The Papers of Isaac Backus, 1630-1806: a Guide to the Microfilm Edition.

The Papers of Isaac Backus, 1630-1806: A Guide to the Microfilm Edition. Edited by Leigh Johnsen. Ann Arbor, MI: ProQuest Information and Learning, 2003. 241 pp.

Isaac Backus (1724-1806), a well-known Separate Baptist pastor of the 1700s, was unquestionably one of the foremost Baptist proponents of religious liberty and church-state separation in colonial and revolutionary America. In addition, he served as a prominent Baptist historian.

The Papers of Isaac Backus, a collection of fifteen reels of microfilm, includes approximately 2,700 documents collected or written by Backus. This extraordinary collection of documents includes "either originals or copies of correspondence, business records, wills, deeds, affidavits, notebooks, unpublished writings, death records, travel notes, civil records, petitions, and minutes of various congregations, societies, associations, and councils, as well as an array of documents difficult or impossible to categorize" (p. 28).

The Papers of Isaac Backus, 1630-1806: A Guide to the Microfilm Edition provides a systematic guide to the Backus's microfilm collection. Edited by Leigh Johnsen, a former student of Edwin S. Gaustad at the University of California at Riverside, this volume includes six key elements: (1) a chronology of Backus's life; (2) an introduction titled "The Life and Papers of Isaac Backus"; (3) a section titled "Using The Papers of Isaac Backus," including a list of the archives and published sources that include handwritten Backus documents or contain published documents; (4) a list of Backus's publications; (5) a partial Backus genealogy; and (6) an "Index to The Papers of Isaac Backus." The index alone is 203 pages of double-column copy.

Topics covered in the index will whet the research appetite of any scholar interested in Isaac Backus or Baptist life in colonial and revolutionary America. The index includes large numbers of references to Awakenings, Baptism, Church Councils, Church Discipline, Conversions, Deaths, Imprisonments, Laying on of Hands, Ordinations, Religious Liberty, Religious Oppression, Revivals, Spiritual Testimonies, Taxes, and Women. The index features prominent individuals, churches, and associations.

This microfilm collection and published guide possess inestimable value for Baptist libraries, archives, church historians, and other researchers. All libraries/archives of Baptist colleges, universities, seminaries, divinity schools, and other academic institutions should make it a priority to secure these resources. If you are a professor of church history, consider encouraging the acquisitions librarian or archivist of your institution to purchase the microfilm and guide.

For information about the microfilm collection and the published guide, contact ProQuest Information and Learning, 300 N. Zeeb Road, P.O. Box 1346, Ann Arbor, MI 48106-1346. Telephone numbers are 734-761-4700 and 800-521-0600.--Reviewed by Charles W. Deweese, executive director treasurer, Baptist History and Heritage Society, Brentwood, Tennessee.