Stephen Mumford was not COG and the CCOG does not include him as one of our spiritual predecessors

A couple of anti-COG sites have pushed some of the following that came out many years ago:

Bruce Renehan

Chapter 9Sardis…Thou Livest, and Art DeadRhode Island 1671
The first Seventh Day Baptist Church in America was organized in December 1671 from members of a Baptist Church who had come to the conviction of the Sabbath of the Bible. Stephen and Anne Mumford were Sabbathkeeping members of the Tewksbury Baptist Church in England when they migrated to America in 1664 during a period of dissenter persecution. About the same time, according to Samuel Hubbard’s journal, his wife, Tacy, “took up keeping the Lord’s holy 7th day Sabbath the 10 day March 1665.” Within a year her husband, their three daughters and a son-in-law followed. By the end of the decade there were nine people within the congregation who had embraced the Sabbath along with others who had moved to the western part of the colony.

For several years the Sabbathkeepers remained as active members of the First Baptist Church in Newport, but in 1669 two couples rejected the Sabbath and spoke against it. The others found it difficult to take communion with those who had once known the truth and then entered into apostasy. Correspondence with English Seventh Day Baptists urged caution and “love to all saints holding up general communion with them lest it be those you have the particular offense against.” Finally, in 1671 when the pastor preached that the teaching of the Sabbath was causing people to leave Christ and go to Moses, the split occurred. Five members, Samuel and Tacy Hubbard with their daughter, Rachel Langworthy, William Hiscox and Roger Baster withdrew. With Stephen and Anne Mumford they covenanted together to form the first Seventh Day Baptist church in America. Within 20 years about 76 names were added to the covenant relationship which spread out to places such as Westerly, Rhode Island, and New London, Connecticut. The membership included American Indians as well as English colonists. ( pp. 8-10)

In brief, Stephen Mumford was not a member of a Church of God but rather was a minister of the Seventh Day Baptist Church. The Hubbard’s were members of the first Seventh Day Baptist Church of America. The Newport church kept a roster or diary in which it calls itself the Seventh Day Baptist Church. The historical library in Janesville, Wisconsin has the church roster which I’m sure Dr. Sanford holds dear, since his ancestors are Samuel and Tacy Hubbard!

Research By Others
I was not alone in my discoveries concerning the Worldwide Church of God’s falsified link to the Seventh Day Baptist church of Newport, Rhode Island. As early as 1968, William T. Voyce of Des Moines, Iowa had corresponded with both the Seventh Day Baptist Historical Society (located then in Plainfield, New Jersey) and the Worldwide Church of God editorial staff in Pasadena. …

A great disservice was done to both Seventh Day Baptists and Seventh Day Adventists by an Elder A. N. Dugger… accessed 08/29/20 https://hwarmstrong.com/daughter-of-bablylon-09.htm

Let me start out by saying that although A.N. Dugger’s basic historical view was correct, there were numerous errors in understanding church history he and others have made. Bruce Renehan was right that Stephen Mumford was NOT COG. But also, Bruce Renehan has his issues as well. For example, the name “Seventh Day Baptist” was not formally adopted until 1818 (Strand KA, ed. The Sabbath In Scripture and History. Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1982, p. 246). Stephen Mumford was part of a church group in Rhode Island that initially called themselves Sabbatarian Baptists, not Seventh Day Baptists.

Working to correct errors in church history was something I began to work on when I was with the Living Church of God (which promised to correct numerous historical errors it admitted it taught, yet that it later failed to do so) and then later in the Continuing Church of God.

While the late Dr. Herman Hoeh (of the old Radio then Worldwide Church of God) was prone to correct errors in his historical understandings, and there was a willingness to do so by the late John Ogwyn, sadly many others have not been as willing.

For what it’s worth, let me add that this Summer I have been working on the historical period of the 1600s to 1800s. In doing so, I spoken and/or emailed leaders in many groups, including CG7 and xWCG related ones. One of which still sends out A.N. Dugger’s book (and a leader there asked for a copy of my book, Continuing History of the Church of God, which I sent him). Also, I have had several contacts, including verbal, with leaders of groups claiming to have come from the Waldensians.

