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^PY  ep  PRi^ 


BX  5880  .P46  V.l 

Perry,  William  Stevens, 

1832-1898 

The  history  of  the  American 


-  1   ^i. 


-1  r»  rt  -\ 


THE    HISTORY 


AMERICAN    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH 


THE    HISTORY 


AMERICAN 

EPISCOPAL    CHURCH 

1587-1883 


BY 

WILLIAM    STEVENS  "pERRY,   D.D.,  LL.D. 

BISHOP     OF      IOWA 


IN     TWO     VOLUMES 


Vol.    I 

THE    PLANTING    AND    GROWTH    OF    THE    AMERICAN 
COLONIAL    CHURCH 

1587—1783 


I'ROJECTED    BY    CLARENCE    F.    JEWF.TT 


BOSTON 

JAMES    R.   OSGOOD    AND    COMPANY 

18S5 


Copyright,   1885 

James   R.  Osgood  and  Company 

All  rights  rtiemd 


hrtMa   of  JtorJhtv//   an./    Chnrfhitl,   Boston 


Eo 


THK    RT.   HON.  AND    MOST    REV.   EDWARD   W.  BENSON,  D.D., 

Ktc,   Etc., 
i-oro  akrhbishop  op  r'anterbttr v.  i'rimate  of  all  en'gland  and  metropolitan' ; 


THE    MOST    REV.  ROBERT    EDEN,  D.D., 

LORD    BISHOP   OF    MORAV,    KOSS,    AND   CAITHNESS,    AND    PRIMUS    OF    THE 
I'HURfU   IN   SCOTLAND; 


THE    RT.  REV.  ALFRED    LEE,  D.D.,  LL.D., 

BISHOP    of    DELAWARE,    A.\D    PRESIDINO    BISHOP   OF    THE    AMEHIIAV   CHURCH, 

IS    RESPECTFULLY    INSCRIBED. 


PREFACE. 


rriHAT  tlie  history  of  the  American  Episcopal  Church  is 
-*-  not  racM-e  widely  known,  and  more  g-enei-ally  accessible, 
is  not  from  the  lack  of  earnest  and  painstaking  inves- 
tigators, nor  from  any  want  of  abundant  material.  Pam- 
phlets and  volumes,  "  broadsides "  and  papers,  letters, 
records  and  manuscripts,  bearing  upon  our  history  and  illus- 
trating the  annals  of  earlier  or  later  days,  exist  in  almost 
embarrassing  profusion.  Even  the  statutes  at  large  of  our 
jurists  and  the  secular  histories  of  our  States  or  the  Nation 
cannot  he  studied,  or  even  casually  examined,  Avithout  the 
revelation  of  the  connection  of  the  Church  of  England  with 
ei\v]y  maritime  discovery  and  colonization,  and  the  confession 
of  the  fact  that  the  State  and  the  Church  grew  up  together 
among  us  from  the  first.  In  fact,  our  ecclesiastical  history  is 
necessaril}-^  coeval  with  that  of  the  civilization  and  develop- 
ment of  the  continent.  One  cannot  turn  the  dingy  pages 
of  the 

"  Small,  rare  volumes,  black  with  tarnished  gold," 

— the  coveted  treasures  of  the  bibliomaniac,  and  tlie  "nuggets  " 
of  collectors  of  "Americana,"  —  without  finding  in  black 
lettei-  or  in  plain  Roman  the  story  of  the  Church's  progress 
through  trials  and  difficulties  from  her  first  transplanting  on 
American  shores  to  her  present  independence  and  promise. 


Xjll  PREFACE. 

It  is,  nevertheless,  true  that  with  a  rich  and  almost 
exhaustless  store  of  material  to  draw  from,  and  with  a  his- 
tory of  which  we  have  no  reason  to  be  ashamed,  the  narrative 
of  the  Church's  foundation  and  growth  has  been  Init  partially 
told.  The  labors  of  the  late  Francis  Lister  Hawks,  D.D., 
LL.D.,  first  historiographer  of  the  American  Church,  prose- 
cuted as  they  were  among  many  discouragements,  and 
received,  as  we  must  confess,  with  inadequate  support,  gave 
us  the  annals  of  the  Church  in  Virginia  and  Maryland,  and,  at 
a  later  date,  and  in  connection  with  the  present  writer,  the 
documentary  history  of  the  Connecticut  Church.  The  ven- 
erable Bishop  White,  in  his  invaluable  "Memoirs  of  the 
Church,"  placed  within  our  reach  an  authoritative  resume 
of  the  facts  and  principles  of  our  organization  as  an  inde- 
pendent branch  of  the  catholic  Church  of  Christ.  Others, 
whom  it  would  be  impossible  to  name,  have  supplied,  in 
diocesan  or  parish  histories,  and  in  the  Ijiographies  of  our. 
leading  men,  data  of  the  greatest  value  and  interest.  But 
the  only  accessible  history  of  the  Church,  as  a  whole,  is  the 
admiralile  summary  of  our  annals,  written  by  the  celebrated 
Wilberforce,  Bishop  of  Oxford  and  Winchester,  and  since 
this  admirable  work  Avas  prepared  nearly  half  a  century  of 
growth  and  development  has  already  passed. 

The  scheme  of  this  History  oiiginated  with  Mr.  Clarence 
F.  Jewett,  who  entrusted  the  further  development  of  the  work 
to  the  writer,  and  it  is  now  offei-ed  to  supply,  for  a  time  at 
least,  the  confessed  lack  of  a  record  of  the  Church's  progress 
during  its  earlier  days  of  planting  and  struggling  as  a  feeble 
and  somewhat  neglected  branch  of  the  Church  of  England, 
and  its  histoiy  after  the  war  of  the  Revolution  as  an  organiza- 
tion which  has  now  closed  its  first  century  of  independent 
life.  In  the  presentation  of  this  story  of  church  life  and 
srrowth  there  have  been  added  to  the  narrative  mimerous  im- 
portant  and  vakiable  monographs,  prepared  by  distinguished 


PREFACE.  IX 

writers  of  our  communion,  and  serving  to  elucidate  the  state- 
ments of  the  text  or  to  add  to  their  fuhiess  and  accuracy. 

Other  papers  of  this  nature,  of  perhaps  equal  vahie  and 
interest,  were  prepared;  but,  with  a  view  to  condensation,  the 
results  of  these  investigations  have  been  incorporated  in  the 
narrative  and  illustrative  notes.  It  is  believed  that  by  this 
division  of  labor  a  more  satisfactory  result  has  been  attained 
than  could  possibly  have  been  secured  in  any  other  way,  and 
these  noble  volumes,  which  in  their  typography  and  careful 
illustration,  attest  the  taste  and  liberality  of  the  publishers, 
are  therefore  commended  to  the  kind  consideration  of  the 
members  of  our  Church  as  the  first  complete  history  of  our 
communion. 


/JuUi 


Ci/yyty 


CONTENTS    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Preface vn 


Efjc  planting  auK  ©rototlj  of  tljc  Slmcncan  (iTalonial  Cfjurcij. 

BV    THE    EDITOR. 


CHAPTER   I. 

The   Connection   of   the    Chuhcii    of    England    with    American 

Discovery  and  Settlement 1 

Illustrations:  Sebastian  Cabot,  3;  Martin  Frobisher,  G;  Tlic  Arms 
of  Englaiul,  8  ;  Cavendish,  11 ;   Sir  Francis  Drake,  1-1. 

Autographs  :  Henry  VII.,  Henry  VIII.,  Edward  VI.,  2 ;  Queen  Mary, 
Queen  Elizabeth,  4;  Sir  Francis  Drake,  5;  Martin  Frobisher,  C; 
Sir  Iliimplirey  Gilbert,  8  ;  Sir  Walter  Ralegh,  9 ;  Ralph  Lane,  10. 

Notes,  Critical  and  Biographical 15 


CHAPTER   II. 

Services  and   Sacraments  at  Ralegh's  Colonies  at  Roanoke,  on 

THE  North  Carolina  Coast 18 

Critical  Notes  on  the  Sources  of  Information 23 


CHAPTER  III. 

Fort  St.  George  and    the    Church  Settlers   at   the  Mouth    of 

the  Kennebec 2G 

Illustrations:  Smith's   Jlap  of  New  England,  28;    Ancient  Fenia- 
quid,  33. 

Autographs  :  George  Wavmuuth,  li" ;  Sir  Ferdinando  Gorges,  20  ;  Sir 


xn  CONTENTS  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

John  Popham,  Rev.  Richard  Haklu_vt,  30;  'William  Strachey,  34; 
Lord  Bacon,  37. 

Critical  Notes  and  Illustrations 38 


CHAPTER   TV. 

The  Foundations  of  Church  and  State  in  Virginia       ....         42 

Illustrations  :  Capt.  John  Smith,  43 ;  Jamestown,  44 ;  Lord  Dela- 
ware, 51 ;  George  Percy,  55. 

Autographs  :  Capt.  John  Smith,  47;  Jame.s  I.,  49;  De  la  Warr,  53; 
Thomas  Gates,  54  ;   George  Percy,  55. 

Critical  Essay  on  the  Sources  of  Information 63 


CHAPTER  V. 

Tine  University   of    Henrico,  and  Efforts    for   the   Conversion 

AND  Civilization  of  the  Savages 66 

Illustration  :  Fac-simile  Seal  of  Virginia,  72. 
Autograph  ;  John  Harvey,  72. 

Critical  Notes  on  the  Sources  of  Information 78 

CHAPTER   VI. 

Pioneers  of  the  Church  in  New  England 81 

Illustrations:  John  Endicott,  83 ;  Standish's  Sword  and  a  Match- 
lock, 84 ;  John  Winthrop,  88 ;  St.  Eotolph's  Church,  89 ;  John 
Cotton,  91;  Winthrop"s  Fleet,  93 ;  Fac-simile  Letter  of  Thomas 
Lechford,  98;  Petition  of  Robert  Jordan,  lOG. 

Autographs:  Robert  Browne,  81;  Thomas  Morton,  82 ;  John  Endi- 
cott, 83;  Miles  Standish,  84;  William  Blaxton,  Thomas  Walford, 
Samuel  Maverick,  87;  John  Winthrop,  88;  John  Cotton,  91; 
William  Hubbard,  94  ;  Roger  Williams,  95 ;  Thomas  Lechford, 
98 ;  Ferdinando  Gorges,  Captain  Mason,  Roger  Goode,  Thomas 
Gorges,  100;  Robert  Jordan,  104;  Signers  of  Covenant  "First 
Church  in  Boston  "  (John  Winthrop,  John  Wilson,  Isaac  John- 
son, Thomas  Dudley),  111. 

Critical  Notes  on  the  Sources  of  Information 107 


CHAPTER  VII. 
The  College  at  Williamsburg  and  President  Blair      ....       113 

Illustration  :  The  College"  of  William  and  Mary  as   it  ajipearcd  a 
century  and  a  half  ago,  123. 


CONTENTS   AND    ILLUSTRATIONS.  XIII 

Autographs:  William  Bcrkcloy,   lU;  James  Blair,   Robert  Boyle, 
115;  Thomas  Dawson,  John  Camm,  James  Horrocks,  125. 

Illustrative  and  Ckitical  Notes 12G 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

CoMMISSARV     BUAY       AND       THE       BEGINNING      OF      THE        ChURCH        IN 

Maryland 129 

Illdstrations  :  Lonl  I'.altimore,  130;  The  Baltimore  Arms,  132; 
Cecil,  seconil  Lord  Baltimore,  133;  Fac-simile  Title-Pago  of 
Tract,  139;  Endorsement  of  the  Toleration  Act,  UG;  All-Hal- 
lows Parish  Church,  Snow  Hill,  Maryland,  147. 

Autographs  :  John  Harvey,  Leonard  Calvert,  131 ;  John  Lewgcr, 
Thomas  Cornwaleys,  132;  King  Charles  II.,  135,  U5;  Sir  George 
Calvert,  William  Stone,  145;  Philip  Calvert,  146. 

Critical  and  Illustrative  Notes 145 


CHAPTER   IX. 
Beginnings  of  the  Church  in  New  York  and  the  Middle  Colonies,       118 

Ii,i,nsTUATioNS :  Arms  of  Sir  Francis  Nicholson,  151;  The  Fort  and 
Chapel,  Old  New  York,  155;  Sir  Edmund  Andros,  157;  Arms  of 
Andros,   158;  Lord  Bellomont,  163. 

Autographs:  Richard  Nicolls,  148;  Charles  Wolley,  150;  Thomas 
Dongan,  152;  King  James  II.,  153;  Lord  Bellomont,  1G3;  Gov- 
ernor Fletcher,  170. 

Illustrative  Notes 170 


CHAPTER   X. 

Governor  Andros  and  the  Building   of  King's  Chapel,  Boston,       175 

Illustrations  :  Fac-similc  of  Earliest  Record-Book  of  King's  Chapel, 
Boston,  178;  Great  Seal  of  New  England  under  Andros,  181; 
the  first  King's  Ch.apel,  186;  John  Nelson,  188;  Fac-simile  Note 
from  the  Records  of  King's  Chapel  referring  to  the  Rebellion 
against  Andros,  190;  Holy  Table  in  Use  in  1686,  191;  Com- 
munion Flagon,  192;  Communion  Plate  given  by  King  William 
and  Queen  Mary,  193. 

Autographs:  Robert  Ratcliffe,  175;  Samuel  Sewall,  176;  Charles 
Lidgett,  177;  Edward  Randolph,  179;  Edmund  Andros,  181;  Ben- 
jamin Bulliv.int,  187  ;  John  Nelson,  188  ;  Jlinisters,  Wardens,  and 
Vestry  of  lung's  Chapel,  1700,  194;  Rev.  Peter  Daille,  195. 

Illustu-ative  .\nd  Critical  Notes 195 


XIV  CONTENTS   AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


CHAPTER   XI. 

TuE  State  of  the  Cnuncii  in  Ajierica  at  the  Begixxixg  of  the 
Eighteenth  Centuuv,  and  the  Foundation  of  the  Society 
FOR  THE  Propagation  of  the  Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts    .     .       1D7 

Illustration  :   Seal  of  tlie  Society  for  Propagating  the  Gospel  in 
Foreign  Parts,  198. 

Illustrative  and  Critical  Notes 205 


CHAPTER    XII. 

The  Mission   of   Keith   and   Talbot  "  from  New   Hampshire  to 

Caratuck,"  North  Carolina 206 

Illustrations:  The  King's  Missive,  IGGl,  commanding  the  Release 
of  the  Quakers,  207;  Rev.  George  Keith,  209;  Joseph  Dudley, 
211 ;  Fac-simile  Title-Page  of  Sermon  preached  by  Rev.  George 
Keith,  213;  George  Fox,  21G;   Increase  Mather,  222. 

AuTOGEAPHS :  Cotton  Mather,  James  Allen,  Joshua  Moody,  Samuel 
Willard,  208  ;  Joseph  Dudley,  211 ;  Jolm  Talbot,  215. 

Illustrative  Notes 221 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

The  Planting  of  the  Church  in  Pennsylvania   and   Delaware,       223 

Illustrations  :  William  Penn,  223 ;  Seal  of  Pennsylvania,  224 ;  the 
Queen  Anne  Plate,  Christ  Church,  231;  Christ  Church,  Philadel- 
phia, 23G;  Interior  of  Christ  Church,  Philadelphia,. 238;  Jacob 
Duche,  2-tl ;  Old  Swedes  Church,  Wilmington,  Delaware,  244  ; 
Gloria  Dei  (old  Swedes)  Clmrch,  245 ;  Old  St.  David's  Church, 
Radnor,  24G. 

AuTOGRAi'iis  :  William  Penn,  223 ;  Evan  Evans,  22G ;  Peter  Evans, 
Robert  Hunter,  232 ;  William  Keith,  233 ;  Edmund  Gibson,  Lord 
Bishop  of  London,  237;  Robert  Jenney,  William  Sturgeon,  Ja- 
cob Duche,  239;  Richard  Peters,  240;  John  Kearsley,  Thomas 
Coonibe,  Jacob  Duche,  241 ;  Philip  Reading,  Thomas  Barton, 
Charles  Inglis,  Hugh  Neill,  242;  William  Thompson,  Robert 
Jenney,  William  Smith,  243. 

Illustrative  Notes 244 


CHAPTER  XrV. 

The    Conversion    to   the    Church    of    Cutler,    Rector   of  Yale 

College,  and  other  Puritan  Ministers  of  Connecticut    .     .       247 

Illustr.wions  ;  Timothy  Cutler,  243 ;  Christ    Church,  Boston,  252. 


CONTENTS   AND   ILLUSTKATIONS.  XV 

AuToGRArn  ;  Timotliy  Cutler,  24S. 

Illustrative  Notes 255 


CHAPTER  XV. 

The    Trial    of   John     Checklet,  and    the     Struggles    of    the  ' 

Church  in  Massachusetts  and  Rhode  Island 257 

Autographs  :  Jolui  Cliceklcy,  Ezekiel   Cheever,  257  ;   William  Dum- 
mer,  Robert  Auclumity,  204. 

Illustrative  Notes 271 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

Controversies 27o 

Illcstuation:    Rev.   James  JlcSparran,   280;    Memorial  Tablet  to 
Rev.  Jolm  Beach,  282. 

Autographs:  George   Pigot,    273;    Samuel   .Tohnson,    274;     Cliarles 
Cliauncy,  27G;   James  Wetmore,  279;  James  JlcSparran,  281. 

Illustrative  Note 282 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

Doctor  Johnson,  of  Stratford,   and  the   Growth  of  the  Con- 
necticut Church 283 

Illustrations  :  Samuel  Johnson,  289 ;    Christ's   Church,    StratforJ, 
297. 

Autographs  :  Timothy  Cutler,  285  ;   Samuel  Johnson,  289. 

Illustrative  Notes 302 


CHAPTER    XVIII. 

The  Leading  Missionaries  and  Clergy  at  the  North  and  South  : 

their  Lives  and  Labors 304 

Autographs:  Hugh   Jones,    307;    James    Honyman,   311;    Matthias 
Plant,  312;   Thomas  IJueun,  317;  Edward  Bass,  321. 

Illustrative  Note 321 


CHAPTER    XIX. 

Missionary    Labous    among     the    Mohawks    and    other    Indian 

Tribes 'ill     (^ 


XVI  CONTEXTS   AND   ILLUSTRATIONS. 

iLLnsTRATiONS  :   Sir  William  Johnson,  331 ;  the  Lord's  Prayer  from 
the  Mohawk  Prayer-Book,  334. 

Illustrative  Note 334 


CHAPTER    XX. 

The    Wesleys    and    George    Wihtefield,    Missionaries    of    the 

Church  in  Georgia 335 

Illustrations:  General  James  Oglethorpe,  33C;  Fac-simile  Titlc- 
Page  of  Wesley's  Journal,  346;  Rev.  George  WhitefielJ,  349; 
Whitefiekl's  Orphan  House  or  Bethesda  College,  Sol ;  F.ac-siniile 
Title-Page  of  Sermon  Preached  by  Rev.  Edward  Ellington,  358 ; 
Fac-simile  Title-Page  of  Journal  of  Voyage  from  London  to 
Georgi.a,    367. 

AuTOGRAi'ii :  George  Whiteficld,  349. 
Illustrative  Notes 360 


CHAPTER    XXI. 

Commissary  Garden  and  the  Church  in  South  Carolina    .     .     .       372 

Illustrations  :  St.  Michael's  Church,  374 ;  Fac-simile  Title-Page  of 
Six  Letters  to  Rev.  George  Whitefield,  389  ;  Interior  of  the  Goose- 
Creek  Church,  391 ;  St.  Andrew's  Church,  392 ;  Ruins  of  St. 
George's  Chiireli,  Dorchester,  393. 

Autographs:  Affra  Coming,  375;  Alexander  Garden,  385;  South 
Carolina  Clergymen,  1724  (Thomas  Hasell,  John  La  Pierre, 
Benjamin  Pown.tll,  William  Dawson,  Alexander  Garden,  Brian 
Hunt,  Albert  Powderous,  Richard  Ludlam,  Francis  Varnod, 
David  Standish),  394. 

Illustrative  Notes 390 


CHAPTER   XXII. 

The  Struggle  for  the  Episcopate 39.5 

Illustrations:    .Jonathan    Mayhew,  411;    ,\n  Attempt   to   Land   a 
Bishop  in  America,  413. 

Autographs:    Thomas   Seeker,    Archbishop   of    Canterbury,    407; 
Jonathan  Mayhew,  411;    Thomas  Bradbury  Chandler,   414. 

Illustrative  Note 426 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

King's  College,  New  York,  and  the  College  and  AcADEjn'   of 

Philadelphia 428 


CONTEXTS    AXI)    ILLUSTRATIONS.  XVII 

Ii.LDSTRATioNS  t  lU'iijaniin  Franklin, -42!) ;  Rev.  Richanl  Peters,  431; 
Rev.  William  Smith,  434;  Distant  view  of  King's  College  in  1768, 
443. 

Autographs  ■  Riclianl  rctcrs,  431  ;  Benjamin  Franklin,  433. 
Illi:.'*tkativk  Note 446 

CHAPTER    XXIV. 

The  Position  of  the  Clekoy  at    the  Opening  ok    the  War    for 

Independence      447 

Im.u.stkation  :   Dr.  .Tosepli  Warren,  452. 
.Vutoguai'h:   William  Stevens  Perry,  4(i8. 

Illustrative  Note ;....,.,       467 


Elustrattbr  monographs. 


MONOGRAPH   I. 

The  Relations  of   the  Founders  of    the  Massachusetts  Colony 

to  the  Church  of  England,     liobert  C.  Winthmp     ....       469 

Illustration  :  Pilgrim  Relies,  478. 

Autographs  :  John  Winthrop,  4(i9  ;  Margaret  Winthmp.  470  ;  Samuel 
Browne,  John  Browne.  47(1 :  Samuel  Fuller.  477 ;  Roljert  C. 
Winthrop,  478. 


MONOGRAPH   II. 

Early  Discoveries  and  SErrLEMENTS  on  the  Coast  of  New  Eng- 
land, UNDER  Church  Auspices.     Benjamin  F.  De  Costa 

Illustrations:  John  Hawkins,  480;  Ship  of  the  Seventeentli  Cen- 
tury, 483;  Blackstone's  Lot,  498. 

Autographs;    John   Hawkins,   480;    Sanuiel  Maveriek,   491;    John 
Cotton,  493;  James  I.,  494;  Benjamin  F.  De  Costa,  500. 


479 


MONOGRAPH    III. 

Puritanism  in  New  England  and  the  Episcop.\l  Church.    Thomas 

Winthrop  Coit 501 


XVIII  CONTENTS   AND   ILLUSTRATIONS. 

AiTOorwVriis  :  Hugli  Piitcrs,   50;! ;     Thomas   Sliepanl,   .",05 ;    AVilliar 
III.,  .")lt;   Tlinmas  W.  Coit,  .518. 


MONOGRAPH    IV. 

Dean   Berkeley's    Sojourn    in    America.   1 729-1 7."  1.     Moses  Coit 

Tiller 519 

Illustrations  :  •'  Wliiti/liall,"  the  Ke'sideiice  of  Dean  Berkuluy  vhik' 
in  Rhode  Island,  .520;  George  Berkeley,  523;  Dean  Berkeley's 
favorite  Resort  at  Newport,  now  called  Berkeley's  Seat,  533. 

Autographs  :  George  Berkeley,  523 ;  Moses  Coit  Tyler,  540. 


MONOGRAPH   V. 

The  Non-juring  Bishops  in  Amkkica.     Joh)  Fulton 541 

Illustrations  :   Episcoi)al  Seal  bearinj;-  the  Name  of  Talbot,  541. 
Autographs:  Charles  (iookin,  .5411;  Jolin  Fnlton,  560. 

MONOGRAPH   VI. 
Yale  College  and  the  Chikcii.     E.  Edwards  Beardsley      .     .     .       561 

Autograph  :  E.  E.  Beardsley,  5711. 

MONOGRAPH   ^'II. 

Some  Historic  Churches.  —  New  England 577 

St.  John's  Church,  Poktsmolth.  N.H.     Henri/  E.  Hmiey  .     .       oil 

Illustration  :  Interior  of  St.  .John's  Church,  579. 
Autograph  :   Henry  E.  Hovey,  580. 

Union  Church.  West  Claue.mdnt.  N.H.     Francis  Chase      .     .       580 

Illustration  :  Union  Cluircli,  West  Clarcmont,  581. 
Autograph  :  Francis  Cliase.  582. 

Christ  Church,  Boston.     Henrij  Burroughs      ......       582 

Autograph  :   Henry  Burroughs,  588. 

Christ  Church,  Cambridge.     Nicholas  Hoppin 588 

Illustration  :  Clirist  Church,  Cambridge,  589. 
Autographs  :  East  Apthorp,  588 ;  Nicholas  Hoppin,  592. 


CONTENTS    AND    ILU^STKATIONS.  xiX 

Tkimty   Church,    Newvout.    R.I..    and    St.    Tail's    Chuhch. 

Kingston.  R.I.     Thomas  March  Clark 592 

Autograph  :  Thomas  M.  Clark,  51)4. 

The  Old  Narragansett  Church.     UanivL  Ooodwin  ....       595 
Illustration  :  TIr'  Old  Naragan.sctt  Church,  595. 
Autograph  :  Daniel  Gontlwiii,  .5!I7. 


Some  Historic  Churches.  —  The  Middle  States 598 

The   Historic   and   Ante-Revolutionary   Churches   of  Lonc; 

Island.     Heivnj  Onderdunk.  Jr.         ,598 

Autograph  :  Henry  Onderdonk.  Jr.,  59H. 

Historic  Churches  of  New  Jersey.     Georye  Jlurt/an  Hilh       .       599 
.\utograph  :  George  M.  Hills,  605. 

The  United   Churches   of   Chri.st  Church   and    St.    Peters, 
Philadelphia.     Thomas  F.  Davies        605 

.\utograph  :  Thomas  F.  Davies,  GIO. 

Some  Historic  Churches.  —  Southern  States 61  () 

Maryland   (Diocese  of  Easton).     Henri/ C.  La;/      ....       610 
Autograph  :  Henry  C.  Lay,  613. 

Maryland.     George  A.  Leakin 613 

Illustration:  .\ll-Hallows Parish  Church,  Maryland,  613. 
Autograph  :  George  A.  Leakin.  (il4. 

Colonial  Virginia.     Philip  Slaughter 614 

Illustration:  St.  Luke's  Church,  near  Smithfield,  Va.,  fi24. 
Autograph  :  Pliilii)  Slaughter,  633. 

Diocese    of    East   Carolina.    St.    Paul's    Parish,    Edenton, 

Chowan  County,  N.C.     Robert  B.  Drane 633 

Illustration:  St.  Paul's,  Edenton,  North  Carolina,  034. 
Autograph  :  Robert  B.  Drane,  637. 

St.  Thomas's  Church,  Bath,  Beaufort  County.  N.C.     Joseph 

Blount  Cheshire,  Jr 637 

Autograph:  Joseph  Blount  Cheshire,  Jr.,  638. 


XX  CONTENTS    AND    ILI.USTKATIOXS. 

Historic  Churches  in  South  Cakolixa.     ./.  ./.  Pringle  Smith,       638 
Illustration:  St.  David's,  Clu'raw,  S.C.  i!44. 
Autograph:  J.  .1-   Pringle  Smith,  644. 

MONOGRAPH    VHI. 
The  Church  Chakities  ok  the  P;ighteenth  Century 64o 

The    Boston    Episcopal    Chakitable    Socikti'.      Thomas    C. 

Amoni 645 

AuTOGKAi'H  :  Thomas  C.  Amory,  640. 

The  Coupokation  for  the  Relief  of  Widows  and  Children 
of  Clergymen  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church. 
John    William    Wallace 647 

Autograph  :  John  W.  Wallace,  660. 

Christ  Church   Hospital.    Philadelphia.     Edward  A.  For/go,       660 
.-iuTOGRAPii  :  Edward  A.  Foggo,  661. 

The  Okph-^n  House  at  Bethesda,  Ga.  John  Watrous  Beck- 
tvith      ......         661 

.\utograph  :  John  Watrous  Beckwith,  665. 


THE    HISTORY 


AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 


mt  mnntim  antr  OJto^nj  of  ti)t  American 

1587  - 1783. 

By    WILLIAM    STEVENS   PERRY,    D.D.,   LL.D., 

Bishop  of  Iowa. 


CHAPTER   I. 

THE    CONNECTION    OF    THE    CHURCH    OF    ENGLAND    WITH 
AJSIERICAN     DISCOVERY    AND     SETTLEMENT. 

TOWARDS  the  close  of  the  sixteenth  century  the  effort  to  found 
an  empu-e  in  the  New  World,  which  had  more  or  less  occupied  the 
mind  of  England  since  the  discoveries  of  the  Cabots,  l)egan  to  as- 
sume importance  and  promise  i-esults.  It  was  an  age  of  restless  activity 
and  far-reaching  enterprise.  In  all  departments  of  life  men  were  wont, 
as  was  said  of  Ralegh,  to  "toil  terribly."  No  pains  were  spared,  whether 
the  effort  were  to  advance  the  glor}'  of  the  State,  or  to  increase  the  indi- 
vidual's wealth  or  power.  The  great  dramatist  of  the  day,  and  of  all 
time  since  as  well,  reflecting  in  his  plays  the  humor  of  the  times,  alludes 
to  those  who  were  not  willing  to  spend  their  youth  at  home,  but  went 

.     .     "  To  seek  preferment  out ; 
Some  to  the  wars,  to  try  their  fortune  there ; 
Some,  to  discover  islands  far  away."  ' 

So  universal  was  this  temper  of  the  times  that  each  ambitious  spirit 

felt  that  it 

.     .     "  Would  be  great  impeachment  to  his  age, 
In  having  known  no  travel  in  his  youth."  ' 

Although  the  fairest  and  most  inviting  portions  of  the  continent, 
which  had  been  first  discovered  by  English  expeditions  nearly  a 
century  before,  were  in  the  grasp  of  other  and  rival  nations,  and  only 

'  Two  Gentlemen  of  Verona.    Act  I.,  Scene  III.        '  Ibid. 


2 


HISTORY   OF  THE   AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL   CHUKCH. 


SIGN    MANUAL    OF 
HENRY   VII. 


the  Virgin's  land,  Virginia,  remained  for  those  who  sailed  in  tho  service 
of  tho  Virgin  Queen,  in  which  to  lay  the  foundations  of  England's 
dominion  in  the  West,  the  work  was  attempted  as  a  "  Ijounden  duty  " 
of  the  State  and  Church.  For  Church  and  State  went  hand  in  hand  in 
these  efforts  for  discovery  and  settlement.  Without  doubt  Jolni  Cabot, 
who,  under  the  auspices  of  King  Henrj'^  VII.,  on 
the  Feast  of  St.  John  Baptist,  1497,  first  discovered 
the  American  continent,  carried  with  him,  in  his 
ship  "The  Matthew,"  of  Bristol,  some  minister  of 
the  Church  of  England,  as  yet  unreformed  ;  while  a 
year  later  the  royal  bounty  was  extended  to  a 
priest  going  to  the  New-found-land  ^  of  the  western 
hemisphere.  Early  in  the  sixteenth  century  a  canon 
of  St.  Paul's,  London,  Albert  de  Prato,  appears 
upon  the  American  coast,  who  addressed  his  patron. 
Cardinal  Wolsey,  in  a  letter  not  extant,  from  the 
harbor  of  St.  John's,  Newfoundland.  But  it  Avas 
not  destined  that  the  Church  of  England,  unre- 
formed, should  people  with  her  sons  and  daughters  these  distant  lands. 
A  new  spirit  was  to  animate  the  nation  ere  the  settlement  of  a  land, 
designed  in  the  providence  of  God 
to  be  the  home  of  civil  and  religious 
liberty,  was  to  be  successfully  at- 
tempted. It  was  thus  that  the  English 
Church,  delivered  ''  from  the  tyran- 
ny e  of  the  Bishop  of  Rome,  and  all 
his  detestable  enormities  ;  "  ^  pui'ified 

in  the  fiery  furnace  of  the  Marian  persecutions  from  Romish  error,  as 
well  as  freed  from  Romish  rule,  entered  upon  the  work  of  adding  new 
realms  to  the  dominions  of  the  Cross,  with  the  same  intrepidity  and  tire- 
less zeal  which  inspired  the  adventures  of  English  captains  sailing  out 
in  quest  of  mines,  or  fisheries,  or  furs.  Discovery  and  settlement  be- 
came, in  fact,  acts  of  faith.  The  spirit  in  which 
these  expeditious  were  undertaken  is  plainl}'  dis- 
closed in  the  instructions  prepared  by  the  vener- 
able Sebastian  Cabot,  as  governor  "of  the  mysterie 
and  companie  of  the  Marchants  aduenturers  for  the 
discouerie  of  Regions,  Dominions,  Islands  and 
places  unknowen,"  under  the  direction  of  King- 
Edward  VI.,  for  the  expedition  under  Sir  Hugh 
Willoughby,  despatched,  in  1553,  to  attempt  the  discovery  of  the 
northern  passage  to  Cathay.     These  brave  explorers,  who 


S^H^ 


AUTOGRAPH   OF    HENRY   VIII. 


Ci 

XMmi.l 


AUTOGRAPH   OF 
EDWARD   VI. 


..."  The  passage  soufrlit,  .attempted  since 
So  much  in  vain,  and  seeming  to  be  shut 
By  jealous  nature  with  eternal  bars  —  "  ^ 


'In   Xicolas's  "  Excerpla  Historica,"  pp.  don,  upon  a  prest  for  his  shipp  going  towards  the 

85-133j  several  curious   entries  compiled  from  New  Ilande,  £20." 

the  Privy  Purse  Expenses  of  King  IlenrT  VII.,  ,  ^,^^  j,^  jj^,,  j^:^         ^^  ^g^y  ^^      j,,,,^..„.^, 

refer  to  the  patronage  CNtcud«l  by  the  king  to  yj-p^.^^.^j.-^^ 
the  voyagers  to  the   West.    Oue  we  subjoin; 

"  1498,  March  24,  to  Eanslot  Thirlkill,  of  Lon-  '  Thomson's  "  Seasons,"  Winter. 


CHURCH   CONNECTION    WITH    DISCOVEIiY    AND   SETTLEMENT.        3 

had  with  them  "JMaster  liifhard  Statl'ord,  Minister  ;  "  andthc  three  ships 
of  KiO,  120,  and  DO  tons"  burden,  respectively,  made  up,  as  Fuller  in  iiis 
"Worthies"   tells  us,   "the   tirst   velbrnied   Fleet,   which  had   Ennlisli 


SEBASTIAN     CAV.OT. 


prayers  and  preachin<r  tlieroin."    Tt  was  strictly  enjoined  in  Cabot's  code 
of  instructions  "tii;it  the  morning  and  evening  prayer,  with  otlicr  eom- 

'  This  cut  follows  a  iih<jtii^;['aiih  taken  from  IS'24,  Vul.  ii.,  ji.  20S,  ami  a  plioto-iediu'tion  of 

the  Chapman  copy  of  the  ori;,'inal.     Tlie  orij^iiia!  that  en;;ravin;r  appi-ars  in  Xiuholl's  "  Life  of  Se- 

was  enji:raveil  when  owned  hy  Chaiies  J.Hur-  hastian  Cahot."   Other  euffi-avings  have  appeared 

ford,  Esq.,  for  Seyer's  "  Memoirs  of  Bristol,"  in  Sparks's  "Amer.  IJioy.,"  ^'ol.  ix.,  etc. 


HISTORY   OF   THE   AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 


nion  services  appointed  by  the  king's  majestie,  and  lawes  of  this  realme, 
be  read  and  saide  in  every  ship,  daily,  by  the  minister  in  the  Admiral!, 
and  the  raarchant  or  some  other  person  learned  on  the  other  ships,  and 
the  Bible  or  paraphrases  be  read  devoutly  and  Christianly  to  God's 
honour,  and  for  his  grace  to  be  obtained,  and  had  by  humble  and  heartie 
praier  of  the  Nauigants  accordingly."  '  Tragic  as  was  the  result  of  this 
ill-fated  expedition  so  far  as  the  "Admiral"  and  his  hapless  crew  were 
concerned,  all  of  whom  wei'e  frozen  to  death  while  wintering  in  the  har- 
bor of  Arzina,  in  Russian  Lapland, 
the  great  work  of  discovery,  checked 
during  the  bitter  and  bloody  reign 
of  Queen  Mary,  was  resumed  with 
vigor  when  the  land  was  again  free 
from  the  rule  of  Rome.  "  Good 
order"  in  the  "dayly  service  "  and  prayers  unto  God  for  success  were 
enjoined  in  the  instructions  given  to  the  voyagers  sent  out  by  the  Rus- 
sian Trading  Company,  at  the  beginning  of  Elizabeth's  reign,  while  the 


AUTOORAPH  OF  QUEEN  MART. 


AUTOGRAPH  OF  QUEEN  ELIZABETH. 

incidental  mention  of  this  requirement,  in  the  midst  of  other  directions, 
proves  that  attendance  upon  the  church's  daily  prayers  was  a  recog- 
nized duty  incumbent  upon  all  men. 

In  the  name  and  fear  of  God  did  these  old  explorers  and  advent- 
urers put  forth  upon  the  almost  unknown  sea.  The  Body  and  Blood  of 
Christ  was  their  viaticum,  and  the  last  home-words  that  fell  upon  their 
ears  were  the  prayers  and  praises  of  the  "Book  of  Common  Prayer." 
The  cross,  with  the  arms  of  England  at  its  foot,  marked  their  discoveries 
and  their  chosen  sites  of  settlement ;  and  the  words  of  their  English 
Book  of  Prayer  were  said  at  morn  and  even,  wherever  these  dauntless 
voyagers  pursued  their  way,  —  North,  till  the  impenetrable  ice  barred 
their  path;  South,  till  the  farthest  points  of  both  hemispheres  were 
reached ;  West,  till  in  the  broad  rivers  and  inland  seas  of  the  New 


'  Anderson's  "  Colonial  Cluirch,' 


p.  25. 


CHURCH   CONNECTION   WITH   DISCOVERY   AND    SETTLEMENT.  5 

World  they  dreamed  of  tiiidiug  a  speedier  way  to  Cathay  and  the  spice- 
yielding  East.  Everywhere  these  sailors  and  settlers  went  till  the  fame 
of  England's  Queen  and  the  faith  of  England's  reformed  Church  were 
known  throughout  the  world.  Each  new  acquisition  of  the  unknown 
land,  lying  in  the  direction  of  the  setting  sun,  was  so  much  virgin  soil 
rescued  from  Spanish  thraldom  and  Rome's  inquisitorial  sway.  Each 
citj^  sacked,  each  galleon  capturetl  on  the  Spanish  Main,  took  somewhat 
from  the  luxuries  of  the  pampered  priests,  or  held  in  check  the  growing 
rapacity  of  Philip's  court.  So  thoroughly  did  this  crusading  spirit  pos- 
sess the  English  mind  that  the  very  freebooters  of  the  age,  such  as 
Drake  and  Cavendish,  who  knew  no  peace  with  Spain  "beyond  the 


AUTOGIiAPH    OF    SIR    FRANCIS    DRAKE. 

line  "  that  marked  the  Pope's  gift  of  the  Western  World  to  that  king- 
dom,' carried  chaplains  among  their  motley  crews,  and  numbered  in 
their  train  not  a  few  who  dared  to  die  by  the  rack  or  in  the  flames  rather 
than  give  up,  at  the  bidding  of  the  pitiless  inquisitors  of  Rome,  the  little 
faith  they  had.  Thus  was  it  with  all  the  captains  sailing  to  the  Spanish 
Main,  and  finding  amidst  the  islands  and  upon  the  seas  of  the  West  In- 
dies, and  all  along  the  coast  of  South  America,  the  spoils  of  successful 
contests  with  the  galleons  of  Spain.  The  exploits  of  the  noted  captains 
who  sought  gold  and  glory  in  ceaseless  strife  with  Spain,  the  nation's 
formidable  foe,  have  each  their  record  of  daily  common  prayer  and 
solemn  services  and  sacraments,  conducted  by  the  adventuresome  priests 
of  the  Church  of  England,  who  were  the  chaplains  of  fleets  that  ruled  all 
waters,  and  sailed  fearlessly  around  the  globe.  We  cannot  wonder  at 
the  mingling  of  religion  and  politics  shown  in  this  hatred  of  Spain  and 
distrust  of  Rome.  Memories  of  the  Smithfield  and  Oxford  fires  had 
not  died  out  from  the  popular  mind.  The  racks  and  thumb-screws, 
and  all  the  appliances  of  the  Inquisition,  found  in  the  shattered  hulks 
of  the  "  Armada,"  and  borne  in  open  view  thi'ough  the  streets  of  Lon- 
don to  the  Tower,  where  they  are  still  preserved,  told  plainly  of 
Romish  intolerance  and  the  Spaniards'  cold-blooded  hate ;  and  the 
humblest  sailor  of  these  ships  of  discovery  felt  that  the  victory  or 
advantage  of  Spain  would  light  anew  the  Marian  fires  and  burn  out  free- 
dom and  faith  from  the  land.  As  these  men  were  in  earnest  m  their 
work,  so  they  were  ennobled  by  it,  and  they  did  well  their  part,  darmg 

'In  1493  the  western   hemisphere  was    de-  nius  IV.,  in  1438,  to  the  crown  of  Portugal,  :iu  im- 

clarcd,  by  a  decree  of  Pope  Alexander  VI.,  to  aginary  line  was  supposed  to  be  drawn  from  pole 

belong  to  the  united  kingdoms  of  Castile  and  Ar-  to  pole,  a  hundred  leagues  west  of  the  Azores ; 

ragon.    In  order  not  to  interfere,  however,  with  all  discoveries  to  the  east  of  which  were  assigned 

a  previous  grant  made  by  a  bull  of  Pope  Euge-  to  Portugal,  and  all  to  the  west  to  Spain. 


6 


HISTORY   OF  TJIE   AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 


danger  and  deatli  iu  the  strife,  whose  guerdon  was  a  continent's  redemp- 
tion. Tiie  old  charters  and  letters-patent,  the  records  of  the  trading 
companies,  and  the  very  log-books  of  the  ships  of  adventm'c,  display' 
a  peculiar  mingling  of  evangelizing  and  commercial  projects.  The 
printed  accounts  of  these  adventures,  or  the  "  advei'tisements,"  as  they 


-m^^^;^^^^z^^ 


were  often  styled,  designed  to  enlist  the  interest  and  sympathy  of  the 
public  in  the  schemes  for  discovery  and  colonization,  always  refer  to 
"the  carriage  of  God's  Word  into  those  very  mighty  and  vast  countries" 
which  is  expressly  stated  as  a  primary  object  of  the  expedition  of  Sir 
Humphrey  Gilbert  in  1583,  —  the  first  attemptof  the  English  to  colonize 
the  New  World.  This  deep,  religious  feeling  was  not  sufl'orcd  to  ex- 
pend itself  in  words.  In  the  fleet  of  "  fifteen  sayle  of  good  ships  "  which 
left  Harwich  on  the  31st  of  May,  1578,  under  the  command  of  Martin 


CHURCH  CONNECTION   WITH   DISCOVERY  AND   SETTLEMENT.         7 

Frobisher,  one  of  the  most  stirring  spirits  of  the  times,  was,  as  Halvluyt 
quaintly  tells  us,  "one  Maister  W'olfall,  a  learned  man,  appointed  hy 
her  Majestie's  Couucell  to  he  their  Minister  and  Preacher,"  who,  "l)eing 
well  seated  and  settled  at  home  in  his  owne  countrey,  with  a  good  and 
large  liuing,  hauing  a  good,  honest  woman  to  wife,  and  very  towardly 
children,  being  of  good  reputation  amongst  the  best,  refused  not  to  take 
in  hand  this  painefull  voyage,  for  the  onely  care  he  had  to  saue  soules  and 
to  reforme  these  intidels,  if  it  were  possible,  to  Christianitie."  This 
worthy  man  was  the  first  missionary  priest  of  the  reformed  Church  of 
England  who  ministered  on  American  shores,  and  the  record  of  his  ser- 
vices among  the  ice-fields  at  the  North,  as  given  by  the  old  chronicler 
we  have  already  quoted,  is  full  of  interest,  as  indicating  the  spirit  in 
which  these  adventurers  essayed  the  settlement  of  the  Meta  Incognita 
they  had  found  :  — 

Maister  Wolfull  on  Winter's  Fornace,  preached  a  godlj-  sermon,  •which  being 
ended,  he  celebrated  also  a  Communion  vpon  tlie  land,  at  the  partaking  whereof 
was  the  Captain  of  the  Anne  Francis,  and  many  other  Gentlemen,  and  Souldiers, 
Mariners,  and  Miners  with  him.  The  celebration  of  the  dinine  mystery  was  the  first 
signe,  scale,  and  confirmation  of  Christ's  name,  death,  and  passion  euer  knowen  in 
these  quarters.  The  said  1\I.  Wolfall  made  sermons,  and  celebrated  the  Communion 
at  sundry  other  times  in  seuerall  and  sundry  ships,  because  the  whole  company  could 
neuer  meet  together  at  any  one  place. 

While  this  solemn  service  and  sacrament  were  taking  place  far  to 
the  northward  on  the  eastern  coast,  there  were  pressing  on  their  way 
through  the  Straits  of  Magellan,  and  all  along  the  western  shores  of 
the  New  World,  the  voyagers  in  the  "Pelican,"  under  the  adventure- 
some Francis  Drake.  The  story  of  Drake's  fulfilment  of  his  purpose 
and  prayer,  when,  at  the  first  sight  of  the  Pacific  Ocean,  "he  fell  upon 
his  knees  and  implored  the  divine  assistance  that  he  might  at  some 
time  sail  thither  and  make  a  perfect  discovery  of  the  same,"  is  written 
by  his  chaplain,  Francis  Fletcher,  and  the  end  and  aim  of  this  famous 
voyage,  in  which  the  world  was  circumnavigated,  was,  l)y  capture, 
conquest,  and  sack,  to  wreak  vengeance  on  Spain  for  injuries  which 
diplomacy  had  failed  to  make  good.  It  was  while  sailing  to  the  north- 
ward that  the  great  seaman  discovered,  in  1579,  the  coast  of  Oregon 
and  that  part  of  California  which  now  belongs  to  the  United  States. 
On  this  coast,  in  "  a  convenient  and  fit  harbor,"  on  the  first  Sunday 
after  Trinity,  June  21,  they  landed  for  repairs.  Here,  at  a  gathering 
of  the  natives,  who  seemed  to  regard  their  visitors  as  superior  beings, 
Drake  called  his  company  to  prayers.  In  the  presence  of  the  abo- 
rigines of  this  distant  land,  these  rough  sailors,  who  scrupled  not  to 
plunder  or  murder  every  Spaniard  they  met,  lifted  their  eyes  and  hands 
to  heaven,  to  indicate  by  these  symbolic  gestures  that  God  is  over  all ; 
and  then,  following  their  chaplain's  lead,  they  besought  their  God,  in 
the  church's  prayers,  to  reveal  himself  to  these  idolaters  and  "  to  open 
their  blinded  eyes  to  the  knowledge  of  Him  and  of  Jesus  Christ,  the 
salvation  of  the  Gentiles."  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  this  strange 
service  took  place  on  the  eve,  or  else  on  the  Feast  Day,  of  St.  John 
the  Baptist.^  Later,  on  leaving  the  scene  of  their  sojourn,  it  was  only  by 

'  Naiiative  aud  Critiual  Histoiy  of  America,  ni.,  p.  70. 


8 


HISTORY   OF   THE   AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 


THE    ARMS    OF    ENGLAND. 


prayers  and  the  singing  of  psalms  that  the  departing  voyagers  were 
able  to  dissuade  the  simple  natives  from  "  doing  sacrifice  to  them  "  as 
gods.'  It  was  thus  that  the  church's  prayers  were  first  heard  on  the  Pa- 
cific coast ;  and  in  taking  solemn  possession,  by  the  planting  of  the 
cross  with  the  arms  of  England  affixed  thereto,  of  "  New  Albion,"  for 
England's  Queen,  the  far  west  of  our 
national  domain  was  claimed  for  the 
Church  of  the  English-speaking  race. 
To  Francis  Fletcher,  the  priest  of  a 
motley  crew,  belongs  the  honor  of 
being  the  first  in  Englisli  orders  who 
ministered  the  Word  and  Sacraments 
within  the  temtory  of  the  United 
States;  and  if,  as  is  probable,  the 
"ftxyre  and  good  baye"  where  he 
repaired  his  ship,  and  where  the 
events  we  have  referred  to  occurred, 
was  the  bay  of  San  Francisco,  it  was 
on  this  spot  that  the  words  of  the 
Common  Prayer  were  first  heard 
on  the  Pacific  coast. 

The  attempt  of  Frobisher  to  mine  for  gold  upon  the  inhospitable 
shores  of  Hudson's  Bay  failed,  as  did,  a  few  j^ears  later,  the  efibrts  of 
Sir  Humphrey  Gilbert,  to  whom  was  assigned  1)y  the  Queen  letters- 
patent,  bearing  date  of  Juue  11,  1578,  "for  the  inhabiting  and  planting 
of  our  people  in  America."  This  gallant  Christian  knight,  nearlj^  allied 
with  that  "  prince  of  courtesj-,"  Sir  Walter  Ralegh,  entered  upon  the 
work  of  peopling  the  New  World  with  English  immigrants,  with  an 
honest  purpose  of  securing  "  the  full  possession  of  these  so  ample  and 
pleasant  countreys  for  the  Crown  and  people  of  England."  Among  the 
motives  urging  him  to  undertake  this  labor  were  "  the  honour  of  God  " 
and  "compassion  of  poore  infidels,  captived  by  the  deuill,  tj'rannizing 
in  most  wonderful  and  dreadful  manner  over  their  bodies  and  soules,  it 
seeming  probable  that  God  hath  reserved  these  Gentiles  to  be  reduced 
into  Christian  civility  Iiy  the  English  nation."     It  was  for  the  spread  of 

the  Christian 
faith  that  Gil- 
bert hazarded 
life  and  fortune 
in  these  schemes 
o  f  settlement ; 
and  the  preg- 
nant clause  of 
the  first  charter 
granted  for  the 
establishment  of 
an  English  col- 
on}' on  American  shores  that  the  laws  and  ordinances  of  the  settle- 
ment "be,  as  neere  as  conveniently  may,  agreeable  to  the  forme  of 

'  Narrative  and  Critical  Histoiy  of  America,  m.,  p.  70. 


AUTOGRAPH    OF    SH?    HUMPHREY    Gn.BEKT. 


CHURCH   CONNECTION'    Wlt'll   DISCOVERY   AND   SETTLEMENT.         9 

(he  laws  and  pollicy  of  England ;  and  also,  that  they  l)e  not  against 
the  true  Christian  t'ailh  or  religion  now  professed  in  the  Chureh  of 
England."  attest  both  his  loyalty  and  love  of  mother-ehurch.  Al- 
though conceived  and  undertaken  in  this  spirit,  the  expedition  itself, 
in  the  familiar  words  of  our  pra^yers.  quoted  liy  the  old  chronicler, 
was  "'begun,  continued,  and  ended,'  adversly."  At  the  outset  gi-eat 
delays  and  disappointments  were  experienced,  and  when  at  length 
the  expedition  had  set  sail,  it  was  driven  l)ack  by  a  Spanish  fleet  with 
loss  of  ships  and  men.  A  few  years  later  the  adventurers  succeeded 
in  reaching  St.  John's  Harbor,  Newfoundland,  where  Gilbert  and 
his  comjiany  landed  on  the  tenth  Sunday  after  Trinity,  August  4, 
1583.  On  the  following  day  Sir  Humphrey  took  formal  possession  of 
St.  John's  and  the  neighboring  country,  and,  in  token  of  his  feudal 
rights,  received,  "after  the  custom  of  England,  a  rod  and  a  turfle  of 
the  same  soile."  Of  the  three  laws  he  set  forth  for  immediate  observ- 
ance, the  first  provided  that  the  religion  of  the  colony,  "in  pulilique 
exercise  should  be  according  to  the  Church  of  England ;  "  the  others 
enjoined  the  maintenance  of  the  royal  prerogatives.  Ha\ing  thus  settled 
the  government  and  religion  of  Newfoundland,  Sir  Humphrey  undertook 
the  exploration  of  the  coast  of  the  main-land  to  the  southward,  l)ut  the 
loss  of  one  of  his  ships  forced  him  to  change  his  course  for  England. 
The  little  "frigat"  of  teutons  burden,  which  carried  this  intrepid  navi- 
gator, foundered  amidst  the  "outrageous  seas,"  and  Sir  Humphrey,  who 
^as  last  seen  by  the  crew  of  his  companion  vessel  "  sitting  abaft  with  a 
booke  in  his  hand,"  and  crying  out,  "  We  ai'e  as  ueare  to  heaven  by  sea 
as  by  land,"  was  prevented  by  this  fate  from  being  the  first  settler  within 
the  limits  of  the  United  States,  and,  possibly,  from  shaping  the  relig- 
ious history  of  New  England  in  the  direction  of  confoi'mity  to  the  Church 
of  which  he  was  a  faithful  member. 

But  death  and  disappointments  could  not  check  the  spirit  of  ad- 
venture now  rife  in  England  ;  and  the  zeal  for  the  evangelization  of 
the  heathen  l>eyond  the  sea,  which  now  animated  the  English  Church 
and  realm,  soon  found  expres- 
sion in  acts  as  well  as  words.'  ^ 
Ralegh,  to  whom  may  be  given     n- 

the  proud  title  of ''The  Father  ^^ /f  <^^^^t—  ^* 

of  American  Colonization,"  was 
impatient^  to    win    the    prize      autograph  of  sm  walter  ralegh. 
which    his     half-brother     had 

failed  to  seciu-e.  The  year  following  Sir  Humplu'ey's  loss  a  fresh  patent 
was  granted  by  the  t^ueeu  to  her  favorite  courtier,  vesting  in  him 
and  his  heirs  the  powers  and  privileges  which  had  Ijeen  l)estowed 
upon  Sir  Humphrey.      As  before,  provision  was  made  that  the  laws 

'"  The  carriage  of  God's  word  into  those  very  England  to  plant  a  colony,  show  clearly  that  a 

mighty  and  vast  conntrcys,"  to  quote  the  words  moving  cause  in  the  enterprise  was  the  wish  and 

of  Haies,  one  of  Gilbert's  captains,  and  the  chron-  belief  that  it  was  destined,  in  tlie  counsels  of  the 

icier  of  his  ill-starred  fortunes,  was  a  labor  of  so  Almi'.'hty,  that  England  should  bear  the  evangel 

high  and  excellent  a  nature  as  shouhl,  indeed,  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  to  the  savages  of  the 

"  make  men  well  advised  how  they  haiuUcd  it,"  western    world.      Thus    is    the    first    effort  to 

and  Haies  a.s  well  as  Sir  George  Peckman,  "  the  found  a  settlement  of  the  En^rlish  race  upon  our 

chief   adventurer    and    furthei'er    of    Gilbert's  American  shores  plainly  proved  to  be  an  attempt 

voyage,"  in  their  published  reports  of  "the  heavy  to  promote  the  spread  of  the  Christian  faiih  by 

succeise  and  issue  of"  this  "first  attempt"  of  the  evangelistic  labor  of  the  English  Church. 


10  HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

"  be  not  against  the  true  Christian  fiiith  nowe  professed  in  the  Church 
of  England."  These  letters-patent  bear  the  date  of  Lady-day,  1584, 
and  on  the  27th  of  the  following  month  two  l)arks,  well  furnished  with 
men  and  provisions,  commanded  by  Masters  Philip  Amadas  and 
Arthur  Barlow  e,  respectively,  set  sail  from  the  west  of  England  at  the 
charge  and  by  the  direction  of  Ralegh.  About  two  mouths  were 
spent  by  these  adventurers  on  the  coast  of  North  Carolina,  which  they 
reached  on  the  4th  of  July  (old  style)  ;  and,  having  kidnapped  two 
of  the  natives,  Wanchese  and  IManteo,  and  "uined  some  vague  infor- 
mation  with  respect  to  the  natural  productions  of  the  country  and  the 
manners  and  customs  of  the  people,  they  returned  to  England,  where 
they  arrived  a1)out  the  middle  of  September.  The  story  of  this  voyage, 
written  by  Barlowe,  spread  far  and  wide  the  fame  of  the  paradise  dis- 
covered in  the  New  World.  A  rude  map,  made  during  the  expedition  b}' 
the  adventurers  themselves,  a  copy  of  which  was  afterwards  published  by 
De  Bry,  represents  the  large  vessels  riding  at  anchor  outside  the  sound, 
while  a  single-masted  pinnace,  bearing  at  its  prow  a  man  holding  an 
uplifted  cross  in  his  hand,  is  making  towards  the  shore  as  if  to  testify  the 
desire  of  the  adventurers  for  the  propagation  of  Christianity  in  the  lands 
they  had  discovered.  That  this  desire  was  no  mere  passing  thought 
subsequent  events  fully  proved.  The  Queen,  deeming  her  reign 
signalized  liy  the  disco^'cry  of  so  fair  a  land,  gave  to  it  the  name 
"  Virginia."'  Ralegh  soon  obtained  from  the  Parliament,  in  which  he 
represented  his  native  Devon,  a  bill  confirming  his  patent  of  discovery. 
He  was  shortly  afterwards  knighted  by  his  royal  mistress,  and  the 
means  were  provided,  by  the  grant  of  a  profitable  monopoly,  wliich 
enabled  him  to  prosecute  without  delay  his  schemes  of  settlement. 

Seven  vessels,  under  the  command  of  Ralegh's  cousin.  Sir 
Richard  Grenville,  a  brave  and  gallant  knight,  whose  life  and  death 
were  heroic,  comprised  the  fleet  that  set  sail  from  Ptymouth,  on  Good 
Friday,  April  9,  1585,  to  plant  a  colony  in  the  New  Virginia.  Master 
Ralph  Lane,  afterwards  knighted  by  the  Lord  Deputy  of  Ireland  for  his 

military  services  in  that  unhappy 
—— >       t^^-  land,    was    appointed    governor 

f-i^^/Z~  /Coi..^^^__  ^^  ^^  °°®  hundred  and  eight 
~yj  ^y  colonists  who  were  to  found  the 

C/  (;^       ~p  first  settlement  in  the  New  A\'orld. 

d—     ■  Master  Philip  Amadas,  who  was 

one  of  the  discoverers  of  the  site 
of  settlement,  was  commissioned  as  "Admiral  of  the  Country."  First 
on  the  list  of  those,  "as  well  gentlemen  as  others,  that  remained  one 
whole  year  in  Virginia,"  is  the  honored  name  of  "  Master  Harlot,'"  the 
historian  of  the  colony,  and  still  I'emerabei-ed  as  the  inventor  of  the 
system  of  notation  used  in  modern  algebra.  It  is  to  the  keen  observa- 
tion of  the  natural  products  of  the  country  by  Thomas  Harlot  that  the 
world  owes  the  knowledge  of  the  value  of  the  tuberous  roots  of  the  po- 
tato and  the  "  many  rare  and  wonderful "  virtues  of  the  tobacco-plant. 

Among  the  "principal  gentlemen  of  the  company"  was  Cavendish, 
its  "High  Marshall,"  who  afterwards  circumnavigated  the  world,  and 
was  knighted  by  the  Queen  ;  and  the  wise  forethought  of  Ralegh  had 


CIlUKCll    CONNECTION    WITH    DISCOVERY    AND    SETTLEMENT.       11 

provided  that  John  White,  Jiii  artist  of  merit,  should  accompany  the 
expedition,  whose  water-color  studies  from  life  of  the  aborigines,  their 
habits  and  modes  of  living,  as  well  as  of  the  plants,  birds,  and  beasts  of 


CAVENDISH. 


Virginia,  are  still  preserved  in  the  British  Museum,'  and  were  at  the 
time  reproduced  in  the  fascinating  pages  of  De  Bry.  Others,  men  of 
family  and  fortune,  together  with  not  a  few  "bad  natures,"  as  Hariot 

^  An  intcrcstiiiir  account  of  these  one  hundred    collection  in  the  British  Museum,  is  Ibund  in  the 
and  twelve  water-color  drawings,  in  the  Sloane    " Archseologia  Americana,"  iv.,  pp.  20-'2.i. 


12  HISTORY   OF   THE    AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

styles  them,  made  up  the  expedition,  which  had,  at  least,  its  outward 
recognition  of  religion  in  the  appointed  "  prayers  "  at  which,  as  we 
learn  from  the  same  chronicler,  the  aborigines  were  sometimes  present 
as  interested  attendants  on  the  settlers'  common  prayer  and  praise. 
Anthony  Wood,  in  his  gossiping  "  Athenre  Oxonienses," '  has  at- 
tempted to  impugn  the  orthodoxy  of  Hariot ;  but  tliis  accusation  is 
refuted,  not  only  by  contemporary  authority,  but  by  his  own  words, 
which,  as  the  first  pul)iished  record  of  missionary  eftbrt  among  tlie 
al)origines  of  our  land  by  a  member  of  our  mother-church,  are  well 
worthy  of  our  notice.  In"ABriefe  and  True  Report  of  the  New 
Found  Land  of  Virginia,"  after  describine'  the  undisjjuised  wonder  of 
the  simple  natives  at  the  sight  of  the  mathematical  instruments,  the 
time-pieces,  burning-glasses,  fire-arms,  and  books  of  the  colonists, 
Hariot  proceeds  as  follows  :  — 

They  thought  they  were  rather  the  workes  of  gods  than  of  men  or  at  the  least 
wise  they  had  lione  giuen  and  taught  vs  of  tlie  gods.  Whicli  made  many  of  them 
to  haue  such  an  opinion  of  us,  as  that  if  they  knew  not  the  trueth  of  God,  and  religion 
already,  it  was  rather  to  hue  liad  from  vs,  whom  God  so  specially  loued,  than  from 
a  people  that  were  so  simple,  as  they  found  theraselues  to  be  in  comijarison  of  vs. 
Whereupon  greater  credite  was  giuen  v)ito  that  wee  spake  of,  concerning  such 
matters. 

Many  times  and  in  euery  towne  where  I  came,  according  as  I  was  able,  I  made 
declaration  of  the  contents  of  the  Bilile,  that  therein  was  set  f(Kirth  the  true  and  onely 
God,  and  his  mightie  workes,  that  therein  was  coiiteined  the  true  do<'trine  of 
saluation  through  Christ,  with  many  particularities  of  ISIiracles  and  chiefe  points 
of  Religion  as  I  was  able  then  to  vtter,  and  thought  fit  for  the  time.  And  although 
I  told  them  the  booke  materially  and  of  itselfe  was  not  of  any  such  virtue,  as  I 
thought  they  did  conceiue,  but  onely  the  doctrine  therein  conteined ;  yet  would 
many  be  glad  to  touch  it,  to  embrace  it,  to  kisse  it,  to  hold  it  to  their  breastes  and 
heads,  and  stroke  ouer  all  their  body  with  it,  to  show  their  hungi'y  desire  of  that 
knowledge  which  was  spoken  of. 

But  even  these  evidences  for  God's  Word  were  far  from  being  the 
sole  results  of  Harlot's  zealous  efforts  in  behalf  of  the  natives,  —  eftbrts 
designed,  as  he  observes  in  the  same  narrative,  that  they  "might  live 
together  with  us,  be  made  partakers  of  His  truth,  and  serve  Him  in 
righteousness."  A  man  of  prayer  himself,  both  by  example  and  teach- 
ing, he  impressed  these  gentle  savages  with  a  sense  of  the  value  of 
prayer. 

The  Wiroans  (or  chief)  with  whom  we  dwelt,  called  Wingina,  and  many  of  his 
people  would  bee  glad  many  times  to  be  with  us  at  our  prayers,  and  many  times 
call  vpon  us  both  in  his  owne  towne,  as  also  in  others,  whither  hee  sometimes 
accompanied  vs,  to  pray  and  sing  Psalmes,  hoping  thereby  to  be  partakers  of  the 
same  effects  which  we  by  that  means  also  expected.  Twise  this  Wiroans  was  so 
grievously  sicke  that  he  was  like  to  die,  and  as  he  lay  languishing,  doubting  of  any 
helpe  by  his  owue  priestes,  and  thinking  hee  was  in  such  danger  for  offending  vs, 
and  thereby  our  God,  sent  for  some  of  vs  to  pray  and  bee  a  means  to  ovr  God,  that 
it  would  please  Him  that  he  might  line,  or  after  death  dwell  with  Him  in  blisse :  so 
likewise  were  the  requests  of  many  others  in  the  like  case. 

If  the  leaders  of  the  expedition  had  shared  the  high  and  holy  pur- 
poses and  missionary  zeal  of  Hariot  its  history  would  have  been  far 
different.     Its  appointed  head  soon  showed  himself  unworthy  of  his 

'  Bliss's  edition,  ii.,  p.  299. 


CHURCH   CONNECTION   WITH   DISCOVERY   AND   SETTLEMENT.       18 

position.  With  liim  words  took  the  place  of  deeds,  and  his  speedy 
desertion  of  iiis  post  ajjpcars  in  marked  contrast  with  his  professions 
of  martyr-liko  devotion  to  tiic  cause  he  had  undertaken. 

From  "Port  Ferdinando,  in  Virginia,"  the  governor  addressed  the 
following  words  to  Sir  Francis  Walsingham,  Her  Majesty's  Secre- 
tary of  State.  We  have  modernized  the  orthography,  which,  in  the 
original,  is  especially  defective  :  — 

Myself  have  undertaken,  with  the  fiivor  of  God  and  in  His  fear,  with  a  good 
company  more,  as  well  of  gentlemen  as  others,  to  remain  here  the  return  of  a  new 
supply ;  as  resolute  rather  to  lose  our  lives  than  to  defer  a  possession  to  her 
majesty,  our  country,  and  tliat  our  most  noble  Patron,  Sir  Walter  Rah^gh,  of  so 
noble  a  kingdom,  as  by  his  most  worthy  endeavor  and  infinite  charge,  as  also  of 
your  honor  and  the  rest  of  the  most  honorable  the  adventurers,  an  honorable  entry 
IS  made  into  (by  the  mercy  of  God)  to  the  conquest  of;  and  for  mine  own  part  do 
lind  myself  better  contented  to  live  with  flsh  for  my  daily  food  and  wat(!r  for  my 
daily  drink  in  the  prosecution  of  such  one  action  than  out  of  the  same  to  live  in  the 
greatest  plenty  that  the  Court  could  give  me ;  comforted  chiefly  hereunto  with  an 
assurance  of  Her  Majesty's  greatness  hereby  to  grow  by  the  addition  of  such  a  king- 
dom as  this  is  to  the  rest  of  her  dominions  ;  by  means  whereof  likewise  (he  Church 
of  Christ  through  Christendom  may,  by  the  mercy  of  God,  in  short  time  lind  a 
relief  and  freedom  from  the  servitude  and  tyranny  that  by  Spain  (being  the  sword 
of  that  Antichrist  of  Rome  and  his  sect)  the  same  hath  of  long  time  Ijccn  most 
miserably  oppressed  with.  Not  doubting,  in  the  mercy  of  God,  to  be  sufficiently 
provided  for  by  Him,  and  most  assured  by  faith  in  Christ,  that  rather  than  He  will 
suffer  His  Enemies  the  Papists  to  triumph  over  the  overthrow  of  this  most  Christian 
action,  or  of  us  His  poor  servants,  in  the  thorough  famine  or  other  wants,  —  being 
in  a  vast  country  yetunmannered,  though  most  apt  for  it,  — that  he  could  command 
even  the  ravens  to  feed  us,  as  He  did  by  His  servant  the  Prophet  Habakkuk  ( ! )  and 
that  only  for  His  mercy's  sake.  .  .  .  From  the  Porte  Ferdinando  in  Virginia  the 
12tb  of  August,  1585. 

On  the  same  day  the  governor  wrote  to  Sir  Philip  Sydney  some 
further  "ylle  fashioned  lynes,"  proposing  an  expedition  against  tlie 
island  of  St.  John  and  Ilispaniola,  as  San  Domingo  was  then  called, 
by  which  the  forces  of  the  King  of  Spain  could  l)e  diverted  from 
England  to  the  West  Indies,  and  ))egging  the  gallant  Sydney,  who  had 
earlier  contemplated  leading  a  colony  of  settlers  to  the  New  World,  not 
"  to  refuse  the  good  opportunity  of  such  a  service  to  the  Church  of 
Christ,  as  the  seizure  of  the  mines  of  treasure,  in  the  possession  of 
Spain,  would  be." 

Deeply  may  we  regret  that  these  words  of  daring,  and  their  promise 
of  self-denying  devotion  to  the  mighty  enterprise  in  hand,  found  so 
inadequate  a  fulfilment.  A  few  weeks  of  loneliness  in  the  wilderness 
unmanned  both  governor  and  colonists,  and  the  high  hopes  of  the 
moment  of  debarkation  were  forgotten  in  an  overmastering  longing  to 
return  to  home  and  friends  across  the  Atlantic. 

But  little  remains  to  mark  the  site  of  this  first  settlement  upon 
Amei'ican  soil.  The  records  of  the  colonists  fix  the  location  of  the 
modest  fort  and  village,  erected  1iy  these  early  adventurers,  not  for 
from  the  northern  point  of  the  island  of  Roanoke,  just  enough  removed 
from  the  shore  to  be  sheltered  from  the  ocean  gales  by  the  headlands 
and  the  forest,  while  the  outlook  upon  the  waters  whence  their  supplies 
were  to  come  was  not  obscured.      Traces  of  the  entrenchments  are  still 

'  These  interesting  letters  are  I'ouDcl  in  "  ArcUieoloyia  Aincricana,"\'ol.  iv.,  pp.  8-18. 


14  HISTORY   OF  THE    AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL   CHUKCH. 

to  be  soen,  with  here  a  gate-way,  flanked  by  a  deep  trench,  and  there  a 
bastion,  thrown  out  at  the  angle  of  the  fort.  The  pine,  the  live-oak,  and 
other  forest  trees,  draped  with  luxuriant  vines,  and  standing  in  the  midst 


SIR    FRANCIS    DRAKE. 


of  a  dense  undergrowth,  have  filled  the  ditch  and  overgrown  the  site. 
In  the  rank  grass  a  moss-covered  stone,  or  a  fragment  of  brick,  are  all 
the  relics  that  i-emain  of  Ralegh's  settlement  on  Eoanoke  Island. 

At  this  spot  Lane  and  his  little  company  remained  until  the  19th 
of  June,  158G.     The  governor,  by  this  time,  had  grown  dissatisfied  witii 


CHURCH   CONNECTION   WITH    DISCOVERY    AND   SETTLEMENT.       15 

the  site  chosen  for  the  settlement.  There  was  no  harbor  in  which  the 
ships  of  England,  coming  with  succors  and  supplies,  could  ride  at  anchor 
in  safety.  To  the  northward  the  governor  had  found  a  fairer  site.  On 
the  shores  of  Chesapeake  Bay  the  difficulties  and  dangers  environing 
them  in  their  present  location  could  be  met  and  overcome.  Lacking  in 
sorely  needed  supplies,  on  ill  terms  with  the  natives,  whom  Lane  had 
harshly  treated,  it  was  with  no  little  joy  that,  on  the  8th  of  June,  the 
colonists  discovered  the  horizon  flecked  with  the  white  sails  of  the  fleet 
of  Sir  Francis  Drake.  The  noted  freebooter  at  once  ofiered  to  his 
countrymen  the  needed  supplies.  He  added  the  proff'er  of  some  of  his 
prizes  ;  but  a  sudden  gale  drove  one  of  these  ships  to  sea,  while  the 
others  were  of  too  great  burden  to  enter  the  narrow  roadstead,  which 
was  their  only  harbor.  Suddenly  the  colonists  determined  to  abandon 
their  new  home,  and  Drake  assented  to  their  request  for  transportation 
to  the  mother-land.  A  fortnight  later  the  first  supply-ship,  sent  by 
Sir  Walter,  reached  the  American  coast,  and  shortly  after  followed 
Sir  Richard  Grenville,  with  three  ships,  bringing  the  promised  stores. 
It  was  in  vain  that  Sir  Richard  sought  for  the  colonists,  now  half-way 
across  the  Atlantic,  and,  leaving  fifteen  men  on  the  deserted  island, 
amply  provisioned  for  two  yeai's,  he  returned  to  England.  Lane 
never  revisited  his  American  domain.  By  his  inexplicable  desertion 
he  lost  the  opportunity  of  an  immortality  such  as  has  fallen  to 
but  few. 


NOTES,    CRITICAL    AND    BIOGRAPHICAL. 

WE  assume,  as  is  generally  conceded,  that  the  Cabots'  voyage  of  discovery  took 
phice  in  1497,  and  was  followed  by  a  second  voyage  the  following  year.  The 
patent  granted  by  Henry  VII.  to  John  Cabot,  or  Zuan  Caboto,  as  his  name  appears  in 
the  Venetian  archives,  his  three  sons,  their  heirs  and  assigns,  provided  that  the  expe- 
dition was  to  be  "  at  their  own  proper  cost  and  charge."  The  "prima  tierra  vista" 
was  taken  possession  of  by  the  formality  of  planting  a  cross,  with  the  insignia  of 
England  and  St.  Mark,  and  by  the  proclamation  of  the  right  of  the  King  of  Eng- 
land to  the  new  discovery.  Though  the  discovery  made  by  the  Cabots  was  that  of 
a  continent,  still  the  result  of  these  voyages  made  under  the  royal  patronage  and 
those  on  private  account  were  followed  by  few  results.  The  sending  of  the  little 
fleet,  under  Willoughby,  in  the  spring  of  1553,  to  the  north-east,  and  the  subsequent 
incorporation  of  the  merchant  adventurers  with  Sebastian  Cabot  as  their  head,  were 
undertaken  by  the  merchants  of  London,  with  a  view  of  checking  the  decay  of  ti'ade 
in  England  by  opening  a  new  outlet  abroad  for  the  manufactures  of  the  nation . 
But  this  was  not  the  only  incentive  urging  Englishmen  to  attempt  the  colonization 
of  the  New  World.  Richard  Eden,  in  his  "  Decades  of  the  Newe  Worlde  or  West 
India,"  etc.,  published  in  1555,  expresses  the  earnest  desire  that  the  faith  of  Christ 
may  be  extended  by  the  conversion  of  the  natives  of  these  distant  lands:  — 

"  How  much,  I  say,  shall  this  sound  unto  our  reproach  and  inexcusable  sloth- 
fulness  and  negligence,  both  before  God  and  the  world,  that  so  large  dominions 
of  such  tractable  people  and  pure  Gentiles,  not  being  hitherto  corrupted  with  any 
other  false  religion  (and  therefore  the  easier  to  be  allured  to  embi-ace  ours),  are 
now  known  unto  us,  and  that  we  have  no  respect  neither  for  God's  cause  nor  for 
our  own  commodity,  to  attempt  some  voyages  unto  these  coasts,  to  do  for  our  parts 
as  the  Sparuards  have  done  for  theirs,  and  not  ever  like  sheep  to  haunt  one  trade, 
and  to  do  nothing  worthy  memory  among  men  or  thanks  before  God,  who  may 


16  HISTOKY   OF   THE   AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

herein  worthily  accuse  us  for  the  slackness  of  our  duty  toward  him."  The  plans 
ripe  in  London  ere  the  year  had  closed  in  which  the  discovery  of  America  was 
made,  contemplated  the  tittiug  out  by  the  king  early  in  the  following  spring  of  an 
expedition  to  colonize  the  new  discovery.  "  All  the  convicts  "  were  to  be  placed  at 
the  disposition  of  Cabot,  and  with  the  expedition  there  were  expected  to  go  "sev- 
eral poor  Italian  monks,"  who  had  "  all  been  promised  bishopi-icks."  '  The  f^os- 
siping  writer  of  these  reports  to  the  Duke  of  Milan  thought  the  benefices  in  store 
tor  him  "a  surer  thing"  than  the  "  archbishopric,"  which  he  felt  confident  of  ob- 
taining through  his  acquaintance  with  the  "Admiral."  This  second  voyage,  evi- 
dently a  scheme  of  colonization,  proved  a  failure.  One  of  the  ships,  iii  which  a 
"  Friar  Duel"  sailed,  returned  to  Ireland  damaged,  and  the  adventuresome  ecclesi- 
astic failed  to  secure  the  well-earned  and  promised  mitre.  Fur  years  all  schemes 
of  discovery  and  colonization  in  the  distant  west  were  substantially  abandoned.  It 
was  left,  as  we  have  said,  to  the  men  of  the  reformation  to  undertake  and  carry  out 
successfully  the  colonizing  and  Christianizing  of  the  shores  of  North  America. 

The  religious  spirit  of  the  reformation  age  pervaded  literature  and  life.  Even 
the  slave-traders  went  fortli  to  their  cruel  work,  as  though  it  were  a  crusade.  Sir 
John  Hawkins,  knighted  by  Queen  Elizabeth  for  his  success  in  this  iniquitous  traffic 
and  for  the  wealth  bnnight  through  his  voyages  to  the  realm,  sailed  in  a  ship  named 
"Jesus,"  and  his  sailing  orders  close  with  words  expressive  of  his  relio-ious  foith, 
as  well  as  his  practical  good  sense:  "Serve  God  daily;  love  one  another;  pre- 
serve your  victuals ;  beware  of  fire ;  and  keep  good  company."  By  tlio  fii-st  in- 
junction was  meant  the  daily  morning  and  evening  prayer  of  the  chun-h,  and  it  was 
after  the  use  oi  these  solemn  f(jrras  of  worship  tliat  they  proceeded  day  by  day  to 
carry  out  their  nefarious  plans.  In  their  reverses,  as  well  as  in  their  successes,  they 
recognized  the  interposing  of  God,  "  who  never  suffereth  his  elect  to  perish."  -  Even 
Hawkins's  coat-armor,  by  its  mingling  of  the  pilgrim's  scallop-shell  in  gold  between 
two  palmer's  staves,  would  seem  to  indicate  that,  in  the  judgment  of  the  Herald's 
Office,  the  capture  of  Africans  and  the  sale  of  human  flesh  was  the  "  true  crusade 
of  the  reign  of  Elizabeth."^ 

It  should  be  borne  in  mind,  in  explanation  of  the  creed  and  practices  of  Hawkins, 
Drake,  and  other  "  freebooters  "  of  the  age,  that  there  was  "  no  peace  with  Spain 
beyond  the  line  " ;  and  that  both  of  these  noted  voyagers  had  been  the  victims  of 
Spanish  treachery  when  lying  peaceably  at  anchor  in  the  port  of  San  Juan  d'Ulua. 
Attacked  both  by  sea  and  from  the  land,  but  two  of  the  five  ships  composing  the 
fleet  escaped ;  and  the  captives,  at  least  a  hundred  in  number,  fell  into  the  hands 
of  the  Inquisition,  where  their  sufferings,  save  in  a  few  exceptional  cases,  were 
only  terminated  by  death.  As  Dr.  Edward  Everett  Hale  forcibly  puts  the  case  in 
"  The  Narrative  and  Critical  History  of  America  "  (Vol.  iii.,  p.  6f)  :  "  If  Hawkins's 
accoimt  of  the  perfidy  of  the  Spaniards  at  San  Juan  d'Ulua  be  true,  —  and  it  has 
never  been  contradicted,  —  the  Spanish  Crown  that  day  brought  down  a  storm  of 
misery  and  rapine  from  which  it  never  fairly  recovered.  The  accursed  doctrine  of 
the  Inquisition,  that  no  faith  was  to  be  kept  with  heretics,  proved  a  dangerous  doc- 
ti'ine  for  Spain  when  the  heretics  were  such  men  as  Hawkins,  Cavendish,  and 
Drake.  On  that  day  Francis  Drake  learned  his  lesson  of  Spanish  treachery ;  and 
he  learned  it  so  well  that  he  determined  on  his  revenge.  That  revenge  he  took  so 
thoroughly  that  for  more  than  a  himdred  years  he  is  spoken  of  in  all  Spanish  an- 
nals as  'The  Dragon,'  a  play  upon  his  name,  '  Dracus,'  or  '  Draco.'  " 

Numerous  relics  of  Frobisher's  voyages  were  obtained  by  Captain  Charles  F. 
Hall  in  his  first  expedition  to  seek  fm- traces  of  Sir  John  Franklin,  18G0-18Gi,  some 
of  which  are  deposited  in  the  National  Museum  in  '^Vasliington.  Tlie  purpose  of 
leaving  a  party  to  winter  in  these  northern  latitudes  was  shown  by  the  erection  of 
a  house  of  lime  and  stone  on  the  Countess  of  Warwick's  Island,  where  numerous 
articles  were  deposited.  Had  the  "  ore,"  of  which  more  than  thirteen  luuidred 
tons  were  taken  across  the  ocean,  proved  of  value,  the  chill  of  winter  and  the  ilan- 
gers  of  an  almost  unknown  sea  would  not  have  deterred  crowds  of  adventurers 
from  seeking  their  fortune  on  these  inhospitable  shores.  Lacking  the  stimulus  of 
gold,  further  effort  for  the  settlement  of  these  lands  was  wanting,  and  the  keen 
search  of  the  sailors  of  England  for  the  discovery  of  new  territories  in  the  Western 
World  was  elsewhere  directed. 

The  chief  authority  for  the  famous  voyage  of  Drake  is  "  The  World  Encom- 
passed by  Sir  Francis  Drake,     .     .     .    Carefully  Collected  out  of  the  notes  of  Master 

'  Narrative  aud  Critical  Histoi-y  of  America,  iii.,  p.  5.i.  =  Ibid.,  p.  63.  '  Hid. 


CHURCH  CONNECTION  WITH  DISCOVERY  AND   SETTLEMENT.      17 

Francis  Fletohor,  Preacher  in  tbeir  employment,  anil  divers  others,  his  followers  in 
the  same  ;  Uflcred  now  at  last  to  publique  view,  both  lor  the  iionour  of  the  actor,  but 
especially  fortlie  stirring  vp  of  hcroick  spirits,  to  benefit  their  country,  and  clernize 
their  names  by  lilie  noble  attempts."  London.  -Ito.  1028.  This  volume  of  upwards 
of  one  lumdred  pages  was  reprinted  in  1C.33,  and  has  been  reissued  by  the  Ilaliluyt 
Society,  in  18o5.  The  narrative  of  the  voyage  is  found  in  tjie  general  collections  of 
Hakluyt,  Harris,  and  others.  Mr.  Froude,  in  his  History  of  Enghmd  (Volume  xi., 
chapter  2!)),  gives  a  brilliant  account  of  the  expedition,  with  an  amusing  episode 
of  an  incident  in  the  pi-cacher's  experience  on  the  return  voyage,  which  illustrates 
the  gi'im  humor  of  the  times.  S.  Cr.  Drake,  in  the  "  Genealogieal  and  Antiquarian 
Itcgister,"  gives  a  partial  list  of  the  companions  of  Drake,  and  in  the  "American 
Historical  liecord"  (Vol.  in.,  pp.  3-14-o5o),  under  the  title,  "The  First  Englishmen 
in  North  America,"  reexamines  the  whole  subject  of  the  voyage  and  voyagers.  Ho 
lironounces  "The  World  Kncompassed"  "as  a  literary  i)erformance "  to  be  "of 
the  first  rank  of  that  ])eriod." 

Ralegh  is  not  only  to  be  regarded  as  the  founder  of  the  transatlantic  colonies 
of  England,  but  also  has  the  credit  of  securing  for  the  colonists  those  guarantees 
of  political  rights  and  privileges  which  formed  the  grounds  on  which,  in  later  j'cars, 
the  people  of  North  America  made  successful  issue  with  the  mother-laud  in  the 
struggle  which  resulted  in  independence. 

In  the  charter  granted  to  him  on  Lady-day,  1584,  not  only  was  he  empowered  to 
plant  colonics  upon  "  such  remote  heathen  and  barbarous  lands,  not  actually  pos- 
sessed by  any  Christian  prince  nor  inhabited  by  Christian  people,"  as  his  expedi- 
tions might  tliscover,  l)ut  the  lands  thus  acquired  by  discovery  were  to  be  enjoyed 
by  the  colonies  forever,  and  the  settlers  themselves  were  to  "have  all  the  privileges 
of  free  denizens  and  persons  native  of  England,  in  such  ample  manner  as  if  they 
were  born  and  personally  resident  in  our  said  realm  of  England,"  and  they  were 
to  be  governed  "  according  to  such  statutes  as  shall  be  by  him  or  them  established; 
so  that  the  said  statutes  or  laws  conform  as  near  as  conveniently  may  be  with  those 
of  England,  and  ilo  not  oppugn  the  Christian  faith  or  any  way  withdraw  the  peo])le 
of  those  lands  from  om-  allegiance."  It  was  through  the  far-seeing  wisdom  of  this 
accomplished  soldier  and  statesman  that  the  English  in  America  were  enabled  from 
the  very  beginnings  of  settlement  to  claim  all  the  privileges,  franchises,  and  im- 
munities enjoyed  and  possessed  by  the  people  of  England. 

The  subjects  alhuled  to  in  this  chapter  are  fully  and  authoi-itatively  treated  in 
the  opening  pages  of  "The  Narrative  and  Critical  History  of  America,"  Vol. iii. 
To  this  exhaustive  work  we  would  refer  for  the  latest  and  most  judicial  treatment 
of  the  many  disputed  questions  which  have  arisen  with  reference  to  our  early 
annals  of  discovery  and  settlement.  The  positions  assumed  in  the  text  are  those 
so  ably  maintained  by  Mr.  Winsor  and  his  collaboraleurs. 


CHAPTER  11. 

SERVICES  AND  SACRAMENTS  AT  RALEGH'S  COLONIES  AT 
ROANOKE,  ON  THE  NORTH  CAROLINA  COAST. 

THE  pusillanimous  desertion  of  the  colony  by  Lane  failed  to  dis- 
courage tlie  high  hopes  and  purposes  of  Ealcgh.  The  governor 
himself  had  borne  testimon}',  in  the  freshness  of  his  first  enthu- 
siasm, that  it  was  "the  goodliest  soil  under  the  cope  of  heaven  ;  the 
most  pleasing  territory  of  the  world."  The  climate  was  "  whole- 
some," and,  with  the  presence  of  people  and  the  domestic  animals,  "no 
realm  in  Christendom  were  comparable  to  it."  Harlot,  also,  in  his 
"  Brief  and  True  Ecpoi-t  of  the  New  Found  Land  in  Virginia,"  dedicated 
"to  the  adventurers,  favorers,  and  wcll-willers  of  the  enterpiise  for 
the  inhabiting  and  planting  in  Virginia,"  which  was  published  in  Eng- 
land the  following  year,  had  attested  the  fertility  of  the  soil  and  the 
healthiness  of  the  climate.  It  was  not  difficult,  therefore,  for  Ralegh 
to  collect  another  party  of  settlers,  numbering  one  hundred  and  fifty. 
Of  this  colony,  which  for  the  first  time  numljcred  among  its  members 
women  as  well  as  men,  John  White  was  appointed  governor  ;  and  twelve 
assistants,  spoken  of  in  the  charter  as  "  gentlemen,"  and  "  late  of  Lon- 
don," were  associated  with  him  in  the  administration  of  (ho  government. 
The  charter  of  incorporation  for  the  settlement  contemplated  the  es- 
tablishment of  a  municipality  under  the  name  of  "The  City  of  Ralegh, 
in  Virginia,"  and  a  fleet  of  three  transports,  chartered  for'^the  advent- 
urers, set  sail  from  Portsmouth,  on  Friday,  the  8th  of  JMay,  the  day  fol- 
lowing the  Feast  of  the  Ascension.  In  the  charter  given  by  Sir  Walter 
to  the  adventurers  there  is  mention  of  a  donation  of  one  hundred  pounds 
sterling,  made  by  Sir  Walter  Ralegh,  to  be  invested  l)y  them  as  they 
pleased,  the  profits  of  the  venture  to  be  applied  "  in  planting  the  Chris- 
tian religion,  and  advancing  the  same."  This  is  the  first  gift  on  record 
for  the  evangelizing  of  our  American  shores.  By  the  last  of  July,  after 
various  mishaps,  the  colony  had  disembarked,  not  on  the  shores  of 
Chesapeake  Bay,  as  Sir  Walter  had  proposed,  l)ut  at  ill-fated  Roanoke, 
where  the  first  sight  that  met  their  eyes  was  the  bones  of  one  of  the  fif- 
teen men  left  in  the  fort  by  Grenville,  after  Lane's  desertion  of  both 
fortification  and  settlement.  The  fort  had  Iwen  razed,  the  houses  were 
tenanted  only  by  the  wild  deer,  attracted  by  the  luxuriant  growth  of 
melons,  wliich  had  claml)crcd  through  the  open  doors  and  windows  and 
covered  the  ruined  palisade.  The  unfortunate  fifteen,  as  was  subse- 
quently ascertained  from  the  natives,  had  been  attacked  by  the  savages. 
The  survivors,  betaking  themselves  to  their  boat,  floated  to  a  small 
island  near  Ilattcras,  and,  on  their  removal  thence,  probably  in  search 
of  Croatoan,  were  lost  sight  of  forever. 


SERVICES   AND   SACRAMENTS   AT   ROANOKE.  19 

"  The  sundry  necessary  and  decent  dwelling-houses,"  left  1)y  Lane, 
were  at  once  repaired,  while  "  other  new  cottages  "  were  built ;  and  the 
colony  under  White,  which  numbered  ninety-one  men,  seventeen 
women,  and  nine  children,  was  soon  established  in  its  New- World  home. 
We  can  without  difficulty  picture  the  daily  life  of  these  strangcirs  in  a 
strange  land.  We  cannot  doubt  but  that  the  "daily  pi'ayer,"  which 
Harlot  tells  us  was  attended  b}'  those  who  founded  the  earlier  settle- 
ment under  liane,  was  not  omitted  now,  when,  as  we  have  eveiy  reason 
to  believe,  a  priest  of  the  Church  of  England  formed  one  of  the  set- 
tlers, or  at  least  transferred  his  duties  as  chaplain  of  the  little?  lUu^t  to 
the  shore,  while  seamen  and  settlers  sought  to  lay  the  foundations  of 
the  city  of  Ealegh.  The  drum-beat  was  doubtless  their  summons  to 
prayer,  and  the  motley  crowd  of  gentlemen  and  yeomen,  the  soldier  in 
his  light  armor,  the  settler  in  his  homespun,  the  friendly  savage  in  his 
paint  and  feathers,  the  women  thinking  of  the  noble  churches  in  the 
far-away  home  of  their  early  days,  the  children  wondering  at  all  they 
saw  and  heard, —  these  made  up  the  grouping  as  the  simple  matins  and 
even-songs  of  mother-church  were  fervently  said.  The  day  thus 
opened  and  closed  would  be  spent  in  the  etibrt  to  build  and  beautify 
the  home,  in  striving  to  gain  experience  and  alertness  in  the  use  of 
weapons  of  defence,  in  hunting  the  timid  deer,  or  fishing  from  the 
rocks  and  in  the  little  streams,  or  else  in  traffic  with  the  al)origines. 
Expeditions  of  discovery  along  the  coast  or  into  the  interior  ;  meetings 
with  the  friendly  Indians  in  council,  or  preparations  against  the  sudden 
attacks  of  those  who  had  been  alienated  from  the  English  by  the  ill- 
judged  severity  of  Lane;  the  cultivation  of  the  virgin  soil,  or  the 
preparation  of  the  grateful  narcotic  so  recently  introduced  to  English 
use,  —  in  these  occupations  the  days  went  on.  The  kindred  of  jNIanteo, 
a  chieftain  who  had  l)een  taken  to  England  by  the  first  discoverers,  and 
had  returned  to  his  home  with  Lane,  lived  on  the  island  of  Croatoan, 
and  with  them  friendly  relations  were  at  once  established.  Li  contrast 
to  the  kindly  disposition  of  Manteo  was  the  implacable  hate  of  Wan- 
chese,  who  had  also  been  carried  to  England,  but  who,  on  his  return, 
became  the  bitter  foe  of  the  colonists.  Through  his  influence  the  eifoits 
of  the  English  to  secure  the  friendship  of  the  aliorigines  on  the  main- 
land failed.  Shortly  one  of  the  settlers,  straying  incautiously  from 
the  fort,  was  killed  by  the  hostile  natives.  In  the  attempt  to  avenge 
this  loss,  by  a  night  attack,  one  of  the  friendly  savages  was  unfortu- 
nately slain,  having  been  mistaken  for  a  foe.  Thus  untowavdly  the 
work  of  founding  the  city  of  lialegh  wont  on  to  its  accomplishment. 

On  the  13th  of  August  the  faitiiful  Manteo  was  admittexl  to  Christ's 
Church  by  holy  baptism.  This  administration  of  the  sacrament  had 
been  provided  for  by  Ralegh  ere  the  expedition  sailed  from  England, 
and,  in  accordance  with  the  proprietary's  will,  the  neophyte  was  made 
Lord  of  Roanoke  and  Dasmouguepcuk,  in  recognition  of  his  faithful 
and  untiring  service.  This  act  of  christening  took  place  on  tiie  ninth 
Sunday  after  Trinity.  On  the  following  Sunday,  Virginia,  daughter 
of  Ananias  and  Eleanor  Dare,  and  granddaughter  of  the  governor, 
White,  who  was  born  on  Friday,  the  18th  of  August,  was  christened, 
being  "  the  first  Christian  borne  in  Virginia."   We  do  not  know  the  name 


20  HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

of  the  faithful  priest  of  the  English  Church  to  whom  was  given  the 
honor  of  admitting  to  holy  baptism,  according  to  the  English  I'ite,  the 
tirst  Indian  convert  and  tlje  first  child  born  of  English  parents  in  the 
New  World.  The  list  of  those  who  remained  at  lloanoke  is  extant ; 
but  there  are  no  means  of  ascertaining  who  was  the  priest  of  the  set- 
tlement, if,  indeed,  a  priest  remained,  to  live  and  die  with  the  unhappy 
settlers.  But  that  there  was  some  one  in  holy  orders  available  for 
this  solemnity  is  to  be  inferred,  not  only  from  the  record  of  the 
administration  of  the  sacrament,  but  also  from  the  fact  that  Ralegh 
had,  as  we  have  seen,  made  provision  for  the  baptism  of  Manteo  prior 
to  the  departure  of  the  expedition  from  England.  It  may  have  been 
the  case  that  the  clergyman  who  ofHciated  at  these  baptisms  was  the 
chaplain  of  the  tleet  which  brought  over  the  colony,  and  shortly  after 
returned  with  the  governor,  John  White,  on  board.  The  departure  of 
the  Ucet  with  the  governor,  who  had  reluctantly  yielded  to  the  urgiugs 
of  the  colonists  in  embarking,  left  behind  eighty-nine  men,  seventeen 
women,  and  eleven  children,  two  of  whom  had  been  born  in  Virginia. 
White  certainly  gave  hostages  for  his  speedy  return,  in  leaving  behind 
him  his  daughter  and  grandchild.  Already  it  had  been  decided  to 
abandon  the  present  site  of  the  colony  and  to  remove  to  the  main-land. 
It  was  among  the  last  instructions  of  the  governor  that,  in  the  event  of 
this  removal,  the  settlers  should  carve,  on  some  post  or  tree,  the  name 
of  the  place  of  their  new  home,  and  if  in  distress  to  cut  a  cross  above 
the  letters.  On  the  28th  of  August  the  ships  weighed  anchor  and  set 
sail  for  England  ;  and  on  the  5th  of  November  the  returning  voyagers 
landed  at  Martasen,  near  St.  jMichacl's  mount,  in  Cornwall. 

It  was  at  a  time  of  apprehension  of  invasion  from  Spain  that 
White  reached  England.  The  "Armada"  was  aiioat,  and  Ralegh, 
Grenville,  and  Lane  were  busied  in  measures  for  the  defence  of  the 
homes  and  altars  of  their  native  land.  Still,  Ralegh  found  means  to 
despatch  two  barks,  under  the  command  of  White,  with  supplies  for 
his  colony.  But  these  ships  were  more  anxious  to  light  the  Spaniards 
than  to  relieve  the  settlers  at  Roanoke,  and  in  their  search  for  prizes 
one  of  the  two  fell  in  with  men-of-war  from  Rochelle,  and  after  a 
bloody  encounter  was  boarded  and  plundered  by  the  foe.  Both  ships 
were  forced  to  return  to  England,  defeated  in  their  purpose  of  reaching 
the  North  Carolina  coast.  The  delay  proved  fatal,  for,  in  the  culmina- 
tion of  the  struggle,  which  shortly  followed,  in  which  the  independence 
of  England  and  the  existence  of  England's  reformed  Church  were  at 
stake,  there  could  be  no  relief  for  the  Roanoke  colonists  till  after  the 
final  destruction  of  the  "Armada." 

At  length,  when  victory  had  been  gained  and  security  assured,  in 
the  complete  overthrow  of  the  Spanish  tleet.  Sir  Walter  Ralegh,  M'ho  had 
already  expended  forty  thousand  pounds  in  his  efforts  for  colonizing 
America,  found  himself  too  much  impoverished  to  renew  the  attempt. 
Availing  himself  of  the  privileges  secured  by  his  letters-patent  he 
gi'anted  to  a  company  of  merchants  and  adventurers  his  rights  of  pro- 
prietorship in  the  Virgin's  Land  beyond  the  seas.  But,  notwithstand- 
ing his  large  concessions,  the  company  proved  laggard  in  its  schemes 
of  colonization,  lacking  the  lavish  support  and  persevering  counsels 


SERVICES  AND  SACRAMENTS   AT   ROANOKE.  21 

of  tlio  father  of  American  colonization.  It  was  not  till  more  than 
another  year  had  elapsed  that  \Miite  was  able  to  return  to  the  shores 
where  he  had  left  his  daughter  and  her  child.  Touching,  indeed,  is 
the  glimpse  given  us,  in  White's  own  words,  of  the  fate  of  these  ear- 
liest English  settlers  on  our  American  continent.  The  voyage  had  not 
been  without  mishaps,  and  at  the  approach  to  the  shore  the  most 
of  a  boat's  crew  were  drowned  I)y  a  heavy  sea :  "This  mischance  did 
so  much  discomfort  the  sailors,  that  they  were  all  of  one  mind  not  to  go 
any  further  to  seek  the  planters  ;  but  in  the  end,  by  the  commandment 
and  persuasion  of  me  and  Captain  Cooke,  they  prepared  the  boats,  and 
seeing  the  captain  and  me  so  resolute  they  seemed  much  more  willing. 
Our  boats  and  all  things  fitted  again,  we  put  off  from  liatorask,  being 
the  number  of  nineteen  persons  in  both  boats ;  but,  before  we  could 
get  to  the  place  where  our  planters  were  left,  it  was  so  exceeding  dark 
that  we  overshot  the  place  a  quarter  of  a  mile ;  there  we  espied,  tow- 
ards the  north  end  of  the  island,  the  light  of  a  great  fire  through  the 
woods,  to  the  which  we  presently  rowed.  When  we  came  right  over 
against  it,  we  let  fall  our  gi'apncl  near  the  shore,  and  sounded  with  a 
trumpet  a  call,  and  afterwards  many  familiar  English  tunes  of  songs, 
and  called  to  them  friendly  ;  but  we  had  no  answer.  We  therefore  landed 
at  daybreak,  and  coming  to  the  fire  we  found  the  grass  and  smidry  rotten 
trees  burning  about  the  place.  From  hence  we  went  through  the  woods  to 
that  part  of  the  island  directly  over  against  Dasamongwepcuk,  and  from 
thence  we  returned  by  the  water-side  round  about  the  north  point  of  the 
island,  until  we  came  to  the  place  where  I  left  our  colony  iu  the  year  158G. 
In  all  this  way  we  saw  in  the  sand  the  print  of  the  savages'  feet  of  two 
or  three  sorts  trodden  in  the  night ;  and  as  we  entered  up  the  sandy 
bank,  upon  a  tree,  in  the  very  brow  thereof,  were  curiously  carved 
these  ftiir  Roman  letters,  C.  R.  O.,  which  letters  presently  we  knew 
to  signify  the  place  where  I  should  find  the  planters  seated,  according 
to  a  secret  token  agreed  upon  between  them  and  me  at  my  last  depart- 
ure from  them  :  which  was  that  in  any  ways  they  should  not  fail  to 
write  or  carve,  on  the  trees  or  posts  of  the  doors,  the  name  of  the 
place  where  they  should  be  seated  ;  for  at  my  coming  away  they  were 
prepared  to  remove  from  Roanoke  fifty  miles  into  the  main.  Therefore, 
at  my  departure  from  them  in  An.  1587,  I  willed  them,  that  if  they 
should  happen  to  be  distressed  in  any  of  those  places,  that  then  they 
should  carve  over  the  letters  or  name  a  +  in  this  form  ;  but  we  found 
no  such  sign  of  distress.  And,  having  well  considered  of  this,  we 
passed  towards  the  place  where  they  were  left  in  sundry  houses,  but 
we  found  the  houses  taken  down,  and  the  place  very  sti'ongly  enclosed 
with  a  high  palisade  of  great  trees,  with  curtains  and  Hankers  very 
fort-like  ;  and  one  of  the  chief  trees  or  posts  at  the  right  side  of  the 
entrance  had  the  bark  taken  off,  and  five  feet  from  the  ground,  in  fair 
capital  letters,  was  graven  CROATOAN,  without  anj'  cross  or  sign  of 
distress  ;  this  done,  we  entered  into  the  palisade,  where  Ave  found  many 
bars  of  iron,  two  pigs  of  lead,  four  iron-fowlers,  iron  locker-shot,  and 
such  like  heavy  things  thi-own  here  and  there,  almost  overgrown  with 
grass  and  weeds.  From  thence  we  went  along  by  the  water-side  toward 
the  point  of  the  creek,  to  see  if  we  could  find  any  of  their  boats  or 


22  HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAX  EPISCOPAL  CnUKCU. 

pinnace ;  but  we  could  perceive  no  sign  of  them  nor  any  of  the  last 
falcons  or  small  ordinance  which  were  left  M"ith  them  at  m}'  departure 
from  them.  At  our  return  from  the  creek,  some  of  our  sailors  meetins: 
us  told  us  that  they  had  found  where  divers  chests  had  been  hidden, 
and  long  sithence  digged  up  again  and  broken  up,  and  much  of  the 
goods  in  them  spoiled  and  scattered  about,  but  nothing  left  of  such 
things  as  the  savages  knew  any  use  of,  uudef;iccd.  Presently  Captain 
Cooke  and  I  wont  to  the  place,  M'hich  was  in  the  end  of  an  old  trench, 
made  two  years  past  bj^  Captain  Amadas,  where  we  found  live  chests 
that  had  been  carefully  hidden  of  the  planters,  and  of  the  same  chests 
three  were  mj^  own,  and  about  the  place  many  of  mj'  things  spoiled 
and  broken,  and  my  books  torn  from  the  covers,  the  frames  of  some  of 
mj'  pictures  and  maps  rotten  and  spoiled  with  rain,  and  my  armor  almost 
.  eaten  through  with  rust.  This  could  be  no  other  than  the  deed  of  the 
savages,  our  enemies  at  Desamongwepeuk,  who  had  watched  the  depart- 
ure of  our  men  to  Ci'oatoan,  and  as  soon  as  they  were  departed 
digged  by  everj'  place  where  they  suspected  anything  to  be  buried ; 
but  although  it  much  gi'ieved  me  to  see  such  spoil  of  my  goods,  j'et  on 
the  other  side  I  greatly  joyed  that  I  had  safely  found  a  certain  token 
of  their  safe  being  at  Croatoan,  which  is  the  place  where  Manteo  was 
born,  and  the  savages  of  the  islands  our  friends." 

The  hopes  of  a  speedj'  reunion  with  child  and  grandchild,  and  the 
revival  on  a  new  site,  and  with  happier  auspices,  of  the  citj^  of  Kalegh, 
and  the  scheme  of  colonizmg  on  the  American  coast,  so  naturally  excited 
by  the  results  of  this  day  of  exploration,  were  to  be  crushed  out  for- 
ever. The  skies  were  overcast.  The  sailors  with  difficulty  regained 
their  ship.  In  the  morning,  as  they  weighed  anchor  for  "  Croatoan," 
the  cable  broke,  and  the  gale  drove  them  towards  the  shore.  ^\i"ter  a 
narrow  escape  from  wreck,  with  a  sti'aiued  and  leaking  bark,  and  with 
not  a  single  anchor  left,  they  were  forced  to  turn  their  course  towards 
the  West  Indies,  leaving  the  colonists  to  their  fate.  Xo  further  oflbrt 
availed  for  their  relief.  A  century  later,  as  the  historian  of  North 
Carolina  relates,  the  Hattcras  Indians,  at  Croatoan,  were  wont  to  tell 
"that  several  of  their  ancestors  were  white  people,  and  could  talk  in  a 
book  as  we  do ;  the  truth  of  which  is  confinned  l)y  gray  eyes  being  foimd 
frequently  among  these  Indians,  and  no  others.  They  value  themselves 
extremely  for  their  affinity  to  the  English,  and  are  ready  to  do  them 
all  friendly  offices."  The  tradition  of  these  Indians  may  shadow  forth 
the  fate  of  some  of  these  unfortunate  colonists,  or  possibly  maj^  eluci- 
date the  mj'stery  attending  the  disappearance  of  Grenville's  lifteen  men. 
But  in  the  "Histor}'  of  Travaile  into  Virginia  Britannia,"  by  William 
Strachcy,  recently  published  '  from  a  manuscript  in  the  British  ^luscum, 
there  are  incidental  references  and  statements,  which  lead  us  to  infer 
that  the  Eoanoke  settlers  s'urvived  amidst  their  savage  friends  till 
about  the  year  1607,  at  which  time  "  the  men,  women,  and  children  of 
the  tirst  plantation  at  lioanoke  were,  by  pi-actice  and  commandment 
of  Powhatan  (he  himself  persuaded  thereunto  by  liis  priests),  miser- 
ably' slaughtered,  without  any  oflence  given  him,  either  b}'  the  tirst 
planted  (who  twent}'  and  odd  j'ears  had  peaceably  lived  hitermixt  with 

1  By  the  Ilaklujt  Society,  1S19. 


SERVICES  AND   SACEAMENTS   AT  ROANOKE.  23 

Ihose  salvages,  and  were  out  of  his  tcrrilory  ") .  In  another  reference  to 
this  matter  Straehcy  tells  us  that  "at  Kitauoc,  the  AVeroance  Eyanoco 
preserved  seven  of  the  English  alive,  — four  men,  two  boys,  and  one 
3'oung  maid  ( who  escaped  and  tied  up  the  river  of  Chanokc) ,  —  to  beat 
his  copper,  of  which  he  had  certain  mines  at  the  said  Ritanoe."  Vague 
and  imperfect  as  these  and  other  incidental  allusions  contained  in 
Strachcy's  history  arc,  thej'  certainly  imply  that  some  of  "  these  unfor- 
tunate and  betrayed  peojde  "escaped  the  "  miserable  and  untimely  des- 
tiny "  which  involved  the  major  part  of  them  in  destruction,  and  com- 
municated in  some  way  with  thescttlci's  at  Jamestown.  Certainly  the 
"  one  young  maid  "  maj'  ha^■e  been  the  first-born  Anglo-American, 
Virginia  Dare,  or  else  the  other  child  of  Virginian  birth,  whose  sur- 
name was  "  Harvie,"  and  who  was  doubtless  born  just  before  the  em- 
barkation of  AVhite.  These  are  the  only  two  on  the  list  of  settlers 
given  us  by  White,  who  could  have  been  spoken  of  as  "  maids"  in  1607. 
Possibly,  though,  from  the  lack  of  authority,  there  can  be  no  certainty 
of  the  fact,  the  scanty  remnant  of  this  unfortunate  colony  may  have 
been  incorporated  with  the  Jamestown  settlers.  "Wo  may  l>e  thankful 
that  there  is  even  a  gleam  of  hope  that  the  tirst-born  of  the  Virginia 
Church  and  State,  may  have  found  her  way  back  to  civilization  and 
Christianity,  after  many  vicissitudes  and  hardships,  and  in  the  rude 
church  at  Jamestown,  and  amons:  those  other  own  race,  thoufrh  stranger 
to  her  than  the  savages,  heard,  with  interest  and  delight,  the  words  of 
the  same  "  Book  of  Common  Prayer  "  out  of  which  had  been  read  the 
ofSce  of  her  chi-istenini?. 


CRITICAL    NOTES    ON    THE    SOURCES    OF    INFORMATION. 

THE  connection  of  Sir  Walter  Ralogh  with  American  colonization  forms  the  sub- 
ject of  an  interesting  chapter  in  "The  Narrative  and  Critical  History  of  America." 
The  story  of  the  voya2;es  undertaken  by  this  gifted  man  in  furtherance  of  the  task 
he  hail  so  much  at  heart  is  told  from  the  original  accounts,  by  the  Rev.  Increase  N. 
Tarbox,  D  D.,  in  his  "  Sir  AV alter  Ralegh  and  his  Colony  in  America,"  issued  by 
the  Prince  Societj'  this  present  year.  This  volume  contains,  Ijcsides  a  Memoir  of 
Ralegh  :  I.  ChaVter  in  favor  of  Sir  Walter  Ralegh,  Knight,  for  the  Discovery  .and 
Plantingof  New  Lands  in  America,  25  IMarch,  15S4.  H.  The  First  Voyage  to  Amer- 
ica under  the  Charge  and  Direction  of  Sir  Walter  Ralegh,  Knight,  l.oS4  (by  Arthur 
Barlowe).  IH.  The  Second  Voj-age  to  America  under  the  Charge  and  Direction  of 
Sir  Walter  Ralegh,  Knight,  1585  (chiefly  furnished  to  Ilakhiyt  by  Ralph  Lane, 
Sir  Richard  Grenville  possibly  contributing  a  small  |)ortionof  the  narrative).  IV. 
The  Third  Voyage  to  America  under  the  Charge  and  Direction  of  Sir  Walter  Ralegh, 
Knight,  1580."  V.  Inti-oduction  to  the  Narrative  of  Thomas  Harlot,  by  Ralph  Lane. 
V[.  Historical  Narrative,  by  Thomas  llariot.  VII.  The  Foiu-th  Voyage  to  America 
under  the  Charge  and  Direction  of  Sir  Walter  R.alegh,  Knight,  1587  (by  .Tohn 
White).  VHI.  The  Fifth  Voyage  to  ^Vmerica  under  flie  Charge  and  Direction  of 
Sir  Walter  Ralegh,  Knight,  lo'M.  The  annotations  by  Dr.  Tarbox  are  pertinent 
and  vahiable. 

The  original  sources  of  information  respecting  the  Colony  of  R.alegh  are  as 
follows :  I.  Ai"thurBarlowe"s  Diary  of  the  Voyage  (Aoril  9-October  18, 1584),  printed 
by  Hakluyt,  and  reprinted  by  Dr.  H.awks  in  his  "  History  of  North  Carolina,"  and 
by  Dr.  Tarbox,  as  noticed  above.  H.  (jovernor  Rali)h  Lane's  two  letters  to  Sir 
Francis  Walsingham  and  his  letter  to  Sir  Philip  Sidney,  August  12,  1585,  together 
with  Lane's  third  letter  to  Walsingham,  of  Sept.  8,  1.585,  printed  for  the  first  time 
in  "  Archseologia  Americana,"  iv,  pp.  8-lS,  and  edited  by  the  Rev.  Edward  E.  Hale, 


24  HISTORY   OF  THE  AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

D.D. ;  and  an  extract  from  Lane's  letter  to  Richard  Hakluyt,  of  the  Inner  Temple, 
dated  Sept.  3, 1585,  printed  by  Hakluyt  and  reprinted  by  Dr.  Hawks.  HI.  "  Harlot's 
Narrative  ;"  first  issued  in  1588,  and  published  by  Hakluyt  the  following  year,  and 
by  Ue  Dry  in  lo'JO.  IV.  Lane's  Narrative,  as  given  by  Hakluyt.  This  account,  and 
that  by  Harlot,  will  be  found  in  Dr.  Hawks's  "  North  Carolina,"  and  in  Dr.  Tarbox's 
"  Sir  Walter  Ralegh  and  his  Colony."  V.  "  A  Summarie  and  Trve  Discovrse  of 
Sir  Francis  Drake's  AV'est  Indian  Voyage,  wherein  were  taken  the  Townes  of  Saint 
Jago,  Sancto  Domingo,  Cartagena,  and  Saint  Augustine,"  by  Thomas  Cates,  Lon- 
don, 158U,  and  reprinted  in  the  fourth  vohmie  of  Hakluyt,  ICOO.  VI.  "  The  original 
Drawings  of  the  Habits,  Towns,  Customs  of  the  West  Indians ;  and  of  the  plants, 
birds,  fishes,  &c.,  found  in  Greenland,  Virginia,  Guiana,  &c.,  by  Jlr.  John  White," 
preserved  in  the  Sloane  Collection  in  the  British  Museum.  The  "  Critical  Essay," 
appended  to  Mr.  William  Wirt  Henry's  chapter  on  Ralegh  in  "  The  Narrative  and 
Critical  IIist(]ry  of  America,"  gives  in  detail  notices  of  the  various  sources  of  infor- 
mation, both  original  and  secondary. 

Uetvvecn  the  years  1587  and  1G02  Ralegh  fitted  out,  at  his  owti  charge,  five  ex- 
peditions to  Virginia.  It  "required  a  ])rince's  purse"  thus  to  attempt  the  coloniza- 
tion of  his  Virginian  domain,  and  he  only  ceased  his  labor  and  lavish  expenditures 
in  the  prosecution  of  his  plans  when  he  lost  tlie  royal  favor  and  became  a  prisoner 
under  sentence  of  death.  In  the  last  year  of  Queen  Elizabeth's  reign  he  despatched 
Samuel  Mace,  a  mariner  of  experience,  with  sjjecial  orders  to  relie\'e  the  sur\  Ivors 
of  White's  colony.  On  tlie  return  ot  Mace,  Ralegh's  interest  in  the  colony  had  es- 
cheated to  the  crown  by  his  attainder.  Still  his  faith  in  the  ultimate  success  of  the 
efforts  for  colonization  he  had  inaugurated  was  unchanged.  On  the  eve  of  his  own 
fall  he  had  written, "  I  shall  3-et  live  to  see  it  an  English  nation ; "  and.  though  it  was 
from  the  tower-cell  and  the  scaftbld,  he  lived  to  see  his  words  fulfilled. 

It  was  provided  in  the  charter  granted  to  Ralegh,  on  Lady-day,  1581,  that 
the  statutes,  laws  and  ordinances  be  "as  nere  asconucnicntly  may  bee,  agreoalile 
to  the  forme  of  the  lawes,  statutes,  and  gouerment,  or  poUicie  of  England,  and  also 
so  as  they  be  not  against  the  true  Cliristian  faith,  nowe  professed  in  the  Cl\urch  of 
England." —  Tarbox^s  Sir  Walter  Ralegh  and  hi.'i  Colonu  in  America,  p.  100.  We 
cannot  doubt  but  that  a  priest  of  the  English  Church  accompanied  this  expedition, 
and  on  occasion  of  the  baptism  of  Mantco,  as  well  as  at  the  cliristening  of  Virginia 
Dare,  performed  the  service  as  found  in  the  "  Book  of  Common  Prayer."  Although 
there  is  no  indication  of  the  name  of  this  missionary  priest  in  the  list  appended  to 
White's  narr.ativo  giving  "the  names  of  all  the  men,  women  and  children,  which 
safely  arriucd  in  Virginia,  and  remained  to  inhabite  flierc,  1587,  Anno  regni  Rcgince 
Elizabethte,  29,"  the  absence  of  the  title  is  no  proof  that  there  was  no  clergyman 
among  the  settlers.  It  may  be  that  Roger  Baily,  whose  name  appears  on  the 
list  next  to  that  of  the  governor's,  and  Ijcfore  that  of  his  son-in-law,  Ananias  Dare, 
was  the  one  who  ministered  to  the  colony  in  spiritual  things ;  —  but  this  is  only  con- 
jecture. It  is  quite  unlikely  that  the  mystery  attending  this  question  will  ever  be 
dispelled.  Manteo,  the  lirst-fruits  of  the  aborigines  of  our  land  to  Christ  and  his 
Church,  had  been  twice  in  England,  having  been  taken  in  the  first  place  by  Captains 
Amidas  and  Barlowe,  in  158i.  Returning  to  his  native  land  with  Sir  Richard  Gren- 
ville,  in  1585,  he  again  crossed  the  Atlantic  with  Sir  Francis  Drake,  the  following 
year.  In  company  with  another  savage,  Towa}"e,  he  accompanied  the  expedition 
of  Wliite  in  1587,  and  remained  friendly  to  the  English,  while  Wanchese  became 
their  implacable  foe.  There  is  reason  to  believe  tliat  in  the  removal  of  the  Roan- 
oke settlers  to  Croatoan  the  advice  of  Manteo  was  followed,  and  that  among  his 
kindred  and  under  his  protection  the  colonists  patiently  awaited  the  expected  relief 
Irom  England,  which  never  came.  But  for  Powhatan's  murderous  interference,  at 
the  instigation  of  his  priests.  Jealous,  it  may  have  been,  of  the  iniluence  of  the  I^ng- 
lish  in  leading  others  than  Manteo  to  Chri.st,  there  might  have  sjivung  up  an  Anglo- 
Inifian  commimitj',  Christianized  and  civilized,  and  inaugurating  the  conquest  of  the 
New  World  to  Christ  anil  his  Church. 

The  references  in  Strachey's  "Historic  of  Travails  into  Virginia"  to  the 
Roanoke  settlers,  are  as  follows :  — 

I.  In  the  author's  "  Cosmographie  of  Virginia,"  in  his  first  chapter,  he  thus 
incidentally  alludes  to  them:  "This  high  land  is,  in  all  likclyhoodes,  a  pleasant 
tract,  and  the  mowld  fruictl'ull,  especially  what  may  lye  to  the  .so-ward;  where,  at 
Peccarecamek  and  Ochanahoen,  by  the  relation  of  INIaehumps,'  the  people  have 

'  An  Tnilinn  who  hail  visited  England,  the  brother  of  Winsanuskc,  a  favorite  wife  nf  Pow- 
hatan, and  nn  occassional  gnest  at  tlic  lioiise  of  the  governor,  Sir  Thomas  Dale.  Vide  Strachcy'3 
"  Historic,"  i,p.  .'G,  54,  94. 


SERVICES    AND   SACRAMENTS   AT   ROANOKE.  25 

bowses  biiilt  ■with  stone  walles,  and  one  story  above  anotlier,  so  taught  them  by 
those  Englishe  whoe  eseapeil  the  slaughter  at  Roanoak.  at  what  tymo  this  our  col- 
ony, under  the  conductor  ('apt.  Newport,  landed  within  the  Cliesapeake  Bay,  where 
the  ]3eople  breed  up  tame  turkeis  aliout  their  howses,  and  take  apss  in  the  moun- 
tains, and  where,  at  llitanoe,  the  Weroance  Eyanoco'  preserved  seven  of  the  Eng- 
lish alive  —  lower  men,  two  boyes,  and  one  j'onge  mayde  (who  escaped  and  lied 
up  the  i-iver  of  Chanoke),  to  beat  his  copper,  of  which  he  hath  certain  myncs  at  the 
said  Ritanoe,  as  also  at  Pamawauk  are  said  to  be  store  of  salt  stones,"  p.  :iG. 

It  would  appear  from  this  reference  that,  at  the  time  of  the  landing  of  Captain 
Newport,  in  1G07,  there  were  "  Englishe  whoe  escaped  the  slaughter  at  Roanoak" 
living  at  "  Pecearecamek  and  Ochanahoen,"  evidently  incorporated  among  the  In- 
dians in  these  communities,  and  contributing  to  the  comfort  and  civilization  of  their 
captors  and  preservers.  Still,  as  the  Rev.  Edward  E.  Hale,  D.D.,  in  commenting 
on  this  passage  in  "  Archaiologia  Americana''  (Vol.iv.,  p.  3G)  observes,  "it  must 
be  confessed  that  this  tantalizing  passage  is  very  obscure."  Another  extract,  "  still 
more  obscure,"  is  as  follows :  — 

II.  "  Yet  noe  Spanish  intention  shalbe  entertayned  by  us,  neither  hereby  to 
root  out  the  naturalls,^  as  the  Spaniards  have  done  in  Hispaniola,  and  other  parts, 
but  only  to  take  from  them  these  seducers,  ....  declaring  (in  the  attempt 
thereof)  unto  the  sevei'al  weroances,  and  making  the  comon  people  likewise  to  un- 
derstand, how  that  his  niajestie  hath  bene  acquainted,  that  the  men,  women,  and 
children  of  the  lirst  plantation  at  Roanoak  were  by  practize  and  comaundement  of 
Powhatan  (he  himself  perswaded  thereunto  by  his  priests)  miscralily  slaughtered, 
without  any  offence  given  him  either  by  the  first  planted  (who  twenty  and  od  yeares 
had  peaceably  lyved  intermixt  with  those  salvages,  and  were  out  of  his  territory) 
or  by  those  who  nowe  are  come  to  inhabite  some  parte  of  his  desarte  land,"  etc. 
—  Slrachey,  pp.  85,  86. 

In  the  third  chapter  of  his  "  Historic,"  Strachey,  describing  "  the  great  king," 
Powhatan,  refers  to  the  same  massacre  as  follows :  — 

III.  "  He  doth  often  send  unto  us  to  temporize  with  us,  awayting  perhapps 
a  fit  opportunity  (inflamed  by  his  furious  and  bloudy  priests)  to  offer  us  a  tast  of 
the  same  cuppe  which  he  made  our  poore  countrymen  drinck  of  at  Ronoak."  — 
p.  50. 

Again,  at  the  close  of  chapter  fourth  of  the  second  book  of  his  "  Ilistorie," 
Strachey  refers  to  the  return  of  John  White  to  England,  in  loS'J,  in  these  words  :  — 

rV.  "  Howbeit,  Captaine  AVhite  sought  them' no  further,  but  missing  them 
there,  and  his  company  havinge  other  practizes,  and  which  those  tymes  afforded, 
they  returned,  covetous  of  some  good  successe  upon  the  Spanish  fieete  to  returne  that 
yeare  from  Mexico  and  the  Indies,  —  neglecting  thus  these  unfortunate  and  betrayed 
people,  of  whose  end  you  shall  yet  hereafter  read  hi  due  place  in  this  decade."  — 
p.  152. 

From  this  reference,  and  another  contained  in  the  "  Premonition  to  the  Reader," 
to  the  effect  that  Ralegh  "  endeavoured  nothing  less  then  the  relief  of  the  poore 
planters,  who  afterward,  as  you  shall  read  in  this  following  discourse,  came  there- 
fore to  a  miserable  and  untymely  destiny"  (p.  9),  it  is  evident  that  Strachey  was 
aware  of  the  particulars  of  the  fate  of  the  Roanoke  colonists.  Unfortunately  the 
remainder  of  the  "  decade"  is  imperfect,  and  we  can  only,  by  the  careful  compar- 
ison of  the  extracts  wo  have  cited,  infer  that  a  number  of  the  Roanoke  settlers 
survived  the  massacre  incited  by  Powhatan  and  were  living  among  the  savages  at 
the  time  of  the  arrival  of  Capt.  Newport,  in  1G07.  It  is  possible  that  a  second  mas- 
sacre may  have  occurred  after  this  date,  occasioned  by  the  fear  of  the  Indian  chief- 
tain that  the  later  settlers  might,  if  they  learned  of  the  hardships  to  which  their 
countrj-men  had  l^een  subjected,  avenge  their  wrongs.  If  this  were  so  it  would 
account  for  the  silence  in  the  early  narratives  of  the  Virginia  settlement  with_  ref- 
erence to  the  subject.  It  is  not  impossible,  however,  that  some  of  the  survivors 
communicated  with  the  settlers  at  Jamestown,  if  they  did  not  escape  from  captivity 
and  rejoin  their  countrymen  in  their  new  Virginian  home.  Certainly  this  is  notan 
mireasonable  supposition,  and  as  such  we  have  engrafted  it  in  the  text.  We  find 
the  follo\ving  statement  on  the  margin  of  p.  17:-'8  of  Vol.  rv.  of  "  Purchas  His 
Pilgrimes;'  —  "  Towhiitan  confessed  that  heo  had  bin  at  the  murther  of  that 
[Ralegh's]  Colonic,  and  shewed  a  Musket  barrell  and  a  brasso  Morter,  and  cer- 
taine  pieces  of  iron  which  had  bin  theirs."  Still,  unless  the  missing  portion  of 
Straehey's  "Historic"  should  be  recovered,  the  fate  of  the  Roanoke  settlers  will 
ever  be  shrouded  in  mysteiy. 

*  Commander  or  governor.  -  Aborijjines. 


CHAPTER   III. 

FORT    ST.  GEORGE    AND    THE    CHURCH    SETTLERS    AT    THE 
MOUTH    OF    THE    KENNEBEC. 


THE  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century  witnessed  renewed  and 
more  successful  efforts  for  Ainericiiu  colonization.  In  the  spring 
aod  early  summer  of  1602  Captain  Bartholomew  Gosnold,  a  mari- 
ner of  the  west  of  England,  with  a  company  of  thirty-two  persons  in  all, 
spent  several  weeks  on  the  island  of  Cuttyhunk,  situated  at  the  south 
of  Buzzard's  Bay,  on  the  Massachusetts  coast.  On  this  island,  which 
was  "  overgrown  with  trees  and  rubbish,"  a  site  was  fixed  upon  for  a 
settlement,  a  cellar  was  dug  and  stoned,  and  a  house  built,  which  was 
thatched  with  sedge  and  fortified  with  palisades.  Here  wheat,  barley, 
oats,  and  peas  were  sown,  and  in  a  fortnight  the  young  plants  "  were 
sprung  up  nine  inches  and  more."  But  when  a  valuable  cargo  of  sas- 
safras, cedar,  furs,  and  other  commodities  had  been  obtauied  for  the 
return  voyage,  there  arose  dissensions  among  the  adventurers,  and  the 
number  of  those  who  had  agreed  to  remain  rapidly  dwindled  till  "  all 
was  given  over,"  and,  on  the  18tli  of  June,  the  whole  company  set 
sail  for  England,  where  they  arrived  after  a  five  weeks'  voyage  to  find 
themselves  involved  in  the  meshes  of  the  law  for  their  violation  of  Sir 
Walter  Ralegh's  patent.  The  lack  of  Sir  Walter's  permission  would 
of  itself  have  been  fatal  to  the  success  of  an  attempted  settlement,  and 
the  letter  of  Ralegh  to  Cecil,  in  which  he  invokes  redress,  clearly 
asserts  that  the  expedition  "  went  without  my  leve  and  therefore  all  is 
confiscate." '  This  letter  indicates  that  a  chief  promoter  of  this  unau- 
thorized enterprise  was  the  notorious  Henry  Brooke,  Lord  Cobham. 
No  later  reference  to  the  settlers  at  Roanoke  than  that  neither  Gil- 
bert, "  Lord  Cobham's  man,"  who  was  Gosnold's  associate,  nor  Mace, 
who  had  arrived  at  Weymouth  in  Ralegh's  pinnace,  from  Virginia, 
"  spake  with  the  people,"  appears  in  Sir  Walter's  correspondence. 
The  toils  were  already  enclosing  him,  which  in  time  bound  him  for 
the  slaughter,  the  victim  of  royal  faithlessness. 

The  following  year,  1603,  Martin  Pring,  under  the  patronage  of 
the  merchants  of  Bristol  and  with  the  formal  consent  of  Ralegh,  vis- 
ited the  New  England  coast,  and  spent  nearly  two  months  in  the  har- 
bors of  Plymouth  and  Duxbury.^  Here  Pring  erected  a  "  barricade," 
and,  in  emulation  of  Gosnold's  experiment,  sowed  "  wheate.  Barley, 
Gates,  Pease,  and  sundry  sorts  of  Garden  seeds,  which  for  the  time 
of  our  abode,  being  about  seven  Weeks,  although  they  were  late  sown 

•Edwards's  "Life  of  Sir  Walter  Ralegh,"    "Gosnold  and  Prinjr,  1602-3,"  in  N.E.  Hist.  Gen. 
II.,  p.  253.     F/rfe  critical  notes  at  end  of  chapter.    Reg.,  XXXII.,  pp.  76-SO.    Fi't/f,  a/so,  Masj.  of  Am. 
^  Vide  the  Rev.  Dr.  DeCosta's  article  on    Hist.,  viii..  Part  ii.,  pp.  807-S19. 


FORT   ST.  GEORGE   AND   THE   CHURCH   SETTLERS.  27 

came  vp  veiy  well."  Accompanying  these  expeditions  of  Gosnold  and 
Pring  was  liobert  Salterne,  who,  shortly  after  his  return  to  England, 
took  orders  in  the  English  Church.  As  the  sacred  calling  to  which 
he  so  soon  devoted  his  life  was  doubtless  in  his  mind  while  seeking 
adventure  or  recuperation  in  these  noteworthy  voyages  of  discovery 
it  is  not  an  unlikely  supposition  that  as  a  laj'man  ho  conducted  the 
services  of  the  Church  for  his  companions  of  travel ,  both  at  sea  and  on 
land.  If  this  conjecture  is  correct  —  and  there  is  every  reason  in  its 
favor  —  the  prayers  and  praises  of  the  Leyden  settlers,  whoso  landing 
on  Plymouth  Rock  has  become  histoi'ic,  were  anticipated  by  the  forms 
of  the  Church  of  England  in  the  very  locality  where  the  "  Pilgrim 
Fathers  "  lived  and  died.  Salterne's  account  of  Pring's  voyage,  as  con- 
densed in  Smith's  "  General  History,"  concludes  with  the  following 
pious  couplet :  — 

"  Lay  hands  vnto  this  worke  with  all  thy  wit, 
But  pray  that  God  would  speed  and  profit  it. "  • 

On  Easter-day,  the  last  day  of  March,  1605,  an  expedition,  under 
the  command  of  George  Waymouth,  "weighed  anchor,  and  put  to 
sea  in  the  name 
of   God,"    from 

Dartmouth    Ha-  «  /^        «,^^    >       <i^  >iy^       ,-,         r 

ven.      The  pro-         ^^        "7^^      }^^-Wd^  ocJr, 
motors   of   this 
enterprise    were 
Henry  Wriothes- 
ley,     Earl     of  autograph  of  george  waymouth. 

Southampton, 

the  accompUshed  patron  of  Shakespeare,  and  his  brother-in-law, 
Thomas  Arundell,  Lord  Wardour.  "The  sole  intent  of  the  honor- 
able setters-forth  of  this  discovery,"  as  we  are  informed  by  Eosier, 
the  chronicler  of  the  voyage,  was  "not  a  little  present  profit,  but  a 
public  good,  and  true  zeal  of  promulgating  God's  holy  Church,  by 
planting  Christianity."  In  the  middle  of  INIay  the  adventurers  reached 
the  shores  of  New  England,  discovering,  as  they  sailed  along  the 
coast,  the  island  of  Monhegan,  which  they  hoped  would  be  "  the  most 
fortunate  ever  discovered."  "  The  next  day,"  proceeds  the  chronicler, 
"  being  Whitsunday,"  they  anchored  in  "a  convenient  harbor,  which  it 
pleased  God  to  send  us,  fsu-  beyond  our  expectation,"  and  "all  with 
great  joy  praised  God  for  his  unspeakable  goodness,  who  had  from  so 
apparent  danger  delivered  us,  and  directed  us  upon  this  day  into  so 
secure  an  harl^or,  in  remembrance  whereof  we  named  it  Pentecost 
Harbor."  On  "  Whitsunmonday,  the  20th  day  of  May,"  they  landed 
and  dug  wells,  planted  peas,  and  barley,  and  garden  seeds,  lingering 
for  more  than  a  fortnight  among  "the  pleasant  fruitfulness."  At 
length,  on  Wednesday,  the  29th  of  May,  the  shallop,  brought  in  pieces 
from  England,  was  prepared  for  use,  and,  as  a  mark  of  discovery  and 
possession,  the  record  tolls  us  "we  set  up  a  cross  on  the  shore  side 

'The  Tive  Travels,   Adventures,  and  Observations  of   Captain   John    Smith.      Richmond 
reprint  of  the  original  edition  of  1629,  i.,  p.  109. 


28 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 


upon  the  rocks."  On  Thursday,  INIay  30,  Waymouth,  with  thirteen 
men,  "in  the  name  of  God,  and  with  all  our  prayers  for  their  pros- 
perous discovery  and  safe  return,"  departed  in  the  shallop  on  a 
voyai^e  of  ex[)loration  up  the  river,  —  doubtless  the  Kennebec,  at 
whose   mouth  they  had   been   riding  at  anchor.      On   Friday,  the 


^Jo; vi^jiraj^c/ho Joji Smitlis  oicts -to  learc^j 
jl^  tky  J'tnuCfi)  iaai.c!Bml?c  Steele  outwearc 

\iuc^  thvu  art  Virtues,  Southiampton 


'ii^'^afictLsJcufplr. 

Clerkt  tJ^ciiait 


SMITH  S    MAP    OF   NEW    ENGLAND,  16U. 


voyagers  returned,  having  ascended  the  river  for  forty  miles.  Mean- 
while trade  had  begun  with  the  savages,  and  a  mutual  good-will 
established.  On  Saturday  the  captain  had  two  of  the  natives  at 
supper  "in  his  cabin,  to  see  their  demeanor,  and  had  them  in  presence 
at  service :  who  behaved  themselves  very  civilly,  neither  laughing  nor 


FORT   ST.  GEORGE   AND   THE   CHURCH   SETTLERS. 


29 


talking  all  the  time,  and  at  supper  fed  not  like  men  of  rude  education." 
The  following  morning  trade  wa.s  intermitted,  "  because  it  was  the 
Sabbath  day  ;  "  l)ut  the  week  thus  scrupulously  begun  was  not  half 
over  -when  Waymouth  kidnaiiped  "  live  savages  and  two  canoes,  with 
all  their  bows  and  arrows  ;  "  while  on  "  Sunday,  the  16th  of  June,  the 
wind  being  fair,  and  because  we  had  set  out  of  England  upon  a 
Sunday,  made  the  islands  upon  a  Sunday,  and  as  we  doubt  not  (by 
God's  appointment)  happily  fell  into  our  harbor  upon  a  Sunday;  so 
now  (beseeching  him  still  with  like  prosperity  to  bless  our  return 
into  England,  our  country,  and  from  thence  with  his  good-will  and 
pleasure  to  hasten  our  next  arrival  there)  we  weighed  anchor  and  quit 
the  land  upon  a  Sunday."  The  names  of  these  enslaved  savages  were 
"Tahdnedo,  a  Sagamore,  or  commander;  Amoret,  Skicowdros,  Ma- 
neddo.  Gentlemen  ;  Saliacomoit,  a  servant." '  We  are  assured  that  they 
"never  seemed  discontented,"  but  were  "very  tractable,  loving,  and 
willing."  Their  exhibition  in  England,  together  with  the  giovving 
recitals  of  the  returned  voyagers,  Avho  had  seen  the  coast  of  Maine  in 
the  beautiful  month  of  June,  gave  a  new  impulse  to  western  ad- 
venture. The  presence  of  the  captives  at  Plymouth,  where  Waymouth 
had  brought  them,  enlisted  the  interest  of  the  royal  governor,  Sir  Fer- 
dinando  Gorges,  who  was 
thus  incited  to  a  lifelong  and 

most  persistent  devotion  to      <^     /  ^j^-j.-^,^ //^        l  y  j^  /7/no 
schemes  of  American  coloni-         '/A/Y/yii^    '      /  Cxl/Skj^^ 


zatiou .  "And  so  it  pleased  our 
great  God,"  wrote  Gorges, 
that  Waymouth  "  came  into 
the  harbor  of  Plymouth, 
where  I  then  commanded. 
I  seized  upon  the  Indians ; 

they  were  all  of  one  nation,  but  of  several  Parts,  and  several  Fami- 
lies. This  accident  must  be  acknowledged  the  means  under  God 
of  putting  on  foot,  and  giving  life  to  all  our  plantations."  Gorges 
took  three  of  the  savages  into  his  home,  was  at  pains  that  they  should 
be  instructed  in  the  English  language,  and  "  kept  them  full  three  years." 
From  them  he  obtained  information  of  the  "  stateh'  islands  and  harbors  " 
of  their  native  country  :  "what  great  rivers  ran  up  into  the  land,  what 
men  of  note  were  seated  on  them,  what  power  they  were  of,  how 
allied,  what  enemies  they  had,  and  the  like."  It  was  thus  that  he  was 
led  to  become,  in  the  words  Bradford,  of  Plymouth,  records,  "not 
only  a  favorer,  but  also  a  most  special  l)eginner  and  furtherer  of  the 
good  of  this  country,  to  his  great  cost  and  no  less  honor."  ^ 

The  condition  of  ati'aii's  in  Enghuid  was  now  favorable  to  schemes 
of  colonization.     Thei'e  was  a  rediuidancy  of  population  throughout 


auto<;raph  ok  sm  Ferdinand  gorges. 


'  Of  these  unfortunate  aborigines,  the  first  ami 
third,  also  st^-led  Dchanula  and  Skitwarros,  were 
returned  in  the  Pophain  expedition.  The  two 
last,  whose  names  appear  as  Manuido  and  Assa- 
comoit,  embarked  with  Capt.  Henry  Challoiis, 
Autj.  12,  1006,  and  were  taken  as  prisoners  into 
Spain  with  the  rest  of  the  ship's  rompany,  where 
we  are  told  that  both  of  the  natives  "  were  lost." 


—  Mass.  Hist.  Soc.  Coll.,  XXVI.,  p.  682.  "  Assa- 
ciimct"  appears  to  have  come  over  with  (-,'apt. 
Hobson  in  1614.  —  Drake's  Old  Ind.  Chronicle, 
p.  14.  Vide,  also.  Me.  Hist.  Soc.  Coll.,  v.,  p.  332, 
and  Xar.  and  Crit.  /list..  III.,  p.  180. 

'-'  Bradford's  Letter  Book.  —  Mass.  /fist.  Soc. 
Coll.,  first  series,  in.,  p.  63. 


or 


30  HISTORY   OF   THE   AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

the  land ;  the  parishes  found  it  difficult  to  maintain  their  poor,  and  the 
cessation  of  warlike  operations  by  sea  and  land,  which  during  the 
days  of  Queen  Elizabeth  had  given  occupation  to  many  in  all  depaii- 
ments  of  life  and  trade,  threw  out  of  employ  a  number  of  restless 
spirits,  whose  love  of  adventure  led  them  to  seize  eagerly  the 
opportunity  to  form  a  new  empire  in  the  West.  Gosnold,  who  could, 
from  personal  knowledge,  attest  the  fertility  of  the  American  shores, 
and  who  doubtless  remembered  with  chagrin  that  it  was  only  the  timid- 
ity or  treachery  of  his  associate,  Bartholomew  Gilbert,  "Lord  Cob- 
ham's  man,"  as  Ralegh  styled  him, 
that  prevented  his  establishment 
of  a  colony  when  on  the  Massachu- 
setts shores,  had  already  associated 
with  himself  in  a  scheme  of  coloni- 
zation a  few  brave  spirits,  afterward 
to  be  well  and  widely  known  in 
connection  with  the  far-distant  Vir- 
ginia. These  were  Captain  John 
Smith,  Mr.  Edward-Maria  Wing- 
AUTOGRAPH  OF  sm  JOHN  poPHAM.     field,    and    the    excellent    Robert 

Hunt,  a  clergyman  of  the  church.' 
For  upwards  of  a  year  these,  and  others  of  like  mind,  sought  to 
effect  their  purpose,  till,  at  length,  reinforced  by  the  assigns  of 
Ralegh,  among  whom  Richard  Hakluyt,  Prebendary  of  Westmin- 
ster, the  promoter  and  chronicler  of  American  discovery  and  settle- 

AUTOGRAPH    OF   REV.    RICHARD    HAEXUTT. 

ment,  was  preeminent,  and  gaining  the  countenance  and  support  of 
the  Lord  Chief  Justice  of  England,  Sir  John  Popham,  and  Sir 
Ferdinando  Gorges,  as  similar  schemers  had  earlier  secured  the  sup- 
port of  the  Earl  of  Southampton  and  Lord  Arundel,  the  king, 
James  I.,  gave  the  first  charter  of  Virginia,  on  the  10th  of  April, 
1606.  At  this  period  not  an  Englishman,  save  the  captive  sur- 
vivors of  the  Roanoke  settlers,  is  known  to  have  been  in  the  belt  of 
land  comprising  twelve  degrees,  and  stretching  from  Cape  Fear  to 
Halifax.  "  The  Great  Patent  of  Virginia  "  assigned  the  right  of  colo- 
nization between  the  34th  and  45th  degrees  of'north  latitude  to  "  two 
several  Colonies  and  Companies."     One  of  these,  denominated  in  the 

'  William  Simons,  D.D.,  in  "  Smith's  llistoiy,"  i.,  p.  149. 


FORT   ST.  GEORGE   AND   THE   CHURCH   SETTLERS.  31 

charter  the  First  Colony,  consisting  of  "  certain  Knights,  Gentlemen, 
Merchants  and  other  adventurers  of  our  city  of  London,  and  else- 
where," was  restricted  to  the  territory  lying  between  the  34th  and 
38th  degrees  of  north  latitude,  that  is,  from  Cape  Fear  to  the  south- 
ern border  of  Maryland.  To  the  Second  Colony  was  given  the 
exclusive  right  to  occupy  the  country  between  the  41st  and  45th 
degrees.  This  company  was  composed  of  "  Sundry  Knights,  Gentle- 
men, Merchants  and  other  adventurers,  of  our  cities  of  Bristol  and 
Exeter,  and  of  our  town  of  Plymouth,  and  of  other  places."  The 
religious  nature  of  the  scheme  is  expressed  at  the  outset :  "  AVe, 
greatly  commending,  and  graciously  accepting  of,  their  Desires  for 
the  Furtherance  of  so  noble  a  work,  which  may,  by  the  Providence 
of  Almighty  God,  hereafter  tend  to  the  Glory  of  his  Divine  Maj- 
esty, in  propagating  of  Christian  Religion  to  such  People  as  yet 
live  in  Darkness  and  miserable  Ignorance  of  the  true  Knowledge  and 
Worship  of  God,  and  may  in  time  bring  the  Infidels  and  Savages, 
living  in  those  parts,  to  human  Civility,  and  to  a  settled  and  good 
Government :  Do,  by  these  our  Letters  Patents  graciously  accept 
of,  and  agree  to,  their  humble  and  well-intended  Desires."  A  council 
in  England  was  charged  with  the  general  superintendence  of  the 
whole  colonial  system,  while  the  appointment  of  a  subordinate  council 
for  each  colony  provided  for  the  local  administration.  The  members 
of  the  Supreme  Council  were  appointed  solely  by  the  king,  and 
held  their  ofBce  at  his  pleasure  ;  the  ultimate  decision  of  all  matters, 
whether  grave  or  moral,  rested  with  the  monarch.  The  rights  of 
free-boi'u  Englishmen  were  secured  to  the  colonists  and  their  descend- 
ants. Provision  was  made  for  a  revenue  to  be  levied  on  vessels 
trading  in  the  harbors  of  Virginia,  while  the  colonists  were  permitted 
to  import  goods  for  their  own  use,  free  of  duty.  A  fifth  of  the  gold 
or  silver,  and  a  fifteenth  of  the  copper,  min(!d  in  either  colony,  was 
reserved  for  the  Crown.  The  privilege  of  coining  money  was  con- 
ceded, and  the  seals  of  the  Superior  Council  and  its  local  subordi- 
nates were  minutely  prescribed. 

In  the  list  of  the  oi-iginal  patentees  to  whom  "  the  Great  Patent 
of  Virginia  "  was  granted,  the  names  of  Gorges  and  Popham  do  not 
appear.  Hakluyt  was  one  of  the  incorporators  of  the  London  Com- 
pany, and  the  brother  of  the  Chief  Justice,  George  Popham,  and  Ralegh 
Gilbert,  son  of  the  eminent  explorer  Sir  Humphrey,  and  nephew  of  Sir 
Walter  Ralegh,  were  associates  of  the  Plymouth  Company. 

Although  not  included  among  the  original  patentees,  the  Lord 
Chief  Justice  despatched,  within  a  month  after  the  charter  had  passed 
the  great  seal,  —  "a  tall  sliip  belonging  to  Bristol  and  the  river  Severne 
to  settle  a  plantation  in  the  river  of  Sagadahoc  ; "  and  in  the  following 
August  Sir  Ferdinando  Gorges  sent  out  a  ship,  under  the  command 
of  Henry  Challons,  with  two  of  the  savages  brought  over  by  Way- 
mouth  as  pilots,  with  a  view  to  the  same  end.  Both  of  these  ventures 
came  to  naught,  as  the  Spaniards  captured  the  ships  ere  they  reached 
the  American  coast.  But  another  vessel,  sent  two  months  later  by 
Chief  Justice  Popham,  of  which  Thomas  Hanham,  one  of  the  patentees, 
was  in  command,  and  Martin  Pring,  the  master,  reached  the  shores  of 


82  HISTORY   OF   THE   AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

Maine  in  safety,  and,  after  making  a  careful  survey  of  the  coast, 
returned  with  such  glowing  accounts  of  the  land  they  had  visited  that 
it  was  determined  to  send  out  planters  the  following  sprmg  to  found  a 
settlement  at  the  mouth  of  the  Sagadahoc. 

It  was  in  consequence  of  the  mishaps  of  these  voyages  of  explora- 
tion that  Virginia  was  settled  a  few  months  prior  to  the  occupancy  of 
the  coast  of  ilaine. 

Sailing  from  Plymouth  on  Trinity  Sunday,  May  31,  1C07,  on 
the  first  day  of  June,  the  "  Mary  and  John,"  under  Captain  Ralegh 
Gilbert,  and  the  "  Gift  of  God,"  under  Captain  Popham,  left  the 
"  Lizard,"  on  their  westward  journey.  Parting  company  at  the  Azores, 
where  the  "  INIary  and  John  "  had  a  narrow  escape  from  the  Nether- 
landers,  who  detained  Gilbert,  under  the  charge  of  piracy,  while  the 
"  Gift  of  God  "  sailed  on  without  stopping  to  succor  her  consort,  the 
two  vessels  met  olf  the  island  of  Monhegan  on  Friday,  the  7th  of 
August.  At  midnight  of  this  auspicious  day  Gilbert,  with  a  number 
of  the  adventurers  and  the  native  "  Skidwarres,"  rowed  to  Pemaquid 
"amongst  many  gallant  islands," the  "weather  being  fair  and  the  wind 
calm."  Landing  in  a  little  cove,  to  which  the  savage  had  directed 
their  course,  the  explorers  crossed  Pemaquid  Point,  and  after  a  march 
of  three  miles  reached  the  Indian  village  of  Nahanada,  one  of  Way- 
mouth's  captives  who  had  returned  with  Pring  the  previous  year. 
Received  at  the  first  with  distrust,  as  was  but  natural,  an  interchange 
of  kindly  words  and  offices  followed,  and  the  English  remained  for 
nearly  two  hours,  visiting  the  wigwams  and  receiving  every  token  of 
welcome.  On  the  afternoon  of  Saturday  the  party  returned  to  the 
ships.  On  Sunday,  the  tenth  after  Trinity,  the  settlers  held  a  solemn 
service  on  Monhegan,  where  they  had  earlier  found  across,  which thej'^ 
conjectured  had  been  raised  by  Waj^mouth,  but  which  it  is  more  likely 
was  erected  by  Pring.  The  record  of  the  voyage,  in  the  Lambeth 
Library,^  whence  we  have  drawn  man}'  of  our  particulars  of  this  expe- 
dition, gives  us  in  full  the  story  of  this  Sunday  service  :  — 

"Sunday  being  the  9tli  of  August,  in  the  morning  the  most  part 
of  our  whole  company  of  both  our  ships  landed  on  this  island,  the 
which  we  call  St.  George's  Island,  where  the  cross  standeth,  and  there 
we  heard  a  sermon  delivered  unto  us  by  our  preacher,  giving  God 
thanks  for  our  happy  meeting  and  safe  arrival  into  the  country,  and  so 
returned  aboard  again." 

StracheJ^  in  his  narrative  of  this  event,  alludes  to  the  preacher  by 
name  as  Mr.  Seymour,  and  speaks  of"  the  chief  of  both  the  shipps  with 
the  greatest  part  of  all  the  company  "  as  forming  the  congregation  of 
this  first  service  of  the  Church,  of  which  we  have  record,  in  the  Eng- 
lish tongue  and  on  the  New  England  coast.  With  deep  solemnity  must 
the  words  of  common  prayer  and  common  praise  have  sounded  on  the 
ears  of  that  little  company  of  worshippers.  Those  words  remain  as 
our  heritage,  and  we  can  call  up  the  scene  under  the  tall  cross,  the 
symbol  of  our  salvation  and  a  proof  of  English  occupancy  for  Christ's 

1  "  A  Relation  of  a  Voyase  to  Sag:adahoc,"  now  first  printed  from  the  ori<rinal  MS.,  in  the 
Lamtieth  Library.  Edited  with  Preface,  Notes,  and  Appendices,  by  the  Rev.  B.  F.  DeCosta.  8°. 
Cambriilge,  I88O;    Pp.  43. 


FORT   ST.  GEORGE  AND  THE   CHURCH   SETTLERS. 


33 


Church  as  well  as  for  a  Cliristian  State,  and  recite  the  verba  ipsis- 
sima,  then  for  the  tirst  time  echoing  on  the  still  air  of  our  northern 
shores.  Among  the  Psalms  of  the  day  was  ihoDeuti  nosfcr  refiujium, 
and  its  words  of  glad  assurance  must  liave  had  a  meaning  unknown 
before  :  "  God  is  our  hope  and  strength,  a  very  present  help  in  trouble. 
Therefore  will  we  not  fear,  though  the  earth  be  moved,  and  though  the 
hills  be  carried  into  the  midst  of  the  sea.     Though  the  waters  thereof 


ANCIENT    PEMAQUID. 


rage  and  swell,  and  though  the  mountains  shake  at  the  tempest  of  the 
same.  ...  Be  still,  then,  and  know  that  I  am  God :  1  will  be 
exalted  among  the  heathen,  and  I  will  be  exalted  on  the  earth.  The 
Lord  of  Hosts  is  with  us,  the  God  of  Jacob  is  our  refuge."  What 
more  fitting  words  could  be  found  than  those  of  the  second  morning 
lesson,  for  these  worshippers  in  God's  free  temples  ?  — "  Howbeit 
the  Most  High  dwelleth  not  in  temples  made  with  hands ;  as  saith  the 
Prophet,  'Heaven  is  my  throne,  and  earth  is  my  footstool:  what 
house  will  ye  build  me?  saith  the  Lord;  or  what  is  the  place  of  my 


34  HISTORY  OF   THE   AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

rest?  Hath  not  my  hand  made  all  these  things ? ' "  *  It  was  hallowed 
ground  where  these  few  settlers  for  the  first  time  raised  the  note  of 
praise  or  voice  of  supplication  to  heaven,  and  we  may  well  rejoice 
that  the  words  then  used  were  those  of  our  own  common  prayer,  with 
the  English  Bible,  which  was  brought  to  our  shores  by  these  devout 
colonists.  The  preacher,  Eichard  Seymour,  there  is  reason  to  believe, 
was  a  great-grandson  of  the  Duke  of  Somerset,  who,  as"Lord  Protector," 
ruled  the  kingdom  during  the  minority  of  his  nephew,  the  boy-king, 
Edward  \T!.  :  and  was  "  related  to  Gorges,  the  projector  of  the  colony  ; 
to  Popham,  its  patron;  to  Popham,  its  president;  and  to  Gilbert,  its 
admiral,  all  through  the  common  link  of  the  family  of  his  mother."^ 
Who  would  be  more  likely  to  offer  himself  as  chaplain  for  this  expe- 
dition than  this  young  priest  of  the  English  Chui'ch?  To  him  belongs 
the  honor  of  being  the  first  English  preacher  of  the  glad  tidings  of  our 
holy  faith  in  our  New  England  territory.  His  name  will  go  down  to 
posterity  linked  with  that  of  the  saintly  Eobert  Hunt,  the  apostle  of 
Virginia,  who,  at  Jamestown,  was  at  this  very  time  using  the  same 
prayers  and  preaching  the  same  salvation. 

The  week  following  the  solemn  service  was  spent  in  efibuts  to 
secure  a  safe  anchorage,  which  was  at  length  successful,  the  two  ships 
anchoi'ing  side  by  side,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Sagadahoc,  on  Sunday, 
Aug-ist  16th.  On  the  ISth  of  the  month  choice  was  made  of  a  site  for 
the  settlement  on  the  peninsula  of  Sabino,  and,  as  the  Lambeth  "  Rela- 
tion "  informs  us,  on  "  Wednesday,  being  the  19th  of  August,  we  all  went 
to  the  shore,  where  we  made  choice  for  our  plantation,  and  there  we 
had  a  sermon  delivered  unto  us  by  our  preacher,  and  after  the  sermon 
our  patent  was  read  with  the  orders  and  laws  therein  prescribed ;  then 
we  returned  aboard  our  ship  again." " 

Strachey,  in  his  "  Historie  of  Travaile  in  Virginia,"  gives  us 
further  particulars  of  this  solemn  inauguration  of  the  new  settlement 

by  the  forms  of  divine  as  well  as  human  law. 

ylii/Z^^jf,    ffY  c-Afc     The  "President's  commission"  was  read  after 

y      the  sermon,  "  with  the  lawes  to  be  observed 

AUTOGRAPH  OF  WILLIAM      ^"^  l^^P*'"  '^"^  ^^^"^ ^^^"^S  ^^^cu doue  "  Gcorge 
STKACHEY.  Pophaui,  gcut. ,  was   nommated  President, 

Captain  Ralegh  Gilbert,  James  Davies,  Rich- 
ard Seymer,  Preacher,  Captain  Richard  Davies,  Captain  Harlow,  were 
all  sworn  assistants."  Thus  was  formally  begun,  in  the  fear  of  God  and 
with  due  reverence  to  law,  the  first  occupation  and  settlement  of  New 
England,  and  from  this  date,  and  by  virtue  of  these  acts,  the  title  of 
England  to  this  portion  of  the  New  World  was  assured.  The  "  lawes 
to  be  observed  and  kept,"  read  on  this  interesting  occasion,  are  still 
extant ;  they  carefully  provide  at  the  outset  for  the  spiritual  wclfiire 
of  colonists  and  savages :  "  Wee  doe  specially  ordaine,  charge,  and 
require,  the  said  presidents  and  couucills,  and  the  ministers  of  the 
said   several   colonies   respectively,  within   their   several   limits   and 

lActsTii.  48-50. 

2Bp.  George  Burgess,  in  "  The  Popham  Memorial  Volume,"  p.  103. 

>  A  Relation,  etc.,  p.  30. 


FORT  ST.  GEORGE  AND  THE   CHURCH  SETTLERS.  35 

pi'ccincts,  that  they,  with  all  diligence,  care,  and  respect,  doe  provide, 
that  the  true  word,  and  service  of  God  and  Christian  faith  be  preached, 
planted,  and  used,  not  only  within  every  of  the  said  several  colonies, 
and  plantations,  but  alsoe  as  much  as  they  may  among  the  salvage 
people  which  doe  or  shall  adjoine  unto  them  or  border  upon  them, 
according  to  the  doctrine,  rights,  and  religion  now  professed  and 
established  within  our  realme  of  England,  and  that  they  shall  not 
sufler  any  person  or  persons  to  withdrawo  any  of  the  sulyccts  or 
people  inhabiting,  or  M'hich  shall  inhabit  within  any  of  the  said  several 
colonics  and  plantations  from  the  same,  or  Irom  their  due  allegiance, 
unto  us,  our  heirs  and  successors,  as  their  immediate  soveraigne  under 
God."  The  conversion  of  the  aborigines  is  again  refeiTcd  to  in  this 
document :  "  Wee  doe  hereby  determine  and  ordaine,  that  every 
person  and  persons  being  our  subjects  of  every  the  said  collonies  and 
plantations,  shall  from  time  to  time  well  entreatc  those  salvages  in 
those  pai"ts,  and  use  all  good  means  to  draw  the  salvages  and  heathen 
people  of  the  said  several  places,  and  of  the  territories  and  countries 
adjoining,  to  the  true  service  and  knowledge  of  God,  and  that  all 
just,  kind  and  charital)le  courses  shall  be  holden  with  such  of  them  as 
shall  conform  themselves  to  any  good  and  sociable  trafBque  and  deal- 
ing with  the  subjects  of  us,  our  heirs  and  successors,  which  shall  be 
planted  there,  whereby  they  may  be  the  sooner  drawne  to  the  true 
knowledge  of  God,  and  the  obedience  of  us  our  heirs  and  successors," 
etc.^  In  this  Christian  manner  was  the  settlement  on  the  peninsula  of 
Sabiuo,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Sagadahoc,  begun.  The  following  day 
they  entered  upon  the  work  of  entrenching  the  site  of  their  new  home, 
and  the  building  of  a  fort  and  storehouse.  The  carpenters  busied  them- 
selves in  constructing  a  pinnace,  and  while  these  active  operations 
were  well  under  way,  Gill)crt,  in  his  shallop,  explored  the  coast, 
visiting  Cape  Elizabeth,  noting  the  almost  numlierless  islands  in 
Casco  Bay,  and  sailing  up  the  Shecpscot  and  Penobscot  rivers.  Trade 
was  carried  on  with  the  Indians,  who  were  treated  with  kindness  and 
consideration,  even  when  threatenins;  hostilities. 

A  record,  under  date  of  October  4th,  found  in  Strachey,  gives  us 
an  interesting  glimpse  of  the  religious  life  of  the  settlers  :  "  There  came 
two  cauoas  to  the  fort,  in  wdiich  were  Nahanada  and  his  wife,  and  Skid- 
wan'es,  with  the  Basshabaes  lirother,  and  one  other  called  Amenquin,  a 
Sagamo  ;  all  whome  the  President  feasted  and  entertayned  with  all  kind- 
nes,  both  that  day  and  the  next,  which  1)eing  Sondayc,^  the  President 
carried  them  with  him  to  the  place  of  pulilike  praj'crs,  which  they  were 
at  both  morning  and  evening,  attending  y'  with  great  reverence  and  si- 
lence." ^  As  the  year  drew  to  its  close,  the  "  Mary  and  John,"  under  the 
command  of  Capt.  Robert  Davies,  was  sent  back  to  England,  "  with  let- 
ters to  the  Lord  Chief  Justice,  ymportuninge  a  supply  for  the  most  nec- 
essary wants  to  the  subsisting  of  a  colony  to  be  sent  unto  them  betymes 
the  next  yeare."  On  the  13th  of  Decemljer,  the  third  Sunday  in 
Advent,  two  days  before  the  departure  of  the  "  Mary  and  John,"  the 

'  Vide  Appendix  to  "  A  Vindication  of  the  Claims  of  Sir  Ferdinando  Gorjrcs,  as  the  Father 
of  En^dish  Colonization  in  America.    By  John  A.  Poor."    XewYorlv;  1SG2.    Pp.  134,136. 
^i'be  eighteenth  after  Trinity.  '  Historic  of  Travaile,  p.  178. 


36  fflSTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  EPISCOPAI.  CHURCH. 

president  addressed  a  letter  in  Latin  to  the  king,  in  which  he  writes : 
"Optima  me  tenet  opinio,  Dei  gloriam  facile  in  liis  regionibus  ehices- 
ccre,  Vestrffi  Majcstatis  imperium  ampliticari,  et  Britannorum  rempub- 
licam  breviter  augmcntari."  "My  well-considered  opinion  is,  that  in 
these  regions  the  glory  of  God  may  be  easily  evidenced,  the  empire  of 
Your  Majesty  enlarged,  and  the  public  welfare  of  the  Britons  speedily 
augmented."  ^ 

After  the  depaiiure  of  the  "  Mary  and  John,"  the  fort  was  com- 
pleted and  foilified  with  twelve  pieces  of  ordnance.  Five  ^  houses  were 
built,  besides  a  church  and  storehouse,  and  "  the  carpenters  framed  a 
pretty  Pynnace  of  about  some  thiiiy  tonne,  which  they  called  the  '  Vir- 
ginia ;'  the  chief  shipwright  being  one  Digliy,  of  London." 

On  Saturday,  the  5th  of  February,  the  eve  of  Quinquagesima,  the 
president  died.  "  He  was  well  stricken  in  years,"  says  Gorges,  in  his 
"  Briefe  Narrative,"  ^  "  and  had  long  been  an  infirm  man.  Howsoever, 
heartened  by  hopes,  willing  he  was  to  die  in  acting  something  that  might 
be  serviceable  to  God,  and  honorable  to  his  country."  In  the  sonorous 
Latin  which  he  employed  in  his  letter  to  his  king,  his  epitaph,  cut  in  en- 
durmg  stone,  records  for  all  time  to  come,  — 

"  Leges  literasque  Anglicanas 
Et  fidem  ecclesiamque  Christi 
In  has  sylvas  duxit."'' 

The  loss  of  so  noble  a  leader  was  fatal  to  the  new  enterprise.  The 
winter  had  proved  exceedingly  severe.  So  extreme  was  the  cold  that 
"  no  boat  could  stir  upon  any  business."  Still,  on  the  return  of  Captain 
Davics,  "with  a  shipp  laden  full  of  victuals,  amies,  instruments,  and 
tooles,"  all  things  were  found  "  in  good  forwardness."  The  barter-trade 
with  the  Indians  had  yielded  "many  kinds  of  furs  ;"  a  "good  store  of 
sarsaparilla,"  a  root  much  esteemed  at  that  time,  had  been  gathered ; 
and  the  new  pinnace  was  "  all  finished."  Gilbert,  who  had  succeeded 
Popham  as  president,  was  compelled  to  return  to  settle  the  estate  of  his 
brother.  Sir  John  Gilbert,  who  had  lately  died,  and  to  whose  property 
he  was  heir.  Besides,  the  Chief  Justice  had  died  in  England,  ere  his 
brother  had  passed  away  in  America,  and  as  there  had  been  "  noe  mynes 
discovered,  nor  hope  thereof,  being  the  maj-ne  intended  benefit  ex- 
pected to  uphold  the  charge  of  this  plantacion,  and  the  fears  that  all 
other  wyntcrs  would  prove  like  the  first,  the  company  by  no  means 
would  stay  any  longer  in  the  country,"  "  wherefore  they  all  ymbarked 
in  the  new  arrived  shipp,  and  in  the  new  pj'nnace,  the  '  A^'irginia,'  and 
set  sail  for  England."  "  And  this,"  concludes  Strachey,  "  was  the  end 
of  that  northern  colony  vppon  the  river  Sachadehoc."* 

It  must  not  be  overlooked  that  no  mention  of  the  return  of  "  The 
Gift  of  God  "  to  England  is  found  in  any  of  the  narratives  of  this 
short-lived  settlement.  It  has  been  conjectured  with  no  little  reason 
that  upon  the  death  of  Popham  and  the  succession  of  the  London  inter- 

'  Popham  jremoi-ial  Volume,  p.  224.  * "  He  lirought  into  these  wilds  English  laW3 

'Strachey  says  "fifty," — au cvideat  clerical  and  learning,  and  the  faith  and  the  Church  of 

eiTOi.  Christ." 

' Maine  Hist.  Coll.,  II.,  p.  22.  « Historic  oC Travailc,  pp.  170, 180. 


FORT   ST.  GEORGE  AND  THE   CHURCH   SETTLERS.  37 

est  in  the  person  of  Gilbert  to  the  presidency  of  the  colony,  the  Bris- 
tol men,  with  the  Popham  bark,  the  "  Gift  of  God,"  left  the  peninsula 
of  Sabino  and  Fort  St.  George,  where  the  hostility  of  the  Sagadahoc 
savages  had  been  aroused,  and  sought  a  new  home  atPeiuaquid,  under 
the  protection  of  Nahanada  and  his  followers.  This  agrees  with  the 
statement  of  the  painstaking  and  accurate  Prince,  in  his  "  Chronoloiry," 
that  all  but  forty-five  planters  departed  for  England,  on  the  breaking 
up  of  the  colony,  in  two  ships,  of  which  the"  Virginia,"  the  first  Ameri- 
can-built ship,  was  one.  Thirteen  j'ears  after  the  a])andonment  of  the 
Sagadahoc  plantation  there  was  a  hamlet  of  "fifty  families,"  known  as 
the  "  Sheepscot  Farms,"  on  the  banks  of  the  Sheepscot  river ;  while  at 
Pemaquid  there  appear  to  have  been  settlers,  or  traders  at  least,  almost, 
if  not  quite,  from  the  time  of  the  return  of  Gilbert  and  his  followers 
to  England.  Year  l)y  year  Sir  Francis  Popham,  who,  as  we  learn 
from  Gorges'  "Brief  Narrative,"  "cared  not  to  give  it  over," sent  ships 
"  in  hope  of  better  fortunes,"  while  the  story  of  Gorges'  own  efibrts 
to  found  a  loyal  and  a  churchly  colony  on  the  shores  of  ilaine  proves 
that  his  perseverance  was  not  wholly  fruitless,  though  finally  the  iron 
heel  of  the  Massachusetts  settlers  crushed  out  at  once  both  Episcopacy 
and  independence. 

Still  the  claim  of  the  English  for  the  possession  of  the  territory 
of  New  England  rests  upon  this  settlement  on  the  peninsula  of  Sabino, 
at  Fort  St.  George  ;  and  even  the  Puritan  historian,  Hubbard,  dates 
the  occupancy  of  the  English  upon  our  northern  American  shores  from 
the  year  1607.  There  has  been  no  little  discussion  with  reference  to 
the  character  of  the  Sagadahoc  colonists  ;  but  nothing  has  been  proved 
to  their  disparagement.  Citations  from  a  tract  by  Sir  William  Alex- 
ander, and  from  Lord  Bacon's  famous  essay  on  Plantations,  have  been 
adduced  to  prove  that  they  were  "  pressed  to  that  enterprise  as  endan- 
gered by  the  law,  or  by  their  own  necessities;" '  or,  in  the  stronger  lan- 
guage of  Bacon,  were  convicted  felons, 
who  left  their  country  for  their  coun- 
try's good.  But  the  words  of  Alex- 
ander are  far  from  implying  that  these 
planters,  or  any  of  them,  were  crimi- 
nals, as  the  phrase  he  uses  may,  and 
AUTOGRAPH  OP  LORD  BACON.       doubtlcss  docs,  refer  to  poor  debtors ; 

and,  at  the  time  of  the  Poj)ham  exjjcdi- 
tion,  there  were  no  laws  in  foi-ce  authorizing  the  transportation  of  crimi- 
nals into  Virginia.  Besides,  the  great  charter  under  which  they  sailed 
provided  only  for  the  sailing  of  such  as  went  "willingly."  If  criminals, 
their  return  would  have  been  to  certain  death,  and  even  the  "extreme  ex- 
tremities "  -  of  a  New  England  winter  would  have  been  preferred  to  this. 
There  is  nothing  in  the  story  of  their  al)ode  at  Fort  St.  George  to  indicate 
any  want  of  principle  or  character  from  the  first  to  the  very  last.  They 
began  their  work  with  prayer  and  lessons  of  duty ;  they  complied 
■with  all  the  forms  of  law ;  the  minister  of  religion  was  among  them, 
and,  by  their  reverent  participation  in  the  worship  enjoined  by  their 

I  Sir  ■William  Alexander's  "  Encoui-agemcnt  '  Captain  John  Smith's  "  General  Historic  of 

to  Colonies,"  London,  1624,  p.  30.  New  England,"  London,  1624,  p.  204. 


38  HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

patent,  even  the  wondering  savages  were  impressed  with  the  power  of 
a  fliith  they  could  not  comprehend.  Industry  and  good  order  were 
maintained.  The  tendency  to  discontent,  consequent  upon  the  loss  of 
their  storehouses  and  provisions,  was  restrained.  The  change  of  presi- 
dents, on  the  death  of  the  worthy  Pophani,  was  quietly  and  lawfully 
made.  Their  relations  to  the  savages  were  friendly,  and  were  main- 
tained in  good  faith,  and  their  record  is  unstained  by  the  shedding  of 
blood.  Short  as  was  their  residence  on  the  bleak  coast  of  Maine,  they 
have  won  their  place  in  history  as  the  first  settlers  of  New  England. 
They  laid  the  foundations  of  State  and  Church  at  the  North  a  year 
before  the  men  of  Leyden  signed  their  solemn  "compact"  in  the  ca])in 
of  the  "  Mayflower,"  in  Plymouth  harbor,  and  began  on  a  soil  to  which 
they  had  no  claim,  and  without  the  presence  of  a  minister  of  their  own 
faith,  the  civil  and  religious  history  of  Puritan  New  England. 


CRITICAL  NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

WE  are  remiuded  by  Dr.  Ue  Costa  in  his  interesting  chapter  on  "Norambega 
and  its  English  Explorers,"  iu  the  third  volume  of  "  The  Critical  and  Nar- 
rative History  of  America,"  that  the  lirst  Englishman  certainly  known  to  have 
traversed  the  territory  of  INIassachusetts  and  Maine  was  David  Ingram.  Landed  in 
the  month  of  October,  1508,  on  the  shore  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  by  Captain,  after- 
wards Sir  John,  Hawkins,  with  a  large  number  of  companions  in  misery,  Ingram 
and  two  of  his  fellows  traversed  the  continent,  following  the  Indian  trails,  fording 
the  intervening  rivers,  and  finding  a  pathway  through  interminable  forests  till 
Cape  Breton  and  the  St.  John's  river  were  reached.  Here  Ingram  embarked  in  a 
French  ship,  the  "Gargarine,"  commanded  by  Captain  Champagne,  and  reached 
his  native  land  by  the  way  of  France.  Of  the  narrative  of  this  extraordinary  jour- 
ney, which  is  embellished  by  marvellous  tales  of  houses  with  pillars  of  crystal  and 
silver,  and  cities  three-fourths  of  a  mile  in  length,  we  can  onlj'  quote  the  caustic 
■words  of  Dr.  Edward  Everett  Hale,  in  "  The  Critical  and  Narrative  History  of 
America"  (Vol.  in.,  p.  04),  as  follows:  — 

"  It  is  a  real  misfortune  for  our  early  histoiy  that  no  reliance  can  be  placed  on 
the  fragmentary  stories  of  the  few  survivors  who  were  left  by  Hawkins  on  the  coast 
of  the  Gulf  of  jNlexico.  One  or  two  there  were  who,  after  years  of  cajitivity,  toUt 
their  wretched  story  at  home.  But  it  is  so  disfigured  by  every  form  of  lie,  that  the 
most  ingenious  rcconstructor  of  history  fails  to  distil  from  it  even  a  drojj  of  the 
truth.  The  routes  which  they  pursued  cannot  be  traced,  the  etymology  of  geogra- 
phy gains  nothing  from  their  nomenclatures,  and,  in  a  word,  the  whole  story  has  to 
be  consigned  to  the  realm  of  fable." 

Ingram's  Narrative  was  printed  by  Ilakluytin  1589,  but  was  omitted  in  his  next 
issue.  The  "  Rare  Travailes"  of  J0I3  Hortop,  who  was  landed  on  the  Mexican  coast 
with  Ingram,  and  reached  England  after  more  than  a  score  of  years  of  wandering, 
is  included  in  Dr.  E.  E.  Hale's  sweeping  condemnation.  Purchas,  referring  to 
Ilakluyt's  omission  of  these  narratives  in  his  later  impressions,  sums  up  the  case  in 
a  word :  "  The  reward  of  lying  being  not  to  be  l)elieved  in  truths."  A  copy  of  the 
"  original  manuscript,"  preserved  in  the  Sloan  Collection  in  the  British  Museum,  was 
printed  by  Plowden Charles  Gennet  Weston  as  the  firstof  his  "  Documents  Connected 
with  the  History  of  South  Carolina,"  one  hundred  and  twenty-one  copies  of  which  were 
reproduced  at  the  Cheswick  jircss  for  private  distribution  by  the  editor.  Vide  a  review 
of  Mr.  Weston's  volume  by  the  author  of  this  history  in  the  Hist.  Mag.,  I.,  pp.  .376,  377. 
The  title  of  this  Narrative,  as  ]n'intod  by  JMr.  Weston,  is  in  "  The  Land  Travels  of 
Davyd  Ingram  and  others  in  the  year  1508-69  from  the  Rio  de  Minas  in  the  Gulph 
of  Mexico  to  Cape  Breton  in  Acadia."     Mr.  Sparks,  who  had  a  MS.  copy  in  his  col- 


FORT   ST.  GEORGE  AND   THE  CHURCH  SETTLERS.  39 

lection  of  historical  documents,  indorsed  it  thus :  "  Many  parts  of  tliis  narrative 
are  incredible,  so  much  so  as  to  throw  a  distrust  over  the  wliole."  Still  the  larger 
portion  of  the  statements  of  this  narrative  appear  to  be  true,  though  tlie  writer,  wlio 
had  suflered  much,  "doubtless  saw  many  things  with  a  diseased  brain."  There  can  be 
little  doubt,  in  view  of  the  strong  religious  sentiment  of  the  age,  shared  by  hio'h 
and  low  alike,  that  these  wanderers,  whose  adherence  to  the  faith  of  England's 
Reformed  Catholic  Church  had  cxjjosod  numbers  of  their  companions  to  tlie  mer- 
ciless rigors  of  the  Inquisition,  in  tlieir  lonely  and  dangerous  jourueyings,  ofl'ered 
again  and  again  to  Goil  the  prayers  of  the  church,  whicli,  as  uttered  by  tlieir  lips, 
were  first  heard  in  the  wilds  through  which  they  passed.  Rude  and  ignorant  though 
they  were,  they  were  loyal  to  the  Crown  and  Church  of  England,  and  the  church's 
story  would  be  incomplete  without  a  reference  to  their  faith  and  fate.  Vide,  also,  an 
interesting  article  on  "  Ingram's  Journey  through  North  America  in  1507-69,"  by 
Dr.  De  Costa,  in  the  "  Magazine  of  American  History,"  ix.,  108-176. 

Mr.  George  Bancroft,  the  historian  of  the  United  States,  in  the  "Magazine  of 
American  History,"  ix.,  p.  469,  reasserts  the  statement,  in  his  revised  histoi-y, 
that  Gosnold's  voyage  was  "  undertaken  with  the  permission  of  Sir  Walter  Ralegh." 
This  assertion  Mr.  iSancrof t  proceeds  to  sustain  as  follows :  — 

"Immediately  on  Gosnold's  return  from  this  voyage,  a  report  was  made  of  it 
by  one  of  Gosnold's  companions,  expressly  for  Raleigh,  and  was  fortlnvith  printed 
in  London,  and  it  bears  this  title :  '  A  Briofe  and  true  Relation  of  the  Discouverie 
of  the  North  part  of  Virginia,  being  a  most  pleasant,  fruitful ,  and  commodious  soile ; 
Made  this  present  yeere  1002,  by  Captaine  Bartholomew  Gosnold,  Captaine  Bartholo- 
mew Gilbert,  and  divers  other  gentlemen,  their  associates, 

BT  TUB   PERMISSION 
OF  THE  HONORABLE  KNIGHT 
SIR  WALTER  RALEIGH,   ETC. 

Written  by  M.  John  Brereton,  one  of  the  voyage  .  .  .  Londini :  Impensis 
Oeor.  Bishop,  1002.'  Raleigliwas  displeased  that  Gosnold,  or  some  of  his  compan- 
ions, had  infringed  on  his  monopoly  by  bringing  back  'sassafras  wood'  for  the  Lon- 
don market ;  but  he  favored  every  attempt  to  plant  an  '  English  nation '  in  America." 

Ralegh's  letter,  in  Edwards,  undoubtedly  complains  of  the  infringement  of 
his  monopoly,  and  his  language  seems  to  imply  that,  at  least,  Gilbert,  "Lord 
Cobham's  man,"  went  without  his  authority,  and  "  therefore  all  is  confiscate."  He 
had  earlier  said,  "And  it  were  a  pitty  to  overthrow  the  enterprise ;  for  I  shall  yet 
live  to  see  it  an  English  nation."  Ralegh  claims,  in  his  letter  to  Cecil,  asking  for 
the  seizure  of  the  22  cwt.  sassafras  which  had  been  taken  to  London,  "  I  have  a  patent 
that  all  shipps  and  goods  are  confiscate  that  shall  trade  ther  without  my  leve." 
Evidently  if  Gosnold  and  Gilbert  had  sailed  with  Ralegh's  "leve,"  he  could  not 
have  demanded  the  confiscation  of  the  cargo  brought  back. 

Appended  to  Brereton's  "Brief  and  True  Relation"  (reprinted  inSMass.  Ilist. 
Soc.  Coll . ,  YUl. ,  pp.  83-125) ,  is  "  a  bi-icf  note  of  the  sending  another  Baric  (his  present 
year,  1002,  bi/  the  Honorable  Knight,  Sir  Waller  £alegh,for  tlie  searching  out  of  his 
Colony  in  Virginia^'': — 

"  Samuel  Mace,  of  Weymouth,  a  very  sufficient  mariner,  an  honest,  sober 
man,  who  had  been  at  Virginia  twice  before,  was  employed  thither  by  Sir  Walter 
Ralegh,  to  find  those  people  which  were  left  there  in  the  year  1587.  To  whose 
succor  he  hath  sent  five  several  times  at  his  own  charges.  The  parties  by  him  set 
forth  performed  notlung;  some  of  them  following  their  own  profits  elsewhere; 
others  returning  with  frivolous  allegations.  At  this  last  time,  to  avoid  all  excuse, 
he  bought  a  bark,  and  hired  all  the  company  for  wages  by  the  mouth ;  who  depart- 
ing from  Weymouth  in  March  last,  1002,  fell  forty  leagues  to  the  south-westward  of 
Hatteras,  in  thirty-four  degrees  or  thereabout,  and  having  there  spent  a  month ; 
when  they  came  along  the  coast  to  seek  the  people,  they  did  it  not,  pretending  that 
the  extremity  of  vv^eather  and  loss  of  some  principal  ground-tackle  forced  and  feared 
them  from  searcliin^  the  joort  of  Hatteras,  to  which  they  were  sent.  From  that  place 
where  they  abode,  they  brought  sassafras,"  etc. 

In  connection  with  the  references  to  Wajinonth's  voyage  we  may  allude,  in 
passing,  to  the  controversy  which  has  arisen  with  reference  to  the  particular  river 
which  he  explored.  It  would  be  foreign  to  our  purpose  to  enter  ujion  this  discus- 
sion, with  respect  to  which  a  difference  of  opinion  may  be  quite  allowable.  The 
subject  is  fully  treated  in  the  "  Narrative  and  Critical  History  of  America,"  m.,  pp. 
189-192.  The  "  Alagazine  of  American  History,"  ix.,  pp.  459,400,  contains  the  latest 
reference  to  this  controversy  in  which  ]\Ir.  Bancroft  defends  the  statement  in  the 


40  HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

revised  edition  of  liis  "  History  of  tlie  United  States" :  that  the  island  Waymouth 
"  strueli  was  Monliegan ;  that  the  <i:i-onp  of  islands  among  which  he  passed  was 
the  St.  George's ;  that  the  river  which  he  entered  was  the  St.  George's."  In  Mr. 
Bancroft's  view,  "  Any  one  wlio  knows  the  coast  of  ]\Iaine,  and  reads  the  descrip- 
tion of  ^Va3■moulh,  with  the  charts  of  the  Coast  Survey  before  him,  will  see  that 
the  case  is  clear  beyond  a  question." 

The  connection  of  Richard  Ilakluyt,  Prebendary  of  St.  Augustine,  in  the 
Cathedral  Church  of  Bristol,  not  only  with  the  various  voyages  to  the  western 
world,  but  also  with  the  jjresen'ation  in  liis  priceless  volumes  of  tlie  records  of  dis- 
covery, is  too  interesting  and  too  important  to  be  lightly  passed  over.  This  pains- 
taking priest  and  indefatigable  chronicler  of  the  maritime  achievement  of  his  native 
land  was  descended  from  an  old  family  in  Hertfordshire,  and  was  brought  up  at 
Westminster  School.  Chosen  to  a  scholarship  at  Christ  Church,  O.xford,  he  was, 
while  at  the  University,  a  contemporary  and  friend  of  the  gallant  Philip  Sidney,  to 
whom  he  inscribed  his  collection  of  voyages  and  discoveries,  printed  in  1582. 
llakluyt's  interest  in  these  subjects  dates  back  to  his  boyhood.  In  his  "  Epistle 
Dedicatorie"  to  Sir  Francis  Walsingham,  prefixed  to  his  issue  of  1589,  he  thus 
describes  an  interview  he  liad,  in  his  youtli,  with  a  kinsman  of  the  same  name,  to 
whom  he  owed  his  taste  for  history  and  cosmogi-aphy :  — 

"  I  do  remember  that  being  a  youth,  and  one  of  her  Maiestie's  scholars  at  West- 
minster, that  fruitfull  nurserie,  it  was  my  happe  to  visit  the  chamber  of  M.  Richard 
Ilakluyt,  my  cosin,  a  gentleman  of  the  Middle  Temple,  well  knowen  vnto  you,  at  a 
time  when  I  found  lying  open  vpon  liis  boord  certeine  bookes  of  Cosmographie,  with 
an  vniversal  Mappe.  Ho  seeing  me  somewhat  cm'ious  in  the  view  thereof,  began 
to  instruct  ray  ignorance  by  showing  me  the  diuision  of  the  earth,  into  three  parts 
after  the  olde  account,  and  then  according  to  this  latter  and  better  distribution  into 
more :  he  pointed  with  his  wand  to  all  the  knowen  Seas,  Gulfs,  Bayes,  Straights, 
Capes,  Riuers,  Empires,  Kingdomes,  Dukedomes,  and  Teriitories  of  ech  part,  with 
declaration  also  of  their  speciall  commodities  and  particular  wants,  which,  by  the 
benefit  of  traflike  and  eutercourse  of  merchants,  are  plentifully  supplied.  From  the 
Map])e  he  brought  me  to  the  Bible,  and  turning  to  the  107th  Psalm,  directed  mee 
to  the  23  and  24  verses,  where  I  read,  that  they  which  go  downe  to  the  sea  in 
ships,  and  occupy  by  the  great  waters,  they  see  the  works  of  the  Lord,  and  liis 
woouders  in  the  deepe,  etc.  AVhich  words  of  the  Prophet,  together  with  my  cousin's 
discourse  (things  of  high  and  rare  delight  to  my  young  natiu-e),  tooke  in  me 
so  deepe  an  impression,  th.at  I  constantly  resolued,  if  ever  I  were  preferred  to  the 
Vniuersity,  where  better  time  and  more  convenient  islace  might  be  ministered  for 
these  studies,  I  would,  by  God's  assistance,  pi'osecute  that  knowledge  and  kind  of 
literature  the  doores  whereof  (after  a  sort)  were  so  happily  ojiencd  before  me." 

This  interview  decided  Hakluyt's  after-life.  With  what  cost  of  toil  and  labor 
he  prosecuted  his  chosen  vocation  we  may  learn  from  the  preface  to  the  second 
edition  of  his  voyages :  — 

*'  I  do  this  second  time,  friendly  reader,  presume  to  offer  vnto  thy  view  this 
first  part  of  my  three- fold  discourse.  For  the  bringing  of  which  into  this  homely  and 
rough-hewen  shape  which  here  thou  seest;  what  restlesse  nights,  what  painefull 
days,  what  heat,  what  cold  I  have  indured;  how  many  long  and  changeable  jour- 
neys I  have  travailed ;  how  many  famous  libraries  I  have  searched  into ;  what 
vai-ietie  of  ancient  and  moderne  writers  I  bane  perused;  what  a  number  of  old  rec- 
ords, patents,  priuileges,  letters,  etc.,  I  have  redeemed  from  obscuritie  and  per- 
ishing ;  what  expenses  I  have  not  spared ;  and  yet  what  grave  opportunities  of 
priuate  gain,  prefenncnt,  and  ease,  I  have  neglected;  albeit  thyself  can  hardly 
imagine,  yet  I  by  daily  experience  do  find  and  feel,  and  some  of  my  entier  friends 
can  sufficiently  testifie.  Ilowbeit  (as  I  told  thee  at  the  first)  the  honour  and  benefit 
of  this  common  weale  wlierein  I  line  and  breathe,  hath  made  all  difficulties  seem 
easie,  all  paines  and  Industrie  pleasant,  and  all  expences  of  light  value  and  mo- 
ment to  me." 

It  was,  as  Fuller,  in  his  "  Worthies,"  well  styles  it,  "  a  work  of  great  honour  to 
England,"  that  Ilakluyt  accomplished,  botli  in  his  eflbrts  to  stimulate  discovery  in  tlie 
West  and  to  record  its  progress.  It  was  all  done  in  the  faith  and  fear  of  God.  In  his 
epistles  dedicatoiy  to  Ualegli,  written  from  Paris  in  15S7,  where  he  was  Chaplain 
to  the  English  embassy,  and  prefaced  to  his  edition  of  "  Petor  l\[artyr's  History  of 
the  New  World,"  Ilalduyt  explicitly  states  that  the  glory  of  God  was  the  great 
end  to  be  had  in  view  in  undertaking  to  extend  the  bounds  of  a  Christian  Common- 
wealth.   No  nobler  monument  could  be  raised,  no  brighter  name  left  for  posterity 


FORT   ST.   GEORGE   AND   THE   CHURCH   SETTLERS.  41 

than  the  proof  given  by  Ralegli  in  these  efforts  for  discovery  and  colonization 
that  he  sought  to  restrain  tlie  fierceness  of  tlie  barbarian,  and  enlighten  liis 
darkened  mind  by  the  knowledge  of  the  one  only  true  God.  We  cite  these  words 
in  the  sonorous  Latin  of  the  time :  "Judex  rerum  omnium  tempus,  diligensque 
tuorum  ministi'orum  inquisitio,  nuilta  inopinata  quce  adlmc  latent,  modo  Deus  in- 
tersit,  nobis  aperient.  Dcum  autem  adfutunmi  non  est  cur  dubites,  quandoquidem 
de  ijjsius  glori;V,  animarnm  intinitarum  salute,  Keipubliete  Christians  incremento 
agitur.  Eja  ergo  age  ut  coepisti  et  seterni  tui  nominis  ac  fama3  apud  posteros, 
qufe  nulla  unquam  obliterabit  rotas,  relinque  monumenta.  Nihil  enim  ad  po.steros 
gloriosius  nee  honorilicentius  transmitti  potest  quam  barbaros  domare,  rudes  et 
paganos  ad  vitas  civilis  societatem  revocare,  efi'eros  in  gyrum  rationis  reduoere, 
hominesque  atheos  et  a  Deo  alienos  divini  numinis  reverentiil  imbuere."  It  was,  as 
Hakluyt  asserts  in  his  English  dedication,  for  "  the  glorieof  God,  and  the  saving  of 
the  soules  of  the  poore  and  blinded  infidels,"  that  Ralegh  undertook  his  scheme  of 
Virginia  colonization,  and  his  purpose  of  sending  "some  good  cluu'cluiicn  thither 
as  may  truly  say,  with  the  apostle,  to  the  savages  '  We  seek  not  jonrs  but  you,'" 
is  mentioned  in  this  prefatory  epistle  in  such  a  way  as  makes  it  evident  that  pro- 
vision was  made  for  the  spiritual  needs  of  the  colonists,  whom  this  statesman  and 
soldier  sent  forth.  On  Hakhiyt's  return  to  England  he  was  appointed  to  a  preben- 
dal  stall  in  Bristol  Cathedral,  and  ivas  afterward  preferred  to  the  living  of  AVeth- 
eringset-in-Sufl'olk.  But,  wherever  liis  lot  was  cast,  he  was  still  occupied  in  his 
self-appointed  work  of  recording  the  annals  of  exploration  and  colonization,  and 
in  giving  a  wise  and  salutary  direction  to  the  various  schemes  of  discovery  and 
settlement  in  which  he  took  a  prominent  part.  In  1605  he  was  appointed  a  Pre- 
bendary of  Westminster,  and  the  following  year  became  a  member  of  the  Com- 
pany of  Virginia,  the  interests  of  which  he  carefully  watched  over  till  his  death 
in  IGIO.  He  is  buried  In  Westminster  AlAey,  and  his  lifelong  devotion  to  the 
affairs  of  the  Western  World  is  a  notable  instance  of  the  religious  and  churehly 
aspect  of  Western  discovery  in  his  day  and  age. 

The  story  of  the  Sagadahoc  settlers,  under  the  leadership  of  Popham,  as  told  by 
Strachey,  and  by  a  number  of  recent  writers  whose  sympathies  were  with  the 
Church,  has  given  rise  to  a  long  and  somewhat  acrimonious  discussion,  which  has 
but  lately  ceased.  Prior  to  the  puljlication  by  the  Hakluyt  Society  of  Strachey's 
"Historie  of  Travaileinto  Virginia,"  in  which  the  annals  of  the  Popham  Colony  are 
simply  told,  all  that  was  known  of  these  early  settlers  on  the  coast  of  Maine  was 
to  be  gathered  from  notices  in  Purchas's  "  Pilgrimage ; "  in  the  "Brief  Relation"  of 
the  President  and  Council  for  New  England ;  Smiui's  "  Generall  Historie  ; "  in  Sir 
William  Alexander's  "  Encouragement  to  Colonies,"  and  Sir  Ferdinando  Gorges's 
brief  narration.  These  notices  are  gathered  together  by  Dr.  De  Costa  in  the 
Appendix  to  "  A  Relation  of  a  Voyage  to  Sagadahoc,"  from  a  MS.  in  the  Lambeth 
Collection.  (Cambridge,  1880.)  The  publication  by  the  Hakluyt  Society  of  Stra- 
chey's "Historie"  attracted  attention  to  this  colony,  and  m.ide  those  interested  in 
the  history  of  the  church  aware  that  this  settlement  was  undertaken  under  churehly 
auspices,  and  that  its  inception  was  accompanied  by  the  services  of  the  "  Book  of 
Common  Prayer."  Strachey's  narrative  was  republished  by  the  Historical  So- 
cieties of  Massachusetts  and  Maine,  with  annotations ;  and  in  1863  the  latter  society 
published  a ' '  Memorial  Volume."  Three  years  later  appeared  "The  Popham  Colony : 
a  Discussion  of  its  Historic  Claims,"  containing  articles  by  AVilliam  F.  Poole,  the 
Rev.  Edward  Ballard,  D.D.,  and  Frederick  Kidder,  with  a  bibliography  of  the  sub- 
ject up  to  1866.  Subsequently,  as  before,  various  articles  apjjeared  on  the  one  side 
or  the  other,  in  the  newspapers  and  magazines  of  the  daj' ;  and  for  several  years 
the  addresses  at  the  Popham  celebrations  were  issued  in  pamphlet  form,  and  occa- 
sioned not  a  little  criticism  and  numerous  replies.  The  main  matter  in  point,  so 
far  as  we  are  concerned,  is  the  unquestionable  priority  of  the  services  and  sacra- 
ments of  the  Church  on  the  New  England  coast,  years  before  the  coming  of  tlie 
Leyden  "  Pilgrims,"  or  the  non-conformists  of  Massiiehusetts. 


CHAPTER    IV. 

THE    FOUNDATIONS    OF    CHURCH    AND    STATE    IN   VIEGINIA. 

ON  Friday,  the  19th  of  December,  1606,  an  expedition  consisting 
of  three  ships,  the  "  Susan  Constant,"  of  one  hundred  tons' 
burden  ;  the  "  Good-speed,"  of  forty  ;  and  the  "  Discoverjs"  a 
pinnace  of  .twenty,  sailed  from  Blackball  for  Virginia,  under  the  com- 
mand of  Captain  Christopher  Newport,  "  a  mariner  well  practiced  for 
the  waterrie  parts  of  America." '  The  holydays  were  spent  upon  the 
coast,  as  unpropitious  winds  detained  them  for  six  weeks  in  sight  of 
England,  —  "  All  which  time,"  proceeds  the  chronicler  of  the  voyage, 
"  I\lr.  Hunt  our  Preacher  was  so  weake  and  sicke,  that  few  expected  his 
recovery.  Yet  although  he  were  but  twentie  myles  from  his  habitation 
(the  time  we  were  in  the  Downes) ,  and  notwithstanding  the  stormy 
weather,  nor  the  scandalous  imputations  (of  some  few,  little  better  than 
Atheists,  of  the  greatest  ranke  amongst  vs),  suggested  against  him,  all 
this  could  never  force  from  him  so  much  as  a  seeming  desire  to  leaue 
the  busines,  but  preferred  the  service  of  God  in  so  good  a  voyage,  lie- 
fore  any  afl'ectiou  to  contest  with  his  godlesse  foes,  whose  disasterous 
designes  (could  they  haue  prevailed)  had  even  then  overthrowne  this 
businesse,  so  many  discontents  did  then  arise,  had  he  not  with  the  water 
of  patience,  and  his  godly  exhortations  (laut  chiefly  by  his  true  devoted 
example)  quenched  those  flames  of  envie,  and  dissention."^  Selected 
by  the  first  jn-esident  of  the  colony,  Edward-Maria  Wingfield,  with  the 
approval  of  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  the  celebrated  Dr.  Bancroft, 
as  "  a  man  not  anywaie  to  be  touched  w"'  the  rebellious  humors  of  a 
popish  spirit,  nor  blemished  w"'  y"^  least  suspition  of  a  factius  scis- 
matick,"^  this  first  missionary  priest  of  the  Church  of  England 
resident  on  our  American  shores,  whose  name  is  preserved,  well 
deserved  the  eulogium  of  the  famous  Captain  Smith,  who  further 
speaks  of  him  as  "an  honest,  religious,  and  courageous  Divine;  dur- 
ing whose  life  our  factions  were  oft  qualified,  our  wants  and  greatest  ex- 
tremities so  comforted,  that  they  seemed  easie  in  comparison  of  what 
we  endured  after  his  memorable  death."  •*  Robert  Hunt,  A.M.,  Avho 
thus  with  the  concurrence,  and  under  the  authority,  of  the  primate  of 
all  England,  went  forth  on  the  chui'ch's  mission  to  Virginia,  and  whose 
home  appears,  from  Smith's  "Historic,"  to  have  been  in  Kent,  was  doubt- 
less the  Vicar  of  Reculver,  whose  appointment  to  that  cure  was  dated 
Jan.  18,  1594,  and  whose  resignation  of  the  same  took  place  in  1602, 
at  which  time  he  appears  associated  with  Gosnold,  Smith,  and  Wing- 

'  Smith's  Gen.  Hist,  i.,  p.  150,  Richmond  ed.  =  Ibid. 

'  Wingfield's  "Discourse  of  Virginia,"  in  "  Avcliffiologia  Americana,"  iv.,  p.  102. 

'  Advertiseineuts  for  the  Unexperienced  Planters,  p.  8.3. 


THE   FOUNDATIOXS    OF   CHURCH  AND  STATE   IN  VIRGINIA. 


43 


field,  in  plans  for  the  settlement  of  \'irgini:i.'  Well  nia^-  the  historian 
of  the  United  States  record  his  opinion  of  this  excellent  man  as  "  a 
cleriJ3'man  of  persevering  fortitude  and  modest  worth."-  There  was 
need  of  every  Christian  virtue  in  the  spiritual  guide  of  so  disorderly 
and  ill-assorted  a  compau}'  as  the  little  tleet  of  Newport  bore  to  the  Vir- 
ginian shores.  They  were  cml)arked  on  an  expedition  to  found  an  em- 
pire in  the  West ;  but  the  composition  of  the  colony  was  such  that 


CAPTAIN    JOHN    SMITH. 


"gentlemen"  were  largely  in  excess  of  artificers,  and,  unlike  the  "Colony 
of  Koanoke,"  there  were  no  women  to  liind  in  families,  and  cement  in 
heart  and  home-loves,  these  founders  of  a  commonwealth.  The  long 
and  tedious  voyage  was  productive  of  discontent  and  dissensions,  and  it 
was  not  till  Sunday,  the  third  after  Easter,  April  26,  that  the  voyagers 
entered  tlie  magnificent  bay  of  the  Chesapeake.  Several  weeks  were 
spent  in  selecting  a  site  for  the  settlement,  but  at  length,  on  Wednes- 


*  Vide  Anderson's  **  Histoi'V    of  the   Colo 
nial  Chmrh,"  2il  eJ.,  I.,  pp.  169,'l70. 


