Furman Richard, Dd

Furman Richard, D.D., a leading Baptist minister in the Southern States, was born at AEsopus, N.Y., in 1755. While he was a child, his father removed to South Carolina. His education was carefully attended to by his father, who instructed him in English studies and in mathematics, and particularly in the Scriptures. He began at the early age of eighteen to preach in destitute places, and soon gained a wide influence. Many churches were formed by his agency. During the Revolutionary War he was an ardent supporter of the cause of Independence, and his eloquence and patriotism attracted the attention of Patrick Henry and other leading statesmen. In 1787 he became pastor of a church in Charleston. He sat in the Convention for ratifying the Constitution of the United States. He received the degree of D.D. from Brown University in 1800. He was elected in 1814 the first president of the Baptist General Convention for missionary purposes. He died August 1825. He was a solemn and impressive preacher, an able presiding officer in deliberative assemblies, and in every relation an object of reverence and affection. He published,

1. Rewards of Grace, a Sermon on the Death of Reverend Oliver Hart (1796): —

2. An Oration at the Charleston Hospital (1796): —

3. Sermon Commemorative of General Washington (1800): —

4. A Sermon on the Death of the Reverend Edmund Botford. — Sprague, Annals, 6:161. (L.E.S.)