Samuel Davies, the principal organizer of Presbyterianism in colonial Virginia, won fame as one of the leading pulpit orators of his day, and his sermons and hymns were frequently reprinted for more than a century after his death.

Davies was born of Welsh parents, David and Martha Davies (or Davis), in New Castle County, Delaware, on 3 November 1723. He was educated at the "log college" at Fagg's Manor, Pennsylvania, one of a number of classical academies created to furnish an educated ministry for the middle colonies. The log-college movement stemmed from the influence of William Tennent, Sr., whose well-known sons included Gilbert Tennent, a revivalist during the Great Awakening. At Fagg's Manor Davies came under the influence of Samuel Blair, a leading minister among the prorevival New Side Presbyterians, then in the process of creating their own organization after the 1741 Presbyterian schism.

A year after his 1746 graduation Davies was...