The Encyclopedia Americana (1920)/Baptists, Seventh-Day

BAPTISTS, Seventh-Day, who hold that the command to observe the seventh day, the Jewish Sabbath, is incumbent upon all Christians as well as Jews, date the foundation of their society back to 1676, when the first church of the denomination was opened in London by Francis Bampfield, prebendary of Exeter Cathedral. Since then various churches professing the same views as Bampfield have come into existence and several of them have disappeared. The original society is still active. The first church of the Seventh-Day Baptists was founded at Newport, R. I., in 1671 by Stephen Mumford. Although this latter is older than the English by a few years it does not appear that the one grew out of the other. The American society, which has its missionary headquarters at Westerly, R. I., is active in missionary work and maintains a publishing house at Plainfield. N. J.; an academy at Salem, W. Va., and two colleges, one at Milton, Wis., and the other at Alfred Centre, N. Y. The 96 churches and more than 8,000 members of the American society are scattered over 24 States.