William Worth (1745–1808) was a Baptist minister in Daretown, Upper Pittsgrove Township, New Jersey, best remembered in local and church histories for his "apostasy" into Christian Universalism.

Biography William Worth was born April 21, 1745, in Basking Ridge, New Jersey. He received his education at the Hopewell Baptist School from its founding in 1756 to its discontinuance in 1767.F. R. Brace, New Jersey Chaplains in the Army of the Revolution, Proceedings of the New Jersey Historical Society, v. 6. No, 1, p. 9.Janet Lindman, Bodies of Belief: Baptist Community in Early America, 2011, p. 165. In 1762, sixty acres had been purchased for 80 pounds from John Mayhew, who conveyed title to Jacob Elwell, John Mayhew Sr., and John Dickison in trust for the church. However, the deed was later determined to be defective and in 1809 a second deed was conveyed by John Mayhew, Esq., Sarah Worth (Rev. Worth's surviving widow), Susannah Smith and Lydia Davis, heirs of John Mayhew the elder. In 1771 a dwelling house was built for the pastor.Rev. Joshua E. Wills, D.D., Historical Sketch of the Pittsgrove Baptist Church, pp. 86-87.Thomas Shourds, History and Genealogy of Fenwick's Colony, Bridgeton, N.J. 1876, p. 414.

Ministry He was the first minister of the Pittsgrove Baptist Church in Daretown. That congregation was formed in 1771, by dismissal (division) from the church at Cohansey. The severance was approved at a meeting April 6, 1771, and signed at a meeting May 9, 1771. Among the members forming the new congregation were John Mayhew Sr., and John Mayhew, likely the father and brother of his wife, Sarah Mayhew.Rev. Joshua E. Wills, D.D., Historical Sketch of the Pittsgrove Baptist Church, pp. 79-81.

William Worth was associated with the new Mount Bethel Baptist Meetinghouse in 1767 when it was dismissed (divided) from the Scotch Plains Baptist Church.J. H. Parks, D. D., History of the Scotch Plains Baptist Church, 1897, p. 11. Rev. Worth and his wife joined the Pittsgrove congregation on May 16, 1771, and he was ordained pastor to that congregation that day.Rev. Joshua E. Wills, D.D., Historical Sketch of the Pittsgrove Baptist Church, p. 95.E.L. Sheppard, Esq., Historical Sketch of the Pittsgrove Baptist Church (manuscript contained in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, Church and Town Records, 1708-1985), p. 13Thomas S. Griffiths, A History of Baptists in New Jersey, Paris, Arkansas, 2005, p. 223.

Worth served as a chaplain of the Second Battalion of the Revolutionary Army troops in New Jersey.F. R. Brace, New Jersey Chaplains in the Army of the Revolution, Proceedings of the New Jersey Historical Society, v. 6. No, 1, p. 9. He served four years.Norman Hill Maring, Baptists in New Jersey: A Study in Transition, 1964, p. 73

Records of his baptisms and marriages at the Pittsgrove Church have been published,Frank H. Stewart, An Account of Persons Married by Rev. William Worth of Pittsgrove (Daretown) Baptist Church, Salem County, Genealogical Magazine of New Jersey, Volume 2, Nos. 3 (pages 100-105) and 4 (pages 122-127) and some manuscript records of church governing meetings are available.E.L. Sheppard, Esq., Historical Sketch of the Pittsgrove Baptist Church (manuscript contained in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, Church and Town Records, 1708-1985) By one account, he solemnized over 400 marriages.E.L. Sheppard, Esq., Historical Sketch of the Pittsgrove Baptist Church (manuscript contained in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, Church and Town Records, 1708-1985), p. 14.

Apostasy and reconciliation Worth's Universalist apostasy began in 1788.E.L. Sheppard, Esq., Historical Sketch of the Pittsgrove Baptist Church (manuscript contained in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, Church and Town Records, 1708-1985), p. 14

The conflict within the Pittsgrove Church sharpened in 1790. "The year 1790 witnessed a revival of the erroneous anti-Scriptural teaching of universal salvation. The movement . . . attracted the attention of many of the English and American ministers simultaneously."Rev. Joshua E. Wills, D.D., Historical Sketch of the Pittsgrove Baptist Church, p. 104. The male members of the Pittsgrove congregation followed Rev. Worth, while thirteen women met faithfully in the Baptist practice outside the Church.Janet Lindman, Bodies of Belief: Baptist Community in Early America, 2011, p. 116.

In 1803, Rev. Worth was removed as minister of the Pittsgrove Church.Thomas Shourds, History and Genealogy of Fenwick's Colony, Bridgeton, N.J. 1876, p. 414. Rev. Worth is reported to have recanted as he lay dying in 1808, saying "Universalism can not sustain me in death."The Pittsgrove Baptist Church Daretown, NJ 1771-1941 History Bylaws and Rules of Order, The One Hundred and Seventieth Anniversary, p. 4. After his death on January 2, 1808,New Jersey, Deaths and Burials Index, 1798-1971 he was interred in the Old Pittsgrove Baptist Churchyard beneath a plain marble slab.E.L. Sheppard, Esq., Historical Sketch of the Pittsgrove Baptist Church (manuscript contained in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, Church and Town Records, 1708-1985), p. 17

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