Perhaps it should be pointed out that that, our book, Continuing History of the Church of God, does not even mention Steven Mumford nor Samuel Hubbard.

Why?

Because we agree with Bruce Renehan (who I never recall hearing of until today) that they were not COG–they were more of what was called ‘Particular’ Baptists, whose successors essentially later were formerly named Seventh Day Baptists.

Here is some of what my book states about the differences in the 1600s related to two groups of Sabbath keepers:

It perhaps should be pointed out that in the area of England in the 1600s, there were two basic groups of baptism by immersion Sabbath keepers, which have identified as General and Particular.[i] Those called General believed Jesus died for all, the doctrine of the laying on hands, avoiding pork, keeping Passover on the 14^th (though often calling it the “Lord’s Supper”), footwashing, millenarianism, anointing the sick, “Jewish ceremonies” (possibly a reference to biblical holy days or Passover), and a soon coming kingdom of God.[ii] The group called Particular Baptists were Calvinists [iii] who believed Jesus only died for the elect.[iv] The Particular group, in time, became more ecumenically Protestant and more like first day Baptists. Note the faithful used back then the term “Church of God”[v] or Church of Christ,[vi] not “Baptist” (a term used more in the 1700s and later).

In the 1600s there were several Sabbath-keeping congregations in England and some in the Americas according to O. Leonard:

Sabbath keepers of the middle ages {in the UK} … as a continuous body … transferred to America, in Rhode Island in 1664-65, and earliest showed itself in Newport, R. I., in 1644.[vii]

The Cottrells, which at that time seemed to be COG, arrived from the British Isles were no later than 1692 attending a Sabbath-keeping church. [viii]

From these groups, some became known as Sabbatarian Anabaptists or later Seventh Day Baptists (SDBs). Irrespective of what they were called originally, most of those groups tended to be loosely affiliated. Some of them kept COG doctrines, while others (like the SDBs) were Protestant in approach. …

Although there were small groups of Sabbath-keepers, from the 1600s through to the 1800s, changes set in. The SDB movement overtook many groups in America and elsewhere. And sadly, many of those that stayed in certain Sabbatarian churches did become SDBs, and held less of the truth.

The SDBs have basically documented several changes and doctrinal differences in their own pronouncements and books.[i] There was a separation between the SDBs and those who were in the Church of God as those truly in the COG would not accept the trinity. [ii]

It appears that many of those in the U.S.A. who kept Church of God doctrines in the 17^th and 18^th centuries were those whose descendants later became part of the Church of God, Seventh Day.

[i] Dugger, A History of True Religion, p. 277

[ii] Stillman W. Miscellaneous Compositions in Poetry and Prose. F.H.Bacon, New-London 1852; p. 3. Original from the New York Public Library Digitized Nov 15, 2006

[i] Ball, pp. 102-103; Brackney WH. The Baptists. ABC-CLIO, 1994, pp. 6-7

[ii] Ball, p. 9-10,15,49,59,102; see also Brackney, p. 7

[iii] Brackney, p. 6

[iv] Ball, p. 102

[v] Philotheos. A Threefold Dialogue, Concerning the Three Chief Points in Controversy amongst Protestants in our Day. London, 1708, pp. 26-27

[vi] Philotheos. A Threefold Dialogue, Concerning the Three Chief Points in Controversy amongst Protestants in our Day. London, 1708, pp. 26-27

[vii] Leonard O. HISTORICAL SKETCH OF SEVENTH DAY BAPTISTS OF NEW JERSEY in Griffiths TS. A History of Baptists in New Jersey. Barr Press Pub. Co., 1904. Original from Princeton University. Digitized Mar 17, 2008, p. 518

[viii] The Memorial: Portraits of William Bliss [and others], pp. 31, 121

In the COGwriter article on Sardis (The Sardis Church Era), there is the following:

It has been claimed that:

The first Sabbath-keeper in America was Stephen Mumford … came as a missionary from London … in 1664, and brought the opinion with him that the whole of the ten commandments, as they were delivered from Mount Sinai, were moral and immutable; and that it was the anti-Christian power which thought to change times and laws, that changed the Sabbath from the seventh to the first day of the week (Andrews, pp. 498-499).

