Reminiscences of Baptist churches and Baptist leaders in New York city and vicinity . , both as a preacherand a leader among our people, a brief recital ofsome of the salient points in his early life, as learnedfrom himself by the writer, who had intimate officialrelations with him for more than forty years, mayperhaps be admissible. Thomas Armitage was born in England, in thecounty of Yorkshire, in 1819. When twelve yearsof age he gave his heart to God in a WesleyanMethodist church. When he was fifteen years old,in accordance with a custom then prevalent in Meth-odist churches in England, he
Reminiscences of Baptist churches and Baptist leaders in New York city and vicinity . , both as a preacherand a leader among our people, a brief recital ofsome of the salient points in his early life, as learnedfrom himself by the writer, who had intimate officialrelations with him for more than forty years, mayperhaps be admissible. Thomas Armitage was born in England, in thecounty of Yorkshire, in 1819. When twelve yearsof age he gave his heart to God in a WesleyanMethodist church. When he was fifteen years old,in accordance with a custom then prevalent in Meth-odist churches in England, he was sent in companywith some mature and experienced brother to vari-ous Methodist out-stations, to exercise his gifts inpublic speaking. These gifts were soon found to besuch that he was encouraged to use them freely asopportunity offered. At an early age God directed his course to thiscountry, which proved to be the theatre of his life-work. Shortly after his arrival in this city a gen-tleman having great influence in the ProtestantEpiscopal Church became so impressed with the 76. THOMAS ARMITAGE, D. D. REV. THOMAS ARMITAGE 77 ability of the young Englishman that he offeredhim a scholarship in an Episcopal college, on condi-tion that when he graduated he should take ordersin the Episcopal Church. Perhaps no young manwould have been more glad than Thomas Armitageto obtain in early life such a liberal education asmight have helped him to attain more readily thatripe scholarship which his heart was set uponachieving. But this was too high a price to was then, and for many years thereafter, aMethodist from conviction, and no proffered ad-vancement or personal emolument could outweighthis conviction. Not long afterward he was ordained a Methodistpreacher, and after serving several other churchesin New York State, was settled over a church in thecity of Albany. It was here that he began to havedoubts as to the scriptural authority for infant bap-tism. He had a child of the pr
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