!  Bancroft's  "  UuileJ  States,"  i.,  p.  118. 


44 


HISTORY   OF   THE   AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 


day,  the  13tli  day  of  May,  the  peninsula  of  Jamesto\™,  about  fifty 
miles  above  the  mouth  of  the  river,  already  named  in  honor  of  the  kino-, 
was  determined  upon.  This  decision  niadt^  the  members  of  the  "  Coun- 
cil"  designated  in  the  sealed  orders,  wliioh  were  opened  immediately 
on  th(!  first  landing  of  the  expedition,  were  sworn  into  ofBce,  with  the 
exception  of  Smith,  who  had  aroused  the  ill-will  of  the  chief  of  the 
colonists ;   and  Edward-Maria  Wingtield  was  chosen  president. 

Quaintly  does  the  chronicler  proceed :  "'Sow  falleth  every  man 
to  worke,  the  Councell  contriuo  the  fort,  the  rest  cut  down  trees  to  make 
place  to  pitch  their  tents;  some  provide  clapbord  to  relade  the  ships, 


some  make  gardens,  some  nets,  etc. 


The  President's  overween- 


ing jealousie  would  admit  no  exercise  at  amies,  or  fortification,  but  the 


JAMESTOWN. 


l>oughs  of  trees  cast  together  in  the  forme  of  ahalfe  moone,  by  the  ex- 
traordinary paines  and  diligence  of  Captain  Kendall . ''  -  Agreeabl}'  to  the 
directions  of  the  council  in  England,  on  Thursday,  the  21st  of  Ma}',  Cap- 
tain Newport,  with  live  gentlemen,  Percy,  brother  of  the  Earl  of  Nor- 
thumlierland,  Archer,  Smith,  Brooks,  and  Wotton,  four  "  mariners," 
and  fourteen  sailors,  ascended  the  James  river  in  the  "  shallop  "  as  far  as 
the  falls  of  the  river,  where  Richmond  now  stands.  The  record  of  this 
exploration  remains,  and  its  quaint  recital  of  the  daily  progress  of  this 
little  hand  amidst  the  forest  glades  and  along  the  water-courses  of  their 
new  home,  proves  that  Newport  and  his  men  were  not  unmindful  of  the 

>  This  cut  follows  a  sketch  made  about  1857  by  a  travelliuif  Englishwoman,  Miss  Catharine 
0.  Hoplcy,  and  shows  the  condition  of  the  ruinecl  church  at  that  time. 
'Smith's  "General  Histoiie,"  Riclimoud  ed.,  i.,  p.  l.")?. 


THE   FOUNDATIONS    OF   CHURCH    ANU    STATE   IN   VIRGINIA.       45 

fact  that  they  were  both  Christians  and  Englishmen.  Full  of  interest 
is  the  mention  of  "May  24,  Smiday,  Whit-Sunday  ;"  telling  of  their 
kindly  intercourse  with  the  savages,  and  their  simple  banquet  of  "two 
peeces  of  porke  to  be  sodd  ashore  with  pease,"  with  "  beere,  aquavite, 
and  sack,"  to  which  the  savage  chieftain,  Powhatan,  was  an  invited  guest. 
As  the  day  declined  they  raised  a  cross  "  upon  one  of  the  little  iletts 
at  the  mouth  of  the  falls,"  with  the  inscription,  "  lacobus,  Eex,  1(307," 
and  Newport's  name  below.  "  At  the  erecting  hereof,  we  prayed  for  our 
Kj'ng,  and  our  owne  prosperous  succes  in  this  his  actyon ;  and  pro- 
claymed  him  kyng  with  a  great  shoute."  ^  To  the  narrative  of  this  expe- 
dition, which  its  gallant  leader  trusted  would  "tend  to  the  glory  of  God, 
his  majestie's  renowne,  our  count-rye's  profytt,  our  owne  advauncing, 
and  fame  to  all  posterity,"^  is  apjiended,  "  A  Brief  Description  of  the 
People,"  from  which  wo  extract  the  following  incidental  proof  of  the 
religious  character  of  the  explorers  :  — 

I  found  they  account  after  death  to  goe  into  another  world,  pointing  eastward 
to  the  element ;  and,  when  they  saw  us  at  prayer,  they  observed  us  with  great 
silence  and  res^ject,  especially  those  to  whome  I  had  imparted  the  meaning  of  our 
reverence.  To  conclude,  they  are  a  very  witty  and  ingenious  people,  apt  both  to 
understand  and  speake  our  language.  So  that  I  hope  in  God,  as  he  hath  miraculously 
preserved  us  hither  from  all  daungers  both  of  sea  and  land  and  their  f  urj-,  so  he  will 
make  us  authors  of  his  holy  will  in  converting  them  to  ouv  true  Christian  faitli,  by 
his  owne  iuspireing  grace  and  knowledge  of  his  deity.' 

Among  the  turbident  and  discontented  settlers  who  had  been  sent 
to  Virginia  to  form  the  nucleus  of  a  new  Commonwealth  and  a  new 
church  there  seems  to  have  been  but  one  common  bond  of  union, —  the 
faithful  and  devoted  minister  of  the  Prince  of  peace.  Scanty  and  un- 
satisfactory as  are  the  notices  of  the  life  and  labor  of  this  most  estimable 
man,  it  is  a  satisfaction  that  we  can  picture  to  mind  the  scene  of  his  pulv 
lic  services.  In  Smith's  "  Advertisements  for  the  Unexperienced  Plant- 
ers of  New  England,"  dedicated  to  Abbot,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury, 
we  have  a  description  of  the  rude  house  of  prayer,  where  the  colonists 
repaired  for  worship  each  morn  and  even,  and  beneath  whose  canvas 
roof  the  sacrament  of  the  Body  and  Blood  of  Christ  was  duly  adminis- 
tered according  to  the  use  of  our  mother-church  :  — 

I  have  been  often  demanded  by  so  many  how  we  begaime  to  preach  the  Gospell 
in  Virginia,  and  by  what  authority,  what  Churches  we  had,  our  order  of  service,  aud 
maintenance  for  our  Ministers,  therefore  I  think  it  not  amisse  to  satisfie  their  demands, 
it  being  the  IMother  of  all  our  Plantations,  intreating  Pride  to  spare  laughter, 
to  imderstand  her  simple  beginning  and  proceedings.  \Vheu  I  first  went  to  Virginia, 
I  well  remember,  wee  did  hang  an  awning  (which  is  an  old  saile)  to  three  or  four 
trees  to  shadow  us  from  the  Sunno,  our  walls  were  rales  of  wood,  our  seats  uuhewcd 
trees,  till  we  cut  plankes  ;  our  Pulpit  a  bar  of  wood  nailed  to  two  neighboring  trees : 
in  foule  weather  we  shifted  into  an  old  rotten  tent,  for  wee  had  few  better,  and  this 
came  by  the  way  of  adventure  for  new.  This  was  our  Church,  till  wee  built  a  homely 
thing  like  a  barne,  set  upon  cratohets,  covered  with  rafts,  sedge,  and  earth ;  so 
was  also  the  walls;  the  best  of  our  houses  of  the  like  curiosity,  but  the  most  parte 
farre  much  worse  workmanship,  that  could  neither  well  defend  wind  norraine,  yet 

'  Newport's  "  Discoveries  in  Virginia,"  in  "  Archsologia  Americana,"  iv.,  p.  47. 
=  I6id.,  p.  ."io.  » Ibid.,  pp.  64,  65. 


46  HISTORY   OF   THE   AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

wee  had  daily  Commou  Prayer  morning  and  evening,  every  Sunday  two  Sermons, 
and  every  three  moneths  the  holy  Commmiion,  till  our  Minister  died.  But  our 
Prayers  daily,  with  an  Homily  on  Suudaies,  we  continued  two  or  thi-ee  yeares 
after,  till  more  Preachers  came. 

It  was  under  this  canvas  roof  that,  on  the  tWrd  Sunday  after  Trinity, 
June  21,  1607,  the  first  sacrament  was  administered.  It  was  a  memo- 
rable day  in  the  history  of  this  infant  settlement.  The  wranglings 
and  jealousies,  which  had  been  fomented  during  the  voyage,  were,  for 
the  moment  at  least,  allayed.  The  kindly  offices  of  the  priest  had  re- 
sulted in  the  quelling  of  consciences  ill  at  ease,  in  the  subduing  of  bitter 
strifes  and  envyings,  and  in  bringing  men  to  be  of  one  mind  in  an 
house.  "  Many  were  the  mischiefes  that  daily  sprung  from  their  igno- 
rant, yet  ambitious  spu-its,  but  the  good  doctrine  and  exhortation  of 
our  Preacher,  INIr.  Hunt,  reconciled  them,  and  caused  Captain  Smith  to 
be  admitted  of  the  Councell."  "  The  next  da}',"  continues  the  chronicler, 
"all  received  the  Communion,"  drawing  near,  as  we  may  well  believe, 
with  faith  and  penitence,  to  take  this  holy  sacrament  to  their  comfort 
in  this  their  new  home.  Surely  there  was  a  lesson  for  these  turbulent 
men  in  the  opening  words  of  the  epistle  for  the  day, —  St.  Peter's 
words  to  them,  and  to  all  men,  —  "  All  of  you  be  subject  one  to  another, 
and  be  clothed  with  humility."  Doulitless  there  came,  also,  with  telling 
force  to  these  wanderers,  ftir  from  their  homes,  and  in  the  midst  of  no 
mere  figurative  wilderness,  the  pai'al)le  of  the  gospel  of  the  day, — 
Christ's  story  of  the  lost  sheep  sought  and  found,  and  the  joy  in  heaven 
over  the  one  sinner  repenting  of  his  sin. 

Five  weeks  had  elapsed  since  the  landing,  ere  at  the  table  of  their 
Lord  the  contentions  and  animosities  of  the  colonists  were  forgotten, 
and  on  the  next  day  supplications  were  again  ofl'ered  at  their  rude  altar 
in  liehalf  of  Captain  Newport  "  returned  for  England  ;  for  whose  passage 
and  safe  retorne  wee  made  many  Prayers  to  our  Almighty  God." '  One 
hundred  and  four  colonists  were  left  at  Jamestown  to  elfect  the  begin- 
ning of  the  English  Empire  in  the  New  World. 

It  was  no  easy  task  that  these  men  had  undertaken.  The  forests 
were  to  be  felled  ;  the  ground  was  to  be  brought  under  subjection  by 
the  will  and  labor  of  the  agriculturists.  There  were  homes  to  be  built ; 
fortifications  were  required ;  trade  was  to  be  opened  with  the  crafty 
and  treacherous  savages.  Meanwhile  the  midsummer  heat  was  such  that 
the  fields  could  not  be  tilled.  Disease,  engendered  by  the  dampness  of 
the  climate,  prostrated  nearly  every  one,  and  the  lack  of  suitable  food 
lessened  the  possibilities  of  cure.  "  Our  drink,"  writes  the  chronicler 
of  these  unhappy  days,  "  was  unwholesome  water ;  our  lodgings,  castles 
in  the  air ;  had  we  been  as  free  from  all  sins  as  from  gluttony  and 
drunkenness,  we  might  have  been  canonized  for  saints."  Still,  though 
during  the  summer  there  were  not  at  any  one  time  five  able  men  to 
guard  the  bulwarks,  the  prayers  at  morn  and  even  were  not  omitted. 
Even  when  on  Sundays  there  was  apprehension  of  an  attack  by  the 
savages,  and  the  sermon  was  necessarily  omitted,  the  service  was  in- 
variably performed,  while  "in  the  tyme  of  our  hungar"  when  "the 

'Wingfield's  "Discourse  of  Virginia,"  in  "  ArchiBolojjia  Americaua,"  iv., p.  77. 


THE   FOUNDATIONS    OF  CHURCH   AND   STATE   IN   VIRGINIA.         47 

common  store  of  oyle,  vinegar,  sack,  and  aquavite  were  all  spent,  sauing 
twoc  gallons  of  each,  the  sack  was  reserucd  for  the  Communion 
Table."  On  the  22d  of  August  Captain  Bartholomew  Gosnold  died, 
—  "a  worthy  and  religious  gentleman."  He  was  "  honorably  buried, 
having  all  the  ordnance  in  the  port  shot  oil',  with  many  volleys  of 
smalhshot." 

One-half  of  the  colonists  haddied  before  autumn,  and  pitiful,  indeed, 
is  the  record  of  Percy :  "  If  it  had  not  pleased  God  to  have  put  a 
terrour  in  the  savages'  hearts,  wo  had  all  perished  hy  those  wild  and 
cruel  Pagans,  being  in  that  weak  state  as  we  were  ;  our  men  night  and 
day  groaning  in  every  corner  of  the  fort,  most  pitiful  to  hear.  If  there 
were  any  conscience  in  men,  it  would  make  their  hearts  bleed  to  hear 
the  pitiful  murmurings  and  outcries  of  our  sick  men,  without  relief, 
every  night  and  day  for  the  space  of  six  weeks  ;  some  departing  out  of 
the  world,  many  times  three  or  four  in  a  night;  in  the  morning,  their 
bodies  trailed  out  of  their  cabins,  like  dogs,  to  be  buried.  In  this  sort 
did  I  see  the  mortality  of  divers  of  our  people."  ^ 

"The  living  were  scarce  able  to  bury  the  dead,"  says  Smith,*  who, 

at  no  little  risk,  made  expeditions  among  the  ^ 

savages  for  corn.     But  even  hunger  was  not  the  Y 

only  ill  threatening  the  destruction  of  the  infant         '~JXT    (^tT^in  ■ 
colony.     Early  in  January  the  rude  church  and       Ky  ^ 

the  rude  town  described  by  Smith  were  de-  autograph  of 

stroyedby  fire.    In  this  disastrous  conflagration       capt.  john  sotth. 

Good  Master  Hunt,  our  Preacher,  lost  all  his  Librarie,  and  all  that  hee  had 
(but  the  clothes  on  his  backe)  yet  none  ever  saw  him  repine  at  his  losse.  Upon  anv 
alarme  he  would  be  as  readie  for  defence  as  any;  and  till  he  could  not  speak'e 
he  never  ccassed  to  his  utmost  to  animate  us  constantly  to  persist;  whose  soule 
questionlesse  is  with  God.- 

The  settlers,  impoverished  and  homeless,  wasted  and  worn  by  dis- 
ease and  privation,  disappointed  of  their  hopes  of  speedy  fortunes, 
and  fearing,  in  their  well-nigh  defenceless  state,  the  attacks  of  the 
savages,  bethought  themselves  of  abandoning  so  ill-starred  an  enterprise  ; 
but  the  fortunate  arrival  of  Captain  Newport,  with  supplies,  gave  the 
colony  a  further  lease  of  life.  The  sailors  were  employed,  under  their 
leader's  direction,  in  the  erection  of  a  "  faire  store  house,"  and  the  mari- 
ners, "aboute  a  church,"  Mhich  "they  finished  cheerfully  and  in  short 
tyme."  Shortly  after,  Newjiort  sailed  for  England,  taking  with  him 
Wingfield,  whose  consolation  was,  that  his  "  trauells  and  daungers  "  had 
"done  somewhat  for  the  behoof  of  Jerusalem  in  Virginia."  "^  The  church 
which  Smith  calls  "a  golden  Church,"  built  when  the  mariners  were 
striving  to  load  the  ship  with  "golden  dirt,"  as  it  proved  to  be,  and  of 
which  the  chronicler  tells  us  that  "  the  raine  washed  "  it  "  neere  to 
nothing  in  foui-teen  days,"*  shortly  required  rebuilding.  Meanwhile, 
the  saintly  "  Preacher  "  appears  to  have  .sickened  and  died.   Xo  mention 

'Purchas,  iv.,  p.  1690.  •Winfffickl's  "  Discourse,"  in  "  Archa.'olo"-ia 

'Historic,  i.,  p.  682.  Americana,"  iv.,  p.  103. 

=  PHrchn,',  rv.,  p.  1710.  Smith's  "  Historie,"  '  Historic,  i.,  p.  169. 

I.,  p.  168. 


48  HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN   EPISCOPAI.   CHURCH. 

of  him  is  found  save  the  reference  to  his  death  we  have  already  quoted 
from  I'urchas.  He  ma}'  have  lived  to  solemnize  the  first  marriage  in 
Virginia  between  John  Laydon  and  Anne  Burras,  which  took  place 
towards  tlie  close  of  the  year  1G08  ;  but  of  this  we  are  by  no  means 
assured,  and  we  cannot  but  agree  with  Anderson,  "that,  had  he  lived  so 
long,  some  more  distinct  traces  of  his  valuable  ministrations  would 
have  been  preserved."  ^  Doubtless  he  was  "  taken  away  from  the  evil 
to  come"  early  in  tlie  second  year  of  the  settlement  he  had  labored  so 
devotedly  to  found.  His  latest  efl'orts  appear  to  have  been  directed 
towards  the  rebuilding  of  the  church, —  a  work  undertaken  coincidently 
with  the  repair  of  the  palisades  and  the  planting  of  the  cornfields  and 
the  re-covering  of  1  he  storehouse;  and  tlien,  his  labors  ended,  his  life- 
work  done,  he  "fell  asleep."  That  he  died  as  he  had  lived,  encourag- 
ing his  fellow-settlers  to  persist  in  their  eflbrt  to  found  a  settlement,  is 
on  record,  and  we  may,  in  adding  our  tribute  to  the  memory  of  this 
pioneer  mission-priest  of  the  mother-church,  express  our  accord  with  the 
old  chronicler  in  the;  pious  confidence  that  his  soul  "is  with  God." 

"Prayers  daily,  with  an  Homily  on  Sundays,"  were  continued  for 
the  "two  or  three  years  after,  till  more  Preachers  came,"  and  even  on 
the  expedition  sent  into  the  interior  under  the  command  of  the  ad- 
venturesome Smith,  "  our  order  daily  was  to  haue  prayer  with  a  Psalme, 
at  which  solemnitie  the  poore  salvages  much  wondered ;  our  Prayers 
being  done,  a  while  tliey  were  l)usied  with  a  consultation  till  they  had 
contrived  their  business."*  It  is  interesting  to  notice  these  evidences 
of  a  devotional  spirit  animating  the  better  portion  of  this  wild  com- 
munity. Amidst  the  strifes  and  wranglings  of  the  office-holders  and 
office-seekers,  amidst  perils  and  dangers  threatening  all  alike,  the  words 
of  common  prayer  were  daily  used,  and  in  their  hallowed  phrases  the 
worshippers  were  united  with  those  of  their  faith  and  lineage  across 
the  sea,  in  supplication  to  a  common  Father  in  heaven. 

On  Smith's  return  after  one  of  these  excursions  into  the  country, 
to  which  we  have  referred,  the  office  of  president  was  assigned  to  him, 
and  it  well  accords  with  other  statements  relating  to  this  remarkable 
character,  that  we  are  told  that  "now  the  building  of  Ratclifle's  (the 
former  president's)  pallace  stayed  as  a  thing  needlesse  ;  and  the  church 
was  repaired."  In  the  autumn  of  1(508  more  settlers  came,  and  among 
them  two  females,  "IMrs.  Forest,  and  her  maid,  Anne  Burras."  The 
farce  of  a  coronation  of  Powhatan  was  enacted,  under  the  direction  of 
Captain  Newport,  for  the  third  time  on  the  Virginian  coast,  and  the 
time  of  the  settlers,  which  was  not  wasted  in  such  senseless  ceremonies 
as  this,  was  devoted,  by  order  of  the  council  at  home,  to  the  seai'ch  for 
gold.  Search  was  also  directed  to  be  made  for  the  recover}'  of  the 
Roanoke  settlers,  but  in  vain ;  and  the  company  required  immediate 
returns  for  their  investments,  threatening  the  settlers  that,  unless  their 
orders  were  complied  with,  "they  should  be  left  in  Virginia  as  banished 
men."  ^ 

The  threats  of  the  London  Company  were  as  futile  as  their  hopes. 
Their  antici])ations  of  finding  an  El  Dorado  amidst  the  luxuriant  forest- 
glades  of  Virginia  were  not  to  be  realized.      Dissensions,  privations, 

'  Colonial  Church,  i.,  pp.  181,  182.  ' Ilistoiie,  i.,  p.  182.  '  Bancroft,  i.,  135. 


THE   FOUNDATIONS    OF   CHURCH    AND    STATE  IN  VIRGINIA.        49 

the  "  accursed  thirst  for  gold,"  and  the  stubborn  unwillingness  of  the 
ill-assorted  "  first  plantei's  of  Virginia  "  to  submit  to  any  power  or 
rule  save  that  of  self,  brought  this  settlement  in  the  far-distant  west 
into  disfavor  and  distrust  at  home.  The  colonists,  lacking  the  sweet  re- 
straint of  the  teachings  and  example  of  the  saintly  Robert  Hunt,  changed 
only  from  bad  to  worse,  and  the  story  of  their  strifes  and  jealousies, 
their  struggles  for  a  miserable  and  precarious  existence,  and  the  failure 
of  all  the  cherished  expectations  in  England  of  the  speedy  reduction 
of  the  savages  to  civilization  and  Christianity,  gave  abundant  occasion 
to  the  "  enemy  to  blaspheme."  The  "  malicious  and  looser  sort,"  says 
a  writer,  but  a  little  later  in  the  history  of  Virginia  colonization,  "with 
the  licentious  stage  poets,  have  whet  their  tongues  with  scornful  taunts 
against  the  action  itself,  insomuch  as  there  is  no  common  speech,  nor 
public  name  of  anything  this  day,  except  it  be  the  name  of  God,  which 
is  more  widely  depraved,  traduced,  and  derided  by  such  unhallowed 
lips,  than  the  name  of  Virginia." '  Still,  no  thought  of  abandoning 
the  enterprise  entered  into  the  minds  of  the  friends  of  colonization  at 
home.  The  succession  of  misfortunes,  which  had  attended  every  step 
of  the  scheme  of  settlement,  served  to  deepen  the  enthusiasm  and 
zeal  of  men  who  were  determined  to  succeed.  There  rallied  in  support 
of  the  new  plans  for  promoting  the  settlement  of  Virginia  the  leading 
men  of  the  age.  The  royal  assent  to  a  new  charter  was  obtained  on 
Tuesday,  in  Rogation  week.  May  23,  1609, 
and  "The  Treasurer  and  Company  of  Ad- 
venturers and  Planters  of  the  City  of  London 
for  the  tirst  Colony  in  Virginia  "  were  duly 
and  formally  created  by  the  king's  patent "  a 
corporation  and  Body  Politick."  By  this 
instrument  not  only  were  the  limits  of  the 
colony  extended,  but  the  company  itself 
was  enlarged  by  the  addition  of  numbers  autograph  of  james  i. 
of  the   nobility,    gentry,    and    tradesmen, 

so  that,  whether  we  consider  the  rank  and  character  of  its  members, 
or  the  rights  and  privileges  with  which  the  company  was  vested 
by  the  royal  authority,  it  claims  a  place  in  histoiy  as  one  of  the 
most  important  bodies  ever  created,  either  for  trade  or  government. 
The  names  of  twenty-one  peers  of  the  i-ealm  appear  in  the  list  of  in- 
corporators, headed  by  the  powerful  Cecil,  Earl  of  Salisbury,  the  re- 
lentless foe,  as  he  had  earlier  been  the  rival,  of  Ralegh,  who,  in  his 
dungeon  in  the  tower,  doubtless  felt  a  keen  interest  in  these  etforts  for 
the  successful  accomplishment  of  a  work  to  which  he  had  long  since 
given  influence,  wealth,  and  personal  concern.  The  Bishops  of  London, 
the  celebrated  Abbot,  afterward  translated  to  Canterbury,  Lincoln, 
Worcester,  and  Bath  and  Wells,  and  Sutclifte,  Dean  of  Exeter,  who  had 
long  been  interested  in  the  colonization  of  America,  were  associated  in 
this  scheme.  Hakluyt,  Prebendary  of  Westminster,  was  also  a  mem- 
ber of  the  company,  with  William  Crashaw,  B.D.,  and  other  clergy- 
men of  the  Church.     The  numerous  companies  of  tradesmen  of  the 

'  Dedicatory  Epistle  to  the  "  New  Life  in  Virginia." 


& 


50  HISTORY   OF  THE   AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

city  of  London,  the  mercers,  the  drapers,  the  goldsmiths,  the  mei'chant 
tailors,  the  cutlers,  and  more  than  fifty  others,  were  interested  in  this 
gigantic  corporation.  INIerchants,  artificers,  yeomen,  were  all  repre- 
sented in  a  list  which  comprised,  not  merely  the  great,  liut  all  sorts  and 
conditions  of  men.  To  this  company,  in  which  all  gradations  of  rank 
were  merged  in  a  common  equality,  was  transferred  the  powers  which 
had  been  reserved  to  the  king  by  the  former  patent.  The  execution 
of  the  privileges  conceded  by  the  charter  was  committed  to  a  council 
of  upwards  of  fifty,  of  which  Henry  Wriothesley,  Earl  of  Southampton, 
was  :it  the  head, —  a  position  well  deserved  by  the  interest  he  had  taken  in 
the  planting  of  Virginia  from  the  first.  To  this  council  almost  unlimited 
powers  were  intrusted.  Under  its  direction  the  Governor  of  Virginia 
could  exercise  well-nigh  despotic  rule,  wliile  in  the  event  of  mutiny 
or  rebellion  he  was  empowered,  at  his  disci'etion,  to  proclaim  martial 
law,  and  to  carry  into  force  all  the  rigorous  provisions  of  this  stern 
code.  The  life,  liberty,  and  property  of  the  settlers  were  vvhollj'  in  the 
power  of  an  oiScer  owing  his  appointment  and  allegiance  to  a  com- 
mercial corporation.  The  lands  heretofore  conveyed  in  trust,  or  held 
in  joint  proprietorship,  were  now  granted  in  absolute  fee.  But  one 
restriction  upon  emigration  was  enjoined,  and  that  was  the  requirement 
of  the  Oath  of  Supremacy  from  all  voyagers  previous  to  setting  sail ; 
and  the  reason  assigned  for  this  injunction  was  as  follows  :  — 

Because  the  pi'iiicipal  Effect,  which  we  can  desire  or  expect  of  this  Action,  is 
the  Conversion  and  reduction  of  the  People  in  those  Parts  unto  the  True  Worship  of 
God,  and  Christian  Religion,  in  which  liespect  we  should  be  lotli,  that  any  Person 
should  be  jiermitted  to  pass,  that  we  suspected  to  eifect  the  superstitions  of  the 
Church  of  Rome.' 

It  was  at  this  juncture  in  the  alfairs  of  Virginia  that  the  name  of 
the  devout  and  amiable  Nicholas  Ferrar  appears  in  connection  with  the 
enlarged  and  re-chartered  company.  The  father  of  John  and  Nicholas 
Ferrar  had  been  a  friend  of  Ealegh,  Hawkins,  and  Drake,  and  from  the 
first  had  shown  himself  to  I)e  "  a  great  lover  and  encourager  of  foreign 
plantations."  ^  It  is  an  evidence  of  the  zeal  of  the  dignitaries  and  mem- 
bers of  the  English  Church  in  the  missionary  work  in  the  New  World, 
that  we  find  associated,  in  this  renewed  effort  for  colonization,  men 
holding  the  highest  positions  in  Church  and  State,  whose  names  are  fresh 
in  remembrance  after  the  lapse  of  nearly  three  centuries.  With  the  Fer- 
rars,  whose  memory  the  Church  of  England  has  ever  held  dear,  and  whose 
services  to  the  American  Church  we,  in  this  Western  AVorld,  may  well 
recall,  we  also  find  the  name  of  Sir  Edwin  Sandys,  son  of  an  Archbishop 
of  York,  and  pupil  of  the  "judicious"  Hooker.  Certainly,  if  patient, 
untiring,  and  abundant  exertions,  springing  from  a  full  and  earnest  rec- 
ognition of  the  bidding,  sounding  down  the  Christian  centuries,  from  the 
Master's  lips,  — "  Go  ye  into  all  the  world  and  preach  the  Gospel  to  every 
creature,"  —  could  have  met  the  aspersion  cast  on  England's  reformed 
Church  l)y  the  Church  of  Rome,  "that  she  converts  no  believers  abroad," 

•  Stith's  "  Histoiy  of  Virginia,"  Sabin's  Re-  ^MoDonough'a  "  Memoii's  of  Nicholas  Fcr. 

print,  AppenilLx,  p.  22.  rai\" 


THE   FOUNDATIONS   OK   OIIUKCIl   AND   STATE   IN   VIRGINIA.        51 

labors  such  as  Hakluj't  couusellud,  and  the  Ferrars  seconded,  and  a  liost 
of  others  aided  and  approved,  woukl  have  blotted  otit  this  shmder  for- 
ever. 

With  the  grant  of  the  new  charter  fresh  interest  attached  to  the 
work.  Thomas,  Lord  De  \a.  Warr,  a  man  of  "  approued  courage,  tem- 
per, and  experience,"  was  created  Governor,  or  Captain-General,  of 
Virginia,  and  an  expedition  of  "Adventurers,"  under  his  leadership,  was 
at  once  titted  out,  the  expense  of  which  was  largely  borne  by  the  com- 


POKTRAFT    OF    LORD    DELAWARE. 


mauder-iu-chief,  while  his  zeal  and  interest  were  such  as  to  "  reuiue  and 
quicken  the  whole  enterprize  by  his  example,  constancy,  and  resolution." 
It  was  an  age  of  pomp  and  circumstance,  and  yet  it  must  have 
been  an  interesting  pageant  when  the  chivalrous  Do  la  Warr,  and  the 
Council  of  Virginia,  with  the  "Adventurers,"  walked  in  solemn  state  to 
the  Temple  Church,  where  William  Crashaw,  the  preacher  of  the  Tem- 
ple, and  father  of  the  poet  whom  Cowley  praised  and  Pope  was  will- 
ing to  imitate,  preached  the  tirst  missionary  sermon  ever  addressed  by 
a  priest  of  the  Church  of  England  to  members  of  that  church,  about 
to  bear  that  church's  name,  andcarry  that  church's  teachings  to  a  distant 
land.     The  text  was  from  St.  Luke's  Gospel,  xxii.  32,  and  the  true 


52  HISTORY   OF   THE   AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

missionary  spirit  with  wbidi  this  unique  discourse  is  filled  may  be 
judged  by  the  following  extract :  — 

If  there  be  any  that  come  in,  only  or  principally  for  profit,  or  any  that  would  so 
come  in,  I  wish  the  latter  may  never  bee  in,  and  tlie  former  out  again.  If  the  plant- 
ing of  an  English  Colonic,  in  a  good  and  frnitl'ull  soil,  and  of  an  English  Church  in 
a  heathen  countrey ;  if  the  eonuersiou  of  the  Heathen,  if  the  propagating  of  the  Gos- 
pell,  and  enlarging  of  the  kingdome  of  Jesus  Christ,  be  not  inducements  strong 
enough  to  bring  them  into  this  businesse,  it  is  a  pitie  thej'  bo  in  at  all.  I  will  dis- 
charge my  conscience  in  this  matter.  K  any  that  are  gone,  or  purpose  to  go  in  per- 
son, do  it  only  that  they  may  line  at  ease  and  get  wealth  ;  if  others  that  aduenture 
tlieir  money  have  respected  the  same  ends,  I  wish  for  my  part,  the  one  in  England 
again,  and  the  otlier  had  his  money  in  his  purse ;  nay,  it  were  better  that  every  one 
gave  something  to  make  vj)  his  aduenture  than  that  such  Nabals  should  thrust  in 
their  foulc  feete,  and  trouble  so  worthie  a  businesse.  Andlcould  wish,  for  my  part, 
that  the  proclamation  which  God  injoined  to  bee  made  before  the  Israelites  went  to 
battell,  were  also  made  in  this  case :  namely,  that  whosoever  is  faint-hearted,  let 
him  returne  home  againe,  lest  his  brethren's  hart  faint  like  his  ;  (Deut.  xx.  8)  for 
the  coward  not  only  betraieth  himself,  but  daunts  and  discourages  others.  Priuate 
ends  haue  been  the  bane  of  many  excellent  exploits  ;  and  priuate  plots  for  the  gaine 
of  a  few  haue  given  hindrance  to  many  good  and  great  matters.  Let  us  take  heed 
of  it  in  this  present  businesse,  and  all  jointly  with  one  heart  aime  at  the  generall  and 
publike  ends  lest  we  finde  hereafter  to  our  shame  and  griefe,  that  this  one  flie  hath 
corrupted  the  whole  box  of  oyntment,  though  never  so  precious.  Let  vs  therefore 
cast  aside  all  cogitation  of  profit,  let  vs  look  at  better  things ;  and  then,  I  dare  say 
vnto  you  as  Christ  hath  taught  me,  that,  if  in  this  action  wee  seeke  first  the  Kingdom 
of  God,  all  other  things  shall  be  added  unto  us  (Matt.  vi.  S3),  that  is  (applying  it 
to  the  case  in  hand),  if  wee  first  and  principally  seeke  the  propagation  of  the  Gos- 
pell,  and  conuersion  of  soules,  God  will  vndoubtedly  make  the  voiage  very  profita- 
ble to  all  the  aduenturers,  and  their  posterities,  even  for  matter  of  this  life  :  for  the 
soile  is  good,  the  commodities  many,  and  neoessarie  for  England,  the  distance  not 
far  offe,  the  jjassage  faire  and  easie,  so  that  there  wants  only  God's  blessing  to  make 
itgainfull.  Now  the  highway  to  obtain  that,  is  to  forget  our  owne  affections,  and 
to  neglect  our  own  priuate  profit  in  respect  of  God's  glorie,  and  he  that  is  zealous 
of  God's  glorie,  God  will  be  mindful  of  his  profit. 

Wise  and  fitting  words  with  which  to  preface  an  efibrt  for  the  glory 
of  God  and  the  extension  of  the  Church  of  Christ.  The  preacher  was 
far-seeing.  Earnestly  does  he  de])recate  the  allowance  of  any  Papists, 
"  Brownists,"  and  factious  "  separatists,"  —  then  beginning  to  excite  no- 
tice and  alarm  at  home,  —  among  these  founders  of  a  daughter  Church 
of  England  in  a  New  World.  A  touching  reference  to  the  leader  of 
the  "  Adventurers"  occurs  at  the  close  of  this  discoitrse.  At  the  battle 
of  Poictiers,  as  Froissart  informs  irs,  the  French  king  was  captured  by 
an  ancestor  of  the  governor.  Sir  Roger  la  Warr,  and  John  de  Pelham. 
This  incident  of  the  family  annals  was  thus  "  improved  "  :  — 

And  thou,  most  noble  Lord,  whom  God  hath  stirred  vjj  to  neglect  the 
pleasures  of  England,  and  with  Abraham  to  goe  from  thy  coimtry,  and  forsake  thy 
kindred  and  thy  father's  house,  to  goe  to  a  land  which  God  will  show  thee,  giue 
me  leaue  to  speak  the  truth.  Thy  ancestor  many  hundred  years  agoe  gained  great 
honour  to  thy  house ;  but  by  this  action  thou  augmentest  it.  He  tooke  a  Idng 
prisoner  in  the  field  in  his  owne  land;  but  by  the  godly  managing  of  this  businesse, 
thou  shalt  take  the  Uiuell  prisoner  in  open  field,  and  in  his  owne  kingdome ;  nay 
the  Gospcll  which  thou  carriost  with  thee  shalt  bind  him  in  chaincs,  and  his  angels 
in  stronger  fetters  than  iron,  and  execute  upon  them  the  judgement  tliat  is  written ; 
yea.  it  shall  leade  captiuitie  captiue,  and  redeeme  the  soules  of  men  from  bondage. 
And  thus  tliy  glory  and  honour  of  thy  house  is  more  at  the  last  than  at  the  first. 

Goe  on  therefore,  and  i)rosper  with  this  thy  honour,  which  indeed  is  greater 
than  eueiy  eiu  discernes,  euen  sucli  as  the  present  ages  shortly  will  enioy,  and  the 


THE  FOUNDATIONS   OF   CHURCH   AND   STATE   IN   VIRGINIA.        53 

future  adiuire.  Goe  forward  iu  the  strength  of  the  Lord,  and  make  mention  of  His 
righteousnesse  only.  Loolie  not  at  the  gaine,  the  wealth,  the  honour,  the  aduanee- 
nient  of  thy  house  that  may  follow  and  fall  vpon  thee ;  but  looke  at  tliosc  high  and 
better  ends  that  concerne  the  kingdom  of  God.  Remember  thou  art  a  generall  of 
Englisli  men,  nay,  a  generall  of  Christian  men ;  therefore  principally  lookc  to 
religion.  You  goe  to  commend  it  to  the  heatlien;  then  practice  it  yourselues; 
make  the  name  of  Christ  honourable,  not  hatefull  vnto  them. 

In  like  burning  words  of  high  and  holy  encouragement  had  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Symonds,  preacher  at  Saint  Saviour's,  in  Southwark,  a  few 
months  earlier,  addressed  the  "many  honoural)le  worshipfuU,  the  ad- 
venturers and  planters  for  Virginia,"  at  White-chapel.  The  text  was 
from  Genesis  xii.  1-3,  the  portion  of  Scripture  which  relates  the  call  of 
Abraham  and  the  promise  of  God's  blessing  on  his  going  to  a  strange 
country.  At  the  close  of  an  earnest  and  impassioned  discourse  we 
find  these  words  :  — 

What  blessing  any  nation  had  by  Christ,  must  be  communicated  to  all  nations ; 
the  office  of  his  Prophecie,  to  teach  the  ignorant;  the  office  of  his  Priesthood,  to 
give  remission  of  sinnes  to  the  sinnofull ;  the  office  of  his  Kingdome,  by  word,  and 
sacraments,  and  spirit,  to  rule  the  inordinate ;  that  such  as  are  dead  in  ti-espasses, 
may  be  made  to  sit  together  in  heavenly  places.  .  .  .  If  it  be  God's  purpose, 
that  the  Gospell  shall  be  preached  through  the  world  for  a  witnesse,  then  ought 
ministers  to  bee  carefull  and  willing  to  spread  it  abroad,  in  such  good  services  as 
this  that  is  intended.  Sure  it  is  a  great  shame  vnto  us  of  the  ministery,  that  can 
be  better  content  to  sit  and  rest  us  heere  idle,  than  undergoe  so  good  a  worke. 
Our  pretence  of  zeale  is  clearly  discoured  to  be  but  hypocricy,  when  we  rather 
choose  to  mind  unprofitaljle  questions  at  home,  than  gaining  soules  abroad. 

These  discourses  illustrate  the  popular  feeling  with  reference  to 
the  New  World.  The  end  and  aim  of  the  expeditious  to  the  West  was, 
as  Crashaw  declared,  "the  destruction  of  the  deuel's  kingdom,  and 
propagation  of  the  Gospell."  "The  planting  of  a  church,"'  the 
"  converting  of  soules  to  God," 
these  were  the  objects  held  con- 
stantly in  view  by  the  promoters 
and  leaders  of  the  successive 
schemes  of  colonization,  and,  if 
the  same  high  and  holy  spirit 
failed  to  animate  the  rank  and 
iile  of  the  settlers,  the  record 
tells  us  constantly  of  those  who 

lived  and  labored  for  the  Chris-  autograph  of  de  la  warr. 

tianizing  of  the  savages  and  the 


-"o 


extension  of  Christ's  Church  iu  the  New  World. 

Circumstances  prevented  the  entrance  of  De  la  Warr  upon  the 
duties  of  his  office  at  the  outset,  and,  consequently,  the  first  expedition 
despatched  under  the  new  charter  sailed  from  Plymouth  on  the  1st  day 
of  June,  1609,  in  nine  vessels ;  Sir  Thomas  Gates,  who  had  been  in 
the  service  of  the  United  Netherlands,  being  lieutenant-general,  and 
Sir  George  Somers,  admiral,  of  Virginia.  Newport  was  in  com- 
mand of  the  fleet ;  and  the  three  were  empowered  to  administer  the 
artairs  of  the  colony  until  the  arrival  of  Lord  De  la  Warr.     The  ship 

'  Crasliaw's  sermon,   quoted   in   Amlcrsou's  "  Colonial  Chiii-ch,"  I.,  p.  193. 


54  HISTORY    OF   THE    AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

"  Sea  Adventure "  carried  Gates,  Somers,  and  Newport.  In  the 
"Diamond"  were  Captains  Ratclifle  and  King;  in  the  "Falcon,"  Cap- 
tain Martin  and  Master  Nelson.  The  "  Bless- 
ing," with  Captain  Archer  and  Master  Adams, 
conveyed  horses  and  mares  ;  while  the  "Unity," 
the  "Lion,"  the  "Swallow,"  a  "Ketch,"  and  "a 
boatliuiit  inthe  North  Colony,"  atSagadahock, 
ADTOGRAi'n  OF  with  Captain  and  Master  Davies,  who  were 

THOMAS  GATES.  among  the  settlers  of  that  northern  colony, 

made  up  the  fleet  on  which  about  five  hundred 
colonists  were  embarked.  The  voj'age  was  favoralile  until  the  23d  of 
July,  when  the  "Ketch"  was  lost  in  a  hurricane,  while  the  "Sea  Vent- 
ure," driven  before  the  storm,  was  stranded,  on  the  28th,  upon  the  shores 
of  "  —  the  still  vex'd  Bermoothes."  Seven  ships  only  reached  Virginia. 
The  lives  of  the  shipwrecked  colonists  at  the  Bermudas  were  mar- 
vellously preserved,  and  one  and  all  were  at  once  occupied  in  prepar- 
ing the  means  of  escape  from  the  place  of  their  detention.  An  excel- 
lent priest  of  the  English  Ciiurch,  recommended  by  Dr.  Ravis,  Bishop 
of  London,  was  in  the  company,  and  "  publique  Prayer,  every  morn- 
ing and  Evening,"  was  faithfully  observed ;  while  on  Sunday  two  sermons 
were  preached  by  the  Rev.  Richard  Bucke,  a  graduate  of  Oxford,  and 
"  a  verie  good  preacher,"  as  John  Rolfe  characterized  him  in  a  letter  to 
the  king,  a  little  later.  The  chronicler  of  the  expedition  further  tells  us 
that  "  it  pleased  God  also  to  give  vs  opportunitie  to  pejjforme  all  the 
other  Offices  and  Rites  of  our  Christian  Profession  on  this  Island."  On 
the  26th  of  November(the  twenty-fourth  Sunday  after  Trinity)occurred 
a  marriage.  On  the  tii'st  of  October  (the  sixteenth  Sunday  after  Trinity) 
and  on  "  ChristmasseEve,"  which  fell  on  Sunday,  the  fourth  in  Advent, 
the  holy  communion  was  celebrated,  "  at  the  partaking  whereof  our 
Governor  was,  and  the  greatest  part  of  our  Company."  On  the  11th  of 
Feburary,  Sexagesima  Sunday,  Bermuda,  the  child  of  "one  John  Roh'e," 
was  christened ;  Captain  Newport.  William  Strachey,  and  Mistress 
Horton  Ijeiug  godparents ;  and  on  the  25th  of  INIarch,  which  was  lioth 
Passion  Sunday  and  Lady-day,  the  sou  of  Edward  Easou,  named  Ber- 
mudas, was  christened.  Captain  Newport,  William  Strachey,  and 
Master  James  Swift  being  godfatliers.  Six  of  the  company  were 
solemnly  liuried,  with  the  church's  rites.  On  leaving  the  island  inthe 
rude  cedar  ships  they  had  builded,  the  governor.  Sir  Thomas  Gates, 
erected  "  a  faire  Muemos3'on  in  figure  of  a  crosse,"  made  of  some  of  the 
timber  of  the  wreck,  bearing  on  each  side  an  inscription  in  Latin  and 
English  :  "  In  memory  of  our  great  deliuerance,  both  from  a  mightie 
storme  and  leake  ;  wee  haue  set  vp  this  to  the  honour  of  God."  Thus 
piously  leaving  theharljor  which  had  proved  to  them  a  safe  haven,  thej' 
sailed  for  Virginia,  which  they  reached  in  safety  on  Wednesday,  the 
23d  of  May,  only  to  dnd  the  miserable  remnant  of  the  colony,  which 
but  a  few  months  licfore  numbered  five  hundred  men.  It  was  "the 
starving  time."  The  fort  was  dismantled,  the  palisades  torn  down,  the 
ports  open,  and  the  gates  forced  from  their  hinges.  The  new-comers 
proceeded  at  once,  on  landing,  to  the  ruined  and  unfrequented  church. 
The  governor  caused  the  bell  to  be  rung,  and  the  dispirited  and  starv- 


THE   FOUNDATIONS   OF   CHURCH   AND    STATE   IN   VIRGINIA. 


55 


iug  people  dragged  their  enfeebled  frames  to  the  house  of  God,  that 
they  might  join  in  the  "zealous  and  sorrowful  prayer"  of  the  faithful 
Buckc,  as  in  the  church's  words  he  pleaded,  in  that  sad  and  solemn  hour, 
for  himself  and  his  fellow-worshippers,  before  the  Lord  their  God.  At 
the  close  of  this  solenm  service  the  commission  of  Gates  was  formally 
proclaimed,  and  the  insignia  of  office  was  surrendered  to  him  by  Percy, 
the  brother  of  the  Earl  of  Northumberland,  who  had  been  acting  as 
president  since  the  departure,  for  England,  of  Captain  Smith.     A  brief 


^^^^^'^ 


survey  of  the  condition  of  the  colony  was  sufficient  to  discourage  any 
one.  Driven  to  extremities,  without  provisions  or  the  means  of  pro- 
curing any,  disappointed  as  to  the  past,  and  hopeless  for  the  future. 
Gates  determined  to  abandon  the  ill-fated  settlement,  and  proceed  to 
Newfoundland,  where  he  hoped  to  distribute  the  pitiful  remnant  of  the 
colony  among  the  English  fishing-vessels  off  the  Banks.  On  Thursday, 
the  7th  of  June,  at  noon,  the  whole  company  embarked,  Sir  Thomas 
Gates  last  of  all,  "giving  a  farewell  with  a  peal  of  small  shott,"  none 
dropping  a  tear  at  leaving  a  spot  ^vhere  "  none  had  enjoyed  one  day  of 
happiness."  At  eventide  the  ships  drifted  down  the  river,  and  the 
abandonment  of  the  first  colony  in  Virginia  was  complete. 


56  HISTORY   OF   THE   AMEIUCAN    EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

Heaven  interposed  to  save  the  future  church  and  commonwealth  of 
Virginia.  On  the  morning  of  Friday,  the  8th,  when  the  ships  freighted 
with  the  returning  colonists  lay  at  anchor  at  the  mouth  of  the  river, 
waiting  the  retui'u  of  the  tide,  a  boat  was  descried  in  the  ofBng,  Avhich 
had  been  sent  l)y  the  captain-general  of  the  colony,  Lord  De  la  Warr, 
to  announce  his  arrival  from  England.  Gates  and  his  company  returned 
at  once  to  the  forlorn  and  dismantled  town  they  had  so  lately  quitted, 
and  on  the  first  Sunday  after  Trinity,  June  10,  KilO,  the  squadron  of 
De  la  Warr,  consisting  of  three  ships,  arrived  off  the  fort,  and  he,  with 
his  retinue,  landed  in  the  afternoon  at  the  small  gate  of  the  palisade. 
In  the  spirit  of  true  Christian  cliivalry  did  this  excellent  nobleman  enter 
upon  his  work  for  Christ  and  his  church  in  the  New  World.  Though 
the  lieutenant-governor  and  the  few  survivors  were  drawn  up  under 
arms  to  receive  him,  De  la  Warr,  ere  he  acknowledged  their  courtesy  or 
assumed  any  show  of  authority,  fell  on  his  knees  on  the  ground,  and  in 
the  presence  of  all  the  people  offered  long  and  silent  prayer  to  God, 
and  then  marched  in  solemn  state  through  the  town  to  the  little  church. 
Here,  after  prayers  and  a  sermon  by  the  worthy  Piirsou  Bucke,  the  com- 
mission of  the  governor  was  read,  the  seals  of  office  were  formally  sur- 
rendered to  him,  and  he  addressed  the  assembly  with  a  few  words  of 
encouragement  and  admonition. 

Thus,  solemnly  and  in  the  fear  of  God,  did  this  excellent  nobleman 
enter  upon  the  duties  of  his  thankless  office.  Strachey,  the  secretary 
and  recorder  of  the  colony,  as  well  as  its  historian,  gives  us,  among  his 
earliest  notices  of  the  new  regime  thus  inaugurated,  the  following  quaint 
picture  of  the  church  and  church-life  at  Jamestown,  at  this  time  :  — 

The  Captaine  Generall  hath  giuen  order  for  the  repairing  the  Church,  and  at 
this  instant  many  hands  are  about  it.  It  is  in  length  threescore  footc,  in  breadth 
twenty-foure,  and  shall  haue  a  chancell  in  it  of  Cedar,  and  a  Communion  Taljle  of  the 
Blake  Walnut,  and  all  thePewesof  Cedar,  with  faire  broad  windowes.  to  shut  and 
open,  as  the  weather  shall  occasion,  of  the  same  wood,  a  Pulpet  of  the  same,  with  a 
font  hewen  hollow,  like  a  Canoa,  with  two  Bels  at  the  West  end.  It  is  so  cast,  as  to 
be  very  light  within,  and  the  Lord  Gouernour  and  Cajjtainc  GenoraU  doth  cause  it  to 
be  kept  passing  sweete,  and  trimmed  vp  with  divers  liowers,  with  a  Sexton  belong- 
ing to  it :  and  in  it  euery  Sunday  we  liaue  Sermons  twice  a  day,  and  euery  Thui-sday 
a  Sermon,  hauing  true '  preachers,  which  take  their  weekly  tuines ;  and  euery  morn- 
ing at  the  ringing  of  a  bell,  about  ten  of  the  clocke,  each  man  addresseth  himselfe 
to  prayers,  and  so  at  foure  of  the  clocke  before  Supper.  Euery  Sunday,  when  the 
Lord  Gouernour  and  Captaine  Generall  goeth  to  Church,  he  is  accompanied  with  all 
the  Counsailers,  Captaines,  other  Oificei-s,  and  all  the  Gentlemen,  with  a  guard  of 
Holberdiers,  in  his  Lordship's  Liuery,  faire  red  cloakes,  to  the  number  of  fifty  both 
on  each  side,  and  behinde  him  :  and  bemg  in  tlie  Church,  his  Lordship  hatli  his  seate 
in  the  Quier,  in  a  greene  veluet  chaire,  with  a  cloath,  with  a  veluet  cushion  spread 
on  a  table  before  him,  on  which  he  kneeleth,  and  on  each  side  sit  the  Counsell,  Cap- 
taines, and  Officers,  each  in  their  place,  and  when  he  returneth  home  againe,  he  is 
waited  on  to  his  house  in  the  same  manner. - 

Of  the  "  true  "  preachers  referred  to  in  this  interesting  extract 
Richard  Bucko  was  surely  one,  and  the  other,  or  others,  doubtless 
accompanied  De  la  Warr.  We  have  no  record  of  the  name  or 
names. 

'Evidently  a  clerical  e:ror  for    'tiTO,"  the  alternate  being,  doubtless,  the  ch.iplaiu  of  De  la 
Warr's  lleet. 

'Piirchas,  iv.,  p.  1754. 


THE  FOUNDATIONS   OF  CHURCH  AND   STATE  IN  VIRGINIA.        57 

In  the  longand  touching  recital  of  aflfairs,  sent  by  the  Governor  and 
Council  to  the  London  Company,  dated  "James  Towuc,  July  7th,  1610," 
the  request  is  made  for  "  a  new  supply  in  such  matters  of  the  two-fold 
physicke,  which  both  the  soulcs  and  ])odies  of  our  poor  people  here 
stand  much  in  nccdc  of,"  and  in  the  "  Table  of  such  as  are  required  in 
their  plantation,"  issued  by  the  Council  at  home,  the  foremost  entry  is, 
"  Fourc  honest  and  learned  Ministers."  One  of  these  was  Alexander 
Whitaker,  who  arrived  in  the  colony  on  the  10th  of  May,  1611, 
with  Sir  Thomas  Dale,  the  High  INIarshal  of  Virginia.  He  was  the 
son  of  the  celeln-ated  William  Whitaker,  IMaster  of  St.  John's  College, 
and  llegius  Professor  of  Divinity  in  the  University  of  Cambridge,  and 
although,  to  quote  the  words  of  Crashaw,  "seated  in  the  North 
Couutrey,  where  he  was  well  approued  by  the  gi'eatest  and  beloued  of 
his  people,  and  had  competent  allowance  to  his  good  liking,  and  was 
in  as  good  possibility  of  better  living  as  any  of  his  time,"  having  also 
"  mcanes  of  his  owne  left  him  by  his  parents,"  he,  "  without  any  per- 
suasion (but  God's  and  his  own  heart)  did  voluntarily  leaue  his  warme 
nest ;  and  to  the  wonder  of  his  kindred,  and  amazement  of  them  that 
knew  him,  undertooke  this  hard,  but  to  my  judgment,  heroicall  reso- 
lution to  go  to  Virginia  and  help  beare  the  name  of  God  unto  the 
Gentiles."  Of  his  faithfulness  and  zeal  we  shall  have  occasion  to 
speak  again  and  again.  We  can  well  undei'stand  the  purpose  of 
Whitaker  in  leaving  his  "  warme  nest  "  to  go  to  Virginia  to  assist  that 
Christian  plantation,  in  the  function  of  a  preacher  of  the  Gospel.  In 
the  call  for  help,  addressed  by  the  Council  to  the  people  of  England, 
the  argument  is  employed  that  upwards  of  six  hundred  "  of  our  Breth- 
ren by  our  common  mother  the  Church,  Christians  of  one  faith  and  one 
Baptism,"  have  been  exposed  "to  a  miserable  and  inevitable  death  "  in 
adventuring  upon  this  plantation,  whom  it  was  the  bounden  duty  of 
their  countrjTnen  to  aid.  At  length,  aware  of  the  mistake  of  trans- 
porting men  of  loose  morals  and  depraved  character  to  Virginia,  the 
Council  announced  that  they  would  receive  "  no  man  that  cannot  bring 
or  render  some  good  testimony  of  his  religion  to  God,  and  ciuil  man- 
ners and  behaviour  to  liis  neighbour  with  whom  he  hath  lived."  The 
spiritual  wants  of  those  already  in  Virginia,  and  the  promised  posses- 
sion of  worthy  and  religious  settlers  in  the  future,  made  the  "  planta- 
tion of  Religion  "  in  the  New  World  a  worthy  object  of  desire  to  zealous 
men  filled  with  the  love  of  souls,  and  of  those  who  responded  to  this 
cry  for  spiritual  help  no  one  was  more  worthy  of  the  work  than  was  he 
who  won  the  title  of  Apostle  of  Virginia,  by  his  few  years  of  devoted 
service.  It  was  the  glad  response  to  the  cheering  words  earlier  borne 
across  the  ocean :  "  Doubt  not  God  will  raise  our  State  and  build  our 
Church  in  this  excellent  clime.  It  is  the  arm  of  the  Lord  of  Hosts, 
who  would  have  his  people  pass  the  Ked  Sea  and  the  wildei'uess,  and 
then  possess  the  land  of  Canaan."  ' 

In  June,  1611,  there  accompanied  Sir  Thomas  Gates,  on  his  second 
voyage  to  Virginia,  "  an  approved  Preacher  in  Bedford  and  Huntingdon- 
shire, a  graduate  of  Cambridge,  reverenced  and  respected,"-  by  the 
name  of  Glover.     He  was  in  easy  circumstances  and  already  somewhat 

1  True  Dcclai'ation,  pp.  45, 46.  '  CiasUaw's  "  Epistle  Dcdicatorie." 


58  HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

advanced  iu  years,  Ijut  so  earnest  in  liis  desire  for  missionary  work  that 
he  sought  the  opportunity,  and  being  "  well  liked  of  the  CounscU  "  he 
went  bravely  to  his  post.  But,  as  Crashaw  tells  us,  "  he  endured  not  the 
sea-sicknesse  of  the  countrey,  so  well  as  younger  and  stronger  bodies  ; 
and  so,  after  zealous  and  faithfull  performance  of  his  ministerial!  dutie, 
■whilest  he  was  able,  he  gave  his  soule  to  Christ  Jesus  (under  whose 
banner  he  went  to  fight ;  and  for  whose  glorious  name's  sake  he  under- 
tooke  the  danger) ,  more  worthy  to  lie  accounted  a  true  Confessor  of 
Christ  than  hundreds  that  are  canonized  in  tlie  Pope's  Marty rologie." 

In  the  beginning  of  the  year  IGll  the  health  of  the  governor 
failed,  under  the  cares  and  anxieties  of  his  position,  and  the  diseases  inci- 
dent to  the  climate,  and  after  a  lingering  illness  he  was  compelled  to 
commit  the  administration  of  the  government  to  George  Percy,  and  on 
Thursday,  in  Easter-week,  March  28,  to  sail  for  England.  Necessary 
as  was  this  step,  it  could  not  but  have  a  disastrous  effect  upon  the 
colony,  while  it  produced  "  a  damp  of  coldness  "  in  the  breasts  of  the 
adventurers  at  home.  Still  "  one  spark  of  hope  remained  ;  "  for,  before 
the  departure  of  De  la  AVarr  was  known  at  home.  Sir  Thomas  Dale,  "  a 
worthy  and  experienced  soldier  in  the  Low  Countries,"  had  sailed  for 
Virginia,  with  three  ships,  with  men  and  cattle  for  the  settlement  at 
Jamestown.  In  June,  IGll,  Sir  Thomas  Gates,  who  had  been  named 
first  in  the  original  patent  for  Virginia,  embarked  with  his  wife  and 
daughter,  in  a  fleet  of  six  sliips,  carrying  three  hundred  men,  with  large 
supplies  of  cattle  and  stores.  The  relief  thus  afforded  was  most  grateful. 
Already  had  the  mishaps  of  the  colonists  excited  the  derision  of  the 
public.  "  And  whereas  we  have  by  undertaking  this  plantation  under- 
gone the  reproofs  of  the  base  world,"  was  the  plaint  coming  from  the 
dispirited  and  disappointed  settlers,  "  insomuch  as  many  of  our  owne 
brethren  laugh  vs  to  scorne,"  and  "papists  and  players,  .  .  .  the 
scum  and  dregs  of  the  earth,"  "  mocke  such  as  help  to  build  up  the 
walls  of  Jerusalem."^  The  new-comers  were  welcomed  with  general 
thanksgiving.  For  the  first  time  the  settlement  began  to  extend  be- 
yond the  limits  of  Jamestown.  A  new  plantation,  sevent}^  miles  up  the 
river,  was  founded,  and  a  handsome  church  of  wood  was  erected  at  the 
start.  The  "  faii-framed  Parsonage  imjialed  for  Master  Whitaker,"  and 
the  "hundred  acres  called  Rocke  Hall,"  set  apart  for  the  future  support 
of  the  ministry  in  this  new  settlement,  are  referred  to  iu  the  story  of 
the  first  i)lanting  of  Henrico. 

Sir  Thomas  Dale,  under  whose  leadership  this  step  in  the  advance 
was  taken,  was  a  man  of  no  ordinary  character,  and  when,  on  the  return 
of  Gates  to  England,  the  sole  command  of  the  colony  devolved  upon 
him,  he  displayed  the  earnest,  patient,  pei'severing  Christian  devotion 
of  one  who  recognized  "in  whose  Vineyard"  he  labored,  "and  whose 
church  with  greedy  appetite"  he  desired  "to  erect."  In  a  letter  to  a 
friend,  still  extant,^  he  professes  that  the  end  of  his  exertions  was  "to 
build  God  a  church  ; "  and,  although  we  may  well  condemn  the  spirit 
and   letter  of  "  The   Laws  Diuine,  Morall  and  Martiall,"  which,  as 

'  From  "  A  Praicr  duly  said  Moniin^  anJ  Eveuiug  vpou  the  Court  of  Guard,"  appended  to 
"  The  Law3  Dininc,  Morall  and  Martiall." 
» Purchas,  iv.,  pp.  1768-1770. 


THE  FOUNDATIONS   OF   CHUECH  AND   STATE  IN  VIRGINIA.        59 

drawn  up  by  William  Strachey,  the  secretary  of  the  colony,  were 
transmitted  to  Dale  by  Sir  Thomas  Smith,  the  treasurer,  Ave  cannot 
doubt  that  even  this  code,  which  was  both  impolitic  and  inhuman,  was 
administered  by  the  "High  Marshall  of  Virginia"  with  as  much  mercy 
as  was  possible.  AVith  those  hiws,  so  far  as  they  are  "publique,"  or 
"martiall,"  we  need  not  concern  ourselves.  Stern  and  inhuman  as 
they  appear,  they  reflect  the  spirit  of  the  age,  and  their  approval  by 
Gates,  who  first  enjoined  them  on  his  arrival,  in  IGIO,  and  by  De  la 
Warr  and  Dale,  M'ill  surely  lead  one  to  infer  that  the  disorders  rife  in 
the  colony  required  a  rigorous  repression,  and  the  exercise  of  a  prompt 
and  sunmiary  severity.  This  remarkable  code  is  at  the  outset  imbued 
with  the  religious  temper  of  the  time,  and  begins  as  follows  :  "First, 
since  we  owe  our  highest  and  supi'cme  duty,  our  greatest,  and  all 
our  allegiance  to  Ilim,  from  whom  all  power  and  authoritie  is  derived, 
and  tlowes  as  from  the  first,  and  onely  fountaine,  and  being  especiall 
souldiers  emprest  in  this  sacred  cause,  we  must  alone  expect  our  suc- 
cessc  from  Him,  who  is  onely  the  blesscr  of  all  good  attempts,  the  King 
of  kings,  the  Commaunderof  commaunders,  and  Lord  of  hostes,  I  do 
strictly  commaund  and  charge  all  Captaines  and  Officers,  of  what 
qualitio  and  nature  soeuer,  whether  commaunders  in  the  field,  or  in 
townc  or  townes,  forts  or  fortresses,  to  haue  a  care  that  the  Almightie 
God  bee  duly  and  daily  serued,  and  that  they  call  vpon  their  people 
to  hearo  Sermons,  as  that  also  they  diligently  frequent  ftlorning  and 
Euening  praier  themselues,  by  their  owne  exemplar  and  daily  life  and 
dutic  herein  encouraging  others  thereunto,  and  that  such  who  shall 
often  and  wilfully  absent  themselues,  be  duly  punished  according  to  the 
martiall  law  in  that  case  prouided."  Among  the  oflenccs  punishable 
by  the  most  severe  penalties  were  speaking  "  impiously  or  maliciously 
against  the  Holy  and  blessed  Trinitie,  or  against  the  knowne  Articles  of 
the  Christian  Faith  ; "  the  utterance  of  blasphemy  or  "  unlawful  oathes ; " 
"the  derision  or  despite  of  God's  holy  word  ;  "  and  disrespect  "  unto  any 
Preacher  or  Minister."  It  was  strictly  enjoined  that  "euerio  man  and 
woman  duly  twice  a  day,  vpon  the  first  towling  of  the  Bell,  shall  vpon 
the  working  daies  repairo  vnto  the  Church  to  hear  diuine  service."  The 
LordV)  day  was  to  be  duly  sanctified  and  observed  by  individuals  and 
families  "by  preparing  themselves  at  home  with  private  prayer,  that  they 
may  be  the  better  fitted  for  the  publique ,  according  to  the  commimdments 
of  God  and  the  oi'dcrs  of  our  Church."  livery  one  was  required  to  "  re- 
pairo in  the  morning  to  the  diuine  seruice,  and  sermons  preached  vpon 
the  Saboth  day,  and  in  the  afternoon  to  diuine  service  and  catechising." 
It  was  ordered  that  "All  Preachers  or  JMinisters  within  this  our  Colonic 
or  Colonics,  shall  in  the  Forts,  where  they  are  resident,  after  diuiuo  Ser- 
uice, duly  preach  euery  Sabl)ath  day  in  the  forenoouc,  and  Catechize  in 
the  afternoonc,  and  weckcly  say  the  diuine  service  twice  euery  daj',  and 
preach  euery  Wednesda3^  likewise  euery  minister  where  he  is  resident 
within  the  same  Fort  or  Fortresse,  Townes  or  Towne,  shall  chuso  vnto 
him,  fourc  of  the  mo.st  religious  and  better  disposed  as  well  to  informe 
of  the  abuses  and  neglects  of  the  people  in  their  duties  and  seruice  to 
God,  as  also  to  the  due  reparation,  and  keeping  of  the  Church  handsome, 
and  fitted  with  all  reverent  obseruances  thereunto  belonging ;  likewise 


60  HISTORY   OF  THE  AMERICAK  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

euery  minister  shall  keepe  a  faithful  and  true  Record,  or  Church  Bookc, 
of  all  Christnings,  Marriages,  and  deaths  of  such  our  People  as  shall  hap- 
pen within  their  Fort  or  Fortresses,  Townes  or  Towne  at  any  time,  vpon 
the  burthen  of  a  ncglcctfull  conscience,  and  ^7:)on  paine  of  losing  their 
Entertainment."  Touching,  indeed,  Mas  the  prayer  appended  to  these 
Laws  and  appointed  to  be  "duly  said  Morning  and  Euening  vpon  the 
Court  of  Guard,  either  by  the  Captaiue  of  the  watch  himselfe,  or  by  some 
one  of  his  principall  officers."  "Words  such  as  these,  daily  on  the  lips  and 
in  the  hearts  of  the  settlers,  are  of  no  little  interest  in  determining  the 
plans  and  purposes  of  the  settlement.  "And  seeing  Thou  hast  honoured 
vs  to  choose  vs  out  to  beare  thy  name  vnto  the  Gentiles  ;  we  therefore  be- 
seech Thee  to  bless  vs,  and  this  our  plantation,  which  we  and  our  nation 
haue  begun  in  thy  fear  and  for  thy  glory  .  .  .  And  seeing,  Lord, 
the  highest  end  of  our  plantation  here  is  to  set  vp  the  standard  and 
display  the  banner  of  Jesus  Christ,  euen  hei'e  where  Satan's  throne  is, 
Lord,  let  our  labor  be  blessed  in  laboring  the  conversion  of  the  heathen. 
And  because  Thou  vsest  not  to  work  such  mighty  works  by  vnholy 
means,  Lord  sanctifie  our  spirits,  and  giue  vs  holy  harts,  that  so  we  may 
be  thy  instruments  in  this  most  glorious  work  .  .  .  And  seeing  by 
thy  motion  and  work  in  our  harts,  we  haue  left  our  warme  nests  at 
home,  and  put  our  Hues  into  our  hands,  principally  to  honour  thy  name, 
and  aduance  the  kingdome  of  thy  son,  Lord  giue  vs  leaue  to  commit 
our  lines  into  thy  hands  ;  let  thy  angels  be  about  vs,  and  let  vs  be  as 
Angels  of  God  sent  to  this  people  .  .  .  Lord  blesse  England  our 
sweete  natiue  country,  saue  it  from  Popery,  this  land  from  heathenisme, 
and  both  from  Atheisme.  And  Lord  heare  their  praiers  for  vs  and  vs 
for  them,  and  Christ  Jesus  our  glorious  Mediator  for  vs  all.    Amen."  ^ 

The  growth  of  the  colony  under  the  new  rigime  was  rapid  and 
healthy.  Its  leaders  were  men  of  singleness  of  purpose,  and  no  pains 
were  spared  to  encourage  industry,  to  extend  the  limits  of  the  planta- 
tions, and  to  provide,  as  we  learn  from  "The  New  Life  of  Virginia," 
published  in  1G12,  "for  the  honour  and  seruice  of  God,  for  daily 
frequenting  the  Church,  the  house  of  prayer,  at  the  tolling  of  the  bell, 
for  preaching,  catechizing,  and  the  religious  observation  of  the  Sabbath 
day,  for  due  reverence  to  the  Ministers  of  the  Word,  and  to  all  su- 
periours,  for  peace  and  love  among  themselves,  and  enforcing  the  idle 
to  paines  and  honest  laliour  ...  in  a  word,  against  all  wrongfuU 
dealing  amongst  themselves,  or  imperious  violence  against  the  Indians."^ 
The  assignment  of  lands  to  the  settlers  for  their  individual  use  and 
ownership  took  the  place  of  the  former  plan  of  cultivating  the  land  iu 
common,  and  good  order  and  abundance  were  the  result.  The  Indians 
were  no  longer  hostile,  and  the  strength  of  the  colony  Avas  such  that  it 
no  longer  feared  their  assaults.  In  the  quaint  language  of  the  writer 
of  "  The  New  Life  of  Virginia,"  "good  "  were  "  these  beginnings  where- 
in God  is  thus  before." 

It  was  at  this  epoch  in  Virginian  settlementthatthedevotedWhita- 
ker,  who  had  now  spent  nearly  two  years  in  the  New  World,  coutrib- 

'  This  "  Praier  "  is,  without  clouht,  the  compo'5ition  of  William  Crashaw,  several  of  its  phrases, 
as  well  as  much  of  its  arfrument,  being  found  ia  other  Avritings  of  his. 
»  Force's  "  Historical  Tracts,"  i.,  p.  13. 


THE  FOUNDATIONS  OF  CHURCH  AND   STATE  IN  VIRGINIA.        61 

uted  to  the  London  press,  then  teeming  with  tractates  on  colonization, 
a  thin  quarto,  entitled,  "Good  News  from  Virginia."  '  It  was  "  a  pithie 
and  godly  exhortation,"  as  Crashaw  st_yled  it,  coming  from  one  who 
"  diligently  preacheth  and  catcehizcth,"  })crforming  "  daily  and  diligent 
service,  acceptable  to  God,  and  comfortable  to  our  pcojilc."-  It  coun- 
selled self-sacritice  on  the  part  of  those  at  home,  to  relieve  "the  pooro 
estate  of  the  ignorant  inhaliitants  of  Virginia."  It  bespoke  compassion- 
ate efforts  in  behalf  of  the  "  poore  Indians,"  "  naked  slaves  of  the  devil." 
Simple,  straightforward,  homely  even  in  its  diction,  it  waxed  eloquent  in 
its  appeals  for  English  cooperation  in  the  good  work  undertaken  "  for 
the  glory  of  God,  whose  kingdom  j'ou  now  plant,  and  good  of  your 
countrcy,  whose  wealth  you  seeke."  "Awake,  you  true-hearted  Eng- 
lishmen ! "  is  the  impassioned  cry ;  "  you  servants  of  Jesus  Christ, 
remember  that  the  Plantation  is  God's,  and  the  reward  your  countrie's." 
"We  can  readily  understand  Crashaw's  testimony  to  the  zeal  and  ability 
of  the  mission  priests  of  the  Church  of  England  who  had  emigrated  to 
Virginia.  "We  see  to  our  comfort,  the  God  of  heaven  found  us  out, 
and  made  us  readie  to  our  hand,  able  and  fit  men  for  the  ministerial 
function  in  this  plantation,  all  of  them  Graduates,  allowed  preachers, 
single  men,  hauing  no  Pastorall  cures,  nor  charge  of  children  ;  aiyd,  as 
it  were,  every  way  lilted  for  that  worke.  And  because  God  would 
more  grace  this  businesse,  and  honor  his  owne  worke,  be  prouided  us 
such  men  as  wanted  neither  lining,  nor  libei'tie  of  preaching  at  home. 
.  .  Hereafter,  when  all  is  settled  in  peace  and  plentic,  what  marvell, 
if  many  and  greater  than  they  are  willing  to  goe  ?  But,  in  the  infaneie 
of  this  Plantation,  to  put  their  lines  into  their  hands,  and,  under  the 
assurance  of  so  many  dangers  and  difficulties,  to  deuote  themselues  unto 
it,  was  certainly  a  holy  and  heroicall  resolution,  and  proceeded  undoubt- 
edly from  the  blessed  spirit  of  Christ  Jesus,  who  '  for  this  cause  appeared 
that  he  might  dissolve  the  works  of  the  devill.'  And  though  Satan  visi- 
bly and  palpably  raignes  there  more  than  in  any  other  knowne  place  of  the 
■world,  yet  be  of  good  courage,  blessed  brethren,  'God  will  treade  Satan 
under  your  feet  shortly,'  and  the  ages  to  come  will  eternize  your  names 
as  the  Apostles  of  Virginia." 

Foremost  amongthese  "Apostlesof  Virginia,"  and  worthy  of  honor- 
able mention  and  lasting  remembrance  on  the  pages  of  the  missionary 
annals  of  the  Church  of  Christ,  was  Alexander  Whitaker,  to  whom  we  have 
already  referred.  It  was  by  him  that  Pocahontas,  the  child  of  romance  and 
song,  was  instructed  in  the  faith  of  Christ,  and  admitted  to  holy  baptism. 
Much  has  been  written  with  reference  to  this  Indian  maiden  whose  name 
is  inseparabl}'  connected  Avith  the  history  of  the  Virginia  Church  autl 
State.  There  is  little  doubt  but  that  the  extravagant  tales  which  find 
their  place  in  Smith's  "  General  Historie,"  and  many  of  Mhich  have  this 
simple  Indian  girl  for  their  heroine,  are  exaggerations  and  of  a  piece 
with  the  marvellous  stories  wliich,  Lite  in  life,  that  egotistical  writer 
tells  at  length  of  his  own  career  on  the  confines  of  Chiistcndom  in  the 
East;  but,  when  the  romance  has  all  been  eliminated,  enough  i-emains 
to  make  us  gi-ateful  to  God  for  the  conversion  of  this  gentle  Indian 

•  Published  in  1G13.  •  Crashuw's  "  Epistle  Dcdicatorie." 


62  HISTORY   OF  THE  AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL   CHUBCH. 

maiden,  and  her  subsequent  marriage  to  a  young  Englishman  of  family 
and  repute.  The  unsuspicious  girl  had  been  betrayed  by  some  of  her 
own  people  into  the  hands  of  Argall,  in  1612.  Detained,  witha  view  to 
secure  from  her  father  the  return  of  men  and  stores  M'hich  he  had  in 
possession,  Pocahontas  learned  to  love  her  captors,  and  in  time  an  even 
more  tender  passion  sprang  up  in  her  gentle  l)reast  for  "an  honest 
gentleman,  and  of  good  behaviour,"  named  John  Rolfe,  a  widower, 
M'hose  struggle  of  mind  in  reference  to  marrying  an  "unbelieving  creat- 
ure," "one  whose  education  hath  been  rude,  her  manners  barbarous, 
her  generation  accursed,  and  so  discrepant  in  all  nurture  "  from  him- 
self, is  quaintly  set  forth  in  his  own  inimitable  letter  to  Sir  Thomas 
Dale.'  Carefully  instructed  in  the  Christian  religion  by  order  of  the 
governor,  after  she  had  made  good  progress  therein,  Pocahontas  "re- 
nounced publickly  her  countrey  Idolatry,"  and  "  was  as  she  desired  bap- 
tised." Dale,  writing  to  a  London  clergyman  respecting  this  marriage, 
bears  testimony  to  the  worth  and  piety  of  the  new  convert  :  "  Slie  lines 
ciuilly  and  louingly  with  him,  and  I  trust  will  increase  in  goodnesse  as  the 
knowledge  of  God  increascth  in  her.  She  will  goe  into  England  with 
mee  ;  andwercitbut  thegainiugof  this  oncsoule,!  willthinke  mytime, 
toile,  and  present  stay  well  spent."  This  interesting  marriage  ceremony 
took  place, we  are  told  by  Ilamor,  "about  the  1st  of  April,  1G13,"  and  was 
solemnized  in  the  little  church  at  Jamestown,  an  uncle,  Opachisco,  and 
two  brothers  of  Pocahontas,  being  present.  The  1st  of  April  was  Maun- 
day  Thursda}',  and  there  can  be  little  doubt,  in  view  of  the  natural  re- 
pugnance to  marriages  in  Lent,  that  it  was  at  Easter-tide  when  this 
espousal  took  place.  April  4,  the  date  of  the  Easter  feast  in  1G13, 
may  well  be  held  in  remembrance,  for  in  this  union  the  future  of  the 
colony  was  assured.  In  161G  Pocahontas  accompanied  her  husband 
to  England,  in  the  train  of  Sir  Thomas  Dale,  meeting  with  a  gracious 
welcome,  and  tinding,  in  the  providenceof  God,  a  grave.  Purchas,  who 
grows  garrulous  in  her  praise,  tells  of  the  pomp  and  state  with  "which 
Dr.  King,  then  Bishop  of  London,  entertained  her:  "  l^eyoud  what  I 
have  ever  seen  in  his  great  hospitalitie  aiforded  to  other  ladies,"  and 
quaintly  adds,  "  At  her  return  towards  Virginia  she  came  to  Graues- 
end,  to  her  end  and  graue,  having  given  great  demonstration  of  her 
Christian  sincerity  as  the  first  fruits  of  Virginian  conuersions,  leaving 
here  a  godly  memory  and  the  hopes  of  her  resurrection,  her  soule  aspir- 
ing to  see  and  enjoy  presently  in  Heaven  what  here  shee  had  joyed  to 
heare  and  belceve  of  her  beloued  Saviour."  Modest,  dignified,  and 
gracious,  "  the  Lady  Pocahontas,"  as  she  was  called,  caiTied  herself  "  as 
the  daughter  of  a  king."  Present  at  a  representation  at  court  of  Ben 
Jonson's  Masque,  "Christmas,"  on  the  Feast  of  the  Epiphanj^ ;  referred 
to  by  the  same  great  dramatist  in  another  play,-  as  —  "the  blessed 

"  Pokahontas,  as  the  liistorian  calls  her, 
And  great  king's  daughter  of  Virginia ;  " 

and  courted  and  caressed  by  all  classes  and  conditions  of  men,  her 
brief  career  in  England  won  for  her  many  friends,  and  in  her  early 
death,  at  the  age  of  twenty-two,  there  was  the  consolation  that  an  in- 

'  Appended  to  ITamor's  "  Trac  Discourse."        '  The  "  Staple  of  News,"  first  played  in  1625. 


THE  FOUNDATIONS  OF   CHUPCH   AND   STATE  IN   VIRGINIA.        63 

fant  son  survived,  among  whose  descendants  many  of  the  highest  social 
ranlc  in  Virginia  have  been  proud  to  number  themselves.  It  was  for 
"  the  good  of  the  plantation,"  as  Rolfe  anticipated,  that  this  alliance 
resulted.  A  lasting  peace  with  the  aborigines  followed,  and  the  friends 
of  the  "holy  action"  of  Christianizing  and  civilizing  the  natives  of  the 
American  foi-ests,  whose  hopes  had  long  been  "  languishing  and  for- 
saken," took  heart  again.  The  "  pious  and  heroic  enterprise  "  of  bring- 
ing to  the  savages  the  knowledge  of  the  gospel  of  Christ  was  again  un- 
dertaken. The  seed  sown  was  at  length  beginning  to  take  I'oot,  and 
spring  up  with  the  promise  of  a  gracious  harvest. 


CRITICAL  ESSAY  ON  THE  SOURCES  OF  INFORMATION. 

"rpHE  earliest  book  of  American  literature,"  as  Professor  Tyler  '  reminds  us,  is 
J_  '^  A  Trite  Eclalion  of  such  occurrences  and  accidents  of  noale  as  hath 
hapned  in  Viryinia  since  the  first  planting  of  that  Collony,  which  is  now  resident 
in  the  South  part  thereof,  till  the  last  return  from  thence.  Written  by  Captaine 
Smith,  Coronell  of  the  said  Collony,  to  a  worship)full  friend  of  his  in  England, 
Loudon,  1008-''^  This  black-letter  tract,  written  on  the  spot  by  the  leading  spirit 
in  the  settlement,  and  covering  the  period  I'rom  the  arrival  of  the  colonists  at  Cape 
Heniy,  on  the  ■20th  of  April,  1G07,  to  the  return  of  Captain  Nelson  in  tlie  "Phoenix," 
on  the  2d  of  June,  1G08,  is  the  first  published  work  known  to  bibliograpliers  relat- 
ing to  the  Jamestown  colony.  The  original  edition  is  exceedingly  rare,  and  as  such 
its  title  is  included  in  I\Ir.  Payne  Collier's  "  Rarest  Books  in  the  English  Language," 
186.5.  Mr.  Collier  attributes  its  authoi-ship  to  Thomas  Watson,  whose  name  appears 
on  the  title-page  of  some  copies,  but  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt  tliat  it  was  written 
by  Smith,  to  whom  Pm\-has  assigns  its  composition.  The  work  is  made  accessible 
by  a  reprint  achuirably  edited  by  Charles  Dcane,  LL.n.,  Boston,  1850,  with  a  ful- 
ness and  accuracy  of  annotation  which  might  be  expected  from  so  competent  a  hand. 
We  cannot  better  indicate  the  contents  of  this  interesting  and  important  work  than 
by  citing  the  critical  resume  of  its  scope  and  style,  given  by  Professor  T^ier,  in  his 
"  History  of  American  Literature  "  :  — 

"Barely  hinting  at  the  length  and  tediousness  of  the  voyage,  the  author 
plunges,  with  epic  promptitude,  into  the  midst  of  the  action  by  describing  their 
arrival  in  Virginia,  their  first  ungentle  passages  with  the  Indians,  their  selection  of 
a  place  of  settlement,  their  first  civil  organization,  their  first  expedition  for  dis- 
covery toward  the  upper  waters  of  the  James  River,  the  first  formidable  Indian 
attack  upon  their  village,  and  the  first  return  for  England,  two  months  after  tlieir 
arrival,  of  the  ships  tliat  had  brought  them  to  Virginia.  Upon  the  departure  of 
these  ships,  bitter  quarrels  broke  out  among  the  colonists ;  '  things  were  neither  car- 
ried with  that  discretion  nor  any  business  effected  in  such  good  sort  as  wisdom 
would ;  .  .  .  through  which  disorder,  God  Ijeing  angry  with  us,  plagued  us 
with  such  famine  and  sickness  that  the  living  were  scarce  able  to  Ijury  the  dead. 
.  .  .  As  yet  we  had  no  houses  to  cover  us;  our  tents  wore  rotten,  and  our  cabins 
worse  than  naught.  .  .  .  The  president  and  Captain  Martin's  sickness  com- 
pelled me  ...  to  spare  no  pains  in  making  houses  for  the  company,  who,  not- 
withstanding our  miseiy,  little  ceased  their  malice,  grudging,  and  muttering  .  .  . 
being  in  such  despair  as  they  would  ratlier  starve  and  rot  with  itUeness  than  be 
persuaded  to  do  anything  for  their  own  relief  without  constraint.'  But  the  enci'getio 
captain  had  an  eager  passion  for  making  tours  of  exiiloration  along  the  coast  and 
up  the  river;  and  after  telling  how  he  procured  corn  from  the  Indians  and  thus 
supplied  the  instant  necessities  of  the  starving  colonists,  he  proceeds  to  relate  the 
history  of  a  tour  of  discovery  made  by  him  up  the  Chickahominy,  on  which  tour 
happened  the  famous  injident  of  his  falling  into  captivity  among  the  Indians.    The 

'  A  nistory  of  American  Literature.    By  Moses  Coit  Tyler,   i.,  p.  21. 


64  HISTORY  OF   THE  AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHUEOH. 

reader  will  not  fiiil  to  notice  that  in  this  earlier  book  of  his,  written  before  Powha- 
tan's daughter,  the  Princess  Pocahontas,  had  become  celebrated  in  England,  and 
before  Captain  Smith  had  that  enticing  motive  for  representing  himself  as  specially 
favored  by  her,  he  speaks  of  Powhatan  as  full  of  friendliness  to  him ;  he  expressly 
states  that  his  own  life  was  in  no  danger  at  the  hands  of  that  Indian  potentate ;  and, 
of  course,  he  has  no  situation  on  which  to  hang  Ihe  romantic  incident  of  his  I'cscue 
by  Pocahontas  from  impendin^^  death.  Having  ascended  the  Chickahominy  for 
about  sixty  miles,  he  took  with  him  a  single  Indian  guide,  and  pushed  into  the 
woods.  Within  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  he  '  heard  a  loud  cry  and  a  hallooing  of 
Indians';  and  almost  immediately  he  was  assaulted  by  two  hundred  of  them,  led 
by  Opeohancanough,  an  under-king  to  the  Emperor  Powhatan.  The  valiant  captain, 
in  a  contest  so  unequal,  was  certainly  entitled  to  a  shield;  and  this  he  rather  un- 
generously extemporized  by  seizing  his  Indian  guide,  and  with  his  garters  binding 
the  Indian's  arm  to  his  own  hanck  thus,  as  he  coolly  expresses  it,  making  '  my 
hind '  '  my  barricade.'  As  the  Indians  still  pressed  towards  him.  Captain  Smith 
discharged  his  pistol,  which  woimdcd  some  of  his  assailants,  and  taught  them  all 
a  wholesome  respect  by  the  terror  of  its  sound;  then,  after  much  parley,  he  sur- 
rendered to  them,  and  was  carried  off  pi'isoncr  to  a  place  about  six  miles  distant. 
There  he  expected  to  be  at  once  put  to  death,  but  was  agreeably  surprised  by  being 
treated  with  the  utmost  kindness.  For  sui)j)er  that  night  they  gave  him  '  a  quarter 
of  venison  and  some  ten  pound  of  bread,'  and  each  morning  thereafter  three  women 
presented  him  with  '  three  great  platters  of  line  bread,'  and  '  more  venison  than  ten 
men  could  devour.'  '  Though  eight  ordinarily  guarded  me,  I  wanted  not  what  they 
could  devise  to  content  me  ;  and  still  our  larger  acquaintance  increased  our  better 
aU'ection.'  After  many  days  spent  in  travelling  hither  and  yon  with  his  captors,  he 
was  at  last,  by  his  own  request,  delivered  up  to  Powhatan,  the  over-lord  of  all  that 
region.  He  gives  a  picturesque  description  of  the  barbaric  state  in  which  he  was 
received  by  this  potent  chieftain,  whom  he  found  '  proudly  lying  upon  a  bedstead  a 
foot  high,  upon  ten  or  twelve  mats,'  the  emperor  himself  being  '  richly  hung 
with  many  chains  of  great  pearls  about  his  neck,  and  covered  with  a  great  covering 
of  raccoon  skins.  At  his  head  sat  a  woman  ;  at  liis  feet,  another ;  on  each  side,  sit- 
ting upon  a  mat  upon  the  ground,  were  ranged  his  chief  men  on  each  side  the  fire, 
ten  in  a  rank ;  and  behind  them,  as  many  young  women,  each  agi'eat  chain  of  white 
beads  over  their  shoulders,  their  heads  painted  in  red ;  and  with  such  a  grave  and 
majestical  countenance  as  drave  me  into  admii'ation  to  see  such  state  in  a  naked 
salvage.  He  kindly  welcomed  mo  with  good  words,  and  great  platters  of  sundry 
victuals,  assuring  me  his  friendship  and  my  liberty  within  four  days.'  Thus  day  by 
day  passed  in  pleasant  discourse,  with  his  imperial  host,  who  asked  him  about  '  the 
manner  of  our  ships,  and  sailing  upon  the  seas,  the  earth  and  skies,  and  of  our  God ; ' 
and  who  feasted  him,  not  only  with  continual  '  platters  of  sundiy  victuals,'  but  with 
glowing  descriptions  of  his  own  vast  dominions,  stretching  away  beyond  the  river 
and  the  mountains  to  the  land  of  the  setting  sun.  '  Seeing  what  pride  he  had  in  his 
great  and  spacious  dumiuions,  ...  I  requited  his  discourse  in  describing  to 
him  the  territories  of  Europe  which  was  subject  to  our  great  king,  .  .  .  the 
innumerable  multitude  of  liis  ships.  .  .  .  Thus  having  with  all  the  kindness 
he  could  devise  sought  to  content  me,  he  sent  me  home  with  four  men,  one  that 
usually  carried  my  gown  and  knapsack  after  me,  two  others  loaded  with  bread,  and 
one  to  accompany  me.'  The  author  then  gives  a  description  of  his  journey  back  to 
Jamestown,  where  '  each  man,  with  ti'uest  signs  of  joj-,'  welcomed  him;  of  his 
second  visit  to  Powhatan ;  of  various  encounters  with  hostile  and  thievish  Indians ; 
and  of  the  arrival  from  England  of  t^aptain  Nelson  in  the  Phosnix,  April  the 
twentieth,  1G08,  an  event  which  '  did  ravish  '  them  '  with  exceeding  joy.'  Late  in  the 
narrative  he  makes  his  lirst  reference  to  Pocahontas,  whom  he  speaks  of  as  '  a  child 
of  ten  years  old,  which  not  only  for  feature,  countenance  and  ])roportion  much  cx- 
ceedeth  any  of  the  rest  of  his  people,  but  for  wit  and  spirit  the  only  nonpareil  of 
his  country.'  After  mentioning  some  further  dealings  with  the  Indians,  he  con- 
cludes the  book  with  an  account  of  the  jireparations  for  the  return  to  England  of 
Captain  Nelson  and  his  shij) ;  and  describes  those  remaining  as  '  being  in  good  health, 
all  our  men  well  contented,  free  from  mutinies,  in  love  with  one  another,  and  as  we 
hope  in  a  continual  ]ieace  with  the  Indians,  where  we  doubt  not,  by  God's  gracious 
assistance,  and  the  adventurers'  willing  minds,  and  speedy  furtherance  to  so  honor- 
able an  action,  in  after  times  to  see  our  nation  to  enjoy  a  country,  not  only  exceed- 
ing pleasant  for  habitation,  but  also  very  profitable  for  commerce  in  general,  no 


THE   FOUNDATIONS   OF   CHURCH   AND    STATE   IN   VIRGINIA.         65 

doubt  pleasing  to  Almighty  God,  honorable  to  our  gi-acious  sovereign,  and  comuio- 
dious  generally  to  the  whole  kingdom.' 

"  Thus,  with  words  of  happy  onion,  ends  the  first  book  in  American  literature. 
It  is  a  book  that  was  written,  not  in  lettered  ease,  nor  in  '  the  still  air  of  delightful 
studies,'  but  under  a  rotten  tent  in  the  wilderness,  perhaps  by  the  flickering  bhize 
of  a  pine-knot,  in  the  midst  of  tree-stumps  and  the  filth  and  clamor  of  a  pioneer's 
camp,  and  within  the  fragile  palisades  which  alone  shielded  the  little  band  of 
colonists  from  the  cver-hovcring  peril  of  an  Indian  massacre.  It  was  not  composed 
as  a  literary  efi'ort.  It  was  meant  to  be  merely  a  budget  of  inlbrmatiou  for  the 
Loudon  stockholders  of  the  Virginia  Company.  Hastily,  apparently  without  revi- 
sion, it  was  wrought  vehemently  by  the  rough  hand  of  a  soldier  and  an  explorer, 
in  the  pauses  of  a  toil  that  was  both  fatiguing  and  dangerous,  and  while  the  inci- 
dents which  he  records  were  clinging  in  his  memory.  Probably  ho  thought  little  of 
any  rules  of  literary  art  as  ho  wrote  this  book ;  probably  he  did  not  think  of  writing 
a  book  at  all.  Out  of  the  abundance  of  his  materials,  glowing  with  pride  over 
what  he  had  done  in  the  great  enterprise,  eager  to  inspire  the  home-keeping  patrons 
of  the  colony  witli  his  own  resolute  cheer,  and  accustomed  for  years  to  portray  in 
pithy  English  the  adventures  of  which  his  life  was  fated  to  be  full,  the  bluff 
captain  just  stabbed  his  paper  with  inken  words ;  he  composed,  not  a  book,  but  a 
big  letter;  he  folded  it  up,  and  tossed  it  upon  the  deck  of  Captain  Nelson's  depart- 
ing ship.  But  though  he  may  have  had  no  expectation  of  doing  such  a  thing,  he 
wi'ote  a  book  that  is  not  imworthy  to  be  the  beginning  of  the  new  English  literature 
in  America.  It  has  faults  enough  \vithout  doubt.  Had  it  not  these,  it  would  have 
been  too  good  for  the  place  it  occupies.  The  composition  was  extemporaneous ; 
there  appears  in  it  some  chronic  misunderstanding  between  the  nominatives  and 
their  verbs ;  now  and  then  the  words  and  clauses  of  a  sentence  are  jumbled  together 
in  blinding  heaps  ;  but,  in  spite  of  all  its  crudities,  here  is  racy  English,  pure  Eng- 
lish, the  sinew}' ,  pictm'esque,  and  throbbing  diction  of  the  navigators  and  soldiers 
of  the  Elizabethan  time."  —  I.,  pp.  25-27. 

Witli  this  as  the  initial  volume  of  the  printed  accounts  of  the  Jamestown  settle- 
ment, the  story  was  continued  in  "Purchas  His  Pilgrimes,"iv.,  pp.  1085-1600,  jjub- 
lished  in  1625,  under  the  title  "  Observations  gathered  out  of  a  Discourse  of  the  Plan- 
tations of  the  Southerne  Colonie  in  Virginia  by  the  English,  160G,  written  by  that 
Honorable  Gentleman  Master  George  Percy."  As  printed  in  Purchas,  this  is  a  meagre 
abridgment  of  the  original  narrative,  which  has  not  been  preserved.  Athird  account 
of  the  beginnings  of  this  colony  is  entitled  "  Newport's  Discoveries  in  Virginia,"  and 
was  printed  for  the  first  time  from  copies  of  originals  in  the  English  State  Paper 
Office,  edited  by  the  Rev.  Edward  Everett  Hale,  D.D.,  in  "  Ai'chasologia  Ameri- 
cana," IV.,  pp.  40-65.  The  same  volume  contains,  pji.  67-1G3  :  "A  Discourse  of  Vir- 
ginia," by  Edward-Maria  Wingfleld,  the  first  president  of  the  colony.  TIk!  dis- 
covery of  this  interesting  and  important  manuscript  is  due  to  the  Rev.  James  S.  M. 
Anderson,  M.A.,  Preacher  of  Lincoln's  Inn,  the  accomplished  and  accurate  author 
of  "The  History  of  the  Church  of  England  iu  the  Colonies  and  Foreign  Dependen- 
cies of  the  British  Empire."  Found  among  the  MSS.,  in  Lambeth  Library,  by  tliis 
painstaking  annalist  of  the  C^uuvli  in  America,  it  was  referred  to  in  the  first  volume 
of  his  "  History,"  and,  thus  attracting  the  attention  of  American  scholars,  was  pub- 
lished from  a  copy  made  by  the  permission  of  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  under 
the  editorship  of  Charles  Deane,  LL.D.  Another  contemjsorancous  accoimt  is  "  A 
Relation  of  Virginia,"  written  by  Henry  Spelman,  "  the  third  sou  of  the  Anti- 
quary." Spelman  came  to  Virginia  as  a  boy  in  1609,  lived  for  some  time  in  cap- 
tivity among  the  Indians,  became  an  interpreter  for  the  colony,  and  was  killed  by 
the  savages  in  1622  or  1623.  The  "  Relation  "  was  privately  printed  at  the  Chis- 
wick  press,  in  1872,  at  London,  for  J.  F.  Himnewell,  of  Charlestown,  Mass.,  from 
the  original  MS.,  at  one  time  the  property  of  Dawson  Turner. 

For  further  bibliographical  notices  of  the  early-printed  works,  illustrative  of 
this  period  of  our  civil  and  ecclesiastical  annals,  as  ^vell  as  those  later  issues  con- 
taining the  story  of  Virginia  to  our  own  days,  vide  "  The- Narrative  and  Critical 
History  of  America,"  m.,  pp.  155-166. 


CHAPTER    V. 

THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  HENRICO,  AND  EFFORTS  FOR  THE  CON- 
VERSION  AND    CIVILIZATION    OF   THE   SAVAGES. 

THE  strict,  but  upright,  administration  of  Dale  was  succeeded  by 
that  of  Argall  as  deputy  governor,  whose  avarice,  tyranny,  and 
obstinate  self-will  rendered  life  insecure,  and  made  property  sub- 
ject to  a  rapacity  which  failed  to  discriminate  between  the  possessions  of 
the  unhappy  settlers  whom  he  ruled,  and  those  of  the  company  he  pro- 
fessed to  serve.  At  length,  after  a  bitter  struggle,  the  rule  of  Sir 
Thomas  Smith,  for  twelve  years  treasurer  of  the  company  in  London, 
was  overthrown,  and,  in  the  strife  of  rival  and  antagonistic  factions, 
the  influence  and  character  of  Sir  Edwin  Sandys  prevailed.  Argall 
was  displaced,  and  the  government  was  intrusted  to  the  popular, 
though  inefficient,  Yeardley.  The  new  governor  arrived  in  Api'il,  1619. 
Scarce  one  in  twenty  of  the  emigrants,  sent  over  at  so  great  a  cost, 
was  still  alive.  In  Jamestown  there  remained  "  only  those  houses  that 
Sir  Thomas  Gates  built  in  the  tyme  of  his  government,  with  one  wherein 
the  goveroourallwayes  dwelt,  and  a  church,  built  of  timber,  being  fifty 
foote  in  length  and  twenty  in  breadth."  At  Henrico  there  were  only 
"three  old  houses,  a  poor  ruinated  Church,  with  some  poore  buildings 
in  the  islande."  "  For  ministers  to  instruct  the  people  only  three  were 
authorized  ;  two  others  had  never  received  their  orders."  One  of  these 
was,  as  we  learn  from  other  sources,  Mr.  Richard  Bucke,  minister  at 
Jamestown,  "averie  good  preacher."  Mr.  Alexander  AVhitaker,  "a 
good  diuine,"  who  had  had  "the  ministerial  charge  "  at  Bermuda  Hun- 
dred, had  been  drowned  early  in  1617.  Mr.  Glover  had  died  long 
before.  Mr.  William  Mease,  the  first  minister  at  Hampton,  had  been  in 
the  colony  since  1611.  Mr.  George  Keith  had  arrived  in  the  "George" 
in  1617,  and  was  at  Elizabeth  City.'  Mr.  William  Wickham,  "  minis- 
ter "  at  Henrico,  "  who  in  his  life  and  doctrine  "  gave  "  good  examples 
and  godly  instructions  to  the  people," and  Mr.  Samuel  Macock,  "a  Cam- 
bridge scholar,"  appear  to  have  had  only  deacon's  orders.  Wickham 
had  served  as  curate  to  the  apostolic  Whitaker,  and  succeeded  him. 
Mr.  Thomas  Bargi-ave,  who  came  over,  in  1618,  with  his  uncle,  Captam 
John  Bargrave,  and  was  also  the  nephew  of  the  Dean  of  Canterbury. 
Dr.  Bargrave  probably  succeeded  Wickham  at  Henrico,  and  Whita- 
ker at  Bermuda  Hundred.  He  died  in  1621,  leaving  his  library, 
valued  at  one  hundred  marks,  or  seventy  pounds  sterling,  to  the  col- 
lege at  Henrico,  thus  anticipating  the  act  of  the  young  Puritan  min- 

1  Neill,  in  his  "  History  of  the  Virginia  Com-  latter  does  not  appear  to  have  come  over  before 
pany  of  London,"  frives  the  names  of  the  three  1G18,  while  Keith,  according  to  Neill's  "  Virfjinia 
clerg-ymen  as  13uckc,  Mi-asc,  and  Bai-gj'ave ;  but  the    Colonial  Clergy,"  p.  17,  arrived  the  year  before. 


EFFORTS  FOR  THE  CONVERSION  OF  THE  SAVAGES.      67 

ister  of  Charlestown,  Massachusetts,  who,  a  few  years  later,  left  his 
loved  books  to  the  struggling  college  at  Cambridge,  and  by  that  act 
gained  a  name  and  remembrance  wherever  "  Harvard "  College  is 
known.  Would  that  "Henrico  "  had  been  as  long-lived  in  its  educa- 
tional cai'eer,  and  that  Bargrave's  gift  had  won  for  him  a  like  immor- 
tality ! 

"From  the  moment  of  Yeardley's  arrival  dates  the  real  life  of 
Virginia,"'  says  the  historian  Bancroft.*  He  brought  with  him,  not 
only  the  authority,  but  the  instructions,  "for  the  better  establishment 
of  a  commonwealth"  in  Virginia.  By  proclamation  he  announced  the 
abrogation  of  "those  cruel!  lawes"  by  which  the  colony  "had  soo 
longe  been  governed."  He  secured  to  the  oppressed  settlers  the  I'cs- 
toration  of  their  rights  as  Englishmen.  With  a  view  "that  they  might 
have  a  hande  in  the  gouveruing  of  themselves,"  the  holding  of  a 
general  assembly  was  provided  for,  comprising  the  governor  and 
council,  "with  two  Burgesses  from  each  Plantation  freely  to  be  elected 
by  the  Inhabitants  thereof."  The  assembly  was  empowered  "to  make 
and  ordaine  whatsoever  lawes  and  orders  should  by  them  be  thought 
good  and  profitable." 

In  conformity  with  these  iustructi(;us,  and  in  accordance  with  the 
new  policy  thus  inaugurated  by  the  company  at  home.  Sir  George 
Yeardley  "  sent  his  summons  all  over  the  country,  as  well  to  invite 
those  of  the  Councell  of  Estate  that  were  absente,  as  also  for  the 
election  of  Burgesses,"  and  on  Friday,  July  30,  1619,  the  first  elective 
body  convened  upon  this  continent  met  in  "  the  Quire  of  the  Churche  " 
at  James  City.^  The  records  of  this  initial  legislative  meeting  have 
been  preserved,  and  their  quaint  details  bring  vividly  before  the  mind 
the  scene  witnessed  on  that  midsummer  day  in  Jamestown,  so  fraught 
with  blessings  for  the  ill-starred  colony.  The  governor  is  seated  "  in 
his  accustomed  place."  The  councillors  are  ranged  on  either  side.  The 
speaker  sits  before  the  governor,  with  the  clerk  on  the  one  side,  and 
the  sergeant-at-arms  "standing  at  the  baiTe,  ready  for  any  service  the 
Assembly  should  command."  "But,"  proceeds  the  record,  "for  as 
muche  as  men's  afiaires  doe  little  prosper  when  God's  service  is  neg- 
lected, all  the  Burgesses  tooke  their  places  in  the  Quire  till  a  prayer 
was  said  by  Mr.  Bucke,  the  Minister,  that  it  M^ould  please  God  to 
guide  and  sanctifie  all  our  Proceedings  to  his  owne  glory  aud  the 
good  of  this  Plantation."  "Prayer  being  ended  "the  Burgesses-elect 
retired  into  the  body  of  the  church,  from  whence  "they  were  called 
in  order  and  by  name  "  to  take  the  oath  of  supremacy,  and  thus  "  en- 
tered the  Assembly." 

Among  the  earliest  measures  which  received  the  consideration  of 
this  body  were  provisions  that  the  company  at  home  should  take  care 
that  the  ministers'  glebes  should  be  cultivated,  and  that  the  company 
should  send  "  workmen  of  all  sortes  "  for  the  "  erecting  of  the  Univer- 
sity and  College."  The  first  enactment  of  this  assembly  was  for  the 
protection  of  the  Indians  from  "injury  or  oppression."  Idleness  and 
gaming  were  made  punishable  offences.     The  minister  was  to  reprove 

'Historv  of  the  United  States,  I.,  p.  153. 

-  Colouial  Records  of  Virginia.     Richmond,  1874. 


68  HISTORY   OF    THE   AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

drunkards,  at  first  privately,  and  then  "  in  the  church,"  publicly.  To 
restrain  immoderate  excess  in  dress  it  was  provided  that  the  rate  for 
public  contributions  was  to  be  assessed  in  the  church,  on  the  apparel 
of  the  men  and  women.  Restrictions  were  placed  upon  the  indiscrimi- 
nate commingling  of  the  savages  with  the  settlers ;  but,  at  the  same 
time,  a  special  enactment  provided  for  the  education  and  Christianiz- 
ing of  the  children  of  the  natives :  "  Be  it  enacted  hj  this  present 
Assembly  that  for  laying  a  surer  foundation  of  the  conversion  of  the 
Indians  to  Christian  religion,  cache  towne,  citty.  Borough,  and  particu- 
lar plantation  do  obtainc  unto  themselves,  by  just  means,  a  certaine 
number  of  the  natives'  children  to  be  educated  l)y  them  in  true  relig- 
ion and  civile  course  of  life  —  of  w"^''  children  the  most  towardly  boyes 
in  witt  and  graces  of  nature  to  be  brought  up  by  them  in  the  first 
elements  of  litterature,  so  to  be  fitted  for  the  Colledge  intended  for 
them,  that  from  thence  they  may  be  sente  to  that  work  of  conversion."  ^ 
It  was  further  enacted  that  "  All  ministers  shall  duely  read  di- 
vine service,  and  exercise  their  ministerial  function  according  to  the 
Ecclesiastical  lawes  and  orders  of  the  Churche  of  England,  and  every 
Sunday  in  the  afternoon  shall  catechize  such  as  are  not  ripe  to  come 
to  the  Communion.  And  whosoever  of  them  shall  be  found  negligent 
or  faulty  in  this  kinde  shall  be  subjectto  the  censure  of  the  Govern''  and 
Counsell  of  Estate."  "  Ungodly  disorders  "  were  to  be  "presented  "  by 
the  minister  and  church-wardens.  Persistence  in  open  sin  was  to  be 
punished  by  excommunication,  arrest,  and  seizure  of  property :  "  Pro- 
vided alwayes,  that  all  the  ministers  doe  meet  once  a  quarter,  namely,  at 
the  feast  of  St.  Michael  the  Arkangell,  of  the  Nativity  of  our  Saviour,  of 
the  Annunciation  of  the  blessed  Virgine,  and  about  midsummer,  at 
James  citty,  or  any  other  place  where  the  Governo''  shall  reside,  to  de- 
termine whom  it  is  fit  to  excommunicate,  and  that  they  first  presente 
their  opinion  to  the  Governo"'  ere  they  proceed  to  the  acte  of  excom- 
munication." For  swearing,  after  "thrise  admonition,"  a  fine  of  five 
shillings  was  imposed  on  freemen,  while  servants  were  to  be  whipped  and 
were  required  to  make  public  acknowledgment  of  the  fault  in  church. 
It  was  enacted  that  "  all  persons  whatsoever  upon  the  Sabbath  days 
shall  frequente  divine  service  and  sermons,  both  forenoon  and  after- 
noon, and  all  such  as  beare  armes  shall  bring  their  pieces,  swordes, 
poulder  and  shotte."  The  "  Great  Charter  of  lawes,  orders  and  privi- 
ledges  "  granted  by  the  company  at  home  was  accepted  by  the  "  general 
assent  and  the  applause  of  the  whole  assembly,"  professing  themselves 
"  in  the  first  place  most  submissively  thankful  to  Almighty  God  "  for 
"so  many  priviledges  and  favours." 

Full  of  interest  are  the  records  of  this  first  elective  legislative  body 
that  ever  convened  on  the  continent ;  meeting,  as  it  did.  in  the  little 
church  of  the  first  settlers,  with  its  jiroceedings  Ijegun  with  prayer  by  the 
church's  minister,  and  providing  for  the  preaching  of  the  Word,  and 
the  administration  of  the  sacraments,  according  to  the  church's  usages 
and  laws,  more  than  a  year  before  the  "  Mayflower,"  with  its  company 
of  Leyden  Separatists,  left  the  harbor  of  Southampton  to  found  upon 
the  bleak  shores  of  New  England  the  Puritan  theocracy. 

*  Colonial  Records  of  Virj^iuia,  p.  21. 


EFFORTS  FOR  THE  CONVERSION  OF  THE  SAVAGES.      69 

In  a  plantation  avowedly  settled  "  for  the  glorie  of  God  in  the 
propagation  of  the  Gospell  of  Christ,"  and  for  "  the  conversion  of  the 
savages,"'  there  could  not  fail  to  be,  from  the  tirst,  the  wish  and  pur- 
pose for  the  provision  of  some  institution  where  the  higher  learning 
then  deemed  indispensable  for  the  exercise  of  the  ministry,  could  be 
obtained  without  recourse  to  the  universities  of  the  mother-land,  three 
thousand  miles  away.  The  Church  whose  "  fonn  of  sound  words " 
was  first  heai-d  on  our  American  shores,  conveying  to  heaven  the 
devotions  of  men  of  English  speech  and  lineage,  was  foremost  in  the 
effort  to  meet  this  acknowledged  want.  In  this  attempt  to  lay  the 
foundations  of  an  educational  system,  by  the  provision  of  a  public 
school  and  college,  the  cooperation  of  the  colonists  themselves  was 
secured  at  the  very  outset.  To  that  remarkable  assembly  in  the  choir 
of  the  church  at  Jamestown,  on  Friday,  July  30,  1619,  and  from  which, 
rather  than  to  the  cabin  and  "  compact"  of  the  "Mayflower,"  we  may 
date  the  foundation  of  our  popular  government,  we  must  look  for  the 
inauguration  of  efforts  for  popular  and  the  higher  education.  It  was  in 
the  course  of  its  proceedings  that  measures  were  taken  "  towards  the 
erecting  of  the  University  and  Colledge,"  as  well  as  for  the  education 
of  Indian  children,  for  whom,  as  well  as  for  the  sous  of  the  settlers, 
these  seminaries  of  leai-ning  were  designed.  All  this  was  in  accordance 
with  the  will  and  purpose  of  the  Council  of  Virginia  in  England,  to 
which  was  intrusted  the  rule  of  the  infant  commonwealth.  The  govern- 
ment of  the  colony  by  Sir  Thomas  Smith,  the  treasurer  of  the  Virginia 
Company,  under  which  the  settlers  had  languished  for  twelve  hopeless 
years,  was  scarcely  over,  when,  at  the  incoming  of  Sir  George  Yeardley 
as  governor,  orders  were  given  for  the  establishment  of  a  university 
in  the  colony,  with  a  college  for  the  instruction  of  the  Indian  youth. 
In  letters  from  the  council,  previous  to  the  accession  of  the  new 
governor,  reference  is  made  to  this  design ;  but  we  must  date  the 
beginning  of  active  measures  for  its  accomplishment  to  the  accession 
of  the  excellent  Sir  Edwin  Sandys  to  the  treasurership  of  the  com- 
pany. Soon  after  the  return  of  Sir  Thomas  Dale,  a  "King's  letter," 
addressed  to  the  archbishops,  had  authorized  four  collections  to  be  made 
within  the  two  following  years,  in  tlie  several  dioceses  of  the  two 
provinces  of  Canterbury  and  York,  to  enable  the  company  to  erect 
"  churches  and  schooles  for  y"  education  of  y"  children  of  the  Barba- 
rians." This  paper,  which  we  give  in  full,  in  view  of  its  interest  and 
importance,  both  in  an  educational  and  religious  point  of  view,  was 
addressed  to  the  Archbishops  of  Canterbury  and  York  :  — 

"Most  Reverend  Father  in  God,  right  trustie  and  well  beloved  counsellor, 
wee  gi-eete  you  well.  You  have  heard  ere  this  time,  of  y  attempt  of  diverse 
worthie  men,  our  subjects,  to  plant  in  Virginia  (under  y^'  wan'ant  of  our  L™ 
patents).  People  of  this  Kingdome,  as  well  for  y°  enhirging  of  our  Dominions,  as 
for  proparation  of  y=  Gospel  amongst  Infldells :  wherein  there  is  good  progresse 
made,  and  hope  of  further  increase:  so  as  tlie  undertakers  of  that  Plantation  are 
now  in  hand  with  the  erecting  of  some  Churches  and  Schooles  for  y=  education  of 
y  children  of  those  Barbarians,  w'^'^  cannot  but  be  to  them  a  very  great  charge, 
and  above  the  expence  w°''  for  civill  plantation  doth  come  to  them.    In  w"''  wee 

'  Fide  "A  Biief  Declaration  of  the  Plunfatiou  of  Virginia,"  etc.,  in  the  "Colonial  Records 
of  Virginia,"  p.  69. 


70  HISTORY   OF   THE   AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

doubt  not  but  that  you  and  all  others  who  wish  well  to  the  encrease  of  Christian 
Religion  will  be  willing  to  give  all  assistance  and  furtherance  you  may,  and  there- 
in to^make  experience  of  the  zeale  and  devotion  of  our  well-minded  subjects,  espe- 
cially those  of  y*  Clergie.  Wherefore  wee  doe  require  you,  and  hereby  authorize 
you  to  write  y"  Letters  to  ye  severall  Bishops  of  y"  Dioceses  in  yw  Province,  that 
they  doe  give  order  to  the  iMinisters,  and  other  zealous  men  of  their  Dioceses,  both 
by  their  own  example  in  contribution  and  by  exhortation  to  others,  to  move  our 
people  w">in  their  several  charges  to  contribute  to  so  good  a  worke  in  as  liberall 
a  manner  as  they  may,  for  the  better  advancing  whereof  our  pleasure  is  that  those 
collections  be  made  in  all  the  particular  Parishes  four  seuorall  times  wthin  these 
two  years  next  coming:  and  that  the  seuerall  accounts  of  each  parish,  together 
wth  the  moneys  collected,  be  retourned  from  time  to  time  to  y"  Bishops  of  y« 
Dioceses,  and  by  them  be  transmitted  half  yearly  to  you ;  and  so  to  be  deliuered  to 
the  Treasurer  of  that  Plantation,  to  be  employed  for  the  Godly  purposes  intended, 
and  no  other." ' 

In  response  to  this  appeal,  said  to  be  the  first  instance  of  the 
issuing  of  a  "brief  "  in  England  for  any  charitable  purpose  connected 
with  her  foreign  possessions,  nearly  £1,500  was  received,  and  on  the 
18th  of  November,  1618,  the  company  in  England  gave  these  in- 
structions to  Yeardley,  and  placed  them  in  full  upon  their  records  :  — 

"  Whereas,  by  a  special  grant  and  license  from  His  Majesty,  a 
general  contribution  over  this  Realm  hath  been  made  for  the  building 
and  planting  of  a  college  for  the  training  up  of  the  children  of  those 
Infidels  in  true  Eeligion,  moral  virtue,  and  civility,  and  for  other  god- 
lyness,  We  do  therefore,  according  to  a  former  Grant  and  order, 
hereby  ratefie,  confirm,  and  ordain  that  a  convenient  place  be  chosen 
and  set  out  for  the  planting  of  a  university  at  the  said  Henrico  in  time 
to  come,  and  that  in  the  mean  time  preparation  be  there  made  for  the 
building  of  the  said  College  for  the  Children  of  the  Infidels,  according 
to  such  instructions  as  we  shall  deliver.  And  we  will  and  ordain  that 
ten  thousand  acres,  partly  of  the  land  they  impaled,  and  partly  of  the 
land  within  the  territory  of  the  said  Henrico,  be  alotted  and  set  out  for 
the  endowing  of  the  said  University  and  College  with  convenient  pos- 

ions."  ® 

Shortly  after  the  preparation  of  these  instructions  to  the  newly 
appointed  governor,  the  charge  of  the  college  was  offered  to  the  Eev. 
Thomas  Lorkin,  a  ripe  scholar,  later  distinguished  as  the  secretary  of 
the  English  Embassy  in  France,  who  was  promised  "  £200  a  year  and 
better ; "'  but  Lorkin  did  not  accept  the  tempting  ofler.  On  the  26th  of 
May,  1619,  within  a  month  after  the  election  of  Sir  Edwin  Sandys 
as  treasurer,  and  Mr.  John  Ferrar  as  deputy,  the  attention  of  the 
court  was  called  by  the  treasurer  to  the  fact  that  "£1,500,  or  there- 
abouts"  had    been   contributed   under   the    king's  letters,  "to  erect 

'Anderson's  "Col.  Ch.,"  i.,  pp.  255,  256.  within  three  or  four  days  a  condition  of  going 
Vide,  also,  Stith's  "  Hist,  of  Va.,"  p.  162,  who  re-  over  to  Virginia,  where  the  Vii-.q-inia  Company 
fers  to  this  Royal  Letter.  Neither  author  sives  means  to  erect  a  Collef;e,  ami  undertakes  to  pro- 
the  date,  which,  in  the  copy  in  the  State  Paper  cure  me  pood  assurances  of  £200  a  year  and  hot- 
Office,  from  which  the  above'transcript  was  made,  tor,  and  if  I  should  find  there  any  ground  for 
is  illegible.  It  would  appear  to  have  been  issued  dislike,  liberty  to  return  at  pleasure.  I  .assure 
at  least  .OS  early  as  1616,  and  probably  even  you,  I  find  preferment  coming  ou  so  slowly  here 
earlier.                                                         "  at  home,  as  makes  me  much  inclir.ed  to  accept 

2  MS.  Instructions  to  Yeardlev,  quoted    in  it."    Several  interesting  letters  from  this  first 

Neill's  "Virginia  Company  of  London,"  p.  137.  president-elect  of  the  University  at  Henrico  are 

'Lorkin's  letter  is  quoted  in  Neill's"  History  nrinted  iu  the  second  volume  of  Bishop  Good- 

of the VirginiaCompanyof London,"pp.1.37, 138,  man's  "Court  of  .James  I." 
as  follows  ;  ".\  good  friend  of  mine  propounded 


EFFORTS  FOK  THE  CONVEKSION  OF  THE  SAVAGES.      71 

and  build  a  Colledge  iu  Virginia  for  the  training  and  bringing  up 
of  Infidellri  children  in  the  true  knowledge  of  God  and  understanding 
of  righteousness."  Ui)on  coilsideratiou  it  was  determined  to  se- 
cure an  annual  revenue  from  the  investment  of  the  means  in  hand, 
and  from  this  source  to  begin  in  time  the  erection  of  the  college.  The 
land  previously  assigned  for  the  use  of  the  college  in  Henrico  was 
definitely  granted  for  this  purpose,  and  provision  was  made  for  fifty 
tenants  to  cultivate  the  same  on  shares.  The  gi'ant  of  land  embraced 
ten  thousand  acres. 

The  zeal  of  Sandys  in  furthering  every  plan  for  the  Christianizing 
of  the  Indians,  and  the  ready  will  with  which,  under  his  lead,  the 
company  undertook  the  work  of  providing  the  means  for  their  conver- 
sion, could  not  tail  to  win  the  favor  of  all  those  in  England  who  had 
this  great  work  at  heart,  and  benefactions  began  at  once  to  come  in  to 
the  company's  coffers.  At  the  meeting  of  the  court,  on  the  21st  of 
July,  a  service  for  the  administration  of  the  holy  communion  was 
presented  by  an  unknown  person,  through  the  treasurer,  with  the 
following  quaint  communication  :  — 

I.  H.  S. 

Sib  Ed^vix   Sandys  Thi-if  of  Virginia. 

Good  luck  in  the  name  of  tlio  Lord,  who  is  dayly  magnified  by  tlie  experi- 
ment of  your  zeale  and  piety  in  giuinge  beginning  to  the  foiuidation  of  the  Col- 
ledge in  Virginia,  the  sacred  worko  so  due  to  Heaven  and  soe  longed  for  on  earth. 

Now  knowe  wee  assui-edly  that  the  Lord  will  doe  you  good  and  blesse  you  in 
all  your  proceedings,  even  as  he  blessed  the  howse  of  Obed  Edom  and  all  that 
pertayned  to  him  because  of  the  Arke  of  God.  Now  that  you  seeke  the  Kingdome 
of  God,  all  thingcs  shall  be  ministered  unto  you.  This  I  well  see  allready,  and 
perceuie  that  by  this  j-our  godlie  determinacon  the  Lord  hath  giucn  j'ou  fauor  iu 
the  sight  of  the  people,  and  I  knowe  some  whose  hearts  are  much  enlarged 
because  of  the  howse  of  the  Lord  our  God  to  procure  you  Wealth,  whose  greater 
designs  I  have  presumed  to  outrun  with  this  oblacon,  which  I  humbly  beseech  you 
may  be  accepted  as  the  pledge  of  my  devocon,  and  as  an  earnest  of  the  vowes 
which  I  have  vowed  unto  the  Almighty  God  of  Jacobb  concerning  this  thing,  which 
till  I  may  in  part  perform  1  desire  to  remayne  unkuowne  and  unsought  after. 

The  things  are  these : 

A  Communion  Cup  with  the  couer  and  vase ; 
A  Trencher  plate  for  the  bread . 
A  Carpett  of  crimson  veluett. 
A  Linuen  damaske  table-cloth.' 

In  the  following  February,  on  the  Feast  of  the  Purification,  an 
anonymous  letter,  addressed  to  "  Sir  Edwin  Sandys,  the  faithful 
Treasurer  for  Virginia,"  was  presented  at  the  Quarter  Court,  which 
promised  £550  for  "  the  converting  of  Infidles  to  the  fayth  of  Christe." 
The  plan  proposed  by  the  donor,  who  signed  himself  "Dust  and 
Ashes,"  was  "the  mayntenance  of  a  conveyent  number  of  younge  In- 
dians taken  att  the  age  of  Seauen  years,  or  younger,  and  instructed 
in  the  readinge  and  understandinge  the  principalis  of  Xtian  Religion 
unto  the  age  of  12  years,  and  then  as  occasion  serueth,  to  be  trayned 

'Neill's  "  Virginia  Company  of  Loiulou,"  pp.  152,  153. 


72 


HISTORY    OF   THE   AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 


and  brought  upp  iu  some  lawfuU  trade  with  all  humauitie  and  gentle- 
ness untill  the  age  of  one  and  Twenty  years,  and  then  to  enjoy  like 
liberties  and  pryviledges  with  our  native  English  in  that  place." 
A  few  days  later  the  promised  gift  was  received  in  "  new  golde." 
Other  gifts  came  swiftly  in  ;  among  them,  "Faire  Plate  and  other  rich 
Ornaments,"  for  the  altars  of  the  college  and  a  church  which  pious 
benefactions  had  earlier  founded.  Mr.  Nicholas  Ferrar,  Sen.,  a  rich 
merchant  of  the  city,  in  whose  noble  mansion  the  company  usually 
met  after  Easter,  1G19,  had  in  his  will  bequeathed  £300  "for  the 
College  in  Virginia,  to  be  paid  when  there  shall  be  tenn  of  the  Infidels' 
Children  placed  in  it,  and  in  the  mean  time  four  and  twenty  pounds 
per  year,  to  be  distributed  unto  three  discreet  and  godly  men  in  the 
Colony  w'^''  shall  honestly  bring  up  three  of  the  Infidels'  Children  in 
Christian  Religion  and  some  good  course  to  live  by." '  The  Bishop 
of  London,  Dr.  King,  collected  and  paid  in  £1,000  towards  Henrico 


JJOTE.  —  This  is  a  fuc-simile  of  the  engraving  used  iu  the  publications  of  the 
company.  Cf .  ' '  Calendar  of  Virginia  State  Pajjers,"  i. ,  p.  xxxix ;  Neill's  ' '  Virginia 
Company,"  p.  luG.  Au  example  of  this  seal  with  the  same  dimensions  and  devices, 
but  with  the  dilTerent  legend  on  the  reverse  of  "  Colonia  Virgdi/E  —  Consilto 


Prima,"  is  in  the  collections  of  the  Virginia  Historical  Society.  It  is  of  red  wax 
between  the  leaves  of  a  foolscap  sheet  of  paper,  and  is  affixed  to  a  patent  for  land 
issued  by  Sir  John  Harvey,  governor,  dated  March  i,  166S. 

'  Vii'f,'inia  Company  of  Loudou,  p.  1S2. 


e 


EFFORTS   FOR   THE   CONVERSION   OF   THE   SAVAGES.  73 

College.  Bibles,  prayer-books,  and  works  of  divinity  wore  given  in 
for  the  use  of  the  college  or  clergy  ;  and,  early  in  1(320,  an  estimable 
and  pious  gentleman,  Mr.  George  Thorpe,  a  relation  of  Sir  Thomas 
Dale,  and  formerly  holding  a  place  of  honor  at  the  court,  was  sent 
over  to  take  charge  of  the  college,  as  superintendent,  ample  provision 
l)eing  made  for  his  support,  and  for  the  successful  accomplishment  of 
his  plans. 

The  records  of  the  "  quarter  sessions  "  of  the  Virginia  Company, 
held  in  the  rooms  of  the  elder  Fen-ar's  spacious  house,  in  St.  Sylhc's 
lane  abound  in  references  to  this  tavorite  scheme  of  English  church- 
men for  the  conversion  of  the  American  alwrigincs,  and  the  furtherance 
of  the  projected  Indian  school.  Towards  the  close  of  the  year  1G20, 
"four  great  books,"  one  of  them,  S.  Augustine's  "De  Civitate  Dei," 
translated  into  English,  and  the  remaining  three,  the  works  of  the  cele- 
brated William  Perkins,  D.D.,  of  the  University  of  Caml)ridge,  were 
given  by  one  of  the  company  to  "be  sent  to  the  CoUcdge  in  Virginia, 
there  to  I'cmayne  in  saftie  to  the  use  of  the  coUegiates  thereafter." 
In  the  company's  letter  to  the  colonial  authorities,  under  date  of  July 
25,  1621,  the  council  wrote  as  follows  :  — 

We  excefidingly  approve  the  course  In  taking  in  of  Indian  families  as  boinge 
a  great  meanes  to  reduce  that  nation  to  civility,  and  to  the  imbraeing  of  our  Cliris- 
tian  religion,  the  blessed  end  wee  have  proposed  to  ourselves  in  this  Plantation, 
anil  we  doubt  not  of  your  vigilancie  that  you  be  not  thus  entrapped,  nor  that  the 
Savadge  have  by  this  meanes  to  surprize  you.' 

In  the  same  letter,  which  is  signed  by  the  Earl  of  Southampton, 
Sir  Edwin  Sandys,  Mr.  Nicholas  Ferrar,  and  others,  assurance  is  given 
of  the  company's  purpose  "to  send  to  the  College  tennants  a  very 
sufficient  minister,"  and  the  Superintendent  Thorpe  is  desired  to  take 
steps  "that  a  house  may  be  ready  for  him,  and  good  provision  to 
entertainc  him."^ 

On  the  24th  of  October,  1621,  the  deputy  treasurer,  John  Ferrar, 
informed  the  court  that  "one  Mr.  Copeland,  a  minister  lately  returned 
from  the  East  Indies"  and  chaplain  of  the  "Royal  James,"  had  pre- 
vailed upon  the  officers  and  crew  of  this  sliip,  when  on  their  home 
voyage,  to  contribute  seventy  poitnds  towards  the  establishment  of  a 
church  and  school  in  Virginia.  At  a  meeting,  a  few  days  later,  it  was 
determined  that  this  offering,  together  with  an  anonymous  gift  of  thirty 
pounds,  should  be  devoted  "  towards  the  erection  of  a  public  free  school 
in  Virginia,"  "for  the  education  of  children  and  grounding  of  them  in 
the  principles  of  religion."  Charles  city  was  chosen  as  the  site  of  the 
"  East  India  School,"  as  it  was  determined  to  call  it ;  and  provision  was 
made  that  it  should  depend  upon  the  "  College  in  Virginia."  A  thou- 
sand acres  of  land  were  allotted  for  the  maintenance  of  the  master  and 
usher,  and  three  hundred  acres  were  granted  to  Mr.  Copeland. 

About  this  time,  when  the  attention  of  so  many  iu  Church  and 
State  was  turned  towards  Virginia,  a  young  clergyman,  nephew  of  the 
celebrated  Bishop  Ilall,  and  the  private  secretary  of  that  prelate  at 
the  Synod  of  Dort,  puljlished,  in  a  thin  quarto  of  eighty-four  pages. 

'  Virginia  Company  of  London,  p.  228,  -Ibid.,  p.  231. 


74  HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

a  rudimentary  grammar  for  the  schools  projected  or  established 
amongst  "the  Virginians,"  as  well  as  elsewhere  among  "barbarous 
nations."  This  labor  of  love  for  "  our  loving  countrymen  of  Virginia  " 
was  presented  to  the  "Court"  on  the  19th  of  December,  1621,  as 
the  work  of  "  a  painfull  schoolmaster,  one  Mr.  John  Brinsley,"  and 
received  the  company's  thanks.  Prepared,  as  the  compiler  states, 
"for  drawing  the  poor  natives  in  Virginia  and  all  other  of  the  rest  of 
the  rude  and  barbarous  from  Sattan  to  God,"  this  little  volume  had 
the  commendation  of  no  less  a  scholar  and  divine  than  "  James  Ussher," 
then  "  Doctour  and  Professor  of  Divinitie  in  the  Universitie  of  Dublin," 
and  afterwards  archbishop.  The  following  year  a  carpenter  was  sent 
out  to  erect  "  the  East  India  Schoole ; "  but  the  "  monies  would  not 
reach  unto  the  sending  of  an  Vsher  as  was  at  first  intended,  and  be- 
sides, upon  a  second  consideration,  it  was  thought  good  to  give  the 
Colony  the  choice  of  the  Schoolmaster  or  Vsher."  In  July,  1622, 
the  "Court  thought  fit  to  bestow  a  freedom  vpon  Mr.  Pemberton,  a 
minister  of  God's  word,  intending  forthwith  to  go  to  Virginia  and 
there  to  employ  himself  for  the  conuerting  of  the  Infedels."  In  the 
midst  of  these  cflbrts  for  the  conversion  of  the  Indians  the  spiritual 
welfare  of  the  settlers  demanded  attention.  The  five  or  six  clergymen  ^ 
who  were  settled  at  the  several  settlements  were  unable  to  render  the 
services  required  by  the  rapidly  extending  colonists.  The  number  of 
boroughs  was  now  eleven,  and  each  required  the  ministrations  of  a  cler- 
gyman. Services  and  sacraments  were  in  danger  of  a  wide-spread  neg- 
lect, and,  in  this  extremity,  the  company  sought  the  iiid  of  the  Bishop  of 
London,  in  supplying  the  colony  with  "  pious,  learned,  and  painful 
ministers."  Bishop  King,  wlio  then  filled  the  See,  had  already  shown 
his  personal  interest  in  the  christianizing  of  Virginia,  and  in  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  college  for  the  Indians.  Chosen  a  member  of  the 
king's  council  for  Virginia,  it  was  but  natural  that,  in  all  matters 
ecclesiastical,  his  opinions  should  have  great  weight ;  and  there  grew 
out  of  this  personal  interest  and  episcopal  care  the  recognition  of  the 
spiritual  jurisdiction  of  the  Bishop  of  London  over  the  colonies  which 
existed,  almost  without  question,  until  the  issue  of  the  war  for  inde- 
pendence secured  the  ecclesiastical,  as  well  as  the  civil,  independence 
of  the  United  States.  Other  measiu'es  for  the  advantage  of  the  Colony 
were  taken  by  the  council.  Provision  was  made  tor  the  increase 
of  the  number  of  tenants  upon  the  company's  domain.  Boys  and 
girls,  indentured  as  apprentices,  were  sent  out  to  meet  the  demand  for 
servants,  and  an  importation  of  young  women,  of  blameless  reputation, 
sent  out  under  the  auspices  of  the  council,  furnished  the  settlers  with 
a  much-desired  supply  of  eligible  wives.  Unfortunately,  at  this 
juncture,  the  royal  mandate  required  the  transportation  of  a  number 
of  "dissolute  persons  ;  "  and  thus,  in  the  indignant  language  of  Frank- 
lin more  than  a  century  later,  let  "  loose  upon  the  New  World  the  out- 
casts of  the  Old."  At  the  same  time  the  purchase  of  twenty  negroes 
from  a  Dutch  trading-ship,  by  some  of  the  settlers  at  Jamestown,  in- 
troduced into  the  colony  the  system  of  slavery.     Thus,  Ijy  an  act  of 

>  These  were  Whitakcr,  Stockham,  Mease,  Bargi-avc,  and  Wickham. 


EFFORTS  FOR  THE  CONVERSION  OF  THE  SAVAGES.      75 

private  cupidity,  a  measure  was  inaugurated  whicli  was  to  influence  for 
all  time  the  fortunes  of  the  colony  and  country  itself. 

On  the  expiration  of  Yeardley's  commission,  in  162 1,  Sir  Francis 
Wyat,  a  man  of  character  and  reputation,  was  appointed  to  the  gov- 
ernorship of  the  colony ;  the  faithful  treasurer,  Sir  Edwin  Sandys, 
was  succeeded  l)y  the  Earl  of  Southampton,  to  the  great  annoyance 
of  the  king,  who  was  pleased  to  assert  that  "  the  Virginia  Company 
was  a  seminary  for  a  seditious  Parliament,"  ^  and  to  style  Sandys  as 
"  his  greatest  enemy."  The  arbitrary  imprisonment  of  Sandys  by  the 
king,  during  the  session  of  Parliament  in  1G21,  and  the  committal  of 
Southampton  to  the  Tower  after  the  dissolution,  conclusively  prove  the 
hatred  of  the  monarch  against  those  members  of  the  Virginia  Company 
who  resisted  the  encroachments  of  the  royal  prerogative,  and  sought 
to  thwart  the  unwarrantable  interference  of  the  king  in  the  affairs  of 
the  colony.  Unfortunately,  both  for  the  company  at  home  and  the 
colony  abroad,  the  ascendency  which  Spain  had  acquired  through  her 
wily  ambassador,  Gondomar,  at  the  English  court,  was  sufficient  to 
secure  the  adoption  of  a  policy  on  the  pait  of  the  king,  the  result  of 
which  was  the  development  of  the  Spanish  colonies  to  the  prejudice 
of  his  own.  The  last  days  of  the  Virginia  Company's  corporate 
existence  were  those  of  strife  and  bitterness. 

The  new  governor  brousiht  with  him  a  new  ordinance  for  consti- 
luting  a  Council  of  State,  as  well  as  regulations  for  the  General 
Assembly.  The  first  recommendation  of  his  articles  of  instruction, 
addressed  to  the  governor  and  council  in  Virginia,  requires  them 
"To  take  into  their  especial  regard  tlie  service  of  Almighty  God  and 
the  observance  of  His  divine  Laws ;  and  that  the  people  should  be 
trained  up  in  true  religion  and  virtue.  And  since  their  endeavours,  for 
the  establishment  of  the  honour  and  rights  of  the  Church  and  IMinistry, 
had  not  yet  taken  due  efiect,  they  were  required  to  employ  their 
utmost  care  to  advance  all  things  appertaining  to  the  Order  and  Admin- 
istration of  Divine  Service,  according  to  the  form  and  discipline  of 
the  Church  of  England ;  carefully  to  avoid  all  factious  and  needless 
novelties,  which  only  tended  to  the  disturbance  of  peace  and  unity  ;  and 
to  cause  that  the  Ministers  should  be  duly  respected  and  maintained, 
and  the  Churches,  or  places  appointed  for  Divine  Service,  decently 
accommodated,  according  to  former  orders  in  that  behalf.  They  were, 
in  the  next  place,  commanded  to  keep  the  people  in  duo  obedience  to  the 
King  ;  to  provide  that  justice  might  be  equally  administered  to  all,  as 
near  as  could  be,  according  to  the  forms  and  constitution  of  England  ; 
to  prevent  all  corruption  tending  to  the  perversion  or  delay  of  justice  ; 
to  protect  the  natives  from  injury  and  oppression,  and  to  cultivate 
peace  and  friendshij)  with  them  as  far  as  it  should  be  consistent  with 
the  honour  of  the  nation  and  safety  of  the  people.  They  further  pressed 
upon  them,  in  a  particular  manner,  the  using  of  all  possible  means  of 
bringing  over  the  natives  to  a  love  of  civility,  and  to  the  knowledge  of 
God  and  his  true  religion ;  to  which  purpose,  they  observed  to  them, 
that  the  example  given  them  by  the  English  in  their  own  persons  and 

'"A  slioit  Collection  of  the  most  remarkable  Passages  from  the  Origiuall  to  the  Dissolution 
of  the  Virgiuia  Company,"  London,  1651,  p.  4. 


7G  HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

families  would  he  of  singular  and  chief  moment ;  that  it  would  be 
proper  to  draw  the  best  disposed  among  the  Indians  to  converse  and 
labour  with  our  people,  for  a  convenient  reward  ;  that  thereby,  being 
reconciled  to  a  civil  way  of  life,  and  brought  to  a  sense  of  God  and 
religion,  they  might  afterwards  become  instruments  in  the  general  con- 
version of  their  countrymen,  so  umch  desired.  That  each  town, 
borough,  and  hundred  ought  to  procure,  by  just  means,  a  certain 
number  of  their  children  to  be  brought  up  in  the  first  elements  of 
literature ;  that  the  most  towardly  of  those  should  be  fitted  for  the 
College,  in  building  of  which  they  purposed  to  proceed,  as  soon  as 
any  profits  arose  from  the  estate  appropriated  to  that  use ;  and  they 
earnestly  required  their  utmost  help  and  furtherance  in  that  pious  and 
important  work ;  not  doubting  the  particular  blessing  of  God  upon 
the  Colony,  and  being  assured  of  the  love  of  all  good  men,  upon  that 
account."  * 

Private  subscriptions  were  not  ^vanting  on  the  part  of  the  members 
of  the  Virginia  Company  to  further  these  schemes  of  settlement  and 
evangelization.  The  countenance  and  generous  support  of  Southamp- 
ton and  Sandys  were  not  withlicld,  and  so  successful  and  persistent 
were  their  eflbrts,  and  so  acceptable  were  the  conditions  attached  to 
grants  of  land,  that  numerous  patents  for  new  settlements  were  granted 
to  actual  and  intending  colonists,  and  during  the  years  1619,1620,  1621, 
more  than  three  thousand  five  hundred  emigrated  to  Virginia .  Of  these 
settlers  a  number  were  Puritans,  and  the  kindly  treatment  they  received, 
in  a  colony  avowedly  and  unequivocally  churchly  in  its  sympathies  and 
principles,  stands  out  in  striking  contrast  with  the  narrow  bigotry  tow- 
ards church  settlers  at  the  North,  displayed  at  this  very  period  by  the 
separatists  from  Lcyden  who  had  settled  on  the  bleak  New  England 
coast.  It  is  the  confession  of  the  historian  of  the  United  States,  the 
painstaking  and  accurate  Bancroft,  in  speaking  of  this  period,  that "  Vir- 
ginia was  a  refuge  even  for  the  Puritans,"^  and,  although  the  statute- 
book  may  have  contained  stringent  provisions  respecting  the  Establish- 
ment, the  temper  of  the  government  and  the  settlers  was  equitable  and 
tolerant. 

The  arrival  of  Wyat  and  his  party  in  safety,  and  the  successful 
initiation  of  the  measures  recommended  by  the  council  for  the  develop- 
ment of  the  colony,  were  made  the  occasion  of  a  solemn  service  of 
Thanksgiving  at  the  Church  of  St.  Mary-le-Bow,  in  London,  on  the 
17th  of  April,  1622.  The  preacher  was  the  Eev.  Patrick  Copeland, 
who,  as  chaplain  of  an  East  Indiaman,  had  secured,  while  at  tli6  Cape 
of  Good  Hope,  a  liberal  offering  from  the  officers  and  men  of  his  ship, 
for  the  establishment  of  a  school  for  the  Indian  children  in  Virginia. 
So  full  of  missionary  spirit  was  this  excellent  divine  that  he  was  soon 
afterwards  invited  by  the  council  to  go  over  to  Virginia.  With  this 
end  in  view  he  was  chosen  one  of  the  Council  of  State,  and  made 
rector  of  the  college  for  the  education  and  conversion  of  the  Indians. 
The  pastoral  care  of  the  tenants  settled  on  the  college  domain  was  also 

'  Stitli's  "  History  of  Vii-jjinia,"  p.  94. 

'  Uistoiy,  I.,  156;  vide,  also,  I.,  p.  196;  II.,  p.  -159,  note. 


EFFORTS  FOR  THE  CONVERSION  OF  THE  SAVAGES.      77 

assigned   to   him,  and  the  tithe  of  the   produce  of  their  lands  was 
pledged  towards  his  support. 

It  was  in  the  midst  of  these  glad  auguries  of  success  that  a  blow  was 
struck,  making  the  very  foundations  of  church  and  state  tremble.  Tiio 
Indians  had  long  since,  to  all  appearance,  laid  aside  all  thought  of  in- 
ilicting  injury  upon  the  settlers,  and  were  on  terms  of  friendshij),  and 
even  intimacy,  with  them,  guiding  them  through  the  forests  in  their 
quest  for  game,  taking  them  in  their  canoes  on  their  fishing  cx])edi- 
tions,  learning  from  them  the  arts  of  husbandry  and  the  use  of  the 
implements  of  agriculture,  and  professing  their  desire  to  gain  a  knowl- 
edge and  love  of  the  Christian's  God.  All  apprehension  of  danger 
from  the  savages  was  removed.  Powhatan  had  been  succeeded  by  Ope- 
cancanough,  who  professed  himself  a  tirm  ally  of  the  English,  and  on 
occasion  of  the  death  of  an  Indian  at  the  hands  of  tiic  settlers,  through 
his  own  imprudence,  gave  assurance  that  he  held  the  peace  so  firm 
"that  the  sky  should  fall  sooner  than  it  should  be  violated  on  his  part." 
Even  then  the  plans  were  matured  for  a  general  massacre.  The  sav- 
ages waited  Ijut  the  signal  from  their  perfidious  chieftain  to  fall  upon 
their  unsuspecting  victims.  The  '22d  of  March  was  fixed  upon  as  the 
day  of  slaughter.  In  one  hour,  on  that  day,  and  almost  at  the  same 
moment,  there  fell  beneath  the  murderous  assault  of  the  savages  three 
hundred  and  forty-seven  men,  women,  and  children.  Among  the  vic- 
tims was  the  excellent  Thorpe,  with  five  other  members  of  the  council. 
In  the  death  of  Thorpe,  whose  zeal,  piety,  and  gentleness,  and  self- 
consecration  to  the  work  of  evangelizing  those  who  were  his  murder- 
ers, had  given  promise  of  most  happy  results,  a  grievous  wrong  was 
inflicted  by  the  savages  on  themselves.  Such  was  his  confidence  iu 
those  who  sought  his  life  that  ho  neglected  the  warnings  given  him  of 
his  danger,  and  failed  utterly  to  realize  his  peril  until  it  was  too  late  to 
escape. 

The  massacre  would  have  been  complete  had  it  not  been  for  a 
Christian  Indian,  who  lived  with  his  English  master,  Edward  Pace,  as 
a  sou  with  his  father.  Solicited,  the  night  I)efore  the  outlireak,  by  his 
own  brother,  to  engage  iu  the  fiendish  plot,  the  faithful  convert  found 
means  to  acquaint  his  master  with  the  impending  danger.  Pace  hast- 
ened to  Jamestown,  before  the  dawn,  to  inform  the  governor,  and  the 
intelligence  was  at  once  forwarded  in  every  direction.  Wherever 
resistame  was  offered,  the  savages  refrained  from  attempting  to  put 
their  bloody  purpose  in  execution.  Where  the  news  of  their  plans  had 
not  reached,  the  work  of  extermination  was  complete.  Sickness  and 
famine  followed  this  wholesale  slaughter.  Out  of  eighty  prosperous 
plantations  Ijut  a  tithe  I'emained.  Of  the  thousands  who  had  come  fi'om 
England  but  eighteen  hundred  survived.  A  natural  distrust  of  the 
natives  was  followed  by  the  exercise  of  an  unrelenting  severity,  which, 
in  many  instances,  developed  a  fierce  and  unreasonable  hatred  of  all 
measures  for  the  convei'sion  or  the  civilizing  of  the  Indians.  The  ap- 
pointment of  Copeland  as  rector  of  the  college  at  Henrico,  and  the 
erection  of  the  Indian  school  at  Charles  citj',  were  not  proceeded  with 
by  the  company  at  home,  and,  in  fact,  the  clergy  and  colonists  in 
Virginia,  for  a  time  at  least,  lost  heart  with  respect  to  the  advance- 


78  HISTORY  OF  THE   AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

ment  of  Christian  education,  or  the  bringing  of  the  natives  to  the  faith 
and  Church  of  Christ. 

The  closing  reference  to  educational  matters  in  the  records  of  the 
Virginia  Company,  ere  its  dissolution  by  the  arbitrary  interference  of 
the  king,  is  the  recommendation  of  a  grant  of  land  to  Richard  Downes, 
who,  "  being  bred  a  scholar,  went  over  in  hope  of  preferment  in  the 
College  there."'  He  had  "continued  in  Virginia  these  four  j^ears," 
and  at  length,  his  hopes  dying  out,  he  turned  his  attention  towards 
other  pursuits.  The  "University  of  Henrico,"  and  the  "East  India 
Free  School,"  were  never  to  be  built.  In  the  words  of  Dr.  Hawks, 
"  The  massacre  of  Opecancanough  thus  gave  a  death-blow  to  the  first 
efibrts  made  in  America  for  the  establishment  of  a  college,  and  years 
elapsed  before  the  attempt  was  renewed."^ 


CRITICAL  NOTES  ON  THE  SOURCES  OF  INFORMATION. 

THE  records  of  the  Virginia  Comioany,  of  London,  carefully  copied  from  the  orig- 
inals, which  are  supposed  to  be  lost,  and  attested  by  the  signatures  of  the  secre- 
taries, are  to  be  found  in  two  manuscript  volumes  in  the  Library  of  Congress.  The 
history  of  these  valuable  papers  is  curious.  They  appear  to  have  been  transcribed 
at  the  time  when  the  king,  who  had  long  been  inimical  to  the  company,  gave  signs 
of  his  purpose  of  annulling  their  charter,  and  the  work  of  copying  had  barely  been 
completed  when  (he  king  ordered  the  seizure  of  tlie  papers  of  the  company.  Nicho- 
las Ferrar,'  with  the  assistance  of  Secretary  CoUingwood,  procured  the  transcription 
of  these  records  at  the  house  of  SirJolm  Danvers,  in  Chelsea.  CoUingwood  compared 
and  signed  each  page,  and,  when  the  copy  was  complete,  committed  it  to  the  keeping 
of  the  president  of  the  comi^any,  Henry  Wriothesley,  Earl  of  Southampton.  On 
the  death  of  his  son  Thomas,  Lord  High  Treasurer  of  England,  these  records  were 
purchased  in  16G9  by  William  Bird,  of  Westover,  Virginia,  for  sixty  guineas,  and 
it  was  from  the  Bird  family  that  William  Stith  obtained  them  for  use  in  the  prepara- 
tion of  his  "History  of  Virginia,"  which  was  completed  in  IZiG.  By  some  means 
these  volumes  came  into  the  possession  of  Peyton  Randolph,  Stith's  brother-in-law, 
and  at  his  death,  in  October,  1775,  his  library  was  sold  to  Thomas  JelTerson,  who 
acquired  these  records  as  part  of  liis  purchase.  On  the  sale  of  .Jefferson's  library 
to  the  United  States  these  invaluable  volumes  became  a  part  of  the  Library  of  Con- 
gress. 

The  importance  of  these  papersled  Mr.  J.  Wiiigate  Thornton,  in  an  article  in  the 
"Historical  Magazine,"  ii.,  p.  33-35,  and  in  a  pamphlet  published  the  following  yeai', 
"  The  First  Records  of  Anglo-American  Colonization  "  (Boston,  1850),  to  urge  their 
publication.  Ten  years  after  the  appearance  of  Mr.  Thornton's  suggestion,  in  May, 
1868,  Mr.  Edward  D.  Neill,  who  had  made  use  of  these  volumes  in  the  preparation 
of  his  "  Terra  Blarioe,"  memorialized  Congress  for  their  publication,  under  his  edi- 
torship. Failing  in  this  purpose,  Mr.  Neill  made  these  papers  the  groundwork  of 
a  "History  of  the  Virginia  Company,  of  London,  writh  Letters  to  and  from  the 
First  Colony,  never  before  printcci,"  Albany,  186'J,  which  was  subsequently  reissued 
abroad  with  changes,  as  "  The  English  Colonization  of  America  during  the  Seven- 
teenth Century,"  London,  187 1.  Interesting  and  important  as  are  the  extracts  of  these 
records,  printed  in  Mr.  Neill's  volumes,  the  publication  of  the  whole  is  still  greatly 
to  be  desired.  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  a  second  effort  to  secure  this  end,  made  by 
Senator  John  W.  Johnston,  of  Virginia,  in  1881,  which  passed  the  Senate,  failed  in 

•  HistoiT  of  the  Virginia  Company,  pp.  379,  '  Vide  the  "Memoir  of  Nicholas  Ferrar,"  by 

380.  ■  Peter  Peckard,  London,  1790,  a  work  fid)  of  refei-- 

=  Hawk3's"Eccl.Contril)ntious,"  I.,  Virginia,  cnces  to  the  early  colonial  history  of  Virginia. 

p.  42.  Compare  Palfrey's  •'  New  England,"  i..  p.  192. 


EFFORTS  FOR  THE  CONVERSION  OF  THE  SAVAGES.      79 

the  House  of  Representatives.  As  Mr.  Thornton  says :  "The  republication  of  tliis 
worli  would  open  a  new  volume  of  our  earliest  existence,  a  most  valualilo  chajjler 
in  Anglo-American  history,  in  its  moral  and  social  aspect;  a  jihase,  though  most 
important,  yet  most  difficiilt  to  preserve,  because  of  its  evanescent  character ;  it  is 
not,  cannot  be,  set  forth  in  record  and  in  diplomacy  —  always  and  necessarily  more 
or  less  deceptive  —  and  its  sisirit  is  only  feebly  discerned  by  the  most  elaborate 
analyses  of  the  wisest  student."  The  same  authority  refers  to  Nicholas  Fcrrar  as 
deserving  our  grateful  I'emcmbrance  and  demanding  our  highest  regard,  "as  the 
very  soMi  of  Virginian  colonization,"  adding  that  his  life  is  "  of  unparalleled  in- 
terest;" and  closes  his  argument  with  these  words :  "As  these  volumes  are  of 
national  rather  than  local  interest,  reaching  back  to  the  xnry  foundation  of  the  Eng- 
lish companies  for  colo7iizing  America;  as  they  have  escaped  the  chances  and  mis- 
haps of  two  centuries,  on  either  side  of  the  Atlantic ;  as  they  have  not  lioen  used  by 
our  historians,  —  lying  virtually  unknown;  and  as  Providence  has  now  placed  them 
in  the  keeping  of  our  National  Congress,  —  is  it  not  our  National  duttj  to  have  them 
appropriately  edited  and  published?  "  —  Hist.  Mag.,  ll.,  p.  S5. 

The  spirit  in  which  the  intelligence  of  the  massacre  was  received  in  England 
is  indicated  in  a  noble  sermon  preached  before  the  Virginia  Company  by  the  cele- 
brated poet  and  divine.  Dr.  John  Donne,  Dean  of  St.  Paul's,  on  the  loth  of  Novem- 
ber, 1Gl'2,  from  the  text,  Acts  i.  8.  We  give  some  extracts  of  this  quaint  but  excel- 
lent discourse :  "  Those  of  our  profession,  that  goe ;  you,  that  send  them  who  goe, 
doe  all  an  Apostolic  function.  What  action  soeuer  hath  in  the  lirst  intention 
thereof  a  purpose  to  propagate  the  gospell  of  Christ  lesus,  that  is  an  Apostolicall 
action ;  Before  the  end  of  the  world  come,  before  this  mortalitio  shall  put  on  immor- 
talitie,  before  the  creature  shall  be  deliuercd  of  this  bondage  of  corruption,  vndcr 
which  it  groanes,  before  the  martyrs  vnder  the  Altar  shall  be  silenc'd,  before  all 
things  shall  be  subdued  to  Christ,  his  kingdom  profited,  and  the  last  cnemio  (death) 
destroyed,  the  Gospoll  must  be  preached  to  those  men  to  whom  yc  send ;  to  all  men. 
Furtherand  hasten  you  this  blessed,  this  ioyful,thisgloriouseonsummationof  all,and 
happie  rc-vuion  of  all  bodies  to  their  soules,  by  preaching  the  Gospell  to  those 
men.  Preach  to  them  doctrinally,  preach  to  them  practically,  enamoro  them  with 
your  lustice,  and  (as  farro  as  may  consist  with  your  secmitie)  your  Ciuilitie  ;  but 
inflame  them  with  your  Godlinesse  and  your  llcligion.  Bring  them  to  lone  and 
reverence  the  name  of  that  King  that  sends  men  to  teach  them  the  waycs  of  Ciuilitie 
in  this  world ;  but  to  feare  and  adore  the  Name  of  that  King  of  Kings,  that  sends 
men  to  teach  them  the  wayes  of  religion  for  the  next  world.  Those  amongst  you 
that  are  old  now,  shall  passe  out  of  this  world  with  this  great  comfort,  that  you  con- 
tributed to  the  beginning  of  that  Commonwealth,  and  of  that  Church,  though  they 
line  not  to  see  the  growth  thereof  to  perfection.  Apollos  watrcd,  but  Paul  planted ; 
he  that  began  the  worke  was  the  greater  man.  And  you  that  are  young  now,  may 
Hue  to  see  the  enemy  as  much  impeached  liy  that  place,  and  your  friends,  yea 
children,  as  well  accommodated  in  that  place,  as  any  other.  You  shall  haue  made 
this  Hand,  which  is  but  as  the  suburbs  of  the  old  world,  a  bridge,  a  gallery  to  the 
new ;  to  ioyne  all  to  that  world  which  shall  neuer  grow  old,  the  Kingdome  of 
Heaucn.  You  shall  adde  persons  to  this  Kingdome,  and  to  the  Kingdome  of 
Heauen,  and  add  names  to  the  Bookcs  of  our  Chronicles,  and  to  the  Booke  of  Life." 

The  laws  of  the  House  of  Assembly,  drawn  up  at  the  time  when  the  king  was 
seeking  to  eft'ect  the  dissolution  of  the  company  at  home,  begin  with  the  regulation 
of  church  aflairs,  and  the  first  seven  of  the  thirty-five  articles  in  which  they  were 
comprised  are  wholly  concerned  with  ecclesiastical  matters.  These  enactments 
provide:  "  That  in  every  Plantation,  where  the  people  wei'e  wont  to  meet  for  the 
worship  of  God,  there  should  be  a  house  or  room,  set  apart  for  that  purpose,  and 
not  converted  to  any  temporal  use  whatsoever;  and  that  a  place  of  burial  be  em- 
paled and  sequestered,  only  for  the  burial  of  the  dead :  That  whosoever  should 
absent  himself  from  Divine  Service  any  Sunday,  without  an  allowable  excuse, 
should  forfeit  a  pound  of  tobacco,  and  that  he  who  absented  himself  a  month,  should 
forfeit  fifty  pounds  of  tobacco :  Tliat  there  should  be  an  uniformity  in  the  Church, 
as  near  as  might  be,  both  in  substance  and  circumstance,  to  the  Canons  of  the 
Church  of  England ;  and  that  all  persons  should  yield  a  I'eady  obedience  to  them, 
upon  pain  of  censure :  That  the  2L'nd  of  March  (the  day  of  the  massacre)  should 
be  solemnized  and  kept  holy:  and  that  all  the  other  holidays  should  be  observed, 
except  when  two  fall  together  in  the  summer  season  (the  time  of  their  working  and 
crops),  when  the  first  only  was  to  be  observed,  by  reason  of  their  necessities  and 
employment:  That  no  Minister  should  be  absent  from  his  cure  above  two  months 


80  HISTORY   OF  THE  AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

in  the  wliol(3  year,  upon  penalty  of  forfeiting  half  his  salary;  and  whosoever  was 
absent  above  tour  months  should  forfeit  his  whole  salary  and  cure :  That  whoso- 
ever should  disparage  a  Minister,  without  sufficient  proof  to  justify  his  reports, 
whereby  the  minds  of  his  parishioners  might  be  alienated  from  him,  and  his  min- 
istry prove  the  less  eflectual,  should  not  only  pay  five  hundred  pounds  of  tobacco, 
but  also  should  ask  the  Minister's  forgiveness,  publicly  Ijefore  the  Congregation : 
That,  no  man  should  dispose  of  any  of  his  tobacco,  before  the  minister  was  satisfied, 
upon  forfeiture  of  double  his  part  toward  the  salary ;  and  that  one  man  of  every 
Plantation  should  be  appointed  to  collect  the  Minister's  salar}-,  out  of  the  first  and 
best  tobacco  and  corn."  —  Stith's  Virginia,  Sabin's  reprint,  New  York,  186.5,  p.  319. 

These  laws,  doubtless  taken,  as  .Stitli  suggests,  from  the  Articles  sent  over  by 
Sir  Tliomas  Smith,  though  in  some  respects  severe  and  arbitrary,  are  far  more 
efjuitaljle  and  milder  in  tone  than  any  preceding  enactments  They  are,  we  are 
assured  by  Stitli,  the  oldest  recorded  statutes  of  the  "Old  Dominion." 

From  the  "Lists  of  the  Livinge  &  Dead  in  Virginia,  Feb.  10th,  16:.';3,"  pub- 
lished from  the  original  MSS.  in  the  State  Paper  Office  (Colonial,  Volume  v..  No. 
2),  by  the  State  of  Virginia  (Richmond,  1874),  we  find  the  following  clei-gyraen 
recorded  as  living  at  that  time,  viz. :  — 

GrivcU  (Groville)  Poolej',  Slinistcr  at  Flom'dieii  Hundred,  Sir  George  Yeard- 
ley's  Plantation  ;  Hant  Wyatt,  Minister  at  James  City ;  David  Sanders  (or  Sandys), 
Minister  at  Hogg  Island  ;  "  Mr.  Keth"  (George  Keith),  Minister  at  Elizabeth  City. 

Neill,  in  his  "Notes  on  the  Virginia  Colonial  Clergy"  (Philadelphia,  1877), 
gives  the  names  of  the  clergy  in  Virginia  wp  to  the  time  of  the  massacre,  as  follows : 
Robert  Hunt;  Glover;  Alexander  Whitaker;  Richard Bucke;  William  Wick- 
ham  ;  George  Keith  ;  William  Mease;  Thomas  Bargrave ;  David  Sandys  (or  San- 
ders) ;  Jonas  Stockton  (or  Stockham) ;  Robert  Paulet ;  Robert  Bolton ;  Hant  ^Vyatt ; 
William  Bennett;  Thomas  White;  William  Leate  (orI.,eake),  and  Greville  Pooley. 

A  list  such  as  this  affords  ample  evidence  of  the  interest  taken  by  the  clergy 
of  the  Englisli  Church  in  the  work  of  ministering  to  the  colonists  and  savages  of 
Virginia.  This  solicitude  for  the  spiritual  wants  of  the  settlers  in  America,  shown 
by  the  mother-church  of  England,  appears  in  striking  contrast  with  the  absence  of 
any  provision  for  months  on  the  part  of  the  Plymouth  "  pilgrims"  for  a  minister's 
presence  amon^  them,  although  their  coming  to  this  countiy  was  professedly  on 
religious  grounds. 


CHAPTER     VT. 

PIONEERS   OF   THE  CHURCH   IN   NEW   ENGLAND. 


THE  New  Englaiid  const,  which,  during  the  eventful  winter  of 
1607-8,  echoed  tiie  familiiir  words  of  the  church's  "Conmion 
Prayer"  in  the  httle  chajjcl  in  which  Richard  Seymour  ministered, 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Sagadahoc,  received,  thii'teen  years  later,  the 
Loyden  Brownists  at  Plymouth.  Separatists  from  tli(>  Church,  as  they 
were,  they,  nevertheless,  in  their  famous  Leyden  xVrticles,  professed 
that  "  the  authoryty  of  y'^'  present  bishops  in  y"*  Land  wee  do  acknol- 
idg  so  far  forth  as  y''  same  is,  indeed,  derived  from  his  Majesty  untto 
them."'  But  it  is  unnecessary  to  say  that  the  first  visitor  to  this 
cradle  home  of  New  England  Puritanism,  in  holy  orders,  the  Ecv. 
William  IMorell,  who  came  over  in  1G23,  with  Robert  Gorges,  saw  no 
opportunity  for  the  exercise  of  his  ministry. 
Though  armed  with  a  commission  from  (he     ^-y,  />  /t, 

ecclesiastical  authorities  at  home  to  exercise      -^SCff   -/t)  ^*</'^ 
a  (7Mff.s«  episcopal  authority  over  the  religious 

organization  of  the  infant  colony,  MorcU  occupied  his  leisure  in  Plym- 
outh in  the  composition  of  a  Latin  poem,  closing  with  the  expression 
of  a  natural  aspiration, — • 

"  To  see  here  built,  I  trust, 
An  English  kingdom  from  this  Indian  dust,"  — 

and  only  revealed  the  nature  and  extent  of  his  commissarial  power 
when  on  the  eve  of  returning  to  his  native  land.  ^lorell  was  "  a  modest 
and  })rudent  priest,"  ;ind  during  his  year's  residence  contented  him- 
self with  collecting  such  information  as  was  within  his  reach  ;  and  then, 
weary  of  living  as  a  stranger  in  a  strange  land,  where  the  strong  ten- 
dency to  "  separatism  "  could  not  well  be  resisted,  he  returned  to 
England,  balHed  and  defeated.  There  were  churchmen  among  the 
early  settlers  at  Plymouth  ;  but  the  ministrations  of  an  English  priest 
would  hardly  be  permitted  in  behalf  of  those  whose  attempt  at  keep- 
ing Christmas  in  default  of  prayers  by  out-door  sports  appropriate  for 
a  holiday  had  been  received  with  evident  disfavor  by  the  authorities 
of  the  settlement.® 

'  N.E.    Hist,    and    Gencal.  Reg.,  xxv.,  p.  Christmas-day  y"  Gov  caled  tlicm  out  to  ^vorke, 

276.  (as  it  was  used,)  but  y  most  of  this  ncw-com- 

- "  And  herewith  I  shall    end    this    year,  pany  excused  them  selves  and  said    it  wente 

Only  I  shall  remember  one  passage  more,  rather  against  their  consciences  to  work  on  y'  day.    So 

of   mirth  then   of  waight.     On  y'    day   called  y"  Gov   tould  them  that  it  they  made  it  mater 


82  HISTORY   OF  THE   AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

In  June,  1622,  probably  in  the  ship  "  Cliarity,"  which  brought  over 
II  uiinibev  of  Weston's  men,  sent  out  to  establish  a  trading  port  in  the 
vicinity  of  Plymouth,  Thomas  Morton,  of  "Clilford's  Inn,  Gent.,"  as 

he  styled  himself,  and  a  "  gentleman 

CT^JM/7ti  y  Jf/ryH^t^     "^  "°°^^  qualitie,"  according  to  the 
V  /J^7/U16  CylK/rr^/l^    testimony  of  Saumel  iMaverick,  of 

Boston,  established  himself,  "  with 
thirty  servants  and  provisions  of  all  sorts  lit  for  a  plantation,''  upon 
Passonagesset,  or  Mount  Wollaston,  an  eminence  in  the  present  town 
of  Quincy,  Massachusetts,  overlooking  the  l)ay.  JMorton,  whose  mode 
of  life  and  belief  was  not  iu  accord  witli  the  rigid  separatism  of  Plym- 
outh, was  deemed  by  them  "  a  maine  enemy  to  theire  Church  and 
State." ^  The  lofty  site  of  his  settlement  he  named  "Ma-re  Mount," 
or  Meri-y  Mount.  Here,  on  the  feast  of  SS.  Philip  and  James,  he 
and  his  men,  "with  the  help  of  salvages,"  set  up  a  May-i)ole,  "a 
goodly  pine  tree  of  eighty  foote  longe,"  ^vith  a  pair  of  buck's  horns 
nailed  near  the  top,  "as  a  faire  sea  marke  for  directions  how  to  finde 
out  the  way  to  mine  Host  of  ]\Ia-re  Mount."  ^  Bradfoi'd,  whose 
interruption  of  the  out-door  sports  and  games,  attempted  at  Pljm- 
outh  on  Christmas,  1621,  we  have  already  referred  to,  looked  with 
evil  eye  on  the  roystering  Morton  and  his  company.  In  the  view  of 
the  Puritan  magistrate  "  Morton  became  the  lord  of  misrule  and  main- 
tained (as  it  were)  a  School  of  Atheisme."  The  revels  around  the 
May-pole,  in  his  judgment,  were  as  bad  "  as  if  they  had  anew  revived 
and  celebrated  the  Feasts  of  j'"  Roman  Goddes,  Flora,  or  the  beastly 
practices  of  y'^  madd  Bachanalians."  But  is  it  not  more  than  [irobable  that 
the  grave  offence  of  the  "  Sachem  of  Passonagesset,"  as  Morton  styles 
himself,  in  the  eye  of  Bradford,  was  that  he  "  was  a  man  that  endeav- 
oured to  advance  the  dignity  of  the  Church  of  England,"'  one  who  pos- 
sessed and  valued  the  "  sacred  booke  of  counnon  prayer,'"  and  used  it  iu  a 
laudable  manner  amongst  his  family,  "  as  a  practice  of  piety  "  ?  The  un- 
prejudiced reader  of  Morton's  quaintly  written  "New  English  Canaan"* 
will  not  dispute  the  assertion  with  which  he  begins  one  of  his  chap- 
ters:  "In  the  year  since  the  incarnation  of  Christ,  1622,  it  was  my 
chance  to  be  landed  in  these  parts  of  New  England,  where  I  found  two 
sorts  of  people,  the  one  Chi'istians,  the  other  Intidels,  these  1  found 
most  full  of  humanity,  and  more  friendly  than  the  others."*  The 
festivities  about  the  May-pole  were  as  summarily  ended  as  the  Christ- 
mas-tide sports  at  Plymouth.  "That  worthy  gentleman,  M"".  John 
Endicott,"  "visiting  those  parts  caused  y'  May-polleto  be  cutt  downe," 
and  rebuked  the  revellers  "for  their  profannes,  and  admonished  them 

of  conscience,  he  would  spare  them  till  they  were  huth  been  atempted  that  way,  at  least  openly."  — 

lietter  informed.    So  he  led  away  y  rest  and  Bradford's  History  of  Phjmovih  Plantation,  ]). 

left  them;  but  when  flicy  came  home  at  noone  112.    Tin's  "  uew-eorapany"  referred  to,  \v;is  tlic 

from  their  workc,  he  Ibuiid  them  in  y"  streete  at  body  of  iramij^i-ants  broiis'it  over  in  the  "  For- 

play,  openly ;  some  pitching  y  ban-,  &  some  at  tune,"  which  arrived  at  Plymonth,  Nov.  11, 1621. 
stoole  ball,  and  shiich  lilce  sports.    So  he  went  to  'New    En'.'lish     C:uiaan,  p.  41.     Force's 

them,  and   tooko  away  theu*  implements,   and  ''Hist.  Tractj^,"  Vol.  ir. 
tould  them  that  was  ajfainst  his  conscience,  that  -  Ihld.,  p.  100. 

tliey  should  play  &  others  worke.    If  they  made  ■'  Ihid.,  p.  89. 

y'  keeping  of  it  mater  of  devotion,  let  them  kepe  '  Morton's  "  New  English  Cana;in,"  p.  93. 

their  houses,  but  ther  shotdd  be  no  gamcing  or  '-  Ibid.,  p.  15. 

revelling  in  y"^  sti'eets.    Since  which  time  nothing 


PIONEERS   OF   THE   CHURCH   IN   NEW   ENGLAND. 


83 


to  look  ther  should  be  better  Avalking."'  The  "Lord  of  ]\Iisnile." 
the  merry  "  Sachem  of  Passonagesset,"  was  arrested  I^y  the  Puritans, 
under  the  command  of  the  choleric  Captain  Miles  Standish,  whom 


Morton  facetiously  styled  "  Captain  Shrimp."  Left  with  scanty  pro- 
vision for  his  wants  to  winter  on  the  Isle  of  Shoals,  and  succored  by  the 
Lidians,  whom  he  found  more  "  full  of  humanity  "  than  "these  Christians," 
Morton  made  his  way  to  England,  whei'e,  as  Bradford  acknowledges, 
he  was  "not  so  much  as  rebukte,"^  and  whence  he  shortly  returned, 


BraiUni'irs  "  History  ui  I'lytiioiilli  Pluntatiou,"  p.  23S. 


■  IbiJ.,  p.  243. 


84 


HISTORY   OF  THE   AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 


uuder  the  protection  of  one  of  the  leading  Piuitans,  Isaac  AUeiton, 
who,  as  Bradford  complains,  seems  to  have  brought  liim  "to  y'towne 
(as  it  were  to  nose  them)  and  lodged  him  at  his  owne  house  and  for  a 
while  used  hira  as  a  scribe  to  doe  liis  bussiness."'  But  the  opposition 
of  the  authorities  compelled  the  friendly  Allerton  "to  pack  him  away," 
as  Bradford  informs  us,  and  "so  he  went  to  his  old  nest  in  y*^  Massa- 

chusets."  This  "nest" 
was  his  by  patent,  and 
l)ut  for  the  implacable 
hate  of  the  Puritans  it 


^/^. 


might  long  have  been 
said  of  him,  "Our  mas- 
ter reades  the  Bible 
and  the  Word  of  God,  and  useth  the  Booke  of  Common  Prayer" 
within  the  limits  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay.  But  charges  were 
made  against  this  "pi'oud  insolent  man,"  as  Winthrop  styles  him, 
of  "injuries  done  by  him  l)oth  to  the  English  and  Indians;  and 
amongst  others,  for  shooting  hail-shot  at  a  troop  of  Indians  for 
not  bringing  a  canoe  unto  him  to  cross  a  river  withal ;  whei'eby  he 
hiu't  one,  and  shot  through  the  garments  of  another."  ^     This,  of  course, 


STANDISn  S     SWORD     AND    \     MATCHLOCK. 


is  the  testimony  of  his  foes.  If  we  may  judge  from  his  book,  and 
from  the  fact  that,  though  living  near  Weymouth,  where  Weston's  men 
had  been  massacred  l)y  the  savages,  he  was  unharmed,  and  lived  evi- 
dently without  fear,  we  should  regard  him  as  a  friend  of  the  red  men, 
who  were  welcomed  to  j\Ia-rc  Mount,  and  there,  initiated  in  a  superior 
woodcraft,  and  dissuaded  from  the  excessive  use  of  aqua  vilce,  were 
instructed  in  the  kindly  religion  of  the  "Book  of  Common  Prayer." 
But  the  court  decreed  on  the  7th  of  Septemlier,  1(!30,  "that  Thomas 
Morton,  of  Mount  Wolliston,  shall  presently  be  set  into  the  bilboes,  and 
after  sent  prisoner  into  England,  hy  the  ship  called  the  '  Gift,'  now  re- 
turning thither ;  that  all  his  goods  shall  be  seized  upon  to  defraj'  the 
charge  of  his  transportation,  payment  of  his  del)ts,  and  to  give  satis- 
faction to  the  Indians  for  a  canoe  he  unjustly  took  away  from  thorn  ; 

I  r.niJlbvcr.s  "  IlUtory  iif  I'lymoiith  rhiul:i-     Lincoln,  c|iiolcil  in    r.r.ulloiirs  "  Hist,  ol'  Tlvni- 

liim,"  p. 'J.'!:!.  ■  unili  I'hmtali "  \>.  2M,  uole. 

'  1  >ii(lk'V,  in  iiis   letter  lu   lliu  Couulcss   ul' 


PIONEERS   OF   TIIK   CHURCH   IN   NEW    ENGLAND.  85 

aud  that  his  house,  after  that  his  goods  are  taken  out,  shall  be  liuriil 
down  to  the  ground  in  the  sight  of  the  Indians,  for  their  satisfaction, 
for  many  wrongs  he  hath  done  them  from  time  to  time."  '  In  the 
words  of  a  recent  investigator,  "  these  were  high-handed  acts  of  unmis- 
takable oppression."^  Evidently,  to  quote  the  same  authority,  "the 
probabilities  in  the  case  would  seem  to  be  that  the  Massachusetts  mag- 
-  istrates  had  made  up  their  minds  in  advance  to  di'ive  this  man  out  of 
Massachusetts."  ^  The  cruel  sentence  was  fully  carried  out,  and,  by  a 
refinement  of  cruelty,  it  was  ordered  that  Moi-ton  should  "  saile  in 
sight  of  his  howse  "  *  "  fired  "  by  order  of  his  pitiless  foes,  and  thus  be 
a  witness  of  the  ruin  of  his  hopes  and  home.  The  captain  of  the 
"  Gift  "  refused  to  carry  him  agreeably  to  the  order  of  the  court,  and 
it  was  three  months  before  the  authorities  could  rid  themselves  of 
the  distasteful  presence  of  the  offender.  In  England  he-  naturally 
sought  redress  for  the  injuries  he  had  received,  and  committed  the 
further  oifence  of  writing  what  Bradford  styles  "an  infamouse  and 
scurillous  booke  against  many  godly  and  cheefe  men  of  y*^  cuntrie  ;  full 
of  lyes  and  slanders,  and  fraight  with  profane  callumnies  against  their 
names  and  persons,  and  y"  ways  of  God."^  Returning  "after  sundry 
years,"  as  Maverick  tells  us,  "to  look  after  his  land  for\v]iich  he  had  a 
patent,"  he  was,  to  quote  the  testimony  of  Bradford,  "  imprisoned  at 
Boston  for  this  booke  and  other  things,  being  grown  old  in  wickedness."  ^ 
Maverick  testifies  as  to  the  severity  of  his  treatment  at  the  hands  of  his 
relentless  and  unscrupulous  persecutoi's,  by  whom  he  was  refused  bail, 
and  imprisoned  in  the  common  gaol  without  fire  or  bedding  through  a 
cold  winter,  "although  there  was  nothing  laid  to  his  charge  but  the  writing 
of  this  book."  Even  Winthrop's  account  would  be  sufficient  to  convict 
the  Massachusetts  authorities  of  the  grossest  disregard  of  justice.  "  Hav- 
ing been  kept  in  prison  aliout  a  year,  in  expectation  of  further  evidence 
out  of  England,  he  was  again  called  before  the  court,  and,  after  some 
debate  what  to  do  with  him,  he  was  fined  £100  and  set  at  liberty. 
He  was  a  charge  to  the  country,  for  he  had  nothing,  and  we  thought 
not  fit  to  inflict  corporal  punishment  upon  him,  being  old  and  crazy, 
but  thought  better  to  fine  him  and  give  him  his  liberty,  as  if  it  had 
been  to  procui'e  his  fine.  l)ut  indeed  to  leave  him  opportunity  to  go 
out  of  this  jurisdiction,  which  he  did  soon  after,  and  went  to  Agamenti- 
cus,  and,  living  there  poor  and  despised,  he  died  within  two  years 

'  Mass.  Col.  Records,  quoted   in  Bradford,  hoisted  by  a  tackle,  and  ncare  starued  in  the 

p.  253,  note.  passage.    No  thiuge  was  said  to  him  heare :  in 

'Mt.   Charles  Francis  Adams,  .Jr.,  in  tlie  the  trme  of  his  abode  he.are,  he  wrote  a  booke  en- 

"  Atlantic  Monthly,"  1877.  titlca  New  Canan,   a  good  description  of  the 

3  Ibid.  Cuntcry  as  then  it  was,  only  in  the  end  of  it  he 

'  Coll.  N.Y.   Hist.  Soc,  1869.    Publication  pinched  too  closely  on  some  in  authoritie  tliere, 

Fund,  **  Clarendon  Papers,"  p.  40.     W^c  have  tlie  lor  w*''  some  ycares  after  cominge  oucr  to  look 

following  account  of  Jlorton  in  a  letter  to  the  after  his  land  for  w"''  he  had  a  patent  many 

Earl  of  Clarendon  by  teamiicl  JIaverick,  reciting  yeares  before,  lie  found  his  land  disposed  of  ami 

the  acts  of  injustice  done  by  the  Massachusetts  made  a  towncsliip,  and  himscltc  shorlly  after  ap- 

authorities :     *'  One  M'  Morton,  a  gen*  of  good  prchended,  put  into  the  gaole  w"'  out  fire  or  bed- 

qualitie,  vpon  p'tence  that  ho  had  sholt  an  Indian,  dinge,  no  bayle  to  be  taken,  where  he  remained 

wittingly,  iv' was  indeede  but  accidentally,  and  aveiy  cold  winter,  nothing  laid  to  his  charge 

no  hurt  donn,  tliey  sentenced  him  to  be  sent  fo'  but  the  writings  of  this  booke,  w'=^  he  confessed 

England  prisouer,  as  one  who  had  a  designe  to  not,  nor  could  they  prone.    lie  died  shortly  after, 

sett  the  Indians  at  varience  w"'  vs,  they  further  aud  as  he  saiil,  and  may  well  be  supposed  on  liis 

ordered  as  he  was  to  saile  in  sight  of  his  howse  hard  vsage  in  prison." 
that  it  should  be  fired,  he  refusinge  to  goe  iu  to  ■  Bradford,  p.  '2."i  t. 

the  shipp,  as  havinge  no  busines   there,  was  "  Ibid.,  p.  '23j. 


86  HISTORY   OF   THE   AMBBICAN   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

after." '  He  had  been  robbed  of  his  land,  his  house  had  Ijeen  burned 
before  his  eyes,  his  goods  had  been  distrained,  he  had  been  banished 
from  a  territory  to  which  he  had,  by  virtue  of  his  patent,  as  good  a 
right  of  eminent  domain  as  those  who  sat  in  judgment  upon  him,  and 
now,  when  "old  and  crazy,"  he  is  considerately  spared  "corporal 
punishment"  at  the  hands  of  those  who  winced  beneath  the  lashes  of  his 
wit,  and  with  the  burden  of  a  fine  resting  upon  him,  —  "  poor  "  because 
spoiled  of  all  he  had  by  those  in  power,  and  "despised"  only  by  those 
who  were  smartingunder  the  lash  of  his  sarcasm,  — the  worn-out  old  man 
sought  refuge  in  the  royal  province  of  Maine,  and  died  at  Agamenticus. 
His  "  infamouse  and  scurillous  booke  "  is  still  extant.  Its  perusal  will 
not  bear  out  the  charge  of  the  Puritan  historian.  If  not  better  than 
his  foes  he  was  no  ^v'orse,  and  churchmen  nvdy  well  remember  that 
even  if  there  were  the  May-time  revels  of  Old  England  at  Ma^re 
Mount,  the  reading  of  God's  word  and  the  use  of  the  "  Book  of  Common 
Prayer  "  were  not  forgotten  by  this  motley  crew  of  sportsmen  and 
savages  who  fell  under  the  displeasure  of  the  zealots  of  Plymouth  and 
the  Massachusetts  Bay. 

Meanwhile  there  had  been  other  attempts  to  introduce  the  Church 
ujjou  the  New  England  coast,  and  within  the  limits  of  the  patents  of 
Plymouth  and  the  Massachusetts  Bay.  In  1623  the  London  advent- 
urers sent  over  "a  preacher,"!  hough,  to  quote  Bradford's  words,  "none 
of  the  most  eminent  and  rare,"  to  minister  to  the  colonists  at  Plymouth. 
This  was  the  Eev.  John  Lyford.  He  had  been  in  Ii-eland  before  his 
coming  to  New  England,  and  "  had  wound  himself,"  as  Bradford  writes, 
"  into  y^  esteenic  of  sundry  godly  and  zelous  profcssours  in  those  parts, 
who,  having  been  burdened  with  y°  ceremonies  in  England,  found  there 
some  more  liberty  to  their  consciences."^  Here  he  had  fallen  into  gross 
immorality,  the  proofs  of  which  were  readily  furnished  when  he  sought 
to  "  set  up  a  publick  meeting  aparte,  on  y'=  Lord's  day,"  and  "  would  goe 
minister  the  sacrements  by  his  Episcopall  caling."  There  was  no  disposi- 
tion at  Plymouth  to  tolerate  a  schism,  and  Ijyford  and  his  friend  Oldham 
were  promptly  banished  from  the  colony.  He  l>ecame  the  minister,  first 
of  the  little  company  at  Nantasket,  of  which  Roger  Conant  was  one,  and, 
later,  of  the  unsuccessful  settlement  at  Cape  Ann,  from  whence  he  went 
to  Virginia.  There  is  no  evidence  that  Lyford  was  any  more  of  a  con- 
furniist  than  to  rely  upon  his  ministerial  commission  imparted  bj^  the 
English  Church.  The  records  do  not  speak  of  his  use  of  the  prayer-book 
forms,  or  of  his  exercise  of  his  ministry  in  Virginia,  where  none  but 
conformists  were  admitted  to  parishes.  Besides,  the  only  charges  of 
immorality  brought  against  him  were  made  during  his  espousal  and 
advocacy  of  separatist  views  and  practices,  while  of  his  career  while  in 
the  "  Episcopal  calling,"  if  we  know  little  or  nothing,  we  know  nothing 
ill. 

About  the  year  1625  the  present  site  of  Boston  M'as  occupied  by 
a  "  clerk  in  Holy  Orders,"  and  a  graduate  of  Emanuel  College,  Cam- 
l)ridge.  The  Rev.  William  Blaxton  took  the  Bachelor's  degree  at  the 
University  in  1617,  and  his  Master's  degree  in  1(521 ;  and  we  are  told 

'  Winthrop's   "  Hist,  of  New  England,"  II.,  ^  u^jsjof  piy,no„tij  pjantatiou,  p   193. 

p.  190. 


PIONEERS   OF  TITE  CHURCH  IN  NEW  ENGLAND.  87 

lliat  when  he  appeared  in  America  he  was  still  less  than  thirty  years 
old.'     The  researches  of  Mr.  Charles  Francis  Adams,  Jr.,  leave  little 
or  no  doubt  but  tiiat  Blaxton,  with  his  friends,  and  neighboi's  at  a  later 
date,  Maverick  and  Walford,  accompanied  Kobcrt  Gorges  in  the  expe- 
dition which  left  Plymouth,  England,  in  the  midsummer  of  162i),  which, 
to  quote  the  woi'ds  of  this  accomplished  and  accurate  writer,  "  repre- 
sented the  whole  power  and  dignity  of  the  Council  for  New  England." - 
It  was  but  natural  that  the  Rev.   William  Morrell,  the  ecclesiastical 
head  of  the  new  government,  should  be  ac- 
companied I)y  a  clerical  assistant,  the  Rev.  ^      . 
William    Blaxton.     That   there    was  a  close    '"H^<^    ^-f^X^'^ 
connection    existing    between    Blaxton    and 
Gorges  is  evident   from  notices  of  business          . 
transactions  still  extant.    Blaxton's  occupancy    -TVcpdr    ^^^ZB^-f<x^lm. 
of  "Shawmut"  was  known  and  recognized  by  '^ 
the  Puritans,  who  assessed  him  twelve  shil- 
lings towards  the  charges  of  arresting  Thomas  Morton  of  Ma-re  Mount. 
This  was  on  the  9th  of  June,  1G28.     Later,  on  the  29lli  of  April,  162!», 
he  was  empowered  hy  Gorges  to  put  John  Oldham,  Ly  ford's  friend  and 
companion  in  exile  from  Plymouth,  in  possession  of  lands  near  Boston, 
and  in  1(331  a  similar  authority  was  given  him  in  favor  of  a  settler  at 
Dover,  New  Hampshire. 

Prior  to  1629  Blaxton  seems  to  have  lived  in  solitude,  apart  from 
his  kind,  with  only  nature  as  his  study,  and  the  savages  as  her  in- 
terpreters. At  length  a 
churchman  like  himself, 
Thomas  Walford,  is  re- 
ferred to  as  occufiying  a 
palisadoed  and  thatched 
house  at  Mishawum,  now 
Charlcstowu.  Later,  Samuel  Maverick,  an  uncompromising  church- 
man, is  found  living  at  Noddle's  Island,  now  East  Boston,  where  he  had 
built  a  small  fort,  "  placing  thereon  some  Murtherers,  to  protect  him 
from  the  Indians."  Thus  the  three  peninsulas,  now  covered  by  the 
cit.y  of  Boston,  and  part  f)f  the  pat- 
ent of  Gorges,  himself  a  churchman,  o  ^  At  '■  /* 
were  occupied  by  men  of  the  same  O**-^  uS^:  .^V^  «.ife^  l  <M^ 
faith,  who   thus,  as   it   were,  took 

possession  of  this  important  territory  in  fealty  to  the  crown  and  church 
of  the  mother-land.  Maverick  was,  as  Savage  informs  us,  "  a  srentlenian 
of  good  estate," "  but,  as  we  learn  from  Johnson's  "  Wonder-Working 
Providence,"*  "an  enemy  to  the  reformation  in  hand,  being  strong  for 
the  Lordly  prelaticall  powder,"  "  though  a  man  of  a  very  loving  and 
courteous  behaviour,"  and  "very  ready  to  entertaine  strangers." 
"  Worthy  of  a  perpetual  remembrance  "  is  the  testimony  given  of  him 
by  Winthrop,^  for  his  loving  ministrations,  and  those  rendered  byhis  wife 

>  Dr.  De  Costa's   "  Monograph  on  William  =  Wintlu-op's  "  Now    Englauil,"   i.,   p.  32, 

Blackstone,  in    liis    lelations  to  Massachusetts  iwte. 

and  Rhode  Ishmd,"  p.  4.  *  Lib.  I.,  Chap.  XVII.,  in  "  Mass.  Hist.  Soc. 

'  Meinoiiiil   Histoiy  of   Boston,  i.,  p.  75.  Coll.,"  11.,  p.  88. 

Piocccdimrs  of  the  Mass.  Hist.  Soc,   1878,  '■  i.,  p.  143,  Savage's  ed. 
pp.  194-20ti. 


'^W^xOU     ^-^f^ 


88 


HISTOHY  OF  THE   AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 


and  servants,  when  the  Indians  in  his  neighborhood  sicltened  and  died 
of  the  small-pox.    He  "  went  daily,"  we  are  told,  to  the  sufferers,  "  minis- 


tered to  their  necessities,  buried  their  dead,-  and  took  homo  man}'  of  their 
children."     Josselyn,  who  visited  this  noble-hearted  philanthropist,  in 


'  The  best  portrait  of  Goveruor  Winthrop  is 
tliat  iu  the  Senate  Chamber  of  Massachusetts,  — 
always  asei-ibed  to  Van  Dyck.  There  is  a  mar- 
ble statue  of  liim,  iu  a  sittiuy  posture,  in  the 
chapel  at  Mount  Auburn,  and  anulher,  stand- 
ing, in  the  Capitol  at  Washington.  A  third, 
standing  and  m  bronze,  has  been  recently 
erected  in  the  city  of  Boston.  All  the  statues 
are  by  Eichard  S.  Crecuough.  Sec  R.  C.  Win- 
throp s  "  Life  and  Letters  of  John  Wintlu'op," 
u.,  p.  408.  The  portrait  in  the  Senate  Cham- 
ber is  that  referred  to  in  Mather's  **  Magualia." 


A  descendant  in  New  York  has  another  likeness, 
much  inferior,  of  which  there  is  a  copy,  or 
duplicate,  in  the  hall  of  the  Antiquarian  Society 
at  Worcester.  The  family  has  also  a  miniature, 
thought  to  be  an  original,  but  it  is  in  very 
bad  condition.  There  are  two  copies  of  the 
Senate  Chamber  likeness  in  Memorial  Hall  at 
Cambridge ;  another  in  the  Boston  Athenseum, 
and  one  in  the  gallery  of  the  Massachusetts 
IDstorical  Society. 

'"Above  thirty  buried  by  Mr.  Maverick,  u( 
Wiuesemelt  in  one  day." —  iViiUhrop,  i.,  p.  1  VI. 


PIONEERS   OF   THE   CHURCH   IN   NEW   ENGLAND. 


89 


July,  1038,  speaks  of  him  :is  "the  onl}'  hospitable  man  in  all  the 
country,  giving  entertainment  to  all  Comers,  (jratis."  '  He;  lived  in  his 
island  liomc  for  many  years,  tailing  from  time  to  time  under  the  ani- 
madversions of  the  authorities,  for  the  too  free  exercise  of  the  apos- 
tolic virtue,  "given  to  hospitality,"  and  apparently  continuing  stead- 
fast in  his  devotion  to  tlie  churcli  of  his  l)aptism  and  early  love. 

In  1(530  the  quiet  possession  of  tiio  peninsula  of  Boston  was  broken 
b^'  the  ap}>earance  of  Governor  Winthrop  and  his  followers  at  Misha- 
wuni.  In  their  journey  of  exploration  made  on  foot  from  Salem  "to 
Mattachusetts,  to  tind  out  a  place  for  our  sitting  down,"  Winfhrop  re- 
cords^ that  they  "lay  at  Mr.  Maverick's,"  and  it  was  not  long  l)eforc 


ST.    BOTULl'U  >     (  IRUCII. 

they  had  established  themselves  at  their  new  home.  The  story  of 
their  change  of  location  from  Charlestown  to  Boston  is  recorded  in  the 
Charlestown  liecords  :  — 

In  tlie  meantime,  Mr.  Blackstone,  dwelling  on  the  other  side  Charles  River 
alone,  at  a  ])hife  by  the  Indeans  called  Shawmutt,  where  he  only  had  a  cottage,  at 
or  not  far  otf  the  place  called  Blackstone's  Point,  he  came  and  acquainted  the  Gov- 
ernor of  an  excellent  Spring  there ;  withal  inviting  him  and  soliciting  him  Inther. 
Whereupon,  after  the  death  of  jMr.  Johnson  and  divers  others,  the  Governor,  with 
Mr.  Wilson,  and  the  greatest  part  of  the  church  removed  hither:  whither  also  the 
frame  of  the  Governors  house,  in  jn-eparation  at  this  town,  was  also  (to  the  dis- 
content of  some)  carried  ;  where  peojile  began  to  build  their  houses  against  winter ; 
and  this  place  was  called  Boston.^ 


'  Two   Voyages    to    New    England,    p.  13. 
Boston,  1865.  " 

-  New  Euglaml,  i.,  p.  32. 


'  Quoted  in  the  "  Memoi'ial  History  of  Bos- 
'  1.,  p.  116. 


90  HISTORY   OF  THE   AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

To  this  spot — "a  paradise,"  '  as  Winthrop  styles  it,  when,  for  the 
tirsttimeseudinga  letter,  dated  from  "Boston,"  to  his  wife  —  the  solitary 
Blaxton  welcomed  his  countrymen.  His  humble  home  was  situated 
on  the  west  slope  of  Beacon  Hill,  from  which  he  commanded  an  unob- 
structed view  of  the  mouth  of  the  Charles.  Around  him  were  culti- 
vated grounds,  and,  it  is  said,  an  orchard.  It  was  on  the  7th  of 
September,  O.S.,  —  the  17th  as  we  now  reckon  it, — in  the  year  IfioO, 
that  the  Court  of  Assistants  ordered  "  thatTrimoimtaine  shall  be  called 
Boston ," —  a  name  endeared  to  the  new-comers  from  its  associations  with 
the  Lincolnshire  town  of  Boston,  England,  named  for  St.  Botolph, 
from  which  the  daughter  of  the  Earl  of  Lincoln,  the  Lady  Arbella 
-lohnson,  and  her  husband,  had  come  to  die  in  this  distant  land,  and 
where  one  whose  name  was  long  to  be  held  in  honor  in  the  new  home 
of  his  adoption  —  the  Eev.  John  Cotton  —  was  still  ministering  as 
vicar  of  the  noble  parish  church. 

The  settlers  at  Shawmut  were  of  the  company  which  sailed  from 
Southampton  on  the  22d  of  March  in  the  year  (1630),  bringing  both 
the  governor  and  "  the  Company  of  ]\Iassachusetts  Bay,"  and  bearing 
with  them  the  charter  of  Massachusetts.  In  the  principal  ship,  the 
"Arbella,"  with  the  governor,  were  the  Lady  Arbella,  from  whom  the 
vessel  took  its  name,  and  her  husband;  Sir  Richard  Saltonstall,  the 
Rev.  George  Phillips,  the  minister ;  Thomas  Dudley,  the  deputy-gov- 
ernor, and  others  ;  while  John  Wilson,  subsequently  the  first  minister 
of  Boston,  was  in  one  of  the  other  vessels,  which  bore  the  names  of  the 
"Talbot,"  the  "  Ambrose,"  and  the  "Jewel."  Detained  by  unfavorable 
winds  at  "  the  Cowes,"  and  again  while  off  Yarmouth,  it  was  not  until 
the  second  week  in  April  that  this  memorable  voyage,  which  brought  to 
our  shores  "The  Great  Emigration,"  as  it  was  called,  was  fairly  begun. 

The  delay  had  given  opportunity  for  the  members  of  the  company 
on  board  the  "  Arbella"  to  address  "  The  Humble  Request  of  His  Majesty's 
Loyall  Subjects,  the  Governor  and  the  Company  lately  gone  for  New 
England,  to  the  rest  of  their  brethren  in  and  of  the  Church  of  England, 
for  the  obtaining  of  their  Prayers,  and  the  removal  of  suspicious,  and 
Misconstruction  of  their  Intentions."  In  this  touching  farewell  and 
address,  evidently  prepared  for  the  correction  of  misapprehensions  which 
were  rife  as  to  designs  of  these  emigi'ants,  occurs  the  following  striking 
profession  of  their  intentions  and  belief:  — 

Howsoever  your  charity  may  have  met  with  some  occasion  of  discouragemeut 
through  the  misreport  of  our  intentions,  or  through  the  flisaifection  or  indiscretion 
of  some  of  us,  or  rather  amongst  us  (for  we  are  not  of  those  that  dream  of  perfec- 
tion in  tliis  world),  yet  we  desii'e  you  would  be  pleased  to  take  notice  of  the 
principals  and  body  of  our  company,  as  those  who  esteem  it  our  honor  to  call  the 
Church  of  England,  from  whence  we  rise,  our  dear  mother ;  and  cannot  part  from 
our  native  country,  where  she  specially  resideth,  without  much  sadness  of  heart, 
and  many  tears  in  our  eyes,  ever  acknowledging  that  such  hope  and  jiart  as  we 
have  obtained  in  the  common  salvation,  we  have  received  in  her  bosom,  and  sucked 
it  from  her  breasts. 

We  leave  it  not,  therefore,  as  loathing  that  milk  wherewith  we  were  nourished 
there  ;  but,  blessing  God  for  the  parentage  and  education,  as  members  of  the  same 
body  shall  always  rejoice  in  her  good,  and  unfeignedly  grieve  for  any  soitow  fliat 

'  Memorial  History  of  Boston,  I.,  p.  117. 


PIONEERS    OF   THE   CHURCH   IN    NEW   ENGLAND. 


'Jl 


shall  ever  betide  her,  and  while  we  have  breath,  sincerely  desire  and  endeavor  the 
continuance  and  abundance  of  her  welfare,  with  the  enlargement  of  her  bounds  in 
the  Kingdom  of  Christ  Jesus.' 

•Words  such  as  these  are  conclusive  as  to  the  attitude  of  the  leaders 
of  "The  Great  Emigi-ation "  towards  the  Church  on  the  "Easter  Mon- 


day,  Anno  Domini  1630,"  when  the  excellent  Winthrop  began  on  the 
"  Arbella,"  "  riding  at  the  Cowes,  near  the  Isle  of  Wight,"  the  invaluable 
journal  whence  we  derive  our.  fullest  knowledge  of  the  colony  for 
nearly  a  score  of  years.  It  was  not  till  the  ocean  was  crossed  that 
those  stigmatized  in  this  "  Address  "  as  indiscreet  or  disafl'ected  were 
found  to  be  in  the  ascendant  in  number  and  influence,  and  speedily 

1  Quoted  in  the  "  Mem.  Hist,  of  Boston,"  i.,  n.  lOS.     Vide,  aJso,  Hutchinson's  "  Hist,  of  Jfass.." 
I.,  pp.  487,  -tSS. 