Yet, it is fairly certain that there were other Sabbath-keepers who came to the Americas prior to Stephen Mumford, like one or more of the Cottrells. Hence, Stephen Mumford was not the first, nor do we in the CCOG trace our history through him–nor do we consider that he was Church of God, but more of a Protestant (the CCOG is not Protestant, see also Hope of Salvation: How the Continuing Church of God Differs from Protestantism).

It has been claimed that:

The first Sabbath-keeper in America was Stephen Mumford … came as a missionary from London … in 1664, and brought the opinion with him that the whole of the ten commandments, as they were delivered from Mount Sinai, were moral and immutable; and that it was the anti-Christian power which thought to change times and laws, that changed the Sabbath from the seventh to the first day of the week (Andrews, pp. 498-499).

Yet, it is fairly certain that there were other Sabbath-keepers who came to the Americas prior to Stephen Mumford, like one or more of the Cottrells (as well as practicing Jews). Hence, Stephen Mumford was not really the first, nor because of his doctrineal beliefs do we in the CCOG trace our history through him.

Who, then, seemed to hold to COG doctrines?

Let’s start with John Maxson. He was born in Rhode Island in 1638.

Sometime in the 1660s John Maxson and John Crandall, embraced the Sabbath, though the Seventh Day Baptists (SDBs) who reported about them are not sure from where (Seventh Day Baptists in Europe and America: A Series of Historical Papers Written in Commemoration of the One Hundredth Anniversary of the Organization of the Seventh Day Baptist General Conference, Celebrated at Ashaway, Rhode Island, August 20-25, 1902, Volume 2, 1910, p. 611). But it may have had to do with Mr. Cotton who Dr. Chamberlen had contact with who had came over from England (Clarke, pp. 12-13). John Crandall was an elder no later than 1671 (Seventh Day Baptists in Europe and America, p. 612).

Anyway, the descendants of John Maxson and John Crandall remained Sabbath keepers and ended up, at least part time, in the ministry.

The once zealous, but now elderly, John Maxsom seemed to try to fade out of the ministry in 1715 and asked formally to leave in 1716 (The Seventh-day Baptist Memorial Volumes 1-3. Seventh-day Baptist Publishing Society, 1852, p. 53).

His son John Maxson, Jr. born in 1666–ordained a deacon in 1712 and elder in 1719, was assisted by elder and brother Joseph Maxsom in 1739 (Denison F. Westerly (Rhode Island) and Its Witnesses For Two Hundred and Fifty Years, 1626-1876 : Including Charlestown, Hopkinton, and Richmond Until Their Separate Organization, with the Principal Points of Their Subsequent History. J.A. & R.A. Reid, 1878, p. 61). in 1732, Joseph Maxsom was ordained as an evangelist and elder in 1739 (Denison, p. 62).

Here is more information:

Joseph Crandall was the third pastor and he served from 1718 to 1737. He was the son of Elder John Crandall, the first minister in Western Rhode Island. Forty-three were added during his pastorate. The first three pastors were all the same age. From 1737 to 1754, the church was without a pastor, but enjoyed the labors of Elder Joseph Maxson, … (Seventh Day Baptists in Europe and America: A Series of Historical Papers Written in Commemoration of the One Hundredth Anniversary of the Organization of the Seventh Day Baptist General Conference, Celebrated at Ashaway, Rhode Island, August 20-25, 1902, Volume 2, 1910, p. 607)

Joseph Crandall rose up after some type of congregational separation (Ibid, p. 614) and:

It appears that Joseph Crandall had been deacon in the church for some years, though there is no minute showing when he or anyone else was appointed to that office. … Eld. Joseph Crandall, thought to have been a son of Eld. John Crandall, the first minister in Misquamicut, was called from this church to the pastorate of the Newport church. (Ibid, p. 617, 625)

By the mid-1700s there seemed to have been both types of Sabbatarians in the Newport church–but this did not stay that way. We list 1718-1737 for Joseph Crandall, 1737 -1748 for Joseph Maxson as a leader, followed by 1748-1778 for the later John Maxson.

