I think I did run across the Covenanters before in my research, but had forgotten that name.
I did some little research, and yes of course I have one of these screwballs in my family tree
.....a real nut job!
He had to move from the North where his family settled in Lancaster Pa. to the South however, as the North wouldn't much tolerate him, and even in the South the Governors of the States like NC-SC got tired of him. However, since the family tree is realated via marriage (I found out how now, so thanks for that mention of the Covenanters) it was through one of them in the family who married a Ben Franklin sister - (thus Ben Franklin became a friend and in = law to the less weirdo ones in Pennsylvania, even giving one a Windsor Rocking Chair ( my mom had one from Boston I inherited) He must have done them ALL favors by publishing their writings when asked - such as the "off the wall" one in the South. Here is what I found:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Craighead
Rev. Thomas Craighead was buried in the church he founded in Lancaster Pa.
* See How name spelling changes in Ireland and America:
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/11723446/alexander-craighead (Creaghead)
His wife from Scotland then Ireland had a brother who married into the Ben Franklin family.......
THEIR youngest son also a Rev. (Wiki suggests he was ostracized for his cantankerous ways, had to move to N.C.) He went overboard, a really preacher fire & brimstone type - I guess - got involved politically, and butted heads with the local powers that be.
had many slaves - which he left to his widow
By espousing Cameronian doctrines, which mixed theology and politics, Craighead soon precipitated a political disturbance. In 1743 there was published in Pennsylvania an anonymous pamphlet that everyone attributed to him. To the provincial authorities the pamphlet seemed "calculated to foment disloyal and rebellious practices, and disseminate principles of disaffection."
Considering it most radical in tone, the governor complained to the Synod of Philadelphia. The synod, agreeing with the governor that the pamphlet was seditious, disavowed it and Craighead.
After studying the classics and theology under his father, Alexander was licensed to preach in 1734 and ordained in 1735. He then became minister to Middle Octorara Presbyterian Church in Lancaster County.
From 1743 to 1749, Craighead remained in Pennsylvania and presided over a group called the Covenanter Society.
In 1740, Craighead was denounced from several quarters for meddling with the congregations of other ministers without an invitation; members of his own church accused him of reprehensible conduct. When hailed before a meeting of the presbytery in his own church, he heaped verbal abuse on the presbytery and charged a number of ministers, whose names he dared call, of various shortcomings in the performance of their duties. The presbytery suspended him, but he continued his ministry as if nothing had happened.
In 1749, Craighead
moved to Augusta County, Va., and became minister of the Mossy Creek Presbyterian Church. His views seem to have
disturbed Governor Robert Dinwiddie of Virginia even more than the officials of Pennsylvania, for on 10 June 1752, Craighead was
arrested for proclaiming doctrines that smacked of treason. Making every effort to straighten matters out, the Presbyterian clergyman made a plea to the governor's council. He was permitted to preach again but only if he recanted all disloyal utterances and took a public oath of allegiance to the government. Whether Craighead ever met this condition is not clear, but he continued to live in Virginia for several more years,
accumulating a considerable amount of property in the form of land and slaves. He also continued to be a member of the New-Side New York Synod.
NOTE: its people like this one that are called "bad seeds" in a family tree and probably the same with the Craigheads or those who remained in the North and tried to walk a more legal path although I've not had the chance yet to get into them too fully yet.
Unsettled conditions in the back country during the French and Indian War prompted Craighead and some of his congregation to move to North Carolina in 1757. In November 1758 he was installed as pastor of the Rocky River and Sugaw Creek Presbyterian churches in Mecklenburg County. Presiding at the ceremonies was William Richardson, a New-Side Presbyterian, who was being sent by the New Hanover Presbytery of Virginia to serve as a missionary to the Cherokee Indians in South Carolina. Craighead's political views were as radical as ever, and he urged his congregations to resist, not cooperate with, the provincial government. I
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Craighead
Alexander Craighead was born in
Donegal,
Ulster,
Ireland on March 18,
1707.
[1] He emigrated to North America with his father, the
Reverend Thomas Craighead.
He died March 1766 in Rocky Creek,
Mecklenburg County, North Carolina.
He was the youngest son of Rev. Thomas Craighead and Margaret Holmes. He was the brother to my ancestor, John Craighead. Their
mother was Margaret Holmes who was born in Scotland. She came with her husband and four of their five children from County Londonderry to America settling first in Massachusetts. Her brother, William
Holmes' son Robert Holmes married Mary Franklin whose brother was Benjamin Franklin, Patriot, Statesmen, Scientist, and Signer of the American Declaration of Independence. [Source, "Craighead Family", by Rev. James Geddes Craighead]. Also, "Simpson and Allied Families", by Dennis William Simpson 1985.
Family relative Ben Franklin published his books:
A prolific writer and leader in his faith, he published numerous works, including
Renewal of the Covenants, National and Solemn League; A Confession of Sins; An Engagement to Duties; and a Testimony; as they were Carried on at Middle Octorara in Pennsylvania, November 11, and
The reasons of Mr. Alexander Craighead's receding from the present judicatories of this church..., 1743, both published by
Benjamin Franklin.
Considered a promoter of the "
Revival" and a participant in the "
Great Awakening", he was a vocal critic of
King George III and the
Church of England. He often preached to his flock to resist threats to their independence, and he held the rights of the common man as sacred as that of kings. He is counted as the spiritual father of the
Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence, which was allegedly written nine years after his death.
www.jpost.com
norbertobarreto.blog
www.ibtimes.com
abcnews.go.com
rumble.com
blogs.timesofisrael.com
www.jta.org
