Missionary. A Presbyterian of Scottish descent, he was not allowed to enter the University of Ireland because of his religion - instead he enrolled at the University of Glasgow. He was ordained as a missionary to the colonies in 1682 after Col. William Stevens from Rehobeth Maryland had issued a call to the Presbyterian church in England. He preached in the middle Atlantic area (Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina). In 1684, Makemie established the first Presbyterian congregation in Snow Hill, Maryland. Francis married Naomi, the daughter of William Anderson, a successful businessman and landowner who helped him become established. Naomi and Francis had two daughters. In 1706 after a visit to England and persuading the Presbytery there to support missionary work in the colonies, he formed the seven missionaries working in scattered churches of the Middle colonies into the first presbytery in America, with power to license its own preachers. For the first time American Presbyterianism was independent of external control. In January 1707, he was arrested by Lord Cornbury (aka Edward Hyde), the governor of New York, for preaching without a license. Anglicanism was the official religion, but Makemie had a license to preach as a dissenter in Virginia and Maryland. After spending 6 weeks in jail, Makemie was aquitted in June 1707 based on the English Toleration Act of 1689. The case resulted in the immediate recall of Lord Cornbury. Though found innocent, he was ordered to pay both the cost of the defense and the cost of his prosecution. As a result of that unfairness, the New York legislature passed legislation which is considered a landmark case in favor of religious freedom in America. After the trial in 1707, he wrote the pamphlet "A Narrative of a New and Unusual American Imprisonment". Other works by him include "Truth in a True Light" in 1699 which defended Presbyterianism against charges that it had deviated too far from the Westminster Confession of 1646 and "A Plain and Friendly Perswasive to the Inhabitants of Virginia and Maryland for Promoting Towns an Cohabitation" in 1705. This work points out the advantages of forming towns for commerce, education, and worship. At the bicentennial of American Presbyterianism in 1906, a monument in his honor was erected on his Virginia farm where he is buried. There is also a plaque near the location of his home in Onancock Virginia.