Caleb Evans, Abingdon, to John Sutcliff, Birmingham, 30 June 1775.                                                                             

Abingdon June 30. 1775

My Dr Friend,

         By the desire of our friends at Olney, I write to you earnestly to request that you would as soon as possible set out to pay them a visit and supply there for a few Lord’s Days, that you may be the better able to judge whether it may be the will of providence that you shd become their stated Minisr, shd yr Minisy be approved of by them. In this request Mr Beddome Mr Dunscombe of Coate, & myself, who have all been at Olney, unite with the people, & unless your engagemt where you are shd be very urgent indeed, we shall take it unkind if you do not comply with this request, as it cannt possibly do you any injury to pay the people a visit, and then to act as providence may direct, which is all that is desir’d of you.—The interest at Olney is considerable, a good house, a large congregation, and were there an acceptable Minisr, a prospect of it’s becoming much larger, an agreeable neighborhd with respect to other churches & Miniss, & many circumstances of a very encouragg nature. With respect to the people, some of them are pretty high in their sentencs, & are perhaps too fond of a doctrinal Ministry, but in the generl, a spirl experimental evangelicl Minisr wd be highly acceptable, & I verily believe ye people would unite cordially in such a man. Mr Sackett that was lately with them appears to have been useful to many, & his going away was against the will of many yt attended, but the majority by far of the Church Membs could not approve of his being settled amongst them. They tho’t him too rambling, superficl and methodistical. The independt Minr is laid aside & not likely to be able to preach any more, and shd ye independs be provided with a lively minr whilst the Bapts are destite, it is fear’d the Intert  wd suffer greatly—but on the other hand, shd the Bapts be provided first they sd have the advantage. Upon the whole, we all think it highly probable yr ministry will be acceptable to all the people, & shd it be so, that you might be remarkably useful in this situation. But at present all we desire is, as they are & will be destite till you come or send an answr to them,  that you would immedy pay them a visit & stay with them as long as you can, and then look up to God for further direction. Yr present duty, as things appear to us, seems clear & evident, & it will give us great pain if you refuse to comply with our joint request.— Please to send a line to Mrs Andrews, informg her when you intend being at Olney, & how you think to go. We apprehend you might come in the Coach to Stony Stratford, & Olney friends would send a horse to meet you there if you inform them when they may expect you. Indeed two of them would have come to Birmingh for you, but that we tho’t ye affair might as well be conducted by letter. We all join in Xtian repects to you & Mr Turner, who is, as we are glad to hear, better. May the Lord confirm his health and extend his usefulness!    I am, my Dr Friend,

                                                               Your affecte friend & bror in Christ

                                                                                 C Evans

P.S. I am going to Bro’ten, hope to be at Brisl in a fortnt, when I shll be glad to hear from you. Please to write to Mrs Andrews witht delay—MrBeddme lately preach’d from—and do you now practs —the words—The King’s Busns requireth haste.

Text: Timothy Whelan, Baptist Autographs in the John Rylands University Library of Manchester, 1741-1845 (Macon: Mercer University Press, 2009), pp. 28-29 (annotated version); also ENG. MS. 369, fol.43a, John Rylands University Library of Manchester. Ministers mentioned above include Benjamin Beddome, Thomas Dunscombe, a Mr. Sackett, John Drake, and John Turner.