Baptist Heritage

Elijiah Craig

Rev. Elijah Craig, an eminent pioneer preacher of Virginia and Kentucky, and brother of the famous Lewis Craig, was born in Orange Co., Va., about the year 1743. He was awakened to a knowledge of his lost estate under the preaching of the renowned David Thomas in 1764. Next year he was encouraged by Samuel Harris to hold meetings among his neighbors. This he did, using his tobacco-barn for a meeting-house. Many were converted. 

n 1766, Mr. Craig went to North Carolina, to get James Read to come and baptize him and others. He was ordained in May, 1771, at which time he became pastor of Blue Run church. Some time after this he was imprisoned for preaching the gospel. In jail he lived on rye bread and water, and preached to the people through the prison bars. he remained in Culpepper jail one month. After this "he was honored with a term in Orange jail." He became one of the most useful and popular preachers in Virginia. He was several times sent as a delegate from the General Association to the Virginia Legislature, to aid in securing religious liberty. In 1786 he removed to Scott Co., Ky. 

After this he labored but little in the ministry. Being a good business man, he soon amassed a fortune, and was of great value to the new country. He established the first school in which the classics were taught, built the first rope-walk, the first fulling-mill, and the first paper-mill that existed in Kentucky. He died in 1808.
source: Cathcart's Baptist Encyclopedia