Early Life and Education
Craig was born in Orange County, Virginia (formerly Spotsylvania County) in 1738 or 1743, the 5th child of Polly Hawkins and Taliaferro or Toliver Craig, Sr. He was converted by David Thomas and ordained as a Baptist preacher in 1771. His older brother Lewis and younger brother Joseph also became Baptist preachers. Like other independent Baptists, including his brother Lewis Craig, some say Elijah Craig was jailed at least once (in Fredericksburg before the American Revolution) for preaching without a license or episcopal ordination from the Anglican establishment. Craig was imprisoned briefly in South Carolina, apparently for disturbing the peace with his sermons.
In 1777, Craig became establishing pastor of the Blue Run Church, halfway between Barboursville and Liberty Mills, Virginia. Craig discussed with attorney and future president James Madison how to guarantee freedom of religion in the state constitution after the American Revolutionary War. Madison promised Craig and associated concerned Baptists that he would ensure religious freedom would be protected in the federal Constitution, a promise he fulfilled with his First Amendment.
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