Notice something about a relative named Simeon Maxson:

September 24, 1775. Simeon Maxson, who had virtually been licenced by the church to preach, was silenced because of lack of harmony between him and the church. …

The Maxsons did not seem to get along well with those we tend to see as actual Seventh-day Baptists, though some Maxsons ended up drifting that way.

Notice the following:

Elder John Maxson became pastor in 1754 and there were many additions during his pastorate, which ended in 1778. Five years later decline and trouble are manifest, as appears from the following quotation taken from a letter to the First Hopkinton church:

“Dear brethren, we shall be glad if yon will write to us and let us know in what light you look upon us, whetheryou own us as a church of Christin fellowship with you or not. We know and you know that there is some that have been trying to make a schism in the church and to set up a separate meeting hereon the Sabbath. You can’t but be sensible of the bad consequence attending such a thing. There is some we understand that have suggested that, upon the death of Elder John Maxson, the church here was dissolved, this we think is a pretty extraordinary piece of logic, for we never thought that the Elder of a church was the head of it, but that Jesus Christ was the only head of the church, and the Elder if he knows his place is the servant of the church, and that when an Elder dies or leaves a society that the members of the church are destitute, have power to elect another in his place. But we would not do anything to stir up strife, but those things that may promote love and unity among us.”

(Seventh Day Baptists in Europe and America: A Series of Historical Papers Written in Commemoration of the One Hundredth Anniversary of the Organization of the Seventh Day Baptist General Conference, Celebrated at Ashaway, Rhode Island, August 20-25, 1902, Volume 2, 1910, p. 603)

Who appears to have been the main COG leader(s) from 1778-1823 is (are) unnamed–but obviously there were two different groups then. They would have been those who were Sabbatarians who were essentially SDBs and Sabbatarians who were not.

Notice something about some of the David family:

January 10, 1796. Joseph Davis applied for, and received, a call “to improve his gift in the work of the Gospel.”

May 13, 1798. Joseph Davis was silenced until further action of the church. … (Randolph, p. 111)

November 21, 1819. Licence was granted to Peter Davis “to go into the world and preach the Gospel.” …

August 16, 1822. The ordination of Peter Davis was deferred until the next church meeting. … 1823 … Peter Davis … ordained …

November 19, 1824. “It also came under consideration that Elder John Davis wishes a letter of dismission. Laid over till next church meeting.”

November 18, 1825 … Peter Davis was charged with preaching a new doctrine, which the church did not approve. (Randolph, pp. 111, 112)

April 11, 1834. Ezekiel Bee, Asa Bee, George J. Davis, and Peter Davis “denied the government of the church and expressed a desire for free communion.” (Randolph, p. 113)

In the late 1700s/early 1800s, the SDBs officially came together. Joseph and Peter Davis and Asa and Ezekiel Bee had doctrinal differences with them. This seems to be because some of their doctrines were more COG than SDB. Likely, such types were tolerated for a time, but as the SDBs became more organized, those not of their persuasion became more distant from them, despite the Sabbath similarity.

