Rev. James Whitsitt was born in Amherst Co., Va., Jan. 31, 1771, and educated in the Episcopal Church, then the established church of Virginia.In the year 1789 he made a profession of religion, and was baptized by Rev. Joseph Anthony, an earnest Baptist minister, he entered at once with great zeal into the revival then prevailing, not only praying and exhorting, but appointing and conducting meetings; and so acceptable were his efforts that, within a few weeks, the church gave him a formal license to preach the gospel.
In the year 1790 he removed to Davidson Co., Tenn., then almost a wilderness. The history of Mr. Whitsitt's labors would be substantially the history of the Baptists in the Cumberland Valley. His co-laborers were Dillahunty, McConnico, and others, - all men of decided power, and eminently fitted to do good service as pioneers in the cause of Christ.
He took the pastoral charge of four churches, - Mill Creek, Concord, Rockspring, and Providence. He continued his labors with these churches from thirty to forty years, up to the time that the infirmities of age compelled him to circumscribe his efforts and remain mostly at home.
Mr. Whitsitt was present at the organization of the Mero District, the first Association formed in the Cumberland Valley. In this, and others of which he was subsequently a member, his influence was paramount. This Association originally included all the churches in Tennessee west of the mountains.
His connection with it continued until the formation of the Cumberland Association, to which his churches were transferred, and he, of course, went with them. Afterwards the Concord Association was formed, which included the churches of Mr. Whitsitt; with it he remained to the day of his death. He always attended the annual meetings of these Associations while his health would permit.
He resigned his charge at Mill Creek and, having obtained a letter of dismission, joined the First church in Nashville, with which he remained till the close of his life. Meanwhile he continued to preach in different churches, as his health would permit.
The summer and autumn previous to his decease; he supplied the pulpit of the Second church in Nashville, in the absence of the pastor, most of the time; and, in addition to this, preached funeral sermons, and performed other occasional services
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at the houses of friends in the neighborhood. He also wrote many articles for the religious press, some of which were decidedly among his best productions. On the second Lord's day in October, 1848, he was with his church in Nashville, at their communion. His address on that occasion whs peculiarly affecting. "And now, brethren and sisters, farewell. We shall meet no more upon earth. This is our last interview. I am old and rapidly sinking. The winter is almost upon us, during which I cannot visit you, and before the spring comes I shall die. Farewell." This was, indeed, his last meeting with them. He died in perfect peace on the 12th of April, 1849, in the seventy-ninth year of his age.As a minister of the gospel, he held a very high rank. His sermons were always able, and had the appearance of being elaborately prepared. Mr. Whitsitt's conceptions were clear and accurate. The reasoning faculty was of unusual strength, and no metaphysical subtleties ever confused him. In the latter part of his life his sermons became less argumentative and more practical. He was also occasionally intensely pathetic, and the effect of his utterances at such times was well-nigh overwhelming. He was the uniform and earnest friend of missions, and had a primary agency in originating and sustaining the missionary operations of our State.
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