Jesse Mercer (1769-1841)

Rev. Jesse Mercer, born December 16, 1769 in Halifax County, North Carolina, was the son of Rev. Silas Mercer (February 25, 1744/45 - August 1, 1796) and Dorcas Green (December 30, 1746 - September 7, 1819). He was a prominant Baptist preacher, newspaper publisher and namesake of Mercer Institute in Penfield, Georgia (now Mercer University). He was a delegate to Georgia's Constitutional Convention in 1798, helped origanize the General Association of Georgia Baptists in 1784 later becoming the first President of the Georgia Baptist Convention in 1822. In 1833 he became publisher of The Christian Index and later the Temperance Banner. He is buried in the Penfield Cemetery, Greene Co., Georgia.