92  HISTORY   OF   THE   AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

drew  to  their  side  the  very  writer  of  this  admirable  "Address."  It  had 
been  urged  that  "  faction  and  separation  fi'om  the  Church  "  had  been 
"secretly  harboured"  by  those  who  were  projecting  this  trans-Atlantic 
settlement,  and  that  the  colony  was  intended  to  become  "a  nursery  of 
faction  and  rebellion,  disclaiming  and  renouncing  our  church  as  a  limb 
of  Anti-Christ."  White,  in  "The  Planter's  Plea/'i  ansv;ers  this  objec- 
tion b}'  a  reference  to  "  the  letter  suliscribed  with  the  hands  of  tiie 
Governour  and  his  associates,"  as  affii-ming  the  contrary ;  and  this 
"patriarch  of  New  England  colonization,"  as  he  is  called,  proceeds  to 
defend  the  settlers  from  the  imjjutations  of  "  non-conformity  "  as  well 
as  "  separation."  "  Some  variation  fi'om  the  formes  and  customes  of 
our  church  "  might  be  hoped  for  or  expected,  but  that  the  promoters 
of  this  enterprise  Avere  "  projecting  the  erecting  of  this  colony  for  a 
nursery  of  ScMsmaticks''"  was  indignantly  deuicd.  The  assertion  was 
made  that  at  least  "  three  parts  of  foure  "  of  the  planters  were  "  able 
to  justihe  themselves  to  have  lived  in  a  constant  course  of  conformity 
unto  our  church  government  and  orders,"  and  that  the  governor,  "Air. 
lo.  Winthrop,"  had  "  beene  every  way  regular  and  confonnable  in  the 
whole  course  of  his  practise."  "  Neither  all  nor  the  greatest  part  of 
the  Ministers  are  unconformable,"-'  it  was  added.  Thus  earnestly  did 
the  adventurers  themselves,  at  the  outset  of  their  enterprise,  and  their 
friends  whom  they  left  behind,  disclaim  the  charge  of  separation  or 
non-conformity.  It  is  certainly  noteworthy,  in  view  of  these  profes- 
sions of  conformity  and  acquiescence  in  the  teachings  and  practice  of 
the  mother-church,  that  but  a  few  weeks  elapsed  after  they  had  landed 
in  the  New  World  ere  their  "  faction  and  separation  from  the  Church '' 
were  openly  confessed. 

The  fleet  that  Ijore  the  company  and  charter  of  Massachusetts  B.ay 
and  their  fortunes  had  but  barely  reached  the  New  England  coast  when, 
on  the  30th  of  July,  six  weeks  after  their  landing  at  Salem,  the 
governor,  his  deputy,  Mr.  Isaac  Johnson,  the  husband  of  the  Lady 
Arbella,  and  John  Wilson,  the  minister,  organized,  at  their  new 
home  in  Charlestown,  a  separatist,  non-conforming  "congregation  or 
church."' 

Sickness  and  death  made  havoc  in  the  little  community  at  Charles- 
town.  The  lack  of  fresh-water  was  sorely  felt,  and  the  invitation 
of  the  solitary  Blaxton  to  the  other  side  of  the  peninsula  doubtless 
prevented  the  extermination  of  the  colony. 

On  the  19th  of  October,  Blaxton  and  Maverick  were  admitted 
as  "  Freemen"  ;■*  but  the  following  May,  Thomas  Walford,  the  Charles- 
town  blacksmith,  a  churchman  who  was  not  a  freeman,  was  fined  40?^., 
and,  with  his  wife,  banished  from  the  "pattent,"  for  "  his  contempt  of 
authority  and  confrontinge  officers,  &c.,"*  and  it  was  ordered,  at  the 
next  meeting  of  the  General  Court,  that  "  for  time  to  come  noe  man 
shalbe  admitted  to  the  freedome  of  this  body  ]3olliticke,  but  such  as 

'  The    Planfcr's  Pica.  London,  1630.      Re-  sympathy  with  tlie  Piuitan  party,  of  which  he 

printed  iu  Foice's  "  Hist.  Tracts,"  II.,  pp.  33,  34.  subsequently  hecame  a  prominent  member. 

"  The  Planter's  Plea"  was  wi-itten   by  the  '-'  Ihid.,  p.  37. 

Rev.  .John  White,  of  Dorehcster,  En^''.,  who  has  "  Ihid.,  p.  35. 

been   stvled  the  "  father  of  the  Massachusetts  '  Records  of  M;vssachusetts,  i.,  p.  79.     Hist. 

Colony,''  and  "  the  Patriarch  of  New  England. "  Geneal.  Rcfrister,  m.,  pp.  41,  42. 
At  this  time  he  was  a  conformist,  though  in  "  Reconis  of  Massachusetts,  i.,  p.  86. 


PIONEERS   OF  THE   CHURCH   IN  NEW  ENGLAND. 


93 


ai'e  members  of  .some  of  the  chui-ches  within  the  lymitts  of  tiie  same."' 
The  oords  of  restraint  were  thus  being  tightened  around  the  few  old 
settlers  who  were  churchmen.  Even  the  cut  of  Blaxton's  coat  was 
offensive.  We  lind,  in  Johnson's  "  Wonder- Working  Providence,"  a 
quaint  passage,  throwing  a  little  light  on  the  manners  and  reputation 
of  this  eccentric,  but  amiable,  schohir  and  recluse,  who  was  the  earliest 
settler  of  Boston.    Eeferring  to  the  spring  of  1629,  this  writer  adds  :  — 

All  this  while  little  likelihood  there  was  of  Ijuildiuo;  the  Temple  for  Ood's 
worship,  there  l.ieing'  only  two  that  liegan  to  hew  stones  in^hc  ilountaines,  the  one 
named  Mr.  liright  and  the  other  JNIr.  Blaxton,  and  one  of  them  began  to  l)uild,  but 
when  they  saw  all  sorts  of  stones  would  nnt  lit  in  the  liuilding,  as  they  supposed, 
the  one  betnoke  him  to  the  seas  againe,  and  the  other  to  till  the  Land,  retaining 
no  simbole  of  his  former  profession,  but  aCanonicall  Coate.^ 


WISTHKOP  S     FLEET. 


In  the  "Magnalia"  Cotton  ]Mathcr  speaks  of  Blaxton  as  reckoned 
among  the  "godly  Episcojialians,"  and  refers  to  him  as  one  "who  by 
happening  to  sleep  first  in  an  hovel  upon  a  point  of  land  there,  laid  claim 
to  all  the  ground  whereupon  there  now  stands  the  metropolis  of  the 
whole  English  America,  until  the  inhabitants  gave  him  satisfaction."'* 
The  early  settlers  evidently  recognized  the  existence  of  more  than  a 
claim  on  Blaxton's  part,  for,  in  the  spring  of  1633,  the  records  state 
that  "it  is  agreed,  that  M''.  William  Blackestone  shall  haue  50  acres  of 


•  Records  of  Massachusetts,  I.,  p.  87. 

=  II.  Mass.  Hist.  Soc.  Coll.,  n.,  p.  70. 

3  This  cut  is  a  reduction,  by  permission,  from 
an  oil-paintinij  recently  completed  by  Mr.  "WUl- 
liam  F.  Ilalsal],  representing  a  part  of  the  fleet 
which  lirou^ht  Wiuthrop  and  his  company  to 
Salem  just  as  they  had  come  round  to  Boston 
Harbor  and  were  aroppinj;  anchor.  Tlie  vessels 
are  a  careful  study  of  the  ships  of  tlie  period. 
The  "  Arbella,"  the  admu-al  of  the  fleet,  a  ship 
of  three  hundred  and  fift)-  tons,  eanying  twenty- 


eight  guns  and  fifty-two  men,  is  in  the  fore- 
ground, being  towed  to  her  anchorage.  The 
"Talbot,"  the  vice-admiral,  riding  at  anchor, 
liides  Governor's  Island  from  the  spectator.  The 
"  Jewell,"  the  captain  of  the  fleet,  is  the  distant 
vessel  on  the  right,  where  Castle  Island  appears. 
The  time  is  late  in  a  July  day.  The  spectator's 
position  is  between  Boston  and  East  Boston. 
Vide  "  Memorial  Hist,  of  Boston,"  I.,  p.  1  l."i. 

*  Magnalia,  Book  m.,  Chap,  xi.,  Hartlbrd 
edition  of  1855,  p.  243. 


94  HISTORY   OF   THE   AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

ground  sett  out  for  hiui  neere  to  his  hovvse  in  Boston,  to  inioy  for 
euer."i  And  wlien,  at  a  later  day,  Blaxton  proposed  to  remove  from 
his  home  in  Boston,  full  payment  for  his  property  was  made  by  a  tax 
laid  on  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  growing  "  metropolis." 

We  have  no  record  of  services  and  sacraments  performed  by  this 
solitary  "  clerk  in  Holy  Orders,"  who  seems  to  have  spent  much  of  his 
time  in  raising  fruit  and  stock,  and  the  rest  among  the  tall  folios  and 
quartos  that  constituted  his  well-furnished  library.  A  few  allusions  in 
the  Puritan  histories  of  the  time,  added  to  the  reference  to  Blaxton 
and  another  clergyman  who  was  among  the  settlers  at  Salem,  which  we 
have  already  cited  from  Johnson's  "  Wonder-Working  Providence," 
afford  us  all  the  light  we  have  with  reference  to  Blaxton,  or  to  those 

who    with   him   clung  to   the   church  of 
>r#0  ^  pp      ^    their  baptism.     Hubliard,  in  his  "  Gener- 

'/y-^ulxAvi^  yfi-4:ib<>e-0^    al  History  of    New   England,"  following 

Johnson,  associated  Blaxton  with  the 
Rev.  Francis  Bright,  the  conformist  minister  of  Salem,  of  whom 
it  is  said  that  he,  "  not  unlike  Jonah,  fled  from  the  presence  of  the 
Lord,  and  went  down  to  Tarshish."  Finding  that  the  settlers  at 
Naumkeag,  or  Salem,  were  disposed  to  go  to  greater  lengths  in  their 
separation  from  the  Church  than  he  approved,  and,  doubtless,  having 
sympathized  with  those  of  the  people  who  had  already  set  up  the 
"  Comnion-Prayer-Worship  after  a  sort,"  as  Mather  tells  us,  he  re- 
moved to  Charlestown,  and  there  meeting  the  same  tendency  to  separa- 
tion he  "  lietooke  him  to  the  seas  asjain,"  or  in  other  words,  returned  to 
England.  Hul)l3ard,  alluding  to  these  aboilive  efforts  on  the  part 
of  Bright  and  Blaxton,  one  an  Oxford  and  the  other  a  Cambridge 
graduate,  to  introduce  the  Common  Prayer,  repeats  the  sneer  of 
Johnson  as  to  the  ecclesiastical  habit  of  the  latter,  adding  that  he 
"  betook  himself  to  till  the  ground  wherin  prol)ably  he  was  more 
skilled,  or  at  least  had  a  better  faculty,  than  in  the  things  pertain- 
ing to  the  house  of  God."^  Nor  only  this  ;  our  critic  waxes  eloquent 
in  his  amplification  of  Johnson's  Avords.  "For  any  one,"  proceeds 
Hubbai'd,  "to  retain  only  the  outwai'd  badge  of  his  functions,  that 
never  could  pretend  to  any  faculty  therein,  or  exercise  thereof,  is, 
though  no  honor  to  himself,  yet  a  dishonor  and  disparagement  to  the 
order  he  would  thereby  challenge  acquaintance  with."^  We  cannot 
wonder  that  Boston  soon  became  too  strait  for  this  churchman,  who  so 
pertinaciously  clung  to  his  "  canonical  coat."  As  Mather  tells  us,  "  this 
man  was,  indeed,  of  a  particular  humor,  and  he  would  never  join  him- 
self to  any  of  our  churches,  giving  this  reason  for  it :  'I  came  from 
England,  because  I  did  not  like  the  lord-bishops ;  but  I  cannot  join  with 
you,  because  I  would  not  be  under  the  lord-hrethren.'"*  Consequently, 
in  1G34,  he  turned  his  back  upon  orchard  and  garden  and  spring,  receiv- 
ing "  satisfaction  "  from  the  Bostonians  he  left  behind,  for  his  landed 
estate,  to  the  amount  of  £30,  every  householder  paying  six  shillings,^ 
and  with  his  books  and,  tradition  tells  us,  a  herd  of  cattle,  he  pene- 

'Rccoi'Js  of  the   Col.  of  the  Mass.  Bay,  i.,  'Ibid. 

p.  101.  '  'Maifiialia,  Book  iii.,xi. 

-Hubbard,   in    II.   Mass.  Hist.   See.  Coll.,  ■'Memorial    History    of    Boston,   I.,  p.  8.'), 

v.,  p.  113.  n„lf. 


PIONEERS   OF   THE   CHURCH   IN   NEW   ENGLAND.  95 

tnited  further  into  the  wilderness,  and  among  "God's  first  temples"  set 
up  his  sanctuary  and  home.  A  few  years  later,  in  1641,  Lechford,  a 
churchman,  and  the  author  of  "  Plain  Dealing,"  writes  as  follows  :  — 

"  One  Master  Blakeston,  a  Minister,  went  from  Boston,  having  lived  there 
nine  or  ten  yeares,  because  he  would  not  joyne  with  the  Chureh,"  adding  "  he  lives 
neere  Master  Williams,  but  is  far  from  his  opinions. "  ' 

It  was  to  a  spot  to  which  he  gave  the  name  of  "  Study  Hill," 
within  the  limits  of  the  present  town  of  Lonsdale,  Rhode  Island,  that 
Blaxton  removed,  thus  becom- 
ing  the   first  white   inhabitant,      f~\ 

as    well    as    minister,    of   that      %{    /2/l'^tA'       W^ l' Ik O    Jn< 
State.     From  time  to  time  he  J  y^^  ^         (  ^J  ^^  U^  mZ 

visited  Boston,  where  he  mar- 
ried Mistress  Sarah  Stephenson,  July  4,  1659.  He  is  said  to  have 
occasionally  officiated  at  Providence,  when  he  was  old,  gathering  about 
him  the  children  by  gifts  of  fruit ;  and,  without  doubt,  the  words  of  the 
Common  Prayer  were  heard  at  stated  times  by  the  little  community  at 
"Study  Hill."  Hopkins,  of  Providence,  who  gives  us  traditionary 
tales  of  this  simple-minded,  gentle-hearted  recluse,  speaks  of  him  as 
"an  Exemplary  Christian."  Fond  of  tilling  the  earth,  fond  of  the  "  low- 
ing herd,"  fond  of  study,  and  fond  of  children,  as  these  old  chroniclers 
depict  him,  we  may  be  proud  of  Boston's  first  inhal)itant  and  Rhode 
Island's  earliest  settler, —  the  Rev.  William  Blaxton,  A.M.  He  died  at 
Cumberland,  Rhode  Island,  May  26, 1675,  the  Wednesday  after  Whit- 
sunday, being  upwards  of  fourscore  years  old,  and  having  survived  his 
wife  nearly  two  years.  His  library,  numbering  nearly  two  hundred  vol- 
umes, together  with  his  "paper  books,"  ten  in  number,  and  inventoried  at 
five  shillings,  were  destroyed  by  the  Indians  shortly  after  his  decease. 
In  the  "  First  General  Letter  of  the  Governor  and  Deputy  of  the 
New  England  Company "  to  the  settlers  at  Naumkeag,  or  Salem,  in 
Massachusetts,  under  Endicott,  Avritten  from  Gravesend,  April  17, 
1629,  and  beginning  with  the  pious  ejaculation,  "Laus  Deo,"  appear  the 
names  of  "  Mr.  John  and  Mr.  Samuell  Browne,"  as  members  of  "  the 
Councell  of  the  Mattachusetts  Baj%"  -  following  next  to  the  names  of 
the  ministers,  Francis  Higginson,  Samuel  Skelton,  and  Francis  Bright. 
In  a  postscript  to  this  important  official  communication  the  writers  ap- 
pend a  special  recommendation  of  "  two  Brethren  of  our  Comp  :  Mr. 
John  and  Mr.  Sam.:  Browne,  who,  though  they  bee  noe  adventurers  in 
the  generall  stock,  yett  ai'e  they  men  wee  doe  much  respect,  being 
fully  perswaded  of  their  sincere  affeccions  to  the  good  of  o""  plantacion. 
The  one,  Mr.  John  Browne,  is  sworne  an  Assistant  heere,  and  by  vs 
chosen  one  of  the  councell  there  —  a  man  experienced  in  the  lawes  of 
o""  kingdome,  and  such  an  one  as  wee  are  perswaded  will  worthylie  de- 
serve yo'  fauor  and  furtherance,  w"*"  we  desire  he  may  haue,  and  that  in 
the  first  devision  of  land  there  may  be  allotted  to  either  of  them  200 


'Plain  Dealinjr,  or  News  from  New  Eng-  'Rccordg  of  Massachiigetts,  i.,  p.  387. 

land,  Boston,  1867,  p.  97.  '  "  Ibid.,  i.,  p.  39S. 


96  HISTORV   OF   THE   AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

The  story  of  the  Brownes,  as  given  by  the  Puritan  authorities,  la 
as  follows :  — 

Some  of  the  passengers  that  came  over,  observing  that  the  ministers  did  not 
at  all  use  the  book  of  Common  prayer,  and  that  they  didadminister  baptism  and  the 
Lord's  supper  without  the  ceremonies,  and  that  they  professed,  also,  to  use  disci- 
pline in  the  congregation  against  scandalous  persons,  by  a  personal  application  of 
the  word  of  God,  as  the  case  might  require,  and  tliat  some  that  were  scandalous 
were  denied  admission  into  the  cluirch,  they  began  to  raise  some  ti'ouble.  Of  these, 
Mr.  Samuel  Browne  and  his  brother  were  the  chief,  the  one  being  a  lawj'er,  the 
other  a  merchant,  both  of  them  amongst  the  number  of  the  first  patentees,  men  of 
party  and  post  in  the  place.  These  two  brothers  gathered  a  company  together,  in 
a  place  distinct  from  the  public  assembly,  and  there,  sundry  times,  the  book  of 
Common  prayer  was  read  unto  such  as  resorted  tliither.  The  governour,  Mr.  Endi- 
cot,  taking  notice  of  the  disturbance  that  began  to  gi'ow  amongst  the  people  by  this 
means,  he  convented  the  two  brothers  before  him.  They  accused  the  ministers  as 
departing  from  the  orders  of  the  Church  of  England,  that  they  were  separatists, 
and  would  be  anabaptists,  etc. ;  but  for  themselves,  they  would  hold  to  the  orders 
of  the  Church  of  England.  The  ministers  answered  for  themselves,  that  they  were 
neither  separatists  nor  anabaptists ;  they  did  not  separate  from  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land, nor  from  the  ordinances  of  God  there,  but  only  from  the  corruptions  and  dis- 
orders there  ;  and  that  they  came  away  from  the  common  prayer  and  ceremonies, 
and  had  suft'ered  much  for  their  nonconformity  in  their  native  land,  and,  therefore, 
being  in  a  place  where  they  might  have  their  liberty,  they  neither  could  nor  would 
use  them,  because  they  judged  the  imposition  of  these  tilings  to  be  sinful  coiTup- 
tions  in  the  worship  of  God.  The  governour  and  council,  and  the  generality  of  the 
people,  did  well  approve  of  the  ministers'  answer;  and,  therefore,  finding  those  two 
brothers  to  be  of  high  spirits,  and  their  speeches  and  practices  tending  to  mutiny 
and  faction,  the  governour  told  them  that  New  England  was  no  place  for  such  as 
they ;  and,  therefore,  he  sent  them  both  back  for  England,  at  the  return  of  the  ships 
the  same  year ;  and  though  they  breathed  out  threalenings,  both  against  the  gov- 
ernor and  ministers  there,  j'et  the  Lord  so  disposed  of  all,  that  there  was  no  I'urthcr 
inconvenience  followed  upon  it.' 

The  records  of  the  colony^  show,  in  addition  to  the  storj'  as  told 
above,  that  the  letters  of  these  brothers  to  "divers  of  their  private 
friends  in  England,"  notwithstanding  their  ofBcial  position  and  standing 
in  the  company  and  community,  were  "  opened  and  publiqiiely  read." 
Those  of  Mr.  Samuel  Browne  were  not  delivered,  l)y  order  of  the  com- 
pany, "  but  kept  to  bee  made  vse  of  against  him  as  occasion  shalbe 
offered."  Banished  as  "  factious  and  evil-conditioned  ; "  their  goods,  left 
behind  them  in  their  simmiary  and  forced  departure,  were,  as  they 
alleged,  ''  undervalued  and  divers  things  omitted  to  be  praised ;  "  and, 
on  their  presentation  of  "a  \vryting  of  grevances,"  desiring  recoinpence 
for  "loss  and  damage  sustained  by  them  in  New  England,"  it  need  not 
surprise  us  that  it  was  voted  that,  on  their  submitting  their  case  to 
the  company's  "  fynall  order,"  two  of  the  company  should  "  sett 
downe  what  they  in  their  Judg™'  shall  thinke  requisite  to  bee  allowed 
them  for  their  pretended  damage  sustained,  and  soe  to  make  a  fynall 
end  accordingly."  The  records  contain  no  report  of  a  committee  thus 
constituted. 

The  "  fynall  end  "  does  not  appear.  Driven  from  their  new  home,  the 
expenses  of  the  outfit,  voyage,  and  settlement  were,  of  course,  a  total 
loss.     Though  they  had  remained  in   New   England  but  five  or  six 

'  Morton's  "N.E.  Memorial,"  y.  147.  in.,  pp.  50-54,  .'56,  Go,  76.    Vide,  aho, "  Rccordsof 

'Published  in   '*  Arch.^eolopfia  Americana,"    Massachusetts,"  i.,  pp.  51  ')4,  60-69 


PIONEERS   OF   THE   CHURCH   IN   NEW   ENGLAND.  97 

weeks,  the  sacrifice  of  property  was  cloul)tlcss  considernlile.  A  learned 
American  arcliivologist,'  in  annotating  on  this  portion  of  the  Massa- 
chnsctts  Records,  says,  that  ''it  is  probable  thata  reasonahku'enmncra- 
tion  was  allowed  them;  "  ))ut  of  this  there  is  no  proof.  In  the;  \iew 
of  those  who  perpetrated  this  flagrant  outrage  on  personal  liberty  and 
freedom  of  conscience,  the  behavior  of  the  Brownes  was  "  ofl'ensive," 
and  their  loss  and  damage  but  "pretended."  Careful  to  have  "an 
obsequious  eye  "  to  "the  State,"  the  authorities  at  home  were  willing 
to  caution  the  ministers  and  magistrates  of  Salem  to  be  waiy  of  their 
''  scandalous  and  intemperate  speeches,"  in  "  publique  sermons  or 
prayers  in  N.  England,"  and  "rash  innovations  begun  and  practised 
in  the  civil  and  Ecclesiastical  Government;"^  but  for  the  aggrieved 
and  injured  brothers  there  was  no  redress,  either  for  the  wrong  done 
to  their  persons,  or  the  injury  to  their  property.  With  their  forcible 
ejectment  from  the  settlement  at  Salem,  the  use  of  the  Common  Prayer 
and  all  eflbrts  for  conformity,  of  which  any  record  is  extant,  ceased. 
The  Rev.  Francis  Bright,  either  to  escape  a  like  fate,  or  despairing  of 
any  success  with  the  determined  separatists  under  the  leadorshii)  of 
Endicott,  Higginson,  and  Skeltou,  removed  to  Charlestown,  and 
shortly  afterwards  sailed  for  England. 

During  the  years  1638-1641,  Thomas  Lechford,  "  of  Clement's 
Inne,  in  the  County  of  Middlesex,  Gent,"  who  had  earlier,  as  he  tells 
us,  "  sufl'ered  imprisonment,  and  a  kind  of  banishment  .  .  .  for  some 
acts  construed  to  oppose,  and  as  tending  to  subvert  Episcopaeic,  and  the 
settled  Ecclesiasticall  government  of  England,"  resided  in  Boston.  The 
offence  to  which  he  I'cfers,  as  we  learn  from  a  passing  allusion  in  Mr. 
Cotton's  "  Way  of  Congregational  Churches  Cleared,"  was  his  "  wit- 
nessing against  the  Bishops,  in  soliciting  the  cause  of  Mr.  Prynne." 
Lechford  landed  in  Boston  a  little  more  than  a  year  after  Prynne's  trial 
in  the  Star  Chamber.  He  was  accompanied  from  England,  it  is  sup- 
posed, by  his  wife.  Almost  from  the  very  hour  of  his  landing  he  was 
I'egardcd  with  distrust  by  those  of  influence  and  authority  in  church 
and  commonwealth.  His  profession  was  objectionable,  "  no  advocate 
being  allowed"  in  matters  requiring  legal  process;  and  his  view*  in 
ecclesiastical  matters  were  soon  found  to  be  diametrically  opposite  to 
those  which  obtained  in  the  Massachusetts  Bay.^  The  "  divine  right  of 
Episcopacy,"  which  he  maintained  in  conversations  with  the  leading 
men  of  the  colony,  he  sought  to  prove  in  a  manuscript  treatise,  which 
he  submitted  to  the  deputy  governor,  Dudley,  a  man  of  marked 
conscientiousness,  narrow  vision,  and  intense  prejudices,  who  saw  in 
the  toleration  of  novel  opinions  in  theology  "a  cocatrice's  egg," — 

"  To  poison  all  with  heresy  and  vice." 

Dudley  pronounced  the  book  "  erroneous  and  dangerous,  if  not  he- 
reticall,"  and  sent  it  to  Winthrop  with  the  suggestion,  "that  instead  of 
puttingc  it  to  the  presso  as  hee  desireth,  it  may  rather  be  putt  into  the 
fii'e  as  I  desire."'*     This  manuscrii)t,  with  another  of  Lechford's  theo- 

>  S.  F.  Haven,    LT>.D.,   cilitoi-    of   a    por-  =  Records  of  Massachusetts,   I.,  p.  407-409. 

tion  of  llie  "  Recordsof  theCnuipuny  of  tlu-.Mas-  ^Winthrnp's  "New  EuLiland,"  il.,  p.  43. 

saihiisetts  Bay."  —  Architoloijia  Americann,\u.,  ■'J.     Hammuiul     TnimbiiU's      Reprint    of 

p.  76.  "  Plain  Dealiui;,"  pp.  22,  2.3. 


98  HISTORY   OF   THE   AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 


PIONEERS   OF   THE   CHURCH   IN   NEW    ENGLAND.  99 

logicnl  essays,  was  submittod  to  a  council  of  the  Elders  :  but  neither  in 
conference  nor  in  writinij;  could  the  author  be  convinced  of  error,  while 
the  Elders  would  not  admit  that  the  opinions  he  advanced  could  be  held 
" salva  fide  "  Consequently  the  friend  and  supporter  of  Pryune  was 
compelled  to  I'eraain  outside  of  the  pale  of  the  New  England  "church," 
and  exclusion  from  church  fellowship  carried  wilh  it  exclusion  from  the 
jirivileges  of  a  freeman,  and  disqualiti cation  for  civil  otEce.  "Kept 
irom  all  places  of  jircferment  in  the  Commonwealth,"  he  was  "forced 
to  get  his  living  by  writing  petty  tilings,  wiiich  scarce  found  him 
bread."*  By  plying  his  pen  as  a  conveyancer,  scrivener,  ordraughts- 
man,  he  eked  out  a  scanty  livelihood  ;  but  regular  employment  iis  a 
clerk,  or  public  notaiy,  for  which  his  studies  and  expei'ience  peculiarly 
qualified  him,  was  denied  him  by  the  court,  as  he  states,  "for  fear  of 
ofl'ending  the  churches  because  of"  his  "  opinions."  Debarred  from  the 
exer(^ise  of  his  profession  for  his  injudicious  and  unprofessional  exer- 
tions in  behalf  of  a  client's  cause,  his  apology  was  received  by  the  coui't, 
and  he  was  suffered  to  practise  again,  with,  it  would  appear,  but  little 
improvement  of  his  "  low  and  poor  estate."  In  his  capacity  as  a  copy- 
ist he  was  employed  in  writing  "  The  court  booke  "  for  Mr.  Eudicott, 
and  among  other  things,  the  "  breviatof  laws,"  subsequently  adopted, 
with  some  amendments,  as  the  Body  of  Liberties.  It  was  during  the 
execution  of  this  latter  work,  which,  as  Mr.  J.  Hammond  Trumljull 
says,  "in  his  hands,  we  maybe  sure,  was  something  more  than  that  of 
mere  transcription,"  he  "  conceived  it  his  duty,  in  discharge  of  his  con- 
science," and  "  as  Amicus  curia,  with  all  faithfulness  to  present,"  to  the 
governor  and  magistrates,  his  ol)jcctions  to  certain  laws  proposed  to  be 
embodied  in  the  code.  But,  though  industrious,  and  evidently  honest 
in  his  convictions  of  duty,  and  in  his  conscientious  devotion  to  his  opin- 
ions, it  was  evident  that  he  was  daily  becoming  more  and  more 
dissatisfied  with  both  church  and  commonwealth  as  they  existed  in 
New  England.  That  his  prelatical  views,  and  his  zeal  in  advocating 
them,  made  him  obnoxious  to  the  magistrates,  to  the  ministers,  and 
to  the  members  of  the  Puritan  church,  is  evident.  The  wonder 
is  that  he  was  tolerated  at  all.  He  was  neither  a  freeman  nor  a 
church-member.  He  was  not  even  a  householder.  In  the  eye  of 
the  law  he  was  merely  a  "  transient  person,"  ^vho  could  be  warned 
out  of  the  jurisdiction  of  the  magistrates,  if  need  be,  without  tlie  assign- 
ment of  a  reason.  He  questioned  the  validity  of  non-episcopal  orders, 
and  disapproved  of  the  exercise  by  the  "  freemen,"  as  they  were  con- 
stituted in  the  Massachusetts  Bay,  of  the  I'ight  to  elect  their  own  rulers. 
These  opinions  he  complacently  communicated  to  Governor  Winthrop, 
the  deputy-governor  Dudley,  and  the  preachers,  Mr.  Cotton  and  Mr. 
Wilson ;  and  these  views,  with  possibly  some  reserve  in  the  expression 
of  his  "  full  mind  in  some  things,"  he  doubtless  expressed  to  all  who 
came  in  his  way.  At  length  the  General  Court  was  "  pleased  to  say 
something  to  him,  as  for  good  counsel  about  some  tenets  and  disputa- 
tious which  he  had  held,  advising  him  to  bear  himself  in  silence  and  as 
became  him."  The  records  show  that  he  confessed  that  "  hee  had  over- 
shot himselfe,"  and  was  "  sorry  for  it,"  and  on  his  promise  "to  attend 

'  Plain  Dcalins,  p.  69. 


100 


HISTORY    OF   THK   AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 


his  calling,  aiul  not  to  meddle  w'"  controversies,"  he  was  dismissed.' 
The  controversies  in  which  he  had  "  too  far  meddled "  concerned 
"  matters  of  church  government  and  the  like  ;  "  "  the  foundation  of  the 
church  and  the  ministry,  and  what  rigid  separations  may  tend  unto." 
Shortly  after  these  experiences  he  returned  to  England.  It  was  sup- 
posed that  Prynne  sent  the  money  for  his  passage.  He  sailed  from 
IJoston  on  the  3d  of  August,  1641,  touching  at  Newfoundland  on  his 
homeward  route.  On  the  l(!th  of  Noveml)er  he  was  again  an  inmate 
of  Clement's  Inn,  and  had  returned  "humbly"  "to  the  Church  of 
England,  for  whose  peace,  purity,  and  prosperity "  his  daily  prayers 
went  up  to  heaven.  His  book  was  an  attempt  to  prove  that  "all  was 
out  of  joint,  both  in  church  and  commonwealth,"  in  Massachusetts. 
The  book  was  not  written  in  a  wholly  unfriendly  spirit,  and  certainly 
does  not  deserve  the  sweeping  criticism  of  Mr.  Cotton,  that  it  might 
be  called  "  false  and  fraudulent."  Dr.  Hammond,  his  latest  editor, 
pronounces  him  "conscientious,  painstaking,  tolerably  exact,  and 
almost  always  reliable." 

We  know  nothing  of  Lechford's  career  after  his  return  save  a 
single  sentence  in  Mr.  Cotton's  "  Way  of  Congregational  Churches 
Cleared,"  which  tells  us  that  "  when  he  came  to  England,  the  Bishops 
were  falling,  so  that  he  lost  his  friends,  and  hopes,  both  in  Old  Eng- 
land and  New  :  yet  put  out  his  Book  (such  as  it  is)  and  soon  after 
dyed."^  The  "Plain  Dealing  "  is  his  sole  legacy.  It  is  certainly  the 
work  of  an  honest  man,  whose  churchmanship  was  the  result  of  con- 
viction, and  had  the  merit  of 
J)ein2'  avowed  at  a  time  most 
tune  for  the  convert's 


But  a  little  later  Ihan  the 
settlement  of  the  Lcydcn  Puri- 
tans at  Plymouth,  and  under 
tiie  authority  of  the  ('ouncil  of 
New  England,  a  patent  was 
granted  to  Captain  Mason  of  all 
the  territory  from  the  river  of 
Naumkcag,  now  called  .Salem, 
njund  Cape  Ann,  to  the  Mer- 
rimack, antl  extending  up  each 
of  the  rivers  named  to  its 
source  ;  then  crossing  from  the 
head  of  one  to  the  head  of  the 
other,  and  including  all  the 
islands  lying  within  tlu'ce  miles 
of  the  coast  comprised  within 
these  limits.  This  grant  re- 
ceived the  name  of  Mariana,  and  was  made  in  1621.'  The  following 
year  a  grant  was  made  to  Gorges  and  Mason  jointly  of  all  the  territory 
between  the  rivers  Merrimack  and  Sagadahoclc,  and  extending  back  to 


^p# 


>  Mass.  Col.  Records,  I.,  p.  310. 
■■'  Part  I.,  p.  7! . 


"'  Bclkuap's  "  New  llanipsbirc,"  I  ,  p.  4, 


PIONEERS   OF   THE   CHURCH   IN   NEW    ENGLAND.  101 

the  great  lakes  and  river  of  Canada.      This  domain  received  the  name 
of  Laconia.' 

Under  the  authority  of  this  grant  Gorges  and  Mason,  in  eonncf- 
tion  with  a  numl^er  of  merchants  of  London,  and  the  leading  cities  in  tlie 
west  and  south-west  of  England,  organized  the  "  Company  of  Laconia," 
and  in  1623  attempted  a  colony  and  fishing-station  at  the  mouth 
of  the  river  Piscataqua.  Two  settlements  were  established,  one  on 
the  southern  shore  of  the  river,  near  its  mouth,  called  Little  Harl)or. 
Here  a  fort  was  erected,  and  a  manor-house,  called  Mason  Hall,  was 
built  on  a  commanding  eminence  protected  by  the  fortification.  A 
part  of  the  original  settlers,  Edwardand  William  Hilton,  fish-mongcrp, 
of  London,  occupied  a  neck  of  land  eight  miles  farther  up  the  river, 
which  they  named  Northam,  and  afterwards  Dover.  In  1629  the  set- 
tlers at  the  mouth  of  the  Pascataqua  combined  for  mutual  protection, 
and  set  on  foot  a  scheme  of  local  government.  Two  years  later  up- 
wards of  fifty  men  were  in  the  employ  of  Captain  Mason,  as  stewards 
and  servants.  Some  idea  of  the  comparative  importance  of  this  church 
settlement,  for  such  it  was,  can  be  drawn  from  the  fact  that,  in  the 
assessment  of  the  settlers  at  vai'ious  points,  towardsthe  charges  of  arrest- 
ing Thomas  Morton,  in  1628,  "  Pascataquack  "  was  rated  the  same  as 
"Plimouth."  Various  efforts  were  made  by  Mason  for  the  furtherance 
of  the  settlements  made  under  his  auspices,  with  but  indifferent  suc- 
cess ;  and  in  1638  Winthro}i,  the  Governor  of  the  Colony  of  Massa- 
chusetts Bay,  records  his  death  as  that  of  "the  chief  mover  in  all 
the  attempts  against  us ; "  adding,  "  the  Lord  in  mercy,  taking  him 
away."^  The  character  of  this  sturdy  old  churchman,  who  was  a  rela- 
tive of  the  Kev.  Doctor  Robert  Mason,  chancellor  of  the  diocese  of 
Winchester,  to  whom  a  reversionary  interest  was  bequeathed  in  his 
w'M,  may  be  l^etter  judged  by  his  gift  in  trust  of  a  thousand  acres  of 
land  for  the  maintenance  of  "  an  honest,  godly  and  religious  preacher 
of  God's  Word,"  and  a  bequest  of  a  similar  nature  and  value  for  the 
support  of  a  grammar  school ;  the  first  bequests  in  New  England,  on 
record,  for  religious  or  educational  purposes.  That  there  was  a  clergy- 
man of  the  Church  connected  with  these  early  settlements  in  New 
Hampshire  does  not  admit  of  a  doubt ;  and  the  name  of  "  John  Mich- 
ell,  a  Minister,"  is  found  on  the  Privy  Council  Register,  June  27,  1638, 
as  having  a  claim  on  Sir  Ferdinando  Gorges  for  remuneration  for  advent- 
ures in  Laconia.^  In  1640,  May  25th,^  a  grant  of  fifty  acres  of  land 
for  a  glebe  was  made  by  the  governor,  Francis  Williams,  and  inlial>- 
itants  of  Sti'awberry  Bank,  since  known  as  Portsmouth,  to  Thomas 
Walford,  —  the  "smith"  of  Charlestown,  who  had  been  banished  from 
the  spot  where  he  had  been  the  first  occupant,  by  Winthrop  and  his 
associates, — and  Henry  Sherl)urne,  church-M^ardens  of  Portsmoulli, 
and  their  successors  forever  as  feoft'ees  in  trust,  by  virtue  of  which  grant 
this  land  is  still  held.  At  this  time  there  were  a  chapel  and  parsonage 
at  Portsmouth.  The  church  was  furnished  "  with  one  great  Bilile, 
twelve  Service  Books,  one  pewter  flagon,  one  communion  cuj)  and 
cover  of  silver,  two  fine  table  cloths  and  two  napkins."*     These  had 

1  Belknap's  "  New  Hampshire,"  i.,  p.  4.  '  Belknap's  "  New  Hampshire,"  i.,  p.  2S. 

-  Savage's  "  Winthrop,"  I.,  p.  223.  "  Batchelder's  "  Hist,  of   the  Eastern  Dio- 

'  Jenness's"  Transcripts,"  etc..  p.  29.  cesc,"  i.,  p.  134. 


102  HISTORY   OF   THE   AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

l)een  sent  ovei*  b}'  Mason,  with  that  thoughtful  care  and  reverent  loy- 
alty which  marked  a  devout  and  earnest  churcliman.  The  erection  of 
"the  parsonage  house,  with  a  chapel  thereto  united,"  was  the  "free  and 
voluntary  "  act  of  "  divers  and  sundry  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  lower 
end  of  Pascataquack." '  Twelve  of  the  fifty  acres  granted  to  the 
church-wardens  were  adjoining  the  parsonage.  The  remainder  was 
laid  out  at  the  head  of  "  Strawberry-bank  Creek."  The  right  of  pre- 
sentation to  the  "  living  "  was  in  the  hands  of  the  parishioners.  The 
grant  proceeds  as  follows  :  — 

And  for  as  much  as  the  said  parishioners  have  founded  and  built  the  said  par- 
sonage-house, chappell,  with  the  appurtenances  at  their  own  proper  cost  and  charges, 
and  have  made  choyse  of  Mr.  Richard  Gibson  to  be  the  first  parson  of  the  said  par- 
sonage, see  likewise  whensoever  the  said  parsonage  happen  to  be  voyd  by  death  of 
the  incumbent,  or  his  time  agreed  upon  expired,  that  then  the  patronage  presently 
and  nomination  of  the  parson  to  be  vested  and  remain  in  the  power  and  election  of 
the  said  parishioners  or  the  greater  part  of  them  forever.'' 

In  the  inventories  of  the  property  possessed  by  the  settlers  at 
"  Newitchwanicke  "  and  "Pascattaquack,"  in  July,  1633,  we  find  in- 
cidental evidence  of  the  churchmanship  of  the  colony.  Record  is 
made  of  "  1  Psalter"  ;  "  1  communion  cup  and  cover  of  silver ;  1  small 
communion  table  cloth  "  ^  and  "  2  service  bookes. "  In  July,  1635,  there 
were  inventoried  as  lielonging  to  the  "Plantations  at  Piscataway  and 
Newichewanock,"  "  For  Religious  Use,"  "  1  great  bible,  12  service 
books,  1  pewter  flJaggon,  1  communion  cup  and  cover  of  silver,  2  fine 
table  cloths,  2  napkins."'' 

The  independence,  whether  civil  or  ecclesiastical,  of  the  church 
jiioneers  of  New  Hampshire  was  but  short-lived.  The  settlements  on 
the  Piscataqua  passed,  in  1641,  under  the  authority  of  Massachusetts. 
The  power  thus  acquired  was  speedily  and  remorselessly  exercised  to 
crush  out  all  tendencies  towards  "  the  hierarchy  and  descipline  of  the 
Church  of  England. "^  At  the  "  General  Court,""  held  in  1642,  as  Win- 
throp  tells  us,  "appeared  one  Richard  Gibson,  a  scholar,  sent  three  or 
four  years  since  to  Richman's  Island,  to  be  a  minister  to  a  fishing 
plantation  there,  belonging  to  one  Mr.  Trelawney  (Tretaway?)  of 
Plimouth  in  England.  He  removed  from  there  to  Pascataquack,  and 
this  year  was  entertained  by  the  fishermen,  at  the  Isle  of  Shoals,  to 
preach  to  them.  He  being  wholly  addicted  to  the  hierarchy  and  dis- 
cipline of  England,  did  exercise  a  ministerial  function  in  the  same 
way,  and  did  marry  and  baptize  at  the  Isle  of  Shoals,  which  was  now 
found  to  be  within  our  jurisdiction.  This  man  being  incensed  against 
Mr.  Larkham,  pastor  of  the  church  at  Northam  (late  Dover),  for 
some  speeches  he  delivered  in  his  sermon  against  such  hirelings,  etc., 
he  sent  an  open  letter  to  him,  wherein  he  did  scandalize  our  govern- 
ment, oppose  our  title  to  those  parts,  and  provoke  the  people,  by  way 
of  arguments,  to  revolt  from  us  (this  letter  being  shown  to  many  be- 
fore Tt  came  to  Mr.  Larkham).     Air.  Gil)son  being  now  showed  this 

•  Batchelder's  "  Hist,  of  the  Eastern   Dio-  n  Provincial  Papers,  I.,  pp.  78,  80. 

cese,"  I.,  p.  134.  '  Md.,  p.  116. 

!  Provincial    Papers,   New    Hampshire,   I.,  i^  Winthrop's  "  Hist,  of  N.  E.,"  II.,  p.  79. 
pp.  111-113. 


PIONEERS    OF   THE    CHURCH    IN    NEW   ENGLAND.  103 

letter,  and  charged  with  his  offence,  ho  could  not  deny  the  tiling, 
whereupon  he  was  committed  to  tlie  marshall.  In  a  day  or  two  after 
he  preferred  a  petition  which  gave  not  satisfaction,  Ijut  the  next  day  he 
made  a  full  acknowledgment  of  all  he  was  charged  with,  and  the  evil 
thereof,  submitting  himself  to  the  favor  of  the  court.  Whereupon,  in 
regard  he  was  a  stranger,  and  was  to  depart  the  country  within  a 
few  days,  he  was  discharged  without  any  fine  or  other  punishment."  ' 
There  is,  as  a  late  annotator^  on  the  men  and  measures  of  this  period 
of  New  England  history  aptly  describes  it,  in  his  reference  to  a  similar 
exercise  of  authority,  "  a  grim  solemnity  "  in  the  Puritan  governor's 
record  of  the  arrest  and  imprisonment  of  this  "  scholar,"  who  was 
willing  to  lay  aside  his  books  to  minister  the  word  and  sacraments  to 
the  fishermen  of  the  Isle  of  Shoals.  Doulitless  his  sorrow  for  the 
offence  of  doubting  the  higli-luuided  usurpation  of  the  Massachusetts 
authorities  over  the  churchmen  of  his  cure,  and  scandalizing  the 
government  of  Wiuthrop  and  his  fellow-magistrates,  was  quickened 
by  a  realization  of  the  despotic  power  at  whose  mercy  he  was  placed. 
Even  the  "corporal  punishment,"  thought  unfit  for  Morton,  "be- 
ing old  and  crazy,"  as  well  as  the  winter  imprisonment  on  scanty  fare, 
and  without  either  fire  or  bedding,  added  to  a  heavy  fine,  which  was 
"  awarded  to  a  member  of  the  legal  profession,  "  whose  oftcnce,  as  stated 
by  Winthrop,  was  that  he  had  made  a  "  complaint  against  us  at  the 
Council  Board,"  might  have  been  anticipated  in  the  case  of  the  "scholar" 
Gibson,  but  for  his  timely  submission  to  the  powers  that  were.  To 
question  the  "  right  divine"  of  the  Puritan  theocracy  ;  to  petition  against 
gross  abuses  to  the  source  whence  whatever  authority  claimed  or  pos- 
sessed under  the  Massachusetts  charter  was  derived  ;  or  to  "  provoke 
the  people  by  way  of  arguments  to  revolt"  against  the  unscrupulous 
usurpation,  were  no  light  ofl'ences.  Well  was  it  that  the  "scholar" 
was  disposed  to  seek  refuge  in  his  home  across  the  seas.  Well  might 
the  non-conformist  Uurdet,  in  his  letter  to  the  primate,  speak  of  the 
Massachusetts  government,  at  this  very  time,  in  language  such  as  this  : 
"She  is  not  merely  aiming  at  new  discipline,  but  sovereignty  ; — for 
even  her  General  Court  account  it  perjury  and  treason  to  speak  of 
appeals  to  the  king."-' 

The  time  of  Gibson's  coming  to  New  England  is  not  known. 
Even  his  birthplace  and  college  are  not  recorded.  As  we  have  seen, 
Winthrop  asserts  that  he  was  sent  over  by  Trelawney,or  Tretaway,  as 
another  reading  has  it,  to  minister  to  the  plantation  on  Richmond's 
Island,  on  the  coast  of  Maine.  Others  say  that  he  came  at  the  in- 
stance of  Sir  Alexander  Rigby,  "the  patron  of  Episcopal  ministers, 
and  the  friend  of  the  enterprising,  ignorant  poor."*  He  was  probably 
on  the  coast  as  early  as  1636.  It  was  at  this  time  that  Sir  Ferdinando 
Gorges,  under  the  authority  of  a  royal  gi'ant,  set  on  foot  at  Winter 
Harbor,  on  the  Saco  river,  the  first  organized  government  within  the 
limits  of  the  present  State  of  Maine.  In  common  with  the  Provincial 
Charter,  secured  by  Gorges  in  1639,  this  grant  provided  for  the  estab- 

1  Winthi-op's  "Hist.of  N.E.,"  pp.  79,  80.  '  Williamson's  "Hist,  of  Maine,"  i.,  p.  270. 

-  Charles  Francis  Adams.  Jr.,  in  his  intro-  Vide,   also,  Hutchinson's   Mass.,  i.,  p.  85,  and 

diiction  to  "The  New  English  Canaan,"  Prince  Wiuthmp's,  passim. 
Society's  edition,  p.  97.  '  Williamson,  T.,  p.  209. 


104  HISTORY  OF  THE   AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

lishment  ot"  the  Clunrh  of  Enjrland,  and  gave  to  the  patoutce  the 
nomination  ot"  iho  miuistoi"s  ot"  all  I'lmrolu's  and  cliuiicls  which  niiglit 
be  built  in  the  province.  In  the  autumn  of  IGoti  "a  book  of 
rates  for  the  minister  to  be  paid  quarterly,  the  tirst  payment  to 
begin  at  Miihaolmas  next."  was  drawn  up  at  Saco.  and  sul).-icri})- 
tions  to  the  amount  of  £31  15s.  were  raised  among  the  few 
settlers  at  this  spot.  The  pioneer  clergyman  was  accompanied  by  his 
wife.  Mary  Gibson,  and  tlie  faithfulness  of  his  ministrations,  and  his 
tidclity  to  his  convictions,  are  both  matters  of  record  at  the  hand  of 
the  keen  and  i)bserving  historian  of  Puritan  Massachusetts.  The  his- 
torian of  Maine,  Williamson,  although  destitute  of  ecclesiastical  allili- 
ations  with  Gibson,  speaks  of  him  as  "  a  good  scholar,  a  popular 
speaker,  and  highl\  esteemed  as  a  gospel  minister."' 

Gibson  was  suc<;eeded,  in  part  of  his  field,  by  the  Kev.  Robert 

Jordan."-      The 

">     /T"         /  V  church  interest  in 

2<  y       7v^^      fLc(j<^^^l^    fl^  -LxCw^     >^-g^^.     Hampshire 

'  C/  had     faded     out 

before  the  re- 
pi'essive  measures  of  the  ilassachusctts  authorities.  But  at  Scar- 
lH>ro".  Casco,  now  Portland,  and  at  Saco,  Jordau,  who  arrived  about  the 
year  ItUO,  labored  assiduously  and  with  success.  He  was  but  twenty- 
eight  years  of  age  when  he  undertook  the  work  from  which  Gibson  had 
been  practically  banished.  But  the  aggressions  of  the  Puritan  magis- 
trates were  not  to  cease  with  the  obliteration  of  church  ministrations  in 
Xew  Hampshire.  The  restless  longing  for  further  acquisitions  of  terri- 
tory, and  a  wider  range  of  power,  could  not  be  satisfied,  while,  as  tlie 
author  of  "Ancient  Pemaquid""  asserts,  "Elaine  was  distinctively  Episco- 
palian, and  was  intended  as  a  rival  to  her  Puritan  neighbors."^  But  the 
task  of  subjupition  was  not  an  easy  one.  Jordan  bore  no  inconsideral>le 
jiart  in  the  opposition  to  the  policy  of  ^lassachusetts  and  the  Puritans  ; 
and  as  by  his  marriage  with  Sarah,  the  only  child  of  John  Winter, 
the  leading  settler  at  Pichmond's  Island,  he  became  one  of  the  gi-eat 
landed  proprietoi-s  and  wealthy  men  of  the  colony,  the  faithfid  mission 
jniest  of  the  coast  of  Maine  was  in  a  position  to  wield  a  powerful  infln- 
enc^j  in  favor  of  the  Church,  as  well  as  to  contend  agaiBst  the  intrigues 
of  those  who  sought  to  overthrow  the  independence  of  Elaine. 

At  the  time  of  Jordan's  arrival  on  the  coast  Eichmond"s  Island  wa.s 
an  important  commercial  plantation.  It  is  probable  that  a  church  was 
erected  there.  In  an  inventory  of  the  property  on  the  plantation  at 
Richmond's  Island  and  Spurwink.  taken  in  October,  164t!,  mention  is 
made  of"  The  minister's  bediling  :  the  communion  vessels  ;  one  cushion  : 
one  table  cloth ;  li  pint  pot,  £4.'"*  In  an  account  against  "The  plan- 
tation," i-endered  by  Jordan  at  this  time,  we  find  as  follows  :  "Dr.  for 
his  charge,  i  a  yejU',  £20  ;  for  his  ministry  as  by  composition,  ia  year, 

'WiUiamsou's  "  Hist,  of  Msine,"ii.,  p.  291.  The  sigrnaturo  of  Jordan   is   copied    fiMUi 

sXotiecs  of  the  faiuilv  of  Jordan,  contrilv  an  original  deed  executed  bv  him  iu  1600,  and 

uted   by  John  Wins-ate  Thornton,  are    to  be  preserved  in  the  "  Willis  "  collection  of  ilSS., 

foiindinthefipstvolumeof  the*' Hist,  Manazine'*  in  the  Public  Library  in  Portland, 
for  1S.)7,  p.  54.     nV/^,  n.'so.  W.  II.  Whitmoi\!'s  •  Thornton's  "  Pemaqiiid,"  p.  175 

article,  on  the  same  subject,  in  the  "  N.  E.  Hist,  *  Maine  Hist.  Soo.  C<\\\..  I.,  p.  'iS>. 

Geneal.  Rcpster,"  mi.,  pp.  221 .  222. 


PIONEERS   OF   THE   CHUKCH   IX   XEW   EN'GLAND.  105 

£10."  Charge  is  iil.so  made  for  Lis  tithe  of  "train  or  iiiaclccrel,"  and 
"share  offish."  '  In  l(>i><  Jordan  removed  from  liichmoud's  Island  to 
a  place  on  the  Spurwink  river,  adjoining  the  property  of  his  late  father- 
in-law.  On  the  18th  of  December,  by  virtue  of  a  "  Decree  of  the  General 
Assembly  of  the  Province  of  Lygonie,  holden  at  Casco  Bay,"  the  pre- 
ceding September,  Mr.  Jordan  became  possessed  of  "all  thegoods,  lands, 
cattle,  and  chattels  belonging  to  Eob'.  Trelawny,  dec'd,"  in  j)ayment  of  a 
debt  of  £(i09  U.s.  lOif/.  The  settlement  of  the  estate  which  lie  inherited 
from  his  father-in-law  invohed  Jordan  in  much  litigation,  but  the  respect 
shown  to  him  by  his  fellow-settlers  is  attested  Jjy  his  frequent  choice 
as  assistant  and  justice.  He  lived  in  Falmouth  thirty -one  years,  preach- 
ing and  administering  the  sacraments  according  to  the  usages  of  the 
Church  of  England,  save  when  silenced  by  the  Puritan  authorities  of 
Massachusetts.  The  liaptismal  basin  brought  from  the  old  home,  and 
used  by  this  devoted  churchman  and  colonist,  is  still  preserved  in  the 
family  of  one  of  his  descendants,  and  is  an  interesting  memorial  of  the 
ministrations  that  proved  so  distasteful  to  the  Puritan  rulers.  The"  Rec- 
ords of  the  Colony  of  the  INlassachusctts  Bay  in  New  England,"  under 
date  of  October  10,  IGGO,  contain  the  following  proof  that  the  frontier 
priest  was  not  forgotten  in  his  exercise  of  his  sacred  calling  :  — 

'WTiereas  it  appeares  to  this  Court,  by  serueal  testimoneys  of  good  repute, 
that  M"'.  Iiobert  Jordan  did,  in  July  last,  after  excercise  was  ended  vpon  the  Lord's 
day,  in  the  house  of  M".  JIackworth,  in  the  toune  of  Falmouth,  then  &  there  bap- 
tize three  children  of  Nathanell  Wales,  of  the  same  toune,  to  the  ofl'ence  of  the 
gouemment  of  this  CoiiJonwealth,  the  Court  judgoth  it  necessarj'  to  beare  wittnes 
ag'  such  irregular  practises,  doe  therefore  order  that  the  secretary,  by  letter,  in  the 
name  of  tliis  Court,  require  him  to  desist  from  any  such  practises  tor  the  future,  and 
also  that  lie  appeare  before  the  next  Generall  Court  to  ans"  what  shall  be  layd  ag" 
him  for  w  hat  lie  hath  donne  for  the  tynio  past.' 

That  the  General  Court  did  not  confine  itself  to  words  may  be  in- 
ferred from  the  testimony  of  Col.  Cartwright,  one  of  the  Royal  Com- 
missioners in  1665,  who,  in  his  official  report,  preserved  among  the 
"Clarendon  Papers  ,"■' states  that "  They  did  imprison ,  and  barbarously  use 
M''.  Jordan  for  liaptizing  children,  as  himselfe  complayned  in  his  petition 
to  the  Commissioners."  A  few  years  later,  in  1671,  a  waiTant  was  is- 
sued against  him,  reciuiriug  his  presence  at  the  next  court,  "to  render 
an  account  whj'  he  presumed  to  marry  Richard  Palmer  and  Grace  Bush, 
contrary  to  the  laws  of  this  jurisdiction."''  There  is  little  doubt,  from 
the  documents  of  the  period,  that  this  intolerance  and  persecution  pro- 
duced its  natural  result.  Exasperated  at  the  treatment  he  had  received, 
and  impatient  of  the  rule  of  the  Puritans,  whom  he  despised,  bitter 
speeches  of  his  against  the  ministers  and  magistrates  of  the  Massachu- 
setts Bay  are  on  record,  and  charges  of  falsehood  and  profanity  *  were 
made  against  him  by  men  who  scrupled  at  nothing  to  silence,  or  even 
annoy,  a  man  so  influential  and  so  difiicult  to  control.  It  is  but  just 
to  state  that  the  witnesses  to  these  charges  were  Falmouth  men,  who  had 

'  Maine  flist.  Soc.  Coll.,  I.,  p.  230.  '  Published    by   the  New   York    Historical 

'Shuitleff's   "Eccords,"   Vol.   iv.,   Pt.  i.,    Societv,  "  Collectious,"  1869,  p.  W. 
p.  436.  •  Ballaril's  "  Cliuirh  iu  Maine,"  p.  16. 


c  Maine  Iliat.  Soc.  Coll.,  I.,  p.  lOi 


I; 


106  HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

little  or  no  reputation,  and  their  violence  was  discountenanced  even  by 
those  whose  interests  they  sought  to  serve.  Complained  of  and  silenced 
by  the  usurpers,  he,  in  his  turn,  brought  a  complaint  to  the  court  against 
the  Puritan  minister  at  Scarborough,  for  "  preaching  unsound  doctrine 


V-  ^/m.u4&  9^ptA^  -nv^M^  ,    Xi»  ^fe^fo^   c-a:<^«oi^lfif 

y.  1/^  '-^-r-^v-  ^-37^  Il/Jc<- 


S' 


f%^.^^'  l^-^^/^^it^.  etc 


a 


PETTTION    OF    ROBERT    JOEDAU     TO    THE    COURT    OF    ASSISTANTS, 
AT    BOSTON,    SEPTEMBER    4,    1663. 

to  the  settlers."  But  enough  of  these  recriminations.  It  is  pleasant  to 
turn  to  other  representations  giving  us  a  kindlier  view  of  this  stout- 
hearted and  fearless  champion  of  the  Church.  When  even  the  cele- 
brated Lord  Chief  Baron,  Sir  Matthew  Hale,  and  Sir  Thomas  Browne, 
the  famous  physician  of  his  time,  were  not  superior  to  the  belief  in  witch- 
craft, and  favored  the  punishment  of  those  supposed  to  have  dealings 


PIONEERS   OF  THE  CHURCH  IN  NEW  ENGLAND.  107 

with  familiar  spirits,  the  clear-headed  and  sensible  minister  of  Spur- 
wink,  when  a  "drunken  preacher"  sought  to  convict  a  witness  of  his 
unfaithfulness  of  this  oticnce,  "  unriddled  the  knavery  and  delivered  the 
innocent."' 

In  the  Indian  war,  excited  by  the  Chieftain  Philip,  Jordan's  house 
was  attacked  by  the  savages.  The  aged  clergyman,  with  his  family, 
barely  escaped  the  fury  of  the  assailants.  His  house  was  destroyed,  and 
he  and  his  family  were  forced  to  take  refuge  on  Great  Island  (now  New- 
castle), near  Portsmouth,  N.H.  Invited,  in  1(577,  by  the  Governor 
of  New  York,  to  settle  at  Pemaquid  with  his  friend,  Giles  Ell)ridge,  he 
preferred  to  remain  in  his  quiet  retreat.  Old  age  had  crippled  his 
physical  powers,  and,  after  a  residence  of  four  years  at  Great  Island,  he 
died,  in  the  sixty-eighth  year  of  his  age,  in  1679.  His  will  was  made 
on  the  28th  of  January,  and  proved  on  the  1st  of  July,  1679.  Enfeebled 
and  infirm,  he  had  lost  the  use  of  his  hands  before  his  death,  and  was 
unable  to  sign  the  will  that  divided  between  his  widow  and  his  six  sons 
a  landed  domain  comprising  several  thousand  acres.  "  Weak  in  body, 
but  of  sound  and  perfect  memory,  praysed  be  God,"  the  old  preacher 
professed  himself  to  be  at  the  time  of  making  his  last  will  and  testament, 
and  the  document  in  which  he  bequeaths  his  "soule  to  God,  hopeing  by 
the  merits  of  Christ "  his  "  Saviour,  to  enjoy  eternal  life,"  recognized  the 
fact  that  the  temporalities  he  possessed  were  his  "all  by  y'=  providence 
of  Almighty  God."  He  died  as  he  had  lived,  the  sole  priest  of  the 
Church  on  New  England  soil  who  was  faithful  to  his  ordination  vows, 
and  when  his  utterance  of  the  words  of  Common  Prayer  was  hushed  in 
death,  there  was  no  voice  to  take  up  the  familiar  words,  and  the  century 
drew  near  its  close  ere  their  sound  was  heard  again.  In  April,  1688, 
a  lay  reader,  John  Gyles,  reported  that "  ever  since  June  last "  he  "  had 
read  prayers  at  the  garrison,  on  Wednesdays  and  Fridays,  and  had  not 
received  anything  for  it."^  No  further  reference  to  Church,  to  clergy- 
men, or  to  the  common  prayer,  appears  in  the  history  of  the  times. 
Thus  ended  for  years  the  Church's  possession  of  the  coast  of  New 
Hampshire  and  IVIaine. 


CRITICAL  NOTES  ON  THE  SOURCES  OF  INFORMATION. 

MR.  CHARLES  FRANCIS  ADAMS,  Jr.,  who  had  already,  in  one  or  two  ex- 
ceedingly clever  papers,  refeiTcd  to  the  jjoints  at  issue  l^etween  IMoiton  and  his 
assailants,  has  recently  (1883)  edited  for  the  "  Prince  Society,"  of  Boston,  a  reissue 
of  "The  New  English  Canaan."  The  volume  is  carefiilly  prepared,  and  the 
annotations  throw  no  little  light  on  obscure  allusions  and  metaphorical  subtleties 
of  this  "most  careless  and  slipshod  of  authors."     But  Mr.  Adams,  who,  in  his 

•  Vide  "A  Modest  InquiiT  into  the  Nature    Ersrland Historical Genealorfcal Eerfster,"  xni 

of  Witchcraft "By  John  Hale.    p.  19. 

Quoted  by  W.    H.   Whitmore,   in   the   "New  "  Ballard's  "  Church  in  Maine,"  p.  22. 


108  HISTOKY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

earlier  notices  of  Jlorton,  had  shown  some  sympathy  for  his  hard  usage,  in  this 
later  and  more  elaborate  treatment  of  the  subject  essays  the  complete  vindication 
of  Slorton's  opponents,  and  has  only  unstinted  blame  for  this  ill-staired  adventui-er. 
So  plainly  does  j\fr.  Adams  recognize  the  fact  that  the  I'uritans  themselves  are  on 
tinal,  even  by  their  ov.'n  sho^\ing,  that  he  feels  it  requisite  to  reproduce  the  ungener- 
ous surmises  and  slanders  resjiecting  Jlortou  that  have  no  foundation  other  tlian 
the  testimony  of  the  men  who  persecuted  him  to  death.  The  charge  that  Morton 
had  ilcd  to  Kew  England  "upon  a  foule  suspition  of  murthcr,"  is  dwelt  upon  at 
length  and  pronounced  not  "improbable,"  although  Jlr.  Adams  is  forced  to 
acknowledge  (hat,  "  though  he  was  subsequentl}'  arrested  and  in  jail  in  England, 
the  accusation  never  took  any  fomial  shape."  Forced  to  disavow  much  of  Bradford's 
abuse  of  Morton's  views,  as  well  as  his  mode  of  life,  Mr.  Adams  is  certainly  in- 
consistent in  his  charge  that  "  he  cared  little  for  either  law  or  morals,"  and  then  in 
confessing  that  he  was  "better  versed  in  the  law  of  England  than  those  who  ad- 
monished him,"  and  in  one  of  the  two  points  at  issue  with  Bradford  and  his  people 
was  "  clearly  right."  Nor  is  this  all  that  l\Ir.  Adams  is  forced  to  concede.  In  regard 
to  the  second  point  in  (lueslion,  "that  the  King's  proclamation  died  with  him,"  he 
admits  that  "this  distinction  was,  a  century  and  a  half  later,  stated  by  Hume  to  have 
existed  in  James's  time."  Confessedly  wrong  in  their  legal  exceptions  to  Morton's 
practices  in  his  trade  with  the  Indians,  the  detence  is  urged  that  "  the  question  with 
the  settlers  was  one  of  self-preservation."  It  is  difficult  to  see  why  the  necessities 
of  self-preservation  did  not  apply  as  well  to  Morton's  smaller  colony,  and,  in  fact, 
to  all  tJjc  scattered  representatives  of  the  Gorges  interest,  as  to  the  compact  and 
well-fortiiied  settlement  at  Plymouth.  Bradford  admits  that,  so  far  as  the  I'ljTnouth 
peojjle  W'ere  concerned,  they  "had  least  cause  of  fear  or  hurt."  But  for  tlie 
"  sti-aggling  plantations,"  as  Bradford  says,  of  "no  strength  in  any  place,"  the 
PljTnoutli  settlers  were  willing  to  interfere,  carefully  assessing  the  costs  of  their 
undertaking  on  those  whom  they  proposed  to  aid.  Even  Blaxt  m,  the  church  cler- 
gyman who  lirst  settled  upon  the  site  of  tlie  present  city  of  Boston,  was  assessed 
t\velve  shillings  towards  this  martial  exploit  of  wliich  the  doughty  Captain  Standish 
was  the  leader,  and  life  as  well.  There  is  no  proof,  however,  that  Blaxton  paid  this 
arbiti'ary  assessment,  or  had  any  share  in  the  persecution  of  his  fcUow-ehurehman. 
There  is  not  a  little  reason  to  infer  tliat  Morton's  success  in  the  peltiy  ti'ade  was  a 
moving  cause  in  this  interference  on  the  part  of  the  Pm-itau  settlers,  quite  as  much 
as  their  dislike  of  the  IMaypole  revehy.  Sent  to  England  with  Oldham,  whom,  as 
Bradford  intimates,  he  "foold,"  there  is  no  question  that  Mr.  Adams  is  correct  in 
stating  that  "  Bradford's  letter  and  complauits  were  quietly  ignored ;  and  his  '  loi'd 
of  misrule,'  and  head  of  New  England's  lii'st  '  selioole  of  Atheisme,'  escaped 
without,  so  far  as  could  bo  discovered,  even  a  rebuke  for  his  misdeeds."  And  yet 
this  was  not  an  age  when  oil'ences  were  likely  to  be  condoned  or  lightly  punished. 
The  inference  is  certainly  sti-ong  that  Bradford's  charges  were  foimd  to  be  too 
tiivial  or  too  much  exaggerated  to  be  made  the  foundation  for  legal  process,  and 
"tliat  unworthy  man  and  instnimente  of  mischeefe,  Morton,"  was  almost  imme- 
diately found  domiciled  in  Allerton's  house  in  Plymouth,  brouglit  over,  as  Bradford 
admits,  "as  it  were  to  nose  them."  From  Plpnouth  Morton  returned  to  IMoimt 
Wollaston,  and  was  soon  embroiled  with  Endicott  in  his  conti'oversy  with  the  "  old 
planters."  Re(]uired,  in  common  vnth  the  other  "  old  planters,"  to  subscribe  the 
articles  drawn  up  by  Skelton,  to  the  eiFect  "  that  in  all  causes,  ecclesiastical  as  well  as 
political,  the  tenor  of  God's  word  should  be  follo^^■ed,"  on  pain  and  penalty  of  banish- 
ment, he  refused  to  set  his  hand  to  these  papers  without  the  proviso,  "So  that  nothing 
be  done  contraiy  or  repugnant  to  tlie  laws  of  the  kingdom  of  England."  Thus  were 
tlie  very  words  of  the  royal  charter  made  use  of  inthwarting  the  establishment  of 
t'.ie  Massachusetts  Theocracy.  ]\Iorton  also  refused  compliance  to  the  dictation  of 
Endicott  with  reference  to  trailing  with  the  natives.  For  a  time  he  was  unmolested. 
But  Endicott  was  not  a  man  to  forget  one  so  open  in  his  opposition  to  the  Jlassa- 
chusetts  "  Church  and  State."  Apprehended  by  order  of  the  com-t,  "set  into  the 
bilboes,"  his  house  burned  before  his  ej'es,  "that  the  habitation  of  the  wicked 
should  no  more  appear  in  Israel,"  sent  to  England  in  a  ship,  as  Adams  states  it, 
"  unseaworthy  and  insufficiently  supplied,"  we  can  certainly  agi'ee  with  the  editor 
of  tlie  "New  English  Can;uin,"  though  not  in  the  meaning  he  intends,  that  tliis 
"  second  arrest  of  Morton  was  equally  defensible  with  the  lirst."  Certainly,  the 
statement  tliat  "  he  had  systematieallj'  made  himself  a  thorn  in  Endicott's  side,"  or 
that  he  had  '  refused  to  enter  into  any  covenants,  wliether  for  trade  or  govern- 
ments," or  even  the  cliarge  tliat  "he  liad  openly  derided  tlie  magisti'ate  and  eluded 


PIONEERS   OF   THE   CHURCH   IN   NEW   ENGLAND.  109 

his  messengers,"  are  not  a  sufficient  waiTaut  for  the  high-handed  measures  of 
Kndicott  anil  his  followers.  That  even  the  fonns  of  law  were  disregarded  may  be 
inferred  from  ilr.  Adams's  words,  that  "  he  was  apparently  cut  short  in  his  defence 
and  protest  by  impatient  exclamations  and  even  bidden  to  hold  his  peace  and  hearken 
to  his  sentence."  We  may  further  quote  Mr.  Adams,  whose  sympathies  are  wholly 
with  the  Puritan  authorities,  and  acquiesce  in  his  judgment  of  the  proceedings  of 
the  so-called  "court":  "Nothing  was  said  in  the  sentence  of  any  disregard  of 
authority  or  disobedience  to  regulation.  No  reference  was  made  to  any  illicit 
dealings  with  the  Indians  or  to  the  trade  in  fire-arms.  Offences  of  this  kind  would 
have  justified  the  extreme  severity  of  a  sentence  which  v.'ent  to  the  length  of 
ignominious  physical  punishment,  complete  confiscation  of  projjerty,  and  banish- 
ment; leaving  only  whip))ing,  mutilation,  or  death,  uninflietod.  No  such  offences 
were  alleged.  Those  which  were  alleged,  on  the  contraiy,  were  of  the  most 
trivial  character.  They  were  manifestly  trimiped  up  for  the  occasion.  T'he  accused 
had  mijustly  taken  away  a  canoe  from  some  Indians ;  he  had  fired  a  charge  of  shot 
among  a  troop  of  them  who  would  not  feiTy  him  across  a  river,  wounding  one  and 
injuring  the  gaiTnents  of  another;  he  was  '  a  proud,  insolent  man,  against  whom  a 
multitude  of  eomijlaints  were  received  for  injuries  done  by  him  both  to  the  English 
and  the  Indian.'  Those  specified,  it  may  be  presumed,  were  examples  of  the  rest. 
They  amount  to  nothing  at  all,  and  were  afterwards  veiy  fitly  characterized  bj' 
IMaverick  as  mere  pretences."  It  was  "  a  serious  blunder,"  Jlr.  Adams 
confesses,  to  send  Morton  to  England;  but  "the  INIassachusetts  magisti'atcs  had 
made  up  their  minds  before  he  stood  at  their  bar."  They  "  proposed  to  purge 
the  country  of  him,"  and  in  doing  it  tliey  regarded,  as  in  other  cases,  neither 
law  nor  right. 

In  England  Morton  naturally  sought  redress.  His  Puritan  foes  had  underes- 
timated his  abilities,  and  they  soon  found  reason  to  ti'emble  for  themselves.  It  was 
in  evidence  that  "  the  muiisters  and  people  did  continually  rail  against  the  state, 
church  and  bishops,"  and  amon<j  the  men  of  note  aiTayed  against  the  Puritan  theoc- 
racy was  the  celebrated  Laud,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury.  To  JSIorton's  testimonj', 
and  that  of  others  who,  like  him,  had  felt  the  relentless  persecutions  of  the  Puritans, 
was  added  this  significant  fact,  that  Endieott  had  dared  to  cut  the  red  cross  from  the 
standard  of  England.  The  apologists  for  the  Puritan  settlers  were  styled  "  impos- 
terons  knaves."  Winslow  was  imprisoned,  and  the  charter,  which  had  been  sur- 
reptitiously taken  to  Massachusetts,  was  declared  void.  Morton  was  in  a  fair  way 
to  be  avenged. 

It  was  at  this  juncture  that  the  "New  English  Canaan  "  appeared.  Bradford, 
with  characteristic  strength  of  expression,  is  pleased  to  style  it  as  "  an  infamouse 
and  scuiTillous  booke  arainst  many  gocDy  and  eheefe  men  of  the  cimti-ie  ;  full  of  lyes 
and  slanders,  and  fraight  with  profane  callumnies  against  tlieir  names  and  persons, 
andtlie  w.aysof  God."  Written  before  the  close  of  1635,  the  "  New  English  Canaan" 
was  printed  at  Amsterdam,  by  Jacob  Frederick  Stam,  in  1637.  It  was  reprinted  by 
Peter  Force,  in  the  second  volume  of  his  "  Tracts  on  American  History."  Air.  Force, 
following  the  "  Bibliothecn3  Americanae  Primordia,"  of  'Wliite  Kennett,  eiToneonsly 
assigns  the  publication  to  the  year  1632.  This  is  disproved  by  internal  evidence.  It 
was  not  entered  in  the  "  Stationers'  Register,"  in  London,  until  November  18,  1633, 
and  was,  doubtless,  incomplete  at  that  time.  Copies  a])pear  to  have  been  issued  with 
the  imprint  "Printed  for  Charles  Greene,  and  are  sold  in  Paul's  Churchyard."  The 
work  is  of  exceeding  rarity. 

In  the  summer  of  164.3  JMorton  again  appears  in  New  England,  and  at  Plymouth. 
The  civil  war  had  begun.  Gorges  was  a  roj-alist,  and  it  may  have  been  in  the  interests 
of  the  king  that  this  restless  churchman  and  politician  revisited  the  scenes  of  his 
earlier  experiences  and  ti'ials.  Edward  'Winslow,  whom  eight  years  before  he  had 
"  elapte  up  in  the  Fleete,"  on  the  11th  of  .September,  ^\Toto  to  Winthrop  as  follows  : 
"  Concerning  JNIorton,  our  governor  gave  way  that  he  should  winter  here,  but  before 
as  soon  as  winter  breaks  Tip.  Cajitain  Standish  takes  gi-eat  offence  thereat,  espe- 
ciallv  that  he  is  so  near  him  at  Dnxbury,  and  goeth  sometimes  a  fowling  in  Ids 
gi'ou'nd.  He  cannot  procure  the  least  respect  amongst  oiir  people,  liveth  meanly  at 
four  shillings  per  week,  and  content  to  drink  water,  so  he  may  diet  at  that  price. 
But  admit  he  hath  a  protection,  yet  it  were  worth  the  while  to  deal  with  him  till  we 
see  it."  Winslow  proceeds  to  style  him  one  of  "  the  an-antest  kno\\ai  knaves  that 
ever  trod  on  New  England  shore,"  —  devoted  "to  the  iiiin  of  the  country,"  —  "this 
serpent,"  and  "  the  odium  of  our  people."  Winslow  feared  lest  "  God,  who  hath 
put  him  in  our  hands,"  might  make  them  "  suffer  for  it"  if  they  fostered  him. 


110  HISTORY  OF   THE  AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

In  June,  1644,  Morton  was  in  the  vicinity  of  Casco  Bay.  In  August  he  was 
in  Rliode  Island,  advocating  his  royalist  views,  and  indulging,  as  Coddington  wrote 
to  Winthrop,  in  "  bitter  complaints,"  that  "  he  had  wi-ong  in  the  Bay  [to  the]  value 
of  two  hundred  pounds."  He  professed  his  willingness  to  "  let  it  rest  till  the  gov- 
ernor came  over  to  right  him,  and  did  intimate  he  knew  whose  roasts  his  spits  and 
jacks  turned."  Five  weeks  later,  on  the  9th  of  September,  he  was  in  custody  in 
Boston.  Wo  tvu'n  to  Mr.  Adams  for  liis  explanation  or  extenuation  of  this  arrest. 
His  account  of  the  transaction  is  as  follows :  — 

' '  The  prisoner  now  arraigned  before  the  magistrates  had,  fourteen  years  before, 
been  arrested  and  Ijanishcd ;  he  had  been  set  in  the  stocks,  all  Lis  property  had  been 
confiseated,  and  his  house  had  been  bm-ned  down  before  his  eyes.  He  had  been  sent 
back  to  England,  under  a  waiTant,  to  stand  his  trial  for  crimes  it  was  alleged  he 
had  committed.  In  England  he  had  been  released  from  imprisonment  in  due  course 
of  law.  Ilanng  now  returned  to  Massachusetts,  he  was  brouglit  before  the  magis- 
ti-ates,  '  that  the  counb-y  might  be  satisfied  of  the  justice  of  om-  proceedings  against 
him.'  As  the  result  of  this  proceeding,  which  broke  down  for  want  of  proof,  the 
alleged  offender  is  again  imprisoned,  heavily  fined,  and  narrowly  escapes  a  whip- 
ping." 

There  is  a  gi'im  sarcasm  in  this  reaume  of  the  case,  of  which  Mr.  Adams,  in  his 
anxiety  to  befriend  the  cau.se  of  the  Massachusetts  authorities,  is  evidently  uncon- 
scious. 

The  sequel  is  soon  told.  Kept ' '  in  prison  about  a  year  in  expectation  of  further 
evidence  out  of  England,"  as  Winthrop  informs  us,  he  was  finally  arraigned,  and 
"  fined  one  hundred  pounds  and  set  at  liberty."  "  Old  and  crazy,"  Winthrop  styles 
him ;  "  imprisoned  manie  monetlis  and  laide  in  irons  to  the  decaying  of  his  limbs," 
as  he  complains  in  his  petition  to  his  oppressors  for  release,  the  only  mercy  meted 
out  to  him  by  these  vindictive  men  of  Massachusetts,  was  to  refrain  irom  the  inflic- 
tion of  "  corporal  punishment  upon  him,"  and  to  connive  at  his  removal  to  Maine, 
where,  "  jioor  and  despised,"  he  shoi'tly  died.  It  will  I'equire  a  more  ti'enchant  pen 
than  that  of  Mr.  Adams  to  refute  the  charge  that  IMorton's  churchmanship  did  not 
enter  into  the  account  in  the  vinilictive  ti'eatment  he  received  from  the  Pm'itans,  or 
to  prove  that  he  was  not  unfairly  dealt  with  in  life  and  most  foully  slandered  when 
dead,  by  the  men  who  persecuted  him  to  the  bitter  end. 

In  connection  with  Winthrop's  testimony  to  the  devotion  of  Mavei'ick  to  the 
Indians  when  sick  and  dying,  it  should  be  noted  that  in  the  manuscript  there  ajipears 
to  have  been  an  attempt  at  the  erasure  of  the  eiiithet  "  worthy  of  a  perpetual  re- 
membrance." We  append  the  words  of  I\Ir.  Savage,  Winthrop's  editor,  "  that  Mav- 
erick was  not  in  full  communion  with  our  churches,  was  not,  we  may  hope,  the 
cause  of  stinking  a  pen  through  this  honorable  epithet.  No  man  seems  better  enti- 
tled by  his  deeds  to  the  character  of  a  Christian.  The  MS.  appears  to  testify  that  the 
mutilation  was  not  Winthrop's."  —  Note,  to  Savage's  Ed.  nf  Winthrop's  History,  i., 
p.  143. 

In  the  "Memorial  History  of  Boston  "  (i.,  pp.  83-86),  Mr.  Charles  Francis 
Adams,  .Jr.,  gives,  in  his  chapter  on  "  The  Earliest  Settlement  of  Boston  Harbor," 
an  interesting  account  of  Bhixton,  to  which  Mr.  Justin  AVinsor  contributes  annota- 
tions of  groat  value.  Dr.  I)e  Costa's  monograph  on  "  William  BLickstone  in  his  rela- 
tion to  Massachusetts  and  Illiode  Island  "  (New  York,  1880)  is  a  reprint  of  articles 
originally  published  in  "The  Churchman"  newsiiajier,  and  is  interesting  and  accurate. 
A  pamphlet  published  in  Pawtucket,  R.I.,  1855,  by  S.  C.  Newman, "bears  the  fol- 
lowing title :  "  An  address  delivered  at  the  formation  of  the  Blackstone  Monument 
Association,  together  Avith  the  preliminaries  and  proceedings  at  Study  Hill,  July  4, 
1855."  This  address  eulogizes  the  first  settler  of  Bostim,  and  gives  many  inter- 
esting details  of  his  life  and  hibors.  No  history  of  Boston  can  ignore  the  existence 
of  this  amiable  recluse  and  simple-hearted  churchman.  His  name  must  live  forever 
with  that  of  the  city  of  which  he  was  the  earliest  inliabitant. 

We  cite  from  "  The  Memorial  History  of  Boston"  (i.,  p.  114)  the  following 
notice  of  the  organization  of  "The  First  Church  in  Boston":  — 

"  Here,  in  Charlestown,  on  the  30th  of  July,  six  weeks  after  their  landing  at 
Salem,  after  appropi-iate  religious  exercises,  Governor  Winthrop,  Deputy-Governor 
Dudley,  Isaac  Johnson,  and  Jolm  Wilson  adopted  and  signed  the  following  simple, 
but  solemn  church  covenant :  — 

"  '  In  the  name  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  in  obedience  to  his  holy  will,  and 
divine  ordinances :  We,  wliose  names  are  here  underwritten,  being  by  his  most 
wise  and  good  providence  brought  together  into  this  part  of  America,  in  the  Bay 


PIONEERS   OF   THE   CHURCH  IN  NEW   ENGLAND.  Ill 

of  Massachusetts,  and  desirous  to  unite  into  one  congregation  or  church,  under  tlic 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  our  liead,  in  sucli  sort  as  beconieth  all  those  whom  he  liatli 
redeemed,  and  sanctified  to  himself,  do  liereby  solemnly  and  religiously,  as  in  his 
most  lioly  presence,  promise  and  bind  ourselves  to  walk  in  all  our  ways  according 
to  the  iTjle  of  the  Gospel,  and  in  all  sincere  conformity  to  his  holy  ordinances,  and 
in  mutual  love  and  respect  to  eacli  other,  so  near  as  God  shall  give  us  grace.' 


'.^^^^  Z'h^- 


J- 


'/) 


AUTOGRAPHS    OF    THE    SIGNERS. 

"  The  church  thus  formed  is  now  known  as  the  '  First  Church  of  Boston.' 
Winthrop,  in  his  'History'  (i.,  pp.  36-38),  thus  records  the  completion  of  the  or- 
ganization the  following  month :  — 

"  '  Friday,  27.  We  of  the  congregation,  kept  a  fast,  and  chose  Mr.  Wilson  our 
teacher,  and  Mr.  Nowell  an  elder,  and  Mr.  Gager  and  Mr.  Aspinwall,  deacons. 
We  used  imposition  of  hands,  but  with  this  protestation  by  all,  that  it  was  only  as 
a  sign  of  election  and  confirmation,  not  of  any  intent  that  Mr.  Wilson  should 
renounce  his  ministry  he  received  in  England.'  The  Rev.  John  Wilson  was  a 
graduate  at  King's  College,  Cambridge.  He  was  '  ordained'  again  the  following 
year  (1632),  as  appears  from  Winthrop  (i.,  pp.  114,  115),  November  22.  '  A  fast 
was  held  by  the  congregation  of  Boston,  and  Rlr.  Wilson  (formerly  their  teacher) 
was  chosen  pastor,  and  \Tho7^ias\  Oliver,  a  ruling  elder,  and  both  were  ordained 
by  imposition  of  hands,  first  by  Ihe  teacher  and  the  two  deacons,  (in  the  name  of 
tlie  congregation)  upon  the  elder,  and  then  by  the  elder  and  the  deacons  upon  tlie 
pastor.' " 

Dr.  Henry  Martyn  Dexter,  in  his  admirable  volume,  entitled  "  Congregation- 
alism, as  seen  in  its  Literature,"  gives  us  further  light  upon  what  he  styles  "the 
curious  change  which  the  New  England  air  \vrought."  Besides  citing  the  words  of 
John  Higginson,  as  given  by  Cotton  Jlather  in  the  "  Magnalia,"  as  follows  :  — 

"  We  will  not  say  as  the  Separatists  were  wont  to  say  at  their  leaving  of  Eng- 
land, Farewell  Babylon  !  Farewell  Rome !  ISut  we  will  say.  Farewell  dear  Eng- 
land !  Farewell  the  Churcli  of  (iod  in  England,  and  all  the  Christian  friends 
there!  We  do  not  go  to  New  England  as  Separatists  from  the  Church  of  England; 
though  we  cannot  but  separate  from  the  Corruptions  in  it ;  but  we  go  to  practise 
the  positive  Part  of  Church  Reformation,  and  jiropagate  tlie  Gospel  in  America." 
Dr.  Dexter  calls  attention  to  the  fact  that  "the  company  which  came  over  to 
Salem  in  1629  was  non-conformist,  but  not  separatist,  in  its  tastes  and  intentions. 
So  rigid,  in  fact,  on  this  jioint  was  the  policy  of  the  New  England  Company,  that 
the  Rev.  Ralph  Smith,  who  afterwards  became  the  first  pastor  on  this  side  of  the 
sea  of  the  church  at  Plymouth,  having  desired  passage  in  the  ships  with  the  Salem 
people,  and  his  request  having  been  granted,  and  it  afterwards  coming  to  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  Governor  and  Council  of  the  Company  tliat  his  views  inclined  towards 
separatism,  or,  as  they  phrased  it,  that  he  had  a  'dift'crence  of  jndgm'  in  some 
things  from  o'  ministers,'  it  was  at  first  thought  best  to  forbid  his  coming,  but 
afterwards  judged  better  to  let  him  come,  with  the  order  that  vnless  hee  wilbe  con- 
formable to  o'  governm',  yo"  sufler  him  not  to  remaine  w^in  the  limitts  of  o' 
graunt.'  "  Quoting  the  sti-ong  expressions  of  the  "  Arbella"  letter.  Dr.  Dexter  pro- 
ceeds to  state  that  "  the  Rev.  George  Phillips  was  one  of  the  signers  of  this  '  Humble 
Request,'  and  he  acted  as  a  chaplain,  preaching  twice  on  Sunday,  and  catechising  on 
board  of  Oie  "  Arbella,"  during  the  voyage  over;  and  yet,  within  sixteen  days  after 


112  HISTORY   OF   THE   AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

his  landing,  we  find  him  privately  telling  Deacon  Doctor  Fuller,  who  had  been 
again  summoned  irom  Plymouth  to  attend  the  siclt  among  these  new-comers,  that 
'  if  they  will  have  him  stand  minister,  by  that  calling  which  he  received  from  the 
prelates  in  England,  he  will  leave  them; '  and  Winthrop  —  another  signer  —  hoping 
that  the  Plymouth  church  will  'not  be  wanting  in  helping  them'  toward  their 
necessary  church  organization  ;  and  four  weeks  later  we  find  Fuller,  who  had  been 
at  Mattapan,  letting  blood  and  talking  polity  till  he  was  weary,  writing  from  Salem 
to  Bradford  and  llrewster,  that  after  counselling  with  Winslow,  Allertou,  and  himself, 
and  with  the  Salem  brethren,  Winthrop's  company  had  decided  to  form  a  church  by 
covenant  on  the  next  Friday,  and  that  the  company  do  '  earnestly  entreat  that  the 
church  at  Pljmouth  would  set  apart  the  same  day '  for  fraternal  prayers  that  God 
would  '  establish  and  direct  them  in  his  ways.' "  —  Congrcyationalism,  etc.,  p.  417. 

The  development  from  non-confoi-mity  to  separatism,  mider  the  persuasive  in- 
fluences of  the  Plymouth  settlers,  proved  easy  and  speedy.  The  Rev.  John  Cotton 
had  advised  the  I\lassachusetts  settlers  "that  they  should  take  advice  of  them  at 
Plymouth,  and  should  do  nothing  to  oil'end  them ; "  and,  in  accordance  with  the  advice 
thus  had,  a  separation  from  tlie  Church  was  effected  almost  as  soon  as  the  New  World 
was  fairly  reached.  In  what  light  this  was  regarded  by  the  company  at  home  Di-. 
Dexter  informs  us.  In  letters  from  the  home  authorities,  of  date  some  montlis  later, 
we  find  alarm  expressed  at '  some  innovacions  attempted  by  yo",'  with  the  intimation 
tliatthey  '  vtterly  disallowe  any  such  passages,'  and  entreat  them  to  look  back  ujion 
their  '  misean'iage  w"  repentance  ; '  while  they  add  that  they  take  '  leav  to  think  that 
it  is  possible  some  vndigested  councells  haue  too  sodainely  bin  put  iu  execucion  w* 
may  haue  ill  construceion  w"'  the  state  heere  ;md  make  vs  obnoxious  to  any  adver- 
sary. The  plain  English  of  all  which  was,  that  the  patentees  in  England  were  surprised 
and  offended  that  the  colonists  should  so  suddenly  and  so  widely  have  departed 
from  the  Chmvh  as  bylaw  established;  and  were  apprehensive  of  the  roj'al  dis- 
pleasure therefor,  and  of  consequent  harm  to  the  secular  interests  they  were  seeking 
to  promote."  —  p.  41',).  In  the  words  of  Cotton,  as  addressed  to  Skelton,  we  have  the 
whole  story  simply  told:  "  You  went  hence  of  another  judgment  and  I  am  afraid 
your  change  hath  sprung  from  New  Plymouth." 

In  1882  an  interesting  and  most  valuable  contribution  to  our  knowledge  of 
the  pioneer  mission-priest  of  Maine  appeared  under  the  following  title:  —  The 
Jordan  Memorial.  FaniiUj  Records  of  the  Rev.  Robert  Jordan,  and  his  Descendants 
in  America.  Vomjnkd  by  Tristram  Frost  Jordan.  (Boston,  1882.)  From  this 
painstaking  and  accurate  work  we  cite  the  following  introductory  notice  of  its 
subject :  — 

"  The  Rev.  Robert  Joi'dan,  a  priest  of  the  Churcli  of  England,  came  to  Maine 
about  the  year  1640.  In  that  year  he  became  the  successor  of  the  Rev.  Richard 
Gibson.  It  is  evident  that  he  found  but  little  coiuitenance  as  a  represent:itive  of  the 
Church  of  England.  The  exercise  of  his  functions  led  to  imprisonment,  and  he  sought 
a  maintc'uance  by  the  employment  of  his  talents  in  the  way  of  business.  Mariying 
Sarah,  the  daughter  of  John  Winter,  prominent  in  the  settlement  of  the  Sjjurwink 
river,  and  himself  a  large  proprietor  and  merchant,  he  succeeded  to  a  portion  of 
Winter's  estates,  and  developed  gi'eat  capacities  as  a  manager  and  trader.  For 
many  years  lie  lield  a  prominent  position  in  all  the  aflairs  of  Richmond's  Island 
and  the  adjacent  region,  and  the  early  histoiy  of  Maine  shows  him  to  have  been  a 
man  able  to  conduct  difficult  enterprises,  and  to  achninister  important  trusts  at  a 
time  when  the  unsettled  condition  of  a  new  countiy,  the  impei'fect  execution  of  tlie 
laws,  and  the  terrors  of  warfare  with  savage  Indians,  were  combined  and  formidable 
obstacles  to  success.  The  nature  and  magnitude  of  the  trusts  committed  to  him, 
the  journeys,  law-suits,  and  contests  to  wliich  he  was  subjected,  and  the  fact  that, 
at  the  conclusion  of  a  long  life,  he  left  to  numerous  heirs  a  large  and  very  valuable 
estate,  sufficiently  exhibit  him  as  a  man  of  no  ordinary  powers." 

It  is  evident  that  the  testimony  of  Edward  Godfrey,  who  was  long  associated 
with  Jordan  as  a  magistrate,  given  in  a  letter  to  the  autlicnuties  at  home  under  date 
of  March  14,  IGGO,  that  he  was  "  equal  with  any  in  Boston,"  and  tliat  he  was  "  an 
orthodox  divine  of  the  Clun-ch  of  England,  and  of  gi'cat  parts  and  estate,"  is  fully 
borne  out  by  the  records  of  the  time.  As  Godfrey  proceeds,  we  may  not  doubt  but 
that  "  he  was  conceded  by  all  to  be  an  active,  enterprising  man,  placed  by  education 
above  the  mass  of  the  peoi)le  with  whom  he  connected  liimself ." 

From  the  Jordan  Memorial  we  have,  with  the  author's  kind  permission,  taken 
tlie  illustrations  on  p.  106. 


CHAPTER    VII. 

THE    COLLEGE    AT  WILLIAMSBURG   AND   PRESIDENT   BLAIR. 

TOO  great  praise  can  hardly  be  ascribed  to  the  members  of  the  Vir- 
ginia Company  of  London,  when  we  remember  tiieir  unflagging 
zeal  for  the  introduction  of  religion  and  culture  into  their  trans- 
atlantic domain.  With  them  the  propagation  of  the  faith,  and  the 
support  of  that  faith  by  the  institutions  of  learning,  and  that,  too,  under 
the  care  and  nurture  of  the  Church  of  Christ,  were  objects  for  which 
they  labored  assiduously.  In  the  many  resolutions  on  their  private 
records,  —  providentially  discovered  after  years  of  forgetfulness,  to 
attest  this  faith  and  zeal ;  in  their  instructions  to  the  governors  they 
sent  out ;  in  the  annual  sermons  they  listened  to  in  the  Bow  Church,  and 
applauded  to  the  echo,  from  the  most  famous  preachers  of  the  day,  such 
as  the  noted  Dean  of  St.  Paul's,  Dr.  Donne,  and  others  of  like  spii-it  and 
prominence  ;  in  their  personal  gifts  and  wise  administration  of  the  charity 
of  the  nation  and  the  Church,  — they  deserved  well  of  posterity.  Won 
sibi,  sed  aJiis,  was  the  motto  of  their  lives  and  labors  ;  and  the  names  of 
the  Ferrars,  of  Sandys,  of  Thorpe,  of  Copeland,  and  the  Earl  of  South- 
ampton, Shakespeare's  friend  and  patron,  must  ever  be  inscparalily 
connected  with  the  introduction  of  letters  as  well  as  religion  upon  our 
shores.  Nor  should  it  be  forgotten,  in  connection  with  the  mention  of 
these  honored  names  and  all  we  owe  their  mcmorj^  for  their  actual 
ctlbrts  and  successes  and  their  ever  higher  and  holier  intentions  in  be- 
half of  the  Church  and  cause  of  Christ  in  America,  that  on  the  James 
river,  where  now  a  few  mouldering  ruins  of  church  and  fort  recall  the 
historic  past,  George  Sandys,  son  of  an  Archlnshop  of  York,  and  treas- 
urer of  the  colony,  completed  in  moments  "  snatcht  from  the  howers  of 
night  and  repose,"  his  "  Ovid's  Metamorphosis  Englished,  M^'thologiz'd, 
and  Represented  in  Figures,"  which,  with  the  "  First  Book  of  Virgil's 
/Eneid,"  was  the  first  poetical  oflering  to  the  Old  World  from  the  New. 
In  view  of  this  service  to  letters  and  literature,  well  may  old  Anthony 
Wood  hold  that  the  author's  "  memoi-ie  "  should 

"a  rcliqiio  be 
To  be  ador'd  by  all  posteritie." 

It  was  a  dark  day  both  for  Church  and  college,  as  well  as  for  the 
commonwealth  itself,  when,  shortly  after  the  Indian  massacre,  the 
proprietary  government  was  dissolved  hy  the  arl)itrary  exercise  of 
the  royal  prerogative.  Years  passed,  and  in  the  midst  of  the  trials 
preceding  and  attending  the  civil  war  in  England,  in  which  the  colony 
bore  its  part,  there  was  no  further  mention  of  a  college  in  Virginia 


114  HISTORY   OF   THE   AMERICAN  EPISCOPAI.  CHURCH. 

until  the  year  16G0-61,  when  the  "Grand  Assembly,"  held  at  James 
City,  on  the  23d  of  March,  amidst  the  rejoicings  attending  the  restora- 
tion of  church  and  monarchy  at  home  and  in  the  colony,  passed  an  act 
entitled   "Provision  for  a  Colledge,"  as  follows  :  — 

Whereas  the  want  of  able  and  faithful  ministers  in  this  country  deprives  us 
of  those  great  blessings  and  mercies  that  alwais  attend  upon  the  service  of  God; 
which  want,  by  reason  of  our  great  distance  from  our  native  country,  cannot  in 
probability  be  alwais  supplyed  from  thence ;  Be  It  enacted.  That  for  the  advance  of 
learning,  education  of  youth,  supply  of  the  Ministry,  and  promotion  of  pi<^ty,  there 
be  land  taken  upon  purchases  for  a  colledge  and  free  schoole,  and  that  there  be, 
with  as  much  speede  as  may  be  convenient,  houseing  erected  thereon  for  entertain- 
ment of  students  and  schollers. 

At  the  same  session  of  the  Assembly  a  further  act  was  adopted, 
quite  in  the  spirit  of  the  action  of  the  House  of  Burgesses  half  a  century 
before,  entitled  "  A  petition  in  behalf  of  the  Church,"  in  these  words  :  — 

Be  it  enacted.  That  there  be  a  petition  drawn  up  by  this  Grand  Assembly  to 

the  King's  Most  Excellent  Majes- 
tic, for  his  letters  pattents,  to  col- 
lect and  gather  the  charity  of 
well  disposed  people  in  England, 
for  the  erecting  of  colledges  and 
sehooles  in  tliis  country,  and  also 
for  his  JMajestie's  letters  to  both 
Universities  of  Oxford  and  Cam- 
bridge to  furnish  the  Church  here  with  ministers  for  the  present,  and  this  petition  be 
recommended  to  the  Right  Honorable  Governor,  Sir  William  Berkeley. 

Further  action  in  support  of  this  plan  for  "the  colledge"  in  Vir- 
ginia is  recorded  under  the  same  date,  in  the  following  preamble  and 
resolution :  — 

Whereas,  for  the  advancement  of  learning,  promoting  pietj',  and  provision 
of  an  able  and  successive  ministrie  in  this  countrie,  it  hath  been  thought  fit  that  a 
colledge  of  students  of  the  liberal  arts  and  sciences  be  erected  and  maintayned ;  in 
pursuance  whereof  his  Majestie's  Governor,  Council  of  State  and  Burgesses  of  the 
present  Grand  Assembly  have  severally  subscribed  several  considerable  sums  of 
money  and  quantities  of  tobacco  (out  of  their  charity  and  devotion)  to  be  paid  to  the 
Honorable  Grand  Assembly,  or  such  treasurer  or  treasurers  as  they  shall  now,  or 
their  sucrcessors  hereafter  at  any  time  appomt,  upon  demand,  after  a  place  is  provided 
and  built  upou  for  that  intent  and  purpose  ;  it  is  ordered,  that  the  commissioners  of 
the  several!  county  coui'ts  do,  at  the  next  followinge  courts  in  their  severall  coimtys, 
subscribe  such  sums  of  money  and  tobacco  toward  the  furthering  and  promoting  the 
said  persons  and  necessary  workc,  to  be  paid  by  them  or  their  heirs,  as  they  shall 
think  fitt,  and  that  they  also  take  the  subscriptions  of  such  other  persons  at  their 
said  courts  who  shall  be  willing  to  contribute  toward  the  same.  And  that  after  such 
suljscriptions  taken,  they  send  orders  to  the  vestrj's  of  the  severall  parishes  in  tlieir 
severall  coimtys  for  the  subscriptions  of  such  inhabitants  and  others  who  have  not 
already  subscribed,  and  that  tlie  same  be  returned  to  Francis  Morrison,  Esq. 

Thus  do  we  find  the  Church  and  the  college  again,  as  from  the  first, 
in  fact,  in  closest  connection.  The  troubled  days  of  the  Puritan  rule  — 
felt,  indeed,  but  lightly  in  the  "  OldDominion,"  where  Church  and  Slate 
alike  resisted  the  edicts  of  the  English  Commonwealth,  when  all  other 
opposition  had  been  crushed  out,  but  yet  felt  — had  passed,  and  in  the 


THE  COLLEGE  AT  WILLIAMSBURG  AND  PRESIDENT  BLAIR.       115 

reestablisbment  of  the  authority  of  the  Crown  and  the  Common  Prayer, 
there  were  these  initial  measures  thought  of  for  the  establishment  of 
"a  collcdge  of  the  liberal  arts." 

The  following  3'ear  the  act  of  the  preceding  session  was  reenacted, 
and,  although  in  consequence  of  fresh  troubles,  in  the  colony,  and  the 
"rebellion"  of  Bacon,  which  for  a  time  engrossed  all  thought,  these 
endowments  and  sul)scriptions,  coupled  with  the  legislative  approval, 
were  not  followed  by  immediate  and  noticeable  results,  still  we  find 
from  the  preamble  to  the  royal  charter,  granted,  in  1G93,  to  William 
and  Mary  College,  that  a  site  was  actually  selected,  which  was  afterward 
changed,  douljtiess  after  some  trial  as  to  its  fitness  for  collegiate  use, 
to  that  of  Williamsburg. 

Thus  "  the  Colledge  "  was  created  by  legislative  act,  and  endowed  l)y 
individual  and  public  charity,  as  early  as  l()(iO-()l .  Possibly  there  may 
have  been  at  "Townsend's  Land,"  the  site  already  referred  to  as  origi- 
nally named  in  the  charter  of  1693,  and  doubtless  purchased  with  the 
original  subscriptions  authorized  in  1 660-61,  some  earnest  of  the  futui'e 
College  of  William  and  Mary.  Be  this  as  it  may,  the  action  of  the 
Assembly,  and  the  favorable  reception  accorded  to  the  plan  throughout 
the  colony,  are  gi'atifying  proofs  of  a  wide-spread  interest  iu  church 
education  at  this  early  date. 

In  the  year  1685  the  Rev.  James  Blair,  a  graduate  of  one  of  the 
Scottish  Universities,  and  a  priest  of  the  (Episcopal)  Church  in  Scot- 
land, came  over  to  Virginia  at  the 
suggestion    of    Dr.    Compton,    the  a 

Bishop  of  London,  and  became  the  y  qj,        ^/^     ' 

rector   of    Henrico.     Here    he    con-        J '^f^^'^'^       ^Ccc^<y>r 
tinned  in  the  exercise  of  his  ministry     ^ 
for  nine  years,  removing  thence  to 

Jamestown,  and  finally  to  Bruton  parish,  that  he  might  be  near  and 
useful  to  the  college  which  owed  its  very  corporate  existence  to  his  zeal 
and  patient  toil.  Traditions  of  the  earlier  promise  of  Henrico,  the 
scene  of  his  first  ministerial  labors  in  Virginia,  may  have  inspired  the 
restless  brain  of  this  indefatigable  clergyman  to  plan  the  realization  of 
these  hopes  of  the  past.  In  any  event,  in  1688-89  the  fuiiher  sum  of 
twenty-five  hundred  pounds  sterling  was  subscribed  towards  the  estab- 
lishment of  "The  Colledge  "  by  a  few  wealthy  Virginians,  aided  by  the 
benevolence  of  some  English  merchants.  The  Colonial  Assembly,  in 
1691,  approved  the  scheme,  and  sent  the  Rev.  Mr.  Blair  to  England  to 
solicit  a  charter  from  the  crown.  In  these  efibrts,  both  in  Virginia  and 
in  England,  the  assistance  of  the  lieutenant-governor,  Francis  Nich- 
olson, was  freely  given,  and  no  little  encoui- 
agement  Mas  found  in  the  will  of  the  Hon. 
Robert  Boyle,  Esq.,  dated  July  18,  1691, 
which  directed  his  executors,  "after  debts 
and  legacies  paid,"  to  dispose  of  the  residue 
of  his  personal  estate  "for  such  charitable  and  pious  uses  as  they 
in  their  discretion  should  think  fit."  These  executors  agreed  to 
lay  out  five  thousand  four  hundred  pounds  sterling  in  land,  and  to  apply 
the  yearly  rent  thereof  "toward  propagating  the  Christian   religion 


116  HISTORY   OF   THE   AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

amongst  Infidels,"  and  after  some  delays,  assigned  the  annual  rents  of 
their  purchase,  subject  to  a  charge  in  perpetuity  of  ninety  pounds  per 
annum  to  be  paid  to  the  company  for  Propagating  the  Gospel  in  New 
England,  to  the  president  and  professors  of  the  College  of  William  and 
Mary,  in  Virginia,  for  the  maintenance  and  education  of  Indian  pupils. 
The  agency  of  the  Kev.  Mr.  IMair  in  securing  both  the  charter  and  this 
appropriation  may  be  inferred  from  the  interesting  letters  we  print  from 
the  oi'iginal  JNISS.  in  the  Liltrary  of  the  Bishop  of  London  at  Fulham. 
They  were  addressed  to  the  governor  of  the  colony,  whose  unfriendly 
ofEces,  at  a  later  date,  were  made  the  subject  of  more  than  one  "me- 
morial" for  his  removal,  addressed  to  the  home  authorities  by  the 
zealous  commissary :  — 

London,  Deer.  3d,  1691. 

May  it  please  Your  Honor  :  In  my  last  from-Biistol  I  gave  your  Honour  an 
account  of  our  passage,  our  landing  in  Ireland,  my  passage  from  tlienee  to  Bristol, 
with  all  the  news  I  had  then  heard.  This  letter  I  left  with  M'  Henry  IJaniel,  who 
promised  to  take  care  of  it  &  to  send  it  by  a  ship  that  he  said  was  there,  almost  ready 
to  sail  from  Bristol  to  Virginia.  M'.  Randolph,  of  New  England,  &  M'.  Sherwood, 
who  are  now  both  bound  for  Virginia,  wil  1  save  me  the  trouble  of  writing  news,  so  that 
I  shall  need  only  to  give  your  llonour  an  account  of  my  i)rocecdings  in  the  affair  of 
the  College.  When  1  c.amo  lirstto  London,  which  was  the  first  day  of  September, 
there  were  many  things  concuiTed  to  hinder  my  sudden  presentmg  of  the  address  about 
the  College,  for  JNl'.  .feotfreys  was  in  Wales  &  did  not  come  to  Town  to  present  the 
address  upon  their  majesties'  accession  to  the  crown;  the  Bishop  of  London  thought 
it  not  so  proper  to  present  an  address  about  business  ;  then  the  King  was  in  Flan- 
ders; my  friend,  the  Bishop  of  Salisbury,  was  at  Salisbury;  the  Bishop  of  St.  Asaph 
at  his  diocese  in  Wales,  and  before  M'.  Jeofl'reys  came  to  Town  the  Bishop  of  Lou- 
don was  taken  very  sick,  so  that  ibr  a  month's  time  he  was  not  able  to  stir  abroad ; 
upon  all  which  accounts  I  found  it  necessary  to  delay  in  the  beginning,  for  which  I 
had  one  reason,  ■which  was  enough  of  itself  if  there  had  been  no  more,  and  that  was 
that  I  found  the  court  so  much  altered,  especially  among  the  Bishops  (who  were  the 
most  pi'oper  persons  for  me  to  apply  myself  to),  that  really  I  found  myself  obliged 
to  take  new  measures  from  what  I  had  proposed  to  myself.  The  Bishop  of  London 
was  at  this  time  under  a  great  cloud,  and  mighty  unwilli:ig  to  meddle  in  any  court 
business,  for  notwithstanding  his  great  merit  from  the  present  goveniment,  he  had 
been  passed  by  in  all  the  late  iiromotions,  &  the  two  archljishoprlcks  had  been 
bestowed  upon  two  of  his  own  clergy,  viz.,  U'.  Tillottson  &  1)'.  Sharp,  so  y'  not- 
withstanding the  Bisliop  of  Lf]ndon's  great  kindness  to  Virginia,  yet  I  tbund  he  was 
not  at  this  time  in  so  tit  circmnstances  to  manage  a  business  at  comt  as  we  expected. 
I  found  that  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  was  the  man  who  was  wholly  entrusted 
by  the  King  and  Court  for  all  Ecclesiastical  affairs,  &  I  was  told  by  everybody  who 
had  skill  in  Business  that  it  was  .absolutely  necessary  to  get  him  to  be  our  friend. 
Thus  the  time  past  on,  &  I  did  nothing  IJut  make  friends  in  private  against  the 
King's  coming  over,  which  was  expected  about  the  beginning  of  October,  but  hap- 
pened not  till  the  19lh  of  that  month. 

All  this  while  I  waited  duely  on  the  Bishop  of  London,  as  knowing  well  that 
■whenever  this  business  came  to  be  done  he  must  appear  cordially  in  it,  or  else  no 
interest  that  I  could  make  could  prevail  to  get  it  done  without  him,  it  belonging  so 
entirely  to  his  province.  I  both  discoursed  him  at  large,  and  plyed  him  with  me- 
morials till  I  got  him  to  be  very  perfect  in  the  business  of  the  College,  but  at  the 
same  time  I  disliked  the  method  in  which  he  was  going  to  put  it,  which  was  this. 
He  advised  me  to  put  in  the  address  by  way  of  petition  to  the  King  in  Council,  & 
the  council  he  said  would  defer  it  to  the  committee  for  ])lantations  where  he  did  not 
doubt  but  that  it  would  pass.  I  told  his  Lordship  that  I  never  doubted  the  obtaining 
of  the  charter,  but  the  great  difficulty  would  be  in  obtaining  a  gift  of  such  tilings 
from  his  Majesty  as  we  had  a  mind  to  ask  for  the  College,  and  that  in  order  to  this, 
the  best  way  seemed  to  me  to  be  to  engage  the  Bishops  about  Court  zealously  in 
the  thing  &  to  get  the  King  so  prepared  th.at  when  the  address  was  presented  to  him 
he  should  consult  the  Bishops  in  it,  it  being  au  Ecclesiastical  affair,  &  that  bj 


THE  COLLEGE  AT  WILLIAMSBURG  AND  PRESIDENT  BLAIR.       117 

their  advice  tlio  whole  business  shoukl  be  approved  by  his  Majesty  &  all  promises 
lor  the  encouragement  of  it  that  wo  had  a  mintl  to  ask,  &  tii'en  at  last,  it'  it  was 
necessary,  that  it  might  bo  brought  before  the  Committee  of  Plantations  to  see  what 
tliey  had  to  say  against  it,  but  for  the  council  anil  the  Connuittee  of  Plantations  to  be 
the  lirst  meddlers  &  contrivers  of  the  business  I  did  not  like  it,  because  as  his  Lord- 
ship told  me  himself  the  church  of  England  i>arty  was  the  weakest  in  tlie  council, 
&  if  there  is  any  of  the  revenue  to  bo  sparetl  the  courtiers  are  more  apt  to  bog  it 
for  themselves  than  to  advise  the  bestowing  of  it  upon  any  publick  use.  But  all 
that  I  could  say  could  not  jjrevail  with  tlie  liishop  of  London  to  have  the  business 
managed  in  this  manner  with  the  King  himself.  This  was  the  lirst  week  in  October 
when  the  King  was  daily  expected,  &  I  was  really  in  a  great  deal  of  trouble  & 
knew  not  how  to  help  myself,  when  liy  God's  good  providence,  liy  means  of  a  min- 
ister of  my  acquaintance,  I  was  introduced  to  Dr.  Stillinglleet,  Bishop  of  Worcester, 
one  thought  to  be  as  much  in  favour  with  the  Queen  as  any  Bishop  in  Kngland.  I 
found  the  Bishop  of  Worcester  exceeding  well  prepared  to  receive  me  kindly. 
The  very  lirst  word  he  said  to  me  was  that  he  was  very  glad  of  this  opportunity  of 
being  acquainted  with  me,  that  he  had  heard  a  great  deal  of  mo  from  the  Bishop  of 
London,  of  good  things  I  had  done  and  still  designed  to  dofor  the  Church  in  America, 
&  he  freely  proffered  to  do  me  all  the  service  tTiat  lay  in  his  power. 

After  some  discom-se  with  him  I  fomid  that  we  had  already  run  into  one 
error,  &  seemetl  like  to  run  into  another.  The  lirst  was,  that  all  this  time  we  had 
neglected  the  Quceu,  who  he  assured  me  would  be  the  best  friend  that  I  could  iinil 
in  a  business  of  tliis  nature,  as  being  a  person  that  is  a  very  great  encourager  of  all 
works  of  charity.  The  otherwas  that,  as  I  told  him,  we  intended  to  bring'it  before 
the  council  &  committee  of  Plantations,  which  he  assured  me,  was  the  ready  way 
to  spoil  all.  For  the  Orstl  had  this  to  say,  that  by  my  instructions  I  was  to  depend 
upon  the  Bishop  of  London,  who  presently  after  my  coming  to  London  was  taken 
sick  and  was  but  just  now  beginning  to  stir  abroad  again.  I  desired  him  to  be  so 
kind  as  to  acquaint  her  majesty  with  it,  &  withal  to  ask  whether  her  majesty  would 
have  the  address  presented  to  her,  or  whether  we  must  wait  for  his  majesty's  com- 
ing, who  was  now  expected  every  minute.  He  promised  me  that  he  would  do  it, 
&  for  the  other  wrong  step  we  wei'e  like  to  make  I  was  as  much  convinced  of  it  as 
he  could  be,  but  I  showed  him  the  difficultj'  and  begged  that  he  would  make  use  of 
his  interest  with  the  Bishop  of  London  to  persuade  him  to  take  another  course. 
About  the  same  time  I  received  a  letter  from  the  Bishop  of  Salisbury  (whose  as- 
sistance I  had  desired)  with  one  enclosed  for  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  wherein 
he  recommended  me  &  the  busmess  of  our  college  to  his  Grace.  And  upon  my 
address  to  him  I  was  received  very  kindly ;  he  told  me  that  he  remembered  me 
since  I  was  with  the  master  of  the  roUes.  lie  heard  me  very  patiently  discourse 
the  business  of  our  college,  and  enquired  concerning  the  state  of  our  clergy  in 
Virginia;  he  assured  me  that  he  would  do  me  all  the  kindness  that  he  could  in  my 
afiair,  &  desired  me  to  draw  him  up  a  couple  of  memorials,  one  about  the  college, 
and  another  about  the  clergy,  and  withal  told  me  that  if  I  would  follow  his  advice 
he  did  not  question  but  the  business  would  do  very  well.  He  told  me  I  must 
have  patience  for  the  King  at  his  first  coming  would  be  full  of  his  Parliament  busi- 
ness, but  if  I  would  leave  it  to  him  he  would  tell  me  when  was  the  proper  time  to 
deliver  the  address,  &  would  before  hand  prepare  his  majesty.  He  was  utterly 
against  the  making  of  it  a  council  business,  and  promised  me  to  talk  with  the 
Bishop  of  London  in  it,  and  to  shew  him  the  necessity  of  manageing  it  first 
with  the  King  himself.  Both  these  Bishops  wei'e  as  good  as  their  words,  for  the 
Bishop  of  Worcester  opened  the  business  of  the  college  to  the  Queen  ivho  seemed 
to  like  it  extraordinarily,  promised  to  assist  in  recommending  it  to  the  King,  but 
ordered  that  the  address  should  not  be  presented  till  the  King  came  himself.  And 
the  Archbishop  took  an  occasion  to  speak  to  the  Bishop  of  London  about  it  in  the 
presence  of  the  Bishop  of  Worcester.  They  all  commended  the  thing  &  for  the 
right  managing  of  it,  the  Archbishop  proposed  that  the  King  should  be  prepared 
and  then  the  addi-ess  delivered  to  him,  &  if  he  thought  lit  to  make  a  council  business 
of  it  he  might.  The  Archbishop  desired  leave  of  the  Bishop  of  London  to  manage 
it  with  the  King,  to  which  the  B'  of  London  willingly  assented  to  &  so  the  thing 
was  i)ut  again  into  a  right  method.  The  Archb'  tokl  me  afterwards  that  he  never 
saw  the  liing  take  anything  better  than  he  cUd  the  very  lirst  proposal  of  our  college, 
&  that  he  promised  frankly  if  I  could  find  any  thing  in  that  country  which  \\'as  fit 
for  him  to  give  towards  it  he  would  give  it.  After  which  I  made  it  my  whole  busi- 
ness to  wait  upon  those  Bishops  &  to  give  them  memorials  of  my  affair.     I  have 


118  HISTORY   OF  THE   AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

already  writ  out  three  quires  of  paper  in  this  sort  of  woi'k,  and  all  things  seem  to 
be  in  a  right  disposition  towards  it. 

After  the  heat  of  the  parliament  business  was  a  little  over,  the  Archbishop 
got  the  King  himself  to  name  a  day  for  presenting  the  address.  It  was  Nov'.  12", 
in  the  Council  chamber,  before  the  council  sat.  I  was  inti-oduced  by  the  Archbishop 
of  Canterbury  &  my  Lord  Effingham  (the  Bishop  of  London  should  have  been  there, 
but  was  tliat  day  taken  again  with  a  fit  of  the  stone) .  I  kneeled  down  &  said  these 
words,  "Please  your  majesty,  here  is  an  humble  supplication  from  the  Government 
of  Virginia  for  j'our  majesty's  charter  to  erect  a  free  school  &  college  for  the  educa- 
tion of  their  youth,"  &  so  I  delivered  it  into  their  hand.  He  answered,  "Sir,  I  am 
glad  that  that  colony  is  upon  so  good  a  design,  &  I  will  promote  it  to  the  best  of  my 
power."  The  King  gave  it  to  the  principal  Secretary,  my  Lord  Nottingham,  at  whose 
office,  within  two  days,  I  had  it  again,  with  this  account  from  JM'.  Warre,  my  Lord's 
Secretary,  that  the  King  had  ordered  me  to  give  in  to  the  Bishop  of  London,  both  a 
scheme  of  the  college,  and  an  account  what  was  expected  of  him  toward  the  en- 
couragement of  it ;  &  if  I  could  concert  the  matter  with  the  Archbishop  and  the 
Bishop  of  London,  then  it  should  be  brought  before  the  committee  for  plantations, 
&  pass,  if  they  had  ncithmg  to  object  against  it.  The  parliament  sits  so  close  that  it 
is  an  hard  matter  to  find  anybody  at  leasurc,  yet  I  persuaded  the  Bishop  of  London, 
on  Wednesday  last  to  come  for  half  an  hour  to  his  chamber  at  Whitehall,  where  I 
presented  &  read  to  him  a  memorial  I  had  pi-epared  for  his  majesty's  use,  &  the 
Archbishop  &  he  were  to  wait  an  opportunity  to  speak  to  the  lung  about  it.  Every 
one  thinks  it  is  in  so  good  a  way  that  it  cannot  well  miscari-y.  I  make  it  my  whole 
business  to  wait  upon  it,  &  if  I  heai-  further  before  the  ships  go,  j-our  honour  may 
expect  another  line  about  it.  I  find  there  will  be  a  great  deal  of  difficulty  in 
finding  of  able  masters,  &  yet  I  am  sensible  the  life  of  the  business  lies  in  this.  In 
England  their  masters  of  their  colleges  have  a  much  easier  life  tlian  is  designed  for 
the  masters  and  professors  of  our  college  in  Virginia.  I  can  have  several  young 
men  that  are  fit  enough  to  be  ushers,  but  cannot  perswade  any  of  the  Eminent,  ex- 
perienced masters  to  go  over.  I  have  two  in  my  eye  that  are  very  lit  for  it,  if  I  can 
prevail  with  them  to  undertake  it. 

There  was  one  thing  which  was  forgot  in  my  instructions  (and  it  was  my  fault, 
for  I  was  not  sensible  of  the  necessity  of  it  at  this  time),  that  is  that  I  should  have 
been  ordei-ed  to  provide  a  president  of  the  college  at  the  same  time  with  the  school- 
master &  usher.  I  thought  y'  at  first  a  Grammar  school,  being  the  only  thing  we 
could  go  upon,  a  good  Schoolmaster  &  Usher  were  enough  to  manage  that.  But 
the  Bishop  of  London  and  some  other  Bishops  and  a  great  many  other  skillfull  men 
whom  I  have  consulted,  have  undeceived  me,  &  persuaded  me  that  the  president 
of  the  college  ought  to  be  the  first  man  of  all  the  masters  we  jjrovided  for  it. 
Their  reasons  are  these :  First,  that  the  good  succjss  of  the  whole  business  depends 
upon  the  setting  up  &  executing  of  a  good  discipline  at  first  both  among  masters 
&  Scholars,  which,  if  it  be  left  wholly  to  the  Schoolmaster,  he  will  be  sure  to  make 
it  easy  enough  for  himself,  &  will  contrive  to  lead  the  scholars  in  such  a  method  as 
will  keep  them  a  great  deal  longer  at  school  than  they  needed  to  be  kept,  only  for 
his  own  advantage.  Most  of  the  masters  here  in  England  keep  their  scholars  seven 
years  at  the  Latin,  which  might  be  as  well  taught  in  four  if  they  pleased.  2°'',  It 
may  so  happen  y'  the  school  master  &  usher  may  want  as  muchto  be  instructed  them- 
selves as  any  of  the  scholars.     .    .    . 

London,  Feb'.  27,  1691-2. 

Mat  it  please  Youe  Honour:  By  the  Virgmia  fleet  which  put  to  sea 
about  six  weeks  ago,  I  sent  you  a  whole  packet  of  letters,  which  if  they  are  come 
to  hand  will  give  you  a  vciy  particular  account  of  what  I  am  doing  here.  Since 
that  time  my  patience  has  been  sufficiently  cxei-cised,  for  our  college  business  (as 
indeed  .all  business  whatsoever),  has  been  at  a  stand,  the  King  being  so  wholly 
taken  up  with  the  thoughts  of  the  war  &  the  transportation  of  the  household  &  the 
army,  that  for  a  long  time  he  allowed  not  the  Lords  of  the  Treasury  to  lay  any 
other  business  before  him  till  all  afl'airs  of  that  kind  were  dispatched.  There  was 
another  reason  too  why  my  business  was  delajxd,  &y'was  that  my  Lord  Archbishop 
of  (^anterbuiy,  who  is  the  person  I  depend  upon  for  managingof  it  withthe  King  & 
Queen,  was  for  five  weeks  frozen  up  at  Lambeth  so  that  he  could  neither  get  to 
Court  nor  Parliament  but  by  coming  round  by  the  bridge,  which  he  found  to  be  so 
long  and  so  bad  a  way  that  he  choose  for  the  most  part  to  stay  at  home.    But  to 


THE  COLLEGE  AT  WILLIAMSBURG  AND  PRESIDENT  BLAIR.       119 

make  up  this  loss  of  time  there  happened  two  accidents  in  it,  by  which  I  believe  I 
shall  get  £u()0  to  our  college,  of  which  I  should  not  have  had  one  farthing  if  I  had 
been  out  of  tlie  way.  ]\1'-  Boyle  died  about  the  beginning  of  the  last  month,  &  left 
a  considerable  Legacy  for  pious  uses,  which,  wlieu  I  understood,  I  made  my  inter- 
est with  his  executors  by  means  of  the  Dishop  of  Salisbuiy,  and  I  am  promised  £200 
of  it  for  our  college.  The  other  is  y'  Davis  &  his  partners  having  been  long  kept  in 
suspense  about  that  money  which  Captain  Roe  seized  in  Vii-ginia,  &  their  friends 
being  quite  tired  interceding  for  them,  &  no  money  was  like  to  come  at  last,  I 
undertook  to  get  them  their  money  provided  they  would  give  a  considerable  share 
of  it  to  our  Virginia  College.  Tliey  engaged  to  give  SOU  pound,  &  I  presently  em- 
ployed the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  &  Bishop  of  London  who  have  so  managed  it 
with  the  council  that  the  council  is  very  glad  of  the  expedient  &Iamassureditwill 
take  effect.  This  day  their  petition  was  read  before  a  committee  for  plantations  & 
I  subscribed  it  signifying  that  the  i)elitioners  liad  devoted  £300  of  the  money  towards 
the  carrying  on  the  design  of  a  college  in  Virginia  if  (hoy  might  have  an  order  for 
the  rest,  and  the  thing  would  have  past  but  y'  the  Lords  thouglit  they  offered  too 
little  money ;  so  I  am  desired  to  tiy  if  I  can  bring  them  up  to  £500.  So  y'  tho'  my 
main  business  is  not  yet  finished,  yet  I  make  use  of  my  time  for  some  thing  else 
than  mere  waiting.  But  I  confess  the  trouble  of  managing  the  affair  is  so  vastly 
great  beyond  expectation,  that  I  doubt,  could  I  have  foreseen  it,  I  should  never 
have  had  the  courage  to  have  undei-taken  it. 

The  chief  news  here  since  the  Virginia  fleet  sailed  is  the  disgrace  of  mj'  Lord 
Marleboroujrh.  The  reasons  of  it  are  not  divulged,  but  it  is  said  he  is  suspected  by 
the  King  to  nave  made  his  jjeace  with  France.  "llis  ])lace  of  Lieutenant-General  of 
the  English  &  Scotcli  forces  is  bestowed  upon  Coll.  Talmagh,  his  trooi)  of  Guards 
upon  my  Lord  Colchester,  his  regiment  of  fusileers  upon  L''  George  Ilamiltoune, 
one  of  Uuke  Hamiltoun's  Sons,  &  his  place  of  the  bed  chamber,  for  aught  I  know, 
is  still  void.  My  Lady  Marleborough  was  likewise  forbid  the  court,  &Uie  Princess 
Anne  was  desired  by  the  Queen  to  dismiss  her  from  her  services,  which  the  Prin- 
cess took  so  ill  that  she  has  left  the  cockpit  upon  it  &  gone  out  to  live  at  Sion  house. 
But  the  news  which  concerns  your  Honour  most  nearly  to  be  informed  in  is  y'  my 
Lord  Effingham  has  suddenly  laid  down  the  Government  of  Virginia  which  was  im- 
mediately conferred  upon  Sir  Edmund  Andros  who  is  to  sail  from  hence  with  all 
expedition  along  with  Coll.  Fletcher,  Gov'  of  New  York.  M'  Blathwayt  is  agoing 
for  Flanders  wi(h  the  King's  Secretary  of  War.  On  Wednesday  last  tho  Parliament 
was  adjourned  till  the  12"  of  April,  &  it  is  expected  that  it  will  be  adjourned  from 
time  to  time  till  the  King's  return.  I  received  yours  of  Nov'  19,  shall  be  earefull 
of  the  contents.  My  Lord  Bishop  of  S'.  Asaph  has  not  yet  beeil  in  Town,  but  is 
now  shortly  expected  being  to  preach  at  the  chapel  on  Easter  day.  I  give  my  ser- 
vice to  all  my  masters  of  tlie  council  &  house  of  Burgesses,  &  hope  to  give  you 
shortly  a  good  account  of  my  proceedings  in  the  affair  wherewith  I  am  entrusted. 
This  with  my  prayers  for  your  honour's"  health  &  prosijerity  being  all  at  present, 
from 

Yours,  Sir,  &c.,  &e., 

James  Blaiii. 

Vivid,  and  amusing  even,  as  are  these  notices  of  court  intrigues 
and  the  intricacies  of  the  paths  leading  to  political  preferment  and  suc- 
cess, it  is  evident  from  their  perusal  that  the  interests  of  the  College  of 
William  and  Mary  were  in  safe  hands.  Dr.  Blair,  from  the  time  of  his 
coming  to  Virginia,  had  been  prominent  both  as  a  priest  and  preacher 
and  as  a  politician  as  well.  His  ministry  of  upwards  of  half  a  centurj^ 
was  so  intimately  connected  with  the  history,  not  only  of  the  city,  the 
college,  and  the  Church,  of  which  he  was  the  commissary  and  leading 
divine,  that  we  cannot  separate  his  public  and  official  career  from  that 
of  a  devoted  and  faithful  service  of  souls.  As  a  jjreachcr  he  won  no 
little  reputation.  His  four  printed  volumes  of  di.scourses  upon  our 
Saviour's  "Sermon  on  the  Mount,"  containing  upwards  of  one  hun- 
dred sermons,  went  through  two  editions  in  England.  The  celel)i'atcd 
Waterland  published  a  preface  to  the  second  edition,  and  Doddridge 


120  HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHUKCH. 

refers  to  them  with  high  praise.  As  specimeus  of  practical  divinity, 
couched  in  scholarly  language,  and  enforced  with  earnestness  and 
power,  they  are  worthy  of  comraeudation  ;  and  in  their  original  deliv- 
ery before  the  colonial  authorities,  and  the  leadei's  of  the  political  and 
fashionable  world  of  Virginia,  or  as  read  in  the  homes  and  by  the 
hearth-stones  of  the  godly,  both  in  the  colony  and  in  the  mother-laud,  they 
must  have  had  no  little  influence  for  good,  in  advancing  the  cause  of 
practical  and  pei'sonal  holiness  they  wci'e  intended  to  serve.  Few  men 
and  few  ministers  had  more  difEculties  to  contend  with  than  the  rector 
of  Bruton  Parish;  but  an  indomitable  will,  a  tireless  persistence,  a 
patience  and  perseverance  almost  unexampled,  enabled  him  to  sur- 
mount all  opposition,  and  to  secure  for  himself  and  the  Church  of  which 
he  was  the  representative  the  respect  and  sympathy  of  those  with  whom 
he  was  brought  in  contact.  Brought  constantly  into  conflict  with  cor- 
rupt and  tjTannical  men,  — the  arbitrary,  and  often  vindictive,  otBcials 
sent  from  England  to  rule  the  colonists ;  fighting  manfully  the  battles 
of  the  Church  and  the  college  against  indilference  or  obstructiveness 
in  high  places ;  made  by  his  position  and  prominence  the  object  of 
envy  and  malevolent  criticism, — we  have,  both  in  the  annals  of  the 
time  and  in  the  documents  on  either  side  of  the  controversies  in  which 
he  was  again  and  again  engaged,  abundant  pi'oofs  of  his  sincerity  of 
purpose,  his  devotion  to  his  work,  and  his  blamelessness  of  life.  As 
commissary  and  representing  the  vaguely  defined  Episcopal  authority 
of  the  Bishop  of  London,  he  was  constantly  hampered  by  the  inter- 
ference of  the  governor  in  his  efforts  for  the  maintenance  of  godly  dis- 
cipline among  the  clergy  of  his  charge.  As  President  of  the  "  lloyal 
College  of  William  and  Mary,"  as  well  as  its  founder,  he  found  him- 
self again  and  again  forced  into  an  attitude  of  determined  opposition 
to  the  measures  of  the  representative  of  the  crown,  which  threatened 
the  loss  of  chartered  rights,  or  the  subordination  of  the  college  to  the 
vice-regal  will.  As  a  member  of  the  council,  brought  into  intimate 
and  personal  relations  with  the  leading  men  of  the  province,  and  repre- 
senting there  the  church's  interest  in  debates  and  in  decisions  affecting 
the  interests,  civil  and  religious,  of  the  commonwealth,  he  proved  himself 
to  be  conscientious  and  incapaljle  of  coiTuption.  One  thus  pure-minded 
and  devoted  to  the  cause  of  the  Church  and  crown  could  not  fail  of 
being  misrepresented  and  misunderstood,  and  of  becoming  person- 
ally olmoxious  to  a  venal  or  a  time-serving  administration.  That  one 
of  his  marked  ability,  his  personal  influence,  and  his  official  position, 
should,  for  more  than  half  a  centmy,  be  so  intimately  connected  with 
the  affairs  of  Church  and  State  without  frequent  collisions  with  those 
in  power,  whose  schemes  he  thwarted,  and  whose  malfeasance  in  office 
he  unsparingly  proclaimed,  was  not  to  be  supposed.  The  folios  of 
manuscript  telling  the  story  of  his  trials,  his  labors,  his  dffiiculties, 
and  disputes,  still  on  file  among  the  records  in  England,  or  repro- 
duced in  print  in  late  contributions  to  our  American  ecclesiastical 
annals,  are  to  be  numbered  by  scores  and  hundreds.  That  throughout 
his  career  he  retained  the  I'cspect  and  confidence  of  successive  primates 
and  bishops  of  Loudon,  Avith  whom  he  was  in  constant  and  most  un- 
reserved communication,  attests  his  character  and  worth.     Accused 


THE  COLLEGE  AT  WILLIAMSBURG  AND  PRESIDENT  BLAIR.       121 

again  and  again  by  indignant  and  disappointed  ofBcials,  or  l\y  envious 
and  iniquitous  clergymen,  he  never  tailed  to  justify  liis  conduct,  and 
to  turn  tlio  tables  upon  liis  assailants.  At  tlie  outset  of  bis  labors 
in  behalf  of  the  college  he  was  brought  in  conflict  with  Andros,  who 
had  come  from  the  North,  where  he  had  been  driven  ignominiously 
from  his  government,  to  try  his  hand  in  ruling  the  Virginians.  By  virtue 
of  his  instructions  the  royal  governor  was  not  only  the  representative 
of  the  crown,  and  consequently  the  civil  head  of  the  province,  but  he 
was  also  the  "ordinary,"  the  representative  of  the  crown  and  Church 
as  well  in  spiritual  things,  the  commissary  being  subordinated  to 
him.  Against  Andros,  the  fearless  commissary,  while  in  England, 
brought  charges  in  detail,  and  amjily  supported  his  accusations  by  tes- 
timony, representing  the  governor  as  an  enemy  to  religion,  to  the 
clergy,  the  Church,  and  the  college.  The  record  of  the  examination 
of  the  commissary  before  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  and  the 
Bishop  of  London,  with  reference  to  these  charges,  in  which  the  gov- 
ernor was  represented  and  defended  by  colonial  officials  and  gentle- 
men of  distinction,  is  still  extant.  Two  days  were  spent  at  Lambeth 
Palace  in  this  searching  investigation,  in  which  the  astuteness  and 
ability  of  Blair  appear  as  more  than  a  match  for  the  four  able  men 
arrayed  against  him.  Never  was  vindication  more  complete  than  that 
of  the  commissary  ;  never  was  an  indictment  more  fully  sustained  than 
that  in  which  in  full  detail  and  with  logical  precision  he  assailed  the 
character  and  conduct  of  the  royal  governor.  The  result  was,  as  might 
have  been  anticipated,  the  commissary  was  sustained,  and  Andros  was 
recalled  in  disgrace.  The  successor  of  Andros  was  Sir  Francis  Nichol- 
son, elsewhere  a  friend  and  patron  of  the  Church,  and  still  remembered 
for  his  munificent  Ijcnefoctions  towards  the  erection  and  support  of 
churches  all  along  the  Atlantic  coast  from  INIassachusetts  to  Virginia. 
Vain,  conceited,  passionate,  and  changeable,  an  afTair  of  the  heart, 
which  resulted  in  an  unlooked-for  disappointment,  made  of  the  govern- 
or a  madman,  of  whose  conduct  both  the  council,  the  commissary, 
and  a  portion  of  the  clergy  complained.  Nicholson  had  been  in  con- 
flict with  Dr.  Bray,  while  Governor  of  Maryland,  and  complained 
of  his  usage  "  by  a  parcel  of  Black  Coats."  In  his  defence  he  re- 
ferred with  no  little  bitterness  to  the  Bishop  of  London's  commissaries, 
whose  names  are  "monosyllables  and  begin  with  B."^;  but  neither 
his  conduct  nor  his  explanations  found  favor  at  home.  Again 
was  the  commissary  successful,  and  the  irascible  and  lovesick 
governor  was  recalled.  His  successor.  Gov.  Nott,  an  amiable  and  ex- 
cellent man,  died  .shortly  after  entering  upon  his  duty,  and  was  fol- 
lowed in  1710  Ijy  Col.  Spotswood,  a  man  of  resolute  character  and 
noble  bearing,  who  for  some  years  seconded  all  the  etlbrts  of  the  com- 
missary on  behalf  of  the  Church  and  the  college,  and  received  in  turn 
the  commissary's  support  and  sympathy.  It  was  not  till  nearly  ten 
years  had  passed  that  any  disagreement  arose,  and  then,  as  had  been 
always  the  case,  the  commissary-  again  triumphed,  and  the  governor 
was  recalled  fi'om  his  post. 

Ulist.  Coll.  Am.  Col.  Ch.,  I.,  p.  1S2. 


122  HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

Meanwhile  the  college,  established  with  this  comprehensive  object 
in  view,  as  expressed  in  its  charter,  "to  the  end  that  the  Church  in 
Virginia  may  be  furnished  with  a  seminary  of  ministers  of  the  Gospel, 
and  that  the  youth  may  be  piously  educated  in  good  letters  and 
manners,  and  that  the  Christian  faith  may  be  propagated  amongst 
the  Western  Indians,  to  the  glory  of  Almighty  God,"  was  formally 
opened,  and  began  its  beneficent  career.  Its  charter  named  the  com- 
missary as  its  first  president,  and  appointed  the  Lord  Bishop  of  Lon- 
don, Dr.  Henry  Compton,  as  its  first  chancellor.  Towards  the  endow- 
ment her  Majesty  contributed  out  of  the  quit-rents  of  the  colony, 
£1,985  14s.  lOd.  ;  a  penny  per  pound  on  all  tobacco  exported  from 
Virginia  and  jMaryland ;  the  ofiice  of  surveyor-general,  with  all  "its 
issues,  fees,  profits,  advantages,  conveniences,  lil^erties,  places,  privi- 
leges, and  preeminences  whatsoever ;"  ten  thousand  acres  of  land  lying 
on  the  south  side  of  Blackwater  swamp,  and  ten  thousand  acres  on 
Pamunkey  Neck,  lietween  the  forks  of  York  river.  The  right  of  repre- 
sentation in  the  House  of  Bui'gesses  was  also  granted  to  the  faculty, 
who  could  elect  one  of  their  own  number,  or  "  one  of  the  better  part 
of  the  inhabitants  of  the  colony."  The  college  building  was  planned 
by  Sir  Christopher  Wren,  and  was  designed  "to  be  an  entire  square 
when  completed."  Professorships  of  the  ancient  languages,  mathe- 
matics, moral  philosophy,  and  divinity  were  provided  for  in  the  charter ; 
and  another  endowment,  called  the  "Brafferton,"  the  gift  of  the  cele- 
brated liobert  Boyle,  had  for  its  object  the  instruction  and  conversion 
of  the  Indians. 

In  1700  the  first  commencement  was  held  at  the  College  of  Will- 
iam and  i\Iary,'  attracting  a  great  concourse  of  people.  The  neigh- 
boring planters  came  in  coaches  to  witness  this  unwonted  spectacle,  and 
other  visitors,  from  the  provinces  of  Maryland,  Pennsylvania,  and  even 
from  distant  New  York,  anived  in  sloops,  or  by  other  means  of  convey- 
ance, it  being,  as  the  chronicler  tells  us,  "a  new  thing  in  that  part  of 
America  to  hear  graduates  perform  their  Exercises."  Even  some  of  the 
Indians,  to  whom  commissioners  had  been  sent  to  secure  the  attendance 
of  a  number  of  their  children  at  the  new  college,  upon  the  foundation 
established  by  Boyle,  had  the  curiosity  to  join  the  crowd  at  Williams- 
burg upon  this  interesting  occasion,  and  "  the  whole  country  rejoiced,  as 
if  they  had  some  relish  of  learning."  Two  years  later  the  death  of  King 
William  was  made  the  occasion  of  a  suitable  observance  in  the  college 
hall,  in  the  presence  of  the  Governor,  the  Council,  the  House  of  Bur- 
gesses, and  others.  A  "  Pastoral  Colloquy  in  English  Verse  "  was  spoken 
by  some  of  the  younger  scholars.  Other  scholars  spoke  a  "  pastoral " 
upon  the  "succession  of  her  Sacred  Majesty  Queen  Ann,"  while  the 
commissary  delivered  a  "  funeral  oration,"  which  excited  the  governor's 
ire,  in  consequence,  as  Dr.  Blair  asserts,  of  his  "making  use  of  that  op- 
portunity to  commend  the  mildness  and  gentleness  of  the  King's  reign, 
which  our  great  man  took  to  be  a  tacit  reflection  on  himself  for  his  furi- 
ous and  mad  way  of  government."  - 

The   General  Assembly  of  Virginia  was  held  at  "  his  Majesty's 

iCampbell's  Va.,  pp.  361,  362.  =  Hist.  Coll.  Am.  Col.  Ch.,  i.,  p  125. 


THE  COLLEGE  AT  WILLIAMSBURG  AND  PRESIDENT  BLAIR.       123 

Royal  College  of  William  and  Mary,"  from  1700  until  1705,  when,  to- 
gether with  the  library  and  philosophical  apparatus,  the  college  build- 
ing was  destroyed  by  tire.  This  occurred  during  the  first  year  of 
Gov.  Nott's  administration.  "  The  fire  broke  out  about  ten  o'clock  at 
night,  in  a  public  time.  The  Governor,  and  all  the  gentlemen  that 
were  in  town,  came  up  to  the  lamentable  spectacle,  many  getting  out 
of  their  beds.  But  the  fire  had  got  such  power  before  it  was  dis- 
covered, and  was  so  tierce,  that  there  was  no  hope  of  putting  a  stop  to 
it,  and  therefore  no  attempts  were  made  to  that  end."  The  college 
was  not  rebuilt  until  Gov.  Spotswood's  time.  To  accomplish  this 
end  it  was  found  necessary  to  hoard  the  revenues,  which  else  would 
have  gone  for  salaries,  while  the  president  "  freely  parted  " '  with  his 


k 


.■,fllTf]  B  ...T1 


THE  COLLEGE  OF  WILLLA.M  AND  MARY  AS  IT  APPEARED  A  CENTURY 
AND  A  HAI.F  AGO. 

salary  for  this  purpose.  But  during  this  period  of  depression  the 
care  of  the  Indians  was  not  forgotten.  An  expedition  against  the 
aborigines,  under  the  command  of  the  gallant  Spotswood,  re- 
sulted, as  the  governor  reported  to  the  General  Assembly,  in 
November,  1711,  in  compelling  the  Indians  "to  give  pledges  of  a 
faithful  peace  by  yielding  up  several  of  their  chief  ruler's  children 
to  be  educated  at  our  college."^  "  This  fair  step  towards  their  conver- 
sion," as  the  governor  styled  it,  which  was  "  the  more  valuable  by  how 
much  all  attempts  of  this  kind  have  hitherto  proved  ineffectual,"  was 
undertaken  with  the  conviction,  we  are  assured,  that  "  whilst  by  kind 
and  gentle  means  we  endeavor  to  change  the  savage  nature  of  their 
youth,  they  will  imbibe  with  the  English  language,  the  true  principles 
t)f  our  Excellent  Church,  from  whence  will  arise  two  of  the  greatest 
benefits,  the  salvation  of  many  jioor  souls,  and  withal  the  best  of  se- 
curities to  our  persons  and  estates,  for  once  make  them  good  Christians 


» Hist.  CoU.  Am.  Col.,  Ch.  i.,  p.  183. 


'Jbid.,p.  129. 


124  HISTORY   OF   THE   AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

aud  you  may  confide  in  them."  The  worthy  governor  was  as  good  as  his 
word.  At  no  little  pains  and  personal  cost  he  estal)lished  an  Indian 
school,  at  Christanna,  on  the  south  side  of  the  jNIeherrin  river,  in 
Southampton  county.  Here,  under  the  protection  of  a  fort,  built  on 
rising  ground,  in  the  form  of  a  pentagon  aud  enclosed  with  palisades, 
on  which  live  caunon  were  mounted,  and  where  twelve  men  kept  guard, 
a  school-house  was  erected.  The  Rev.  Charles  Griffin  was  appointed 
to  the  charge  of  this  school,  in  which,  the  governor  writes  to  the  Bishop 
of  London,  there  were  in  1712  fourteen  Indian  children  and  six  more 
expected.  In  171G  Mr.  Griffin  reports  to  the  Bishop  of  London,  as 
follows :  — 

V/c  have  here  a  very  handsome  school  built  at  the  charge  of  the  Indian 
Company  at  which  are  at  present  taught  70  Indian  children,  and  many  others  from 
the  Western  Indians,  who  live  more  than  400  miles  from  hence,  will  be  brought 
hilher  in  the  spring  to  be  jsut  under  my  care  in  order  to  be  instnicted  in  the  religion 
of  the  holy  Jesus.  The  greatest  number  of  my  scholars  can  say  the  Belief,  the 
Loid's  Prayer  and  Ten  Command'  perfectly  well,  tlioy  know  tliat  there  i.s  but  one 
God  and  they  are  able  to  tell  me  how  many  persons  there  are  in  the  (iodhead  and 
wliat  each  of  those  blessed  Persons  have  done  for  them.  They  know  how  many 
Sacraments  Christ  hath  ordained  in  his  Church  and  for  what  eud  he  instituted  them. 
They  behave  themselves  reverently  at  our  daily  Prayer  and  can  make  their  re- 
sponses ;  which  was  no  little  pleasm'c  to  their  great  and  good  benefactor  the  Gov'., 
as  also  to  the  Ilev''.  M'.  Jn".  Cargill,  M'.  Attorney  General  and  many  other  gentle- 
men who  attended  him  in  his  progress  hither.i 

The  celebrated  William  Byrd,  of  Westover,  in  his  "  History  of 
the  Dividing  Line,"  ^  attests  the  excellence  of  Griffin,  who  was  "  a  Man 
of  a  good  Family  who  by  the  innocence  of  his  life,  and  the  sweetness 
of  his  temper,  was  perfectly  well  qualified  for  that  pious  undertaking." 
Byrd,  whose  only  idea  of  christianizing  the  Indians  was,  as  appears 
from  repeated  allusions  throughout  his  work,  their  intermarriage 
with  the  settlers,  speaks  of  "  the  bad  success  Mr.  Boyle's  charity  has 
hitherto  had  towards  converting  any  of  these  poor  Heathens  to  Chris- 
tianity." On  the  return  of  the  pupils  to  their  tribes,  whether  from  the 
school  from  Christanna,  or  from  the  college  at  Williamsl)urg,  "they 
have  immediately  relapsed  into  infidelity  and  barbarism  themselves." 
He  adds,  that  "  as  they  unhappily  forget  all  the  good  they  learn,  and 
remember  the  ill,  they  are  apt  to  I)e  more  vicious  and  disorderly  than 
the  rest  of  their  Countrymen."  '  We  cannot  l)ut  hope  that  the  testi- 
mony of  the  worthy  surveyor  may  have  been  a  little  colored  by  preju- 
dice. 

The  new  building  was  sufficiently  advanced  for  occupancy  by  the 
convention  of  the  clergy,  which  met  in  April,  1719,  and  in  1723  it  was 
comi)k'ted,  the  delay  arising  from  the  want  of  means  and  the  scarcity 
of  skilled  workmen.  The  Eev.  Hugh  Jones,  in  his  "  Present  State  of 
Virginia,"  published  in  1722,  gives  the  following  description  of  the 
edifice :  — 

The  College,  which  looks  due  east,  is  double  and  is  one  hundred  and  thirty- 
six  feet  long.  At  the  north  cntl  runs  Ijack  a  lung  wing,  which  is  a  handsome  hall, 
answerable  to  whicli  the  Chapel  is  to  be  built.     The  building  is  beautiful  and  com- 

» Hist.  CoU.  Am.  Col.  Ch.,  i.,  pp.  196,  197.  -  Dividing  Line,  i.,  pp.  74,  75.  'Hid. 


THE  COLLEGE  AT  WILLIAMSBURG  AND  PRESIDENT  BLAIR.       125 

modious,  being  first  modelled  by  Sir  Christopher  Wren,  adapted  to  the  nature  of  the 
country  by  the  gentlemen  there,  and  since  it  was  Ijurnt  down,  it  has  been  rebuilt, 
nicely  contrivoci  and  adorned  by  the  ingenious  direction  of  Governor  Spotswood, 
and  is  not  altogether  unlike  Chelsea  Hospital. 

The  college  being  fully  equipped  for  its  work,  the  transfer  of  cor- 
porate rights  contenipliited  iu  the  charter  was  made  to  the  faculty,  and 
the  trustees  became  in  form  and  in  fact  "  the  visitors  and  orovernors 

of  the  College  of  William  and  ^lary 

.  ^~Xy  in  Virginia."     The  tirst  entry  in  the 

^fn  /f^  /f  f'    jTsA  /  y-fjt^         oldest  record  book  of  the  facidty 

J J(,ll/fUi^     J^(l44/^r/U  >    begins  with  the  pious  invocation, 

"  IN   NOMINE    DEI,    PATIilS,  FILII   ET 

SPIRITUS  sANCTi.     AJiEN."    Its  presidents  wci-c  the  Commissaries  of  the 
Bishop  of  London  till  the  war  of  Independence  ;  and  the  names  of  Dr. 
James  Blair,  William  Dawson,  William  Stith,  the  historian  of  Vir- 
ginia,   Thomas     Dawson,     AVilliam 
Yates,   James    Horrocks,  and   John  >-,     ^ 

Camm,  who  tilled  this  honorable  post       ^^^'''^i-^-z       ^^T^*-*"**-  •'»-^-. 
prior  to  the  breaking  out  of  the  war,     ^ 
have  their  place  in  a  list  which  after 

the  war  comprised  two  Bishops  of  Virginia,  James  INIadison  and  John 
Johns.  Thus  closely  connected  with  the  Church  was  the  nursery  of 
religion  and  learning  from  the  first. 

The  chapel  to  which  reference  has  been  made,  in  the  quotation  from 
Jones's  description  of  the  college  buildings,  was  opened  on  Wednesday, 

June  28,  1732.    The  President, 

y         Dr.  James  Blair,  preached  from 

^^  ^       ^/-/.^  ^/^        tl^^  t^'-^t :  "Train  upachild  in  the 

Z^  ^_J-— r2    wayheshouldgo,andwhenhe  is 


old  he  will  not  depart  from  it. 

Prov.  xxii.  6.  At  this  time  Will- 
iamsburg was  a  copy  of  the  Courtof  St.  James,  the  seat  of  the  royal  gov- 
ernment and  of  learning.  The  culturing  influences  of  the  college  were 
felt  throughout  the  colony.  Its  scholars  became  men  of  mark  iu  all 
departments  of  letters  and  life.  To  Washington,  William  and  Mary 
gave,  in  his  untried  youth,  the  commission  by  which  he  bore  the  sur- 
veyor's staft"  into  the  trackless  wilds  of  his  native  State,  while  the  fiither 
of  his  country  gave  back  in  turn  to  her  the  latest  public  services  of  his 
honored  and  reflective  age.  She  was  the  alma  mater  of  Jefferson  and 
Monroe  and  Tyler,  Presidents;  of  Marshall,  Chief  Justice  ;  of  Peyton 
Randolph,  first  President  of  the  American  Congress  ;  of  Edmund  Ean- 
doli)h,  who  drew  up  the  original  draft  of  the  Federal  Constitution  ;  of 
jNIadison,  the  first  1)isliop  of  Virginia,  and  of  countless  others,  distin- 
guished on  the  field,  at  the  Ijar,  as  divines  and  men  of  letters.  Her  I'ecords 
note  the  bestowal  of  academic  honors  on  Benjamin  Franklin,  who  received 
the  degree  of  A.M.,  conferred  upon  him  in  person  on  the  2d  of  April, 
1756,  — the  first  instance  in  which  an  honorary  degree  was  given  by  the  col- 
lege. But  the  highest  i)raise  of  this  ancient  institution  of  learning,  second 
alone  in  point  of  years  to  Harvard,  is  the  testimony  of  Bishop  Meade,  the 
historian  of  the  Chuicli  iu  Virginia.      "  One  thing  is  set  forth  in  praise  of 


126  HISTORY  OF  THE   AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

William  and  Mary  which  we  delight  to  record  ;  namely,  that  the  hopes 
and  designs  of  its  founders  and  early  benefactors  in  relation  to  its  being 
a  nursery  of  pious  ministers  were  not  entirely  disappointed.  It  is  posi- 
tively affimied  by  those  most  competent  to  speak  that  the  best  min- 
isters in  Virginia  were  those  educated  at  the  college  and  sent  over  to 
England  for  ordination."  The  names  of  Indian  students  educated  at 
"Brafferton  "  appear  in  the  list  of  alumni  before  the  breaking  out  of  the 
war  for  Independence ;  and  in  connection  with  the  names  of  Boiling, 
Bji'd,  Carter,  Harrison,  Page,  and  Randolph,  in  the  class  graduated  in 
1776,  are  the  suggestive  names  of  Baubes,  Gunn,  and  Sampson,  who 
were  the  last  of  the  Ions'  list  of  aborigines  to  receive  the  fruits  of  the 
pious  bounty  of  Robert  Boyle. 


ILLUSTRATIVE  AOT)  CRITICAL  NOTES. 

GEORGE  SANDYS  was  of  hi^h  social  connection  in  England,  his  father  bein^ 
Archbishop  of  York  and  an  elder  brother  being  the  Sir  Edward  Sandys  refen-ed 
to  in  the  text  as  the  ti'easurer  of  the  Virginia  Company.  As  Tyler,  in  his  "  History 
of  American  Literature"  (l.,  pp.  51-58),  informs  us,  "  Atthetime  of  his  arrival  in 
America,  George  Sandys  was  foi"ty-foiu'  years  old,  and  was  then  well  known  as  a 
traveller  in  Eastern  lands,  as  a  scholar,  as  an  admirable  prose  -RTiter,  but  especially 
as  a  poet.  His  claim  to  the  title  of  poet  then  rested  chieily  on  his  fine  metrical 
translation  of  the  first  five  books  of  Ovid's  Metamorphoses,  the  second  edition  of 
which  came  fi-om  the  press  in  that  very  year  (1621)  in  which  the  poet  sailed  away 
to  America  in  the  retinue  of  Sir  Francis  Wyatt.  This  fragment  was  a  specimen  of 
literaiy  workmanship  in  many  ways  creditable.  The  rendering  of  the  original  is 
faithful ;  and  though  in  some  places  the  version  labors  under  the  burden  of  Latin 
idioms  and  of  mmiusical  proper  names,  it  often  rises  into  fi'eedom  and  velocity 
of  movement,  and  into  genuine  sweetness,  ease,  and  power.  '  How  gi'eat  a  pity,' 
perhaps  some  of  his  readers  thought  in  1621,  '  that  a  man  of  such  gifts  and  ac- 
complishments should  banish  himself  to  the  savagery  of  the  Virginia  wilderness, 
when,  by  staying  at  home,  he  might  give  us,  in  a  version  so  pure  and  masterful, 
the  remaining  ten  books  of  the  Metamorphoses ! '  But  there  was  one  great  poet 
then  in  England,  Michael  Drayton,  who  did  not  take  so  melancholy  a  view  of  the 
departure  of  George  Sandys  for  Virginia.  He,  too,  wished  the  translation  of  Ovid 
completed  by  that  same  deft  and  scholarly  hand ;  but  he  saw  no  reason  why  the 
lamp  of  letters  should  not  burn  on  the  banks  of  the  James  river  as  well  as  on 
those  of  the  Thames.  Therefore  he  addressed  to  his  dear  friend  a  poetical  epistle, 
in  which  he  exhorts  him  to  keep  up  his  literary  occupations,  even  in  the  rough 
desert  to  which  he  had  gone :  — 

" '  And,  worthy  George,  by  indastry  and  use, 
Let's  see  what  lines  Virfrinia  will  produce; 
Go  on  witli  Ovid  as  you  have  be^uu 
With  the  first  five  books ;  let  your  numbers  run 
Glib  as  the  former;  so  shall  it  live  lon^^, 
And  do  much  honor  to  the  Englisli  tougue. 
Eutice  the  Muses  thither  to  repair; 
Entreat  them  gently ;  train  them  to  that  air  — 
For  they  from  hence  may  thither  have  to  fly.'^ 

"  These  exhortations  were  not  wasted  on  the  gentle  poet.  His  vocation  to  the 
high  service  of  letters  was  too  distinct  to  be  set  aside  even  by  the  privations  of 
pioneer  life  in  Virginia  and  by  the  oppressive  Uisks  of  his  official  position  there. 
And  yet  those  privations  and  those  tasks  proved  to  be  greater,  as  it  chanced,  than 

'  Drayton's  Works,  Anderson's  cd.,  p.  642. 


THE  COLLEGE  AT  WILLIAMSBURG  AND  PRESIDENT  BLAIR.       127 

any  human  eye  had  foreseen ;  for,  only  a  few  months  after  his  arrival,  namely,  in 
March,  lG-22,  came  tliat  frightful  Lulian  massacre  of  the  white  settlers  along  the 
James  river,  which  nearly  annihilated  the  colony;  which  drove  in  panic  into 
Jamestown  the  survivors  from  tlie  outlying  settlements ;  which  turned  the  peaceful 
plantations,  just  beginning  to  be  jjrosperous,  into  an  overcrowded  camp  of  half-fed 
but  frenzied  hunters,  hunting  only  for  red  men  with  rifle  (?)  and  blood-hound,  and 
henceforward  for  several  years  living  only  to  exterminate  them  from  the  earth.  It 
was  mider  these  circumstances, —  the  chief  village  thronged  with  the  panic-struck  and 
helpless  peopie,  all  industiy  stopped,  suspicions,  fears,  complaints  fillino;  the  air, 
his  high  oflicial  position  enbiiling  upon  him  special  cares  and  responsibilities,  with- 
out many  books,  %vithout  a  lettered  atmosphere  or  the  cheer  of  lettered  men,  —  that 
the  poet  was  to  pm'sue  his  gi'eat  task  if  he  was  to  piu-sue  it  at  all.  It  is  not  much 
to  say  that  ordinaiy  men  would  have  suiTendered  to  circumstances  such  as  these ; 
George  Sandys  did  not  surrender  to  them ;  and  that  he  was  able  during  the  next  few 
years,  robbing  sleeji  of  its  rights,  to  complete  his  noble  ti'anslation  of  the  fifteen 
books  of  Ovid's  Metamorphoses,  is  worthy  of  being  chronicled  among  the  heroisms 
of  authorship.  It  is  probable  that  Sandys  rotiu-ned  to  England  in  1G25 ;  at  any 
rate,  in  the  year  1626  he  brought  out  in  London,  in  a  folio  volume,  the  first  edition 
of  his  finished  work ;  and  in  his  dedication  of  it  to  King  Charles,  he  made  a  touch- 
ing reference  to  the  disasters  in  Virginia  from  which  he  had  only  just  escaped,  and 
to  the  great  difficulties  he  had  overcome  in  the  composition  of  the  book  that  he 
thus  laid  at  his  sovereign's  feet.  He  speaks  of  his  translation  as  "  This  .... 
piece  learned  by  that  imperfect  light  which  was  snatched  from  the  hours  of  night 
and  repose.  For  the  day  was  not  mine,  but  dedicated  to  the  service  of  your  great 
father,  and  yourself,  which,  had  it  proved  as  fortunate  as  faithful  in  me,  and  others 
more  wortliy,  we  had  hoped,  ere  many  j-ears  had  turned  about,  to  have  presented 
you  with  a  rich  and  well  peopled  kingdom,  from  whence  now,  with  myself,  I  only 
bring  this  composure :  Inter  victrices  hedcram  tibi  serpere  laurus.  It  needethmore 
than  a  single  denization,  being  a  double  stranger;  sprang  from  the  stock  of  the 
ancient  Romans,  but  bred  in  fSe  New  World,  of  the  rudeness  whereof  it  cannot  but 
participate,  especially  having  wars  and  timiults  to  bring  it  to  light  mstead  of  the 
muses.' 

"  This  production,  handed  down  to  us  in  stately  form  through  two  centuries 
and  a  half,  is  the  very  first  expression  of  elaborate  poetry,  it  is  the  first  utterance 
of  the  conscious  literarj'  spirit  articulated  in  America.  The  writings  which  precede 
the  book  in  our  literai-y  histoi-y — the  writings  of  Captain  John  Smith,  of  Percy, 
of  Sti-achey,  of  Whitaker,  of  Poiy  — were  all  produced  for  some  inmiediate 
practical  purpose,  and  not  with  any  avowed  literary  intentions.  This  book  may 
well  have  for  us  a  sort  of  sacredness  as  being  the  fii-st  monument  of  Enrfish  poetry, 
of  classical  scholarship,  and  of  deliberate  literaiy  art  reared  on  these  shores.  And 
when  we  open  the  book,  and  examine  it  wth  reference  to  its  merits,  first,  as  a 
faithful  rendering  of  the  Latin  text,  and,  second,  as  a  specimen  _  of  fluent, 
idiomatic,  and  musical  English  poetiy,  we  find  that  in  both  particulars  it  is  a  work 
that  we  may  be  proud  to  claim  as,  in  some  sense,  our  own,  and  to  honor  as  the 
morning  star  at  once  of  poetry  and  scholarship  in  the  New  World.'  " 

Bishop  Burnet,  in  his  "  Histoiy  of  his  own  Times,"  styles  Commissary  Blair 
"  a  worthy  and  good  man,"  and  this  eulogium  cannot  be  gainsaid.  His  "voluminous 
correspondence,  fi-om  which  the  tsvo  interesting  specimens  in  the  text  are  quoted, 
fills  many  pages  of  the  first  volume  of  the  "  Historical  Collections  of  the  Ameri- 
can Colonial  Chm-ch,"  edited  by  the  author  of  this  present  work,  and  giving  the 
dooumentaiy  histoiy  of  the  Virginia  Colonial  Church.  Bishop  Jleado,  in  his  "  Old 
Churches,  Jlinisters,  and  Families  of  Virjjinia,"  gives  frequent  references  to  the  life 
and  labors  of  this  "  worthy  "  of  the  Virginia  Church ;  and,  in  fact,  the  stoiy  of  our 
ecclesiastical,  educational,  or  literaiy  annals,  is  incomplete  without  notices  of  this 
eminent  divine. 

The  difference  between  the  commissarj'  and  Governor  Nicholson  gave  rise  to 
a  memorable  controversy,  which  culminated  in  the  preparation  of  chai-ges  of  malfea- 
sance in  oflicial  duty  and  personal  conduct,  especially  in  the  matter  of  his  attach- 
ment to  Miss  Bm-well,  and  his  ill-treatment  of  the  Rev.  Stephen  Fouace,  whichwere 
ti-ansmitted  to  England,  and  formed  the  indictment  against  him  which  occasioned 
his  recall.  No  little  feeling  was  occasioned  in  the  colony,  as  quite  a  number  of  the 
clergy,  with  whom  the  commissaiy,  a  strict  disciplinarian,  was  unpopular,  espoused 
the  cause  of  the  governor,  who  had  also  ingratiated  himself  with  these  disaflfected 
clergymen,  by  taMng  sides  with  them  against  the  vestries.    A  convocation  was  sum- 


128  HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

moned,  and  the  friends  of  the  governor  jirepared  an  answer  to  the  charges  made 
by  the  commissai-y  and  the  council.  Their  meeting  was  satirized  in  a  balhxd,  which 
set  forth  the  uiiclerical  hilarity  of  the  gathering,  and  depicted  the  participants  in  the 
menymaking  in  most  unfavorable  colors. 

This  piquant  brochure  soon  ajjpeared  in  London,  and  contributed  towards  the 
downfall  of  the  governor,  whose  supporters  were  represented  in  so  disgraceful  a 
light.  Although  but  six  of  the  clerg}'  espoused  the  side  of  the  conimissaiy,  while 
seventeen  ari'ayed  themselves  on  the  side  of  the  governor,  the  integrity  and  indom- 
itable energy  and  perseverance  of  Dr.  Blair  triumphed,  and  upon  the  complaint 
signed  by  six  of  the  council  and  the  conmiissary,  the  governor  \\as  recalled  in  Au- 
gust, 17U.5.  After  several  years  of  active  militaiy  seiTice,  tlie  governor  received 
the  honor  of  knighthood  in  1720,  and  as  governor  of  South  Carolina,  Sir  Francis 
Nicholson  conducted  himself  so  as  to  throw  a  lustre  over  the  closing  years  of  his 
American  career,  lletm-ning  to  England  in  1725  he  died  in  March  of  the  following 
year.  His  character  is  summed  u])  by  Campbell,  the  historian  of  Virginia,  as  "brave, 
and  not  pcnm'ious,  but  narrow  and  irascible ;  of  loose  morality,  yet  a  fervent  sup- 
porter ot  the  t'hurch."  —  llisiory,  p.  369. 

The  efforts  for  the  instruction  of  the  Indians  were  productive  of  but  little  per- 
manent results,  though  the  names  of  a  nui''iber  of  Indian  students  appear  on  the 
catalogue  of  the  College  of  William  and  Mary.  In  175f  there  were  seven  scholars 
at  the  Indian  school.  The  name  of  one  is  foimd  recorded  as  attending  the  college 
in  17Gnt,  another  in  176.0,  and  two  are  enrolled  in  17G9.  One  appears  in  1771,  two 
in  1775,  and  three  in  1770.  At  Christanna,  there  were  at  one  time,  according  to 
Jones's  "Present  state  of  Virginia,"  seventy-seven  Indian  children  at  school,  and  on 
the  removal  of  the  master,  ]^Ir.  Charles  Griffin,  and  his  school  to  the  college,  there 
continued,  from  year  to  year,  a  number  of  the  natives  under  insti'uction.  "  These 
children  could  all  read,"  says  Jones,  "  say  their  catechism  and  pi-ayers  tolerably 
well,  but  this  pious  Design  being  laid  aside  tlu'o'  the  Opposition  of  Trade  and  In- 
terest, Mr.  Griliin  was  removed  to  tlie  College  to  teach  the  Indians  instructed  there 
bj-  the  Benefaction  of  the  Ilonouraljle  Mr.  Boyle.  The  Indians  so  loved  and  adored 
him,  that  I  have  seen  them  hug  him  and  lift  him  up  in  their  arms,  and  fain  would 
have  chosen  him  for  a  King  of  the  Sapouy  Nation."  The  success  so  evidently 
attained  at  Christanna  was  not  maintained  at  Williamsburg.  In  1728,  Col.  William 
Byrd,  in  the  ' '  Westover  Manuscrijits,"  laments  the  ' '  bad  success  ]\Ir.  Boyle's  cliarity 
has  hitherto  had  towards  converting  any  of  these  poor  heathens  to  Christianity." 
"Many  children  of  our  neighboring  Indians,"  he  proceeds  to  say,  "luive  been 
brought  ujj  in  the  College  of  William  and  JMary.  They  have  been  taught  to  read 
and  write,  and  have  been  carefully  instructed  in  the  pi'inciples  of  the  Christian 
religion,  till  thej'  come  to  be  men.  Yet,  after  thej'  returned  home,  instead  of  civili- 
zing and  converting  the  rest,  they  have  immediately  relapsed  into  intidelity  and 
barbarism  themselves."  This  testimony  is  accoi'dant  to  that  of  the  Rev.  Hugh 
Jones,  who,  at  the  same  time,  gives  them  credit  for  "admirable  capacities,  when 
their  humors  and  tempei's  are  perfectly  understood." 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

COMMISSARY   BRAY   AND   THE   BEGINNESTG   OF   THE   CHURCH 

EST   MARYLAND. 

PRIOE  to  the  founding,  on  the  27th  of  March,  1634,  of  St.  Mary's, 
by  the  "  Pilgrims  of  Maryland,"  under  the  leadership  of  Leonard 
Calvert,  or  even  the  earlier  landing  on  St.  Clement's,  and  the 
raising  of  the  Cross  after  "Mass"  had  been  said  on  "Lady-day,"  the 
25th  ilarch,  and  the  formal  occupancy  of  "  Terra  Mariae,^  in  the  Name 
of  the  Saviour  of  the  World,  and  the  King  of  England,"  a  settlement 
had  been  made  by  Virginians  and  churchmen  on  the  "  Isle  of  Kent,"  on 
the  eastern  side  of  the  Chesapeake  Bay,  at  the  mouth  of  Chester  river, 
opposite  the  city  of  Annapolis.  Here  ministered  the  Rev.  Richard 
James,  who,  at  the  age  of  thirty-three  years,  embarked  for  Virginia  in 
August,  1635.^  But  not  only  on  the  Isle  of  Kent  were  there  church- 
men. It  is  evident,  from  records  and  documents  still  existing,  that  a 
large  number  of  the  "  Pilgruiis  of  Maryland  "  were  members  of  the 
National  Church  of  England,  and,  although  no  clergyman  appears  to 
have  been  sent  over  to  care  for  their  souls,  the  ordinances  of  the  re- 
formed faith  were  not  neglected,  even  at  St.  Mary's.  A  chapel  was 
erected,  and  the  more  zealous  members  of  the  reformed  church  met 
from  time  to  time  for  worship  and  the  reading  of  sermons.  In  July, 
1638,  some  "redemptioners,"*  or  servants  of  Captain  Cornwaleys,  a 
member  of  the  council,  were  in  charge  of  a  zealous  Romanist  named 
William  Lewis,  in  whose  house  they  were  quartered.  Among  the 
number  were  Francis  Gray  and  Robert  Sedgrave.  While  reading  aloud 
from  Henrie  Smith's  sermons,  where  the  writer  alludes  to  the  Pope  as 
Anti-Christ,  and  to  the  Jesuits  as  Anti-Christian  ministers,  Lewis  in- 
terrupted them  with  the  assertion  "  that  it  was  a  falsehood,  and  came 
from  the  devil,  as  all  lies  did,  and  that  he  that  writ  it  was  an  instru- 
ment of  the  devil,  and  he  would  prove  it,  and  that  all  Protestant  min- 
isters were  of  the  devil,"  and  forbade  them  reading  any  more.  At  the 
request  of  Gray,  Sedgrave  drew  up  a  petition,  to  be  signed  by  the 
Church  of  England  members  on  the  following  Sunday,  at  the  chapel, 
couched  in  the  following  language  :  — 

Beloved  iu  the  Lord,  etc.  —  This  is  to  give  you  notice  of  the  abuses  and  scan- 
dalous reproaches  which  God  and  his  ministers  doe  daily  suffer  by  William  Lewis, 
of  St.  Maries,  who  saith  that  our  ministers  are  the  ministers  of  the  divell,  and  that  our 
books  are  made  by  instruments  of  the  divell ;  and  further  saith,  that  those  servants 

'Named  for  Queen  Henrietta  Mavia,  wife  islandbyCSaibonie,  between  the  yeara  1631-1636, 

of  Charles  I.  inclusive.  —  Allen's  Maryland  Toleration,  p.  25. 

2  N.E.    Hist.    Geneal.    Register,   xv.,    144.  Allen  gives   (pp.  29,  30)  an  interesting  account 

The  Rev.  Mr.  James  may  not  have  been  the  fii'st,  of  Mi'.  James. 

and  was  not  the  only,  raini^ler  of  the  Church  at  ^  Settlei-s    who  had  sold  themselves   for  a 

the  Isle  of  Kent.     In  the  depositions  taken  in  term  of  yeara  to  pay  the  expenses  of  the  voyage 

Vii'ginia  in  1640,  "  allowances  for  miuistei'S  "  are  over, 
sworn  to  as  among  the  expenses  incun-ed  on  the 


130 


HISTORY   OF  THE  AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 


which  are  under  his  charge  shall  keepe  nor  read  any  booke  ■which  doth  appertaine 
to  our  religion,  within  the  house  of  the  said  William  Lewis,  to  the  great  discomfort 
of  those  poor  bondmen,  which  are  under  liis  subjection,  especially  in  tliis  heathen 
country,  where  no  godly  minister  is  to  teach  and  instruct  ignorant  people  in  the 
grounds  of  religion.  And  as  for  people  which  cometh  unto  the  said  LeT^as,  or  other- 
wise to  passe  the  weeke,  the  said  Lewis  taketh  occasion  to  call  them  into  his  cham- 
ber, and  there  laboreth  with  all  vehemency,  craft,  and  sublety  to  delude  ignorant 


LOKD     BALTIMORE. 


persons.  Therefore,  we  beseech  you,  brethren  in  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Christ  Jesus, 
that  you  who  have  power,  that  you  vnU  doe  in  what  lieth  in  you  to  have  these 
absurd  abuses  and  the  rediculous  crimes  to  be  rcclaymed,  and  that  God  and  his 
Ministers  may  not  be  so  heinously  troden  downe  by  such  ignominious  speeches: 
and  no  doubt  but  he  or  they,  which  strive  to  uphold  God's  ministers  and  word,  he 
shalbe  recompenced  with  eternall  joy  and  felicity,  to  reigne  in  that  etcrnall  Iving- 
dome,  with  Christ  Jesus,  under  whoso  banner  we  fight  for  evermore.  (All  which 
words  aforesaid,  which  hath  been  spoken  against  Wm.  Lewis,  the  parties  hereunder 
written  wilbe  deposed  when  time  and  opportunity  shalbe  thought  meete.)    Chris- 


BEGINNING  OF   THE   CHURCH   IN   MARYLAND. 


131 


topher  Carnoll,  Ellis  Beache,  Ro.  Sedgiave,  and  others  which  hereafter  may  be 
brought  forth.' 

On  the  morning  of  the  sixth  Sunday  after  Trinity,  July  1,  1638, 
Lewis  informed  Capt.  Coruwaleys  that  some  of  his  servants  liad  pre- 
pared a  paper  with  a  view  of  effecting  a  combination  of  the  Church  of 


?^  'Jf^n.ze 


England  men  in  a  petition  to  Sir  John  Harvey  and  the  Council  of  Vir- 
ginia, for  the  arrest  of  himself,  on  the  charge  of  having  spoken  dis- 
respectfully of  the  clergy  of  the  Establishment,  and  forbidden  his 
servants  to  read  authorized  productions  of  divines  of  the  Eno-lish 
Church.  Secretary  Lewger,-  himself  a  convert  to  the  Church  of  Rome 
by  the  persuasions  of  his  friend  the  celebrated  William  Chillingworth, 
was  sent  for,  and,  as  Sedgrave  and  Gray  were  passing  the  house  on 
their  way  to  the  cha{)ol,  they  were  brought  face  to  face  with  their 
accuser.  Sedgrave  acknowledged  the  preparation  of  the  paper  which 
be  had  given  to  Gray,  with  the  purpose  of  communicating  its  contents 
to  some  of  the  freemen,  through  whose  intervention  the  redress  of  the.se 
grievances  was  expected.  At  a  formal  investigation  before  the  gov- 
ernor and  secretary  the  latter  pronounced  Lewis  "  guilty  of  an  offensive 
and  indiscreete  speech  in  calling  the  author  of  the  I)ooke  read  in  his 
house  an  instrument  of  the  divill ;  and  in  calling  Protestant  ministers 
the  ministers  of  the  divill ;"  that  he  had  exceeded  his  authority  in  for- 
bidding the  reading  of  "  a  book  otherwise  allowed  and  lawful  to  be 
read  by  the  State  of^  England  ;  "  adding,  "and  because  these  his  ofl'ensive 
speeches  and  other  his  unseasonable  disputations  in  point  of  religion, 
tended  to  the  disturbance  of  the  publique  peace  and  quiett  of  the 
colony,  and  were  committed  by  him  against  a  publique  proclamation 
sett  forth  to  prohibite  all  such 
disputes  ;  therefore  he  fined 
him  500  weight  of  tobacco  to 
the  Lord  of  the  Province ; 
and  to  remaine  in  the  Sheriff's 
custodie  until  1  he  found  suffi- 
cient sureties  for  his  good  be- 
haviour in  those  kinds  in  time 
to  come."^  The  Governor, 
Leonard  Calvert,  concurred 
wholly  in  this  sentence  with  the  Secretary,  although  both,  and  Coru- 
waleys as  well,  were  Roman  Catholics  themselves. 

'  Sti'ceter's  Papers   relatinf;   to    the    Early  or  Lewgar,  is  found  in  Sti'eeter's  Papers,  quoteJ 

Histoiy  of  Maiyland.      Md.   Hist.    Soc.   Fund  above,  pp.  218-276.     Vide,  also,  pp.  147,  148. 
Publication  No.  9,  pp.  212,  213.  '  Ibid.,  p.  216. 

-  An  interesting  Memoir  of  Jobu  Lewger, 


/^ 


'dum/^a^v^t 


132 


HISTORY   OF   THE   AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 


in^^    %tu>Oi^^ 


»fc.*->-fi*ty , 


In  1642  a  petition  from  the  Chui-ch  of  England  colonists,  or  the 
"Protestant  Catholics,"  as  they  stjded  themselves,  at  St.  Mary's, 
was  brought  before  the  Assembly,  complaining  of  Mr.  Thomas 
Gerard,  a  i^romiuent  Eoman  Catholic,  for  having  taken  away  the  key 

and  I'emoved  the  books 
belonging  to  their  chap- 
el. Influential  as  was 
the  offender  his  station 
failed  to  secure  him  from 
being  adjudged  guilty  of 
a  misdemeanor.  Compelled  to  restore  the  key  and  books,  and  to  re- 
linquish all  title  to  them  and  to  the  building  itself,  he  was  also  amerced 
a  fine  of  500  IJjs.  of  tobacco  "towards  the  maintenance  of  the  first 
minister  that  should  amve."^ 
The  same  year  "the  chapel  /^     y^  yp 

hmmisI''Zd  hZ\dioZ  ^^^^"T^-o-  Cv^nn/alcui^ 

ing,  was  purchased  "  in  the  Cy 

name  and  for  the  use  of  the 

Lord  Proprietary,"  for  the  sum  of  two  hundred  pounds  sterUng ;  but 
Lord  Baltimore  refused  to  complete  the  purchase  on  the  plea  that 
there  "were  certain  mistakes  in  the  business"**  which  he  proposed  to 

rectify  on  his  approaching 
visit  to  the  province.  But 
troubles  with  the  Indians 
and  the  political  changes 
at  home,  consequent  upon 
the  overthrow  of  the  mon- 
archy, prevented  or  inter- 
fered with  the  adjustment 
of  this  matter,  and  we  hear 
nothing  more  of  the  "  Prot- 
estant Catholics"  or  their 
chapel.  In  a  few  years  the 
p  r o  p  r  i  etary  government 
was  overthrown.  Officers 
were  appointed  of  Protes- 
tant, if  not  Puritan,  pro- 
clivities ;  a  large  immigra- 


tion from  Virginia  was 
encouraged ;  the  principles 
of  religious  toleration  were 
recognized   by   legislative 


THE    BALTIMORE    ARMS. 


enactments,  and  the  pre- 
ponderance of  Romanists  in  positions  of  power  or  trust  was  gradually 
overcome. 

Years  passed,  and  in  the  reestablishment  of  the  monarchy  and  the 
restoration  of  the  authority  of  the  Proprietary  in  Maryland  we  find  but 


'  Stieetei'3  Papers,  pp.  164,  165,  255,  256. 


'  lUd.,  pp.  183, 184. 


BEGINNING   OF   THE   CHURCH  IN   MARYLAND. 


133 


little  mention  of  the  Cliurch,  though  the  records  inform  us  that  about  the 
year  1G50  the  Rev.  William  Wilkinson,  "clerk,"  fifty  years  of  age,  with 
his  wife  and  family  and  servants,  arrived  in  the  colony  and  engaged  in 
trade  for  his  support.     Notices  of  his  officiating  are  to  be  found.     It 


CEOrL,    SECOND     LORD     BALTIMORE. 


would  seem  that  Mr.  Wilkinson  was  the  fii'st  resident  clergyman  of 
the  Church  in  the  province,  other  than  the  ministers  of  Kent  Island, 
during  Clayborne's  rule,  and  prior  to  the  landing  of  the  "Maryland 
Pilgrims."  At  length  there  appear  to  have  been  in  the  colon}^  in  the 
year  1G75  three  clergymen  of  the  Church  of  England,  and  a  letter 
from  one  of  the  number,  the  Rev.  John  Yeo,  of  Pautuxent,  addressed 
to   Sheldon,  then  in  the  closing  years  of  his  primacy,  was  laid  by 


134  fflSTORY   OF   THE   AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

Compton,  Bishop  of  London,  before  the  Committee  of  Plantations,  and 
is  preserved  in  the  State  Paper  Office.     This  letter  is  as  follows  :  — 

Most  Reverend  Father 

Be  pleased  to  pardon  this  presumption  of  mine  in  presenting  to  y°' serious 
notice  these  rude  and  undigested  lines,  w*  (with  humble  submission)  are  to  ac- 
quaint y  Grace  with  y°  tleploi-able  estate  and  condition  of  the  Province  of  Mary- 
land, for  want  of  an  established  Ministry.  Here  are  in  this  Province  ten  or  twelve 
countys,  and  in  them  at  least  twenty  thousand  soules,  and  but  three  Protestant  Min- 
isters of  us  y'  are  conformable  to  y°  doctrine  and  discipline  of  y°  Church  of  Eng- 
land. Others  there  are  (I  must  confess)  y'  runne  before  they  are  sent,  and  pre- 
tend they  are  Ministers  of  the  Gospell,  y'  never  had  a  legall  call  or  ordination  to 
such  an  holy  office,  neither  (indeed)  are  they  qualified  for  it,  being,  for  the  most 
part,  such  as  never  understood  any  thing  of  learning,  and  yet  take  upon  them  to 
be  dispencers  of  y'  Word,  and  to  administer  y"  Sacrament  of  Baptisme ;  and  sow 
seeds  of  division  amongst  y°  people,  and  no  law  jirovided  for  y°  suppression  of 
such  in  this  Province.  Society  here  is  in  great  necessitie  of  able  and  learned  men 
to  confute  the  gainsayers,  especially  having  soe  many  profest  enemies  as  the  Popish 
Priests  and  Jesuits  are,  who  are  "incouraged  and  jn-OA-ided  for.  And  y*  Quaker 
takes  care  and  ijrovides  for  those  y'  are  speakers  in  their  conventicles,  but  noe  care 
is  taken  or  provision  made  for  the  building  up  Christians  in  the  Protestant  Religion, 
by  means  whereof  not  only  many  dayly  fall  away  either  to  Popery,  Quakerisme  or 
Phanaticisme,  but  also  the  Lord's  Day  is  propiianed,  religion  despised,  and  all 
notorious  vices  committed,  so  that  it  is  become  a  Sodom  of  micleannesse  and  a  pest- 
house  of  iniquity.  I  doubt  not  but  y"  Grace  will  take  it  into  consideration  and  do 
y"  utmost  for  our  eternal  wollfai'e  ;  and  now  is  y"  time  y'  y"  Grace  may  be  an  in- 
strument of  a  universall  reformation  with  gi'eatest  facillity.  Cwcilius  Lord  Barron 
Baltemore,  and  absolute  Propriotor  of  Maryland,  being  dead,  and  Charles  Lord 
Barron  Baltemore  and  our  Governour  being  bound  for  England  this  year  (as  I  am 
informed)  to  receive  a  farther  confirmation  of  y°  Province  from  His  INIajestie,  at 
w'''  time,  I  doubt  not,  but  y"  Grace  may  soe  prevaile  with  him  as  y'  a  maintenance 
for  a  Protestant  ministry  may  be  established  as  well  in  this  Province  as  in  Virginia, 
Barbados,  and  all  other  His  Majestie's  plantations  in  West  Lidies,  and  then  there 
will  be  incouragement  for  able  men  to  come  amongst  us,  and  y'  some  person  may 
Iiave  power  to  examine  all  such  ministers  as  shall  be  admitted  into  any  county  or 
parish,  in  w'  Diocis  and  by  w'  Bishop  they  were  ordained,  and  to  exhibit  their  Irs 
of  Orders  to  testiflo  the  same,  as  y' I  think  y°  gencralitie  of  the  people  maybe 
brought  by  degrees  to  a  uniformitie,  provided  we  had  more  ministers  y'  were  truly 
conformable  to  our  Mother  y°  Church,  and  none  but  such  suffered  to  preach 
amongst  us.  As  fur  my  own  p'  (God  is  my  witness)  I  have  done  my  utmost  en- 
deavour in  order  thereunto,  and  shall  (by  God's  assistance),  whiles  I  have  a  being 
here,  give  manifest  proof  of  mj'  faithfull  obedience  to  the  Canons  and  Constitu- 
tions of  our  sacred  Mother. 

Yet  one  thing  cannot  be  obtained  here,  (viz.)  Consecration  of  Churches  and 
Chui'ch-yards,  to  y"  end  y'  Christians  might  be  decently  buried  together,  whereas 
now  they  bury  intho  scvei'all  plantations  where  they  lived ;  unless  y"  Grace  thought 
it  sufficient  to  give  a  Dispensation  to  some  pious  Ministers  (together  with  y°  manner 
and  forme)  to  doe  y°  same.  And  confident  I  am  y'  you  vrill  not  be  wanting  in  any 
thing  y'  may  tend  most  to  God's  glorie  and  the  good  of  the  Cluirch,  by  w"'  you 
willengage  thousands  of  soules  to  pray  for  y"  Grace's  everlasting  happiness,  but 
especially  y"  most  obedient  Son  and  Servant. 

JOHN  YEO.> 

Patuxant  River,  in  Maryland,  25th  day  of  May,  1676. 

A  letter  from  Archbishop  Sheldon  to  the  Bishop  of  London,  Dr. 
Henry  Compton,  requesting  him  to  lay  this  letter  and  Lord  Balti- 
more's reply  before  the  Committee  of  the  Privy  Council,  is  still  ex- 
tant. The  proprietor  had  pleaded  in  his  answer  the  impossibility  of 
applying  an  immediate  or  complete  remedy  to  the  evils  complained  of, 

'Anderson's  "Col.  Ch.,"  ir.,  pp.  394-396. 


BEGINNING   OF   THE   CHURCH   IN   MARYLAND.  135 

the  existence  of  which  he  does  not  appeal-  to  have  attempted  to  deny. 
The  character  of  the  statutes  then  in  force  and  the  incongruous  opinions 
of  the  members  of  an  Assembly  made  up  of  Eomanists^  Independents, 
and  Quakers,  as  well  as  Churchmen,  combined  to  prevent  the  adoption 
of  the  measures  desired  for  the  church's  relief.  The  four  clergymen  in 
the  province  his  lordship  affirmed  were  "  in  possession  of  plantations 
which  ofi'ered  them  a  decent  subsistence."  '  Already  the  majority  of  the 
settlers  in  Maryland  were  Protestants,  and  in  the  very  year  in  which 
Yeo  addressed  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  Mr.  Jeremiah  Eaton  de- 
vised five  hundred  acres  of  land  for  the  first  Protestant  minister  settled 
in  Baltimore  County,^  and  during  the  following  year  another  churchman 
conveyed  his  personal  estate  to  the  corporation  of  St.  Mary's  "  for  the 
maintenance  of  a  protestant  ministry  from  time  to  time  among  the 
inhabitants  of  St.  George's  and  Poplar  Hill  hundred."^  Besides  the 
correspondent  of  the  archishop,  there  appear  to  have  been  in  the 
province,  from  the  statement  of  Lord  Baltimore,  three  other  church  cler- 
gymen. One  of  them  may  have  been  the  infamous  John  Coode,  though  it 
is  to  be  hoped  that  one  so  profligate  and  abandoned  in  life  and  so  avowed 
a  disbeliever  in  religion,  though  at  one  time  in  holy  orders,  was  not 
included  in  this  enumeration.  A  clergyman,  whose  name  has  not  been 
preserved,  had  been 
sent  over  by  King 
Charles  II.,  and 
Wilkinson,  of  whom 
we  have  spoken, 
may  have  been  still 
alive.  Yeo  shortly 
left  the  province, 
and  ofiiciated  for  a 
time   at  Lewes    in 

Delaware.  After  a  few  years'  absence  he  returned  to  Maryland,  where 
he  died,  in  Baltimore  County,  about  the  year  1686.  In  1681  an  allow- 
ance was  made  from  the  king's  secret-service  fund  for  the  payment  of 
the  passage  of  the  Rev.  Jonathan  Sanders  to  Maryland,  and  there  is 
among  the  records  in  the  State  Paper  Ofiice  a  recommendation  of  the 
Rev.  Ambrose  Sanderson  by  the  Privy  Council,  dated  October  8th  in 
the  same  year,  as  a  suitable  minister  for  Maryland  ;  while  two  years 
later  the  Rev.  Duell  Pead  and  the  Rev.  William  Alullett  were  desig- 
nated for  service  in  the  province.  Sanders,  after  a  little,  removed  to  Vir- 
ginia. Pead  was  a  faithful  clergyman  in  Maryland  for  a  number  of  years  ; 
but  of  Sanderson  and  Mullet  no  trace  has  been  found.  In  1685,  as 
we  learn  from  a  letter  addressed  to  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  by 
Mary  Taney,  the  wife  of  the  Sherifl' of  Calvert  County,  and  an  ancestor 
of  the  late  distinguished  Chief  Justice  of  the  United  States  of  America, 
there  was  no  church  clergyman  residing  in  her  neighboi'hood.  In  this 
appeal  from  a  Christian  mother  for  the  ministration  of  the  W^ord 
and  sacraments,  the  words  of  the  faithful  Yeo,  pleading  for  the  set- 
tler.s'  souls,  were  echoed  with  no  uncertain  sound  :  — 

» Mai-yland  MSS.,  State  Paper  Office,  quoted  a  Griffith's  "Annals  of  Baltimore,"  p.  9. 

by  Anderson's  "  Col.  Ch.,"  il.,  pp.  397,  398.  3  llawks's  "  Eccl.  Contrib."  Md.,  pp.  51,  62 


136  HISTORY   OF  THE   AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

May  it  please  your  Grace : — 

.  .  .  .  Our  want  of  a  minister,  and  tlie  many  blessings  our  Saviour  de- 
signed us  by  them,  is  a  misery,  wMcli  I  and  a  numerous  family,  and  many  others 
in  Maryland,  have  gi'oaned  under.  We  are  seized  with  extreme  hon'or  when  we 
think,  that  for  want  of  the  Gospel  om*  children  and  posterity  are  in  danger  to  be 
condemned  to  infidelity  or  to  apostasy.  We  do  not  question  God's  care  of  us,  but 
think  your  Grace,  and  the  Right  Reverend  your  Bishops,  the  proper  insti-uments  of 
so  great  a  blessing  to  us.  AVe  are  not,  I  hope,  so  foreign  to  your  jurisdiction,  but 
we  may  be  owned  your  stray  flock;  however,  the  commission  to  go,  and  baptize, 
and  teach  all  nations  is  large  enough  ....  I  question  not  but  that  your  Grace 
is  sensible,  that  without  a  temple  it  will  be  impracticable,  neither  can  we  expect  a 
minister  to  hold  out,  to  ride  ten  miles  in  a  morning,  and  before  he  can  dine,  ten 
more,  and  from  house  to  house,  in  hot  weather,  will  dishearten  a  minister,  if  not 
kill  him. 

Your  Grace  is  so  sensible  of  our  sad  condition,  and  forj'our  place  and  piety's 
sake,  have  so  great  an  influence  on  our  most  religious  and  gracious  King,  that  if  I 
had  not  your  Grace's  promise  to  depend  upon  I  could  not  question  your  Grace's  inter- 
cession and  prevailing.  £500  or  £000  for  a  church,  with  some  encouragement  for  a 
minister,  will  be  exti-emely  less  charge,  than  honor,  to  his  Majesty. 

Our  Church  settled  according  to  the  Church  of  England,  which  is  the  sum  of 
our  request,  will  prove  a  nursery  of  religion  and  loyalty  through  the  whole  Prov- 
ince. But  yom-  Grace  needs  no  arguments  from  me,  but  only  this,  it  is  in  your  power 
to  give  us  many  happy  opportunities  to  praise  God  for  tliis  and  innumerable  mercies, 
ana  to  importmie  His  goodness  to  bless  His  Majesty,  with  along  imd  prosperous  reign 
over  us,  and  long  continue  to  your  Grace,  the  great  blessing  of  being  an  instrument 
of  goodness  to  his  Church.  And  now  that  I  may  be  no  longer  troublesome,  I  hum- 
bly entreat  your  pardon  for  the  well-meant  zeal  of 

Your  Grace's  most  obedient  Servant, 

MARY  TANEY. 

Accompauying  this  letter  was  a  petition  to  the  archbishop  and 
bishops,  reciting  that  the  province  of  Maryland  was  "  without  a  church 
or  any  settled  ministry,"  and  that  the  minister  whom  King  Charles  11. 
had  sent  (together  with  a  "  parcel  of  Bibles  and  other  church  books 
of  considerable  value")  was  dead,  and  praying  "  that  a  certain  parcel 
of  tobacco,  of  one  hundred  hogsheads  or  therealiouts,  of  the  growth 
or  product  of  the  said  Province  may  be  custom  free,  for  and  towards 
the  maintenance  of  an  Orthodox  Divine,  at  Calvert  Town."  To  this 
was  added  the  request  that  their  lordships,  to  whom  the  petition  was  ad- 
dressed, would  "  contribute  towards  the  building  of  a  church  at  Calvert 
Town."  Shortly  after  this  earnest  petition  was  received,  on  the  29th 
of  September,  1695,  an  allowance  was  granted,  from  the  secret-service 
fund  of  the  king,  to  defray  the  passage  of  the  Rev.  Paul  Bertrand  to 
Maryland.  The  report  of  the  clergyman,  written  in  French,  addressed 
to  the  Bishop  of  London,  under  date  of  September  12,  1G89,  is  still 
extant,  describing  the  condition  of  religion  in  the  ])rovince  at  that  time. 
A  little  later,  among  the  host  of  "grievances"  forwarded  to  King  Will- 
iam by  a  self-appointed  convention,  the  outgrowth  of  the  so-called 
"  Protestant  Revolution,"  was  the  allegation  that  "  this  church,  which, 
by  the  charter,  should  be  consecrated  according  to  the  ecclesiastical  laws 
of  England,  was  converted  to  the  use  of  popish  idolatry."  The  revolu- 
tion was  successful.  "  The  convention  "  meeting  in  1689,  and  again  in 
1690,  did  not  attempt  to  organize  the  government,  but  sought  the  in- 
terference of  the  crown.  In  June,  1691,  King  William  complied  with 
the  popular  -wish,  and  Maryland  was  constituted  a  royal  colony.  The 
following  year,  on  the  arrival  of  the  royal  governor.  Sir  Lionel  Copley, 


BEGINNING   OF  THE   CHURCH    IN    MARYLAND.  137 

the  crown  was  finally  recognized  as  the  sole  source  of  authority,  the 
Protestant  religion  was  estalilished,  and  with  it  "  the  inviolability  of  the 
fights  and  franchises  of  the  church  ; "  the  ten  counties  were  divided  into 
thirty-one  parishes ;  the  constitution  of  vestries  was  provided  for,  and 
a  poll-tax  of  forty  pounds  of  tobacco  was  laid,  as  a  fund  for  the  build- 
ing or  repairing  of  churches,  the  support  of  the  clergy,  or  other  pious 
uses.  In  July,  1694,  Sir  Francis  Nicholson  succeeded  Copley.  The 
new  governor  was  a  liberal  and  devoted  patron  of  the  Church,  hasty  in 
temper,  utterly  lacking  in  self-restraint,  naturally  imperious  and  arbi- 
trary ;  in  demeanor,  vain  and  conceited,  and  often  tyrannical.  There  were 
still  many  redeeming  qualities  in  his  character,  which  made  him  popular 
among  those  over  whom  he  bore  rule,  and  secured  for  him  the  respect 
and  admiration  of  men  of  widely  difiering  ojnnions  and  beliefs.  The 
purse  and  pen  of  Nicholson  were  ever  at  the  service  of  the  Church. 
More  than  a  score  of  churches  scattered  throughout  the  colonies  owed 
in  great  part  their  existence  to  his  encouragement  and  liberality.  His 
letters,  man}'  of  which  are  still  extant,  manifest  a  solicitude  for  the 
church's  welfare,  and  a  disposition  to  further  her  growth,  quite  unusual 
among  the  correspondence  of  the  times.  While  his  foes  were  not 
backward  in  blazoning  his  faults  and  in  exposing  to  public  gaze  the  in- 
firmities of  a  temper  far  from  perfect,  his  friends,  in  equal  numbers 
and  with  equal  devotion,  ascribed  to  him  "every  virtue  under  heaven." 
Energetic,  intelligent,  refined  and  courtly  in  manners,  and  possessing 
a  statesman-like  wisdom,  he  would  have  deserved  welioftheChurch,ot 
which  he  was  so  ardent  a  supporter,  had  his  life  been  more  in  accord- 
ance with  her  holy  teachings. 