Notice also the following assertion:

the North Fork of Hughes River Church … The church had become extinct before the formation of the Virginia Association in 1851. (Seventh Day Baptists in Europe and America, p. 854)

But that same source hints that what happened was, that in 1850, the pastor of the Hughes River Church looks to have been perhaps COG and not SDB:

These questions involved articles of diet and manner of dress as well as church control of family government and discipline. In short here an attempt was made to apply the provisions of the Mosaic law governing the domestic life of the early Hebrews to American Seventh Day Baptists, in the middle of the nineteenth century of the Christian Era, irrespective of the changed conditions of modern civilization and radically different racial instinct, to say nothing of the profound differences between the Christian and Hebrew religions. The result, as might have been expected, was a grotesque failure. For the greater part of the period of its existence, the church was under the leadershipof Asa Bee and his brother Ezekiel, both of whom were men of marked mental ability and of sincerityof purpose, but who were possessed of many half-crazy ideas of Biblical interpretation, which were bounteously fruitful of discord. In 1870 this spirit of dissension resulted in a split in theSouth Fork of Hughes River Church. … In their effort to follow the mandates of the Mosaic law,the flesh of swine as food, was placed under ban. (Seventh Day Baptists in Europe and America, pp. 855, 857)

South Fork — Pastors

Peter Davis, the organizer of the South Fork church and baptizer of the nine original members, visited them form time to time from his pastorate at the New Salem church, as did other ministers.

Peter Davis, 1834 – ? visited intermittently

Asa Bee, 1842 – ? received into church, 1839; served until death; called “The Elder” in church records As in so many instances of a people attempting to literally obey the Bible, the South Fork Sabbath-keepers faced severe persecution. As is common, most of the persecution came from their “Christian” associates. Randolph sneeringly calls their practices “half-crazy ideas of Biblical interpretation.” (Nichels. Six Papers)

Asa Bee … He was a strong advocate of co-education, having no sympathy, whatever, with the idea that was so prevalent at that period “that woman was amply equipped for the battle of life if she could only spell and read.” He taught that woman’s influence was the potent factor in shaping the mind of the child, and that, thus, she was in need of the better education; (Lowther MK. History of Ritchie County. Wheeling News Litho. Co., Wheeling W.Va., 1911, pp. 572-577)

So, no, we in the CCOG do not trace ourselves spiritually through Stephen Mumford.

Because of limited available records, it is not likely that anyone in this age will be able to put together a perfect history of the true Church.

However, we are still working on details related to this period to improve our understanding, but some of what is in this post should show all that will look that we have not held onto certain misunderstandings that some had.

That being said, the true Church of God is the Christian church. Despite some errors in historical understandings, the basic view that the true Church of God has existed since Acts 2 is correct, as well as consistent with Jesus’ words in Matthew 16:18.

Some items of related interest may include:

The Sardis Church Era was predominant circa 1600 A.D. to circa 1933 A.D. Discusses early history of the Seventh Day Baptists, Seventh-day Adventists, and COG-7th Day.
CG7.ORG This is a website for those interested in the Sabbath and churches that observe the seventh day Sabbath.
CG7-D: Church of God, (Seventh Day): History and Teachings Nearly all COG’s I am aware of trace part of their history through some affiliation with this group. Loren Stacy is the president of the largest CG7 USA group (Denver). Do you know much about them?
CG7-S: Church of God 7th Day, Salem (West Virginia) This group formed by A.N. Dugger in 1933 when he split from the CG7 group he was once president of.
MCGSD: Meridian Church of God Seventh Day A group that was a split from the old Stanberry COG.
Continuing History of the Church of God This pdf booklet is a historical overview of the true Church of God and some of its main opponents from Acts 2 to the 21st century.
Where is the True Christian Church Today? This free online pdf booklet answers that question and includes 18 proofs, clues, and signs to identify the true vs. false Christian church. Plus 7 proofs, clues, and signs to help identify Laodicean churches. A related sermon is also available: Where is the True Christian Church? Here is a link to the booklet in the Spanish language: ¿Dónde está la verdadera Iglesia cristiana de hoy? Here is a link in the German language: WO IST DIE WAHRE CHRISTLICHE KIRCHE HEUTE? Here is a link in the French language: Où est la vraie Église Chrétienne aujourd’hui? Here is a link to a short animation: Which Church would Jesus Choose?