Basil Manly Jr.

{{short description|American religious leader and educator (1825–1892)}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Basil Manly Jr.

| image = Basil Manly Jr.png

| alt =

| caption =

| birth_name =

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1825|12|19}}

| birth_place = Edgefield County, South Carolina, U.S.

| death_date = {{Death date and age|1892|01|31|1825|12|19}}

| death_place = Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.

| resting_place = Cave Hill Cemetery
Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.

| occupation = Clergyman

| father = Basil Manly Sr.

| spouse = {{Plainlist|

{{Marriage|Charlotte Whitfield Smith|1852}}
{{Marriage|Harriet Summers Hair|1869}}

}}

| children =

| relatives =

| awards =

| education = {{Plainlist|

}}

| party =

| signature = Signature of Basil Manly Jr. (1825–1892).png

}}

Basil Manly Jr. (December 19, 1825 – January 31, 1892) was an American Baptist minister and educator.Roger Duke, Michael A.G. Haykin and A. James Fuller, Soldiers of Christ: Selections from the Writings of Basil Manly Sr. & Basil Manly Jr., Introduction by R. Albert Mohler Jr., Founders Press, 2009 paperback edition. {{ISBN| 0978571177}} He was one of a group of theologians instrumental in the formation of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in South Carolina.

Early life and education

Basil Manly Jr. was born December 19, 1825, in Edgefield District, South Carolina to Basil Manly Sr. (1798–1868), a prominent Baptist preacher and educator.{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aidAAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA340 |title=Lamb's Biographical Dictionary of the United States |volume=5 |editor-first=John Howard |editor-last=Brown |publisher=James H. Lamb Company |page=340 |year=1903 |access-date=2020-07-30 |via=Google Books}} He and his family moved to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, when Manly Jr. was 12 years old, as his father was president of the University of Alabama (1837–1855) for nearly 20 years. He grew up in a planter's family; his father enslaved 40 people. In Tuscaloosa, Manly Jr. was baptized at age 14 after reading a biography of Jonathan Edwards. He graduated from the University of Alabama in 1843.

He was licensed by the Baptist church to preach the gospel at age nineteen. He enrolled at Newton Theological Institution in Massachusetts. In 1845 after the Southern Baptist Convention was formed, Manly Jr. transferred to Princeton Theological Seminary.

His father had drafted the "Alabama Resolutions", which formed part of the case for separation of the convention from northern churches. The Newton seminary was affiliated with the rival Northern Baptist Convention at a time of deepening sectional strife prior to the American Civil War.

Manly graduated from Princeton in 1847. He married Charlotte Whitfield Smith in 1852 and they had two sons and a daughter. He remarried in 1869 to Harriet Summers Hair, and they had one son.

Career

Manly was the pastor of First Baptist Church (Richmond, Virginia) from 1850 to 1854.{{Citation| publisher = Oxford University Press| last = Wills| first = Gregory A.| title = Manly, Basil, Jr. (1825-1892), Baptist minister| date = February 2000}}

With John Albert Broadus, William Williams, and James Petigru Boyce, he was instrumental in the formation of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Greenville, South Carolina. The seminary was central to the formation of the Southern Baptist Convention and its ministers. In 1877 the seminary moved to Louisville, Kentucky. With Broadus, Manley was also one of the first leaders of the Sunday School Board publishing operations.{{Cite journal| doi = 10.17723/aarc.24.4.l2018t543524h3l6| issn = 0360-9081| volume = 24| issue = 4| pages = 441–444| last = Menkus| first = Belden| title = The Baptist Sunday School Board and Its Records| journal = The American Archivist| date = 1961-10-01| doi-access = free}}

Manly was president of Georgetown College from 1871 to 1879.

Basil Manly Jr. died at his home in Louisville on January 31, 1892.{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/41600205/death-of-basil-manly-jr-january-31/ |title=Gone To His Reward |newspaper=The Courier-Journal |page=2 |date=1892-02-01 |access-date=2020-07-30 |via=Newspapers.com}} He was buried at Cave Hill Cemetery.{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/56389402/on-sunday-afternoon/ |title=(untitled) |newspaper=Baptist and Reflector |page=9 |date=1909-05-27 |access-date=2020-07-30 |via=Newspapers.com}}

Works

{{cite book|title=The Bible Doctrine of Inspiration, Explained and Vindicated|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qd5VAAAAYAAJ|year=1891|publisher=A.C. Armstrong|location=New York}}
{{cite book|author1=Basil Manly Sr.|author2=Basil Manly Jr.|title=The Baptist Psalmody: A Selection of Hymns for the Worship of God|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xD9GAAAAYAAJ|year=1870|publisher=Sheldon & Connor|location=Atlanta}}