At  the  coming  of  Governor  Nicholson  there  were  but  three  clergy- 
men of  the  Church  in  the  province.  These  three  clergymen  had,  to 
quote  their  own  language  in  a  representation  to  the  Bishop  of  London, 
"made  a  hard  shift  to  live"  "some  time  after  they  came"  over,  but 
"did  afterwards  marry  and  maintain  their  families  out  of  the  planta- 
tions they  had  with  their  cures."*  These  three  representatives  of  the 
Church  had  to  contend  with  double  their  number  of  priests  of  the  Church 
of  Rome.  Half-a-dozen  clergymen  accompanied  the  governor  on  his 
coming  to  the  province,  or  were  at  once  attracted  by  the  new  life  of  the 
Church,  consequent  upon  the  favor  of  vice-regal  authority.  Eight 
clergymen  were  speedily  settled  in  the  newly  formed  parishes,  and  at 
Annapolis,  which  was  made  the  t)rovincial  capital  in  place  of  St.  Mary's, 
the  governor  began  at  once  the  erection  of  the  only  brick  church  in  the 
province.  The  establishment  of  a  "  free  school  "  at  the  new  capital  of 
Maryland  was  another  result  of  the  change  in  administration  which  thus, 
in  the  language  of  the  Council  and  House  of  Burgesses  addressed  to  the 
Bishop  of  London,  sought  "to  make  learning  an  handmaid  to  devo- 
tion."^ Addressing  the  same  source,  I'ccognized  by  the  House  of 
Burgesses  as  "our  Diocesan,"  the  clergy  represented  "the  great  and 
urgent  necessity  of  an  ecclesiastical  rule  hei'c,  invested  with  such  ample 
power  and  authority  from  your  lordship  as  may  capacitate  him  to  re- 
dress what  is  amiss,  and  to  supply  what  is  wanting  in  the  church."^ 

■  Hist.  Coll.  Am.  Col.  Church,  TV.  (Maiy-  -  Ibid.,  ■p.  1. 

land),  p.  9.  'I/Ad.,  p.  12. 


138  HISTORY   OF   THE   AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

This  prayer  for  more  direct  episcopal  supervision,  which  M'as  not  new, 
and  which  was  heard  continuously  during  the  century  just  about  to  open, 
till  in  the  "upper  room"  at  Aberdeen,  nearly  a  hundred  years  later, 
Samuel  Seabury  was  made  a  bishop  of  the  Church  of  God,  was  listened 
to  so  flu-  as  to  secure  the  appointment  by  the  Bishop  of  London  of  a 
commissary  for  Maryland.     The  choice  fell  on  one  most  worthy  of  the 
office,  and  most  willing  to  undertake  the  work.     Dr.  Thomas  Bray, 
first  commissary  of  Maryland,  was  born  at  Marton,  in  Shropshire,  in 
1656.     Prepared  for  the  University  at  Oswestry,  he  was  entered  at 
Hart  Hall  in  Oxford ;  but  narrowness  of  means  required  his  removal 
from  college  soon  after  he  had  commenced  Bachelor  of  Arts.     Enter- 
inf  upon  the  work  of  the  ministry,  his  zeal  and  abilities  commended 
him  to  the  notice  of  Lord  Digby,  from  whom  he  received  the  living  of 
Sheldon.     In  this  parish  he  prepared  and  published  a  series  of  Cate- 
chetical Lectures,  which,  by  their  popularity  and  merit,  won  for  the 
author  the  notice  and  patronage  of  the  highest  dignitaries  of  the  Church. 
It  was  at  this  time  that  the  Governor  and  Assemlily  of  Maryland  had 
unanimously  agreed  upon  "a  petitionary  act"  for  the  appointment  and 
support  of  a  "superintendent,  commissary,  or  suffragan,"  and  had  ad- 
dressed the  Bishop  of  London,  Dr.  Compton,  with  the  request  that  he 
would  appoint  and  send  to  the  province  some  experienced  and  unex- 
ceptionable clergyman  for  this  purpose.     In  April,  1696,  the  bishop 
offered  the  appointment  of  commissary  to  Dr.  Bray.     In  accepting  tliis 
post,  which  he  did  at  no  little  social  and  pecuniary  sacrifice,  he  made 
as  a  condition  the  provision  of  parochial  libraries  for  the  ministers  who 
should  be  sent  out  to  the  province.     It  was  by  means  of  this  provision 
that  he  hoped  to  be  able  to  secure  from  among  the  unbeneficed  and 
poorer  clergy  studious  and  sober  men  to  undertal^e  the  service  of  the 
Church  in  America.     The  wisdom  of  this  plan  was  apparent.     In  the 
library  at  Lambeth  is  still  preserved  a  paper  bearing  the  signatures  of 
Tenison,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  ;  and  Sharp,  Archbishop  of  York ; 
of  Compton,  Bishop  of  London  ;  of  Lloyd,  Bishop  of  Lichfield ;  of  Still- 
ingfleet,  Bishop  of  Worcester ;  of  Patrick,  Bishop   of  Ely ;  and  of 
Moore,  Bishop  of  Norwich,  expressing  the  readiness  of  these  eminent 
divines  and  scholars  to  "  contribute  cheerfully  towards  these  Parochial 
Libraries,"  and  adding  the  hope  that  "many  pious  persons,  out  of  love 
to  religion  and  learning,"  would  do  the  same.     The  wish  thus  expressed 
was  fully  realized.     Nor  this  alone.     The  indefiitigable  commissary 
spared  neither  labor  nor  time  in  securing  mission-priests  for  the  work  of 
the  Church  abroad.    Detained  for  several  years  from  visiting  the  prov- 
ince under  his  spiritual  charge  he  was  by  no  means  idle.     Through  his 
exertion  the  number  of  the  clergy  was  increased  to  sixteen  ere  he  set 
foot  upon  the  soil  of  Maryland ;  and  besides  other  laljors  of  love  and 
devotion  he  formed  the  design  of  a  Church  of  England  "congregation, 
pro  fide  propaganda  by  charter  from  the  king."     This  design,  out  of 
which  grew  within  a  few  years  the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the 
Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts,  was  laid  aside  for  a  time,  while  the  Iiusy  brains 
of  its  author  were  occupied  in  another  scheme,  M'hich,  ere  he  left  Eng- 
land,  took  form  in  the  establishment  of  the  Society  for  Promoting 
Christian  Knowledge.     The  original  sketch  in  manuscript,  prepared  by 


BEGINNING  OF   TUE   CHURCH   IN    MARYLAND.  139 

ApodoVick  Charity^ 

i  TS 

CONSIDER' D. 

DISCOU  KSE 

Upon  Da^H  I  a .  y. 

Preached  at  St.  PmiI^,  at  the  Oydjmtion 
of  hme  Pmefunb  D/liT/ondries  to  i>e  fmb  fntQ  the 
Tlcintdtiom. 

To  wh  'ich  IS  ^refaty 

AOfmnt  IVtmcf  ilie  En  ^(iPa  Colonies  in  A  tv^tic^  Witk  hejpc^f-  to 

"Ktbgion  •   771  crdtr  to  Jlirh'vrliaJ;  fyovtfonCs  ^ofntrng^ar  the  Pro- 

pagat.'ton  of  Ch.x\iti3^n.lt\j  in  tl-xf^  Parti. 
Togethfr  nt'tli  Pfopop-Isjlr  ?hi^  Praynotm^  rhe.fc*?7tc  :    And  to  induce 

JuckoJ theCleyg:^  ij thisKhi^djo)iVj  fwan-e  P^rfons  ofSoi^-irty  a^id 

Ab'llhi'iS  to  dccepc  of  a-M^fo-n 

Ana  To  whi'cfi  isfi'ibjoinii 
7 h-i Authors  CircitCar  LdUr  Ldijf'fni-  to  iluCUygyL-h^/i-t. 


B^V.i)oma^^;iay,  D.D. 


LOJVD  0  Af, 

Printed  {qt  WZ/Z/d./n/iaM'Sf  a^  tfi-e  S!g/i  of  rh^  "Kofi  m  LuS^atb 

Sh-e-et,  tO<:)()- 


1  A  copy  of  this  exceedingly  rare  tract  is  in  that  the  above  f;ic-simile  has  been  famished  by 

the  library  left  by  the  late  Bishop  Whittinijham,  the  accompli.slied  custodian  of  the  libraiy,  Jliss 

of  Mai-yland,  to  tlie  diocese  of  which  he  was  for  Whittiu^^ham,  of  Baltimore,  Md. 
years  the  honored  head.     It  is  from   this   copy 


140  HISTORY   OF  THE   AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

the  Maryland  Commissary,  detailing  the  plan  of  this  now  vener- 
able organization,  is  still  extant  in  the  Library'  of  Sion  College, 
London ;  and  Dr.  Bray  was  one  of  the  five  members  who  met 
together  for  the  first  time,  JMarch  8,  1G98-9,  to  inaugurate  this  noble 
charity.  On  his  return  from  his  first  visit  to  Maryland,  charged  with 
important  business  for  the  IMaryland  Church,  the  opportunity  offered 
for  entering  upon  the  department  of  labor  eai'lier  marked  out,  and  the 
unwearied  commissary  lost  no  time  in  soliciting  and  securing  from  the 
king  a  charter  for  the  incorporation  of  a  society  whose  special  duty 
should  be  to  propagate  the  gospel  throughout  the  colonies  and  foreign 
dependencies  of  the  British  empii'e.  The  influence  of  Tenison,  Arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury,  and  Compton,  Bishop  of  London,  was  exerted 
in  behalf  of  this  application  ;  but  nothing  can  take  from  Thomas  Bray 
the  distinsjuishcd  honor  of  beina;  the  originator  and  founder  of  the 
Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts.  Reaching 
Maryland  on  the  12th  of  March,  1700,  the  commissary  directed  his 
attention  at  the  outset  to  the  settlement  and  maintenance  of  the  parochial 
clergy.  Convening  the  clergy  on  the  western  shore  for  consultation, 
at  a  time  when  their  assembling  was  feasible,  the  commissary  then  pro- 
ceeded on  a  visitation,  throughout  the  progi-ess  of  which  he  was  received 
by  the  community  with  every  demonstration  of  respect  and  regard. 
The  result  of  his  inquiries  and  observation  was  that  but  a  twelfth  of 
the  entire  population  were  Romanists,  and  a  similar  proportion  were 
Quakers  ;  while  almost  the  entire  residue  were  at  least  nominal  adherents 
of  the  Establishment,  including  many  of  the  leading  families  of  the 
province.  That  this  was  the  case  might  be  inferred  from  the  unanimity 
with  which  laws  for  the  establishment  of  the  Church  had  lieen  again  and 
again  adopted  by  the  assembly. 

When  the  assembly  convened,  and  the  question  of  the  establishment 
of  the  Church  was  under  discussion,  the  course  of  the  commissary  was  so 
judicious  and  concihatorj''  that  the  formal  thanks  of  the  body  were 
tendered  him,  and  the  attorney-general  ordered  to  advise  with  him  in 
preparing  a  draft  of  the  bill  desired.  The  act  provided  "  that  the  Book 
of  Common  Prayer  and  administration  of  the  Sacraments,  with  the  rites 
and  ceremonies  of  the  Church,  according  to  the  use  of  the  Church  of 
England,  the  Psalter  and  Psalms  of  David,  and  Morning  and  Evening 
Prayer  therein  contained  lie  solemnly  read,  and  by  all  and  every  min- 
ister, or  reader  in  every  church  or  other  place  of  pul)lic  worship  within 
this  province."  The  closing  words  of  this  clause  proved  fatal  to  the 
approval  of  the  act  by  the  crown.  To  require  the  use  of  the  common 
pi'ayer  "  in  every  church  or  other  place  of  public  worship"  in  the  prov- 
ince was  to  deny  all  toleration  to  dissenters  from  tlu^  Establishment. 
Upon  the  completion  of  this  act  of  legislation,  by  the  Legislature,  the 
commissary  summoned  all  the  clergy  of  the  province  to  a  visitation  at 
Annapolis,  on  Thursday,  in  Whitsun-week,  the  23d  of  May.  Seven- 
teen clergymen  answered  to  their  names  at  the  opening  of  the  session, 
to  whom  the  commissary  delivered  a  charge  enforcing  his  views  with 
reference  to  catechising,  preaching,  and  private  ministerial  insti'uction. 
It  was  resolved  by  the  clergy  that  they  would  preach  to  their  respective 
flocks  a  "  scheme  of  divinity  ; "  that  they   would  "  more   religiously 


BEGINNING   OF   THE   CHURCH   IN   MARVLAND.  141 

observe  the  great  festivals  of  the  Chnrcli"  by  preaching  "upon  the  sul)- 
jects  proper  to  such  days  :  as  at  Christmas,  upon  Ihc  Incarnation  of  tlio 
Son  of  God ;  on  Good  Frida,y,  on  tlic  Death,  Sufi'erings,  and  Satisfac- 
tion of  Christ ;  on  Easter-day,  on  the  Resurrection  ;  and  on  Ascension- 
day,  upon  (he  Ascension  of  Christ  into  Heaven  ;  on  Whitsunday,  upon 
the  Divinity  and  Operations  of  the  Holy  Ghost ;  and  upon  Trinity 
Sunday,  on  the  Doctrine  of  tlic  Holy  and  ever  Blessed  Trinity."'  The 
nature  and  necessity  of  the  sacrament  of  lioly  baptism  and  the  re- 
moval of  prejudice  against  the  assumption  of  the  sponsorial  relation 
were  also  to  be  made  subjects  of  sermons,  while  profanencss  and  im- 
morality were  to  be  openly  relinked  from  the  pulpit.  The  maintenance 
of  discipline  among  the  clergy  was  made  a  theme  of  discussion,  and 
deeds  were  added  to  words  in  a  strict  enforcement  of  the  needed  re- 
forms in  this  matter.  The  case  of  a  clergyman  ^v'ho  had  lied  to  Virginia, 
to  escape  the  consequences  of  his  misconduct,  was  brought  before  the 
clergy,  who  united  with  the  commissary  in  his  effort  to  expose  and 
punish  the  offender.  Nor  was  this  the  only  evidence  of  a  disposition 
to  maintain  godly  discipline.  Solemnly  addressing  one  of  the  assembled 
clergy,  the  commissary  charged  him  in  open  session  with  a  grievous 
crime,  and  assigned  a  time  for  the  trial  of  the  accused.  In  pressing 
home  upon  the  oflcnder  the  hcinousness  of  his  guilt,  the  commissary 
urged  as  an  aggravation  of  the  offence  :  "First,  That  it  is  done  by  a  per- 
son in  Holy  Orders  ;  Secondly,  By  a  missionary  (which,  by  the  way, 
my  brcthi'en,  should  be  a  consideration  of  no  small  weight  with  all  of 
us)  ;  Thirdly,  As  to  time,  that  this  Scandal  is  given  at  a  Juncture  when 
our  Church  here  is  weakest,  and  our  friends  seem  to  be  fewest,  and 
our  li^nemies  strongest ;  And  lastly,  as  to  place,  it  so  happens  that  you 
are  seated  in  the  midst  of  Papists,  nay,  within  two  miles  of  the  Ciiief 
amongst  the  numerous  Priests  at  this  time  in  the  Province  ;  and  who, 
I  am  credibly  informed  by  the  most  considerable  Gentlemen  in  these 
Parts,  has  made  that  advantage  of  your  scandalous  living  that  there 
have  been  more  perversions  made  to  popery  in  that  part  of  Maryland, 
since  your  Polygamy  has  been  the  talk  of  the  country,  than  in  all  the 
time  it  has  been  an  English  colony."-  Turning  from  these  evidences 
of  the  need  of  ejiiscopal  restraint  and  oversight  in  this  missionary 
outpost  of  the  Church,  it  is  pleasing  to  find  the  story  of  this  important 
visitation  closed  with  proofs  of  a  zeal  for  Christ's  Chui-ch  on  the  com- 
missary's part  which  knew  no  bounds.  The  same  love  for  souls  and 
generous  interest  in,  and  care  for,  all  who  needed  spiritual  guidance, 
leading  the  worthy  commissary  to  send  two  of  the  clergy  who  applied 
to  him  for  work  at  the  first  instance,  the  one  to  Pennsylvania  and  the 
other  to  North  Carolina,  induced  him  to  propose  that  the  Maryland 
clergy,  out  of  their  penury,  should  contribute  for  the  support  of  an 
additional  missionary  among  the  Quakers  in  Pennsylvania.  It  hardly 
need  be  added  that  the  commissary's  subscription  was  nearly  equal  to 
that  of  all  the  others  wliose  names  are  appended  to  this  first  mission- 
ary ofi'ering  made  in  any  portion  of  the  American  Church  for  carrying 
the  gospel  to  "  unbelievers." 

'The  Acts    of  Dr.  Biay's   visitation,  lield    Appendix   to  Hawks's    "Eccl.  ConUibutions," 
at  Annapolis,  in  JIaryland,  May  23,  24,  2j,  Anno     Maryland. 
1700.     London  ;  1700.     Folio.    Reprinted  as  an  -  Acta  of  Dr.  Cray's  Visitation. 


142  HISTORY   OF  THE   AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

The  visitation  closed  witii  the  earnest  and  repeated  request  of  the 
clergy  that  the  commissary  would  return  to  England  to  care  for  the 
interests  of  the  Church  at  home,  Iiy  securing  fitting  action  with  refer- 
ence to  the  law  establishing  the  Church,  and  to  obtain  a  further  supply 
of  clergy  for  the  vacant  cures.  Though  the  journey  was  undertaken 
at  his  own  cost,  and  at  the  sacrifice  of  his  commissarial  stipend  while 
absent  from  his  post.  Dr.  Bray  acceded  to  the  request  of  the  clergy, 
and,  by  his  presence  in  England,  was  alile  to  defeat  the  machinations 
of  the  Quakers  and  Romanists  in  opposition  to  the  Church,  and  after 
the  present  law  had  been  refused  the  royal  assent,  to  secure,  at  length, 
the  passage  of  a  bill  which,  approved  l^y  the  authorities  at  home,  was 
finally  passed  in  Maryland,  and  confirmed  by  the  king.  The  royal 
assent  was  given  in  the  following  terms  :  "  Have  the  Quakers  the  bene- 
fit of  a  toleration  ?  Let  the  Established  Church  have  an  established 
maintenance."  It  was  during  the  discussion  at  home  of  the  questions 
involved  in  the  passage  of  this  act  that  the  tireless  commissary  pub- 
lished "A.  Memorial  Representing  the  Present  State  of  Religion  on  the 
Continent  of  North  America."  This  important  paper,  by  its  timely 
appearance  and  its  careful  presentation  of  facts,  went  far  to  awaken 
the  attention  of  earnest  members  of  the  establishment  to  the  spiritual 
wants  of  the  American  colonies.  It  described  the  needs  of  the  Mary- 
laud  Church  in  detail.  There  were  seventeen  clergymen.  Churches  had 
been  erected  in  most  of  the  parishes.  These  parishes  were  of  large  ex- 
tent, and  often  but  thinly  inhabited.  In  these  sparsely  settled  parishes 
the  livings  would  yield  but  £25  or  £30  per  annum,  the  payments  being 
made  in  tobacco,  the  staple  article  of  produce  in  the  province.  In  the 
better  class  of  parishes  the  clergyman's  income  was,  at  that  time, 
about  £80,  though  a  depreciation  in  values  was  apprehended  in  the 
near  future.  Not  more  than  a  twelfth  of  the  population  were  Roman- 
ists, though  the  number  of  their  priests  had  been  largely  increased. 
The  Quakers  numbered  about  a  tenth  of  the  whole  population,  and 
were  far  from  wealthy,  when  compared  with  the  members  of  the 
establishment.  At  least  forty  mission-priests  were  required  for  Mary- 
laud  alone,  and  the  commissary  detailed  at  length  the  qualifica- 
tions of  head  and  heart  that  they  should  possess.  "  Common 
men,"  he  asserted,  "the  refuse  of  the  clergy  in  England,  would 
not  do  for  American  missionaries."  The  clergjrmen  required  for 
work  in  the  colonies  must  be  exemplary  in  their  outward  walk  and 
conversation :  men  of  the  world,  prudent,  experienced  in  pastoral 
work  and  duty,  and  possessing  "  a  (rue  missionary  spirit,  having  an 
ardent  zeal  for  God's  glory  and  the  salvation  of  men's  souls."  Strength, 
learning,  and  youth  were  required  for  a  work,  the  importance  of  which 
could  not  be  over-estimated.  The  fertile  mind  of  the  commissary  de- 
vised a  scheme  for  the  selection  of  missionaries  and  their  support,  and 
although  the  plan  thus  originated  was  not  literally  carried  out,  the  end 
proposed  was  attained,  through  the  agency  of  the  Society  for  the 
Propagation  of  the  Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts,  which,  on  Dr.  Bray's 
petition,  was  incorporated  by  the  king,  and  of  which  the  commissary 
was  both  the  founder  and  a  life-long  friend.  Of  these  exertions  in 
Maryland  and  at  home  he  was  at  length,  after  expending  the  greater 


BEGINNING   OF  THE   CHURCH   IN   MARYLAND.  143 

part  of  his  private  fortune,  constrained  to  say :  "The  expense  as  well 
as  fatigue  had  been  insupportable.  But  as  what  has  been  hitherto 
done  does  but  let  uie  into  the  view  of  so  much  more  which  is  still 
wanting  to  propagate  and  maintain  Christianity  in  those  parts ;  if  any 
efibrt  of  mine  shall  contribute  anything  to  promote  the  design,  I  shall 
oljtain  an  end,  to  accomplish  which  I  could  be  content  to  sacrifice  my 
life,  with  the  remainder  of  my  small  fortunes."^  The  issue  of  circular 
letters  to  the  clergy,  enforcing  the  subjects  discussed  and  approved  at 
the  recent  visitation,  occupied  a  portion  of  the  commissary's  time ; 
but  these  official  communications  and  subsequent  eflbrts  in  the  direction 
of  the  appointment  of  others  in  his  place  poorly  supplied  the  lack  of 
Bray's  return  to  the  Province  of  Maryland.  It  was  in  no  spirit  of 
shrinking  from  duty  that  he  remained  at  home,  l)ut  in  deference  to  the 
judgment  of  those,  his  superiors  in  tiie  Church,  who  thought  his  in- 
fluence would  be  more  wisely  exerted  in  England  than  in  America. 
His  eflbrts  to  secure  the  blessings  of  the  Episcopate  for  America ;  ^  his 
untiring  interest  in  missionary  work  of  every  kind  ;  his  connection  with 
charitable  efforts  for  the  education  of  the  negroes,  out  of  which  grew 
the  chartered  body  known  as  the  "Associates  of  Dr.  Bray  ; "  and  his 
labor  for  the  relief,  release,  and  colonization  in  Americaof  poor  debtors, 
from  which  the  colony  of  Georgia  took  its  origin,  added  to  his  literary 
and  clerical  work,  made  up  an  honored  and  most  useful  life,  the 
memory  of  which  is  still  fragrant,  after  the  lapse  of  years.  What 
might  not  have  been  the  story  had  the  Church  of  England,  instead  of 
retaining  the  devoted  Bray  in  London,  sent  him  back,  not  mei'ely  with 
commissarial,  but  with  episcopal,  powers,  to  win  to  Christ  and  his 
Church  the  province  and  the  people  he  so  patiently  served  and  so  ably 
vindicated  ! 

In  1702  the  law  drawn  up  under  the  direction  of  Dr.  Bray,  and 
approved  in  England,  and  then  transmitted  to  Maryland  to  be  enacted 
by  the  Assembly  there,  was  duly  returned,  and  received  the  royal  as- 
sent. Then,  at  length,  was  the  Church  in  Maryland  established  by 
law.  By  the  provisions  of  this  act  the  "Book  of  Common  Prayer"  was 
ordered  to  be  read  in  all  the  churches  of  the  establishment,  and  every 
place  of  worship  or  congregation,  for  the  maintenance  of  whose  min- 
isters a  certain  revenue  or  income  was  directed  by  law  to  be  raised,  was 
to  be  deemed  part  of  the  established  church.  Every  minister  having 
no  other  benefice,  and  "presented,  inducted,  or  appointed"  by  the 
governor,  was  to  receive  forty  pounds  of  tobacco  ]icr  poll,  out  of 
which  he  was  to  pay  yearly  a  thousand  pounds  to  the  parish  clerk. 
For  the  prevention  of  "  all  illegal  and  unlawful  marriages,  not  allowable 
by  the  Church  of  England,  but  forbidden  by  the  Table  of  Marriages," 
copies  of  the  Table  of  Aflinity  were  to  be  set  up  in  the  churches  ;  jus- 
tices and  magistrates  were  forbidden  to  solemnize  matrimony,  and  the 
exaction  of  a  fee  of  "  five  shillings  sterling,  and  no  more,"  was  author- 
ized, "  provided  such  persons  come  to  such  parish  church  or  chapel  at 
time  oi'  divine  service,  for  solemnizing  such  marriages."     The  sherifls 

•  Intioilnction  to  Dr.  Bi-ay's  "  Apostolic  Char-  in  Slaiyland,  with  a  proposal  relatinff  to  his  sup- 

ity  Consideretl,"  pp.  9,  10.  port,  and  an  account,  also,  how  far  the  latter  is 

2Dr.  Bray's  "  .Memorial,  showing  the  neces-  advanced,"  is  printed  in  full  in  the  "Hist.  Coll. 

sity  of  one  to  superintend  the  church  and  clergy  Am.  Col.  Ch.,'  IV.,  pp.  51,  52. 


144  HISTORY   OF   THE   AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

of  the  several  counties  were  required  to  collect  and  pay  over  the  min- 
isterial tobacco  to  the  incumbent  of  the  cure.  Select  vestries,  of  at 
least  six  members,  were  to  be  chosen  for  each  parish  by  the  free- 
holders who  "  contribute  to  the  public  taxes  and  charges  of  the  said 
parish,"  the  incumbent,  being  ex  officio,  "one  of  the  vestry,  and  prin- 
cipal" thereof.  On  the  death  or  resignation  of  a  vestryman  the  fi-ee- 
holders  supplied  the  vacancy,  and  on  every  Easter  Monday  two  of  the 
vestry  who  had  served  the  previous  year  retired,  and  two  were  chosen 
to  fill  their  places.  Provision  was  made  for  a  registrar  of  the  vestry, 
and  "  the  true  and  fair  registry  "  of  the  proceedings  of  the  vestry,  "and 
of  all  Births,  Marriages,  and  Burials  (Negroes  and  Mulatoes  excepted"). 
Record  books  were  to  be  provided.  Vestries  were  ordered  to  hold 
monthly  meetings  under  penalties  for  unexcused  absences.  Church- 
wardens were  to  be  appointed  yearly,  who  were  to  take  the  oaths  of 
office,  and  to  serve  under  penalty  of  fine.  The  church- wardens  and 
vestry  were  to  provide  for  the  "Parochial  charges,"  and  "all  necessary 
repairs,"  and  improvements  of  churches,  chapels,  or  church-yards,  for 
which  purpose  all  fines  and  forfeitures  were  to  be  appropriated;  and, 
if  required,  rates  were  to  be  levied  on  the  taxables  of  the  parish,  not 
exceeding  ten  pounds  of  tol:)acco  [ler  poll  in  any  one  year,  to  be  col- 
lected by  the  sheritf,  and  paid  over  for  the  uses  named.  No  clergyman 
was  to  hold  more  than  two  livings,  and  the  consent  of  both  vestries  was 
necessary  for  the  union  of  two.  A  "  sober  and  discreet  person  "  might 
serve  as  hiy-i-eader  in  the  case  of  there  being  no  incumbent  who  should 
be  approved  Ijy  the  Ordinary,  and  to  whose  use  a  portion  of  the  min- 
isterial tobacco  might  be  applied.  The  licensed  lay-reader,  on  taking 
the  oaths,  was  permitted  to  "read  Divine  Service,  Homilies  and  such 
other  good  authors  of  practical  divinity  as  shall  bo  appointed."  Eleven 
o'clock  A.M.  of  the  first  Tuesday  in  each  month  was  appointed  as  the 
time  for  vestry  meetings.  The  vestry  l)ooks  and  accounts  were  to  be 
open  to  inspection  of  the  parishioners.  The  acts  of  toleration  were 
extended  to  Protestant  dissenters  and  Quakers,  provided  that  they 
respectively  conformed  to  the  provisions  of  the  acts,  and  their  places 
of  meeting  were  certified  to,  and  registered  at,  the  county  courts.' 

Such  was  the  nature  of  the  "  Establishment"  in  iMaiyland,  under 
which  the  Church  existed,  until  the  war  for  independence  placed  all 
religious  beliefs  and  organizations  on  the  same  footing,  in  the  eyes  of 
the  law.  Some  features  of  this  carefully  drawn  act  have  survived  the 
dis-establishment  of  the  Maryland  C'luurli,  and  have  I)ecome  part  and 
parcel  of  the  "conm:on  law"  of  the  American  Church.  A\'c  owe  a 
debt  of  lasting  gratitude  to  the  life  and  public  services  of  Dr.  Thomas 
Bray. 

'  Baton's  "  Laws  of  Maryland,"  1702,  Ch:ip.  i.    Hist.  Coll.  Am.  Ch.,  iv.,  pp.  139-148. 


BEGINNING  OF  THE  CHURCH  IN  MARYLAND.  145 


CRITICAL  AND  ILLUSTRATIVE  NOTES. 

TO  Maryland  belongs  the  honor  of  having  been  the  first  government  which  pro- 
claimed and  put  in  practice  the  novelty  of  religious  toleration.     This  grant  of 

religious  freedom  was  secured  by  the 
Charter  given  by  Charles  I.,  in  lCa2, 
to  Cecilius,  second  Lord  Baltimore. 
It  will  be  borne  in  mind  that  this  Char- 
ter, though  given  to  a  professed  mem- 
ber of  the  Roman  C'alholie  Church, 
was  granted  by  the  head  of  the  re- 
formed Church  of  England,  and  that 
the  two  references  to  religion,  con- 
tained in  this  important  patent,  were  the  exact  phrases  earlier  used  in  the  Avalon 
grant,  issued  to  Sir  George  Calvert,  when  he  was  still  a  member  of  the  English 
Coromunion.  These  references  to  religion  in  the  Charter  are  found,  in  the  first 
instance,  in  the  fourth  section,  giving  the  jn-oprietary  the  liberty  of  crectinc 
churches,  and  the  advowsons  of  all  that  should  be  built,  and  requiring  the  conse^ 
oration  of  the  said 
chm'ches  according  to 
the  ecclesiastical  laws 
of  England ;    and,  in 

the  second  place,  the  X         ,/E^^ "y^      {'j 

twenty-second  section  i  ^    V  /^^^^ y/^^yy  y  yy  /^^ — 

provided  that  no  law  ^^-  ^  ^^    ^^^  ^^'^^^u^'^ 

should  be  made  preju- 
dicial to  God's  holy 
and  time  Christian  re- 
ligion. The  original 
is  as  follows :  Proviso 
semper,  quod  nulla  fiat  inierpretatio,  per  quam  sacra  sancto  Dei,  et  vera  Clirisli- 
ana  reliyio  .  .  .  immutatione,  prejudicio  vel  dispendio  patianiur.  Certainly 
the  holy  service  of  God  and  the  true  Christian  religion,  as  understood  by  the  power 
using  these  words  to  limit  rights  and  privileges  elsewhere  conferred,  could  only 
mean  that  which  was  held  by  the  established  Church  of  England.  The  very  exor- 
cise of  the  Romish  faith  at  this  time  was  conti'ary  to  law.  The  Charter,  by  this 
somewhat  vague  proviso,  secm-ed,  though  it  by  no  means  directly  enjoined,  tolera^ 
tion,  and  the  "Protestant  Catholics," as  we  have  seen,  were  not  slow  in  claimino' 
the  protection  of  law,  in  the  exercise  of  their  religious  freedom,  and  the  Romish 
authorities  were  equally  prompt  in  allowing  and  enforcing  their  claim  of  right. 

The  Assembly  of  1G3D  declared  that  the  "  Holy  Chirrch  within  this  Province 
shall  have  her  rights  and  liberties."  A  similar  law  was  enacted  the  following  year. 
Each  of  these  provisions  is  founded  on  the  first  clause  of  filagna  Chaita,  which 
expresses  the  same  idea,  and  applies,  of  course,  to  the  Chm'ch  of  England.  This 
could  not  be  otherwise  in  a  legislative  enactment,  made  by  subjects  of  the  English 
crown,  who  were,  by  their  vci-y  common  law  of  the  kingdom,  required  to  recognize 
the  establislmient  as  the  national  church.  Besides,  the  continuity  of  the  Church 
of  Engl.and  as  reformed,  with  the  Church  of  England  prior  to  the  Reformation, 
was  asserted  by  the  highest  authorities  of  the  realm,  botli  legislative  and  legal.  In 
these  very  references  to  "  Holy  Church,"  the  church  settlers  of  Maryland  found 
their  rights  protected  and  their  religious  faith  acknowledged. 

In  April,  1649,  the  Assembly  met  under  the  new  governor,  William  Stone. 
The  faith  of  the  members  of  this  body,  which  jjasscd  "  the  first  law  securing  religious 

liberty  that  ever  passed  a  legally  constituted 
legislature"   (Narrative   and  Critical  History 
of  America,  ni.,  p.  534),  has  been  a  matter  of 
dispute ;  but  it  is  certain  that  out  of  the  sixteen 
members,  including  the  governor,  nine  bur- 
gesses and  six  councillors ;  the  governor,  three 
of  the  council,  and  at  least  two  of  the  burgesses,  were  Protestant,  while  of  the  rest 
the  faith  of  two  is  doubtful.     If  the  governor  and  council  sat  as  a  separate  house, 
as  is  probable,  the  claim  of  the  Roman  Catholics  to  the  enactment  of  this  law  is 


(jlji^a-TfL  fhmi^ 


146 


HISTORY   OF  THE  AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 


overthrown,  and,  in  any  event,  the  Romish  element  in  the  Assembly  is  not  likely  to 
have  been  in  majoi'ity.  The  words  of  this  act,  so  far  as  it  relates  to  toleration,  are 
as  follows :  — 

"  Wiiereas,  the  enforcing  of  the  conscience  in  matters  of  religion  hath  fre- 
quently fallen  out  to  be  of  dangerous  consequence  in  those  commonwealths  where 
it  hath  been  practiced,  and  for  the  more  quiet  and  peaceable  government  of  this 
province,  and  the  better  to  preserve  mutual  love  and  unitj'  amongst  the  inhabitants 
here  "it  was  enacted  that  no  person  "  professing  to  believe  in  Jesus  Christ  shall, 
from  henceforth,  be  any  waies  troubled,  molested,  or  discountenanced  for,  or  in 
respect  of,  his  or  her  religion,  nor  in  the  free  exercise  thereof  within  this  province, 
....  nor  any  way  compelled  to  the  beleefe  or  exercise  of  any  other  religion, 
against  his  or  her  consent."  By  other  sections  of  this  act  of  toleration,  blasphemy 
and  the  denial  of  the  divinity  of  Christ,  or  the  Trinity,  were  made  punishable  with 
death,  and  those  using  reproachful  words  concerning  the  Blessed  Virgin  or  the 
Apostles,  or  applying  epithets  to  anj'  one  in  matters  of  religion,  were  punished  by  a 
fine,  and  in  default  thereof  by  whipjiing  or  imprisonment.  It  does  not  appear  that 
these  penalties  were  ever  inllicted,  and  they  were  tar  less  severe  than  those 
attached  to  an  aet  of  Parliament  passed  the  year  before  for  preventing  the  spread 
of  heresy  and  Ijlasphemy.  Later,  when  the  rule  of  the  Commonwealth  was 
extended  over  Maryland,  the  Puritans,  who  had  been  welcomed  to  a  liome  bj' 

Governor  Stone  in  IGiO,  when  fugitives 
fi'om  penal  laws  in  Virginia,  exempted 
the  Romanists  from  the  privilege  of  tol- 
eration. On  the  restor.ation  of  the  monar- 
chy there  was  a  I'eturu  to  the  previous 
state  of  things. 

Following  Chalmers,  who  was  the 
earliest  historian  of  Maryland,  the  Assem- 
bly of  1G49  has  been  generally  regarded 
as  containing  a  Roman  Catholic  majority. 
.  Sebastian  F.  Streeter,  in  his  "  Marj-- 
L'.nd  Two  Hundred  Years  ago,"  claimed 
that  this  Assembly  was  Protestant  by 
majority.  This  question  was  carefully 
discussed  by  Mr.  George  Lynn-Lachl.an 
Davis  in  his  "  Day  Star  of  American 
Freedom ;  or.  The  Birth  and  Early  Growth 
of  Toleration  in  the  Province  of  I\Iary- 
land ; "  a  work  based  on  an  examination 
of  wills,  rent-rolls,  and  other  records. 
Dr.  Richard  McSherry,  in  an  article 
originally  published  in  the  "  Southern 
Review  "  and  afterwards  reprinted  in  his 
"  Essays  and  Lectures,"  attacked  the 
position  of  Streeter.  The  Rev.  Edward  D.  Neill  contributed  an  article  on  the  rela- 
tions of  Protestants  and  Roman  Catholics  to  the  splint  of  toleration  in  his  "  Lord 
Baltimore  and  Toleration  in  Maryland,"  printed  in  the  ''  Contemporary  Review," 
September,  187G.  The  Rev.  B.  F.  Brown  has  added  a  valuable  contribution  to  the 
discussion  in  his  "Early  Religious  History  of  Maryland;  Maryland  not  a  Roman 
Catholic  Colony,"  1876.  The  Rev.  Dr.  Ethan  Allen,  Historiographer  of  the  Maiy- 
land  Church,  in  his  "Who  were  the  Early  Settlers  of  Maryland?"  published  by 
the  Historical  Society  in  1805,  shows  that  the  vast  miijority  of  the  settlers  from  the 
very  first  were  Protestants.  The  lat(!  John  P.  Kennedy,  in  his  discourse  on  the 
"  Life  and  Character  of  the  First  Lord  Baltimore,"  1845,  delivered  before  the  His- 
torical Society,  maintained  that  toleration  was  in  the  Charter  and  not  in  the  Act  of 
IGIO,  and  that  as  much  honor  was  due  to  the  king  who  granted  this  boon  as  to  the 
nobleman  who  received  it.  Reviewed  in  1S4G,  by  Mr.  B.  U.  Campbell,  Mr.  Kennedy 
felt  called  upon  to  reply.  In  1855  Dr.  Ethan  Allen  jiublished  in  pamphlet  form  his 
"  Maryland  Toleration,"  which  had  earlier  appeared  in  the  "  Church  Review,"  in 
which  he  denied  that  ilarj'land  was  a  Roman  Catholic  colony,  and  claimed  that 
protection  to  all  faiths  was  guaranteed  Viy  the  royal  charter.  The  subject  received 
attention  in  the  discussion  between  JMr.  W.  E.  Gladstone  and  Cardinal  Manning 
concerning  the  Vatican  decrees,  in  1875.  The  cardinal  had  appealed  to  the  tolera- 
tion granted,  as  he  assumed,  by  Roman  Catholics  in  Maryland,  to  meet  the  charge 


erh- 


INDORSEMENT  OF  THE  TOLERATION  ACT. 


BEGINNING   OF   THE   CHUKCH   IN   MARYLAND. 


147 


AI.l,    HALLOWS     PAUISH    CHUKCII,    SNOW    HILL,    MAKYLAND. 


of  the  premier  that  the  Roman  Church  would,  if  it  were  in  her  power,  enforce  by 
pains  and  penalties  tlie  acceptance  of  her  creed.  In  his  "  Vaticanism  "  Mr.  Glad- 
stone replied,  and  in  his  reissue  of  his  essay,  under  the  title  "Rome  and  the  New- 
est Fashions  in  Religion,"  reiterated  his  arguments.  Numerous  other  puljlications 
might  be  named,  if  it  were  worth  while  to  attempt  the  bibliography  of  this  interest- 
ing subject.  The  notes  to  Chapter  xiii.  of  the  "  Narrative  and  Critical  History  of 
America,"  Vol.  ui.,  pp.  5o3-662,  and  the  chapter  itself  by  W.  T.  Brantley,  ibid., 
pp.  518-553,  are  full  of  valuable  and  important  references  to  the  whole  subject  of 
the  early  histoiy  of  Maryland. 

"  The  deplorable  state  antl  condition  of  the  Province  of  Maryland  for  want 
of  an  established  ministry,"  referred  to  by  the  Pautuxent  priest,  is  shown  by  the 
statements  of  the  two  Labadists,  Jasper  Dankers  and  Peter  Sluyter,  who  visited 
Mai-yland  in  1080,  and  left  on  record  their  impressions  of  the  religious  condition 
of  the  province  as  follows:  "The  lives  of  the  planters  in  Maryland  and  Virginia 
are  very  godless  and  profane.  They  listen  neither  to  God  nor  his  commandments, 
and  have  neither  church  nor  cloister.  Sometimes  there  is  some  one  who  is  called 
a  minister,  who  does  not,  as  elsewhere,  scr\-e  in  one  place,  for  in  all  Virginia  and 
Maryland  there  is  not  a  city  or  a  village  —  but  travels  for  profit,  and  for  that  pur- 
pose visits  the  plantations  through  the  country,  and  then  addresses  the  people  ;  but 
I  know  of  no  public  assemblages  being  held  in  these  places ;  you  hear  often  that 
these  ministers  are  worse  than  anybody  else,  yea,  are  an  abomination."  —  Memoirs 
of  the  Long  Island  Historical  Society,  I.,  p.  218. 

Dickinson,  a  Quaker  preacher,  as  quoted  by  Neill,  in  his  "  Founders  of  Mary- 
land" (p.  ITl'),  under  date  of  "8th  11  mo.  ICyS,  O.S.,"  writes  from  the  Downs: 
"  Several  priests  were  going  over  into  Maryland,  having  heard  that  the  government 
had  laid  a  tax  of  forty  pounds  of  tobacco  on  each  inhabitant  for  the  advancement 
of  the  priest's  wages."  These  were,  possibly,  the  clergy  ordained  at  Saint  Paul's 
for  the  mission-work  in  America. 


CHAPTER   IX. 

BEGINNINGS    OF    THE    CHURCH     IN     NEW    YORK    AND    THE 

MIDDLE    COLONIES. 


THE  annals  of  the  Church  in  New  York  begin  with  an  amusing 
episode.     Hudson,  who,  in   the  "Half  Moon,"  discovered  the 
island  of  Manhattan,  was  an  Englishman  and  an  English  church- 
man, and  at  the  outset  of  his  earliest  voyage  of  discovery  received 
Jhe  sacrament  as  his  Viaticum;^  but  the  Dutch,  in  whose  employ  he 
sailed,  reaped  the  advantages  of  his  discovery,  and  on  the  settlement  of 

New  Netherlands  the  faith  of 
^  y  .    the  National  Church  of  Hol- 

fl_J^^^  <TY  M  ''^^^  ^^®  ^'''**  introduced.  At 
-'  the  conquest  of  the  colony  by 
the  English,  under  Colonel 
Richard  NicoUs,  in  1664,  guarantees  of  liberty  of  conscience  in  "di- 
vine worship  and  church  discipline,"-  thus  including  the  rights  of  the 
transplanted  church,  were  granted  to  the  vanquished. 

Still  the  occupancy  of  the  town  l)y  the  English  was  followed  by  the 
introduction  of  the  Church  of  England  Service,  and  as  there  was  no 
place  of  worship  1>ut  the  Dutch  church  within  the  fort,  it  was  cordiall}' 
arranged  by  the  articles  of  capitulation,  that  after  the  Dutch  had  fin- 
ished their  use  of  the  building,  the  chaplain  of  the  British  forces  should 
have  the  occupancy  of  the  same.  "This,"  says  Brodhead,  "was  all 
the  footing  that  the  English  Episcopal  Church  had  in  New  York  for 
more  than  thirty  years." ^ 

Recaptured  by  the  Dutch  in  1673,  and  again  surrendered  to  the 
English  the  following  year,  it  is  to  be  noted  that  stipulations  were  made 
by  Governor  Colve  in  his  communications  with  Major  Edmund  Andros, 
that  the  inhabitants  "  be  allowed  to  retain  their  customary  church  privi- 
leges in  Divine  Service  and  Church  Discipline  ;  "to  which  Andros  replied, 
that  "  the  usuall  discipline  of  their  church  bee  continued  to  them  as 
formerly.''  The  pastor  of  the  old  Dutch  Church  in  New  York  at  this 
time  was  Domine  Wilhelmus  Van  Nieuwenhuyseu,  who  had  been  sent 
out  from  Holland  by  the  classis  of  Amsterdam,  in  1671.  In  the  ship 
which  brought  Governor  Andros  from  England  there  came  a  clergyman 
who  had  both  Dutch  and  English  orders,  Domine  Nicolaus  Van  Rens- 
selaer, a  younger  son  of  the  tirst  Patroon  of  Rensselaerswyck.  Meet- 
ing King  Charles  H.,  when  the  latter  was  in  exile,  at  Brussels,  and 
predicting  the  restoration  of  the  monarch  to  his  hereditary  rights  and 

iA;iderson's"Col.  Cli.,"i.,  pp.343,  344.  *Doc.  Hist,  of  New  York,  Quart.)  Eel.,  iii., 

'Brodhcad's  "Hist  of  N.Y.,"  i.,  p.  762.  p.  49. 

■  Ihid;  n.,  p.  44. 


BEGINNINGS   OF  THE   CHURCH   IN   NEW   YORK.  1411 

throne,  the  doraine  accompanied  the  kiug  ou  his  return  and  served  as 
chaplain  to  the  Dutch  ambassador,  Van  Gogh,  and  afterwards  as  minis- 
ter of  the  Dutch  Church  at  Westminster  and  lecturer  at  St.  Margaret's, 
Lothbury,  London.  While  in  England  he  received  both  deacon's  and 
priest's  orders  at  the  hands  of  John  Earle,  Bishop  of  Salisbury,  between 
the  years  1663-5,  and  sailed  for  America  in  company  with  Andros, 
bearing  a  letter  from  the  Duke  of  York  recommending  him,  at  his  own 
request,  "  to  be  minister  of  one  of  the  Dutch  churches  in  New  York  or 
New  Albany,  when  a  vacancy  shall  happen."*  The  duke  had  provided 
for  a  chaplain  for  the  garrison  at  New  York,  with  a  stipend  of  £121 
(5s.  M.  per  annum, ^  and  it  is  probable  that  a  clergyman  accompanied 
Andros  on  this  expedition  ;  but  no  record  of  the  name  of  cither  of  these 
is  extant,  nor  is  there  mention  of  any  other  prior  to  the  induction  of 
the  Rev.  Charles  Wolley,  in  1678. 

Domine  Van  Rensselaer  appears  to  have  remained  only  a  short  time 
in  the  city  of  New  York,  but  proceeded  soon  after  his  arrival  to  his 
father's  colony  at  Albany,  where,  in  accordance  with  the  mandate  of 
the  Duke  of  York  and  liy  order  of  Governor  Andros,  he  was  subse- 
quently inducted  into  the  charge  of  the  Dutch  Church  in  that  city  as 
associate  with  Domine  Schaats.^  On  Domine  Van  Rensselaer's  propos- 
ing to  baptize  some  children  in  New  York  the  pastor  of  the  Collegiate 
Church  interposed  with  a  peremptory  refusal ;  the  matter  reaching  the 
council,  on  Van  Rensselaer's  complaint,  the  Dutch  minister,  who  had  on 
the  street  asserted  that  Van  Rensselaer  "  was  not '  a  Lawfull  minister,'  nor 
his  admittance  at  Albany  to  be  Lawfull,"^  stoutly  maintained  that  "no 
oney'onlyhadordersfi-om  y'^  Church  of  Englandliad  sufficient  Authority 
to  be  admitted  a  Minister  here,  to  administer  y"  Sacraments  without  a 
certificate  "  from  the  classis.  The  irregularity  of  the  proceedings  in 
the  induction  of  Van  Rensselaer  is  evident  from  the  fact  that,  instead  of 
claiming  his  right  to  baptize  on  the  gi'ound  of  his  ordination  in  Hol- 
land, he  produced  his  English  letters  of  orders  and  certificates  of  his 
ministering  in  London,  together  with  the  Duke  of  York's  recommen- 
dation to  any  vacancy  either  in  New  York  or  Albany.  The  question 
before  the  council  was  "  whether  the  ordination  of  y"  Chui'ch  of  Eng- 
land be  not  sufiicient  qualification  for  a  minister  comporting  himself 
accordingly,  to  be  admitted,  officiate  and  administer  y'^  Sacraments  ac- 
cording to  y^  Constitution  of  y°  Reformed  Churches  of  Holland."^ 
Finally,  though  with  evident  reluctance,  the  Dutch  domine,  with  his 
elders  and  deacons,  presented  in  writing  the  following  amended  answer, 
with  which  all  the  parties  litigant  appeared  to  have  been  satisfied,  to 
wit:  — 

To  the  Noble,   High,   Hotiorabla   Sir,    the   Major    Edmund   Andros,   Qovemor- 
Oeneral  of  all  His  Eoijal  Highnesses'  Territories  in  America :  — 

Noble,  High,  Honorable  Sat. — A  minister,  according  to  the  Order  of  the 
Church  of  England  lawiiilly  called,  is  sufficiently  qualified  to  be  admitted  to  the 

'N.Y.  Col.  Docs.,  III.,  p.  225.    Brodheail's  ■•  O'Callaghau's  "Doc.  Hist,  of  N.Y.,"  in. 

"  Hist,  of  N.Y.,"  n.,  p.  272.  pp.  526,  527. 

=  N.Y.  Col.  Docs.,  ni.,  p.  220.  =Couueil  Minutes  in  "  Doc.  Hist,  of  N.Y.," 

'BrodhcuXs  "History  of  New  Yorlv,"  II.,  III.,pp.  52G,  027.  Munsell'a  "  Auualsof  Alluiiy," 

p.  228.  VI.,  pp.  67-74. 


150  HISTORY   OF  THE   AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

serving  and  administering  of  tlie  Sacraments  in  a  Dutch  Congregation  belong- 
ing to  His  Majesty's  Dominions,  having  promised  to  conduct  himself  in  his  servico 
accordino;  to  the  constitution  of  the  ilelormed  Church  of  Holland. 

Noble,  High,  Honorable  Sir, 

Your  Excellency's  servants  and  subjects, 
The  Consistory  of  this  City  of  New  Yokk, 
In  the  Name  of  All, 

WILHELMUS  VAN  NIEWENHUYSEN, 

Pastor. 
New  York,  October  1,  1676.' 

On  the  following  day  Van  Rensselaer  yielded  the  point  in  contro- 
versy, by  suliscribing  the  following  agreement :  — 

I,  the  undersigned,  have  promised,  and  hereby  promise,  to  conduct  myself  in 
my  Church  service  as  Minister  of  Albany'  and  Rensselaerswyck  according  to  the  Low 
Dutch  Church,  conformably  to  the  public  Church  semce  and  discipline  of  the 
Reformed  Church  of  Holland,  pursuant  to  that  which  I  have  solemnly  promised  in  my 
public  installation  before  the  wliole  congregation  of  Albany,  etc. 

Done  in  the  presence  and  view  of  Domine  Wilhclmus  Van  Nieuwenhuysen, 
minister  of  the  Word  of  God  within  New  York,  and  Jeronimus  Ebbing,  Elder,  and 
the  Burgomaster  Oloflf  Stevensen  Van  Cortlandt. 

NicoLAus  Van  Rensselaer, 
Minister  of  the  Word  of  Ood  of  New  Albany  and  Rensselaerswyck. 
New  York,  October  2,  1675. 

The  subject  of  all  this  controversy,  a  minister  on  whom  the  vows 
of  ordination  seemed  to  rest  but  lightly,  was  shortly  brought  before  the 
court  for  "  false  preaching."  On  being  imprisoned  by  the  magistrates  at 
Albany  for  "  some  dul)ious  words  in  his  sermon  or  doctrine,"  the 
court  required  accuser  and  accused  to  "  forgive  and  forget."  In  1677 
Andros  deposed  Van  Rensselaer  from  his  ministry  "  on  account  of 
his  bad  and  scandalous  life,"-  and  the  following  year  he  died. 

It  being  evident  that  little  good  to  the  Church  could  be  expected 
from  the  services  of  the  eccentric  Van  Rensselaer,  on  the  retm'u  of 
Governor  Andros  to  New  York,  in  August,  1678,  he  was  attended  by 

a    Cambridge  graduate,  in   holy  or- 

/^^^      >^/^^         d--;  t|-  l^ev.  Charles  Wolley,  ap- 
V_^         '  ^/^'^  pointed  l)y  the  Uuke  01  lork,  chaplain 

of  the  forces  at   Fort   James.     The 
handwriting  of  b.a.  degree,      place  of  worship  was  the  chapel  in 

the  fort,  shared  as  it  was  for  many 
/~  P        /^       /?  9^  /^  years  with  the  Dutch  minister  and 

/  f\a/TLli      fl^ ^  ^'■-  ^^ —    his  congregation,  and,  doubtless,  the 
\_y  ^  })lace   in  which  the  Episcopally  or- 

dained Van   Rensselaer  was   forljid- 
hanhwriting  in  m.a.  degree.^    den    to   minister    the    sacrament   of 

])aptism.     Among   the   first   acts  of 
the  new  incumbent  was  the  compliance  with  the  governor's  "  Brief" 

'  Hist.  Ma?.,  IX.,  pp.  351-354.  sizar,  13  June,  1670."    He  was  mati-ifiUated  a 

'Bi-odhead,  "  Hist,  of  N.Y.,"  ii.,  p.  300.  sizai'  of  Emmanuel  Collcffe,  ou  the  9th  of  July, 

=  The  signatures  copied  above  are  fi-om  the  1G70.    He   took   the  B.A'.  degree  ia  January, 

"  degree-hook"  at  the  University  of  Cambridge,  1673-4,  and  proceeded  JIaster  of  Arts  iu  July, 

where,  as  we  learn  from  the  records,  "  Ch.  Wol-  1677. 

ley  of  Line."    (Lincolnshire)    was    "admitted 


BEGINNINGS   OF   THE   CHURCH   IN   NEW   YORK. 


151 


of  the  17th  of  August,  1G78,  authorizing  and  requiring  the  collec- 
tion of  the  chanty  of  the  well-disposed  towards  the  redemiition 
of  Jacob  Leislcr,  and  several  other  inhal)itants  of  New  York,  who  had 
been  taken  captive  by  Turkish  corsairs.  The  appeal  was  successful, 
and  the  captives  were  speedily  released  from  slavery.  An  interest- 
ing, if  not  nattering,  account  of  Mr.  Wollcy's  ministrations  is  furnished 
us  in  the  journal  of  two  Dutch  "Labadists,"^  Jasper  Dankers  and 
Peter  Sluyter,  who  had  come  from  Wiewerd  in  Friecdand,  to  select  in 
the  New  World  a  site  for  the  settlement  of  a  colony  of  their  people. 
Shrewd  and  ol)serving  men  as  these  hunilde  travellers  were,  their 
quamt  narrative  of  the  church  service  at  New  York,  on  the  20tli  Sunday 
after  Trinity,  October  15,  1G79  (N.  S.)  is  well  worthy  of  reproduc- 
tion in  our  pages:  "15th.  Sunday.  We  went  at  noon  to-day,  to 
hear  the  English  Minister,  whose  services  took  place  after  the  Dutch 
Church  was  out.  There  were  not  above  twenty-five  or  thirty 
people  in  the  church.  The  first  thing  that  occurred  was  the  read- 
ing of  all  their  prayers  and  ceremonies  out  of  the  prayer-book,  as 
is  done  in  all  Episcopal  Churches.  A  young  man  then  went  into  the 
pulpit  and  commenced  preaching,  who  thought  he  was  performing 
wonders  ;  but  he  had  a  little  book  in  his 
hand  out  of  which  he  read  his  sermon,  which 
was  aliout  a  quarter  of  an  hour  or  half  an 
hour  long.  With  this  the  services  were  con- 
cluded, at  which  we  could  not  be  suiBciently 
astonished.  This  was  all  that  happened 
with  us  to-day."^  Peter  Sluyter  is  reported 
by  Dankers,  the  writer  of  the  journal,  as 
having  attended  the  church  service  again 
and  again,  with  a  view  of  "exercising  him- 
self in  the  English  language."  ■^  On  the  return 
of  these  simple-minded  enthusiasts  to  New 
York  they  had  occasion  to  call  on  the  govern- 
or, which  they  did  on  the  afternoon  of  Palm 
Sunday,  about  five  o'clock,  "who  was  still 
engaged,  at  our  coming,  in  the  Common 
Praijer;  but  as  soon  as  it  was  finished  he 
came  and  spoke  to  us."  ^ 

But,  in  spite  of  his  use  of  "a  little 
book"  in  preaching  and  his  failure  to  win  the 
praise  of  the  critical  Labadist  missionaries. 
Chaplain  Wolle}^  is  entitled  to  kind  remem- 
brance for  a  contribution  to  the  literature  of  the  time,  which, 
though  encumbered  with  pedantry,  and  fuller  of  notices  of  the 
savages  than  the  European  settlers,  still  .gives  us  valuable  infor- 
mation of  the  state  of  the  city  and  province  at  the  period  of  its 
composition.  "A  Two  Years'  Journal  in  New  York,  and  part  of  the 
Territories  in  America,"  by  C.  W.,  A.M.,  published  in  London,  in 
1701,  assures  us  with  respect  to  his  American  home  that  it  is  "a  place 

'  Followere  of  Jean  De  Labadie,  a  French  ^  Thid.,  pp.  ICO^  164. 

enthusiast.  </Airf.,  p.  284." 

=  Lou;?  Island  Hist.  Soc.  Coll.,  1.,  p.  148. 


AKMS    OF   Sm    FRANCIS 
NICHOLSON,    1693. 


152  HISTORY   OF  THE  AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

of  as  sweet  and  agreeable  air  as  ever  I  breathed  in,  and  the  inhabitants, 
both  English  and  Dutch,  very  civil  and  courteous,  as  I  may  speak  by 
experience,  amongst  whom  I  have  often  wished  myself  and  family,  to 
whose  tables  I  was  frequently  invited,  and  always  concluded  with  a 
generous  bottle  of  Madeira."  i  The  chaplain's  kindly  disposition  is  shown 
by  his  paiiicipation  in  the  eflbrt  for  the  erection  of  the  new  Dutch 
church,  to  which  the  governor,  despite  his  churchly  inclinings,  con- 
tributed liberally,  and  for  which  he  applied  the  surphis  moneys  raised 
in  response  to  his  brief  in  behalf  of  the  captives  in  Turkey.  Wolley 
bore  with  him,  on  his  return,  the  following  attestation  of  his  worth 
and  services :  — 

A  Certificate  to  Mr.  Charles  Wolley  to  goe  for  England  in  the  Hopewell. 

S'  Edmund  Andros,  Kn'.,  &c.  Whereas  M'.  Charles  Wolley  (a  Jlinister  of  the 
Church  of  England)  came  over  into  these  parts  in  the  month  of  August,  1G78,  and 
hath  officiated  accordingly  as  Chaplaine  under  his  Royall  Highnesse  during  the 
time  of  his  abode  here.  Now  upon  applicagon  for  leave  to  return  for  England,  in 
order  to  some  ])romo(;ou  in  the  Church  to  which  hee  is  presented,  hee  having 
liberty  to  proceed  on  his  voyage,  These  are  to  certify  the  above,  and  that  the  s^ 
M'  Wolley  hath  in  tliis  place  comported  himselfe  unblameable  in  his  Life  and  Con- 
versagon.  In  testimony  whereot '  I  have  hereunto  sett  my  hand  and  seal  of  the 
Province  in  New  Yorke,  this  lo"  day  of  July,  in  the  32''  yeare  of  His  Maj''"  llaigne, 
Annoq.  Domine,  1680.     Examined  by  mee,  M.  N.  Sec'.^ 

It  is  possible  that  Chaplain  Wolley  returned  to  New  York.  In 
the  preface  to  his  published  journal  he  speaks  of  having  been  "  taken 
off,  from  the  proper  studies  and  ofEces  of  his  Function,  for  his  un- 
prolitablenes ; "'  and,  whatever  this  may  mean,  the  records  of  New 
York  show  that  "Charles  Wooley  "  was  admitted  a  freeman  in  1702. 
If  this  was  the  former  chaplain,  it  is  evident  that  he  did  not  resume 
the  exercise  of  his  ministry,  and  it  is  probable  that  death  soon  closed 
his  career. 

Two  years  elapsed  ere  the  vacant  chaplaincy  was  filled.  Andros 
had  been  superseded  by  Colonel  Thomas  Dongau,  who  was  a  Roman 

Catholic,  and  who  arrived  in  New 
York  on  Saturday,  the  25th  of  Au- 
gust, 1G83.  Accompanying  him  was 
an  English  Jesuit  priest,  Thomas  Har- 
vey, of  London.  In  the  same  frigate, 
the  "Constant  Warwick,"  and  accom- 
panying the  new  governor  came  the 
Rev.  Dr.  John  Gordon,  who  was  commissioned  as  chaplain  to  the  forces  at 
New  York.  Dr.  Gordon  remained  but  a  short  time  with  Iris  charge,  and, 
on  his  return,  the  Rev.  Josias  Clarke  received  the  appointment.  INIr. 
Clarke  was  commissioned  on  the  16th  of  June,  1(584,  and  his  cer- 
tificate, or  "  Letter-dimissory,"  on  record  at  Albany, "•  may  be  taken 
to  indicate  the  term  of  his  service.     This  document  bears  date  of 

'  A  reprint  of  WoIIey's  Journal  was  pub-  Albany,  xxxil.,p.  83.  Contiibuted by  Dr.  O'Cal- 

lishcd  by  W.  Gowans,  of  New  York,  in  1860,  laghan.intbc"  IIist.Mag.,"i.,pp.;371,372.  Wol- 

with  an'introduction  by  Dr.  0'Callan;han.  ley's    salaiy  ceased  October  6,  1683.    Camden 

'  Vide  Dr.  O'Callagbau's    Introduction    to  Soc.  Secret  Sci-vices.  Charles  II.  and  James  II., 

WoUey's  .Journal,  p.  15,  and  Valentine's  "Hist.  p.  128.  —  Brodhead,  ii.,  p.  375,  note. 
of  New  York,"  p.  377.  '  N.  Y'.  Col.  MSS.,  xxxni. 

'  General  Entiies   in  Sec.  of    State  Min., 


BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  CHURCH  IN  NEW  YORK.  153 

October  7,  1686.  Mr.  Clark's  character  and  disposition  may  be  in- 
ferred from  an  incident  occurring  soon  after  bis  arrival  at  bis  post. 
Among  the  emigrants  brougbt  from  Scotland  in  tbc  "  Seaflovver  "  was 
an  entbusiast,  named  David  Jameson,  who,  tbougb  liberally  educated, 
had  allied  himself  with  a  body  of  ranters,  who  abjured  the  various 
creeds  of  Christendom  and  rejected  as  well  the  received  version  of  the 
Holy  Scriptures.  Having  been  examined  before  the  Duke  of  York,  at 
Edinburgh,  Jameson  was  condemned  to  transportation  to  America,  and 
Dr.  George  Lockhart,  one  of  the  proprietors  of  the  "  Seaflower,"  was 
authorized  to  sell  him  as  a  "  Redemptioner  "  to  any  one  who  would  pay 
the  cost  of  his  passage.  With  the  humane  and  kindly  impulses  of  a 
Christian  and  a  scholar,  Clark,  on  the  arrival  of  Jameson,  promptly 
paid  the  redemption  money,  which  "  the  chief  men  of  the  place  "  at 
once  repaid  to  the  charitable  chaplain.  The  Scotch  exile,  thus  saved 
from  slavery,  found  occupation  and  a  livelihood  as  master  in  a  Latin 
school,  for  which  jiosition  he  was  well  prepared. 

While  the  Church  was  being  quietly  introduced  into  New  York  by 
the  services  of  the  successive  chaplains  at  Fort  James,  the  crown  had 
passed  into  the  hands  of  the  Duke  of  York,  who,  as  James  II.,  was 
seeking  at  home  the  tolera- 
tion, if  not  the  establish- 
ment, of  the  Roman  faith 
he  professed.  When,  at 
length,  it  was  the  royal 
pleasure  to  attend  to  the  af- 
fairs of  the  plantations,  the 
Church  of  England,  rather 
than  that  of  Rome,  seemed  the  object  of  the  sovereign's  concern  and  care. 
The  "  Rose  "  frigate  brought  to  Boston,  with  the  hated  Edward  Ran- 
dolph, both  the  order  vacating  the  charter  of  the  colony  and  the  Rev. 
Robert  Ratclilfe,  a  clergyman  recommended  by  the  Bishop  of  London. 
For  the  first  time  the  service  of  the  Church  of  England  was  regularly 
celebrated  iu  the  Town  Hall  of  Boston,  with  Bibles  and  Service  Books 
provided  by  the  Roman  Catholic  king.  In  place  of  Sewall,  who  had 
controlled  the  press  iu  Massachusetts,  Randolph  became  its  censor. 
Dudley  and  his  associates  quietly  replaced  the  magistrates  of  the  the- 
ocracy, and  while  a  baffled  and  defeated  oligarchy  sullenly  mourned 
the  loss  of  authority,  the  new  government  entered  into  place  and 
power"  with  the  general  consent  and  applause  of  the  people."^  The 
"  Instructions  "  to  Andros  and  Dongan  from  the  king  were  of  similar 
efiect. 

You  shall  take  especiall  uare  that  God  Almighty  bee  devoutly  aud  duely 
sewed  throughout  yo''  Government ;  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer,  as  it  is  now 
establisht,  read  each  Sunday  and  Holyday,  and  the  Blessed  Sacrament  administered 
according  to  the  Rites  of  the  Church  of  England.  You  shall  be  careful  that  the 
Chm'ches  already  built  there  shall  bee  well  and  orderly  kept  and  more  built  as  j" 
Colony  shall,  hj  God's  blessing,  bee  improved.  And  that  besides  a  competent  main- 
tenance to  bee  assigned  to  y  Minister  of  each  Churoh,  a  convenient  House  bee 
built  at  the  comon  charge  for  e;u;h  minister,  and  a  competent  Proportion  of  Land 
assigned  him  for  a  Glebe  and  e.xercise  of  his  Industiy. 

'  Brodhead'g  "  New  York,"  n.,  p.  445. 


lo4  HISTORY  OF  THE   AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHUnCH. 

And  you  are  to  take  care  that  the  Parishes  bee  so  limited  and  settled  as  you 
shall  find  most  convenient  for  y^  accomplishing  this  good  work. 

Our  will  and  pleasure  is  that  noe  minister  Dee  preferred  by  you  to  any 
Ecclesiastical  Benefice  in  that  Our  Province,  without  a  certificat  from  ye  Most  Rever- 
end the  Lord  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  of  his  being  conformable  to  y"  Docti'ine 
and  Discipline  of  the  Church  of  England,  and  of  a  good  life  and  conversation.' 

The  "  Instructions  "  proceed  to  give  the  governor  the  power  of 
removing  scandalous  incumbents.  They  provide  that  the  ecclesiastical 
jurisdiction  of  the  primate  should  prevail  throughout  the  province  in 
everything  but  collating  to  benefices,  granting  licenses  for  marriages, 
and  the  probate  of  wills,  which  were  made  the  prerogative  of  the 
governor.  The  archbishop's  license  was  also  required  for  school- 
masters. Tables  of  Affinity  were  ordered  to  be  hung  up  in  the  churches 
and  copies  of  the  Thirty-Nine  Articles  and  the  Homilies  were  to  be 
kept  and  used  in  the  various  parishes. 

It  is  evident  that,  although  the  monarch  was  a  papist,  the  policy 
of  the  Commissioners  of  Plantations  was  that  of  the  Establishment. 
The  restriction  respecting  school-masters  appears  to  have  been  adopted 
at  the  instance  of  Dr.  Compton,  Bishop  of  London,  on  the  15th  day 
of  April,  1685,  and  is  found  in  the  instructions  to  Sir  Philip  Ploward, 
as  Governor  of  Jamaica,  April  27,  1G85.**  It  was  thus  that  the  Church 
of  England  was  "  established  "  in  New  York.  A  noticeable  variation 
from  the  usual  form  of  these  "  Instructions  "  is  seen  in  the  mention 
of  the  Primate  of  All  England,  as  having  jurisdiction  in  the  colony, 
instead  of  the  Bishop  of  London.  A  measure  of  ecclesiastical  authority 
appears  to  have  been  designated  by  successive  sovereigns  to  the  in- 
cumbent of  the  See  of  London  from  the  early  days  of  discovery  and 
colonization,  when  the  zeal  of  the  prelate  filling  that  bishopric  was 
naturally  excited  in  behalf  of  the  adventurers  setting  forth  for  the  New 
World,  from  the  docks  and  ship-yards  of  the  Thames.  Until  as  late  as 
1675  the  Committee  of  the  Plantations  was  doubtful  as  to  the  extent 
of  this  power,  and  the  bishop  judged  that  his  duties  were  merely 
ministerial,  "the  plantations  being  no  part  of  his  diocese,  nor  had  he 
any  authority  to  act  there."  After  the  accession  of  James  the  Second, 
in  April,  1685,  Dr.  Henry  Compton,  then  filling  the  See  of  London, 
was,  at  his  own  request,  specially  authorized  by  the  king  to  exercise 
"  all  ecclesiastical  jurisdiction  on  the  plantations,"  including  the  licens- 
ing of  school-masters  going  thither  from  England.  In  view  of  this 
delegation  of  authority,  the  "  Instructions "  to  the  various  colonial 
governors,  issued  or  approved  by  the  crown,  clearly  recognized  this 
authority.  But  Dr.  Compton  incurred  the  displeasure  of  the  king,  by 
opposing  the  abrogation  of  the  Test  Act,  and  was  removed  from  the 
Privy  Council  in  1686.  It  was  on  this  account  that  the  royal  "  Instruc- 
tions "  to  Colonel  Dongan  ordered  that  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury, 
and  not  the  Bishop  of  London,  should  have  jurisdiction  in  all  ecclesi- 
astical matters  in  the  province  of  New  York.  Subsequently,  with  a 
change  of  dynasty,  there  was  a  return  to  the  old  custom ;  and,  as  in 
the  judgment  of  the  attorney  and  solicitor-general,  "  the  authority  by 
which  the  Bishops  of  London  had  acted  in  the  Plantations  was  insuffi- 

'  New  York  Col.  Doc,  m.,  p.  372.  '  BrodUead's  "  Hist,  of  New  York,"  u.,  p.  454. 


BEGINNINGS   OF   THE   CHURCH   IN   NEW   YORK. 


155 


cient,"  as  it  had  proceeded  simply  from  the  royal  instructions,  from 
time  to  time,  and,  legally,  the  monarch  could  delegate  his  supreme 
ecclesiastical  jurisdiction  only  by  his  patent  under  the  great  seal, 
such  a  patent  was,  in  February,  1727,  given  to  Bishop  Edmund  Gib- 
son, and  another  in  April  of  the  following  year.^  It  is  interesting  to 
note,  in  passing,  that  owing  to  differences  arising  between  the  arch- 
bishop and  the  king,  the  superinteudency  of  Sancroft  over  the  colonies 
in  ecclesiastical  affairs  was  but  short-lived,  and  the  king  ordered  "that 
the  ecclesiastical  jurisdiction  in  the  Plantations  "  should  be  exercised 
by  the  Bishops  of  Durham,  Eochester,  and  Peterboi'ough,  who  admin- 


THE    FOKT    AND    CHAPEL,    OLD    NEW    YORK. 


istered  the  See  of  London,  in  commission,  during  the  suspension  of 
Comptou.^ 

In  the  humble  chapel  within  Fort  James,  New  York,  the  Rev. 
Alexander  Inues  succeeded  Mr.  Clarke,  as  the  "orthodox"  chaplain 
of  the  garrison.  Mr.  Innes's  commission  bears  date  of  April  20, 
1686.^  The  population  of  New  York  was  now  about  eighteen  thousand, 
and  yet  the  straitened  chapel  of  the  fort  was  the  only  place  of  worship 
possessed  by  the  Establishment,  and  a  garrison  chaplain  was  the  only 
one  in  holy  orders  to  minister  the  word  and  sacraments  to  the  small 
number  of  Englishmen  who  had  come  to  this  portion  of  the  New 
World.  Colonel  Dongan  writes,  in  1687,  "here  bee  not  many  of  the 
Church  of  England;"*  and  states  that  for  the  "seven  years  last  past," 


» Vide  an  interestintj  foot-note  in  Bi'Otlliead'3 
"  Hist,  of  New  York,"  u.,  p.  45(i. 
'Jbid.,  n.,  pp.  456,  457. 


'  Book  of  Deeds,  vnr.,  pp.  13,  31,  39,  quoted 
'N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,"  III.,  p.  415. 
«  N.Y.  Col.  Docs.,  m.,  p.  415. 


156  HISTORY   OF  THE   AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

there  had  not  come  over  into  the  province  "twenty  English,  Scotch, 
or  Irish  familys."^  Still  there  was  need  of  a  church  in  New  York,  as 
we  learn  from  the  same  authority.  "  The  Great  Churcii  which  serves 
both  the  English  and  the  Dutcli  is  within  the  Fort  which  is  found  to 
bee  very  inconvenient.  Therefore  I  desire  that  there  may  bee  an 
order  for  their  building  another,  ground  Ijeing  layd  out  for  that  pur- 
pose and  they  wanting  not  money  in  Store  where  wth  all  to  build  it."^ 
The  prevailing  religious  opinion  of  the  inhabitants  was  "  that  of  the 
Dutch  Calvinists."  There  were  few  Eoman  Catholics  ;  abundance  of 
Quaker-preachers,  men  and  women  especially ;  singing  Quakers ; 
ranting  Quakers  ;  Sabbatarians  ;  Anti-Sabbatarians  ;  some  Anabap- 
tists ;  "some  Independents  ;  some  Jews  ;  in  short,  of  all  sorts  of  opinion 
there  are  some,  and  the  most  part,  of  none  at  all."^  The  observing 
governor  reported  that  it  was  the  endeavor  of  all  "  to  bring  up  their 
children  and  servants  in  that  opinion  which  themselves  profess ;  but 
this  I  observe  that  the.y  take  no  care  of  the  conversion  of  their  slaves. 
It  was,  so  far  as  "the  king's  natural-born  subjects"  were  concerned, 
"a  hard  task  to  make  them  pay  their  ministers."^  This  was  the  testi- 
mony of  a  Romanist,  who,  under  the  instructions  of  a  Roman  Catholic 
king,  was  busying  himself  in  "  establishing  "  the  Church  of  England 
in  a  province  where  the  prevailing  opinion  was  that  of  the  Calvinists 
of  Holland.  The  fort  that  held  the  jointly  occupied  chapel,  in  which 
the  Dutch  and  English  worshipped,  liad  also  its  Romish  oi'atory,  with 
its  altar  and  "images  ;"  and  the  "two  Romish  priests,  Fathers  Thomas 
Harve}'  and  Heurj^  Harrison,  that  attended  on  Governor  Dongan,  said 
mass  thei'e,  while  one  of  the  two,  or  else  the  third,  of  the  number, 
Charles  Gage,  taught  the  Latin  school,  which  Jameson  had  relinquished, 
and  which  Dongan  sought  to  influence  the  monarch  to  endow  with  the 
"  King's  Farm."  *  On  his  expeditions  the  governor  was  attended  by 
Chaplain  Innes  and  Father  Harrison,  and,  with  characteristic  impartial- 
ity, while  openly  seeking  to  replace  the  French  Jesuit  Fathers,  who  were 
Christianizing  the  Indians  in  the  interest  of  France,  Avith  English  mis- 
sionaries who  would  labor  in  the  interest  of  their  own  country,  he  re- 
ports to  his  superiors  at  home  that  the  French  pi-iests  "  make  religion 
a  stalking-horse  to  their  pretence."® 

The  king  was  seeking  to  establish  the  supremacy  of  England  in 
the  New  World  by  opposing  to  the  unity  of  the  French  in  Canada 
the  consolidation,  so  far  as  was  possible  and  needful,  of  all  the  North 
American  possessions  of  Great  Britain  under  one  vice-regal  rule.  To 
this  end  Andros  had  unified  the  independent  and  often  jarring 
colonial  governments  of  New  England.  The  monarch  next  proposed 
to  add  New  York,  and  East  and  West  Jersey,  which  had  just  been  sur- 
rendered by  the  Crown,  to  the  "  Dominion  of  New  England,"  thus  con- 
solidating the  colonies  north  of  the  fortieth  degree  of  latitude  with  the 
single  exception  of  Pennsylvania.  It  would  have  been  antecedently 
proba))le  that  the  chosen  viceroy  of  James  would  have  been  Governor 
Dongan.    Of  noble  birth,  a  nephe\\'  of  Tyrconnell  and  heir-presumptive 

1  N.Y.  Col.  Docs.,  III.,  p.  399.  '  /in/.,  p.  415. 

' Ibid.,  p.  i\5.  ■  '•Brodheacl,  11.,  p.  487. 

a  Hid.  <^  IMil,  p.  495. 


BEGINNINGS   OK   THE   CHUKCII    IN   NEW   YORK. 


157 


it  is  no  slight 


to  the  Earl  of  Liiuerick,  and,  besides,  an  Msh  Romanist, 
proof  of  the  astuteness  of  the  king  that,  with  these  recomuiendations 
to  favor,  Dongan  was  passed  by,  and  Andros,  a  strong,  uncompromising 
churchman,  conmiissioned  Governor-General  of  His  Majesty's    whole 


SIR    EDMUND    ANDROS. 


"  Territory  and  Dominion  in  New  England."  '  In  the  "  Instructions  " 
given  to  the  representative  of  the  crown  nothing  appears  about  the 
ecclesiastical  jurisdiction  of  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  or  the 
Bishop  of  London  in  the  Anglo-American  province.  This  had  been 
carefully  provided  for  in  June,  1686  ;  but  the  "Defender  of  the  Faith," 
the   temporal  head  of  the  Church  of  England,  was  now  seeking  to 

'  Brodhe.id,  II.,  p.  501. 


158 


HISTORY  OF  THE   AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 


bring  about  the  subversion  of  the  church  he  had  sworn  to  protect. 
The  change  of  governor  was  not  unacceptable,  especially  to  those  who 
had  been  troubled  at  the  influx  of  Papists  in  New  York,  "under  the 
smiles "  of  the  governor.  Domine  Selyns  wrote  to  the  classis  at 
Amsterdam,  with  evident  satisfaction  and  pride,  that  "  Sir  Edmund 
Andros,  Governor  at  Boston,  and  the  like,  and  now  stepped  into 
this  government  of  New  York  and  Jersey, — as  such  having  charge 
from  Canada  to  Pennsylvania,  —  is  of  the  Church  of  England  ;  and, 
understanding  and  speaking  the  Low  Dutch  and  French,  he  attends 
service  and  Mr.  Daille's  preaching."'  At  the  same  time  it  would  not 
be  fair  to  the  superseded  Dongan  not  to  note  the  testimony  borne  to 
him  by  the  Puritan  Hinckley,  Governor  of  Plymouth,  that  he  "  showed 
himself  of  a  noble,  praiseworthy  mind  and  spirit,  taking  care  that  all 
the  people  in  each  town  do  their  duty  in  maintaining  the  minister  of 
the  place,  though  himself  of  a  diflering  opinion  from  their  way."^ 

Andros  being  called  to  Boston  "  to  prevent  a  second  Indian  war," 
Francis  Nicholson,  his  deputy,  was  left  in  command  at  New  York. 
Work  was  begun  on  the  fort,  where  the  artisans  had 
shown  "  great  joy,"  on  the  arrival  of  Andros,  be- 
cause they  were  delivered  from  a  "Papist  Gov- 
ernor," and  had  Nicholson  as  deputy  at  the  fort, 
whom  they  relied  upon  to  "  defend  and  establish 
the  true  religion."  The  Eomish  chapel  and 
"  images  "  provided  by  Dongan  were  in  danger ; 
but  Nicholson,  animated  by  the  same  spirit  that 
had  led  his  chief  to  respect  the  altar  and  emblems 
of  the  faith  of  the  Baron  Castine  on  the  coast  of 
Maine,  ordered  the  workmen  to  assist  the  priest, 
who  had  assumed  the  nom  deplume  of  John  Smith, 
to  remove  the  sacred  emblems  and  furniture  to  a  better  room  in  the 
fort,  and  to  arrange  everything  for  him  "according  to  his  will." 

In  the  midst  of  the  gradual  settlement  of  State  and  Church  in  the 
colonies  news  came  of  the  fall  of  James,  and  the  accession  of  Wilham 
and  Mary  to  the  throne  of  England.  In  New  York  the  dramatic  epi- 
sode of  Leisler's  usurpation  and  overthrow  marked  the  change  from 
one  dynasty  to  another.  In  the  mass  of  papers  still  extant,  relating 
to  Leisler  and  his  administration,  we  catch  occasional  glimpses  of  the 
Church  and  its  representatives.  Chaplain  Innes  was  naturally  accused 
by  the  fanatical  adherents  of  Leisler  of  being  a  Papist. •*  An  affidavit 
was  prepared,  wherein  Peter  Godfrey  and  Henry  Carmer  deposed 
"  concerning  the  person  and  behaviour  of  the  Minister  Alexander  Enis, 
by  outward  pretence  a  Protestant,  but  in  effect  a  meere  Papist,  whoe 
deceitfully  has  provided  him  with  a  certificat  of  the  Ministers  of  the 
Dutch  and  French  Church,  as  if  he  was  a  true  Protestant."  ^  Leisler 
himself  addressed  the  king  and  queen  to  the  effect  that"M^  Ennis,  the 
late  English  Minister,  lately  departed  from  the  place  with  testimony 
of  the  Dutch  and  French  Ministers,  has  since  been  known  to  be  of 
opinion  contrary  to  our  religion,  whereof  I  have  testimony  in  good 


AKMS    OP  ANDROS. 


•  Broelhead's  N.  Y.,  Q.,  pp.  515,  516. 
=  Ibid.,  II.,  p.  516. 


•New  York  Col.  Docs.,  lu.,  p. 610. 
» Ibid.,  p.  630. 


BEGINNINGS   OF  THE   CHURCH  IN  NEW  YORK.  159 

forme."  '  Addressing  the  Bishop  of  Salisbury,  Dr.  Burnet,  Leisler 
.asserts  that  "one  Francis  Nicolson,  Lieu'.  Gov'',"  " together  with  M^ 
Innis  the  pretended  protestant  Minister,  and  their  accomplices,  sent  to 
England  a  formal  submission  to  their  Majesties  Government  notwith- 
standing which  in  their  Assembly  they  did  continue  praying  for  the 
Prince  of  Wales,  and  that  God  would  give  K.  James  victory  over  his 
enemies."^  Nor  was  this  all.  In  examining  Capt.  McKenzie,  who  had 
openly  defied  the  usurper's  authority,  Leisler  asserted  that  the  accused 
was  "  Popishly  affected."  The  captain's  answer  cannot  be  better  told 
than  in  his  own  words  :  — 

I  answered  tbiit  is  not  true,  I  am  as  much  a  protestant  as  you  or  any  man  in 
the  country ;  why,  said  he,  have  T  not  heard  you  call  Father  Smith  ^  a  very  good 
man  ?  Yes,  replyed  I,  and  so  I  do  still ;  he  is  a  very  good-humoured  man,  but  I 
never  called  him  so  because  he  was  a  Papist,  and  1  was  so  far  from  haveing  any 
friendship  for  his  principles  that  in  all  the  six  years  I  had  known  New  YorkI  never 
so  much  as  out  of  curiosity  looked  into  their  Chappell.  He  told  me  I  kept  with 
D^  Innes,  I  went  to  hear  him,  and  prayed  with  him  and  that  he  was  a  Papist.  I 
replyed,  that  is  not  ti'ue.  He  then  told  me  that  one  had  sworne  it.  I  told  him  I  will 
not  believe  it  if  ten  of  them  should  sweare  it,  but  not  one  word  of  your  honour  ■*  all 
the  while,  but  after  a  great  deal  of  their  discourse  which  what  I  liked  not  I  always 
contradicted,  he  at  last  said  I  mi^ht  call  him  wliat  I  pleased,  he  would  Pray  God 
to  bless  me,  and  then  I  prayed  God  might  bless  him.  in  which  holy  sort  of  conipl em' 
we  continued  a  pretty  while  and  at  last  said  he  would  never  do  me  any  prejudice, 
and  I  made  answer  after  the  same  manner,  and  so  was  dismissed  very  civilly,  which 
I  very  much  wonder  at. 

The  lieutenant-governor  and  chaplain  reached  England  before 
Leisler's  emissary  arrived.  The  latter  was  at  a  further  disadvantage 
in  view  of  the  loss  of  the  voluminous  "  packetts  "  which  had  been  taken 
by  the  French.  This  enabled  the  refugees,  in  Leisler's  words,  "  not 
only  to  show  a  fair  face  of  so  ill  a  cause,  Init  to  render  it  in  an  other 
shape  than  in  truth  it  is."  Foiled  in  his  attempt  to  secure  the  royal 
confirmation  for  his  usurpation,  mainly  by  the  representations  of 
Nicholson  and  Innes,^  the  reign  of  Leisler  was  shortly  afterwards 
ignominiously  terminated.  Colonel  Sloughter  received  his  "  In- 
structions" for  his  new  appointment  on  the  31st  of  January,  1690. 
The  former  orders  respecting  tlio  Church  \vere  renewed.^  The  Bishop 
of  London  again  appears  as  the  Diocesan  of  the  Colonial  Church,  certi- 
fying ministers  and  licensing  school-masters.  Liberty  of  conscience 
granted  to  all  by  King  James  was  renewed  Ijy  his  successors  with  the 
exclusion  of  "papists."  The  "Book  of  Common  Prayer"  was  to  be 
read  and  the  "  blessed  Sacrament "  administered  according  to  the  rites 
of  the  Church  of  England  in  the  province,  which  at  the  time  these  in- 
structions were  given  had  neither  a  clergyman  nor  a  church.  The 
Church  was  thus  "  established  "  anew,  so  far  as  royal  authority  could 
do  it,  among  former  subjects  of  Holland,  by  the  Dutch  Stadtholder  as 
King  of  England.  Sloughter,  on  his  arrival,  made  the  establishment 
of  religion  an  object  of  special  care.     On  the  18th  of  April,  1691,  the 

>  New  York  Col.  Docs.,  in.,  p.  616.  cisi  Nicholson.    The    whole  is   in    "N.Y.  Col. 

Tbid.,  p.  655.  Docs,"  nr.,  pp.  612-614. 

"  One  of  the  Jesuit  Fathers.  '•  Brodhcad's  "  Hist,  of  New  York,"  ii.,  p. 

*  The  letter  of  McKenzie,  from  which  this  696. 

extract  is  taken,  was  addiessed  to  Lt.-Gov.  Fran-  "  New  York  Col.  Does.,  ii.,  p.  688. 


o 


160  HISTORY  OF  THE   AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

Assembly,  on  the  recommendation  of  the  governor  to  introduce  a  "  bill 
for  settling  the  Ministry  and  alloting  a  maintenance  for  them  in  each 
respective  City  and  Town  within  the  Province,  that  consists  of  Forty 
Families  and  upwards,"  instructed  the  attorney-general  to  prepare  the 
bill.  The  act,  as  reported  on  the  1st  of  May,  was  rejected,^  "  as  not 
answering  the  intention  of  the  House."  The  occasion  of  this  action  on 
the  part  of  the  Assembly  was,  doubtless,  that  the  draft,  as  reported  by 
the  attorney-general,  provided  for  the  establishment  of  the  Church  of 
England  in  conformity  with  the  governor's  "  Instructions."  The 
death  of  Sloughter  left  the  matter  in  alieyance. 

On  the  23d  of  August,  1692,  the  Assembly  ordered  that  a  bill  be 
drawn  for  the  better  observance  of  the  Lord's  day,  and  that  each 
respective  town  within  the  province  have  a  minister  or  reader  to 
read  divine  service.  On  the  arrival  of  Colonel  Benjamin  Fletcher, 
with  "Instructions"  similar  to  those  of  his  predecessor,  the  settle- 
ment of  the  ministry  and  church  was  strongly  urged  by  him  upon 
the  attention  of  the  Assembly.  The  House  took  up  the  matter  with 
evident  reluctance,  and  the  session  came  to  u  close  without  any  satis- 
factoiy  action  in  the  matter.  A  sharp  rebuke  from  the  governor 
failed  to  secure  any  other  result.  On  the  coming  together  of  the  new 
Assembly,  in  September,  1693,  the  governor,  who  was  an  ardent 
churchman,  so  strongly  urged  action  that  the  subject  could  not  be 
longer  overlooked.  A  "Bill  for  settling  the  Ministry  and  raising  a 
Maintenance  for  them,"  was  reported  on  the  19th,  passed  two  readings, 
and  was  referred.  On  the  21st  it  was  adopted  as  amended,  and  trans- 
mitted by  the  governor.  The  following  day  Colonel  Fletcher  and  the 
council  returned  the  bill  with  a  proposed  amendment,  requiring  the 
minister,  when  called  by  the  wardens  and  vestry,  to  be  presented  to 
the  governor,  agreeably  to  his  insti'uctions,  for  approval  and  collation. 
To  this  the  House  replied,  "  that  they  could  not  agree  thereto,  and  pray 
that  it  may  pass  without  that  amendment,  having,  in  drawing  up  the 
bill,  due  regard  to  the  pious  intent  of  settling  a  ministry  for  the 
benefit  of  the  people."^  The  governor  replied  with  warmth  to  this 
very  respectful,  and,  in  view  of  the  lack  of  clergy  and  churches  of  the 
English  communion,  not  unreasonable  request ;  and,  although  referring 
to  his  right  to  collate  to,  or  suspend  from,  any  l)euefice  the  clergyman 
who  might  be  chosen,  still  signed  the  bill.  This  act  of  September  22, 
1693,  did  not,  however,  in  express  terms  establish  the  Church  of 
England.  It  provided  that  a  good,  sufficient  Protestant  minister,  to 
officiate  and  have  the  cure  of  souls,  should  be  called,  inducted,  and 
established  within  a  year  in  the  city  and  county  of  New  York,  one  in 
Richmond,  two  in  Westchester,  and  the  same  number  in  Queen's  ;  that 
New  York  and  Westchester  should  each  raise  £100  for  the  maintenance 
of  their  respective  ministers ;  that  ten  vestrymen  and  two  church  war- 
dens should  be  annually  chosen  by  all  the  freeholders,  and  that  the 
wardens  should  pay  the  ministers'  stipend  in  quarterly  instalments. 

Under  this  act  the  Rev.  John  Miller,  chaplain  to  the  troops  in  the 
fort,  and  the  sole  church  clergyman  in  the  colony,  who  had  arrived 

» Journals  of  the  Assembly,  quoted  in  "  Hist.  '  Smith's  "  Hist,  of  New  York,"  I.,  p.  130. 

Mag.,"  v.,  p.  l.')4. 


BEGINNINGS   OF  THE   CHURCH   IN   NEW   YOliK.  161 

the  year  of  its  passage,  claimed,  the  following  February,  1694,  to  be 
inducted  into  the  "living"  of  New  york.  In  this  view  the  governor 
seems  to  have  coincided  ;  but  the  council  refused  to  allow  the  claim, 
and  Miller  failed  to  secure  recognition  as  the  first  minister  of  Trinity. 
It  is  prolmble  that  Miller  remained  in  New  York  until  June,  1695, 
when,  "obliged  by  several  weightj'  motives,"  to  return  to  England,  he 
was  captured  on  his  homeward  voyage  by  a  French  privateer.  He 
destroyed  his  papers  lest  they  "  should  have  given  intelligence  to  an 
enemy  to  the  ruiue  of  the  province  ;  "  but  on  his  return  he  published 
his  recollections  of  his  experiences  in  New  York  to  testify  his  earnest 
desire  "  to  promote  the  glory  of  God,  the  service  of  his  sovereign, 
and  the  benefit  of  his  country."  These  recollections,  printed  in 
London,  and  dedicated  to  the  Lord  Bishop  of  London,  contain  the 
assertion  that,  of  the  "  several  chaplains  successive  to  one  another," 
"  some  have  not  carried  themselves  as  to  Ije,  and  that  deservedly,  without 
blame."  Miller  urged  as  a  means  for  "  the  settlement  and  improvement 
of  religion  and  unity,"  the  conversion  of  the  Indians  and  the  conquest  of 
Canada  ;  "  that  his  Majesty  will  graciously  please  to  send  over  a  Bishop 
to  the  Province  of  New  York."  The  plan  contemplated  the  charging  the 
bishop,  who  was  to  be  a  suflragan  to  the  Bishop  of  London,  with  the 
secular  government  of  New  York.  Contributions  for  the  building  of 
a  church  at  New  York  were  suggested.  The  revenue  of  the  New 
England  Society  for  the  conversion  of  the  Indians  was  to  be  ex- 
pended under  the  bishop's  direction.  The  "King's  Farm"  was  to  be 
assigned  to  him  "  for  a  seat  for  himself  and  successors  ;  which  though 
at  present  a  very  ordinary  thing,  yet  will  it  admit  of  considerable 
improvement."  "Five  or  six  sober  young  ministers,  with  Bibles  and 
Prayer  Books,  and  other  things  convenient  for  churches,"  Avere  to  be 
brought  over  with  the  bishop,  who,  with  "these  powers,  qualifications, 
and  supplies,  would,  "in  a  short  time  (through  God's  assistance),  be 
able  to  make  a  great  progi'ess  in  the  settlement  of  religion  and  the 
correction  of  vice." 

While  the  quondam  chaplain  was  thus  planning  and  publishing  his 
visionary  schemes  for  the  introduction  of  bishops  as  pioneers  of  the 
Church  in  America,  the  Assembly  Act  went  into  force,  and  wardens 
and  vestrymen  were  elected.  In  1695,  on  the  12th  of  April,  the  five 
church-wardens  and  vestrymen  of  New  York  applied  to  the  Assembly 
to  know  whether  they  could  call  a  dissenting  minister ;  and  the  Assem- 
bly gave  it  as  their  opinion  that  they  could.  In  the  meantime  the 
churchmen,  under  the  encouragement  of  Governor  Fletcher,  began 
to  take  steps  to  oi'ganize  and  build  a  church  on  ground  they  had  se- 
cured.^ On  the  6th  of  May,  1697,  Caleb  Heathcote,  and  others, 
"present  managers  of  the  afiairs  of  the  Church  of  England  in  the  Citty 
of  New  York  "  petitioned  the  governor  for  a  charter.     This  petition- 

1  Vide  "  Petition  foi-  leave  to  parchase  ground  were    The:  Clarke,  Robert  Lui-ting,  Jeremiah 

for  an  Englisli  Church  in  New  Yorlt."  —  Doc.  Tothiil,  Caleb  Heathcote,  James  Evetts,  Will: 

Hut.  of  New  }'ori-,  III.,  p.  407-   The  petitiouers  Moms,  Ebenez'Willsou,  Will  MeiTet,Ja.Emott, 

asked  a  license  "  to  purchase  a  small  piece  of  R.  Ashfield.    License  was  also  gi*auted  by  the 

land  lyeing  without  the  north  gate  of  the  said  governor  for  "  the  s^  managers  "  to  collect  funds 

citty  hehind  the  King's  Garden  and  the  buiyin^  for  building  the  church.  —  Aid.,  p.  408. 
place,  and  to  hold  the  same  on  moitmain  and  -  This  petition  is  given  in  full  in  the  "  Doc. 

thereon  to  build  the  said  church."    The  signers  Hist,  of  New  York,"  HI.,  pp.  409,  410. 


162  HISTORY   OF   THE   AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

recites  the  action  of  the  Assembly  in  1693,  that  there  shall  be  a  "  Prot- 
estant minister  to  officiate  and  have  the  care  of  soules  in  the  said  city ;  " 
that  there  was  then  "  no  publick  church  or  building  "  for  "  the  publique 
worship  and  service  of  God  according  to  the  Church  of  England ;  " 
and  that  the  petitioners  have  "  built  a  church  and  covered  the  same ;  " 
they,  therefore,  pray  to  be  incorporated  with  the  powers  and  privi- 
leges usually  appertaining  to  the  churches  of  the  Establishment,  and 
ask  the  application  of  the  maintenance  voted  in  the  Act  of  the  Assem- 
bly of  1693,  for  their  minister's  support,  and  also  that  they  may  have 
a  grant  of  land  near  the  church.  This  petition  was  granted  by  the 
council,  and  it  was  ordered  that  a  "  warr'  issue  for  the  drawing  of  their 
charter  of  incorporation,  the  quit-rent  to  be  one  pepper-corne  as  de- 
sired."^ On  the  same  day  the  governor  issued  a  charter  in  the  name 
of  the  king  which  applied  the  Assembly  Act  of  1693  to  the  Church 
of  England,  incorporated  the  wardens  and  vestrymen  of  Trinity, 
granted  the  land  prayed  for,  and  constituted  "the  said  Church,  and 
Cemetery,  or  Church-yard,  situate,  lying,  and  being  within  the  said  City 
of  New  York  as  aforesaid  "  to  "  be  the  sole  and  only  parish  church, 
and  church-yard  of  our  said  city  of  New  York."  The  charter  then 
proceeds:  "And  our  Eoyal  Pleasure  is,  and  we,  by  these  presents, 
do  declare  That  the  said  Rector  of  the  said  Parish  Church,  is  a  good, 
sufficient  Protestant  Minister,  according  to  the  true  Intent  and  Mean- 
ing of  the  said  Act  of  Assembly,  made  on  the  aforesaid  Fifth  Year 
of  our  Reign,  entitled  'An  act  for  the  settling  of  the  Ministry,  &c.,' 
and  as  such  we  do  further  of  our  like  special  Grace,  give,  grant,  ratify, 
endow,  appropriate  and  confirm  unto  the  said  Rector  of  the  Parish 
of  Trinity  Church,  within  our  said  City  of  New  York,  and  his  Suc- 
cessors for  ever,  the  aforesaid  Yearly  Maintenance  of  One  Hundred 
Pound,  directed  by  the  said  Act  of  Assembly  to  be  yearly  laid,  assessed 
and  paid  unto  the  said  sufficient  Protestant  Minister,  for  his  Yearly 
Maintenance,  to  HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD  the  said  Yearly  ]\Iain- 
tenance  of  One  Hundred  Pound  aforesaid,  unto  him  the  said  Rector 
of  the  Parish  of  Trinity  Church  within  our  said  City  of  Ne.w  York, 
and  his  Successors,  to  the  sole  and  only  proper  Use,  Benefit,  and  Be- 
hoof of  him  the  said  Rector  of  the  Parish  of  Trinity  Church  within 
our  said  City  of  New  York,  and  his  Successors  forever." ^  The  rector 
named  in  this  "  royal  Charter  "  was  the  Bishop  of  London,  Dr.  Henry 
Compton,  son  of  the  Earl  of  Northampton,  and  one  of  the  leading 
bishops  of  his  time.  It  is  even  now  a  matter  of  surpi'ise  that  this  act 
of  the  royal  governor,  practically  and  effectually  estalilishing  the 
Church  in  the  City  of  New  York  against  the  evident  intention  and  will 
of  the  assembly,  should  have  been  carried  through  without  eliciting  a 
protest  or  even  occasioning  surprise.  By  the  tacit  consent  of  the 
governor,  and  evidently  without  questioning  on  the  part  of  those  con- 
cerned, the  church-wardens  and  vestrymen  to  be  elected  by  the  free- 
holders of  the  city  in  accordance  with  the  provision  of  the  Act  of  the 
Assembly  of  1693  were  superseded  by,  and  found  their  powers  vested 

1  Council  MiQutes,  quoted  in  "  Doc.  Hist,  of  -  The  Cliartei-  of  Trinity  Churcli  in  the  city 

New  York,"  iii.,  p.  410.  of  New  York,  1788,  pp.  17,  18. 


BEGINNINGS   Ob'   THK   CHURCH  IN  NEW  YORK.  163 

in,  the  church-wardens  and  vestrymen  of  Trinity  Church,  elected  by 
those  in  communion  with  the  Church  of  England  alone. 


At  the  time  of  the  Rev.  John  Miller's  chaplaincy  in  New  York 
there  was  "at  Hampstead,  in  Queen's  County,"  as  minister,  a  "^li'. 


164  HISTORY   OF  THE   AMERICAN  EPISCOP^VX  CHURCH. 

Vesey,"  a  graduate  of  Harvard  College,  in  1693,  "without  auy 
orders."  If  we  ma}'  believe  Lord  Bellomout,  Vesey,  who  was  a  native 
of  Massachusetts,  was  the  son  of  a  Jacobite,  who  had  been  pilloried  at 
Boston  for  his  adherence  to  the  cause  of  the  House  of  Stuart.  Called, 
as  it  would  appear  by  the  church-wardens  and  vestrymen  of  New 
York,  under  the  Assembly's  interpretation  of  the  act  of  1693,  per- 
mitting their  choice  of  a  dissenting  minister,  Mr.  Vesey,  who  was  a 
popular  preacher  of  the  day,  was  induced,  probably  by  the  influence 
of  the  governor,  to  conform  to  the  Church  of  England.  He  went 
to  Boston,  and  on  the  26th  of  July,  1696,  the  observing  annalist, 
Sewall,  records  :  "  Mr.  Vesey  preached  at  the  Church  of  England  ;  had 
manj'  auditors.  He  was  spoken  to  preach  for  Mr.  Willard ;  but  am 
told  this  will  procure  him  a  discharge."  This  was  while  he  was  still 
"  without  any  orders,"  to  quote  Chaplain  Miller's  phrase.  He  received 
the  Holy  Communion  at  the  King's  Chapel  in  Boston,  and  on  the 
granting  of  the  royal  charter  to  Trinity  Church,  the  vestrj'  "  having 
read  a  certificate,  under  the  hand  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Samuel  Myles, 
Minister  of  the  Church  of  England  in  Boston,  in  New  England,  and 
Mr.  Gyles  Dyer,  and  Mr.  Benjamin  Mountfort,  church-wardens  of  the 
said  church,  of  the  learning  and  education,  and  of  the  pious,  sober, 
and  religious  behavior  and  conversation  of  Mr.  AYilliam  Vesey,  and 
of  his  often  being  a  communicant  —  the  receiving  of  the  most  holy 
sacrament  —  in  said  church,"  called  him  "  to  officiate  and  have  the 
cure  of  souls  in  New  York."^  He  went  to  England  for  orders  in 
1697,  and  then  began  a  useful  and  honored  ministry  in  New  York,  ex- 
tending for  nearly  a  half  century.  Keith,  in  his  journal,  tells  us  that 
Vesey  "was  very  much  esteemed  and  loved,  both  for  his  ministry  and 
good  life."  For  many  years  he  was  the  commissary  of  the  Bishop 
of  London,  and  throughout  a  life  of  active  service  of  the  cause  and 
Church  of  Christ  he  lived  without  reproach. 

The  erection  of  a  church  at  New  York  called  forth  the  benefac- 
tions of  many  pious  and  distinguished  churchmen  on  both  sides  of  the 
ocean.  The  great  Bible  and  other  books  were  given  by  Governor 
Fletcher.  The  Bishop  of  London  sent  over  l)y  the  Earl  of  Bellomont 
"a  parcel  of  books  of  divinity."  "Paving  stones"  were  given  by  the 
Lord  Bishop  of  Bristol.  Lord  Cornburj'  bestowed  "a black  cloth  pall 
on  condition  that  no  person  dying  and  belonging  to  Forte  Ann  should 
be  deny'd  the  use  thereof,  gratis."  His  Lordship  also  presented  the 
prayei'-books  and  the  first  part  of  his  aucestoi-s'  history  of  the  Great 
Rebellion.  The  "  communion  plate  and  furniture  "  was  secured  through 
the  Bishop  of  London,  and  among  the  first  purchases  ordered  by  the 
vestry  were  "  two  surplices  and  ten  common  prayer-books  for  Trinity 
Church." 

Thus  was  the  Church  introduced  into  the  province,  and  from  this 
beginning  there  was  at  once  a  rapid  development.  Early  in  the 
following  century  we  have  "  a  summary  account  of  the  state  of  the 
Church  in  the  province  of  New  York,  as  it  was  laid  before  the  clergy 
convened  October  5,  1704,  at  New  York,  by  the  appointment  of  His 

'  Foote's  "Annals  of  Kinjr's  Cliapel,"  i.,  p.  120. 


BEGINNINGS   OF   THE   CHURCH   IN   NEW   YORK.  1G5 

Excellency  Edward  Lord  Cornl)ury  and  Colonel  Francis  Nicholson,' 
which  we  append  to  the  chapter  as  indicating  the  strides  made  i)y  the 
Church  under  the  favoring  influences  of  the  Royal  governor  and  others 
high  in  station  and  influence. 

The  history  of  Old  Trinity,  and  incidentally  the  annals  of  the  prog- 
ress of  the  Church  in  New  York,  will  be  given  elsewhere.  We  turn 
to  notice  the  introduction  of  the  Church  into  New  Jersey. 

In  the  year  1700  Colonel  Lewis  Morris  addressed  a  memorial 
to  the  authorities  at  home  "  concerning  the  state  of  religion  in  the 
Jerseys."  "The  pi'ovince  of  East  Jersey  has  in  it  ten  towns,  viz.  : 
Middletown,  Freehold,  Amboy,  Piscataway,  and  Woodbridge,  Eliza- 
beth Town,  Newark,  Aquechenonck  and  Bergen ;  and  I  judge  in  the  whole 
province  there  may  l)c  about  eight  thousand  souls.  These  towns  are 
not  like  the  towns  in  England,  the  houses  built  close  together  on  a 
small  spot  of  ground,  but  they  include  large  portions  of  the  country 
of  from  four,  live,  eight,  ten,  twelve,  fifteen  miles  in  length,  and  as 
much  in  breadth.  .  .  .  These  towns  and  the  whole  province  was  peo- 
pled mostly  from  the  adjacent  colonies  of  New  York  and  New  England, 
and  generally  by  persons  of  very  narrow  fortunes,  andsuchas  could  not 
well  subsist  in  the  places  they  left.  And  if  such  persons  could  brino- 
any  religion  with  them  it  was  that  of  the  country  they  came  from." 
At  Elizabeth  Town  and  Newark  there  were  "some  few  Churchmen." 
Perth  Amboy,  "  the  capital  city,  was  settled  from  Europe,  and  we  have 
made  a  shift  to  patch  up  the  old  ruinous  [court]  house  and  make  a  church 
of  it,  and  when  all  the  Churchmen  of  the  province  are  got  together  we 
make  up  about  twelve  communicants."  In  Freehold  was  a  Keithian 
Congregation,  "  most  endurable  to  the  Church."  In  West  Jersey  the 
number  of  Quakers  had  "  much  decreased  since  Mr.  Keith  left  them. 
In  Pennsylvania,  which  was  "  settled  by  people  of  all  languages  and 
religions  of  Europe,"  "the  Church  of  England  gains  ground;  "and 
"  most  of  the  Quakers  that  came  out  with  Mr.  Keith  are  come  over  to 
it."  "The  youth  of  that  country  are  like  those  in  the  neighboring 
Provinces,  very  debauch'  and  ignorant."  The  measures  suggested  by 
Colonel  Mon-is  " for  bringing  o\er  to  the  Church  the  people  in  the 
Countrys,"  were  the  appointment  of  no  one  "but  a  pious  Churchman  "  as 
governor,  and  confining,  if  possible,  the  membership  of  the  council  and 
magistracy  to  churchmen ;  the  granting  of  "  some  peculiar  privilege 
above  others  "  to  churchmen  by  act  of  Parliament ;  the  adoption  of 
measures  "  to  get  ministers  to  preach  gratis  in  America  for  some  time 
till  there  be  sufficient  number  of  converts  to  bear  the  charge  ;  "  and, 
finally,  the  restriction  of  the  gi'eat  benefices  for  a  number  of  years  to  "  such 
as  shall  oblige  themselves  to  preach  three  years  gratis  in  America."  "  By 
this  means,"  concludes  the  colonel.  "  we  shall  have  the  greatest  and  best 
men,  and  in  human  probability  such  men  must,  in  a  short  time,  make 

•  There  is  yet  one  generous  Patron  and  bene-  these  pai-ts,  nor  contributed  so  universally  towards 

factor   to   V'    whole    infant  church   in   North  y"  erection  of  Chi'istian  Synagogues  in  different 

America,  t'were  a  crime  to  forget  or  conceal;  and  distant  plantations  in  America. — An  Account 

we  mean  the  Hon""  Col'  Fran.  Nicholson,  Esq'.,  of  the  Ilistorij  of  the  Building  of  St.  Paul's 

whose  liberahty  to  this  and  other  chinches  on  Church,   Chester,  "Hist.  Coll.  Am.  Col.  Ch.," 

this  main  desci-vcs  y  highest  encomium.    We  u  ,  pp.  79,  80. 

may  safely  say  no  man  parted  more  freely  w""  his  ^N.  J.  MSS.   1700. 
money  tn  promote  the  interest  of  the  Church  in 


166  HISTORY    OF   THE   AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

ii  wonderful  progress  iu  the  conversion  of  those  Countries,  especially 
when  it's  perceived  the  good  of  souls  is  the  only  motive  in  the  under- 
taking." 

Keith,  for  whose  coming  Colonel  Morris  has  expressed  the  wish, 
held  his  first  service  as  a  mission-priest  of  the  Church  of  England  at 
Amboy,  in  East  Jersey,  October  4.'  "The  Auditory  was  small," 
writes  Keith,  "  but  such  as  were  there  were  well  effected ;  some  of 
them,  of  my  former  acquaintances,  and  others  who  had  been  formerly 
Quakers  but  had  come  over  to  the  Church,  particularly  3Iiles  Forster, 
and  John  Barclay  (Brother  to  Robert  Barclay,  who  published  the 
Apology  for  the  Quakers) ."  Keith  preached  on  the  following  Sunday, 
October  10,  at  Toponemes  in  Freehold,  and  a  week  later  at  Middle- 
ton,  and  on  numerous  Sundays  at  Shrewsbury,  and  at  Burlington. 
On  the  Sunday  after  Christmas,  December  27,  he  again  ofiiciated  at 
Shrewsbury.  On  the  Feast  of  the  Circumcision  he  was  at  Freehold, 
where  he  remained  over  the  second  Sunday  after  Christmas.  On  the 
First  Sunday  after  the  Epiphany  he  preached  at  Burlington,  and  admin- 
istered Holy  Baptism.  On  the  thirteenth  Sunday  after  Trinity,  Au- 
gust 13,  on  his  retui'u  from  the  southward,  Keith  "  preached  at  the 
New  Church  at  Burlington,  on  2  Sam.  xxiii.  34."  Lord  Cornbury 
was  present.  "  It  was  the  first  sermon  that  was  preached  in  that 
Church."  On  the  sixteenth  Sunday  after  Trinity,  September  12, 
Keith  was  again  at  Burlington,  and  on  the  following  Wednesday 
preached  at  the  house  of  "Will  Hewlins  in  West  Jersey."  In  Sep- 
tember, October,  and  Novemlier  he  was  again  at  Burlington,  Shrews- 
bury, and  Amboy,  preaching,  disputing,  and  baptizing.  The  last 
Sunday  in  Advent,  Christmas  day,  the  Sunday  following  the  feast 
of  St.  John  the  Evangelist,  and  twice  in  the  same  week  besides,  and  on 
the  first  Sunday  in  the  year  1703.  he  was  still  busied  in  his  ministerial 
and  priestly  work  in  the  Jerseys.  At  the  close  of  January,  and  the 
beginning  of  February,  and,  in  fact,  during  much  of  the  winter  and 
spring,  his  labors  were  continued,  and  many  converts  to  the  Church 
from  Quakerism  were  the  results  of  the  eflbrts  of  this  able  and  per- 
sistent "  Missioner."  In  connection  with  the  labors  of  Keith,  we  note 
the  services  of  the  Rev.  Alexander  Innes,  who  officiated  in  the  Jerseys 
prior  to  Keith's  coming,  and  the  Rev.  John  Talbot,  who  accompanied 
the  Quaker  convert,  and  became  the  apostle  of  the  New  Jersey  Church. 
The  labors  of  these  three  men,  wrote  Colonel  ilorris,  in  the  summer 
of  1 703  -  had  "  broughtover  to  the  Church  so  many  persons "'  as  to  render 
the  appointment  of  a  missionary  to  Monmouth  advisable.  In  1705  the 
excellent  and  amiable  John  Brooke  was  at  Elizabeth  Town  and  Amboy. 
A  year  later  this  devoted  priest  was  officiating  "at  seven  places,  viz.  : 
Elizabeth  Town,  Rahway,  Amboy,  Cheesequakc,  Piscataway,  Rocky 
Hill,  and  a  congregation  near  Page's,  in  Freehold."  His  cure  was  fifty 
miles  in  length.^  In  1707  the  Rev.  Thoroughgood  Moor,  who  had 
come  to  Burlington,  was  silenced  by  the  governor ''  for  refusing  the 

'On  the  eighteenth  Sunday  aftci-  Ti-inity.  *In  view  of  his   tieatracnt  of  the  clergy, 

In  the  printed  journal  (p.  30  of  the  Reprint  in  it  is  intcrestiu":  to  read  the  following  refcrenee 

the  Prot.  Epis.  Hist.  Coll.,  i.)  the  date  is  incor-  to  the  governor  from  one  who  was  certainly  well 

rectly  given  Octoher  3.  informed:      "Lord  Cornbury  comes  upon  the 

'  N..T.  MSS.,  1703.           ■  /JiJ.,  p.  70G.  church  favor;   hut  Whig  principles,  .as  people 


BEGINNINGS   OF  THE   CHURCH  IN   NEW  YORK.  167 

sacrament  to  the  Lieutenant-Governor  Ingolsby,  who  was  a  notorious 
evil-doer,  and  was  afterwards  imprisoned  at  Fort  Anne  in  New  York. 
Through  the  Ivind  offices  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Broolie  he  contrived  to 
escape  from  confinement,  and  taking  passage  for  England  was  never 
heard  of  more.  Brooke  died  suddenly  in  1707,  well  meriting  Talbot's 
eulogium,  who  tells  us  that  he  was  as  "  able  and  dilligent  a  missioner  as 
ever  came  over."  Theliev.  Edward  Vaughau  succeeded  the  lamented 
IJrooliu,  and  for  thirty-eight  yeai's  carried  on  the  work  his  predecessor 
had  begun  with  singular  faithfulness  and  success.  Year  after  year  his 
JVotitia  parochialis  attested  more  abundant  labor  and  a  constant 
advance. 

In  1711  the  Rev.  Thomas  Halliday  was  associated  with  Mr. 
Vaughan  in  the  parish  which  had  grown  too  great  for  a  single  priest. 
Still  Vaughan  labored  on  untiringly  in  the  faithful  exercise  of  his  "  sac- 
erdotal function,  which  God  had  been  pleased  to  crown  with  success." 
It  is  from  the  testimony  of  his  people,  addressed  to  the  Society  in  1717, 
that  we  may  learn  to  estimate  the  character  and  excellence  of  the 
worthy  mission-priest.     That  testimony  is  as  follows  :  — 

We  esteem  ourselves  happy  under  his  pastoral  care,  and  have  a  thorough 
persuasion  of  mind  that  the  Church  of  Christ  is  now  planted  among  us  in  its  purity. 
Mr.  Vaughan  hath  to  the  great  comfort  and  edification  of  our  families,  in  these  dark 
and  distant  regions  of  the  world,  prosecuted  the  duties  of  his  holy  calling  with  the 
utmost  application  and  diligence ;  adorned  his  behavior  with  an  exemplary  life  and 
convers.ation ;  and  so  behaved  himself  with  all  due  prudence  and  fidelity,  sliewing 
uncorruptness,  gravity,  sincerity,  and  sound  speech,  that  they  who  are  of  the  con- 
trary part  have  no  evil  thing  to  say  of  him.' 

This  good  man  died  in  1747,  and  in  his  decease  the  Church  lost  one 
most  happily  suited  to  the  times  in  which  he  lived,  and  the  work  to 
which  he  was  called.  In  private  life  he  was  exemplary,  and  possessed 
of  every  excellence.  In  his  public, ministrations  he  was  sensible,  ear- 
nest, and  even  elotjuent,  while  his  rendering  of  the  offices  of  the 
Church,  especially  his  administration  of  the  holy  communion,  was 
marked  by  great  solemnity  and  feeling.  His  life  and  labors  were 
long  and  gratefully  rememljered  among  the  people  to  whom  he  had 
ministered.  The  immediate  successor  of  Vaughan  was  Thomas  Brad- 
bury Chandler,  a  graduate  of  Yale  (College,  an  honorary  Master  of 
Arts  and  Doctor  in  Divinity  of  Oxford,  and  the  first  Bishop-designate 
of  Nova  Scotia.  Dr.  Chandler  was  one  of  the  foremost  men  among 
the  American  clergy,  and  by  his  life  and  writings  did  good  service  to 
the  cause  of  Christ's  church.  Untiring  zeal  in  his  mission  labors 
marked  a  career  that  deserved,  as  it  received,  from  an  attached  people 
and  a  grateful  Cluiicli,  every  possible  acknowledgment  of  approval 
and  honor.  The  patient  and  painstaking  examination  which  the  young 
student  of  Yale  had  made  of  the  grounds  of  difference  between  the 
Independents,  among  whom  he  had  sprung  up,  and  the  Church  ;  and 
the  whole-hearted  adhesion  he  had  given  in  fovor  of  the  side  he  es- 

talk.    Pray  desire  Governor  Hamilton  and  our  '  Humphrey's    Historical   Account   of    the 

folks  to  cany  a  good  correspondence  with  hira."  Society  for  Propagating  the  Gospel  in  Foreign 

William  Penu  to  James  Logan,  Nov.  4,  1707.  Paits. 
—  Penn  and  Logan  Correspondence,  i.,  p.  75. 


1G8  HISTORY   OF  THK  AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

poused,  made  him,  from  the  start,  an  able  and  zealous  defender  of  the 
church's  position  and  claims.  His  mind,  which  was  far-seeing,  led  him 
to  forecast  the  results  of  the  refusal  of  the  authorities  at  home  to  listen 
to  the  prayer  of  the  American  churchmen,  for  the  full  exercise  of  their 
religion  ;  and  he  sought,  with  patient  effort,  and  by  calm,  dispassionate 
reasoning,  to  convince  the  American  public  of  the  true  nature  of  the 
relief  sought  for  in  the  church's  liohalf.  His  "  Appeal  to  the  Public," 
and  his  defence  of  his  first  essay,  are  models  of  polemical  writing,  and 
cannot  fail,  when  read  at  this  day,  at  least,  to  excite  a  feeling  of  wonder 
at  the  iiTational  opposition  raised  by  fanatical  and  partisan  leaders 
against  a  measure  so  free  from  oljjection.  At  the  breaking  out  of 
the  struggle  for  independence  Dr.  Chandler  disapproved  of  the 
measures  of  Parliament  which  had  provoked  the  animosity  of  the 
colonists,  while  he  was  far  from  approving  the  last  resort,  so  persist- 
ently urged  by  the  New  England  patriots,  of  an  appeal  to  arms.  He 
succeeded  in  commanding  the  respect  of  both  parties,  and  in  securing 
comparative  immunity  from  the  Avrath  and  persecution  to  which  so 
many  of  his  brethren  were  exposed ;  and,  after  the  war,  this  gi'eat  man 
not  only  obtained  for  his  views  and  suggestions  great  weight  in  the 
early  councils  of  the  American  Church  during  the  period  of  its  organi- 
zation, but  he  also  had  from  the  British  government  the  proffer  of  the 
first  colonial  episcopate.  Cheered  during  his  long  and  useful  ministry 
by  abundant  tokens  of  appreciation  and  success,  it  is  from  one  of  his 
reports  to  the  society  that  we  can  best  learn  the  condition  of  the 
Church  in  the  province,  just  preceding  the  breaking  out  of  the  war.  In 
1770  lie  writes  to  the  society  :  — 

Tlie  Church  in  this  Province  makes  a  more  respectable  appearance  than  it 
ever  did  till  very  lately,  thanks  to  the  venerable  Society,  without  whose  charitable 
interposition  there  would  not  have  been  one  Episcopal  congregation  among  us.  They 
have  now  no  less  than  eleven  Missionaries  in  this  district,  none  of  whom  are  blame- 
able  in  their  conduct,  and  some  of  them  are  eminently  useful.  Instead  of  the  small 
buildings  out  of  repair  in  which  our  congregations  used  to  assemble  twenty  years 
ago,  we  have  now  several  that  make  a  handsome  appearance,  particularly  at  Bur- 
lington, Shrewsbury,  New  Brunswick,  and  Newark,  and  all  the  rest  are  in  good  re- 
pair :  and  the  congregations,  in  general  appear  to  be  as  much  improved  as  the 
chm'ches  they  assemble  in. 

Eeturuing  to  notice  the  labors  of  the  other  missionaries  in  New 
Jersey,  we  need  only  refer  to  the  long  and  honored  work  done  by  the 
apostolic  Talbot  at  Burlington,  interrupted  and  finally  terminated  by  the 
colonial  authorities,  who  feared  that  this  poor  old  man,  disaffected 
with  the  govermnent,  and  not  without  reason,  and  alread}' tottering  on 
the  brink  of  the  grave,  might,  in  working  for  Christ  and  the  Church,  do 
harm  to  the  established  dynasty  across  the  sea.  While  this  good  and 
faithful  soldier  of  Christ  Jesus  was  for  three  years  barred  out  of  the 
church  he  had  founded  and  had  enriched  from  his  scant  means,  Burling- 
ton was  left  to  the  ministrations  of  a  faithful  catechist.  In  17 26  the 
service  of  the  Rev.  John  Holbrook  from  Salem,  New  Jersey,  was 
temporarily  secured.  He  was  followed,  in  1727,  by  the  Rev.  Nathaniel 
Horwood,  and  he  in  turn,  in  1730,  by  the  Rev.  Robert  Weyman.  But 
few  notices  of  the  administration  of  these  men  have  come  down  to  us. 


BEGINNINGS   OF  THE   CHURCH   IN  NEW  YORK.  1G9 

yet  enough  remains  to  prove  that,  though  not  equal  to  the  great-hearted 
Tall)ot,  they  were  at  least  f'aitlit'ul  and  earnest  in  l)uilding  on  the 
foundations  so  broadly  laid  by  their  predecessors.  In  1737  the  Ilev. 
Colin  Campljcll  succeeded  "Wcyman,  pursuing  a  ministry  of  twenty- 
nine  years  at  Burlington  and  Mount  Holly  with  most  gratifying  suc- 
cess. The  Rev.  Jonathan  Odcll  succeeded  Campl)e]l,  and  for  nine 
years  labored  assiduously  in  the  held  already  ripe  for  the  harvest. 
The  rebuilding  and  enlargement  of  St.  Mary's  Church  during  his 
incumbency  attest  the  growth  of  the  congregation  to  which  he  minis- 
tered ;  and  his  firm  refusal  to  receive  the  ofl'crings  of  his  people  for  his 
own  use,  while  any  indebtedness  remained  on  the  church,  bears  witness 
to  his  own  self-forgetfulness  and  devotion  to  the  interests  of  the 
Churih.  But  the  opening  of  the  war  interrupted  the  relations  of  pastor 
and  people  in  their  ancient  faith,  and  the  tory  clergyman  who  had 
ventured  to  put  his  political  sentiments  in  verse  was  soon  driven  by 
the  indignant  rebels  within  the  lines  of  the  enemy.  Another  New 
Jei'sey  missionary,  the  Rev.  Michael  Houdiu,  of  Trenton,  had  left  an 
important  post  which  had  been  assigned  to  him  in  the  Romish  Com- 
munion, that  of  Superior  of  a  Canadian  Convent,  and  had  conformed 
to  the  Church  of  England,  laboring  with  no  little  zeal  and  success  to 
build  up  the  church  to  which  he  had  from  deep  convictions  attached 
himself. 

But  no  notice  of  the  New  Jersey  missionaries  or  mission  work 
would  be  complete  without  a  reference  to  the  Rev.  Thomas  Thompson, 
a  fellow  of  Christ's  College,  Cambridge,  who  "  out  of  pure  zeal  to  be- 
come a  missionary  in  the  cause  of  Christ,"  as  the  journal  of  the  vener- 
able society  l)ears  record,  resigned  the  prospect  of  preferment  and 
position  at  home  to  labor  for  live  years  as  a  devoted  mission-priest  in 
Monmouth  County,  New  Jersey.  At  the  expiration  of  this  term  of 
faithful  service  he  resigned,  only  to  give  his  services  to  another  and 
even  less  inviting  field  of  labor.  It  is  to  Thomas  Thompson,  the  New 
Jersey  missioner,  that  the  honor  is  due  of  being  the  first  missionary  of 
tile  Church  to  Africa.  Having  left  his  post  in  New  Jersey  in  1751,  he 
landed  on  the  coast  of  Guinea,  under  appointment  as  travelling  mis- 
sionary of  the  society  among  the  negroes.  Here  he  lived  and  labored 
in  his  self-denying  work  till  illness  drove  him  from  his  post ;  but 
enough  had  been  done  to  prove  that,  in  this  consecration  of  himself  to  a 
work  so  uncongenial  and  so  full  of  danger,  he  had  entered  upon  it 
"  in  a  firm  reliance  on  the  good  providence  of  God,  whose  grace  is 
abundantly  sufficient  to  perfect  strength  in  weakness  by  his  blessing 
on  our  poor  endeavors."  Thompson's  published  account  of  his  two 
missionary  voyages  on  the  African  coast  is  the  first  contribution  from 
this  land  to  the  literature  qf  the  foreign  missionary  work. 

It  is  with  the  name  of  Thomas  Thompson,  the  first  foreign  mis- 
sionary to  Africa,  who  learned  his  lesson  of  self-consecration  on  our 
own  shores,  and  only  (ixchanged  the  one  field  of  lal)or  for  another,  that 
we  may  fittingly  close  our  references  to  the  planting  of  the  Church  in 
the  middle  colonies.  If  the  eflbrts  for  the  spread  of  the  gospel  in  the 
Church  in  these  portions  of  America  had  produced  but  the  self-deny- 
ing labors  and  brilliant  successes  of  Talbot  and  Thompson,  it  would 


170  HISTORY   OF  THE   AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

have  been  enough.  Gratefully  do  we  recall  the  fact  that  we  owe  to- 
day not  a  little  to  these  worthy  men,  and  to  those  who  labored  with 
them  in  the  church's  cause.  They  were  righteous,  and  they  shall  be 
held  in  everlasting  remembrance. 


ILLUSTRATIVE  NOTES. 


FROM  the  archives  at  Lambeth  pahvce  we  append  the  earliest  document  on  file ' 
refeiTing  to  this  ancient  parish :  — 

May  22°^  1699. 
May  it  Please  Your  Orace, 

The  English  nation  for  above  Thirty  years  had  been  posses'  of  these  countreys, 
without  any  place  for  public  worship  of  Almighty  God  in  this  Citty  except  the  Chap- 
pell  in  the  Fort  built  by  the  Dutch  and  till  lately  that  they  built  another  Alterna- 
tively used  by  both  Nations  for  the  Exercise  of  their  Religion.  So  that  tho'  the 
English  grew  numerous,  the  Government  in  their  hands,  and  the  national  laws  took 
place,  yet  for  want  of  a  Temple  for  the  Public  Worshij),  according  to  the  English 
church,  this  seemed  rather  like  a  conquer'd  Forrain  province  held  liy  the  Terrour  of 
a  GaiTison  tlian  an  English  Collony  Possest  and  settled  by  people  of  our  own  Nation. 
That  which  for  so  many  yeai's  had  only  been  Wisht  for  without  any  reason- 
able hopes  or  Expectation  of  effecting  Coll"  Fletcher,  l^y  liis  gi'eat  Zeal,  Generous 
Liberality  and  Indefatigable  Industiy  in  the  latter  part  of  liis  Government  brought 
so  far  to  perfection,  tliat  Ijefore  his  departure  he  was  divers  times  present  (to  his 
own  and  the  Gi^neral  Satisfaction  of  the  lovers  of  the  English  (_'hurch  anil  Nation) 
at  the  Puljlic  Worship  of  God,  in  an  English  Chui'cli  of  whicli  (if  we  must  not  say 
that  he  was  the  Sole  Founder),  it  is  an  offence  to  Truth  and  Injustice  to  him  not 
to  affirm  that  he  was  the  principal  promoter,  and  most  Liljeral  Benefactor  to  it,  and 
that  without  him  to  this  day  it  never  had  had  a  Being.  As  it  owed  its  begining  to 
that  Gentleman,  so  we  must  acknowledge  its  growth  and  increase  is  not  a  little  In- 
debt  to  M'.  Vesey  our  present  Minister  who  by  liis  good  parts  and  learning  ex- 
emplary life,  and  inoffensive  conversation  gives  a  reputation  to  his  function  and  has 
brought  many  into  the  Bosom  of  the  Church.  So  farr  as  this,  the  suliject  of  wliich 
we  write  to  your  Grace  is  Extreani  Agrealjle  and  pleasing,  and  it  is  our  imexpresible 
griefe  that  we  are  forc'd  to  offer  anything  of  a  contrary  Natiu'e. 

Tlie  fair  character  comon  Fame  gave  our  present  Governor  Bellemont  filled  us 
with  hopes  of  enjoying  a  large  share  of  Prosperity  mider  his  conduct  and  in  Par- 
ticular that  the  English  church  might  have  Flourished  imder  his  Administration, 
but  Experience  has  Undeeeiv'd  us  and  we  lind  our  selves  under  all  the  discourage- 
ments Imaginable.  Whether  this  our  unhappiness  proceeds  from  tlie  Irreconcile- 
able  aversion  this  Noble  man  has  to  our  late  Gov'  Coll"  Fletcher  who  gave  birtli  to 
this  Church  from  his  own  inward  principle,  or  other  causes,  we  will  not  presume  to 
Determine,  but  this  we  are  too  well  assured  of,  or  at  least  our  ideas  make  us  apjire- 
hensive,  that  Notliing  less  than  the  destruction  of  this  fair  beginning  is  Intended. 
Not  to  trouble  your  grace  with  many  other  instances  this  follo^ning  gives  us  abun- 
dant ground  for  our  belief.  Coll"  Fletcher  Towards  the  Finishing  of  this  Church,  gave 

aleaseforseven 
years  of  a  small 
Farm(usually  a 
perquisitetothe 
Gov")Rendring 
the  usual  Rent, 
which  was  £12 
per  ann",  and 
the    highest   it 

ADTOGRAPH  OP  GOVERNOR  FLETCHEK.  ever  before  had 

been  let  for. 
The  former  Tenant's  Term,  expiring  this  Spring  (when  the  lease  to  tlie  Church 
begins)   The  Church  Wardens  at  an  action,   lett  the  Farm  to  him  who  pub- 

'  New  York  MSS.,  i.,  pp.  1-t. 


BEGINNINGS   OF  THE  CHURCH  IN  KEW  YORK.  171 

licly  bid  most  for  it,  which  was  tiventy-five  pounds  for  the  ensuing  year,  but  the 
Tenant  coming  to  enter  upon  it,  has  been  kejjt  out  by  the  Earl's  ovder,  who  con- 
tinually exclaims  at  this  lease,  as  if  the  Sacred  Pah-imony  has  been  most  IIoiTibly 
Invaded,  when  indeed  had  it  been  leased  to  the  meanest  clown  at  the  same  rent,  it  had 
pass'd  in  all  probability  miregarded.  It  is  not  credible  that  such  a  Trille  as  Thirteen 
poimds  p'  ami,  which  is  all  the  advantage  can  be  made  of  it,  can  so  much  concern 
his  excellency,  but  a  further  design  must  be  at  the  bottom  off  which  we  have  too 
many  indications,  and  were  tliis  manner  of  dealing  fi-om  a  Profcst  enemy  of  the 
Chm'ch  it  were  natural  and  what  Kationally,  might  have  attended.  But  being  the  actions 
of  a  Person  (Lately)  a  constant  hearer  and  usual  communicant  it's  more  surprising. 

We  humbly  lay  this  matter  to  your  Gracious  Consideration,  earnestly  beseech- 
ing your  Grace,  as  we  are  part  of  that  Church  and  Nation  over  which  (Jod,  in  a 
most  eminent  station  has  placed  you,  we  may  bo  safe  under  your  protection,  and 
that  this  hopeful  Foundation  of  an  English  Protestant  Church  in  these  Parts  of  the 
world,  may  Receive  no  Mischiefs  from  those  whose  duty  oblige  them,  to  give  it 
assistance  and  further  its  welfare. 

To  prescribe  methods  we  can  lay  no  claim  to  but  humbly  submit  all  to  your 
Grace's  Piety  and  Wisdom,  not  donbting  but  the  Almighty  God,  will  inspire  you  to 
take  such  Measures  as  will  be  for  his  own  Glory  and  his  Churches'  good  to  the 
disappointment  of  its  enemys.  For  the  effecting  of  which  we  heartily  imislore  both 
your  prayers  and  endeavours,  being  in  all  duty, 

May  it  please  your  Grace, 

Your  Grace's  most  obedient,  dutiful,  and  most  humble  Servants,  the  churches 
Wardens  and  Vestry  of  Trinity  Church,  in  New  York. 

RICHARD  WILLET, 

W.  NICOLE, 

DAVID  JAIUSON, 

THO.  WENHAM, 
ROB^.   LURTLNG, 
JEREMIAH  TOTHILL. 
EBENEZER  WILSON, 
W".   HUDDLESTONE, 
VV".   ANDERSON, 
LANCASTER  SYMES, 
JAS.   GINOTT, 
WILL.   MORRIS, 
THO^  BURROUGHS. 

The  account  laid  before  the  clergy  convened  in  New  York  in  October,  1704, 
gives  us  in  full  the  stoiy  of  the  Church's  introduction  and  jjrogress  on  every 
side :  — 

In  this  province  are  ten  Counties.  First  New  York,  in  which  there  is  an 
Englisli  church,  called  and  known  by  the  name  of  Trinity  church,  already  built, 
and  the  steeple  raised  to  a  considerable  height  by  the  vokmtary  contrilnitions  of 
several  persons,  a  full  account  whereof  has  been  given  in  a  former  scheme  to  my 
Lord  of  Loudon.  The  Rector  of  the  church  is  maintained  by  a  tax  levied  upon  all 
the  Inhabitants  of  the  City,  amounting  to  £100,  one  hundred  whereof  is  entailed 
forever  upon  the  incumbent  for  the  time  being,  and  sixty  is  added  by  the  intluence 
of  his  Excellency  the  Governor,  and  an  Act  of  the  General  Assembly,  during  tlie 
life  and  residence  of  the  present  incumbent,  Mr.  'William  Vesey.  And  for  his 
further  encouragement,  his  Excellency  out  of  liis  great  goodness,  hath  ordered  in 
Council,  twenty-six  pound  per  annum  to  be  paid  out  of  the  Revenue  for  the  Rent 
of  the  house  of  the  said  Incumbent.  His  Excellency  hath  also,  by  a  law  incorpo- 
rated the  Rector  and  all  the  inhabitants  of  this  City  of  New  York,  that  are  in  com- 
munion with  the  C^hurch  of  England,  as  by  law  established,  by  which  they  and 
their  successors  are  vested  with  siuiilry  rights  and  privileges;  particularly  the 
said  law  hath  enacted  that  the  patronage  and  advowson  of  the  said  Church,  and 
right  of  presentation  after  the  death  of  the  present  Incumbent  or  ujiou  the  next 
avoidance,  shall  forever  tliereafter  belong  and  appertain  to  the  Church  Wardens 
and  ^\•stry  men  of  the  said  Church  in  communion  with  the  Churcli  of  England, 
whicli  before  was  in  the  Vestry  chosen  by  all  the  Inhabitants  of  the  said  City.  This 
privilege  established  the  Churcli  upon  a  sure  and  lasting  foundation. 


172  HISTORY  OF   THE   AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

Benefactions  ov  Teinity  Church  or  New  Yokk. 

The  Right  Honorable  &  Right  Rev''  Father  in  God,  the  Lord  Bishop  of  Lon- 
don hath  given  a  bell  to  said  Church,  value  £G0.  His  Excellency  has  also  veiy  lib- 
erally conti'ibuted  to  the  said  Church,  and  beside  used  his  interest  to  promote  the 
same.  A  sum  of  about  three  himdred  jjoirnds  formerly  collected  in  the  province  of 
New  York  for  the  Redemption  of  some  captives  in  Algiers.  In  a  Brief  tor  collect- 
ing the  said  sum,  it  is  jjrovided  that  in  case  the  Redemption  or  Death  of  the  said 
Captives  shall  happen  before  the  amval  of  the  said  sum  in  Holland,  that  then  it 
shall  be  disjjosed  of  to  such  uses  as  are  mentioned  in  the  said  Brief.  The  Slaves 
being  either  dead  or  redeemed  before  the  money  was  ti-ansmitted,  his  Excellency  in 
Council  hath  assigned  the  said  simi  for  the  finishing  of  the  steeple  of  Tilnity  Chui'ch. 
His  Excellency,  the  Governor,  taking  into  his  consideration  the  gi'cat  charges  the 
parishioners  have  been,  and  are  still  at  in  raising  the  Edifice  and  Steeple  to  that  per- 
fection tliey  designed  it,  hath  been  graciously  pleased  to  recommend  to  her  JMajesty 
the  Queen,  that  it  may  please  her  Slajesty  to  bestow  a  farm  within  the  boimds  of 
the  said  City,  Imown  by  the  name  of  the  lung's  fami  to  the  use  and  benefit  of  the 
said  Chm-ch,  designed  by  his  Lordship  for  a  Garden,  and  a  house  to  be  built  for  the 
said  Incumbent.  His  Lordship  has  been  pleased  to  encourage  Religion,  and  dis- 
countenace  Vice  in  the  said  Province  by  Proclamation,  and  has  used  his  utmost  en- 
deavours to  promote  the  Public  Worship  of  God,  and  ti'ain  up  Youth  in  the  docti'ine 
&  discipline  of  the  Church  of  England,  particularly  in  the  City  of  New  York,  and 
hath  conti'ibuted  to  the  bvukling  of  a  French  Church,  and  since  the  death  of  the  late 
Minister  of  the  French  Congregation,  resolves  to  use  his  interest  to  introduce  a 
French  JNIinister  that  shall  have  Episcopal  Ordination  and  conform  to  the  Constitu- 
tion of  the  Church.  His  Lordship  hath  been  also  highly  instriunental  in  enacting  a 
law  for  establishing  a  Latin  free  School,  and  to  endow  it  with  a  salary  of  fifty  jDovmd 
per  aimum,  to  which  station  his  Lordship  hath  prefen-ed  the  ingenious  Jlr. 
George  Miurson,  who  for  some  time  discharged  that  fmiction  with  approbation  and 
success.  Two  other  schools  are  likewise  established  in  tliis  City  by  his  Excellency's 
care,  and  by  tliese  and  other  means,  the  Church  daily  incrcaseth,  and  it  is  hoped, 
if  God  pleases  to  continue  his  Excellency  in  the  Administi'ation  of  this  Government, 
this  Chm'ch  is  in  a  fair  way  of  becoming  the  gi'catest  Cougi-egation  upon  the  Conti- 
nent. We  are  willing  wtli  much  submission  to  represent  to  the  Honorable  Society, 
how  that  excellent  design  of  theirs,  in  supplying  us  with  a  Catechist  might  have 
their  pious  endeavors  better  served,  if  instead  of  the  pious  and  deserving  Tslr.  Elias 
Neau  who  was  brought  up  a  Merchant  and  in  good  business,  the  worthy  and  ingen- 
ious Mr.  IMuirson,  who  is  now  going  for  England  in  the  hopes  of  being  admitted 
into  Holy  Orders,  were  appointed  for  that  purpose.  Mv.  William  Vesey  might  be 
assisted  by  him,  and  for  his  encouragement  has  promised  lum  Thirty  pounds  ])er 
Annum  at  his  Amval,  being  sensible  how  much  this  place  aboimds  with  Indian 
Slaves  and  Negroes.     This  is  the  state  of  the  Chm'ch  in  the  City  of  New  York. 

WILL.   VESEY, 

Hector  of  New  Fork. 
Long  Island. 

In  Long  Island,  in  the  Provinceof  New  York,  are  three  counties,  viz..  King's, 
Queen's  and  Suftblk  county.  King's  county,  consisting  of  four  Dutch  congregations, 
supplied  formerly  by  one  Dutch  minister,  Init  now  without  any,  by  the  deatli  of  the 
late  Incumbent,  they  are  sometimes  supplied  by  the  Rev.  ]\Ir.  Vesey,  where  he  finds 
all  tlie  English  and  some  of  the  Dutch  well  aflected  to  the  Church  of  England.  A 
minister  sent  by  tlie  society  to  that  County,  with  some  encouragement  for  a  main- 
tenance to  preach  and  be  a  school-master,  would  be  a  great  instrument  of  bringing 
the  youth  and  others  to  the  Chm-ch. 

WM.  VESEY. 

In  Queen's  Comity,  consisting  of  five  towns  divided  into  two  parishes,  and  en- 
dowed with  £C0  pounds  of  New  York  money  per  annum,  each  parish  paid  by  a  tax 
levied  on  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  County  by  Act  of  General  Assembly. 

Jamaica. 

The  parish  of  Jamaica,  in  said  County,  consists  of  three  towns,  — Jamaica, 
New  Tow-n,  and  Flushing.  In  the  town  of  Jamaica  there  is  a  church  of  stone,  Imilt 
by  a  tax  levied  on  the  inhabitants  of  the  said  town  hy  an  Act  of  General  Assembly. 


BEGINNINGS   OF  THE   CHURCH  IN  NEW  YOHK.  173 

It  has  a  high  spire  with  a  bell,  but  is  not  furnished  ^vith  pulpit,  pews,  or  utensils. 
The  church  was  liuilt  in  the  street.  Tiiero  is,  also,  a  house  aud  some  laud  recorded 
lor  the  Parsonage,  which  was  formerly  in  the  possession  of  the  Independent  minis- 
ter, but  now  in  the  possession  of  the  present  Incumbent,  by  his  Excellency's,  Lord 
Cornbury's  favor,  who  has  been  the  great  promoter  of  the  Church  in  this  Province, 
and  especially  at  this  place.  In  New  Town  there  is  a  Churcli  Ixiilt  and  lately  re- 
paired by  a  tax  levied  on  the  inhabitants  by  an  Act  of  General  Assembly.  This 
church  was  formerly  possessed  by  a  Dissenting  minister,  but,  he  being  gone,  it  is 
in  the  possession  of  the  present  Incumbent  by  his  Excellency's  favor. 

Flushing.  —  In  this  town  there  is  no  Church ;  whereas  the  other  two  towns 
are  chielly  inhabited  by  Independents,  this  is  inhabited  by  the  Quakers.  The  Rev. 
Mr.  Urquhart,  the  present  Incumbent,  resides  at  Jamaica,  according  to  the  direc- 
tions of  an  Act  of  General  Assembly  mentioning  it  as  the  Parochial  Church  and 
there  preaches  and  reads  Divine  Service  twice  on  the  Sundays,  tor  two  Lord's  days 
successively,  and  on  the  third  Sunday  pi-eaches  and  prays  twice  at  New  Town,  and 
at  Flushing  once  a  month  on  the  week  days ;  and,  by  tlie  blessing  of  God,  the  Con- 
gregations in  the  respective  towns  daily  increase. 

Hampstead. 

The  parish  consists  of  two  towns,  —  Hampstead  and  Oyster  Bay.  In  Hamp- 
stead there  is  a  church,  a  house,  and  lands  lor  the  minister.  The  people  are  gen- 
erally well  aflected  towards  tlie  Church  of  England,  and  long  for  the  arrival  of  the 
Rev"  Mr.  Thomas.  In  Oyster  bay  there  is  no  Church,  but  a  considerable  number  of 
people  desirous  of  a  minister. 

Account  of  Suffolk  Countt. 

In  Suffolk  Comity  in  the  Eastend  of  Long  Island,  there  is  neither  a  Chirrch  of 
England,  nor  any  provision  made  for  one  by  law,  the  people  generally  being  Inde- 
Ijcndents,  and  up  hold  in  their  separation  by  New  England  Emissaries.  But  there 
are  several  already  well  affected  to  the  Church,  and  if  one  or  two  INIinisters  wera 
sent  among  them,  supported  at  lirst  by  the  Society,  it  would  be  an  excellent  means 
of  reconciling  the  jjeople  to  the  Chmx-h,  aud  of  introducing  an  Establishment  for 
a  Minister  by  law. 

WM.  VESEY. 
Westchester. — Mk.  Bartow,  Rector. 

There  is  a  Church  built  but  not  finished ;  being  neither  glased  nor  ceiled. 
The  parish  of  Westchester  is  divided  into  four  several  districts  viz  ^Vest-Chcster, 
East  Chester,  Younkers,  and  the  ISIanor  of  Pelham.  There  is  £50  settled  on  the 
Ministers  by  Act  of  Assembly.  There  is  twenty  three  acres  of  land  given  by  West 
Chester  for  a  glebe.  There  is  one  Independent  Congregation  of  East  Chester 
whose  Minister  designs  to  leave  there  whose  Congregation  upon  his  departure  are 
resolved  to  join  with  the  Chmx-h. 

Rye.  —  Thomas  Pkitchaed,  Rector. 

There  was  no  Church  but  the  Minister  preaches  in  the  Town  house :  the  parish  is 
divided  in  three  districts,  viz  Rye,  Bedford,  and  Mamaronets.  There  is  a  salary  of 
£;J0  ])er  annum  established  by  Act  of  Assembly ;  the  number  of  commimicants  are 
considerably  increased.  Since  the  first  celebration  of  the  Sacraments.  There  is  an 
Inde]ieiident  Chiu'ch  at  Bedford  where  the  IMinistcr  designs  to  leave  them,  they  are 
well  aflected  towards  the  Church  and  it  is  hoped  when  he  is  gone  they  will  be  in 
Communion  with  her. 

Staten  Island,  Richmond  County. 

The  greatest  part  of  the  people  of  tliis  County  are  English  and  there  is  a  tax 
of  £40  per  annum  levied  on  the  inhabitants  of  the  said  County  for  a  maintenance 
to  the  Jlinister,  and  it  is  veiy  necess.ary  and  much  desired  by  the  people  that  a 
Minister  should  be  speedily  sent  them  ^^'\t\\  some  fnrther  encouragement  from  the 
Society  who  has  at  this  time  an  opportunity  of  reconciling  most  of  them  to  the 
Chm-ch. 

V/ILLIAM  VESEY. 


174  HISTORY  OF  TUE  AMERICAN  EPISCOPAIi   CHURCH. 


OKAiiGE  County. 

In  Orange  County  there  are  about  60  families  of  several  Nations  who  have  no 
Minister  nor  are  able  to  raise  a  salary  for  one. 

WM.  VESEY. 

Ulster  County,  Commonly  Called  Esopos. 

In  this  County  the  gi'eatest  number  of  people  are  Dutch,  who  about  twelve 
years  since,  sent  to  the  Classis  of  Amsterdam  for  a  Minister.  Mr.  Newcella  being 
lately  called  home  left  them  destitute  of  any  person  to  officiate  among  them, 
which  his  Excellency  was  pleased  to  take  into  his  consideration,  and  has  ai)pointed 
the  Ilev.  Mv.  Hepljm'n  to  preach  and  to  re;id  Divine  Service  to  them  whereby  the 
English  who  had  never  a  IMinister  among  them  have  the  benefit  of  public  worship, 
and  are  in  good  hopes  of  bringing  the  Dutch  to  a  Conformity.  The  Rev.  Mr. 
Hepburn  has  at  present  small  encouragement  from  the  people  but  cheifly  under 
God  depends  on  the  kindness  and  boimty  of  his  Excellency  the  Governor  of  this 
Provence. 

W]\I.  VESEY. 
Albany. 

A  large  frontier  town  where  most  of  the  people  are  Dutch,  who  have 
from  Amsterdam  a  Dutch  Minister,  one  Mr.  Lydius,  but  there  are  some  English 
families,  besides  a  garrison  of  soldiers,  who  are  a  considerable  congregation.  A 
C'hm'ch  of  England  JMinister  here  will,  in  all  probability,  do  signal  service  not 
only  by  setting  up  a  public  worsliip  to  the  joy  and  comfort  of  the  English,  who 
impatiently  desire  a  minister,  and  persuading  the  Dutch  and  otlicrs  to  eoiifonn,  but 
also  in  instructing  the  Indians,  which  come  in  great  numbers  tliither.  Mr.  Moore 
!Missionaiy  to  tlie  IMohawks,  is  conung  to  settle  here  for  some  time  by  the  directions 
of  his  Excellency,  my  Lord  Cornbmy  who  gives  him  great  encom-agement  and  has 
been  particularly  pleased  to  promise  him  presents  for  the  Indians. 


CHAPTER  X. 

GOVERNOR  ANDROS  AND  THE  BUILDING  OF  KING'S  CHAPEL, 

BOSTON. 


O 


N  Saturday,  the  eve  of  the  Sunday  after  the  Ascension,  May  15, 
1686,  the  "  Rose"  frigate  entered  the  harbor  of  Boston,  1)caring 
the  Rev.  Robert  Ratclifte,  M.A.,*an  Oxford  graduate,  to  whom 
had  been  assigned  the  task  of  inaugurating  the  services  of  the  Church 


/  JT/i  (r_ 


^6d     'J^i^ff^ 


in  Boston.  "  Freighted  with 
wo "  must  this  vessel  have 
seemed  to  the  ministers  and 
members  of  the  Puritan  Com- 
monwealth.   The  theocracy  had 

fiillen.  The  "Charter"  of  the  colony  had  been  abrogated,  and 
Massachusetts  was  at  length  a  royal  province,  to  be  ruled  by  a  gov- 
ernor appointed  by  the  king,  and  responsible  primarily  to  his  royal 
master.  The  representative  of  the  throne  would  naturall}^  seek  to  re- 
produce in  his  vice-regal  court  the  forms  of  faith  and  practice  of 
the  "  Establishment,"  of  which  his  master  was  the  temporal  head  ;  and 
the  "Rose"  frigate,  bringing  the  surpliced  priest  to  w^orship  after  the 
usages  of  the  Church  of  England,  bore  fittingly  the  king's  commis- 
sion appointing  Joseph  Dudley  as  President  of  Massachusetts,  New 
Hampshire,  Maine,  and  the  "King's  Province."^  The  records  of  the 
Privy  Council  contain  the  order  for  Bibles  and  Praj^cr  Books  in  folio, 
with  copies  of  the  Canons,  Homilies,  Articles,  and  Tables  of  Aflinity, 
"  to  be  sent  to  New  England."  And  as  RatclifTe  first  looked  out  from  the 
deck  of  the  "Rose"  upon  the  fair  scene  spread  before  him  as  he  sailed  up 
the  bay  and  saw  hills  and  valleys  crowned  and  crowded  with  the  homes 
and  business  haunts  of  "the  Bostonecrs,"  as  Edward  Randolph  styled 
them,  it  must  have  been  with  a  feeling  that  "the  lines  had  fallen"  to  him 
"  in  pleasant  places,"  and  that  he  had  "  a  goodly  heritage."  From  the 
"  Castle,"  a  distance  below  the  town,  there  came  the  salute  in  recog- 

'  B.A.,  Exeter,  Oxford,  Oct.  16,  1G77 ;  M.A.,  =  Pain-cy's  "  History  of  Xcw  Englaaa,"  iii., 

June  15,  16S0;  B.D.,  July  16,  1691.  pp.  4S4,4Sd. 


176  HISTORY  OF  THE   AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

nition  of  the  passing  of  the  royal  ship  of  war.  Soon  the  three  hills  of 
the  ancient  "  trimountaiii "  were  descried,  —  one  with  its  summit  bris- 
tling with  guns  ;  another,  with  the  huge  arms  of  a  M'indmill  coquetting 
witii  the  I)reczc,  wliile  under  this  eml)lem  and  evidence  of  industry  was 
a  battery  well  provided  with  the  means  of  repelling  hostile  attacks ; 
while  the  third  was  crowned  with  the  lofty  beacon.  At  the  wharf 
there  was  the  ceremonious  reception  of  the  accredited  representatives 
of  the  crown  ;  and  then  the  mission-priest,  to  whom  all  was  so  new  and 
strange,  must  have  walked  or  driven  up  the  short  street  to  the  market- 
house  and  town-hall  of  wood,  —  "  built  upon  pillars  in  the  middle  of  the 
town,  where  their  merchants  meet  and  confer  everyday,"^  —  which 
was  the  business  and  official  centre  of  the  rising  town,  and  thence,  it 
may  be,  to  the  "  Blue  Anchor  Tavern,"  —  a  famous  hostelry  near  by. 
The  houses  on  either  side,  stretching  north  and  south  well-nio;h  a 
league,  were  "  generally  wooden,"  and  the  streets  were  "  crooked,  with 
little  decency  and  no  uniformity,"  in  the  judgment  of  the  commission- 
ers who  wrote  in  16G4;  but,  in  Dunton's  eyes,  "their  streets"  were 
"  many  and  large,  paved  with  Pel)ljles  ;  the  INIaterials  are  Brick,  Stone, 
Lime,  handsomely  contrived,  and  when  any  New  Houses  are  built,  they 
are  made  conformable  to  our  New  Buildings  in  London  since  the  fire."  '■* 
There  were  upwards  of  a  thousand  buildings  in  the  town,  with  "stately 
houses"  built  of  stone  among  them,  and  "  three  fair  and  large  meeting- 
houses or  churches,  commodiously  built,  in  several  parts  of  the  town."  ^ 
"  Gardens  and  orchards  "  adorned  the  south  side  of  the  growing  capi- 
tal. "  On  the  north-west  and  north-east  two  constant  fairs  "  were  kept 
for  daily  traffic.  On  the  south  was  the  "  small  but  pleasant  Common." 
This  "rich  and  very  populous"  town  Dunton  compares  to  Bristol,  in 
England. 

It  was  to  this  New  World  and  to  a  new  life  that  the  English  priest 
had  come.  He  did  not  wait  long  ere  he  entered  upon  his  work.  Dun- 
ton,  the  London  bookseller,  who  was  in  Boston  at  the  time  of  the 
coming  of  "  the  Charter  and  the  Common  Prayer,"  thus  records  the  in- 
auguration of  the  sei-vices  of  the  Church  at  this  critical  period  of  Mas- 
sachusetts history:  "The  next  Sunday  after  he  Landed,  he  preach'd 
in  the  Town-house,  and  read  Common-Prayer  in  his  Surplice,  whicli 
was  so  great  a  Novelty  to  the  Bostonians,  that  he  had  a  very  large 
Audience."  Dunton  was  present  at  this  initial  service  and  tells  us  that 
"the  Parson  "  was  "a  vei-y  Excellent  Preacher,  whose  Matter  was  good, 
and  the  Dress  in  which  he  put  it,  Extraordinary  ;  he  being  as  well  an 
Orator  as  a  Preacher."  This  was,  if  Dunton  is  correct,  on  the  Sunday 
after  Ascension,  May  IGth.     On  the  following  Tuesday,  the  18th,  the 

Puritan  diarist.  Chief  Justice 
Sewall,  records  "a  great  wed- 
ding, from  IMilton,  and  are  mar- 
ried by  Mr.  Kandolph's  Chaplain 
at  Mr.  Shrimpton's,  according  to 
y°  Service-Book,  a  little  after  Noon,  when  Prayer  was  had  at   y" 


cJcLTmui  cJe.U}a/lC  S 


'  Dunton,  in  his  "  Letters  from  Now  England,"  Prince  Society,  1867,  describes  the  approach 
from  the  sea,  p.  67.  »  Ibid.  '  Ibid.,  p.  68. 


THE   BUILDING   OF   KING'S   CHAPEL,   BOSTON.  177 

Town  House ;  was  another  married  at  y"  same  time  ;  the  former  was 
Vosse's  sou.  Borrowed  a  ring.  'Tis  s''  they  having  asked  Mr.  Cook 
and  Addingtou,  and  y^  declining  it,  went  after  to  y"  President,  and 
sent  y™  to  y""  Parson."  The  following  Sunday,  ilay  23d,  was  Whit- 
sunday. There  is  no  record  of  the  service  on  this  high  festival.  Dun- 
ton,  the  son-in-law  of  an  eminent  non-conformist,  is  careful  to  write, 
"for  my  own  part,  I  went  liut  once  or  twice  at  the  lirst,  tho'  j\Ir.  Rat- 
cliif  (as  I  have  said  before)  was  an  Extraordinary  good  Pi'eacher."  ' 

On  Tuesday,  in  Whitsun-week,  the  next  government  was  inaugu- 
rated, the  president  and  council  taking  their  places  on  the  bench  after 
the  oaths  had  been  administered.  The  day  following,  as  Scwall  re- 
cords, "Mr.  Ratclill'c,  the  minister,  waits  on  the  Council.  Mr.  jNIa- 
son  and  Randoljih  i)ropose  that  he  may  have  one  of  the  three  houses  to 
preach  in.  This  is  denied  ;  and  he  is  granted  the  east  end  of  the  town- 
house,  where  the  Deputies  used  to  meet,  untill  those  who  desire  his 
ministry  shall  provide  a  titter  jjlace."  Randolph,  who  neglected  no 
oi)portunit3^  for  jjutting  forward  the  church,  "  desired  Mr.  Ratclitic, 
our  Minister,  to  attend  the  ceremony  and  say  grace,  but  was  refused."' 
Dudley  had  not  forgotten  that  he  had  been  of  old  a  uon- conformist 
minister,  and  that  his  introduction  of  the  services  of  the  Church  at  his 
inauguration  would  never  be  forgiven  by  the  fanatical  peo))le  over 
whom  he  had  been  i)laced.  The  "small  room  in  y"  town-house,"  of 
which  Randolph  speaks,  was  all  that  could  bo  had  for  the'woi'ship  of 
the  Established  Church  ;  and,  on  Trinitj'  Sunday,  Sewall  records  in 
his  diary :  — 

Sabbath,  ]May  30"'  1686.  My  son  reads  to  me  in  course  y'  26""  of  Isaiah  — 
In  that  day  shall  this  song,  etc.  And  we  sing  y"  lil  Psalm  both  exceedingly  suited 
to  y'  day  wherein  there  is  to  be  Worshij)  according  to  y"  Ch"'  of  Eng"""  as  'tis  calTd 
in  y'  Town  House  by  Countenance  of  Authority.  'Tis  defer'd  till  y'  6""  of  June  at 
what  time  y'  Pulpit  is  provided.  The  Pulpit  is  movable,  carried  up  and  down  stairs 
as  occasion  served.  It  seems  many  crowded  thither,  and  y"  ilinisters  pi-eached  fore- 
noon and  afternoon.     Charles  Lidget  there. 

This  minute  is  somewhat  obscure,  but  evidently  the  meaning  of 
the  watchful  annalist  is  that  the 
"  company  increasing  beyond  the 
expectation  of  the  gou"',"  as  Ran- 
dolph writes,  the  change  from  the 
"  small  room  "  to  the  "  Exchange  " 
was  deferred  till  the  "  Pulpit  was 
provided,"  the  services  being  still 
maintained  where  they  had  begun. 
The  "  Ministers "  who  preached  were  Parson  Ratclifle  and  Chaplain 
Buckley,  of  the  "  Rose "  frigate.  On  Tuesday,  the  15th  of  June, 
"the  members  of  the  Church  of  England,  as  by  law  established," 
assembled  for  organization.  The  record  liook  is  still  extant,  and  gives 
the  names  of  the  following  gentlemen  as  the  founders  of  the  Church  in 
Boston:   "M^  Ratclift'e,  our  minister;  Edward  Randolph,  Esq^,  one 

'  Letters,    p.    138.    See,    also,    DuDton's  Tanner  MS.,  in  "  Hist.  Coll.  Am.  Col. 

"  Life  anil  Errors."  Ch.,"  III.,  p.  653. 


178 


HISTORY   OF   THE   AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 


of  his  Majesty's  Councell ;  Captaine  Lydsjett,  M'.  Luscoinb,  M'.  White, 
M^  Maccartie,  J\]^  Ravenscroft,  Doctor  Gierke,  I\^.  Turlery,  M^ 
Hankes,  Doctor  Bullivaiit  The  first  action  of  this  body  was  the  pro- 
vision of  the  weekly  offertory,  or  "  publique  collection  by  the  Church- 
wardens for  the  time  being  for  the  service  of  the  church."     Doctor 


C-SIMILE    OF   EARLIEST  RECORD    BOOK    OF   KliiO  S    CHAPEL,  BOSTON 


Benjamin  BuUivant,  Mr.  Richard  Bankes,  were  elected  church-wardens. 
An  address  to  the  king  and  letters  to  the  Arclil)ishop  and  Bishop  of 
London,  prajdng  for  favor  were  ordered ;  and  "  Smith  the  Joyuer," 
was  directed  to  make  "twelve  formes  for  the  service  of  the  Church,  for 
each  of  which  he  .shall  be  paid  4s.  8d."  The  provision  of  a  sexton  was 
the  first  action  of  this  meeting,  which  gave  corporate  existence  to  the 

'  From  Rev.  Henry  W.  Foote's  "  Annals  of  King's  Chapel,"  by  the  kind  permission  of  the  author. 


THE   BUILDING   OF  KINO'S   CHAPEL,    BOSTON.  179 

first  Church  of  Enghind  in  Massachusetts  Bay.  At  the  next  meeting, 
held  on  Sunday,  the  4th  of  July,  with  increased  nuinhcrs,  the  salary  of 
Mr.  Ratcliflc  was  tixed  at  £50  per  annum,  "  besides  what  y°  Counsell 
shall  thinke  titt  to  Settle  on  him."  Provision  was  made  for  his  assistance, 
and  Smith  the  Joyn'  was  ordered  to  make  a  "readding  ta1)lo  and  Desk." 
A  cushion  was  ordered  for  the  pulpit ;  a  "Clarke,"  a  sober  and  tit  per- 
son, was  to  be  sought  for ;  a  sacrament  was  appointed  for  the  second 
Sunday  in  August,  the  8th  of  the  month  and  the  10th  after  Trinity; 
the  Council  were  to  be  addressed  for  a  "  brief"  for  the  building  of  a 
church  ;  and  "the  Prayers  of  the  Church"  were  to  be  said  every  Wednes- 
day and  Friday,  at  seven  in  the  morning  in  the  summer,  and  at  nine 
in  the  winter.  On  Thursday,  the  5th  of  August,  W'".  Harris,  boddice- 
maker,  was  the  tirst  "  buried  with  the  Common  Prayer  Book  in  Boston. 
He  was  formerly  Mr.  Randolph's  landlord."  ^  On  the  8th  the  same  authority 
writes  :  "'Tis  s''  y°  Sacram'  of  y"  Lord's  Supper  is  administered  at  y"= 
Town-H."  From  this  interesting  source  jve  catch  glimpses  of  succes- 
sive marriage  and  burial  services,  of  the  observance  of  November  5, 
the  day  of  the  gunpowder-plot,  when  the  preacher,  the  Rev.  Josiah 
Clarke,  spoke  "  much  against  the  Presbyterians  in  England  and  here," 
and  of  sacraments  and  sermons  so  carefully  noted  as  to  prove  that 
nothing  was  done  by  the  little  band  of  church-folk  in  their  straitened 
accommodations  at  the  Town-House,  without  the  knowledge  and  care- 
ful observation  of  the  leading  members  of  the  "  Standing  Order." 
There  was  no  attempt  at  keeping  back  any  of  the  distinctive  features 
of  the  church's  system  for  the  avoidance  of  otTence.  When  the  com- 
missioners visited  Boston,  in  1665,  they  had  a  Church  of  England 
chaplain  in  their  train,  but  he  had  l)een  directed  not  to  wear  his  sur- 
plice ;  Irat  now  this  "  rag  of  Popery  "  was  flaunted  in  the  sight  of  all  who 
cared  to  attend  the  services  and  sacraments  at  the  Town-House  Chapel. 
The  "whole  service  of  y'' church,"  Randolph  writes,"  was  read  at  theear- 
ly  prayer  on  Wednes- 
days and  Fridays, 
and,"  proceeds  this 
i  n  t  e  restino-    chron  i- 

cler,  "some  Sundays  jy       ^^ 

seven  or  eight   per-  *C— -rS^^^--^ 

sons  are  in  one  day 
baptis'd . "  It  was  not 
to  be  expected  that 
the  inti-oduction  of  the  common  prayer  in  the  very  metropolis  of  the 
Puritan  theocracy  would  not  be  keenly  felt  and  bitterly  resented  by  the 
nainisters  and  members  of  the  Independents.  Randolph  records  the 
"great  affronts"  cast  upon  tlie  Church,  —  "some  calling  our  minister 
Baal's  priest,  and  some  of  their  ministers  from  the  pulpit  calling  our 
prayei's  leeks,  garlick,  and  trash."-  Exasperated  by  these  and  even 
grosser  affronts,  Randolph,  who  had  often  proposed,  in  his  correspond- 
ence with  the  officials  at  home,  the  adoption  of  arbitrary  and  quite 

'  Sewall's  Diary,    v.  Mass.  Hist.  Soc.  Coll.     ori<r.   ed.  Vol.  II.,  pp.  294,  29S,  of   the  Prince 
v.,  p.  146.  Society  Eeprint. 

-  HutchiiHOii's  "  Coll.  of  Papers,"  pp.  552, 553, 


^^T'^cc^^a/. 


180  HISTORY   OF   THE   AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

unjustifiable  measures  for  the  support  of  the  Church  in  Boston,  again 
urged  the  confiscation  of  one  of  the  Puritan  meeting-houses  for  the 
use  of  the  new  congregation,  or  the  appropriation  of  the  funds  of  the 
corporation  for  evangelizing  the  Indians  for  building  a  church.  The 
authority  of  the  king  was  sought  for  laying  a  levy  upon  the  weekly 
offerings  at  the  Puritan  meetings,  and  the  Council  was  again  and 
again  approached  with  a  view  to  the  passage  of  an  ordinance  making 
the  support  of  the  Church  a  pul)lic  charge.  It  was  happily  all  in  vain, 
and,  although  Randolph  ingenuously  confesses,  "  'twas  never  intended 
that  the  charge  should  l)e  supported  Ijy  myself  and  some  few  others 
of  oure  communion,"  the  answer  of  the  Council,  "those  that  hire  him 
must  maintain  him,  as  they  maintain  their  own  ministei's,  l\y  contri- 
bution," was  not  to  be  gainsaid.  The  Church  of  England,  as  by  law 
established,  found  itself  possessed  of  no  exclusive  rights  and  privileges 
in  its  transplanting  to  Boston,  and  when  put  to  the  test  it  was  found 
both  capable  of  self-support  and  ready  for  it. 

Interesting  glimpses  of  the  progress  of  the  Church  in  Boston  are 
found  in  Randolph's  voluminous  correspondence  with  the  authorities 
in  Church  and  State  at  home.  He  speaks  freely  of  his  own  unpopu- 
larity, and  confesses  that  he  has  to  all  his  "ci'imes  added  this  one  as 
the  greatest,  in  l)ringing  the  liturgy  and  ceremonies  of  the  Church  of 
England  to  be  observed  amongst  us."'  He  narrates  a  story  of  the 
coming  of  the  Indian  converts,  those  "  called  ministers,"  to  Mr.  Rat- 
cliife,  with  a  complaint  of  their  meagre  allowance.  The  interference  of 
Ratclifle  and  Randolph  seems  only  to  have  procured  "  the  promise  of  a 
coarse  coat  against  winter."  The  ftict  is  stated  that  the  commissioners 
"would  not  surt'er  Aai-on,  an  Indian  teacher,  to  have  a  Inlile  with  the 
common  prayer  in  it,  ])ut  took  it  away  from  him,"  and  the  assertion  is 
made  that  the  funds  of  the  society  were  "  now  converted  to  private  or 
worse  uses."  The  mmiber  of  "  daily  frequenters  "  of  the  church  is 
stated  as  four  hundred.  "  Many  more  would  come  over  to  us,  but  some 
being  tradesmen,  others  of  mcclianiek  professions,  are  threatened  bj^ 
the  congregational!  men  to  be  arrested  by  their  creditors,  or  to  lie 
turned  out  of  their  work  if  the,y  ofl'er  to  come  to  our  church."  In  a 
letter  to  Abp.  Bancroft,  Randoliih  refers  to  the  "  small  artifices  they 
have  used  to  prevent  our  meetings  on  Sundays,  and  at  all  other  tymes 
to  serve  God."  "  I  cannot,"  he  says,  "omit  to  acquaint  your  grace,  how 
tender-conscienced,  members  of  our  old  church,  for  soe  they  arc  dis- 
tinguished ft'om  the  other  two  churches  in  Boston,  are.  Not  long  since 
I  desired  them  to  let  their  clerk  toll  their  bell  at  9  o'clock,  AVednes- 
days  and  Frida3s,  for  us  to  meet  to  go  to  prayei's.  Their  men  told  me, 
in  excuse  for  not  doing  it,  that  tliey  had  considered  and  found  it  in- 
trenched on  their  lilierty  of  conscience  granted  them  by  his  jMajestyes 
present  commission,  and  could  in  noe  wise  assent  to  it."  Doubtless 
this  statement  is  not  at  all  exaggei-ated,  and  we  maj"-  judge  somewhat 

'  Mr.    Footc,    iu   his    "  Annals    of    Kinn;'s  ortho^'raphy "    to  the   ti-ansci'iber,    stating  that 

Chapel,"   in  quotins  one  of  Randolph's  letters  the  ori<rinals   are  in  this  respect  not  very  ex- 

froiu  the  Ilutcliinson  Papers,  indulges  in  a  wit-  ccptiouable.  —  Orit/.  ed.,  \t,55'2.     Reprint,  p.  294. 

ticism  at  the   expense  of  the  writer's   spelling  This  assertion  of  Ilntchinson  is  confirmed  by  an 

"  liturgy  "  as  "  Icthcrdgc."    In  afoot-note  to  this  examination  of  the  transcripts  from  Randolph's 

vevy   letter    Ilntehinson    attributes    the     "  had  letters  published  iu  other  collections. 


THE   BUILDING   OF   KING'S    CHAPEL,    BOSTON. 


181 


of  the  provocation  churchmen  iu  general,  and  liandolph  in  particular, 
must  have  borne  from  these  incidents  of  fanatical  intolerance.  It  may 
not  1)0  out  of  place  to  record  Cotton  Mather's  reference  to  the  chief 
promoter  of  all  these  schemes  for  the  conversion  of  New  England  to  the 
( 'Inuili.  ])('inied  after  the  olijeet  of  thewi'iter's  malevolence  was  dead  :  — 

Of  Randolph  1  said,  a  good  wliile  ago,  that  /  xhould  have  a  further  occasion 
/(I  mention  him.  I  have  now  done  it.  And  tliat  I  may  never  mention  liim  any  more, 
I  will  hen:  take  my  Eternal  Farewell  of  him,  with  Relating  That  he  proved  a 
Blasted  Wrcteli,  followed  with  a  sensil^le  Curse  of  Goil,  wherever  he  eame,  —  De- 
spised. Abhorred,  Unprosperons.  Anon  he  died  in  Virginia,  and  in  such  Miserable 
Circmustanees  that  (as  it  is  said)  he  had  only  Two  or  Three  Negroes  to  cany  him 
unio  his  Grave.' 


On  Monday,  December  20,   1686,   President  Dudley  was  super- 
seded, and   Sir   Edmund   Andros,   who 
hail  arrived  on  the  preceding  daj',  the     /'"^ /I    / — N 
fourth    Sunday   in   Advent,    l)ecame  the    /cz=Jjhr'y^        )     y 
first    royal   governor    of  the    i)ro\ince.  /^ ft)/L^^//'^^Y*i — \ 
This   noted   character  in  New  England  C/  0 

history  had   been  a  page  in  the   royal 

household,   and   had   .shared   the    exile   and    falling   fortunes   of   the 
House  of  Stuart.     In  the  service  of  Prince  Henry  of  Nassau,  and 


Obverse  J^everse. 

GUEAT   SEAL    OK   NEW    ENGLAND    UNDER    ANDROS. ' 


afterwards  as  Gentleman  in  Ordinary  to  the  Queen  of  Bohemia, — 
the  unfortunate  "  Queen  of  Hearts,"  —  he  acquired  the  courtly  man- 

'"  Not  supported  liy  evideui'e,"  is  the  com-  toi-ical  Magazine,"  April,  1862,  livGeorffcAdlanl, 

ment  of  Mr.  Foote,  who  quotes  these  characteris-  and  the  account  in  liis  "  Sutton-Dudleys  of  Eng- 

ticsentences.  —  AtuiaUqf  King's  Chapel, 1.,  p.  56.  land ;  "  see,  also,  "  JIass,  Hist.  Soc.  Proc,"  July, 

■■  See  an  account  of  the  Great  Seal  iu  "  His-  18G2,  and  Palfrey,  ill.,  516. 


182  HISTORY   OF   THE   AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

ners  and  presence  which,  added  to  the  experience  he  had  had  in  two 
hemisplieres  in  active  military  service,  made  him,  as  a  courtier  and  a 
cavalier  soldier,  a  valued  and  devote<l  servant  of  the  reigning  house. 
It  was  characteristic  of  the  man  that,  on  the  very  day  of  his  inaugura- 
tion, he  sought  to  make  an  arrangement  with  the  Puritan  ministers 
for  the  use  of  one  of  the  meeting-houses  for  the  church's  use,  at  a  time 
when  it  would  not  interfere  with  the  rights  of  the  original  jn-oprietors. 
On  Tuesday,  the  21st,  there  was  "a  meeting  at  Mr.  Allen's  of  y" 
ministers  and  four  of  each  congregation  to  consider  wliat  answer  to 
give  y'  Gov''.  ;  and  'twas  agreed  y'  could  not  with  a  good  conscience 
consent  y'  our  Meeting-House,  should  be  made  use  of  for  y"  Comon- 
Prayer  worship."  The  "ministers"  were  the  Rev.  James  Allen,  who 
had  been  for  eighteen  years  a  minister  of  the  oldest  Puritan  Society, 
with  whom  was  associated  the  Rev.  Joshua  Jloody,  who  had  felt  the 
pressure  of  arbitrary  rule  in  matters  ecclesiastical  under  Cranfield's 
rule  in  Portsmouth.  Imprisoned  for  refusing  to  administer  the  holy 
communion  after  the  manner  of  the  Church  of  England  to  Cranticld 
and  his  satellites,  he  had  on  his  release  come  to  Boston,  to  assist  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Allen  in  his  arduous  charge.  Later,  and  in  consequence  of 
his  opposition  to  the  witchcraft  delusion,  he  returned  to  his  old  home, 
ha^■iug  through  his  public  life  preserved  the  respect  and  honor  due  to 
intelligence,  integrity,  and  a  fearless  independence.  At  the  second  of 
the  Boston  "  Meeting-Houses  "  were  the  Mathers,  father  and  son,  the 
tirst  renowned  for  his  ])rominence  and  success  in  secular  life  as  well  as 
in  the  ministry.  As  President  of  Harvard  College,  as  agent  at  the 
Court  of  King  James  II. ,  and  at  that  of  King  AVilliam  and  Queen 
INIarjs  and  as  the  head  of  his  order,  Increase  Mather  wielded  a  power 
well-nigh  absolute,  and  ^vas  the  foremost  man  of  Massachusetts.  His 
son  Cotton,  then  a  young  man,  but  full  of  parts  and  promise,  has  left 
a  name  which  will  never  be  forgotten  in  the  history  of  his  beloved 
New  England.  At  the  South  jNIeeting-House  was  the  Rev.  Samuel 
Willard,  a  theologian  of  no  mean  ability,  as  his  ponderous  folio,  the 
tirst  published  in  New  England,  proves,  and  also  a  Vice-President  of  the 
college.  These  were  the  ministei's  of  Boston  at  the  time  of  Andros's 
coming.  The  names  of  the  twelve  lajoneu  arc  not  preserved.  Sewall, 
who  records  in  his  diary  the  quaint  but  striking  minutes  of  the  events 
then  passing  under  his  eye,  was,  doubtless,  one.  Simon  Bradstreet,  "  an 
old  man,  quiet  and  grave,  dressed  in  black  silk  but  not  sumptuously," 
as  the  Labadistmissionary '  describes  him  in  1G82,  was  probaljly  another. 
It  is  not  unlikely  that  "  Eliot,  Frarye,  Oliver,  Savage,,  and  Davis," 
mentioned  a  little  later  as  uniting  with  Sewall  in  remonstrating  \vith 
the  governor  for  sending  for  the  keys  of  the  Old  South,  were  among 
the  number.  But,  whoever  the  laymen  were  who  united  with  theu* 
ministers  in  this  meeting  at  Mr.  Allen's,  their  opposition  was  for  the 
time  eft'octual.  The  Rev.  Messrs.  jNIather  and  Willard,  as  we  Icai'n 
from  Sewall,  met  the  governor  "at  his  lodgings  at  iSIadame  Taylor's," 
and  "  thoroughly  discoursed  his  Exccllencj^  about  y°  meeting-houses 
in  great  plainness,  shewing  they  could  not  consent.     He  seems  to  say 

1  Long  Island  Hist.  Soo.  Coll.,  i. 


THE  BUILDING   OF   laNG'S   CHAPEL,   BOSTON.  183 

will  not  impose."'  Although  his  commissiou  t'roiu  the  king  provided 
"that  such  especially  as  shal  be  conformable  to  the  rites  of  the  Church 
of  England,  be  particularly  countenanced  and  encouraged,"-  the  gov- 
ernor preferred  not  to  "  impose  "  for  several  months,  uniting  with  the 
little  band  of  fellow-churchmen  in  the  services  at  the  Town-House, 
while  the  all-observant  Puritan  diarist  noted  down,  day  after  day,  his 
attendance  upon  prayers  and  sacraments  :  — 

Tuesday,  January  25.  This  day  is  kept  for  S'  Paul,  and  y°  Bell  was  rung  in 
y°  morning  to  call  persons  to  service  ;  the  Gov'  (I  am  told)  was  tliere. 

Monday,  January  31.  There  is  a  meeting  at  y'  Town-house  forenoon 
and  alternoou.  Bell  rang  for  it;  respecting  y*  beheading  Charles  y'  first.  The 
Gov'  there. 

It  was  not  till  the  Tuesday  before  Easter,  in  the  midst  of  the 
solemnities  of  that  week  which  brings  to  churchmen  so  many  cherished 
associations,  that  the  governor,  who  had  waited  patiently,  but  in 
vain,  for  some  sign  of  yielding  on  the  part  of  the  Puritan  ministers, 
determined  to  carry  out  his  cherished  plan.  The  observing  Sewall 
thus  writes :  — 

Tuesday,  March  2:.',  168*/?.  This  day  his  Excellency  views  the  three  Meeting 
Houses.  Wednesday  March  23.  The  Gov'  sent  Mr.  Randolph  for  j^  keys  of  our 
Meetingh.  y'  may  say  Prayers  there.  Mr.  Eliot,  Frary,  Oliver,  Savage, 
Davis,  and  myself  wait  on  his  Excellency,  shew  that  y''  Land  and  House  is  ours, 
and  tliat  we  can't  consent  to  part  with  it  to  such  use ;  exhibit  an  extract  of  Mr. 
Norton's  Deed  and  how  'twas  built  by  particular  persons  as  Hull,  Oliver,  100£  a 
piece,  etc. 

Friday,  March  25,  1687.  The  Gov'  has  service  in  y'  South  Meeting  house. 
Goodm  Needham,  [the  Sexton]  tbo'  had  resolv'd  to  y°  contrary  was  prcvau'd  upon 
to  Ring  y"  Bell  and  open  y*  door  at  y"  Governour's  command,  one  Smith  and  Ilill, 
Joiner  and  Shoemaker,  being  very  busy  about  it.  Mr.  Juo.  Usher  was  there, 
whether  at  y'  very  Begining,  or  no,  I  can't  tell. 

This  was  on  Good  Friday.  On  Easter-day,  as  we  learn  from 
Sewall :  — 

Gov'  and  his  retinue  met  in  our  Meetingh.  at  eleven ;  broke  off  past  two,  bee. 
of  y'  Sacrament  and  Mr.  Clark's  long  sermon ;  now  we  were  appointed  to  come 
half  hour  past  one,  so  'twas  a  sad  sight  to  see  how  full  the  street  was  with  people 
gazing  and  moving  to  and  fro,  bee.  had  not  entrance  into  y"  house.^ 

The  story  is  best  told  in  the  words  of  the  Puritan  annalist :  — 

Tuesday,  May  10.  Mr.  BuUivant  having  been  acquainted  that  May  Lo""  was 
our  Sacrameiit  day,  he  writt  to  Mr.  Willard  that  he  had  acquainted  those  principally 
concern'd,  and  'twas  judg'd  very  improper  and  inconvenient  for  y°  Gov'  and  his  to 
be  at  any  other  House,  it  being  VVhit-Sunday,  and  they  must  have  y°  Coiuunion ,  and 
y'  'twas  expected  should  leave  off  by  12,  and  not  return  again  till  y'  rung  y°  Bell 
y'  might  have  time  to  dispose  of  y°  Elements.  So  remembering  how  long  y'  wei^e 
at  Easter,  we  wore  afraid  'tivould  breed  much  confusion  in  y°  Afternoon,  and  so 
on  Wednesday  concluded  not  to  have  our  Sacrament,  for  saw  'twas  in  vain  to  urge 
their  jiromise.  And  on  y'  8"  of  May  [Sunday  after  Ascension]  were  bid  past  One 
a  pretty  deal.     May  15.  —  Goes  out  just  i  hour  after  one;  so  have  our  Afternoon 

'  Quoted  in  appendix  to  Wisnei-'s  "  HUtoiy  ■  III.  Mass.  Hist.  Soc.  Coll.,  ii.,  p.  U7. 

of  the  Old  South  Church  in  Boston,"  p.  93.  '  Wisner's  "  Old  South,"  p.  94. 


184  HISTORY   OF   THE   AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

exercise  in  due  Season.    But  see  y'  have  y'  advantage  to  lengthen  or  shorten  y' 
Exercises  so  as  may  make  for  y'  purpose. 

The  pcstponement  of"  the  Puritan  sacrament,  and  the  jicculiar  cir- 
cumstances of  the  "  South-Church  "  in  consequence  of  "  the  Church  of 
England's  meeting  in  it,"  were  the  occasion  of  a  day  of  fasting  and 
prayer  on  the  1st  of  June.  In  the  exei'cises  of  this  occasion  Messrs. 
Willard,  Moody,  and  Cotton  Mather  participated.  On  the  12th  of  the 
same  month,  the  third  Sunday  after  Trinity,  the  Puritan  sacrament 
was  celebrated,  and  Sewall  notes  the  fact  that  the  "Ch*"  of  E.  Men  go 
not  to  any  other  House  ;  yet  little  hindrance  to  us  save  as  to  ringing 
the  first  Bell,  and  straitning  y"  Deacons  in  removal  of  y°  Table." 

The  summer  passed  without  giving  occasion  for  comment.  Evi- 
dently the  opposing  elements  were  somewhat  held  in  check,  if  not  by 
a  spirit  of  mutual  concession  and  tolerance,  at  least  by  an  unwilling- 
ness to  precipitate  a  quarrel,  the  result  of  which  could  not  but  be  un- 
foi'tunate  to  both.  But  on  October  IG,  the  twenty -first  Sunday  after 
Trinity,  there  was  a  slight  conflict,  the  arrogant  churchman,  if  we  can 
credit  Sewall,  —  a  by  no  means  unprejudiced  witness,  — ordering  the 
venerable  minister  of  the  South  Meeting-house  "  to  leave  off  sooner  " 
for  his  accommodation.  The  issue  could  not  be  other  than  that  which 
Sewall  records, — "To  w""  Mr.  Willard  not  consenting,  Gov''  sent  for 
him  in  y*^  night."  The  following  day  the  attention  of  Sir  Edmund 
was  pleasantly  diverted  from  ecclesiastical  quarrels  by  the  arrival  of 
his  wife,  "  a  right  good  and  virtuous  lady,"  who  came  to  New  England 
only  to  die.  The  New  Year  had  hardly  opened  when,  after  alterna- 
tions of  hope  and  fear,  the  diary  that  hud  noted  her  coming  records 
her  death :  — 

Sabbath  22''  (January  1687/8) .  My  Lady  Audros  was  prayed  for  in  Public,  who 
has  been  dangerously  ill  ever  .since  the  last  Sabbath  ....  About  the  beginning 
of  om'  afternoon  Exercises  the  Lady  Andros  expires.' 

On  Friday,  February  10,  were  the  impressive  funeral  rites. 
Sewall  thus  describes  the  scene,  which,  in  all  its  impressive  details, 
must  have  looked  strangely  enough  to  a  people  unused  to  any  pomp 
and  circumstance  at  the  last  of  earth  :  — 

Between  4  and  6  I  went  to  y'  I'uueral  of  y°  Lady  Andros,  having  been  invited 
^y*  Clark  of  y"  South-Company.  Between  7  and  8  (Lychus-  illuminating y"  cloudy 
air)  the  Coi'ps  was  carried  into  the  Herse  drawn  by  six  Horses,  the  irouldiers  mak- 
ing a  Guard  from  y°  Governour's  House  down  y'  Prison  Lane  to  y*  South-I\I.  House, 
there  taken  out  and  carried  in  at  y°  western  dore,  and  set  in  y"  Alley  before  y"  pul- 
pit w"  six  Mourning  women  by  it.  House  made  light  with  candles  and  Torches ; 
was  a  great  noise  and  clamor  to  keep  people  out  of  y"  House,  y'  might  not  rush  in 
too  soon.  1  went  home,  where  about  nine  a  clock  I  heard  y"  Bells  toll  again  for  y" 
funeral.  It  seems  Mr.  RatcliflVs  text  was  —  Cry,  all  ilesh  is  Grass.  The  Ministei's 
turn'd  in  to  Mr.  Willards.  The  Meeting  House  full,  among  whom  Mr.  Dudley, 
Stoughton,  Gedncy,  Bradstrect  etc.  'Twas  warm  thawing  weather,  and  the  wayes 
extream  dirty.  No  volley  at  placing  the  Body  in  the  Tomb.  On  Satterday,  Feb.  11, 
the  mourning  cloth  of  the  pulpit  is  taken  off  and  given  to  Jlr.  Willard. 

^  Tlie  maiden  name  of  the  Governor's  wife  Amlro-^  Tracts,    i)ublishetl   by  the  Prince  So- 

w.as  Marie  t'niven,  sister  of  Sir  William  Craven,  ciety,  I.,  pp.  xi.-xiii. 
and  oldest  daughter  of  Sir  Thomas  Ci'avcn,  of  -  Lynchs  ?  i.e.,  linlis  ortorches. 

Appleti'cewich,  in  the  county  of  York.  Vide  Tlio 


TIIR   BUILDING   OF   KING'S   CHAPEL,    BOSTON.  185 

It  was  not  long  after  this  solemn  service  that  a  "  Brief"  was  au- 
thoi'ized  by  the  council  for  asking  and  receiving  "  the  free  and  volun- 
tary contributions  of  any  of  the  inhabitants  in  the  town  of  Boston 
towards  the  building  and  erecting  of  a  house  or  place  for  the  service 
of  the  Church  of  England."  Nearly  a  hundred  names  arc  affixed  to 
this  document.  No  little  difficulty  was  experienced  in  securing  a  site. 
Sewall  was  approached,  but  in  vain.  On  Wednesday,  March  28,  1688, 
we  have  the  record  :  — 

Capt.  Davis  spake  to  me  for  Land  to  set  a  Ch'  on :  I  told  hiiu  could  not. 
Would  not,  put  Mr.  Cotton's  Laud  to  such  an  use,  and  besides  'twas  entail'd.  After, 
Mr.  Randolph  saw  me,  and  had  me  to  his  House  to  see  y'  Landscapes  of  Oxford 
Colledoes  and  Halls.  Left  me  with  Mr.  Ratcliflf,  who  spake  to  me  for  Land  at  Cot- 
ton Hill  for  a  Church  W'  were  going  to  build.  I  told  him  could  not,  first  because  I 
would  not  set  up  that  w''  y"  people  of  N.  E.  came  over  to  avoid;  2''  y'  Land  was 
entail'd.  In  after  discourse,  I  mentioned  chiefly  the  Cross  in  Baptism  and  Holy 
Dayes. 

Friday,  Apr.  6.  The  Exposition  of  y'  Ch""  of  EngP  Catechism,  by  y*  Bishop 
of  Bath  and  Wells,  [Ken]  comes  out  jjrinted  ^  Rich''  Pierce,  with  y'  39  Articles. 

Saturday,  Apr.  1  i.  Mr.  West  comes  to  Mr.  Willard  from  y°  Gov'  to  speak  to 
him  to  begin  at  8  in  y°  morn,  and  says  this  shall  be  y"  last  time  ;  they  will  build  a 
house.  We  begin  ab'  j  hour  past  8,  yet  y"  people  come  pretty  roundly  together. 
'Twas  Easter-day  and  y"  Lord's  Supper  with  us  too. 

Thursday,  May  24"".  Bell  is  rang  for  a  Meeting  of  y"  Ch'  of  Engl''  Men,  being 
in  their  language  Ascension  day. 

On  Tiinity  Sunday  there  was  an  altercation  growing  out  of  the  length 
of  the  Puritan  sacrament,  which  culminated  on  Saturday,  June  23,  when, 
to  quote  the  marginal  note  of  Sewall,  there  was  "  Hott  Dispute  with 
Gov'':  about  Meeting-House  South."  The  following  day  through  mutual 
forbearance,  Sewall  notes,  "  so  we  have  very  convenient  time."  A  little 
later  there  was  a  conflict  over  the  grave  of  Edward  Lilley,  one  of  the 
subscribers  to  the  new  church,  between  a  Puritan  deacon,  Frary  by 
name,  who  forl)ade  the  reading  of  the  "  Common  Prayer  "  at  the  grave, 
and  Parson  Ratclifle  who,  in  the  satirical  language  of  Increase  Mather, 
"  came  with  Gown  and  Book  to  settle  a  Laudable  Custom  in  that  Bar- 
barous country."  It  is  evident  that  Lilley  had  connected  himself  with 
the  Church,  or  the  parson  would  not  have  been  at  such  pains  to  bury 
him  with  the  Church's  pi'ayers.  On  Tuesday,  October  16,  "  the  ground- 
sills of  y"  Ch''  are  Laid,  y"  stone  foundation  being  finished."  On  the 
following  day,  Wednesday,  October  17,  "this  day  a  great  part  of  y'" 
Church  is  raised."  Note  is  made  of  the  absence  of  Cotton  Mather  at  the 
house-raising,  which  would  indicate  that  the  ministers  generally,  and 
doubtless  the  annalist  himself,  with  other  prominent  citizens  and  officials, 
were  in  attendance,  testifying,  if  not  their  personal  interest,  their  satis- 
faction at  the  approaching  redemption  of  the  governor's  promise  to 
terminate  the  joint  occupancy  of  the  South  Meeting-house.  The  site 
fixed  upon  l)y  the  governor  and  his  little  band  of  churchmen  was  the 
corner  of  the  old  buryiug-ground,  which  was  doubtless  duly  conveyed 
to  the  "rector,  church- wardens,  and  vestry  of  the  King's  Chapel,"  as 
the  little  wooden  structure  was  proudly  styled,  though  the  deed,  if  any 
were  given,  is  not  on  record.  That  the  proceedings  on  the  part  of  the 
authorities  in  ceding  the  land  for  this  use  were  in  accordance  with 


186  HISTORY   OF  THE   AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

law  is  evident  from  the  fact  that  on  the  overthrow  of  Andvos  the  act 
was  not  annulled,  and,  indeed,  its  legality  has  never  been  impugned. 
The  charges  incurred  in  the  erection  of  the  King's  Chapel  were  £284 
16s.  The  major  part  of  this  sum,  £25()  9s.  was  raised  Idj  the  gifts  of 
nearly  one  hundred  subscribers,  a  list  of  whose  names  appears  on  the 
records,  and  is  thus  prefaced  :  — 

Boston,  July,  1689.  —  Laus  Deo.  A  memonindiuii  of  such  honest  and  well- 
disposed  persons  that  conti'ibuted  their  assistance  for,  and  towards  erecting  a  (Jhureli 
for  God's  Worship  in  Boston,  according  to  the  constitution  of  the  ('hurch  of  I'^ng- 
land,  as  by  law  established.' 

The  balance  of  the  cost  was  borne  by  Andros,  who  gave  £30,  and 
Nicholson  who  contributed  £25.     Plain  in  its  exterior,  bare  within. 


THE    FIR.ST    KINGS    CHAPEL. 


lacking  pews,  and  devoid  of  any  attempt  at  adornment,  it  still  had  a 
"pulpit  cushion  with  fringe,  tassel,  and  silk."  Meantime  events  were 
transpirins:  which,  ere  the  opening  of  the  church,  resulted  in  the  over- 
throw of  the  government  of  Andros,  and  prevented  the  chief  promoters 
and  founders  of  the  chapel  from  worshipping  within  its  walls.  Amidst  the 
rejoicings  of  Eastertide,  1089,  there  came  news  ofthe  landing  of  William 
of  Orange,  at  Torbay.  A  young  man  named  John  AVinslow  brought, 
on  his  return  from  the  island  of  Nevis,  a  copy  of  the  printed  declara- 
tions of  the  Prince  of  Orange,  on  his  landing  in  England,  "  on  purpose," 

1  Greenwood's  "  Histoiy  of  King's  Chapel  in  Boston,"  p.  45. 


THE   BUILDING   OF   KING'S   CHAPEL,    BOSTON. 


187 


to  quote  his  own  words,  "to  let  the  people  in  New  England  understand 
what  a  speedy  deliverance  they  might  expect  from  arbitrary  power."' 
It  should  be  understood 
that  the  news  lirought  by 
AVinslow  could  not  have 
been  of  later    date   than 
the  first  month  after  the 
landing  of  the  prince,  and 
that  the  result  of  the 
expedition  was  at  that 
timecjuite  problemati- 
cal.    Concealing    the 
declaration   from  An- 
dres ;-  and,  on  his  ap- 
prehension, by  order 
of  the  governor,  refusing 
to  produce  the  papers,  — 
"  being  afraid,"  he  says, 
"to  let  him   have  them, 
because  he  would  not  let 
the  people  know  any  news , 
—  "3  the  "  saucy  fellow," 
as  Andros  styled  him,  was 
committed   to   prison  by 
the  Church  Justices  Bulli- 
vant,  Lydget,  and    Fox- 
croft,  "  for  bringing  Ti'ai- 
terous    and    Treasonable 
Libels     and    Papers     of 
News."    A  fortnight  later 
"  a  o;eneral  buzzino;  amon!; 
the  people,  great  with  ex- 
pectation   of    their     old 
Charter,  or  they  know  not 
whnt,"attracted  the  notice 
of  Andros  ;  and  on  Thursday,  the  18th 
of  April,  when  the  "weekly  lecture"  at 
the  "  First  Church  "  had  aflbrded  a  pre- 
text for  the  gathering  of  the  people  from 
the  neighboring  towns,  liy  eight  o'clock 
in  the  morning  the  town  was  thronged 
with  excited  crowds,  while  an  hour  later 
the  drums  were  beating,  and  the  streets 
were  filled  with  men  in  arms.  The  captain 
of  the  "  Rose "  frigate  was  seized  liy  the 
militia-men,   and  placed  under  guard. 
Directly  the  old  magistrates  were  es- 
corted by  the  soldiery  to  the  Council 


Chamber,  and  Secretary  Ran- 


The  Revolution  in  New  England  Justified. 
Andros  Tracts,  i.,  pp.  78,  79. 


=  Ibid.,  p.  77. 
■'Ibid.,  p.  78. 


