Presbyterians were present in North Carolina from the colony’s earliest days, with the largest groups, the Scots-Irish and the Highland Scots, arriving in large numbers during the 18th century and settling mainly in the Piedmont and the Cape Fear area. Early Presbyterian settlers had no ministers, so after many petitions the Synod of New York sent William Robinson to preach in the winter of 1742-43, the Synod of Philadelphia sent John Thompson in 1744, Hugh McAden arrived in 1755 and visited both the Piedmont and Cape Fear areas, James Campbell began ministering to the Highland Scots in 1757, and Alexander Craighead arrived in Mecklenburg County in 1758. Other ministers of the period included David Caldwell, who came as a missionary in 1764 and became a great teacher and statesman, and Henry Patillo, author of the first school textbook in the colony, who arrived in 1765. The first three presbyteries were Orange in 1770, Concord in 1796, and Fayetteville in 1813, and the Synod of North Carolina was organized on October 6, 1813, at Alamance Church. Presbyterians strongly supported education: David Caldwell opened his Log College in Guilford County in 1767, academies were later conducted by Henry Patillo, Samuel E. McCorkle, James Hall, and William Bingham, Queens College was chartered by the Colonial Assembly in 1771 at Presbyterian request but the act was disallowed by the King, and Davidson College opened in 1837 with Robert H. Morrison as its first president. Other Presbyterian colleges included Flora Macdonald, Queens, and St. Andrews. Prominent Presbyterian laymen included William R. Davie, a founder of the University of North Carolina, Archibald D. Murphey, an early 19th century advocate of internal improvements, constitutional reform, and public education, and Calvin H. Wiley, the first State Superintendent of Common Schools. Early growth was slow but accelerated through the Great Revival of the 18th century, which began with the preaching of James McGready, and through statewide camp meetings. According to synod records, in 1813 there were 3 presbyteries, 25 ministers, 102 churches, and 4,000 communicants, and in 1963 there were 9 presbyteries, 623 ministers, 645 churches, and 147,272 communicants.