, theological lectures, and critical annotations reflecting Davis’s distinctive interpretations of the New Testament. William Cummins Davis (1760–1831) was a prominent and controversial Presbyterian minister in the Carolinas during the early nineteenth century. He founded the Independent Presbyterian Church in 1813 and gained widespread attention during the Second Great Awakening for his outspoken opposition to slavery and his teachings concerning the imminence of Armageddon. Davis’s unconventional doctrines challenged prevailing Presbyterian orthodoxy and contributed to significant theological debate and schism within the church. The collection also includes a scholarly article titled “Heresy, Slavery, and Prophecy: The World of William Cummins Davis” by William B. Bynum, which provides historical and interpretive context for Davis’s life, ministry, and theological influence. Together, the materials in this collection document Davis’s religious thought, his role in early nineteenth-century American Presbyterianism, and the broader cultural and theological tensions of the period.