188 


HISTORY   OF  THE   AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 


dolph,  Justices  Bullivant  and  Foxcroft,  Sheriff  Sherlock,  Captains 
Ravenscroft  and  White,  and  "  many  more  "  of  the  governox''s  adherents 
were  seized  and  confined  in  jail.  About  noon  "  The  declai'ation  of  the 
Gentlemen  Merchants  and  Inhabitants  of  Boston,  and  the  country  ad- 
jacent," a  long  and  carefully  prepared  document,  evidently  wi'itten  by 


TUE   BUILDING   OF   KING'S   CHAPEL,   BOSTON.  189 

Cotton  Mather,  was  read  from  the  eastern  gallery  of  the  Town-house, 
at  the  head  of  King  street,  to  the  anxious  and  excited  crowd  below. 
The  elaborated  periods  of  this  important  paper  would  indicate  "  that 
the  design  of  seizing  upon  Sir  E.  A. ,  and  subverting  kingly  government 
in  New  England,  had  been  long  contrived  and  resolved  on;"^  and 
that  the  object  of  this  popular  insurrection  was  indeed  "to  rend 
themselves  from  the  Crown  of  England,"  as  was  plainly  charged  at  the 
time  in  the  ablest  vindication  of  the  administration  of  Andros  in  print. 
The  reading  of  this  paper  was  received  with  a  shout  from  the  impatient 
crowd,  ^vhereupon  their  leaders,  who  had  ostensibly  drawn  up  the  Dec- 
laration, "drew  up  a  short  letter  to  Sir  Edmund  Andros,"^  demanding 
the  surrender  of  "  the  Government  and  the  Fortifications."  This  letter, 
signed  by  Wait  Winthrop,  Simon  Bradstreet,  William  Stoughton, 
Samuel  Shrimpton,  Thomas  Danforth,  John  Richards,  Elisha  Cooke, 
Isaac  Addington  and  others,*  fifteen  in  number,  some  of  them  counsel- 
lors and  others  assistants  mider  the  abrogated  charter,  asserted  that  the 
signers  were  "  surprized  with  the  people's  sudden  taldng  of  arms  ;  in  the 
first  motion  whereof  we  were  wholly  ignorant."^  Andros,  who,  accord- 
ing to  his  adversaries,  had,  "  at  the  first  noise  of  the  action,  fled  into  the 
Garrison  on  Fort-Hill,  where  the  Governor's  lodgings  were,"^  had  de- 
manded a  conference  ;  but  this  was  declined.  About  two  o'clock  iu  the 
afternoon,  "the  Lecture  being  put  by,"  as  Byfield  informs  us,^  there 
were  "twenty  companies  "  in  arms,  and  a  boat  sent  from  the  "Eosc  " 
frigate,  for  the  relief  of  the  governor  and  his  companions  who  were  in 
the  fort,  was  seized,  whereupon  the  leader  of  the  insurgents,  John 
Nelson,  a  fellow-churchman  with  Andros,  demanded  the  surrender  of 
"the  Fort  and  the  Governor."  Andros  finally  consented  to  accompany 
his  assailants  to  the  council-chamber,  where  he  was  reviled  by  Stoughton, 
a  member  of  his  own  council,  and  then  confined  for  the  ni^ht  in  the 
house  of  Mr.  John  Usher,  a  personal  friend,  while  his  friends  were  sent 
to  jail.  The  sun  set  upon  the  complete  overthrow  of  the  royal  author- 
ity in  Boston,  and  as  "  the  Worship  of  the  Church  of  England  had,"  to 
quote  the  words  of  the  author  of  "  An  Account  of  the  late  Revolutions  in 
New  England,"  "the  disadvantage  with  us  that  most  of  our  Late  Oppres- 
sors were  the  great  and  sole  Pillars  of  it  there,"  so  the  Church  suffered 
with  the  crown.  Parson  Ratclifl'e,  who  had  evidently  been  at  pains  to 
win  the  respect  of  his  Puritan  neighbors,  and  had  sought,  in  many 
ways,  as  we  learn  from  Sewall's  diary,  to  cultivate  friendly  relations 
with  the  people  among  whom  his  lot  was  cast,  appears  to  have  escaped 
the  imprisonment  so  generally  meted  out  to  his  parishioners  and 
friends.  It  is  no  triiiing  testimony  to  his  urbanity  and  excellence  that 
he  was  able  to  pass  through  such  a  trial  unscathed. 

Still  the  little  church  on  the  corner  of  the  public  "  God's  Acre  " 
was  preserved,  though  in  no  little  danger  from  the  violence  of  the  mob, 

1  New  England's  Faction  Discovered ;  01- a  England,  by  A.  B.    Boston,  16S9.   Andros  Tracts, 

Brief  and  True  Account  of  their  Persecution  of  n.,  p.  196. 

y«CluirchofEn^'land.  London,  1690.  This  piece,  ■•Bradstreet,  Danforth,  Richards,  Cooke,  and 

hyC.  D.  (Col.orC'apt.  Dudley),  is  reprinted  in  the  Addinjrtou,  were  respectively  governor,  It.-gov- 

Andros  Tracts,  II.,  pp.  203-222.  The  statement  is  crnor,  "and  of  the  assistants  at  the  termination  of 

confirmcil  liy  Puritan  authority.     Vide  AncU'OS  the  government  in  1GS6. 
Tracts,  n.,  pp.  191,  195.     Vide, also,  "Palfrey's  -"Keprintcd  iu  Andros  Tracts,  i.,  p.  20. 

New  England,"  ni.,pp.  .579, 600,  note;  596, note.  " Andros  Triicts,  II.,  p.  196. 

-  All  Account  of  the  late  Hevolutious  iu  New  "  Il/id.,  I.,  p.  6. 


190 


HISTORY    OF   THE    AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 


-"AJ 


•I  ;\W 


7. 

O 


c 

c 
g 

5 


and  "  daily  threatened  to  be  pulled  downe  and 
destroyed."'  The  windows  were  "broke  to 
pieces,  and  the  Doors  and  Walls  daubed  and 
defiled  with  Dung  and  other  filth  in  the  basest 
manner  imaginable,  and,  the  Minister,  for  his 
safety,  was  forced  to  leave  the  country  and 
his  congregation,  and  go  for  England."^  It 
would  appear  that  on  the  fifth  Sunday  after 
Trinity,  June  30, 1  (589,  tlie  church  was  opened. 
Mr.  RatclifFe  does  not  appear  to  have  sailed 
for  England  until  the  following  month,  while 
the  records  indicate'^  the  presence  of  his  suc- 
cessor, the  Eev.  Samuel  Mylcs,  A.M.,  on  the 
day  of  opening.  The  son  of  a  Baptist  preacher 
at  Swansea,  a  graduate  of  Harvard  College  in 
the  class  of  1G84,  and  a  teacher,  for  some  years 
after  graduation,  in  Charlestown,  he  seems  to 
have  gone  over  to  England  for  ordination  in 
1687,  and  to  have  returned  in  time  to  take 
the  place  of  Ratcliffe.  There  are  reasons  to 
suppose  that  he  was  at  this  time  in  deacon's 
orders ;  no  notice  of,  or  allusion  to,  the  ad- 
ministration of  the  holy  connnunion  being- 
found  on  the  records  till  the  time  of  his  visit 
to  England,  in  1692.  If  this  was  so  it  is 
probable  that  ]\Ir.  Ratcliffe  lingered  to  break 
to  his  people  the  bread  of  life,  on  the  occasion 
of  the  opening  of  the  church,  and  that  the 
two  clergymen  shared  in  the  solemnities  of 
this  interesting  da3\ 

In  the  meantime  the  chief  supporters  of  the 
church  were  in  prison.  So  closely  was  An- 
dros  watched  that  his  jailer  would  not  suffer 
"his  chaplain  to  visite  him."^  Ratcliffe, 
while  escaping  actual  imprisonment,  "  was 
hindered  and  obstructed  in  the  discharge  of 
his  duty."^  The  Puritan  ministers,  "l)y  all 
ways  and  means  possible,  as  well  in  their  Pul- 
pits as  private  Discourses,  endeavour'd  to 
asperse,  calumniate,  and  defame"^  the  mem- 
bers of  the  church,  "and  so  far  did  their  malice 

>  Address  of  rector  and  wai'dens  to  the  King,  Foote's  "  An- 
nals of  King's  Chapel,"  I.,  p.  101. 

=  Now  Enaland's  Faction  Discovered,  bv  C.  D.  Andros 
Tracts,  ii.,  p.  212. 

■'1689,  July  1.  By  cash  paid  M''  Miles,  20/  and  the  Gierke, 
.5/  .  .  .  y '27.  By  dishursemenls  for  yo  accommodation  of 
M'-  Ratcliffe,  for  his  boy  a  home,  as  appears  by  several  Bills 
on  file,  £11  4s.  Sd.  —  Foote's  Annals  of  King's  Chapel,  I.,  p. 
105.     Vide,  also.  Hid.,  p.  97. 

♦Hist.  Collections  of  the  American  Col.  Ch.,  in.,  p.  00. 

■■Foote's  Annals,  i.,  pp.  87,  101. 

'Ibid.,  p.  106.    Andros  Tracts,  u.,  p.  211. 


THE  BUILDING  OF  KING'S   CHAPEL,   BOSTON. 


191 


and  bigotry  prevail,  that  some  of  them  openly  and  publickly  hindered 
and  obstructed  the  Minister  in  the  performance  of  the  funeral  Kites,  to 
such  as  had  lived  and  dyed  in  the  Communion  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land." The  Ijurial  of  Major  Howard'  in  the  church-yard,  where  the 
grave  had  Ijcen  prepared  agreealily  to  the  directions  of  hi.s  will,  was  pre- 
vented by  the  interference  of  the  Rev.  Joshua  Moodey,  of  the  "  First 
Church."  The  minister  of  the  church  was  "  publickly  affronted  and 
hindered  from  doing  of  his  Duty."  "  Scandalous  Pamphlets  "  were 
"  Printed  to  villitie  the  Liturgy."  Churchmen  were  "  daily  called  Papist 
Doggs  and  Rogues  to  theu'  Faces."  The  "  plucking  down  the  Church  " 
was  "  threatened,"  "  and  whoso  will  but  take  the  Pains  to  survey  the 


HOLY    TABLE    IN    DSE    1686- 


Glass    Windows    will    easily    discover   the    Marks    of   a    Malice   not 
Common."-' 

The  records  of  the  church''  note  the  payment  of  £5  10s.  on  the  2d 
of  November,  1681),  "for  mending  Church  Windows,"  and  the  answer 
of  the  Puritans  that  "  all  the  mischiefs  done  is  the  breaking  of  a  few 
Quarels  of  glass  by  idle  Boys,  who  if  discover'd  had  been  chastiz'd  by 
their  own  Parents,"  ^  is  disproved  both  by  the  amount  paid  for  the  repair 
of  damages  and  also  by  the  frequent  recurrence  among  the  church  ac- 
counts of  payments  for  the  same  purpose.  The  publication  by  Increase 
Mather,  in  the  midst  of  the  excitement  attending  the  overthrow  of  the 
Andros  Administration,  of  "a  most  scandalous  pamphlet,"  entitled  "The 
Unlawfulness  of  the  Common  Prayer  Worship,"  "  wherein,"  says 
"CD.,"  "he  affinns  and  labours  to  prove  the  same  to  be  both  Popery 
and  Idolatry,"®  was  intended  to  add  fuel  to  the  flame  of  indignation  ex- 


1  Major  Anthony  Haywood,  as  his  name  is 
sometimes  given,  is  recorded  as  a  contributor  to 
the  building  of  tlie  churcli  of  £10.  He  was  one 
of  those  authorized  l)y  the  council  to  receive  con- 
tributions for  this  purpose.  — Fooie's  Annals,  I., 
pp.  76,  89,  90.  One  of  the  same  name,  possibly  a 
son,  is  refeiTCfl  to  as  lieing  i-edeeracd  from  cap- 
tivity in  Burbary.  —  Ibid.,  p.  119. 


-  From  Rev.  Hemy  W.  Foote's  "  Annals  of 
King's  Chapel,"  by  the  kind  permission  of  the 
author. 

*  Palmer's  "  Impartial  Acconut,"  reprinted 
in  the  Andros  Tracts,  i.,  p.  fi^. 

'  Foote's  Annals,  i.,  p.  110. 

■  Andros  Tracts,  n.,  p.  63. 

'  Ihid.,  p.  210. 


192 


HISTORY   OF   THE   AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 


cited  against  the  Church .  This  "  Discourse  "  asserted  that  the  church's 
prayers  were  derived  from  the  Romish  Mass,  and  were,  therefore,  idola- 
trous. It  describes  "those  broken  Responds  and  shreds  of  Prayer 
which  the  Priests  and  People  toss  between  them  like  Tennis  Balls." 
"  Some  things,"  it  was  claimed,  were  "  enjoined  in  it  as  cannot  be  prac- 
tised without  sin,"  such  as  the  Eucharist  at  weddings,  "  Popish  Holy- 
days,"  the  surplice,  the  ring  in  marriage  ;  and  the  use  of  the  cross  was 
characterized  as  the  "greatest  Devil  among  all  the  Idols  of  Rome."  It 
was  asserted  (o  be  "an  Apostacy  in  this  Age  of  Light  to  countenance 
or  comply  with  the  Common  Prayer-Book  worship."     Exceptions  wore 

taken  to  the  doctrines  of  the  Liturgy 
as  "  false  and  corrupt,"  and  among 
the  proofs  of  this  charge  we  iind 
these  statements :  "  It  is  there 
affii'med"  (in  the  Liturgy)  "that 
children  Baptized  have  all  things 
necessary  to  Salvation  and  are  un- 
doubtedly saved.  Yea,  that  it  is 
certain  from  God's  ^\'ord  that  if  a 
Baptized  child  Dye  liefore  actuall 
Sin,  'tis  saved.  This  savours  of 
Pelagianisme  .  .  .  And  the  Booke 
sayth  that  .  .  .  Christ  has  Re- 
deemed all  Mankind."^  Inspired 
by  the  success  of  this  pamphlet  in 
making  the  churchmen  "obnoxious 
to  the  common  people,  who  ac- 
count vs  Popish  and  treat  vs  ac- 
cordingly,"^ the  Puritan  preachers 
fulminated  in  their  pulpits  against 
"  the  gi-eat  sin  of  Formality  in 
Christian  worship,"  and  "the  sin- 
fulness  of   worshipping    God   with 


COMMUNION   FLAGON,   1694. 


Men's  Institutions 


and  these  as- 


saults were  the  signal  in  each  case  for  the  destruction  of  "  y"  Church 
winders,"  *  notices  of  which  occur  again  and  again  in  the  records  and 
accounts. 

Meanwhile  the  church  was  "benched."  Sir  Robert  Robinson, 
Knight,  gave  to  the  church  "  hangings  and  a  cushion  for  the 
pulpit."  On  Christmas,  1691,  Mr.  Thomas  Gould  and  Mr.  Will- 
iam Weaver  gave  a  brass  standard  for  the  hour-glass.  Governor 
Nicholson  sent  £15  to  be  divided  equally  to  the  minister,  to  the  poor 
at  Christmas,  and  for  the  purchase  of  Bibles,  Common  Prayer-Books, 
and  "  singing  psalms  for  the  poorer  sort  of  the  Church."  Green  boughs 
were  prepared  against  Whitsuntide.  The  poor  were  kindly  cared  for, 
and  "  plaisters  and  phisick "  were  provided  for  the  sick.     The   Rev. 


1  Quoted  by  Foote  in  his  "  Anuals  of  King's 
Chapel,"  I.,  p.  96,  note. 

'Randolph  to  Abp.  Sancroft,  in  "  Hist.  Coll. 
Am.  Col.  Church,"  in.,  p.  637- 

'  From  Eev.  Hemy  \V.  Foote's  "  Annals  of 


King's  Chapel,"  by  the  kind  permission  of  the 
author. 

*Tbe  themes  of  discoui'ses  by  the  Rev. 
Joshua  Moodcy  and  the  Rev.  Samuel  Willard. 

'■Foote's  Annals,  i.,  pp.  109-112. 


THE  BUILDING   OF  KING'S   CHAPEL,   BOSTON. 


193 


S3'mon  Smith  and  the  Rev.  George  Hatton  officiated  during  the  absence 
of  the  Rev.  Samuel  Myles  in  England.  Sir  Franci.s  Wheeler,  Admiral 
of  the  Line,  and  the  captains  of  his  fleet,  which  was  recruited  in  Boston 
harbor  after  the  failure  of  the  attempt  against  Martinique  in  the  West 
Indies,  left  proof  of  their  generosity  in  liljcral  benefactions  for  the  little 
church.  Silver  vessels  for  the  holy  communion  were  provided.  The 
"  forms,"  or  "  benches,"  gave  way  to  more  stately  and  spacious  pews. 
Offerings  were  made  for  the  redemption  of  galley-slaves  on  the  coast 
of  Africa.  Bequests  and  gifts  for  church  uses  are  recorded  on  the  church 
accounts.  Another  Harvard  graduate,  the  Rev.  William  Vesey,  of 
the  class  of  1693, 
confomied  to  the 
church,  and  on  the 
2GthofJuly,lG9G, 
"  preach'd  at  the 
Church  of  Eng- 
land," prior  to  his 
departure  to  Eng- 
land for  orders. 
Thomas  Graves, 
who  had  been  re- 
moved from  his  tu- 
torship at  the  col- 
lege, though  "  a 
godly  learned 
Man,  a  good  Tu- 
tor, and  solid 
preacher,"  as  Sew- 
all  confesses,  for 
"his  obstinate  ad- 
herence to  some 
superstitious  con- 
ceits of  the  Com- 
m  o  n  P  r  a  y  e  r- 
Book,"  died  and 
was  buried  with 
the  forms  he  loved.  At  length  the  rector,  who  had  lingered  in 
England  for  four  years,  returned  on  the  4th  of  July,  169G,  bringing 
with  him  "  part  of  the  gift  of  Queene  Mary,  performed  by  King 
William  after  her  decease,  viz.  :  the  church  furniture,  which  were 
A  Cushion  and  Cloth  for  the  Pulpit,  two  Cushions  for  the  Reading 
Deske,  A  Carpet  for  the  Allter,  All  of  Crimson  Damask  with  Silke 
Fringe,  one  Large  Bible,  two  Large  Coramou-praycr  Books,  Twelve 
Lesser  Common-prayer  Bookes,  Linen  for  the  Allter ;  Also  two  Sur- 
plises.  Alter  Tabele,  20  y'^'^'  fine  damask." ^  Later  came  "two  great 
silver  Flagons,  and  one  silver  bascn,  and  one  sallver,  and  one  boul,  and 
one  Ewer,  all  of  sillver,  which  was  given  to  the  Church  by  the  King  and 

'  From  Rev.  Hemy  W.  Foote'3  "  Aunals  of  'Foote's  "Annals  of  King's    Chapel,"  I., 

King's  CUapel,"  by  the  kind  permission  of  the    p.  121. 
author. 


COMMUNION-PLATE   GrVEN  BY   KING    Wn.LIAM   AND 
QUEEN    MARY.' 


194  HISTORY  OF  THE    AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

y^  Quean  and  brought 

^P^  over  by  Cap'.  John 

ayamu^  ^ri,,.        fhS:;"'Tbe1^it 

^^^2^"'     -Zf -C\  Jy  ^*^P  logue,      viz.,      the 

tJ^*^-    ^Tt^t  /  tenn    Command- 

<y  J'^^i^   ments;  the  Lord'a 

Pi'ayer  and  the 
Creed,"  "drawne  in  Eng- 
land," were  brought  over  by 
the  returning  rector.  The 
king  added  to  otlier  benefac- 
tions the  gift  of  £100  per 
annum,  for  the  support  of 
a  lecturer  or  assistant  min- 
ister, and,  shortly  after,  a 
library  of  standard  theology 
for  the  minister's  use,  includ- 
ing AValton's  Polyglot,  lexi- 
cons, commentaries,  line  edi- 
tions of  the  Fathers,  docti'inal 
and  practical  works  by  the 
Anglican  divines,  with  his- 
^  torical,    controversial,    and 

Jj(>ri-yi   <7'hQ^'f,At7  philological   treatises.     This 

^    _  .  <-^  '  was  a  notable  collection  at  a 

time  when  New  England  pos- 
sessed few  collections  of 
books,  either  in  public  or 
private  hands.  Two  assist- 
ants, sent  out  by  the  Bishop 
d^~  ( ri     '  of  London,  by  name  Dansy 

^-^  and    Wliite,    died    on    their 

passage.      On    the    4th    of 

Y  ■     .  c.       '  March,    1698-D,    the    Eev. 

}/^P(f^  Christopher   Bridge   entered 

'  •  upon  his  duties  as  assistant 

minister  of  the  chapel,  and 

^^<S^-^^/v^  the  century  closed  with  the 


^^^^cSt7^Jf/j7^ 


^;^/^^:i:-^ 


Church  fully  organized  and 
firmly  established  in  the  New 
n^a.t^y^  ^^l^jj/jy^  England  capital.    Besides  the 

-/^ 7^  clergy  of  the  chapel,  the  min- 

ister of  the  French  church — 
the  Rev.  Peter  Daille  —  was 
"Episcopally  ordained,""  and 
the  service  and  sacrament  at 


fc 


»  1  Foote's  "  Annals  of  Kind's  Chap- 

MINISTEES,  WARDENS,  AND    VESTRY   OF    KING  S    ^■^y<  ,  _  ^   122. 

CHAPEL,    1700.  *    «Hist.  Coll.  Am.Col.  Ch.,  HI.,  p.  81. 


THE  BUILDING  OF  lUNG'S   CHAPEL,   BOSTON.  195 

tlie  Huguenot  congregation  on  "  Christmas-day,  as  tbey  abusively  call 
it,"  is  referred  to  by  Sewall  in  his  invaluable  diar}^     From  the  same 
authority  we  learn  that  an  humble  churchman,  who,  by  "  the  importu- 
nity of  Deacon  Eliot  and  others,"  had 
^ —  connected    himself    with    the    "  South 

^^-'O'A   /^  T  P/7  ■^     Chm-ch,"  and  had  later  found  that  it 
C_^y^  )  C^  C-^^^Q  f      ^^'"^^  "  ^i^  Conscience  to  go  to  the  Church 

* ^"^       of  England,  and  had  sin'd  in  staying 

away  from  it  so  long,"  was   formally 
excommunicated  for  his  return  to  his  spiritual  mother.' 

At  length,  in  the  changes  in  the  government,  a  churchman  was 
again  appointed  as  royal  governor,  and  on  Friday,  the  26th  of  May, 
1099,  Richard  Coote,  Earl  of  Bellomont,  arrived  at  Boston  in  the  capac- 
ity of  "Cap'.  Gencrall  and  Governour  inChicf  of  His  Majestie's  Prov- 
inces of  the  Massachusetts  Bay,  New  York  and  New  Hampshire."  His 
fellow-churchmen  at  the  chapel  welcomed  with  enthusiasm  the  repre- 
sentative of  the  government  at  home.  The  Earl  of  Bellomont's  escutch- 
eon was  hung  in  the  church.  A  state-pew  was  fitted  up  for  the  new 
governor,  wlio  was  also  placed  on  the  vestr}'  at  the  Easter  meeting. 
Although  the  new  governor  failed  to  satisfy  the  prejudices  of  his  co- 
religionists, who  regarded  his  disposition  to  ingratiate  himself  with  the 
adherents  of  the  "  standing  oi"der  "  of  the  people  he  had  come  to  rule, 
still  he  was  not  unmindful  of  his  allegiance  to  church  as  well  as  state. 
He  refused  assent  to  an  act  of  the  General  Court  respecting  the  govern- 
ment of  Harvard  College,  because  of  "the  exclusion  of  members  of  the 
English  Estal)lishment  from  the  academical  government."  ^  He  also 
sought  to  further  the  wishes  of  "  some  persons  in  New  England  "  for  a 
"  Church  of  England  Minister ;  "  but  in  this  matter  and  in  many  other 
ways  he  showed  himself  disposed  to  weigh  well,  and  justly  even, 
the  preferences  and  policy  of  the  church  people.  But  all  hopes  of  ad- 
vantage or  fears  of  disfavor,  arising  from  the  fact  of  the  governor's  con- 
nection with  the  church,  were  summarily  ended  by  the  death,  in  New 
York,  of  the  noble  earl.  Thus  closed  the  seventeenth  century  upon  the 
little  church  in  Boston. 


ILLUSTRATIVE  AND  CRITICAL  NOTES. 

MR.  WILLIAM  H.  WHITMORE,  a  disting:iiished  New  England  antiquarian 
and  scholar,  in  Iiis  memoir  of  Sir  Edmund  Andros  prefixed  to  the  three  vol- 
umes of  The  Andros  Tracts,  jiublished  by  the  Prince  Society,  of  Boston,  claims  that 
Andros  has  "received  less  than  justice  from  the  historians  of  Massachusetts"  (l., 
xxiii.").  Kccitino:  the  statements  of  Hutchinson  (History,  i., 353),  that  "  he  was  less 
dreaded  than  Kirko,  but  he  was  known  to  be  of  an  arbitrary  disposition,"  —  and 
Palfi-ej'  (in.,  517),  that  he  was  "  of  arbitraiy  principles,  and  of  liabits  and  tastes 
absolutely  foreign  to  those  of  the  Pmitans  of  New  England,"  and  "  a  man  i)repared 
to  be  as  oppressive  and  offensive  as  the  King  desired ; "  Mr.  Whitmore  proceeds 
"  to  scrutinize,  with  deliberation,  such  chai'ges  against  his  character,  and  to  insist  upon 
undoubted  evidence  of  his  personal  iniquities."     As  a  result  of  this  scrutiny,  Mr. 

iFoote'3  Annals,  I.,  p.  134.  ^Palfrey's  "New  England,"  rv.,  p.  195. 


196  HISTORY   OF  THE   AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

Whitmore  comes  to  the  conclusion  that  the  zeal  of  Andros  "  for  Episcopacy,  which 
led  him  to  insist  upon  having  a  place  for  chm-ch  services  in  one  of  the  Boston  meet- 
ing-houses for  a  time,"  did  not  amount  to  "  a  very  heinous  oftence."  Although  it 
may  have  been  "  a  gi'cat  annoyance  to  the  members  of  the  Old  South  Church  to 
have  the  Governor  use  the  building  for  Episcopal  services,"  as  tliis  obnoxious  wor- 
ship was  held  only  when  "  the  building  was  not  occupied  by  the  regular  congrega- 
tion" (Palfrey,  m.,  522),  Mr.  Whitmore  is  of  the  conviction  that  we  "cannot 
greatly  censure  Andros  for  his  course"  (i.,  xxvi.).  He  fails  "  to  see  any  evidence 
that  Andros  was  cruel,  rapacious,  or  dishonest."  He  knows  "  of  no  charge  affect- 
ing his  morality,"  and  finds  "  a  hasty  temper  the  most  palpable  fault  to  be  imputed 
to  him." 

Sent  to  England  with  his  associates  for  trial,  the  result  certainly  proved,  to 
quote  the  judicial  words  of  Mr.  Whitman,  "  that  Andros  had  committed  no  crime 
for  which  he  could  be  punished,  and  that  he  had  in  no  w.ay  exceeded  or  abused  the 
powers  conferred  upon  liim  "  (i.,  xxxiii.).  Thus  favorably  received  at  home  by  the 
new  dynasty,  in  1692  he  was  appointed  Governor  of  Virginia,  where,  in  consequence 
of  disputes  with  Commissary  Blair,  he  "  brought  the  resentment  of  the  Bishop  of 
London  and  the  Church  (they  say)  on  his  headV'  and  lost  the  govei-nmcnt  through 
"a  church  quarrel"  (N.Y.  Col.  Docs.,  rv.,  490).  Shortly  aftenvards  he  was 
appointed  Governor  of  Guernsey,  an  office  which  he  held  for  tvvo  years,  retaining 
the  post  of  Bailiff  of  the  Island  for  life.  His  name  appears  among  the  newly 
elected  members,  in  the  "  Proceedings  of  the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the 
Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts,  20  Feb.,  1712-13  to  Feb.,  1713-14,"  and  he  was  buried  at 
St.  Anne's,  Soho,  Westminster,  London,  Feb.  27,  1713-1-1,  in  the  76th  year  of  his 
age.  The  Andros  Tracts,  edited  by  Mr.  Whitmore,  contain  most  interesting  and 
important  references  to  the  early  history  of  the  church  in  Boston. 

A  list  of  the  admirable  collection  of  boolis  given  by  Iving  William'  to  the 
Chapel  Library  is  found  in  the  Rev.  Henry  W.  Foote's  pamphlet,  entitled  "A  Dis- 
course on  the  Russian  Victories,  Given  in  King's  Chapel,  JIarch  25,  1813,  by  the 
Rev.  James  Freeman,  D.D.,  and  a  Catalogue  of  the  Library  given  by  King  William 
m.  to  King's  Chapel  in  1698."  With  Introductory  Remarks  by  Henry  Wilder 
Foote.  [Reprinted  fi'om  the  Proceedings  of  the  Mass.  Hist.  Soc.,  March  and  May, 
1881.]  Cambridge:  1881.  8°.  p.  22.  The  covers  of  the  books  thus  given  were 
stamped: — 

SVB  DE 

AVSPICnS  BIBLIOTHECA 
WILHELMI  DE 

HI  BOSTON. 

'  Vide  Foote'a  "  Annals  of  King'3  Chapel,"  i.,  p.  124. 


CHAPTER   XL 

THE  STATE  OF  THE  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA  AT  THE  BE- 
GINNING OF  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY,  AND  THE 
FOUNDATION  OF  THE  SOCIETY  FOR  THE  PROPAGATION 
OF  THE  GOSPEL  IN  FOREIGN  PARTS. 

THE  institution  of  the  venerable  Society  for  the  Propagation  of 
the  Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts  grew  out  of  the  spiritual  needs  of  the 
American  plantations,  and  was  in  the  main  brought  about  by  the 
exertions  of  one  whom  we  are  proud  to  claim  as  a  clergyman  of  the 
American  Church, — the  Rev.  Commissary  Bray.  In  the  third  year 
of  the  existence  of  the  Society  for  the  Promotion  of  Christian  Knowl- 
edge,—  a  charity  itself  the  creation  of  the  same  earnest  and  devoted 
mind,  — it  was  deemed  best  to  delegate  to  a  separate  and  independent 
organization  the  care  it  had  originally  assumed,  at  the  instance  of  Dr. 
Bray,  of  the  spiritual  condition  of  the  American  settlements.  Through 
the  exertions  of  Dr.  Bray,  seconded  by  Archbishop  Tenison,  a  royal 
charter  was  secured,  and  the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel 
in  Foreign  Parts  held  its  iirst  meeting  at  Lambeth  Palace,  on  the  27th 
of  June,  1701.  The  names  of  those  who  attended  this  initial  meeting 
under  the  presidency  of  the  archbishop  will  show  the  importance  at- 
tached to  this  new  institution  for  foreign  evangelization.  Besides  the 
Primate  of  all  England,  the  bishops  of  London,  —  the  celebrated  Comp- 
ton,  —  Bangor,  Chichester,  and  Gloucester  were  in  attendance  ;  the  Dean 
of  St.  Paul's,  Dr.  Sherlock,  who  was  also  IMaster  of  the  Temple,  and 
whose  well-merited  fame  was  to  be  eclipsed  by  his  son,  who  succeeded 
his  father  in  his  ^Mastership  of  the  Temple,  and  was  subsequently  trans- 
lated from  other  sees  to  the  Bishopric  of  Loudon ;  Dr.  Hody,  Eegius 
Professor  of  Greek  at  Oxford,  and  Chaplain  to  Archbishops  Tilotson 
and  Tenison,  whose  scholarship  and  industry  are  demonstrated  by  his 
treatise  on  the  Septuagint  and  Vulgate ;  Dr.  White  Kennctt,  Arch- 
deacon of  Huntingdon,  afterwards  Bishop  of  Peterborough,  and  com- 
piler of  the  earliest  American  bibliography ;  and  Dr.  Stanhope, 
afterwards  Dean  of  Canterbury,  the  well-known  author  of  the  Para- 
phrase and  Comment  upon  the  Epistles  and  Gospels,  were  conspicuous 
among  those  who  were  present  at  the  organization  of  the  charitable 
corporation  to  which  more  than  to  any  other  source  the  Church  in 
America  owes  a  debt  of  gratitude  for  "  a  long  continuance  of  nursing 
care  and  protection."^ 

The  first  business  done  at  this  meeting  at  Lambeth  was  the  con- 
sideration and  acceptance  of  the  royal  charter,  by  which  the  society 

1  Preface  to  American  Book  of  Cominon  Prayer. 


198 


HISTORY   OF  THE  AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 


was  constituted  "a  body  politick  and  corporate."  This  instrument 
declared  tiae  object  of  the  society  to  Ije  twofold ;  first,  the  provision 
of  "  learned  and  orthodox  ministers  "  for  "  the  administration  of  God's 
Word  and  Sacraments"  among  the  king's  "loving  subjects"  in  the 
"Plantations,  Colonies,  and  Factories  beyond  the  Seas  belonging  to  our 
Kingdom  of  England ; "  and,  secondly,  the  making  of  "  such  other 
provision  as  may  be  necessary  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel  in 
those  parts,"  comprehending  of  course  the  work  of  evangelizing  the 
aboriginal  inhabitants  of  those  places  where  English  settlements  had 
been  made.     "Atheism  and  Infidelity,"  on  the  one  hand,  and  "Popish 

Superstition  and  Idolatry," 
M'ere  to  be  jruarded  against 
among  the  peojjle  of  the  plan- 
tations by  the  institution  of 
this  society,  and  a  "  mainten- 
ance for  ministers  and  the 
public  Morsbip  of  God"  was 
deemed  "  highly  conducive  for 
accomplishing  these  ends." 
Thus  did  the  society  in  the  in- 
strument that  gave  it  corpo- 
rate existence  profess  as  its 
object  and  end  the  promotion 
of  the  glory  of  God  by  the 
instruction  of  the  people  in  the 
Christian  religion.  The  ob- 
jects thus  set  before  it  at  the 
outset  have  ever  been  kept  in 
view.  It  was  not  the  acknowl- 
edgment of  any  new  or  lately 
learned  obligation,  but  the  re- 
cognition and  public  avowal  of 
an  eternal  commandment,  none 
other  in  fact  than  that  which 
gave  birth  and  being  to  the 
church  catholic  of  Christ : 
"  Go  ye,  therefore,  and  teach 
all  nations,  baptizing  them  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son, 
and  of  the  Holy  Ghost :  teaching  them  to  observe  all  things  whatso- 
ever I  have  commanded  you ;  and,  lo,  I  am  with  you  always,  even 
unto  the  end  of  the  world.     Amen." — St.  Matt,  xxviii.  19,  20. 

At  the  second  meeting,  wdiich  was  held  on  (he  8th  of  July,  at  the 
"  Cockpit,"  W'hich  stood  upon  the  site  of  the  present  Privy  Council 
office,  at  Whitehall,  the  device  of  the  societj^'s  seal  was  agreed  upon. 
It  was  "  a  ship  under  sail  making  towards  a  point  of  land ;  upon  the 
prow  standing  a  minister  with  an  open  Bible  in  his  hand ;  people 
standing  on  the  shore  in  a  posture  of  expectation  and  using  these 
■words,  Transiens  adjuva  nos."  The  by-laws  adopted  at  this  meeting 
provided  that  the  business  of  the  society  should  always  be  opened  with 
prayer ;  that  a  senuon  should  be  preached  before  the  members  eveiy 


THE   STATE   OF  THE   CHURCH  IN  AMERICA.  199 

year  by  a  preacher  appointed  by  the  president,  and  that  an  oath  should 
be  talicn  by  the  ofBcers  of  the  society  for  the  faithful  discharge  of  their 
duties.  The  meetings  of  the  society,  held  regularly  from  this  time 
forward,  took  place  sometimes  at  the  "Cockpit,"  at  other  times  at 
Lambeth  Palace  or  at  the  vestry  of  St.  JNIary-lc-Bow  Church ;  but 
most  frequently  at  Archliishop  Tcnison's  library,  at  St.  Martin's  in  the 
Fields.  The  day  of  meeting  was,  at  the  first,  every  Friday,  and  after- 
wards on  the  third  Friday,  in  every  month.  A  record  was  kept  of  the 
proceedings,  which  is  still  preserv'ed  ;  and  the  carefully  kept  correspond- 
ence with  the  missionaries,  in  which  the  history  of  the  Church  in 
America  was  given  year  by  year,  in  tiie  very  words  of  those  who  were 
the  actors  in  the  events  they  detailed,  was  long  a  most  interesting  and 
valuable  part  of  the  archives  of  the  society.  Providentially  it  was 
examined,  and,  so  far  as  it  related  to  our  North  American  colonies, 
copied  minutely  and  fully  by  the  late  historiographer  of  the  American 
Church,  the  Rev.  Francis  Lister  Hawks,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  under  direction 
and  by  the  authority  of  the  general  convention.  Shortly  after  these 
transcripts  were  made,  the  originals  were  destroyed  liy  fire,  and  the 
American  Church,  by  its  gift  of  the  volumes  of  these  lettei's,  sumptu- 
ously printed  under  the  authority  of  the  general  convention,  has  fur- 
nished the  society  with  the  material  for  much  of  its  own  history,  which 
had  else  been  hopelessly  lost. 

The  collection  of  funds  for  the  support  of  this  Anglican  "propa- 
ganda "  was  a  matter  of  interest  and  care  from  the  first,  and  among 
the  most  valuable  laborers  in  this  department  of  the  society's  opera- 
tions was  the  Bishop  of  Ely,  the  celebrated  Patrick,  who  had  from  the 
first,  and  even  prior  to  the  organization  of  the  society,  sought  to  further 
the  work  of  foreign  evangelization  to  the  utmost  of  his  power.  A  gi-ate- 
ful  acknowledgment  of  his  disinterested  and  abundant  services,  so  far 
as  the  province  of  Maryland  is  concerned,  was  made  by  the  royal 
governor,  Nicholson,  and  allusions  to  the  zeal  and  world-wide  charily 
displayed  l)y  this  great-hearted  prelate  and  commentator  are  to  be 
found  in  the  correspondence  of  the  like-minded  Dr.  Braj\  Among 
those  who  emulated  the  good  Bishop  of  Ely  in  this  respect  was  the 
excellent  William  Burkitt,  Vicar  of  Dedham,  in  Essex,  himself  a  noted 
commentator  on  the  New  Testament,  who,  so  far  from  being  content 
with  being  a  contributor  to  the  funds  of  the  society,  sought  out  and 
was  the  means  of  sending  to  America  one  of  the  best  of  the  colonial 
clergy,  the  Rev.  Samuel  Thomas,  missionary  to  South  Carolina.  The 
celebrated  Gilbert  Burnet,  Bishop  of  Salisbury,  added  to  his  personal 
subscription  and  blessing  suggestions  for  securing  the  oflerings  of  the 
charitably  disposed  in  his  own  diocese.  The  other  bishops  of  England, 
the  archbishops  of  Ireland,  and  the  heads  of  colleges  at  the  universities, 
showed  their  readiness  to  promote  the  work  undertaken  by  the  society 
by  individual  contributions,  and  by  recommendations  of  its  object  and 
operations  to  their  clergy  and  people.  It  is  an  interesting  fact  that  in  a 
letter  from  the  Rev.  Mr.  Stubs,  of  Wadham  College,  Oxford,  under  date 
of  April  14, 1703,  after  reciting  the  proofs  of  interest  in  the  society's  plans 
felt  by  the  members  of  the  university,  reference  is  made  to  the  fact 
that  the  society,  as  early  as  the  second  year  of  its  existence,  was  con- 


200  HISTORY  OF  THE   AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

sidering  the  necessity  of  the  appointment  of  a  suffragan  bishop  for 
America,  and  debating  the  possibility  of  obtaining  the  Episcopal  relief, 
so  earnestly  desired,  from  the  Scotch  bishops.  Unfortunately  for  the 
Church  in  America  there  were  then  "but  six  Scotch  bishops  remaining, 
and  they  aged  men."*  It  was  not  till  after  more  than  fourscore  years 
of  weary  waiting,  that  the  wished-for  boon  of  the  episcopate  was 
secured  through  this  very  channel,  thus  indicated  so  many  years  in 
advance. 

With  such  abundant  evidences  of  interest  in  the  work  undertaken 
by  the  society  funds  were  lavishly  supplied.  In  March,  1701-2,  a 
donation  of  one  hundred  guineas  was  reported  from  the  Princess  of 
Denmark,  who  at  a  later  day,  as  Queen  Anne,  was  constant  in  her 
charities  towards  the  colonial  church.  This  roj^al  gift  was  in  further- 
ance of  a  favorite  plan  of  Dr.  Bray,  the  su^Dport  of  a  superintendent 
over  the  clergy  of  ^Lir3iand,  the  importance  of  which  province  none 
could  better  know,  or  more  warmly  advocate,  than  the  devoted  commis- 
sary himself.  At  the  same  time  the  records  chrouicle  a  gift  of  £50 
from  Archdeacon  Beveridge,  who,  at  a  later  day,  when  raised  to  the 
episcopate,  lost  none  of  his  old  intei'est  in  the  mission-work  carried  on 
by  the  society  across  the  sea.  A  still  more  munificent  gift  of  £1,000 
was  reported  at  the  same  time  from  "a  person  who  desires  to  be  un- 
known," recalling  liy  its  exhibition  of  unobtrusive  and  unostentatious 
charity  the  earlier  days  of  zeal  and  self-denial  for  the  infant  Virginia 
Church  and  State. 

Among  the  leading  laymen  who  were  connected  with  the  society, 
either  at  the  start  or  immediately  afterwards,  the  name  of  Robert  Nel- 
son must  stand  preeminent.  Elected  to  membership  on  the  21st  of 
November,  1701,  a  day  noteworthy  in  the  annals  of  the  society,  as 
being  that  on  which  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  and  ten  other  pre- 
lates wei"e  formally  enrolled  among  its  members ;  it  is  even  now  a 
source  of  gi-atitication  that  in  this  holy  work  of  foreign  evangelization, 
as  well  as  in  that  of  the  Christian  Knowledge  Society,  the  non-juror, 
Robert  Nelson,  could  still  find  and  gladly  embrace  opportunities  for 
cooperation  with  the  church  of  his  baptism.  His  name  will  ever  be 
held  in  grateful  memory  by  the  members  of  the  Anglican  Communion, 
so  long  as  festival  and  fast  shall  bring  to  mind  his  admirable  exposi- 
tions, and  clear  and  convincing  explanations  of  the  church's  services. 
He  stands  foremost  in  his  day  and  generation  for  the  singular  pui'ity 
and  consistent  holiness  of  his  life,  the  largeness  and  extent  of  his 
liberality,  the  pains  with  which  he  cultivated  each  gift  and  grace  be- 
stowed upon  him,  and  the  complete,  unreserved  consecration  with  which 
he  devoted  himself  and  all  that  he  was  or  had  to  God.  Casting  in  his 
lot  with  those  brave  and  holy  men,  who,  at  the  Revolution,  felt  that 
they  could  not  in  conscience  transfer  to  one  sovereign  the  allegiance 
they  had  sworn  to  another ;  and,  in  their  obedience  to  the  dictates  of 
their  consciences,  sufl'ered  deprivation  of  all  preferments,  and  con- 
sequent poverty  and  obscurity  all  the  days  of  their  life.  Nelson  teaches 
us  that  it  is  possible  for  men  to  differ  widely,  and  yet  charitably,  and 
in  maintaining  stoutly  and  strenuously  one's  own  convictions  to  find  ut 

1  Anderson's  "  Col.  Ch.,"  lu.,  i>.  36. 


THE    STATE   OF   THE   OllUIiCIl    IN    AMKRICA.  !>Ul 

the  last  means  for  the  healino;  of  all  diflbrences  in  a  conmion  lo\(^  for  :i 
common  Lonl.  It  is,  and  will  ever  be,  oui-  glory  as  a  church,  that  it 
was  in  measures  for  our  planting  and  nourishing  that  Robert  Nelson 
was  l)rought  in  close  union  with  those  who  shared  none  of  his  scruples, 
I)ut  recognized  his  unswerving  devotion  to  conscience  and  trutli.  An 
interesting  proof  of  the  interest  of  Nelson  in  the  work  of  the  society 
is  found  in  the  special  Collect,  which  he  di'evv  up  in  the  society's  behalf, 
and  which  is  contained  in  his  well-known  Companion  for  the  Festivals 
and  Fasts.  It  breathes  in  most  felicitous  language  the  earnest  petition 
that  the  members  of  this  important  Christian  charity  might  lie  diligent 
and  zealous  in  the  discharge  of  their  duties,  and  receive  the  wisdom 
to  discern,  and  the  courage  and  resolution  to  pursue,  the  most  fitting 
means  for  the  i)roniotion  of  the  good  work  they  had  in  hand. 

The  day  of  Rol)ert  Nelson's  admission  to  membership  was  signal- 
ized by  the  admission  of  the  celelirated  Francis  Nicholson,  Governor 
of  Virginia.  The  excellences,  as  well  as  the  defects,  of  Nicholson's 
character  were  marked,  and  known  of  all  men.  His  churchmauship 
was  in  many  respects  uncompromising ;  and  yet  instances  are  recorded 
of  his  ready  compliance  with  the  requirements  of  the  Romish  ritual 
at  one  time,  and  those  of  the  barest  Calvinistic  worship  on  the  other. 
Devoted  to  tlu^  Church  :  liberal,  munificent  even,  in  his  gifts  for  the 
furtherance  of  her  interests ;  sparing  no  pains,  and  reckless  even  of 
personal  j)opii!arity,  in  accomplishing  the  building  of  churches,  and 
the  settlement  of  clergy  in  the  various  governments  intrusted  to  his  cai'e 
from  time  to  time,  he  could  not  or  woidd  not  restrain  a  hasty  temper, 
and  a  passionate  self-will,  leading  him  into  altercations  with  the  clergy 
and  rendering  him  obnoxious  for  his  despotic  and  imprincipled  de- 
meanor. Still  the  zeal  and  generosity  so  uniformly  manifested  by  him 
in  i)romoting  the  growth  of  the  colonial  church  were  more  likely  to  be 
known  and  rememl)ered  in  England  than  his  defects  of  temper,  or  his 
mistakes  in  governing ;  and  it  was  but  natural  that  one  who  had  in  1700 
received  the  thanks  of  the  Christian  Knowledge  Society  for  "  his  great 
services  in  the  propagating  Christian  knowledge  in  the  plantation," 
should  become  an  honored  member  of  the  sister  society,  having  the 
same  great  end  in  view. 

Another  honored  name,  that  of  a  true  and  world-renowned  Christian 
gentleman,  —  John  Evelyn,  —  appears  among  the  list  of  meml)ers  of 
the  society  during  the  first  year  of  its  existence.  The  minutes  show  that 
this  worthy  English  gentleman  was  elected  to  membershi[)  on  the  ir)th 
of  May,  1702,  and  the  diary  of  Evelyn  himself,  one  of  the  choicest 
fragments  of  our  English  literature,  makes  the  following  reference  to 
the  election  and  to  the  society's  work  :  — 

Being  elected  a  member  of  the  Society  lately  ineorporated  for  the  Propagation 
of  the  Gospel  in  Foreij^n  Parts,  I  siibscribtl  U)l.  per  ami.  to\vards  the  carrying  it  on. 
We  agreed  that  every  niissioncr,  besides  thi'  20^  to  set  liim  fortli,  sho'  have  50?. 
per  ann.  out  of  the  Stock  of  the  Corporation,  till  liis  settlement  was  worth  to  him 
100/.  per  ann.     We  sent  a  yonng  divine  to  New  York. 

Between  two  and  three  years  after  the  date  of  this  record  Evelyn 
entered  into  his  rest,  leaving  the  society  which  had  numbered  him 


202  HISTORY   OF   THE   AMERICAN    EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

among  its  members  the  more  worthy  of  our  veneration  and  remem- 
brance, because  approved  and  aided  by  so  true  a  Christian,  and  so  per- 
fect a  gentleman. 

With  such  an  object  in  view,  even  the  conversion  of  the  world, 
and  such  a  noble  band  of  workers  associated  in  its  behalf,  the  society 
was  not  long  in  taking  a  tirm  hold  upon  the  affection  and  support  of 
English  churchmen.  The  call  was  at  once  made,  through  the  bishops 
and  other  church  dignitaries,  for  "  such  clergymen  as  have  a  mind  to  be 
employed  in  this  Apostolical  work,"  and  the  promise  of  support  was 
made  to  all  such  who,  being  found  "duly  qualified,"  proposed  to  "devote 
themselves  to  the  service  of  Almighty  God  and  our  Saviour,  by  propa- 
gating and  promoting  the  gospel  in  the  truth  and  purity  of  it,  according 
to  the  doctrine,  discipline,  and  worship  established  in  the  Church  of 
England."  Testimony  was  required  in  the  case  of  each  applicant  for 
appointment  as  to  age,  condition  in  life,  temper,  prudence,  learning, 
sober  and  pious  conversation,  zeal  for  the  Christian  religion  and  dili- 
gence in  his  holy  calling,  and  his  conformity  to  the  doctrine  and  disci- 
pline of  the  Church  of  England.  An  earnest  appeal  was  made  to  "all 
persons  concerned,  that  they  recommend  no  man  out  of  favour  or  affec- 
tion, or  any  other  worldly  consideration,  but  with  a  sincere  regard  to 
the  honour  of  Almighty  God  and  our  blessed  Savioui' ;  as  they  tender 
the  interest  of  the  Christian  religion  and  the  good  of  men's  souls."  The 
"instructions  for  the  missionaries,"  which  were  prepared  and  published, 
cover  every  particular  which  could  be  required,  and  are  couched  in  lan- 
guage so  simple  and  so  affecting  as  to  be  models  of  rules  for  holy  living. 
These  "  insti'uctions  "  begin  with  the  missionary's  appointment,  cover 
the  period  of  his  passage  to  his  distant  field,  and  then  provide  for  his 
"  circumspect  and  unblamable  "  behavior  upon  his  arrival  at  his  post. 
These  laborers  for  Christ  were  enjoined  :  — 

I.  That  they  always  keep  in  their  view  the  great  design  of  their  undertaldng, 
^^z. :  to  promote  the  glory  of  Almiglity  God,  and  the  salvation  of  men,  by  propa- 
gating the  gospel  of  our  Loi'd  and  Saviour. 

II.  That  they  often  consider  the  qualifications  for  those  who  would  effectually 
promote  this  design,  viz. :  a  sound  knowledge  and  hearty  belief  of  the  Christian 
religion;  an  apostolical  zeal,  tempered  with  prudence,  humility,  meekness,  and  pa- 
tience ;  a  fervent  charity  towards  the  souls  of  men ;  and,  finally,  that  temperance, 
fortitude,  and  constancy,  which  become  good  soldiers  of  Jesus  Christ. 

III.  That  in  order  to  the  obtaining  and  preserving  the  said  qualifications, 
they  do  very  frequently  in  their  retirement  offer  up  feiwent  prayer  to  Almighty  God 
for  his  direction  and  assistance ;  converse  much  with  the  Holy  Scriptures ;  seriously 
reflect  ujjon  their  Ordination  Vows ;  and  consider  the  account  which  they  are  to 
render  to  the  great  Shepherd  and  Bisho]>  of  our  souls  at  the  last  day. 

VI.  That  in  their  outward  behaviour  they  be  circumspect  .and  unblamable, 
giving  no  offence  either  in  word  or  deed ;  that  their  ordinary  discourse  be  grave 
and  edifying;  their  apparel  decent  and  proper  for  clergymen;  and  that  in  their 
whole  conversation  they  be  instances  and  patterns  of  the  Christian's  life. 

VIII.  That  in  whatsoever  familj'  they  shall  lodge,  they  persuade  them  to  join 
with  them  in  daily  pr.ayer,  morning  and  evening. 

With  respect  to  their  parochial  work  they  received  equally  fidl 
and  minute  instructions.  The  "rules  of  the  Liturgy"  were  to  be  con- 
scientiously observed  "in  the  performance  of  all  the  offices  of  the  Min- 
istry."     Besides  the  Sunday  and  Holy-day  services    they   were,    if 


THE   STATE   OF  THE   CIIURCH   IN   AMERICA.  203 

practicable,  to  have  daily  prayers,  and  to  neglect  no  opportunity  of 
preaching.  The  service  was  to  be  performed  with  "  seriousness  and 
decency,"  so  as  to  "excite  a  spirit  of  devotion"  in  the  people.  The  "chief 
subjects  "  of  their  sermons  were  to  be  "  the  great  fundamental  principles 
of  Christianity,  and  the  duties  of  a  sober  and  godly  life."  Vices  pre- 
dominant in  the  places  of  their  residence  were  to  be  particularly  preached 
against.  They  were  required  to  "  carefully  instruct  the  people  concern- 
ing the  nature  and  use  of  the  sacraments  of  liaptism  and  the  Lord's 
supper,  as  the  peculiar  institutions  of  Christ,  pledges  of  communion 
with  Him,  and  means  of  deriving  Grace  from  Ilim."  Catechising,  the 
instruction  of  "Heathen  and  Infidels"  and  constant  visiting,  the  distri- 
bution of  tracts  and  the  lending  of  "  useful  books,"  together  with  the 
setting  up  of  schools  for  children,  were  particularly  enjoined. 

It  was  with  this  end  in  view  that  the  venerable  society  undertook 
the  work  of  evangelizing  the  colonies  of  Great  Britain  in  America. 
There  was  need  of  such  an  agency.  Through  its  abundant  labors  the 
church's  prayers  were  again  heard,  and  her  sacraments  administered, 
in  New  England,  after  years  of  banishment  and  consequent  disuse. 
New  York  had  at  length  the  regular  ministrations  required  for  years 
by  royal  rescripts,  but  only  just  obtained.  In  Pennsylvania  the 
Cluiiili  had  only  lieen  introduced.  Maryland  had  its  half-a-dozen 
clergymen,  and  Virginia  a  greater  number;  l)ut  in  both  of  these 
provinces  there  were  numerous  vacancies,  and  what  were  the  few 
clergy,  scattered  at  great  distances  and  ministering  under  many  diffi- 
culties, among  the  many  infant  settlements  springing  up  on  every 
side?  A-t  the  southward  the  Church  liad  only  a  name  to  live,  and  was 
well-nigh  dead.  In  consequence  of  the  insufficiency  of  clergymen 
churches  were  closed,  and  the  young  and  old  grew  up,  lived,  and 
died  without  the  knowledge  of  God's  word  or  the  administration  of 
the  sacraments.  Laxity  of  opinion  and  practice  followed  the  withholding 
of  the  teaching  of  God's  truth,  and  the  dispensing  of  the  means  of  grace. 
The  Church  could  not  advance  in  view  of  such  hindrances  to  success. 
That  she  survived  this  period  of  indifference  and  neglect  is  only  to  be 
accounted  for  I)y  the  divine  promise  that,  "  the  gates  of  hell  shall  not 
prevail  against  her." 

Dr.  Bray  presented  to  the  archbishop,  and  published  in  1701,  a 
memorial  "  representing  the  present  state  of  religion  in  the  several 
provinces  on  the  continent  of  North  America,  in  order  to  the  provid- 
ing a  sufficient  number  of  missionaries,  so  absolutely  necessary  to  be 
sent  at  this  juncture  into  those  parts."'  The  statistics  he  gave  are 
similar  to  those  we  have  recited,  and  from  this  "  memorial,"  as  well 
as  from  other  contemporary  documents,  it  appears  that  outside  of 
Virginia  and  Maryland  there  were  not  at  the  beginning  of  the 
eighteenth  century  half-a-dozen  clergymen  of  the  Church  in  ail  the 
colonies  of  North  America,  and  that,  including  these  provinces  where 
the  Chureii  was  legally  established,  the  whole  number  of  priests  of  the 
mother-church  ministering  on  American  shores,  from  Maine  to  Caro- 
lina, was  considerably  less  than  fifty,  probably  not  two-score. 

'  Published  in  folio,  London,  1701,  p.  15.    Collection'!,"  i.,  pp.  99-106,  and  is  there   erro- 
Thig  valuable  paper,  willi  a  iinmher  of  vari.a-     neously  dated  "  about  the  year  1740." 
tious,  is  printed   iu  Ihc  "  I'rot.  Epis.  Ilist.  Soe. 


204  HISTORY   OF  THE  AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

With  such  a  lack  of  ministers  and  ministrations,  the  efforts  which 
had  marked  the  earlier  days  of  settlement  for  the  conversion  of  the 
Indians,  and  the  later  laljors  which  had  been  undertaken  from  time  to 
time  in  behalf  of  the  civilizing  and  Christianizing  of  the  negroes, 
already  become  numerous  and  brought  within  reach  of  instraction, 
had  wholl}"  ceased.  Morgan  Godwyn,  who  had  been  a  student  of 
Christ  Ciiurch,  Oxford,  and  after  takmg  orders,  had  spent  several 
years  in  Virginia,  in  his  pamphlet,  entitled :  "  The  Negroes'  and 
Indians'  Advocate,  suing  for  their  admission  into  tlic  Ciiurch,"  j)ub- 
lished  in  London,  in  lUSO,  pleads  earnestly  with  his  countrymen  in 
behalf  of  the  negroes  and  other  heathen  at  that  time  in  the  West 
Indies.  But  earnest  and  able  as  were  his  arguments,  and  applicable 
as  they  were  to  the  condition  of  things  on  the  main  land  as  well,  they 
failed  to  convince  those  whom  he  addressed.  Godwyn,  in  a  letter  to 
Grovernor  Berkeley,  gives  an  account  of  the  state  of  religion  in  Virginia, 
where  he  had  ministered  liefore  the  time  of  Bacon's  i-ebellion,  and 
which  there  is  no  doubt  continued  to  be  correct  until  the  beginning  of 
anew  century.  Acknowledging  that  the  governor  had,  "as  a  ten- 
der father,  nourished  and  preserved  Virginia  in  her  infancy  and 
nonage,"  he  reminds  Berkeley  "  that  there  is  one  thing,  the  propa- 
gation and  establishing  of  religion  in  her,  wanting."  The  occasion  of 
this  lack,  auKnig  other  reasons,  is  thus  stated  :  "  The  ministers  are  most 
miserably  handled  by  their  plel)eian  Juntos,  the  vesteries,  to  whom 
the  living  (that  is  the  usual  word  there)  and  admission  of  ministers 
is  solely  left.  And  there  being  no  law  obliging  them  to  any  more 
than  procure  a  lay-reader  (to  be  obtained  at  a  very  moderate  rate), 
they  either  resolve  to  have  none  at  all,  or  reduce  them  to  their  own 
terms ;  that  is,  to  use  them  how  they  please,  pay  them  what  they 
list,  and  to  discard  them  whensoever  thej'^  have  mind  to  it."  Again, 
"two-thirds  of  the  preachers  are  made  up  of  readers,  lay-priests  of  the 
vesteries  ordination :  and  are  both  the  shame  and  grief  of  the  rightly 
ordained  Clergie  there."  Parishes,  extending  some  of  them  sixty  or 
seventy  miles  in  extent,  were  kept  vacant  for  many  years,  to  save 
charges.  "  Laymen  were  allowed  to  usurp  the  olfice  of  ministers, 
and  Deacons  to  undermine  and  thrust  out  Presbyters,  in  a  word  all 
things  concerning  tiie  Chureii  and  religion  were  left  to  the  mercy  of 
the  people."  To  this  he  adds,  "to  propagate  Christianit}'  among  the 
heathen  —  whether  natives  or  slaves  brought  from  other  parts  — 
although  (as  must  piously  be  supposed)  it  were  the  only  end  of 
God's  discovering  those  countries  to  us,  yet  is  that  lookt  upon  by  our 
new  race  of  Christians,  so  idle  and  ridiculous,  that  no  man  can  forfeit 
his  judgment  more  than  by  any  proposal  looking  or  tending  that 
way." 

Such  was  the  state  of  religion  and  the  Church  in  a  province  where 
the  Ciuircii  was  established  by  law  ;  elsewhere  sectism  in  various  forms 
prevailed,  and  it  was  rcseiwed  to  the  venerable  society  to  undertake 
the  work  which  in  the  course  of  years  gave  us  our  American 
Church.  Without  the  labors  of  the  society,  in  supplying  us  with  men 
of  "  apostolic  zeal "  and  "  unblameable  character,"  of  true  religion  and 
good    learning,    the  Church,    betrayed    by    those    who   should    have 


e 


THE   STATE   OK   THE   CHUUCII   IN    AMERICA.  20.5 

sought  hcv  liighest  good ;  "  wounded,  like  her  Master,  in  the  house 
of  her  friends,"  would  have  died.  The  gates  of  hell  would  have 
prevailed  against  her. 


ILLUSTRATIVE   AND  CRITICAI^  NOTES. 

THE  transcrii)ts  of  tlie  voluminous  correspondence  of  the  missionaries  with  thi; 
socrt'tary  of  the  venei'able  societ}',  together  with  the  copies  of  documents,  relat- 
ing to  Ihe  early  history  of  the  C'lnnvli  in  the  colonies,  in  the  collections  of  iVISS.  a( 
Lambeth  and  Fulham,  made  under  the  direction  of  the  late  Rev.  Dr.  Francis  1^. 
Hawks,  are  contained  in  a  number  of  ponderous  folios,  and  form  a  most  valuaijlt 
part  of  tlie  archives  of  the  General  Convention  of  the  American  Church.  Several 
of  tliesc  volumes  have  been  publislied.  The  volume  of  Connecticut  Cliurch  MSS. 
was  published  under  the  editorship  of  Dr.  Hawks  and  the  author  of  this  history,  in 
two  octavo  vokimes,  in  tlio  year  1863  and  1864.  The  Virginia  MSS.  forraecl  tlic 
initial  volume  of  a  series  of  five  noble  quartos,  printed  in  sumptuous  style,  mulci- 
tlie  general  title  of  "  Historical  Collections  of  the  American  Colonial  Chiu'cli,"  of 
wliicli  the  issues  were,  successively,  Virginia,  in  1871;  Pennsylvania,  in  187 :i ; 
Massachusetts,  in  1874 ;  Maryland, "in  1878,  and  Delaware  in  the  same  year.  Of 
these  important  volumes  but  two  hmidred  and  lifty  sets  were  printed ;  and  they 
liavo,  in  consequence,  already  become  rare  and  costly.  It  is  proposed  to  resume 
the  jniblicatiou  of  this  series,  and  to  issue  the  rem.aining  volumes  in  a  less  expensi\-e 
form. 

Om-  notices  of  the  venerable  society  would  be  incomplete  without  a  reference 
to  the  "  White  Kennet  Library,"  a  collection  of  the  rarest  books,  pamphlets,  tracts, 
broadsides,  etc.,  gathered  by  Dr.  White  Kennet,  afterwards  Bishop  of  Fcterborongli, 
and  presented  by  him  to  the  society  as  an  "  American  Library."  Tlie  catalogue  of 
tlris  collection,  itself  amost valuable  bibliograpliical  voUmic, is  entitled  "  Bibliotlieca; 
Americans  Primordia.  An  Attempt  towards  laying  the  foundation  of  an  American 
Librarj',  in  several  books,  papers,  anil  writings,  humbly  given  to  the  Society  for  the 

Propagation  of  the  Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts By  a  member  of  the 

Society."  Quarto,  171:0.  iVlthongh  this  valuable  collection  is  not  wholly  preserved, 
after  the  lapse  of  nearlj'  a  century  and  three-quarters,  many  of  its  volumes  are 
yet  in  the  possession  of  tlie  society ;  while  otlicrs  which  have  sti'aycd  are,  from  time 
to  time,  found  in  other  collections,  licaring  the  name  and  book-stamp  of  the  far-see- 
ing and  indefatigable  collector.  Vide  an  interesting  "  Account  of  the  White  KonucI 
Library  of  the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  tlie  Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts.  B\ 
Charles  Deane."    Cambridge,  1883. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

THE  MISSION   OF   KEITH   AND   TALBOT    "  FROM   NEW  HAMP- 
SHIRE  TO   CARATUCK,"    NORTH    CAROLINA. 

rr^HE  career  of  the  Rev.  George  Keith,  the  fir.st  "inissioner"  ap- 
I  pointed  by  the  venerable  society,  had  been  a  strange  and 
checkered  one.  Born  and  brought  up  at  Aberdeen,  and  a 
student  at  the  ancient  university  of  this  city  with  Gilbert  Burnet,  the 
great  Bishop  of  Salisbury,  who  was  a  few  years  his  junior,  Keith  had 
been  at  the  first  connected  with  the  established  kirk.  Converted  fi-om 
Presbytenanism  to  the  doctrines  and  practices  of  the  Quakers,  he 
proved  the  sincerity  of  his  change  of  views  and  his  fearlessness  in  the 
advocacy  of  his  inner  convictions,  by  coming  forward  as  the  champion 
of  the  lielief  he  had  adopted  at  a  time  when  it  was  assailed  with  the 
fiercest  persecution.  A  ready  writer  and  a  sldlled  controversialist, 
his  numerous  writings  in  defence  of  the  tenets  of  the  Quakers  were 
marked  by  acute  reasoning  and  abundant  learning.  Restless  in  mind 
and  body  alike,  America  soon  became  the  home  of  his  adoption,  and 
the  heralding  of  the  views  of  his  sect  the  chief  occupation  of  his  life. 
Coming  to  America  about  the  year  1682,  and  settling  in  Mon- 
mouth, N.J.,  we  find  him  employed  in  1687  as  surveyor-general  to 
draw  the  boundary  line  Ijetween  the  eastern  and  western  division  of 
the  province  in  which  he  had  made  his  home.  Two  years  later  he 
moved  to  Philadelphia  for  the  purpose  of  taking  charge  of  the  Friends' 
public  school,  then  first  esta))lished  in  the  city  of  Penn.  As  a  teacher 
he  was  flxithful  and  successful,  and  in  the  exercise  of  his  gifts  as  a 
preacher  "  among  an  unlearned  and  ignorant  company  of  people,  as 
for  the  most  part  these  preachets  were,"  he  easily  "excelled  them  all, 
appearing  as  a  bright  luminary,  and  outshining  all  the  rest  of  that 
order  among  them ;  and  by  his  remarkalile  diligence  and  industry  in 
all  paits  of  his  ministerial  office,  he  rendered  himself  beloved  of 
them  all,  especially  the  more  inferior  sort  of  people."'  But  with 
shining  parts,  and  all  the  elements  of  popular  success,  the  Quaker 
teacher  and  preacher  possessed  an  irresistible  fondness  for  con- 
troversy. He  had  distinguished  himself  as  a  writer  in  favor  of 
Quakerism  as  early  as  1665,  and  in  crossing  the  sea  he  had  not  lost 
either  his  fondness  for  controversy  or  his  skill  in  disputation.  His 
zeal,  quickened  by  the  relentless  persecution  of  his  fellow-religionisfcs 
at  the  hands  of  the  Puritans  of  New  England,  led  him  to  bear  his 
"  testimony  "  in  the  very  midst  of  those  among  whom  Quakerism  had 

'Gerard  Croese,  quoted  in  "Piot.  Epis.  Hist.  Soc.  Collcctious,"  i..  Introduction  to  reprint  of 
Kcith'3  Jonraal,  p.  ix. 


run    king's    missive.     IGCI,    COJIMANDING    TUK.    UELEASE    of    TUE    tjCAKi;i;-^. 


208 


HISTOIiY    OF   THE   AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 


alread}'  reaped  what  its  adherents  deemed  a  glorious  martyrdom. 
The  "King's  missive"  had,  indeed,  emptied  the  jails  and  stopped  the 
bloody  seourgiugs  and  painful  martyrdoms  which  had  been  the  Puri- 
tan's favorite  mode  of  dealing  with  heresy,  but  the  old  hate  had  not 
died  out ;  so  the  Quaker  champion  fearlessly  threw  down  the  gauntlet 
and  challenged  to  the  polemic  strife  the  most  astute  and  fimious  of 
the  champions  of  Puritanism.  It  was  thus  that  he  began  his  "  Solemn 
Call  and  Warning  from  the  J,,ord  to  the  People  of  New  England  to 
repent"  :  — 

"The  l)urden  of  the  AVord  of  the  Lord  that  came  unto  me  on  the 
twenty-first  day  of  this  fourth  month,  1688,  in  the  town  of  Boston,  in 
New  England,  to  declare  it  unto  Boston  and  its  inhabitants,  and  to  the 

inhabitants  of  New  England.'" 
A  copy  of  this  "  warning-cry," 
couched  in  jirophetic  language, 
and  bitter  and  remorseless  in 
its  denunciations  of  those  to 
whom  it  was  addressed,  was 
po.sted  in  the  most  conspicuous 
part  of  tlie  town,  and  this  act 
of  defiance  was  followed  by 
^  the  publication  of  a  letter  writ- 

Vo  -^J^J  ^"Lh^n'^    Ccu4<^    \«"  in  similar  style,  and  ad- 

dressed  to  James  Allen, 
Joshua  Moody,  Samuel  Wil- 
lard.  Cotton  Mather,  called 
preachers  in  Boston."  In  this 
communication  Keith  chai'ged 
those  whom  he  named  with  preaching  false  doctrine,  and  lioldly  chal- 
lenged them  to  a  jjublic  disputation.  The  reply  is  characteristic  of 
men  who  knew  their  position  and  power,  and  at  the  same  time  could  not 
overlook  or  fail  to  resent  this  daring  insult  offered  to  their  dignity  :  — 


Having  received  a  blasphemous  and  heretical  jjapcr,  subscribed  by  one 
George  Keitli,  our  answer  to  it  and  him  is  :  if  lie  desires  conference  to  instruct  us. 
let  him  give  us  his  arguments  in  wi'iting  as  well  as  liis  assertions ;  if  to  inform 
himself,  let  him  write  his  doubts  ;  if  to  cavil  and  disturb  the  peace  of  our  chm'ches 
(which  we  liave  cause  to  suspect),  we  have  neither  list  nor  leisure  to  attend  hia 
motions.  If  he  would  have  a  ijublie  audience,  let  him  i)i'int ;  if  a  private  tliscourse, 
though  lie  may  know  where  we  dwell,  yet  we  forget  not  what  the  Apostle  John 
saith,  Epis.  2,  loth  verse. ^ 

It  needed  no  invitation  to  induce  Keith,  thus  baffled  in  his  wish 
for  a  disputation  with  the  Puritan  ministers,  to  seek  "a  public  audi- 
ence "  through  the  press,  and  his  reply  was  even  more  scathing  and 
severe  than  his  first  attack.  Not  content  with  the  immediate  issue,  he 
revives  the  conti'oversies  of  the  past,  and  opens  up  old  sores  in  "  A 
brief  answer  to  some  gross  al)uses,  lies  and  slanders,  published  some 
years  ago  by  Increase  IMather,  late  teacher  of  a  churcli  at  Boston,  in 

1  If  there  come  auy  unto  yoii,  aiul  bring'  uot  this  doctrine,  receive  him  not  into  your  house, 
neiLlier  bid  him  GolI  speed. 


THK    MISSION    OF    KKITH    AND   TALROT.  2()!:» 

New  Engliind,  in  his  hook  called  'Au  Essay  for  the  recording  oi"  illus- 
trious Providences.'  etc.,  and  liy  Nath.  Morton,  iu  liis  hook  called 
'New  England's  Memorial.'" 

It  was  not  long  after  this  acrimonious  controversy  that  Keith  found 
his  convictions  no  longer  in  accord  with  Hie  ])revailing  views  of  his 
own  jKuty.  Differences  of  opinion  touching  many  important  points  of 
doctrine  and  practice  hecame    at  length  so  pronounced  as  to  lead,  not 


KKV.    ()EOR«iE    KEITH 


only  to  his  i-emoval  from  his  position  in  the  school,  lint  to  his  puhlic 
condemnation  and  practical  excommunication  from  the  Quaker  body. 
Having  openly  charged  the  Friends  in  Pennsylvania  with  laxity  of  dis- 
cipline, as  well  as  a  departure  from  their  original  belief,  he  proceeded 
to  resist  the  authority  of  their  tribunals,  on  the  ground  that  the  accept- 
ance in  their  own  persons  of  the  magistracy  was  a  violation  of  their 
religious  profession.  But  his  arguments  convinced  only  his  adherents 
and  himself,  and,  lieing  brought  to  trial,  he  was  convicted  and  lined. 
The  fine  was  subsetiuently  remitted,  but  whether  this  leniency  arose 
from  a  conviction  on  the  part  of  the  judges  that  their  authority  was  in- 
deed questionable,  or  from  a  hope  that  the  offender  might  be  reclaimed, 


210  HISTOHY   OF  THE  AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

it  is  impossible  to  determine.  It  is  certain,  however,  that  from  this 
time  Keith  proceeded  to  claim  for  his  followers  and  himself  the  right  to 
be  regarded  as  the  true  exi^onents  of  Quakerism,  and  to  denounce  all 
others  as  apostates.  No  other  course  remained  for  those  who  were 
arrayed  against  this  new  expositor  of  Quakerism  l)ut  to  Ijear  their 
public  testimony  against  him.  Admonitions  and  persuasions  had 
failed  to  dissuade  the  fearless  Keith  from  avowing  his  convictions,  and 
assailing  all  who  differed  from  his  views;  and  even  when  the  great 
body  of  the  Friends  publicly  disavowed  all  connection  with  him,  his 
answer  was,  that  "he  trampled  their  judgment  undei  his  feet  as  dirt." 
He  set  up  at  once  a  separate  "  meeting,"  and  numbering,  as  he  did, 
among  his  followers,  many  who  are  described  by  the  historian  of  Penn- 
sylvania as  "men  of  rank,  character  and  reputation,  in  these  prov- 
inces, and  divers  of  them  gi'eat  preachers  and  much  followed," ' 
his  success  occasioned  great  alarm.  "  A  Declaration,  or  Testimony 
of  Denial,"  was  solemnly  borne  against  the  schismatic  at  a  public  meet- 
ing of  the  Friends,  in  Philadelphia,  on  the  20th  of  Ajiril,  1692,  and 
confirmed  by  the  general  meeting  held  at  Burlington,  X.J.,  a  few 
months  afterwards.  Its  language  of  mingled  sorrow  and  condemna- 
tion proves  the  severity  of  the  blow  inflicted  upon  them  by  this 
secession  from  their  numbers,  and  is  in  marked  contrast  with  the  con- 
temptuous tone  in  which  they  were  wont  at  a  later  day  to  refer  to  it. 
The  words  of  the  lamentation  of  David  over  Saul  and  Jonathan  are 
made  use  of  to  describe  their  feelings  as  they  moan  over  the  loss  of 
the  "  mighty  man  "  who  had  dropped  from  their  ranks.  As  long  as 
he  walked  "in  the  counsel  of  God  and  was  little  iu  his  own  eyes,"  his 
"  bow"  abode  "  in  strength,"  and  his  "  sword  returned  not  empty  from 
the  fat  of  the  enemies  of  God."  "Oh,  how  lovely,"  tliey  continued, 
"  wert  thou,  in  that  day  when  this  beauty  was  upon  thee,  and  when 
this  comeliness  covered  thee  !  "  And  then,  taking  up  the  language  of 
the  message  to  the  Church  of  Ephesus  in  the  Apocalypse,  they  bade 
him  who  had  "  left  his  first  love  "  to  remember  from  whence  he  was 
"  fallen,  and  repent,  and  do  his  first  works. "^ 

This  "Testimony"  against  Keith,  thus  given  by  the  Friends  in 
America,  was  confirmed  iu  1694  by  the  yearly  meeting  of  the  Quakers 
in  London.  But  he  was  only  the  more  steadfast.  The  grounds  of  his 
separation  were  such  that  there  could  Ije  no  compromise.  He  and  his 
followers  claimed  as  their  title  that  of  "Christian  Quakers."  Keith 
charged  upon  his  opponents  a  tendency  towards  Deism. 

Returning  to  England  in  the  same  year  in  which  the  testimony 
of  the  London  meeting  was  delivered  against  him,  he  found  himself 
disowned,  derided,  and  despised.  Patiently  and  resolutely  he  betook 
himself  to  the  task  of  self-vindication.  But  the  line  of  reading  and  of 
argument  which  he  pursued  in  his  attempt  to  disprove  the  errors  of 
Quakerism  convinced  him  that  the  Church  of  England,  at  once  Cath- 
olic and  reformed,  claimed  his  allegiance  and  service.  With  him  con- 
viction was  at  once  followed  by  action,  and,  openly  confessing  his 
previous  errors,  he  was  received  into  the  Church,  and  began  his  prepa- 

'  PiouJ'a  "  History  of  Pennsylvania,"  I.,  p.  369,  note.  '  Ibid.,  pp.  365,  366. 


THE  MISSION  OF  KEITH  AND  TALBOT. 


'ill 


ration  for  holy  orders.  The  pen  which  h.ad  proved  so  trenchanl  in 
its  advocacy  of  the  tenets  of  the  Friends  was  at  once  devoted  to  the 
service  and  defence  of  the  church  of  his  latest  love.  So  fully  did  he 
receive  her  doctrine,  and  so  ready  and  convincing  were  his  arguments 


in  her  defence,  that  his  exposition  of  the  church's  teaching,  as  contained 
in  his  "Larger  and  Lesser  Catechism,"  was  the  first  book  adopted  for 
circulation  by  the  Society  for  Promoting  Christian  Knowledge.  His 
"Reasons  for  renouncing  Quakerism,  and  entering  into  Communion 
with  the  Church  of  England,"  which  was  publishcdin  1700,  became  at 


212  HISTORY  OF   THE   AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

once  an  authority  in  tlie  controversy,  from  its  vigorous  style  and  acute 
and  lucid  reasoning.  Received  early  in  the  same  year  to  holy  orders, 
his  "Farewell  Sermon,  preached  at  Turner's  Hall,  May  the  5th,  with 
his  two  initiating  Sermons,  on  May  the  12th,  1700,  at  St.  George's, 
Butolph's  Lane,  by  Billings-Gate,"  attest  the  earnestness  of  his  convic- 
tions, and  the  entire  consecration  of  himself  to  his  new  work,  at  the 
beginning  of  his  ministry.  Commended  by  Dr.  Bray  to  the  Societj' 
for  Propagating  the  Gospel,  soon  after  he  had  received  Priest's  orders 
he  jireparcd,  at  the  request  of  the  Secretary,  a  "  Memorial  of  the  State 
of  Religion"  in  those  parts  of  North  America  where  he  had  travelled. 
In  tiiis  interesting  paper  he  refers  to  his  opposition  to  the  Quaker 
"  notion  of  the  sufficiency  of  the  light  within  every  man  to  salvation, 
witiiout  anything  else,"  as  having  been  the  occasion  of  his  own  sepa- 
ration, and  asserts  that  on  his  coming  to  England,  in  1694,  he  left  be- 
hind him  "  fourteen  or  fifteen  meetings  in  Pennsylvania,  West  and  East 
Jerseys,  that  met  apart  from  the  Quakers  (on  the  account  of  their 
opposition  to  these  errors)  to  the  number  of  above  five  hundred  per- 
sons." The  Memorial  pointed  out  the  best  places  among  the  Amer- 
ican colonies  for  the  introduction  of  the  Church ;  and  its  wise  and 
temperate  suggestions,  coupled  with  the  knowledge  of  the  writer's 
familiarity  with  the  counti\y  and  its  varying  and  discordant  sects,  and 
his  zeal  for  the  church  of  his  adoption,  influenced  the  society  to 
appoint  Keith  its  first  travelling  missionary,  commissioning  him  to 
explore  the  field  in  its  length  and  breadth,  and  associating  with  him  the 
Rev.  Patrick  Gordon  as  a  fellow-itinerant.  The  newly  tippointed 
missionaries  embarked  on  the  24th  of  April,  1702,  on  board  the  "  Cen- 
turion" for  Boston,  where  they  arrived  on  the  11th  of  the  June  follow- 
ing. Col.  Joseph  Dudley,  the  royal  Governor  of  New  England,  and 
Col.  Lewis  Morris,  Governor  of  New  Jersey,  were  passengers  in  the 
same  ship.  The  chaplain  of  the  "  Centurion,"  the  Rev.  John  Talbot,  be- 
came so  interested  in  the  mission  of  Keith  as  to  devote  himself  to  mis- 
sion work,  or,  as  he  was  fond  of  styling  it,  "  the  service  of  God  and  His 
Church,  apud  Americanos.'"  "Worthy Mr.  Gordon"  died  at  Jamaica, 
Long  Island,  about  six  weeks  after  his  arrival  in  Boston.  His  career, 
though  thus  early  closed  by  death,  had  been  long  enough  to  win  for 
him  the  respect  and  regard  of  churchmen  and  dissenters  alike,  and 
Colonel  Morris,  in  a  letter  to  Archdeacon,  afterwards  Bishop,  Bever- 
idge,  bore  testimony  to  his  "abilities,  sobriety  and  prudence,"  and 
mourned  his  untimely  removal  "just  as  he  was  entering  upon  his 
charge." 

The  "  Centurion  "  landed  its  passengers  at  Boston,  and  the  clei'gy 
of  the  Queen's  Chapel,  the  Rev.  Samuel  INIyles  and  the  Rev.  Chris- 
topher Bridge,  welcomed  these  three  brethren  to  their  homes.  On 
the  following  Sunday  Keith  preached  in  the  Queen's  Chapel,  from  the 
text  Eph.  ii.  20,  21,  22,  before  "a  large  Auditory  not  only  of  Church 
people  but  of  many  others."  At  the  request  of  the  ministers  and 
vestry,  and  others,  this  sermon  was  printed.  It  contained  "  six  plain 
brief  rules,"  which  the  preacher  told  his  hearei's  agreed  well  with  the 
Holy  Scriptures,  and  which,  if  "put  in  practice,  would  bring  all  to  the 
Church  of  England  who  dissented  from  her."    "  This,"  remarks  Keith,  in 


THE   MISSION   OF   KEITH    AND   TALEOT.  213 

his  jouriKil,  "  (lid  greatly  alarm  the  Independent  Preachers  at  Bo.sloii." 
'i\)  no  less  a  controversialist  than  the  celcljrated  Dr.  Increase  Walher 
was  assigned  the  task  of  combaling  these  "rules,"  and  overthrowing 
the  arguments  of  a  disputant,  who," as  an  advocate  for  the  Church,  re- 
ceived a  hearing  and  a  reply,  denied  him  years  before,  when  he  was 
contending  in  behalf  of  the  vagaries  of  Quakerism.     A  short  contro- 


T  H  E 

DOCTRINE 

OF     THE    HOLY 

Apoftles  &  Prophets  the  Foundation 

O  F    THE 

Church  of  Chrift, 

As  ir  nas  Delivered  in  a 

SERMON 

At   Her  Maiefties  Chappel,  at 
l^oslon  in  U^exf 'England^  the 
i^th,  oifune  lyoz. 

By  C^rorfic  Brttt),  M.  A. 

B  0  S  T  0  if. 
Printed  for  Samuel  Fhillifs  at  the  Brick  Shcrj\     1702. 


vcrsy  followed,  thougii  Keith's  answer  was  printed  in  New  York,  "The 
Printer  at  Boston  not  daring  to  print  it  lest  he  should  give  offence  to 
the  Independent  Preachers  there." 

Before  setting  forth  on  his  missionary  journey  ]\Ir.  Keith  was 
induced  hy  Colonel  Morris  to  remain  at  Boston  until  the  "  Commence- 
ment" of  the  college  at  Cambridge,  "at  which,'"  writes  iNIorris,  "the 
good  man  was  met  with  very  little  University  breeding,  and  with  less 
learning,  but  he  was  most  distressed  by  the  theses  which  were  there 


214  HISTORY   OF  THE   AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

maintained  of  predestination  and  immutable  decrees,  to  which  he  drew 
up  a  long  answer  in  Latin."  The  theses  of  President  Willard,  thus 
pronounced  unsound,  are  recorded  in  Keith's  journal,  as  follows : 
"  I.  That  the  fall  of  Adam,  by  virtue  of  God's  decree,  was  necessary. 
II.  That  every  free  act  of  the  reasonable  creature  is  determined  by 
God,  so  that  whatever  the  reasonable  creature  acteth  freely,  it  acteth 
the  same  necessarily." 

The  Latin  letter  sent  to  the  president  was  afterwards  "  put  into 
Etiglish"  and  published  at  New  York.  In  Willard's  reply,  "  notwith- 
standing his  many  shufflings,  and  seeming  to  disown  the  charge,"  he 
"very  roundly  and  plainly"  maintains  all  that  had  been  alleged,  and 
"  much  more,"  in  these  words  :  — 

Nor  shall  I  part  with  mj'  opinion,  viz. :  that  the  Origine  and  cause  of  the 
necessity  of  the  first  sin  is  more  to  be  derived  fi'ora  God,  than  from  Man  himself. 
Nay,  furthei',  that  the  whole  oause  of  tlie  futurity  of  it  is  owing  to  tlie  Divine 
decree,  though  still  tlie  whole  sin  and  bhime  of  it  is  due  to  Adam," for  that  in  ac- 
complishing of  his  Apostacy,  he  abused  his  own  free  Will,  and  voluntarily  trans- 
gressed the  command. 

The  answer  of  Keith  to  this  defence  had,  we  are  told,  ''  a  good 
eilcct  in  quieting  the  minds  of  many  people  in  these  parts,  and  bring- 
ing them  over  to  the  Church." 

Early  in  July  Keith  and  Talbot  began  the  extended  tour  of  mis- 
sionary exploration  which  occupied  two  years,  and  extended  from 
"  Piscataway  Eiver  in  New  England  to  Caratuck  in  North  Carolina." 
Beginning  in  Lynn,  the  Quakers  were  visited  in  their  homes,  and  at 
their  "  Meetings."  In  spite  of  abuse  and  interruptions  they  pursued 
their  labors  at  Hampton,  Salisbury,  Dover,  and  Salem ;  returning 
thence  to  Boston,  and  having  throughout  their  journey  received  the 
hospitality  and  cooiieration  of  the  "  New  England  ministers,"  who  made 
common  cause  with  them  in  their  assault  upon  Quakerism.  On  their 
second  journey,  which  was  towards  the  southward,  they  were  accom- 
panied by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Mylcs  of  Boston.  At  Newport  there  was  a 
public  disputation  with  the  Qual^ers,  which  attracted  great  attention ; 
and  at  Portsmouth,  Narragansett,  Little  Compton,  and  Swansea,  the 
indefatigable  "  missioner"  pursued  his  work  of  exposing  the  errors  of 
the  Quakei's,  and  ])roclaiming  the  faith  of  the  Church  of  England. 
Starting  out  from  Newport  on  a  third  tour,  New  London  was  the  lirst 
point  reached,  and  the  journal  tells  us  that  on  Sunday,  September  the 
l.jth,  "Mr.  Talliot  preached  there  in  the  forenoon,  and  I  preached 
there  in  the  afternoon,  we  being  desired  to  do  so  by  the  minister,  j\Ir. 
Gurdon  Saltonstall,  who  civilly  entertained  us  at  his  house,  and  ex- 
pressed his  good  affection  to  the  Church  of  England,  as  did  also  the 
minister  at  Hampton"  [the  Rev.  John  Cotton],  "and  the  minister  at 
Salisbury"  [the  Rev.  j\lr.  Gushing],  "and  divers  other  New  England 
ministers  did  the  like.  My  text  was  Rom.  8,  9  ;  the  auditory  was 
large,  and  well  afl^ected.  Col.  Winthrop,  governour  of  the  colony,  after 
Forenoon  Sermon  invited  us  to  dinner  at  his  house,  and  kindly  enter- 
tained us  both  tiien  and  the  next  day."  Crossing  Long  Island  Sound  in 
a  sloop  which  they  hired,  they  reached,  after  two  days'  travel  on  horse- 


THE   MISSION   OF   KEITH    AND    TAIJ'.OT.  21.') 

back,  Oyster-liiiy,  where,  on  Sunday  after  prayers,  Mr.  Keith  preached, 
and  his  eonipanion  Uajjlizcd  a  eliild.  At  this  point  the  Rev.  William 
W'sey,  of  Trinity  (Jluircii,  New  \'.orU,  joined  tlie  ])arty.  and  all  pro- 
ceeded to  tiie  Quaker  nieetiii"'  at  Flushini;'. 

The  attempt  of  Keith  to  speak  was  interrupted  by  "  tlie  clamour 
and  noise  ; "  l)ut  in  the  disputes  tiiat  followed  it  is  evident  that  Keith 
was  far  from  heing  worsted  by  his  bitter  antagonists.  From  Hamp- 
stead,  where  a  Sunday  was  spent,  and  the  church's  service  and  a  sermon 
given  to  a  people  "generally  well  afl'ected  "  and  desirous  that  a  Church 
of  England  minister  siiould  be  settled  among  them,"  the  ])arty  ])ro- 
ceeded  to  New  York.  It  was  a  time  of  pestilence.  "Aiiove  tive 
hundred  "  had  "  died  in  the  space  of  a  few  weeks,  and  that  very  week 
al)out  seventy."  Keith  preached  from  St.  James  v.  13,  at  the  "  VVcekly 
Fast  which  was  appointed  by  the  Government  by  reason  of  the  great 
mortality,"  and  on  the  following  day  proceeded  on  his  journey  south- 
ward. Sunday,  Octol)er  3,  was  spent  at  Amboy  :  "the  auditory  was 
small."  The  "text  was  Tit.  ii.  11,  12."  "Such  as  were  there" were 
well  aflected."  Among  them  were  some  "Keithan  Quakers,"  who 
had  conformed  to  the  Church.  Of  these  converted  Quakers  one  was 
-lohn  Barclay,  "  bi-f)tiier  to  Robert  Barclay,  who  published  the  Apol- 
ogy for  the  Quak(;rs."  (_)n  tiie  following  Sunday,  at  Freehold,  Keith 
attended  the  "Yearly  fleeting"  of  the  Keithan  Quakers,  where,  after 
a  Quaker  discourse,  the  journal  records  as  follows :  "I  used  some 
of  the  Church  Collects  I  had  by  lieart  in  prayer;  and  after  that  I 
preached  on  Heb.  v.  9.'  There  was  a  considerable  auditory  of  Quakers  : 
the}-  heard  me  without  any  interruption,  and  the  meeting  ended 
peaceably."  This  was  repeated  the  following  day,  and  an  oppor- 
tunity for 
private  con- 
ference with 
the  Quakei- 
pre  a  cher 
was  not 
lost.  The 
f  o  1 1  o  w  i  n  g 
S  u  n  d  a  y 

Keith  preached  at  Middleton,  Mr.  Talbot  reading  tiie  prayers,  and 
the  text  being  St.  Matt,  xxviii.  19.  Here  "  most  of  the  auditory  were 
Cimrch  people,  or  well-atfected  to  the  Church."  A  week  later  Keith 
held  a  "three  days"  meeting"  at  Shrewsbury,  it  being  the  time  of  the 
Quakers'  Yearly  Meeting,  during  which  Keith  pul)licl\'  "detected 
the  Quakers'  eiTors  out  of  their  printed  books,  particularly  out  of 
the  folio  book  of  Edward  Burroughs'  AV^orks,  collected  and  pub- 
lished l)y  the  Quakers  after  his  death,"  reading  "the  quotations  to 
the  Auditory,  laying  the  pages  open  before  such  as  were  willing  to 
read  them,  for  their  l)etter  satisfaction."  From  Shrewsl)ury  Keith 
and  Talbot  proceeded  to  Burlington,  where  they  preached  in  the  town- 
house,  the  church  not  being  built.  Here  they  had  "  a  great  auditory 
of  diverse  sorts,  .some  of  the  Church,  and  some  of  the  late  converts 
from  Quakerism."     Here  again   Keith  "  detected  the  Quakers"  errors 


216 


HISTORY   OF   THE   AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 


out  of  their  <jreat  authors,  George  Fox  his  Great  INIystery,  and  Edwiird 
Burroughs'  Folio  Boolv,  and  others."  From  Burlington,  where,  as  else- 
Avhere  in  New  Jersey,  they  received  marked  attention  from  the  lead- 
ing officers  of  the  crown,  they  journeyed  to  Philadelphia,  where 
they  were  heartily  welcomed  by  "the  two  ministers  there  and  the 
church  people,  and  especially  hy  the  late  converts  from  Quakerism, 
who  were  become  zealous  membersof  tiio  t'hurcli."'  The  visit  of  these 
distinguished  representatives  of  the  venerable  society  was  made  the 


occasion  of  a  meeting  of  the  clergy  in  New  York,  where  seven 
assembled  in  the  second  week  in  November  and  drew  up  "  An  Account 
of  the  State  of  the  Church  in  Pennsylvania,  East  and  AVest  Jersey  and 
New  York."  The  names  of  those  composing  this  first  Clerical  Convo- 
cation in  the  city  of  New  York  were,  Geoi'ge  Keith ;  Evan  Evans, 
"  Minister  of  Philadelphia  ;  "  Alexander  Innes,  "Presbyter ;  "  Edward 
Mott,  "Chaplain  of  Her  Majesty's  Forces  in  New  York  ;""  John  Talbot ; 
William  Vescy,  "Rector  of  New  York  ;  "  and  John  Bartow,  "  Rector  of 

'  This  follows  Holmes's  engi-aving  of  tlie  por-  if  his  brother  William,  he  died  in  1683,  ajjeil  73. 

trait  of  Fox,  by  Ilonthorst,  in  1G54,  when  Fox  The  original  canvas  was  recently  olfci'od  lor  sale 

was  in  lii^  thirtieth  year.     This  Dutch  painter,  if  in  Kn2;lan(l.     A  viewof  Swarllunore  llall.wliere 

Cieraril  Ilonthorst,  was  horn  iu  Utreelit,  in  1592,  Fox  lived,  is  in  Gay's  "  Popular  History  of  the 

was  at  one  time  in  En;^laud,  and  died  in  1G60;  United  States,"  ir.,  p.  173. 


THE   MISSION   OF  KEITH   AND   TALBOT.  217 

West  Chester  County."  The  journal  of  Keith,  in  recording  the  fact 
of  this  important  meeting,  adds  the  following  interesting  partiiadar : 
"  C!olonel  Nicolson,  Governor  of  Virginia,  to  encourage  us  to  meet, 
was  so  generous  as  to  bear  our  charges  (I  mean  of  all  of  us  that  lived 
not  at  New  York) ,  besides  his  other  great  and  generous  benefactions 
to  the  building  and  adorning  many  Churches  lately  built  in  these 
parts."  The  session  of  the  clergy  was  followed  by  a  brief  stay  in 
New  York,  where  Keith  and  Talbot  were  entertained  by  the  erratic  Lord 
Cornbury,  Governor  of  New  York  and  the  Jerseys,  and  where  Keith 
availed  himself  of  his  intimacy  with  the  royal  governor  to  obtain  an 
opportunity  for  speaking  to  the  Quakers  at  Flushing,  the  scene  of  his 
former  unsuccessful  attempt. 

His  opponents  were  in  no  mind  to  listen  to  one  whom  they  re- 
garded not  only  as  an  apostate,  but  also  as  a  hireling,  and  even  the 
governor's  letter  and  the  pi'esence  of  two  justices  of  the  peace,  deputed 
to  see  that  he  should  not  be  interrujited  in  his  discourse,  could  not 
compel  the  Quakers  to  listen  patiently  to  his  criticisms,  or  enable  him 
to  speak  to  their  regular  congregations. 

Christmas  was  spent  with  their  fellow-passenger  on  the  "Centurion," 
Colonel  Lewis  Morris,  at  whose  request  Keith  preached  in  the  Morris  man- 
sion, and  Talbot  administered  the  holy  communion,  "  both  Mr.  Morris 
and  his  wife  and  divers  others  "  receiving.  Turning  southward,  on  the 
following  Sunday  Keith  preached  at  Shrewsbury  in  New  Jersey,  "at  a 
[)]anter's  house,  and  had  a  consideral)le  auditory  of  Church  people 
lately  converted  from  Quakerism,  with  divers  others  of  the  Church  of 
best  note  in  that  part  of  the  Country."  The  new  year  began  with  the 
baptism  of  several  Quaker  converts  at  Freehold,  and  after  a  brief  visit 
at  Burlington,  and  a  longer  stay  in  Philadelphia,  Keith  began  anew  his 
labors  at  Chester,  Concord,  and  other  places  in  the  neighborhood, 
preaching  in  churches  or  houses,  and  confirming  in  their  new  faith  nu- 
merous followers  of  his  in  his  separation  from  the  Quaker  meeting,  who 
had  made  the  furtlier  change  from  Kcithan  Quakerism  to  tlie  Church. 
In  the  first  week  of  February,  1702,  Keith  convened  tlic  Kcithan  Sepa- 
ratists and  their  preachers,  in  Philadelphia,  continuing  his  efforts  with 
them  till  at  length  he  was  able  to  write  that  "most  of  that  party,  both 
in  town  and  country  and  also  in  West  and  East  Jersey,  and  some  in 
New  York,  came  over  with  good  zeal,  and  according  to  good  knowl- 
edge, to  the  Church  —  praised  be  God  for  it."  Keith  remained  in 
Philadelphia,  busy  in  preaching  and  disputations,^  until  early  in  April, 
when  he  began  a  journey  southward,^  stopping  on  his  way  and  preach- 

'Eai'ly  in  the  vear  James  Lofcan  wrote  to  provented  its  further  journey.     None  appeared 

William  Pcnn  as  follows :  "  G.  Keith,  on  the  5th  hut  Wm.  Southhy  to  answer  a  calumny,  as  I  am 

instant,  had  a  puhlic  dispute  with  himself,  ac-  informed,  raised*ag:aiust  him,  and  soonwithdi'ew. 

cordins  to  his  way,  at  Whitpain's  frreat  house  :  Those  called  Keithans    here,  as  John  Hart,  I. 

he  declaimed  a  very  little   time,  I  thinlc  not  an  Wilson,  Jno.  McComb,  itc,  are  his  great  oppo- 

hour,  and  to  less  purpose:    his  business  was  to  ncnts, , and  inshort  in  this  place  his  execution  has 

expose,  &c.,  hut  his  chief  success  that  way  was,  been  exceeding  small." — Pennand  Logan  Cor- 

'tis  thought,  upon  himself.     He  sent  his  chal-  resyonlence,  I.,  p.  17'J. 

lenges,  as  thou  wilt  find  by  a  copy  of  one  of  them  -  We  find  in  a  letter  from  J.  Kirll  to  Jonathan 

enclosed,  to  the  persons  mentioned  to  each  one,  Dickinson,  dated  Philadelphia,  IGIh  April,  1703, 

but  forgot  as  he  said  afterwards  to  sign  them,  till  the  following  uolioo  of  Keith  from  the  Quaker 

about  11  of  the  clock  that  day  he  was  to  appear  side  :  "George  Keith  has  been  amoiig  us,  but 

he  sent  the  original  to  be  shown  to  them,  under  was  coldly  received  by  most  sorts  of  people;  he 

his  baud,  but  being  brought  to  Thomas  Storey  he  had  disputes  with  several  sorts ;  but  one  William 


218  HISTORY   OF   THE   AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

ing  or  baptiziug  at  Chester,  New  Castle,  and  Yorktown,  Virginia, 
whence  he  proceeded  to  Williamsburg,  where  Mr.  Talbot  and  himself 
were  "  kindly  received  "  and  "  entertained  by  Col.  Nicholson,"  then  Gov- 
ernor of  Virginia.  On  Wednesday,  the  21st  of  April,  Keith  preached 
in  the  Williamsburg  Church,  "  before  the  Convocation  of  Clergy  there 
assembled."  On  the  following  Sunday  Keith  preached  at  Jamestown, 
"at  the  request  of  the  Reverend  Mr.  JJlair,  Minister  there,  and  Com- 
missary, who  very  kindly  and  hospitalily  entertained  us  at  his  house." 
Visiting  Kicketan,  where  Keith's  daughter,  who  had  "  fully  come  off  from 
the  Quakers,"  resided,  the  associated  "missioners"  officiated  for  several 
weeks  in  the  vicinity,  penetrating  even  into  North  Carolina  to  "Corre- 
tuck,"  and,  being  prevented  by  contrary  winds  from  proceeding  "  in  a 
canoe  over  a  great  bay,"  still  further  to  the  southward.  After  a  series 
of  sermons  and  services,  with  numerous  baptisms  of  children  at  Abing- 
ton,  at  churches  and  chapels  in  Princess  Anne  and  Elizabeth  counties, 
at  Hampton  and  at  Yorktown,  the  two  evangelists  proceeded  to  INIary- 
land.  At  Annapolis  there  was  "  a  large  auditory,  well  affected."  The 
sermon,  from  1  Thess.  i.  5,  was  printed,  at  the  request,  and  mostly  at 
the  charge,  of  "  a  worthy  person  who  heard  it."  Here  Keith  visited  the 
Quakers'  meeting  at  Herring  Creek,  accompanied  by  several  of  the 
leading  men  of  the  province  and  the  rector  of  the  parish,  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Hall,  with  "  divers  other  ministers  of  the  neighboring  parishes."  But 
the  Quakers  would  not  listen  to  his  arguments.  Driven  from  the 
Quaker  meeting,  a  large  number  i-esorted  to  an  adjacent  chapel,  where, 
after  prayers,  Keith  preached  on  the  errors  of  Quakerism.  For  several 
weeks  Keith  pursued  his  mission  throughout  Maryland,  and  then  in 
August  returned  to  Philadelphia.  In  September  occurred  the  Quakers' 
yearly  meeting,  and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Evans,  mth  the  consent  of  the  vestry, 
opened  the  church  in  Philadelphia,  on  all  the  days  of  the  Quakers' 
raeetiniij:,  for  services,  while  Keith  and  Talbot  sought  to  gain  a  hearinac 
from  the  Quakers  themselves.  They  were  met  with  violence,  Talbot 
being  thrust  from  the  place  of  meeting  by  force,  and  Keith  being  jostled 
and  assaulted,  and  the  bench  on  which  he  was  standing  pulled  from 
under  him.  So  disorderly  was  the  affair  that  little  or  nothing  could  be 
expected  either  in  the  way  of  refuting  the  Quakers'  errors  or  in  the 
proclamation  of  a  more  excellent  way.  The  remainder  of  the  year  was 
spent  in  journeyings  to  and  fro  in  the  middle  provinces.  Many  con- 
verts were  made.  Two  of  Keith's  sermons,  preached  in  New  York, 
were  published  at  the  request  and  cost  of  those  who  heard  them.  Tal- 
bot, who  had  made  numerous  mission-journeys  by  himself,  was  at 
length  appointed  to  the  charge  of  the  church  at  Burlington,  and  after 
a  few  months'  more  travel,  in  the  course  of  which  Keith  revisited  Mary- 
land and  Virginia,  he  returned  to  England  and  published  an  interesting 
"Journal  of  Travels  from  New  Hampshire  to  Caratuck,"  whence  we 
have  drawn  many  of  our  notices  of  his  work.  Received  for  the  most 
part  with  courtesy,  preaching  in  churches,  chapels,  meeting-houses, 
private  dwellings,  or  wherever  an  opportunity  offered,  "  oft  again  and 

Davis,  a  Seventh-day  Baptist,  had  a  dispute  with  Virginia.    I  believe  lie  stayed  here  longer  than 

him  in  tlie  Keitlianmeetiug-house,wlicre  George  lie   was  welcome   in   most  sorts."  —  Penn   and 

liad  tlie  worst  of  it,  and  was  forced  to  quit  the  Logan  Correspondence,  i.,  p.  lS.i;  vide -p.  196. 
field  to   his  great  dishonor;  he  is  now  gone  to 


THE   MISSION   OF  KEITH   AND   TALBOT.  219 

again  drawing  crowds  to  hear,  in  many  instances  for  the  first  time," 
the  church's  forms  of  prayer,  administering  the  sacraments  to  num- 
bers who  had  learned  from  their  lips  the  nature  and  importance  of  these 
means  of  grace,  and  in  public  and  private  testifying  to  the  teachings 
and  practice  of  the  Church  of  which  they  were  meml)crs  and  ministers, 
the  progress  of  these  two  mission-priests  was  an  event  in  the  history 
of  the  American  ("Iiureh.  The  results  were  immediate  and  apparent. 
Talbot,  writing  from  Philadelphia,  Septeml)er  1,  1703,  says:  — 

Wc  have  gathered  several  hundreds  together  for  the  Cliiirch  of  England,  and 
what  is  more  to  build  houses  for  her  service.  There  are  four  or  five  going  forward 
now  in  this  province,  and  the  next,  That  at  Burlington  is  almost  finished.  Mr.  Keith 
preached  the  lii'st  sermon  and  before  my  Lord  (,'ornbury.  Churches  are  going  up 
amain  where  there  were  never  any  before.  They  are  going  to  build  three  at  North 
Carolina ;  —  and  three  more  in  these  lower  Counties  about  Newcastle ;  besides  those 
I  hope  at  Chester,  Bm'lington  and  Amboy." 

It  was  in  no  spirit  of  exclusiveness  that  these  worthy  "missioners" 
pursued  their  chosen  work  of  rooting  out  the  errors  of  Quakerism,  and 
implanting,  instead,  the  truth  of  God.  While  they  bore  strong  testi- 
mony in  word  and  act  to  the  church's  ways  and  words,  they  neglected 
no  opportunity  to  preach  the  Go.spel,  whether  it  was  in  the  dissenters' 
places  of  meeting,  whenever  they  could  be  had  for  their  use,  or  in 
town-halls,  or  even  private  houses  which  were  opened  to  them.  As 
Talbot  writes,  under  date  of  Novemlier  24,  1702  :  — 

We  preached  in  all  churches  where  we  came,  and  in  several  dissenters' 
meetings,  such  as  owned  the  Church  of  England  to  be  their  iNIother  Church,  and 
were  willing  to  communicate  with  her,  and  submit  to  her  bishops,  if  they  had  op- 
portimity.  I  have  baptized  several  persons  whom  Mr.  Keith  has  brought  over  from 
Quakerism ;  and,  indeed,  in  all  places,  when  we  amve,  we  find  a  great  ripeness 
and  inclination  among  all  sorts  of  people  to  embrace  the  gospel. 

It  was  but  natural  that  the  reception  they  had  from  the  Quakers 
should  be  different.  The  return  of  Keith  among  those  who  but  ten 
years  before  had  with  confessed  regret  been  forced  to  cast  him  out  as 
a  schismatic  and  as  an  apostate,  in  the  character  of  a  priest  of  the 
Church  against  whose  rules  they  had  revolted,  and  against  whose  min- 
isters they  had  again  and  again  borne  testimony  as  hirelings  and  false 
guides,  could  not  but  be  regarded  with  anger  and  alarm.  In  separat- 
ing from  his  old  associates  Keith  had  not  contented  himself  with  a  silent 
withdrawal.  From  the  moment  in  which  his  eyes  were  opened  he  had 
showed  himself  the  fearless,  tireless,  and  most  relentless  antagonist  of  the 
faith  he  had  once  professed.  To  the  crowds  assembled  at  Turner's  Hall, 
in  London,  or  to  that  larger  constituency  reached  by  the  press,  the  aid 
of  which  was  invoked  again  and  again  ;  in  tracts  and  broadsides  and  vol- 
umes, well-nighinnumerable,  Keith  had  ceaselessly  appealed  forahearing 
and  belief.  Alile  as  he  was  zealous,  argumentative  as  he  was  thoroughly 
informed,  plying  his  foes  with  a  logic  that  was  unsparing,  and  having 
at  his  command  every  possible  argument  or  reply  that  could  be  urged 
against  his  thrusts,  it  could  not  but  excite  the  indignation  of  the 
Friends  that  this  their  enemy  had  "  found  them  out "  in  the  New  World 
as  well  as  in  the  Old.     To  know  that  this  man,  whose  power  they  had 


220  HISTORY   OF  THE   AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

learned  to  respect,  was  going  from  house  to  house,  from  meeting  to 
meeting,  in  the  hamlets  and  towns  with  which  he  was  personally 
familiar,  confuting  their  ablest  preachers,  converting  tlieir  meml)ers, 
and  convicting  their  very  standards  of  confessed  errors  and  gross  per- 
versions of  truth,  was  hard,  indeed,  for  the  Quakers  to  bear.  We  may 
not  wonder,  then,  that  when  they  saw  this  hated  pervert  present  in 
their  assemblies,  and  seeking,  after  their  own  preachers  had  ended 
their  discourse,  to  avail  himself  of  "  the  liberty  of  prophesying,"  which 
was  their  boast,  to  convict  them  of  doctrinal  error  by  citing  their  own 
standard  authorities  against  them,  they  sought  to  drown  the  accusing 
voice  with  their  clamor,  or  else  hastily  dismissed  the  assembly.  But 
their  opposition  only  whetted  the  zeal  of  their  adversary.  Silenced  at 
one  moment,  he  only  waited  an  interval  of  quiet  to  renew  his  attack. 
He  met  them  on  their  own  ground.  He  attacked  them  in  their  own 
familiar  way,  and  it  was  only  by  a  breach  of  their  own  professed  prin- 
ciples that  they  could  rid  themselves  of  his  testimony  and  presence. 
It  could  not  be  otherwise  than  that  many,  who  felt  that  noise  and  clamor 
were  no  fitting  answer  to  arguments,  and  who  felt  aggrieved  at  this 
silencing  of  one  who  claimed  only  the  privileges  accorded  to  all  who 
felt  moved  by  the  Spirit  within  to  give  utterance  to  their  testimony, 
should  be  led  to  embrace  the  doctrine  proclaimed  by  these  church 
"  missioners."  Their  converts  were  numbered  by  hundreds,  who, 
within  the  period  of  their  mission  work  in  America,  or  immediately 
afterwards,  were  united  with  the  Church  by  baptism.  Keith  himself, 
in  his  recital  of  his  "Travels,  Services  and  Successes,"  at  the  close  of 
his  journal,  thus  modestly  speaks  of  his  work  and  its  results  :  — 

To  many,  our  ministry  Avas  as  the  sowing  of  tlie  seed  and  planting,  wlio. 
probably,  never  so  much  as  heard  one  Orthodox  sermon  preaclied  to  them  before 
Ave  came  and  preached  among  tliem,  who  received  the  word  with  joy  ;  and  of  whom 
we  have  good  hope,  that  they  will  be  as  the  good  ground  that  bringcth  forth  fruit, 
some  thirty,  some  sixty,  and  some  an  Inmdred  fold.  And  to  many  others,  it  was  a 
watering  to  wliat  had  been  formerly  sown  and  planted  among  them ;  some  of  the 
good  fi'uit  wliereof  we  did  observe,  to  the  glory  of  God,  and  our  great  comfort, 
wliile  we  were  with  tliem,  even  such  fruits  of  trae  piety  and  good  lives,  and  sober 
and  righteous  living,  as  prove  the  trees  to  be  good  from  which  they  did  proceed. 

Keith  returned  to  England,  receiving  the  living  of  Edburton,  in 
Sussex,  where  he  remained  till  his  death.  He  was  at  least  once  again 
drawn  into  the  arena  of  controversy,  as  appears  from  a  sermon 
preached  by  him,  at  "  the  Lecture  at  Lewes,"  September  4, 1707,  upon 
"The  Necessity  of  Faith,  and  of  the  Revealed  Work  of  God  to  be  the 
Foundation  of  all  divine  and  saving  Faith."  The  text  is  from  Hebrews 
xi.  6,  arid  the  discourse,  as  avowed  in  the  title-page,  is  "against  the 
fundamental  error  of  the  Quakers :  that  the  light  within  thenT,  and 
within  every  man,  is  sufficient  to  their  salvation  without  anything  else, 
whereby  (as  to  themselves)  they  make  void  and  destroy  all  revealed 
religion."  This  tractate  is  written  with  all  the  logical  acuteness  and 
vigor  which  characterized  the  numerous  treatises  prepared  by  the  author 
in  previous  years  upon  the  same  great  theme.  It  serves  to  show  that 
in  the  comparative  seclusion  of  his  country  vicarage  he  had  lost  none 
of  the  zeal  and  fii-e  of  his  earlier  days.     He  continued  to  prosecute 


THE   MISSION   OF   KEITH   AND   TALBOT.  221 

his  clerical  labors  in  Edburtou  lill  1710,  when,  on  the  29th  of  Marcli, 
the  parish  register  bears  record  that "  the  Kev.  Mr.  Keith,  Rector 
of  Edburton,  was  bui'ied.  " 


ILLUSTRATIVE   NOTES. 


JN  the  "  Dcscviptivo  Catalogue  of  Friends'  Books,  or  Books  written  by  Members 
of  tlie  Society  of  Friends,  commonly  called  (inakers,  from  their  first  rise  to  the 
jiresent  time,  intersjiersed  with  critical  remarks,  and  occasional  biographical  no- 
tices, and  inelnding  all  writings  by  autliors  before  joining,  and  by  those  after  having 
left  tlie  Society,  whether  adverse  or  not,  as  far  as  known.  By  Joseph  Smith." 
(2  vols.,  octavo,  London,  1807), —  upwards  of  thirty  pages  are  required  to  give  the 
titles  of  the  books,  tracts  and  broadsides  of  the  "  Keithan  Controversy,"  while  the 
distinct  publications  of  Keith  himself  exceed  a  hundred  in  number.  Besides 
the  "  Doctrine  of  the  Holy  Apostles  and  Prophets,  the  Foundation  of  the  Church  of 
Christ,"  the  title-page  of  which  we  have  given  in  fac-simile.  Smith  notices  the  fol- 
lowing tracts  and  pamphlets,  issued  in  America  during  the  missionary  tour 
from  "  New  Hampshire  to  Caratuck"  :  — 

Some  of  the  many  False,  Scandalous,  blasphemous  &  self-contradictory 
assertions  of  William  Davis,  faithfully  collected  out  of  his  book,  printed  Anno  1700, 
entitled,  Jesus,  the  Crucified  Man,  the  Eternal  Son  of  God,  &c.,  in  exact  quotations 
word  for  word,  \vithout  adding  or  dissenting.     Quarto,  Philadelphia,  printed  1703. 

This  pamplilet  is  signed  by  George  Keith  and  Evan  Evans.  Smith  asserts 
that  John  Talbot  had  a  hand  in  the  composition. 

The  Spirit  of  Kniliii2=SI)imtt  and  of  Baal's  400  Lying  Prophets  entered  into 
Caleb  |3useD  and  his  Quaker-Brethren  in  Pennsylvania,  who  approve  him.  Contain- 
ing an  answer  to  his  and  their  Book,  falsely  called,  Proteus  Ecclesiasticus,  Detect- 
ing manj'  of  their  gross  Falsehoods,  Lies,  Calumnies,  Perversions  and  Abuses,  as 
well  as  his  and  their  gross  ignorance  and  Infidelity  contained  in  their  said  Book. 
By  George  Keith,  A.M.  Printed  and  sold  by  William  Bradford,  at  the  Sign  of  the 
Bible,  in  New  York.     Quarto,  1703. 

The  power  of  the  Gospel,  in  the  conversion  of  sinners,  in  a  Sermon  Preached 
at  Annapolis  in  Maryland,  By  George  Keith,  M.A.,  July  the -1.  [A7inapolisT\ 
Printed  and  are  to  be  sold  by  Thomas  Reading,  at  the-sign  of  the  George,  Anno  Dom- 
ini MDCCIII.     Quarto,  1703. 

Reply  by  Mr.  Increase  ^Slather's  Printed  Remarks  on  a  Sermon  Preached  by 
G.  K.  at  Her  Majesty's  Chapel  in  Boston  the  14th  of  June,  1702,  in  vindication  of  the 
six  good  Rules  in  Divinity  there  delivered,  which  he  hath  attempted  (though  very 
Feebly  and  Unsuccessfully)  to  refute.  New  York    Quarto,  1703 

Refutation  of  a  dangerous  and  hurtful  opinion  maintained  by  Mr  Samuel 
Willard,  an  Independent  Minister,  etc.,  and  President,  etc. 

New  York    Octavo  1702 

Some  brief  Remarks  upon  a  late  Book,  entituled,  George  Keith  once  more 
brought  to  the  Test  by  Caleb  Pusey.  New  York :  Printed    Quarto  1704 

The  Notes  of  the  True  Chdrch  with  the  Applications  of  them  to  the 
(Thutcl)  ot  Engl  anil  and  the  gi-eat  sin  of  seperation  from  Her.  Delivered  in  a 
Sermon  Preached  at  Trinity  Church  in  New- York,  before  the  administration  of 
the  holy  Sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  the  7""  of  November,  1703  By  George 
Keith,  M.  A. 

Printed  and  sold  by  William  Bradford  at  the  Sign  of  the  Bible  in  New-York. 

Quarto.     1704 


•lit 


HISTOKY   OF  THE   AMEKICAN   EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 


(Vnlh^  PUiJi/2:^ 


An  Answer  to  Mr.  Samucll  ©tllarli  (one  of  the  Ministers  at  Boston  in  New- 
England)  his  Reply  to  my  Printed  sheet,  called  a  Dangerous  and  hurtful  opinion 
maintained  by  him,  viz.  Thai  (he  Fall  of  Adam,  and  all  the  sins  of  Men  7ieccssariUj 
come  to  pass  by  virtue  of  Ood^s  decree,  and  his  determining  both  of  the  Will  of 
Adam,  and  of  all  other  Men  to  sin;  By  Oeorge  Keith.  M.  A. 

Printed  and  sold  by  William  Bradford  at  the  Sign  of  the  Bible  in  New  York. 

Quarto    1704 

A  Journal  of  Travels  from  New  Ilamphire  to  Caratuck,  on  the  Continent 
of  North  America,  By  George  Keith,  A.  M.,  late  Missionary  from  the  Society  for 
the  Propogation  of  the  Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts;  and  now  Rector  of  Edburto7i,  in 
Sussex. 

London,  Printed  by  Joseph  Downing,  for  Brab.  Alyrner  at  the  Three-Pigeons 
over  against  the  Boyal-Exchange  in  Comhill.  Quarto.    170G. 

This  last  publication  is  reprinted  in  the  tirst  volume  of  the  Prot.  Epis.  Hist. 
Soc.  C'ollections.     New  York,  1851. 


CHAPTER   XIII. 

THE   PLANTING    OP'    THE    CHURCH    IN    PENNSYLVANIA  AND 

DELAWARE. 


PROVISION  was  made  in  the  original  charter  granted  b}'  Charles 
II.,  in  1G81,  for  the  introduction  of  tlic  ("Imrch  into  tlic  colony 
established  under  the  ausjiices  and  by  the  authority  of  the  cele- 
brated William  Penn.    Section  xxii.  of  this  important  document  is  as 
follows  :  "And  our  farther  pleasure  is,  and  we  do  hereby,  for  us,  our 


224 


HISTORY   OF   THE    AMERICAN    EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 


heii-s  and  successors,  charge  and  require,  that  if  any  of  the  inhabitants  of 
the  said  Province,  to  the  number  of  twenty,  shall  at  any  time  hereafter 
be  desirous,  and  shall,  by  any  writing,  or  by  any  person  deputed  by 
them,  signify  such  their  desire  to  the  Bishop  of  London,  for  the  tinae 
being,  that  any  preacher,  or  preachers,  to  be  approved  of  by  the  said 
Bishop,  may  be  sent  unto  them,  for  their  instruction ;  that  then  such 
preacher,  or  preachers,  shall  and  may  reside  within  tlie  said  piovince, 
without  any  denial,  or  molestation  whatsoever." '  It  was  not  until 
IG94-5,  that  in  the  midst  of  the  dissensions  growing  out  of  the  seces- 
sion of  George  Keith  from  the  body  of  which  he  had  so  long  been  a 
faithful  and  honored  member,  those  who  opposed  both  tlie  Quakers' 
principles  and  policy  united  in  a  petition  to  the  crown,  for  "  the  free 
exercise  of  our  religion  and  arms  for  our  defence."  ^    In  the  view  uf  the 


THE    SEAL    OF    PENNSYLVANIA. 


Quakers  this  attempt  to  bring  in  "  the  priest  and  the  sword  "  was  an 
invasion  of  their  chartered  rights.  The  attorney  who  was  suspected 
of  drawing  up  this  petition  was  taken  into  custody,  and  those  who  had 
ventured  to  sign  it  were  Ijrought  before  the  sessions  for  examination. 
But  it  was  impossible,  by  the  most  rigid  scrutiny  or  the  most  fanatical 


'  PioucVs  "  Hist,  of  Penna.,"  i,  p.  186.  Cora- 
pare  "  Hist.  Coll.  Am.  Col.  Cliurch,"  ii.,  p.  5.  The 
history  of  this  section  of  the  charter  will  be  found 
in  the  following  extracts  from  the  proceedings  of 
the  liOrds  of  the  Committee  of  the  Privy  Council 
for  the  AiFuirs  of  Trade  and  the  Plantations, 
at  WhitchaU,  .Januaiy  22,  1680-1:  "  Upon  the 
draught  of  apatent  for  Mr.  Penn,  conslituting  liim 
absolute  proprietary  of  a  tract  of  land,"  etc.,wluch 
was  referred  to  Lord  Chief  Justice  North, — "  A 
paper  being  also  read,  wherein  my  Lord  Bishop 
of  London  desires  that  Mr.  Penn  be  obliged,  by 
liis  patent,  to  admit  a  chaplain,  of  his  Lordship's 
appointment,  upon  the  request  of  any  number  of 
plantei's ;  tlie  same  is  also  refciTcd  to  my  Lord 
Chief  Justice  North."  On  the  24th  of  February, 
the  same  year,  "  The  Lord  Bishop  of  London  is 
desired  to  prepare  a  draught  of  a  law  to  be  passed 
in  this  couatry,  for  the  settling  of  ilie  Protestant 
religion." — Quoted  in  Hazard's  Register  of  Penn - 
nylvania,  i.,  pp.  269, 270.  Vide,  also,  "  Hist.  Coll. 
Am.  Col.  Ch.,"  n.,  pp.  497.  498.      The  Bishop 


of  Iiondon   referred  to   was  Dr.  Henry  Comp- 
ton. 

In  connection  with  these  references  to  the 
Bishop  of  London's  interest  in  the  settlement  of 
Pennsylvania,  it  may  not  be  inappropriate  to  quote 
from  a  letter  of  the  proprietary,  the  interesting 
fact,  attested  by  Penn  himself,  that  tlie  celebrated 
Corapton  was  the  source  of  that  admirable  policy 
towards  the  natives  which  contributed  so  largely 
to  the  safety  and  success  of  the  settlement :  — 
"  Philadelphia,  the  14lh  of  the  Sixth  month,  1683. 

' '  I  have  only  to  add,  that  the  Province  has  a 
prospect  of  an  extraordinaiy  improvement,  as  well 
by  divers  sorts  of  straiigei-3  as  by  English  subjects ; 
that  iu  all  acts  of  justice  wo  revere  and  venerate 
the  King's  authority ;  that  I  have  followed  the 
Bishop  of  London's  counsel,  by  Ijuying  and  not 
taking  away  the  natives'  land ;  with  whom  I  have 
settled  a  very  Icind  correspondence."  —  Fraud's 
Hist,  of  Penna.,  I.,  p.  274. 

aSuder's  Letters,  in  "  Ilist.  Coll.  Am.  Col. 
Ch.,"  II.,  p.  9. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  PENNSYLVANIA  AND  DELAWAKE.      22.3 

opposition,  to  liinder  the  "  Church  party,"  ^  for  such  it  s(;oii  bectiiue, 
from  petitioning  for  a  minister  and  from  obtaining  their  request.  The 
exact  date  of  the  introduction  of  the  services  of  tiic  Church  is  unknown. 
A  letter  from  "Mr.  I.  Arrowsmith,  School-master,  to  Governor  Nichol- 
son," under  date  of  March  20,  11)98,  still  preserved amon<j;tiic  MSS.  al 
Fulham,  speaks  of  "  there  being  very  little  encouragement  to  those  of 
our  church,"  but  adds,  "we  have  a  full  congregation  and  some  very  de- 
sirous to  receive  the  sacrament  at  Easter."  It  is  possible  that  Arrow- 
smith,  whom  Clayton  refers  to  again  and  again  as  "  brother,"  was  in 
deacon's  orders  ;  for  he  refers  in  his  letter  to  the  governor,  to  his  having 
lived  in  dependence  ou  "the  king's  allowance  for  this  place"  (evidently 
a  ministerial  stipend),  and  asks  his  excellency's  advice  how  to  dispose 
of  himself  in  the  event  "  of  a  minister  coming  to  this  place,"  of  which 
lie  had  heard.  He  also  alludes  to  his  efforts  to  secure  the  presence  of 
the  Rev.  Richard  Sewell,  of  jNIaryland,  for  the  Easter  sacrament,  in 
which  there  is  little  doubt  but  that  he  was  successful,  as  Arrowsmith 
records  the  promise  of  this  estimable  man  to  officiate.  It  is,  therefore, 
more  than  probable  that  SewcU  was  a  pioneer  priest  of  tlio  C'hurcli  in 
Philadelphia,  as  well  as  at  other  places  in  Pennsylvania.  The  church  had 
been  built  in  1695.  Gabriel  Thomas,  to  whose  description  of  the  prov- 
ince wc  are  indebted  for  the  knowledge  of  the  date  of  its  erection, 
speaks  of  it,  in  1698,  as  "a  very  poor  church."  Built  but  twelve  years 
subsequent  to  the  laying  out  of  the  city,  and  at  a  time  when  the  popu- 
lation "could  not  have  been  more  than  from  four  or  five  thousand,"-  it 
must  have  been,  in  its  size  and  style,  "a  goodly  structure  for  a  city 
then  in  its  infancy."  Traditions  vary  as  to  the  material  of  which  this 
structure  was  composed. 

It  is  probable  that  the  first  services  were  held  within  the  walls,  and 
during  the  erection  of  the  more  substantial  chui'ch  of  brick  in  an 
humbler  building  or  frame,  or  even  shed,  of  wood.  The  bell  "  was 
hung  in  the  crotch  of  a  tree  "  near  by.  Towards  the  middle  of  the 
year  1698  we  find  that  the  services  of  Mr.  Arrowsmith  and  the  occa- 
sional visits  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Sewell  were  superseded  by  the  regular 
ministrations  of  the  Rev.  Thomas  Clayton,  first  incumbent  of  Philadel- 
phia. He  was  reviled  by  the  Quakers  as  "the  Minister  of  the  doc- 
trine of  Devils."^  Clayton  sought  to  convert  the  Quakers  about  him 
to  the  Church,  addressing  their  "yearly  meeting,"  and  seeking  to  con- 
trovert their  views  and  arguments  in  open  debate.  His  zeal  seems  to 
have  been  deemed  intemperate  by  his  brethi-en  in  Maryland,  whose 
remonstrances,  or,  as  he  styles  it,  whose  "  inhibition  "  served  to  re- 
press his  eflbrts  at  proselyting,  which  were  extended  to  all  classes  of 
dissenters.  The  labor's  of  Clayton  were  not  without  success.  Refer- 
ence is  made  by  Keith  in  his  journal  to  "  the  considerable  number  of 
converts  to  the  Church  from  Quakerism,"  that  "the  Rev.'jNIr.  Cla_yton 
had  liaptized  r""  and  the  Rev.  Edward  Portlock,  the  first  clergyman  of 
the  Church  of  England  in  New  Jersey,  who  appears  to  have  followed 

'  The  Llisseusious  behveen  tlie  "  Quakei's  ami  ixtli  and  xtli  volumes  of  the  "Mcmoii's  of  llie 

Chui'climeu,"  "  upper  counties  and  lowei',"  date  Penusjlvania  Ilistoi'ical  Society." 
almost  from  the  tii-st  settlement  of  the  province,  -  Jjorr's  "  Christ.  Church,"  p.  7. 

and  are  spread  in  full  on  the  pages  of  tlie  "  Penn  sllist.  Coll.  Am.  Col.  Ch.,  ii.,  p.  II. 

and  Logan  Correspondence,     published   in   llio  'Prot.  Epis.  Hist.  See.  Coll.,  i.,  p.  J9. 


'^^'Vtv^Wn.i. 


22fi  HISTORY    OF   THE    AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

Clayton,  writes,  under  date  of  July  12,  1700,  to  the  Archbishop  of 
Canterbury,  of  the  "  eonsidera))le  jn-ogress  the  Church  of  England  has 
made  ""  in  the  province,  ''  insomuch  that  in  less  than  four  years'  space 
from  a  very  small  number  her  community  consists  of  more  than  live 
hundred  solier  and  devout  souls  in  and  al)outthis  city.'  A  letter  from 
Isaac  Xorris  to  his  friend  Jonathan  Dickinson  in  Jamaica,^  in  giving 
an  account  of  the  great  pestilence  that  prevailed  in  Philadelphia  in 
1099,  has  the  following  incidental  allusion  to  Claj'toifs  death,  and  to 
his  immediate  successor,  probably  Portlock :  "Thomas  Claj'ton,  min- 
i  iter  of  the  Church  of  England,  died  at  Sassafras,  in  Maryland,  and 

here  is  another  from  London  in  his  room, 
happened  to  come  very  opportunely."'  The 
incumbency  of  Portlock,  if,  indeed,  he  was 
more  than  a  tem})orary  supply,  was  but 
l)rief,  for  ere  the  close  of  the  year  1700  the 
Rev.  Evan  Evans  was  sent  over  In' the  Bishop  of  London  as  "  mis- 
sionary "^  to  Philadelphia.  He  lost  no  time  in  seeking,  as  did  his 
{)redecessors,  the  con\-crsion  of  the  (Quakers  to  the  Church,  and  his  ef- 
forts met  with  marked  success.  The  zeal  of  Evans  led  him  to  under- 
take the  introduction  of  services  at  Chichester,  Chester,  Concord, 
Montgomery,  Padnor,  and  Perkiomen,  besides  his  Sunday  duties,  and 
Wednesday  and  Friday  jtrayers  at  Philadelphia.^  Li  1700,  and  for 
three  years,  the  Rev.  John  Thomas,  who  was  in  deacon's  orders,  was 
assistant  at  Christ  Church,  and  school-master.  He  also  officiated  at 
Trinity  Church,  Oxford.  The  presence  and  labors  of  the  Rev.  George 
Keith  and  the  Rev.  John  Talbot  on  their  "missionary  journey"  from 
New  Hampshire  to  Caratuck,  North  Carolina,  gave  a  great  impetus  to 
the  growth  of  the  Church  in  Philadeljjhia.  The  Rev.  Henry  Nicholls, 
who  was  stationed  at  "Upland,"  or  Chester,  ventures,  in  1704,  the 
"  guess  "  that  "  one-half  of  the  inhabitants  may  be  churchmen."  Hum- 
phrey, in  his  historical  account  of  the  venerable  society,  asserts  that 
Mr.  Evans  had  baptized  prior  to  the  coming  of  Keith  and  Talbot 
"  above  live  hundred  men,  M'omen,  and  children,  Quakers  in  Pennsyl- 
vania and  West  Jersey."  This  number  was  increased,  according  to  the 
same  testimony,  before  the  return  of  Keith  to  England  to  "  above  eight 
hundred  persons."  Humphrey  adds  an  interesting  account  of  the 
labors  of  Mr.  Evans,  as  follows:  "Mr.  Evans  used  to  preach  two 
evening  Lectures  at  Philadelphia,  one  preparatory  to  the  Holy  Sacra- 
ment, on  the  last  Sunday  of  the  month  ;  the  other  to  a  Society  of  young 
men  who  met  together  ever}'  Lord's  Day,  after  Evening  Prayer,  to 
read  the  Scriptures,  and  sing  Psalms.  Mr.  Evans  was  always  pres- 
ent at  these  meetings,  unless  hindered  by  some  public  service,  and 
used  to  read  some  select  Prayers  out  of  the  Church  Liturgy,  and 
pi'eached  upon  subjects  suitable  to  an  audience  of  young  men.  There 
arose  an  unforeseen  advantasje  from  these  Lectures,   for  not  onlv  the 

'  Hist.  Coll.  Am.  <'ol.  Cli..  ii.,  p.  IG.  asserts  that  Evaus  \v,a3  tlic  "  Cliiirch  Jlissionarv  " 

'-  Pi-intcd  in  the  "Pcnn  and  Logan  Corre-  at  Philadelphia  as  cai-lv  as   169S;  but  the  sta'te- 

spondcnce"  {i.,  pp.  Ivii.,  Iviii.)  pub.  in  the  ixili  niciit  in  thf  te\t  ii  based  on   his  own  assertion, 

vol.  of  the  Penn.  Hist.  Soc.,    "  ilemoirs."     The  and  is  without  donbt  eoiTcct.     FtWs  "  Hist.  Coll. 

date  of  this  lettei-  is  "  Uth,  7lh  mo.,  1699."  .\m.  Co'.  Ch.,"  il.,  p.  33. 

"Watson,  in  his  "  Annals  of  Pbila."  (i.,p.  .''79),  <  Watson's  .Annals,!.,  p.  379. 


THE   CHURCH   IX   PEXNSYLVAXIA    AND   DELAWAUE.  227 

young  men  who  designedly  met  wore  improved,  Ijut  a  greut  many  young 
persons  who  dared  not  appear  in  th(^  daytime,  at  the  pulilie  service  o?" 
the  Chureli,  for  the  fear  of  disobliging  their  parents  or  masters,  would 
stand  under  the  Church  windows  at  night  and  hearken.  At  length  many 
of  them  took  up  a  resolution  to  leave  the  sects  they  had  followed,  and 
became  steadfast  in  the  communion  of  the  Church." '  At  this  time, 
according  to  Keith,  the  services  of  the  Church  were  as  follows  :  — 

At  riiilailelpliia,  they  liave  prayers  in  tlie  oliurch,  not  only  on  tlie  Lord's  days, 
and  other  lioly  days,  but  all  Wednesdays  and  Fridays  weekly,  and  the  Sacrament 
of  the  Lord's  Supper  administered  monthly,  and  the  number  of  the  communicants 
considerable.  The  church  is  commonly  well  lillcd  with  people,  every  Lord's  day ; 
and  when  they  aro  fully  assembled,  both  of  the  town  and  country  that  belonii  lo 
that  con.greojation,  they  may  well  be  reckoned  by  modest  computation,  to  amcrunt 
to  live  hundred  persons  of  hearers.  But  sometimes  there  are  many  more ;  and 
"generally  tlie  converts  from  Quakerism  are  good  exomples,  both  for  frequontino' 
the  church  jirayers,  and  frequent  partaking  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  with  zeal  anS 
devotion,  and  also  of  sober  and  virtuous  living  in  their  daily  conversation,  to  the 
frustrating  the  lying  prophecies  and  expectations  of  the  Quaker  preachers  espe- 
cially, who  used  to  prophecy  that  whoever  left  the  profession  of  Quakers,  after  that 
should  be  good  for  nothing  but  as  unsavoury  salt,  to  be  trod  under  foot  of  men.' 

There  is  little  doubt  but  that  political  dissensions  and  factions 
among  the  colonists  tended  somewhat  to  the  growth  of  the  Church. 
In  1701  James  Logan  writes  to  William  Penn :  "  I  can  see  no  hopes 
of  getting  material  subscriptions  from  those  of  the  church  against  the 
report  of  persecution,  they  having  consulted  together  on  that  head, 
and,  as  I  am  informed,  concluded  that  not  allowing  their  clergy  here 
what  they  of  right  claim  in  England,  and  not  suffering  them  to  be 
superior,  may  justly  bear  that  name."  ^  From  a  letter  to  the  pro- 
prietor, from  his  trusty  friend  Logan,  early  in  1702,''  it  aiipears  that 
the  vestry  took  an  active  part  in  the  local  politics,  securing  affidavits 
of  alleged  instances  of  maladministration  for  transmission  to  the 
Bishop  of  London,  and  giving  to  the  friends  of  Penn  no  little  trouble. 
Later,  Logtm  reports  to  Penn  his  success  at  paying  court  to  Lord 
Cornbury,  whose  relationship  to  the  queen,'  as  well  as  his  official 
position,  made  him  of  importance,  and  adds  :  — 

He  expresses  a  great  regard  for  thee,  and  is  much  averse  to  the  warmth  of 
those  who  go  by  the  name  of  the  church  here  ;  for  which  reason,  or  some  other 
which  I  cannot  yet  learn,  none  of  the  chief  of  them  waited  on  him  up  the  river, 
cliiefly,  I  suppose,  because  he  was  pleased  to  I)o  in  Quaker  hands. ^ 

The  Quakers,  Logan  writes,  regarded  Cornbury  "as  tiieir  saviour 
at  New  York,"  and  were  "well  satisfied  to  be  under  him,  for  they 
believe  that  they  could  never  have  one  of  a  more  excellent  temper." 

Penn,  in  atldrcssing  Logan,  refers  to  "a  dirty  paper  about  perse- 
cuting the  Church  of  England  in  the  person  of  Leake,  under  the  hand 
of  Keeble,"  produced  by  the  Bishop  of  London,  who  "  is  one  of  the 
Lords  de  propaganda  fide.''  ^     "  The  hot  church  party  "  is  accused  by 

'Humphrer's  "Hist.  Ace,"  pp.  1.50,  l.il.  "He  w-is  Her  Majesty's  fir«t  cou«in. 

^  Pi'ot.  Epi-i.  Hist.  Soc.  Coll.,  I.,  p.  50.  "  Penu  and  Lo;;aii    Correspondence,  I.,   p. 

'Penn  and  Lo^ran  Correspondeuce,  i.,  p.  65.  110. 

' /W.i.,  pp.  9J,  91.  '/JiJ.,  p.U7. 


228  HISTORY   OF  THE   AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

Logan,'  as  opposing  the  measures  taken  to  put  the  government  in  a 
position  of  defence  in  new  of  a  declaration  of  war,  "  because  they 
would  have  nothing  done  that  may  look  with  a  good  countenance  at 
home."  Again,  the  writer  complains  that  "the  attestation  of  a  Friend 
is  in  very  few  things  serviceable  : "  "  it  is  the  oath  of  a  clmrchman  must 
do,  if  any."  ^  The  leading  churchman,  Colonel  Robert  Quary,  had 
been  Governor  of  South  Carolina  for  a  Itrief  period  in  1684,  and  again 
in  1690.  He  was  now  judge  of  the  Aduiiralty  in  New  York  and  Penn- 
sylvania, and  a  bitter  opponent  of  tiic  plans  and  policy  of  Penn.  An 
ardent  adherent  of  the  C'luirch,  ho  appeared  to  llie  Quaker  proprietor 
as  "the  greatest  of  villains  whom  God  will  make,  I  believe,  in  this 
world  for  his  lies,  falsehood,  and  supreme  knavery."^  His  represen- 
tations to  the  go\ernment  were  denounced  I\v  Penn  as  "  swish-swash 
liounces,"''  and  the  proi)rietary  seeks  the  aid  of  his  correspondent  for 
means  whereby  he  "  might  put  the  nose  of  an  Admiralty  Judge  out  of 
joint."*  Penn  sends  "2  or  300  books  against  George  Keith,  by  E. 
Jenney,  which  may  be  disposed  of  as  there  is  occasion  and  service."^ 
On  Lord  Cornburj^'s  second  visit  to  Philadelphia,  as  we  learn  from 
Logan,  he  fell  into  the  hands  of  "Col.  Quary,  with  a  party  of  his 
gang."  The  morning  after  his  arrival  "  Col.  Quary,  -with  the  rest 
of  the  churclnnen,  congratulated  him,  having  the  easiest  access,  and 
afterwards  presented  an  address  from  the  vestry  of  Philadelphia, 
who  now  consist,  I  think,  of  twenty-four,  requesting  his  patronage  to 
the  church,  and  closing  with  a  prayer  that  he  would  beseech  the 
Queen,  as  I  was  credibly  informed,  to  extend  his  government  over  this 
province ;  and  Col.  Quary  also,  in  his  first  congratulatory  address, 
said  they  hoped  they  also  should  be  partakers  of  the  happiness  Jersey 
enjoyed  in  his  government.  In  answer  to  tiie  vestry's  address,  he 
spoke  what  was  proper  from  a  churchman,  to  the  main  design  of  it, 
for  he  is  very  good  at  extemporary  speeches  ;  and  to  their  last  request, 
that  it  was  their  business, —  meaning  to  address  the  Queen,  I  suppose, 
—  but  that  when  iiis  mistress  would  be  pleased  to  lay  her  commands" 
on  him,  he  would  obey  them  with  alacrity.^  "  The  next  day  being 
the  first  of  the  week,"  continues  Logan,  "he  went  to  their  worship." 
Encouraged  by  his  intimacy  with  the  royal  governor,  and  aware  of  the 
regard  paid  to  his  rei)resentations  at  home.  Colonel  Quary  spared  no 
pains  to  secure  the  overthrow  of  the  proprietary  government,  and  to 
advance  the  interests  of  the  Church  and  crown.  His  efforts,  with  tliose 
of  his  following,  are  characterized  by  Logan  and  Penn  in  vigorous 
language.  The  former  styles  the  opponents  of  Penn's  policy  as 
"  hungry  scamps,  who  seek  nothing  Init  to  render  themselves  great 
l)y  the  spoils  of  the  innocent,  without  any  regard  to  any  other  interest 
whatsoever,  as  is  sutEciently  known  by  all  their  neighbors  of  probitj^, 
as  well  of  their  own  church  as  of  others,  whose  eyes  they  have  not  yet 
darkened  by  throwing  that  specious  mist  and  pretence  of  religion  be- 
fore them."  *  Penn  regarded  the  address  of  the  vestry  to  Lord  Corn- 
bur}-    as    an    open   defiance  of   his    authority.     He    spoke    of  it  as 

'  Penn  anil  Loftan  T'orrespomleucp,  I.,  pp.  124,  125.  '■  Ibid.,  p.  182. 

■Ib'nl.,  I.,  p.  Ifil .  '  Ibid.,  p.  ir>3.  ;  Ibid.,  p.  223. 

'  Ibid.,  p.  1U2.  •■■  Ibid.,  p.  1G4.  '  Ibid.,  p.  213. 


THE   CHURCH   IN   PENNSYLVANIA   AND   DELAWARE.  229 

"Quary's  and  his  packed  vestry's  address."'  He  was  disposed  to 
prosecute  Quary  "  with  the  utmost  vigor."  He  required  it  of  his 
officials  that  if  "Quary,  or  any  of  his  rude  and  ungrateful  gang," 
ofl'ered  "  to  invade  or  affront "  the  powers  of  his  grant,  or  the  authority 
of  his  laws,  they  should  be  made  to  "feel  Ihe  smart  of  them."  A 
postscript  to  this  belligerent  letter  refers  with  evident  satisfaction  to 
the  fact  that  "the  great  blower-up  of  these  coals,  the  Bishop  of  London, 
is  himself  under  humiliations."^ 

In  spite  of  the  efforts  of  the  proprietary  and  his  friends  at  court 
and  in  the  colony,  early  in  1704,  Logan  writes,  "  The  clergy  increase 
much  this  way.  Burlington  and  Chester  have  their  churches  and 
members,  and  several  more  are  building.  God  grant  that  a  spirit  of 
charity  and  kindness  may  be  cultivated  among  us  in  place  of  hatred 
and  persecution."^  The  same  year  Logan  writes  that  a  "great  part  of 
the  church  are  becime  of  the  loyal  side,  and  'tis  hoped  will  shortly  ad- 
dress the  Queen,"  which  gives  incidental  support  to  a  charge  repeated 
at  a  later  date,  that  the  church  people  at  Philadelphia  were  Jacobites. 
There  is  an  evident  change  in  feeling  to  be  observed  in  the  letters  be- 
tween Logan  and  Penn  with  reference  to  the  turbulent  churchmen.^ 
The  proprietary's  foes  were  now  of  his  own  peculiar  shade  of  belief. 
As  the  year  1704  closed,  Quary  and  his  friends  are  referred  to  as 
"very  good."  It  was  "only  that  lurking  snake,  David  Lloyd, "^ 
whose  fangs  were  to  be  feared. 

Turning  from  this  digression,  which  will  sei've  to  indicate  the 
]iosition  and  the  growing  power  of  the  "  hot  church  party  "  in  Phila- 
delphia, we  note,  in  1707,  the  return  to  England,  on  business,  of  the 
Rev.  Evan  Evans,  "the  parson,"  as  Penn  styled  the  incumbent  of 
Christ  Church ;  and  the  service  rendered  by  the  Rev.  Andrew  Rud- 
man,  a  worthy  Swedish  clergyman,  during  his  absence,  attests  the 
kindly  feeling  and  intercommunion  between  the  Swede  and  English 
churches  and  churchmen.  It  was  at  this  time  that  the  Upland  or 
Chester  missionary,  the  Rev.  Henry  Nichols,  in  addressing  the  society 
in  an  apologetic  strain  for  not  being  able  to  "  carry  all  things  before 
us,"  adds :  "  The  truth  is,  as  long  as  our  adversaries  have  the  whole 
interest,  power  and  wealth  of  the  country  in  their  hands,  and  as  long 
as  animosities,  ambition  and  confederacys  do  prevail  among  some  of 
our  own  members,  as  much  as  they  do,  it  will  be  a  great  matter  for  us 
to  keep  the  footing  we  have  got.""  The  excellent  Rudman  continued 
his  services  at  Christ  Church  until  his  death,  on  the  17th  of  Septem- 
ber, 1708.  He  was  buried  under  the  chancel  of  the  Swedish  Churcli 
at  Wicaco,  and  is  remembered  as  a  faithful  and  self-denying  minister 
of  Christ.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Evans,  whose  return  did  not  take  place  till 
the  following  year,  presented  to  the  venerable  society  a  report  of  his 
missionary  labors  in  Pennsylvania,  from  which  we  glean  that  the 
services  of  the  Church  had  been  widely  introduced  and  welcomed  in 
the  various  settlements  in  the  province.  Especial  attention  had  been 
paid  by  this  faithful  missionary  to  his  fellow-countrymen  at  Radnor, 

'  Penn  and  Logan  Con-espondence,  i.,  p.  272.  *  Watson's  Annals,  i  ,  p.  380. 

=  ibid.,  p.  278.  '  Penn  and  Logan  Correspondence,  i.,  p.  36L 

s  Hid.,  pp.  2R2,  283.  «  Hist.  Coll.  Am.  Col.  Ch.,  n.,  p.  31. 


230  HISTORY   OF   THE   AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

Montgomery  and  elsewhere  ;  and  the  distribution  of  tlie  "  Whole  Duty 
of  Man,"  and  Bishop  Bailey's  "  Practice  of  Piety,"  and  other  practical  and 
devotional  works  in  the  Welsh  language,  and  ministrations  in  the  same 
tongue,  were  productive  of  no  little  good.  Churches  had  been  erected 
at  Oxford,  Chester,  Newcastle,  and  Philadelphia,  and  the  memorial 
closes  with  an  earnest  and  eloquent  appeal  for  a  resident  American 
bishop,  in  which  the  missionary  argued  "  that  the  ends  of  the  mission 
can  never  be  rightly  answered  without  establishing  the  Discipline  as 
well  as  the  Doctrine  of  the  Church  of  England  in  those  parts,  for  the 
one  is  a  fortress  and  l)ulwark  of  defence  to  the  other,  and  once  the 
outworks  of  religion  come  to  lie  sliglited  and  dismantled,  it  is  easy  to 
foresee,  without  the  sjtirit  of  pi'opheey,  what  the  consequence  will  be." ' 
It  was  during  the  absence  of  Evans,  that  the  Rev.  Messrs.  Moor  and 
Brooke  sailed  for  England,  bearing  accusations  against  Lord  Cornbury. 
Colonel  Quary,  who  evidently  took  sides  with  the  queen's  representa- 
tive, addressed  the  society  with  reference  to  the  grievances  of  these 
gentlemen.  The  letter  states,  as  the  occasions  of  the  difficulty  between 
the  royal  governor  and  the  missionaries,  that  the  clergymen  had  lieen 
"unwarily  lietrayed  "  into  an  alliance  with  a  faction  in  opposition  to 
the  constituted  authority  of  the  province.  In  the  view  of  the  colonel, 
who  was  certainly  an  uncompromising  friend  of  the  Cliurch,  the  same 
mistake  of  interfering  with  political  affairs  had  proved  the  ruin  of 
other  clergymen.  The  "  unhap^iy  meeting  "  of  the  missionaries  in  New 
York,  at  the  charge  of  the  generous  Nicholson,  is  stigmatized  as  "  the 
very  first  original  of  all  our  unhappiness  in  relation  to  the  Church  and 
clergy  in  these  parts. "^ 

At  this  meeting,  under  oath  of  secrecy,  the  colonel  assures  us 
that  "  they  voted  the  laying  aside  of  all  Vestiys  as  useless  ;  they  being 
able  to  govern  and  manage  the  Churches  themselves  without  any  other 
help;  but,"  continues  the  writer,  "I  believe  they  forgot  how  they 
should  be  subsisted  hereafter  without  the  help  of  those  i^seless  things, 
the  Vestrys,  who  are  the  chief  men  of  every  government,  men  of  the 
best  estates,  best  sense,  true  sons  of  the  Church,  most  zealous  and 
hearty  in  promoting  the  interest  and  good  of  it,  men  of  the  best  in- 
terest to  defend  it,  or  procuring  laws  for  its  support  and  subsistence, 
and  yet  these  men  must  be  all  laid  aside  and  blown  off  at  once  that 
these  young  gentlemen  of  the  Clergy  may  be  absolute  and  govern  as 
they  please  without  the  least  control."  "I  am  sure,"  continues  Colo- 
nel Quary,  "  that  this  rash  act  of  theirs  hath  given  as  fatal  a  l)low  to 
the  Church  in  these  parts  as  was  in  their  power  to  have  done.  Some 
of  these  gentlemen  have  already  found  the  ill  effects  of  it,  and  have 
heartily  repented  their  folly.  Some  others  have  persisted  in  their 
imaginary  grandeur  till  their  full  Churches  have  grown  empty  almost, 
and  nothing  but  confusion  amongst  those  that  are  left.  I  do  assure 
you.  Sir,  I  tell  you  this  truth  with  much  grief  and  concern,  but  it  is 
what  I  have  been  an  eye-witness  of  in  su\'eral  places  where  my  duty 
calls  me.  To  hear  the  people  complain  of  their  minister,  and  he  com- 
plaining of  them,  even  in  those  places  where  not  long  since  the  strife 

■Hist.  CoU.  Am.  Col.  Ch.,  ii.,  p.  37.  ^liid.,  p.  41. 


THE   CHURCH   IN    PENNSYLVANIA   AND   DELAWAKE. 


•231 


Wius  who  should  outck)  each  otlier  hi  all  sorts  ot"  kindness,  love  and 
charity.  The  minister  could  no  sooner  propose  or  mention  a  con- 
veuicney  or  want  but  innncdiatcly  the  Vestry  met  and  supi)lied  it,  and 
every  man  thought  hiniseU'  hai)py  that  could  enjoy  most  of  the  jMinis- 
ter's  conversalion  at  their  houses."  '  This  letter  closes  with  the  ear- 
nest request  for  a  liishop  as  the  only  solution  of  this  difficulty,  and 
other  questions  that  could  not  fail  to  arise.  It  is  evident  that  either 
from  the  causes  assigned  liy  Colonel  Quary,  or  for  other  reasons,  the 
growth  of  the  Chuivh  in  Pennsylvania  and  Delaware,  which  had  so 
[)romisingIy  begun 
with  the  new  cen- 
tmy,  was  cheched, 
ancl  ere  the  expira- 
tion of  its  fii'st  dec- 
ade the  clergy  had 
removed  to  Virgin- 
ia, or  Maryland,  or 
died ;  the  churches 
were  closed,  and  the 
parishes  had  dwin- 
dled away.  In  the 
midst  of  this  gen- 
ei'al  depression  the 
Church  in  Philadel- 
phia steadily  in- 
creased in   numbers 

and  strength.  Mr.  Evans,  on  his  return  from  England  in  1709, 
brought  with  him  the  communion  plate,  presented  to  the  church  the 
preceding  year  by  the  queen. 

A  "  minister's  house  "  and  a  "  school-house  "  had  been  acquired  by 
the  parish,  and  liricks  were  bought  for  the  belfry  and  a  "  new  rope  for 
the  bell,"  which  now,  if  not  before,  was  hung  in  its  proper  place. 
Some  ill-feeling  had  grown  out  of  the  unwillingness  of  Mr.  Evans  to 
admit  to  a  "lectureship"  the  new  school-master,  the  Eev.  George  Ross, 
who  had  supplanted  the  llev.  Mr.  Clubli,  the  former  incumbent ;  but 
even  this  dissatisfaction  could  not  hinder  the  growth  of  the  congre- 
gation nor  detract  from  the  universal  respect  and  regard  with  which 
the  rector  \vas  held  l)y  the  whole  conuuunity  for  his  blameless  life  and 
untiring  zeal  and  diligence  in  all  the  duties  of  his  calling.  lu  1711 
the  church  was  found  too  small  to  accommodate  the  increasing  congre- 
gation. Among  the  subscribers  to  this  object  were  the  "Honorable 
Charles  Gooking,"  who  gave  £30,  and  the  "Honorable  Rol)ert  Quary," 
who  gave  £20.  The  addition,  as  we  learn  from  a  memorial  addressed 
by  the  rector  to  the  venerable  society,  comprised  two  aisles.^  During 
the  time  of  the  enlargement  of  the  church  the  congregation  worshii)ped 
in  AVicaco  church  for  three  successive  Sundays.  The  following  year 
mention  is  made  in  the  records  of  the  "  great  bell "  and  the  "  little 
bell,"  and  there  is  reference  to  the  use  of  the  "surplice."     Colonel 


TllK    (.HEKN    ANNE     I'LAXK,       CUUIM     CllLKCll. 


'  Hist.  Coll.  ,Vm.  Col.  Ch.,  II.,  p.  41 . 


■  IbiJ.,  p.  73. 


232 


HISTORY   OF   THE   AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 


'l^/ci^^A/ 


Qiuiry,  wlio  had  been  an  interested  as  well  as  an  influential  member 
of  the  congregation  from  the  lirst,  gave  to  the  church  a  large  nilver 
flagon  and  two  silver  plates  for  use  at  the  holy  communion,  and  a  large 
silver  basin  for  the  font,  all  of  which  l)ore  tiic  donoi''s  name  and  the 
date  "October  Sth,  1712."  In  1715  Mr.  Evans  again  visited  England 
on  "account  of  some  family  concerns,"  and  during  his  absence  an  un- 
worthy clergyman,  the  Rev.  Francis  Phillips,  who  had  made  tiouble 
elsewhere,  intruded  into  the  vacant  charge,  and,  for  a  time,  maintained 
his  ground  against  the  curate  appointed  by  the  authorities  at  home. 
At  length  his  l)aseness  M'as  made  clear,  and,  after  he  had  been  chal- 
lenged to  mortal  combat  by  a  gentleman  who  had  chivalrously  espoused 
the  cause  of  a  slandered  woman,  the  court,  which  had  entered  pro- 
ceedinirs  aiiainst  the  cliailcnacr,  found  a  true 
l)ill  against  the  cleravman  for  evil  conduct.' 
From  the  Logan  MSb.  we  learn  that  Phillips 
"was  carried  to  gaol  for  a  day,  where  the 
Governor  took  sides  with  him  as  a  churchman, 
and  entered  a  nolle  pmiiequi.  Some  others  of 
the  Church  in  the  mean  time  met  at  the  Court  house  and  voted  him  to 
have  acted  scandalously  rmd  to  receive  no  further  countenance." 
Dismissed  from  his  cure,  censured  by  the  whole  body  of  the  clergy 
as  a  ])rofligate,  still  this  turbulent  man  succeeded  in  olitaining  attesta- 
tions to  his  good  character  from  a  number  of  the  parishioners  of  Christ 
Church.  But  the  prompt  action  of  the  Bisiiop  of  London  in  placing 
the  church  in  the  hands  of  the  excellent  Talbot,  of  Burlington,  pre- 
vented the  continuance  of  a  scandal  from  which  the  Church  was  a  long 
time  in  recovering.  The  "lamental)le  l)reach  made  in  the  church  of 
Philadelphia  by  the  unhappy  conduct  of  that  lost  man,  Mr.  Phillips," - 
to  which  frequent  references  are  made  in  the  correspondence  of  the 
time,  was  succeeded  by  political  dissensions  which  the  foes  of  the 
Church  were  only  too  readj^  to  foment.  The  governor,  who  had,  it  is 
asserted,  from  personal  pique,  warmly  espoused  the  cause  of  Phillips, 
directed  his  eflbrts  to  the  silencing  of  Talbot,  who  had  continued  to 
officiate  at  Christ  Church  during 
the  prolonged  absence  of  Evans, 
and  to  whom  "  the  box  money  " 
of  that  "  jioor  distracted  church  " 

M-as  appropriated  for  his  services.  /^   j^     /^// // ///  '^f?  1 ' 

The  charge  of  sympathy  with  the  /  I  \)    L^ L,/y//i/lJ/ J 

dispossessed  House  of  Stuart,  and      ' 
a  consequent  disloyalty  to  the  gov-  /  ^^-^ 

ernmcnt,  was  made  l)y  Gooking  Q_^ 

against  Talbot.    This  charge  had 
been  made  by  "  Brigadier  Hunter,"  the  Governor  of  New  York,  and  the 


•  Watson,  ill  his  "Annals  of  Philadelpliiii," 
I.,  p.  334,  gives  the  original  oliallengo  from  the 
files  in  the  clerl<'s  office.  It  is  as  follows  :  "  To 
Mr.  Francis  Pliillips,  Philadelphia,  —  Sir:  Yon 
have  hasely  scandalized  a  gentlewoman  that  1 
have  a  profound  respect  for.  And  for  my  part 
shall  give  you  a  fair  opportunity  to  defend  your- 
self to   morrow   mornio*r   on   the   west  side   of 


.Joseph  Carpenter's  garden  betwixt  seven  and 
eight,  where  I  shall  expect  to  meet  you  gladio 
cinctiis,  in  failure  whereof,  depend  upon  the  usage 
you  deserve  from 

Y'r  ever, 

Peter  Ev.ixs, 
at  the  Pewter  Platter." 
-  Hist.  Coll.  Am.  Col.  Ch.,  II..  p.  99. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  PENNSYLVANIA  AND  DELAWARE. 


233 


the    vestry 
the  chiu'ch- 


faitliful  missionary  had  appealed  to  the  records  that  he  had  taUeii  all 
the  oaths,  and  that  his  friends  could  testify  that  he  "was  a  Willianiite 
from  the  beginning."  '  On  the  return  of  ]\Ir.  Evans,  in  the  year  ITK!, 
the  society  placed  the  missions  at  Radnor  and  Oxford  under  his  care, 
these  churches  having  I>een  estalilished  mainly  through  his  exertions. 
Dr.  Evans  —  for  he  iiad  returned  with  this  added  title  of  resj^ec^t  —  con- 
tinued in  charge  of  Christ  Church  until  1718,  when,  finding  himself, 
after  an  incumbency  of  eighteen  years,  unable  to  perform  the  duties 
of  the  cure,  he  accepted  the  offer  of  a  living  in  Maryland,  where  he 
died  soon  after,  universally  beloved  and  esteemed.  Prior  to  his 
departure  the  vestry  took  measures  to  restrict  the  franchise  at  the 
Easter  meeting  to  actual  communicants  who  had  received  the  sacra- 
ment within  the  twelve  months  preceding  the  election. 

At  the  removal  of  their  old  and  faithful  rector 
was  at  pains  to  secure  from  the  parishioners,  through 
wardens,  a  suitable  re- 
turn of  gratitude  from 
the  congreg.ation  over 
which  he  had  so  long 
presided.^  Arrange- 
ments were  made 
through  the  governor. 
Sir  William  Keith, 
who  had  been  made 
chairman  of  the  vestry, 
for  the  supply  of  the 
vacancy    by    secm-ing 

the  services  of  the  Rev.  Messrs.  Talbot  of  Burlington,  llumph- 
i*eys  of  Chester,  Ross  of  Newcastle,  and  Sandel  of  Wicaco.  These 
gentlemen  declined  receiving  any  jiecuniary  reward  for  their 
services,  though  "  a  liberal  compensation "  had  been  voted  them 
by  the  vestry.  Petitions  for  the  introduction  of  an  American 
Episcopate,  prepared  Ijy  the  indefatigable  Talbot,  were  aaain  and 
again  submitted  to  the  ve.stry,  signed  by  clergy.  M'ardens,  and  vestrv- 
men,  indorsed  by  the  governor,  and  forwarded  to  the  authorities  at 
home  ;  and  the  influence  of  this  veteran  missionary  laborer  would 
appear  to  have  sulfered  no  diminution,  M'hile  his  zeal  and  diligence  in 
caring  for  the  things  which  remained  knew  no  bounds.  Ere  the  de- 
parture of  this  worthy  to  I^ngland,  for  his  last  visit  to  the  home  of  his 
youth,  the  vacancy  at  Christ  Church  ajipears  to  have  been  filled.  On 
the  Jrth  of  Septeral)er,  1719,  the  vestry  records  recite  that  "the  Rev. 
JNIr.  John  Vicary  laid  before  the  board  the  license  of  the  Right  Rev. 
Father  in  God,  John,  Loi'd  Bishop  of  London,  appointing  him  minister 
of  this  church."  Wiiereujion,  the  record  continues,  the  "vestry  being 
well  j)leased  with  his  lordship's  care  therein,  heartily  concur  in  his 
lordship's  appointment,  and  accordingly  receive  the  said  Mr.  Vicaiy  as 
their  minister,  with  the  respect  due  to  liis  character,  alwaj's  acknowl- 
edging his  lordship's  unquestionable  authority  over  our  church."  •'    Mr. 


■  Hist.  Coll.  Am.  Col.  Ch..  ii.,  p.  94.  -  Dorr's  "  Christ  Cburcb,"  p.  4.3.        a  Dnd.,  p.  48. 


234  HISTORY   OF   THE   AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

Vicary  continued  in  charge  until  his  death,  in  1723.  He  joined  with 
his  brethren,  the  Rev.  Messrs.  Ross,  Humphreys,  and  Weyman,  in  a 
representation  to  the  society  of  "  the  deplorable  state  of  several  churches 
within  this  government,  which  were  once  filled  with  a  considerable 
number  of  communicants,  whose  early  zeal  led  them,  though  poor,  to 
erect  decent  structures  for  the  publick  worship  of  God,  and  some  of 
them  to  build  commodious  houses  for  the  reception  of  their  ministers ; 
but  their  long  vacancy,  by  the  death  of  some  missionaries,  and  the  re- 
moval of  others,  has,  we  fear,  given  too  great  opportunities  to  the  ad- 
versaries of  our  church  to  pervert  and  mislead  many  of  them." '  This 
was  the  case  with  the  churches  in  Bucks,  Kent,  and  Sussex  counties. 

In  1722  the  Rev.  William  Harrison  supplied  Christ  Church  for 
a  time,  during  the  illness  of  the  incumbent,  Mr.  Vicary,  and  besides  the 
help  he  rendered  in  Lent  and  at  Eastertide,  and  later  in  the  year,  assist- 
ance was  freely  rendered  by  the  other  missionaries,  the  Rev.  Messrs. 
Becket,  Ross,  and  Humphreys.  In  1723  Mr.  Talbot  is  again  at  Phila- 
delphia. Taken  ill  while  ministering,  he  visited  the  city  for  medical 
advice,  and  remained  for  a  time  in  charge  of  Christ  Church,  with  a  view 
of  repairing  the  injury  done  to  the  parish  by  the  ministrations  of  the 
Rev.  John  Urmston,  whose  scandalous  conduct  had  brought  great  re- 
proach upon  the  Church,  so  that  during  his  year  of  service  "  the  best 
of  the  people  had  left."  The  clergy,  in  convention,  concurred  in  the 
dismission  of  Unnstou,  and  the  vestry  placed  the  care  of  the  church 
in  their  hands  till  the  Bishop  of  London  should  send  over  a  new  in- 
cumbent. Late  in  the  year,  on  the  translation  of  Dr.  Gibson  to  the  see 
of  London  from  that  of  Lincoln,  the  vestry  formally  addressed  their 
new  diocesan  for  "  such  a  gentleman  as  may  be  a  credit  to  our  com- 
munion, an  ornament  to  the  profession,  and  a  true  propagator  of  the 
gospel."^  More  than  half  a  year  having  elapsed  without  any  appoint- 
ment, the  vestry,  on  the  27th  of  July,  1724,  requested  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Richard  Welton,  late  incumbent  of  St.  Mary's,  Whitechapel,  London, 
who  had  arrived  in  town  the  month  before,  to  take  charge  of  the  church. 
The  invitation  was  accepted,  and  the  doctor  entered  at  once  upon  his  work. 

Aliout  the  time  of  Welton's  arrival,  the  Rev.  Talbot  had  been 
silenced.  A  letter  from  Sir  William  Keith,  the  governor,  to  the  Bishop 
of  London,  written  just  before  the  invitation  to  Dr.  Welton  to  officiate 
at  Christ  Church,  gives  us  inlbrination  on  this  point  as  well  as  on  the 
condition  of  tlu'  Church  at  large  in  the  province  :  — 

We  have  in  tliis  government  twelve  or  thirteen  more  little  edifices,  called 
churches  or  chapels,  which  the  people,  by  volimtaiy  conti'ibution  in  the  neighbor- 
hood, have  erected  in  dLBerent  parts  of  tlie  countiy  I'or  their  o^vn  conveniency,  and 
most  of  them  are,  at  times,  suj^plied  by  one  or  other  of  the  poor  missionaries  sent 
from  the  society  to  New  Castle,  Chester,  Oxford,  and  Sussex,  whose  character  for 
life  and  conversation,  and  a  diligent  application  to  their  duty  is,  I  believe,  genei-ally 
approved  of,  and  I  cannot  say  but  tlieir  behavior  to  myself  and  the  magistracy  has 
been  all  along  very  decent  and  resjieotful. 

It  seems  to  me  necessary  further  to  acquaint  your  Lordship  that  the  manage- 
ment of  Christ  Cluu'ch,  in  Philadelijhia,  is  in  the  hands  of  a  Vestiy  and  two  Church- 
wardens, yearly  elected  and  chosen  by  the  people,  and  being  they  have  all  along 
claimed  an  independency  of  the  Governor's  authority,  I  am,  for  peace  sake,  obliged 

'  Hist.  Coll.  Am.  Col.  Ch.,  ii.,  p.  Vl'i.  =  Doit's  "  Christ  Church,"  p.  fii. 


THE   CHURCH   IN   PENNSYLVANIA   AND   DELAWARE.  235 

to  be  passive  in  things  which  are  both  indecent  and  disorderly,  such  as  sufl'ering  of 
some  clergy  to  read  prayers  and  preach  \vithout  mentioning  the  King,  Prince  and 
Royal  family,  according  to  the  rubriek,  so  that  myself  and  family,  with  sucli  others 
as  are  of  imquestioned  loyalty  to  his  jiresent  IMajesty,  are  deprived  of  the  benefit  of 
gomg  to  church,  lest  it  might  give  encom'agement  to  a  spirit  of  disafl'cction.  Should 
yom"  Lordship,  therefore,  be  pleased  to  cause  some  enquiiy  to  be  made  in  this  matter, 
it  would  probably  put  an  efl'cctual  stop  to  what  in  time  may  become  more  pernicious, 
for  it  is  confidently  reported  here  that  some  of  these  non-juring  clergjonen  pretend 
to  the  authority  and  office  of  Bishops  in  the  Church,  which,  however,  they  do  not 
own,  and,  I  believe,  will  not  dare  to  practice,  for  I  have  publicly  declared  my  reso- 
lution to  prosecute  with  eft'ect  all  those  who,  eitlier  in  docti'ine  or  conversation,  shall 
attempt  to  debauch  any  of  the  people  with  schismatical  disloyal  princijjles  of  that 
nature.' 

Sir  William  Keith's  representations  were  not  permitted  to  pass  with- 
out reply.  Peter  Evans,  who  had  challenged  the  indiscreet  Phillips 
for  his  slanderous  insinuations  against  the  character  of  a  friend,  now 
appeared  in  the  character  of  a  defender  of  clergy  and  congregation 
thus  assailed.  He  asserted  that  the  insinuation  of  disloyalty  was  "a 
piece  of  injustice."  The  invitation  to  Dr.  Welton  arose  from  no  fond- 
ness for  "  any  mistaken  principles  of  the  Dr's,"  but  simply  to  prevent 
the  closing  of  the  church,  there  having  been  no  service  for  some  months, 
and  the  congregation  being  gradually  dissipated  among  the  various 
sectarian  bodies  around  them.  The  charge  of  misrepresentation  was 
laid  against  the  governor,  and  his  removal  from  the  vestry  accounted 
for  on  the  ground  of  his  "  taking  upon  him  to  overrule  them,  and  en- 
tirely depriving  them  of  the  freedom  justly  due."^ 

The  unreliable  Urmston,  who  charged  his  removal  from  Philadel- 
jjhia  upon  Talbot,  and  was  now  in  Maryland,  wrote  home  to  the  eflect 
that  the  old  missionary  had  sought  to  exercise  episcopal  jurisdiction 
over  his  brethren.  His  words  were  these  :  "  He  convened  all  the  clergy 
to  meet,  put  on  his  robes  and  demanded  Episcopal  obedience  from  them. 
One  wiser  than  the  rest  refused,  acquainted  the  Gov''  with  the  ill  con- 
sequences thereof,  the  danger  he  would  run  of  losing  his  Gov™',  where- 
upon the  gov"^  ordered  the  Church  to  be  shut  up."  ^  The  same  veracious 
authority  added  a  postscript  to  mention  the  coming  of  Dr.  Welton, 
brin2:ino;  "  with  him  to  the  value  of  £300  sterlins:,  in  tfuns  and  fishinsr- 
tackle,  with  divers  printed  copies  of  his  famous  Altar-piece  at  White- 
chapel."*  The  missionaries  Ross,  Humphreys,  Weyman,  and  Becket, 
report  to  the  Bishop  of  London  the  presence  of  "  Dr.  Welton  at  Phila- 
delphia with  whom  we  have  no  correspondence,  nor  of  whom  have  we 
any  further  knowledge  l)ut  that  we  hear  he  professes  to  have  come  into 
these  parts  only  to  see  the  country."^  Urmston  "  met  him  in  the  streets, 
but  had  no  further  conversation  with  him."^  The  governor  professed 
iiimself  powerless  to  interfere,  in  view  of  the  vestry's  claim  of  inde- 
pendence of  the  governor  or  bishop,  and  the  ministrations  of  Welton 
continued  till  January,  1726,  when  he  was  duly  "sei'ved  with  his  Maj- 
esty's writ  of  Privy  8eal  commanding  him  upon  his  allegiance  to  re- 
turn to  Great  Britain  forthwith."  He  had  served  at  Christ  Church  with 
great  acceptance,  and  a  testimonial  of  his  conduct  and  behavior  among 
them  was,  at  his  request,  ordered  by  the  vestry  to  be  prepared  by  the 

'  Hist.  Coll.  Am.  Col.  Ch.,  u.,  pp.  137,  138.  =  Ibid.,  p.  143.  ^Ibid.,  p.  136. 

> /4«.,  pp.  1.39, 142.  'Ibid.  'Ibid.,p.H3. 


23G 


HISTORY   OF   THE    AMEKICAN   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 


church- wardens.     With  this  attestation  to  his  character,  Weltou  sailed 
for  Lisbon,  where  he  "died  of  a  dropsy,  refusing  to  commune  with  the 


CHRIST    CHURCH,    PHILAJJELPHTA. 


Ens^lish  clergyman." '     It  is  said  that  among  his  effects  there  was  found 
"an  Episcopal  seal  which  he  had  made  use  of  in  Pensilvaniu, '  where 


^Tleliquia?  Herniaua',  il.,  p.  2r>7. 


THE   CHURCH   IN   PENNSYLVANIA   AND   DELAWARE.  237 

"  he  assumed  and  exercised,  privily  and  l)y  stealtli,  the  character  and 
functions  of  a  Bishoi)." '  Before  Welton's  departure  he  "  had  diffci-ed  " 
with  Talbot,  and  their  correspondence  had  been  broken  off.  Dr.  Hawks 
asserts,  with  reference  to  both  Wclton  and  Talbot,  that  "  there  is  direct 
evidence  from  the  letters  of  some  of  the  missionaries  that  they  at  least 
administered  confirmation  and  wore  the  robes  of  a  Bishop."  ^  But  little 
or  no  trace  of  their  exercise  of  episcopal  functions,  other  than  excep- 
tionally and  with  the  greatest  privacy  and  caution,  is  to  l)e  found,  and 
the  episcopate,  if  such  it  can  be  called,  of  these  two  non-juring  "  Bishops  " 
must  remain  veiled  in  impenetrable  obscurity.  Again  the  neighboring 
clergy  were  appealed  to  for  the  supi^ly  of  this  vacant  charge  ;  but  the 
Bishop  of  London,  in  view  of  the  circumstances  of  the  case,  was  not 
long  in  providing  an  incumbent.  In  September,  1726,  the  Rev.  Archi- 
bald Cummings  entered  upon  the  cure  of  Philadelphia,  by  the  appoint- 
ment of  Bishop  Gibson,  and  continued  to  minister  at  Christ  Church 
until  his  decease,  in  1741, — a  period  of 
nearly  fifteen  years.     This  was  a  period  of     /">  p 

great  prosperity.     The  church  had  long    y^  J       *'     y  J  -     ** 


been  too  small  for  the  congregation.     It 


')TL<^o-n. 


had  become  "ruinous,"  in  the  judgment  edmund  gibson,  loud  bishoi- 
of  its  leading  members,  and  on  Thursday,  of  london. 

April  27,  1727,  the  corner-stone  of  the 

present  venerable  edifice,  associated  with  so  many,  and  such  impor- 
tant events  of  our  ecclesiastical  history,  was  laid  by  the  Honorable 
Patrick  Gordon,  the  governor  of  the  province,  together  with  the  mayor 
and  recorder  of  the  city,  the  rector,  and  a  number  of  others.  The  plan 
of  rebuilding  was  to  add  to  the  west  end  an  enlargement  of  thirty-three 
feet,  together  with  a  steeple  or  tower,  and  when,  in  1731,  this  addition 
was  completed,  measures  were  at  once  taken  to  remove  the  old  build- 
ing, and  complete  the  church  l)y  the  erection  of  the  eastern  portion. 
But  the  vestry  had  exhausted  their  funds  in  the  completion  of  a  third 
part  of  the  contemplated  building,  exclusive  of  the  tower  and  steeple, 
and  in  procuring  the  organ,  1)ells,  and  furniture  required  for  use  ;  and 
it  was  not  until  April,  1735,  that  the  "  ruinous  state  of  the  old  part  of 
the  Church,"  occasioned  immediate  action,  and  the  eastern  end  of  the 
present  church  was  begun.  In  1735  the  Rev.  Richard  Peters  entered 
upon  duty  as  assistant  to  Commissary  Cummings ;  but,  in  consequence 
of  a  misunderstanding  having  arisen  between  the  rector  and  his  curate, 
the  latter  resigned  his  post.  Years  afterwards  he  resumed  the  exercise 
of  his  ministry  as  rector  where  ho  had  withdrawn  from  the  curacy. 
It  was  during  the  incumbency  of  Cummings  that  Mr.  Whitcfield 
visited  Philadelphia  again  and  again.  His  first  visit  was  in  November, 
1739.  He  at  once  visited  the  commissary,  and  on  the  first  Sunday  of 
his  stay,  the  twentieth  after  Trinity.  November  4,  he  "  read  prayers  and 
assisted  at  the  Communion  in  the  morning.  Dined  with  one  of  the 
Church  Wardens,  and  preached  in  the  afternoon  to  a  large  congrega- 
tion." 3  He  read  prayers  and  preached  in  Christ  Church  daily  for  a 
week,  and  on  the  following  Sunday.     On  his  return  from  a  journey 

>  ReliquijB  Hei-niaua:',  n.,  p.  257.  'The  Two  Fu-st  Parts  of  JXi'.  Whitefiekl'a 

'  llawks's  "Eccl.  Contiibutious,"  ii.,  p.  1S3.    Lil'e,  p.  267. 


238 


HISTOKY    OF   THE    AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL   CHL'KCII. 


northward,  at  the  close  of  the  month,  he  again  availed  himself  of  the 
church  for  prayers  and  sermons,  being  driven  on  occasion  of  his  fare- 
well discourse  to  adjourn  to  the  tields,  as  the  church  could  not  contain 
"a  fourth  part  of  the  people."  On  his  third  visit,  after  he  had  openly 
affiliated  with  the  dissenters,  the  journal  records  a  dillerent  reception  : 
"  Went  to  the  Couuuissary's  House,  M'ho  was  not  at  home  ;  but  after- 
wards speaking  to  him  on  the  street  he  soon  told  me  that  he  could  lend 
mc  his  Church  no  more.      Thanks  he  to  God  the  fielda  are  open,"  '     On 


INTERIOR   Ob'    CHRIST    CHURCH, 
PHH^ADELPIIIA. 

the  following  Sunday,  the  second  after 
Easter,  Aprir20,1740,  Whitcficld  attended 
chiu'ch  "morning  and  evening;  and  heard 

INIr. preach  a  sermon  upon  Justitication  by  Works,  from  James 

ii.  18."  -  In  tlie  evening  tiie  great  evangelist  "  preached  from  the  same 
woixls  to  about  1.500  peojile  and  endeavourVl  to  show  the  errors  con- 
tained in  the  Commissary's  discourse."  ^  It  could  not  be  otherwise  than 
that  the  church  should  l)e  closed  to  him  from  this  time.  Later,  under 
date  of  August  29,  1740,  the  commissary  writes  to  the  secretary  of 
the  venerable  society  as  folloMs  :  — 


1  The  Two  Fii-st  Parts  of  Mr.  Whitefield's  Life,  p.  339. 


2  Ibid.,  p.  342. 


3  Ibid. 


THE   CHURCH   IN   PENNSYLVANIA    AND   DELAWARE.  239 

The  Bishop's  Coihmissar^'  (Mr.  Garden),  in  S".  ( 'aroliiia  lias  latrly  prosecuted 
the  famous  M^  ^^'h — d  there  tii)ou  the  SSth  Canon  ;  but  he  has  appeah'd  h<jrae.  I 
hope  the  ISoeiety  will  use  their  interest  to  have  justice  done  him.  His  character  as 
a  clergTuiau  enables  him  to  do  the  greatest  mischief.  He  thereby  lights  against 
the  I'hnrch  under  her  colours,  and  Judas-like  betrays  her  under  pretence  of  friend- 
ship, for  which  reason  the  dissenters  are  exceeding  fond  of  him,  cry  him  up  for  an 
oracle,  and  pray  pnblicly  for  his  success,  that  he  may  go  on  con((ueriiig  and  to  con- 
quer, and  in  return  he  warmly  exhorts  his  proselytes  from  the  Church  to  fol  low  them 
as  the  only  preachers  of  true  sound  doctrine.  1  have  sent  you  a  copy  of  my  ser- 
mon wdiic'h  r  have  mentioned  in  my  last  and  refer  yon  to  the  preface  for  a  brief 
account  of  his  hopeful  doctrines  and  malicious  railings  against  the  clergy.  I  am 
fully  persuadetl  he  designs  to  set  up  for  the  head  of  a  sect,  and  doubt  not  but  that 
he  is  supported  under  hand  by  deists  and  Jesuits  or  both.^ 

The  hiiigiuioo  of  the  c'0iimiis8iiry  is  l)orne  out  by  tlie  testimony  of 
the  other  clergy  of  the  province  ^suid,  in  faet.the  published  journals  of 
the  erratic  evangelist  as  originally  printed,  and.  without  the  prun- 
ings  they  subsequently  recei\ed,  go  far  to  sustain  the  charge  of  an 
intemperate  and  censorious  spirit,  and  a  want  of  Christian  hinnility, 
coupled  with  an  indiscreet  and  reckless  zeal,  which  cotdd  not  fail  to 
awaken  suspicion  and  occasion  o))iiosition  on  the  part  of  the  meml)ers 
of  the  Church,  whose  bishops  and  clergy  Whitefield  did  not  hesitate 
to  assail  in  the  most  opprol)rious  terms.  The  conservatism  of  the  com- 
missary and  his  clergy  tended  to  the  growth  of  the  Church,  for 
many  of  the  more  sober-minded  of  the  dissenters  were  repelled  by  the 
excesses  of  the  "  new-lights  '"  from  frequenting  their  assemblies,  and 
led  to  seek  refuge  in  the  Church.  In  April,  1741,  Mr.  Cummings 
died,  and  was  succeeded,  after  an  interval,  during  which  the  Rev. 
Eneas  Ross 
officiated 

Jenney,"  --— 

LL 

who  imme- 
diately appointed  Mr.  Ross  as  his  assistant.     In  1741  the  clnu-ch-ward- 
ens  report  that  the  church  is  "happily  finished  :"  Imt  it  was  not  till  1755 
that  the  steeple  was  comjileted,  and  the  "ring  of  eight  bells."  obtained 
from  England,  hung  in  their  present  place.    The  Rev.  William  Sturgeon 
had,  in  the  early  part  of  Dr.  Jenney's  ministry,  been  appointed  "  assist- 
ant to  the  rector  and 
f.        O  QC   jf'         Af'i       I   ^  •    '   ■h-      t^'atechist  to  the  ne- 
pdCOU  oDUOhe      Aui'<ihJKi   f!Umx6lSLY  groes,"     and     gave 
/  0     ypj  great  satisfaction  by 

io  ifis   fLM'cAc4S    (d  UnJ^iuLL-OmuCK.      his  labors.      A  new 
^  /  /  church,    named   St. 

Peter's,  was  at  length 
found  necessary  to  furnish  accommodations  to  the  increasing  numbers 
of  church  folk  in  the  city. 

■  Hist.  Coll.  Am.  Col.  Cli.,  II.,  p.  203.  others,  iu  "  Hist.  Coll.  Am.  Col.  Ch.,"  ii..  pp.  204- 

'  Vidf  letters  from  the   Rev.  Messis.  Ross,     217,  230-236. 
Buckhmi«e,  Howie,  Currie,  Pugh,  .Jeuney,  and 


240  HISTORY   OF   THE    AMERICAN   KPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

The  Eev.  Jacob  Duclie,  sou  ot';i  leading  supporter  of  the  Church, 
was  appointed  an  assistant  minister  of  the  parisii  in  whicli  liis  youth  had 
been  spent.  The  incumbency  of  Dr.  Jenney  continued  until  his  death, 
in  1762,  thus  covering  a  period  of  twenty  years,  in  which  the  Church  grew 
in  strength  and  in  numbers,  not  only  in  Philadelphia,  but  througTiout 
the  province.  Sturgeon  continued  as  assistant  for  nearly  the  same 
length  of  time,  from  1747  to  17G(1,  until  ill-health  compelled  his  resig- 
nation. His  career  was  one  of  uninterrupted  usefulness.  His  labor.s 
among  the  negroes  and  others  met  with  great  success,  and  his  faith- 
fulness won  not  only  the  reward  of  souls,  l>ut  secured  for  this  devoted 
catechist  the  ap))reciation  and  material  aid  of  the  parish  at  large.  His 
"great  pains  and  diligence  in  the  work  of  the  ministr}'  "  received  the 
public  commendation  of  the  society,  and  his  devotion  to  duty  and  his 
years  of  faithful  service  entitle  him  to  an  honorable  mention  and  a 
grateful  reniem])rance.  Eflbrts  were  made  shortly  before  the  decease 
of  Dr.  Jenney  to  secure  as  an  additional  assistant  the  Rev.  William 
]\IacClennachan,  who  had  ingratiated  himself  with  a  i«irty  in  the  church. 
But  Sherlock,  Bishop  of  London,  refused  to  license  for  this  important 
post  one  who  had  deserted  his  mission  at  the  northward  \vithout  the 
consent  of  the  society,  and  who  was  even  then  under  an  engagement 
to  a  parish  in  Virginia.  The  bisho]/s  determination  occasioned  no  little 
feeling  on  the  partof  the  friends  of  MacClehnachan  ;  butafter  a  brief  term 
of  service  he  was  compelled  to  withdraw,  having  occasioned  no  little 
disturbance  and  division  among  the  people. 

The  completion  of  St.  Peter's  Church,  which  was  opened  on  the 
4th  of  September,  1761,  by  a  solemn  service,  at  which  the  celebrated  Dr. 
Smith,  Provost  of  the  College  and  Academy  of  Philadelphia,  preached, 

was  shortly  followed  by  the  death 
y^       y         /^       .^i?     y  of  Dr.  Jennc}',  and  the  election  to 

yt^CyrV-^^^^h^  b  ^^e^'Z^  the  rectorship  of  the  united  par- 
ishes of  Christ  Church  and  St.  Pe- 
ter's, of  the  Rev.  Richard  Peters.  This  gentleman,  M'ho  had  during  his 
temporary'  suspension  of  clerical  duty  won  for  himself  a  name  and  jjosi- 
tion  at  the  bar,  to  which  he  had  been  originally  brought  up  in  England, 
proved  to  be  an  earnest  and  faithful  incumbent,  whose  term  of  service 
continued  until  1775,  when  age  and  infirmities  compelled  him  to  resign 
his  charge.  During  his  incumbency  the  united  parishes  received  from 
Thomas  and  Richard  Penn,  projjrietaries  of  the  province,  a  charter  con- 
stituting the  rector,  church-wardens,  and  vestrymen  of  Christ  Church 
and  St.  Peter's,  "aljody  politick  and  corporate."  The  provisions  of  this 
important  instrument  received  the  careful  scrutiny  not  only  of  the 
grantors  and  the  rector  who  had  been  counselled  to  Aisit  England  for  the 
bishop's  license,  Ijut  also  of  the  Archliishop  of  Canterbury,  the  amiable 
and  excellent  Seeker.  On  the  28th  of  June.  1765,  the  charter  "signed 
by  the  honorab'  John  Penn,  esq.,  Lieutenant  Governor,  and  under  the 
great  seal  "  of  the  province,  was  formally  received  and  accepted  by  the 
vestry.  The  following  year  the  rector  declined  to  receive  any  further 
salary  until  the  debt  incurred  in  the  completion  of  St.  Peter's  had  been 
paid.  \\\  1768,  at  the  request  of  the  governor  and  council,  Mr.  Peters 
made  a  journey  to  Fort  Slanwix,  on  oci'asiou  of  an  Indian  treaty,  for  tiie 


THE   CHURCH   IN   PENNSYLVANIA   AND    DliLAWAUK. 


241 


/>'^s. 


£^ai?y/g^ 


settlement  of  boundary  lines,  his  long  oxperienee  in  Indian  ailairs  hav- 
ing given  rise  to  the  belief  that  his  presence  would  be  of  service. 

In  January,  1772,  Doctor  John  Kearsley  died  at  the  age  of  eighty- 
eight  years,  "an  ancient,  worthy,  and  use- 
ful member  of  the  church."  He  had  served 
on  the  vestry  for  upwards  of  half  a  century . 
It  was  to  his  taste  and  exertions  thai  tlic 
grace  and  architectural  beauty  of  Christ 
Church  are  due,  and  throughout  his  long 
and  honored  career  he  never  ceased  to  interest  himself  in  the  all'airs, 
and  to  contriliute  to  the  j)rosperity,  of  the  church  of  his  love  and  bap- 
tism.    By  his  last  will  and  testament  he  ))e(|ueatlied  a  larg(^  portion  of 

his  estate  to  the  united  parishes,  in  trust 
for  the  foundation  of  Christ  Church 
Hospital,  "for  the  support  of  ten  or 
more  poor  or  distressed  women,  of 
the  Connnunion  of  the  Chui'ch  of 
England,  or  such  as  the  said  corporation  and  their  successors 
shall  deem  such ;  preferring  clergymen's  widows  before  others,  and 
supplying  them  with  meat,  drink, 
and  lodging,  and  the  assistance  of 
persons  practising  i)hysic  and  siu- 
gery."  Towards  the  close  of  this 
year  the  Rev.  Thomas  Coombe  and 
the  Rev.  William  White,  both  l)or)i 
and  educated  in  the  city  and  prov- 
ince, were  elected  assistant  minis- 
ters. In  1775,  on  the  resignation 
of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Peters,  the  Rev. 
Jacob  Duche,  the  senior  assistant, 
was  elected  rector  in  his  stead,  and 
continued  to  otficiate  in  this  capac- 
ity until,  at  the  close  of  the  year 
1777,  he  determined  on  visiting 
England,  with  a  view  of  answering 
"  any  ol)jections  the  Bishop  of  Lon- 
don might  have  to  his  conduct," 
and  of  removing  the  prejudices 
the  Bishop  had  imbibed  against 
him.  He  was  succeeded  b}'  Will- 
iam AYhite,  dai-um  et  venerabile 
nomen. 

While  the  Church  in  Philadel- 
phia was  thus  steadily  growing 
through  many  vicissitudes,  and  in  spite  of  opposition  on  every  hand, 
the  various  missions  and  parishes  had  largely  increased  throughout 
the  province.  On  Wednesday,  April  30^  1760,  the  first  conven- 
tion of  the  clergy  was  held  in  Philadelphia,  agreeably  to  an  under- 


kcd^uJiv 


'  Oui*  engi'aving  is  made  from  a  photographic 
copy  of  an  origrinal  portrait  drawn  in  chalk,  by 
Francis  Hopkinson,  iu  the  year  1770,  ;ind  con- 


sidered by  those  who  linew  him  to  be  a  faithful 
likeness. 


242 


HISTOKT   OF   Tm:    A^tEllICA^   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 


^lif  pa 


f 


staiuUng  entered  into  the  jireeeding  autumn.  The  list  of  the  clergy 
present  at  this  meeting,  which  continued  in  session  until  Monday,  the 
.ith  of  Jlay,  will  indicate  the  strength  the  Church  had  attained.  The 
list  comprises  the  following  names,  viz.  :  "  Doctor  Robert  Jennets  Rec- 
tor of  Christ  Church,  Philadelphia  :  Doctor 
William  Smith,  Provost  of  the  College  in 
Pliiladelphia  ;  iP.  George  Craig,  missionary 
at  Chester  ;  W.  Philip  Reading,  missionary 
at  Apoquiniuuiick  ;  ]\P.  William  Sturgeon, 
Assistant  ^linister  and  Catechi.st  to  the 
negroes,  in  Philadelphia  ;  M'.  Thomas  Barton,  missionary  at  Lancaster  : 
^P.  William  MacClenuachan,  another  of 
the  assistant  ministers  in  Chi'ist  Church. 
Philadelphia  :  iP.  Cha-.  Inglis,  mission- 
ary at  Do\er  :  ^I'.  Plugh  Xeiil.  mission- 
arj-  at  0.\ford,  and  M'.  Jacob  Duche, 
likewise  an  assistant  minister  in  Chri^^t  Church,  Philadelphia."' '  The 
Rev.  Messrs.  Samuel  Cook  and  Robert  McKean.  of  Xew  Jersey,  were 
also  in  attendance.    The  Rev.  William  Thompson  arrived  from  England 

during  the  session,  and  the  Rev.  Messrs.  Ross,  of  Xew  Castle  :  Curry, 
of  Radnor  ;  Campbell,  of  Bristol :  and  Richard  Peters,  of  Philadelphia, 
were  not  present.  At  this  convention  the  conduct  of  the  Rev.  William 
MacClennachan  was  discussed,  and,  on  the  receipt  of  advices  from  the 

Bishop  of 
London, 
that  he 
would  not 
license 
him  to 
Christ 
f  {J  Church,  it  was  resolved  that  he  should  not  be 
recognized,  or  recorded  in  the  minutes  as  acting 
in  this  capacity.  Complaint  was  made  of  the 
action  of  a  number  of  Presbyterian  ministers 
in  sending  to  the  Archbishop  of  CanterlnuT  an  address  in  favor  of  Mr. 
MacClennachan,  and  the  action  of  Dr.  Jenney  in  dismissing  him  from 
the  assistanc}'  at  Christ  Church,  and  in  refusing  him  permission  to  offi- 
ciate there,  was  approved.  The  accounts  of  the  missions  in  Pennsylva- 
nia and  Delaware  were  as  follows  :  at  Lewes,  a  clergyman,  bj-  the  name 
of  Matthias  Harris,  had  intruded  himself  into  the  mission  without  the 
society's  permission.  Two  of  the  churches  under  the  charge  of  Harris, 
together  with  the  intruder  himself,  had  united  in  a  "submission"  to  the 
convention  with  a  view  to  regaining  the  society's  favor.     But,  as  the 

■Hist.  CoU.  Am.  Cul.  Ch.,  U..  pp.  295-319. 


'<a& 


i^^nx. 


y 


THP;   CHURCH   IX   PENNSYLVANIA   AND    DELAWARE.  243 

fhurch  at  Lewes  M-as  not  represented  in  this  submission,  the  convention 
refused  to  transmit  the  jirotiered  papers.  In  tlie  Dover  JNIission,  wliich 
included  tlie  whole  County  of  Kent,  there  were  three  churches  under  the 
care  of  the  Rev.  Charles  Inglis.  The  churches  were  crowded,  and  the 
number  of  communicants  was  on  the  int'rease.  At  Easter  there  were 
seventy-three  communicants.  At  Apoijuiuimnick  there  were  seventj' 
actual  communicants.  At  New  Castle  the  church  was  "  thin  of  people," 
and  another  church, 
connected  « ith  this  ^^  cyy 
mission,  bad  reiused      / /  /h-c-y)^  /^ ^  i»-v^ 

to  receive  the  mis-     ^^  ■      /// OTTW-^X ^?t  ^ 
sionary.     Improve-  ^  ^ 

meat  was  reported  at  Chester.  At  Oxford  iCC 
the  Church  was  ''in  a  very  flourishing  way," 
and  a  "Sunday  evening  Lecture  "  had  been  established  at  Germantown. 
The  missionary  at  Radnor  was  ill,  and  could  not  attend  the  convention  ; 
but  he  was  much  esteemed  in  his  extensive  cure,  and  neglected  no  op- 
portunity of  doing  his  duty.  At  Lancaster  there  was  a  small  church ; 
at  Bangor,  another,  of  stone  :  at  Pequa,  a  third  of  the  same  material. 

The  mission  in  York  and  Cumberland 
had  three  congregations  :  one  at  Hunt- 
ingdon ;  a  second  at  York,  and  a  third 
at  Carlisle.  Mr.  Thompson  had  been 
apjiointed  to  this  cure.  Berks  and 
Northampton  were  frontier  counties, 
in  which  the  society  had,  as  yet,  no  mission.  At  Reading  there  was  a 
movement  among  the  i)eople  to  secure  a  missionary,  and  at  Easton  there 
was  need  of  services  which  could  be  best  rendered  by  the  Rev  Mr. 
Morton,  itinerant  missionary  in  New  Jersey.  Such  was  the  condi- 
tion of  the  Church  in  Pennsylvania  and  Delaware  at  this  time.  The 
clerg}\  in  ad- 
dressing   the  /^ 

ainterbury,D''r.      WlUCO/yri  J^Z^u^e/?"^^^  ^n)UUiti^ 

Seeker,    dwelt  V         0 

on  the  hardships 

under  which  the  Church  was  laboring,  and  prayed  earnestly  for  the 

appointment  of  bishops  for  America. 

In  1763  Whitetield  was  again  in  Philadelphia,  and,  on  the  invita- 
tion of  the  rector,  preached  several  times  in  the  two  churches,  "  with- 
out any  of  his  usual  censures  of  the  clergy,  and  with  a  greater  moder- 
ation of  sentiment."  ^  In  17fi(i  Commissary  Peters  wi'ites  :  "Above 
twenty  missions  are  now  vacant."  A  third  church,  St.  Paul's,  origin- 
ally built  l)y  a  schismatic  following  of  ^lacClennachan,  was  added  to  the 
Philadelphia  churches.  A  society  for  the  relief  of  the  widows  and 
orphans  of  the  clergy  was  instituted.  The  college  and  academy  of 
Philadelphia  was  contrilniting  godly  and  well-learned  young  men  for 
the  ministry.  Germans  and  Swedes  were  seeking  comprehension  in 
the  Church,  and,  as  the  country  found  itself  on  the  eve  of  a  disastrous 

■  Hist.  Coll.  Am.  Col.  Ch.,  li.,  p.  396. 


244 


HISTORY   OF   THE   AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 


war,   the  prospects  of  the  Church  were  never  brighter.     All  but  bare 
existence  was  to  be  lost  in  the  struggle  for  independence  that  followed. 


ILLUSTRATIVE  NOTES. 


