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==Background==

==Background==

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Baines was born near the [[Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic]] coast in Perquimans County, [[North Carolina]], to the Reverend Thomas Baines and the former Mary McCoy. In 1817, the Baines moved to [[Georgia]] and then to [[Alabama]], where Baines attended the [[University of Alabama]] at [[Tuscaloosa, Alabama|Tuscaloosa]]. He did not graduate because he left the institution his senior year as a result of the stomach ailment dyspepsia, which plagued him for the remainder of his life. Baines cut and rafted timber to pay for his college tuition. After leaving college, he taught school. Years later, the University of Alabama awarded him an honorary degree for his accomplishments.​

Baines was born near the [[Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic]] coast in Perquimans County near the capital city of [[Raleigh, North Carolina|Raleigh]], [[North Carolina]], to the Reverend Thomas Baines and the former Mary McCoy. In 1817, the Baines moved to [[Georgia]] and then to [[Alabama]], where Baines attended the [[University of Alabama]] at [[Tuscaloosa, Alabama|Tuscaloosa]]. He did not graduate because he left the institution his senior year as a result of the stomach ailment dyspepsia, which plagued him for the remainder of his life. Baines cut and rafted timber to pay for his college tuition. After leaving college, he taught school. Years later, the University of Alabama awarded him an honorary degree for his accomplishments.​

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==Call to the ministry==​

==Call to the ministry==​

Baines was baptized in the Salem Baptist Church in [[Tuscaloosa, Alabama|Tuscaloosa County]] in 1834. He was ordained a Baptist minister in 1837. He married the former Melissa Ann Butler of North Carolina on October 20, 1840, and thereafter moved to northern [[Arkansas]], where he founded three churches and baptized 150 converts. He was also a [[missionary]] for the Baptist Home Mission Society of [[New York City]]. Baines even served for three months in the Arkansas House of Representatives from November 1843 to February 1844 as the member from Carroll County.​

In 1834, Baines was baptized by the Salem Baptist Church in [[Tuscaloosa, Alabama|Tuscaloosa County]], Alabama. He was ordained a Baptist minister in 1837. He married the former Melissa Ann Butler of North Carolina on October 20, 1840, and thereafter moved to northern [[Arkansas]], where he founded three churches and baptized 150 converts. He was also a [[missionary]] for the Baptist Home Mission Society of [[New York City]]. Baines even served for three months in the Arkansas House of Representatives from November 1843 to February 1844 as the member from Carroll County.​

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==A church schism in Arkansas==​

==Church schism in Arkansas==

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In March 1844, the "Hardshell" Baptist dissenters gained control of Baines' Crooked Creek Baptist Church, located south of Harrison in Boone Count, Arkansas. Baines was a "Missionary" Baptist in orientation (not to be confused with the Missionary Baptist denomination). The Baineses and other mission-oriented members were ousted from the Crooked Creek Church. The "Missionary" Baptists were evangelistic and believed in the constant presentation of the [[Gospel]] of [[Jesus Christ]] as the propitiation for the sins of mankind and the sole source of salvation in the hereafter. The "Hardshell" segment, also called "Primitive" Baptists, embraced predestination, which took the view that while some individuals would accept the call of Christ, others most decidedly would not do so. The "Hardshells" eschewed revivals; they merely presented the Gospel, in some congregations only on a monthly basis, and left matters otherwise constant. The two groups were at odds in many locations across the American South.​

Baines and his family left Crooked Creek and moved south to Mount Lebanon in Bienville Parish in north Louisiana. He was the Bienville Parish superintendent of schools and also the founding minister on September 7, 1844, of the Saline Baptist Church, later named '''Old Saline Baptist Church''' and maintains a cemetery. Baines pastored at Old Saline until 1848,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://virts.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~markie/cem4os.htm|title=Old Saline Cemetery|publisher=Virts.rootsweb.ancestry.com|accessdate=May 4, 2009}}</ref> when he relocated to neighboring Webster Parish and served as the first pastor of the Minden Baptist Church, later the First Baptist Church of [[Minden, Louisiana|Minden]], Louisiana. (In 1969, Major dePingre], a journalist-turned-businessman, published ''The History of the First Baptist Church of Minden, Louisiana''.)​

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Baines was the third minister of the Mount Lebanon Baptist Church and the moderator of the Red River Baptist Association. He assisted in the organization of the North Louisiana Baptist Convention in 1848. While in Minden, he helped to organize the First Baptist congregation in Marshall in Harrison County, Texas, to the west of [[Shreveport]].​

 

 

Baines was the third minister of the Mount Lebanon Baptist Church and the moderator of the Red River Baptist Association. He assisted in the organization of the North Louisiana Baptist Convention in 1848.​<ref name=dict>{{cite web|url=https://www.lahistory.org/resources/dictionary-louisiana-biography/dictionary-louisiana-biography-b/|title=Baines, George Washington|publisher=''A Dictionary of Louisiana Biography,'' Louisiana Historical Association|accessdate=October 2, 2019}}</ref

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==Pastor of eight churches in Texas==​

==Pastor of eight churches in Texas==​

After his service at Mount Lebanon, Baines relocated to Huntsville, Texas, where he was the pastor of still another Baptist Church. Later, in Independence, Texas, Baines met the legendary [[Sam Houston]], who became a lifelong friend. Reverend Baines counseled Houston on the desirability of baptism after making a Christian commitment of faith. Consequently, Sam Houston was baptized in the last decade of his life on November 19, 1854, not by Baines, but by the Reverend Rufus C. Burleson, who had succeeded Baines as the pastor at the Independence Baptist Church.​

After his service at Mount Lebanon, Baines relocated to Huntsville, Texas, where he was the pastor of still another Baptist Church. Later, in Independence, Texas, Baines met the legendary [[Sam Houston]], who became a lifelong friend. Reverend Baines counseled Houston on the desirability of baptism after making a Christian commitment of faith. Consequently, Sam Houston was baptized in the last decade of his life on November 19, 1854, not by Baines, but by the Reverend Rufus C. Burleson, who had succeeded Baines as the pastor at the Independence Baptist Church.​

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During his ministry in Texas, Baines also pastored in Anderson, Fairfield, Springfield, Butler, Florence, and Salado. He founded the first Baptist newspaper in Texas, the ''Texas Baptist'', and edited the publication from 1855 until 1860, when it ceased production with the advent of the [[American Civil War]]. He led churches in prayer days, distribution of Bibles, aid to families, and soldier relief work during the war.​

During his ministry in Texas, Baines also pastored in Anderson, Fairfield, Springfield, Butler, Florence, and Salado. He founded the first Baptist newspaper in Texas, ''The Texas Baptist,'' and edited the publication from 1855 until 1860, when it ceased production with the advent of the [[American Civil War]]. He led churches in prayer days, distribution of Bibles, aid to families, and soldier relief work during the war.​

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==The Baylor years==​

==The Baylor years==​

The George Washington Baines House has been restored and operates as the popular Baines House Bed and Breakfast Inn in Salado.​

The George Washington Baines House has been restored and operates as the popular Baines House Bed and Breakfast Inn in Salado.​

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==References==

==References==

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