James Coultart - A Study in Perseverance

 

 

                                       St Ann’s Bay Baptist Church          

James Coultart hailed from a small community near Dumfries in Scotland and was another of the Bristol College-trained missionaries whom BMS commissioned to serve in Jamaica. While living in Birmingham where he pursued his trade, Coultart developed Baptist convictions and became a member of the Cannon Street Church, where his pastor, Isaiah Birt, recommended his acceptance at Bristol College. 

BMS designated Coultart a missionary to Jamaica in a service at the Broadmead Baptist Church in Bristol. He sailed from England, arriving in Kingston on May 9, 1816 with Mary Ann, his wife. As he began his ministry, which spanned some 20 years, Coultart rented a house from one of the deacons at Liele’s church and served the developing East Queen Street Baptist Church. He was granted the use of the Gully Church, later called Robinson Chapel – a congregation of Black, Brown and White people.  In 1817, he opened a school from which the children of many church members benefited. In this, he followed the tradition established by Liele. Unfortunately, the committed missionary and his wife had to deal regularly with ill health.

Mrs. Coultart worked with impressive results among the children and women of the church. On September 8, 1817, she became a victim of the deadly yellow fever. This filled her husband with grief. In the wake of this huge loss, he wrote to the BMS Secretary, “Think on me, dear Sir, under my present painful bereavement and assist me with your prayers.” Still, he was intent on continuing his ministry.

In 1818, Coultart launched a church building programme. Then, still facing ill heath, he returned to England for recuperation and to raise money for his church building project. While in England, he met the woman who was to be his new bride, a Miss Green from Salisbury in the south of England. Coultart, with his new bride, returned to Jamaica, arriving in January 1820. He found his church congregation intact and still attracting the scattered members from earlier Baptist witness in Kingston – especially Swigle’s – and he resumed serving them.

In 1821, Coultart went on a tour of regions of Jamaica, including places where Native Baptist congregations existed. He travelled to Manchioneal in St Thomas in the East, Annotto Bay in St George parish (now part of Portland) and Crooked Spring in St James, where he met and preached for Moses Baker, now well advanced in age and physically unwell. He introduced BMS missionary Henry Tripp to Baker and offered him as a person who could succeed Baker at Crooked Spring. Baker received Tripp graciously and, indeed, Tripp succeeded him.

In January 27, 1822, Coultart and his 1,600-member East Queen Street church dedicated their church building that could accommodate 2,000 worshippers. Meanwhile, both Coultart and his second wife continued to face health challenges. The couple decided to return to England to seek medical assistance, arriving at Liverpool in late 1823. Mr. Coultart returned to Jamaica in 1824, arriving just in time to visit Thomas Knibb who was on his death bed – a development that left Coultart shaken and disappointed.

Meanwhile, Coultart purchased land at Mt Charles, a community 32 kilometres north of Kingston and 2,000 feet above sea level, where he believed he and his wife would benefit from the cooler climate. The prospect of starting a church there looked favourable to him. Soon, upon his wife’s return to Jamaica, Coultart and his wife repaired to Mt Charles after serious disagreement arose among members of the East Queen Street church, where some trustees made false accusations against their pastor who was strenuously seeking to thwart their effort to seize the church property. This disappointment followed a similar effort eleven years earlier at what is now the Phillippo Baptist Church in Spanish Town. It helped spur the BMS to seek the incorporation of certain Baptist properties in Jamaica under British law – Law 13 of 1874. Eventually, in 1969, the Jamaica Baptist Union had properties owned by the churches associated in the JBU incorporated under Jamaican law.

In 1829, Coultart resigned the pastorate of East Queen Street Baptist Church and served the church at Mt Charles. Ill health continued to plague the Coultarts and they made another visit to England in 1831 in hopes of securing improved health. Their lives were spared and they returned to Jamaica in 1834 as they persisted in the effort to be faithful to the divine calling to serve in the country. Back in Jamaica, Coultart answered a call to serve as pastor of the St Ann’s Bay Baptist Church and its smaller sister churches at Ocho Rios and Brown’s Town.

At the Brown’s Town church, Coultart led the members to commence a mission house building programme. He did the same at St Ann’s Bay. As he worked tirelessly to improve the churches’ capacity to fulfill their ministry, Coultart did all he could to encourage peaceful relations between the enslaved and their enslavers who, with their friends formed the Colonial Church Union.

It is unclear whether the community of Coultart Grove near Claremont in St Ann was named in  honour of James Coultart, but the Baptist Church in that community was formed in 1835, the year preceding James Coultart’s death, while serving in St Ann’s Bay. At that time, “Coultart’s Grove” was identified as a sub-station of St. Ann’s Bay. Coultart may have been the first pastor of that church.

On July 12, 1836, an aneurism of the heart brought an end to Coultart’s earthly life in his 49^th year. Amazingly, General Baptist Missionary Society sponsored Samuel Nichols, who was Coultart’s predecessor at St Ann’s Bay, and who had, by then, returned to Britain, breathed his last the very same day that Coultart died. Coultart’s mortal remains were interred in the cemetery adjoining the St Ann’s Bay Baptist Church after a funeral service led by John Clarke of Jericho Baptist Church.

Concerning Coultart, the editor of the British Missionary Herald church magazine, had this to say:  

His personal and domestic afflictions have been great, and for many years he had to endure much opposition, but the hand of the Lord was with him…. The simple piety, transparent integrity and warm benevolence of our deceased friend were all insufficient to overcome the rooted prejudices still cherished in some quarters against the missionary name and character.

Meanwhile, BMS missionary Edward Baylis of Port Maria remarked: 

 

The death of our highly esteemed Brother Coultart is a serious stroke to the mission here, especially now when we are in so much need of more labourers, but the Great Head of the Church does all things well…. I believe our departed friend did work to the full extent of his power and there is no reason to doubt but that he is now enjoying the rest that remaineth for the people of God.

Mrs. Coultart returned to England and established her home in Wales, her native land, where, three years later, she married Rev. Henry Williams of Brecon in central Wales.