preaching from chapter III. of St. John's Gospel, and a clause of verse
7, _Ye must be born again_; prior to the departure of _George Liele_ for
Jamaica, he came up from Tybee River, where departing vessels frequently
lay ready for sea, and baptized our Brother _Andrew_, with a wench of
the name _Hagar_, both belonging to _Jonathan Bryan_, Esq.; these were
the last performances of our Brother _George Liele_ in this quarter.
About eight or nine months after his departure, _Andrew_ began to exhort
his black hearers, with a few whites. Edward Davis, Esq.; indulged him
and his hearers to erect a rough building on his land at _Yamacraw_, in
the suburbs of Savannah for a place of worship, of which they have been
very artfully dispossessed. In this their beginning of worship they had
frequent interruptions from the whites; as it was at a time that a
number of blacks had absconded, and some had been taken away by the
British. This was a plausible excuse for their wickedness in their
interruptions. The whites grew more and more inveterate; taking numbers
of them before magistrates--they were imprisoned and whipped. _Sampson_,
a brother of _Andrew_, belonging to the same master, was converted about
a year after him, and continued with him in all their persecutions, and
does until now. These, with many others, were twice imprisoned, and
about _fifty_ were severely whipped, particularly _Andrew, who was cut
and bled abundantly_, while he was under their lashes; Brother
_Hambleton_ says, he held up his hand, and told his persecutors that he
rejoiced not only to be whipped, but _would freely suffer death for the
cause of Jesus Christ_. "The chief justice _Henry Osborne_, Esq.; _James
Habersham_, Esq.;[1] and _David Montague_, Esq.; were their examinants,
and released them. Their kind _master_ also interceded for them; and
was much affected and grieved at their punishment." Brother _Hambleton_
was also an advocate for them; and further says, that at one of their
examinations _George Walton_, Esq.; spoke freely in favour of the
sufferers, saying, that such treatment would be condemned even among