Amos Cooper Dayton

Amos Cooper Dayton was a physician, Baptist minister, author, editor and educator, perhaps best remembered for his role in the Landmark Baptist movement. He was born at Plainfield, New Jersey, April 1, 1813, the son of Robert Dayton. Dayton married Lucinda H. Harrison. He died at Perry, Georgia, June 11 1865. Dayton graduated from medical college in 1834. By 1839 he was living in Mississippi and practicing as a dentist. He stayed there until 1852. Dayton was reared Presbyterian, but united with the Baptists in 1852. From 1854 through 1858 Dayton was the corresponding secretary of the Southern Baptist Convention Bible Board. He served as associate editor of The Tennessee Baptist for about 18 months in 1858-1859. He published the Baptist Banner in Atlanta, Georgia (1863-1864). He died of tuberculosis in 1865. At the time he was pastor of Houston Lake Baptist Church and First Baptist Church and the president of Houston Female Institute, all in Perry, Georgia. He is buried in the Evergreen Cemetery.

Dayton made significant contributions to the Landmark cause in the area of religious fiction. His book Theodosia Ernest was published in 1857 in two volumes. The first volume discussed baptism, and the second discussed church polity. Theodosia Ernest originally appeared as a series in The Tennessee Baptist. Dayton wrote Pedobaptist and Campbellite Immersions in 1858. Though J. R. Graves was the most prolific writer and outstanding leader of the Landmark movement, J. E. Tull concluded that Dayton's book was "the most cogent attack upon 'alien immersions' which the Landmark movement produced." ("A Study of Southern Baptist Landmarkism in the Light of Historical Baptist Ecclesiology", p. 135)

Dayton, J. R. Graves, and James Madison Pendleton were known as "The Great Triumvirate" of the Landmark movement.