THE  stoiy  of  the  introductiou  of  the  Church  in  the  Middle  Colonies  would  be  con- 
fessedly incomplete  without  a  reference  to  the  planting  and  presence  of  the 
Swedish  Church  on  the  Delaware,  which,  in  its  subsequent  development,  has  gi-ad- 
ually  merged  into  our  own  communion,  until  to-day  one  of  the  oldest  houses  of 
worship  in  which  the  liturgy  of  om-  American  Church  is  used,  and  one  of  the  old- 


OI,D    SWEDES     CHURCH,    WILMINGTON,    DELAWARE. 


est  chm'ches  of  the  reformed  faith  in  the  land,  is  the  venerable  Swedes'  Church,  in 
the  city  of  Wilmington,  Delaware.  The  settlement  of  the  Swedes  was  undertaken, 
as  we  learn  from  the  royal  proclamation  authorizing  the  formation  of  a  trading  col- 
ony on  the  shores  of  tlie  Delaware  in  the  New  World,  primarily  with  a  view  of 
planting  the  Christian  religion  among  the  heathen ;  and  in  this  spirit  the  settlers 
brought  with  them  their  spiritual  guide,  and  one  of  their  first  cares  was  to  provide 
within  the  walls  of  their  rude  fortification  a  house  for  the  worship  of  God.  Tor- 
killus,  the  Swedish  priest,  ofliciated  among  his  countrymen  until  his  death,  in  1643. 
The  needs  of  the  settlers  soon  required  the  erection  of  a  church  at  Crane  Hook,  on 
the  south  side  of  the  mouth  of  the  Christiana  river.  This  church  was  not  built  until 
1667,  twelve  years  after  the  short-lived  conquest  of  New  Sweden  by  the  Dutch,  and 
three  years  after  the  victors  and  vanquished  had  been  subjected  to  the  British  power. 
The  church  at  Crane  Hook  stood  on  a  beautiful  spot  close  to  the  Delaware,  and  its 
worshippers  gathered  from  New  Castle  and  Swedesboro',  N.J.  (then  known  as 
Raccoon  Creek),  as  well  as  from  the  banks  of  the  Brandywine  and  the  Christiana. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  PENNSYLVANIA  AND  DELAWARE. 


245 


The  sole  remaining  Swedish  priest  at  this  time  was  Lock,  who  ministered  to  the  con- 
gregation in  the  fort,  and  also  in  the  church  on  Tinicum  Island,  which  had  been 
erected  as  early  as  1646. 

In  1677  as  the  distance  of  Tinioum  rendered  attendance  at  service  almost  im- 
jjracticable  for  the  settlers  at  Wicaco,  the  block-house  which  stood  near  where 
the  Gloria  Dei  Church,  in  Philadelphia,  was  afterwards  erected,  was  used  as  a  place 
of  worship,  and  the  first  service  was  held  in  this  church  of  logs,  by  the  Rev.  Jacol) 
Fabritius,  on  Trinity  Sunday,  June  9,  1677.  For  fourteen  years  Fabritius,  who 
liad  succeeded  Lock,  who  had  died  or  returned  to  Sweden,  in  1688,  ministered  in 
tliis  rude  iiouse  of  prayer.  Nine  of  these  years  the  preacher  was  totally  blind,  and 
when,  by  reason  of  infirmity,  he  was  unable  to  ofiioiate  longer,  there  seemed  little  hope 
that  his  place  would  be  supplied.  At  length  news  reached  Sweden  of  the  destitute 
spiritual  condition  of  these  settlers.  They  had  appealed  for"  good  shepherds  "  to  feed 
them  with  God's  "  holy  word  and  sacraments."   King  IJharles  XI.  laid  this  request, 


GLORI.\    DEI   (OLD    swedes)   CUURCH. 


which  was  signed  by  thirty  of  the  leading  colonists,  before  tlie  Archbishop  of  Upsala, 
and  after  some  delay  the  Hev.  Andrew  Rudman,  Eric  Biorck,  and  Jonas  Auren  sailed 
with  the  king's  "  God  speed  "  from  Gottcnburg,  on  the  4th  of  August,  1696,  reaching 
James  river,  in  Virginia,  June  2d  of  the  following  year.  Of  these  three  mission  priests, 
Biorck  took  charge  of  the  congTcgation  on  the  ( Christiana.  On  the  11th  of  July  he 
records  his  first  service  among  his  people:  "I,  their  unworthy  minister,  clad  in  my 
surplice,  delivered  my  first  discourse  to  them  in  Jesus'  name,  on  the  subject  of  the 
'  Righteousness  of  the  Pharisees.' "  (Quoted  in  Bishop  Alfred  Lee's  "  Planting  and 
Watering."  Historical  sketch  of  the  church  in  Delaware,  16.38-1881.)  This  service 
was  held  in  the  Crane  Hook  Church,  but  that  site  bein^  from  time  to  time  over- 
flowed, the  new  clergyman  persuaded  his  people  to  build  a  stone  chui'ch  in  a  more 
suitable  spot.  The  corner-stone  of  the  present  "  Trinity,"  Swedes'  Church,  was  laid 
on  the  28th  of  May,  1698,  and  was  formally  set  apart  for  its  sacred  uses  on  Trinity 
Sunday  of  the  following  year.  The  Rev.  Andrew  Rudman  was  the  preacher  on  this 
interesting  occasion,  and  the  text  was  from  the  Psalms  cxxvi.  3.     Tlie  Lord  had 


246 


HISTORY   OF  THE  AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 


done  great  things  for  them,  whereof  they  were  glad.  It  was  not  till  another  year 
had  passed  that  the  (Jiurch  at  VVicaco  was  built,  and  on  the  first  Sunday  after  Trinity, 
17(30,  the  "  Gloria  Dei  "  was  dedicated  to  God's  service,  the  sermon  being  preached 
from  2  Sam.  vii.  29. 

At  the  church  on  the  Christiana  Andrew  Hesselius,  sent  out  by  King  Charles 
XU.,  in  1712,  succeeded  the  faithful  Biorck.  He  was  followed  by  his  brother 
Sanmel,  in  1723,  who  gave  place  to  John  Eneburg,  in  1731.  Long  before  this  time 
there  had  been  frequent  exchanges  of  pulpits  and  parishes  by  the  clergy  of  the 
churches  of  England  and  Sweden  respectively,  and  when  at  length  the  Swedish 
language  had  ceased  to  be  intelligible  to  the  hearers,  Trinity  at  Wilmington,  and 
Gloria  Dei  at  Wicaco,  long  since  absorbed  by  Philadelphia,  became  part  of  tlie 
American  Church. 


OLD  .ST.  DAVID  .S  CHURCH,  KADNOR. 


One  of  the  most  notable  of  the  old  Pennsylvania  churches  is  St.  David's,  at 
Radnor,  built  in  1714,  and  famous,  if  for  no  other  reason,  from  being  the  .subject 
of  the  beautiful  poem  by  Longfellow,  fi-om  which  the  following  stanzas  are 
quoted :  — 


What  an  image  of  peace  and  rest 

Is  thi.s  little  church  among'  its  graves  ! 
All  is  so  quiet ;  tlie  troubled  breast, 
The  wounded  spirit,  the  heart  oppressed, 
Here  may  find  the  repose  it  craves. 

See  how  the  ivy  climbs  and  expands 

Over  this  humble  hermitage. 
And  seems  to  caress  with  its  little  hand.s 
The  rough,  gray  stones,  as  a  child  th,at  stands 

Caressing  the  wrinkled  cheeks  of  age ! 


Were  I  a  pilgrim  in  search  of  peace, 
Were  I  pastor  of  Holy  Church, 

More  than  a  bishop's  diocese 

Should  I  prize  this  place  of  rest,  .and  release 
From  farther  longing  and  farther  search. 

Here  would  I  stay,  and  let  the  world 

With  its  distant  thunder  roar  and  roll ; 
Storms  do  not  rend  the  sail  tliat  i*;  furled 
Nor  like  a  dead  leaf,  tossed  and  whirled 
In  an  eddy  of  wind,  is  the  anchored  soul. 


CHAPTER    XTV. 

THE  CONVERSION  TO  THE  CHURCH  OF  CUTLER,  RECTOR 
OF  YALE  COLLEGE,  AND  OTHER  PURITAN  MINISTERS 
OF  CONNECTICUT. 


O 


N  Thursday,  September  13,  1722,  the  day  after  the  annual  coni- 
uiencement,  the  following  paper  was  presented  to  the  Trustees 
of  Yale  College,  in  New  Haven,  assembled  in  the  library  :  — 


To  the  Rev.  Mr.  Andreiv  and  Mr.  Woodbridge  and  others,  our  Reverend  Fathers 
and  Brethren,  present  in  the  Library  of  Yale  College  this  13th  of  September, 
1722,— 

Reveeekd  Gentlemen  :  Having  represented  to  you  tlie  dilficulties  which 
we  labor  under,  in  relation  to  our  continuance  out  of  the  visible  communion  of  an 
Episcopal  Church,  and  a  state  of  seeming  opposition  thereto,  either  as  private  Chris- 
tians, or  as  officers,  and  so  being  insisted  on  by  some  of  you  (after  our  repeated 
declinings  of  it)  tliat  we  should  sum  up  our  case  in  writing,  we  do  (though  with 
great  reluctance,  fearing  the  consequences  of  it)  submit  to  and  comply  with  it :  And 
signify  to  you  that  some  of  us  doubt  the  validity,  and  the  rest  of  us  are  more  fully 
persuaded  of  the  invalidity  of  the  Presbyterian  ordination,  in  opposition  to  Episco- 
pal ;  and  should  be  heartily  thankful  to  God  and  man,  if  we  may  receive  from  them 
satisfaction  herein ;  and  shall  be  willing  to  embrace  your  good  comisels  and  instrac- 
tions  La  relation  to  this  important  affair,  as  far  as  God  shall  direct  and  dispose  us 
to  do. 

Timothy  Cutler,' 
John  Hart,' 
Samuel  Whittlesey,^ 
Jaked  Eliot,* 
James  Wetmore,* 
Samuel  Johnson," 
Daniel  Brown.' 
A  true  copy  of  the  original. 

Testify : 

Daniel  BROAiVN. 

The  missionary  of  the  venerable  society  at  Stratford,  the  Eev. 
George  Pigot,  who  was  present  by  invitation  of  President  Cutler  at 
the  time  of  this  declaration,  in  his  recital  of  the  affair  to  the  secretary, 
throws  additional  light  upon  the  extent  to  which  this  defection  was 
thought  at  the  time  to  extend  :  "On  the  11th  of  the  last  month,  at  the 
desire  of  the  President,  I  repaired  to  the  Commencement  of  Yale 
College  in  New  Haven,  where,  in  the  face  of  the  whole  country,  the 
aforesaid  gentleman  and  six  others,  hereafter  named,  declared  them- 
selves in  this  wise,  that  they  could  no  longer  keep  out  of  the  com- 

'  Harvard  College,  1701.  =  Yale  Collese,  1714. 

2  Yale  CoUepe,  1703 ;  tutor,  1703-1705.  «  Yale  College,  17U ;  tutor,  1716-1719. 

»  Y'ale  College,  1705 ;  fellow,  1732-1752.  ■  Yale  CoUege,  17  U ;  tutor,  1718-1722. 
'  Yale  College,  1706;  fellow,  1730-1762. 


218 


HISTORY   OF  THE  AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 


muuion  of  the  Holy  Catholic  Church,  and  that  some  of  them  doulitcd 
of  the  validity,  and  the  rest  were  persuaded  of  the  invalidity,  of  Pres- 
byterian ordination  in  opposition  to  Episcopal.  The  gentlemen  fully 
persuaded  thereof  are  the  five  following,  viz. :  Mr.  Cutler,  president 
of  Yale  College ;  Mr.  Brown,  tutor  to  the  same  ;  Mr.  Elliot,  pastor  of 
lullingsworth ;  Mr.  Johnson,  pastor  of  West  Haven ;  and  Mr.  Wet- 


JwtsiM  (^jlu>r 


more,  pastor  of  North  Haven.  The  two  gentlemen  who  seemed  to 
doubt  are  Mr.  Hart,  pastor  of  East  Guilford,  and  Mr.  Whittlesey, 
pastor  of  Wallingford.  These  seven  gave  in  their  declarations  in  writ- 
ing, and  at  the  same  time  two  more,  and  these  pastors  of  great  note, 
gave  their  assent,  of  whom  the  one,  Mr.  Buckley,  of  Colchester, 
declared  Episcopacy  to  be  jure  divino,  and  the  other,  Mr.  Whiting, 
of  some  remote  town,  also  gave  in  his  opinion  for  moderate  Episco- 


pacy 


"  1 


The  impression  produced  by  such  a  paper  as  the  one  we  have  trans- 

'  Hawks  ami  Perry's  "  Conn.  Ch.  Docs.,"  i.,  pp.  68,  59. 


CONVEKSIONS   TO   THE   CHURCH.  249 

scribed  could  not  be  other  than  profound.  In  the  words  of  one  of  the 
Puritan  ministers  who  was  present  at  this  remarkable  declaration,  "all" 
were  "amazed  and  tilled  with  darkness."  Another  writes  to  tlie 
Mathers  of  Boston,  of  "the  dark  cloud  drawn  over  our  collegiate 
affiiirs,"  and  adds,  "How  is  the  gold  become  dim!  and  the  silver 
becoiue  dross !  and  the  wine  mixt  with  water ! "  Avhile  still  another 
confesses,  "  It  is  a  very  dark  day  with  us  ;  and  we  need  pity,  prayers 
and  counsel."  "Our  condition  I  look  upon  as  very  deplorable  and 
sad." 

Those  who  had  thus  professed  their  scruples  as  to  the  validity 
of  Presbyterian  orders  were,  as  their  opponents  could  not  but  confess, 
"persons  of  tigurc"  and  "not  of  the  least  note  "  among  the  ministers  of 
the  colony,  "  the  most  of  them  reputed  men  of  considerable  learning, 
and  all  of  them  of  a  virtuous  and  blameless  conversation."  Less  than 
this  could  hardly  have  been  said  with  ti'uth.  Cutler,  the  rector  (or 
president)  of  Yale,  was  a  native  of  Charlestown,  in  Massachusetts, 
and  was  graduated  at  Harvard  in  1701.  It  was  after  a  pastorate  of 
ten  years  at  Stratford  that  the  trustees  of  the  college  invited  him  to 
assume  the  post  for  which  his  learning  and  acknowledged  ability  pre- 
eminently qualitied  him.  It  was  in  the  autumn  of  1719  that  Cutler 
entered  upon  his  residence  at  New  Haven,  sharing  the  task  of  the 
instruction  of  the  students  with  Daniel  Brown,  a  gifted  young  Puritan 
minister,  a  tutor  prior  to  Cutler's  assumption  of  the  headship  of  the  col- 
lege. Johnson  had  been  one  of  the  two  tutors  of  the  institution  ;  but 
with  the  settlement  of  the  college  on  a  permanent  basis  at  New  Haven 
he  resigned  his  post,  and  was  formally  placed  in  charge  of  the  Congre- 
gational parish  at  West  Haven,  on  Sunday,  March  20,  1720,  having 
been,  as  he  himself  states  it,  "a  preacher  occasionally  ever  since  he 
was  eighteen."  The  occasion  of  his  settlement  at  West  Haven  appears 
to  have  been  a  desire  to  avail  himself  of  the  literary  associations  and 
privileges  of  the  college  and  its  librarjs  then  numbering  about  a  thou- 
sand volumes.  His  entrance  upon  the  Presbyterian  ministry  was  not 
without  doubts  and  scruples  as  to  the  validity  of  the  orders  he  was  to 
receive ;  but  "  the  passionate  entreaties  of  a  tender  mother,"  and  the 
hope  that  he  might  thus  "  be  doing  some  service  to  promote  the  main 
interest  of  religion,"  *  together  with  a  lack  of  familiarity  with  the  condi- 
tions pi'erequisite,  and  the  formal  steps  to  be  taken  to  secure  the  coveted 
ministerial  commission  of  the  English  Church,  served  to  allay  his  diffi- 
culties and  justify  his  acceptance  of  "  Presbyterial  ordination."  But 
the  seed  sown  when  Smithson,  a  devoted  churchman  of  Guilford, 
placed  in  his  hands  the  "  Book  of  Common  Prayer,"  was  not  to  lie  dor- 
mant. His  reading  led  him  more  and  more  to  admire  the  doctrines 
and  worship  of  the  Church.  Scott's  "  Christian  Life,"  Archbishop 
King's  "  Inventions  of  Men  in  the  W^orship  of  God,"  Potter's  "Church 
Government,"  Hooker's  "Ecclesiastical  Polity,"  Wall  on  "Infant  Bap- 
tism," Echard's  "Church  History,"  "The  Whole  Duty  of  Man,"  and 
other  works  of  this  class,  could  not  fail  to  produce  an  effect  upon  a 
mind  of  unusual  logical  ]iower,  as  well  as  singularly  devout.     One  by 

'  Beardsley's  '*  Life  and  Correspondence  of  Samncl  .Johnson,"  p.  15. 


250  HISTORY   OF  THE   AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

one  the  folios  of  the  great  Anglican  doctors  of  the  seventeenth  century 
were  mastered  by  him  in  turn.  His  intimate  friends  shared  his  studies, 
and  found  themselves  drifting  steadily  away  from  the  Calvinistic  tenets 
and  the  congregational  polity  in  which  they  had  been  brought  up. 
Each  of  the  seven  whose  names  are  attached  to  the  declaration  of  the 
13th  of  September,  1722,  held  positions  of  trust  and  influence  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  capital  of  the  colony  and  the  seat  of  its  college.'  All 
but  Cutler  were  graduates  of  the  college,  and  three  of  them — Johnson, 
Wetmore,  and  Brown  — were  members  of  the  same  class,  1714,  and 
intimate  friends.  John  Hart  was  the  minister  of  East  Guilford  ;  Samuel 
Whittlesey  was  settled  at  Wallingford,  Jared  Eliot  at  Killiugworth, 
and  James  Wetmore  at  North  Haven.  Meeting  at  each  others'  homes, 
or  in  the  college  libi-ary  with  the  ponderous  tomes  of  Anglican 
theology  within  reach,  "  a  few  Episcopalian  things  which  their 
library  at  New  Haven  had  been  unhappily  stocked  with,"^  the  confer- 
ences and  researches  of  this  "  little  knot  of  young  men  "  convinced  them 
that  the  Church  of  England  offered  the  apostolic  commission  they 
sought,  and  that  without  this  valid  authority  each  of  them  was,  as 
Johnson  termed  it,  "an  usurper  in  the  house  of  God." 

Cutler  appears  to  have  been  suspected  of  having  fallen  under  the 
influence  of  one  of  the  most  uncompromising  churchmen  and  gifted  con- 
troversialists of  the  day,  —  John  Checkley,  of  Boston.  A  contemporary 
account  of  the  defection  of  Cutler  and  his  friends,  from  which  we  have 
already  quoted,  and  which  appears  to  have  been  the  production  of 
Cotton  JVIather,  speaks  of  "  the  great  converter "  as  "  a  foolish  and 
sorry  toy-man,  who  is  a  professed  Jacobite,  and  printed  a  pamphlet  to 
maintain  that  the  God  whom  King  William  and  the  churches  there 
prayed  unto  is  the  devil !  (  horresco  referens!)"  and  there  can  be  little 
doubt  but  that  Checkley,  either  by  correspondence  or  conversation, 
aided  Cutler  in  coming  to  a  decision  in  favor  of  the  Church,  though  he 
"  declared  to  the  trustees  that  he  had  for  many  years  been  of  this  per- 
suasion (his  wife  is  reported  to  have  said  that  to  her  knowledge  he  had 
for  eleven  or  twelve  years  been  so  persuaded),  and  that  therefore  he 
was  the  more  uneasy  in  performing  the  acts  of  his  ministry  at  Stratford, 
atid  the  more  readily  accepted  the  call  to  a  college  improvement  at  New 
Haven."'  Bitter  indeed  was  the  scorn  and  indignity  heaped  upon  these 
confessors  of  tiie  Church  by  the  Boston  ministers,  and  notably  by  Cot- 
ton Mather.  They  are  styled  "cudweeds."  It  is  "that  vile,  senseless, 
wretched  whimsey  of  an  uninterrupted  succession  "  which  they  have  set 
up.     The  charge  is  made  that  "  they  will  have  none  owned  for  ministers 

'  Trumbull,  in  his"  Hist,  of  Conu.,"  n.,  p.  33,  puipose,  and   to   continue    in  their  respective 

referring  to  the  change  of  views  of  Cutler  and  places." 

his  associate-*,  adds:    "It  was  supposed    that  -  2  Mass.  Hist.  See.  Coll.,  n.,  p.  137.  Hawks 

several  other  gentlemen  of  considerable  charac-  and  Perry's  "  Conn.  Ch.  Docs.,"  i.,  p.  72.  _  This 

ter  among  the  clergy  were  in  the  scheme  of  *'  Faithful  Relation  of  a  Late  Occun'ence  in  the 

declaring  for  Episcopacy  .and  of  carrying  over  Churches  of  New-England,"  which  the  editor  of 

the  people   of  Connecticut    in  general  to  that  the  "  Mass.  Hist.  Soc.  Collections "  pronounces 

persuasion.    But  as  they  had  been  more  private  "  not  very  candid  or  temperate,  if  faithful,"  ap- 

m  their  measures,  and  had  made  no  open  pro-  pears  by  numerous  coincidences  in  expression, 

fession  of  Episcopacy,  when  they  saw  the  con-  as  well  as  by  the  general  style  of  argument,  to 

sequences  with  respect  to  the  rector  and  the  be   the  composition  of  Cotton  Mather,  whose 

other   ministers    and   that    the    people    would  letter  on  the  subject  is  printed  in  "  2  Mass.  Hist, 

not  hear  them,  but  dismissed  them  from  their  Soc. Coll.," ii., p.  133, and  "Conn.  Ch. Docs.,"  1., 

Bei-vice,  they  were  glad  to  conceal  theii-  former  pp.  75-78.            ^Conn.  Ch.  Docs.,  i.,  pp.  69,  70. 


CONVERSIONS   TO   THE   CHURCH.  251 

of  Christ  iu  the  world,  Ijut  such  as  luiti-Christ  has  ordained  for  him  ; 
such  as  the  paw  of  the  beast  hath  been  hiid  upon."  They  are  "  poor 
children,"  "degenerate  offspring,"  " highfl_yers,"  "unhappy  men,"  "de- 
serters," "  backsliders."  'J'hcy  are  accused  of  a  "  scandalous  conjunction  " 
"  with  the  papists,"  of  attempting  "  l)oundless  mischief  "  "  by  this  foolish 
cavil;"  and  the  question  is  asked,  "Do  not  these  men  worship  the 
beast ?"^  In  striking  contrast  with  these  epithets  and  expressions  ai'c 
the  words  recorded  by  Johnson,  in  his  private  diary,  immediately  after 
the  ordeal  had  been  passed,  and  ho  had  temporarily  given  up  his  min- 
istry :  — 

It  is  ^vith  great  son'ow  of  heart  that  I  am  forced  tlius,  by  the  uneasiness  of 
my  conscience,  to  be  an  occasion  of  so  niucli  uneasiness  to  my  dear  fi-iends,  my  poor 
people,  and  indeed  to  the  wliolo  colony.  ()  (lod,  I  beseech  thee,  grant  that  I  may 
not,  in  an  adherence  to  thy  necessary  truths  and  laws  (as  I  profess  in  my  conscience 
they  seem  to  me) ,  be  a  stumbling-block  or  occasion  of  fall  to  any  soul.  Let  not  om- 
thus  appearing  for  thy  church  be  any  ways  accessory,  through  accidentally  to  the 
hurt  of  religion  in  general,  or  any  person  in  particular.  Have  mercy.  Lord,  have 
mercy  on  the  souls  of  men,  and  pity  and  enlighten  those  that  are  gi-ievcd  at  this 
accident.  Lead  into  the  waj'  of  truth  all  those  that  have  eiTed  and  are  deceived ; 
and  if  we,  in  this  affair,  are  misled,  I  beseech  Thee  show  us  om*  error  before  it 
be  too  late,  that  we  may  repair  the  damage.  Grant  us  Thy  illumination  for  Christ's 
sake.    Amen.  * 

At  the  suggestion  of  the  governor  of  the  colony,  Gurdon  Salton- 
stall,  an  attempt  was  made  to  give  the  signers  of  the  September  decla- 
ration the  satisfaction  they  craved  by  a  public  discussion  in  the  college 
library,  on  the  day  following  the  opening  of  the  October  session  of 
the  General  Assembly.  In  this  debate  the  advocates  of  the  Episcopal 
side  of  the  question  had  the  advantage  of  familiarity  with  the  whole 
controversy  acquired  by  long  study  and  careful  and  prayerful  thought. 
The  governor,  himself  a  theologian  of  no  mean  ability,  "  moderated  very 
geuteely ,"  ^  but  the  "  gentlemen  on  the  Di-ssenting  side  "  found  that  their 
chief  argument  from  the  indiflerent  use  of  the  words  bishop  and^^res- 
byter  in  the  New  Testament  was  met  by  the  incontestable  evidence  from 
Scripture  of  the  superintendency  of  Timothy  over  the  clergy  and  laity 
of  Ephesus,  and  of  Titus  over  the  church  in  Crete.  The  appeal  to  the 
histor3'^  of  the  first  and  purest  centuries  of  the  Church  was  made  until 
"  at  length,"  as  Johnson  records  it,  "an  old  minister  got  up  and  made 
an  harangue  against  them  iu  the  declamatory  way  to  raise  an  odium, 
but  he  had  not  gone  far  before  Mr.  Saltonstall  got  up  and  said  he  only 
designed  a  friendly  argument,  and  so  put  an  end  to  the  conference."'' 

Hart,  Whittlesey,  and  Eliot,  influenced  it  may  be  by  the  debate 
in  the  college  library  in  October,  or  dismayed  at  the  opposition  their 
declarations  for  the  Church,  had  excited,  returned  to  their  old  faith, 
silenced  if  not  satisfied.  It  is  the  testimony  of  Chandler  that  "amidst 
all  the  controversies  in  which  the  Church  was  engaged  during  their  lives, 
they  were  never  known  to  act,  or  say,  or  in.sinuate  anything  to  her  dis- 
advantage."^    The  others  were  unshaken  in  their  adherence  to  their 

•  Vide  2  Mass.  Hist.  Soc.  Coll.,  ii.,  133  et  '  Beardsley's  "  Life  and  Coirespondence  of 

passim.  Hawks  and  Peny's  "  Conn.  Ch.  Docs.."  Samuel  .Johnson,"  p.  19. 
I.,  72-78.  •/«(/.,  pp.  19,  20. 

'  Beardsley's  Johnson,  p.  19.  '  Life  of  Johnson,  p.  31. 


252 


HISTORY   OF   THE   AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 


convictions.  Jolinson,  after  tiie  most  patient  selt'-scrutiiiy,  as  was  his 
wont,  records  in  his  diary,  that  "upon  the  most  deliljerate  consideration, 
I  cannot  find  tliat  cither  the  frowns  or  ai)piauses,  the  pleasures  or  profits 
of  the  world  have  any  i)revailing  infiuence  in  the  ufi'air."'    On  the  17th 


CHRIST    CHURCH.    BOSTON. 


of  October  the  trustees  of  the  college  voted,  "  in  faithfulness  to  the 
trust  reposed  in  them,"  to  "excuse  the  Eev.  Mr.  Cutler  from  all  farther 
service  as  rector  of  Yale  College,"  and  "to  accept  of  the  resignation 
which  Mr.  Brown  had  made  as  tutor."-     A  week  later  Cutler,  Jolm- 


'  Bcardslev's  Johnson,  p.  21. 


=  Trumbull's  "Hist,  of  (Vmn.,"  ii.,  p.  34. 


CONVEKSIONS   TO   THE   CUUKCH.  2J3 

son,  iiiul  Brown  were  on  their  way  to  the  sea-board,  with  a  view  of 
laliing  inissage  for  England  for  ordination. 

JNleauwhile  a  movement  had  taken  shape  among  the  churchmen  of 
Boston  to  erect  a  second  church,  the  Ivlng's  Chapel  "  not  being  large 
enough  to  contain  the  people  of  the  church;"'  and  the  attention  of  the 
promoters  of  this  enterprise  was  turned  at  once  towards  securing  the 
ex-president  of  Yale  as  their  spiritual  head.  A  letter  from  the  leading 
members  of  the  new  Christ  Church  was  addressed  to  Cutler,  congratu- 
lating him  and  his  friends  on  their  declaration  for  the  Church,  inviting 
them  to  Boston,  assuring  them  that  a  passage  to  England  would  I)e 
provided  for  him  and  his  friends,  "and  all  things  proper  to  support  the 
character  of  a  gentleman"  during  his  "stay  in  Loudon."  The  care  of 
Mrs.  Cutler  and  children  was  also  assumed  by  the  committee  of  the 
chui'ch,  and  liberal  subscriptions  attested  the  fact  that  the  zeal  of  the 
Boston  church-folk  was  equal  to  their  professions. 

The  journey  to  Boston  was  of  itself  long  and  tedious.  Setting 
out  on  Tuesday,  the  23d  of  October,  Sunday  the  twenty-third  after 
Trinity,  and  the  Feast  of  SS.  Simon  and  Jude,  found  them  at  Bristol, 
where  Johnson  records:  "I  first  went  to  church.  How  amiable  are 
thy  tabernacles,  O  Lord  of  hosts  !  Mr.  Orem^  preached."^  On  the 
following  Sunday,  the  twenty-fourth  after  Trinity,  the}^  "  first  com- 
municated with  the  Church  of  England.-  How  devout,"  proceeds  the 
excellent  Johnson  in  his  diary^  "  grand,  and  venerable  was  ever}'  part 
of  the  administration,  every  way  becoming  so  awful  a  mystery  !  Mr. 
Cuthbert,  of  Annajiolis  Royal,  preached.  To-morrow  we  venture 
upon  the  great  ocean  for  Great  Britain.  God  Almighty  pi'cserve  us."^ 
For  five  weeks  and  four  days  their  "  l^oisterous  and  uncomfortal)le 
voyage  in  the  good  ship  'Mary'  was  protracted."  The  little  party 
occupied  themselves  with  religious  reading  and  study.  On  Sundays, 
AVednesdays,  and  Fridays  they  read  prayers.  They  blessed  God  at 
the  sight  of  land,  for  the  ocean  passage  at  the  time  these  men,  and 
others  who  followed  their  course,  braved  its  terrors  was  something  to 
be  dreaded  in  its  discomfort  and  danger.  On  the  third  Sunday 
ia  Advent  they  attended  service  in  the  cathedral  at  Cauter))urv. 
Strangers  though  they  were,  and  in  a  strange  land,  the}'  found  friends  at 
once.  On  presenting  themselves  at  the  Deanei-y  they  announced  them- 
selves as  "some  gentlemen  from  America,  come  over  for  Holy  Orders, 
who  were  desirous  of  paying  their  duty  to  the  Dean."^  The  amiable 
and  learned  dean.  Dr.  Stanhope,  whose  name  is  yet  familiar  as  a 
household  word  to  all  students  of  Anglican  theology,  welcomed  them 
with  great  cordiality.  A  copy  of  the  declaration,  to  which  was  ap- 
pended the  names  of  the  signer's,  had  found  its  way  into  the  London 
papers,  and  the  dean,  and  some  of  the  cathedral  prebends,  were  read- 
ing it  at  the  very  moment  of  this  opportune  call.  No  further  intro- 
duction was  necessary.  The  two  archbishops.  Dr.  Wake,  of  Canter- 
bury, and  Sir  William  Dawes,  of  York,  vied  in  extending  to  these 
new    converts   every    possible   attention    and   kindness.     They  were 

' Footo's  "  Annals  of  Kinjr's  Chapel."  ■''  Bcarilslev's  Johnson,  p.  23.  'Ibid. 

*  The  Rev.  .Tames  Oreni,  missionary  of  tlic  ■■  Beardsley's  *'  Hist,  of  the  Epis.  Church  iu 

veneiahlc  society  at  Bristol,  K.l.  '  Conn.."  I,  p.  4  j. 


254  HISTOKY   OF   THE   AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL   CIimCH. 

t'oriuiilly  introduced  to  the  members  of  the  venerable  society,  the 
Archbishop  of  York  being  in  the  chair,  "who,"  as  Johnson  tells  us, 
"  with  the  whole  body  of  the  clergy  present,  received  us  with  a  most 
benign  aspect,  and  treated  us  with  all  imaginable  kindness."^  The 
Bishop  of  London,  Dr.  Robinson,  of  Salisbury,  Dr.  Willis,  of  London- 
derry, Dr.  Nicholson,  and  others,  showed  them  marked  attention,  and 
leading  divines  and  laymen  spared  no  pains  to  prove  to  these  prose- 
lytes from  afar  that  their  self-sacrifice  and  devotion  were  fully  appreci- 
ated, ^yter  receiving  in  private,  in  the  Church  of  St.  Sepulchre, 
hypothetical  baptism,  on  Friday,  March  22,  at  the  Church  of  St.- 
Martin-in-the-Fields,  they  were  first  confirmed  and  then  ordained 
deacons,  and  on  Passion  Sunday,  the  21st  of  March,  at  the  same 
church,  they  were  advanced  to  the  priesthood  by  the  Lord  Bishop  of 
Norwich,  Dr.  Thomas  Green,  the  Bishop  of  London,  Dr.  Robinson 
being  incapacitated  from  duty  by  his  last  illness.  On  Easter  even, 
April  13,  Brown  died  of  the  small-pox,  and  on  Easter  Tuesday  was 
interred  in  St.  Dunstan's-in-the-West,  in  the  presence  of  about  thirty 
of  the  city  clergy.  He  was,  as  Johnson  writes,  ''a  fine  scholar  and  a 
brave  Christian."^  At  Oxford  and  Cambridge  Cutler  received  the 
doctorate,  and  Johnson  the  master's  degree.  Before  their  return 
Wetmore  joined  them  and  was  admitted  to  orders,  and  with  the 
blessing  of  Wake,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  and  Gibson,  the  newly- 
made  Bishop  of  London,  they  set  sail  for  home,  reaching  the  shores 
of  America  towards  the  close  of  September,  Dr.  Cutler  immediately 
entei'ing  upon  work  at  Boston,  and  Mr.  Johnson  a  little  later  establish- 
ing himself  at  Stratford,  in  Connecticut. 

The  conversion  of  these  Connecticut  ministers  to  the  Church  and 
their  admission  to  orders  in  England  excited  no  little  apprehension  in 
the  mind  of  some  of  the  few  clergy  of  English  liirth  in  New  England, 
that  they,  to  quote  the  words  of  David  Mossom,  of  Marblehead,  would 
"  get  the  best  jjlaces  in  the  country  and  take  the  bread  from  ofl:'  our 
trenchers."  The  assistant  at  King's  Chapel,  the  Rev.  Henry  Harris, 
openly  called  in  question  the  sincerity  of  Cutler  in  making  the  change 
from  Congregationalism  to  the  Church.  The  Rev.  ^Matthias  Plant, 
of  Newbury,  professed  his  readiness  to  join  with  Harris  in  addressing 
the  Bishop  of  London  for  the  purpose  of  preventing  the  ordination  of 
the  converts,  and  urged  Mossom  to  unite  in  the  same  underhand 
proceeding.  But  the  laity  recognized  the  advantages  likely  to  accrue 
to  the  church's  cause  by  this  accession,  and  the  church- wardens  and 
vestry  of  Trinity  Church,  Newport,  wrote  to  the  secretary  of  this 
venerable  society,  that  "upon  the  whole  it  seems  highly  probable  that 
upon  these  gentlemen's  fate,  we  mean  their  reception  and  encourage- 
ment, depends  a  grand  revolution,  if  not  a  general  revolt,  from  schisms 
in  these  parts."  ^ 

While  the  church  people  of  New  England  viewed  this  addition 
to  their  ranks  with  mingled  satisfaction  and  jealousy,  the  feeling  among 
the  adherents  of  the  "Standing  Order "  was  that  of  apprehension  and 
dismay.     At  a  fast  observed  at  the  "Old  North,"  Boston,  on  the  25th 

1  Beardslcv's  "  Hist,  of  the  Epis.  Church  iu  =  Beanllcy's  Johnson,  p.  40. 

Coun.,"  I.,  p.  W.  '  Conu.  Ch.  Docs.,  i.,  p.  91. 


CONVERSIONS   TO  THE   CHURCH.  255 

of  September,  1722,  Chief  Justice  Sewall  records  ia  his  diary  that 
after  a  sermon  by  Cotton  Mather,  "Dr.  I.  Mather  pray'd ;  mucli  be- 
wail'd  the  CoSecticut  Apostacie."  At  Yale  the  trustees  voted  that  all 
rectors,  or  tutors,  subsequently  elected  should  declare  before  the 
trustees  their  assent  to  the  "  Saybrook  Platform,"  and  "  particularly 
give  satisfaction  to  them  of  the  soundness  of  their  Faith  in  opposition 
to  Arminian  and  Prelatical  Corruptions,  or  any  other  of  dangerous 
consequence  to  the  Purity  and  Peace  of  our  Churches." '  But  the 
tide  could  not  be  stayed.  Of  the  class  of  1723  Jonathan  Arnold^  con- 
formed. Of  the  class  of  1724,  Henry  Caner ;  ^  of  that  of  1726,  Eben- 
ezer  Pundersou;  of  that  of  1729,  John  Pierson,  Solomon  Palmer, 
Ephraim  Bostwick,  and  Isaac  Browne ;  of  that  of  1733,  Ebenezer 
Thompson,  were  converts ;  and  in  the  ten  years  subsequent  to  that 
memorable  declaration  more  than  one  in  ten  of  the  gi-aduates  of  Yale 
who  entered  into  the  ministry  followed  the  example  of  Cutler,  John- 
son, Brown,  and  Wetmore, — the  leaders  of  the  great  army  of  con- 
formists who,  from  their  day  to  this,  have  been  drawn  into  the 
church's  service  fi"om  without. 


ILLUSTRATIVE    NOTES. 


XTTTITLE  the  notable  events  recorded  in  this  chapter  were  ti-anspiring^  the  Pui'i- 
VV  tan  leaders  spared  no  pains  to  warn  the  people  of  the  danger  of  apostasy, 
and  to  confirm  them  in  the  faith  and  practice  of  the  "  standing  order."  In  "  Elijah's 
Mantle,"  published  in  Boston  in  1722,  "  A  faithful  testimony  to  the  Cause  and  Work 
of  God  in  the  Chiu'ches  of  New  England,"  ofl'ered  as  a  "  highly  seasonable  "  con- 
tribution to  the  polemic  literature  of  tlio  day,  we  find  this  earnest  appeal :  — 

"Hence  also  those  among  us  that  desire  to  setup  in  tliis  Country  any  of  the 
Wayes  of  Men's  Invention,  (as  Prelacy,  stinted  Liturgies,  Humane  Ceremonies,  in 
Worship),  they  will  bid  Defiance  to  the  Cause  and  Interest  of  Christ,  and  of  this 
People  in  these  Ends  of  the  Eai'th ;  and  will,  I  persuade  myself,  but  lay  themselves 
as  Potters''  Vessels  under  the  Iron  Bod,  for  Christ  who  has  taken  this  possession  of 
these  uttermost  parts  of  the  Earth  will  not  endure  it.  Let  us  Go  fonoard  to  any  of 
those  Things  of  Christ  that  we  ai-e  wanting  in.  But  to  Oo  backward  unto  those 
Things  which  we  know  and  have  openly  Testified  to  he  not  of  God,  and  which  we 
departed  from,  will  be  such  a  Wickedness  as  the  Lord's  jealousy  will  not  bear 
withal." 

The  venerable  Increase  Mather,  then  fourscore  and  fouryears  old,  thus  urged 
this  same  plea :  — 

' '  From  the  Suburbs  of  that  Glorious  World  into  which  I  am  now  entering,  I 
earnestly  Testify  unto  the  Rising  Oeneration  That  if  they  sinfully  forsake  the  God 
and  the  Hope  and  the  Religious  Ways  of  their  pious  ancestors,  the  Glorious  Lord 
will  severely  punish  their  Apostasy,  and  be  Terrible  from  His  Holy  Places  upon 
them." 

In  "  Some  Seasonable  Enquiries  "  concerning  Episcopacy,  issued  the  following 
year  by  Cotton  Mather,  tlie  author  refers  to  "  Tlie  Sad  and  Strange  Occurrence  o^f 
This  Day;"  and.  among  his  queries  on  the  Scrijjture  use  of  the  word  "Bishops" 
and  the  "  Divine  Right  of  Episcopacy,"  thus  writes :  — 

"  In  Fine,  0  Vain  Men,  What  are  you  doing"}  Wlio,  after  the  Word  of  God  in 
the  Sacred  Scriptures  dost  so  Plainly  and  Loudly  Condemn  the  Usurpation  of  a 
Diocesan  Episcopacy,  will  for  the  Sake  thereof  Renounce  the  Ministry  and  Com- 

'  Cl.ap's  "  History  of  Yale  College,"  p.  32.  »  M.A.,  Oxford,  17-36 ;  S.T.D.,  O.xford,  1766. 

'  'M.A.,  Oxford,  1736. 


256  HISTORY   OF   THE   AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

munion  of  all  tliu  Frotcstaid  Churches  in  thu  World,  except  a  verj'  little  party  on 
Two  Islands  ? 

"  Whether  the  Churches,  which  have  their  Beauty  and  Safety  in  keeping  the 
Second  Commandment,  and  were  Planted  on  the  very  Design  of  withdrawing  from 
the  '  Episcopal  Imposltio7is,''  will  not,  as  they  would  Avoiil  the  Jealous  Wrath  of  the 
Glorious  God,  ....  with  much  Unanimity  concur  to  Kxpress  their  Displeasure 
against  such  an  Unaccountable  Apostasy  ?  " 

Quincy,  in  his  "  History  of  llarvard  University"  (i.,  p.  365),  quotin^as  author- 
ity a  letter  from  the  celebrated  Ilollis  to  Rev.  Benjamin  C'olman,  under  date  of 
January  14,  1723,  thus  refers  to  an  interview  between  this  generous  benefactor  of 
"  Harvard "  and  ( 'utlcr,  \\hen  the  latter  was  in  England :  — 

'•  In  the  following  January  (1723)  being  in  London,  he  was  invited  by  the 
honest  and  zealous  Ilollis  to  a  conference,  in  the  hope  of  converting  him  from 
EpiscopaliauLsm.  To  this  invitation  Cutler  acceded.  The  conference,  however, 
never  took  place.  '  I  am  no  doubter ! '  said  Cutler  to  Ilollis,  '  I  am  resolved.  I 
hope  to  be  speedily  ordained.  I  may  with  as  much  reason  hope  to  bring  you  over 
to  me,  us  you  can  hope  to  bring  me  over  to  you.  I  have  a  wife  and  seven  childi'en, 
am  not  yet  forty  years  old.  I  have  lost  all  my  old  friends.  I  am  turned  out  of  all. 
And  if  I  should  do  anything  now  that  looked  like  doubting,  it  were  the  way  to  lose 
my  new  friends.  I  was  never  in  judgment  heartily  with  the  Dissenters,  but  bore 
it  patiently  until  a  favorable  opportunity  offered.  This  has  opened  at  Boston,  and 
I  now  declare  publicly  what  I  before  l^clieved  privatelj'.'  '  After  such  ijositive 
barring  cautions,  I  thought,'  says  Ilollis,  '  the  ijroposed  conference  would  be  of 
little  service.'" 

It  is  difficult  not  to  believe  this  rejiort  somewhat  colored  by  the  prejudices  of 
the  writer,  especially  when  we  have  the  advantage  of  tracing  all  the  facts  relating 
to  the  conversion  of  Cutler  and  his  companions  fi'om  contemporary  documents, 
exhibiting,  as  they  do,  both  sides  as  they  appeared  at  the  time. 


CHAPTER    XV. 

THE  TRIAL   OF   JOHN   CHECKLEY   AND   THE    STRUGGLES   OF 
THE   CHUIJCH  IN  MASSACHUSETTS   AND   RHODE  ISLAND. 

"  A  RSI  yourself  with  the  humility  and  courage  of  a  Christian  ;  and 
/~\  when  God  shall  suficr  the  enemies  of  His  Church  to  afflict  you, 
receive  it  with  patience  and  cheerfulness,  praying  for  your 
persecutors."^  These  were  the  words  of  the  Archbishop  of  York^  to 
a  nameless  New  Englander,  who  had  sought  his  blessing  and  an  audience 
in  which  to  acquaint  the  venerable  prel- 
ate with  the  state  of  the  Church  across 
the  sea.  The  stranger  thus  counselled 
was  one  who,  more  than  any  other  man 
at  this  period  of  controversy  and  in- 
quiry about  the  Church,  occupied  the 
popular  mind.  Of  John  Checkley's 
family  little  is  known .  He  was  born  in 
Boston,  in  1680,  of  English  parentage, 
and  received  the  rudiments  of  his  education  under  the  celebrated  Ezekiel 
Cheever.  He  is  said  to  have  spent  some  time  at  the  University  of  Ox- 
ford, from  which  he  subsequently  received 
^        /  •     n      ~P  an  honorary  degree  of  ]\I.A.  ;  but  it  is 

\^X$J^^\Jo     Cr^JUA)i^    certain  that  he  did  not  graduate,  and  no 

trace  of  his  matriculation  even  has  been 
found.  From  Oxford  he  is  said  to  have  travelled  for  some  time  upon 
the  continent,  and  on  his  return  to  his  birthplace  he  was  certainly 
prepared,  both  by  study  and  travel,  to  enter  prominently  into  the  dis- 
cussions and  controversies  then  beginning  to  attract,  and  even  to  absorb, 
the  attention  of  all  classes  of  society. 

Abounding  in  wit  and  humor,  possessing  a  genial  temper,  and  an 
unfailing  fund  of  anecdote,  polished  by  his  residence  abroad,  and  espe- 
cially interested  in  the  political  and  religious  controversies  of  the  time, 
Checkley  could  not  fail  to  attract  the  notice  and  secure  the  friendship 
of  the  men  of  parts  who  were  from  age  and  education  his  natural  asso- 
ciates. Among  these  was  one  somewhat  his  junior,  —  Thomas  Walter, 
a  graduate  of  Harvard  in  the  class  of  1713,  and  the  son  of  the  Puritan 
minister  of  Roxbury,  and  grandson  of  the  celebrated  Increase  Mather. 
Walter  was  witty  and  accomplished,  and  the  friendship  between  the 
two  youths,  begun  while  Walter  was  at  Harvard,  was  continued  in  spite 
of  the  w.arning  of  Cotton  Mather,  who  feared  the  influence  of  the  church- 
man and  Jacobite  over  his  nephew.  Churchman  and  Jacobite  Checkley 
was,  and  while  his  friend,  both  from  training  and  taste,  leaned  strongly 

"Hist.  Coll.  Am.  Col.  Church,  III.,  p.  665.         171-3-14,  and  died  April  30,  172i.  — Z«  Neve's 
'Sir  William  Dawes,  Bart., Bishop ol'Chcster,    Fasti  Ecclesice  Anglicance,  xii.,  p.  US. 
transfeiTcd  to  the  Arcliiepiscopal  see  of  York, 


258  HISTORY  OF  THE   AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

towards  the  Puritan  theology  and  the  House  of  Hanover,  there  grew  out 
of  their  amicable  discussions  on  the  questions  of  divinity  and  politics 
then  rife,  a  public  controversy,  which,  ere  its  close,  made  itself  felt  in 
the  Old  World  as  well  as  the  New.  Several  years  after  his  friend's 
gi'aduation,  and  while  he  was,  probably,  studying  with  his  father  in 
Koxbury,  Checkley  published  a  tract  entitled  "  Choice  Dialogues  be- 
tween a  Godly  Minister  and  an  Honest  Countryman,  concerning  Elec- 
tion and  Predestination." '  This  attack  on  a  favorite  tenet  of  Cal- 
vinism provoked  a  speedy  reply.  The  brochure  of  Checkley's,  comprised 
within  fifty  pages,  was  answered  at  length  by  Walter,  in  "  A  Choice 
Dialogue  between  John  Faustus,  A  Conjuror,  and  Jack  Tory,  His 
Friend ;  Occasioned  by  some  Choice  Dialogues  lately  published  con- 
cerning Proudest inalion  and  Election.  Together  with  Animadversions 
upon  the  Prtcface  to  the  Choice  Dialogues,  And  an  Appendix  concern- 
ing the  True  Doctrine  of  Predestination,  as  held  l)y  the  Church  of 
England,  and  the  Absurdities  and  Inconsistency  of  the  Clioice  Dia- 
logues. Cy  a  Young  Strippling."  The  "  Strippling  "  is  certainly  an 
adept  in  sarcasm  and  abuse.  Referring  in  his  preface,  which  is  signed 
"  Christopher  Whigg,"  to  the  assertion  that  the  "  Choice  Dialogues " 
were  written  "  by  a  Ileverend  and  Laborious  Pastor  in  Christ's  Flock, 
by  one  who  has  been  for  almost  twice  thirty  years  a  faithful  and  painful 
Labourer  in  Christ's  Vineyard,"  he  retorts:  "I  believe  I  know  the 
Reverend  and  Labourious  Pastor  he  means,  viz.  :  a  certain  Jacobite 
Clergy-man,  who,  I  dare  vouch,  has  served  the  Pretender  ten  years 
where  he  has  the  Flock  of  Christ  one."  He  proceeds  :  "And  really  I 
never  met  with  such  an  Oddity  and  Inconsistency  as  to  till  a  book  with 
Calumnies  and  Reproaches,  which  is  written  out  of  Chaiity  to  the  Souls 
of  Men.  .  .  .  But  his  high-ilying  bitter  spirit  savours  of  too  much 
Rancour,  to  let  the  world  think  that  Love  to  Souls,  and  not  Hatred  to 
the  Churches  of  New  England,  was  the  Spring  and  Motive  of  his  un- 
dertaking this  scurrilous  Work."  .  .  .  "Now,  Gentlemen,  we  are  come 
to  the  Rectilinear  and  uninterrupted  Succession  of  Episcopacy  from  the 
Apostles.  Ay,  and  this  Doctrine  of  the  Choice  Dialogues  has  been  in 
the  same  uninterrupted  IManner,  by  oral  Tradition,  handed  down  by 
the  Clergy  to  this  Day."  .  .  .  "  As  for  the  Uninterrupted  Succession 
of  the  Clergy  from  the  Apostles,  I  mean  of  Bishops  Diocesan,  I  could 
never  see  the  Catalogue  of  them  yet.  It  has  hithertoo  been  much  such 
a  Secret  in  Ecclesiastical  State  as  is  the  Philosopher's  Stone  in  the  king- 
dom of  nature ;  of  which  it  is  often  asserted  there  is  such  a  thing  in 
Iterum  Natura ;  but  we  never  can  be  certain  any  Body  has  been  so 
sagacious  and  sharp  as  to  find  it.  But  I  drop  the  Chimera  and  let  it 
vanish  among  the  shades."  In  the  body  of  the  work  John  Faustus,  an 
emissary  of  the  devil,  is  represented  as  applauding  Jack  Tory,  i.e., 
John  Checkley,  for  his  endeavor  to  prove  that  the  New  England 
churches  worshipped  the  devil.  The  expression,  "twice  thirty  years 
a  servant  of  Christ,"  applied  to  the  author  of  the  Choice  Dialogues,  is 
changed  to  "twice  thirty  years  a  servant  of  the  devil."  Checklc}^  is 
addressed,  "  You  had  better  minded  your  shop  than  have  took  upon 

1 A  new  edition  of  this  tract  was  adveftised    and  next  week  will  be  published."     Vide  "Ar- 
in  the  "  American  Weekly  Jlorcmy,"  Philadel-    chseologia  Americana,"  vi.,  pp.  384,  456. 
phia,  Feb.  26,  740,  '41,  as  "  now  iu  the  press, 


THE  TRIAL   OF  JOHN   CHECKLEY.  259 

you  to  be  an  author."    The  closiug  pages  arc  full  of  auiiuadvei'sions  upon 
the  Church  of  England,  and  flings  at  the  Jacobite  views  of  Checklcy. 

This  reply  may  have  been  the  direct  cause  of  a  more  extended  and 
virulent  controversy,  in  which  Chcckley  could  not  fail  to  ))ear  a  promi- 
nent i)art,  but  other  circumstances  were  also  at  work  to  produce  a 
pamphlet  war  on  the  mooted  question  of  doctrine,  discipline,  and  wor- 
ship. The  preceding  year  Chcckley  had  published  the  llrst  edition  of 
a  treatise  by  the  celebrated  nonjuriug  divine,  Charles  Leslie,  entitled  :  — 

Tha  BELiaiON  of  JESUS  CHRIST  the  on!,/  True  BEIAfHON,  or,  A  Short 
and  Eiisie  METHOD  witu  tue  DEISTS,  Wherein  the  CERTAINTY  of  the 
CHRISTIAN  RELIGION  Is  demoiisti-atetl  by  Infallible  Proof  from  JFour  JSiilrs, 
AvmcH  ARE  Iiicowpatible  to  any  Iiiijjosture  that  ever  yet  has  been,  or  that  can  pos- 
slbli/he.  Ilia  LETTER  to  a  Viieiid.  Clic  SrbcntI)  Eoiiian.  i'O.STO.V;  Printed  by 
E.  IJlcct,  and  are  to  be  Sold  by  3olm  CljcdUru,  at  the  Sijjn  oi  the  Crown  and  Blue 
Gate  over  against  the  Went  End  of  the  Town-House.     lli'J.' 

From  the  title-page  of  this  it  would  appear  that  Checkley  was,  at 
this  time,  in  trade  "  at  the  sign  of  the  Crown  and  Blue  Gate  over  against 
the  West  End  of  the  Town-House."  Harris,  the  minister  of  King's 
Chapel,  and  the  bitter  foe  of  Chcckley,  writes  of  him,  as  we  shall 
shortly  see,  as  "one  John  Checkley  who  keeps  a  Toyshop  in  this 
place,"  and  the  "  Stri]iling  "  refers,  as  wo  have  seen,  to  his  shop.  But, 
whatever  may  have  been  this  remarkable  man's  walk  in  life,  he  was  an 
acknowledged  power  in  the  staid  town  of  Boston,  and  in  his  "  Toy 
shop"  there  were  forged  weajions  for  assault  or  defence,  of  a  nature 
proving  that  there  was  no  child's  play  purposed  in  the  strife.  In  the 
controversy  which  grew  out  of  these  little  tractates  the  leading  theolo- 
gians of  jS'cw  England  were  enlisted,  and  when  arguments  failed  to 
support  the  dominant  side  the  aid  of  the  law  was  invoked  to  crush  so 
determined  and  powerful  an  antagonist. 

While  the  popular  mind  was  thus  interested  and  occupied  with  these 
questions  of  discipline  and  doctrine  events  had  occurred  in  the  neigh- 
lioring  colony  of  Connecticut  which  fanned  the  excitement  into  a  flame. 
In  1722,  on  tlie  day  following  the  commencement  at  Yale  College, 
Rector  Cutler  and  several  prominent  ministers  of  the  "  standing  order" 
presented  a  paper  to  the  clergy  and  others  assemlfled  in  the  college 
library,  expressing  doubts  as  to  the  validity  of  Presbyterian  ordination. 
A  discussion  ensued  some  weeks  subsequent,  resulting  in  the  removal 
of  the  scrui)lcs  in  the  minds  of  some  of  the  signers,  while  the  others 
openly  avowed  their  conviction  of  the  necessity  of  Episcopal  ordination, 
and  took  measures  to  secure  it.  If  we  may  believe  the  testimony  of 
the  inimical  Harris,  of  the  King's  Chapel,  this  result,  at  least  so  far  as  the 
conversion  of  Cutler  was  concerned,  was  brought  about  by  the  keei)er 
of  the  "  Toy  shop,  at  the  sign  of  the  Crown  and  Blue  Gate,  over  against 
the  West  End  of  the  Town  House,  in  Boston."  It  is  certain  that  Check- 
ley  accompanied  Cutler  and  his  friends  to  England,  on  their  mission 
for  orders.  He  had  earlier  petitioned  the  venerable  Society  for  the 
Propagation  of  the  Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts,  for  the  appointment  of  an 

'  Title-page,  "  The  Preface,"  pp.  xii.    The  Some  copies  of  the   "  Epistle  to  the  Tral- 

te\t,  pp.  51.    "The  Epistle  of  .St.  Isiiatias  to  ihc    lians  "  appear  to  have  been  Issued  separately. 
Tralliaas,"  pp.  7.  '  Vide  "  Arch.  .'Vm.,"  vi.,  p.  382. 


260  HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

itinerant  missionary  for  the  northern  colonies,  who  should  be  "  obliged, 
once  a  year,  to  visit  the  utmost  limits  of  New  England, "and  also  for  the 
establishment  of  a  lending  library  for  "  the  poor  deluded  people  of  that 
country." '  lie  now  sought  orders  which  were  refused,  as  we  shall  see, 
through  the  interference  of  the  Puritans  at  home,  who  dreaded  his 
influence,  and  were  aided  in  their  opposition  to  his  ordination  by  the 
representations  of  such  half-hearted  churchmen  as  Harris  and  his  friends. 
While  in  London  he  procured  the  pul)lication  of  another  edition  of 
Leslie's  work  against  the  Deists,  with  the  following  title-page  :  — 

A  Short  and  Easie  |  METFIOD  |  with  tue  |  DEISTS.  |  AVherein  the  |  CER- 
TAINTY I  OF  THE  I  CHRISTIAN  RELIGION  |  Is  demonstrated,  by  infallible  Proo/ 
from  I  ^our  Jlnlcs,  |  wuicn  are  |  Incompatible  to  any  Imposture  that  fver  yet  |  has 
been,  or  that  can  possil)l)j  be.  |  In  a  LliTTEIl  to  a  Friend.  |  The  Eighth  Edition.  | 
LONDON:  \  I'rinted  by  J.  Applebee,  and  Sold  by  .Ioun  Checkley,  |  at  the  Sign 
of  the  Croivn  and  Blue-Gate,  over  |  against  the  West-End  of  the  Town-House  in  | 
Boston.     1723.'' 

The  peculiarity  of  this  edition  is  the  addition  to  the  "  Short  and 
Easie  Method  "  of  "  A  Discourse  concerning  Episcopacy  "  of  more  than 
twice  the  length  of  the  ostensible  essay  againstthe  Deists.  This  "  Di.s- 
course"  is  the  work  of  Leslie,  with  occasional  interpolations  and  addi- 
tion of  matter  designed  to  apply  the  arguments  of  the  author  to  the 
peculiar  objections  of  the  New  England  Independents,  and  will  be  found 
to  have  been  chiefly  taken  from  "A  Discourse,  shewing  Who  they  are 
that  are  now  qualiiied  to  administer  Baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper : 
Wherein  the  cause  of  Episcopacy  is  briefly  treated."^  The  style  is 
occasionally  changed.  Checkley  himself  alludes  to  the  "  lowness  of 
diction,"  as  "not  ill-suited  to  the  end  proposed,  viz.  :  demonstrating  to 
either  party  the  inconsistency  of  their  respective  schemes  in  their  own 
dialect ;  to  keep  close  to  which,  and  to  write  with  perspicuity,  I  assure 
you,  is  not  very  easy."* 

Some  strong  expressions  found  in  the  original  text  are  modified. 
References  to  the  Quakers,  against  whom  Leslie  specially  directed  his 
arguments,  are  made  applicable  to  the  Independents  and  Presbyterians, 
and  the  whole  treatise,  in  arrangement  and  argument,  is  adapted  with  no 
little  skill  to  the  New  England  public. 

We  can  the  more  readily  understand  the  excitement  attending  the 
publication  and  circulation  of  this  work  by  giving  a  synopsis  of  the 
argument,  .and  citing  specimens  of  its  style  and  language.  It  liegins 
with  "a  solemn  appeal  to  every  person  who  has  read  the  foregoing 
short  method  with  the  Deists,  whether  it  is  not  absolutely  necessary, 
that  a  lineal  and  uninterrupted  succession  of  the  Ministers  of  Jesus 
Christ  should  be  preserved,  lest  Christianity,  our  holy  Religion,  should 
be  rendered  precarious,  as  a  thing  of  which  no  certain  proof  can  be 
given."  *  Assuming  that  this  "  lineal  and  uninterrupted  succession  "  is 
"  absolutely  necessary,"  he  appeals  to  a  posthumous  sermon  liy  the  cele- 
brated Ebenezer  Pemberton,  in  support  of  the  position  "that  those 

'  Tllst.  Coll.  Am.  Col.  Cli.,  m.,  p.  133.  a  Leslie's  Theological  Works,  vii.,  pp.  9j- 

2  8vo,  pp.  132.      Pp.    41-127  contain,  with-  183.    Svo.     0\-fonl,  1832. 

ont  nny  special  title-page,  "  .V Discourse  concern-  *  llist.  Coll.  Am.  Col.  Ch.,  III.,  p.  fiGt. 

iiiKEpiscOPACr."    Pp.  128-132areoccupieil  with  '  X  Short  ami  Easie  Method,  pp.  41,  42. 

"  The  Epistle  of  St.  Ignatius  to  the  Tralliaus." 


THE  TRIAL  OF  JOHN  CIIECKLEY.  2G1 

who  are  to  serve  God  in  the  jNIiui.stiy  of  this  Gospel  must  bo  duly 
authorized  to  discharge  the  ofhee  of  a  Gospel  Minister."  lie  then  con- 
siders the  qualiiicatious  requisite  in  a  "Gospel  Minister"  under  the  heads 
of  "  personal  "  and  "  sacerdotal."  To  the  "  holiness  of  the  administra- 
tor" must  be  added  "an  outward  commission."  Christ  had  his  outward 
commission  given  him  "by  a  voice  from  heaven  at  his  baptism."  He 
commissioned  the  twelve  and  the  seventy.  The  apostles  proceeded  in 
the  same  method.  They  commissioned  men  who  were  in  turn  to  impart 
this  commission  to  others.  "This  succession  from  the  Apostles  is  pre- 
served and  derived  only  in  the  Bishops." 

In  support  of  this  assertion  he  proceeds  to  give  the  historical  argu- 
ment for  Episcopacy,  defying  the  Presbyterians  who,  "  only  of  all  our 
Dissenters,  have  any  pretence  to  succession,"  to  prove  "  an  uninter- 
rupted succession  of  any  one  Presbyter  in  the  whole  World  from  the 
Apostles  to  this  day."  The  Cambridge  Platform  is  cited  in  proof  of 
the  assertion,  that  the  Independents  "allow  laymen  to  ordain,"  and, 
consequently,  our  author  asserts  that  they  have  neither  "  succession 
from  the  Apostles,"  nor  "  lawful  ordination."  "  Our  Korahites  of  sev- 
eral sizes  "  are  bidden  to  "  take  a  view  of  the  hcinousness  of  their 
schism  ;  and,"  proceeds  our  writer,  "let  them  not  think  their  crime  to 
be  nothing  because  they  have  been  taught  with  their  mother's  milk,  to 
have  the  utmost  abhorrence  to  the  very  name  of  a  Bishop,  tho'  they 
could  not  tell  why."  The  Papacy  and  the  Jesuits  were  foes  of  Epis- 
copacy, "  Pope  and  Presbyter"  using  the  same  arguments,  and  "who- 
ever would  write  the  true  history  of  Presbj'terianism  must  begin  at 
Rome  and  not  at  Geneva."  The  necessity  of  church  government  is 
evident.  The  universality  of  Episcopacy  is  urged,  and  the  dissenters 
are  challenged  to  produce  "  any  one  constituted  Church  upon  the  face 
of  the  Earth,  that  was  not  governed  by  Bishops,  distinct  from,  and 
superior  to,  Presbytei's,  befoi'e  the  Vaudois  in  Piedmont,  the  Hugue- 
nots in  France,  the  Calvinists  in  Geneva,  and  the  Presbyterians  thence 
transplanted  in  the  last  age,  into  Holland,  Scotland,  Old  England  and 
New  England."  Citations  arc  given  from  the  fathers  and  early  coun- 
cils, to  prove  that  the  government  of  the  Church  was  in  the  hands  of 
bishops  for  more  than  five  hundred  years  before  the  Papacy.  The 
testimony  of  "  Calvin  himself  and  Beza,  and  tho  rest  of  the  learned 
Reformers  of  their  part,"  that  the  lack  of  Episcopacy,  which  they 
owned  to  be  a  defect,  was  their  misfortune  rather  than  their  fault,  is 
given,  and  then  the  argument  is  succinctly  summed  up  as  follows  :  — 

If  Christ  deleo;ated  his  power  to  his  Ajjostles,  and  they  to  others,  to  con- 
tinue to  the  end  of  tlio  world  ; 

If  the  Apostles  did  delegate  Bishops  under  them,  in  all  the  Cliristian 
Churches,  which  they  planted  throughout  the  whole  Earth  ; 

If  Episcopacy  was  the  known  and  received  government  of  all  the  Churches 
in  the  world,  not  only  in  the  Apostolic  age,  but  in  all  the  succeeding  ages  for  1,500 
years ; 

If  it  was  not  possible  for  Churches  so  dispersed  into  so  many  far  distant 
regions  to  concert  all  together,  and  at  once,  to  alter  that  frame  of  Government  which 
had  been  left  them  by  the  Apostles ; 

If  such  an  alteration  of  Government  could  not  be  without  great  notice  to  be 
taken  of  it,  as  if  the  government  of  a  nation  was  cliangcd  from  Commonwealth  to 
Monai-chy ; 


262  UISTORY  OF  THK  AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

And  if  no  Autlior  or  Historian  of  those  times  makes  the  least  mention  of 
such  a  chan;ro  of  government,  but  all  with  one  voice  speak  of  Ejjiscopacy,  and  the 
succession  of  Bishops  in  all  the  Churches  from  the  da3"s  of  the  Apostles ;  and  in 
those  ages  of  zeal,  when  the  Christians  were  so  forward  to  sacrifice  their  lives  in 
opposition  to  any  error  or  deviation  from  the  Truth,  no  one  takes  any  notice  of 
Episcopacy  as  being  an  encroachment  upon  the  right  of  the  Presbyters  or  the  peo- 
ple, or  being  any  the  least  deviation  from  the  Apostolical  institutions  ; 

I  say,  if  these  things  are  not  possible  to  any  thinking  man,  then  Episcopacy 
must  be  the  primitive  and  Apostolical  institution.' 

Hence  the  "  ordination.s  in  opposition  to  Episcopacy  are  not  only 
invalid,  but  sacrilege  and  rebellion  against  Christ,"  and  "if  their 
ordinations  are  null,  then  their  Baptisms  are  so  too,  and  all  their 
ordinances.  They  arc  out  of  the  visible  Church,  and  have  no  right  to 
any  of  the  promises  in  the  Gospel,  which  are  all  made  to  the  Church, 
and  to  none  other."  ^ 

The  appeal  is  made  to  "  our  misled  Dissenters,"  in  such  words  as 
these  :  — 

And  will  tender  parents  carry  their  children  to,  at  least,  disputed  Baptisms, 
while  the  Presbyterians  themselves  deny  not  tlie  validity  of  Episcopal  ordination, 
and,  consequently,  of  the  sacraments  administered  Ijy  their  liands?  Will  you  run 
an  hazard  then,  where  your  souls  are  concerned,  and  of  your  cliildren,  when  you 
may  be  sure,  by  tlie  confession  of  all  parties,  even  of  those  men  who  (through 
ignorance)  unhappily  mislead  you? 

The  etymological  argument,  "the  senseless  jingle  of  the  words 
Bishop  and  Presl)yter,"  is  next  considered  and  illustrated  by  the  use 
of  the  word  "impcrator,"  and  the  question  pressed,  "How could  these 
Bishops  have  thrust  themselves  thus  into  the  chief  governments  all  the 
world  over,  without  any  opposition,  and  to  be  owned  as  such,  and 
acknowledged  Iiy  all,  if  the  original  in.stitiition  had  been  Presbytery 
or  any  other  Frame  of  Government?  Or,  if  there  were  Presbyterians 
in  those  Days  (as  our  Presbyterians  would  have  us  believe) ,  they  were 
much  more  moderate  and  complaisant  than  our  Presliyterians,  to  let 
the  Bishops  usurp  upon  their  authority,  and  engross  all  into  their  own 
hands,  without  so  much  as  one  remonstrance,  or  the  least  snarle  from 
any  of  them  ?  Strange  !  Wondrous  strange  I  "  ^  The  ol)jection,  that 
"  Episcopacy  did  not  come  in  all  at  once,  but  encroached  by  degrees," 
is  next  considered.  The  call  is  made,  "Shew  us  the  beginning  of  Epis- 
copacy." The  beginning  of  Presbytery  with  Calvin,  the  beginning  of 
the  Papacy  in  the  seventh  century,  the  beginnings  of  Popish  errors, 
are  all  set  forth  ;  but  no  one  can  tell  Avheu  Episcopacy  began.  These 
arguments  are  pressed  with  great  directness,  and  the  assertion  made, 
"that  it  is  downright  impossible  but  that  what  has  been  said  must 
create  a  doubt,  at  least  in  any  considering  man,  whether  he  ought  not 
to  sul>mit  to  Episcopacy."  The  case  is  then  summed  up  in  these  inci- 
sive sentences :  — 

Now  suppose  I  come  to  the  Sacrament,  and  have  any  doubt  whether  this  man 
is  lawfully  ordained,  and  can  consecr.ate  and  administer  the  Holy  Sacnament  to  me, 
will  not  that  of  Uora.  14,  20,  come  into  my  mind?  lie  that  doubtcth  is  damned  if  he 
cat,  because  he  eatcth  not  of  Faith,  for  whatsoever  is  not  of  Faith,  is  sin.    In  what 

1  A  Sl.oi-t  and  Easic  Method,  pji.  97-93.  '  Jhhl.,  p.  99.  =  Ibid.,  p.  103. 


THE   TRIAL   OF  JOHN    CHECKLEY.  263 

condition  then  are  our  unhappy  dissenters  who  cannot  eat  in  faith,  unless  they  fully, 
plainlj',  and  clearly  answer  what  has  been  said,  so  as  to  Ifiave  no  douljt  behind  it. 
They  may  (which  God  lorliid)  shut  their  eyes,  and  go  on  wilfully,  but  this  will  bo 
a  fresh  aggravation,  and  will  double  their  sin. 

Whatcompassioneantheyhavefortheirtenderlnfants.tocarTy  them  to  disputed 
Baptism,  when  Ihey  may  have  that  which  is  clear  and  undisputed  ofl'ered  to  them? 
Will  they  present  the  i)rovocatiou  of  their  oll'erings,  and  j^awn  their  souls  upon  the 
greatest  micortainty?  \Vill  they  dare  to  say,  tliat  it  is  not  an  uncertainty  at  best, 
when  they  will  not  because  tbcy  cannot  answer  for  themselves  P  Is  not  this  to  be 
self-condenmed  ?  To  put  the  stumbling-block  of  their  iniquity  before  their  faces, 
and  tlien  come  to  inquire  of  the  Lord ! 

This  I  should  tliiuk  were  enough  to  rouse  the  conscience  of  any  Dissenter  that 
is  not  hardened  to  a  stone.  I  am  sure,  if  I  was  a  Dissenter,  it  would  prick  me  to  (he 
heart.  And  till  I  could  give  an  answer  to  what  has  been  said  in  these  papers,  I 
would  never  go  to  a  mecLing,  lest  I  perished  in  their  sin.  I  would  not  receive  their 
Sacraments,  lest  I  oflered  their  jjrovocations :  and  I  should  think  mj-sclf  guiltj'  of 
the  blood  of  my  child,  if  I  brought  it  to  their  Baptism :  At  least  my  own  blood 
would  lie  on  my  head,  if  I  did  it  with  a  doubting  mind,  while  I  could  have  that  Bap- 
tism which  was  undisputed  to  make  my  child  a  member  of  the  Clim-ch.  And  how 
can  he  who  has  thrust  himself  out  of  the  Church,  admit  another  to  be  a  member  of 
it?  Can  I  make  another  free  of  any  corporation,  v,ho  am  not  free  myself?  No. 
If  I  am  baptized  by  a  schismatiok,  I  am  bajjtized  into  his  schism,  and  made  a  mem- 
ber of  it,  and  not  of  the  Church  against  which  he  is  in  rebellion  and  open  defiance 
to  it.  The  children  of  Korah,  Dathan  and  Abiram  were  swallowed  up  with  them. 
If  wo  will  hazard  om'selves,  let  us  have  some  compassion  for  our  innocent  children. 

The  charge  upon  them  is  very,  very  heavy ;  I  must  confess  it  is  exceeding 
heavy,  but  it  is  as  ti'ue  as  it  is  gi'eat.  I  know  it  wQl  raise  the  indignation  of  many 
of  them,  and  I  shall  hear  it  from  all  hands.  Wiat !  —  say  they,  would  he  im-church 
us,  and  annul  our  Sacraments  ?  —  would  he  make  the  ordinary  ministi-ations  of  oiu* 
Ministers  as  little  valid,  and  more  guilty,  than  if  performed  by  a  JMid-wife  in  case  of 
necessity  ?  Where,  where  is  the  moderation  of  this  man  ?  Where  is  his  charity  ? 
He  makes  all  our  meetings  to  be  assemblies  of  Korah,  in  rebellion  against  God? 
We  are  not  able  to  bear  it — -We  will  not  bear  it  —  It  is  not  fit  that  sueli  a  man 
should  live  upon  the  earth.'  .  .  .  And  must  they  not  be  told  of  this?  ]\Iust  I  be 
their  enemy  because  I  tell  them  the  truth  ?  Is  it  because  I  love  them  not  ?  God 
knoweth,  I  declare,  so  far  as  I  know  my  own  mind  (though  I  cannot  say  as  St.  Paul 
did  in  a  lilic  case,  yet)  I  would  give  my  life  to  purchase  their  reconciliation,  and 
that  I  might  see  the  unity  of  the  spirit  in  the  bond  of  Peace.'' 

Drawing  the  analogy  between  the  transmission  of  the  Creed,  the 
Scriptures,  the  faith  itself  and  the  succession  of  the  Church,  our  author 
proceeds  to  assert  that  the  "evidence  for  them  is  the  same,  yea,  and  in 
one  point  stronger  for  Elpiscopacy,  as  being  Matter  of  Government, 
which  is  more  obvious  to  the  notice  of  men,  and  any  change  or  altera- 
tion in  it  is  more  observable  than  in  doctrines  or  opinions."'  .  .  . 
"And  the  preservation  of  the  faith  and  doctrine  of  the  Church  depends 
under  God,  mostly  and  chielly  in  the  support  of  the  Government  of 
the  Church,  that  is  in  supporting  her  as  a  Society.  Whence  she  is 
called  in  Scripture  the  pillar  and  ground  of  the  truth."*  .  .  .  "Let 
the  Dissenters  see  if  there  be  one  circumstance  of  difibrence  betwixt 
their  case  and  that  of  Korah  ?^  And  now  as  the  Apostle  says,  If  he 
died  M'ithout  mercy,  who  despised  Moses's  law,  and  the  priesthood 
which  he  set  up  ;  of  how  much  sorer  punishment,  suppose  ye,  shall  he 
be  thought  worthy,  who  has  trampled  under  foot  the  Son  of  God,  and 
that  Church  and  Priesthood  which  lie  has  ordained  and  promised  to 
be  with  it  to  the  end  of  the  world?     Finis." ^ 

'  A  Short  and  Easie  Methoil,  pp.  110-112.  » Ihid.,  p.  117.  ^Ibid.,  p.  121. 

» Ihid.,  p.  lU.  •  Ibid.,  p.  118.  'Ibid.,  p.  127. 


264  mSTOUY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

Thus  closed  the  most  uncompromising  and  pungent  attack  which 
had  yet  Ijcen  made  upon  the  ecclesiastical  authorit}^  of  the  Puritan  col- 
ony. Kemorseless  in  its  logic,  unsparing  in  its  denunciations  of  dis- 
sent, and  adding  to  the  masterly  argumentation  of  Leslie  the  keen 
thrusts  and  bitter  sarcasm  of  Checkley's  own  cultivated  wit  and  deep 

convictions,  the  impression  produced  l)y 
this  thin  octavo  was  profound.  Nothing 
yy/y^'^^.^f^  else  was  thought  or  talked  of.  On  the 
tC//Ay//U//.  ^  street,  by  the  lircsides,  in  the  shops,  along 
the  wharves,  in  the  pulpits,  inthe  veiy  coun- 
cil chamber  and  the  halls  of  legislature,  "  the  discourse  concerning  Epis- 
copacy" was  the  staple  of  discussion.  The  lieutenant-governor,  Wil- 
liam Dummcr,  and  the  council,  ordered  the  attorney-general  and 
Eobert  Auchmuty,  a  dis- 
tinguished lawyer,  belong-         ^-^''/^  /^  /^  ^ 

against  the  liook  as  "  a  scan-  Xy^ 

dalous  libel,"  and  "against  ^^ 

the  autlior  or  publisher  of 

the  book  when  he  shall  lie  known."    The  order  of  council  adopted 

March  19,  1723,  gave  its  reasons  for  this  indictment  as  follows  :  — 

Observing  in  the  s''  Volume  many  vile  and  scandalous  passages  not  only  re- 
fleeting  on  the  jNlinisters  of  the  Gospel  established  in  this  Province,  and  denj-ing 
their  sacred  Fmiction  and  y°  holy  Ordinaces  of  Religion  as  administered  by  them, 
but  also  sundry  vile  insinuations  against  His  Jlajesty's  rightfull  and  lawfull  author- 
ity and  the  Constitution  of  the  Governm'  of  Great  Britain. 

The  grand  jury  of  Suffolk  found  a  true  bill  agreeably  to  the  wishes 
of  the  council,  and  Checklcy,  naturally  averse  to  this  mode  of  deciding 
the  question  of  church  government,  retired  from  the  province  until  the 
end  of  the  sessions.  But  it  was  not  the  policy  or  the  wish  of  so  eager 
a  partisan  as  Checkley  to  remain  long  under  cover,  and  on  the  adjourn- 
ment of  the  court  he  returned  to  Boston,  and  complications  having 
arisen,  from  the  ftict  that  lie  had  not  taken  the  oaths  of  allegiance  to 
the  reigning  ftimily,  he  publicly  took  the  oaths,  provoking  his  foes 
thereby  to  explain  that  he  did  it  "  with  a  mental  reservation. "  The 
indictment  was  pressed  at  the  next  sessions.  The  absurdity  of  trying 
our  author  for  a  polemic  treatise  seemed  to  strike  the  judges,  who 
"often  declared  from  the  bench"  that  Checkley  was  not  "to  be  tried 
for  writing  anything  in  the  defence  of  the  Church  of  England  and  of 
Episcopacy ;  against  the  Presbyterian  or  Congregational  Ministers  in 
tills  Country :  —  No,  b^^  no  means  !  for  the  ministers  loere  able  to  defend 
themselves.'" 

The  attorney-general  was  ordered  to  insist  only  on  the  three 
clauses  of  the  book  supposed  to  reflect  upon  the  government.  The 
privilege  of  speaking  in  his  own  defence  was  denied  to  Checkley,  and 
the  jury  found  him  "guilty  of  imagining  and  contriving  by  the  sub- 
tility  of  arguments  to  traduce  the  title  of  His  present  INIajesty."  A 
"heavy  judgment"  was  entered,  but  Checkley  appealed  to  the  Court 


THE   TRIAL   OF  JOHN   CHECKLEV.  265 

of  Assize.  The  case  was  heard  in  November,  1724,  and  "  the  speech 
of  JNIr.  John  Checkley  upon  his  tryal  at  Boston,  in  New  England,  for 
publishing  the  Short  and  Easy  Mctliod  with  the  Deists  :  To  which  was 
added,  A  Discourse  concerning  Eijiscopacy  :  In  Defence  of  Christianity, 
and  tlio  Ciuirch  of  England  against  tlic  Deists  and  the  Dissenters,"  is 
among  the  most  curious  and  interesting,  as  well  as  among  the  rarest 
and  most  costly  of  our  American  polemic  puldications.  "The  speech" 
was  printed  in  London  a  few  years  later,'  and  a  second  edition  was  called 
for  afterwards.-  It  is  in  Checkley's  happiest  vein,  full  of  hardly  sup- 
l)ressed  sarcasm  and  close  reasoning.  Disposing  with  great  cleverness 
of  the  charge  of  sedition,  while,  at  the  same  time,  defending  with 
marked  ability  the  exclusive  validity  of  Episcopal  ordination  and  sacra- 
ments ;  compelling  even  the  chief  justice,  who  had  attempted  to  cut  short 
his  arguments,  to  permit  and  listen  to  a  labored  defence  of  the  most 
obnoxious  portions  of  the  discourse  concerning  Episcopacy ;  quoting,  in 
support  of  his  position,  that  "all  ordination  by  the  people  is  null  and 
void,"  the  language  of  the  Westminster  Assembly  of  Divines,  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly  of  Scotch  Presbyterians,  and  the  learned  Ebenezer 
Pemberton's  Discourse  of  Ordination,  Checkley  proceeded  to  prove, 
1st,  that  no  provincial  assembly  could,  l)y  right  or  in  fact,  establish 
cither  the  Presbyterian  or  Congregational  systems  "  so  as  to  make  that 
the  establishment  and  the  Episcopal  churches  to  be  dissenters  ;  2nd, 
that  "  by  a  just  and  true  construction  of  the  laws  of  this  very  Province 
the  Church  of  England  is  established  here  ;  "  3dly,  that  by  the  laws  of 
England  the  Church  of  England,  "as  established  in  England,  and  no 
other,  is  positively  established  in  all  His  Majesty's  plantations."  It  is 
safe  to  assert  that  no  such  speech  was  ever  made  before  a  New  Eng- 
land audience,  and  it  is  not  hard  to  imagine  with  what  rage  and  vindic- 
tive hate  its  sharp,  cutting  sentences  were  heard.  The  jury,  at  least, 
were  influenced  by  so  marked  a  display  of  learning  and  so  ingenious 
and  conviucins;  a  defence.     The  verdict  was  as  follows  :  — 

John  Checklev,  ~J      rpHE  jui-y  find  specially,  viz. :  If  this  Book  entituled,  A  Short 
Adsect'  >      J_   and  Easy  Wetliod  with  the  Deists,  coutainiag  in  it  a  Dis- 

Dom.  Keg.  )  course  concerning  Episcopacy  (published  and  many  of  them 
sold  by  tlie  said  ChecJiley)  be  a  false  and  scandalous  Libel ;  Then  we  find  the  said 
Checkley  guilty  of  all  and  eveiy  Part  of  the  Indictment  (excepting  that  supposed 
to  ti'aduce  and  di'aw  into  disjjute  the  undoubted  Right  and  Title  of  our  Sovereign 
Lord  Iving  George,  to  the  Kingdoms  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  and  the  Territories 
thereto  belonging).  But  if  the  said  Book,  Containing  a  Discourse  concerning 
Episcopacy  as  aforesaid,  be  not  a  false  and  scandalous  Libel ;  Then  we  lind  him 
not  guilty. 

Att'  SAJIUEL  TYLEY,  Clerc. 

Thus  the  verdict  of  the  jury  of  the  court  of  the  sessions  was  prac- 
tically reversed,  and,  in  his  "plea  in  arrest  of  judgment,  Checkley 
claimed  there  were  "  no  expressions  in  the  Book  at  bar  tantamoitut  to 
the  censures  of  the  Dissenters  in  the  Canons  "  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land "published  by  his  Majesty's  Authority  under  the  Great  Seal  of 
Enirland,"  these  canons  being  "  part  of  the  law  of  the  land."  But 
neither  logic  nor  wit  could  ward  off  the  hastening  vengeance.     The 

'/nl730.  »/nl73S. 


266  HISTORY   OF  THE   AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHITRCH. 

justices  were  men  of  sterner  stuff  than  the  befogged  jurymen,  and  the 
closing  page  of  "the  speech"  contains,  without  a  word  of  comment, 
"  the  Sentence  of  Couit "  :  — 

Suffolk,  ss. 

At  a  Court  of  Assise,  &c., 

Nov.  27,  1724. 
Checkley,")  rpiIE  Comt  having  maturely  advised  on  this  sjieeial  Verdict,  ai'e 
Adseet'  >  J.  of  opinion  that  the  said  Jolm  Chec-kley  is  guilty  of  publishing 
Dom.  Reg. )  and  selling  of  a  false  and  scandalous  Libel.  It's  therefore  consid- 
ered by  the  Court,  that  the  said  John  Checkley  shall  ]iay  a  Fine  of  Fifty  Poimds  to 
the  King,  and  shall  enter  into  Recognizance  in  the  .Sum  of  One  Hundred  Pounds, 
with  two  Sureties  in  the  Sum  of  Fifty  Poimds  each',  for  Ms  good  Behaviour  for  six 
Months,  and  also  pay  Costs  of  Prosecution,  standing  committed  imtil  this  sentence 
be  performed.  Att' 

SAMUEL  TYLEY,  Clerc. 

Such  was  the  answer  of  New  England  Puritanism  to  the  attack 
of  the  church's  champion.  It  is  a  testimony  to  the  force  of  the  argu- 
ments employed  that  recourse  should  have  been  had  to  the  vengeance 
of  the  law.  It  is  unnecessary  to  say  that  Checkley  was  not  convinced 
by  this  mode  of  reply  to  his  logic  and  learning.  During  his  trial  he 
"  printed  by  stealth"^  two  pamphlets,  one  of  which  has  been  styled 
"the  first  original  controversial  writing  of  any  importance  on  the 
Episcopal  side  in  the  long  debate  here."  ^     This  was 

A  I  Modest  Proof  |  of  the  |  Order  &  Government  |  Settled  by  Christ  and  his 
Apostles  I  in  the  |  Church  |  By  shewing  |  I.  ^Vliat  Sacred  Offices  were  Instituted  | 
by  them.  |  II.  IIow  those  Offices  were  Distinguished  |  III.  That  they  were  to  be 
Perpetual  and  |  Standing  in  the  Church.  And,  |  IV.  Who  Succeed  in  them,  and 
rightly  I  E.xecute  them  to  this  Day  |  Recommended  as  proiJcr  to  be  put  into  the 
Hands  of  the  Laity  |  Boston :  |  Re-printed  by  Tho.  Fleet,  and  are  to  be  Sold  |  by 
Benjamin  Eliot  in  Boston,  Daniel  Am-ault  iii  |  Newport,  Gabriel  Bernon  in  Provi- 
dence, Mr.  Jean  in  Stratford,  and  |  in  most  other  Towtis  within  the  Colonies  of  | 
Connecticut  and  Rhode-Island.     1723  | 

In  the  preface  to  this  scriptural  argument,  which  seems  to  be  the 
only  portion  of  the  work  of  Checkley 's  composition,  the  jj remise  is 
laid  down :  — 

That  whosoever  justly  sustains  the  character  of  a  Minister  of  the  Gospel  of 
Christ,  hath,  besides  his  Internal  Qualifications,  an  External  Visible  Commission 
delivered  to  him,  by  those  who  have  Power  and  Authority  to  grant  it:  From 
whence  these  Inferences  do  naturally  flow. 

First.  That  the  Ministers  of  the  C'hm'ch  of  England,  who  freely  own  that  the 
Power  of  Ordination  was  first  vested  iu  the  Apostles,  and  from  tliem,  through  all 
Ages  since,  iu  a  succession  of  Bishops,  fi-om  whence  they  derive  their  own  Ordina- 
tions, are  to  be  acknowledged  true  Mmisters  of  the  Gospel. 

Secondly.  That  it  is  a  daring  Offence  to  intrude  into  the  sacred  Function, 
without  a  regular  designation  to  the  Exercise  of  it.  See  Numb.  16.  -40.  2  Sam.  6. 
6,  7.     2  Chron.  26.  19,  20,  21,  22.     Heb.  .5.  4,  5. 

Thirdly.  That  People  ought  to  endeavour  after  all  the  Assurance  they  can 
attain  to,  that  they  have  the  Rleans  of  (irace  iu  the  ^Vord  and  Sacraments,  duly 
adnunistered  and  chspeused  imto  them,  by  Persons  fully  authorized  for  those  holy 
offices.  For  since  the  Priest's  Lips  are  to  preserve  Knowledge,  the  People  oun;ht  to 
be  satisfied  that  they  are  really  such  at  whose  Mouth  they  seek  the  Law.    And, 

'  Mis  own  langiiase.    Hist.  Coll.  Am.  Col.  Cli.,  in.,  p.  664. 

'  Foote's  "  Annals  of  King's  Chapel,"  pp.  294, 295.    The  title-page  speaks  of  it  as  a  i-cprint. 


THE   TRIAL   OF  JOHN   CHECKLEY.  207 

Fourthly.  That  it  is  a  vciy  criminal  Presumption,  aiifl  an  insufferable  Inso- 
lence in  some,  to  value  their  (Jilts  at  so  high  a  rate,  as  to  think  themselves  by  the 
virtue  of  them,  entituletl  to  the  ]\linistcrial  Office,  without  being  admitted  by  the 
Imposition  of  the  Hands  of  those,  whom  Christ  has  ordered  to  preside  over  the 
affairs  of  his  Church. 

Fifthly.  'I'hat  since  there  is  no  approaching  before  God'.s  Altar,  without  the 
ajJiJoiuted  Kites  of  Consecration,  nor  any  mcdling  witli  his  Institutions  without  his 
Order  and  Command;  those  inxaders  of  the  sacred  ."services  caimot  be  said  to  be 
Ambassadors  of  (Jod,  or  accounted  the  Stewards  of  the  JMysteries  of  Christ,  who 
presume  to  touch  those  holy  things,  with  their  imhallowed  Hands,  and  like  Saul, 
would  sacrilicc  without  a  Call.  1  Sam.  U!.  !>,  10,  11,  12,  l.'i,  14.  For  those  who  offer 
strange  Fire  before  the  Lord,  their  Incense  must  be  an  Abomination  to  him.  Levit. 
10.  12. 

Lastly.  Tho'  we  can  by  no  means  question  our  Saviour's  Gifts  and  Abilities, 
3'et  he  did  not  enter  upon  his  Rlinistiy,  until  he  was  solemnly  inaugm-ated  into  that 
Office  ;  for  he  gloriiied  not  himself  to  1)0  made  a  High  Priest,  but  he  that  said  mito 
him.  Thou  art  my  Sou,  which  ^\as  said  unto  him  at  his  liaptism,  Luke  2,  22.  So 
when  he  was  aliout  to  leave  the  woi'ld,  he  commissioned  others  to  go  upon  the  great 
Embassy  of  lieeonciliation,  to  transact  in  his  Name,  and  proclaim  and  seal  his 
Pardons,  saj-ing.  As  my  Father  sent  me,  so  send  I  j-ou  :  •v\liereupon  he  inmiediately 
gave  them  the  power  of  Censures  and  Absolutions,  John  20.  22,  23.  ]Matlh.  2t<.  19, 
20.  And  they  also  before  their  Death,  imparted  their  Power  to  others,  by  Imposi- 
tion of  Hands.  Thus  the  Apostles  ordained  seven  Deacons,  Acts  0.  A,  (i.  among 
other  Services,  to  Preach  and  to  Baptize,  in  the  Exercise  of  which  Offices  we  find 
St.  Philip,  one  of  them  diligently  employed.  Acts  8.  1,  &o.  'I'hus  Paul  and  Barnabas 
ordained  Elders  in  every  Church,  Acts  14.  2.'>.  And  thus  St.  Paul,  who  had  ordained 
Timothy  and  Titus,  appointed  'I'itus  to  oi-dain  Jildcrs  in  every  City  in  Crete,  Tit.  1. 
5.  And  that  these  sacred  Offices  should  continue  in  a  regular  jNIinistiy  to  the  end  of 
the  AVorld,  is  undeniable  from  JNlatth.  (3.  is,  and  Cliap."28.  19,  20,  aiul  Eph.  4.  11, 
12,  13.  And  finally,  that  there  was  a  pre-eminence  of  Jurisdiction  and  Authority 
in  some  of  these  (_'hureh-Offiecs  over  others,  is  plainly  proved  in  this  Treatise,  iii 
the  Apostolical  Dignity  (to  which  the  Episcopal  must  needs  succeed)  over  the  sev- 
enty, and  tho  Deacons ;  and  St.  Paul's  Epistles  to  Timothy  and  Titus,  where  we  luid 
many  marks  of  the  Power  of  those  Bishops  over  their  inferiour  Presbyters,  as  to 
Ordain  them,  or  ui)on  occasion  to  promote  them  to  a  higher  Order,  to  Judge  and 
Censure  them,  and  if  the  case  required,  to  proceed  to  Deposition.  This  is  the 
standing  Winisti-y  that  the  Church  of  England  claims  a  Part  and  Lot  in :  This  is  the 
Nature  and  true  Notion  of  a  Gospel  jNIinistiy,  as  we  find  it  founded  by  om-  Saviour 
and  his  Apostles.' 

The  other  tractate  —  an  octavo  of  sixteen  pages  with  a  supple- 
mentary page  of  errata  —  was  "A  Discourse  Shewing  Who  is  a  true 
Pastor  of  the  Church  of  Christ."  The  last  tive  pages  of  this  pamphlet, 
whicli  bore  neither  title  or  im[>rint,  were  occupied  by  a  reissue  of  "The 
Epistle  of  iSt.  Ignatius  to  the  Trallians."  Certain  peculiarities  of  type 
and  "  make  up  "  prove  conclusively  that  this  little  treatise  was  jirinted 
in  London.  A  foot-note  on  page  11  indicates  the  object  had  in  view 
in  its  publication  :  — 

rF°  Those  who  have  a  mind  to  see  the  Propositions  in  this  small  Tract  prov'd 
beyond  the  Possibility  of  a  Reply,  are  desir'd  to  read  a  Discourse  concerning  Epis- 
copacy, which  they  may  have  at  the  Crown  and  (iate  opposite  to  the  AVest  End  of  the 
Town-House  in  Boston.  Where  likewise  may  be  had  Barclay's  Persuasive,  printed 
in  Loudon,  by  Jonah  Bower,  with  other  Books  of  the  like  Natm-e. 

On  a  single  octavo  page,  appended  sometimes  to  the  "Discourse 
shewing  who  is  a  true  Pastor,"  and  also  to  the  second  edition  of  the 
"Speech,"  is  the  following  racy  squib  directed  against  his  opponents, 
and  evidently  prepared  in  Checkley's  happiest  vein  :  — 

' "  The  publisher  to  the  Reader,"  pp.  i.-v.  of   the  Preface  to  "  A  Modest  Proof,"  etc. 


268  HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

A  I  Specimen  |  Of  a  True  |  Dissenting  Catechism,  |  Upon  Riglit  True- 
Blue  I  Dissenting  Principles,  |  witli  |  *  Learned  Notes,  [  By  \Vay  of  Explica- 
tion. I  Question.  \Vhy  don't  the  Dissenters  in  their  Pub  |  lick  \Vorship  mal^e  use 
of  the  Creeds?  |  Answer.  Why?  —  Because  they  are  not  set  down  |  Word  for  Wonl 
in  the  Bible.  |  Question.  Well  —  But  why  dou"t  tlie  Dissenters  \  in  their  Publiuk 
Worship  make  use  of  the  Lord's-  \  Prayer?  \  Answer.  Oh! — Because  that  is  set 
down  I  Word  for  Word  in  the  Bible.  |  *They're  so  perverse  and  opposite  |  As 
if  they  worship'd  God  for  Sjjite.  | 

"Printed  by  stealth,"  as  Checkley  acknowledges  these  tractates 
to  have  been,  they  were  certainly  of  sufficient  moment  in  the  con- 
troversy to  have  made  his  farther  comments  probaljle :  "  Had  the 
Judges  known  of  it,  they  would  have  made  it  a  forfeiture  of  my  ])onds 
(for,  you  must  know,  my  countrymen  think  it  treason  to  wi-ite  in  de- 
fence of  the  Church);  and  indeed  I  had  not  run  such  a  risque,  had 
there  not  been  a  necessity  for  it." '  It  was  soon  apparent  that  other 
measures  than  oppressive  verdicts  M'cre  necessary  to  sustain  the  im- 
perilled fabric  of  Puritanism.  The  "  King's  Lecturer,"  the  Kev.  Henry 
Harris,  the  assistant  to  the  rector  of  the  King's  Chapel,  angry,  as  the 
amiable  Johnson  of  Stratford  asserts,  in  consequence  of  the  ]ireferences 
given  by  the  proprietors  of  the  new  Christ  Church  to  the  Rev.  Timothy 
Cutler,  Checklcy's  convert  to  the  Church,  in  their  choice  of  a  rector 
over  himself,  arraigned  the  author  and  the  discourse  in  a  sermon,  while 
he  labored  no  less  with  his  pen  in  letters  addressed  to  the  venerable 
society  and  to  dignitaries  of  the  Church  at  home,  to  create  an  unfavor- 
able impression  against  both  Checklej'  and  his  supporters.  But  "the 
Ministers,"  who  were  supposed  by  the  justices  to  be  "able  to  defend 
themselves,"  found  themselves  put  upon  their  own  defence.  The 
mmister  of  the  First  Church,  Thomas  Foxcroft,  himself  the  son  of  a 
former  warden  of  King's  Chapel,  but  an  adherent  of  the  faith  of  his 
mother,  the  daughter  of  Lieutenant-Governor  Thomas  Danforth,  issued 
"The  Ruling  and  Ordaining  Power  of  Congregational  Bishops,  or 
Presbyters.  Being  Remarks  on  some  Part  of  Mr.  P.  Barclay's  Per- 
suasive, lately  distributed  in  New  England.  By  an  Impartial  Hand." 
This  treatise  dealt  wholly  with  the  scriptural  arguments  for  and  against 
Episcopacy,  and,  ostensibly  at  least,  ignored  the  pungent  sarcasm  and 
remorseless  logic  of  "The  Discourse."  It  was  felt,  at  least  by  some, 
that  it  was  to  take  an  unfair  advantage  to  assail  a  work  the  I'esponsible 
author  or  publisher  of  which  was  on  trial  before  the  civil  courts,  and 
consequently'  unalile  to  avail  himself  of  the  press  in  reply. 

In  the  Boston  "News  Letter  "of  .May  21,  1724,  the  following  adver- 
tisement appeared,  which  is  quite  to  the  point :  — 

Whereas  pulilic  notice  was  given,  some  time  ago,  in  this  Weekly  Paper, 
that  there  was  just  going  to  the  Press  An  Answer  to  the  author  of  the  Snake 
in  the  (irass,'  his  discourse  of  Episcopacy,  with  seasonable  Remarks  vipon  all 
the  interpolations  of  the  late  Edition  of  it:  This  is  to  give  as  publick  notice, 
that  the  Author  of  the  Answer  hath  hitherto  supprest  what  he  had  prepared, 
because  at  present  he  could  not  encoimtcr  the  Interpolator  upon  even  (iround. 
He  leaves  others  to  act  for  themselves :  but  for  his  part  he  tliiuks  it  ungenerous 
to  attack  one  who  must  not  have  the  Libeity  of  defending  himself. 

•  Hist.  Coll.  Am.  Col.  Cli.,  m.,  p.  664.  '  The  Rev.  Diaries  Leslie. 


THE  TRIAL  OF  JOHN   CHECKLEY.  269 

111  this  manly  view  of  the  case  and  in  its  fuvtlicr  confession  of  the 
"  ill  usage  "meted  out  to  "  the  Interpolator,"  we  may  possibly  detect  the 
chivalric  spirit  and  generosity  of  Checkley's  old  friend  and  disputant, 
"Walter,  of  Koxbury,  who,  as  we  shall  see,  a  little  later  entered  the 
fray.  Others,  however,  shared  no  such  scru[)le.  They  had  no  idea 
"of  fairly  and  handsomely  trying  it  out  on  equal  terms."  The  Cam- 
bridge Divinity  Professor,  Edward  Wigglesworth,  issued  "Sober  Re- 
marks on  a  Hook  lately  reprinted  at  Boston,  Entituled  a  Modest  Proof," 
etc.,  and  a  Presbyterian  minister,  afterwards  the  tirst  president  of  the 
college  of  New  Jersey.  Jonathan  Dickinson,  published  "  a  De- 
fence of  Presbyterian  Ordination  in  answer  to  .  .  .  a  IModest  Proof," 
etc.  A  fellow  of  Harvard,  Nathan  Prince,  A.M.,  himself  a  few  years 
later  a  convert  to  the  Church,  issued  "An  Answer  to  Lesley  and  his  late 
Interpolator's  discourse  concerning  Episcopacy  By  N.  P.  ; "  and  Walter 
answered  "  the  little  Pert  Jacobite,"  as  he  styles  Checkley,  with  his 
accustomed  vigor  and  vindictiveness.  Reprints  of  English  tracts  were 
not  wanting  till  the  very  "  atmosphere  was  heavy  with  controversy." 
Ere  the  year  ended  which  had  witnessed  his  trial  and  condemnation, 
Checkley  replied  to  four  of  his  assailants  at  once.  Dickinson  issued  a 
rejoinder,  which  Checkley  answered  early  in  the  following  year, 
speaking  of  Dickinson's  "  wild  ramble  "  and  "  defective  reason,"  and 
adding :  "  that  the  Defence  of  the  Modest  Proof  has  given  a  deep 
and  sensil)le,  nay,  a  mortal  wound  to  your  expiring  cause,  is  demon- 
strable in  that  the  supporters  of  it  hideously  Roar  and  Rage  at  the 
Smarting  of  it."  To  this  Eoxcroft  rejoined  in  defence  of  "  the  Ruling 
and  Ordaining  Power  of  Congregational  Bishops  or  Presbyters" 
retorting  upon  Checkley's  use  of  the  phrase  "  expiring  cause,"  and 
asserting  "  that  he  was  really  digging  a  profound  grave  to  bury  it  in." 
The  republication  of  Dr.  Samuel  JNIather's  "testimony  from  Scripture 
against  Idolatry  and  Superstition,"  originally  preached  in  Dublin  in 
1660,  was  a  proof  that  the  Puritanism  Checkley  attacked  was  no  less 
bitter  than  in  its  days  of  political  preeminence.  Words  such  as  these 
are  not  to  be  equalled  for  severity  and  offensiveness  of  application  by 
any  of  Checkley's  arguments  or  language.  Instancing  in  "  Ten  par- 
ticulars the  principal  ceremonies  and  idols  of  the  Church  of  England," 
Mather  proceeds :  — 

1.   Do  you  think  that  ever  ,lesus  Christ  wore  a  Surplice?    2.  The  sign  of  the 

Cross,  that  special  mark  of  the  Be.ist.     Rev.  xiii,   1(1.     3.   Kneeling  at  tlie  Loi-d's 

Supper  ....  a  dangerous  symbolizing  with  the  Papists,  who  kneel  before  their 

Breaden  God.    4.  Bowing  to  the  Altar  and  setting  the  Conimunion-Table  altar-wise 

....  a  gross  piece  of  Popish  Idolatry.     6.   Bowing  at  the  Name  of  Jesus.     A 

most  vile  piece  of  Si/Uabicnl  Idolatrij 6.   Popish  Holy  Days.     As  if  the 

Loi'd  Jesus  Christ  himself  were  not  wise  enough  to  appoint  Days  and  Times  Suffi- 
cient to  keep  liis  own  Nativity,  etc. ,  in  everlasting  Remembrance  in  the  hearts  of  his 
Saints,  but  the  Devil  and  the  Pope  must  keep  it  out.  7.  Consecrating  Churches. 
Inherent  Holiness  is  in  Persons  which  Places  are  no  way  capable  of.  8.  Organs  and 
Cathedral  Musick.  Not  one  word  of  Institution  lor  them  in  the  Gospel ;  but  on 
the  conti'ary  they  are  cashiered  ....  by  tliat  Genei-al  Ilule,  1  Cor.  xiv,  26,  15. 
9.  1'he  Book  of  Common  Prayer.  It  is  as  unreasonable  and  absurd  as  to  force  a 
JIan  to  go  with  Crutches  when  he  is  not  Lame,  etc.,  etc. 

Surely  fanaticism  and  frenzy  could  hardly  go  further.     The  result 


270  HISTORY   OF  THE  AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

of  all  this  pamphlet  and  puljiit  discussion  is  seen  in  the  steady  gi'owth 
of  the  Church  in  numbers  and  influence. 

During  a  temporary  cessation  of  the  polemic  war  Checkley  crossed 
the  ocean,  seeking  the  coveted  privilege  of  ministering  at  the  altars 
of  the  Church  whose  apostolical  institution  and  government  he  had 
so  stoutly  maintained.  He  had  become  an  object  of  special  dislike 
to  the  members  and  ministers  of  the  "  Standing  Order."  He  had 
ferreted  out  and  pul^lished  to  the  world  an  attempt  of  the  Puritan 
members  to  assemble  in  a  "  Synod "  ^  and  had  by  his  exposure  pre- 
vented an  assembly  which,  though  certainly  harmless  when  assembled 
as  an  ecclesiastical  body  merely,  became  dangerous  when  convened 
with  the  sanction  and  by  the  direction  of  the  civil  authorities.  His 
busy  mind  had  sought  and  obtained  an  influence  over  the  Indians 
of  the  north-eastern  coast,  and  he  had  strong  hopes  of  detaching  them 
from  the  French  and  from  the  Jesuit  teachers,  and  making  them  both 
allies  of  the  English  and  mcmliers  of  the  English  Church.  But  in  all 
these  plannings  there  was  the  single  purpose  of  oljtaining  the  minis- 
terial commission,  and  for  this  he  crossed  the  ocean  a  second  time  in 
1728.  He  had  received  "hard  usage"  in  the  judgment  of  good  Dr. 
Johnson,  of  Stratford,  when  he  went  before.  He  was  again  repulsed. 
The  Bishop  of  London  was  warned  against  him  as  an  enemy  of  the 
House  of  Hanover,'-^  and  as  peculiarly  inimical  to  the  New  England 
dissenters  ;  and,  disappointed  and  defeated  in  his  purpose  of  serving  at 
the  church's  altars,  he  again  returned  to  his  home,  "  cast  down  "  it  may 
have  been,  "but  not  dismayed."  The  annals  of  King's  Chapel  bear 
witness  to  his  undiminished  zeal  and  interest  in  church  matters,  and  in 
the'year  1739  the  Bishop  of  Exeter,  Dr.  Stephen  Weston,  a  friend  of 
Bishop  Sherlock's,  "  was  found  willing  to  hear  this  impracticable  man, 
begging  at  the  age  of  fifty-nine,  to  be  aUoived  to  minister  in  one  of  the 
hardest  spheres  on  earth  to  which  a  churchman  was  ever  doomed."'  It 
was  with  no  change  of  views  or  principles  that  Checkley  I'eceived  the 
"laying  on  of  hands"  in  holy  orders.  Ho  had  just  republished  in 
London  his  famous  "Speech"  on  his  trial,  bringing  afresh  before  the 
world  the  issues  on  which  he  had  been  persecuted  for  his  devotion  to 
the  church's  cause.  And  there  is  little  doubt  but  that  the  grace  of 
orders  was  conferred  upon  him  by  the  good  Bishop  of  Exeter  with 
the  full  knowledge  and  consent  of  the  Bishop  of  London,  who  was 
still  alive,  and  whose  relations  to  the  colonies  and  to  the  venerable 
society  ivcre  such  that  Checkley  could  not  have  held  a  cure  or  received 
an  appointment  as  missionary  had  not  Bishop  Gibson  given  his  consent. 
The  newly  ordained  clergyman,  one  of  the  oldest  recipients  of  ordei's 
in  the  reformed  church,  was  appointed,  with  a  stipend  of  £60  ster- 
ling, to  St.  John's  Mission,  Providence,  and  began  at  the  age  of  sixty  a 

'  For  a  notice  of  this  attempted  Synod,  note  charges  were  suffieient  to  carry  tlio  point,  and 

Hiitcliinson's   "  Hist,  of  Ma^s.,"  second  ed.,  II.,  tlicir  author  exultantly   records  his    pleasure; 

pp.  322,  32.3.      Vide  also  I'efercnccs  passim  in  the  "  Thus    our    Town   and  the   Churches  of  this 

'*  Hist.  Coll.  \m.  Col.  Church,"  vol.  iir.  Province,  tliroujrh  the  favor  of  God,  sjot  rid  of  a 

2  The  Hcv.  John  Barnard, the  Purit.nn  minis-  turbulent,  vevatious,     and    persccutinir-spirited 

ter  of  Marbiohead,  wrote,  as  he  tella  us  in  his  non-juror."  —  Mass.  Hist.  Hoc.  Coll.,  Series  ui., 

autobiography,  to  the  Bishop  of  London,  accusing  Vol.  v.,  p.  229. 

Checkley  of  lack  of  learning-,  of  intolerance,  and  '  Updyke's  "  Nan'agansett  Church,"  p.  21G. 

of    disaffection     to    the    government.      These 


THE   TRIAL   OF  JOHN   CHECICLEY.  271 

ministry  that  was  ended  only  by  his  death,  after  fourteen  years'  faith- 
ful service.  Old  thouoh  he  was  at  his  eutranco  upon  duty,  "No  man 
was  more  desired  "  ^  l)y  the  church-folk  of  Providence.  "  Keceived 
with  joy  "  by  his  congregation,  he  labored  for  the  negroes  and  Indians 
as  well  as  those  more  innncdiately  of  his  charge,  and  in  the  midst  of 
engrossing  duties  found  time  and  strength  to  minister  at  Taunton, 
twenty  miles  distant,  and  also  at  Warwick  and  Attleborough.  From 
time  to  time  he  visited  the  Indians  in  various  j)arts  of  New  England, 
with  whom  he  appears  to  have  no  little  influence,  in  consequence  of  his 
ability  to  speak  with  them  in  their  own  tongues.  At  length,  on  the 
15th  of  April,  1754,  having  reached  the  age  of  nearly  three-quarters 
of  a  century,  after  two  years'  illness,  the  faithful  old  man  died,  and  the 
worshippers  who  throng  the  noble  church  which  has  replaced  the 
simple  structure  in  Avhich  he  ministered,  pass,  as  they  enter  "the 
courts  of  the  Lord,"  over  his  unmarked  grave.  "After  life's  fitful 
fever  he  sleeps  well "  and  "  his  works  follow  him." 


ILLUSTRATIVE   NOTES. 


fpHE  interest  attaching  to  the  life  of  so  remarkable  a  man  as  John  Checkley, 
X  warrants  the  insevtion  of  the  following  notices  of  his  mission-work  in  Provi- 
dence. Tlicy  are  transcribed  from  the  yearly  abstracts  of  tlie  venerable  society,  a 
complete  set  of  whicli  from  the  beginning  of  the  century  to  the  close  of  the  war  of 
the  Revolution  is  to  be  found  among  the  treasures  of  the  libraiy  of  Brown  University, 
Providence,  R.I. :  — 

The  Society  removed  Mr.  (Arthur)  Droton  from  the  Town  of  Providence,  be- 
cause the  Inhabitants  of  Prondence  did  not  pay  their  promised  Contributions 
towards  a  Missionary's  support;  Ijut  they  having  since  thought  fit  to  purchase  a 
decent  House,  with  near  Twenty  Acres  of  Orchard,  Aleadow  and  Pasture  Lands,  and  to 
settle  the  same  fore\er  on  their  ftlinister  for  the  time  being ;  and  humbly  petitioned 
the  Society  for  a  new  Missionary.  The  Society  hath  sent  the  Reverend  Mr.  Checkley, 
lately  admitted  into  Holy  Orders  in  England,  ujion  the  Recommendation  of  the 
Clergy  of  Nc^u  Enyland  to  the  Mission  at  Providence,  and  there  are  good  Hopes  of 
his  doing  considerable  Service  there  from  his  being  a  Native  of  the  Countiy,  from 
his  great  Skill  in  the  neighbouring  Indirm  Language,  and  from  his  long  Acquaint- 
ance with  the  Indiana  themselves,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  Mr.  Checkley  is  by  this 
time  happily  arrived  at  his  Mission. —  S.  P.  O.  Abstract,  1738-9,  )ip.  A'l.  43. 

The  ]\Ieml_iers  of  the  Church  of  England  in  the  To\vn  of  Providence,  by  a 
Memorial  dated  the  4th  of  May,  1739,  return  their  most  unfeigned  Thanks  to  the 
venerable  Society  for  reviving  the  Mission  among  them,  by  the  Appointment  of  the 
Reverend  Mr.  Checkley  to  otHciate  to  them,  than  whom  no  Jlan,  they  say,  was  more 
desired,  and  they  do  not  doubt,  but  he  will  answer  the  Expectation  of  all  good  Men 
concerning  him.  And  I\Ir.  Checkley,  by  a  Letter  dated  November  1st,  1739, 
acquaints  the  Society,  that  his  Congregation  received  him  with  .loy ;  and  that  as  the 
most  steady  Application  to  his  Duty  is  required,  he  can  with  Truth  aflinn,  that  he 
hath  not  been  absent  one  Sunday  since  his  Arrival,  and  hath  baptized  13  Persons, 
one  of  them  a  Woman  sick  in  Bed,  and  is  preparing  some  Indians  and  Negroes  for 
that  Sacrament;  but  at  the  Desire  of  the  Reverend  ISIr.  Commissary  Price,  he  hath 
sometimes  performed  divine  Sci-vice,  and  preachVl  on  a  Wednesday,  at  Taunton,  20 
Miles  distant  from  Providence,  where  the  Congregation  consists  of  more  than  300 

»  Memorial  of  members  of  the  Church  of  England,  May  4,  1739.    Quoted  in  Updike's  "  Nai^ 
ragansett  Church,"  p.  458. 


272  HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

Persons,  many  of  whom  were  never  before  in  any  Christian  Church  ;  and  he  requests 
a  large  Common-Prayer  Book  for  the  Chiu-ch  of  Providence,  and  some  small  ones 
for  the  Use  of  the  Poor.  The  Society  hath  sent  him  a  Folio  Common-Praj'or  Book 
for  the  Church,  and  two  Dozen  of  small  ones  for  the  Use  of  the  Poor  at  Providence, 
&<i.— Abstract  of  S.  P.  O.,  1739-40,  pp.  48,  49. 

The  Reverend  Mr.  Checkley,  Missionary  at  Providence,  in  New  England,  by  a 
Letter  dated  November  C,  1740,  complains  ot  liis  being  hardly  beset  by  several  Rom- 
ish Missionaries,  and  particularly  by  one  in  the  shape  of  a  Baptist  Teacher,  but  that 
he  was  at  last  gone  away,  and  notwithstanding  all  their  Pains,  his  Congregation 
increased  ;  he  hath  been  visited  by  some  of  his  old  Indian  Acquaintance  from  dis- 
tant Places,  and  they  have  promised  to  send  their  Children  to  him  for  Instruction ; 
and  he  hath  himself  visited  the  neighbouring  Indians,  and  performed  Divine  Ser- 
vice, and  baptized  three  Childi'en  at  the  Distance  of  60  Miles  from  Providence  \vith- 
out  ha'vang  been  absent  one  Sunday  from  his  Church.  lie  hath  baptized  within  the 
year  twenty-six  Persons,  one  a  Mulatto  and  two  Negroe  Boys,  and  four  white  adults, 
two  of  them  a  Man  and  his  Wife,  whose  Behaviour  at  the  Font  much  moved  and 
edified  the  Congi-egation  and  they  received  with  great  Devotion  the  Sacrament  of 
the  Lord's  Supper  on  the  Sunday  following,  and  have  been  constant  Communicants 
from  that  time.  —  »S'.  P.  O.  Abstract,  1740^1. 

The  Reverend  Mr.  Checkley,  Missionary  at  Providence  in  this  Country,  says, 
that  notwithstanding  all  Opposition  to  the  Church  increases,  and  is  likely  to  increase ; 
that  he  had  found  a  greater  Number  of  People  in  the  Woods  than  he  could  have 
imagined,  destitute  of  all  Religion,  and  as  living  without  God  in  the  World;  and 
he  had  likewise  visited  the  Indians  upon  Quinabaag  River,  and  was  in  Hopes  of 
doing  some  Good  among  them. —  S.  P.  O.  Abstract,  1743-44. 

[Nothing  relating  to  Mr.  Checkley  appears  in  the  Abstracts  for  1744-45,  or 
1745-4G,  etc.] 

The  Church  of  Providence,  in  Providence  Plantation,  being  become  vacant  by 
the  Death  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Checkley,  and  the  Church-w.ardens  and  Vestry  of  that 
Church  having  very  earnestly  petitioned  the  Society  to  supply  that  Loss  by  the 
Apixiintment  of  a  new  Missionary,  the  Society  hath  thought  it  proper  to  appoint  the 
Rev.  ]Mr.  John  Graves,  Vicar  of  Clapham  in  Yorkshire  in  the  Diocese  of  Chester,  a 
most  pious  and  worthy  Clergyman,  Brother  to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Matthew  Graves,  the 
Society's  worthy  Missionary  at  New  London  in  the  Colony  of  Connecticut,  and  ani- 
mated with  the  same  holy  zeal  to  propagate  the  Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts,  to  be  their 
Missionary  to  the  Church  of  Providence ;  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  Mr.  Joh7i  Graves, 
he  having  before  his  departure  resigned  the  Vicarage  of  Clapham,  is  happily  arrived 
at  that  Mission.  —  S.  P.  O.  Abstract,  1754-55. 


CHAPTER     XVI. 

CONTROVERSIES. 

WE  have  traced  in  minute  detail  the  controvei'sies  cr^'-stallizing 
around  the  name  and  fortunes  of  CheckJej'.  This  at  least  was 
due  to  a  man  of  extraordinary  perseverance  and  indomitable 
courage,  to  whose  uncompromising  churchmanship  and  persistent  labors 
the  Church  in  Massachusetts  and  Rhode  Island  owes  a  de))t  of  lasting 
gratitude.  Witii  the  appearance  of  his  letter  to  Dickinson,  in  1725,  the 
controvers3',  if  not  terminated,  ceased  for  a  time  at  least.  The  numljer 
of  converts  to  the  Church  steadily  increased.  The  venerable  society 
was  beset  \vith  applications  for  missionaries  from  all  parts  of  the  New 
England  colonies.  One  after  another  of  the  younger  Puritan  ministers, 
or  tlie  recent  graduates  of  the  colleges  at  Cambridge  and  New  Haven, 
''conformed,"  and  undertook  the  ocean  passage,  then  beset  with  perils 
of  which  we  know  little  now,  to  obtain  the  ministerial  commission  from 
apostolic  hands.  It  was  not  till  the  year  1731  that  the  publication  of 
a  sermon  preached  liy  John  Barnard,  the  minister  at  ilarlilehead, 
Massachusetts,  on    Christmas,    1729,   on 

"The  Certainty,  Time,   and  End  of  the        ^  ^-^ 

Birth  of  our  Lord    and  Saviour   Jesus      U P^Aynfi  I       fin/y^" 
Christ,"  awoke  the  smouldering  fires  and      ^'^^  H^     ^  /j 
fanned  them  to  a  flame.     Answered  by  ^  ^ 

the  Rev.  George  Pigot,  in  his  "Vindica- 
tion of  the  Practice  of  the  Antient  Christians,  as  well  as  the  Church 
of  England  and  other   Reformed   Churches,  in  the  .Observation  of 
Christmas  Day,"  the  churchman  pertinently  remarks  :  — 

I  wish  .  .  .  tliat  the  vile  Rout  and  Fii-iiig  of  Guns  at  Marblehead,  on  Cliristmas 
Day,  were  suppressed  by  Autliority  ;  and  tliat  the  same  Resjjeet  at  least  were  paid 
to  thai  day,  and  the  Thirtieth  of  January,  from  his  ])eople,  as  is  given  by  C'luu'ch- 
men  to  their  Thanksgiving  and  Fast  Days.  For  our  Festivals  are  founded  upon  as 
good  Authority  as  theirs  can  be  :  and  if  the  Act  of  Toleration  secures  them  from  the 
Penalty  of  the  Law,  for  not  obsei-^'ing  'em,  so  likewise  ought  the  Uule  of  Modera- 
tion to  secure  us  from  being  insulted  upon  their  Account. 

The  observance  of  the  church's  feasts  and  fasts,  which  had  pro- 
voked the  attack  of  Barnard,  found  an  admirable  defence  in  the  re- 
publication in  Boston  of  Bishop  Beveridge's  sermon  concerning  the 
excellency  and  usefulness  of  the  Common  Prayer.'  The  ice  once 
broken  by  Barnard  and  Pigot,  the  controversy  became  general.  In 
"  The  Scripture  Bishop  ;  or.  The  Divine  Right  of  Presbj-teriau  Ordina- 

1  The  29tli   edition  of  this  tract,  originally   published  iit  the  request  of  Bp.  Coniptou,  was 
issued  in  Boston,  17.33. 


274  HISTORY   OF   THE   AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

lion  and  Cxovernment,"  pulilished  in  Boston,  1732,  the  form  of  a 
dialogue,  the  interlocutors  Ijeing  named  respectively  "  Praslaticus  "  and 
"Eleutherius,"  was  adopted  by  Dickinson  to  present  in  the  most  at- 
tracti\  e  manner  the  Presbyterian  argument.  The  Rev.  Arthur  Jlrowne, 
of  Providence,  a  man  of  education  and  culture,  replied  early  the  fol- 
lowing year  in  "The  Scripture  Bishop,  an  examination  of  the  Divine 
Right  of  Presbyterian  Ordination  and  Government,  considered  .  .  . 
In  two  Letters  to  a  Friend."  In  this  performance  the  writer  asserts  in 
rebutting  the  charge  of  persecution,  which  had  been  raised  against  the 
Church  of  England,  that  Puritan  New  England  had  been  "notorious 
for  her  barbarities  and  cruel  Persecutions,"  and  pressing  the  argiuueut 
home  adds,  that  she  still  "robs  honest  and  well-meaning  Christians, 
members  of  the  True  Church,  for  the  support  of  schismatical  teachers, 
and  yearl}'  imprisons  them  for  refusing  to  comply."  "  Pnnlatkus 
Triinrq)//afiis,  the  Scripture  Bishop  vindicated.  A  Defence  of  the  Dia- 
logue between  Pra^laticus  and  Eleutherius  against  the  Scripture  Bishop 
examined.  In  a  letter  to  a  friend,  by  Eleutherius,  V.  D.  M.,"  speedily 
followed,  in  which  Dickinson  parried  with  no  little  ability  the  thrusts 
of  Browne,  and   pressed   home,   with  all  the  skill  of  an  experienced 

disputant,  arguments  hard  to 
be  met.  ]\Ieanwhile  there 
appeared  another  answer  to 
Dickinson's  tirst  attack.  The 
amial)le  Johnson,  of  Strat- 
ford, Connecticut,  who,  when 
a  tutor  at  Yale,  had  conformed  to  the  Church,  with  Cutler,  the 
head  of  the  college,  and  James  Wetmore,  who,  though  one  of  the 
signers  of  the  address  presented  in  tiie  library  of  Yale,  September 
13,  1722,  had  not  l)een  able  to  apply  for  orders  till  later,  entered 
the  arena  of  controversy  under  the  title  of  "Eleutherius  Encrva- 
tus ;  or,  an  Answer  to  a  Pamphlet  intituled  the  Divine  Right  of 
Presbyterian  Ordination."  Published  in  New  York  in  1733.  Phila- 
lethes  and  Eusebius,  champions  of  Episcopacy,  meet  the  Presby- 
terian Eleutherius  at  the  home  of  a  mutual  friend.  Attains,  and  ply 
the  scriptural  argument  so  warmly  and  well  that  the  recreant  Eleuthe- 
rius, who  had  l)een  brought  up  in  the  Church,  is  reclaimed  from  schism 
and  confirmed  in  his  original  belief.  Two  letters  from  Johnson  follow 
this  happily  conceived  and  sprightly  dialogue  in  defence  of  the  Epis- 
copal government  of  the  Church,  in  which  the  argiunent  is  made  use  of, 
that  the  government  of  the  Church  must  be  sought  for,  not  in  its  forma- 
tive i)eriod,  while  our  Lord  was  on  the  earth,  but  after  its  constitution, 
agreeal)ly  to  the  divine  injimctions,  when  the  faith  and  order  had  be- 
come fixed  and  settled.  To  this  al)le  ])rcsentation  of  the  church's 
argument  Foxcroft  replied  in  his  "Eusebius  Inermatus.  Just  Remarks 
on  a  late  Book  Intitled  Eleutherius  Enervatus  .  .  .  done  by  way  of 
Dialogue  by  Phileleuth  Bimgor,  Y.  E.  B."  This  bitter  and  Iriting 
answer  was  appended  to  Dickinson's  "Prsvlaticus  Triumphatus,"  and 
is  undoubtedly  the  most  trenchant  of  all  the  jjamphlets  issued  on  the 
Presln'terian  side.  A  "Letter  from  a  Minister  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land to  his  Dissenting  Parishioners,"  by  Johnson,  issued  the  same 


CONTROVERSIES.  275 

year,  had  elicited  a  reply  from  "  an  Irish  Teacher  "  in  his  neighborhood, 
by  the  name  of  Graham.  In  noticing  these  "Remarks"  of  Graham, 
Johnson  replied  as  well  to  Foxcroft,  in  a  postscript  to  "  A  Secoad  Letter 
of  a  Minister  of  the  (church  of  England  to  his  Dissenting  Parishioners," 
published  the  following  year.  In  this  "Second  Letter"  Johnson  re- 
capitulates and  enforces  the  positions  he  had  earlier  taken  in  defence  of 
the  Church.    These  "  reasons"  are  as  follows  : — 

1 .  My  first  Reason  against  you  was,  that  you  are  destitute  of  the  Episcopal 
Oovernmcnt,  which  was  at  first  appointed  and  established  in  the  Piimitive  Church, 
and  continued  down  for  1500  years,  and  is  still,  by  God's  Goodness  continued  and 
established  in  our  Nation  and  Mother  Country,  as  well  as  in  several  other  Protes- 
tant Countries Under  this  head  I  told  you,  that  you  have  utterly  forsaken 

the  Scripture  Rule,  in  not  Ordaining  Deacons,  Ads,  6.6.,  and  in  the  Layity's  Ordain- 
ing Ministers,  for  which  you  have  no  Scripture  Rule  or  Example,  but  the  Contrary. 
This  indeed  you  are  generally  asham'd  of,  and  have  long  laid  aside.  But  I  showed 
you  from  the  Original  Platform  agreed  upon  in  1649,  Chap.  9,  it  was  the  ancient 
allowed  Custom  of  the  Country,  ana  has  propagated  a  fundamental  Disorder  down 
to  this  very  Day 

2.  My  7iexl  Objection  was,  that  the  Separation  was  founded  upon  an  unwar- 
rantable Disobedience  to  Authority,  both  in  Church  and  State,  contrary  to  those 
Texts,  I.  Pet.  -2.  13,  and  Heb.  13.  17.  .   . 

3.  My /AjVd  Objection  was  of  your  being  in  a  state  of  unjustifiable  Separa- 
tion from  the  Church 

4.  jMy  fourth  Reason  was,  your  not  reading  the  Holy  Scriptures  in  Public 
Worship,  which  I  proved  it  to   be  your  Duty  to   do,  from   Luke  4.  6,  Acts  13.  27, 

1.  Tim.  4.  13 

5.  I  told  you  it  appcai-ed  to  me  a  great  Duty  commanded  by  Christ,  Luke  11. 

2,  Mat.  6.  8,  to  use  the  Lord's  Prayer  in  Public  Worship 

6.  I  fovmd  fault  with  you  tliat  you  are  destitute  of  Public  Forvis  of  Prayer. 
which  I  proved  to  be  the  ancient  Scripture-Method,  from  the  examples  of  David, 
Solomon,  Hezekiah,  Daniel,  our  Saviour  in  John  17,  and  Mat.  6.  9,  &  26,  44,  and 
the  Apostles,  Acts  4.  24,  &c 

7.  Another  thing  I  told  you  wherein  you  appeared  to  me  to  vaiy  from  the 
Scripture  way  of  Worship  is,  that  the  People  do  not  bearajmrt  in  your  publick  Wor- 
ship. .  . 

8.  Another  thing  wherein  you  appeared  to  me  to  have  gone  off  from  Script- 
ure rule  and  Example,  was  your  Neglect  of  bodily  Worship,  which  I  proved  to  be 
you  Duty  from  1  Cor.,  6.  20,  where  we  are  required  to  glorifie  God  with  our  Bodies, 
as  well  as  our  Spirits 

The  last  thing  I  objected  against  you,  was  your  teaching  Children  "  Tliat 
God  has  preordained  whatsoever  comes  to  pass."  For  I  say,  since  Sin  has  come  lo 
pass  it  seems  clear  to  me  that  you  must  herein  teach  them  that  God  has  preordained, 
i.e.,  willed.  Sin,  &c.  I  added,  that  your  Doctrine  of  Absolute  Reprobation  seemed 
to  me  decidedly  inconsistent  with  what  God  declares  with  an  Oath,  in  Ezek.  33.  11, 
{ha.t  he  haXh  no  pleasure  in  the  Death  of  him  that  dielh.    Chap.  18.  3i',  &c 

This  well-reasoned  pamphlet,  rising  almost  to  the  size,  as  it  cei- 
tainly  does  to  the  dignity,  of  a  volume,  closes  with  these  earnest  words, 
indicative  of  the  temper  and  style  of  the  writer  and  man  :  — 

For  GOD'S  sake,  my  Brethren,  Let  us  not,  for  the  Future,  study  to  put  the 
worst  Constructions  we  can  on  one  another's  Words  or  Actions;  but  let  us  rather 
endeavour  to  make  the  best  we  can  of  them :  Let  us  not  try  to  magnilie  and  aggra- 
vate the  Differences  between  us,  but  rather  to  make  as  little  of  them,  and  to  consider 
them  with  as  much  Tenderness,  as  possible :  Let  us  not  dispute  which  has  already 
most  or  least  Charity,  but  let  us  strive  to  see  who  shall  hereafter,  really  and  in  fact, 
most  abound  in  the  Practice  of  that  Heavenly  Virtue,  both  towards  each  other,  and 
toward  all  Jlen  :  This  is  the  best  Course  we  can  take,  as  far  as  possible  in  this  im- 
|)erfect  State,  to  reconcile  ourselves  to  one  anotlier,  both  in  Judgment  and  Pnictice : 


276  HISTORY    OF   THE   AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH 

to  meet  together  In  Truth,  and  live  in  Peace  here,  or  however  to  meet  at  last  in  that 
perfect  State  ol'  Truth  and  Peace,  and  Holiness  hereafter,  where  GOD  and  Charity 
alone  shall  forever  Reign. 

Two  years  elapsed  before  Graham  replied  to  this  dignified  and 
manly  defence  of  the  Cliurch.      In  the  meantime  Charles  Chauncy,  a 

rising   Puritan  minister  of  Boston, 

^-^  destined  to  become  one  of  the  fore- 

/yP      /^ J    r^tf     /j>i<-^X/       most  men  of  his  profession  in  the 

iJulAj:^^    {J'l^i^O'^^  '-^y-    ,.^,,^^  published  proposals  in  the  Bos- 

//  ton    "News-Letter,"    of    May    30, 

1734,  of  "A  Compleat  View  of  the 
first  Two  Hundred  Years  after  Christ,  touching  Episcopacy."  Sub- 
scriptions failed  to  warrant  the  appearance  of  this  work,  which  was  not 
destined  to  see  the  light  for  a  whole  generation,  and  then  to  gain  a 
reading  only  in  connection  with  the  controversy  respecting  an  Ameri- 
can episcopate.  Among  the  "  Theses  "  prescribed  for  the  Master's 
degree  at  Harvard  in  1733,  is  this  :  "Is  an  unbroken  Apostolic  Succes- 
sion necessary  to  the  Validity  of  the  Ministry  ?  "  Of  course  it  was  the 
negative  of  the  proposition  that  was  maintained. 

In  1736  Jonathan  Dickinson  again  entered  the  polemic  arena, 
with  the  issue  from  the  press  of  John  Peter  Zenger,  of  New  York,  of 
"  The  Vanity  of  Human  Institutions  in  the  Worship  of  God."  The 
motto  of  this  sermon,  wliich  was  oinginally  preached  at  Newark,  N.J., 
June  2,  1736,  is  taken  from  Gal.  iv.  9,  and  the  turning  "  to  the  weak 
and  beggarly  elements"  referred  to  is  explained  in  the  prefatory 
address  to  the  Presbyterian  congregation  at  Newark,  which  speaks  of 
"  the  Circumstances  of  your  Congregation  where  so  many  were  enclined 
without  any  kno\vn  Cause,  to  change  their  Profession  and  forsake  your 
Communion."  In  the  following  February  Mr.  Dickinson  felt  it 
incumbent  upon  him  to  return  to  the  attack,  in  "  A  Defence  of  a  Ser- 
mon .  .  .  against  the  Exceptions  of  Mr.  John  Beach,  in  a  Letter  to 
him,"  occupying  upwards  of  one  hundred  pages,  and  in  the  following 
year,  "A  Second  Defence  "  is  issued  at  Boston,  at  even  greater  length, 
with  a  view  of  meeting  "The  Exceptions  of  Mr.  John  Beach,  in  his 
Appeal  to  the  Unprejudiced,"  and  having,  for  its  heading,  the  title 
"  The  Reasonableness  of  Non-Conformity  to  the  Church  of  England  in 
Point  of  Worship."  John  Beach,  who  was  the  object  of  Dickinson's 
repeated  assaults,  had  conformed  to  the  Church  in  1732,  and  was  the 
missionary  of  the  venerable  society  at  Newtown,  Connecticut.  Gradu- 
ating from  Yale  College  in  1721,  the  Puritan  ministers  of  Connecticut 
sent  him  to  counteract  the  tendency  towards  the  Church  among  the 
people  of  Newtown  and  Ripon.  This  "  very  popular  insinuating  young 
man"^  being  "well-affected  towards  the  Church," and  using  "some  of 
the  Prayers  out  of  the  Liturgy,"  for  a  time  allayed  the  discontent,  until, 
on  "inquiry,  reflection  and  prayer,"  he  declared  publicly  for  the 
Church,  and  sailed  for  England  to  receive  the  ministerial  commission. 
"Ingenuous  and  studious,"  a  "  truly  serious  and  conscientious  Chris- 
tian," as  Dr.  Johnson  styles  him,^  his  change  of  ecclesiastical  relations 

1  Conn.  Ch.  Docs.,  I.,  p.  99.  '■  Ibid.,  I.,  p.  152. 


CONTROVERSIES.  277 

occasioned  great  uneasiness  among  the  congregationalists,  and  his 
return  to  his  old  home  in  the  capacity  of  a  missionary  of  the  venerable 
society  was  made  the  gi'ound  of  a  bitter  and  unrelenting  personal  op- 
position. "  Johnson's  Plain  Reasons  for  Conforming  to  the  Church  " 
had  been  issued  at  the  instance  of  a  brother  of  the  new  con^'ert,  who 
had  himself  conformed  to  the  Cliurcli,*  and  when  the  controversy  aris- 
ing out  of  the  "  scurrilous  and  abusive  l)allad  "  published  by  John 
Graham,  to  which  we  have  referred,  had  been  closed  by  Johnson, 
Beach  took  up  the  Church's  side  in  reply  toDicliinson,  as  we  have  seen, 
in  his  "  Vindication  of  the  ^YorshilJ  of  the  Church  of  England."  The 
rejoinder  of  Dickinson  was  immediately  met  by  Beach  in  his  "  Appeal 
to  the  Unprejudiced,"  in  the  course  of  which  appears  this  personal 
allusion  to  his  change  of  views  :  — 

I  have  evened  the  scale  of  my  judgment  as  much  as  possibly  I  could ;  and,  to 
the  best  of  my  knowledge,  I  have  not  allowed  one  grain  of  worldly  motive  on 
either  side.  I  have  supposed  myself  on  the  brink  of  eternity,  just  going  into  the 
other  world  to  give  up  my  account  to  my  great  Judge ;  and  miist  I  be  branded  for 
an  anti-christ,  or  heretic  and  apostate,  because  my  "judgment  determines  that  the 
Chmx'h  of  England  is  most  agreeable  to  the  Word  of  God.^  I  can  speak  in  the 
presence  of  God,  ....  that  I  would  willingly  tui'n  dissenter  again,  if  you  or  any 
man  living  would  show  me  i-eason  for  it.  But  then  it  must  be  reason  (whereby  I 
exclude  not  the  Word  of  God,  the  highest  reason),  and  not  sophisti-y  and 
caliuuny,  as  you  have  hitherto  used,  that  will  convince  a  lover  of  truth  ;md  rio'ht. 

With  this  trenchant  pamphlet  the  controversy,  so  far  as  the 
Church  was  concerned,  was  temporarily  closed.  The  charge  of 
"  Ai-minianism  "  had  been  made  by  the  veteran  controversialist,  Dick- 
inson, in  his  attack  upon  Mr.  Beach ;  and  when,  after  a  little,  the 
polemic  strife  was  renewed,  it  was  in  the  form  of  a  doctrinal  dispute 
rather  than,  as  before,  a  contest  as  to  matters  of  polity  or  prayers.  In 
the  "  advertisement "  to  "  A  Letter  from  Aristocles  to  Authades  con- 
cerning the  Sovereignty  and  the  Promises  of  God,"  published  m 
Boston  in  1745,^^  Dr.  Johnson  gives  the  following  reasons  for  its 
appearance :  — 

What  prevailed  on  me  to  consent  to  the  publishing  of  the  following  Letter, 
was  a  sincere  and  firm  Persuasion  that  it  is  really  the  Cause  of  God  and  his  CHRIST 
that  I  here  plead,  and  that  the  eternal  Interest  of  the  Souls  of  Men  is  very  nearly 
concerned  in  it.  For  it  is  manifest  to  me  that  some  Notions  have  of  late  been 
propagated  and  inculcated  in  this  Country  that  are  equally  destructive  to  the  right 
Belief  both  of  God  and  the  Gospel.  I  have  indeed  that  Charity  for  those  ^at 
have  done  it,  that  I  do  not  believe  they  are  at  all  sensible  of  these  fatal  Conse- 
quences of  what  they  teach,  tho'  I  very  much  wonder  they  are  not  aware  of  them. 

I  am  not  insensible  that  the  odious  Name  of  Arminianism  will  bo  the  Cry 
against  these  papers  fi'om  those  little  Minds  that  are  affected  with  Soimds  more  than 
Sense,  and  that  are  enga^d  at  any  Rate  to  support  a  Pai-ty,  without  seriously  and 
impaitially  attending  to  the  Truth  and  Right  of  the  Case.     But  I  do  hereby  declare 

'Beardsler^s  "  Hi3t.  of  the  Epis.  Church  in  on  "  God's  Sovereign  Free  Grace,"  in  1748.    It 

Conn.,"  I.,  p.  9o.  needed  not  the  issue  of  these  pamphlets,  calm, 

2  Archseolof,'ia  Americana,  VI.,  p.  487.    Dr.  logical,  and  convincing,  as  they  are,  to  secure 

Beardsley,  in  his  "  Hist,  of  the  Epis.   Ch.  in  for  Johnson  the  Oxford  Doctorate.     He  had 

Conn.,"  I.,  p.  137,  assigns  the  year  1744  :is  the  long  since  earned  a  claim  to  this  dignity  hy  the 

close  of  this  controversy;  but  Dr.  Johnson's  re-  respect  for  his  scholarship  and  aliility"  he'  bad 

joinder  to  Dickinson  hears  date  of  1747,  and  he  obtained  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic' 
contributed  a  preface  to  Mr.  Beach's  pamphlet 


278  HISTORY   OF  THE   AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

that  1  alihor  all  such  Party  Names  and  Distinctions,  and  that  I  will  call  no  Man 
Master  upon  Earth,  for  one  is  my  IMaster  in  Heaven.  The  only  Question  worth 
attending  to  is  not  what  Calvin  or  what  Arminius  taught,  but  what  CuniST  and  his 
Apostles  taught ;  for  He  alone  was  the  Author  and  Finisher  of  our  Faith.  And 
(all  Jletaphysics  and  AVords  vrithout  any  Meaning  being  set  aside,  which  have 
nothing  to  do  in  the  present  Subject)  I  himably  submit  it  to  every  one's  Candor 
and  unbyassed  Consideration,  whether  what  follows  be  not  truly  the  Doctrine  of 
Christ :  'L'he  Substance  of  which  may  be  briefly  expressed  in  the  following  Manner, 
and  in  the  ^ery  Language  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  viz. :  — 

"  That  God  really  means  as  he  says,  when  he  says,  and  swears  by  hini«elf.  That 
he  hath  no  pleasure  in  the  Death  of  him  that  dietli :  —  That  he  is  not  willing  that  any 
should  perish,  but  that  all  should  come  to  Repentance  and  be  saved .  —  And  that  he 
hath  given  his  Son  a  Ransom  for  all,  who  accordingly  hath  tasted  Death  for  every 
Man,  and  v^as  a  Propitiation  for  the  Sins  of  the  Whole  World :  —  So  that  whosoever 
will  may  now  come  and  take  of  the  Waters  of  life  Freely.  —  And,  because  of  our 
inability  to  help  ourselves,  God  hath,  by  his  blessed  Son,  assured  us  that  he  will, 
for  his  sake,  give  his  Holy  Spirit  to  every  one  tliat  seriously  asks  him,  and  earnestly 
strives  to  w  oA  out  his  Salvation  with  Fear  and  Tremblmg,  in  whom  he  works  by 
his  blessed  Spirit  both  to  will  and  to  do :  —  And  that  he  will,  through  his  free  Grace 
in  Jesus  Christ,  most  assuredly  pardon  every  ti'ue  Penitent,  accept  of  every  sincere 
Believer,  and  eternally  reward  all  those  that,  in  the  way  of  well  doing,  or  in  a  stead- 
fast Course  of  sincere  and  imiversal  Obedience  to  the  Gospel,  are  faithful  unto  the 
Death."  This  is  the  true  Doctrine  of  Jesus  Christ ;  and  this  is  all  that  I  was  con- 
cerned to  defend  in  the  following  Letter. 

To  tills  able  and  dispassionate  treatise  Dickinson  replied  the  fol- 
lowing year,  in  a  "Vindication  of  God's  Sovereign  Free  Grace," 
published  in  Boston,  and  shortly  after  in  a  "  Second  Vindication." 
Mr.  Beacli,  in  1747,  contributed  to  the  controversy  a  reply  to  Dickin- 
son, entitled  "God's  Sovereignty  and  Universal  Love  reconciled," 
while  Dr.  Johnson  published  at  the  very  beginning  of  the  same  year 
"A  Letter  to  Mr.  Jonathan  Dickinson,  In  Defence  of  Aristocles  to 
Authades,  Concerning  the  Sovereignty  &  Promises  of  God,  From 
Samuel  Johnson,  D.D."  The  following  year  appeared  Dickinson's 
"Second  Vindication  of  God's  Sovei-eign  Free  Grace,  Against  the 
Exceptions  made  to  a  former  Vindication  by  Mr.  John  Beach,  in  his 
Discourse  entitled  '  God's  Sovereignty,  and  his  Universal  Love  to  the 
Souls  of  Men  reconciled,'  Li  a  Letter  to  that  Gentleman."  The 
energetic  Beach  was  not  laggard  in  the  strife,  but  before  his  answer 
could  appear  his  antagonist  had  died.  The  "  Second  Vindication  of 
God's  Sovereign  Free  Grace  Indeed,  in  a  fair  and  candid  Examination 
of  the  last  Discourse  of  the  late  Mr.  Dickinson"  had  a  preface  by  Dr. 
Johnson.  This  closed  the  controversy  so  far  as  the  Rector  of  Strat- 
ford was  concerned ;  but  Beach,  whose  appetite  for  discussion  had 
evidently  not  been  appeased,  found  a  new  antagonist,  and  issued  the 
same  year  a  pamphlet  of  twenty-three  pages,  with  the  title,  "An 
Attempt  to  Prove  the  Affirmative  of  tliat  Question,  Whether  there  be 
any  Certainty  that  a  Sinner,  under  the  Advantages  of  the  Gospel  and 
Common  Grace,  striving  with  all  his  Might,  and  persevering  to  the 
last  in  his  utmost  Endeavors  to  please  God,  shall  obtain  such  a  Measure 
of  Divine  Assistance  as  is  necessary  to  fit  him  for  Eternal  Salvation  ? 
or,  Whether  God  be  a  rcwarder  of  all  those  who  diligently  seek  him  • 
Containing  some  Eemarks  upon  a  late  Piece,  entitled :  '  A  Vindication 
of  Gospel  Truth,  and  Refutation  of  Some  dangerous  Errors,'  etc.. 
Done  in  a   Letter  to  Mr.  Jedediah  Mills."     The  doctrinal  question 


CONTROVERSIES.  279 

being  in  a  measure  disposed  oi',  the  controversy  broke  out  anew  with 
reference  to  tlie  old  issues. 

A  sermon  preuclied  at  tlic  ordination  of  the  Rev.  Noah  Welles, 
of  btamford,  Conn.,  b}'  th(!  Rev.  Noah  Hobart,  on  the  last  day  of  the 
year  IT-iH,  had  contained  some  reflections  on  the  Church  and  its  mem- 
bers, which  were  answered  by  tiic  missionary  at  Rye,  N.Y.,  the 
Rev.  James  Wetmore,  in  his  "Vindication  of  the  Professors  of  the 
Church  of  England  in  Connecticut 
against  the  Invectives  contained  in  a 
Sermon  j)reat'hed  at  Stamford  by  Mr. 
Noali  lIobart,Dec.  31.  174(5.  In  ii  Let- 
ter to  a  Friend."  The  Rev.  Henry 
Cauer,  of  Newport,  issued  early  the  fol- 
lowing year  a  "  Discourse  on  tlu;  J'ul)lic 
A\'orsliip  of  God,  the  Liturgy  of  the  Church  of  England,  etc."  Caner's 
maiden  etlbrt  was,  in  a  measiu'c,  overlooked  ;  but  Hobart  was  not  a 
man  likely  to  pass  lightly  by  the  animadversions  of  Wetmore.  Taking 
up  and  a))pro()riating  to  himself  the  claim  earlier  advanced  by  John- 
son in  his  ''Letters  to  his  Dissenting  Parishioners,"  there  ai^peared,  iu 
a  ponderous  duodecimo  of  one  hundred  and  thirty-nine  pages,  "  A 
Serious  Address  To  the  ^lemljers  of  the  J^Jjjixcojxtl  /Separation  in  JSfaw- 
England.  Occasioned  by  Mr.  Wetmore's  '  Vindication  of  the  Profes- 
sors of  the  Church  of  England  in  Connecticut.'  Being  an  attem})t  to 
tix  and  settle  these  tlu'ce  points  :  — 

I.  Whether  tlic  inhabitants  of  the;  Britisli,  Plantations  in  America,  those  ol' 
New-Enghmd  in  particnhir,  are  okliced,  in  Point  of  Duty,  liy  the  Laws  of  Ood  or 
j\lan.  to  conform  to  the  Prclalic  Church,  liy  I^aw  established  in  the  Hoiith  Pari  of 
Great  Britain. 

II.  Whether  it  be  rmwEU  ill  poiiil  of  Prudence  for  tliose  wlio  are  already 
settled  in  sneh  chnrehes  as  have  so  long-  snbsisted  in  yew-England,  to  forsake  them 
anil  go  over  to  that  Coiiiinunio)i. 

III.  Whether  it  be  lawful  for  particular  Members  of  New-English  Churches 
to  separate  from  them,  and  join  in  t'ouniumion  with  the  PJpiscopal  AssemOlic!:  in 
the  Coimtry.     tJj-  Xoah  Hobart,  A.M.,  Pastor  of  a  Church  of  Christ  in  Fairfield." 

This  ambitious  title  indicates  with  stifficient  precision  the  animus 
and  argument  of  the  book.  Its  ai^jjearance  was  followed  Ijy  a  reprint 
of  Micajah  Towgood's  "Dissenting  Gentleman's  Answer  to  the  Rever- 
end Mr.  White  ;  Three  Letters  in  which  a  Separation  from  the  Estal)- 
iishment  is  fully  justified  ;  The  Charge  of  Schism  is  refuted  and  re- 
torted ;  and  the  Church  of  England  and  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ 
are  impartially  compared,  and  found  to  be  constitutions  of  a  quite 
Different  Nature."  Several  editions  of  this  tract,  which  was  one  of 
the  ablest  of  the  dissenters'  publications,  were  issued  in  Boston  and 
New  York,  and  in  its  various  forms  was  widely  circulated  throughout 
tlie  northern  cf)lonies.  Mr.  Wetmore  returned  to  the  attack  ^vitll  a 
rejjrint  of  another  famous  polemical  treatise  on  the  side  of  the  Church, 
and  "The  Englishman  directed  in  the  Choice  of  his  Religion,  with  a 
Prefatory  Address  to  the  Gentlemen  of  America  by  J.  Wetmore," 
closed  up   the  controversial   issues  of  the   year. 

In  1749  John  Beach  issued  "  A  Calm  and  Dispassionate  Vindication 


2«0  UIST015Y   OF   THE   AMEIUCAN   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 


of  the  Profession  of  the  Church  of  England  against  Noah  Hobait," 
with  a  preface  l)y  Dr.  Johnson,  and  an  appendix  containing  \\''etmore's 
and  Cauer's  animatlversions.  Jedediah  Mills  replied  to  Beach's  attack 
on  him  of  the  preceding  year,  and  an  edition  of  the  Rev.  John  White's 
"  Letters  to  a  Dissenting  Gentleman  "  served  to  correct  the  arguments 
and  misrepresentations  of  Towgood's  dissenting  gentleman's  answer  to 
White. 

The  following  year,  1750,  the  controversy  took  a  new  form. 
Two  issues  alone  continued  the  Episcopal  discussion,  with  a  brief  re- 
joinder by  Moses  Dickinson  to  "  Mr.  Beach's  Second  Reply  to  Jonathan 


KliV.     JA.MKS     McSPAKKAN. 

Dickinson's  Second  Vindication  of  God's  sovereign  free  grace."  These 
issues  were  the  reprint  of  "  A  Discourse  on  Government  and  Religion  ; 
calculated  for  the  Meridian  of  the  30th  of  January,"  and  Jonathan 
Mayhew's  "  Unlimited  Submission  and  Non-Resistance  to  the  Higher 
Powers  :  with  Reflections  on  the  Resistance  made  to  King  Charles  I. 
and  on  the  Anniversary  of  his  Death,  in  which  the  Mysterious  Doc- 
trine of  that  Prince's  Saintship  and  Martyrdom  is  unriddled." 

In  1751  Beach  jniblished  a  "  Continuation  of  the  Vindication  of 
the  Professors  of  the  Church  of  England  against  Mr.  Hobart,"  while 
Hobart  issued  "  A  Second  Address  to  the  jNIembers  of  the  Episcopal 
Separation  in  New  England  "  as  an  answer  to  the  criticisms  of  Johnson 
and  Wetmore. 


CONTROVERSIES.  281 

III    1752  the   Rpv.  James  McSparran,    D.D.,    of  Narragan.setl . 
published  a  sermon    from    Hebrews   v.   4,    on   "The   Sacred  Dignity 
of    the    Priesthood     Vindi- 
cated."      The    occasion    of  ^  y^a— •;? 
this    discourse     M'hich    was             S^^yj^  ^    J//lCm.^?^^ 
preached    on   Sunday,  An-           >««77«'«'  /i*-    ^i/r 
gust  4,  1751,  at   St.  Paul's.       (y  f/ 
Narragansett,     was     de- 
scribed b}'  the  preacher  himself  in  a  letter  to  his  cousin  and  corre- 
spondent, the  Rev.  Paul  Limerick,  of  Ireland,  printed  in  the  appendix 
to  the  writer's  "America  Dissected":  — 

V.agrant,  illiterate  preachers  swai-in  where  I  am  ;  and  the  native  Novanglian 
clergy  of  our  Church,  against  the  opinion  of  the  European  Missionaries,  have  intro- 
duced a  custom  of  young  scholars  going  about  and  reading  jn-ayers.  etc.,  where 
there  are  vacancies,  on  purjjose  that  they  may  step  into  them  when  they  can  get 
orders;  yea,  have  so  rejiresented  the  necessity  and  advantages  of  the  tliino-,  that 
the  very  Society  connive  at  it,  if  not  encourage  it.  This  occasioned  my  ]n'(!acliiiig, 
and  afterwards  printing,  the  inclosed  discourse,  on  which  I  shall  bo  "glad  to  have 
your  sentiments.  .  .  .  And  as  this  was  a  bold  step,  I  have  sent  one  to  the  Bishop  of 
London,  and  other  Members  of  the  Society  ;  and  I  hope,  instead  of  j)rocnring  me  a 
reproof,  it  will  open  their  own  eyes,  and  make  them  guard  better  against  irregulari- 
ties, which,  when  they  happen  to  be  coeval  with  anv  church ,  are  hard  to  i)e  re- 
formed.' 

Although  the  most  cursory  perusal  of  Dr.  McSparran's  sermon 
could  not  fail  to  convince  any  unprejudiced  mind  tliat  the  object  of  the 
preaclicr  was  to  point  out  and  correct  certain  irregiUarities  which  had 
crept  into  his  own  connnunion,  the  ap]5earance  of  the  discourse  was 
made  the  signal  for  a  l)itter  attack  upon  the  Church.  Mr.  Samuel 
Beaven  published  "The  Religious  Liberties  of  the  Christian  Laity 
Asserted."  Another  repl>'  issued  anonymously,  Intt  the  work  of  Joint 
Alpin.  was  entitled  "  An  Address  to  the  Peoiile  of  New  p]ngland, 
occasioned  by  the  preaching  and  publishing  of  certain  Doctrines  de- 
structive of  their  rights  and  liberties,  both  religious  and  ci\il  "  (by 
James  McSjiarran ) ,  "  in  a  sermon  entitled  The  Sacred  Dignity  of  the 
Christian  Priesthood  Vindicated,  by  a  native  of  New  England."  The 
motto  of  this  splenetic  production  was  taken  with  singular  appropri- 
ateness from  2  Peter  ii.  16.  A  lawyer  in  Newport,  Mr.  William 
Richardson,  replied  to  Alpin  in  an  essay  entitled  "The  Lil)erty  of  the 
Laity  not  infringed  by  the  Sacred  Dignity  of  Christian  Priesthood, 
containing  some  gentle  animadversions  on  a  late  Rhapsody,  with  a 
short  Appendix  by  a  Layman."  Beaven  rejoined  in  a  pamphlet  entitled 
"Lay  Liberty  re-asserted,  in  a  Letter  to  the  late  Orthodox  Champion 
for  the  Dignity  of  the  Christian  Priesthood."  Dr.  McSparran  took 
no  notice  of  his  assailants,  and  with  these  issues  of  the  local  pres.s 
the  controversy  wiiich  had  not  attracted  attention  to  any  extent  be- 
yond Newport  and  the  adjacent  mainland  came  to  an  end.'-^  A  New 
York  reprint,  issued  in  1758,  of  Squire's  "Answer  to  some  late  Papers 
entitled  the  Independent  Whig ;  so  far  as  relate  to  the  Church  of 
England,  as  Ijy  Law  Established,  etc.,"  closed  the  general  controversj' 

'  Updike's  "  Narragansett  Church,"  pp.  238,  239,  527.  ■  I^id.,  pp.  238-241. 


282 


HISTORY   OF  THE   AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 


Ibr  a  number  of  years.  It  was  in  connection  with  tiie  bitter  strife  en- 
gendered by  the  struggle  of  the  Cliurch  in  tiie  colonies  for  the  episco- 
pate that  the  polemic  war  again  broke  out.  For  a  time  the  champions 
on  either  side  rested  on  the  field  of  battle.  In  the  efiectual  silencing 
of  their  opponents  and  in  the  growth  of  the  Church  throughout  the 
land  the  fruits  of  victory  at  least  were  found  on  the  church's  side. 


ILLUSTRATIVE  NOTE. 


FOR  the  bibliography  of  these  controversies,  which,  in  their  frequency  and  the 
numerous  issues  from  the  press,  to  which  they  gave  birth,  evidently  occupied 
much  of  the  time  and  thought  of  New  England  readers  of  the  last  century,  we 
would  refer  to  the  "  Arehteologia  Americana,"  vi.,  pp.  307-661,  which  contains  a 
"  Catalogue  of  Publications  in  what  is  now  the  United  States,  prior  to  the  Revolution 
of  1776-6." 


No  portrait  of  the  Rev.  John  Beach  is  known  to  exist.  On  the  one  hunch'ed 
and  fiftieth  anniversaiy  of  the  founding  of  Trinity  parish,  Newtown,  t'onn.,  a 
memorial  (aljlet,  secured  through  the  exertions  of  the  present  rector,  the  Rev. 
(Jouverneur  Morris  Wilkins,  a  descendant  of  the  celebrated  Isaac  Wilkiiis,  D.D., 
of  Westchester,  N.Y.,  was  placed  in  the  church  as  a  fitting  testimony  that  "he, 
being  dead,  yet  speaketh." 


CHAPTER    XVII. 

DOCTOR  JOHNSON,  OF  STRATFORD,  AND  THE  GROWTH  OF 
THE  CONXECTICUr  CHURCH. 


THE  earliest  indication  of  tlie  presence  of  churchmen  in  Con- 
necticut appears  in  a  "  humble  address  and  petition  "  laid  be- 
fore the  General  Asseml)ly,  in  October,  lfi64.  This  document, 
signed  by  William  Pitkin,  Michael  Humiihrey,  John  Sledman,  James 
Enno,  Robart  Reeve,  John  Moses,  and  Jonas  Westover,  all  freemen 
of  the  corporation  of  Connecticut,  and  "  professors  of  the  Protestant 
Christian  Religion,  Memliers  of  the  Church  of  England,  and  subjects 
to  our  sovereign  lord,  Charles  the  Second,  by  God's  grace  king  of 
England,"  was  intended  "to  declare  our  grievances,  and  to  petition  for 
a  redress  of  the  same."  The  petitioners  complain  of  their  "past  and 
present  want  of  those  Ordinances  which,"  they  assert,  "ought  to  be 
administered  "  to  them  and  their  children  "as  members  of  Christ's  vis- 
ible Church."  They  appeal  to  the  language  of  the  charter,  and  to  the 
king's  letter  to  the  Massachusetts  Bay  Colony  of  June  20,  1662,  as 
waiTanting  their  claim  to  the  administration  of  the  sacraments,  and 
they  ask  the  action  of  the  assembly  to  put  them  "  in  a  full  and  free 
capacity  of  enjoying  those  fore-mentioned  advantages,  which  to  us,  as 
members  of  Christ's  visible  Church,  do  of  right  belong."  They  refer 
to  the  relations  they  stand  in  to  "  Our  Mother  Church,"  and  assert  that 
they  and  theirs  "  are  not  under  the  due  care  of  an  orthodox  ministry 
that  will  in  a  due  manner  administer"  the  two  sacraments.  Profess- 
ing themselves  to  be  "  as  sheep  scattered  having  no  shepherd,"  they 
pray  "that  for  the  future,  no  law  in  this  cor[)oration  may  be  of  any 
force  to  make  us  pay  or  contribute  to  the  maintenance  of  any  minister 
or  ofBcer  of  the  Church  that  will  neglect  or  refuse  to  baptize  our 
children,  and  to  take  care  of  us  as  of  such  members  of  the  Church  as 
are  under  his  or  their  charge  and  care." '  This  plea  for  comprehension, 
on  the  part  of  the  few  "  members  of  the  Church  of  England,"  was 
f;ivorably  received,  and  the  following  action  entered  upon  the  minutes 
of  the  General  Assembly,  to  wit :  — 

This  Court  vnderstanding  by  a  TViiting  presented  to  them  from  senerall  per- 
sons of  this  Colony,  that  they  are  agrieved  tliatthey  are  not  enterteined  in  Chioreh 
fellowship ;  this  Court  hauing  ducly  considered  the  same,  desireing  that  the  rules 
of  Christ  may  be  attended,  doe  commend  it  to  the  ministers  and  churches  in  this 
Colony,  to  consider  whether  it  be  not  their  duty  to  enterteine  all  such  persons  whoe 
are  of  an  honest  and  godly  couuersation,  haueinga  competency  of  knowledg  in  the 
principles  of  religion,  and  shall  desire  to  joyne  w"'  them  in  Church  fellowsliip,  by 

■  Copied  by  C.  J.  Hoadley,  M.A.,  from  "  Con-    Don.  Idfi,  and  published  in  the  "  Am.  Cburch  Re- 
necticiit  State  Papeis,  Kcclesiasdcal,"  Vol.  I.,    view,"  x.,  pp.  106,  107. 


284  HISTORY   OF   THE   AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

an  explicitt  covenant,  and  that  they  haue  their  children  baptized,  and  that  all  the 
children  of  the  Church  be  accepted  and  acco'''  real  members  of  the  Church,  and 
that  the  Church  exercise  a  due  Christian  care  and  watch  ouer  them ;  and  that  when 
they  are  gi-ovvne  up,  being  examined  by  the  officer  in  the  presence  of  the  Church, 
it  appears  in  the  judgment  of  charity,  tliey  are  duely  qualifyed  to  perticipate  in  tliat 
gi'eat  ordinance  of  the  J^ord's  Supper,  by  theire  being  able  to  examine  themselues 
and  discernc  the  Lord's  body,  such  persons  be  admitted  to  full  comunion. 

The  Court  desires  y'  the  seuerall  officers  of  y^  respective  churches  would  be 
pleased  to  consider  whether  it  be  not  the  duty  of  the  Court  to  order  the  churches  to 
practice  according  to  the  premises,  if  they  doe  not  practice  w"'out  such  an  order."  ' 

Pitkin  was  a  man  of  note  in  the  colony,  the  attorney  of  the  cor- 
poration, and  treasurer  from  time  to  time.  Enno,  or  Enuoe,  as  tiio 
name  is  sometimes  written,  and  Humphrey,  had  been  pronounced 
guilty  l)y  the  General  Court,  only  the  year  before,  on  the  complaint 
of  "the  Church  of  Christ  at  Winsor,"^  of  "offensive  practices"  likely 
to  "prove  prejudicial  to  the  welfare  of  the  Colony,"  and,  although  the 
records  do  not  recite  the  nature  of  these  "  practices,"  they  appear  to 
have  been  connected  with  ecclesiastical  disputes,  and  may  have  grown 
out  of  the  very  "  grievances  "  complained  of  at  a  later  day.  We  hear 
nothing  more  of  these  aggrieved  churchmen.  In  being  "  entertained  " 
or  received  into  communion  with  the  "established"  or  "standing 
order,"  they,  doubtless,  were  satisfied.  No  hope,  even,  of  securing 
in  their  new  home  the  services  and  sacraments  of  their  "  ]\Iother 
Church"  seems  to  have  entered  into  their  minds.  Nearly  half  a  cen- 
tury was  to  pass  ere  that  mother-church  was  to  find  a  welcome  and  a 
permanent  home  in  the  Puritan  colony  of  Connecticut. 

Towards  the  close  of  the  seventeenth  century  it  appears  that 
there  were  "  a  considerable  number  of  freeholders,  inhabitants  of  the 
town  of  Stratford,  professors  of  the  faith  of  the  Church  of  England," 
who  were  "  desirous  to  worship  God  in  the  way  of  their  forefathers  ;  " 
but.  to  use  their  own  language,  they  were  "  hindered  from  enjoying 
the  holy  ordinances  of  Jesus  Christ"  until  the  year  1705.  There  is 
record  of  services  at  New  London  on  the  fifteenth  Sunday  after  Trin- 
ity, September  13,  1702,  when  the  Rev.  John  Talbot  preached  to  a 
large  auditory  in  the  morning,  and  the  Rev.  George  Keith  in  the  after- 
noon, at  the  meeting-house  occupied  by  Mr.  Gurdon  Saltonstall. 
There  is  little  doubt  but  that  this  was  the  first  time  that  the  services 
of  the  Church  of  England  w^ere  publicly  held  in  the  colony.  It  is 
certain  that,  prior  to  this  date,  no  clergyman  of  the  Church  had 
preached  to  a  Connecticut  audience.  It  was  through  the  kind  oflices 
of  Colonel  Caleb  Heathcote,  of  Scarsdale  Manor,  in  the  province  of 
New  York,  whose  "  principles  and  natural  temper  "  led  him  "  to  do  the 
Church  all  the  service  "  he  could,  that  the  minister  of  Rye,  the  Rev. 
George  Muirson,  visited  the  few  church-folk  of  Stratford.  Applica- 
tion for  services  had  been  made  by  them  to  the  rector  of  Trinity,  New 
York,  the  preceding  year,  to  preach  and  administer  baptism  at  Strat- 
ford ;  but,  in  consequence  of  the  distance  from  New  York,  the  duty 
was  assigned  to  Mr.  Muirson.  In  company  with  Colonel  Heathcote 
this  zealous  young  missionary  visited  Stratford  on  the  fifteenth  Sun- 

'  The  Public  Records  of  the  Colony  of  Connecticut,  prior  to  the  union  with  New  Haven 
Colony.    Hartlord,  1850,  pp.  437,  438.  >  lUd.,  p.  420. 


THE   GKOWTII   UF   THE    CONNECTICUT   CHURCH.  285 

day  after  Trinity,  September  1,  ITOG.  Application  was  made  to  the 
town  authorities,  for  "tiie  use  of  the  pu))Iiciv  meeting  house,"  "either 
before,  after,  or  lietween  their  exercises,"  '  but  without  success.  "The 
ministers,"  wrote  Colonel  Heathcote  to  the  secretary  of  the  venerable 
society,  were  — 

Very  uneasy  at  our  coming  amongst  them,  and  abundance  of  pains  was  taken 
to  persuade  and  terrify  the  people  from  hearing  iMr.  lAIuirson ;  but  it  availed  noth- 
ing, for,  notwithstanding  all  their  endeavours,  he  had  a  very  great  congregation,  and, 
indeed,  infinitely  beyond  my  expectations.  The  people  were  wonderfully  surprised 
at  the  order  of  our  church,  expecting  to  have  heard  and  seen  some  wonderful, 
strange  things,  by  the  account  and  representation  of  it  that  their  teachers  had  given 
them.  .  .  .  Mr.  Muirson  baptized  about  twenty-four,  mostly  grown  people; 
and  when  he  goes  there  next,  1  hope  many  more  will  be  added  to  the  church. - 

At  the  second  visit  made  by  Mr.  Muirson,  who  was  not  deterred 
by  hard  usage  and  threats  of  imprisonment,^  the  missionary,  as  we 
learn  from  Colonel  Heathcote,  who  accompanied  iiim,  — 

Baptized  four  or  fi\'e  more,  mostly  grown  persons,  and  administered  the  sacra- 
ment to  fifteen.  He  met  with  more  opposition  this  time  tlian  the  last,  the  justices 
having  taken  the  fredom  to  jireach,  giving  out  at  the  same  time,  amongst  the 
people,  that  he  and  all  his  hearers  should  be  put  in  gaol.'' 

On  the  niglit  before  the  administration  of  the  Lord's  Supper  one 
of  the  council,  named  Joseph  Curtice,  accompanied  ]iy  James  Judson, 
a  justice  of  the  peace,  called  at  the  house  where  Colonel  Heathcote  and 
the  missionary  were  lodged,  and  read  a  formal  protest  against  the 
introduction  of  the  church  services  in  the  town  as  illegal  and  a  violation 
of  the  law  of  the  colony  :  — 

That  there  shall  be  no  ministry  or  church  administration  entertained  or  at- 
tended by  the  inhabitants  of  any  town  or  plantation  in  this  colony,  distinct  and 
separate  from,  and  in  opposition  to,  that  which  is  openlj-  and  publickly  observed 
and  dispensed  by  the  approved  ministers  of  the  place. ^ 

On  the  following  day,  the  member  of  the  council,  Mr.  Joseph 
Curtice,  — 

Stood  in  the  highway  himself,  and  employed  several  others  to  forbid  any 
person  to  go  to  the  assembly  of  the  Church  of  England,  and  threatened  them  with 
a  fine  of  five  pomids,  as  the  law  directed." 


It  was  an  additional  source  of  alarm  that  the  independent  minis- 
ter of  the  place,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Reed,  "the  most  ingenious  man  they 
have  amongst  them,"'   writes   Colo- 
nel   Heathcote,  was    favoraldy   in- 
clined   towards    the  Chui'ch,     tuid 
was   only  hindered   from  going  to 
England     for    orders     by    circum- 
stances   over    which    he     had     no                   \^     ^/  > — 
control.       He     lost    his    place    in 

consequence  of  his  leaning  towards  the  Church,  and  was   succeeded 

by  the   Rev.  Timothy  Cutler,   who   was    in   time  to  lead    that  vast 

'  Hawks  and  Peri-y's  "  Connecticut  Church  Documents,"  i.,  pp.  39,  40.  '  Ibid.,  I.,  p.  19. 

'  Ibid.,-p.\1.              « /Wrf.,  pp.  19,  20.              •• /Airf.,  pp.  23,  24.  ' Ibid.,^.i\. 


Jm^s-im  ^iJ:^ 


286  HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

army  of  converts  from  Congregationalism  to  the  Church  at  the  sacrifice 
of  place,  power,  and  the  love  of  all  his  early  friends.  At  the  tliird  visit 
of  Muirson  and  Colonel  Heathcote,  in  April,  1707,  the  organization  of 
the  churchmen  of  Stratford  was  formally  effected,  and  church-wardens 
and  vestrymen  chosen  for  the  parish  of  Christ  Church.  Shortly  after 
this  step  had  been  taken  the  infant  parish  was  visited  by  the  Rev.  Evan 
Evans,  of  Philadelphia,  who  accompanied  Mr.  Muirson,  witli  a  view 
of  ascertaining  by  personal  inspection  the  prospects  of  the  Church  in 
the  colony,  and  of  furthering,  on  his  return  to  England,  the  petition 
of  the  church  people  for  help  from  home.  In  company  with  this  ex- 
cellent clergyman  Mr.  Muirson  visited  Fairfield,  where  he  had  been 
invited  to  preach  and  baptize  some  children.  An  application  to  the 
minister  and  magistrates  for  the  use  of  the  meeting-house  for  a  week- 
day service  was  refused.  The  Church  was  "railed  and  scoffed  at," 
and  even  "  the  liberty  of  ringing  a  bell  or  Ideating  a  drum,  to  give  the 
people  notice,"^  was  denied.  Still  a  "large  congregation"  assembled 
at  a  private  house,  "  notwithstanding  all  the  sti'atagems  used  to  hinder 
the  people  from  coming."  We  may  gather  some  interesting  particu- 
lars of  the  opposition  encountered  by  this  first  "  missioner "  of  the 
Church  in  Connecticut  from  an  admirable  letter  he  addressed  to  the 
secretary  of  the  venerable  society  who  had  counselled  "  meekness  and 
moderation "  in  his  efforts  to  introduce  the  Church  among  the  inde- 
pendents :  — 

It  will  require  more  time  than  you  will  willingly  bestow  on  these  lines  to  ex- 
press how  rigidly  and  severely  they  treat  our  people,  bj'  taking  their  estates  by 
distress,  when  they  do  not  willingly  pay  to  support  their  ministers.  And  though 
eveiy  churchman  in  that  colony  pays  his  rate  for  the  building  and  repairing  their 
meeting-houses,  yet  they  are  so  maliciously  set  against  us,  that  they  deny  us  the 
use  of  tliem,  though  on  week-days.  They  tell  our  people  that  they  will  not  sufler 
the  house  of  God  to  be  defiled  with  idolatrous  worship  and  superstitious  ceremonies. 
They  are  so  bold  that  they  spare  not  openly  to  speak  reproachfully,  and  with  great 
contempt  of  our  chm'ch.  They  say  the  sign  of  the  cross  is  the  mark  of  the  beast 
and  the  sign  of  the  devil,  and  that  those  who  receive  it  are  given  to  the  devil. 
And  when  our  people  complain  to  their  magistrates  of  the  persons  who  thus  speak, 
they  will  not  so  much  as  sign  a  warrant  to  apprehend  them,  nor  reprove  them  for 
their  oiience.  This  is  quite  a  different  character,  to  what,  perhaps,  you  have  heard 
of  that  people.  That  they  are  ignorant  I  can  easily  grant ;  for  if  they  had  either 
much  knowledge  or  goodness  they  would  not  act  and  say  as  they  do ;  but  that  they 
are  hot-heady  I  have  too  just  reason  to  believe ;  and  as  to  their  meaning,  I  leave 
that  to  be  interpreted  by  tlieir  unchristian  proceedings  with  us.  ...  I  beg  that 
you  would  believe  that  this  acooimt  (though  seeming  harsh  and  severe,  yet  no  more 
than  is  true)  does  not  proceed  from  want  of  charity,  either  towards  their  souls  or 
bodies,  but  pm-ely  for  the  good  of  both,  and  to  give  you  better  information  concern- 
ing the  state  of  that  people,  that  proper  remedi(!s  may  be  taken  for  curing  the  evils 
that  are  among  them,  and  that  our  churchmen  in  that  colony  may  not  be  oppressed 
and  insulted  over  by  them,  but  that  they  may  obtain  a  liberty  of  conscience,  and 
call  a  minister  of  their  own  communion,  and  that  they  may  be  freed  from  paying 
to  their  ministers,  and  may  be  enabled  to  obtain  one  of  tiieir  own.  This  is  all 
these  good  men  desire.^ 

The  death  of  the  devoted  Muirson,  in  October,  1708,  put  back  for 
years  the  growth  of  the  Stratford  church.  Surrounded  by  uncompro- 
mising foes,  destitute  of  regular  ministrations,  it  was  only  by  the  self- 

'  Hawks  and  Periy's  "  Conu.  Church  Documents,"  I.,  p.  '2i.  "  Ibid.,  pp.  30,  31. 


THE  GROWTH  OF  THE  CONNECTICUT  CHURCH.       287 

sacrificing  labors  of  the  neighboring  clergy  that  life  was  maintained  at 
all,  and  the  good  work  begun  by  INIuirson  saved  from  utter  ruin.  The 
services  rendered  during  the  dreary  interval  of  months  and  years  that 
elapsed  ere  a  missionary  was  sent  to  them  by  that  "faithful  and 
worthy  laborer  in  God's  vineyard,"  the  Eev.  Mr.  John  Talbot,  are 
specially  mentioned  bj^  the  church-wardens  and  vestry,  in  their  address 
to  the  Bishop  of  London  and  the  society,  as  giving  the  people  "  great 
comfort  and  courage  ;  "  and  the  visits  from  the  clergy  to  the  westward, 
and  the  encouragement  received  from  Colonel  Heathcote,  are  referred  to 
as  the  means  of  enduring  "  the  trouble  and  grievances  "  they  had  ex- 
perienced. "The  want  of  a  minister,"  they  complained,  was  "the  greatest 
of  their  afflictions. "^  But  it  was  not  until  just  l)efore  Christmas,  1712, 
that  this  lack  was  supplied,  by  the  coming  of  the  Rev.  Francis  Phillips, 
as  missionaiy.  Already  hopes  deferred  had  diminished  the  numbers 
of  the  churchmen,  and  retarded  the  building  of  the  church,  which  had 
been  determined  upon  ere  the  death  of  jNIr.  jMuirson ;  and  then  the 
new  clergyman,  tiring  of  his  life  among  the  poor,  persecuted  church- 
men of  this  provincial  town,  spent  the  most  of  his  time  in  New  York, 
and  after  less  than  four  months  of  actual  service  removed,  without  leave 
of  the  society,  to  Philadelphia.  He  was  "  of  a  temper,"  writes  Colonel 
Heathcote,  "very  contrary  to  be  pleased  with  such  conversation  and 
way  of  living  as  Stratford  affords,"  and  he  "had  no  sooner  seen  that 
place  but  his  whole  thoughts  were  bent  and  employed  how  he  should 
get  from  it."  *  Thus  left  "  a  scorn  and  reproach  to  the  enemies  of  the 
church,"  there  is  little  wonder  that  the  Rector  of  Rye,  the  Rev. 
Christopher  Bridge,  was  forced  to  wi'ite  to  the  society  "  that  the 
interest  of  the  church  in  Stratford  seems  to  be  declining."  ^  In  ad- 
dressing the  society  for  relief  they  refer  to  the  fact  that  they  "  have 
had  .at  least  a  hundred  baptized  into  the  church,  and  have  had  at  one 
time  thirty-six  partakers  of  the  Holy  Communion  of  the  Lord's  Sup- 
per, and  have  several  times  assembled  in  a  congregation  between  two 
and  three  hundred  persons." ''  The  timber  for  the  church  had  been 
felled  "  at  last,"  in  the  spring  of  1714,  and  the  hope  had  been  ex- 
pressed that  the  church  would  be  "  raised  in  three  months'  time  ;"  but 
it  was  not  till  Trinity  Sunday,  May  31,  1722,  that  the  mission  received 
its  priest,  and  the  Rev.  George  Pigot  entered  upon  the  long  vacant 
cure.  A  few  weeks  later  he  was  able  not  only  to  administer  the 
holy  communion  to  thii'ty,  and  to  baptize  twenty-seven  infants,  but  also 
to  record  his  "  expectations  of  a  glorious  revolution  of  the  ecclesiastics 
of  this  country,"  the  "  President  of  Yale  College,  and  five  more," 
having  had  a  conference  with  him,  and  being  determined  to  declare 
themselves  professors  of  the  Church  of  England.  We  have  already 
told  the  story  of  that  startling  defection  from  independency,  which  for 
a  time  shook  the  New  England  "standing  order  "  to  its  foundations. 
Those  who  made  this  change  were  men  of  the  highest  position  and 
promise,  and  no  one  could  deny  to  Timothy  Cutler,  Samuel  Johnson, 
James  Wetmorc,  and  Daniel  Brown,  full  credit  for  conscientious  con- 
victions in  casting  in  their  lot  with  the  almost  unknown  churchmen 

1  Hawks  and  Terry's  "  Conn.  Church  Documents,"  i.,  p.  47. 
=  Ibid.,  p.  50.  '  Ibid.,  p.  51.  « Ibid.,  p.  53. 


e 


288  HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

of  Connecticut,  at  the  sacrifice  of  all  that  they  or  others  might  hold 
dear  in  social  position,  influence,  ease,  or  wealth.  At  the  conference 
with  the  college  trustees,  under  the  presidency  of  the  governor,  Gurdon 
Saltonstall,  once  minister  of  New  London,  and  the  host  of  Keith  and 
Talbot  a  score  of  years  before,  three  of  their  number,  Jared  Eliot, 
John  Hart,  and  Samuel  Whittlesey,  who  only  doubted  the  validity  of 
Presbyterian  ordination,  were  induced  to remainat their  posts.  Tradition 
points  to  one  of  the  three  — Whittlesey  —  as  seeking  the  valid  orders  he 
so  much  craved,  at  the  handsof  oneof  the  non-juring  bishops  in  Philadel- 
phia, a  short  time  afterwards  ;  but,  be  that  as  it  may,  the  thoughts  of  relig- 
ious men  throughout  the  American  colonies  were  for  a  time  busied  with 
questions  of  church  polity  and  practice  to  an  extent  never  before  equalled. 
In  the  conversion  of  Johnson,  Cutler,  Brown,  and  Wetmore,  it 
does  not  appear  that  Pigot  had  any  special  part  or  share.  A  prayer- 
book,  the  gift  of  a  Guilford  churchman,  Smithson  by  name,  had  been 
placed  in  the  hand  of  Johnson  ere  he  entered  upon  his  ministerial  life. 
He  had  earlier  read  the  work  of  Archbishop  King  on  "The  Inventions 
of  Men  in  the  Worship  of  God,"  and  the  dislike  of  extemporaneous 
prayer,  which  this  treatise  had  increased,  was  followed  by  a  love  and 
reverence  for  the  forms  of  the  Church  which  led  him  to  the  use  of  the 
pi'ayer-book  in  his  public  services.  The  works  of  the  leading  divines 
of  the  Church  of  England  were  to  be  found  on  the  shelves  of  the  col- 
lege library,  and,  with  their  help,  the  young  minister  pursued  a 
course  of  reading  that  could  not  fail  to  lead  him  to  conform  to  the 
Church.  Even  prior  to  his  entrance  upon  the  Congregationalist  min- 
istiy  he  had  his  scruples  about  the  validity  of  the  orders  he  was  to  re- 
ceive. Circumstances  to  which  we  have  already  alluded  induced  him 
to  waive  his  doubts  and  enter  upon  the  charge  of  the  parish  at  West 
Haven.  The  coming  of  Pigot  into  the  countiy,  in  the  spring  of  1722, 
gave  to  Johnson,  and  the  friends  who  had  shared  his  burden  and  who 
participated  in  his  doubts,  the  opportunity  for  a  conference  with  a  clergy- 
man of  the  Church  of  England  who  could  answer  their  queries,  and  im- 
part to  them  needed  advice.  Though  Pigot  was  present  at  the  famous 
Commencement,  when  the  declaration  for  the  Church  was  foi'maliy  made, 
it  does  not  appear  that  he  took  any  part  in  the  discussion,  or  that  he 
supplied  the  disputants  with  arguments.  There  was  no  need.  Each 
point  of  the  controversy  had  been  carefully  examined  and  studied  ere 
a  conclusion  was  reached,  and  Johnson  and  his  friends  came  out  of  the 
discussion  only  confirmed  in  their  new  faith.  In  the  full  ardor  of  their 
new  conversion  they  set  out  for  England  for  the  orders  they  desired. 
Death  invaded  their  number,  and  Brown  fell  a  victim  to  the  scourge 
that  proved  fatal  to  members  who  sought  the  valid  commission  in  after 
years.  Cutler  found  a  home  and  life- long  work  in  Boston.  To  John- 
son was  assigned,  on  his  return  from  England,  the  work  at  Stratford. 
His  arrival  at  his  new  home,  early  in  November,  1723,  was  the  signal  for 
new  life  and  new  hopes  among  the  church  people  thei-e.  The  work  on 
the  church  was  at  once  resumed.  It  had  proceeded  "  but  heavily,  by 
reason  of  the  poverty  of  its  professors,  who,"  as  Pigot  writes,  were  "too 
closely  fleeced  by  the  adverse  party  to  carry  it  on  with  despatch."  ' 

'  Hawks  and  Perry's  "  Coon.  Church  Documents,"  i.,  p.  87. 


THE    GKOWTII   OF   THE    rONNECTICUT   CHURCH. 


289 


It  wnsnot  till  Cl^•i.stm;l^;()t■  tlioyear  t'ollowing  the  coiniiii;- of  Johnson  to 
Stratford  that  it  was  opened  for  divine  service,  the  only  church  edifice  in 
the  colony,  "a  very  pleasant  and  conifortal)lc  liuilding."'  Here,  in  this 
(jiiict  retreat,  occupied  in  ministering  tothi!  ])copleof  his  cure,  and  in  ex- 
tending the  Church  at  Fairfield,  —  where  the  Church,  at  the  time  of  his 


'-il&^f^««5|, 


JoM^yUAX.  ^t4\.Ai4  (nu 


coming,  was'"  well  enclosed,"  —  at  Newton,  Norwalk,  West  Haven,  and 
Ripton,  as  well  as  elsewhere  ;  engaged  in  stud3^  the  result  of  whicii  hrougiit 
him  face  to  face  and  on  common  ground,  inafter3-ears,  with  the  leading 
men  of  his  time ;  and  numbering  among  his  correspondents  the  best 
and  purest  spirits  at  home  and  abroad,  Jojmson  spent  the  best  part  of  a 
useful  and  honored  life.  His  acquaintance  with  the  celebrated  Dean 
Berkeley,  while  this  distinguished  divine  and  jihilosopher  was  at  New- 
port, made  him  a  "  Berkleian  "  in  his  philosophical  views  ;  M'hile  in  his 
converse  with  this  excellent  man,  to  whom  was  well  ascribed  "every 

'Huwks  iiQil  I\mtv's  "  Conn.  CImroli  Does.,"  i.,  p.  100. 


o 


290  HISTORY   or  THE   AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

virtue  under  heaven,"  he  spent  many  hours  of  rare  intellectual  enjoy- 
ment, and  begun  an  intimacy  which  ended  only  with  the  life  of  the 
good  bishop.  From  the  Stratford  study  there  went  forth,  from  time 
to  time,  wise  and  temperate  answers  to  the  attacks  made  on  the  Church 
by  the  dissenters  around  him  :  while,  as  years  rolled  on,  his  studies  bore 
fruit  in  more  learned  treatises,  the  preparation  and  publication  of  which 
attracted  attention  and  commendation  in  the  Old  World  as  well  as  in  the 
New.  The  University  of  Oxford  recognized  his  ability  and  merit  by 
conferring  on  him  the  degree  of  Doctor  in  Divinity,  and  the  clergy  of 
Connecticut  asked  again  and  again  for  his  appointment  as  their  commis- 
sary ;  although  this  was  not  granted,  as  the  bishops  of  London,  to  whom 
the  request  was  presented,  had  in  the  one  case  settled  on  another  choice 
before  the  name  of  Johnson  was  proposed,  and  in  the  latter  decided 
not  to  make  any  appointment  at  all.  Still  the  clergy  of  Connecticut, 
and  of  the  neighboring  provinces,  looked  up  to  Doctor  Johnson  as 
their  guide  and  counseller,  and  deferred  to  his  wisdom  and  sought  to 
further  his  plans  in  all  the  measures  proposed  for  the  church's  good  or 
advance.  On  his  visit  to  Oxford,  at  the  time  of  his  journey  to  Eng- 
land for  orders,  the  ancient  university,  in  recognizing  his  literary 
merits  and  his  devotion  to  the  church's  cause,  had  expressed  the  hope 
that,  through  his  exertions,  another,  and  yet  the  same,  communion 
might  spring  into  being  in  the  New  World  :  "  Sperantes  nempe,  illius 
ministerio  aliam  et  eandeni  olim  nasctturam  Ecdesiam."  ^  The  work 
had  found  a  measure  of  fulfilment,  and  in  the  diploma  conferring  the 
higher  degree  of  the  Doctorate  it  was  so  stated  "  ut  incredilnli  EcclesicB 
incremento  summam  sui  expectationem  sitsHmterit plane  e(  supei-averit." 
The  worthy  recipient  of  this  merited  distinction  found  in  it  a  fresh  in- 
centive to  live  and  lalior  for  the  Church  of  God. 

From  the  correspondence  of  this  excellent  man  we  can  gain  some 
insight  into  the  condition  of  the  Church  in  the  colony  where  his  minis- 
trations were  continued  for  a  space  of  thirty  years.  Under  date  of 
February  10,  1727,  he  writes  to  the  secretary  as  follows  :  — 

I  have  just  come  from  Fairfield,  where  I  have  been  to  visit  a  considerable 
number  of  my  people,  in  prison  for  their  rates  to  the  dissenting  minister,  to  com- 
fort and  encourage  them  under  their  sufferings.' 

In  a  letter  to  the  Bishop  of  London,  referring  to  the  same  instance 
of  persecution,  he  says  :  — 

The  complaint  was  drawn  up,  and  some  of  the  persons  were  in  prison  before 
I  was  sent  for.  Upon  their  request  I  came  to  the  prison,  and  found  it  full  of  them, 
and  an  insulting  mob  about  them.  I  administered  what  comfort  I  could  to  them, 
but  I  wish  your  lordship,  or  some  of  your  sacred  character,  could  have  been  by  to 
behold  the  contempt  and  indignity  which  our  holy  religion  here  suiTers  among  an 
uno;rateful  people.  It  could  not  fail  to  excite  your  utmost  zeal  and  compassion ; 
and  I  assure  your  Lordship,  the  Church  here  is  in  a  gasping  condition,  though, 
indeed,  our  peoijle  bear  it  with  as  much  meekness  and  patience  as  can  be  expected.^ 

We  give  the  Puritan  governor — Joseph  Talcott's  explanation  and 
defence  of  these  and  similar  acts  of  oppression  :  — 

1  Chandler's    "Life    of    Johnson,"    p.    71.  2  Hawks  and  Perry's  "Conn.  Church  Docu- 

London  ed.,  1S24.  inents,"  i.,  p.  113.  '  Ibid.,  p.  108. 


THE  GROWTH  OF  THE  CONNECTICUT  CHURCH.       291 

....  There  is  but  one  Chureli  of  England  MinistiT  iu  this  Colony,  and  the 
Chnrch  vvitli  him  liave  the  same  protection  as  the  rest  of  our  Churclics,  and  are 
under  no  constraint  to  contribute  to  the  support  of  any  other  minislcr.  There  are 
some  few  persons  in  another  town  or  two,  that  have  stipulated  with  the  present 
ministers  now  living  in  said  towns  (which  persons  cannot  be  mucli  recommended 
for  their  zeal  for  religion  or  morality),  who  cannot  well  be  judged  to  act  from  any 
other  motive  than  to  appear  singular,  or  to  be  freed  from  a  small  tax,  and  have 
declared  themselves  to  Ido  of  the  Church  of  England ;  and  some  of  them  that  live 
thirty  or  forty  miles  from  where  the  Church  of  England's  minister  lives;  these 
have  made  some  oljjeetions  against  their  customary  contributions  to  their  proper 
minister,  under  whose  administration  they  have  equal  privileges  with  their  neigh- 
bours. 

The  law  in  this  colony  is  such,  tliat  the  major  part  of  the  householders  in 
eveiy  town  shall  determine  their  ministei''s  maintenance,  and  all  within  the  pre- 
cincts of  the  town  shall  be  obliged  to  pay  their  parts  in  an  equal  proportion  to  their 
estates  in  said  town  or  societies  and  so  in  the  precincts  of  each  ecclesiastical  society. 
Under  this  security  all  our  towns  and  ecclesiastical  societies  are  supplied  with  ortho- 
dox ministei's.    We  have  no  vacancies  at  present.' 

Such  is  the  Puritan  view  of  these  acts  of  oppression.  Of  the  suf- 
ferers, whose  character  for  piety  or  integrity  the  governor  rates  so  low, 
Johnson  writes :  — 

There  are  thirty-five  heads  of  families  in  Fairfield  who,  all  of  them,  expect 
what  these  have  suffered ;  and  though  I  have  endeavoured  to  gain  the  compassion 
and  favours  of  the  Government,  yet  I  can  avail  nothing ;  and  both  I  and  my  people 
grow  weary  of  our  lives  under  our  poverty  and  oppression.' 

A  few  months  later  Johnson  presented  to  the  society,  in  response 
to  the  "  Queries  "  sent  out  i)y  the  secretary,  a  brief  sketch  of  the  his- 
tory of  the  Stratford  church.  In  this  interesting  account  of  the  progress 
of  his  work  he  gives  the  following  description  of  the  little  structure 
which  was  the  first  "  Church  "  in  the  colony  :  — 

It  is  a  neat,  small  wooden  building,  forty-five  feet  and  a  half  long,  thirty  and 
a  half  wide,  and  twenty-two  between  joints  or  up  to  the  roof;  but  there  is  no  house 
or  glebe  belonging  to  it,  nor  is  it  at  all  endowed,  nor  has  it  any  settled  salary 
besides  the  honorable  society's  bounty ;  only  the  poor  people  are  as  liberal  in  small 
presents  as  can  be  expected  of  them.^ 

There  were  about  fifty  chui'ch  families  within  the  limits  of  the 
town,  "  and  besides  them,  there  are  a  considerable  number  of  people 
scattered  up  and  down  in  the  neighboring  towns,  some  five,  some  ten, 
twenty  and  thirty  miles  off,  who  come  to  Church  as  often  as  can  be 
expected.'"*  There  was  "no  Church  westward  within  forty  miles, 
only  Fairfield,  which  is  eight  miles  off,  where  there  is  a  small  wooden 
Church  built,  and  about  forty  families."  There  was  "  no  Church  east- 
ward within  one  hundred  miles,  only  at  New  London,  about  seventy 
miles  off,  where  I  sometimes  preach  to  a  good  number  of  people,  and 
they  are  building  a  wooden  Church  somewhat  larger  than  ours.^ 
There  was  "  no  Church  northward  at  all."  "  We  are,"  writes  the  dis- 
couraged missionary,  "  oppressed  and  despised  as  the  filth  of  the  world, 

'  Hawks  and  Penv's  " Conn.  Church  Documents," i.,  pp.  106, 107.  '  Ibid.,  p.  113. 

"76i(f.,  p.   118.      ■  «/«(/.,  pp.  118,  119.  »/6iW.,p.  119. 


292  IIISTOKY   OF   THE   AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

and  the  offscouring  of  all  things,  unto  this  day."'  The  Puritans  "all 
boast  themselves  of  an  establishment,  and  look  down  upon  the  poor 
Church  of  England  with  contempt,  as  a  despicable,  schismatical,  and 
popish  communion."^  A  stranger,  if  a  churciuuan,  proposing  to  settle 
in  their  towns,  was  "immediately  warned"  to  depart.  He  could 
not  purchase  land  without  leave  of  the  authorities,  and  it  was  in 
tiieir  jjower,  if  he  refused  to  leave,  "to  whip  him  out  of  tovvu."^  "  By 
this  means,"  writes  Johnson  to  the  Bishop  of  London,  "  several  profes- 
sors of  our  Church,  for  no  other- crime  but  their  profession,  have  been 
prevented  from  settling  here."  * 

In  Majs  1727,  the  church- wardens  and  vestry  of  the  church  at 
Fairfield  petitioned  "  the  Governor,  Assistants,  and  Representatives  in 
General  Court  assembled,"  for  relief  "  from  paying  to  any  dissenting 
minister,  or  to  the  building  of  any  dissenting  meeting-house."  They 
further  asked  the  restoration  of  the  amount  taken  from  them  by  dis- 
traint, as  they  recite,  "  we  were,  ten  of  us,  lately  imprisoned  for  our 
taxes  and  had  considerable  sums  of  money  taken  from  us  by  distraint."  ^ 
Upon  this  petition  the  Genei'al  Assembly  enacted  that  all  persons  who 
were  of  the  Church  of  England,  and  those  who  were  of  the  religious 
societies  established  by  the  colonial  law,  living  in  the  bounds  of  any 
allowed  parish,  should  be  taxed  by  the  same  rule  and  in  the  same 
proportion  for  the  supjiort  of  the  ministry ;  but  when  it  chanced  that 
there  was  a  parish  of  the  Church  of  England,  having  a  clergyman  in 
charge,  so  near  any  tax-payer,  who  had  declared  himself  to  be  of  that 
church,  that  he  could  and  did  attend  puljlic  worship  there,  the  collector 
was  then  to  pay  over  such  an  one's  tax  to  the  nearest  resident  church 
clergyman,  who  was  also  authorized  to  receive  and  recover  the  same. 
If  such  portion  of  the  taxes  was  insufficient  for  the  support  of  the 
Church  of  England  incumbent,  the  parish  to  which  he  ministered  Avas 
authorized  and  empowered  to  levy  and  collect  of  the  professed  mem- 
bers sucii  additional  assessments  as  should  be  deemed  necessary.  Tlie 
members  of  the  Church  of  England  actually  connected  with  some 
existing  "  society  of  the  Church  of  England "  were  further  excused 
from  paying  taxes  assessed  for  the  erection  of  meeting-houses  for  the 
established  societies  of  the  colony.  Content  with  this  measure  of 
relief  the  church  People  of  Fairfield  declined  to  insist  on  the  return  of 
the  money  distrained  from  them.  In  fact,  the  passage  of  the  law 
affording  exemption  to  the  members  of  the  Church  of  England,  in  the 
matter  of  taxation  for  the  independent  establishment,  was  in  direct 
consequence  of  the  plain-spoken  petition  of  the  stout-hearted  church- 
men of  Fairfield.  It  is  I'ccorded  on  the  public  records  of  the  colony, 
immediately  after  the  following  recital  of  tiie  Fairfield  complaint,  from 
which  we  have  already  given  extracts,  and  the  enactment  was  evidently 
passed  in  consequence  of  this  earnest  appeal  for  i-edress  :  — 

Upon  the  prayer  of  Moses  Ward,  of  Faii-field,  church  warden,  and  the  rest  of 
the  chiircli  wardens,  vestry-men,  and  brethren,  I'eijresenting  themselves  under 
obligations  by  the  Ilonom'alile  Society  and  Kishop  of  London,  to  pay  to  the  support 

'  Hawks  and  PeiTv's  "Cona.  Church  Documents,"  i.,  p.  111.  'Ibid. 

^  Ibid.  '  'Ibid.  'Ibid.,-p.V2\. 


