Francis Makemie (1658-1708) was the Irish-born Presbyterian missionary who organized the first American presbytery.

Francis Makemie was born in County Donegal, Ireland. He belonged to the population of northern Ireland transplanted by Scottish colonization. His boyhood belonged to the years of turbulent political struggle between Presbyterian leaders and Anglican bishops. The bishops' victory resulted in the Scots-Irish exodus to America at the beginning of the 18th century. Makemie's missionary zeal and lifelong battle for religious freedom can be understood in the light of this earlier history.

Barred from the Irish University because he was Presbyterian, Makemie took a degree from the University of Glasgow. In 1681 he was licensed to preach and in 1682 was ordained as a missionary to America. This was more than a generation before the great migration of Scots-Irish to America. Because New England, particularly Massachusetts, was inhospitable territory for Presbyterians, he preached in Maryland, North...