ABNER JONES (1772-1841)
Abner Jones entered this world in Boylston, Massachusetts on April 28, 1772. He was born into a very religious, Baptist family whose father was a strong adherent of the doctrine of Calvinism. His father was a leading man in that denomination and was known by a great many people in the area in which the Jones family resided. At age eight, his parents moved from Boylston to a new home in Bridgewater, Vermont. They remained in this location until his father’s death a few years later. During his subsequent illness, an ungodly child, a brother, had returned to the family home and quickly led young Abner astray. This brother also ended up dying, while in great despair and Abner, taking note of this, was influenced to turn to God and take an active part in the activities of his local Baptist Church. He was twenty-one years of age when he went to Hanover and he then began to prepare himself for the practice of medicine. This left him somewhat conflicted as since his conversion he began to feel that he had a duty to preach the gospel at some point of his life. Abner completed his medical studies and moved to Lyndon, Vermont in the year 1796. At this point he decided to marry and took the hand of a Miss Damaris Prior. He became a very successful physician but was still troubled by the thought that he ought to be in the pulpit proclaiming the gospel far and wide. These thoughts often came to him and were the source of much anguish as he was feeling that perhaps he had chosen the wrong field in which to labor and that Providence was trying to convince him that he needed to be preaching. This occupation would most likely bring on the reproach of the world and would seal his doom as far as poverty and trials were concerned. These thoughts finally forced him to make a decision for preaching which brought on the opposition of his wife and his sudden
realization that his views were not quite in alignment with the prevalent doctrines of the day. After much thought and prayer, he came to the conclusion that the views he personally held were in agreement with the Christian Church. Despite this he was ordained by the Freewill Baptists in 1802. Those who did the ordination were Elders Buzzell, King and Brown.
But he had organized the first Christian Church in New England at his former residence in Lyndon, Vermont. It consisted of eight to ten members at the start but expanded rapidly. It was from this time forward that he threw his strength towards the growth and edification of that intrepid little band of Christians. A second Christian Church was formed in Hannover, New Hampshire and soon afterward the third was begun in Piermont, N.H. In his travels, Abner Jones met Elias Smith, who had renounced the Baptists and had devoted his full energy to work in the kingdom of God. They joined their forces for some time at Portsmouth after which Jones proceeded to Boston where he was able to begin a mighty work. He had taken his family and was devoting nearly all of his time to preaching the word. In these early years his work could be seen as a bit excessive, preaching between thirty to forty sermons a month and baptizing from ten to fifteen persons at a time and often traveling over two hundred miles in that period. After having left Boston, he moved to Bradford and then to Salem, Mass., and then from there to Portsmouth, N.H. He was at Portsmouth when it was blockaded and nearly consumed by fire. While here, an incident occurred that will indicate his benevolence and total trust in the Lord. He says there was never a day when he or his family went hungry, but one Saturday his wife came to his study, and told him “there was really nothing to eat.” He had but one dollar in his pocket, and the prospect seemed quite dark. While thinking of this, a stranger came in, asking for help and the Elder soon found there was one at least in a worse condition than himself, so he gave the stranger the last dollar. After the stranger had gone, he began to doubt the propriety of the act of taking the bread from his children’s mouths, but it was now too late to repent.
While thinking over the bitterness of the situation, the old trust in the Lord was revived, and just at this time a neighbor came and said, “Mr. Jones, a laborer is worthy of his hire, and as my family and I have been attending your meeting, I now ask you to accept this trifle as part of the pay towards the debt I owe you.” It was a five dollar note. In 1815 he again moved his family, this time to Hopkinsville, N.H., where they resided for several years. The reason for this was that two of his married daughters lived here and he wanted to be near them. Shortly after his arrival the spotted fever, or cold plague broke out. Although it was against his will, he practiced medicine here extensively. It was while here that he travelled less than at any other time of his ministry as his practice was very large and his pastoral cares were very heavy. He put some money away and could probably have become very wealthy but there were churches far less affluent than the one here that were calling upon him for assistance. He felt that he was duty-bound to answer that call.
In 1821 they moved to Salem and he labored in this area until his journey to the West in 1829. The church there was left in a prosperous condition. He reached Mayfield, N.Y. when he was smitten by the rheumatic bilious fever, and those around him despaired of his life. He became housebound for a period of three months and showed great bravery during his suffering. The church in Mayfield was destitute and this caused him to spend time with it as its minister. This was in the way of his desire to return to Salem as it was very special to him. During his time at Milan in 1836, his precious wife, Damaris died. She had been a noble woman, sharing with him in some of the most difficult times and situations in his life. She had been opposed to his entering the ministry but when the trials which were inevitable, came, she was there beside him in them. She had shown herself as a person of strong attachment to home, children and friends, but all through her life she was continually called upon to give up these, when there was work to be done for the Master. Before her death, Abner had given up the work at Milan, leaving it in prosperous condition and had taken charge of the work in Assonet, Mass. He found this place to be in a far worse condition than the one in Milan. His labors soon revived the church and united it. But he felt that there was far more work to do in other places that needed to be done. Besides, having lost his wife he now had a strong desire to be among friends. The year 1839 brought him a new marriage and the desire to live in some comfort and quiet for the rest of whatever time he had left. He took charge of the church of the church at Exeter, N.H., and moved his family there. But, in less than two years he was called upon to follow his loved ones to that land of rest. His death happened on May 29, 1841. His funeral services were in the Christian Chapel at Exeter. The funeral sermon was preached by Elder Elijah Shaw. This short article is but an introduction to the life of Abner Jones, the founder of the Lord’s church in New England. His was not as versatile as was Elias Smith, his co-worker, but he surely was a far more stable man. The two worked very well together as what one lacked, the other supplied. Each was a pioneer in their own right. They both suffered from poverty, opposition and persecution, but each one bore up well under his duty and part in the great work in establishing of an independent body of Christians.