THE   GROWTH   OF   THE   CONNECTICUT   CHURCH.  293 

of  the  established  chiu'ch,  praying  this  Assembly,  by  some  act  or  otlierwise,  to  free 
them  from  paying  to  dissenting  ministers  and  for  tlie  building  dissenting  meeting- 
houses, and  complaining  that  money  has  been  lately  taken  from  them  by  disti'ess, 
praying  that  the  said  money  might  be  returned  inilo  them.  The  said  Ward  appeared, 
and  by  his  attorney  declaring  to  this  Assembly  tliat  ho  should  not  insist  on  tlie  return 
of  the  money  prayed  for,  asserted  it  to  have  always  been  esteemed  as  an  hardship  by 
those  of  tlie  profession  establisht  by  tliis  government,  to  be  eom|)elled  to  contribute 
to  the  supjjort  of  the  Church  of  I'jUgland,  where  that  is  the  churt-li  establisht  by 
law ;  and  thereupon  urged  that  no  such  thing  should  be  here  imposed  upon  any  dis- 
senting from  the  churches  here  approved  and  establisht  by  the  law  of  this  govern- 
ment ;  further  lu'giug,  that  tliere  might  be  some  provision  made  by  the  law  for  the 
obliging  their  parishioners  to  the  supi)ort  of  their  ministers.' 

All  honor  to  INIoses  Ward  aud  the  outspoken  churchmen  of  Fair- 
tield  who  fought  and  won  this  triumph  for  tiie  Church. 

The  same  year,  1727,  the  Rev.  Hemy  Caner  entered  upon  the 
charge  of  Fairdeld.  Mr.  Caner  was  a  graduate  of  Yale,  in  tlie  class 
of  1724,  and  received  his  master's  degree  in  course,  and  an  ad  eundem 
from  the  University  of  Oxford,  in  173G,  from  which  honored  source 
he  obtained  the  doctorate  in  176(3.  He  found  a  "  very  serious  and 
well-minded  people,"  "  ready  to  entertain  any  instructions  that  may 
forward  them  in  the  paths  of  virtue  aud  truth  aud  godliness."  ^  He  in- 
formed the  Bishop  of  London,  in  less  than  a  year  after  the  passage  of 
the  act  to  which  we  have  referred,  that  — 

Although  the  Dissenters  in  this  Government  have  lately  passed  an  act  to 
exempt  all  professors  of  the  Church  from  paying  taxes  to  the  support  of  their  min- 
isters, yet  tliey  take  the  liberty  to  determine  themselves  who  may  be  called  Church- 
men, and  interpret  the  act  to  comprehend  none  that  live  a  mile  from  the  Church 
minister ;  by  which  means  not  only  two-thirds  of  the  Church,  but  of  its  revenues  also, 
we  are  entirely  deprived  of  the  benefit  of ;  aud  the  favom-  which  they  would  seem 
to  do  us  proves,  in  reality,  but  a  shadow.^ 

To  this  testimony  of  ^Ir.  Caner,  that  of  Johnson  may  be  added, 
to  the  effect  that  those  churchmen  "  that  live  scattering  in  the  country 
are  yet  persecuted  as  bad  as  ever."*  Still,  in  spite  of  all  these  ob- 
stacles tuid  petty  hindrances,  the  Church  grew.  At  New  Haven  and 
Norwalk  there  were  movements  for  the  erection  of  churches  and  the 
organization  of  parishes.  In  1728  the  churchmen  again  memorialized 
the  assembly  :  — 

That  an  explanation  of  the  Assembly's  Acts,  in  May  last,  i-elating  to  the  prem- 
ises, may  be  given  by  them,  :md  also  that  for  the  futm-e  the  affairs  of  the  Church 
may  be  wholly  managed  by  the  book  of  canons  relating  to  gathering  taxes  for  the 
support  of  the  ministry  that  is  established  by  law  according  to  the  rubrick  of  the 
Chm'ch  of  England;  and  that  for  the  future  so  long  as  there  remains  missionaries 
among  us,  we  may  gather  all  needful  taxes  by  said  book  of  canons  and  not  by  your 
collectors-^ 

The  memorialists  further  urge  that  "great  contentions  have 
already  arisen,  aud  many  lawsuits,  as  well  as  great  hardship  imposed 
upon  us."    In  asking  for  relief  they  at  are  pains  to  "  assm-e  the  As- 

1  The  Public  Records  of  the  Colony  of  Con-  -  Hawks  antlPeiry's  "  Conn.  Church  Docu- 

uecticut,  from  May,  1726,  to  May,  1733,  iuclu-    mcnts,"  i.,  p.  125.  =  Ibid.,  p.  126. 

aivc,  p.  103.  '  Ibid.,  p.  126.  ^  Md.,pp.  129,  130 


294  HISTORY   OF   THE   AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

sembly  that  we  are  bound  in  our  consciences  to  adhere  to  said  church 
in  doctrine  and  discipline,  let  our  difficulties  be  ever  so  great."  In 
view  of  "  the  difficulties  and  oppressions  "  that  the  church  people 
were  under,  "  seven  families  "  are  reported  by  Johnson  to  the  society 
in  1728,  as  having  "  removed  hence  into  New  York  govei-nment."^  It 
could  hardly  he  otherwise  when  Caner,  in  much  the  same  language 
he  had  earlier  employed,  writes  the  same  year  that  church  people 
"  are  slighted  and  despised,  and  imposed  upon,  accounted  as  the  filth 
and  dross  of  the  earth,  and  the  offscouring  of  all  things."^  To  avoid 
some  of  the  annoyances  and  impositions  Caner  petitioned  the  society 
for  an  appointment  as  general  missionary,  serving  "  from  Fairfield  to 
Byram  river,"  and  residing  sometimes  in  one  portion  of  his  field 
and  sometimes  in  another ;  but  a  legal  opinion  from  the  society's 
council  was  unfavorable  to  such  an  appointment,  as  liable  to  be  con- 
strued as  an  attempt  at  evading  the  act,  and  consequently  not  advisable. 
The  church  people  of  New  London,  Groton,  and  the  adjacent  towns, 
to  whom  Johnson  had  from  time  to  time  ministered,  and  where,  as 
early  as  April  25,  1723,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Pigot  had  preached  and  ad- 
ministered holy  baptism,^  had  applied  in  1730  for  the  appointment 
of  Mr.  Samuel  Seabury,^"  a  gentleman  born  and  bred  in  this  country," 
as  the  petitioners  recite,  and  their  wish  was  granted.  In  the  petition 
for  the  appointment  of  this  worthy  missionary,  a  graduate  of  Harvard 
College  in  1724,  and  a  convert  to  the  Church  from  the  Congregation- 
alists,  there  is  brought  to  our  notice  for  the  first  time  a  name  which 
the  American  Church  must  ever  deliglit  to  honor,  as  borne  for  gen- 
erations by  some  of  her  best,  wisest,  and  most  distinguisheji  sons.  In 
1730  Johnson  writes  that  "a  good  temper  towards  the  church"  "  very 
sensibly  increases."  "A  love  to  the  church,"'  he  continues,  "gains  gi'ound 
greatly."  At  Yale  College  "  several  young  men  that  are  graduates,  and 
some  young  ministers,"  had  been  "  prevailed  with  to  read  and  consider 
the  matter  so  far,  that  they  are  very  uneas}'  out  of  the  communion  of  the 
church,  and  some  seem  much  disposed  to  come  into  her  service,  and  those 
that  are  best  affected  to  the  church  are  the  brightest  and  most  studious 
of  any  that  are  educated  in  the  country."  ^  Two  of  these  converts  ap- 
pear to  have  Ijeen  John  Pierson  and  Ephraim  Bostwick.  These  with  Isaac 
Browne,  brother  of  the  lamented  Daniel  Browne,  who  died  in  England 
when  Johnson  and  Cutler  were  there,  all  of  the  class  of  1729,  at  Yale 
College,  were  doubtless  referred  to  in  this  letter  of  Johnson.  It  was  not 
long  afterwards  that,  in  1 732 ,  the  honored  name  of  John  Beach  was  added 
to  the  number.  More  than  eight  years  before,  in  the  summerof  1723,  this 
"  very  popular,  insinuating  young  man, "''  had  been  sent  to  Newton,  for  the 
purpose  of  counteracting  the  influence  which  the  Church  had  obtained  there 
and  in  the  adjacent  towns.  The  people  of  Ne\vton  and  Ripton  had 
applied  for  a  missionary,  but,  in  consequence  of  the  delay  which  the 
necessity  of  sending  to  England  for  one  in  holy  orders  occasioned, 
the  temper  of  the  applicants  cooled,  and  the  acceptable  ministrations 

' Hawks  and  PeiTy's  "  Conn.  Church  Docii-  *  Hawks  and  Peiiy's  "  Coiiu.  Chuicli  Docu- 
ments," I.,  pp.  131,  132.               -  Ibid.,  p.  15S.  meats,"  I.,  p.  140. 

'  iicardsley's    "  Ilistoiy   of   the    Episcopal  '//<!</.,  p.  142. 

Cliurcli  in  Conn.,"  I.,  p.  ti5.  "  liid.,  p.  29. 


THE   GROWTH  OF  THE   CONNECTICUT   CHURCH..  295 

of  Mr.  Beach  put  off  for  all  these  years  the  realization  of  the  hopes  of 
the  few  church-folk  who  were  firm  to  their  principles  and  faith.  B&t 
discussion  with  his  former  college  tutor,  with  "  inquiry,  reflection  and 
prayer,  opened  his  eyes  to  the  truth,  and  on  Easter  day,  the  9th  of 
April,  1732,1  the  eloquent  young  independentpreacherknelt  at  the  chan- 
cel-rail of  the  little  church  at  Stratford,  to  receive  the  Holy  Communion 
of  the  Body  and  Blood  of  Christ,  as  an  avowed  member  of  the  Church 
of  England.  Recommended  by  his  foi-mer  instructor  to  the  society 
as  "  a  very  ingenuous  and  studious  person,  and  a  truly  serious  and 
conscientious  Christian,"  Mr.  Beach  sailed  for  England  for  holy 
orders,  and  on  his  return  was  appointed  to  minister  to  the  people 
among  whom  he  had  served  as  an  independent.  The  conversion  of 
Beach  was  followed  by  that  of  others.  In  1733  Mr.  Johnson  writes 
to  the  Bishop  of  London  :  ■ — 

That  the  growing  confusion  among  the  Dissenters  in  these  pai-ts  veiy  much 
tends,  among  other  means,  to  put  serious  and  thinking  persons  upon  coming  over 
to  the  church.  Amopg  others  there  are  two  or  three  very  worthy  young  ministers 
in  this  colony,  who,  I  have  reason  to  believe,  from  no  other  reason"  than  the  love  of 
truth  and  order,  and  a  sense  of  duty,  will,  in  a  little  time,  declare  for  us,  and  two 
of  them  especially  have  hopes  that  the  most  of  their  congregations  will  conform 
with  them.  One  of  them  is  one  Mr.  Arnold,  who  succeeded  me  at  West  Haven, 
near  the  college,  where  I  preach  once  a  quarter.^ 

Jonathan  Arnold  was  a  graduate  of  Yale  College,  in  the  class  of 
1723.  Ebenezer  Punderson,  the  other  convert  referred  to,  was  of  the 
class  of  1726.  The  third  was,  doubtless,  Solomon  Palmer,  of  the 
class  of  1729,  which  furnished  to  the  Church  four  clergymen  from  its 
seventeen  members,  while  but  three  of  them  were  ministers  of  the 
"standing  order."  In  the  midst  of  these  notable  conversions  of  the 
studious  and  thinking  men  of  the  colony  the  Church  was  daily  adding 
to  its  numbers  on  every  side.  Reading,  Norwich,  Hebron,  and  Milford 
were  added  to  the  number  of  congregations.  At  Fairfield  Mr.  Caner 
writes,  in  1736:  "The  professors  of  the  Church  of  England  here  in- 
crease in  numbers  and  seriousness."  At  Newtown  and  Reading  Mr. 
Beach  reported  over  one  hundred  communicants.  Twenty  families  in 
Hebron  and  its  vicinity  embraced  the  Church,  and  fourteen  received  the 
holy  communion  at  the  first  administration  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Seabury. 
In  1739  six  hundred  and  thirty  males  above  the  age  of  sixteen  signed 
a  memorial  to  the  General  Assembly,  praying  for  the  assignment  of 
their  share  of  the  public  money  obtained  from  the  sale  of  lauds  in  new 
townships  for  the  support  of  their  clergy.  The  same  year  the  Con- 
nectic6t  clergy,  with  the  Rev.  James  Wetmore,  of  Rye,  represented  to 
the  society  the  case  of  the  church  people  of  Stamford  and  Horseneck, 
who  were  compelled  to  pay  taxes  towards  the  support  of  the  independent 
minister,  instead  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Wetmore,  their  nearest  church 
clergyman,  who  ministered  to  them  regularly.  Nor  this  only.  The 
clergy  proceeded  in  their  petition  to  lay  before  the  society  the  case  of 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Arnold,  as  follows  :  — 

1  Beardsley's  "Episcopal  Church  in  Couu.,"  '  Hawks  and  Peny'8  "  Conn.  Chiireh  Docu- 

I.,  p.  S9.  ments,"  i.,  p.  156. 


296  HISTORY  OF   THE   AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

William  Greyson,  of  London,  esq.,  made  a  donation  of  a  piece  of  land  in 
New  Haven  to  Mr.  Arnold,  as  Trustee  for  the  Chiu-eh  of  England,  to  tniild  a  Church 
on ;  and  when  he  went  to  take  possession  and  make  improvement  of  said  land  by 
ploughing  the  same,  he  was  opposed  by  a  great  number  of  people,  being  resolute 
that  no  church  should  be  built  there,  who,  in  a  riotous  and  tumultuous  manner,  being 
(as  we  have  good  reason  to  believe),  put  ui)ou  it  by  some  in  authority,  and  of  the 
chief  men  in  the  town,  beat  his  cattle,  and  abused  his  servants,  threatening  both 
his  and  their  lives  to  that  degree  that  lie  was  obliged  to  quit  the  field.  And  though 
he  made  presentment  against  sundry  of  them  for  breach  of  the  peace  to  the  court 
authority,  yet  they  refuse  to  take  cognizance  of  it,  and  so  lie  could  obtain  no  relief.' 

Seven  clergymen,  including  Wetmore,  signed  this  memorial,  John- 
son, Caner,  Beach,  Seabury,  Puuderson,  and  Arnold.  The  foUowiugyear, 
1740,  the  clergy  of  New  England  met  in  convention  at  New  London,  on 
the  4th  of  May,  and  ten  were  present,  five  from  Connecticut.  About  the 
middle  of  the  year  the  Rev.  Theophilus  Morris  succeeded  Arnold  at 
West  Haven.  He  established  services  at  Simsbury,  where  they  had 
"  prepared  some  timber  to  build  a  chiarch,"^  at  Derby,  and  at  Walling- 
ford,  where  there  were  twelve  church  families.  At  the  latter  place, 
where  Mr.  Morris  could  come  only  once  in  four  months,  and  where, 
"on  every  Lord's  day  besides,"  the  people  were  wont  to  perform  the 
service  as  ftir  as  is  proper  for  laymen,  the  church-wardens  and  vestry 
addressed  the  Bishop  of  London  as  follows  :  — - 

With  melancholy  hearts  we  crave  your  Lordship's  patience,  while  we  recite  to 
you  that  divers  of  us  have  been  imprisoned,  and  our  goods  from  year  to  year  dis- 
trained from  us  for  taxes,  levied  for  the  building  and  supporting  meeting-houses  ; 
and  divers  actions  are  now  depending  in  our  courts  of  law  in  the  like  cases.  And 
when  we  have  petitioned  our  governor  for  redress,  notifying  to  him  the  repugnance 
of  such  actions  to  the  laws  of  England,  he  hath  proved  a  strong  opponent  to  us ; 
but  when  the  other  party  hath  applied  to  him  for  advice  how  to  proceed  against 
us,  he  hath  lately  given  his  sentence  "  to  enlarge  the  gaol  and  fill  it  with  them," 
(that  is,  the  Chmx'h) .  But  we  supplicate  both  God  and  man  that  our  persecutors 
may  not  always  prevail  against  us.  ^ 

The  dissenters  in  North  Haven  "obliged  the  church  peoi)le  to 
contribute  towards  building  a  meeting-house,  and  sent  one  poor  fellow 
to  jail  who  was  not  in  a  capacity  to  pay ; "  *  while  "  two  more  in  North 
Haven  were  some  time  in  jail,"  for  "  not  paying  their  rates  to  the  dis- 
senting teachers."  Some,  "at  a  village  called  Cheshire,"  had  "been 
hauled  to  jail  and  there  been  forced  to  abide  till  they  paid  the  utter- 
most farthing."  ^     These  are  but  instances  selected  from  the  correspond- 

'  Hawks  and  Perry's  "  Conn.  Ch.  Documents,"  ploit  perfoimed  by  the  students  of  Tale  College,  in 

1.,  pp.  168,  169.    A  pertinent  and  amusing  refer-  v/hichhe  was  morethan  a  spectator.  The  scene  of 

ence  to  this  act  of  violence  is  found  in  "A  Vin-  this  noble  action  was  a  lot  of  ground  in  the  town 

dication  of   the    Bishop  of  LandaiT's    Sermon,  of  A^ew-i/a»en,  which  had  been  bequeathed  to  the 

from  the    gross  Mi^rcpresentntions  and  abusive  chukoh  for  the  use  of  a  missionary.    There 

EeflectionscontaiuedinJMr.  William  Livingston's  these  magnanimous  champions  signalized  them- 

Letter  to  his  Lordship   .  .  .  By  a  Lover  of  Truth  selves;  for  once  upon  a  time,  quitting  soft  dalli- 

and  Order  .  .  .  New  York :  17G8."  ance   with  the  ?nuses,  they  roughened  into  sons 

"  It  would  give  me  pleasure  to  have  it  in  my  ot  Mars;  and  issuing  forth  in  deep  and  firm 

power  to  say,  that  the  Society's  missionaries  have  array  —  witli  courage  bold  and  undaunted,  they 

met  with   tlie    same  kind  of  treatment  in  JVew  not  only  attacked,  but  bravely  routed  a  YOKE  OP 

England.    Their  treatment  in  general  has  been  OXEN,   and   a  poor  Plowman,  which  had  been 

the  reverse  of  this.    They  have  met  with  great  sent  by  tlic  then  missionary  of  Neiv-Haven,  to 

and  undeserved  opposition;  and  have  been  in-  occupy  and  plow  up  the  said  lot  of  ground.    An 

jured  not  only  in  tiieu-  cluiracter,  but  in  their  exploit  truly  worthy  of  the  renowned  Hudihras 

property,  on  account  of  their  religion.    Perhaps  himself."    pp.  40,  41. 

Mr.  Livingston  may  remember  some  instances  -  Ibid.,  p.  17(i.              'Ibid.,'p.  139. 

of  this  himself;  once  especially  in  a  gallant  ex-  *  Ibid.,  p.  173.              ^'  Ibid.,  p.  173. 


THE   GROWTH   OF  THE   CONNECTICUT   CHURCH. 


297 


euce  of  the  missionaries  with  the  secretary  of  the  venerable  society,  and 
are  the  record  of  but  a  single  year,  1740.  The  wild  enthusiasm  that 
attended  tlic  Whitciioldian  movement  seems  to  have  turned  the  atten- 
tion of  the  persecutors  to  other  matters  and  to  other  victims.  The  fruits 
of  the  enthusiasm  that  was  so  prevalent  were  found  to  result  in  "reconcil- 
ing many  sober,  considerate  people  to  the  comnumiou  of  the  Church."  ' 


CHRIST     CHUKCH,     STKATrOHL). 


In  1742  the  clergy,  in  petitioning  the  Bishop  of  London,  for  the  appoint- 
ment of  Mr.  Johnson  as  commissary,  report  that  there  are  n5w  fourteen 
churches  built  and  building,  and  seven  clergymen  within  this  colony, 
and  others  daily  called  for.  There  were  "  considerably  more  than  two 
thousand  adult  persons  of  the  Church  in  the  Colony,"  and  "  at  least 
five  or  six  thousand,  young  and  old."^  Since  the  progress  of  this 
"  strange  spirit  of  enthusiasm,"  the  Ciun-ch  was  "  daily  very  much  more 
Richard  Caner,  of  the  class  of  1736,  and  BarzillaiDeau, 

'  Hawks  ami  Perry's  "  Conn.  Chiircli  Docs.,"  I.,  p.  ISl.  -  Ibid.,  p.  183. 


298  iUSTOKY    OF   THE   AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

\vho  was  graduated  the  following  year,  were  soon  added  to  the  number 
of  clergy.  In  1743  Mr.  Johnson  had  admitted  to  the  holy  com- 
munion"!^ two  "  candidates  for  holy  orders,"  graduates  of  Yale  College,  — 
Hezeldah  Watkins  of  the  class  of  1737,  and  Joseph  Lamson  of  the  class 
of  1741.  Ebenezer  Thompson,  of  the  class  of  1733,  was  now  added  to 
the  list  of  converts.  The  church  in  Stratford  had  "  so  increased  of 
late,"  writes  Johnson,  "that  our  house  will  not  hold  us,  which  has 
obhged  us  to  build  a  new  chm-ch,  for  which  £1,500  of  our  money  has 
been  subscribed,  and  we  have  got  timber  and  are  going  on  vigorously. 
It  is  to  be  sixty  feet  long  and  forty-five  feet  wide,  and  twenty-four  feet 
high  to  the  roof;  with  a  steeple  sixteen  feet  square  to  be  one  hundred 
and  twenty  feet  high ;  and  eight  feet  the  chancel,  which  is  to  have  a 
library  on  one  side  and  vestry  on  the  other."'  There  were  four  hun- 
dred church  families  in  the  town.  The  devoted  John  Beach  writes  in 
the  same  year  from  Eeading :  — 

My  people  are  not  at  all  shaken,  but  rather  confirmed  in  their  principles  by 
the  spirit  of  enthusiasm  that  rages  among  the  Independents  round  about  us,  and 
many  of  the  Dissenters,  observing  how  steadfast  our  people  are  in  their  faith  and 
practice,  while  those  of  their  own  denomination  are  easily  carried  away  with  every 
kind  of  doctrine,  and  are  now  sunk  into  the  utmost  confusion  and  disoidcr,  have 
conceived  a  much  better  opinion  of  our  Church  than  thoy  formerly  had,  and  a 
considerable  numlier  in  this  Colony  have  lately  conformed,  and  several  Churches 
are  now  building  where  they  have  no  minister.  Indeed,  there  is  scarce  a  town  in 
which  tlicre  is  not  a  considerable  number  professing  themselves  of  the  Church  of 
England,  and  very  desirous  to  have  it  settled  among  them;  but  God  only  knows 
when  and  how  they  can  be  provided  for.  Were  there  in  this  coimtry  but  one  of  the 
Episcopal  order,  to  whom  young  men  might  apply  for  ordination,  without  the  ex- 
])ense  and  danger  of  a  voyage  to  England,  many  of  our  towns  might  be  supplied 
which  now  must  remain  destitute.  - 

A  new  church  was  opened  this  year  at  Riptoii ;  and  a  congregation 
was  gathered  at  Lyme.  The  church  people  at  New  JMilford  and  New 
Fairfield  were  building  a  church,  while  on  Sundays  they  met  together, 
and  "  one  of  their  number  read  some  parts  of  the  common  prayer  and  a 
sermon." 

"But  the  Independents,"  writes  Mr.  Beach,  "to  suppress  this 
design  in  its  infancy,  having  the  authority  in  their  hands,  have  lately 
prosecuted  and  fined  them  for  their  meeting  to  worship  God  according 
to  the  common  prayer,  and  the  same  punishment  they  are  like  to 
suffer  for  every  offence  in  this  kind,  although  it  is  the  common,  ap- 
proved practice  of  the  same  Independents  to  meet  for  worship  in  their 
own  way  when  they  have  no  minister ;  but  what  is  a  virtue  in  them  is 
a  crime  to  our  people."  ^  "  The  case  of  this  people  is  very  hard," 
continues  jy^r.  Beach ;  "  if,  on  the  Lord's  day,  they  continue  at  homo, 
they  must  be  punished  ;  if  they  meet  to  worship  God  according  to  the 
Church  of  England,  in  the  best  manner  they  can,  their  mulct  is  still 
greater  ;  and  if  they  go  to  the  Independent  meeting  in  the  town  where 
they  live,  they  must  endure  the  mortification  of  hearing  the  doctrine 
and  worsliip  of  the  Church  vilified  and  enervated  by  enthusiastic  anti- 
uomian  dreams."  *     Mr.  Caner  writes  that  "  where  the  late  spirit  of 

'  Hawks  antl  Pen-v's  "  Conn.  ClMirch  Documents,"  I.,  p.  IS".  '  Ibid.,  p.  200. 

■  Ibid.,  pp.  190,  ibl.  '  Ibid  ,  p.  200. 


TIIK   (ilumTII    OF   TIIK   CONNECTICUT   CHURCH.  200 

enthusiasm  lias  most  abounded,  the  Churcli  has  received  the  larger 
accession." '  At  Guilford  and  Norfhl)ury  there  were,  in  1743,  nunier- 
ous  applicants  for  a  clergyman.  Richard  Miner,  of  the  class  of  172^, 
and  Ivichard  JMansficld,  of  the  class  of  1741,  of  Yale  College,  went 
over  for  orders.  JNlincr  and  Lamson,  of  whose  conversion  to  the 
Church  we  have  already  spoken,  were  captured  on  their  passage  and 
carried  prisoners  to  France.  Miner  died  in  England,  in  1744;  Imt 
Lamson  and  Mansfield  returned  to  do  the  Church  good  service.  The 
following  year,  1745,  Jonathan  (Bolton,  of  the  graduating  class  at 
Yale,  and  one  of  the  Bishop  lierkeley  Foundationers,  oll'cred  himself  for 
the  Church  ;  while  from  the  same  class  the  Churcli  was  to  secure  the 
eminent  Thomas  Bradbury  Chandler,  and  the  devout  Jeremiah  Learn- 
ing, and  the  faithful  William  Sturgeon,  for  the  ranks  of  her  future 
clerg3^  A  year  later  the  name  of  Ebenezer  Dibble,  of  the  class  of 
1734,  at  Yale,  was  added  to  the  conforming  graduates  of  that  institu- 
tion, and  a  number  of  others  of  these  or  other  years,  whose  apjilica- 
tions  for  missions  failed,  were  reported  to  the  authorities  at  home. 
At  Newtown  another  church  had  been  erected,  "fortj^-six  feet  long, 
thirty-five  broad,  and  twenty-five  up  to  the  roof."^  It  was  "  a  strong, 
neat  building,"  and  its  erection  attested  the  strength  of  the  Church 
under  the  ministrations  of  the  faithful  Beach.  Litchfield  and  Norwich 
were  now  added  to  the  church  congregations.  At  the  former  the 
dissenters  had  "  executions  out  against "  the  church  people,  "  for  rates 
due  long  since,"  and  daily  "  threatened  to  take  them  to  gaol."  One 
"who  had  been  a  communicant  in  the  church  above  a  year  "was 
"  actually  seized  by  their  collector,  and  on  the  way  to  the  gaol  was 
freed  by  his  own  brother,  who  paid  the  rate  to  the  collector."  ^ 

Three  clergymen  of  tiie  Church  were  at  the  commencement  of 
Yale  College,  in  1748,  the  "worthy  Mr.  Commissary  Barclay,"  of 
New  York,  being  one.  "  All  consulted  the  best  things,"  writes  John- 
son, "for  the  Church's  interest."  "Among  the  candidates  for  their 
degrees  there  were  no  less  than  ten  belonging  to  the  Church,  five 
Masters  and  five  Bachelors  ;  among  the  former  two  in  orders,  Messrs. 
Sturgeon  and  Leaming ;  and  two  candidates.  Chandler  and  Colton ; 
of  the  Bachelors,  besides  "  Johnson's  younger  son  and  Mr.  Ogilvie. 
Scab ury  had  a  promising  son,"  "a  solid,  sensible,  virtuous  youth," 
who,  as  Johnson  proceeds,  "  may  in  due  time  do  good  service."^  This 
was  the  future  first  Bishop  of  Connecticut. 

The  correspondence  of  the  missionaries  with  the  society  for  the 
year  1749  comprises  a  letter  from  the  Eev.  William  Gibbs,  of  Sims- 
liury,  dated  from  "Hartford  Gaol,"  where  the  missionary  was  con- 
fined on  an  execution  for  the  costs  in  an  unsuccessful  suit  he  had 
entered  for  his  "  churchwarden's  rate,"  collected  by  the  dissenters  of 
New  Cambridge.  The  church  people  were  still  forced  to  pay  their 
rates  to  the  dissenters  unless  supplied  with  "  ministers  of  their  own 
in  orders."  "  Meantime,"  writes  Dr.  Johnson,  "many  of  our  people 
are  frequently  persecuted  and  imprisoned  for  their  rates  to  dissenting 
teachers,  which  they  have  never  been  in  any  stipulation  with.     The 

'  Hawks  ami  Pci'it'3  "  Conn.  Clinrch  Documents,"  I.,  p.  201.  '  Ibid.,  p.  23."). 

'  Ibid..  V  227.      '  '  Ibid.,  p.  24i>. 


300  IIISTOIiV   OF   THE   AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

case  ofi^reat  niiml^ers  is  extremely  hard,  if  they  can  have  no  ministers 
in  orders,  neither  from  any  title  of  the  Society,  nor  from  any  that 
themselves  can  make,  and,  at  the  same  time,  cannot  have  the  excel- 
lent liturgy  and  sermons  of  the  church  read  to  them  by  candidates  of 
their  own,  whom  they  would  gladly  support  to  the  utmost  of  their 
power,  if  they  could  have  their  own  money  for  their  own  purposes."  ' 
But  another  grievance  had  arisen,  and  the  good  doctor  thus  con- 
tinues :  — 

And  to  add  to  all  our  other  gi'iefs,  it  seems  we  have  some  enemy  or  other  that 
has  represented  us  to  the  Veneraljle  Board,  as  presuming  to  vary  from  the  estab- 
lished form  of  Prayer,  omitling,  mhliiiy  or  altering,  etc.  Tliis  is  very  hard  indeed, 
when  \ve  have  given  so  much  procif  of  onv  inviolable  .attachment  to  it,  and  that  the 
Established  Episcopacy  and  liturgy  is  dearer  to  us  than  any  thing  in  the  world 
besides ;  so  dear  as  to  make  us  leave  fathers,  mothers,  brothers,  sisters,  houses  and 
lands,  and  ventun;  our  lives  to  the  greatest  hazard  for  it;  twenty-live  of  us  having 
gone  a  thousand  leagues  for  Episcopal  orders,  of  whom  no  less  than  five  liavo  lost 
their  lives,  and  several  others  suffered  the  most  dangerous  sickness,  and  all  at  the 
expense  of  more  than  we  could  well  afford,  and  all  this  when  we  might  have  had 
the  greatest  applause  of  all  our  friends  and  acquaintances,  if  we  could  have 
made  our  consciences  easy  as  we  were,  and  the  best  preferment  they  could  give. 

I  have  diligently  inquired  what  foundation  there  could  be  for  the  report  and 
can  find  none.  ^lost  of  the  Clergy  and  I'caders  have  read  in  my  Church  in  my 
absence,  and  my  people  tell  me  they  never  heard  the  least  variation,  nor  can  I  iind 
anything  in  this  kind  in  the  Clergy  or  lay  readers.  One,  indeed,  tells  me  he  has 
sometimes  added  two  or  three  words  in  the  prayer  after  sermon,  Qrant  us,  tve  be- 
seech Thee,  etc.,  in  which  he  had  followed  a  great  example  ho  heard  in  London. 
Perhaps  the  first  lesson,  or  some  of  the  latter  part  of  the  liturgy  may  have  been 
omitted  on  some  extreme  cold  day,  or  in  tlie  collect  for  the  day,  for  the  gunpowder 
treason,  it  may  have  been  read,  Giving  his  late  Majesty,  King  William,  a  safe 
arrival  in  England,  instead  of  here,  which  could  not  be  time ;  and  I  should  he  glad 
if  the  informer  were  put  upon  proof,  tliat  if  there  ever  was  anything  worse  than 
this  it  might  be  made  to  appear,  that  the  offender  might  receive  condign  punish- 
ment." 

The  persecution  of  the  Church  .still  continued.  Mr.  Punderson 
writes,  in  1750,  "In  Branford  and  Cohasset  they  have,  in  the  most 
violent  manner,  been  distressing  and  imprisoning  the  members  of  the 
Church  of  England."^  The  Kev.  Matthew  Graves,  addressing  the 
Bishop  of  London  in  the  same  year,  proceeds  :  "  'Twould  be  too  long 
as  well  as  tragical  to  repeat  the  several  difBculties,  severities,  and 
affronts  which  our  hearers  are  harassed  with  in  many  parts  of  the 
colony,  by  rigorous  persecutions  and  arbitrary  pecuniary  demands, 
inflicted  on  the  conscientious  members  of  our  church  bj^  domineering 
Presbyterians,  the  old  implacable  enemies  of  Zion's  prosperity  and 
peace." ''  The  Rev.  Richard  Mansfield  addressed  the  venerable  society, 
as  appears  by  their  minutes  of  July  22,  1750,  to  the  effect,  "that  the 
people  of  Derby  and  Oxford,  as  well  as  those  of  AVaterbury  and  West- 
l)ury,  have  liccn  sharers  in  the  great  oppressions  which  are  laid  upon 
the  members  of  the  Episcopal  Church  in  that  Colony  l>y  means  of  the 
dissenting  collectors  distraining  their  goods  towards  the  support  of  the 
dissenting  teachers,  and  their  meeting-houses."*  Well  might  Arch- 
bishop Seeker,  in  an  autograph  note  appended  to  this  "  minute,"  write  : 

'  Hawks  and  Perry's  "  Conn.  Church  Documents,"  I.,  p.  259.        '  Hid.,  pp.  259,  2G0. 
"  Ibid.,  pp.  2G2,  263.  •  It/id.,  p.  266.  ■■•  Hid.,  p.  267. 


THE  GliOWTII   OF   THE   CONNECTICUT   CHURCH.  aOl 

"N.  B.  —  These  sort  of  complaints  come  I)y  every  ship  ahnost ;  thcn-e 
are  now  some  ministers  of  tlic  Chnrch  of  England  in  i)rison  on  account 
of  these  persecutions  from  the  dissenters." ' 

It  is  needless  to  multiply  extracts  in  this  vein.  Enough  have  been 
cited  to  jirovo  conclusively  the  temper  and  spirit  of  tiie  "Standing 
Order  "'  towards  the  Church,  and  to  make  its  rapid  growth  under  such 
untoward  circumstances  a  proof  of  tiio  strength  of  the  convictions  of 
its  adherents,  and  their  willingness  to  "  sutler  all  things  "  for  the  cause 
they  had  espoused.  As  years  passed  oh  new  parishes  were  estal)lished, 
though  hut  sparingly,  for  the  venerable  society,  assailed  and  vilified,  and 
conscijucntly  hampered  in  its  work,  and  somewhat  impoverished  in  its 
revenues,  could  not  accept  all  who  odered  their  services.  There  were 
added  one  and  another  of  the  promising  young  graduates  of  Yale  to 
the  clergy  list.  In  1760,  Dr.  Johnson,  who  had  removed  to  New  York, 
wi-ites  to  the  Archliishop  of  Canterbury,  "  There  are  now  thirty 
churches  in  that  colony,"  —  Connecticut,  — "  though  but  fourteen  minis- 
ters, there  being  three  or  four  new  ones."^  Thisyear  the  successor  of 
Dr.  Johnson  at  Stratford,  the  Rev.  Edward  Winslow,  in  his  letter  to 
the  society,  indicates  the  spread  of  doctrinal  errors  among  the  people, 
upspringing  naturally,  as  a  reaction  from  the  wild  enthusiasm  of  the 
Whitfield  movement,  and  soon  to  find  a  general  acceptance  in  the 
wide-spread  defection  of  the  Congregationalist  body  towards  Unitarian- 
ism  and  Universalism,  which  marked  the  close  of  the  century  and  the 
beginning  of  the  next.     Mr.  Winslow  thus  writes  :  — 

At  a  late  Convention  of  the  Clergy  of  our  Church  in  this  Colony,  at  New 
Haven,  a  sermon  was  preachet!  by  the  liov.  .Mr.  lieaoh,  wherein,  mucli  to  his  own 
reputation  anil  I  trust,  liy  the  Divine  blessing,  to  the  credit  of  I'eligion  and  advantage 
of  the  Chureli  here,  he  has  with  great  zeal  and  faithfulness,  endeavoured  to  vindicate 
and  establish  the  important,  fundamentals  of  the  Sacred  Trinity,  and  the  Divinity  of 
our  blessed  Saviour ;  his  atonement  and  satisfaction;  the  necessity  of  the  renewing 
and  sanctifying  inlluenco  of  Divine  Grace,  and  the  eternity  of  future  punishment, 
and  to  expose  the  falsehoods  and  errors  of  the  contraiy  pernicious  errors,  which  by 
means  of  spreading  bad  books  and  other  industrious  arts  of  too  many  men  of  bail 
principles  in  these  parts,  have  been  successfully  propagated.  The  clergy  have 
unitedly  taken  the  occasion  of  the  publication  of  this  discourse  to  give  their  testi- 
mony ag;ainst  these  errors,  and  to  recommend  the  doctrines  inculcated  as  the  prime 
tniths  of  the  gosixd,  and  the  foundation  on  wliich  the  whole  structure  of  the  articles 
and  liturgy  of  the  Cluu'ch  is  framed.^ 

From  this  time,  though  the  persecutions  continued  ^  in  some 
places,  the  correspondence  of  the  missionaries,  in  every  instance,  bears 
testimony  to  the  increase  of  the  Church.  A  new  element  of  annoyance 
appeared,  in  the  arrest  and  imprisonment,  for  over  a  week,  of  the  Rev. 
Roger  Viets,  of  Simsbnry,  for  uniting  in  marriage  a  couple  in  the  town 
of  Great  Barrington,  although  his  license  to  officiate,  from  the  Bishop 
of  London,  embraced  New  England.^  Later  the  Rev.  Richard  jNIosle^' 
was  arrested,  convicted,  and  lined,  for  performing  the  same  office  at 
Litchfield.'"'  Li  17fi5  a  number  of  the  clergy  "  accidentally  convened," 
addressed  the  venerable  society  on  the  tumults  growing  out  of  the 
Stamp  Act,  and  assured  their  ecclesiastical  superiors  that  the^^  and  their 

■  Hawks  ami  Perry's  "  Conn.  Church  Doc^.,"  i.,  p.  2()7.        =  Ilhl.,  p.  311.        ■''  Ihi.l.,  p.  .317. 
'  Ihid.,  II.,  pp.  17,  18,  34,  .53,  6G,  1S7.        "■  Ibid.,  ii.,  pp.  .j9,  60,  7S.        » Ihid  ,  ii.,  pp.  I'.U,  19G. 


302  HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

people  "  will  steadily  behave  themselves  as  true  and  faithful  subjects," 
and  as  "obedient  sons  of  the  Church  of  England."'  The  names  of 
James  Scovil,  Thomas  Davies,  Samuel  Andrews,  Bela  Hubbard,  and 
Abraham  Jarvis,  are  appended  to  this  document.  In  1770  the  Church 
was  still  rapidly  advancing.  In  1772  the  Rev.  Solomon  Palmer,  of 
Litchfield,  and  good  Dr.  Johnson,  who  had  returned  to  Stratford,  died 
in  the  odor  of  sanctity.^  The  clergy  in  convention  had  appointed  a 
committee  "  to  recommend  candidates  "  and  to  provide  for  "  the  supply 
of  vacant  pai'ishes."  But  the  work  of  the  Church  was  soon  interrupted 
and,  amidst  the  opening  scenes  of  the  revolutionary  war,  the  churches 
were  closed,  the  clergy  silenced,  and  the  loyalist  churchmen  banished 
from  their  homes.  It  was  thus  that  the  growth  of  the  Connecticut 
church  was  for  a  time  checked.  But  for  the  wondrous  gi'ace  of  God 
the  Church  would  have  been  totally  destroyed. 


ILLUSTRATIVE    NOTES. 


THAT  there  was  actual  persecution  encountered  in  the  attempt  to  introduce  the 
church's  sendee  iu  Stratford  will  appear  from  "  An  Account  of  the  Sufferings 
of  the  Members  of  the  Church  of  England  at  Stratford,"  jsreserved  among  the 
archives  of  the  venerable  society  in  London.  From  this  "  true  narrative  "  we  give 
some  pertinent  extracts. 

After  reciting  the  circumstances  of  their  first  services  and  organization,  and 
refen'ing  to  their  application  to  the  venerable  society  for  the  aijpointment  of  good 
Mr.  Muirson  as  their  clergyman,  the  naiTative  proceeds :  — 

Before  we  had  any  retimi  from  England,  it  jileased  Almighty  God,  in  his 
providence,  to  bereave  us  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Muirson,  by  taldng  of  liim  to  himself, 
by  reason  whereof  we  remain  as  sheep  without  a  shepherd,  notwithstanding  the  gi'eat 
kindness  we  have  received  from  the  Rev.  ministers  to  the  west  of  us,  viz.,  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Talbot,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Sharpe,  who  was  near  a  month  amongst  lis,  and  took 
much  pains,  and  baptized  many  (amongst  whom  was  an  aged  man,  said  to  be  the 
fii-st  man-child  born  in  the  colony  of  Connecticut) ,  and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Bridge,  who 
have  administered  the  holy  Sacraments  and  ordinances  of  .Tesus  Christ,  to  our  great 
comfort  and  consolation.  Nevertheless,  by  reason  of  theii"  great  distance  from  us, 
we  remain  as  sheep  having  no  shepherd,  and  are  exposed  the  more,  as  a  prey  to  our 
persecutors,  the  Independents,  who  watch  aU  opportunitits  to  desti-oy  the  Church, 
both  root  and  branch. 

But  as  jet  we  received  no  other  persecution  but  that  of  the  tongue,  until  the 
12th  day  of  December,  1709.  Some  of  their  officers,  namely,  Edmund  Lewis, 
Jonathan  Curtice,  and  Francis  Griffith,  having  a  warrant  fi'om  the  autliority,  viz., 
Joseph  Curtice  and  James  Judson,  abovesaid,  to  levy  by  distress  of  estate,  or  im- 
prisonment of  the  bodies  of  such  person  or  persons  as  should  refuse  to  pay  to  them 
such  simis  of  money  as  were  by  them  demanded,  they  no  sooner  having  power  but 
put  it  vigorously  in  execution ;  and  on  the  12th  December,  1709,  about  midnight, 
did  apprehend  and  seize  the  bodies  of  Timothy  Tithartou,  one  of  our  Church- 
wardens, and  Jolm  Marcy,  one  of  the  Vestrjnnen,  and  forced  them  to  travel,  under 
veiy  bad  circumstances,  in  the  winter  season  and  at  that  unseasonable  time  of  night, 
to  the  common  gaol,  where  felons  are  confined,  being  eight  miles  distant,  not  allow- 
ing them  so  much  as  fire  or  candle  light  for  their  comfort,  and  there  continued  them 
until  they  paid  such  sums  as  by  the  gaoler  was  demanded,  which  was  on  the  16th 
day  of  the  same  month. 

Notsvithstanding  all  this,  they  still  persisted  with  rigor  to  continue  tlieir  per- 
secution, and  seized  the  body  of  Daniel  Shelton,  at  his  habitation  or  farm,  being 

'  Hawks  and  Peny's  "  Conn.  Church  Documents,"  II.,  p.  81.  ■  Ihid.,  II.,  pp.  ITS,  179. 


THE   GROWTH  OF   TIIE   CONNECTICUT   CHURCH.  303 

about  eight  miles  ilistant  from  tlie  town,  and  luu-rying  of  him  away  toward 
die  towu  ill  order  to  carry  him  to  the  comity  <jaol ;  passing  by  a  house,  he 
requested  of  them  that  ho  miglit  go  in  and  warm  him,  and  talie  some  refreshment, 
wliieh  was  granted ;  but  they  being  in  a  hurr^  bid  him  como  along,  but  he 
desiring  a  little  longer  time,  they  barbarously  laid  violent  hands  on  his  person, 
and  llnng  liia  body  across  a  horse's  back,  and  called  for  ropes  to  tie  him  on 
tlio  horse ;  to  the  truth  of  which  several  persons  can  give  their  testimony,  and 
are  reaily  when  thereunto  called ;  and,  having  brought  liim  to  the  town,  they 
immeiliately  seized  tlie  bodies  of  William  Kawliuson  and  Arcliibald  Dunlap, 
and  carried  them,  all  three,  to  the  county  gaol,  it  being  the  IGth  day  of  January, 
1709,  anil  there  confhied  them,  mitil  such  time  as  they  disbursed  such  sums  of  money 
as  the  gaoler  demanded  of  them,  wliich  money  was  left  in  the  hands  of  the 
Lieutenant  Governor,  Nathaniel  Gould,  Esq.,  he  promismg  them  that  the  next 
general  court  should  hear  and  determine  the  matter,  and  that  the  money  left  in  his 
hands  should  be  disposed  of  as  the  comt  should  order,  and  they  were  at  present 
released,  being  the  17th  day  of  the  same  instant. 

Several  others  of  the  Chm-ch  had  their  estates  distressed  on  the  same  account, 
and  rended  from  them,  particularly  William  Jeanes,  having  money  due  to  him  in 
the  hands  of  the  towu  ti'easm-er,  the  above  Edmmid  Lewis,  disti-essed  of  Jiis  estate 
that  which  was  in  said  treasurer's  hands  on  the  same  accoimt,  for  the  maintaining 
the  Dissenting  minister  the  year  1709,  and  left  no  copy  of  his  so  doing ;  and  also  the 
treasurer  detains  all  the  rest  that  remains  in  his  hands,  telling  him  that  ho  will  keep 
it  for  his  rate,  which  rate  is  chiefly  for  the  pm-chase  of  a  house  for  their  Dissenting 
minister,  which  house  and  land  cost  £180  :  and  so  are  our  estates  rended  fi'om  us. 
Notwithstanding  tliis,  tlie  said  William  Jeaues  did,  for  himself  in  person,  go  to  a 
town  meeting  convened  in  Stratford,  (being  empowered  by  the  Society  of  the 
Chm-ch  of  EiiHand,)  when  they  were  ordering  a  rate  to  raise  money  to  pay  for  the 
said  house  and  land,  and  did,  publickly,  in  behalf  of  himself  and  Society,  declare 
and  protest  against  any  such  proceedings,  and  tendered  money  to  the  town  recorder 
to  enter  said  protest,  but  he  refused  so  to  do. 

\Mien  the  general  com't  of  said  Colony  of  Connecticut  was  assembled  in  Hart- 
ford, in  May,  lao,  the  Society  of  the  Church  of  England  empowered  William 
Jeanes,  their  lawful  attorney,  to  address  said  general  court  for  a  determination  and 
issue  of  what  should  be  done  ivith  said  money  committed  to  the  above  said  Lieutenant- 
Governor,  and  also  to  see  if  we  should,  for  the  future  enjoy  peace  amongst  them: 
our  said  attorney,  in  order  theremito,  tendered  an  address  to  said  court,  dated  May 
20th,  1710,  l)ut  could  obtain  no  positive  answer,  but  was  detained  there  by  dilatory 
answers,  until  the  20th  day  of  the  said  instant,  (May,)  when  one  of  the  members  of 
tlio  lower  house  Ijrought  to  the  said  Jeanes  the  address  and  power  of  attorney,  and 
told  him  the  thing  had  been  often  moved,  but  they  see  cause  to  give  no  answer,  and 
so  we  liud  no  relief  for  the  )50or  distressed  Church,  nor  the  members  thereof. 

The  poor  Chm-ch  at  Stratford,  being  left  in  a  deplorable  condition,  destitute 
and  without  hope  of  any  relief  in  this  colony  under  this  government,  several  of  our 
Society  have  already,  of  necessity,  fled,  their  ijersecution,  finally,  being  such  an 
additional  one  as  was  seldom  heard  of ;  for  finding  that  some  of  our  Society,  being 
tradesmen  and  handicraft,  and  such  as  had  dependence  upon  working  at  their  ti-ades 
for  t>ther  peoi)lc^  they  combined  together  not  to  set  them  to  work",  saying  that  by 
that  means  they  should  weaken  the  interests  of  the  Church ;  by  which  subtle  strata- 
gem of  Satan's  to  jjersecute  the  Church  of  (.'hrist,  we  are  likely  to  be  brought  low, 
for  some  are  already  gone,  and  others  looking  out  where  to  shelter  themselves  from 
their  cruelty,  and  must  inevitably  fall,  if  God,  of  his  infinite  mercy,  do  not  raise  up 
some  goodly,  compassionate  friends  for  us ;  and  we,  the  subscribers,  do  assert  the 
truth  of  what  is  here  written. 

TIMOTHY  TITHARTON,  ?  ^.       .    „.     , 
WHXIAM    SHUTH,  (  '^^"'"^^  Wardens. 

WM.   R.VWLINSON,  WM.   JEANES, 

JOHN   JOHNSON,  RICHARD  BLACKATH, 

DANffiL  SUELTON,  ARCHIBALD  DUNLAP, 

JAS.  llU.Mi'HKEYS,  JAMES  CLARKE. 


CHAPTER    XVIII. 

THE   LEADING   MISSIONARIES   AND   CLERGY  AT  THE  NORTH 
AND   SOUTH;   THEIR   LIVES   AND   LABORS. 

IF  the  annals  of  the  Church  in  America  do  not  furnish  as  many  and 
as  ilhistrioLis  names  on  the  list  of  the  missionary  priests  as  are 

atTorded  by  other  religious  bodies,  there  are  abundant  reasons  for 
this  lack.  For  upwards  of  a  century  after  the  Reformation  the  Church 
was  so  constantly  occupied  in  the  defence  of  its  position,  and  main- 
taining its  independence  against  the  persecution  and  intrigues  of  the 
papacy  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  plottiugs  and  vindictive  assaults  of 
Puritanism  on  the  other,  as  to  have  little  time  for  the  evangelization  of 
the  heathen  world.  Still,  as  we  have  already  seen,  there  were  not  want- 
ing, from  the  very  first  j'ears  of  the  reformed  faith,  men  who  counted 
not  their  lives  dear  unto  them  for  the  sake  of  advancing  the  cause  of 
Christ  abroad.  The  ships  sailing  westward  from  English  ^lorts  on 
voyages  of  discovery ;  the  transports  conveying  to  the  new  found 
world  the  founders  of  an  empire  for  England  in  the  west,  had  each 
their  chaplains,  who,  at  the  sacrifice  of  ease  and  comparative  comfoit 
at  home  braved  the  terrors  of  the  deep,  and  willingly  endured  the 
dangers  and  diseases  incident  to  an  unknown  clime,  to  minister  to 
settlers  and  savages  alike.  "  Master  Wolfall,"  amidst  the  snow  and  ice 
of  the  extreme  north,  the  unknown  priest  \vho,  at  Raleigh's  colony  of 
Roanoak,  admitted  to  holy  Ijaptism  the  Indian  chieftain  INIanteo,  and 
the  Anglo-American  infant  Virginia  Dare  ;  the  devoted  Richard  Se}'- 
mour,  "preacher"  and  priest  at  Popham's  colony,  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Sagadahoc  ;  the  saintly  Robert  Hunt,  the  faithful  priest  of  Jamestown ; 
Whittaker,  the  apostle  of  Virginia ;  and  the  persecuted  Richard  Gib- 
son, of  the  coast  of  Maine,  —  were  men  who,  in  the  early  years  of  in- 
dependence of  the  reformed  and  catholic  Church  of  England,  showed 
a  spirit  of  consecration  and  self-denial  second  to  none.  They  were 
men  who  hazarded  their  lives  for  the  Lord  Jesus.  Their  names  are 
worthy  of  everlasting  remembrance. 

Then  came  the  great  rebellion  and  the  temporary  overthrow  of  the 
Church.  Her  prelates  and  priests  were  silenced  or  banished.  Her 
stately  cathedrals  and  churches  were  despoiled.  Her  solemn  services 
and  sacraments  were  interdicted  by  law.  Her  members,  if  faithful  to 
their  mother,  the  ("hurch,  were  helpless  and  hopeless  before  their  foes. 

In  the  Old  World,  at  I)ut  a  single  spot  was  the  Church  of  England 
still  "visible,"  —  the  chapel  of  the  English  ambassador  in  Paris,  where 
the  services  of  the  Church  were  maintained,  and  her  sacraments  ad- 
ministered until  this  tyranny  was  overpast.  But  in  the  New  World  the 
Church  was  never  fully  overthrown.     The  clergy  dispossessed  of  their 


LEADING  MISSIONARIES  AT  THE  NORTH   AND   SOUTH.         305 

benefices  at  home  were  welcomed  in  the  loyal  and  faithful  province  of 
Virginia  across  the  sea.  The  church's  prayers,  silenced  and  forbidden 
in  the  Old  World,  were  never  intermitted  in  the  humble  churches  and 
chapels  and  homes  of  the  "  Old  Dominion."  The  religion  of  the  Churcli 
which  divine  George  Herbert  had  in  his  daj^  sung  at  standing  tiptoe  in 
expectance  of  the  change,  had  crossed  to  the  American  strand. 

At  length  with  the  crown  the  Church  was  restored.  With  the  in- 
comingof  the  old-time  faith  and  forms  at  home,  we  find  atonce  the  revival 
of  eflbrts  for  the  establishment  of  the  Church  from  Maine  to  Carolina. 
It  was,  however,  a  day  of  little  faith  and  love.  The  undue  austerity 
of  the  puritan  rule  was  succeeded  by  a  flood  of  licentiousness.  The 
profligacy  of  the  court  permeated  all  classes  of  society,  and,  as  a 
natural  result  of  the  wide-spread  corruption,  a  period  of  indiflerence  to 
religion  rendered  all  eff'orts  for  its  extension  feeble  if  not  futile.  It 
was  long  before  there  was  seen  any  disposition  for  the  reformation  of 
manners,  or  a  retui'n  to  the  old  moderation  and  purity  of  life.  Still 
there  were  those  who  walked  in  white  amidst  the  general  corruption. 
There  were  those  whose  knees  were  never  bowed  to  Baal.  And  in  the 
coming  of  a  better  day  we  note  the  organization  of  efforts  for  the 
evangelization  of  the  western  world.  The  age  which  witnessed  the  in- 
auguration of  the  great  missionary  societies  of  the  English  Church, 
providing  for  the  dissemination  of  Christian  knowledge  at  home  and 
abroad,  and  the  propagation  of  the  Gospel  in  foi'eign  lands,  was  preg- 
nant with  good  for  all  time  to  come.  It  was  the  earnest  of  a  better 
day. 

We  have  on  other  pages  given  the  story  of  manj'  of  the  faithful 
ones  whose  names  would  else  appear  under  the  heading  of  this  chapter. 
It  is  not  necessary  to  repeat  what  has  already  been  said,  and,  in  our 
search  for  an  initial  name,  we  need  not  go  further  back  than  the  settle- 
ment of  ]\Iarvland,  and  tell  in  brief  the  story  of  the  mission  life  and 
labors  of  William  AVilkinson,'  the  first  Church  of  England  clergyman 
who  came  into  the  Lord  Baltimore's  province,  though  it  had  then  been 
settled  for  fully  sixteen  years.  Wilkinson  was  not  indeed  the  first 
clergyman  of  the  Church  who  settled  on  what  is  now  the  soil  of  Mary- 
land, but  the  tii'st  in  the  settlement  at  St.  Mary's,  and  under  the  Bal- 
timore patent.  As  early  as  1629,  while  the  territory,  afterwards 
known  as  Maryland,  was  a  part  of  the  Old  Dominion,  Kent  Island,  on 
the  Chesapeake  Bay  opposite  the  site  of  the  present  city  of  Annapolis, 
had  been  settled  by  Virginians.  With  them  came  a  clergyman  of  the 
Church  of  England,  the  Rev.  Richard  elames.  This  clergyman  had 
been  in  earlier  years  the  lil)rarian  to  Sir  Robert  Cotton,  the  famous  an- 
tiquary, and  he  had  shown  his  zeal  for  the  extension  of  the  Chui'ch  in 
the  New  World  by  accompanying  Sir  George  Calvert,  the  first  Lord 
Baltimore,  before  his  perversion  to  the  Roman  Church,  to  his  settle- 
ment in  Newfoundland  under  his  patron's  charter  for  Avalon.  When, 
in  1638,  Lord  Baltimore  ol)tained  by  force  of  arms  the  possession  of 
Kent  Island,  Mr.  James  returned  to  England  and  died  the  same  3'ear 
at  the  place  of  his  former  master,  Sir  Robert  Cotton. 

'Rev.  William  Wilkinson,  of  MaiylanJ,  165l)-1663. 


306  HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

At  the  time  of  Mr.  Wilkinson's  immigration,  there  were,  as  we 
learn  from  the  researches  of  the  historian  of  the  Maryland  Church,' 
at  least  three  places  of  Church  of  England  worship :  Trinity  Church, 
six  miles  west  of  St.  Mary's ;  Poplar  Hill  Church,  about  six  miles 
to  the  north-west,  and  St.  Paul's,  some  twenty  miles  still  farther  in  the 
same  direction,  in  what  is  now  called  King  and  Queen  parish.  It  is 
not  unlikely  that  there  was  still  another  church  on  the  Patuxent, 
where  Mr.  Wilkinson  located  his  grant  of  land,  and  settled  with 
his  family,  —  wife,  children,  and  servants,  nine  in  all,  —  about 
twelve  or  fifteen  miles  north  of  St.  Mary's.  So  far  as  is  known  there 
was  then  but  one  Romish  place  of  worship  in  the  colony.  This  fact, 
among  others,  shows  that  the  larger  ])ai1;  of  the  immigrants  were  not 
of  the  Eomish  fiiith.  It  is  not  at  all  to  the  discredit  of  the  Church 
that  at  the  period  of  which  we  write  it  was  difficult  to  find  "mission- 
ers  "  for  Maryland.  It  was  an  evil  day  for  the  Ciuirch.  The  parishes 
at  home  were  filled  with  intruders.  The  clergy  were  silenced  or 
banished.  It  was  doubtless  to  escape  the  power  of  the  prevailing 
party  at  home  that  Wilkinson  left  England  for  a  home  in  the  wilds  of 
Maryland. 

Prior  to  the  coming  of  this  excellent  priest  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land settlers  had  been  served  by  lay-readers,  and  in  their  humble  log 
churches  by  the  river  side,  or  in  the  forest  glades  of  tiie  new  settle- 
ments, the  prayers  of  the  Church  proscribed  in  the  cathedrals  and 
stately  churches  of  the  mother-land  were  heard  and  reverently  listened 
to  by  these  far-away  and  forgotten  colonists,  who  were  still  taithful  to 
their  mother,  the  Church. 

Little  is  known  of  this  first  church  clergyman  of  Maryland,  save  that 
the  public  records  prove,  by  their  incidental  allusions,  that  he  won  for  him- 
self and  his  ministry  the  regard  of  those  who  with  him  were  the  pio- 
neers of  a  new  community,  securing,  for  the  Church  and  for  himself  its 
minister,  the  legacies  of  those  who  felt  the  obligation  of  recognizing 
his  ministrations,  and  gaining  by  his  integrity  the  care  of  the  orphan, 
while  his  hospitality  was  such  that  his  humble  home  became  the  refuge 
of  the  sick  and  the  dying.  Like  his  Master,  this  faithful  priest  seems  to 
have  jjone  about  doinij  sjood.  Evidences  of  the  regard  in  which  he 
was  held  appear  in  the  records  of  the  settlement,  but  we  know  little  of  the 
nature  and  extent  of  his  clerical  services  save  as  they  appear  by  these 
scant  references  to  him,  found  in  the  midst  of  the  dry  legal  or  business 
details  of  the  settlement.  He  died  in  faith  in  August,  16(13,  leaving 
in  his  will,  which  is  still  on  record,  the  proof  of  his  pious  trust  in 
God :  — 

Imprimis :  I  give  my  soul  to  God,  and  my  body  to  tlio  Eurth,  from  whence  it 
came,  witli  humble  eonlidence  that  both  body,  and  sciul  shall,  at  the  Rcsurreetion, 
receive  a  happy  union,  and  be  made  partakers  of  that  happiness  which  is  pm'- 
chased  by  my  blessed  Redeemer,  Jesus  Christ,  the  Righteous. 

Such  was  the  sustaining  hope  of  this  pioneer  priest  of  Maryland. 
In  these  words,  he  "  being  dead,  yet  speaketh." 

'  The  late  Rev.  Ethan  Allen,  D.D.,  in  Sprague's  "  Annals  of  the  Amencan  Episcopal 
Pulpit,"  p.  5. 


LEADING   MISSIONARIES    AT   THE   NORTH   AND    SOUTH.  307 

111  169(j  the  Rov.  Hugh  Jones  '  came  into  the  province  of  Mary- 
land, and  was  for  a  time  the  incumbent  of  Clirist  Cliurcli  ))arish,  in 

Calvert  County.  Theannals  oftlie  colony 
attest  the  ])osition  ho  speedily  ae(|uired 
l>y  his  faithfulness,  his  devotion,  aiul  his 
learninii' ;  while  from  his  pen  there  aji- 
peared  among  other  essays  of  importance , 
attesting  his  obsei'vation  and  literary  taste,  a  general  account  of  the 
province,  which,  as  originally  published  in  tlie  Transactions  of  the 
Royal  Society  in  London,  made  hiin  widely  known. 

Possibly,  in  consequence  of  these  evidences  of  literary  al)ility,  or 
else  from  his  known  acquirements  in  this  department  of  knowledge, 
he  was  appointed  in  1702  or  1703,  professor  of  Mathematics  in  William 
and  ]\Iary  College,  lately  estal)lisiied  under  the  charge  of  the  excel- 
lent and  celel)rated  Commissary  Blair.  It  is  not  improbable  that  the  in- 
fluence of  Governor  Nicholson  may  have  been  felt  in  this  appointment, 
as  it  would  appear  that  Jones  first  came  to  Maryland  at  the  suggestion, 
or  at  least  in  the  company,  of  tiie  o;overnor.  His  talents  secured  for 
himtheapi)ointmciit  ascha})lainoftlie  Assembly  and  lecturer  at  Williams- 
burg. Subsequently  ho  held  the  position  of  incumlient  at  James- 
town, the  historic  parish  of  the  Virginia  Church.  In  1722  he  left 
Virginia,  and  two  years  subsequently  he  pul)lished  in  London  an  in- 
teresting and  valuable  volume  entitled  "  The  Present  State  of  Vir- 
ginia," including  a  short  view  of  Maryland  and  North  Carolina.  This 
work,  whicli  has  been  reprinted  within  the  present  century,  is  one  of 
our  most  important  original  authorities  for  the  period  and  the  subjects 
of  Avhich  it  treats.  It  was  certainly  a  literaiy  venture  of  unusual  merit. 
Returning  to  Virginia  he  officiated  for  a  time  as  minister  of  St. 
Stephen's  Church,  in  King  and  Queen  County.  The  occasion  of  his 
leaving  this  place  appears  to  have  been  a  dispute  "  concerning  the 
placing  of  the  pulpit,"  but  in  his  withdrawal  he  bore  with  hiin  the  at- 
testation of  the  "principal  inhaljitants  "  of  the  parish  to  his  diligence 
in  the  discharge  of  his  sacred  function,  and  to  "  his  sober  life  and 
edifying  conversation."  His  de|)arturo  was  "universail}'  lamented 
even  by  his  adversaries."  With  these  ample  testimonials  he  now  re- 
turned, after  an  absence  of  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  centuiy,  to  Mary- 
land, and  became  the  incumbent  of  William  and  Mary  i)arish,  where, 
in  addition  to  his  pastoral  work,  he  engaged  in  the  instruction  of 
j-oulli.  Continuing  in  this  double  duty  for  sevei'al  j'ears,  living '' a 
so))er  and  exemplary  life,"  he  was  inducted  l)y  the  governor  into  the  liv- 
ing of  North  Sassafras  parish,  in  Cecil  County,  at  the  age  of  sixty 
years.  Hei-e  he  labored  faithfully  and  successfully.  The  erection  of  two 
substantial  churches  of  brick  during  his  ministry  in  place  of  the  tem- 
porary structures  he  found  at  his  coming  atlesto<l  the  value  his  jjeople 
plac^ed  on  his  services.  A  published  sermon,  entitled  "  A  Protest 
against  Popery,"  evinced  his  care  for  the  spiritual  needs  of  his  charge, 
and  when,  at  the  age  of  ninetjs  he  resigned  his  cure  he  had  well  and 
worthily  won  the  title  of  "  venerable."     He  died  at  the  age  of  uinety- 

■  The  Rev.  Ilugrh  .Jones,  M..\.,  Man-land  and  Vii-ginia,  1696-1760. 


308  HISTORY   OF  THE  AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

one  after  a  miaistiy  of  sixty-five  years,  leaving  the  reputation  of 
earnest  piety,  sound  learning,  and  devotion  to  the  work  of  the  ministry. 
Among  the  early  appointments  of  the  veneralile  society  was  that 
of  the  Kcv.  George  lloss^  in  1705  to  Newcastle  in  Pennsylvania  (now 
Delaware).  After  laboring  for  several  years  in  this  unpromising  field, 
either  on  account  of  the  unhcalthiness  of  the  climate  or  the  little  "  en- 
couragement" he  received,  the  missionary  left  his  post  and  removed  to 
"Upland,"  or  Chester,  from  which  station  the  incumbent  had  with- 
drawn. It  was  not  the  first  eflbrt  the  restless  missionary  had  made  for 
bettering  his  condition,  and  the  society,  in  consequence  of  his  un- 
authorized removal,  suspended  the  payment  of  his  stipend.  Returning 
to  England  he  was  able  to  vindicate  himself  before  his  superiors,  and 
was  restored  to  his  charge.  On  his  return  voyage  he  was  captured  by 
a  French  man-of-war  on  the  9th  of  February,  1711,  and  carried  into 
Brest,  where  he  was  stripped  of  all  he  possessed,  even  his  clothes,  and 
was  treated  in  the  most  inhuman  manner.  On  his  release  he  proceeded 
to  Chester,  but  not  long  after,  by  direction  of  the  society,  he  resumed 
the  care  of  Newcastle.  In  1717,  at  the  invitation  of  Sir  AVilliam  Keith, 
then  Governor  of  Pennsylvania,  he  accompanied  the  governor  on  a 
tour  through  the  counties  of  Kent  and  Sussex,  in  the  course  of  which, 
in  a  single  week,  he  baptized  upwards  of  one  hundred  persons.  He 
remained  at  Newcastle  till  the  close  of  his  long  life.  In  the  Abstracts 
of  the  Society  for  the  year  1754-55,  allusion  is  made  to  the  receipt  of 
a  letter  from  this  worthy  old  missionar}',  which  we  give  below :  — 

Newcastle  upon  Delaware,  Oct.  13,  1752. 
Rev"  Sir,— 

I  am  at  this  time  upon  the  verge  of  extreme  old  age,  being  according  to  my 
own  computation,  in  the  To""  year  of  my  life,  and  the  ■J?"  of  my  mission. 
Hence  some  imagine  that  I  am  not  onlj'  the  oldest  missionaiy,  but  the  oldest 
man  in  the  mission.  Be  that  as  it  will,  I  have  been  very  often  exercised  for  t«'0 
years  past  with  tliose  malaches  and  infirmities  wliieh  are  commonly  incident  to  my 
present  stage  of  life.  This,  to  my  no  small  mortification,  interrupted  my  former 
coiTespondence  with  you,  and  cx])osed  me  perhaps  t(j  the  charge  of  negligence. 
Mj  service  at  this  time  is  confined  to  the  mean  village  of  Newcastle,  where  little 
or  notliing  occurring,  beside  the  common  offices  of  a  settled  cure,  it  w^as  not  in  my 
power  to  ofler  anything  to  your  consideration  that  deserved  a  place  in  j'our  collec- 
tion. As  to  the  Behaviour  of  my  Hearers  at  tlie  public  worship,  it  is  not  to  be  com- 
plained of,  save  that  the  word  Amen,  for  want  of  a  Clerk  is  much  suppressed 
among  us.  As  I  am  in  a  tottering  conditinn  tliis  may  happen  to  be  my  last  to  you. 
If  this  should  be  the  case,  I  beg  this  may  transmit  my  most  hearty  acknowledg- 
ments to  the  Hon''"  Society  for  their  innumerable  favours  conferred  upon  me  in  the 
course  of  a  long  mission,  which  had  my  lot  fallen  anywhere  but  in  a  poor  sinking 
town,  would  have  proved  I  believe  more  successful.  I  cannot  clear  mj'self  from 
oversights  &  mistakes  in  the  course  of  so  many  j'ears,  but  thank  God  he  has  been 
pleased  in  his  great  goodness  to  preserve  mc  from  such  blots  and  stains,  as  would 
do  harm  to  tlio  cause  I  was  engaged  to  maintain — the  IIon<n" — I  mean  and  interest 
of  the  Church  of  England,  from'which  I  never  varied  from  the  day  I  wrote  Man. 
I  cannot  conclude  without  paying  my  past  acknowledgments  to  you,  who  ujjon  all 
occasions  showed  yourself  a  constant  advocate  for  &  real  friend  to, 
Rev*  Sir, 

Your  most  obliged  and  most  humble  Servant, 

GEORGE  ROSS.' 

■  The  Rev.  Georsc  Ross,  of  Pennsylvania  ^  Hist.  Coll.  Am.  Col.  Chui-ch,  v.,  p.  99. 

and  Delaware,  1705-1754. 


LEADING  MISSIONARIES  AT  THE  NORTH   AND   SOUTH.         309 

But  the  end  was  not  yet.  On  the  10th  of  Octol^cr  of  the  fol- 
lowing year  the  aged  missionary  addressed  to  the  secretary  of  the 
society  the  last  letter  that  has  l)Ccn  preserved  of  a  long  correspondence. 
We  extract  from  this  cominunication  as  follows  :  — 

It  is  with  great  ploasure  I  can  now  acquaint  you  tliat,  thro'  the  divine 
assistance,  I  have  been  better  enabled  to  go  thro'  the  Serricc  of  tlie  Clnu'ch  and 
preacliing  tlian  I  have  been  I'or  tlicse  two  years  past,  and  that  I  live  in  good  esteem 
witli  tlie  jjeople  here,  both  of  our  own  and  the  rrosbyterian  Churcli,  which  is  by  far 
the  most  numerous  congregation.  15ut  1  am  in  great  liopes  I  shall  sec  tJie  Congrega- 
tion of  the  Church  at  New  Castle  flourish,  to  accomplish  which  my  endeavour  .sliall 
never  be  wanting.' 

The  abstracts  of  the  society  of  1754-55,  to  which  we  have  already 
referred,  state  that,  "it  hath  lately  pleased  God  to  call  to  Himself  tliis 
worthy  servant  to  receive  the  reward  of  his  pious  labors."  Whitefield- 
refers  to  the  kindly  welcome  given  him  by  this  good  man.  A  son,  the 
Rev.  iEneas  Ross,  liecame  one  of  the  best  of  the  society's  missionaries 
in  Pennsylvania  and  Delaware,  living  "on  friendly  terms  with  the  Dis- 
senters," and  hoping  "  in  time  to  see  many  of  them  conform."  Another 
son  bearing  his  fatlier's  name,  born  at  Newcastle  in  17.30,  was  a 
delegate  to  the  Continental  Congress  of  1774,  and  a  signer  of  the  Dec- 
laration of  Independence  from  his  native  State.  Though  a  devoted 
patriot  he  sought  on  several  occasions  to  obtain  that  justice  for  loyalists 
in  the  courts  which  the  people  at  the  time  were  disposed  to  refuse.  In 
1779  he  was  appointed  judge  of  the  Coui-t  of  Admiralty,  which  office 
he  held  till  his  death. » 

The  Rev.  Jacob  Henderson, ■*  a  native  of  Ireland,  was  admitted  to 
holy  orders  liy  the  Bishop  of  London,  in  1710,  and  proceeded  directly 
to  his  mission  at  Dover,  Kent  County,  in  Delaware,  where  he  remained 
for  a  year.  He  appears  to  have  taken  a  prominent  position  among  the 
clergy  of  the  provinces  from  the  start,  as  his  representations  of  the 
state  of  the  Church  in  New  York  and  New  Jersey,  seriously  implicat- 
ing "  Brigadier "  Hunter,  the  governor,  were  deemed  of  sufficient 
importance  by  the  accused  to  be  met  with  rebutting  evidence,  secured 
at  no  little  pains.  The  honesty  and  directness  of  Mr.  Henderson,  cer- 
tainly gave  him  credit  with  the  society,  which  the  efforts  of  the  gov- 
ernor were  unable  to  lessen  or  remove.  On  his  return  to  America  he 
received  an  appointment  to  a  mission  on  the  western  shore  of  Mary- 
land, where  he  married,  and  where,  in  1713,  he  and  his  wife  built  a 
chapel  on  their  own  land  and  not  far  from  their  home.  In  171G  Dr. 
Robinson,  then  Bishop  of  London,  appointed  Mr.  Henderson  as  his 
Commissary  on  the  western  shore  of  JIaryland,  which,  on  the  death 
of  the  Commissary  of  the  eastern  shore,  the  Rev.  Christopher  Wil- 
kinson, ill  1729,  was  renewed  by  Bishop  Gibson,  and  made  to  include 
the  whole  of  the  province.  In  1718  the  Commissary  was  presented 
by  Governor  Hart  with  the  living  of  Queen  Anne's,  the  parish  in  which 
he  resided,  and  of  which  his  chapel  now  became  a  chapel-of-ease.     On 

■HH.Coll.Am.  Col.  Chmrli.v.,  p.  100.    By  Mtist.  Majr.,  m.,  p.  370,  371. 

a  clerical  error  in  tlic  oriirinal  MS.S.  tlic  date  of  *  The  Rev.  .Jacob  Henderson,  Commissary  of 

the  letter  is  inconcc'lv  ffiven  as  1759.  Mainland,  Delaware  and  Maryland,  1710-17ol. 

2  Works.vm.,  p.'48. 


310  HISTORY   OF  THE  AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

the  renewal  and  extension  of  his  commissarial  commission  he  exercised 
his  delegated  authority  in  the  interest  of  a  sound  clerical  discipline, 
and,  in  his  ofBcial  relations,  sought  to  secure,  on  the  part  of  the  clergy, 
personal  holiness  of  life  and  strict  attention  to  the  duties  of  their  sacred 
functions.  But  the  difficulty  of  enforcing  his  powers  was  such  that 
in  1734  he  resigned  his  office,  and  from  that  time  the  Bishop  of  London 
ceased  to  have  an  official  representative  in  the  province.  In  the  j'ear 
1737  he  visited  England,  and  was  elected  to  membership  of  the  vener- 
alile  society,  he  being  the  first  person  elected  from  the  colonics,  other 
than  the  colonial  governors  or  officials.  The  interest  he  took  in  the 
work  of  the  society  may  be  inferred  from  the  efforts  he  made  to  secure 
gifts  from  his  own  parish  and  from  other  congregations  in  the  neigh- 
borhood, and  from  his  bequest  of  his  whole  estate,  on  his  decease,  to 
this  worthy  cause.  He  died  on  the  27th  of  August,  1751,  in  the 
thirty-fourth  year  of  his  connection  with  the  parish  of  which  he  was 
incumbent,  and  in  the  forty-fifth  year  of  his  ministry.  Ho  was  at  least 
sixty-five  years  old  at  the  time  of  his  death ;  probably  more,  for  the 
notice  of  his  decease,  in  the  Maryland  "  Gazette,"  refers  to  him  as  "  the 
venei'able  and  aged  Jacob  Henderson."  Upwards  of  a  thousand 
pounds  sterling  were  realized  by  the  venerable  society  from  the  estate 
of  this  eminently  wise  and  godly  man. 

Appointed,  in  1712,  by  the  venerable  society,  as  assistant  to  the 
Rev.  Gideon  Johnstone,  incumbent  of  St.  Philip's,  Charleston,  the 
Rev.  William  Guy^  was  elected  minister  of  St.  Helena's  parish,  on  Port 
Royal  Island,  where  he  officiated  during  the  remainder  of  his  diaconate. 
In  1713,  returning  to  England  for  priests'  orders,  he  was  appointed 
missionary  to  this  extensive  pai'ish,  which  included  the  territory  occu- 
pied by  the  Yamassee  Indians,  to  whom  the  Rev.  Samuel  Thomas  had 
been  sent  a  few  years  before.  As  no  church  had  been  erected  Mr. 
Guy  performed  divine  service  and  administered  the  sacraments  in  the 
homes  of  the  planters,  and  proved  untiring  and  devoted  in  the  dis- 
charge of  his  most  arduous  pastoral  duties.  In  1715  the  war  with  the 
Yamassee  Indians  broke  out  so  suddenly  that  many  of  his  people  were 
massacred  by  the  savages,  and  Mr.  Guy  narrowly  escaped  with  his 
life,  taking  refuge  in  an  English  ship,  providentially  lying  in  the  river. 
After  this  unhappy  interruption  in  his  labors  he  was  sent  by  the  so- 
ciety to  Narragausett,  Rhode  Island.  He  reached  his  new  home,  at 
Kingston,  in  1717,  visiting  and  officiating  in  the  neighboring  towns  of 
Tiverton,  Little  Compton,  and  elsewhere,  as  well  as  in  the  place  of  his 
residence.  His  labors  were  most  assiduous  and  were  very  acceptable 
to  his  numerous  congregations  ;  but,  finding  his  health  aflccted  b}'  the 
climate,  he  was  ordered,  at  his  own  request,  to  his  old  home  at  the 
South,  in  1719.  Here  he  became  incunil)ent  of  St.  Andrew's  Church, 
thirteen  miles  from  Charleston,  in  which  position  he  continued  until  his 
death,  in  1751.  He  was  not  only  diligent  in  caring  for  the  people  of 
his  immediate  cure,  but  extended  his  ministrations  on  every  side, 
preaching  and  administering  the  sacrament  to  those  at  a  distance  from  the 
parish  church,  and  making  the  provision  of  a  chape  1-of-ease  a  necessity. 

'  The  Rev.  William  Guy,  of  South  Caroliiu,  1712-1751. 


LEADING   MISSIONARIES    AT   THE   NORTH   AND   SOUTH.  311 

The  same  results  attended  liis  ialM)rs  in  his  own  charge.  From  the  in- 
crease of  his  congregation,  the  parisii  ciunvli  was  found,  in  1722,  too 
small  for  the  people  wiio  thronged  to  attend  service,  and,  in  1723,  it 
was  enlarged  by  the  addition  of  transepts,  completingitin  theforniof  a 
cross.  The  numhcrof  communicants  largely  increased  und(>r  the  efficient 
labors  of  this  devoted  clergyman.  The  iH'ople,  notwithstanding  the  cost 
of  their  church,  wiiich  was  estimated  at  £3,500  currency,  sul)scribed 
largely  towards  the  settlement  of  Georgia,  and  for  the  relief  of  the 
sufferers  at  the  great  fire  in  Charleston,  in  1740.  An  endowment  fund 
in  1744  amounted  to  nearly  £1 ,200  currency.  Thus  al)undant  in  labors 
and  successes  the  ministry  of  this  amiable  and  excellent  man  continued 
until  his  decease.  He  left  lichind  him  a  grateful  memory  of  faithful- 
ness unto  death. 

In  the  year  1704  the  Kev.  James  Honyman'  was  appointed,  by 
the  society,  missionary  at  Trinity  Church,  Newport,  Rhode  Island, 
^vhere     he    discharged 
the  duties  of  his  mis-       ^  ^---  j.  t,^        t^ 

sion  with  devotion  and       ^LZWlM    m^wU^^^ 
success    for   forty-five        /  f 

years.        Besides     the      ^  I 

care  of  his  immediate 

cure  he  made  frequent  missionary  visits  to  the  neighboring  towns  on  the 
mainland,  until,  in  the  growth  of  the  congregations  to  whicii  he  had  minis- 
tered, another  minister  was  required  for  their  use.  In  1 709,  addressing 
the  seci-etary  of  the  society,  he  writes  :  "You  can  neither  well  believe, 
nor  I  express,  what  excellent  services  to  the  cause  of  religion  a  Bishop 
would  do  in  these  parts,"  adding  the  exiircssion  of  his  belief  that  if 
one  were  sent  "these  infant  settlements  would  become  beautiful  nur- 
series, which  now  seem  to  languish  for  want  of  a  father  to  oversee  and 
bless  them."  In  1714  he  presented  to  Governor  Nicholson  a  memo- 
rial on  the  religious  condition  of  Rhode  Island.  The  people,  he  states, 
were  divided  among  Quakers,  Anal)a})tists,  Independents,  Gortonians, 
and  Infidels,  with  a  remnant  of  true  churchmen.  In  1723  it  was  his 
painful  duty  for  a  period  of  nearly  two  months  to  minister  to  a  great 
number  of  pirates  who  were  brought  into  Newport,  and  there  suffered 
the  penalty  of  the  law.  In  1728  Mr.  Ilonyman  and  the  Rev.  James 
McSparran,  of  Narragansett,  united  in  memorial  in  which,  after  com- 
plaining of  the  "frowns  and  discouragements  to  whicli  they  Avere  sub- 
jected by  the  government,"  made  the  assertion  that  there  was  only 
"one  baptized  Christian  in  their  whole  legislature."  Two  years  pre- 
vious, in  the  year  172(5,  Mr.  Ilonyman  had  preached  a  sermon  in  the 
King's  Chajiel,  in  Boston,  before  a  convention  of.  the  clergy  of  New 
England,  which  was  published  anonymously  in  1733.  '^  This  discourse 
is  written  in  a  moderate  tone,  quite  in  contrast  Avith  the  bitter  sarcasm 
and  violent  vituperation  of  the  pamphlet  publications  of  that  contro- 
versial period.  Few  allusions  to  matters  other  than  those  directly 
refeiTing  to  the  sacred  functions  of  those  addressed  ai-e  found  in  this 
sermon.     In  fact,  the  chief  allusion  to  the  questions  then  in  dispute 

'  The    Rev.  James    Honyman,    of  Rliodc  '  Vide  Notices  of  this  discourse   in   Hist. 

Island,  1704-1730.  Ma-.,  II.,  pp.  338,  3S6. 


md^a/  ffoM^ 


312  HISTORY   OF   THE   AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

between  the  clergy  of  the  Church  and  the  dissenters  is  a  half-ironical 
disclaimer  of  the  preacher,  in  his  own  and  his  lirethrcn's  liehalf,  of  the 
desire  manifested  a  few  years  earlier  by  tlie  congregationalist  ministers 
of  Massachusetts  for  a  "Synod,"  which  was  frustrated  througii  the  efforts 
of  the  celeln-ated  John  Checivlcy  and  the  Rev.  Dr.  Tinioth}'  Cutler. 
The  convention  towijich  this  discourse  was  addressed,  nuist  iiave  been 
comprised  of  the  major  part  or  possibly  of  all  of  the  few  clergymen 
of  the  Church  in  Xew  England.     These  wei'e  the  Rev.  Samuel  Sljles, 

rector  of  the  chapel,  and  the  Rev. 

Henry  Harris,  his  assistant ;  the 

Rev.  Dr.  Cutler,  of  Christ  Churcli, 

Boston  ;  the  Rev.  Matthias  Plant, 

of  Newbury ;    the    Rev.    George 

Pigot,  who  had  just  succeeded  the  Rev.  George  INIossom  at  Marblehead  ; 

the  Rev.  John  Usher,  of  Bi'istol ;   and  the  Rev.  Ebenezer  Miller,  of 

Braintree. 

The  celebrated  George  Whitefield,  in  his  early  journals,  thus 
notices  his  intercourse  with  this  excellent  missionary  :  — 

Sunday  —  September  14, In  the  Evening,  with  him  [!Mr.  C — p  (Clap) 

an  aged  Dissenting  Minister]  I  waited  on  Mr  H n,  the  JNlinister  of  the  Church 

oi  England,  and  desired  tlie  use  of  his  Pulpit.  At  first  he  seemed  a  litth'  unwilling, 
being  desirous  to  know  "  what  extraordinary  call  I  had  to  preach  on  W  eek  Days." 
which  he  said  was  disorderly?  I  answered,  "  .S7.  Paul  exhorted  Timothi/  to  be 
instant  in  season  —  and  out  of  season!  That,  if  the  orders  of  the  Church  were 
rightly  complied  with,  our  Ministers  should  read  ]iublic  Prayers  twici;  every  day, 
and  then  it  would  not  be  disorderly,  at  such  time  to  give  them  a  sermon.  As  to 
any  extraordinary  call,  I  claimed  none  otherwise  than  the  Ajiostle's  Injunction,  as 
we  have  ojyportuidtii  let  us  do  good  unto  all  Mcn.^''  He  still  held  out,  and  did  not 
give  any  i)ositive  Answer,  but,  at  last,  after  he  had  withdrawn  and  consulted  with 
the  Gentlemen,  he  said,  "  If  my  preaching  would  promote  the  (ilory  of  (Jod,  and 
good  of  Souls,  I  was  welcome  to  his  Church,  as  often  as  I  would,  during  my  stay 
in  Town."    We  then  agreed  to  make  use  of  it  at  ten  in  the  morning,  and  three  in 

the  Afternoon Mondaij  Seplember  1.'> — At  10  in  the  morning,  aiid  ."  in  the 

Afternoon,  according  to  ap]iointment,  I  read  jirayers  and  preached  in  the  ( 'hurch ! 
'Tis  very  commodious,  and  I  believe  will  contain  3000  People.  It  was  more  tlian 
filled  in  the  afternoon.  —  Persons  of  all  Denominations  attended.  God  assisted  me 
much,  etc.  Tuesday  (misprinted  Friday)  September  10,  ^enabled  to  read  prayers 
and  preach  with  much  Flame,  clearness  and  power  to  still  greater  Auditories  than 
Yesterday.     It  being  Assemblj'  Time,  the  gentlemen  adjourned  in  order  to  attend 

the  Service Before  I  i-etired  to  bed,  I  went  to  take  my  leave  of  IMrll n,  and 

had  some  close  talk  with  him  about  the  New  Birth.  The  Lord  give  him  an  ex- 
perimental knowledge  of  it.  He  was  very  civil,  and  would  have  had  me  stay  with 
him  longer ;  but  being  to  go  a  journey  on  the  morrow,  after  we  had  conversed  near 
half  an  hour,  I  took  my  leave.  '  pp.  18,  19,  20,  21.' 

In  1732  Mr.  Honyman  memorialized  the  society  for  a  small 
increase  of  his  stipend.     In  his  application  he  states  tliat,  — 

Between  New  York  and  Boston,  a  distance  of  300  miles,  and  wherever  there 
are  any  missions,  there  is  not  a  congregation,  in  the  way  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land, that  can  pretend  to  compare  with  mine,  or  equal  it  in  any  respect ;  nor  does 
my  church  consist  of  members  tliat  were  of  it  when  I  came  here,  for  1  have  buried 
them  all ;  nor  is  there  one  person  now  alive  that  did  then  belong  to  it;  so  that  our 
present  appearing  is  entirely  owing  to  the  blessing  of  God  upon  my  endeavors  to 
serve  him. 

'  A  continuation  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Whitefield's  Journal.     The  seventh  joui-ual.     London,  1741. 


LEADING  MISSIONARIES   AT   THE   NORTH   AND   SOUTH.  813 

Mr.  Honymau  died  in  17 'A).  His  epitapli  speaks  of  Liim  as  "of 
venerable  and  ever  worthy  memory,  for  a  fiiithful  ministry  of  near 
fifty  years  in  tlie  Episcopal  Ciiurch  in  this  town,  M'hich,  by  divine 
influence  on  his  labors,  has  flourished  and  exceedingly  increased.  He 
was  of  a  respectable  family  in  Scotland ;  an  excellent  scholar,  a 
sound  divine,  and  an  accomplished  gentleman ;  a  strong  assertor  of 
the  doctrine  and  discipline  of  the  Church  of  England,  and  yet,  with 
the  arms  of  charity,  embraced  all  sincere  followers  of  Christ.  Happy 
in  his  relative  station  in  life,  the  duties  of  which  he  sustained  and  dis- 
charged in  a  laudable  and  exemplary  manner.  Blessed  with  an  excel- 
lent and  vigorous  constitution,  which  he  made  sul^servient  to  the 
various  duties  of  a  numerous  parish,  until  a  paralytic  disorder  inter- 
rupted him  in  the  pulpit,  and  in  two  years,  without  impairing  his  un- 
derstanding, cut  short  the  thread  of  life,  on  July  2,  1750." 

The  most  prominent  name  among  the  list  of  the  Rhode  Island 
clergy  is  that  of  James  JMcSparran.'  Educated  at  the  University  of 
Glasgow,  where  he  proceeded.  Master  of  Arts,  in  1709,  he  took 
orders  in  1720,  being  made  a  deacon  by  the  Bishop  of  London,  and 
receiving  the  priesthood  at  the  hands  of  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury. 
Appointed  "to  ofEciate,  as  opportunity  shall  ofler,  at  Bristol,  Free- 
town, Swansea,  and  Little  Compton,"  he  reached  his  mission  in  1721, 
and  at  the  expiration  of  three  years'  labor  was  able  to  report  that  "all 
the  church  people,  }oung  and  old,"  were  not  less  in  number  than  three 
hundred.  Faithful  in  his  labors  he  carried  the  ministrations  of  the 
Church  intotheneighboringcolony  of  Connecticut,  rendering  no  littleaid 
in  the  buildhig  of  the  church  at  New  London,  and  beino-  instrumental 
m  the  conversion  to  the  Church  of  its  first  missionaiy,  the  Eev.  Samuel 
Seabury,  the  father  of  the  first  Bishop  of  Connecticut.  In  1731  the 
University  of  Oxford  conferred  upon  him  the  degree  of  Doctor  in 
Divinity.  Dr.  McSparran  published  several  sermons,  one  of  which, 
on  "  The  Sacred  Dignity  of  the  Christian  Priesthood,"  occasioned, 
through  a  misconception  of  its  purpose,  a  spirited  controversy.  A 
more  ambitious  work  of  his  was  entitled,  "  America  Dissected,  being 
a  full  and  true  account  of  all  the  American  Colonies,  showing  the  in- 
temperance of  the  climates,  excessive  heat  and  cold,  and  sudden  vio- 
lent changes  of  weather;  terrible  and  murderous  thunder  and  lighten- 
ing ;  bad  and  unwholesome  air,  destructive  to  human  bodies  ;  badness 
of  money;  danger  from  enemies;  but,  above  all,  to  the  souls  of  the 
poor  people  that  remove  thither,  from  the  multifarious  and  pestilent 
heresies  that  prevail  in  those  parts.  In  several  Letters  from  a  llev- 
erend  Divine  of  the  Church  of  England,  Missionary  to  America,  and 
Doctor  of  Divinity;  Pul)lished  as  a  caution  to  unsteady  people  who 
may  be  tempted  to  leave  their  native  country."  It  is  but  just  to  tiie 
author  to  say  that  this  remarkable  title  is  supposed  to  have  been  the 
invention  of  the  Dublin  publisher,  and  to  have  been  prefixed  to  the 
work  without  the  writer's  knowledge  or  consent.  In  the  autumn  of 
1754  the  doctor  and  his  wife  visited  England,  where  Mrs.  jNIcSparrau 
fell  a  victim  to  the  small-pox.     This  bereavement  seriously  afl'ccted 

iThe  Rev.  James  McSpairan,  D.D.,  of  Rhode  Island,  1720-1757. 


314  HISTORY   OF   THE   AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

the  health  of  the  doctor,  who,  on  his  return,  soon  followed  his  wife  to 
the  grave.  He  died  at  South  Kingston  on  the  first  of  December, 
1757,  having  been  the  minister  of  the  parish  of  St.  Paul's,  Narragan- 
sett,  for  thirty-seven  years.  Updike,  the  historian  of  the  Narragan- 
sett  church,  pronounces  him  to  have  been  "  the  most  able  divine  that 
was  sent  over  to  this  country  l)y  the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of 
the  Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts."  Certainly  his  manly  devotion  to  the 
work  of  his  ministry,  his  learning,  candor,  and  untiring  zeal  deserved 
the  honorable  recognition  he  has  received  at  the  hands  of  the  accom- 
Dlished  annalist  who,  in  writing  the  history  of  the  church  to  which 
McSparran  ministered,  made  as  the  text  of  his  work  the  records  and 
journal  of  the  faithful  mission-priest. 

A  ministry  of  upwards  of  half  a  century  spent  in  a  single  parish 
offers  but  few  matters  for  public  record,  but  the  name  and  memory  of 
Rev.  John  Usher, ^  of  St.  Michael's  Church,  Bristol,  Rhode  Island,  de- 
serves, at  least,  a  passing  notice.  A  graduate  of  Harvard  College  in 
1719,  the  descendant  of  an  ancient  and  honorable  New  England  family, 
and  ordained  in  1722,  Mr.  Usher  was  at  once  appointed  to  Bristol, 
where  a  parish  had  been  organized  but  three  years  before,  and  was  then 
vacant  Ity  the  removal  of  the  first  minister,  the  Rev.  James  Drew,  to 
New  York.  Coixlially  received  and  entering  upon  his  work  with  alac- 
rity and  zeal,  the  story  of  hrs  long  incumbency  reveals  no  striking 
results,  but  simply  the  steady  growth  of  a  congregation  faithfully  min- 
istered to,  until  he  died  on  the  30th  of  April,  177.5,  at  the  age  of  eighty- 
six,  having  continued  the  exercise  of  his  office,  "though  aged,  lame,  and 
infirm,"  to  the  very  last. 

The  son  of  this  worthy  missionary,  whose  baptism  was  the  first 
recorded  by  his  father  on  his  entrance  upon  duty,  was  graduated  at 
Harvard  College,  in  1743.  Though  a  practitioner  of  the  law,  after  the 
death  of  his  honored  father,  Mr.  John  Usher  assembled  the  scattered 
members  of  the  congregation  on  each  successive  Easter  ^londa}^  and 
went  formally  through  the  prescribed  duties  of  the  day  ;  thus  keeping 
up  the  organization  to  which  his  father  had  so  patiently  ministered. 
At  the  close  of  the  Avar  he  gathered  a  congregation  in  the  old  court- 
house, where  he  officiated  as  lay-reader  until  the  erection  of  a  chui'ch, 
and,  in  fact,  until  he  received,  at  the  age  of  seventy-one,  holy  orders, 
at  the  hands  of  Bishop  Seabury,  and  was  continued  in  charge  of  the 
parish  which  he  retained  till  the  year  1800.  He  died  in  July,  1804,  in 
the  eighty-second  year  of  his  age,  leaving  behind  him  the  memory  of 
sterling  worth,  indomitable  devotion  to  the  Church,  and  personal  piety. 
He  was  doubtless  one  of  the  oldest  candidates  for  oi'ders  who  ever  re- 
ceived the  apostolic  commission. 

Among  the  students  of  Yale,  at  the  time  of  the  declaration  for  the 
Church  by  Rector  Cutler  and  his  associates,  was  Henry  Caner,^  a  native 
of  Connecticut,  and  a  graduate  of  the  college  in  1724.  In  the  follow- 
ing year  he  l)egan  to  read  prayers  at  Fairfield,  and,  on  obtaining  orders, 
he  was  appointed  missionary  of  the  venera1)le  society  to  this  town, 
where,  as  well  as  at  Norwalk,  his  services  were  received  with  every 

'The  Rev.  John   Uslier,  A.M.,   of  Rhode  =The  Rev.  Hemy  Cancr,  D.D.,  of  Massa- 

Island,  1722-1778.  chusetts,  1727-17S3. 


LEADING   MISSIONARIES   AT   THE   NORTH  AND   SOUTH.         315 

token  of  satisfaction  and  wore  rewarded  by  abundant  evidences  of 
success. 

On  the  27tli  of  November  the  Eev.  Ilogcr  Price,  Commissary  of 
the  Bishop  of  London  in  New  England,  and  the  incumbent  of  King's 
Ciiapel,  in  Boston,  announced  his  purpose  of  resigning  his  cure  and 
returning  to  England.  The  parisliioners  of  the  chapel  thereupon  took 
the  novel  step  of  choosing  a  committee  to  recommend,  not  to  the  Bishop 
of  London,  but  to  the  congregation,  a  suitable  person  to  fill  the  vacant 
rectorship,  and  the  choice  fell  on  the  missionary  at  Fairfield.  Inducted 
to  the  rectorship  of  the  leading  church  in  New  England  Mr.  Caner 
entered  upon  his  work  with  every  promise  of  success.  He  was  a  popular 
preacher  and  a  man  of  exemplary  life,  possessing  fine  intellectual  en- 
dowments, coupled  with  unusual  business  talents,  and  enjo^ying,  in  an 
eminent  degree,  the  atiection  and  regard  of  his  church  and  the  community 
at  large.  It  was  under  his  successful  rectorate  that  the  rebuilding  of  the 
chapel  was  accomplished,  and  throughout  his  ministry  in  Boston  the 
Church  gained  steadily  in  numbers  and  reputation.  In  1766  Mr. 
Caner  received  the  Doctorate  from  the  University  of  Oxford.  In  the 
faithful  and  laborious  discharge  of  the  duties  of  his  important  position, 
he  continued  steadfast  until,  after  some  months  of  "difficulty  and  dis- 
tress," he  was  forced  to  leave  Boston  on  the  evacuation  of  the  town  by 
the  British,  in  March,  1776,  and  remove  to  Halifax.  He  "had  but 
six  or  seven  hours  allowed  to  prepare  for  this  measure,"  and  was 
wholly  unable  to  save  his  books,  furniture,  or  any  part  of  his  fortune. 
He  spent  his  last  years  in  London,  dying  at  the  close  of  the  year  1792, 
and  at  the  age  of  ninety-two.  His  published  discourses  display  learn- 
ing and  good  taste.  Though  not  a  stipendiary  of  the  society  during 
his  thirty  years'  residence  in  Boston,  he  was  its  confidential  adviser  and 
correspondent.  Few  of  the  clergy  filled  a  more  important  position  in 
the  Church  of  America,  or  could  have  filled  it  to  better  purpose  for  the 
Church. 

The  Rev.  Arthur  Browne  '  was  born  at  Drogheda,  in  Ireland,  in 
the  year  1699,  and  educated  at  Trinity  College,  Dulilin,  where,  in  1729, 
he  received  the  degree  of  Master  of  Arts.  Ordained  by  Dr.  Gibson, 
Bishop  of  London,  in  1729,  he  was  first  sent  to  Providence,  where  he 
ministered  for  nearly  six  years  at  the  King's  Chapel,  now  St.  John's. 
Here  his  talents,  learning,  and  devotion  were  fully  appreciated.  His 
congregation  and  communicants  increased,  but  an  urgent  and  unani- 
mous invitation  to  the  church  established  but  a  few  years  l)efore  at 
Portsmouth  was  the  occasion  of  his  removal,  and  in  his  new  field  of 
labor  he  remained  for  thirty-seven  years,  beloved,  revered,  and  ad- 
mired by  all  who  knew  him  or  came  within  the  reach  of  his  influence. 
He  was  an  accurate  scholar,  a  keen  controversialist,  a  profound  thinker, 
and  an  al)lc  and  excellent  preacher.  An  incident  of  his  long  and  com- 
paratively uneventful  career  has  been  told  in  charming  verse  among 
the  "  Tales  of  a  Wayside  Inn  ;  "  and  man}',  who  else  would  never  have 
even  heard  of  this  worthy  priest  and  missionary,  will  recall,  in  "the 
Poet's  Tale"  of  Lady  Wentworth,  the  mention  among  the  guests  at 
the  birthday  feast  in  the  "  Great  House,"  of,  — 

'The  Rev.  Arthur  Browne,  A.JI.,  of  Rhode  Island  and  New  Hampshire,  1729-177.3. 


316  HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

"  One  in  bands  and  gown, 

The  rector  there,  the  Rev.  Arthur  Browne, 
Of  the  established  church;  with  sniiUng  face 
He  sat  beside  the  Governor  and  said  grace." 

After  a  long  life,  in  which  ho  displayed  a  uuiver.5al  benevo- 
lence, an  unltounded  ho.spitality,  and  an  unquestioned  piety,  he  died  on 
the  20th  of  June,  1773,  at  Cambridge,  Massachusetts,  while  on  a  visit 
to  his  daughter,  the  wife  of  the  Eev.  Wiuwood  Serjeant.  He  was  in 
his  seventy-fourth  year,  and  in  the  forty-fourth  year  of  his  ministry. 
His  remains  were  brought  to  Portsmouth,  and  interred  in  the  ^Yent- 
worth  toml)  in  the  graveyard  of  old  St.  John's.  A  son  of  this  noted 
clergyman  was  the  liev.  JMarmaduke  Browne,  who,  after  a  ministry 
spent  in  New  Hampshire  and  Rhode  Island,  died  before  his  venerable 
parent. 

Among  those  who  "  left  all "  to  serve  the  cause  of  the  Church  in 
America,  the  name  of  the  Ivcv.  Thomas  Cradock.*  of  Maryland,  must 
not  be  forgotten.  Born  in  Bedfordshire,  England,  in  1718,  and  edu- 
cated at  Cambridge,  the  young  Cradock,  and  his  3'oungcr  l)rother  John, 
who  afterwards  became  hrst  Bishop  of  Kilmore,  and  then  Archbishop 
of  Dul:)lin,  grew  up  and  entered  u\xm  their  life  careers  under  the  pat- 
ronajxe  of  the  Uuke  of  Bedford.  Through  the  influence  of  his  noble 
patron  with  Lord  Baltimore,  the  proprietary  of  the  province,  a  living  in 
Maryland  was  procured  for  the  intending  immigrant ;  and  in  October, 
1742,  the  probable  year  of  his  arrival,  an  act  of  the  Assembly  was 
passed  for  the  erection  of  a  chapel-of-easo  in  the  north-western  part  of 
St.  Paul's  parish,  providing  that  on  the  death  of  the  incumbent  of  St. 
Paul's,  the  Rev.  Benedict  Bourdillon,  the  parish  of  "Baltimore  Town" 
should  be  divided,  and  the  chapel  by  the  name  of  St.  Thomas's,  set  off 
as  an  independent  parish.  On  the  death  of  the  rector  of  St.  Paul's,  as 
had  been  provided,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Cradock  was  formally  inducted  to 
the  new  cure.  It  was  then  a  frontier  post.  The  church,  built  of  brick, 
was  placed  on  a  hill,  and  still  stands  as  it  has  done  for  nearly  a  century 
and  a  half,  amidst  old  oaks  and  chestnuts,  gracing  the  highest  emi- 
nence for  miles  around.  In  the  course  of  a  long  and  faithful  ministrj^ 
Mr.  Cradock  pul^lished  several  sermons,  which  are  still  extant.  In 
1753  he  published  a  "Version  of  the  Psalms,"  translated  from  the 
Hebrew  into  heroic  verse.  This  work  was  issued  by  subscription,  and 
the  number,  position,  and  character  of  the  subscribers  indicate  the 
high  estimation  in  which  the  versifier  was  held.  In  17G3  Mr.  Cradock 
was  rendered  helpless  by  an  attack  of  paralysis,  l)ut,  as  his  speech  and 
mental  powers  were  unimpaired,  he  still  continued  to  officiate,  being 
carried  to  church  and  placed  in  his  accustomed  seat.  A  few  j'ears 
later  the  loss  of  a  son,  who  had  been  devoted  to  the  ministry,  and  had 
shown  unusual  fitness  of  mind  and  heart  for  this  holy  office,  brought 
sorrow  to  the  infirm  and  enfeebled  father,  who,  in  the  following  year, 
on  the  7th  of  May,  1770,  at  the  age  of  fifty-two,  entered  into  rest. 
He  was  a  sincere  Christian,  a  polished  scholar,  an  eloquent  and  persua- 
sive preacher,  and  a  faithful  priest. 

'The  Rev.  Thomas  Cradock,  A.M.,  of  Maryland,  1742-1770. 


LEADING   MISSIONARIES   AT   THE   NORTH   AND    SOUTH.  317 

The  Rev.  Thomiis  Bacon,'  of  ^luryland,  ii  native  of  the  Isle  of 
Man,  was  a  pupil  and  protege  of  the  pious  and  celebrated  Bishop 
Thomas  Wilson,  of  Sodor  and  Man,  by  whom  he  was  ordained 
I)oth  deacon  and  priest  in  1744.  He  had  l)een  admitted  to  "the  hii)-hcr 
desree  ""  within  a  few  months  after  being  ordered  deacon,  '\vilii  a  view 
to  his  going  to  the  plantations  ;  and,  having  secured  an  appointment 
as  chaplain  to  Lord  Baltimore,  the  proprietary  of  Maryland,  he  sailed 
for  the  province,  where 
he  arrived  in  the  au- 
tumn of  1745.  Here 
he  was  apjiointed  to 
the  curacy  of  the  jiarish 
of  O.xford,  in  Taibol 
County,  of  which  a 
Huguenot,    the    Rev. 

Samuel  Maynadier,  was  incumbent.  On  the  death  of  this  good 
old  man,  Mr.  Bacon  succeeded  to  the  cure.  So  successful  were  his 
ministrations,  that,  within  the  tirst  year  of  his  incumbency,  it  was 
found  necessary  to  eidarge  the  church.  He  remained  here  for  two 
years,  and  then  removed  to  Dover,  about  twelve  miles  higher  up  the 
countrjs  near  the  head  of  tide-water.  It  was  upon  his  entrance  upon 
this  new  lield  of  labor  that  he  began  the  ^\'ork  of  hiboring  for  the 
good  of  the  negro  slaves  about  him,  which  will  ever  keep  his  name 
in  honored  rememlirance.     He  thus  addressed  his  })eople  :  — 

Upon  being  uppointLMl  your  minister,  I  liejjan  seriously  and  carefully  to  exam- 
ine into  the  statu  of  religion  in  tli(;  parish.  And  I  found  a  great  many  poor  negro 
slaves,  belonging  to  C'hristian  masters  and  mistresses,  y(!t  living  in  as  profound  ig- 
norance of  wliat  Christianity  really  is  a,s  if  they  had  remained  in  the  midst  of  those 
barbarious  heathen  comitrics  from  whence  they  and  their  parents  had  been  first  im- 
ported. Being  moved,  therefore,  with  compassion,  at  seeing  such  numljers  of  poor 
souls  wandering  in  the  mazes  of  sin  and  error,  as  sheep  having  no  shepherd,  — no 
kind,  tender-hearted  Christian  to  set  them  right,  —  and  considering  them  as  a  part 
of  the  flock  ^^■hil■h  the  Almighty  Cod  had  placed  under  my  care,  I  began  seriously 
to  consider  in  what  manner  I  could  Ijest  discharge  my  duty  to  them,  and  deliver  my 
own  soul  from  the  guilt  of  their  blood,  lest  they  should  perish  through  my  own 
negligence. 

His  first  attempts  were  by  occasional  conversations,  mingling 
"short  familiar  exhortations "  with  advice,  when  meeting  them  in  his 
own  house,  on  the  road,  or  wlien  visiting  them  in  sickness,  or  ofEciat- 
ing  for  them  at  weddings  or  fimerals.  He  next  determined  to  preach 
to  them.  In  carrying  out  this  purpose  he  published  in  London  two 
sermons  which  he  had  preached,  just  as  th(>y  had  ))een  delivered,  with 
a  view  of  inducing  "  his  brethren  to  attemjit  something  in  their  respect- 
ive parishes,  towards  tlie  bringing  Iionie  so  great  a  numl)er  of  wander- 
ing souls  to  Christ."  Before  the  close  of  tlic  third  year  of  his  ministry, 
a  chapel  was  erected  for  the  u.se  of  those  Avho  lived  on  the  confines  of 
his  parish.  In  1749  he  preached  and  jiublished  "Four  Sermons  upon 
the  great  and  indispensalile  duty  of  all  Christian  ^Masters  and  iMistresses 
to  bring  up  their  slaves  in  the  Knowledge  and  Fear  of  God."    He  had 

'The  Ecv.  Thomas  Bacon,  A.M.,  of  Maryland,  1745-1768. 


318  HISTORY   OF  THE  AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

found  that  ho  required  help  in  his  philanthropic  and  most  Christian 
work,  and  he  asked  it  where  it  was  specially  due.  These  sermons 
found  a  wide  circulation,  and  were  productive  of  no  little  good.  But 
it  was  not  only  in  behalf  of  the  colored  people  of  his  cure  that  his  in- 
terests wore  excited  and  his  labors  rendered.  He  sought  the  improve- 
ment and  education  of  the  poorer  members  of  his  parish,  1)3^  the 
founding  of  a  charity  and  working  school.  A  sermon,  preached  and 
pul)lishcd  with  a  view  of  enlisting  the  support  and  sj^mpathy  of  the 
public,  procured  for  his  scheme  the  patronage  of  Loi-d  and  Lady  Bal- 
timore, and  his  old  friend  and  patron,  the  saintly  Bishop  cf  Sodor  and 
Man.  A  brick  building  was  erected,  and  in  1755  a  master  emjjloyed, 
and  the  school  removed  to  its  new  quarters.  The  school  went  on  suc- 
cessfully. The  building  is  still  standing,  a  monument  of  the  philan- 
thropy and  Christian  charity  of  its  founder. 

Questions  had  arisen  as  to  the  rights  of  the  clergy  in  the  province, 
and  Bacon,  who  was  still  the  chaplain  of  the  proprietary,  coditiod  the 
legislation  of  the  colony,  and  placed  within  the  reach  of  clergy  and 
laity  alike,  in  a  folio  of  a  thousand  pages,  an  accurate  transcript  of  the 
body  of  existing  laws.  He  was  soon  after,  in  1757,  appointed  to  the 
best  living  in  the  province.  All  Saints,  Frederick  County.  But  the 
labors  he  had  undergone  had  impaired  his  health.  lie  lingered  but 
three  years  after  the  completion  of  the  "  Laws  of  Maryland,"  and  died, 
universally  lamented,  on  the  24th  of  May,  17G8. 

Few  names  are  more  deservedly  held  in  high  esteem  in  the  Church 
than  that  of  Jci'emiah  Leaming.^  Born  in  Connecticut,  in  the  year  1717, 
he  was  graduated  at  Yale  in  1745,  and  shortly  afterwards  conformed  to 
the  Church.  In  1747  he  received  holy  orders,  with  an  appointment  as 
school-master,  catechist,  and  assistant  minister  at  Trinity  Church,  New- 
port, Ehode  Island.  After  a  residence  of  eight  years  at  Newport,  dur- 
ing a  portion  of  which  time  he  had  solo  charge  of  the  parish,  which 
had  been  rendered  vacant  by  the  death  of  the  Rev.  James  Honyman, 
rector,  Mr.  Leaming  removed  to  Norwalk,  Connecticut,  where  he  con- 
tinued in  charge  for  twenty-one  years.  At  the  close  of  this  long  rec- 
torate  he  was  for  eight  years  a  minister  of  the  adjacent  town  of  Strat- 
ford. During  the  war  for  independence  i\Ir.  Leaming  sufl'ered  in  pei'son 
and  property.  In  July,  1779,  his  church  and  home  were  destroyed 
by  the  British  troops  under  the  command  of  General  Tryon.  In  this 
generalruin  hisfurniture, books,  papers, clothing,  —  in  short,  everything 
he  possessed,  —  were  totally  destroyed.  Ho  estimates  his  "  loss  on  that 
fatal  day  was  not  less  than  twelve  or  thirteen  hundred  pounds  sterling."'^ 
Suffering  thus  from  the  ravages  of  the  Tories,  he  was  also  a  victim  to 
the  fury  of  the  patriotic  party,  who  put  him  in  confinement  as  a  loy- 
alist and  subjected  him  to  such  hai'dships  that  he  became  in  consequence 
a  cripple  for  life.  He  was  universally  respected  for  his  faithful  dis- 
charge of  the  priestly  duty,  for  his  sound  learning,  and  for  his  martyr- 
like devotion  to  his  principles.  He  pulilished  several  controversial 
tracts,  one  in  "Defence  of  the  Episcopal  Government  of  the  Church 
in  nfJfi,"  and  "A  Second  Defence  of  the  Episcopal  Government  of  the 

'  The  UcT.  Jeromiali  Lcamin?,  D.D.,  Rhode  -  Hawks  and  Perry's  "  Conn.  Church  Docu- 

Island  and  Connecticut,  1747-1804.  ments,"  II.,  p.  203. 


LEADING   MISSIONARIES   AT   THE   NORTH   AND   SOUTH.  319 

Clmrcb,  in  answer  to  Noah  Welles,"  in  1770,  and  a  treatise  on  the 
"Evidences  of  the  Truth  of  Christianity,"  in  1785.  A  convention 
sermon  before  the  Connecticut  clergy  assemliled  at  JMiddletown,  in 
1785,  was  also  published,  and  a  thin  volume  of  "Dissertations  on  Va- 
rious Subjects,"  in  1789.  These  writings  display  unusual  ability  and 
no  little  intellectual  grasp  and  strength.  lie  was,  in  the  language  of 
his  epitaph,  "respected,  revered,  and  beloved  in  life  and  lamented  in 
death." 

At  the  meeting  of  the  ten  clergymen  of  Connecticut,  at  Woodbury, 
on  Lady-day,  1783,  the  name  of  Learning  was  suggested  for  the  epis- 
copate, and  the  choice  of  the  clergy  lay  between  the  active  and  ener- 
getic Seabury  and  this  amialile,  excellent,  but  enfeebled  man.  Pains 
have  been  taken  to  prove  that  the  preference  of  the  electors,  if  such 
they  can  be  called,  was  for  Leaming.  Li  the  absence  of  any  records 
of  this  important  meeting  we  cannot  but  believe  that  while  the  full 
reverence  and  appreciation  of  his  Ijrcthrcn  were  then  as  ever  accorded 
to  the  brave  and  devoted  Leaming,  the  clergy  of  Connecticut  could 
not  have  been  ignorant  of  the  greater  aliilities,  the  wider  reputation,  the 
sounder  health,  and  the  fewer  years  of  him  who  was,  by  their  choice, 
the  first  Bishop  of  Connecticut.  That  the  office  was  tendered  to 
Leaming  wo  have  no  reason  to  doubt,  but  that  it  was  so  offered  only 
in  the  event  of  Seabury's  disinclination  or  refusal  to  accept  the  post 
we  are  confident.  In  fact,  it  was  evidently  a  matter  of  conference  be- 
tween brethren,  who  should  sacrifice  himself  for  the  church's  weal, 
and,  in  accepting  the  appointment  at  the  time,  and  under  the  circum- 
stances he  did,  Seabury  showed  a  daring  of  danger  and  displayed  a 
spirit  of  self-forgetfulness  worthy  of  all  praise. 

Another  worthy  of  the  Connecticut  Church,  whose  praise  was  in 
all  the  chui'ches,  was  the  Rev.  Richard  Mansfield,'  who  was  born  in 
New  Haven,  in  the  year  1724,  and  was  graduated  at  Yale  in  1741.  In 
the  course  of  his  post-graduate  studies  and  reading  he  became  a  con- 
vert to  tlio  Church,  and,  after  a  few  years  spent  in  teaching,  ho  was 
ordained  in  1748,  by  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  and  the  following 
year  entered  upon  his  ministry  at  Derby.  For  several  years  he  had 
charge  of  West  Haven,  Waterl)ury,  and  Northl)ury,  in  connection  with 
Derby,  but  about  the  year  1755  he  relinquished  the  care  of  these  con- 
gregations, confining  his  services  to  the  churches  of  Oxford  and  Derby. 
Of  the  Derby  parish  he  was  rector  for  the  well-nigh  unprecedented 
term  of  seventy-two  years. 

During  the  war  Mr.  Mansfield  was  a  decided  loyalist.  In  De- 
cember, 1775,  he  writes  as  follows  :  — 

After  having  resided  and  constantly  pcrfoi-mcd  paroeliial  duties  in  my  mis- 
sion, full  twenty-seven  years,  without  intermission,  I  have  at  last  been  forced  to  fly 
fi-om  my  chm'ches,  and  from  my  family  and  home,  in  order  to  escape  outi'age  and 
violence,  imi)nsonment  and  death,  unjustly  metlitated  of  late  and  designed  against 
me,  and  have  found  a  temporary  asylum  in  the  loyal  town  of  Hempstead,  pretty 
secure,  I  believe,  at  present,  from  the  power  of  those  violent  and  infatuated  people 
who  persecute  me  in  paiticular,  and  disturb  the  peace  of  the  whole  British  Empire. 
As  soon  as  these  sparks  of  civil  dissension  appeared,  which  have  since  been  bla\vn 

'  The  Rev.  RichM-d  Mansfield,  D.D.,  of  Connecticut.  17-18-1820. 


320  HISTORY   OF  THE  AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

up  into  a  devouring  flame,  I  did  (as  I  thought  it  my  duty)  inculcate  upon  my  par- 
ishioners, both  from  the  pulpit  and  iu  private  conversation,  the  duty  of  peaceable- 
ness  and  quiet  submission  to  the  King  and  to  the  parent  State  ;  and  I  am  well  assured 
that  the  clerg)%  in  general, of  tlie  Church  in  the  colony  of  Connecticut,  with  most 
of  whom  I  have  the  pleasure  of  a  particular  acquaintance  and  friendsliip,  did  the 
same.  That  my  endeavors  and  influence  have  had  some  eflcct,  appears  from  hence, 
that  out  of  KjO  families  whicli  attended  dirine  service  in  our  two  churches,  it  is  well 
known  that  110  of  them  are  firm  steadfast  friends  of  the  government ;  that  they  detest 
and  abhor  the  present  unnatural  rebellion,  and  all  those  measures  that  have  led  to 
it,  .  .  .  the  worthy  Mr.  Scovil  and  the  venerable  Mr.  Beach  have  had  still  better 
success ;  scarce  a  single  person  is  to  be  found  in  any  of  their  several  congi-egations 
but  what  hath  persevered  steadfastly  iu  their  duty  and  loyalty ;  and  there  are  but 
few  instances  to  be  found  in  the  Colony  of  persons  who  are  proiessorsof  the  Church, 
who  are  not  entitled  to  the  same  character.' 

Having  communicated  with  Governor  Tryon  respecting  the  num- 
ber and  sentiment  of  the  Tories  in  the  western  part  of  Connecticut,  Mr. 
Mansfield  was  "  forced  to  flee  from  home,"  leaving  his  wife  and  nine 
children  "  overwhelmed  with  grief,  and  bathed  in  tears,  and  but  very 
slenderly  provided  with  the  means  of  support."  ^  But  his  absence 
was  only  for  a  time,  and  even  the  rigor  of  partisan  and  political  perse- 
cution was  relaxed  not  a  little  in  favor  of  so  good  a  man.  At  the  close 
of  the  war  Mr.  Mansfield  resumed  the  charge  of  his  people,  but  after  a 
few  years  he  was  able  to  officiate  only  in  part,  as  an  afl'ection  of  the  voice 
prevented  his  preaching.  For  nearly  twenty  years  before  his  death 
he  was  thus  silenced,  but  his  pastoral  labors  were  not  remitted,  and 
his  influence  for  good  was  in  no  sense  diminished.  In  1792  he  received 
the  Doctorate  from  his  Alma  Mater ;  and  in  April,  1820,  he  entered 
into  rest. 

The  first  Bishop  of  IMassachusetts  *  was  born  at  Dorchester  in 
1726.  He  was  graduated  at  Harvard  College  in  1744.  After  leaving 
college  he  spent  several  years  in  teaching  and  in  theological  studies, 
and,  after  becoming  a  licentiate  among  the  congregationalists,  he  con- 
formed to  the  Church,  and  was  admitted  to  holy  orders,  by  Dr.  Sher- 
lock, Bishop  of  London,  on  the  24th  of  May,  1752.  He  was  appointed 
by  the  society  to  assist  the  Rev.  Matthias  Plant,  at  St.  Paul's,  New- 
bury, Massachusetts.  On  the  death  of  Mr.  Plant,  which  occurred 
shortly  after  the  coming  of  his  assistant,  Mr.  Bass  succeeded  to  the 
vacant  cure.  From  the  time  of  his  entrance  upon  his  work  at  New- 
bury until  the  breaking  out  of  the  war  for  independence  little  occurred 
that  was  noteworthy  iu  the  life  or  lal^ors  of  this  faithful  missionary. 
The  years  of  clerical  service,  in  a  quiet  New  England  town,  could  not 
fail  of  being  comparatively  uneventful.  He  was  assiduous  in  his  work, 
successful  in  building  up  his  church,  and  faithful  in  the  discharge  of  all 
the  ofliccs  of  his  sacred  function.  Cut  with  the  first  intimation  of  the 
coming  storm  and  strife  his  position  was  at  once  complicated  by  the 
conflicting  claims  of  duty  and  feeling.  He  appears  to  have  been  by  no 
means  unfriendly  to  the  popular  cause,  but  ho  could  not  in  conscience, 
at  the  first  at  least,  omit  the  State  prayers  as  was  done  by  the  rector  of 
Trinity,  Boston,  the  excellent  Parker.  mIio  succeeded  him  afterwards 
us  Bishop  of  Massachusetts.    To  pray  for  the  king  and  royal  family  was 

'  Hawks  and  Pei-ry's  "  Conn.  Church  Docu-  » The  Et.  Rev.  Edward  Bass,  D.D.,  Bishop 

mcnts,"  II.,  y.p.  198,  199.  -  JUd.  of  Massachusetts  and  New  Hampshire,  1732-1303. 


LEADING   MISSIONARIES   AT   THE   NOHTII   AND   SOUTH.  321 

agi'ave  offence  in  the  c^'cs  of  the  jjatriots,  and  eonsequcntly  the  officials 
of  the  churcli  congregation  finally  made  their  formal  request  that 
these  obnoxious  portions  of  the  praj'or-hook  services  should  be  omitted. 
The  missionary-priest  yielded,  l)ut  with  many  misgivings,  and  the  cor- 
respondence between  liim  and  tiie  venerable  society,  which  had  sus- 
pended him  from  its  service  directly  on  learning  of  his  compliance 
with  the  wish  of  the  rebel  sympathizers,  is  full  of  interest,  and  is  not  a 
little  amusing. 1 

Loft  without  support  by  the  action  of  the  societ}^  it  was  only  by 
the  aid  of  individual  members  of  his  congregation  that  he  was  able  to 
continue  his  ministrations.  The  parishes  of  the  Church  in  New  England 
had  been  so  long  dependent  upon  the  alms  of  the  Church  abroad  that  the 
loss  of  the  stipends,  afforded  so  patiently  and  so  abundantly  ])y  the  so- 
ciety, threatened  for  a  time  the  utter  extinction  of  the  churches  to 
whose  support  they  had  contributed.  At  the  close  of  the  strife  Mr. 
Bass  sought  for  the  allowance  of  his  arrearages,  but  in  vain.  Even  a 
published  plea  for  redress  was  unheard,  and  the  missionary  at -Newbury 
found  himself  forever  dismissed-  from  the  em])loyment  of  the  society  in 
whose  service  he  had  labored  for  so  many  years. 

In  the  measures  for  the  reorganization  of  the  Ciuu'ch  in  Massa- 
chusetts, Mr.  Bass  took  a  prominent  part,  and,  by  the  kind  offices  of 
Mr.  Parker,  of  Trinity,  Boston,  and  for  the  purpose  of  bringing 
together  in  amical)le  union  the  churches  of  New  England  under  Bishop 
Seabury,  and  those  of  the  Middle  and  Southern  States  under  Bishops 
White  and  Provoost,  was  elected  to  the  Bishopric  of  Massachusetts  in 
1789.  The  union  desired  being  efiected,  the  matter  of  Mr.  Bass'  con- 
secration was  sufiered  to  drop ;  but,  after  a  few  years,  it  was  again 
brought  forward,  and,  on  the  7th  of  May,  1797,  he  was  consecrated  in 
Philadelphia,  Bishop  of  Massachusetts.  New  Hampshire  subsequently 
placed  herself  under  his  episcopal  care, 

and  the  signature  of  "Edward,  Bp.  Mass.  >-j^  ^.^  ^ 

et  New  Ilamp."  is  still  to  be  found   at-     '~p  ij /th^        </u  Cf,  fs 
tached  to  documents  of  the  time.    Dr.  Bass 
had  reached  the  age  of  seventy    when  he 

received  the  Episcopate,  and,  as  he  continued  in  charge  of  his  parish,  he 
was  able  to  give  but  little  time  to  the  duties  of  his  new  office.  But  he 
officiated  at  times,  and  as  occasion  required,  in  his  episcopal  capacity, 
confirming  and  ordaining,  and  consecrating  a  single  church,  his  own,  at 
Newburyport.  He  died  suddenly  on  the  10th  of  September,  1803,  in 
the  seventy-fourth  year  of  his  age. 


ILLUSTRATIVE  NOTE. 


TT  will  lie  understood  that  the  foregoino;  notices  aro  far  from  exhausting:  the 
worthies  of  tlie  American  Colonial  Cluiich.  Only  those  arc  noticed  wlio,  from 
their  special  worth  or  unusual  work,  arc  deemed  particularly  ilescrving  of  mention, 
and  are  not  referred  to  at  length  in  other  connections. 

'  Vide  these  papers  in  the  "Hist.  Coll-  Am.  Col.  Church,"  III. 


CHAPTER   XIX. 

MISSIONARY   LABORS   AMONG    THE   MOHAWKS,   AND   OTHEIt 

INDIAN   TRIBES. 

rthe  year  1700  the  Earl  of  Bellomont,  Governor  of  New  York,  in 
a  memorial  addressed  to  the  Lords  of  Trade  and  Plantations, 
urged,  as  a  matter  of  state  policy,  the  sending  of  some  "mem- 
bers of  the  Church  of  England  to  instruct  the  Five  Nations  of  Indians, 
and  to  prevent  their  being  practised  upon  by  French  priests  and  Jesuits." 
A  representation  on  this  subject  having  been  submitted  to  Queen 
Anne  a  plan  was  agi'ccd  upon  soon  after,  by  authority  of  the  queen 
in  council,  and  referred  to  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  Dr.  Teuison, 
for  the  appointment  of  two  clergymen  to  minister  among  the  various 
tribes  of  Indians  known  as  the  Five  Nations.  Recognizing  the  pecu- 
liar requirements  of  soch  a  mission,  and  aware  of  the  difEculty  of  pro- 
curing missionaries  familiar  with  the  Indian  dialects  to  undertake  this 
work,  the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel,  to  whom  the 
matter  was  submitted  by  the  archl)ishop,  first  invited  Dellius,  who 
had  for  some  years  ministered  to  the  Dutch  settlers  at  Albany,  and 
Freeman,  a  Calviuistic  minister  of  Schenectady,  to  enter  upon  this 
mission.  The  familiarity  with  the  language  and  mode  of  life  of  the 
Indians  which  these  ministers  had  acquired  during  a  residence  in  their 
immediate  neighborhood,  and  the  fact  that  Freeman  had  already  trans- 
lated portions  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  in  the  Iroquois  tongue,  was 
deemed  of  sufficient  importance  to  warrant  their  selection,  though 
dissenters,  for  this  important  work.  But,  as  they  were  unable  to  un- 
dertake the  duty  assigned  to  them,  the  society  intrusted  the  Indian  work 
to  the  Rev.  Thoroughgood  Moor,  who  arrived  in  New  York  in  1704, 
and,  after  a  welcome  from  the  royal  governor.  Lord  Cornljury,  re- 
paired directly  to  Albany.  Here  he  occupied  himself  with  the  study 
of  the  language,  seizing  at  the  same  time  every  opportunity  of  gaining 
the  good-will  and  friendship  of  the  savages  who  resorted  to  Albany 
for  trade  and  barter.  As  soon  as  the  snow  Ijegan  to  melt.  Moor  pro- 
ceeded to  "the  Mohawks'  Castle,"  whither  he  had  been  invited  by  one 
of  the  sachems,  or  chiefs.  But  this  earnest  missionary  found  himself 
thwarted  in  his  eflPorts  to  gain  permission  of  the  Indians  to  reside 
among  them,  as  the  consent  of  the  other  four  nations  was  represented 
as  indispensable,  and  various  excuses  were  offered  from  time  to  time 
as  this  coveted  permission  was  delayed.  The  influence  of  the  French 
was  doubtless  exerted  to  hinder  the  success  of  Moor's  attempts  to  gain 
a  foothold  among  the  savages  ;  but  he  was  denied  the  privilege  of  put- 
ting his  devotion  to  the  proof  through  the  gross  misconduct  of  the 
royal  governor  of  New  York.    After  waiting  for  nearly  a  twelvemonth 


MISSIONARY  LABORS  AMONG  THE  INDIANS.  323 

in  the  vicinity  of  Albany,  in  the  vain  hope  of  ingratiating  himself  with 
the  Indians,  whose  conversion  he  was  seeking  to  efi'ect,  he  returned  to 
New  York,  from  whence  he  addressed  the  society  with  a  statement  of 
the  reasons  which  had  induced  him  for  a  time  to  withdraw  from 
his  work.  An  opportunity  for  clerical  duty  offering  at  Burling- 
ton, in  New  Jcrsc}^  he  entered  upon  work  with  a  zeal  and  devotion 
which  soon  excited  the  indignation  of  the  proiiigate  Cornl:)ury,  the 
grandson  of  the  celebrated  Earl  of  Clarendon,  who  was  Governor  of 
New  York  and  New  Jersey.  Lord  Cornbury  had,  by  his  efforts  in 
promoting  the  success  of  the"  glorious  revolution "  of  1688,  estal)- 
lished  a  claim  for  recognition  at  the  hands  of  the  monarch  ho  had  aided 
in  securing  the  throne.  But  his  acknowledged  profligacy,  his  mean 
abilities,  and  his  ungovernable  temper  prevented  any  reward  being 
bestowed  upon  one  who  was  a  bankrupt  in  fortune  and  in  reputation  at 
home,  otlier  than  the  charge  of  a  distant  province.  Here  the  commis- 
sion of  a  series  of  acts  of  gross  misconduct  caused  his  speedy  removal 
from  his  post,  but  not  before  his  tyranny  had  been  the  cause  of  the 
imi)risonmeut  and  flight,  and  consequent  death,  of  the  first  missionary 
of  the  venerable  society  to  the  Indians  of  New  York.  The  governor 
had  interfered  with  Moor  in  the  discharge  of  his  duties,  ordering  him 
to  discontinue  the  practice  of  a  fortnightly  sacrament,  which,  he  as- 
serted, was  too  frequent.  This  unwarrantable  dictation,  for  which 
there  was  no  legal  ground,  the  faithful  missionary  was  naturally  un- 
willing to  obey  ;  and  when  to  his  disobedience  in  this  respect  he  added 
the  boldness  of  reproving  the  representative  of  the  crown  for  his 
scandalous  practice  of  arraying  himself  in  female  attire,  and  pub- 
licly parading  in  this  shameful  guise  along  the  ramparts  of  the  fort, 
the  enraged  and  mean-spirited  governor  cast  the  clergyman  into  prison. 
Moor  soon  afterwards  found  an  opportunity  to  escape,  and,  embarking 
for  England,  was  never  heard  of  again.  Thus  brief  and  disastrous 
was  the  first  eflbrt  of  the  venerable  society  to  bring  the  savages  of  the 
Five  Nations  to  civilization  and  Christianity. 

During  the  administration  of  Lord  Cornbury  an  opportunity  had 
occurred  for  est:iblishing  friendly  relations  with  the  savages,  which,  if 
judiciously  followed  up,  would  have  furnished  an  excellent  base  for 
missionary  oi)erations.  At  a  confoi-ence  held  by  Cornbury  in  1702 
with  five  of  the  Indian  sachems,  at  Albany,  the  Indians  expressed  the 
hope  that  the  Queen  "  would  be  a  good  mother  and  send  them  some  to 
teach  them  religion  ; "'  but  it  was  long  afterwards  that  Moor  arrived  on 
the  ground,  and  even  then  without  the  countenance  of  those  in 
authority,  and,  with  the  secret  opposition  of  those  who,  for  persoua4 
or  political  reasons,  preferred  to  keep  the  Indians  in  ignorance  of  the 
reformed  faith,  or,  in  fact,  of  any  Christian  teaching  at  all,  the  feeble 
and  unsupported  eflbi'ts  that  he  was  able  to  make  proved  fruitless,  and 
on  his  removal  fi-om  the  field  the  promise  of  successful  labor  failed. 

A  few  years  afterward,  through  the  eflbrts  of  Governor  Nichol- 
son, seconded  by  those  of  Colonel  Schuyler,  the  confidence  and 
allegiance  of  the  Indians  were  secured  to  the  English  government. 

>  Vide  the   Rev.    John  Talbot's    vivid    account  of   this    conference  in  Hawkins's  "  Hist. 
Notices,"  pp.  30,  31. 


324  HISTORY   OF   THE   AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

Four  of  their  sachems  visited  England  to  confirm  the  treaty  of  peace 
which  had  been  made  by  these  people  with  the  Governor  of  New 
York,  and  to  solicit  from  the  queen  a  supply  of  ministers  and  teachers 
to  instruct  them  in  the  truths  of  Christianity.  These  representatives 
of  a  powerful  tiilje  of  savages  were  most  coi'dially  received.  All 
classes  and  conditions  flocked  to  see  them.  They  were  presented  to 
the  queen,  to  whom  they  tendered  their  gifts  of  wampum,  and  ad- 
dressed a  formal  speech,  in  which  they  promised  "a  most  hearty 
welcome  "  to  those  sent  over  to  instruct  them.  There  is  little  doubt  of 
their  insincerity  in  this  request ;  but  the  address,  which  had  been 
sulnuitted  to  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  by  the  queen's  command, 
for  the  consideration  of  the  venci'aljle  society,  was  followed  by  the 
appointment  of  a  missionary,  the  llev.  William  Andrews,  who  arrived 
at  Alliauy  in  1712.  Andrews  was  accompanied  by  a  school-master 
named  Oliver,  and  by  an  interpreter,  Claussen  by  name,  who,  during 
a  prolonged  captivity  among  the  Indians,  had  acquired  great  familiarity 
with  their  language.  By  the  queen's  command  a  fort,  with  a  chapel 
and  a  residence  for  the  minister,  had  been  provided  near  the  jNIohawks' 
Castle,  aljout  two  hundred  miles  from  New  York.  Andrews,  in 
writing  to  the  society,  describes  his  reception  in  the  following  lan- 
guage :  "When  we  came  near  the  town,  we  saw  the  Indians  upon  the 
banks  looking  out  for  my  coming.  When  I  came  ashore  they  received 
me  with  abundance  of  joy ;  every  one  shaking  me  by  the  hand,  bid- 
ding me  welcome  over  and  over."  ^  At  the  first  the  missionary  seemed 
on  the  point  of  attaining  a  marked  and  most  gratifj'ing  success.  The 
savages  thronged  to  hear  the  instructions  which  the  missionary,  by 
the  aid  of  the  interpreter,  was  ready  and  glad  to  impart.  Those  of 
the  Indians  who  understood  English  were  frequent  attendants  at  the 
chapel  provided  by  the  queen,  and  to  which  her  majesty  and  the 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  Dr.  Tenison,  had  given  otBce-books  and 
the  other  ap])liances  for  a  solemn  and  stately  service.  The  JMohawks 
sent  their  children,  with  apparent  willingness,  to  the  school  which 
had  been  opened  by  Oliver.  But  the  fair  promise  of  success  was 
soon  succeeded  by  disappointment.  Objections  were  made  hy  the 
parents  to  the  instruction  of  their  children  in  English.  The  mission- 
ary, undeterred  by  the  difficulties  of  acquiring  a  rude  and  barbaric 
dialect,  I)egan  at  once  the  task.  In  this  attempt  he  was  greatly  aided 
by  the  kindness  of  Freeman,  whom  the  Earl  of  Bellomont  had  en- 
gaged to  instruct  the  savages,  and  whose  services  the  society  had  at 
the  first  sought  in  vain  to  secm-e.  Freeman  had  translated  into  the 
Mohawk  language  the  morning  and  evening  prayer,  together  with  the 
gospel  of  St.  Matthew,  and  some  otiier  portions  of  Holy  Scripture. 
These  translations  he  freely  communicated  to  the  baffled  and  disap- 
pointed Andrews,  who  was  soon  able  to  make  use  of  them  so  as  to  be 
understood  by  his  Indian  congregation.  These  translations,  revised 
and  corrected  by  the  missionary,  were  shortly  afterwards  printed  at 
New  York,  at  the  charge  of  the  society,  and  wei'e  distributed  among 
such  of  the  Indians  as  cared  to  avail  themselves  of  them. 

'  Hawkins's  "  Hist.  Notices,"  p.  266. 


MISSIONARY  LABORS  AMONG  THE   INDIANS.  325 

This  interesting  volume,  now  among  the  rarest  of  our  American 
bibliographical  curiosities,  is  worthy  of  especial  notice.  We  print  from 
one  of  the  two  or  three  copies  still  extant  —  that  in  the  possession  of 
the  Library  Company  of  Philadelphia  —  its  title  in  full :  — 

The  Morning  and  Evening  Prayer,  I  tlie  Litany  |  Church  Catechism  |  Family 

Pi-ayers  |  and  |  Several  Chapters  of  the  Old  and  New  Testament,  )  Translated  into 

the  Mahaque  [sic]  Indian  Language,  |  By  Laivrence  Claesse,  Interpreter  to  Williain 

I  Andrews,  IMissionary  to  tlie  Indian.f,  from  the  |  Honourable  and  Reverend  tlio 

Society  for  the  Propagation  [sic]  of  the  Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts.  | 

Ask  of  me,  and  I  mill  give  thee  the  Heathen  for  thine  Inheritance  \  and  the 
Utmost  Parts  of  the  Earth  for  tliij  Possession,  Psalm  |  2  :  8.  | 

Printed  by  William  Bradford  in  New  York,  1715. 

No  I  Orhoengene  neoni  Yogaraskhagh  |  Yondereanayendaghkwa,  |  ne  |  eno 
Niyoh  Raodeweyena,  |  Onoghsad  oye-aglilige  Yoiuladderighwanon-  |  doentha, 
Si3'agonnoghsode  Fnyondereauayendagh-]  kwagge  |  l''otkade  Kapitellhogough  ne 
Karighwadaghlvwe-  |  agh  Agayea  neoni  Ase  Testament,  neoni  Niyadegari-  |  wagge, 
I  ne  I  Kanninggahage  Siniyewenoteag  \  Tehoenwenadenyough  Lawrance  Claesse, 
lloweuagaradatsk  |  William  Andrews,  Ilonwanna-ugh  Ungwehoentvighne  \  Rodi- 
righhoeni  Raddiyadanorough  neoni  Ahoenwadi-  |  gonuyosthagge  Thoderighwa- 
waaldiogt  ne  Wahooni  (  Agarighhowanha  Niyoh  Raodeweyena  Niyadegoghwhen- 

j'lge  I  • 

Fghtseraggwas  Eghtjeeagh  ne  ongwehoouwe,  neoni  ne  |  siyodoghwhenjook- 
tanniglihoehh  etho  ahadyeandough. 

This  rendering  of  the  service  in  their  own  tongue  enabled  the 
missionary  to  etlcct  a  marked  improvement  in  the  conduct  of  the 
savages.  A  number  were  received  to  holy  baptism,  both  men  and 
women  ;  and  lilve  results  attended  his  labors  among  the  Oneidas,  whose 
chief  resort  was  about  a  hundred  miles  into  the  wilderness  from  the 
Mohawks'  Castle. 

But  the  successes  of  these  first  years  of  labor  were  to  be  suc- 
ceeded by  bitter  disappointments,  trying  the  patience  and  wearying  the 
spirit  of  the  missionary,  and  leading  him  to  doubt  whether  any  per- 
manent good  had  been  effected  by  his  labors  among  them.  Their 
disregard  of  the  rights  of  property ;  their  inhuman,  savage  nature 
leading  them  to  commit  murder  with  impunity ;  their  drunkenness,  and 
their  utter  indiflerence  to  the  restraints  of  morality  or  religion  could 
not  be  overcome.  Although  about  three  years  after  he  arrived  he  was 
able  to  report  the  attendance  of  a  score  of  children  at  school,  —  won, 
as  he  ingenuously  confesses,  by  the  promise  and  expectation  of  food,  — 
and  although  nearly  forty  had  been  received  to  the  holy  communion, 
out  of  a  congregation  sometimes  numbering  one  hundred  and  fifty,  still 
a  little  later  he  was  forced  to  write  of  the  Indians  in  general :  — 

Their  lives  are  generally  such  as  leave  little  or  no  room  for  hope  of  ever 
making  them  any  better  than  they  are — heathens.  Heathens  they  are,  and  heathens 
they  will  still  be.  There  are  a  few,  and  but  a  few,  perhaps  about  fomteeu  or  fifteen, 
whose  lives  are  more  regular  than  the  rest. 

Later  he  adds,  "  that,  though  he  had  been  by  the  death-beds  of 
several  among  them,  he  did  not  remember  to  have  seen  any  one  of  them 
that  he  could  think  penitent."  The  savage  soon  tired  of  the  restraints 
of  civilization  and  Christianity.  As  soon  as  the  novelty  had  worn  ofl',  the 
Indians  would  neither  receive  the  ordinances  of  relisjion,  nor  sufier  their 


326  mSTORY  OF  THE  AMERICA2f  EPISCOPAL  CHUKCH. 

children  to  continue  at  school,  and  the  missionary,  in  despair  of  success, 
convinced  that  his  efforts  for  the  improvement  of  the  Indians  were  in- 
efl'ectual,  begged  the  society  to  remove  him  to  another  field.  The  work 
in  which  Moor  had  failed  proved  too  hard  for  Andrews,  and  again  the 
hopes  of  the  society  were  disappointed.  Still  there  were  those  in  their 
service  who  were  active  and  earnest  in  labors  for  this  savage  and 
degraded  race.  The  earnest  incumbent  of  Rye,  the  Eev.  George 
Muirson,  shortly  before  his  death,  in  October,  1708,  wrote  to  the 
secretary :  — 

As  to  the  Indians,  the  natives  of  the  couuhy,  they  are  a  decaying  people.  We 
have  not  now,  in  all  this  parish,  twenty  families,  whereas  not  many  yeai's  ago 
there  were  several  hundreds.  .  .  .  I  have  taken  some  jjains  to  teach  some  of  them, 
but  to  no  purpose,  for  they  seem  vemrdless  of  instruction.  .  .  .  They  further  say 
they  will  not  be  Christians,  nor  do  they  see  the  necessity  for  so  being,  because  we 
do  not  live  according  to  the  precepts  of  our  holy  religion.  In  such  ways  do  most 
of  the  Indians  that  I  have  conversed  witli,  either  here  or  elsewhere,  express  tliem- 
selvcs.  I  am  heartily  sorry  that  we  should  give  ihem  such  a  bad  example,  and  fill 
their  mouths  with  such  objections  to  our  blessed  religion. 

This  was  the  experience  and  testimony  of  others  than  the  worthy 
INIuirson.  But  foremost  among  the  laborers  for  the  evangelization  of 
the  savages  was  the  Rev.  Henry  Barclay,  appointed  missionary  and 
catechist  at  Albany,  with  a  view  not  only  to  the  care  of  the  English 
settlers  but  also  to  the  instruction  and  conversion  of  the  Indians  and 
negro  slaves.  During  the  absence  of  Dellius,  the  minister  of  the  Dutch 
congregation,  many  of  the  members  of  his  congregation  attended  the 
services  of  the  Church  in  the  little  chapel  occupied  by  Barclay.  Ac- 
quainted as  he  was  with  the  language,  he  preached  to  these  sheep 
without  a  shepherd  in  their  own  tongue,  and  a  number  of  them, 
attracted  by  the  beauty  of  the  services  and  the  faithfulness  of  the 
preacher,  became  intelligent  and  devoted  members  of  the  Church  of 
England.  The  influence  of  this  faithful  missionary  was  such  that  after 
a  residence  of  seven  years  he  secured  the  erection  of  a  handsome 
church  of  stone  by  the  voluntary  offerings  of  the  people.  The  people 
of  the  neighboring  towns  contributed  to  this  object. 

At  Schenectady,  the  remotest  settlement  of  the  English  at  that 
time,  every  inhabitant,  save  one,  who  was  in  extreme  poverty,  gave 
something  for  the  purpose.  They  could  hope  to  reap  little  personal 
advantage  from  their  generosity,  for  Schenectady  was  twenty  miles 
distant  from  Albany ;  but  they  cherished  a  grateful  recollection  of  the 
services  rendered  them  by  the  devoted  missionary.  From  the  very 
first  Barclay  had  shown  deep  interest  in  the  spiritual  welfare  of  the 
aborigines.  He  had  accompanied  Andrews  and  his  party  on  his  fu'st 
going  to  the  JMohawks'  Castle,  and  had  witnessed  those  demonstrations 
of  welcome  which,  unfortunately,  were  to  be  followed  by  disappoint- 
ment and  failure.  And  ^vhen  Andrews  had  retired  from  his  post,  Bar- 
clay, by  occasional  visits  and  ministrations,  sought  to  prevent  the 
utter  loss  to  tlie  Church  of  the  seed  that  had  been  sown.  But  even 
his  efibrts,  although  pursued  with  exemplary  patiCnce,  and  animated 
by  an  earnest  lovefor  the  souls  of  the  savages,  were  long  in  producing 
any  results.     Still  he  persevered,  in  the  hope  and  prayer  that  the 


MISSIONARY  LABORS  AMONG  THE   INDIANS.  327 

Lord  of  the  harvest  would,  in  His  owu  good  time,  give  the  reward 
for  his  toil.  Among  the  negro  slaves  at  Albany  he  was  abundant  in 
labors,  and  not  without  a  measure  of  success. 

The  successors  of  Barclay  at  Albany  continued  the  labors  which 
Barclay  had  begun.  The  Kev.  John  INiiln,  who  was  appointed  to  the 
mission  in  172'J,  was  in  the  haljit  of  meeting  the  Mohawks  four  times 
each  year,  remaining  five  days  with  them  on  each  periodical  visit. 
The  commanding  officer  of  the  garrison  wrote  to  the  society  in  1731, 
that  ]\lr.  Miln  had  been  indefatigable  in  his  labors  in  instructing  the 
Indians  in  the  principles  of  the  Christian  religion;  and,  in  1735,  ho 
was  able  to  state,  "that  the  Indians  were  very  much  civilized  of  late, 
which  he  imputed  to  the  industry  and  power  of  the  Eev.  John  Miln  ;  that 
he  was  very  diligent  in  baptizing  both  children  and  adults  ;  and  that  the 
numberof  the  communicants  was  daily  increasing."  Headds,  that  "many 
of  the  Indians  have  become  very  orderly,  and  observe  the  Saljbath." 

The  same  year,  on  the  recommendation  of  the  devoted  Miln, 
Henry  Barclay,  son  of  the  former  rector  of  Alljany,  who  had  just  been 
graduated  at  Yale,  was  appointed  Indian  catechist  at  Fort  Hunter,  and 
two  years  later,  on  the  removal  of  Miln  to  New  Jersey,  Barclay,  who 
had  given  good  proof  of  his  zeal  and  ability,  was  summoned  to  Eng- 
land to  receive  holy  orders.  On  his  return  he  was  received  with 
expressions  of  hearty  welcome  by  "both  his  congregations,  but  more 
especially  by  the  poor  Indians,  who,  many  of  them,  shed  tears  of  joy." 
For  upwards  of  eight  years  Barclay  continued  his  abundant  labors  to 
the  English  and  savages  with  marked  success.  Besides  his  services 
on  Sundays,  he  catechised  and  instructed  the  Indians  in  the  evenings, 
on  which  occasion  thirty,  forty,  and  sometimes  fifty  adults  would  be 
in  attendance.  The  value  attached  by  the  Indians  to  these  services 
was  evident.  The  evidences  of  improvement  in  manners  and  morals 
were  mai'kcd  and  unmistakable.  Intemperance,  which  had  become 
almost  universal,  was  well-nigh  rooted  out.  The  Indians  became  inter- 
ested and  regular  attendants  upon  divine  service,  and  were  attentive 
listeners  to  instruction.  In  1743  the  missionary  was  able  to  report 
that  but  two  or  three  out  of  the  whole  tribe  remained  unbaptized,  and 
that,  with  the  approval  and  consent  of  the  governor,  he  had  apjDointed 
Indian  school-masters  at  the  two  towns,  "  Cornelius,  a  sachem,  at  the 
lower,  and  one  Daniel,  at  the  upper,  who  are  both  very  diligent,  and 
teach  the  young  JMohawks  with  surprising  success."^ 

It  was  in  the  midst  of  these  abundant  tokens  of  success,  and  when, 
from  the  missionary's  long  residence  among  the  Indians  and  his  inti- 
mate knowledge  of  their  habits  and  language,  there  seemed  a  readiness 
for  even  gi'eater  triumphs  in  the  reduction  of  the  whole  tribe  of  Indians, 
and  many  of  their  allies,  to  Christianity,  that  the  French  war  broke 
out,  and  the  promising  work  of  christianizing  and  civilizing  the  In- 
dians was  checked.  It  was  of  this  interruption  to  his  plans  and  labor 
that  Barclay  then  Avi'ote  :  — 

About  the  middle  of  November,  17-15,  the  French  Indians  came  to  an  open 
rupture  with  us,  and,  with  a  party  of  French,  fell  upon  a  frontier  settlement,  wliicli 

'  S.  P.  G.  Report,  for  1743. 


328  HISTORY   OF  THE   AMERICAN  EPISCOP^VI.   CHUllCH. 

they  laid  in  ashes,  and  made  most  of  the  inhabitants,  to  the  number  of  about  a 
hundred,  prisoners;  ever  since  which  time  they  liave  kept  us  in  a  continual  alarm 
by  skulldng  parties,  who  frequently  murdered  and  earned  ofT  tlie  poor  inliabitants, 
ti'eating  them  in  tlie  most  inliuman  and  barbarous  manner,  by  which  means  the 
lately  populous  and  llourisliing  county  of  Albany  is  become  a  wilderness,  and  num- 
bers of  people  who  were  possessed  of  good  estates,  are  reduced  to  poverty. 

The  Mohawks  preferred  to  hold  themselves  neutral  during  this 
invasion,  and,  as  the  prospects  of  missionary  labor  among  them  were 
clouded,  it  being  impossible  for  the  clergyman  to  continue  his  long 
journeys  from  town  to  town  when,  at  every  step,  exposed  to  the  dan- 
ger of  death  or  the  certainty  of  captivity,  Barclay  accepted  an  invita- 
tion to  the  charge  of  Trinity,  New  York,  rendered  vacant  at  this  time 
by  the  death  of  the  aged  Vesey.  Thus,  for  a  time,  the  Indian  mission 
■work  of  the  venerable  society  was  brought  to  a  summar}^  close. 

Two  years  after  Barclay's  removal  the  Rev.  John  Ogil  vie,  a  gradu- 
ate of  Yale,  and  "  a  young  gentleman  of  an  extraordinary  good  char- 
acter," was  appointed  to  the  mission  at  Albany.  For  this  appointment 
he  possessed  a  special  qualification  in  his  familiarity  with  the  Dutch 
language.  At  the  outset  he  appears  to  have  spent  a  winter  with  the 
Indians,  whom  he  found  attentive  to  all  the  observances  of  religion, 
although  so  long  a  time  had  elapsed  without  the  presence  of  a  mission- 
ary. On  his  departure,  however,  there  was  a  relapse  into  hal)its  of 
intemperance.  lie  urged  upon  the  society  the  establishment  of  "  hos- 
telries"  fitted  for  their  reception,  where  they  might  be  thoroughly 
instructed  in  the  Christian  religion,  and  through  this  means  in  the 
principles  of  the  Christian  faith.  Patiently,  and  not  without  a  measure 
of  success,  did  this  worthy  missionary  pursue  his  labors  among  the 
English  and  the  Indians  alike.  A  bright  and  promising  boy,  whose 
education  he  had  personally  superintended  till  he  could  speak  good 
English,  and  had  learned  to  "  read  in  the  Psalter,"  was  removed  from 
his  care,  by  the  parents  of  the  child,  lest,  as  they  expressed  it,  he 
should  learn  to  despise  his  own  nation.  In  1768  Mr.  Ogilvie  informed 
the  society  that  many  of  the  INIohawks  of  both  "castles"  seemed  to 
possess  a  serious  and  habitual  sense  of  religion.  When  at  their  homes 
they  regularly  attended  the  serviccsof  tlicChiu-ch,  and  were  frequently 
at  the  holy  communion.  Even  Avhen  absent  on  a  hunting  expedition 
several  of  them  came  sixty  miles  to  communicate  on  the  Feast  of  the 
Nativity.  The  number  of  Indian  communicants  was  fifty.  In  his 
report  to  the  society,  in  17a9,  he  reports  the  baptism  of  twcutj'-seven 
Indian  children  in  eighteen  months.  During  an  invasion  of  the  Indians 
from  Canada,  in  1758,  the  Mohawks  continued  loyal,  though  many  of 
their  houses  were  burned  and  whole  families  were  carried  into  captivity. 
In  Braddock's  expedition  many  of  the  Mohawks  were  engaged,  and  at  the 
disastrous  defeat  of  the  English,  twelve  principal  men  of  the  tribe 
fell  in  battle.  Six  of  the  twelve  were  faithful  communicants  of  the 
Church,  and,  while  they  were  in  the  campaign,  Abraham,  their  cate- 
chist,  who  was  also  one  of  their  sachems,  regularly  performed  for  them 
the  morning  and  evening  service  of  the  Church.  We  remember,  with 
deep  interest,  the  midnight  burial  of  the  unfortunate  Braddock,  at 
which  the  young  Washington  read  the  burial-service  of  the  Church, 


MISSIONARY   LABOKS   AMONG   THE   INDIANS.  329 

heai'd  then  for  the  first  time,  on  that  spot  now  so  populous.  We  may 
also  remember  the  matins  and  even-song  of  the  Christian  Indians, 
under  the  leadership  of  their  good  old  catechist,  as  doubtless  the  first 
prayers  of  the  Church  hoard  or  uttered  in  Western  Pennsylvania. 

A  letter  from  Ogilvie,  early  the  following  year,  is  full  of  historical 
interest  as  recording  the  introduction  of  the  services  of  the  Church  of 
England  at  Niagara.  It  contrasts  the  zeal  and  devotion  of  the  French, 
in  religions  matters,  with  the  apathy  and  indifference  of  the  English, 
in  a  most  severe  though  truthful  manner.  It  is  dated  February  1, 
1760:  — 

I  attended  the  royal  American  rugiment  upon  the  expedition  to  Niagara ;  and 
indeed,  there  was  no  other  chaplain  upon  that  department  though  there  were  three 
regular  regiments,  and  the  provincial  regiment  of  New  York.  The  Mohawks 
were  all  upon  this  service,  and  almost  all  the  Six  Nations ;  they  amounted  in  the 
whole  to  nine  hundred  and  forty  at  the  time  of  the  siege.  I  officiated  constantly  to 
tlie  JMohawks  and  Oneidas,  who  regularly  attended  divine  service.  I  g.ave  them 
exhortations  suitable  to  the  emergency,  and  I  flatter  myself  my  presence  with  them 
contributed,  in  some  measure,  to  keep  up  decency  and  order  amongst  them.  The 
Oneidas  met  us  at  the  lake,  near  their  castle,  and  as  they  were  acquainted  with  my 
coming,  they  brouglit  ten  children  to  receive  baptism,  and,  young  women,  who  had 
been  instructed  in  the  principles  of  Christianity,  came  likewise  to  receive  that  holy 
ordinance.  I  baptized  them  in  the  presence  of  a  numerous  crowd  of  spectators, 
who  all  seemed  pleased  with  the  attention  and  serious  behaviour  of  the  Indians 
upon  that  solemn  occasion ;  and  indeed,  bad  as  they  are,  I  must  do  them  the  justice 
to  say,  that,  whenever  they  attend  the  offices  of  religion,  it  is  with  great  appearance 
of  solemnity  and  decency. 

During  the  campaign  I  have  had  an  opportunity  of  conversing  with  men  of 
every  one  of  the  Six  Nation  confederacy,  and  of  every  nation  I  find  some  who  have 
been  insti'ueted  by  the  priests  of  Canada,  and  appear  zealous  Roman  Catholics,  ex- 
tremely tenacious  of  the  ceremonies  and  peculiarities  of  that  church ;  and,  from 
very  good  authority,  I  am  informed  that  there  is  not  a  nation,  bordering  upon  the 
four  great  lakes,  or  the  banks  of  the  Ohio,  the  Mississippi,  all  the  the  way  to  Louisi- 
ana, but  what  are  supplied  with  priests  and  school-masters,  and  have  very  decent 
places  of  worship,  with  eveiy  splendid  utensil  of  their  religion.  How  ought  we  to 
blush  at  our  coldness  and  shameful  indifference  in  the  propagation  of  our  most 
excellent  religion!  The  harvest  truly  is  great,  but  the  laborers  are  few.  The 
Lidians  themselves  are  not  wanting  in  making  very  pertinent  reflections  upon  our 
inattention  to  these  points. 

The  possession  of  the  important  fortifications  of  Niagara  is  of  tlie  utmost  con- 
sequence to  the  English,  as  it  gives  us  the  happy  opportunity  of  commencing  and 
cultivating  a  friendship  with  those  nmnerous  tribes  of  Indians  who  inhabit  the  bor- 
ders of  Lakes  Erie,  Huron,  ]\Iichigan,  and  even  Lake  Superior;  and  the  fur  trade, 
which  is  carried  on  by  these  tribes,  which  all  centres  at  Niagara,  is  so  very  consid- 
erable, that  I  am  told,  by  veiy  able  judges,  that  the  French  look  upon  Canada  of 
very  little  importance  without  the  possession  of  this  important  pass.  It  certainly 
is  so,  and  must  appear  obvious  to  .any  one  who  understands  the  geography  of  this 
countiy.  It  cuts  off  and  renders  their  communication  with  their  southern  settle- 
ments almost  impracticable.  In  this  fort  there  is  a  very  handsome  chapel ;  .and  the 
priest,  who  was  of  the  order  of  St.  Francis,  had  a  commission  as  the  King's  chap- 
lain to  this  garrison.  He  had  particular  instructions  to  use  the  Indians  who  came 
to  trade,  with  great  hospitality  (for  whicli  he  had  a  particular  allowance),  and  to 
instruct  tliem  m  the  principles  of  the  faith.  The  service  of  the  Church  was  per- 
formed here  with  great  ceremony  and  parade.  I  performed  divine  service  in  the 
church  every  day  during  my  stay  there,  but  I  am  afraid  it  has  never  been  used  for 
this  purpose  since,  as  there  is  no  minister  of  the  Gospel  there.  The  neglect  will 
not  give  the  Indian  the  most  favorable  impression  of  us. 

In  marked  contrast  with  the  aid  and  countenance  afforded  to  the 
priests  and  Jesuits  in  their  missions  was  the  lack  of  countenance  and 


330  HISTORY   OF   THE   AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

utter  indifl'erence  to  the  Indian  work  displayed  on  the  part  of  the 
leading;  men  of  the  colony,  of  which  Ogilvie  had  reason  to  complain. 
Still  the  faithful  missionary  was  not  without  some  fruits  of  his  ministry, 
and  we  cannot  but  add  from  his  graceful  pen  another  letter  telling  of 
missionary  experience  and  results,  which  even  the  operations  of  war 
did  not  intermit.  Under  date  of  August  9,  17()0,  he  writes  as 
follows :  — 

By  this  I  beg  leave  to  inform  the  Society,  that  1  left  Albany  on  the  ■2ith  of 
June,  in  order  to  join  the  army,  who  were  proceeding  under  General  Amherst  to 
Oswego.  I  taiTied  at  Fort  Hunter  three  days.  I  preached  twice  during  that  time, 
and  administered  the  sacrament  of  baptism  to  several  white  and  Indian  childi'en. 
The  Mohawks  were  preparing  for  the  field,  and  told  me  tliey  sliould  overtake  me 
near  the  Oneida  lake,  at  which  place  a  considerable  number  of  Indians  joined  us. 
General  Amlierst  being  at  the  Oneida  lake  on  the  preceding  Sunday,  went  up  as 
far  as  the  Onedia  town.  Upon  his  arrival  there  he  found  them  at  their  worship, 
and  exjjressed  a  vast  pleasure  at  the  decency  with  which  the  service  of  our  Chm-ch 
was  performed  by  a  grave  Indian  sachem.  They  applied  to  the  General  to  leave 
directions  to  me  to  come  to  tlie  Castle  upon  my  arrival  at  the  lake.  Agi'eeably 
to  the  General's  directions,  I  went  to  the  Oneida  town  the  18th  day  of  July.  I  had 
sent  a  Mohawk  Lidian  before  so  that,  upon  my  coming  into  the  town,  I  found  a 
large  congi'egation  met  for  Divine  service  which  was  performed  with  great  solem- 
nity. Six  adults  presented  themselves  to  be  examined  for  baptism  who,  all  of 
them,  gave  a  very  satisfactoi-y  account  of  the  Christian  faith,  and  appeared  to  have 
a  serious  sense  of  religion.  I  baptized  them,  and  immediately  after  joined  them 
in  marriage.  They  were  three  principal  men,  and  their  wives,  who  had  lived  many 
years  together,  according  to  the  Indian  custom.  I  l3ai)tized  fourteen  children ;  and, 
in  all,  I  joined  nine  couples  in  the  holy  bands  of  marriage.  I  was  much  pleased 
with  tliis  day's  solemnity ;  it  would  have  been  a  noble  subject  for  the  pen  of  one  of 
the  Jesuits  of  Canada.  I  would  to  God  we  had  labourers  in  this  part  of  the  ^dneyard, 
to  keep  alive  the  spark  that  is  kindled  among  some  of  these  tribes,  and  spread  the 
glad  tidings  of  the  Gospel  among  the  niunerous  tribes,  with  whom  we  have  now  a 
tree  communication.  Besides  my  duty  in  the  aiTny,  I  attend  the  Indians,  and  give 
them  israyers,  as  often,  on  week  days,  as  the  public  service  of  the  camp  will  admit ; 
and  on  Sunday,  the  General  always  gives  public  orders  for  Di\'iue  sendee  among 
the  Indians. 

I  hope  soon  to  congratulate  the  venerable  Society  upon  the  entire  conquest  of 
Canada;  and  I  pray  God  that,  by  that  means,  there  may  be  an  effectual  door  opened 
for  the  propagation  of  the  blessed  Gospel  amongst  the  heathen. 

The  war  was  brought  to  a  happy  end  by  the  victory  of  Wolfe 
and  the  capture  of  Quebec.  Ogilvie,  on  congratulating  the  society 
upon  so  satisfactory  a  termination  of  the  struggle,  proceeded  to  state 
that  tln-oughout  the  campaign  he  had  been  particularly  at  pains  to  per- 
form all  the  ofBces  of  religion  among  the  Indians,  "great  numbers  of 
whom  attended  constantly,  regularly,  and  decently.''  His  communi- 
cation closes  with  these  words  :  — 

I  am  imable  to  express  the  universal  joy  and  triumph  that  prevail  amongst 
us  at  this  period  of  public  success.  How  remarkably  has  God  in  His  providence 
sustained  the  cause,  and  restored  the  honour  of  our  counti-y,  by  the  successes  of 
the  past  and  the  glorious  conclusion  of  the  year.  The  inhabitants  of  this  northern 
region  of  America  are  now  happy  in  the  quiet  possession  of  their  estates.  "No 
more  leading  into  captivity ;  "  a  captivity  l)ig  with  danger  and  horror;  "no  more 
comphxining  in  the  streets.'"  Jlay  all  these  happy  events  conspire  to  bring  about  a 
sjjcedy,  safe,  and  honourable  peace.  May  the  peaceable  kingdom  of  the  Redeemer 
universallj'  prevail  amongst  mankind,  and  all  the  world  know  the  only  true  God 
and  Jesus  Christ  whom  He  hath  sent. 


MISSIONARY    LABOHS    AMONG    THE    INDIANS.  331 

Olio  ;^loll(^  of  "  the  Icudiiig  men  ol'tlu^  |)roviiice,""  of  whose  apathy 
Ogilvie  had  complained,  befriended  the  painstaiiing  missionary,  and 
hot!)  fa\'()r('(l  and  furthered  his  work.  Tliis  was  tlie  eeli^hrated  Sir 
William  Johnson.      Born  in  Ireland  al)oiit  the  year  1714,  he  had  eomo 


Sni     WILLIAM     .JOHNSON. 


out  at.  the  age  of  twenty  years,  at  the  request  of  his  uncle,  Sir  Peter 
Warren,  to  take  charge  of  the  extensive  territory  in  the  Mohawk 
country  owned  by  his  distinguished  relative.  From  the  moment  of 
his  entrance  upon  his  work  he  displayed  a  genuine  interest  in  the 
Indians,  which  ended  only  with  his  life.  Though  by  no  means  a  per- 
fect character,  and  far  from  scrupulously  observing  the  precepts  of  the 
religion  to  the  institutions  of  which  he  always  gave  a  ready  and  liberal 
support,  ho  was  still  most  useful  to  the  ministers  of  church  and  state 


332  HISTORY   OF   THE    AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

aniODg  the  natives  of  the  forest,  whom  he  inspired  with  jjrofound 
respect,  and  in  whose  behalf  he  was  untu-ing  in  his  exertions  and  re- 
sponsive to  every  call  for  aid.  The  intimate  knowledge  of  the  lan- 
guage and  habits  of  the  red  men,  which  he  speedily  acquired,  added  to 
his  natural  gifts  of  eloquence  and  readiness  in  debate,  gave  him  a  con- 
trol over  the  savage  possessed  bj^  no  other  Englishman,  and  enal^led  him 
to  render  to  government  no  inconsiderable  services.  For  his  military 
successes  the  king  conferred  on  him  the  title  of  Baronet,  and  the 
House  of  Commons  voted  him  a  grant  of  £5,000.  In  the  expedition 
against  Niagara,  of  which  we  have  spoken,  and  in  the  later  invasion  of 
Canada,  Johnson  appeared  at  the  head  of  nearly  a  thousand  of  the 
Indian  allies  of  Great  Britain,  and  contriljuted  in  each  case  not  a  little 
to  the  success  with  which  1)oth  eiforts  were  crowned. 

In  the  summer  of  1762  Sir  William  Johnson  communicated  to 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Barclay  his  puiioose  of  issuing  a  new  edition  of  the 
Indian  prayer-book,  under  the  editorship  of  the  rector  of  Trinity, 
who  had  not  lost  his  familiarity  with  the  Indian  tongue.  Sir  William 
accordingly  forwarded  to  the  doctor  a  rendering  of  the  singing  psalms, 
communion  and  baptismal  offices,  and  some  additional  prayers  for  the 
new  edition,  and  "  as  the  Square  Figure  rendered  that  somewhat  in- 
convenient," he  requested  that  the  work  might  be  issued  as  "  a  hand- 
some small  octavo."  An  agreement  was  entered  into  with  Wilham 
Wcyman,  of  New  York,  to  print  an  edition  of  iive  hundred  copies  for 
thirty  shillings.  New  York  currency,  a  sheet,  exclusive  of  the  cost  of 
paper.  The  work  was  not  begun  until  the  autumn  of  1763,  and  ere 
it  was  well  under  way,  the  illness  and  subsequent  death  of  Dr.  Bar- 
clay delayed  and  finally  put  a  stop  to  its  progress.  Finally,  the  super- 
intendence of  the  printing  was  assigned  to  Mr.  Ogilvie,  but  the  death 
of  Weyman,  after  the  completion  of  only  nine  sheets,  again  inter- 
rupted the  progress  of  the  work.  Hugh  Gaine  next  undertook  the 
completion  of  the  volume,  reprinting  the  earlier  signatures,  and  issu- 
ing the  work  early  in  1769,  the  tii'st  bound  copy  being  forwarded  to 
Sir  William,  on  the  2d  of  February.'  The  title-page  of  the  edition 
is  as  follows  :  — 

The  Order  |  for  Morning  and  Evening  Prayer,  |  iind  Administration  of  the  | 
Sacraments  |  and  some  other  |  Olfices  of  the  Church  |  Together  with  |  A  Collection 
of  Prayers  and  some  sentences  of  |  the  Holy  Scriptures,  necessary  for  KnowledTC  | 
and    Practice  |  No  |  Yagavvagh    Niyadevvighniserage    Yonderaeiiayendagh-  |  kwa 
Orghoongene  ueoni  Yogaraskha  yoghse-  |  ragwewongh.     Neoni  Yagawagh  Sakra- 

I  menthogoon,  neoni  oya  Addercanai  |  yent  ne  Onoghsadogeaghtige  |  Oni  |  Ne 
Walkeanissaghtongh  Odd'j-age  Addereanaiyent  |  neoni  Sinij'OghtJiare  ne  Kaghya- 
dogliseradogeaghti,  I  no  Wahooni  Ayagoderioandaragge  neoni  Ayon-  I  dadderi- 
ghhoenie.  Collected  and  translated  into  the  Mohawk  \  Language  under  the  Direc- 
tion of  the  late  Rev.  |  Jlr.  William  Andrews,  the  late  Rev.  Dr.  Henri/  |  Barclay, 
and  the  Rev.  Mr.  John  Ogilvie :  \  Formerly  Missionaries  fi'om  the  Venerable  Society 

I  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel  in  Foreign  |  Parts,  to  the  Mohan'k  Indians.— 
Printed  in  the  year  M.DCCJ.XIX,  Octavo.^  Title  2  f.  Contents  1  f.  sys  A.— Bb. 
pp.  304.« 

>  Documentaiy  Hist,  of  N.  York,   rv.,  pp.    was  I'cprintett  nt  Quebec  in  1780  after  the  re- 
321,  334,  340,  364,  384,  38S,  405.  moval  of  the  Indians  to  the  British  dominions. 

2  In  the  N.Y.  Hist.  Soc.  LilivaiT.    This  work 


MISSIONARY  LABORS  AMONG  THE   INDIANS.  333 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  war,  on  the  recommendation  of  Sir 
William  Johnson,  the  Rev.  John  Stuart,  who  has  been  styled  by  the 
first  Bishop  of  Toronto  "  the  father  of  tlie  Church  in  Upper  Canada," 
was  appointed  by  the  society  as  missionary  to  the  Mohawks.  Stuart 
arrived  at  Fort  Hunter  on  the  2d  of  December,  1770,  and  was  re- 
ceived with  great  joy  by  the  Indians.  The  number  of  inhabitants  at 
the  fort  was  less  than  two  hundred.  On  the  Christmas  day  follow- 
ing his  arrival  he  officiated  at  Canaijohero,  a  village  thirty  miles  dis- 
tant, preaching  and  administering  the  holy  communion  to  twenty 
Indian  converts.  He  described  them  as  "  attending  divine  service  con- 
stantly, and  making  the  responses  with  the  greatest  regularity  and 
seeming  devotion."  "  Indeed,"  he  proceeds,  "  their  whole  deportment 
is  such  as  is  but  rarely  seen  in  religious  assemblies  that  have  been 
better  instructed."  By  the  advice  and  with  the  encouragement  of  Sir 
William  Johnson,  Mr.  Stuart  secured  the  preparation  of  a  jVIohawk 
translation  of  the  Gospel  of  St.  Mark,  with  a  compendious  history  of 
the  Bible,  and  an  exposition  of  the  church  catechism.  In  this  impor- 
tant work  the  aid  of  the  celebrated  Joseph  Brant  was  most  valu- 
able. In  1774  Stuart  informed  the  society,  with  respect  to  those 
people,  that  "their  morals  are  much  improved  since  my  residence 
among  them."  It  was  in  that  year  that  Sir  William  Johnson  died,  a 
loss  to  the  mission  and  to  the  Indians  that  could  not  be  supplied. 
The  liev.  Charles  Inghs,  afterward  first  Bishop  of  Nova  Scotia,  de- 
voted no  little  time  and  labor  in  the  service  of  the  Mohawks  in  con- 
nection with  Stuart,  finding,  as  long  as  the  baronet  survived,  a  sympa- 
thizing adviser  and  a  most  efficient  helper  in  all  his  efforts  for  the 
Indians'  good. 

The  opening  scenes  of  the  war  for  independence  found  the  mission- 
ary and  his  converts  exposed  to  suspicion  and  danger,  in  view  of  their 
steady  loyalty  to  the  crown.  At  the  first  the  Indians  combined  to  pro- 
tect their  beloved  teacher  and  priest,  and  publicly  declared  that  they 
would  defend  him  as  long  as  he  continued  among  them.  But  it  was 
not  long  before  this  means  of  safety  was  removed.  The  story  is  best 
told  in  the  missionary's  own  graphic  words  :  — 

At  the  commencement  of  the  unhappy  contest  betwixt  Great  Britain  and  her 
colonies,  I  acquainted  the  society  of  the  firm  i-eliance  I  had  on  the  fidelity  and 
loyalty  of  my  congregation,  which  has  justified  my  opinion ;  for  the  I'aitlif ul 
Mohawks,  rather  than  swerve  from  their  allegiance,  chose  rather  to  abandon  their 
dwellings  and  property ;  and  accordingly  went  in  a  body  to  General  Burgoyne,  and 
afterwards  were  obliged  to  take  shelter  in  Canada.  While  they  remained  at  Fort 
Hunter  1  continued  to  officiate  as  usual,  performing  the  public  service  entire,  even 
after  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  notwithstanding  by  so  doing  I  incurred  the 
penalty  of  high  treason  by  the  new  laws.  As  soon  as  my  protectors  were  fied  I 
was  made  a  prisoner,  and  ordered  to  depart  the  province  with  ray  family,  witiiin 
the  space  of  four  days  or  be  put  into  close  confinement,  and  this  only  upon  sus- 
picion that  I  was  a  loyal  subject  of  the  King  of  Great  Britain.  Upon  this  I  was 
admitted  to  "paroles"  and  confined  to  the  limits  of  the  town  of  Schenectady,  in 
which  situation  I  have  remained  for  upwards  of  three  years.  My  house  has  been 
frequently  broken  open  by  mobs,  my  property  ]5lundered,  and,  indeed,  every  kind  of 
indignity  offered. to  my  person  by  the  lowest  of  the  populace.  At  length  my  farm, 
and  the  produce  of  it,  was  formally  taken  from  me  in  May  last,  as  forfeited  to  the 
State  ;  and,  as  the  last  resource,  I  proposed  to  open  a  Latin  school  for  the  support 
of  my  family.     But  this  privilege  was  denied,  on  pretence  that,  as  a  prisoner  ot 


334  HISTOKY   OF   THK    AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

war,  I  was  not  entitled  to  exercise  any  lucrative  occupation  in  the  State.  I  then 
applied  for  permission  to  remove  to  Canada,  which,  alter  much  difficulty  and  ex- 
pense, I  obtained  upon  the  following  conditions :  —  to  give  bail  in  the  smn  of  400Z. 
to  send  a  rebel  colonel  in  my  room,  or  else  return  to  Albany,  and  .surrender  myself 
a  pi'isoner  whenever  required.  In  consequence  of  which  1  set  out  on  my  journey 
from  Schenectady  on  the  I'Jth  of  September  last,  with  my  wife  and  three  small 
children;  and,  after  suffering  much  fatigue  and  difUeulty,  we  arrived  safe  at  St. 
John's  in  Canada  on  the  9tli  inst.  ...  I  cannot  omit  to  mention  that  my  church 
was  plundered  by  the  rebels,  and  the  pulpit-cloth  talven  away  from  the  pulpit;  it 
was  afterwards  employed  as  a  tavern,  and  a  barrel  of  rum  placed  in  the  reading- 
desk.    The  succeeding  year  it  was  used  for  a  stable,  and  now  serves  as  a  fort. 

On  the  arrival  of  Stuart  in  Canada  he  proceeded  directly  to  the 
Mohawk  village,  where  the  refugees  from  Fort  Hunter  and  its  vicinity 
had  found  a  new  home.  Here  the  priest  was  ali'ectionately  welcomed 
by  his  Indian  Hock,  and  here  under  more  favoral)le  auspices  he  renewed 
his  labors  among  them.  Thus  closed  the  patient  and  not  wholly  fruit- 
less eflbrts  of  the  venerable  society  for  the  Indians  within  the  limits 
of  the  United  States. 


ILLUSTRATIVE   NOTE. 


THE  story  of  the  church  missions  to  the  Indians  fails  to  present  the  striking  re- 
sults attained  by  Eliot  and  the  Puritan  laborers  in  the  same  field;  but,  while  the 
successes  attained  by  the  latter  have  left  no  abiding  trace  behind,  there  are  still 
Christianized  and  civilized  savages  who  are  the  fruits  of  the  missions  to  the  Indians 
of  New  York.    The  Indian  Bible  of  Eliot  is  a  sealed  book,  but  the  translation  of  the 

Raodenanayeni  ne  Royatier* 

OOngwaniha  ne  Karonghyage  tigTisideionj  Wafagh- 
*^  feanadogeaglirinc.  Sayanertfera  lewe,  Tagferro 
^ghnlawanea  tfiniyought  KarongliySgoiili,  onl  Ogh- 
wentiiage.  Kiyadewighniferage  Takwanadaranoii'dagh- 
iik  nonwa;  Neoni  Tondakwarighwiyougliftouh  tfinl- 
jneKtoniTfiakwadaderighwiyouglifteani.  Neonitoghfa 
lackwagHanneghc  Pewaddatcienageraghtonke,  ne- 
sane  iadyadakwaghs  ne  Kondighferbheanfe  j  ikea  Sa- 
yanertfera ne  na-ah,  rieoni  116  Kaefhatlle,  neoni  ne 
Onwefeagh'tak  ne  tfiniyeheawe  neoni  tfiniyeheawe. 
Amm. 

THE    lord's    prater,    FROM    THE    ArOHAWK    PRAYER-BOOK. 

prayer-book,  printed  again  and  again  in  the  last  century,  is  of  service  still,  and  the 
Indians  of  Canada  are  faithfrd  acBierents  of  the  Chm-ch  which  brought  to  their  an- 
cestors the  gospel  more  than  a  century  ago. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

THE    WESLEYS    AND    GEORGE    WHITEFIELD,    MISSIONARIES 
OF    THE    CHURCH    IN    GEORGIA. 


THE  colonizatiou  of  Georgia  received  its  impulse  and  won  success 
largely  through  the  sympathy  and  support  it  obtained  from  the 
clergy  and  the  Church  of  the  mother-land.  "  JVo7i  sibi,  sed  aliis" 
was  the  motto  affixed  to  the  common  seal  of  the  trustees  of  this  noble 
charity,  which  had  for  its  object  not  only  the  protection  of  the  southern 
border  of  the  Cart)linas  against  Spanish  incursions  from  Florida,  or 
the  inroads  of  the  French  on  the  Mississippi,  but  also  the  provision  of  an 
asylum  for  the  poor  of  England  and  the  persecuted  protestants  of  Ger- 
many. In  furthering  these  unscltish  and  laudable  objects  all  classes  and 
conditions  of  men  were  united.  James  Oglethorpe,  clarurn  et  venerabile 
nomen,  the  leader  in  this  scheme  of  colonization,  had  won  renown,  not 
alone  in  military  affairs,  but  as  an  advocate,  in  the  House  of  Com- 
mons and  elsewhere,  of  the  insolvent  and  imprisoned  delators,  many 
of  whom  were  at  that  time,  through  the  operation  of  barl)arous  laws, 
pining  and  perishing  for  no  other  fault  than  that  of  poverty,  in  loath- 
some and  pestilential  jails  throughout  England.  Obtaining  from  the 
king,  George  H.,  on  the  9th  of  June,  1732,  a  charter  for  a  settlement 
upon  the  lands  owned  by  the  crown,  and  lying  south  of  the  Savannah 
river,  the  philanthropic  exertions  of 

"  The  generous  band, 
Who,  touched  with  human  woe,  redressive  searched 
Into  the  horrors  of  the  gloomy  gaol," ' 

■^ere  at  once  directed  towards  the  successful  accomplishment  of  their 
plans  to  add  to  present  relief  permanent  benefits,  enabling  the  honest, 
but  unfortunate  debtors,  who  were  else  at  the  mercy  of  their  creditors, 
to  find  in  new  homes,  and  under  more  genial  skies,  the  opportunity  for 
self-support  and  for  securing  the  reward  for  faithful  labor.  Liberty 
of  conscience  was  made  a  chartered  right  of  the  colonists,  at  the  in- 
stance and  by  the  voluntary  action  of  churchmen,  who  were  largely  in 
the  majority  and  had  a  controlling  influence  in  the  Board  of  Trustees ; 
and,  with  a  self-denial  worth}^  of  mention  and  remembrance,  the  trus- 
tees were  precluded  "from  receiving  any  grant  of  land  in  the  province, 
or  any  salary,  fee,  perquisite,  or  profit  whatsoever,  by  or  from  the  uu- 
dertakin<r."^     In  the  language  of  the  historian  of  the  State  :  — 

*  Thomson's  "  Seasous,"  Winter.  =  Stevens's  "  Georjriii,"  i.,  P-  67. 


33() 


HISTOKV    i)F    THE    AMEHTCAN    EI'ISCDl'AL    CIIUHrH. 


Georgia  was  tlie  lirst  colony  ever  Inundcil  by  i-liarit_v.  New  Enorland  luul 
boon  sottleil  by  Puritans,  wliu  lied  tliitlier  lor  consc-ionoe'  sake.  —  Now  York,  by  a 
c-oni])any  of  mori-liants  and  adventurers  in  seareli  of  gain.  —  Maryland,  by  Papists 
retiring  iVoni  J'roteslant  intoleranee.  —  Virginia,  by  anil)itions  cavaliers.  —  Carolina, 
by  (he  schcniing  and  visional^'  Shaftesljury,  and  others,  for  jirivate  aims  and  indi- 
vidual aggrandizement ;  but  Georgia  was  ))lanted  by  the  hand  of  benevolence,  and 
reared  into  being  by  the  nurturings  of  a  disinterested  charity.' 

And  this  act  of  lieneficence  wa.s  an  act  of  faith  and  charity  of  tlio 
Chnrcii  of  England. 

Attracted  ))y  tlio  lil)Pi-al  propo.?als  of  the  trustees,  and  the  bright 
prospects  oijening  l)efore  tlieni  in  tlie  New  World.  Deptford,  selected 
as  the  place  of  emharkation.  and  lying  a  few  miles  below  London,  was 


GENEK.\L  JAMES  OGLETHORPE. 


thronged  with  applicants,  seeking  a  home  in  tln^  frecly-oftered  i)aradise 
across  the  .seas.  Tiiirty-tive  families  were  selected  by  the  trustees,  nmu- 
bering  in  all  al)out  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  "  sol>er,  industrious 
and  moral  persons."  The  churchly  character  of  the  coloni.sts  is  shown 
in  the  solemn  services  and  sacrament  on  the  t\\cnty-third  Simday  after 
Trinity,  Nov.  12,  17o2,  iit  the  parish  church  at  JNlilton,  on  the  banks 
of  the  Thames,  which  they  iittended  in  a  boely.  It  was  to  them  an 
occasion  of  peculiar  solemnity.     Never  again  would  they  join  in  the 

'  Stevens's  "Geovjj'ia,"  l.,p.  GS. 


MISSIONARIES   OF   THE  CHURCH   IN   GEORGIA.  337 

common  prayer  and  common  praise  of  the  mother-church  on  their 
native  soil.  It  was  not  an  ago  of  sentiment,  and  the  actors  in  the 
scene  were  those  who,  in  the  life-struggle  for  bread,  had  long  lost  the 
enthusiasm  and  enterprise  of  the  earlier  emigrants  ;  but  to  these  "  exiles 
of  penury,"  whose  eyes  no  longer  looked  upon  the  w'orld  from  behind 
the  prison  bars,  and  whose  limbs,  cramped  and  worn  by  irons  in  the 
past,  were  now  free  forever,  there  must  have  come  somewhat  of  hope 
and  happiness  in  the  new  life  opening  befoi'e  them.  In  leaving  home 
they  were  not  to  leave  behind  them  their  Church  and  her  sacred  ordi- 
nances. The  Eev.  Henry  Ilerl^ert,  D.D.,  accompanied  them  in  their 
voyage,  influenced  neither  by  fee  or  hope  of  reward;  but  giving, 
as  it  proved,  his  life  to  them  in  the  spirit  of  his  Master,  Christ. 
Reaching  the  coast  of  America  about  the  middle  of  January,  1733, 
the  colony  landed  at  Beaufort  on  the  20th,  while  Oglethorpe  proceeded 
to  the  Savannah  river  to  select  a  site  for  the  first  settlement.  A  bold, 
pine-crowned  Ijluif,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Savannah,  attracted  the 
explorers,  and  was  fixed  upon  as  the  home  for  the  colony.  Returning 
to  Beaufort  on  the  24th  of  January,  the  following  Sunday,  Sexa- 
gcsima,  was  made  a  day  of  pj-aise  and  thanksgiving  for  the  safe  voyage 
across  the  sea,  and  the  bright  presages  of  good  luck  attending  their 
landing  on  the  shores  of  the  New  World.  On  this  glad  day  the  Rev. 
Lewis  Jones,  of  Beaufort,  preached  to  the  settlers,  their  chaplain,  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Herbert,  preaching  in  the  town.^  Leaving  the  ship,  "  The 
Annie,"  in  which  they  had  crossed  the  ocean,  at  Port  Royal,  the  colo- 
nists eml)arked  on  a  smaller  craft,  on  Tuesday,  the  30th  of  January, 
and,  detained  by  a  storm,  did  not  reach  their  destination  until  Thurs- 
day the  1st  of  February  (old  style). ^  They  had  brought  with  them 
bibles,  prayer-books,  psalters,  catechisms,  books  of  devotion,  and  a 
library  of  religious  works.  The  Rev.  Samuel  Wesley  had,  among  the 
earliest  gifts  to  the  colony,  presented  a  chalice  and  patin  of  pewter  for 
"  present  use  until  silver  ones  could  be  had."  The  surplice  had  been 
furnished,  and  the  grave  and  reverend  priest  —  the  Rev.  Dr.  Herbert 
—  was  there ;  so  that  from  the  start  the  ordinances  and  oflices  of 
religion  were  used,  and  the  new  enterprise  baptized  in  prayer.  Dr. 
Herbert  remained  with  his  flock  but  three  months,  dying  on  his  return 
voyage  to  England.  The  vacancy  thus  occasioned  was  tilled  on  appli- 
cation to  the  venerable  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel  in 
Foreign  Parts  by  the  appointment  of  the  Rev.  Samuel  Quincy,  A.jNI.^ 
A  site  had  been  selected  for  a  church,  and  a  glebe  had  been  provided 
for  the  minister.  A  silver  chalice  and  patin  wei-e  sent  out  to  supersede 
the  use  of  those  presented  by  the  father  of  John  and  Charles  AVesley, 
and  every  provision  for  the  orderly  and  reverent  administration 
of  the  sacraments  was  carefully  provided.  Still  this  frontier  post 
was  no  sinecure,  and  Quincy,  who  arrived  in  May,  1733,  and  con- 
tinued at  his  duty  till  October,  1735,  found  himself  at  length  un- 

1  Force's  "  Hist.  Tracts,"  i.,  "  Establishment    Cli.,"iii.,  pp.  501-4.  Hawkins's  "  Hist.  Notices," 
of  the  Colony  of  Ga.,"  p.  9.  n.  92.   Stevens's  "  Hist,  of  Ga.,"  I.,  pp.  221, 321-2. 

2  The  12th  inst.,  new  strle.  Dalcho's  "  Ch.  in  S.  C,"  pn.  107,  109,  16:3,  319, 
'Ordained  Deacon,  Oct.  18,  and  Priest,  Oct.    3G1.     " Hist. Ma?.,"  L,  pp.  184,248.249.     Gard- 

28,  1730,  by  Dr. -John  Wau;;b,  Bishop  of  Carlisle.     ncr's"Add.  on  Hemy  Price,"  pp.  108,  110,  etc. 
For  notices  of  Mr.  Quincy  vide  Audei-son's  "  Col. 


338  HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

able  longer  to  brook  the  annoyances  to  which  he  was  subjected  by  the 
"  insolent  and  tyrannical  magistrate  to  whom  the  government  of  the 
colony  was  committed."  Finding  ihat  "  Georgia,  which  was  seemingly 
intended  to  be  the  asjdum  of  the  distressed,  was  liicely,  unless  things 
greatly  altered,  to  be  itself  a  mere  scene  of  distress,"  he  sought  and 
obtained  leave  from  the  society  to  return  to  England  in  the  summer 
of  173G.  That  he  had  met  with  "  hard  usage"  was  the  testimony  of 
the  Rev.  Commissary  Garden,  of  South  Carolina,  in  a  letter  addressed 
to  the  Bishop  of  London,^  while  the  excellent  Lewis  Jones,  of  Beau- 
fort, bore  witness  to  the  fact  that  "during  his  residence  in  Georgia" 
he  had  "  behaved  there  very  commeudably  both  with  respect  to  his 
morals  and  the  due  discharge  of  his  ministerial  office."^ 

Prior  to  the  return  of  Quincy  overtures  had  been  made  to  the 
already  celebrated  John  Wesley  to  undertake  the  Georgia  mission. 
His  fother  had  died  on  the  15th  of  April,  1735,  and  the  effort  the  son 
had  made,  apparently  at  his  father's  instance,^  to  secure  the  reversion 
of  the  living  for  himself,  had  failed.  At  this  juncture  Dr.  Burton, 
pi'esident  of  Corpus  Christi  College,  Oxford,  and  one  of  the  Georgia 
trustees,  commended  the  young  enthusiast  to  Oglethorpe,  as  specially 
qualified  for  the  spiritual  care  of  the  colony.  Urged  by  Oglethorpe 
to  undertake  the  work  Wesley  took  counsel  of  his  brother  Samuel, 
sought  the  advice  of  the  celebrated  William  Law,  and  other  friends, 
and  finally  laid  the  proposition  before  his  widowed  mother.  "  Had 
I  twenty  sons  I  should  rejoice  that  they  were  all  so  employed,  though 
I  should  never  see  them  more,"  was  the  answer  of  the  heroic  woman, 
who  cared  for  nothing  so  much  as  the  glory  of  God  and  the  good  of 
men.  In  September  Wesley  had  decided  to  go.  In  a  long  letter,  filled 
with  good  advice.  Dr.  Burton  urged  him,  on  his  arrival  in  Georgia, 
to  visit  from  house  to  house  and  preach  everywhere.  He  tells  him 
that  "  some  of  the  colonists  are  ignorant,  and  most  of  them  are 
disposed  to  licentiousness."  He  proceeds  :  "  You  will  find  abundant 
room  for  the  exercise  of  patience  and  prudence,  as  well  as  piety. 
.  .  .  You  see  the  harvest  truly  is  great.  With  regard  to  your 
behaviour  and  manner  of  address,  you  will  keep  in  mind  the  pattern 
of  St.  Ptml,  who  became  '  all  things  to  all  men  that  ho  might  gain 
some.'  In  every  case  distinguish  between  what  is  essential  and  what  is 
merely  circumstantial  to  Christianity ;  between  what  is  indispensable 
and  what  is  varialile  ;  between  what  is  of  divine  and  what  is  of  human 
authority.  I  mention  this,  because  men  arc  apt  to  deceive  themselves 
in  such  cases ;  and  we  see  the  traditions  and  ordinances  of  men  fre- 
quently insisted  on,  with  more  vigor  than  the  commandments  of  God, 
to  which  they  are  subordinate."*  On  Tuesday,  John  Wesley,  with  his 
brother  Charles,  and  Benjamin  Ingham,  of  Queen's  College,  Oxford, 
and  Charles  Delamotte,  the  son  of  a  London  merchant,  embarked  at 
Gravescnd  for  Georgia.  "Our  end  in  leaving  our  native  country 
was  not  to  avoid  want  (God  having  given  us  plenty  of  tem[)oral  bless- 
ings), nor  to  gain  the  dung  or  dross  of  riches  or  honour,  but  singly 

'Georgia  MS.,  under  date  of  December  22,  '  Tverman'a  "l^ifc  ami  Times  of  the  Rev. 

1737.  John  Wesley,"  i.,  pp.  102-10-i. 

!  Geoi-»ia  MS.,  under  date  of  June  3,  1736.  <  Ibid.,  pp.  109,  1 10. 


MISSIONAEIES   OF  THE   CUUUCH  IN   GEORGIA.  339 

this,  to  save  our  souls;  to  live  wholly  to  the  glory  of  God."'  The 
voyage  began  with  a  Sunday  service  and  sacrament.  At  morning  and 
evening,  prayers  were  said.  The  holy  communion  was  celebrated  on 
e\  ery  Sunday,  and  on  Christmas  besides.  On  the  Gth  of  February,  about 
eight  o'clock  in  the  morning,  this  little  band  of  mission-laborei's  "  first  set 
foot  on  American  ground.  It  was  a  small,  uninhabited  island,  over 
against  Tybee.  jMr.  Oglethorpe  led  us  to  a  rising  ground,  where  we 
all  kneeled  down  to  give  thanks.  We  then  took  boat  for  Savannah. 
When  the  rest  of  the  people  were  come  on  shore  we  called  our  little 
flock  together  to  prayers."^ 

Quincj''  was  still  at  Savannah  when  Wesley  arrived,  and  was  oc- 
cupying "the  minister's  house."  A  vacant  room  served  as  the  place 
of  worship,  and  the  ardent  Wesley  was  not  long  in  inaugurating  a 
system  of  churchly  rule  and  observance,  which  recalls  the  early  days 
of  Virginian  colonization.  On  Quinquagesima  Sundaj',  March  7,  1736, 
Wesley  entered  upon  his  ministry  at  Savannah,  "preaching  on  the 
epistle  for  the  day,  being  the  13th  of  the  first  of  Corinthians."*  On 
the  first  Sunday  in  Lent  he  administered  the  holy  communion,  giving 
notice  of  his  "  design  to  do  so,  every  Sunday  and  holyday,  according 
to  the  rules  of  our  Church."^  There  were  eighteen  communicants. 
Incidentally  we  learn  from  his  journal  something  of  his  Lenten  aus- 
terities. At  one  time  he  lived  solely  upon  bread.  During  holy  week 
he  instituted  a  "  little  society  "  among  "  the  more  serious  "  of  "  the  little 
flock  in  Savannah."  Out  of  this  he  selected  a  smaller  number  "for  a 
more  intimate  union  with  each  other,"  who  met  in  the  minister's  house 
every  Sunday  afternoon.  On  the  second  Sunday  after  Easter  he 
"began  dividing  the  public  prayers,  according  to  the  original  appoint- 
ment of  the  Church."  Morning  prayer  began  at  five  o'clock.  The 
communion  oflice,  with  the  sermon,  was  at  eleven.  The  evening 
prayer  was  said  about  three  o'clocli.  From  this  time  the  prayers  were 
in  the  coui-t-house,  "a  large  and  convenient  place."  Baptism  by  im- 
mersion was  now  insisted  upon.  Ascension  day  was  observed  by  a 
celebration.  The  little  society  grew  in  numljers.  Complaints  were 
made  that  his  "  sermons  were  satires  upon  particular  persons,"  and  that 
the  people  could  not  "tell  what  religion  he  was  of."  His  wish  to  go 
to  minister  to  the  Indians  was  again  and  again  refused.  Savannah 
could  not  be  left  without  a  minister.  In  the  meantime  Charles  Wesley 
had  returned  to  Enaland.  He  had  been  assigned  to  Frederica,  and 
on  the  evening  of  his  arrival  gathered  the  few  settlers  together  for 
prayers  in  the  open  air.  Oglethorpe  was  present,  and  this  enthusiastic 
young  clci'g3'man  records  in  his  journal  the  appropriateness  of  the  les- 
son appointed  for  the  occasion.  The  day  after  his  arrival  he  insisted 
upon  the  baptism,  by  immersion,  of  all  the  children  who  had  not  re- 
ceived the  sacrament,  unless  certified  of  their  inability  to  endure  it. 
Four  times  each  day  the  drum  beat  to  prayers,  and,  although  even  the 
well-disposed  found  this  frequency  of  services  unnecessary  and  annoy- 
ing, the  chaplain  could  not  be  induced  to  intermit  his  appointments. 
Even  Oglethorpe  lost  patience  at  the  display  of  this  ill-timed  zeal, 

■  "Wcsley'3  Journal,  London,  1827, 1.,  p.  15.        =  Ihid.,  p.  21.        » Ibid.,  p.  25.        *  Ibid.,  p.  2G. 


340  HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

and,  after  a  series  of  potty  misunderstandings  and  provocations, 
Charles  Wesley  turned  liis  back  upon  the  work  and  returned  to  Eng- 
land, after  a  residence  of  but  little  more  than  four  months.  The  woi'ds 
found  at  the  close  of  the  second  lesson  for  the  day  of  his  departure 
from  Savannah,  "Arise,  and  let  us  go  hence,"  are  noted  in  his  journal 
as  aptly  marking  the  close  of  his  stay  in  Georgia. 

John  Wesley  sought  to  make  good  his  Ijrother's  absence  by  occa- 
sional visits  to  Frederica,  walking  through  swamps  and  thickets, 
lying  out  all  night,  exposed  to  storms,  and  often  destitute  of  food. 
"  By  his  coming  the  Morning  and  Evening  Prayers  were  revived  ; "  ser- 
vices in  German  were  also  had  for  the  benefit  of  those  who  could  not 
understand  the  English  tongue,  and  the  more  thoughtful  were  banded 
together  as  in  Savannah  for  godly  reading,  prayer,  and  praise.  "On 
one  occasion,  after  Evening  Prayer,"  the  journal  records  that  he  read 
to  his  little  auditory  "  one  of  the  exhortations  of  Ephraim  Syrus,  the 
most  awakening  writer  (I  think)  of  all  the  ancients."  '  On  Tuesday, 
February  1,  1737,  "being  the  anniversary  feast,  on  account  of  the 
first  convoy's  landing  in  Georgia,"  the  journal  notes  that  they  "  had  a 
sermon  and  the  Holy  Communion."  Ingham  returned  this  montli  to 
England  "to  bring  over,  if  it  should  please  God,  some  of  our  friends 
to  strengthen  our  hands  in  His  work."  Delamotte  busied  himself  in 
instructing  "  between  thirty  and  forty  children  to  i-ead,  write,  and  cast 
accounts."  The  children  were  catechised  before  and  after  school,  again 
on  Saturday,  and  on  Sunday  in  church,  before  the  evening  service,  and 
the  best  of  them  still  again  Ijcforo  the  congregation  after  the  second 
lesson.  An  hour  was  spent  at  the  minister's  house  after  evening 
service  on  Sundays  and  Wednesdays  "  in  prayer,  singing  and  mutual 
exhortations."  A  communicants'  meeting  was  held  on  Saturday 
evening,  and  a  few  were  found  to  come  on  the  other  evenings  of 
the  week  for  an  half-hour's  prayer  and  praise.  On  Palm  Sunday, 
April  3,  1737,  "and  every  day  in  this  great  and  holy  week,"  there 
was  "  a  sermon  and  the  Holy  Communion."  To  his  studies  in  German 
and  French,  in  both  which  languages  he  ministered  from  time  to  time, 
he  added  the  acquisition  of  Spanish,  "  in  order,"  as  he  tells  us,  "  to  con- 
verse with  my  Jewish  parishioners,  some  of  whom  seem  nearer  the 
mind  that  was  in  Christ  than  many  of  those  who  call  Him  Lord."  Ho 
met  with  the  commissary,  Alexander  Garden,  and  the  clergy  in  the 
neighboring  province  of  South  Carolina,  at  the  appointed  "  Visitation," 
and  found  gi'eat  satisfaction  in  a  conversation  with  them  for  several 
hours  on  "Christ  our  Righteousness."  On  Whitsunday  "  four  of  our 
scholars,  after  having  been  instructed  daily  for  several  weeks,  were,  at 
their  earnest  and  their  repeated  desire,  admitted  to  the  Lord's  Table." 

Nothing  more  could  be  asked  to  prove  the  zeal  of  this  young 
churchman  than  the  extracts  we  have  given  from  his  private  journal. 
That  his  course  was  prudent  or  likely  to  efiect  the  ends  he  certainly 
had  in  view  few  would  be  willins:  to  assert.  Not  content  with  rul)rical 
exactness  in  his  own  ministrations  and  the  unbending  enforcement  of 
the  acknowledged  requirements  and  usages  of  the  Chiu'ch,  he  sought 

'  Joiirnai,  t.,  p.  30. 


MISSIONARIES   OF  THE  CHURCH  IN   GEORGIA.  341 

to  promote  a  deeper  piety  and  a  more  earnest  spiritual  life  by  practices 
and  precepts,  drawn  upas  lie  believed  I'rom  the  models  of  the  piimitivo 
age,  and  suited  to  the  most  strict  and  holy  walk  with  God.  It  is  not  to 
be  wondered  at  that  the  people  at  Savannah  were  as  impatient  of  these 
multiplied  services  and  pungent  sermons  as  those  at  Frcdcrica  had 
been  of  the  similar  minislralions  of  his  brother  Charles.  He  was 
accused  of  fanaticism,  hypocrisy,  of  papistry,  and,  finally,  of  resorting 
to  the  use  of  ecclesiastical  censures  and  discipline  to  avenge  a  personal 
disappointment  and  slight. 

The  ardent  and  dev^oted  priest  had  fallen  in  love.  Sophia  Chris- 
tiana Hopkey,  a  niece  of  Thomas  Causton,  the  "  chief  magistrate  "  of 
the  few  hundreds  of  settlers,  had,  liy  her  personal  charms  and  devotion 
to  the  cause  of  religion,  won  the  heart  of  the  priest  and  preacher  of 
Savannah.  She  had  sought  his  company,  had  studied  with  him,  had 
nursed  him  in  illness,  hail  attended  his  numerous  services  and  sacra- 
ments, had  conformed  to  his  will  and  wish  in  matters  of  dress,  in  her 
diet  and  in  her  spiritual  life.  Wesley,  who  was  at  this  time  thiity- 
three  years  of  age,  was  deeply  in  earnest  in  his  devotion  to  "  poor 
Miss  Sophy,"  as  he  styles  her,  and  there  is  little  doubt  but  that  if 
she  had  accepted  his  pi'offer  of  marriage  the  subsequent  career  of  the 
founder  of  Jlethodism  would  have  been  far  different  from  what  it  was. 
If  we  may  take  Miss  Hopkey's  testimony,  he  even  oflered  to  settle  at 
Savannah,  and  to  modif}'  his  ascetic  mode  of  life  agreeably  to  her  will. 
Wesley  himself,  in  his  private  journal,  under  date  of  March  7,  1737, 
writes  as  follows  :  — 

I  walked  with  Mr.  Causton  to  his  coniitiy  lot,  and  plainly  felt  that,  had  God 
given  me  such  a  retirement  with  the  companion  I  desired,  I  should  have  forgot  the 
work  for  which  I  was  bom,  antl  have  set  up  my  rest  in  tliis  world.' 

The  following  day  the  record  reads  :  — 

Miss  Sophy  engaged  herself  to  Jlr.  Williamson,  a  person  not  remarkable  for 
handsomeness,  neitlier  for  greatness,  neitlier  for  wit,  or  knowledge,  or  sense,  and 
least  of  all  for  religion. 

Four  days  later  the  tale  is  completed  :  — 

They  were  married  at  Purrysburg,  —  this  being  the  day  which  completed  the 
year  from  my  first  speaking  to  her.  What  Thou  doest,  O  (iod,  I  know  not  now, 
but  I  shall  know  hereafter.^ 

Wesley,  who  had  urged  his  suit  anew  but  a  few  days  liefore  the 
marriage,  still  maintained  his  pastoral  relations  with  his  lost  love.  The 
suspicious  husband  took  umbrage  at  this  renewal  of  the  intimacy 
between  the  rejected  suitor  and  his  wife,  and  soon  forbade  her 
attendance  upon  Wesley's  ministrations.  He  went  so  far  as  to  inter- 
dict her  speaking  to  him.  Notwithstanding  this  prohibition  she  was 
present  at  a  sacrament  on  the  fotuth  Sunday  after  Trinity,  July  3,  at 
the  close  of  which  AVesley  repi'oved  her  for  some  things  in  her  con- 

'  Tyci-raau's  ■'  Wesley,"  I.,  p.  148.  -]bi,l.,  p.  149. 


342  HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

duct  to  which  he  had  taken  exceptions.  Annoyed  and  angered  by  this 
criticism  upon  the  conduct  of  his  niece,  the  "chief  magistrate,"  ac- 
companied l)y  the  bailifi"  and  tlie  recorder,  called  upon  Wesley  for 
an  explanation  or  apology.  It  was  not  to  be  expected  that  Wesley 
woulcl  confess  that  he  was  wi'ong,  and  at  the  first  sacrament  in  the 
following  month  he  repelled  Mrs.  Williamson  from  the  holy  table. 
The  following  day  the  recorder  issued  a  warrant  for  the  apprehension 
of  "  John  Wesley,  clerk,"  to  answer  the  complaint  of  William  Wil- 
liamson for  defaming  his  wife,  and  refusing  to  administer  to  her  the 
sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper  in  a  public  congregation  without 
cause,  "  by  which  the  said  William  AVilliamsou  was  damaged  one 
thousand  pounds  sterling." 

Brought  before  the  bailifi"  and  recorder,  creatures  of  Causton  and 
dependent  upon  him  for  their  very  livelihood,  the  outraged  priest 
made  answer,  "  that  the  giving  or  refusing  the  Lord's  Supper  being  a 
matter  purely  ecclesiastical,  he  could  not  acknowledge  their  power  to 
interrogate  him  concerning  it."  But  this  answer  did  not  sufiice.  A 
true  bill  having  been  found  by  the  grand  jury  the  case  was  placed 
upon  the  docket  for  the  Savannah  Court.  The  controversy  from  this 
time  engrossed  the  attention  of  the  whole  community,  and  the  great 
body  of  the  colonists  was  arrayed  on  the  one  side  or  the  other. 

The  list  of  grievances  on  which  the  gi-and  jury  found  its  bill 
professed  to  show  that  the  accused  deviated  "  from  the  principles  and 
regulations  of  the  Established  Church  in  many  particulars  inconsistent 
with  the  happiness  and  prosperity  of  this  colony."  These  deviations 
were  as  follows  :  — 

1.  By  inverting  the  oixler  and  metliod  of  the  liturgy. 

2.  B}'  altering  such  i)assages  as  he  thinks  proper  in  the  version  of  the 
psalms,  publicly  authorized  to  be  sung  in  the  church. 

3.  By  introducing  into  the  church,  and  service  at  the  altar,  compositions  of 
psalms  and  hymns  not  inspected  or  authorized  by  any  proper  judicature. 

4.  By  introducing  novelties,  such  as  dipping  infants,  etc.,  in  the  sacrament 
of  baptism,  and  refusing  to  baptize  the  childi-en  of  such  as  will  not  submit  to  his 
innovations. 

5.  By  restricting  the  benefits  of  the  Lord's  Supper  to  a  small  number  of 
persons,  and  refusing  it  to  all  others  who  mil  not  confoi-m  to  a  gi-ievous  set  of 
penances,  confessions,  mortifications,  and  constant  attendance  on  early  and  late 
hours  of  prayer,  very  inconsistent  with  the  labors  and  employment  of  this  colony. 

6.  By  administering  the  sacrament  of  (he  Lord's  Supper  to  boys  ignorant  and 
unqualified;  and  that  notwithstanding  of  their  parents  and  nearest  friends  re- 
monstrating against  it,  and  accusing  them  of  disobedience  and  other  crimes. 

7.  By  refusing  to  administer  the  holy  sacrament  to  well-disposed  and  well- 
living  jiersons,  unless  they  should  submit  to  confessions  and  penances  for  crimes, 
which  they  utterly  refuse,  .and  whereof  no  evidence  is  offered. 

8.  By  venting  sundry  uncharitable  expressions  of  all  who  difl'er  from  him ; 
and  not  pronount-ing  the  benediction  in  church  until  all  the  hearers,  except  his 
own  communicants,  are  withdra\vn. 

9.  By  teaching  mves  and  servants  that  they  ought  absolutely  to  follow  the 
course  of  mortifications,  fastings,  and  diets,  and  two  sots  of  ]jrayers  prescribed  by 
him,  without  any  regard  to  the  interests  of  tlieir  private  families,  or  the  commands 
of  their  respective  luisbands  and  masters. 

10.  By  refusing  the  office  of  the  dead  to  such  as  did  not  communicate  with 
him,  or  by  leaving  out  such  i)arts  of  tlie  service  as  he  thought  proper. 

11.  By  searching  into  and  meddling  with  the  affairs  of  private  families,  by 
means  of  servants  and  spies  employed  by  him  for  the  purpose,  whereby  the  peace, 
both  of  public  and  private  life,  is  much  endangered. 


MISSIONARIES  OF  THE   CHURCH  IN   GEORGIA.  343 

12.  By  calling  himself  "  ordinary,"  and  thereby  claiming  a  jurisdiction  which 
is  not  due  to  him,  and  wliercby  we  should  be  precluded  from  access  to  redress  by 
any  superior  jurisdiction.' 

The  majority  of  the  jury,  on  the  1st  of  September,  agreed  to  the 
following  iudictments :  — 

1.  That  after  tlio  12th  of  Jlarch  last,  the  said  John  Wesley  did  several  times 
privately  force  liis  conversation  to  Sophia  Christiana  William-on,  contrary  to  the 
express  desire  and  command  of  her  husband,  and  did  likewise  write  and  privately 
convey  papers  to  her,  thereby  occasioning  much  uneasiness  between  her  and  her 
husband. 

2.  That  on  the  7th  of  August  last,  he  refused  the  Sacrament  of  the  Lord's 
Supper  to  Sophia  Christiana  Williamson,  without  any  apparent  cause,  much  to  the 
disquiet  of  her  mind,  and  to  the  great  disjjrace  anil  hurt  of  her  character. 

3.  'J'hat  he  hath  not,  since  his  arrival  in  Savannali,  emitted  any  public  dec- 
laration of  his  adherence  to  the  priueiiilos  and  regulations  of  the  Chiu'ch  of 
England. 

4.  That  for  many  months  past,  he  has  divided  on  the  Lord's  day  the  order  of 
morning  prayer,  appointed  to  be  used  in  the  Church  of  England,  by  only  reading 
the  said  morning  prayer  and  the  litany  at  live  or  six  o'clock,  and  wholly  omitting 
the  same  between  the  hours  of  nine  aud  eleven  o'clock,  the  customary  time  of 
public  morning  prayer. 

5.  That,  about  the  month  of  April,  173G,  he  refused  to  baptize  othenvise  than 
by  dijiping,  the  cliild  of  Henry  Parker,  unless  the  said  Henry  I'arker  anil  his  wife 
would  certify  that  the  child  was  weak  and  not  able  to  bear  dipping ;  and  added  to 
his  refusal,  that,  imless  the  said  parents  would  consent  to  have  it  dipped,  it  might 
die  a  heathen. 

6.  That,  notwithstanding  he  administered  the  Sacrament  of  the  Lord's 
Supper  to  William  (Jough,  about  the  montli  of  March,  1730,  lie  did,  within  a  month 
after,  refuse  the  sai^ament  to  the  said  William  Gough,  saying  that  he  had  heard 
that  William  Gough  was  a  Dissenter. 

7.  That  in  June,  173(5,  he  refused  reading  the  OflSce  of  the  Dead  over  the 
body  of  Nathaniel  Polhill,  only  because  Nathaniel  Polhill  was  not  of  liis  opinion  ; 
by  means  of  which  refusal  the  said  Nathaniel  Polhill  was  interred  without  the 
appointed  Office  for  the  Burial  of  the  Dead. 

8.  That,  on  or  about  the  10th  of  August,  1737,  he,  in  the  pi'esence  of  Thomas 
Causton,  presumptuously  called  himself  "  Ordinary  of  Savannah,"  assuming  there- 
by an  authority  which  did  not  belong  to  him. 

9.  That  in  Whitsun-week  last  he  refused  William  Aglionby  to  stand  godfather 
to  the  chilli  of  Heniy  Marley,  giving  no  otlier  reason  than  that  the  said  William 
Aglionby  had  not  been  at  the  communion  table  with  him. 

10.  That,  about  the  month  of  July  last,  he  baptized  the  child  of  Thomas  Jones, 
having  only  one  godfather  and  godmother,  notwithstanding  that  Jacob  Matthews 
did  oHer  to  stand  godfather.' 

Such  were  the  findings  of  the  major  part  of  the  jury.  Twelve  of 
the  whole  number  of  forty-four,  inchiding  three  constables  and  six 
lithingmen,  drew  up  and  transmitted  to  the  trustees  for  Georgia  a 
minority  report,  which,  as  it  is  doubtless  Wesley's  own  vindication  of 
his  cause,  is  subjoined,  as  follows  :  — 

1.  That  they  were  thorottghly  persuaded  that  the  charges  against  Mr.  Wesley 
were  an  tirtiflce  of  Mr.  Causton's,  designed  rather  to  blacken  the  character  of  Mr. 
Wesley  tlian  to  free  the  colony  from  religious  tj-ranny,  as  l-.e  had  alleged. 

2.  That  it  did  not  apjiear  that  Jlr.  ^Vcsley  had  either  spoken  in  jirivate  or 
written  to  Mrs.  Williamson  since  the  d.ay  of  her  marriage,  except  one  letter,  which 
he  wrote  on  the  5th  of  July,  at  the  request  of  her  micle,  as  a  pastor,  to  exliort  and 

'  Tyerman's  "  Wesley,"  i.  pp.  in.i,  1B6. 

'  Wesley's  UnpublUlied  Journal,  quoted  in  Tyeiman,  I.,  pp.  130,  1.j7. 


344  HISTORY  or  the  American  episcopal  church. 

reprove  her.  Fui'ther,  that  though  he  did  refuse  the  sacrament  to  Mrs.  Williamson 
on  tlie  7th  of  Augrist  last,  lie  did  not  assume  to  himself  any  authority  contrary  to 
law,  for  every  person  intending  to  communicate  was  bound  to  signify  his  name  to 
the  cm-ate,  at  least  some  time  the  day  before,  which  Mrs.  Williamson  did  not  do ; 
although  Mr.  Wesley  had,  often,  in  full  congregation,  declared  he  did  insist  on  a 
compliance  with  that  rubric,  and  had  before  repelled  divers  persons  for  non-com- 
pliance therewith. 

3.  That,  though  he  had  not  in  Savannah  emitted  any  public  declaration  of 
his  adherence  to  the  principles  and  regulations  of  the  Church  of  England,  he  had 
done  this,  in  a  sti-ongcr  manner  than  by  a  formal  declaration,  by  explaining  and  de- 
fending the  three  creeds,  the  tliirty-nine  articles,  the  whole  Book  of  Common  Prayer, 
and  the  homilies;  besides,  a  foi-mal  declaration  is  not  required  but  from  those  who 
have  received  institution  and  induction. 

4.  That  fliougli  he  had  divided,  on  the  Lord's  day,  the  order  of  Morning 
Prayer,  tliis  was  not  contrary  to  any  law  in  being. 

5.  That  his  refusal  to  baptize  Henry  Parker's  child,  otherwise  than  by  dipping, 
was  justified  by  the  rubric. 

C.  That  though  he  had  refused  the  sacrament  to  William  Gough,  the  said 
William  Gough  '  publicly  declared  that  the  refusal  was  no  gi-ievance  to  him,  because 
Jlr.  Wesley  had  given  hun  reasons  with  which  he  was  satisfied. 

7.  That  in  reference  to  the  alleged  refusal  to  read  the  burial  service  over  the 
body  of  Nathaniel  I'olhill,  they  had  good  reason  to  believe  that  iMr.  Wesley  was  at 
Fredcrica,  or  on  his  rctm'u  fi'om  thence,  when  Polhill  was  buried ;  besides  PolhUl 
was  an  Anabaptist,  and  had  expressed  his  desire  that  he  might  not  be  buried  with 
the  church  service. 

8.  Tliat  they  were  in  doubt  about  the  charge  against  Wesley  for  his  use  of 
the  word  Ordinary,  "  not  well  knowing  the  meaning  of  the  word." 

9.  10.  That  they  deemed  Mr.  Wesley  justified  in  his  refusal  to  allow  William 
Aglionby  -  and  ,lacob  Slatthews  to  be  godfathers  by  the  canons  of  the  C^hurch  which 
forbid  "  any  person  to  be  admitted  Godfather  or  Godmother  to  any  child  before  the 
said  person  had  received  the  Holy  Comnjunion,"  since  neither  Matthews  nor  Aglionby 
had  certified  IMr.  Wesley  that  they  had  ever  communed.' 

There  is  but  little  discrepancy  between  the  findings  of  friends  or 
foes.  In  the  main  the  fttcts  were  admitted,  but  the  answer  of  Wesley 
was  conclusive :  — 

As  to  nine  of  the  ten  indictments  against  me,  I  know  this  court  can  take  no 
cognizance  of  them,  they  being  matters  of  an  ecclesiastical  nature.  But  that  con- 
cerning my  speaking  and  writing  to  Mrs.  Williamson  is  of  a  secular  nature ;  and 
this,  therefore,  I  desire  may  be  tried  here  where  the  facts  complained  of  were  com- 
mitted.* 

ITe  was  met  by  evasions,  postponements,  delays.  In  the  three 
mouths  following  the  finding  of  a  bill  against  him  he  seems  to  have 
attended  several  dificrent  sessions  of  the  court,  asking  for  trial.  It  is 
evident  that  the  whole  prosecution  was  the  outgrowth  of  Causton's 
petty  spite,  and  designed  to  drive  from  the  colony  one  who  dared  to 
oppose  his  will,  and  was,  besides,  an  obstacle  to  the  exercise  of  his 
tyranny. 

After  a  futile  attempt  on  the  part  of  Cuuston  and  his  friends  to 
supersede  him  b}'  the  intrusion  of  a  chaplain  from  Fredcrica  named 

^  Gou;:cIi  ^vas  one  of  the  twelve  who  signed  tlied  a  confirmed  Deist."    Whitefield  refused  to 

tlie  minority  report  of  the  jury.  read  tlie  burial  office  over  liis  hody. 

'  Stephens,  m  Iiis  Journal  of  tlie  Proceedings  'Vide  Tyerman's  "Wesley,"!.,  pp.  157, 158  j 

(I.,  pp.  '2(38-270),  cliaracterizes  Anlionby  as  one  Journal,  i.,  pp.  54-56. 

whose  "eliaractcr  were  better  forgot,  than  rcmcm-  'Unpublished  Journal,  quoted  in  Tyerman's 

bcr'dtohis  inlaray."    Tie  was  "  a  great  devotee  to  "  Wesley,"  I.,  p.  159. 
rum,"  and  at  the  last  "  denied  any  Mediator,  and 


MISSIONARIES   OF   THE   CHUUCH  IN   GEORGIA.  34/) 

Dixon,  or  Dysou,'  in  his  cure,  Wesley,  on  the  lltli  of  Septemlier, 
resumed  his  duties,  preaching  from  the  text,  "It  must  needs  l)c  that 
oflences  come," and  then  proceeding  to  read  a  paper  "hich  he  had  first 
read  to  the  congregation  on  the  day  of  his  entrance  upon  his  cure,  and 
in  whicli  he  had  announced  his  pui'pose  of  obedience  to  tlie  nibrics 
and  canons  of  the  Church,  in  the  very  particulars  for  which  he  had 
been  faulted  by  the  court.  The  services  were  now  multiplied.  Prayers 
were  read  in  French,  on  Satui'days,  in  the  little  settlement  of  that  [jcople 
at  Highgate,  five  miles  from  Savannah,  and  similar  services  were  ren- 
dered on  Sundays  to  the  French  immediately  within  his  charge.  Ger- 
man services  were  held,  once  each  week,  at  the  village  of  Hampstciid. 
Prayers  were  read  in  Italian  at  nine  on  Sunday  mornings  ;  and  all  this  was 
done  in  connection  with  three  services,  including  the  weekly  Eucharist, 
in  English,  together  with  a  public  catechising,  and  an  informal  gather- 
ing on  Sunday  evenings  for  reading,  prayer,  and  praise.  It  was,  how- 
ever, but  for  a  brief  period  that  these  "  labors  more  abundant  "  were 
to  be  performed  for  the  benefit  of  the  colonists.  The  congregation 
dwindled.  But  few  presented  themselves  to  receive  the  weekly  sacra- 
ment. Discord  reigned,  and  scandal  abounded  on  every  side.  An 
attempt  at  reconciliation  failed.  Stephens,  the  secretary  of  the  trus- 
tees, who  arrived  the  last  of  October,  was  present  at  this  interview, 
and  notes  in  his  journal,  "that  though  the  Parson  appeared  more  tem- 
perate in  the  Debate,  yet  he  showed  a  greater  Aversion  to  a  coalition 
than  the  other."  The  return  of  Williamson  from  Charlestown  precipi- 
tated a  step  which  Wesley  and  his  friends  had  again  and  again  debated. 
On  the  23d  of  November  Wesley  "set  up  an  advertisement  in  the 
Great  Square,"  to  this  effect :  — 

Whereas,  John  Wesley  designs  shortly  to  set  out  for  England,  this  is  to  desire 
those  who  have  borrowed  any  books  of  him,  to  i-etum  them  as  soon  as  tliey  conven- 
iently can  to  John  Wesley.'' 

On  the  following  Sunday,  November  27,  the  first  Sunday  in 
Advent,  he  preached  from  Acts  xx.  26,  27.  Stephens,  who  was 
present,  records  that  he  "  took  occasion  to  explain  what  was  meant  by 
the  counsel  of  God  ;  and  enforced  the  practice  of  all  Christian  duties 
very  practically  ;  which  he  was  well  qualified  to  do  always.  Some 
people  imagined  from  the  choice  of  his  text  that  he  meant  it  as  a  sort 
of  Farewell  Sermon,  l)ut  it  did  not  appear  so  to  me  from  any  particular 
Expressions  that  could  shew  it."^  It  was,  however,  the  farewell  dis- 
course. At  the  close  of  the  week,  in  spite  of  a  show  of  opposition 
to  his  departure  on  the  part  of  both  Williamson  and  the  chief  magis- 
trate, Wesley,  after  evening  prayer,  left  by  boat  for  Purrysburg, 
twenty  miles  from  Savannah,  and  after  various  vicissitudes  set  sail  for 
England  from  Charleston,  on  the  22d  of  December,  having  resided  in 
Georgia  for  one  year  and  nearly  nine  months.  Mr.  Wesley's  journal 
while  in  Georgia  was  published  with  the  following  title  :  — 

'  "  Infamoiis  by  reason  of  a  scamlaloiis  life."  '  Stephens's  "  Hist,  of  Ga.,"  I.,  pp.  336,  337. 

—  Stephens^  8  Journal  of  Proceedings  in  Georgia,  ;' Stephens's    "Journal  of   Procecclin;rs    in 

I,  p.  304.  Ga.,"i.,  p.  U. 


346  HISTORY    OF   THE   AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

A    "N 

EXTRACT 

or    THE 

Rev.  Mr.  John  Wes lei's 

JOURNAL 

Fvom  his  Embai"king  for  Georgia, 
To  his  Retuj-n  t©  London. 


Wht'  fi^ll  we  fty  fhm? 7^/7/ ifjae!  %u/nc7)fei7ow'd. 

after  the  Lil^a  cf  RigUtecufnefi,   /jaf/j  net   attamed  to 

t/je  Lniu  of  Righteoajne/s.  W/ierefre  ?     Becaife 

thej  fcu^bt  it  not  6y  Faith,    hut  a.i  it  -wei-e  iy  tlie 
Works  (f  the  Latu. 


The  SzcpXD  Edition. 


Brijlol:   Printed  by  Feliy:  Farley, 

And  fold  by  tlie  Boo'kfeJIeTJ  of  Brlfnl,  Bat,),  London, 
J'luuca.flle  upon  fyne,  and  Exetei  ■,  —  a%  alio  by  Jn- 
dievu  BradfirJ.,  in  Philadelfhia. 

M-DCCXi-lJI. 


The  shipwhich  brought  "Wcslcyinto  the  Downs  passcdone  outward- 
bound,  1  )earing  to  the  mission  field  just  aliandoned  the  already  celebrated 
George  Whitelicld.  Drawn  by  the  appeals  of  "Wesley  for  help,  this  young 
clergyman,  but  just  admitted  to  the  diaoonatc,  had  resolved  to  throw  in 
his  lot  Avith  the  infant  colony.  It  was  at  no  little  sacrifice  that  he  had 
taken  this  step.  Of  huml)le  origin,  he  had  made  his  Avay  through  the 
University  of  Oxford  as  a  servitor  at  Pembroke  College .  "\A'hile  ]irose- 
cuting  his  studies  he  had  been  drawn  into  acquaintance  Avithllie  Oxfoi'd 


MISSIONARIES   OF  THE   CHURCH   IN   GEORGIA.  347 

]\Ietliodists,  and  ou  taking  holy  orders  he  began  at  once  to  produce 
by  bis  marvellous  eloquence  that  effect  upon  his  heai'ers  which  con- 
tinued to  his  latest  l)reath.  Crowds  followed  him  from  church  to 
churcii  wherever  it  was  known  that  he  was  to  preach,  and  all  classes 
were  moved  by  his  commanding  oratory.  Preferment  was  pressed 
upon  him ;  but,  refusing  all  offers,  he  accepted  the  post  of  a  mission 
in  Georgia  from  the  venerable  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the 
Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts.  Never  before  had  so  young  a  preacher  pro- 
duced such  an  impression  in  England.  His  youth,  his  style  of  preach- 
ing, his  boldness  in  reproving  sin,  his  surpassing  eloquence,  won  every 
heart.  It  cannot  l)ut  surprise  us  that  one  so  successful,  and  before 
whom  there  opened  the  prospect  of  the  highest  honors  and  offices  of 
the  Church,  should  turn  aside  from  the  plain  path  to  preferment  to 
minister  to  the  spiritual  wants  of  a  few  disappointed  and  dispirited 
colonists  in  a  distant  land. 

Whitefield  left  London  on  Innocents'  day,  December  28,  1737. 
After  receiving  the  sacrament  at  St.  Dunstan's,  Whitefield  set  out  for 
Deptford,  and  on  the  30th  went  on  board  the  "  Whitaker,"  a  transport 
chartered  to  carry  soldiers  to  Georgia.  It  was  several  weeks,  how- 
ever, before  the  ship  got  fairly  to  sea,  being  detained  by  head-winds 
at  Margate  and  Deal,  and  it  was  not  until  May  that  Georgia  was 
reached. 

On  the  evening  of  Rogation  Sunday,  May  7,  1738,  Whitefield 
reached  the  parsonage-house  at  Savannah.  The  services  of  the  Church 
had  been  suspended  for  some  time,  the  unworthy  chaplain,  Dyson,  hav- 
ing removed  to  Carolina,  and  the  coming  of  a  clergyman  was  welcomed 
by  all.  On  Monday,  at  five  o'clock  in  the  morning,  he  "  began  to  read 
Publick  Prayers,  and  expound  the  second  lesson."'  Prostrated  by 
an  attack  of  ague  almost  immediately  on  his  arrival,  it  was  not  until 
the  Sunday  after  Ascension,  May  14,  that  he  was  able  to  resume  the 
services  he  had  so  vigorously  inaugurated.  Stephens,  the  careful 
chronicler  of  the  daily  life  of  the  colony,  records  under  this  date  a 
notice  of  this  service,  as  follows  :  — 

Mr.  Whitefield  being  a  little  recovered,  attomptcxl  to  officiate  at  Cliurch ;  but 
by  Reason  of  his  Wealjness  was  obliged  to  stop  at  the  Communion  Service.'-' 

The  Secretary,  a  week  later,  makes  the  following  note:  — 

Whitsunday,  Mr.  Whitefield  officiated  this  day  at  Cliurch,  and  made  a  Sermon 
in  the  tbrenoon  and  After,  very  engaging,  to  the  most  tlu-onged  Congregation Ihail 
ever  seen  here.^ 

On  Trinity  Sunday  we  are  told  that "  Mr.  Whitefield  daily  manifested 
his  great  abilities  in  the  jNlinistry,  and  as  his  Sermons  were  very  moving, 
it  was  hoped  they  would  make  due  impression  on  his  numerous  Hear- 
ers."^ A  week  later,  and  the  "Place  of  Worship"  had  "become  far 
too  small  to  contain  the  numbers  of  such  as  sought  his  Doctrine."^ 

■■  The  Two  Fir^t  Parts  of  IIi3  Lilc,  witli  his  '  Journal,  i.,  p.  201. 

.Tournalg,  reviseil,  corrected  and  abrid^^ed;    hy  '  J/jid.,  \>. '2iH. 

Rev.   George  Whitefield,  .V.B.,  Loudon,  1736,  » IbU.,  p.  208. 

p.  83.  »/iW..  p.  211. 


348  HISTORY   OF  THE  AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

Early  in  June,  after  five  weeks'  residence  in  Savannah,  Whitefield,  in 
a  letter  to  a  friend  in  England,  thus  describes  his  Georgia  life  :  — 

Blessed  be  God,  I  visit  from  house  to  house,  catechize,  read  prayers  twice,  and 
expound  the  two  second  lessons  every  day ;  read  to  a  houseful  of  people  three  times 
a  week  ;  expound  the  two  lessons  at  five  in  tlie  morning,  read  prayers  and  preacli 
twice,  and  expound  the  catechism  to  servants,  &c.,  at  seven  in  the  evening  every 
Sunday.  What  I  have  most  at  heart  is  the  Ijuikling  an  Orphan-house,  which  I 
trust  will  be  etlectcd  at  my  return  lo  England.  In  the  meanwhile,  I  am  settling 
little  scliools  in  and  about  S;ivannah  ;  that  the  rising  generation  may  be  bred  up  in 
die  nurture  and  admonition  of  the  Lord.  The  Lord  prosper  my  weak  endeavours 
for  promoting  His  Glory  and  His  people's  good.' 

The  Indians,  for  the  conversion  of  whom  the  Wesle3^s  had  again 
and  again  sought  an  opportunity  in  vain,  were  at  once  sought  out  by 
this  tireless  evangelist  and  instructed  so  for  as  it  was  within  his  power. 
The  side  were  visited  every  day,  and  schools  for  children  were  estab- 
lished at  Highgate  and  Hampstead,  and  for  the  girls  at  Savannah. 
He  had  brought  with  him  £300  he  had  collected  for  the  poor  in 
Georgia :  and  the  nqed  of  the  benefactions  he  distributed,  and  the 
gratitude  of  the  recipients  of  his  charity,  prompted  his  generous  heart 
to  further  eflbrts  for  the  relief  of  the  miseiy  about  him.  Impressed 
with  "the  great  necessity  and  utility  of  a  future  Orphan-house,"  he; 
determined  at  once  to  supply  this  need.  "  When  I  came  to  Georgia," 
writes  Whitefield :  — 

1  fomid  many  poor  orphans,  who  though  taken  notice  of  by  the  honourable 
trustees,  yet  through  the  neglect  of  persons  that  acted  under  them,  were  in  miser- 
able circumstances.  For  want  of  a  house  to  In-eed  them  up  in,  the  poor  little  ones 
were  tabled  out  here  and  there,  and  besides  the  hurt  they  received  by  bad  examples, 
forgot  at  home  what  they  learned  at  school.  Others  >vcre  at  hard  sendees,  and 
likely  to  have  no  education  at  all.  Upon  seeing  this,  and  finding  that  his  majesty 
and  parliament  had  the  interest  of  this  colony  much  at  heart,  I  thought  I  could  iio"t 
better  shew  my  regard  to  God,  and  my  country,  than  by  getting  a  house  and  land 
forthese  children,  where  they  might  learn  to  laboiu',  read,  and  write,  and  at  the  same 
time  1)6  brought  up  in  the  nurture  and  admonition  of  the  Lord.^ 

Whitefield  remained  in  Georgia  until  August,  continuing,  as 
Stephens  tells  us,  in  "captivating  the  people  with  his  moving  dis- 
courses."^ I\ela.\ing  somewhat  the  rubrical  exactness  of  his  predeces- 
sor, he  baptized  children  by  sprinkling  or  affusion,  "  which  gave  a 
great  content  to  many  people."^  His  faithfulness  and  devotion  pro- 
duced happy  results,  and  we  have  the  testimony  of  a  keen  observer 
that  he  "  gained  more  and  more  on  the  atfections  of  the  people  by  his 
labours  and  assiduity  in  the  performance  of  di^'ine  Offices  ;  to  which 
an  open  and  easy  deportment,  without  shew  of  austerity  or  singularity 
of  behaviour  in  conver.sation,  contributed  not  a  little,  and  opened  the 
way  for  him  to  inculcate  good  precepts  with  greater  success  among  his 
willing  hearers."  ^  Refusing  to  read  the  burial-service  over  a  pro- 
fessed deist,  he  seized  the  opportunity  ere  the  people  had  left  the 
place  of  interment  to  warn  them  against  infidelity,  and  explain  the 
reasons  for  his  course. 

'  The  Works  of  the  Rev.  Geovse  Whitefield,  »  Joiirunl,  i.,  p.  222.        '  lOid.,  p.  222. 

LondoQ,  1771, 1.,  r-  W.        =  Ihid.,  in.,  p.  464.  '■  IbiJ.,  p.  234. 


MISSIONARIES   OF   THE   CHURCH   IN   GEORGIA. 


349 


On    the    thirteenth    Sunday    after   Trinity,    August    27,    "Mr. 
Whitefield  preached  his  farewell  sermon  this  afternoon  to  a  congre- 


^^^i^^^^ 


fixation  so  crowded,  that  a  great  many  stood  without  doors,  and  under 
the  windows  to  hear  him,  pleased  with  nothing  more  than  the  assur- 
ances he  gave,  of  his  intention  (hy  the  will  of  God)  to  return  to  them 
as  soon  as  possible."^     The  following  day  he  took  his  departure  for 


'  Fi'om  the  porti-ait  now  liati;^Mu;^  in  Meni(.>ri;i]  Hull,  Caml)rid<^e. 


'Jouniul,  I.,  p.  272. 


350  HISTORY   OF   THE   AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL   CHUBCH. 

Charleston,  the  magistrates  and  people  accompanying  him  to  the  place 
of  embarkation,  and  prayers  and  good  wishes  for  his  "good  voyage 
and  speedy  return "  being  heard  on  every  side.  In  his  journal  he 
adds : — 

My  heart  was  full,  and  I  took  the  first  Oppoitunity  of  venting  it  by  Prayer  and 
tears.  O  these  Partings!  Hasten,  O  Lord,  that  time  when  we  shall  part  nu 
more.' 

Whitefield  reached  England,  after  a  rough  passage,  early  in  Decem- 
ber, having  been  absent  nearly  a  twelvemonth.  On  the  second  Sun- 
day after  the  Epiphany,  the  14th  of  January,  1739,  at  Christ  Church 
Cathedral,  he  received  priest's  orders  from  the  hands  of  Dr.  Benson, 
Bishop  of  Gloucester ;  the  trustees  of  Georgia,  in  anticipation  of  his 
admission  to  the  priesthood,  having  given  him  the  appointment  to 
Christ  Church  Parish,  Savannah.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Norris,  who  had 
previously  been  appointed  to  succeed  Mr.  Wesley,  was  transfeiTed  to 
Frc'derica.  Five  hundred  acres  of  land  were  granted  to  Whitefield  for 
tlie  proposed  Orphan-house.  A  stipend  of  £50  was  attached  to  this 
appointment ;  but  this  was  declined,  as  well  as  any  remuneration  for  the 
management  of  the  Orjjhan-house.  By  his  unwearied  efforts  he  col- 
lected upwards  of  a  thousand  pounds  for  this  purpose,  and  secured  suit- 
al>le  assistants  for  carrying  on  the  charity.  The  interval  prior  to  his 
return  to  Georgia  was  one  of  intense  excitement.  The  preaching  of  "the 
doctrine  of  the  new  birth,"  as  explained  and  enforced  by  the  eloquent 
evangelist,  produced  the  wildest  enthusiasm.  Crowds  thronged  upon 
the  preacher's  words.  The  "  spirit  of  the  clergy  began  to  be  much  em- 
l^ittered."^  Churches  were  now  denied  him.  Remonstrances  and 
prohibitions  produced  no  other  effect  than  to  stimulate  him  to  fresh 
eflbrts  to  reach  the  masses,  if  not  from  pulpits,  by  taking  the  fields 
"  for  a  pulpit  and  the  heavens  for  a  sounding-board."  The  rude  col- 
liers of  Kingswood  crowded  to  listen  to  his  matchless  oratory.  Thou- 
sands gathered  again  and  again  at  Moorfields,  Kensington-Common, 
and  Blacklieath,  early  in  the  morning  or  late  at  night,  to  listen  to  his 
appeals  to  all  men  to  be  born  again.  By  his  zeal  and  power  he  turned 
the  hearts  of  his  hearers  as  the  heart  of  one  man.  Still  he  was  con- 
stant at  prayers  and  sacraments.  It  was  only  when  the  churches 
were  closed  to  him  that  he  sought  the  church-yards  or  commons  to 
"preach  the  word."  It  was  amidst  these  tokens  of  increasing  influence 
and  power  that  he  sailed  the  second  time  for  America,  August  14, 
1739,  with  a  party  of  eight  men,  a  boy,  and  two  children,  besides  his 
friend  and  future  companion,  Mr.  William  Seward. 

After  a  voyage  of  nine  weeks  he  reached  Philadelphia  early  in 
November,  and  on  the  twentieth  Sunday  after  Trinit}^  read  prayers 
and  assisted  at  the  holy  communion  at  Christ  Church  in  the  morning, 
preaching  in  the  afternoon  to  a  large  congregation.  A  week  of  ser- 
vices and  sermons  followed,  the  church  being  daily  thronged  to  its 
utmost  capacity.  Journeying  to  New  York,  Commissary  Vesey  re- 
fused him  the  use  of  Trinity  Church ;  but  the  undeterred  evangelist 

'  The  two  First  Parts  of  his  Life,  etc.,  p.  95.  =  Works,  in.,  p.  464. 


MISSIONARIES    OF    THE    CHITRCH    IN    GEORGIA. 


351 


preached  to  thousands  in  the  tields  and  in  other  places  of  worship 
freely  oflercd  for  his  use.  On  his  journeyings  he  ne<^leeted  no  oi)|ior- 
tunity,  in  churches  or  elsewhere,  to  proclaim  the  unsearchahlc  riches  of 
Christ,  and,  although  hi.s  tield  preaching  cost  him  the  countenance  and 
support  of  many  of  his  In-ethren  of  the  cloth,  still  others  welcomed 
him  to  their  puljiits  and  their  homes,  and  so  great  Merc  the  (U^mands 
made  iqion  him  for  sermons  that  it  Avas  not  until  the  11th  of  January, 
1739/40,  that  he  reached  .Savannah,  and  found  that  his  companions, 
who  had  come  by  sea,  had  arrived  three  weeks  before  him. 

Before  his  coming,   !Mr.   Habersham,  who,  as  school-master  and 
lay-reader,  had  done  much  to  keeji  alive  both  church  and  school  during 


Whitetield's  absence,  had  selected  the  site  for  the  Or|)han-house  about 
nine  miles  from  Savannah,  and  had  begun  to  collect  material  for  the 
future  orphanage.  In  the  meantime  temporai'V  shelter  was  pi-ovided 
for  the  orphans  found  in  the  colony,  and  in  connection  with  these 
instructions  an  opportunity  was  offered  for  the  free  education  of  chil- 
dren of  the  colonists.  An  infirmary  was  also  established,  and  the 
sick  were  cared  for  by  an  experienced  surgeon,  without  charge.  f)n 
Lady-day,  Tuesda}',  Alarch  2r>,  the  first  brick  of  "great-houso"  was 
laid,  as  AVhitefield  tells  it,'  "with  full  assurances  of  faith."  It  Avas 
called  "Bethesda,"  in  the  hope  that  it  might  be  "a  house  of  mercy  to 
many  souls."     He  was  not,  he  tells  us,  "  disappointed  in  his  hope." 

Stephens,  Avhose  journal  gives  us  so  many  glimpses  of  the  inner 
life   of  the   colony-,  records,  under   date  of  March  11,  a  notice  of  a 

'  Jourual,  J).  335. 


352  HISTORY   OF  THE  AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

burial,  which  affords  an  interesting  exhibition  of  some  of  the  peculiari- 
ties of  the  great  "  missioner :"  — 

An  old  woman  of  Mr.  AVliitefield's  Household,  who  came  hither  among  others 
when  he  did,  djing  last  ni^lit,  was  bm-ied  this  evening  with  a  solemn  Funeral; 
thirty  or  forty  little  Boys  and  Girls,  walking  in  pairs,  paitly  orjjhans,  and  others, 
whom,  with  their  parents'  request  or  consent,  he  had  taken  under  his  care,  sung 
Psalms  as  they  went  to  the  Church ;  then  followed  jMr.  Whitefiekl,  and  after  him 
the  corpse,  half-a-dozen  distinguished,  chosen  men,  holding  up  the  pall,  aud  a  num- 
ber of  mixed  people,  to  close  the  procession,  joined  them  as  they  came  by.  Many 
people  were  gathered  together  at  the  Chm'ch,  waiting,  where,  after  the  usual 
prayers,  Mr.  Whitelield  gave  Ihem  a  Sermon,  h  propos,  on  the  words,  Watch  and 
Pray.  After  church  the  corpse  was  can-ied  to  the  common  place  of  burial,  and 
interred  in  the  ordinary  manner. ' 

Little  by  little  during  these  days,  and  weeks,  and  months.  White- 
field  had  begun  that  affiliation  with  dissenters  which,  in  the  end, 
arrayed  against  him,  and  in  opposition  to  his  modes  of  operation,  the 
leading  clergy  of  the  Church  at  home  and  abroad.  Churches  had  been 
closed  against  him  iu  England  while  he  was  there  in  quest  of  priest's 
orders.  Churches  were,  now  and  henceforth,  to  be  liarred  against 
him  throughout  the  American  settlements.  Welcomed  by  the  dissent- 
ers, and  receiving  from  them  that  sympathy  and  support  he  failed  to 
obtain  in  his  own  communion,  Whitefiekl  still  clung  to  the  prayer- 
book,  and  to  his  latest  day  of  life  continued  in  the  communion  of  the 
Church  of  his  birth  and  baptism.  The  service  of  the  Church  was  read 
at  Bethesda  twice  every  Sunday  from  its  institution,  as  long  as  Mr. 
Whitefield  lived.  Nearly  eighty  thousand  dollars  were  collected  by 
Whitefield  for  Bethesda,  of  which  upward  of  sixteen  thousand  dollars 
were  given  by  the  evangelist  himself. 

In  June  Mr.  Whitefield  returned  from  a  journey  to  the  north- 
ward with  a  body  of  lay  assistants,  of  various  mechanical  trades,  and 
a  large  supply  of  provisions  and  clothing  for  his  Bethesda  household, 
together  with  £500  sterling  for  the  use  of  the  Orphan-house.  Re- 
suming his  ministerial  work  at  Savannah,  it  was  noticed  by  Stephens, 
to  whose  keen  observation  we  owe  so  many  particulars  of  the  church 
life  in  Georgia  at  this  time,  that  "the  surplice  for  some  time  past 
seemed  to  be  laid  aside  as  useless."^  Still  the  building  of  a  church 
at  Savannah,  which  had  hitherto  been  neglected,  was  now  set  on  foot. 
But  dissenting  preachers  occupied  the  pulpit  at  the  temporary  place 
of  worship  from  time  to  tiiue.  The  prayers  were  curtailed.  The  inhi- 
bition of  Commissary  Garden  was  unheeded.  The  bishops  were  pub- 
licly derided,  and  their  theology  held  up  to  scorn.  In  August  Mr. 
Whitefield  again  set  out  on  his  journey,  leaving  his  cure  in  the  hands 
of  such  Auiiltaptist  or  enthusiastic  preachers,  or  laymen,  as  he  found 
ready  at  hand  for  his  purpose.  The  more  sober-minded  of  the  people 
were  now  impatient  for  the  appointment  of  "a  regular  Divine  of  the 
Church  of  England."  "All  true  lovers  of  the  Church  here,"  writes 
Stephens,  — 

Have  been  at  a  great  straight  for  a  long  while,  not  well  knowng  how  to 
behave  under  such  a  torrent  of  enthusiasm  and  strange  doctrine,  brought  m  among 

'  .louinal,  I.,  p.  312.  ^Journal,  ii.,  p.  413. 


MISSIONARIES  OF  THE  CHURCH  IN  GEORGIA.  353 

us  by  sectaries  of  divers  sorts,  whilst  the  Liturgy  in  most  parts  of  tho  several 
offices  has  been  either  curtailed,  manned,  or  omitted ;  the  Psalms  and  orilinarv 
Lessons  appointed,  liave  been  disregarded,  to  make  room  for  extemporary  exposi- 
tions, on  any  part  of  Holy  Scripture  which  the  Expositor  liked  better  for  his  pur- 
pose. Surplice,  gown,  cassock,  and  all  such  innocent  decencies  have  been  thrown 
aside  as  useless,  or  worse ;  whilst  the  orthodox  clergy  of  the  Chm'ch  have  been 
vilely  treated  with  ribaldry,  as  slothful  shepherils,  dumb  dogs,  etc.,  and  some  of 
our  learned  and  pious  Divines,  once  the  ornament  of  the  age  they  lived  in,  now 
in  their  graves,  vilified  to  that  degree  (from  the  pulpit)  by  name  as  to  attempt 
persuading  all  those  who  followed  them,  that  it  was  the  sure  way  to  hell.' 

On  Whitefield's  return,  in  December,  the  use  of  the  surplice  was 
restored,  but  the  Christmas  service  was  read  by  a  layman,  and  no 
sacrament  was  administered,  as  "Mr.  VVhiteiield  staid  with  his  family 
at  Bethesda  —  the  better  to  avoid  (as  some  thought)  making  any  dis- 
tinction of  days."'^ 

The  following  Sunday,  Innocents'  day,  was  spent  in  the  same 
manner.  Before  the  holydays  were  over  he  had  arranged  the  aflairs 
of  the  Orphan-house,  and,  on  Monday,  the  29th,  as  we  learn  from 
the  observing  Stephens,  — 

In  tlie  afternoon  Mr.  Whitefield  came  to  town  fi'om  Bethesda ;  in  the  evening 
he  began  the  Common  Sonice  of  the  Church,  then  read  the  second  Lesson,  and  pro- 
ceeded to  give  the  congregation  a  lecture,  off-hand,  on  those  topicks  which  he  was 
always  so  fond  of,  concerning  Election,  Reprobation,  etc.,  asserting  it  against  all 
gainsayers,  that  unless  we  attain  to  such  a  portion  of  the  Holy  Spirit  witliin  us, 
and  so  sensibly  feel  it  moving  as  to  assm'e  us  of  our  being  justified,  we  were  all  in 
a  state  of  damnation ;  which  he  did  so  pathetically,  that  he  not  only  dropt  tears 
himself,  but  drew  many  tears  and  gi-oans  from  gi-eat  i)art  of  his  audience  ;  after 
which,  he  laid  aside  the  Common  I'rayer  Book ;  and  instead  of  those  Prayers  that 
remained  to  be  read,  he  fell  into  a  long  extemporary  prayer  of  his  own,  full  of 
flatus  and  entliusiasm,  and  uttered  with  a  Stentor's  voice,  bewailing  the  little  num- 
ber of  converts  he  had  been  able  to  make  during  the  time  of  his  ministiy ;  lament- 
ing the  forlorn  state  of  the  colony  through  the  hardness  of  their  hearts,  which  he 
plainly  saw  could  never  pi'osper  till  this  generation  was  all  worn  out,  like  the 
Israelites  in  the  wilderness ;  and  intimating  that  his  Oq^han-house  was  a  work  of 
God,  from  which  future  blessings  might  be  dei'ived  to  this  ])lace ;  then  cautioning 
all  to  beware  of  such  as  preached  soft  things  he  dismissed  his  audience  taking  a 
formal  leave  of  them.^ 

The  following  day  he  left  for  Charleston.  Here  he  was  bound 
over  to  appear  at  the  next  quarter  session  of  the  court  for  having  "  com- 
posed a  false,  malicious,  scandalous,  and  infamous  libel  against  the 
clergy."  This  charge  was  made  in  consequence  of  the  appearance,  in 
print,  of  a  letter  written  by  one  of  AVhitefield's  converts,  which  had 
been  corrected  and  prepared  for  the  press  by  AVhitefield  himself,  in 
which  it  was  asserted  that  the  clergy  in  the  province  were  guilty  of 
breaking  the  canons  daily.*  The  commissary,  whose  authority  White- 
field  had  openly  ridiculed,  laid  the  erratic  evangelist  under  suspension 
for  omitting  the  use  of  the  "Book  of  Common  Prayer,"  when  officiating 
to  dissenters.  Whitefield,  who  rejoiced  in  persecution,  gave  security 
for  his  appearance  to  answer  to  the  charges  against  him,  and  appealed 
to  the  authorities  at  home. 

1  Journal,  III.,  p.  67.  '  Ibid.,  pp.  82-84. 

'  Ibid.,  pp.  80-81.  *  ride  Works,  i.,  p.  231. 


354  HISTORY   OF  THE   AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

Whitefield's  attacks  on  the  "  Whole  Duty  of  Man,"  and  Archbishop 
Tillotson,  "England's  Two  great  Favorites,"'  though  possibly,  as  he 
claimed,  "well-meant,"  were,  as  he  confessed,  "injudicious."  He  had 
fallen  out  with  Wesley.  His  own  converts  now  deserted  him.  On 
his  return  to  England  he  tells  us  ^  that,  instead  of  having  thousands 
to  attend  him,  scarce  one  of  his  spiritual  children  came  to  sec  him  from 
morning  to  night.  The  crowds  that  were  wont  to  throng  to  his  mar- 
vellous  oratory  dwindled  to  hundreds.  He  had  incurred  heavy  obliga- 
tion for  the  support  of  his  Orphan-house,  while  "  a  family  of  a 
hundred  "  were  "  to  1)e  daily  maintained  four  thousand  miles  oti",  in  the 
dearest  place  of  the  King's  dominions."  But  nothing  could  long  re- 
strain the  ardor  or  dampen  the  enthusiasm  of  this  extraordinary  man. 
On  the  Good  Friday  after  his  return  from  Georgia  he  began  preach- 
ing in  Moorfield.  Soon  a  rouirh  "  Taljeraacle  "  was  erected  for  his 
use,  and  ere  long  his  indomitaljle  zeal  and  tireless  activity  had  re- 
gained his  former  poj^ularity  and  influence.  The  debts  contracted  for 
the  Orphan-house  were  discharged.  Aliundant  oiTerings  poured  in 
from  every  side,  and  the  loving  heart  of  the  great  "  Missioner  "  was 
tilled  with  praise  and  thanksgiving  to  God. 

In  the  meantime  the  "  great  house "  at  Bethesda  was  rapidly 
approaching  completion,  and  the  other  buildings,  for  dormitories, 
workshops,  and  storehouses,  were  already  in  use.  Before  leaving  for 
England  Whiteficld  had  not  only  secured  the  services  of  a  Latin  master, 
but,  in  his  own  words,  had  "  laid  a  foundation  in  the  name  of  our  dear 
Jesus  for  an  University  in  Georgia."^  At  the  beginning  of  the  year  1742 
there  were  thirty-nine  boys  and  fifteen  girls  supported  at  Bethesda, 
several  of  the  larger  Ijoys  who  had  been  instructed  at  the  house 
having  been  already  apprenticed  to  trades.  A  visitor  from  Boston 
gives  us  in  detail  the  daily  routine  of  the  house  at  this  time  :  — 

The  bell  rings  in  the  morning  at  sunrise,  to  wake  the  family.  When  the 
children  arise,  they  sing  a  sliort  hymn,  and  pray  by  themselves ;  then  they  go  down 
and  wash ;  and  by  the  time  they  have  done  that,  the  bell  calls  to  public  worship, 
when  a  portion  of  scripture  is  read  and  expounded,  a  psalm  sung,  and  the  exercise 
begun  and  ended  with  prayer.  Then  they  breakfast,  and  afterward  go  some  to 
their  trades,  and  the  rest  to  their  prayers  and  schools.  At  noon  they  all  dine  in 
the  same  room,  and  have  comfortable  and  wholesome  diet  provided.  A  liymn  is 
sung  before  and  after  dinner;  then  in  about  half  an  hour  to  school  again;  and 
between  whiles  find  time  enough  for  recreation.  A  little  after  simset  the  bell  calls 
to  public  duty  again,  which  is  performed  in  the  same  manner  as  in  the  morning. 
After  that  they  sup,  and  are  attended  to  bed  by  one  of  their  teachers,  who  then 
pray  with  them,  as  they  often  do  priv.ately.  On  the  sabbath  day,  they  all  dine  on 
cold  meat  provided  the  day  before,  that  none  may  be  kept  from,  public  worshiii, 
which  is  attended  four  times  a  day  in  summer  and  three  in  winter.  The  children 
are  kejjt  reatling  between  whiles.'' 

The  itinerant  life  of  Whitefield  made  it  necessary  that  he  should  be 
relieved  of  the  charge  of  the  church  at  Savannah,  and,  after  the  return 
of  the  Rev.  William  Norris,  who  had  met  with  much  discouragement 
at  Frederica,  and  whose  ministrations  at  Savannah  were  the  less  accepta- 
ble in  view  of  calumnies  that  had  been  raised  against  his  character, 

'  Gillies's  Mcmoii-9,  p.  68.  *  Letters,  \V0rk3,  :.,  p.  185. 

■■'  Works,  I.,  p.  256.     •  *  Works,  in.,  pp.  «7,  448. 


MISSIONARIES   OF  THE   CHURCH  IN   GEORGIA.  355 

the  trustees  appointed  the  Rev.  William  Metcalf,  of  Lincolnshire,'  as 
incumbent  of  the  church  at  Savannah.  Metcalf,  though  impatiently 
expected  at  Savannah,-  died  before  entering  upon  his  duties.  On  the 
25th  of  July,  1741,  the  Kov.  Christopher  Orton  recived  the  appoint- 
raen-t ;  but  his  labors  were  shortly  terminated  by  his  decease  at  Savannah, 
in  August,  1742.  On  the  4th  of  July,  1743,  the  Rev.  Thomas 
Bosomworth  was  licensed  to  perform  all  religious  and  ecclesiastical 
offices  in  the  colony.  He  reached  Georgia  in  November,  and  pro- 
ceeded to  Frederica,  "there  I)eing  at  that  place  and  parts  adjacent 
near  a  thousand  souls  (the  regiment  included) ,  destitute  of  all  man- 
ner of  helps  to  Christian  knowledge."  ^  Here  the  congregation  was 
larger  than  the  place  of  worship  "  could  well  contain."  The  children 
were  catechised  by  the  new  missionary,  and  the  fundamental  articles  of 
the  faith  "  explained  in  the  most  easy  and  intelligible  manner."  But  the 
missionary  zeal  of  the  chaplain  was  of  short  duration.  The  better  "  to 
carry  on  the  great  work  of  promoting  Christian  knowledge  amongst 
the  natives  of  America,"  as  Bosomworth  professed  in  his  letter  to  the 
venerable  society  on  the  8th  of  July,  1744,  he  "married  a  woman  of 
unexceptionable  character,  born  in  the  Creek  Indian  nation,  but  brought 
up  in  Carolina,  baptized,  and  well  instructed  in  the  principles  of  Chris- 
tianity." In  this  alliance  with  an  Indian  "  princess,"  who  had  been  twice 
married  before,  and  in  both  cases  to  Englishmen,  Bosomworth  could 
have  had  no  other  end  in  view  than  personal  aggrandizement.  Dis- 
missed from  the  society's  service  for  leaving  his  cure  without  per- 
mission, on  his  return  to  Georgia  he  instigated  an  outbreak  on  the  part 
of  the  Indians,  with  a  view  of  enforcing  a  claim  on  behalf  of  his  wife 
against  the  colony,  for  a  large  sum  due  for  unquestioned  services. 
No  little  ingenuity  and  boldness  was  shown  in  the  prosecution  of  these 
schemes  by  the  chaplain,  who,  in  full  canonicals  and  accompanied  hy  his 
wife,  in  all  the  insignia  of  her  native  dignity,  together  with  their 
savage  allies,  sought,  by  a  display  of  their  strength,  to  terrify  the 
people  of  Savannah  into  compliance  with  their  demands.  Nothing  but 
the  prompt  and  daring  arrest  and  imprisonment  of  the  doughty  priest 
and  his  Indian  bride  averted  a  calamity  which  would  have  left  Savannah 
in  ashes,  and  put  back  the  settlement  of  Georgia  for  years. 

Bosomworth  was  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  Bartholomew  Zouber- 
buhler,  a  native  of  the  canton  of  St.  Gall,  in  Switzerland,  who  had 
emigrated  while  a  youth  to  South  Carolina,  where  his  father  was 
pastor  of  the  Swiss  settlers  at  Purrysburg.  Receiving  a  good 
English  and  classical  education  at  Charleston,  and  being  desirous  of 
ministering  to  his  countiymen,  he  \vas  recommended  to  the  Bishop 
of  London  for  orders  by  Commissary  Garden.  Licensed  to  Georgia, 
on  the  2d  of  November,  1745,  he  set  sail  two  days  later,  and  reached 
Frederica  on  the  22d  of  January,  1746.  The  ministry  of  this  excel- 
lent man  was  not  without  success.  Many  who  had  wandered  from 
the  Church  returned.  The  number  of  communicants,  which  at  the 
coming  of  Zouberbuhler  was  but  thirty,  within  the  first  year  of  his 
ministration  increased  to  upward  of  fifty.     After  three  years  of  labor 

'  Vide  Georgia  MS.,  p.  8.  '  Stephens's  Journal,  ni.,  p.  160.  '  Georgia  MS.,  p.  2. 


356  HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

he  returned  to  England,  "  with  ample  testimonials  of  his  good  behaivor," 
and,  in  his  petition  to  the  society  for  additional  laborers,  he  stated, 
"  there  are  now  about  three  thousand  persons  in  Georgia,  and  no 
other  minister  of  the  Church  of  England  in  the  province."  Returning 
to  Georgia  at  the  close  of  the  year  1749,  he  resumed  his  abundant 
labors,  visiting  the  neighboring  towns,  and  extending  his  ministrations 
on  every  hand.  At  Augusta  the  settlers  themselves  built  a  church 
under  cover  of  the  guns  of  the  fort,  and  promised  to  provide  both  a 
parsonage-house  and  a  glebe,  as  well  as  £20  stei'ling  per  annum  for  a 
minister.  The  Eev.  Jonathan  Copp,  A.M.,  was  appointed  to  this 
mission,  in  1751.  It  was  under  the  ministry  of  the  faithful  Zouber- 
buhler  that  the  church  at  Savannah,  begun  on  the  11th  of  June, 
1740,  "a  few  load  of  stones  being  brought  and  laid  down  in  the 
place  where  it  is  intended  to  stand,"  '  was  tinally  completed.  INIeans 
in  abundance  were  supplied  by  the  trustees  and  others  ;  but  the  absorb- 
ing interest  felt  in  Bethesda  by  Whitefield  and  the  want  of  faithful 
clergymen  subsequently,  hindered  the  progress  of  the  building,  and  one 
year  after  the  beginning  of  the  work  Stephens,  in  a  letter  to  the 
trustees,  reported  that  it  was  yet  unfinished:  "The  roof  of  it  is 
covered  with  shingles,  but  as  to  the  sides  and  ends  of  it,  it  remains  a 
skeleton."  ^  The  trustees  ordered  the  work  to  be  proceeded  with  at 
once ;  but,  notwithstanding  their  bidding,  it  was  not  completed  until 
1750.  On  Saturday,  July  7,  the  "new  church"  was  set  apart  for 
God's  solemn  worship  and  the  ofSces  of  religion,  the  day  being  ob- 
served as  the  anniversary  of  the  establishment  of  the  first  court  of 
judicature,  seventeen  years  before,  and  also  as  the  anniversary  of  the 
defeat  of  the  Spanish  invaders  by  Oglethorpe.  "The  building," 
writes  Zouberbuhlcr,  "is  large,  beautiful,  and  commodious.  My 
parishioners  are  constant  in  their  attendance,  and  I  have  the  pleasure 
to  see  many  negi'oes  decently  join  our  service."  "  Thei'e  is  now  among 
us  an  increase  of  religion,"  proceeds  the  excellent  missionary.  Up- 
ward of  forty  negroes  were  under  Christian  instructions.  Religious 
books  were  sought  after,  and  the  notitia  jjarocldalis  transmitted  to 
the  society  reported  the  baptism  of  twenty-five  infants  and  one  adult, 
— a  negro  woman.  The  number  of  communicants  had  reached  sixty- 
five,  while  the  whole  number  of  inhabitants  was  eight  hundred. 
After  more  than  twenty  years  of  faithful  labor  the  good  Zouberbuhler 
found  his  church  insufficient  for  the  constantly  increasing  congregation. 
£300  sterling  was  appropriated  towards  repairs  and  the  erection  of 
a  gallery.  An  organ  was  provided  by  the  gift  of  a  gentleman  of 
Augusta,  and  £800  raised  and  put  out  at  interest  towards  a  fund  for 
building  a  new  church,  ninety  by  sixty  feet.  But,  in  the  midst  of  this 
prosperity,  the  excellent  missionary  was  called  to  his  rest.  The  Rev. 
Samuel  Frink,  who  had  served  acceptably  at  Augusta,  was  collated  hy 
the  governor  to  Christ  Church,  Savannah,  and  the  Rev.  Edward 
Ellington  was  appointed  to  the  vacant  cure  of  Augusta. 

From  time  to  time  the  Rev.  Mr.  Whitefield  had  visited  America, 
and,   in  the  course  of  his  progresses,  spent  more  or  less   time  at 

'  Stephens's  Journal,  ii.,  p.  403. 

^  Joui'ual  of  Trustees,  in.,  p.  27,  quoted  in  Stephens's  "  Georgia,"  I.,  p.  360. 


MISSIONARIES   OF  THE   CHURCH  IN   GEORGIA.  ■  357 

Bethcsda.  After  twenty-live  years  of  varied  fortune  the  founder  of 
this  excellent  charity  determined  to  enlarge  its  scope,  and  put  into 
execution  the  pui'poso  he  had  avowed,  almost  from  the  first,  of  found- 
ing a  iiniversify  in  Georgia.  At  the  close  of  the  year  17(J4  he 
memorialized  the  governor  and  council  of  Georgia,  reciting  his  ex- 
penditure of  upwards  of  twelve  thousand  pounds  sterling  in  the 
erection  of  the  buildings  and  in  the  support  of  the  inmates  of  the 
Orphan-house,  and  asking  for  a  grant  of  two  thousand  acres  of  land, 
on  the  river  Altamaha,  for  the  purpose  of  making  "  provision  for  tlie 
education  of  persons  of  superior  rank,  who  thereby  might  I^e  qualified 
to  serve  their  king,  their  country  and  their  God,  either  in  Church  or 
state." ^  The  assembly  of  the  upper  House,  of  which  Whitetield's 
former  school-master,  James  IIal)ersham,  was  president,  warmly  con- 
curred in  this  scheme  for  the  endowment  of  a  college.  The  action  of 
the  assembly  was  referred,  with  the  governor's  indorsement,  to  the 
authorities  at  home,  and  a  lengthy  correspondence  followed.  Although 
the  prayer  of  the  petitioner  was  not  immediately  granted,  the  inten- 
tions of  AVhitefield  were  not  frustrated.  On  Sunday,  January  28, 
1770,  the  governor's  council  and  asscml)ly  attended  services  "  at  the 
chapel  of  the  Orphan-house  Academy,"  where  prayers  were  read  by 
the  Rev.  ^h\  Ellington,  and  Mr.  Wiiitefield  preached  from  the  text, 
Zech.  iv.  10 :  J^or  who  hath  despised  (he  day  of  small,  things? 
"After  divine  services,"  proceeds  the  "Georgia  Gazette,"  "the  company 
were  very  politely  entertained  with  a  handsome  and  plentiful  dinner ; 
and  were  greatly  pleased  to  see  the  useful  improvements  made  in  the 
house,  the  two  additional  wings  for  apartments  for  students,  and  the 
lesser  buildings  in  so  much  forwardness,  and  the  whole  executed  with 
taste  and  in  a  masterly  manner ;  and  being  sensible  of  the  truly  gen- 
erous and  disinterested  benefactions  derived  to  the  province  through 
]\Ir.  Whitefield's  means,  they  expressed  their  gratitude  in  tlie  most 
respectful  terms. "^  Ellington  had  accepted  the  headship  of  the  pro- 
posed college  and  academy,  in  consequence,  as  he  writes  to  the  society, 
of  "Mr.  Whitefield's  intention  to  have  the  stated  worship  of  the  semi- 
nary agreeable  to  the  liturgy  of  the  Churchof  England."-'  In  the  removal 
of  Mr.  Ellington  from  Augusta  to  the  Bethesda  Orphan-house,  it 
was  intended,  as  he  acquainted  the  venerable  society,  that  its  "  oi'igiual 
institution  will  be  continued,  with  the  additional  advantages  of  academ- 
ical learning,  by  which  the  poor  youth,  of  a  promising  genius,  as 
well  as  others  whose  circumstances  permit,  may  have  an  opportunity 
of  obtaining  an  education,  to  qualify  them  to  move  in  a  more  superior 
station  of  life."''  He  had  baptized  upwards  of  four  hundred  at 
Augusta,  and  left  behind  him  nearly  forty  communicants.  His  aca- 
demic duties  were  so  arranged  as  to  permit  his  occasional  ministra- 
tions, both  in  Savannah  and  at  his  former  post  of  labor.  In  the  hands 
of  i\Ir.  Ellington  the  work  at  Bethesda  prosjiei'ed  ;  but  ere  the  year  of 
his  appointment  had  closed  the  great-hearted  Whitefield  had  rested  from 
his  labors,  and  in  his  death  the  prospects  for  the  development  of  the 
college  and  the  charity  received  a  fatal  blow.      The  chaplain  soon 

>  Woi-ks,  III.,  p.  470.  =  GiUics's  Mcmoii-s,  p.  265.  » Georgia  5IS.,  1770.         *  Ibid. 


358  HISTORY   OF   THE   AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

severed  his  connection  witli  the  institution,  and  removed  to  South 
Carolina.  On  Lady-day,  1771,  "the  anniversar}^  of  laying  the  foun- 
dation of  tiie  Orphan-house  Academy,  in  Georgia,"  the  late  chaplain 
preached  a  sermon,  which,  as  published  the  same  year,  by  James 
Johnston,  of  Savannah,  is  one  of  the  rarest  issues  of  the  Georgia  press. 

Chrift'i  Promife  to  be  frefent  where  two  or 
tJiree  7neet  together  in  his  Name : 

C  O  14  5  I  D  S  R  E  D     T  N     iL 

SERMON, 

Preached  tKe  25th  March,  1771,  the  Anni- 
versary of  LAYING  the  Foundation  of  the 
Orphan-House  Academy  in  Georgia, 

Before  his  Excellency  James  Wricht,  Efquire,  Cap- 
tain-General and  Governor  in  Chief,  and  a  great 
l^umber  of  the  principal  inhabitants  of  the  faid  Pro- 
vince,, al  the  Opening  of  the  ]Sb"w  Chapel  lately 
credetl  tfiere, 

By  EDWARD  ELLINGTON,   Ute  ChapUia 
at  the  fa  id  Houfe. 

With  an  APPENDIX,   givittg  a  fhort  Account 
of  the  Proceedings  on  that  Occafion. 


BIN"  theUoux  coTiuth,  and  now  is,  ijohen  the  true  TVovpip- 
faijball  wot/hip  the  Father  in  Spirit  ejuLtn  'J'Tu.th:  far 
ibt  Pathec  feeketh /nd>  to  worfbip  him.     John  iv,  2^. 


SAVANNAH:  Printed  by  James  Johkston. 


MISSIONARIES   OF  THE  CHURCH  IN  GEORGIA.  359 

On  this  anniversary  occasion  the  new  chapel  was  formally  opened, 
and  set  apart  for  the  worship  of  Almighty  God,  in  the  presence  of 
the  governor,  the  president,  and  many  members  of  the  council,  and  a 
large  number  of  the  principal  inhabitants  of  the  provinces.  vVn  address 
was  delivered  by  one  of  the  orphans,  prayers  were  read,  and  the  ser- 
mon preached.  Following  divine  service  there  were  literary  exercises, 
in  which  the  students  participated.  IMusic  was  furnished  by  the 
orphan  children,  and  "a  plain  and  plentiful  dinner  in  the  great  hall 
concluded  (he  celebration."  The  will  of  Whitelicld,  written  when 
last  at  Bcthesda,  conveyed  the  Orphan-house,  together  with  "all 
other  buildings,  lands,  negroes,  books,  furniture,  and  every  other 
thing  whatsoever  he  was  possessed  of  in  the  province  of  Georgia," 
"  to  that  elect  lady,  that  mother  in  Israel,  that  mirror  of  true  and  un- 
defiled  religion,  the  Right  Honorable  Selina,  Countess  Dowager  of 
Huntingdon."  ^ 

The  desire  was  expressed  that,  as  soon  as  possible  after  the  decease 
of  the  testator,  "the  plan  of  the  intended  Orphan-house,  Bcthesda  Col- 
lege, may  be  prosecuted,"  or  if  this  were  not  practicable,  or  desiralde, 
that  the  "  present  plan  of  the  Orphan-house  Academy  on  its  old  founda- 
tion and  usual  channel"  should  be  pursued.  The  Hon.  James  Haber- 
sham, president  of  the  Council  of  Georgia,  was  named  as  the  legatee 
in  the  event  of  Lady  Huntingdon's  decease  before  Whitefield's,  and  the 
executor  of  the  will  so  far  as  the  Georgia  property  was  concerned. 

There  is  little  more  to  be  said  to  complete  the  story  of  the  Church 
in  Georgia  prior  to  the  Revolution.  The  incumbent  at  Savannah,  the 
Rev.  James  Seymour,  who  succeeded  the  Rev.  Samuel  Friuk,  writes 
to  the  secretary,  in  1774,  as  follows:  — 

Lady  Huntingdon  h.as  likewise  sent  out  to  tlie  Orphan-liouse  Academy  in  tliis 
Province  four  youujj  men,  itinerant  lay-preacliers,  who  ride  about  in  tlie  different 
Parislies,  endeavouring  Isy  their  preaching  to  insinuate  themselves  into  the  good 
opinion  of  the  country  people,  for  the  puipose  of  obtaining  letters  recommendatory 
to  my  Lord  of  London.  One  of  these  in  particular,  by  the  name  of  Cook,  has  al- 
ready obtained  some  instruments  of  writing  to  tliat  jiurpose,  from  an  ignorant 
frontier  settlement,  not  yet  established  into  a  parish,  and  I  am  told,  that  ho  intends 
to  go  to  England  in  a  few  weeks.  The  names  of  the  other  three  are  Richards, 
Roberts  and  Hale.'' 

The  Rev.  "William  Percy,  who  had  been  sent  out  by  Lady  Hunt- 
ingdon to  take  charge  of  the  Orphan-house,  in  1772,  was  in  holy 
orders,  and  officiated  for  a  time  in  various  parts  of  Georgia.  Remov- 
ing to  Charleston  in  1773  he  took  the  popular  side  at  the  breaking 
out  of  the  war,  and  at  its  close,  having  separated  from  his  patroness,  in 
consequence  of  her  separation  from  the  Church,  he  became  a  useful  and 
honored  clergyman  of  the  Church  in  South  Carolina  till  his  death,  in  1819. 

The  war  broke  up  the  Orphan-house  Academy,  scattering  its  in- 
mates, and  depriving  it  of  revenue  and  support.  Its  buildings  were 
destroyed  during  the  struggle,  and  hardly  a  trace  remains  to-day  of  the 
proposed  university  in  Georgia,  for  the  establishment  of  which  its 
devoted  founder  gave  so  liberally  of  his  thoughts,  his  labors,  his 
means,  and  his  prayers. 

'  Appendix  to  Ellington's  sermon,  p.  32.  '  Georgia  MS.,  p.  1774. 


360 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 


ILLUSTRATIVE  NOTES. 

n'^HE  religious  character  of  the  Georgia  colonization  scheme  cannot  be  better  shown 
X  than  by  the  following  interesting  extracts  from  a  rare  folio  preserved  among 
the  Americana,  in  the  library  of  Harvard  College,  Cambridge,  Mass.,  entitled  :  — 

THE  I  GENERAL  ACCOMPT  |  of  all  |  ftlONIES  and  EF- 
FECTS I  Ileceived  and  Expended  by  the  TRUSTEES  |  For  Estab- 
lishing the  Colony  of  |  GEORGIA  in  AMERWA;  \  For  the  car- 
rying on  the  good  Purposes  of  their  Trust  for  |  one  Mhole  Year,  from 
the  Ninth  Day  of  June,  in  the  |  Year  of  our  Lord,  1735.  to  the  Ninth 
Day  of  June,  in  |  the  Year  of  our  Lord,  1736.  |  And  also  of  all 
Monies  and  Effects  received  and  expended  in  America  \  for  the  car- 
rying on  the  said  good  Purposes  between  the  10th  Day  of  |  January, 
1734  and  the  2d  Day  of  April,  173G.  taken  from  the  several  |  Ac- 
compts  thereof  received  by  the  said  TRUSTEES  within  the  |  Time 
of  this  AccoMPT.  I  Wiiicn  Accompt  is  exhibited  by  them,  pursuant 
to  the  Directions  |  of  their  CHARTER,  to  the  Right  Honourable 
Charles  Lord  Talbot,  \  Baron  of  TIensol,  Lord  High  Chancellor  of 
G7-eat  Britain,  and  |  Sir  Joseph  Jelnjll  Knight,  Master  of  the  Rolls. 


'735- 

2  Aiif^iist, 
4  Ditto 

12  Ditto 

4  Sept  em. 
II  Ditto 
23  Ditto 

6  October, 
17  Ditto 

31  Ditto 
15  Novem. 
26  Decent. 

3  Febr. 


(10) 
For  the  following  Religious  Uses  of  the  Colony,  viz. 


The  Building  of  Churches, 


viz.  From 


Mr.  Jos.  Bt(rfon 5 

"^U.  Richard  Phelps  oi  White  Chapel    ....  i 

An  unknown  Benefactor,  by  the  Hands  of  Mr.  Adam  > 

Anderson  .......        \ 

A   Gentlewoman  whose  Name  is  desired  to  be  con-  / 

cealed,  by  the  Hands  of  the  Reverend  Dr.  Hales      K       ^ 
An  unknown   Gentleman,  by  the    Hands   of  James  ) 

Oglethorpe  Esq ; \         ^ 

An  unknown   Gentlewoman,   by   the   Hands  of   the  ) 

Reverend  Dr.  Hales S 

A  Gentleman  who  desires   to   be   unknown,  by  the  ? 

Hands  of  the  Reverend  Mr.  Smith     .         .         .       \ 
An  unknown  Person  sent  in  a  Letter  to  Mr.  Madockcs" 

at  the  Bank  Z,.2o  :  :  for  the  Georgia  Trust ;  where-  >       20 

upon  the  Trustees  agreed  to  this  Appropriation  thereof 
A  Gentleman  who  desired  his  Name  to  be  concealed, 

by  the  Hands  of  the  Reverend  Mr.  Smith 
The  Reverend  Mr.  Charles  Hawtrey,  Sub-Dean  of  , 

Exeter,  by  the  Hands  of  Mr.  Robert  Bishop       .       '  ^ 

A  Lady  who  desires  to  be  unknown,  by  the  Hands  of  , 

the  Reverend  Dr.  Bundy   .....(  -" 

A  Gentlewoman  who  desires  to  be  unknown,  by  the  ? 

Hands  of  the  Reverend  Dr.  Hales      .         .         .       S 
The  Reverend  Mr.  Metcalfeoi  Sunbury,  in  Middlesc.v,  ^ 

by  the  same  Hands    ......       S 

A  Gentlewoman  who  desires  to  be  unknown,  by  the  ^ 

same  Hands       .......       \ 

A  Gentlewoman  who  desires  to  be  unknown,  by  the  l 

same  Hands I 

Carried  forward  L.     115 


d. 


MISSIONAUIES    OF  THE   CHURCH  IN  GEOEGIA. 


361 


3  Fcbr. 


1735- 
19  June. 

3  7"iy- 

I   October. 
3  Ditto 

12  Novcm. 


4  Decern. 
3  /Vi?/'. 


1736. 
4  J/«/. 

4  y««^. 


1736 
4  yune. 


1735- 
13  Novcm. 
23  Decern. 


(") 

Brought  forward  /,. 
A  Gentlewoman  who  desires  to  be  unlcnown,  by  the 
Hands  of  the  Reverend  Dr.  Hales     . 


I.     s. 

"S     3 

10  10 


50 

4 
1 


5 
10 


(12) 

The  Use  of  the  Missionaries  for  converting  to  Christianity 
the  Native  Indians, 

vis.  From 

A  Gentlewoman  whose  Name  is  desired  to  be  con- 
cealed, by  the  Hands  of  the  Reverend  Dr.  Hales 

Mrs.  Dionysia  Long,  by  the  same  Hands 

Mrs.  Cibbs,  by  the  same  Hands     .... 

His  Grace  William  Lord  Archbishop  of  Canterbury, 
by  the  Hands  of  the  Reverend  Dr.  Lynch,  to  be  laid 
out  in  proper  Books  ..... 

An  unknown  Gentlewoman,  by  the  Hands  of  the  Rev- 
erend Dr.  Hales 

An  unknown  Gentlewoman,  by  the  same  Hands    . 
William  Bclitha  Esq;  by  the  same  Hands 

A  Gentlewoman  who  desires  to  be  unknown,  by  the 
Hands  of  William  Bclitha  Y-^iw 

A  Gentlewoman  who  desires  to  be  unknown,  by  the 
Hands  of  the  Reverend  Mr.    Thorold,  Minister 
Ludgate  Church 

Mrs.  Edy  Hody,  by  the  Hands  of  the  Reverend  Mr. 
Archdeacon  Stnbbs 

A  Gentlewoman  who  desires  to  be  unknovi^n,  by  the 
Hands  of  the  Reverend  Dr.  Hales     . 

A  Gentlewoman  who  desires  to  be  unknown,  by  the  ^1 
same  Hands,  to  be  thus  applied,  or  towards  the  Sup-  1 
port  of  the  Minister  of  any  particular  Congregation  ( 
already  established  in  Georgia  ...      J 

A  Gentlewoman  who  desires  to  be  unknovv'n,  by  the  ) 
same  Hands >      00 

An  unknown  person,  a  Bank  Note  for  L.  20  :  :  sent  ? 
in  a  letter  to  the  Reverend  Dr.  Hales         .        .       C      " 


10     10 


5 
10 


die") 


(•3) 


^-     350     13 


The  use  of  the   Missionaries  and  School-master  for 
the  Saltzburghers, 

viz.  From 

The  Honourable  Society  for  promoting  Christian" 
Knowledge,  by  the  Hands  of  William  lillard 'Es(\; 
to  be  applied  for  the  Payment  of  half  a  Year's  Sala- 
ries from  the  said  Society,  to  the  Missionaries  and 
Schoolmaster  for  the  Saltzburghers  in  Georgia,  to 
iht^xsioi  N'ovc?nbcr,  17^,6 _ 

And  for  the  Religious  Uses  of  the  Colony  in  General, 
such  as  the  buying  of  Books,  the  cultivating  Lands 
to  raise  a  Provision  for  the  IVLaintenance  of  a  Min- 
ister, and  the  Appropriation  towards  the  Mainten- 
ance of  a  Catechist,  viz.  From 


Richard  Chandler,  Esq ; 
I     Mr.  Benjamin  Sprint  . 


SO 


10  10 
I     I 


362 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 


1 6  Febr. 

1736. 
6  April, 


22  Ditto 


18  May, 


18  May, 


A  Gentleman  who  desires  to  be  unknown,  by  the 
Hands  of  Rogers  Holland  Esq ;  .  . 

The  Honourable  Mrs.  Katharine  SoiUhwell,  by  the^ 
Hands  of  the  Right  Honourable  the  Earl  of  Egmont, 
being  part  of  the  Money  left  by  the  Viscountess 
Sondes,  deceased,  to  be  disposed  of  in  Charity  as 
the  said  Mrs.  Southwell  should  think  fit,  to  be  ap- 
plied in  cultivating  Lands,  for  the  abovenientioned 
Use 

The  same  Person  by  tlie  same  Hands,  being  another  ) 
Benefaction  out  of  the  Money  left  by  the  said  Vis-  | 
countess  Sondes,  to  be  disposed  of  as  aforesaid,  to  I 
be  applied  in  cultivating  Lands,  toward  the  Main-  ( 
tenance  of  a  Catechist  at  Savannah,  out  of  the  net  | 
Proceed  of  such  Land        .         .         .         .         . 

Sir  Philip  Parker  Long  Baronet,  by  the  Hands  of  the 
Right  Honourable  the  Earl  of  Egmont,  to  be  ap- 
plied in  cultivating  Lands  to  raise  a  Provision  for 
the  Maintenance  of  a  Minister  .... 

The  Reverend  Mr.  Herbert  Randolph  oi  Deal,  by  the 
Hands  of  the  Reverend  Mr.  Burton  . 


Carried  over  L. 


(14) 


Brought  over  L. 

A  Clergyman  who  desires  his  Name  to  be  concealed, 
by  the  Hands  of  the  Reverend  Mr.  Burton 

A  Benefactor  whose  Name  is  desired  to  be  concealed, 
by  the  same  Hands,  being  the  third  annual  Pay- 
ment, to  be  continued  for  the  Term  of  the  Bene- 
factor's Life,  but  given  for  Five  Years  certain  for 
the  Endowment  of  a  Catechist  in  Georgia 


L. 


(19) 


Expended  for  the  Missionaries  sent  to  convert  to  Chris- 
tianity the  Indians  in  Georgia,  vis. : 


For  Books,  Surplices,  Hoods,  and  Necessaries  sup- 
plied the  said  Missionaries,  and  for  their  Freight  to 
Georgia,  on  Board  the  Ship  Siinond 

(21) 

Monies  remaining  in  the  Bank  of  England  at  the 
end  of  the  Year's  Accompt  whereof 


Appropriated  to  Answer  Sola 
Bills  of  Exchange  issued  in 
Georgia  for  the  Service  of 
the  Colony 

B:il3nce  remaining 
plied. 

0  be  ap- 

/. 

s. 

d. 

/. 

S. 

d. 

4,000 

646 

155 

I 

6 

5i 

Note,  That  Z.  171 :  5:  7  of  the  above  Sum  of  Z.  646:  1 :  3I  is  ap- 
propriated towards  building  a  Church  in  Georgia. 


243  13 


=43 
5 


s.   d. 
13 


258  13 


/.    J.   d. 
107     3  10^ 


MISSIONARIES   OF  THE   CHURCH  IN  GEORGIA. 


363 


1732- 
21  March, 


1733- 
18  April, 


30  Afay, 


1734- 
1 1  Ncvem. 


June, 


(22) 

EFFECTS  applied  by  the  Trustees,  since  the  determination  of  the 
last  Accompt  out  of  the  Effects  then  remaining  unapplied,  which 
were  received  at  the  Times  and  from  the  several  Persons  hereafter 
mentioned. 


Names  of  Contributors. 


Mr.  Vercht 


An  unknown  Bcnefac-^ 
tress,  by  the  Hands  1 
of  the  Reverend  Dr.  f 
Hales  ...       J 

An  unknown  Hand,  by 
the  same  Hands  . 


The      Reverend 
Philip  Stubbs 


Mr. 


Sir  Jolin  Austin  Bart, 
by  the  Hands  of  Rob- 
ert Hiicks  Esq ;   . 


Effects  contributed,  which  remained  imapplied. 


A  Bible. 

A  Book  of  Homilies. 
Sent  on  Board  the  Simond  in   October, 
'735- 

Eighty  eight  of  the  One  hundred  and 
eighty  si.\  Bibles,  Minion  izmo. 

Whereof  two  sent  on  Board  the  Georgia 
Pink  the  7th  of  August,  1735. 

One  hundred  and  seven  of  the  Two  hun- 
dred Common  Prayer  Books,  Minion 
\2.mo. 

Whereof  two  sent  on  Board  the  Georgia 
Pink  the  7th  of  August,  1735. 

Two  dozen  of  Practical  Tracts,  for  pro- 
moting Christian  Knowledge  among  the 
Saltzburghers. 

Sent  on  Board  the  Simond  in  October, 
1735- 

A  Bible  in  the  New  England  Indian  Lan- 
guage. 

Sent  on  Board  the  Simond  in  October, 
1735- 


(23) 


EFFECTS  received  in  England  within  the  Time  of  this  Accompt, 
from  the  several  Persons  hereafter  mentioned,  and  applied  by  the 
Trustees. 


Names  of  Contributors. 


1735- 
16  Ditto 


A  Person  who  desires'^ 
to  be  unknown,  by  the 
Hands  of  the  Rever- 
end Dr.  Hales,  for  the 
Use  of  the  New  Set- 
tlement which  is  go- 
ing to  be  made  at  the 
Southward  Part  of 
Georgia     . 


Effects  contributed. 


One  Bible,  4/r). 

One  Cominon  Prayer  Book,  4/(7. 

Twenty  Bibles,  Minion  \2mo. 

Twenty  five    Testaments,    Long   Primer 

Zvo. 
Fifty   Common    Prayer    Books,    Minion 

1 2mo. 
Twenty  five  Bishop  of  Man,  on  the  Lord's 

Supper. 
Fifty  Christian  Monitor,  and  Companion 

to  the  Altar. 
Fifty  Christian  Monitor,   and  Answer  to 

E.xcuses. 
One  hundred  Horn-Books. 
One  hundred  Primers. 
One  hundred  A,  B,  C,  with  the  Church 

Catechism. 


364 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 


27  August 


3  Sepi. 


Oaob. 


Mr.  Edward  Cave  . 


Mr.  ya/m  Baskett 


A  Person  who  desires  to  ^ 
be  unknown,  by  the  I 
Hands  of  Mr.  Adam  [ 
Anderson    .        .      J 


Two  hundred  Friendly  Admonition  to  the 

Drinkers  of  Brandy. 
AH  Sent  on  Board  the  Siniond  in  October, 

1735- 

A  Bible  and  Common  Prayer  Book  of  the 
largest  and  best  Sort,  for  the  new  Church 
to  be  built  at  Savannah. 

Sent  on  Board  the  Sii/iond  in  October, 
1735- 

One  large  Bible,  and  one  Folio  Common 

Prayer  Book,  for  the  Church  in  Georgia. 
And  One  hundred  Common  Prayer  Books, 

for  the  Use  of  the  People. 
Whereof  Thirty  of  the  said  One  hundred 

Common  Prayer  Books  sent  on  Board 

i\\&  Si/nond\T\  October,  1735. 

One  hundred  Books,  called  A  Short  and 
Plain  Instruction,  for  the  better  under- 
standing of  the  Lord's  Supper. 

And  one  hundred  Books  of  the  Principles 
and  Duties  of  Christianity. 

Sent  on  Board  the  Two  Brothers  in  JVo- 
veinber,  1735. 

Three 


(24) 


7  October, 


10  Ditto 


24.  Decern. 


1732- 
7  Decern. 


31  Ditto 


Three  Ladies,  who  de-' 
sire  to  be  unknown, 
by  the  Hands  of  the 
Reverend  Mr.    Wil- 
son 


Mr.  Thomas  Lediard, 


The  Right  Honourable  \ 
'JohnEaxXoiEgmont,  \ 


Three  hundred  Books,  called  The  Princi- 
ples and  Duties  of  Christianity. 

And  Fifty  Books,  called  Plain  Instructions 
for  the  better  understanding  of  the 
Lord's  Supper. 

Sent  on  Board  the  Two  Brothers  in  No- 
vember, 1735. 

Ten  German  Grammars,  for  the  Use  of 
the  Colony,  Sent  on  Board  the  Simond 
in  October,  1735. 

A  Bible  in  the  German  Language  by  Dr. 

Martin  Luther,  printed   in  the  Year, 

1605. 
Sent  on  Board  the  .Samuel  in  January, 

1735- 


EFFECTS  received  in  England  from  the  several  Persons,  and  at  the 
Times  hereafter  mentioned,  and  which  remain  to  be  applied  by  the 
Trustees,  at  the  determination  of  this  Accompt. 


Names  of  Contributors. 


Effects  contributed. 


An  unknown  Benefac- 
tor by  the  Hands  of 
Captain  Coram    . 

Mr.  yames  Leake 


Eleven  of  the  hundred  Books,  of  the 
Great  Importance  of  a  Religious  Life 
considered. 


One  thousand  Spelling  Books. 


Forty 


MISSIONARIES   OF  THE   CHURCH  IN   GEORGIA. 


365 


(25) 


28  Fcbr. 


'733- 
\?>  April, 


10  May, 


30  Ditto 


17  October 


1734- 
10  April. 


7  77/«^. 


The  Reverend  Mr.  1 
Stanley,  Rector  of 
Hadham  in  Hert- 
fordshire, by  tlie 
Hands  of  the  Rever- 
end Dr.  Hales 

An  unknown  Benefac-' 
tress,  by  the   Hands 
of  the  Reverend  Dr. 
Hales  . 


Mr.  Ray.  by  the  Hands  ~ 
of  the  Reverend  Mr. 
Smith  .         .         .      _ 

An  unknown  Hand,  by  ~ 
the    Hands    of    the 
Reverend  Dr.  Hales 


The  Reverend  Mr.  Phil-  \ 
ip  Stiibbs.  Rector  of  I 
St.  James  Garlick  I 
Hyth,  London      .      J 


Mr.  John  IVorthington.^ 
for  the  Promotion  of 
Religion  in  Georgi.a.  , 


The  Reverend  Mr.  Fox'\ 
of  Reading,  by  the  | 
Hands  of  tlie  Rever-  | 
end  Mr.  Smith     .       J 


Forty  eight  Faith  and  Practice  of  a  Church 

of  England  Man,  in  Sheets. 
Eight  Christian  Monitors 
Nine  Lewis's  Catecliism. 


Eighty  si.x  of  the  One  hundred  and  eighty 

six  Bibles,  Minion  linio. 
One  hundred  and  one  of  the  One  liundrcd 

and  eighty  seven  Duty  of  Man,  small 

\2.ino. 

Fifty  Books,  called   Companion  for  the 
Sick. 


Two  hundred  Dr.  Thomas  Couch's  shew- 
ing how  to  walk  with  God. 

Two  hundred  Help  and  Guide  to  Christian 
Families,  by  Mr.  Bitrkitt. 

Two  hundred  Gibson^s  Family  Devotion. 

One  hundred  and  five  of  the  Two  hundred 
Common  Prayer  Books,  Minion  i2mo. 

Two  hundred  Horn  Books. 

Two  hundred  Primers. 

One  hundred  Testaments. 

One  hundred  Psalters. 

Two  hundred  A,  B,  C,  with  the  Church 
Catechism. 

One  hundred  Lewis''s  Catechism. 

One  hundred  The  Young  Christian  in- 
structed. 

One  hundred  of  the  Two  hundred  Friendly 
Admonition  to  the  Drinkers  of  Brandy. 

Twelve  sermons,  called  the  Divine  Jlission 
of  Gospel  Ministers,  by  the  said  Mr. 
Stubbs. 


Two  Copies  of  Select  Discourses,  by  Dr. 

IV'orthington,  in  Sheets. 
Eighty  Copies  of  a  Treatise,  intituled,  A 

System  of  Christian  Doctrine,  in  Sheets. 
Thirty  of  the  said  Treatise  bound. 

Three  Sets  of  the  New  Testament,  with 
References,  &c.  in  Two  Volumes. 

Fifty 


(26) 


27  JVovem. 


12  Febr. 


An  unknown  Benefac-"! 
tor,  by  the  Hands  of  I 
Mr.  Benjamin  Bar-  \ 
ker      .        .        .J 

An  unknown  Person ) 
sent  to  the  OfBce        \ 


Fifty  Books  of  The  great  Importance  of  a 
Religious  Life  considered  ;  and  Forms 
of  Pr.ayer  for  the  Holy  Sacrament,  bound 
together. 

Twenty  Books  in  Sheets,  called  The 
Church  Catechism  e.xplained. 


366 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 


1735- 
1 6  March, 


3  Sept. 


2  October, 
7  Ditto 

17  Novem. 
10  Decent. 


12  yan. 


1736. 

2  ytiHc, 


Mr.  y(?/i«  Tuckwell . 


Mr.  7tf//«  Baskitt 


Mr.  yy//«  Williams 


Mr.  Joseph  Marshall, 
for  the  pulick  Libra- 
ries in  Georgia. 

Mr.  7<9/«2  Skinner  . 

A  Gentleman  who  de- 
sires to  have  his 
Name  concealed,  by 
the  Hands  of  Thomas 
Tnuer  Esq ;  for  a 
Parochial  Library  be- 
longing to  one  of  the 
Churches  to  be  built 
in  the  Colony  of 
Georgia     . 

Mr.  Edward  Cave 


Dr.  Robert  Tho7nlinson\ 
of     Wickham.     near 
Neivcadle  upon  Tyne,  \ 
in  the  Bishoprick  of  \ 
Durham,      by      the 
Hands  of  Mr.    Wil- 
liaiit  Tlwmlinson 

Henry  Archer  Esq ; 

The  Associates  of  the 
late  Dr.  Bray 

The  Right  Honourable  ^ 
ynhn  Earl  of  Egmont  s 


A  large  Church  Clock,  and  Dial  Plate, 
packed  in  two  strong  Cases,  and  two 
Clock  Weights  loose,  for  Savannah  in 
Georgia;  Value  Twenty  one  Pounds. 

One  large  Bible,  and  one  Folio  Common 
Prayer  Book,  for  the  Church  in  Geor- 
gia. 

And  Seventy  of  the  One  hundred  Com- 
mon Prayer  Books,  for  the  Use  of  the 
People. 

A  Cambridge  Concordance,  and  Six  Books 
called  Sacred  and  Moral  Poems. 

Two  Books  of  Dr.  Owcn^s  and  Mr.  yarnes 
yanC7vay^s  Works,  and  Two  Books  of 
yosephus^s  History. 

A  Branch  for  the  first  Church  in  Georgia. 


A  large  Church  Bible. 
And  three  Volumes  in  Folio  of  Archbishop 
Tillotson's  Works. 


Five  hundred  of  the  lesser  Duty  of  Man, 
for  the  Use  of  the  poor  Inhabitants  of 
Georgia. 


A  Quantity  of  Iron  Ware,  to  the  Value  of 
Fifty  Pounds,  for  building  a  Church,  and 
House  for  the  Minister,  in  Georgia. 


A   Parochial   Library   for    Savannah    in 
Georgia. 

A  Parcel  of  Books  in  divers  Faculties  for 
the  Library  in  Georgia. 


We  append  the  titles  of  Whitefield's  "  Georgia  Journals  "  '(the  first  iiifae-sim- 
ile),  tracing,  in  his  own  inimitable  way,  and  with  a  freedom  afterwards  restrained, 
the  progress  of  this  remarkable  man. 


'  The  preface  to  the  .Tourual  from  Lon  Jon  to 
Savannah  is  signed  "James  Hiitton,  Temple- 
Bar,  Aug.  18,  1738."  The  following  extracts 
from  it  are  important :  — 

riIHE  following  Journal  would  never  have  been 
J.    published  had  not  a  surreptitious  Copy  of  Part 


of  it  been  printed  without  the  author's  knowledge 
or  consent:  lie  knows  Uimsclt  too  well  to  ob- 
trude his  little  private  concerns  upon  the  World; 
especially  wdien  intermixed  with  such  Passajjes 
relating  to  others,  as  none  but  an  unthiukiui^ 
person  could  judge  proper  to  divulge. 

It  appears  from  this  prelace  that  the  "  sur- 


MISSIONAEIES   OF   THE   CHURCH   IN   GEORGIA.  307 

A 

JOURNAL 

O  F    A 

VOYAGE 

FROM 

LONDON 

TO 

Savannah  in  G  e org  lA, 

In  Two  Parts. 

Pa  R T  I.  From  London  to  G'ibr altar. 
Pa  n  T  II.  From  Gibraltar  to  SavannaJ), 


■Ry  GEORGE    IVHITEFI  ELD,  A.B. 
oi  PeTnhokt-Colk^*,  Oxford, 


JVnb  a  Jhort  PRzrACZ,  foewing  tie  Reafin  of  its  Pilo- 

licatwft. 

-  I         ■■  

The  FiJTH  EoiTroN. 

LONDON, 

Piiiilcdfor  James  Hvtton,  st  the  £«iZe  and  5a«  next  the 

SaCe  To.veni  without  Temple-Bar.     MDCCXXXPC. 

(Piice  Six  Pmce.) 

reptitious  Copv  "  referred  to  was  published  bv  a  The    Journal    (55   pp.    8°)    extends    from 

Mr.  Cooper  "'4,1/  .Stealth,  without  any  just  War-    Wednesday,  Deeemher  28,  1737  {tide  p.  3),  to 
rant  or  Authority."  Sunday,  May  7,  1738  (p.  54). 


368  HISTOKY   OF  THE  AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL   CHUHCU. 

A  I  CONTINUATION  |  of  the  Reverend  |  Me.  Whitefield's 
JOURNAL  I  from  his  Arrival  at  |  Savannah,  \  to  his  Return  to 
London.  |  The  Second  Edition. 

London  :  |  Printed  by  W.  Strahan,  and  Sold  by  James  Hutton, 
at  the  Bible  and  Sun,  without  Temple-Bar.     mdccxxxix. 

8vo.,  pp.   [4]  38 

A  I  CONTINUATION  |  of  the  Reverend  ]  Mr.  Whitefield's 
I  JOURNAL  I  FROM  I  His  Arrival  at  London  \  to  |  His  Departure 
from  thence  |  on  his  Way  to  Georgia. 

London  :  |  Printed  for  James  Hutton,  at  the  Bible  and  Sun, 
without  Temple-Bar.     1739.  8vo.,  pp.  iv  115 

A  I  CONTINUATION  |  of  the  Reverend  |  Mr.  Whitefield's  | 
JOURNAL,  I  During  the  Time  he  was  detained  in  |  Enc/land  by 
the  Embargo  |  The  Third  Edition. 

London  :  |  Printed  by  W.  Strahan,  and  sold  by  James  Hutton, 
at  the  Bible  and  Sun,  without  Temple-Bar.     1739.     8vo. ,  pp.  iv  40 


A  I  CONTINUATION  |  of  the  Reverend 
JO  URNAL,  I  From  his  Embarking  after  the 
Arrival  at  Savannah  in  Georgia.  |  The  Second 

London  :  |  Printed   by   W.    Strahan   for  James  Hutton,  at  the 
Bible  and  Sun,  without  Temple-Bar.     1740.  8vo.,  pp.  88 


Mn.  Whitefield's  | 
EMBARGO,  I  To  his 
Edition. 


A  I  CONTINUATION  |  of  the  Reverend  |  Mr.  Whitefield's  | 
JOURNAL,  I  After  his  Arrival  at  |  Georgia,  |  To  a  few  Days  after 
his  second  Rctuini  thither  from  |  Philadelphia. 

London  :  |  Printed  by  W.  Strahan  for  James  Hutton,  at  the 
Bible  and  Sun,  without  Temple-Bar.     1741.  8vo.,  pp.  58 

A  I  CONTINUATION  |  of  the  Reverend  |  Mr.  Whitefield's  | 
JOURNAL,  I  From  a  fe\v  Days  after  his  Return  to  |  Georgia  \  To 
his  Arrival  at  |  Falmouth,  \  on  the  11th  of  IMarch,  1741.  |  Containing 
I  An  Account  of  the  Work  of  God  at  Georgia,  Rhode-Island,  New- 
England,  New- York,  Pennsylvania  and  South-Carolina.  |  The  Seventh 
Journal. 

London  :  |  Printed  by  W  Strahan  for  R.  Helt  at  the  Bible  and 
Crown  in  the  Poultry,  and  Sold  by  T.  Cooper  at  the  Globe  in  Pater- 
Noster-Row.     1741  |  [Price  One  Shilling.]      8vo.,  pp.  Title,  85 

A  further  proof  of  the  Christian  and  churchly  character  of  the 
colonization  of  this  province  is  found  in  the  "  Georgia  Sermons,"  a  list 
of  which,  so  far  as  they  have  come  under  our  notice,  we  append  :  — 

A  I  SERINION  I  Preach'd  before  the  |  Trustees  for  Establishing 

the  Colony  of  \  GEORGIA  in  America.,  \  And  before  the  |  Associates 

of  the  late  Rev.  Dr.  THOMAS  BRAY,  \  for  Converting  the  Negroes 

in  the  British  Plantations,  \  and  for  other  |  good  purposes.  \  at  their 

I  First  Yearly-Meeting,  |  in  the  |  Parish  Church  of  St.  Augustin, 


MISSIONARIES   OF   THE   CHUIiCH   IN   GEORGIA.  369 

I  On  Tuesday,  February  23,  17§f ,  |  by  SAMUEL  SMITH,  LL.H. 
Lecturer  I  of  St.  ^?6aK'.s',  Wood-Street.  I  PnhUsh'd  at  the  Desire  of  the 
TRUSTEES  and  ASSOCIATES.  |  To  which  is  annexed  |  Some 
Account  of  the  Designs  both  of  the  TRUSTEES  I  and  ASSOCI- 
ATES. I 

London  :  Printed  by  F.  March,  and  sold  by  Messieurs  Mount 
and  Page,  on  |  Tower-Hill,     m.dcc.xxxiii.  | 

4°.     pp.  42.     Map. 

Text,  Isaiah  xi.  9.  Latter  Part.  Pp.  41  and  42  contain  |  To  the 
King's  Most  Excellent  Majesty,  |  The  Humlile  Petition  of  |  Thomas 
Bray,  D.D.,  |  being  the  Petition  to  King  William  IIL  for  the  Incorpo- 
ration of  the  Venerable  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel  in 
Foreign  Parts. 

Rich  (Bib.  Am.  Nova.,  p.  49)  copies  this  title  from  the  Catalogue 
of  Harvard  College  Library. 

Tlie  Duty  and  Reward  of  Propagatinr/  Princijjles  of  Religion  \ 
and  Virtue  exemplijled  in  the  History  o/"  Abraham.  | 

A  I  SERMON  I  Preach'd  before  the  |  Trustees  for  Establishing 
the  Colony  of  |  Geokgia  in  America.  |  And  before  the  Associates  of 
the  late  Rev.  Dr.  TH03IAS  BRAY,  \  for  Converting  the  Negroes  in 
the  British  Plantations,  |  and  for  other  |  good  Purposes.  |  at  their  | 
Anniversary  Meeting,  |  in  the  Parish  Church  of  St.  Mary-Le-Bow. 
I  On  Thursday,  March  15,  1732.  |  By  JOIUST  BURTON,  B.D., 
Fellow  of  Corpus  |  Christi  College  in  Oxford.  |  Published  at  the 
Desire  of  the  Trustees  and  Associates.  |  To  which  is  annexed,  | 
The  General  Account  exhibited  by  the  Trustees  |  to  the  Right  Hon- 
oural)le  the  Lord  High  Ciiancellor,  and  the  |  Loi'd  Chief  Justice  of 
His  Majesty's  Court  of  Common-Pleas,  Pur-  |  suant  to  the  Directions 
of  their  Charter.  | 

London  :  Printed  by  P.  3Iarch,  and  sold  by  Messieurs  Mount 
and  Page,  on  |  Tower-Hill,     ji.ucc.xxxhi.  |  4°.     Pp.  50. 

Text,  Genesis  xviii.  19. 

The  General  Account  includes  pp.  33-50. 

a  I  SERMON  I  Preached  at  |  Sr.  George's  Church  |  HANO- 
VER SQUARE,  I  On  Sunday,  February  17,  173|.  |  To  reconunend 
the  Charity  for  establishing  the  |  New  Colony  of  Georgia.  \  By  T. 
Rundle,  LL.  D.,Preliendary  of  |  Durham.  |  Published  at  the  request 
of  the  Right  Honourable  the  |  Lord  Viscount  Tyrconnel,  the  Honour- 
able I  Col.  Whitworth,  Churchwardens,  |  and  Several  of  the  Parish- 
ioners. 

London  :  |  Printed  for  T.  Woodward,  at  the  Half-Moon,  between 
I  the  two  Temple  Gates,  Fleet-street ;  and  J.  Brindley,  \  in  New 
Bond-street,     mdccxxxiv.  4°.     pp.  24 

Text,  Deut.  Chap.  xv.  Ver.  ii. 

Rich  (Bib.  Am.  Nova.),  calls  this  8° 


370  HISTOIiY   OF   THE   AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

A  I  SERMON  I  Preached  before  the  |  Trustees  |  For  Establish- 
ing the  I  Colony  of  Georfjia  in  America ;  |  And  l)efore  the  Associates 
of  the  late  Rev.  Dr.  Thomas  Bray,  for  |  Converting  the  Negroes  in 
the  British  Plantations,  and  for  other  good  Purposes  ;  |  at  their  Anni- 
versary Meeting  |  In  the  Parish  Church  of  St.  Brides,  Fleet-street, 
I  On  Thursdajs  March  21,  1734.  |  By  Stephen  Hales,  D.D.,  Rector 
of  Fai-ringdon  in  Hampshire,  and  Minister  of  Feddington,  Middlesex. 
I  Published  at  the  Desire  of  the  Trustees  and  Associates.  |  To 
which  is  annex'd  |  The  General  Account  for  one  whole  Year,  from 
the  ninth  day  of  |  June,  in  the  Year  of  our  Lord  1733,  to  the  ninth 
Day  of  June  1734,  exhibited  |  Ity  the  said  Trustees,  pursuant  to  the 
Directions  of  their  Charter,  to  the  Right  |  Honourable  Charles  Lord 
Talbot,  Baron  of  Henfol,  Lord  High  Chancellor  of  |  Great  Britain, 
and  Sir  Joseph  Jekyll,  Knight,  Master  of  the  Rolls. 

London  :  |  Printed  for  T.  Woodward,  at  the  Half-Moon,  between 
the  Two  I  Temple-Gates  in  Fleet-Street,     mdccxxxiv. 

4°.     Pp.  ()2. 

Text,  Galat.  vi.  2. 

A  I  SERMON  1  Preached  before  the  |  Trustees  |  for  Establish- 
ing the  I  Colony  of  Georgia  in  America;  \  At  their  |  Anniversary 
Meeting  |  in  the  Parish-Church  of  St.  Bridget,  alias  \  St.  Bride,  in 
Fleet  street,  London:  |  On  Thursday,  March  18,  1735.  [  Published  at 
the  Particular  Request  of  (he  Trustees.  |  By  the  Rev.  George  Watts, 
M.A.  I  Preacher  to  the  Honourable  Society  of  Lincoln's  Inn. 

London  :  |  Printed  by  M.  Dovming,  in  Bartholemew-Close,  near 
I  West-Smithfield.     m.dcc.xxxvi.  4°.     Pp.  27. 

Text,  Psal.  cvii.  35,  3G,  37. 

WARREN,  ROBERT  |  Industry  and  Diligence  in  our  callings 
earnestly  recommended  in  a  Sermon  i)i'eached  I^efore  the  Trustees  for 
Establishing  the  Colony  of  Georgia  in  America.  March  17,1736-7. 
By  Robert  Warren,  D.D.,  &c. 

Meadows,  London.     1737.  4°.     pp.  16. 

Rich.  Bib.  Am.  Nova.  p.  432  (suppl.) 

a  I  SERiMON  I  Preached  before  the  Honorable  Trustees  |  For 
Establishing  the  |  Colony  of  Georgia  in  America,  \  And  the  Associ- 
ates I  of  the  I  late  Reverend  Dr.  I3ray  ;  |  at  their  Anniversary  Meet- 
ing I  March  IG,  1737-8,  |  In  the  |  Parish-Church  of  St.  Bridget, 
alias  St.  Bride,  \  in  Fleet-Street,  London.  [  By  Philip  Beakcroft, 
D.D.  I  Preacher  at  Charter-House.  \  Published  at  the  particular  Re- 
quest of  the  Trustees  and  Associates. 

London  :  |  m.dcc.xxxviii.  4°.     Pp.  22. 

a  I  SERMON  I  Prcach'd   before   the  |  Honorable    Trustees  | 
For  Establishing  the  Colony  of  Georgia  in  America,  \  And  the  Asso- 
ciates of  the  late  Reverend  Dr.  Bray,  (  At  their  |  Anniversary  jMeet- 
ing,  March  15,  1738-0.  |  In  the  |  Parish  Church  of  St.  Bridget,  alias 


MISSIONARIES   OF   THE   CHURCH    IN   GEORGIA.  371 

St.  Bride,  in  Fleet-street,  \  London.  |  By  William  Hekriman,  D.D. 
Rector  of  St.  Andrew's  Undershaft,  |  and  Felloiv  of\  Eton  College. 
Published  at  the  Desire  of  the  Trustees  and  Associates. 

London  :  |  Printed  for  John  Carter,  at  the  Blackamore's  Head, 
opposite  to  I  the  Royal  Exchange  in  Cornhill.  m.dcc.xxxix.  (  Price 
Six  Pence.  AP.     Pp.  24. 

Text,  Dedt.  xxvi.  9,  10. 

The  sermons  for  1740-41  and  1741-42,  if  published,  have  failed 
to  attract  our  notice. 

Tlie  duty  of  public  spirit;  \  Recommended  in  a  |  SERMON  | 
Preached  before  the  |  Honourable  Trustees  |  For  estal)lishing  the 
I  Colony  of  Georgia  in  America,  And  the  |  Associates  of  (he  late 
Reverend  Dr.  Bray,  |  At  their  |  Anniversary  jNIeeting,  March  20, 
1739-40 ;  |  By  William  Crowe.  |  Published  at  the  Desire  of  the 
Trustees  and  Associates. 

London:  |  1740.  4° 

Advertised  in  Trubner  &  Co.'s  Catalogue  (1837). 

The  Sermon  delivered  in  1742-3  was  by  Rev.  Dr.  King,  and  is 
advertised  in  Lasbury's  Catalogue,  Bristol,  May,  1859. 

The  Happiness  of  Man  the    Glory  of  God.  \  a  SERMON  | 

Preached  before  the  |  Honourable  Trustees  |  For  Establishing  the 

I  Colony  of  Georgia  in  America,  \  And  the  |  Associates  of  the  late 

Rev.  Dr.  Bray;  |  At  their  |  Anniversary  Meeting  March  15,  1743, 

I  In  the  I  Parish  Church  of  St.   Margaret,   Westminster.  \  By  Lewis 

Bruce,  A.M.  |  Preacher  of  his  Majesty's  Chapel,  Somerset-House. 

London  :  |  Printed  by  Daniel  Browne,   in  Crane-Court,  Fleet- 
Street.  I  MDCCXLIV.  4°.      Pp.  53. 
Text,  I  CoR.  X.  XXXI. 

No  copy  of  the  Georgia  sermon  for  1744  has  fallen  under  our 
notice. 

A  I  SERMON  I  Preached  before  the  |  Honorable  Trustees  [ 
For  Establishing  the  |  Colony  of  Georgia  in  America,,  \  And  the 
I  Associatesof  the  late  Reverend  Dr.  Bray  ;  |  At  their  |  Anniversary 
Meeting,  March  20,  1745-6,  |  In  the  |  Parish  Church  of  St.  Mar- 
garet, Westminster.  |  By  Glocester  Ridley,  LL.  B.  |  Published  at 
the  Desire  of  the  Trustees  and  Associates. 

London  :  |  mdccxlvi.  4°.     Pp.  21. 


CHAPTER     XXI. 

COMMISSARY   GARDEN   AND   THE   CHURCH    IN    SOUTH 

CAROLINA. 

THE  first  settlement  of  South  Carolina  by  the  English  was  at- 
tempted at  Beaufort.  Two  ships,  bearing  colonists  from  Virginia, 
set  sail  on  Passion  Sunday,  April  8,  1660,  and  arrived  at  the 
mouth  of  the  commodious  harljor  of  Port  Royal  on  Maundy  Thurs- 
day, April  the  19th.  Accompanying  the  expedition  was  the  Rev. 
Morgan  Jones,  who  had  been,  as  he  claims,  "  Chaplain  to  Major-Gen- 
eral  Bennet,  of  Nauseman  (Nansemond)  County,"'  and  was  sent  out 
by  Major  Bennet,  and  Sir  William  Berkeley,  the  governor,  who  were 
the  chief  promoters  of  the  projected  settlement,  to  be  the  minister. 
There  can  be  little  doubt  but  that  the  Good-Friday  prayers,  and  the 
solemn  services  and  sacrament  of  the  Easter  feast,  marked  this  first 
occupancy  of  the  soil  of  South  Carolina  by  the  English  race.  The 
enterprise  was  shortly  after  abandoned,  though  Jones  professes  to  have 
continued  at  Oyster  Point,  the  site  of  the  present  city  of  Charleston, 
for  eight  months,  "all  of  which  time  being  almost  starved  for  want  of 
provisions."  2  Driven  by  hunger  to  the  wilderness,  Jones,  with  a 
party  of  five,  endeavored  to  reach  Roanoke,  but  all  were  captured  by 
the  Tuscaroras,  and  condemned  to  death.  The  use  of  Welsh  words 
by  the  captive  minister,  if  we  may  credit  his  romantic  narrative,  pro- 
cured his  release,  and  established  him  and  his  companion  in  the  favor 
of  the  savages,  with  whom  he  remained  four  months,  "conversing  with 
them  familiarly  in  the  British  language  ;  and  did  preach  to  them  three 
times  a  week  in  the  same  language."^  Jones  subsequently  became 
minister  of  Newtown,  L.I.,  where  he  was  officiating  in  1678,  and  at 
Westchester  in  1680.^  In  1682  he  was  at  Great  Neck,  L.I.*  The 
communication  referring  to  the  short-lived  settlement  at  Port  Royal, 
to  which  we  have  already  referred,  is  dated  at  New  York,  March  10, 
1685-86. 

In  1662  cei'tain  noblemen  applied  to  Charles  II.  for  a  grant  of 
territory  in  North  America.  They  alleged,  as  the  motives  of  their 
request,  a  desire  to  enlarge  the  dominions  of  the  king  and  a  "  zest  for 
the  propagation  of  the  Christian  faith  in  a  country  not  yet  cultivated 
or  planted,  and  only  inhabited  by  some  bai'barous  people,  who  had  no 
knowledge  of  God.""  On  the  24th  of  March,  1662-3,  the  king,  by 
royal  charter,  created  Edward,  Earl  of  Clarendon,  Lord  Chancellor, 

1  Vide  a  letter  copied  from  the  Gentleman's  °  Onderdonk's   "  Antiquities  of  the  Parish 

Magazine,  for  Mareh,  1740,  iu  the  "  Am.  Hist.  Chmch  of  Hempstead,"  p.  2. 
Record,"  1.,  pp.  250-252.        -- Ihiil.        ^  Ibid.  "Dalcho's   "Hist.  Ace.   of  the  Ch.  ia  So. 

*  Boltou's  "  Westchester  Church,"  pp.  259,  Car.,"  p.  1. 
200. 


THE  CHURCH   IN   SOUTH   CAROLINA.  373 

the  Duke  of  Albemarle,  Lord  Craven,  Lord  Berkeley,  Lord  Ashley, 
afterwards  the  Earl  of  Shaftshurv,  Sir  George  Carteret,  Sir  William 
Berkeley,  and  Sir  John  Colleton,  lords  proprietors  of  the  province  of 
Carolina.  The  charter  established  the  Church,  but  permitted  and  en- 
joined toleration.  A  settlement  was  made  at  Port  Royal,  in  1G70,  by 
colonists  from  England,  under  the  leadership  of  Col.  William  Saylc. 
The  settlers  remained  at  Port  Royal  but  a  few  months,  when  they 
removed  to  the  western  bank  of  the  Ashley  river,  "  for  the  conven- 
ience of  pasturage  and  tillage,"  and  "on  the  first  high  land"  they 
laid  the  foundation  of  the  present  city  of  Charleston.  On  the  death 
of  Governor  Sayle,  which  took  place  shortly  after  the  removal  of  the 
settlement.  Col.  Joseph  West  succeeded  to  the  command  of  the 
colony.  Under  the  administration  of  this  active,  brave,  and  prudent 
leader  the  colony  increased  in  numbers  and  strength.  West  had  been 
elected  by  the  council  on  the  death  of  Sayle  ;  but  the  lords  proprie- 
tors, on  being  informed  of  the  vacancy,  appointed  Sir  John  Yeamans, 
during  whose  term  of  office  Charleston  was  rapidly  built  up.  The  first 
church  was  erected  about  1G81  or  1682.  It  was  Iiuilt  of  lilack  cypress, 
upon  a  lirick  foundation,  on  the  site  originally  designed  for  it  in  the 
model  of  the  town  sent  out  by  the  lords  proprietors.  It  is  described 
as  "  large  and  stately,"  and  was  surrounded  by  a  neat  white  palisade. 
The  land  on  which  it  was  built,  comprising  four  acres,  was  the  gift  of 
Originall  Jackson  and  Mcliscent,  his  wife,  who  executed  the  deed  on 
the  14th  of  January,  1680-81,  "being  excited  with  a  pious  zeal  for 
the  propagation  of  the  true  Christian  religion  which  we  profess." ' 
In  this  church  "  Divine  service,  according  to  the  form  and  liturgy  of 
the  Church  of  England  now  established,"  was  "  to  be  duly  and 
solemnly  done  and  j)erformed  by  Atkin  Williamson,  Cleric,  his  heirs 
and  assigns  forever."'^  It  is  evident  from  this  deed  of  gift  that  the 
clergyman  named  therein  was  already  on  the  ground.  Of  the  time  of 
his  coming  we  have  no  knowledge,  but  he  was  in  the  province  in 
1680,  and  died  at  an  advanced  age,  early  in  the  following  century.  He 
was  living  in  1710-11,  as  the  records  show  that  there  was  money  due 
to  him  from  the  church.  In  April,  1709,  he  had  petitioned  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly  "to  be  considered  for  his  services  as  officiating  as 
minister  of  Charles-Town,"  and  the  assembly  ordered  the  payment 
of  his  claim.  Later,  on  the  1st  of  March,  1710-11,  the  same  legis- 
lative body  appropriated  £30  per  annum  for  his  support  during  his 
life,  the  act  reciting  that  "he  had  grown  so  disabled  with  age,  sick- 
ness, and  other  infirmities,  that  he  could  not  any  longer  attend  to  the 
duties  of  his  ministerial  functions,  and  was  so  very  poor  that  he  could 
not  maintain  himself."^      The  "Fundamental  Constitutions"  of  the 

'DalcUo's  "Hist.  Ace.  of  the  Ch.   in  So.  and  the  account  he  gives  of  their  loss  is  so  weak 

Cai'.,'"!).  26.  -  IMd.  and  slender  that  it  can't  be  relied  on.    Besides 

^  Ilawks  and  Periy's  "  Doc.  Hist,  of  the  Ch.  he  mi'iht  in  8  j-ears  time,  for  it  is  so  lonj;  lie  says 

in  So.  Car.,"  p.  3.  Commissary  .Johnson,  in  a  let-  since   he  lost  them,  I  believe,  have   had  fresh 

ter  to  theven.  soc.  in  1710,  thus  refers  to  Mr.  ones  from  the  Rejjisters  of  those  Dioceses  wherc- 

Williamson  :  "  Mr.  Atkins  Williamson  has  lived  in  he  was  ordained,  and  thcrofoi'e  liis  not  getting 

here  under  the  notion  and  character  of  a  Minis-  them  makes  me  suspect  his  mission.     He  says 

ter29year3,buttlie  inhabitants  have  not  thought  Primate   Margetson  of    Ireland   ordained    him 

fit  to  take  up  with  him  as  a  settled  Jliuister  in  Deacon  when  Ai-ehbishop  of  Dublin  and  Bishop 

any  part  of  the  province  during  that  time.    He  Barlow  of  Lincoln  ordained  him  Priest.    You 

has  no  Letters  or  Ordei^  of  any  kind  to  produce,  will  easily  know  this  by  consulting  the  Uegister 


374 


IIISTOKV   OF  THE  AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 


lords  proprietors,  drawn  up  by  the  celebrated  John  Locke,  had  jiro- 
vided  for  the  naaintenance  of  the  clergy  of  "  the  Church  of  England, 
which  being  the  only  true  and  orthodox,  and  the  national  religion  of 
all  the  king's  dominions,  is  so  also  of  Carolina."  ^  In  view  of  these 
"Constitutions"  there  was  every  propriety  in  the  provision  of  a  sup- 
port for  the  declining  years  of  the  first  settled  clergyman  of  the 
Church  in  the  province. 

The  church,  which  from  the  first  bore  the  name  of  St.  Philip, 
having   begun   to  decay  after  thirty  years'    use  and  occupancy  and 


ST.  Michael's  church. 


being,  besides,  too  small  for  the  increasing  congregation,  an  act  of 
the  asseml)ly  was  passed,  on  the  1st  of  IMarcli,  1710-11,  for  the 
erection  of  a  church  of  brick.  New  St.  Philip's  was  erected  on 
Church  street,  its  present  site,  and  in  1827  the  old  cypress  church 
was  taken  down.  Subsequently,  at  the  division  of  the  town  into  two 
parishes,  in  1751,  all  south  of  Broad  street  became  St.  Michael's,  and 
its  church  was  built,  and  is  still  standing,  on  the  site  originally  occu- 
pied by  the  old  wooden  church. 

The  active  ministry  of  Mr.  Williamson  appears  to  have  ceased  in 
1696,  at  which  time  the  Rev.  Samuel  Marshall  was  appointed  to  the 

of   Lincoln,  and  when  you  have  leceived   his  '  Hawks  and  Peny's  "  Doc.  Hist,  of  the  Ch. 

answer,  be  pleased  to  eonimiinicate  it  to  rae  with    iu  So.  Car.,"  p.  4. 
the  first  opportunity." — So.  Car.  MtiS.,  i-,  p-  250 


THE  CHURCH  IN  SOUTH  CAROLINA.  STr) 

cure.  Mr.  Marshall  was  induced  to  leave  "  a  considerable  benefice 
and  hon()ural)le  way  of  living  in  England  for  the  propagation  of 
the  Christian  Religion,  and  particularly  that  of  the  Church^of  Eng- 
land," at  the  instance  and  by  the  encouragement  of  the  celel)rated 
Rev.  William  Burkett,  Vicar  of  Dedham,  well  known  as  the  author 
of  a  popular  commentary  on  the  New  Testament.  Such  was  the 
satisfaction  given  l)y  the  exemplary  conduct  and  the  unusual  al)ility 
of  the  new  incumbent  of  St.  Philip's  that  the  General  Assembly,  on 
the  8th  of  October,  1798,  passed  "an  Act  to  settle  the  maintenance 
on  a  minister  of  the  Church  of  England  at  Charles-Town,"  which,  after 
referring  to  the  recommendations  of  Mr.  JNIarshall  as  "a  sober,  pious, 
worthy,  al>le  and  learned  Divine,  of  all  which,  by  his  devout  and 
exemplary  life  and  good  doctrine  he  hath  approved  himself  worthy," 
proceeded  to  enact "  that  the  said  Samuel  JNIarshall  Ije,  and  he  is  hereby 
nominated  minister  of  Charles-Town,  during  his  life,  or  so  long  as  he 
shall  think  lit  to  continue  in  this  colony,  and  serve  in  the  said  minis- 
try, and  shall  have  and  enjoy  all  the  land,  houses,  negroes,  cattle  and 
money  appointed  for  the  use,  benefit  and  behoof  of  the  minister  of 
Charles-Town."'  This  act  further  appropriated  a  stipend  of  £150 
jicr  annum  to  the  minister  and  his 
successor  forever,  and  directed  that  /j   /Ia 

a  negro  man  and  woman,  and  four      ^  J:d(fj^^  /O 

cows  and  calves,  be  purchased  at  the  /  jjLfff^^^  /  OTfl^td, 
public  charge  for  his  use.    The  same     \^//^  ^-^  .J 

year  the  Church  received,  through  ^  {^ 

the  pious  gift  of  Mrs.  Atfra  Coming, 

widow  of  John  Coming,  Esq.,  one  of  the  early  settlers,  seventeen 
acres,  constituting  the  present  glebe  of  the  two  churches  of  St.  Philip 
and  St.  Michael.  It  is  evident  that  the  Church  in  the  province  was 
being  built  upon  sure  foundations,  and  was  connnended  to  the  love  and 
sup}iort  of  its  members  by  the  exemplary  life  and  faithful  ministry  of 
the  incumbent  of  St.  Philijj's. 

Mr.  Marshall  died,  towards  the  close  of  the  j^ear  1699,  of  a  malig- 
nant epidemic  disease,  doubtless  what  is  now  known  as  the  yellow-fever, 
which  carried  off  in  its  jn'ogress  the  chief  justice  of  the  province,  to- 
gether with  other  public  officers,  and  upwards  of  one  hundred  and 
fifty  of  the  people.  So  great  was  the  mortality  that  the  people  fled 
in  numbers  into  the  country,  leaving  but  few  behind.  The  legisla- 
ture made  provision  for  the  widow  of  Mr.  Marshall,  while  under 
date  of  January  17,  1699-1700,  the  governor  and  council  addressed 
a  request  for  a  clergyman  to  the  Bishop  of  London,  Dr.  Henry  Comp- 
ton,  of  which  the  following  is  an  extract :  — 

That  fatherly  care  whicli  your  Lordship  liath  taken  to  fill  all  the  Churches  in 
His  Majesty's  plantations  in  jVmerica  with  pious,  learned,  and  orthodox  ministers, 
as  well  as  j'our  Lordship's  application  to  us  of  that  care,  in  a  more  especial  man- 
ner, by  sending  to  us  so  eminently  good  a  man  as  our  late  JNIinister,  the  Rev.  j\Ir. 
Marshall,  deceased,  encoiu-ages  us  to  address  your  Lordship  for  such  another.  He, 
by  his  regular,  sober,  and  devout  life,  gave  no  advantage  to  the  enemies  of  our 
Church  to  speak  ill  of  its  ministers ;  by  his  sound  docti-ine  the  weak  sons  of  our 

■  Hawks  ami  Pcny's  "  Doc.  Hist,  of  the  Cli.  in  So.  Car.,"  p.  33. 


376  HISTORY   OF   TIIE   AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

Chui-ch  he  confirmed ;  by  his  easy,  and,  as  it  were,  natural  use  of  the  ceremo- 
nies of  our  Church,  he  tooic  away  all  occasions  of  scandal  ivt  them;  by  his  prudent 
and  obliging  way  of  living,  and  manner  of  practice,  ho  had  gained  the  esteem 
of  all  persons.  For  these  reasons,  it  is  that  we  address  your  Lordship  for  such 
another. ' 

The  Rev.  Edward  Marston,  A.M.,  received  the  appointment  to 
the  vacant  cure.  He  arrived  in  Charleston  in  the  year  1700.  Prior 
to  his  leaving  England  he  had  attracted  notice  by  the  publication  in 
London  of  a  sermon  on  simony.  In  the  same  year,  but  whether 
as  a  companion  of  the  Eev.  Mr.  Marston,  or  not,  we  are  not  informed, 
there  came  to  South  Carolina  the  Rev.  William  Corbin,  who  ofBciated 
for  the  settlers  upon  Goose  Creek.  Mr.  Corbin  had  been  preacher  at 
the  Chapel  of  Bromley  St.  Leonard,  Middlesex,  and  in  1695  pub- 
lished a  Thanksgiving  sermon  of  some  merit.  He  left  the  country  in 
1703.  Mr.  Marston  continued  in  charge  of  St.  Philip's  until  1705, 
when  he  was  removed  from  oifice  by  a  board  of  law  commissioners 
appointed  by  the  legislature,  in  November,  1704.  He  had  been  a 
notorious  Jacobite  ere  his  coming  to  the  Province,  and  was  for  a  time 
imprisoned  in  England  for  "  railing  against  the  government."  There 
can  be  little  doubt  but  that  he  was  imprudent  and  litigious,  of  violent 
passions  and  contentious  disposition,  and  involved  him.self  in  difficul- 
ties by  reflecting  on  the  measures,  and  abusing  the  members,  of  the 
assembly.  The  ptiblic  records  aljound  in  proofs  of  these  charges, 
and  the  church,  which  in  the  time  of  Mr.  Marshall  was  well  frequented 
and  i)rosperous,  was  "almost  wholly  deserted."  Summoned  before 
the  legislative  body,  to  answer  for  his  conduct,  his  demeanor  and 
answers  were  such  as  to  provoke  the  assembly  to  draw  up  a  formal 
act  of  censure,  and  to  send  "an  address  to  the  Governor  and  Council 
fora  suspension  of  the  said  Marston//-om  his  salari/  during  the  pleasure" 
of  the  house.  Mr.  Marston  was  summoned  before  the  assembly  to  hear 
the  "  act  of  censure ;"  but  although  he  appeared  in  response  to  the 
summons,  he  refused  to  hear  the  act,  and  while  he  continued  to 
officiate  the  assembly  refused  to  pay  the  stipend  previously  voted 
to  the  incumbent  of  Charle.s-Town. 

Failing  to  rid  themselves  of  this  obnoxious  parson  by  withholding 
his  salary,  the  legislature,  on  the  4th  of  November,  1704,  passed 
"An  act  for  the  establishment  of  religious  worship  in  this  province, 
according  to  the  Church  of  England,  and  for  the  erecting  of  churches 
for  the  public  worship  of  God,  and  also  for  the  maintenance  of 
Ministers,  and  the  building  convenient  houses  for  them."  This  law 
"established"  the  Church  in  South  Carolina,  and  contained  some  ex- 
ceedingly arbitrary  and  extraordinary  provisions.  Among  them  was  a 
Iclause  appointing  a  board  of  laymen,  to  try  and  to  remove,  if  they  saw 
fit,  any  minister  against  whom  complaint  should  be  made  by  the  major 
part  of  the  vestry,  together  with  any  nine  aggrieved  parishioners.  It 
was  by  this  commission  that  Mr.  Marston  was  removed,  in  1705. 
The  act  of  1704  gave  little  satisfaction.  Those  who  dissented  from 
tlie  Church  of  England  regarded  their  exclusion  from  the  rights  en- 

>  Hawks  aud  Pei'iy's  "  Documents  Relating  to  the  Hist,  of  tlic  Ch.  iu  So.  Cai-.,"  p.  7. 


THE   CHURCH   IN   SOUTH   CAROLINA.  377 

joyed  by  the  members  of  the  establisliment  as  an  infringement  of  the 
toleration  secured  to  them  by  the  royal  chai-ter.  The  sincere  church- 
men justly  complained  of  the  api)ointmcnt  of  a  lay  commission  for  tlie 
trial  and  punishment  of  ecclesiastical  otlences.  Feuds  and  animosities 
were  the  result  of  this  arliitrary  and  irritating  legislation.  Though 
Mr.  Marston  was  removed  from  his  living  by  the  lay  commissione?s, 
of  whom  he  complained  that  "eleven  of  the  twenty  were  never  known 
to  receive  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper,"  '  it  Mas  impossible 
to  silence  or  suppress  one  so  turl)ulont  and  determined.  An  a^-ent 
was  sent  to  England  to  memorialize  the  House  of  Lords  against 
this  act  of  the  assembly.  The  lords  spiritual  and  temporal  ad- 
dressed the  queen  in  opposition  to  the  act,  and  the  lords  commis- 
sioners of  trade  and  plantations,  to  whom  the  subject  was  referred, 
reported  that  the  General  Assembly  of  Carolina  had  abused  the  power 
granted  to  the  lord  proprietors,  and  had  forfeited  their  charter.  Shortly 
after  the  queen  declared  the  law  to  be  null  and  void.  The  Society 
for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel,  which  had  recently  been  char- 
tered, but  which  had  already  sent  a  most  worthy  and  deservino' 
missionary  to  South  Carolina,  the  Rev.  Samuel  Thomas,  voted  to  send 
no  more  missionaries  to  the  province  until  the  section  of  the  act  re- 
lating to  lay  commissioners  was  repealed.  This  was  done  Novemljer 
30,  1706. 

Marston  applied  again  and  again  to  the  General  Assembly  for  the 
stipend  which  had  been  withheld.  Failing  to  secure  a  support  at  St. 
Philip's,  he  went  to  Christ  Church  parish,  which  was  established  in 
1706,  and  after  the  completion  of  the  church,  in  1708,  he  was  oiiered 
and  refused  the  cure.  The  vestry,  the  following  year,  addressed  the 
venerable  society,  expressing  their  convictions  "  that  it  was  happy  for 
us  that  he  was  not  chosen,  as  he  had  not  given  over  his  litigious,  con- 
tentious temper."  ^  The  assembly  voted  £150  to  the  Avife  of  this 
unhajjpy  man ;  but  even  this  act  of  clemency  failed  to  change  his 
course.  In  October,  1709,  the  assembly  ordered  his  prosecution  "as 
a  common  disturber  to  the  governor  and  government."  From  time  to 
time  the  assembly  granted  relief  to  his  suilering  family,  till,  in  1712, 
he  with  them  linally  left  the  province.-' 

The  troubles  of  the  Church  in  South  Carolina  were  by  no  means 
ended  when  the  litigious  and  erratic  Marston  was  dispossessed  of  his 
cure.  A  fugitive  clergyman,  Marsden  by  name,  from  Maryland, 
who  claimed  that  his  letters  had  been  blown  overl)oard  by  the  wind 
when  he  was  drying  them  after  a  storm,  "  thrust  himself"  into  the  vacant 
cure.  Of  pleasing  address  and  insinuating  in  manner,  he  ingratiated 
himself  with  a  party  in  the  church,  and  secured  by  misrepresentations 

>  Dalcho's  "Hist.  Ace.  of  the  Ch.  in  So.  itmay  have  been  among  the  MSS.  of  the  "Amcr- 

Cai*.,"  p.  63.  icau  Library  " :  — 

!  Hawks  and  Pony's  "Ch.  in  So.  Car.,"  p.  10.  The  Case  of  Mr.  Edward  Marston,   late 

Commissary  .lohnson  refers  to  his  "  tattered  habit  Minister  of  tlie  Church  of  St.  Philip  in  Charles- 

and  miserable  condition."  —  iS'o.  Cor.  J/.S'.,  i.,  Totvn'xnWiaVvo'imQcoi SOUTH CAROLIl^A, 

pp.  294, 29r).  as  represented  Ijy  himself  in  a  Letter  io^ha  Duke 

s  Dr.  White   Kennett,  in  his  "  Bibliothcca;  of  .B««i//or/,  P.ilatiue  of  the  Province,  and  other 

Americana^  Primordia"  (p. 21o),irivesthe  follow-  Honourable   (_>entlemcn.     Dat.  from   his    Study 

in^  title,  which  was,  doubtless,  Marston's  state-  a^jainst    Trinity  Church   in  the   Miaorie^,  Ko- 

ment  of  his  case.    As  no  printer's  name  is  given,  iwnjJ.  15,  1712.    4°.    pp.12.  [1712. 


378  HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

an  election  to  St.  Philip's,  and  had  held  his  position  for  a  year  with 
general  acceptance.  The  arrival  of  the  ilev.  Gideon  Johnson,  A.M., 
who  had  l)een  appointed  commissary  of  the  Bishop  of  London,  and 
who  brought  with  him  the  highest  testimonials  for  character  and 
ability  from  the  most  distinguished  prelates  of  the  Church  at  home, 
revealed  the  deception  practised  by  the  intruder,  and  excited  afresh 
the  opposing  factions  in  the  parish  and  town.  The  new  commissary 
entered  upon  his  work  under  circumstances  of  peculiar  trial  and  per- 
sonal danger.  After  a  tedious  passage  across  the  Atlantic,  to  quote 
his  own  words,  addressed  to  the  celebrated  Dr.  Gilbert  Burnet,  Bishop 
of  Salisbury :  — 

It  happened  that  I  was  put  a  shore  at  a  gi'eat  distance  from  this  Town  upon  a 
sandy  Ishind.witli  a  merchant  and  asaiU)r,  where  we  continued  twelve  '  days  and  as 
many  nin-hts,  without  any  manner  of  meat  and  drink  or  shelter  from  the  scorching 
heat  of  the  sun.  Miserable  and  almost  incredible  was  the  shift  we  made  to  subsist 
in  that  unhappy  place  for  so  long  a  time  ;  and  the  sailor  being  imable  to  bear  the 
want  of  shelter  and  provision  any  longer  did,  on  the  third  day  after  our  being 
landed,  swim  over  to  another  marshy  island  in  hopes  to  make  his  way  to  the  con- 
tinent, but  he  perished  in  the  attempt.  At  last  it  pleased  God  to  relieve  us,  for 
upon  the  arrival  of  the  ship  (in  which  we  were)  at  this  Town,  and  that  upon  being 
missed,  it  was  presently  suspected  what  became  of  us.  Sloops  and  boats,  Perigoes 
and  Canoes,  were  despatched  to  all  such  places  as  it  was  thought  we  might  be  in,  and 
on  the  twelfth  day  in  the  evening  a  Canoe  got  to  us  when  we  were  at  the  last  gasp 
and  just  upon  the  point  of  expiring.  The  next  morning  we  were  conveyed  to  the 
opposite  point  of  the  Continent,  where  I  lay  a  fortnight  before  I  cou'd  recover 
strength  enough  to  reach  the  Town.'' 

Disheartened  and  discouraged  by  this  untoward  entrance  upon  his 
work,  and  finding  as  soon  as  he  was  able  to  exert  himself  that  a  party 
had  been  raised  by  the  unscrupulous  Marsden  to  keep  him  out  of  his 
promised  benefice,  denied  an  entrance  to  his  "parsonage-house,"  and 
seeing  that  no  respect  was  paid  to  his  official  character,  nor  to  the 
pledges  and  promises  made  to  him  by  the  authorities,  both  of  the 
Church  and  state  at  home,  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  he  should 
write  to  the  "  Great  Bishop,"  with  whom  he  corresponded  in  words 
such  as  these  :  "  I  never  repented  so  much  of  any  thing,  my  sins  only 
excepted,  as  my  coming  to  this  j^lace,  nor  has  ever  man  been  treated 
with  less  humanity  and  compassion,  considering  how  much  I  had  suf- 
fered in  my  passage,  than  I  have  since  my  arrival  in  it."^  The  worthy 
commissary  could  endure  the  "  misfortunes  "  that  attended  his  en- 
trance upon  his  new  field  of  duty.  It  was  of"  ill  usage  "  that  he  com- 
plained, and  in  and  through  it  all,  it  was  at  the  hands  of  a  brother 
clergyman  that  his  sorest  trials  arose.  His  family  numbered  eleven. 
He  was  enfeebled  by  disease.  The  cost  of  living  was  far  greater  in 
the  province  than  in  England  or  Ireland.  His  stipend  was  insufficient, 
and,  in  view  of  the  hindrances  to  his  usefulness,  occasioned  l)y  the 
factious  opposition  he  experienced  at  the  start,  and  the  annoyances 
that  beset  him  in  consequence  of  his  straitened  means,  there  is  little 
wonder  that  he  depicted  in  such  strong  language  as  the  following  his 

»  Dr.  D.iIpUo,  by  an  evident  rlei-ical  error,  '  So.  Car.  MSS.,  I.,  pp.  139,  HO. 

states  the  period  as  two  days. —  Hist.  Acct.,  p.  77.  ^  Ihid. 


THE   CHURCH   IN   SOUTH  CAROLINA.  379 

first  impressions  of  the  people  to  whom  he  had  been  sent  to  minister 
in  holy  things  :  — 

The  people  here,  generally  speaking,  are  the  vilest  race  of  men  upon  tlie 
earth.  They  have  neither  honor,  nor  honesty,  nor  religion  enough  to  entitle  them 
to  any  tolerable  character,  being  a  perfect  luodlcy  or  hotch-potch,  made  up  of 
bankrupt  pirates,  decayed  libertines,  sectaries,  and  enthusiasts  of  all  sorts  who  have 
transported  themselves  hither  from  Bermudas,  Jamaica,  Barbadocs,  Hontserat, 
Antcgo,  Nevis,  Xew  Kngland,  Pennsylvania,  etc.,  and  are  the  most  factious  and 
seditious  people  in  the  whole  world.  Many  of  those  that  pretenil  to  be  Churchmen 
are  strangely  crippled  in  their  goings  between  the  Church  and  Presbytery,  and  as 
they  are  of  large  and  loose  principles,  so  they  live  and  act  accordingly,  somelinies 
going  openly  with  the  Dissenters,  as  I  hey  now  do  against  the  Church,  and  gi\'ing 
incredible  trouble  to  the  Governor  and  Clergy. 

The  MSS.  authorities  of  the  time  go  far  to  l)ear  out  the  indignant 
words  of  the  commissary,  and  it  is  not  a  little  to  his  credit  that,  with 
all  the  drawbacks  to  success  which  we  have  detailed,  and  all  the  oppo- 
sition both  from  within  as  well  as  from  without  the  Churcli,  to  the 
e.xistence  and  venom  of  which  oven  the  secular  histories  bear  witness, 
the  ministry  of  Johnson  was  singidarly  successfid.  Before  he  came 
the  Church  of  England  had  l)eeu  established  Ijy  law  by  the  passage  of 
the  "  Church  Act "  of  November  30,  1706.  This  legislation  gave  great 
satisfaction  to  the  lords  proprietors  who,  in  their  formal  assent  to  its 
adoption,  referred  to  it  as  a  "great  and  pious  work,"  accomplished 
"  with  unwearied  and  steady  zeal  for  the  honor  and  worship  of  Almighty 
God."'  But,  although  the  exertions  of  the  governor.  Sir  Nathaniel 
Johnson,  had  contributed  largely  to  this  result,  and  the  Church  was 
legally  the  "establishment,"  we  have  the  testimony  of  the  oljserving 
commissary  that  the  dissenters,  while  possessing  "liberty  and  pros- 
]ierity  to  the  full,"  and  enjoying  "the  free  and  undisturbed  exercise  of 
their  religion  in  all  respects,"  "are  never  to  be  satistied  till  they  can 
compass  the  downfall  of  the  infiut  Church."-  Coming  thus  to  a  di- 
vided Church,  and  an  estranged  and  eml)ittered  community,  it  is  greatly 
to  the  credit  of  Johnson  that,  by  his  humility  and  prudence,  his  devotion 
to  duty  and  his  simple,  unaflccted  piety,  he  succeeded  in  softening  the 
asperities  of  the  conflicting  parties,  and,  while  ho  builtuptheChmxhon 
strong  foimdations,  he  secured  for  himself  the  veneration  and  regard  of 
all.  His  letters  are  even  pathetic  in  their  full  and  tree  unbosoming  of 
the  trials  and  petty  annoyances  of  his  ministerial  life.  Poverty  and 
debt  stared  him  in  the  face.  At  first  his  \\'ife,  l)y  her  skill  in  i)ainting, 
added  to  his  scanty  means.  Sooy  this  slight  help  was  withdrawn,  as 
illness  laid  the  devoted  woman  on  her  bed.  Himself  a  martyr  to  gout, 
and  burdened  by  the  care  of  an  overgrown  and  ever-increasing  cure, 
he  was  uin-cmittiug  in  his  devotion  to  duty,  and  unflagging  in  his  watch- 
ful care  over  the  interests  of  the  church  committed  to  his  trust.  As  a 
mark  of  the  high  regard  entertained  for  his  character  and  labors,  the 
assemljly,  from  time  to  time,  added  to  his  slender  resources  and  pro- 
vided for  the  repair  and  care  of  his  house.  Ill-health  drove  him  at 
length  to  England  ;  but  after  an  absence  of  a  year  and  a  half  he  returned, 
unwilling  to  desert  a  work  confessedly  uncongenial  and  unrerauncr- 

■  Dalcho,  p.  75.  « So.  Car.  MSS.,  i.,  pp.  142,143. 


380  HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  EPISCOPAI,  CHURCH. 

ative  for  the  richer  benefices  of  his  old  home.  Pressed  with  ailments, 
and  bowed  down  with  cares,  the  wortliy  commi;ssary  failed  not  to  seek 
the  growth  in  grace  of  iiis  people.  In  a  letter  to  the  society,  under 
date  of  the  5th  of  July,  1710,  lie  thus  writes  :  — 

Tliere  i.s  nothing  that  I  more  earnestly  and  frequently  strive  for  than  to  bring 
people  to  a  just  sense  of  their  duty  concerning  the  Lord's  Supper ;  for  I  certainly 
conclude,  if  I  can  once  persuade  ttiem  to  receive  frequently  I  can  easily  persuade 
them  to  anything  else  that  is  holy  and  good.  Many  of  our  Church  folks  have  been 
prevailed  upon  to  receive  which  perhaps  were  never  known  to  receive  before ;  and 
to  promote  a  spirit  of  religion  among  them,  and  to  engage  them  by  all  the  honest 
arts  I  can  thini  of,  I  made  a  set  discourse  concerning  the  benefit  and  advantage 
of  setting  up  and  forming  religious  societies,  by  which  means  all  such  as  were 
lovers  of  God  and  goodness  would  save  themselves  from  this  untoward  generation 
and  keep  themselves  unspotted  from  the  world  by  supporting  and  inflaming  one 
another's  hearts  with  projjer  arguments  in  the  coarse  of  a  holy  life,  and  by  prayer 
and  psalmody  on  select  days.  I  cannot  say  much  as  yet  to  the  success  of  this 
project,  but  I  trust  in  God.  He  will  bless  my  honest  endeavors  this  way  to  some 
degree,  and  that  I  shall  not  altogether  lose  my  labor.  ...  I  must  own  myself 
greatly  improved  since  I  came  hither.  I  scarce  knew  what  it  was  to  be  a  minister 
before.  But  the  strangeness  and  singularity  of  the  people's  humour  here,  ■with 
respect  to  religion,  and  the  difficulties  that  have  occm-ied  to  me  on  this  account, 
have  awakened  my  care  and  diligence  to  an  imcommon  degree,  and  God  has  in- 
spired me  with  greater  measures  of  zeal  and  spirit  than  I  could  formerly  feel  in 
myself  for  carrying  on  the  common  cause.' 

In  sending  missionaries  to  South  Carolina  the  venerable  society 
proposed,  as  a  chief  object  in  view,  the  conversion  of  the  aborigines 
and  the  instruction  of  the  negro  slaves.  Efforts  from  time  to  time 
were  made  to  bring  to  the  Indians  the  knowledge  of  the  Christian  flvith  ; 
but  the  lives  of  the  traders  were  such  as  to  frustrate  all  hopes  of 
alluring  the  savages  to  a  faith  so  poorly  excmplilied  by  the  Christians 
whom  they  knew  and  had  dealings  with ;  and  wlien  the  patient  oflbrts 
of  the  missionaries  had  begun  to  promise  results,  a  frontier  war 
effectually  precluded  any  further  attempts  at  evangelization.  The 
negroes  were  more  readily  reached  by  instruction,  and  the  "Notitia" 
of  nearly  every  clergyman  attests  his  pains  to  bring  the  slaves  to 
instruction  and  baptism.  Notalily  tlie  Rev.  Dr.  Francis  Le  Jau,  of 
St.  James's,  Goose  Creek,  who  succeeded  the  worthy  Thomas,  exerted 
himself  for  the  jjood  of  the  slaves  of  his  cure.  To  remove  a  latent 
suspicion,  in  the  minds  of  both  masters  and  servants,  that  admission  to 
holy  baptism  was  equivalent  to  manumission,  the  worthy  missionary 
disarmed  the  opposition  of  the  owners,  and  removed  the  misconcep- 
tion of  the  slaves  on  this  point  by  requiring  his  converts  to  consent  to 
the  following  declaration  :  — 

You  declare,  in  the  jiresence  of  God  and  before  this  congi-egation,  that  you  do 
not  ask  for  the  Holy  Baptism  out  of  any  design  to  free  j-oiu'self  from  the  duty  and 
obedience  you  owe  to  your  blaster  while  you  live ;  but  merely  for  the  good  of  your 
soul,  and  to  partake  of  the  Graces  and  blessings  promised  to  the  members  of  the 
Church  of  Jesus  Christ.  ^ 

"Well  might  this  worthy  missionary  write  :  "I  see  with  an  incredi- 
ble joy  the  fervour  of  these  poor  slaves."'     With  him  there  was  not 

'  So.  Car.  MSS.,  I.,  pp.  2i2,  243.  •  Hid.,  p   1G6.  '  Ibid. 


THE   CHURCH   IN   SOUTH  CAROLINA.  381 

merely  the  glad  reception  of  these  unfortunates  to  the  Christian  sacra- 
ment, but  there  was  the  willing  toil,  often  of  years,  preceding  this 
act  of  baptism,  and  the  continuance  of  a  loving,  watchful  care  when 
once  the  covenant  had  been  thus  pul)licly  entered  into.  Labor  so 
wisely  directed  and  so  Christianly  conceived  could  not  fail  of  success, 
and  among  the  philanthropists  of  the  early  part  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury this  excellent  missionary  of  the  Church  at  South  Carolina  deserves 
remembrance  and  praise.  "Our  free  Indians,"  writes  Dr.  Le  Jau  to 
the  society,  "our  neighbours,  come  to  see  me.  I  admire  the  sense 
they  have  of  justice,  and  their  patience.  They  have  no  aml)iti()n.  As 
for  their  desire  of  God,  their  notions  are  o))scure  indeed,  but  when  we 
take  pains  to  converse  with  them,  in  a  jargon  they  are  able  to  under- 
stand, we  perceive  their  souls  are  fit  material,  which  may  be  easily 
polished.  They  agree  with  me  about  the  duty  of  praying  and  doin"' 
the  good  and  eschewing  the  evil."'  It  was,  says  the  Christian  teacher, 
"  the  manner  how  our  Indian  trade  is  carried  on  that  hindered  the 
publishing  of  the  gospel  among  the  Indians,  chiefly  the  fomenting  of 
war  among  them  for  our  people  to  get  slaves."-  This  miserable  policy 
produced  its  natural  result.  The  Indians  cheated,  l)ut  not  Christian- 
ized, rose  at  length  in  arms  and  avenged  their  wrongs  with  indiscrimi- 
nate slaughter  and  destruction.  With  "  great  sorrow  "  Le  Jau  saw 
no  other  remedy  for  the  injustice  and  wrong  with  which  the  savages 
whom  he  sought  to  benefit  and  instruct  were  treated  "  but  to  be  patient 
and  pray  and  labor  as  much  as  he  was  able."^  It  would  have  been 
well  for  the  province  if  the  policy  of  the  priest  and  preacher  had  pre- 
vailed over  that  of  the  avaricious  and  unscrupulous  trader. 

In  the  midst  of  much  sickness  and  great  mortality  the  worthy 
commissary  sought  in  every  way  the  deepening  of  the  spiritual  life 
among  his  people.     "  There  is  no  article,"  he  reports  to  the  society  :  — 

I  have  oftener,  or  with  greater  vehemence  pressed  in  my  sermons  than  the 
necessity  of  communicating  frequently;  and  lindingthat  mj'  addresses  tliis  way  did 
not  altogether  produce  the  desired  efl'ect,  I  did  by  private  application  when  I  visited 
the  sick,  especially  press  home  this  point,  and  I  thank  God,  with  a  groat  deal  of 
success.  Many  of  those  that  were  prevailed  upon  to  I'csolve  on  receiving,  died 
before  they  could  do  it,  and  others  died  after  they  had  received  it.  Many  are  still 
sick  that  have  received,  and  have  promised  solemnly  to  be  constant  communicants 
for  the  future,  and  though,  as  I  have  said,  the  number  of  my  parishioners  has  been 
considerably  lessened  by  death,  yet,  were  they  all  well  that  were  alive  the  number 
of  communicants  would  be  greater  than  formerly.  I  look  upon  the  visitation  of  the 
sick  to  be  a  duty  of  the  last  consequence  to  the  souls  of  men,  and  it  is  upon  the  bed 
of  sickness,  if  ever,  that  a  minister  has  the  greatest  opportunity  of  doing  good.  I 
thank  God,  the  pains  I  take  this  way  is  not  ineffectual,  and  the  readiness  I  express 
in  going  to  the  sick,  though  not  sent  for,  when  I  myself  am  often  very  weak  and 
sickly,  gives  no  small  reputation  to  my  addresses.'' 

Thus  laboring,  and  all  the  while  a  martyr  to  disease,  with  an  in- 
firmity rendering  the  use  of  both  hands  requisite  i  n  writing,  and  a  feeble- 
ness of  frame  making  his  parochial  visits  laborious  and  painful,  the 
commissary  found  it  necessary  to  visit  England  again  and  again  for 
medical  advice  and  treatment.     The  neighljoring  clergy  supplied  his 

'  So.  Car. MSS.,  I.,  pp.  1G7,  168.  'Ibid.  ^  Ibid.,  p.  IGS.  ■•/««.,  pp.  278,279. 


382  HISTORY  OF  THE   AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

place  dui'ing  .•in  absence  iirotracted  by  necessity  for  eighteen  months. 
To  his  care  and  Iceeping  was  committed  an  important  paper  containing 
the  grievances  of  the  clergy  under  the  late  kigislatiou  of  the  assemlily 
of  the  province.  These  grievances  recited  the  tendency  of  this  action 
to  dimiiush  the  authority  and  jurisdiction  of  the  Bisliop  of  London,  in 
depriving  him  of  the  power  to  suspend  or  de[)rive  a  clergyman  of  evil 
life  from  his  Ijencfice.  Neither  could  the  bishop  protect  an  injured  or 
oppressed  clergyman,  because  the  church  commissioners,  under  pre- 
tence that  the  original  election  was  illegal,  could  declare  it  null  and  void, 
and  no  power  could  overthrow  their  decisions.  Practically  the  epis- 
copal power,  save  that  of  ordination,  was  usurped  by  the  Church  com- 
missioners and  the  people.  Even  the  sending  of  a  bishop  to  America 
would  be  useless,  unless  the  episcopal  authority  was  established  on  a 
better  footing.  The  opposition  of  the  masters  to  the  conversion  and 
baptism  of  iheir  slaves  was  so  great  and  so  general  that  the  work  was 
rendered  well-nigh  impossible.  Tiie  exertions  of  Ur.  Le  Jau  were 
referred  to  as  an  excejjtion  to  the  almost  universal  rule.  But  no  time 
for  instruction  was  allowed,  save  the  Lord's  day,  when  other  duties 
occupied  the  clergyman's  time  and  exhausted  his  strength.  The  slaves 
could  not  l)e  brought  together  for  instruction,  liecause  "  they  would  there- 
l)y  have  an  opportunity  of  knowing  their  own  strength  and  superiority 
iu  point  of  numbers,"  and  might  "  be  tempted  to  recover  their  liberty." 
The  masters  were  "generally  of  opinion  that  a  slave  grows  worse  by 
being  a  Christian."  The  legislature  did  not  encourage  the  attempt, 
since  the  conversion  of  the  slaves  was  deemed  inconsistent  with  the 
planter's  secular  interest  and  advantage.  Even  the  Lord's  day  was  not 
allowed  to  these  poor  heathen  in  all  cases,  and  the  attempt  to  redress 
their  wrongs  and  teach  them  the  way  of  life  was  met  with  scofl's  and 
every  possible  hindrance  placed  in  the  way.  The  manner  of  institution 
was  a  matter  of  complaint,  so  many  formalities  had  to  be  observed  :  and 
so  many  obstacles  attended  the  entrance  of  a  duly  qualified  and  properly 
recommended  clergyman  into  a  living  that  it  was  made  practically  im- 
possilile.  The  appointment  of  parish  clerk  and  sexton  was  also  taken 
from  the  clergj^man.  The  church  and  church- j'ard  were  vested  b}^  law  in 
the  clerk  and  not  in  the  minister.  Even  anal)aptist  mechanics  received 
licenses  to  marry  those  who  cared  to  avail  themselves  of  their  authority, 
whereby  polygamy  and  incestuous  marriages  were  i)erformed  through 
carelessness  or  want  of  knowledge.  The  salaries  were  depreciated  in 
value,  lieing  paid  in  currency,  ^^'hich  was  at  a  great  discount.  The  nega- 
tive of  the  incumbent,  in  vestry  meeting,  was  taken  away.  Clergymen, 
compelled  by  sickness  or  other  causes  to  remove  within  two  years  after 
their  arrival,  were  required  to  refund  advances  made  to  them  at  the  first. 
Dilapidations  were  required  to  be  made  good  out  of  the  estate,  or  at  the 
hands  of  the  family  in  the  event  of  the  death  of  an  incumbent.  The 
legislation  in  matters  ecclesiastical  was  passed  without  consultation  with 
the  commissary,  or  any  representative  or  representatives  of  the  clergy. 
These  grievances  were  presented  in  full  to  the  authorities  at  home.' 
This  statement  of  their  complaints  was  considered  and  adopted  by  the 

'  Vide  So.  Carolina  MSS.,  I.,  pp.  355-381. 


THE   CHURCH   IN   SOUTH   CAROLINA.  383 

clergy,  at  Charleston,  on  the  4th  of  March,  1712-13.  llolicf  in  some 
of  these  points  was,  after  a  time,  secured.  Au  act  was  passed  by  the 
assembly'  "for  the  better  ordering  and  governing  of  Negroes  and 
Slaves,"  which  contained  the  following  jjrovision  :  — 

Since  cliarity  and  the  Cliristian  Religion,  which  wc  profess,  obliges  us  (o  wish  well 
to  the  souls  of  all  men,  and  that  religion  ma)'  not  be  made  a  pi-etence,  to  alter  any 
man's  property  and  riglits,  and  that  no  person  may  neglect  to  liapline  tlieir  negroes  or 
slaves,  or  sutler  them  to  be  baptized,  for  fear  that  thereby  they  should  be  manu- 
mitted and  set  free :  Be  it  therefore  Enacted,  That  it  shall  bo,  and  is  hereby  de- 
clared lawful  for  any  negro  or  Indian  slave,  or  any  other  slave  or  slaves  whatsoever, 
to  receive  and  jirofess  the  Christian  faith,  and  be  thereunto  baptized.  But  that 
notwithstanding  such  slave  or  slaves  shall  reci'ive  and  profess  the  Christian  relig- 
ion, and  be  baptized,  he  or  they  shall  not  thereby  be  manumitted  or  set  free,  or 
his  or  their  owner,  master  or  mistress,  lose  his  or  their  civil  right,  j)ropcrty  and 
authority  over  such  slave  or  slaves,  Ijut  that  the  slave  or  slaves,  with  respect  to  his 
or  their  servitude,  shall  remain  and  continue  in  the  same  state  and  condition  that 
lie  or  they  was  in  before  the  making  of  this  act.^ 

While  these  matters  were  engrossing  the  attention  of  the  clergy, 
the  Church  in  Cliarleston  had  increased  under  tlie  quiet  ))ut  efEcient 
management  of  Commissary  Johnson  to  that  extent  that  the  old 
building  of  cypress  wood  had  become  insufficient  for  the  numbers 
who  formed  the  congregation,  and  was  so  far  decayed  as  to  be  unfit 
for  repair.  An  act  of  the  assembly  was  passed  •*  for  the  erection  of  a 
church  of  1)rick,  with  a  "tower  or  steeple,  and  a  ring  of  bolls  therein, 
together  with  a  cemetery  or  church-ytird,  to  be  enclosed  with  a  brick 
wall,  for  the  ))urial  of  Christian  ]ieople."  The  work  was  prosecuted 
with  such  little  alacrity  that  in  1720  another  act  was  adopted,  the 
preamble  of  which  recites  that  "  Whereas  liy  storms  and  tempests 
part  of  the  Brick  Church  in  Cliarlcs  Town  has  been  l)lown  down,  which 
was  in  a  fair  way  of  being  Ituilt  and  completed,"  and  "Wliereas,  the 
present  parish  Church  in  tlie  said  town  must  inevitably  in  a  very  little 
time  fall  to  the  ground,  the  timber  being  rotten,  and  the  whole  fabrick 
entirely  decayed,  so  that  the  whole  to^vn  will  be  left  without  a  tit  and 
convenient  place  for  public  divine  worship  :  "  therefore  an  additional, 
duty  was  laid  for  the  purpose  of  completing  the  church  on  rum,  brand}-, 
and  other  spirits,  and  on  negroes  imported  for  sale.  Thus  the  long- 
delayed  work  was  brought  to  au  end.  A  school  had  been  established 
at  Charleston  under  the  auspices  of  the  venerable  society,  in  1711,  and 
a  year  later  the  assembly  enlarged  and  incorporated  "A  Free  School  for 
the  use  of  the  Inhabitants  of  the  Province  of  South  Carolina."  A 
building  of  brick  was  erected  and  a  stipend  provided  by  law  for  the 
master,  who  was  required  to  be  "  of  the  religion  of  the  Church  of 
England,  and  conform  to  the  same,  and  be  capable  to  teach  the  learned 
languages  (that  is  to  say),  Latin  and  Greek  fongues,  and  to  catechise 
and  instruct  the  youth  in  the  principles  of  the  Christian  Religion  as 
professed  in  the  Church  of  England.'"' 

The  Yamassce  Indians  occupied  that  portion  of  the  province  lying 
between  Port  Royal  island  and  the  Savannah  river.  In  1715  they  liroke 
out  in  war  against  the  settlers,  and  were  joined  by  all  the  tribes  from 

J  June  7,  1712.  =Dalcho,  pp.  34,  9.j.  s  March,  1710,  11.     The  .-lot  is  printc.l  at 

length  in  Dalcho,  pp.  4.53,  434.  '  Dalclio,  pp.  9.j,  9G. 


384  HISTORY   OF  THE   AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

Florida  to  Cape  Fear  river.  On  the  15th  of  April  they  attacked  the 
settlements,  and  with  their  treachery  and  ferocity  devastated  the  plan- 
tations and  massacred  the  inhabitants.  The  missionaries  suflered  in 
common  with  the  people  of  their  charge.  Fleeing  from  their  parsonages 
and  wordly  possessions  they  were  driven  to  Charleston,  leaving  all 
they  had  at  the  mercy  of  a  pitiless  foe.  The  society  sought  by  gra- 
tuities to  make  good  their  losses.  It  was  long,  however,  ere  order 
and  confidence  were  restored,  and  the  people  and  their  pastors  were 
again  in  possession  of  their  former  homes.  At  length  the  danger  was 
passed,  and  by  degrees  the  province  regained  its  wonted  security. 
The  commissary  meanwhile  had  returned  from  England,  and  had 
resumed  his  abundant  labors.  AVelcomed  by  the  clergy,  over  whom 
he  had  been  appointed,  acceptal)le  to  the  people  to  whom  he  minis- 
tered, and  devoted  to  his  work,  which,  with  renewed  health  and  strength 
he  enteied  upon  with  added  zeal  and  faithfulness,  a  lamentable  accident 
deprived  the  Church  and  the  province  of  this  most  useful  and  pious  man. 
In  the  month  of  April,  1716,  the  Hon.  Charles  Craven,  governor  of 
the  province,  embarked  for  England,  and  the  commissary,  in  company 
with  a  number  of  the  leading  people  of  Charleston,  went  over  the  bar 
to  take  leave  of  him.  On  their  return  from  the  ship  a  sudden  squall 
overset  the  vessel,  and  the  commissary,  crippled  with  the  gout, 
being  below,  was  drowned.  By  a  strange  coincidence  the  vessel 
drifted  on  the  same  sand-bank  on  which  I\Ir.  Johnson  had  nearly  per- 
ished on  his  arrival  in  Caixdina.  His  body  was  brought  to  town,  and 
interred  with  every  mark  of  respect  and  sorrow. 

In  the  interim  following  the  sad  decease  of  Commissary  Johnson, 
an  unworthy  clergyman,  by  the  name  of  Wye,  foisted  himself  into  the 
vacant  benefice ;  but  in  1719  the  Rev.  Alexander  Garden,  A.M.,  ar- 
rived from  England,  and  was  duly  elected  to  the  charge  of  St.  Philip's. 

The  proprietary  government  having  been  abandoned,  and  the 
province  having  passed  under  the  protection  of  the  crown,  Francis 
Nicholson  was  appointed  provisional  governor  in  the  year  1720,  until 
a  final  arrangement  could  be  made  with  the  loi'ds  proprietors.  Among 
the  "  Instructions  "  which  he  received  from  the  king  he  was  bidden  to 
"  take  especial  care  that  God  Almighty  be  devoutlj'  and  duly  served 
throughout  the  government,  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer,  as  by 
law  established,  read  each  Sunday  and  Holy-day,  and  the  blessed 
Sacrament  administered  according  to  the  Rites  of  the  Church  of 
England."  ^  By  these  "  Instructions  "  the  governor  was  required 
to  see  that  the  churches  were  "  well  and  orderly  kept,"  and  more 
built ;  that  a  "competent  maintenance"  be  assigned  to  the  minister, and 
a  "  convenient  house  "  and  glebe  provided  for  him  ;  that  proper  disci- 
pline should  be  maintained ;  that  the  minister  be  a  member  of  the 
vestry,  and  no  vestry  be  held  without  him  ;  that  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
Bishop  of  London  be  maintained,  "  excepting  only  the  collating  to 
Benefices,  granting  licenses  for  marriages,  and  probates  of  wills," 
which  were  reserved  for  the  governor  himself;  that  school-masters 
should  be  licensed ;  that  a  table  of  affinity  be  "  hung  up  in  every 

•  Dalcho,  p.  99. 


THE   CHURCH   IN    SOUTH   CAROLINA.  SS.") 

Orthodox  Church  and  dul}'  ohservcd  ; "  and  that  vice  lie  discouate- 
nauced  and  punished,  and  virtue  and  good  living  encouraged. 

The  vacanc}'  in  the  office  of  commissary,  occasioned  by  tiie  death 
of  tlie  excellent  Joimson,  was  lillcd  l)y  the  appointment  of"  the  Rev. 
William  TredwcU  Bull,  A.M.,  incumbent  of  St.  Paul's.  Colleton. 
Courteous  in  manner,  prudcnl  in  his  behavior,  zealous  in  the  perform- 
ance of  duty,  and  unremitting  in  his  devotion  to  the  spiritual  wants 
of  his  people,  the  Church  at  Colleton  had  flourished  under  his  minis- 
trations, and  in  his  ofhcial  relations  to  the  clergy  and  the  Church  at 
large  he  was  no  less  successful  in  maintaining  discipline  and  in  ad- 
vancing the  material  and  spiritual  interests  committed  to  his  charge. 
The  clergy  were  convened  year  by  year,  and,  although  cases  of  clis- 
cipline  were  so  infrequent  as  almost  to  escape  notice,  there  were 
always  matters  of  interest  in  the  action  of  the  legislature  respecting 
the  Church,  and  in  the  address  to  the  royal  governor,  sufficient  to 
warrant  the  meeting  from  time  to  time  of  these  earnest  and  excel- 
lent men  of  God.  After  several  yeai's  of  successful  ministration 
Commissary  Bull  returned  to  England,  in  1723,  -where,  for  his  valu- 
able services  while  in  South  ('arolina,  he  was  promoted  to  a  valuable 
benefice.  The  Bishop  of  London,  Dr.  Robinson,  died  in  the  j'car  of  jNIr. 
Bull's  return,  and  it  was  not  until  several  years  had  elapsed  that  Dr. 
Ednnmd  Gibson,  who  had  been  translated 
from  the  see  of  Lincoln  to  that  of  I^ondon, 
filled  the  place  of  conunissary,  by  the 
pointment  of  the  Rev.  Alexander  Garden, 

A.M.,  incumbent  of  St.  Philip's,  Charles-        "     '  "T^- 

ton.    This  appointment  was  made  in  1726,  ' 

and  previous  to  that  time  the  clergy  relied 

jan  the  continued  kind  ofhces  of  Mr.  Bull  to  represent  their  case  in 
England  before  their  diocesan  and  the  venerable  society. 

Commissary  Garden  entered  upon  his  office  at  a  period  of  pros- 
-perity,  both  in  church  and  state.  He  had  been  in  the  province  since 
1719,  when  he  was  elected  to  the  rectorship  of  St.  Philip's,  and  both 
in  view  of  his  virtues  and  al)ilily  was  possessed  of  all  the  qualifications 
requisite  for  his  work.  Beloved  by  the  people  to  whom  he  ministered, 
respected  by  the  clergy  who  were  committed  to  his  charge,  and  watch- 
ful over  the  interests^)f  the  Church,  his  long  term  of  service  was  com- 
paratively uneventful,  and  his  contro^'ersy  with  the  celebrated  White- 
field  is  almost  the  sole  noticeable  occurrence  of  the  period. 

The  commissary  had  shown  no  little  interest  in  the  affairs  of  John 
Wesley,  who  records  in  his  journal  •  his  indebtedness  to  him  "  for  many 
kind  and  generous  offices  ; '"'  and  on  Whitefield's  first  visit  to  Charles- 
ton he  received  him  "very  courteously"- and  offered  him  hospitable 
entertainment  at  "the  Parsonage-house."  AVhitetield  notes  that  "  the 
Church  is  very  beautiful."  On  his  iireaching  at  St.  Philip's  the  com- 
missary "thanked  him  most  cordially,  and  apprized  him  of  the  ill- 
treatment  John  AVesley  had  met  with  in  Georgia,  and  assured  him  that 
were  the  same  ai-bitrary  proceedings  to  commence  against  him  he  would 

'  .lournal,  I.,  p.  13.  =Thc  two  first  parts  of  Whitefield's  Life,  with  hi>  jourual,  p.  95. 


ndon,  ^_ 


386  HISTORY   or   THE   AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

defend  him  with  his  life  and  fortune." '  On  his  second  visit  the  com- 
missary was  absent,  and  as  "the  Curate  had  not  a  Commission  to  lend 
the  pulpit,"  Whitetield  preached  first  "  in  one  of  the  Dissenting  meeting- 
houses," and  the  following  day  "in  the  French  Church,"  delaying  his 
journey  for  another  sermon  in  the  former  place  of  meeting.  On  re- 
visiting Charleston,  some  weeks  later,  Whitetield  "waited  on  the  Com- 
missary," "but  met  with  a  cool  reception."  Still  the  evangelist  went 
to  "  Public  prayers,"  the  day  being  Friday,  and  then  preached  in  the 
"Independent  JNIeeting-House,"  and  the  following  day  in  the  "Baptist 
Meeting-House."  On  Sunday,  after  preaching  at  an  early  hour  "at 
the  Scots'  Meeting-House,"  Whitefield  "  went  to  Church,  and  heard  the 
Commissary  represent"  him  "mider  the  chai-acter  of  the  Pharisee,  who 
came  to  the  Temple,  saying,  Ood,  I  thank  Thee  that  I  am  not  as  other 
men  are.  But  whether  I  do  what  I  do,  out  of  a  principle  of  pride,  or 
duty,  the  Searcher  of  Hearts  will  discover  ere  long  to  Men  and  Angels. 
Found  myself  very  sick  and  weak  at  Dinner,  liut  went  to  Church  again 
in  the  Afternoon,  and  preached  about  five  in  the  Independent  Meeting- 
House  Yard,  the  House  itself,  tho'  large,  being  not  near  capacious 
enough  to  hold  the  Auditory."  ^  The  two  days  following,  the  great 
evangelist  preached  twice  each  day  in  the  "Independent  Meeting- 
House,"  collecting  £70  sterling  for  the  orphans  at  Bethesda.  Some 
weeks  later  the  diary  records  as  follows  :  — 

Sunday,  July  G.  Preached  twice  yesterdaj'  and  twice  today,  and  liad  great 
reason  to  believe  our  Lord  got  Himself  the  victory  in  some  hearts  :  for  the  Word 
was  with  power.  Went  to  Church  in  tlie  Morning  and  Afternoon,  and  heard  as 
viralent,  unorthodox,  and  inconsistent  a  discourse  as  perhaps  was  ever  delivered. 
The  Preacher's  heart  seemed  full  of  choler  and  resentment.  Out  of  the  abundance 
thereof  he  poured  forth  so  many  bitter  words  against  the  Jlethodists  (as  he  called 
them),  in  general,  and  me  in  particular,  that  several  who  intended  to  receive  the 
Sacrament  at  his  hands  withdrew.  Never,  I  believe,  was  such  a  preparation-ser- 
mon preached  before.  After  .sermon,  came  the  Clerk  lo  desire  me  not  to  come  to 
the  Sacrament  till  his  Master  had  spoke  with  me.  I  immediately  retired  to  my 
lodgings,  rejoicing  that  I  was  accounted  worthy  to  suffer  this  further  degree  of 
contempt  for  my  dear  Lord's  sake.  Blessed  Jesus,  lay  it  not  to  the  Minister's 
charge.     Amen  and  Amen.^ 

Returning  to  Charleston  a  few  days  later,  Whitefield  "  read 
prayers  and  preached  at  the  request  of  the  Church-wardens  at  Christ's 
Church."*  During  the  week  following,  though  his  journal  records  no 
allusion  to  it,  occurred  the  arraignment  of  the  evangelist  before  the 
ecclesiastical  court  held  in  St.  Philip's  Church,  on  Tuesday,  July 
15,  1740,  in  response  to  the  formal  citation  from  the  commissary, 
accusing  him  of  certain  "  excesses,  and  chicfiy  for  omitting  to  use  the 
forms  of  prayer  prescribed  in  the  communion  book."®  Whitefield  ap- 
peared in  court  on  the  day  appointed,  but  protested  against  the  admis- 
sion of  articles  against  him,  as  he  doubted  the  authority  of  the  court  to 
proceed  in  the  case.  He  further  prayed  for  time  to  prepare  and  pro- 
duce his  objections.     This  request  was  granted.     At  the  next  meeting 

'  Gillies's  "  Life  of  Whiteficltl,  p.  29.  "  Dr.  Rams;iy,  iu  a  note  to  pp.  1'2-14  of  vol. 

=  Two  first  parts  of  WliiteficWs  T^ife,  p.  333.  ii.  of  his  "History  of  So.  Cavolina,"  {rives  a 

'Two  first  parts,  etc,  pp.  .3fi9,  370.  ilelailed  account  of  this  interostin?  ecclesiastical 

'  Two  fir^t  parts,  etc.,  p.  3S1.  trial,  from  wliieli  wc  have  drawn  our  account. 


THE   CHURCH   IN   SOUTH   CAROLINA.  387 

of  the  court  he  tendered  exceptions  in  writing,  "in  recusation  of  the 
judge."  At  the  same  time  he  proposed  to  refer  "the  causes  of  his 
recusation  against  the  judge"  to  six  indifferent  arbitrators,  three  of 
whom  were  to  be  chosen  by  the  commissary.  A  replication  to  these 
exceptions  was  made  by  William  Smith,  and  the  relevancy  of  the  ex- 
ceptions was  argued  before  the  court  by  Andrew  Rutledge,  in  behalf 
of  Whitefield,  and  the  contrary  view  by  James  Graeme.  The  court, 
consisting  of  the  commissary  and  the  Rev.  Messrs.  William  Guy, 
Timothy  Melliehamp,  Stephen  Roe,  and  William  Orr,  clerical  assist- 
ants, unanimously  decreed  ''that  the  exceptions  be  repelled." 

From  this  decision  the  accused  appealed  to  the  lords  commissioners 
appointed  by  the  king  for  receiving  and  hearing  appeals  in  spiritual 
causes  from  the  American  plantations.  This  was  granted,  and  a  year 
and  a  day  allowed  for  the  prosecution  of  the  appeal  and  for  hearing  the 
result.  It  was  ordered  by  the  court  that  in  the  interim  all  further 
proceedings  should  be  stayed.  It  is  very  evident  that  Whitefield 
thought  or  cared  very  little  for  the  commissary  or  his  court.  During 
the  hearing  of  his  cause  there  was  no  interruption  in  the  evangelistic 
labors  he  had  undertaken,  since  twice  daily  ho  preached  to  admiring 
crowds,  thronging  the  "meeting-houses"  and  other  places  which  were 
opened  to  him,  till,  at  length,  worn  out  with  his  efforts,  he  left  his  bed 
to  take  his  "last  farewell  of  the  dear  people  of  Charleston."  '  On  his 
next  visit  to  Charleston  he  resumed  his  labors  among  the  dissenters, 
and,  "being  denied  the  sacrament  at  church,"  he  "  administered  it  thrice 
in  a  private  house."  "Baptists,  Church-Folks,  and  Presbyterians,  all 
joined  together,  and  received  according  to  the  Church  of  England, 
excepting  two,  who  desu'ed  to  have  it  sitting."  ^  When  again  in 
Charleston  no  opposition  was  made  to  his  movements  until  early  in 
the  following  January,  when  he  was  arrested  for  having  "  made  and 
composed  a  false,  malicious,  scandalous,  and  infamous  libel  against 
the  clergy  "  of  South  Carolina,  by  editing  and  publishing  a  letter 
written  by  one  of  his  converts,  Mr.  Hugh  Bryan,  in  which  "  it  was 
hinted  that  the  clergy  break  their  canons."*  On  his  arrest  Whitefield 
immediately  went  before  the  chief  justice,  acknowledged  that  he  had 
revised  and  corrected  Mr.  Bryan's  letter  for  the  jiress,  and  gave  secu- 
rity for  his  appearance  at  the  next  general  quarter  sessions,  under 
penalty  of  £100  "Proclamation  money."  This  done,  he  writes  in  his 
journal,  and  shortly  publishes  to  the  world,  these  words  :  "Blessed  be 
God  for  f/iis  further  honour  !  I  think  (his  maybe  called  Peksecution. 
I  think  it  is  for  Righteousness'  sake."  * 

The  time  for  the  prosecution  of  Whitefield's  appeal  expired,  and 
"  it  was  certified  by  the  register  of  the  court  that  no  prohibition  what- 
ever from  further  proceedings  in  the  said  cause,  nor  any  decree  or 
determination  of  any  superior  court  had  been  interposed,  and  there- 
fore, on  motion,  the  business  was  resumed  as  if  no  appeal  had  been 
made."  The  case,  which  had  been  adjourned  from  time  to  time,  till 
there  could  be  no  doubt  of  the  failure  on  Whitefield's  part  to  prosecute 
the  appeal,  was  at  length  resumed,  and  the  final  decree,  after  a  full 
recital  of  all  the  facts  in  the  case,  was  pronounced  in  these  words  :  — 

'  Two  first  part3,  etc.,  p.  374.  =  Ibid.,  p.  381.  ■  Ibid.,  p.  442.  '  Ibid.,  p.  443. 


388  HISTORY   OF   THE   AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

Therefore,  We  Alexander  Garden,  the  judge  aforesaid,  having  first  invoked 
the  name  of  Christ,  and  setting  and  having  God  Himself  alone  before  our  eyes,  and 
by  and  with  the  advice  of  the  Revei-end  persons,  William  Guy,  Timothy  Jlelli- 
champ,  Stephen  Roe,  and  William  Orr,  with  whom  in  that  part  we  have  advised 
and  maturely  deliberated,  do  pronounce,  decree,  and  declare  the  aforesaid  George 
Whitefield,  clerk,  to  have  been  at  the  times  articled,  and  now  to  be  a  priest  of  the 
Church  of  England,  and  at  the  times  and  days  in  that  part  articled,  to  have  officiated 
at  divers  Meeting-houses  in  Charleston,  in  the  province  of  South  Carolina,  by 
praying  and  preaching  to  public  congregations  ;  and  at  such  times  to  have  omitted 
to  use  the  form  of  prayer  prescribed  in  the  Communion  Book  or  Book  of  Common 
Prayer,  or  at  least  according  to  the  laws,  canons,  and  constitutions  ecclesiastical  in 
that  part  made,  provided  and  promulged,  not  to  have  used  the  same  according  to 
the  lawful  proof  before  us  in  that  part  judicially  had  and  made.  We  therefore  pro- 
nounce, decree,  and  declare,  that  the  said  George  Whitefield,  for  his  e.xcesses  and 
faults  ought  duly  and  canonically,  and  according  to  the  exigence  of  the  law  in  that 
part  in  the  premises,  to  be  corrected  and  jjunished,  and  also  to  be  suspended  from 
his  office ;  accordingly  by  these  presents,  we  do  suspend  him,  the  said  George  \Vhite- 
field,  and  so  suspended,  we  also  pronounce,  decree,  and  declare  him  to  be  de- 
nounced, declared,  and  published  openly  and  publicly  in  the  face  of  the  Church.^ 

The  proceedings  in  this  celeln-ated  case  were  duly  transmitted  to 
the  Bishop  of  London,^  who  had  been  advised  from  time  to  time  of 
the  measures  taken  by  the  commissary,  and  had  concurred  in  the  same. 
To  the  legal  mind  of  Garden,  Whitefield'.s  failure  to  prosecute  his  ap- 
peal was  equivalent  to  a  grievous  sin.  In  the  commissary's  letter  to 
the  venerable  society,  under  date  of  April  9,  1742,  he  thus  states  the 
case :  — 

I  have  now  finished  my  proceedings  against  Whitefield  (as  far  as  I  can  go  on 
this  side  of  the  water),  and  suspended  him  from  his  office,  pursuant  to  the  38th 
Canon  of  the  Church.  He  is  certainly  a  very  wicked  man,  for  notwithstanding  his 
solemn  oath  in  open  Court  on  the  19th  July,  1740,  that  within  one  year  next  ensuing 
that  day  he  would,  bona  fide,  prosecute  the  appeal,  then  by  him  interposed,  ana 
cause  the  pi'osecution  of  the  same  to  be  authentically  certified  into  this  court,  — 
notwithstanding  this  his  solemn  oath,  I  say  (and  of  which  at  his  request  he  had  a 
copy  given  him  by  the  Advocate  in  writing),  he  has  not  prosecuted  his  said  appeal, 
and  therefore  stands  guilty  of  a  breach  of  oath  on  record.^ 

In  connection  with  this  attempt  to  restrain  the  fervor  of  White- 
field's  enthusiasm  by  the'  force  of  rubrics  and  canons,  the  commissary 
reviewed,  in  print,  two  pamphlets  published  by  Whitefield  at  Savannah  : 
the  first,  in  which  he  sought  to  vindicate  his  assertion  that  "  Abp. 
Tillotson  knew  no  more  of  Christianity  than  Mahomet ; "  and  the 
second,  in  which  he  attempted  to  show  the  fundamental  error  of  "  The 
Whole  Duty  of  Man."  Mr.  Garden's  reply  was  in  the  form  of  "  Six 
Letters  to  the  Rev.  Mr.  George  ^Vhitefield."  The  first  three  were  on 
the  subject  of  justification.  In  the  others  the  two  pamphlets  we  have 
already  referred  to  were  criticised,  together  with  other  pieces  of  Mr. 
Whitefield.  These  letters  passed  through  several  editions,  and  prove 
the  commissary  to  have  been  as  keen  and  logical  a  disputant  as  he  was 
exact  and  conscientious  in  his  obedience  to  the  church's  law.  In  the 
judgment  of  fair-minded  men  the  commissary's  theology  would  l)e 
approved,  rather  than  the  enthusiastic  and  emotional  tenets  of  the 
great  evangelist.     Certainly  no  one  can  defend  the  utter  disregard  of 

•  Ramsay's  "  So.  Carolina,"  ii.,  pp.  U,  l.^i.        London,  iu  So.  Carolina  MSS.,  ii.,  pp.  33f),  .310 ; 
=  Vide  Letters  from  Garden  to  the  Bishop  of    vide  also  p.  350.  »  So.  Car.  MSS.,  ii.,  p.  350. 


THE    CHURCH    IN    SOUTH    CAIiOLTNA.  38fl 

tho  ecclosifistical    law  to  wliicli    he   had    proiuised    conronuily  at  bi.s 
ordination.  l)y  one  who.  in  jihu'e  of  throwing  ott'  the  shackles  which 


SIX  LETTERS 

TO 

The  Rev.  Mr.  George  Whitefield. 

Th^  Firft,  Second  ff7;</ Third,  on  the.  Stibj^fh  ofjn- 
flrficstioii.  The  Fourth  containing  Bf»iarki  en  a 
Tamphlet,  tntitled,  The  Cafe  b-^tween  Mr. 
White f  eld  and  Dr.  Subhatg  ftated,^c.  TZfS  Fifth 
containing  EeniarJci  on  Mr.  Wluteficld'j  ty»o  Let- 
ten  concerniug  j4rcfj5ifiopTll\ot[oii,  and  the  Book 
etititUd,  The  Whole  Duty  cf  Man.  7Z>»?Sixtli, 
tontazning  Beviiirf;^  on  Mr.  Wllirefifild'j  jecond 
JLettfr,  coHceming  ATchbijJiop  TiUotfop,  und.  on 
his  Letter  cohcerning  the  Ncgioes. 


By  Alexander  Gkrien,   M.  A. 

Reci-or  of  St.  Philip's,  Qharleftemi, 
Ajid  Conuinflijy  h^  SOUTH-CAROLINA, 

Togttbei  naitbt 

Mr.  White faid's  Aiiiwer  to  thefinl  Letter. 

The  ^econtJ  <eDitton» 


3    O    S    i:    O    N: 
Re-ptiiitcd,    ^ni   fold  by    7'.  Tket,  i^t   tlie  Ifeart  sm4 
Croixni  in  ComliiU,  174-0. 

bound  him  and  avowini^  hiniselt"  a  dissenter,  ])rofessed  again  and  again 
his  adherence  to  the  Cliiirch,  while  setting  ut  deliuucc  her  rules  and  her 
constituted  authorities. 


390  HISTORY  OF    THE   AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL   CHURril. 

Commissary  Garden  continued  to  liold  his  commissarial  office  until 
1749,  when,  after  a  term  of  service  extending  for  nearly  a  quarter  of 
a  century,  he  resigned  the  charge  he  had  filled  with  such  distinguished 
reputation  and  usefulness.  A  few  years  later,  in  October,  1753,  he 
resigned  his  cure  of  souls,  and  on  Sunday,  March  31,  1754,  he  preached 
his  farewell  sermon,  after  a  rectorate  of  thirty-four  years'  duration. 
Returning  to  England  with  a  view  of  spending  his  la^t  days  in  his 
childhood's  home,  he  found  the  climate  too  severe  for  a  constitution 
accustomed  to  the  warmth  of  the  South.  He  therefore  returned  to 
Charleston,  and,  on  the  27th  of  Septemlier,  1756,  worn  out  with  the  in- 
firmities of  age,  fell  asleep,  in  the  seventy-first  year  of  his  age.  Strict  and 
impartial  in  the  exercise  of  his  ofiicial  duties,  exemplary  and  consist- 
ent in  private  life,  careful  in  his  observance  of  the  church's  rules,  de- 
voted to  the  work  of  the  ministry,  he  was  fearless  in  reproving  sin, 
painstaking  in  his  preparation  of  his  people  for  the  holy  communion, 
careful  in  providing  for  the  poor,  interested  and  successful  in  mission 
work  among  the  negroes,  and  alive  to  all  measures  tending  to  promote 
sound  education,  pure  morals,  and  Christian  believing  and  living. 
The  negro  school  he  began  and  personally  superintended  had  seventy 
pupils  in  it  when  he  resigned.  The  free  school,  to  which  he  gave  no 
little  time  and  pains,  flourished  long  after  its  friend  and  benefactor  had 
passed  away.  Among  his  successors  none  exceeded  him  in  his  hold 
upon  the  hearts  of  his  people,  and  none  left  a  more  lasting  or  useful 
influence  upon  the  Church  and  the  community  at  large. 


ILLUSTRATIVE    NOTES. 


IN  connection  with  the  consideration  of  the  services  of  Commissary  Garden,  it 
may  be  well  to  give,  fi'om  an  authoritative  document  prepared  by  the  clergy 
assembled  agreeably  to  the  requisition  of  the  commissary,  a  minute  accoimt  of  the 
Church  in  South  Carolina  at  the  period  of  Commissaiy  Bull's  departure :  — 

London,  August  10,  1723. 

A  Short  Memorial  of  the  present  State  of  the  Church  and  Clergy  in  His 
Majesty's  Pi-ovince  of  South  Carolina  in  America,  by  Wm.  Tredwell  Bull :  — 

The  Province  of  So.  Carolina  is  divided  into  thirteen  Parishes. 

In  Berkeley  County  there  are  eight,  viz'. 

1.  St.  Philip's,  Charles  County,  the  only  town  of  note  and  Port  of  Trade  in 
the  said  Province  which  Parish  extends  throughout  the  said  city,  and  a  neck  or 
Point  of  Land  between  the  t\vo  Navigable  Rivers  of  Ashley  and  Cooper,  about  six 
miles  in  length  and  two  in  breadth,  and  may  contiiin  between  800  and  400  Christian 
Families.  In  the  said  city  there  is  a  new  erected  church  not  yet  entirely  finished, 
a  large,  regukar  and  beautiful  Building  exceeding  any  that  are  in  His  ]\Iajesty's 
Dominions  in  America.  The  present  Minister  of  the  said  Church  is  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Alexander  Garden  (who  hath  enjoyed  that  Living  somewhat  more  than  3  years)  a 
learned  and  pious  Divine,  but  of  a  sickly  and  weak  constitution  —  the  st.ated  Salary 
of  the  said  Church  is  £150  Proclamation  Money  i.  e.  £120  Sterling  paid  out  of  the 
public  Treasury  of  the  Province  besides  the  perquisites,  which  in  that  Parish  are 
considerable.  Tlicre  is  likewise  in  the  s''  City  a  Grammar  School  no\v  setting  up  by 
the  ReV.  Mr.  Thomas  Man-it,  very  lately  arrived  a  Missionary  from  the  Hon'ble 
Society  for  the  propagation  of  the  Gospel' in  Foreign  parts,  with  the  annual  allow- 


THE    riHRCIl    IN    SOITII    CAKOLINA. 


391 


iince  from  the  said  society  of  £30  Stprling.  '  The  Salary  allowed  out  of  the  Public 
Treasuiy  to  the  said  School  JNIaster  is  £Kl(l  per  ami'"  rroelaiuatioti  Money  i.  e.  £00 
Sterling,  besides  llie  Ijenetit  of  Scholars  which  is  settled  by  law  at  £:J  per  ann"  a 
scholar  in  tlie  said  Proelaiuation  Jlonev.  or  the  value  thereof  iu  tli(!  currency  of 
Carolina.  Tlieri^  are  also  in  tliis  city  a  small  cong-regation  of  French  Refugees 
who  retain  the  Liturgy  and  Discipline  of  the  Reformed  Churches  of  France:  one 
of  Presbyterians,  another  of  AnabajJtists,  and  a  fmv  Quakers,  mIio  liavo  each  a 
Meeting' House,  but  at  present  neither  one  of  them  have  a  settled  Minister  or 
Preacher. 

2.     St.  James,  at  Goose  Creek,  a  ricli  and  jKjpulous  Parish,  the  church  which 


INTERIOR     OF    THE     GOOSE     CREEK     CHURCH. 


is  about  sixteen  miles  from  Charles  City,  is  a  neat  and  regular,  but  not  a  large, 
Brick  Builditig.  To  this  church  is  lately  gone  over  a  Missionary  from  the  Hon'ble 
Society  for  the  propagation  of  the  Gospi?!  in  Foreign  parts,  the  Rev'.  Mr.  Ludlam, 
who  •was  not  arrived  there  the  latter  end  of  May  last.  The  .stated  Salary  allowed 
out  of  the  puljlic  Treasury  of  tlie  Province  to  this  and  each  County  Parisli  is  £100 
per  ann"  of  tlio  said  Proclamation  money  or  the  value  thereof  in  the  currency  of 
Carolina.  There  is  also  a  very  handsome  Parsonage  House  of  Brick  and  a  Glebe 
of  about  100  aeres  of  Land. 

3.  St.  Andrew's  the  church  is  12  miles  from  Charles  City,  the  Minister  the 
Rev*".  Mr.  Gray,  a  worthy  divine  and  well  esteemed  of  in  the  Parish,  one  of  the 
Hon'ble  Society's  Missionarys  and  hath  been  .so  1 1  years.  There  is  a  decent  Parson- 
age House  and  a  Glebe  of  2-")  acres  of  Land.  The  Inhabitants  are  now  enlarging 
and  beautifying  the  Parish  Churcli  which  is  Ijuilt  of  Brick,  having  for  tliat  end 
obtained  out  of  the  Public  Treasur}'  £100,  and  by  subscriptions  among  themselves 
£500  of  the  Currency  of  Carolina. 

4.  St.  Georgc'the  church  is  20  miles  from  Charles  City,  a  lai-ge  and  populous 
Parish,  wherein  is  an  handsome  Brick  Churi'h,  a  Pai'sonage  built  with  Timber  and 


392 


HISTORY  or  Tin-:  American  episcopal  church. 


a  Glebe  of  £250  acres  of  Land.  To  this  Chiu'ch  is  now  going  over  the  Rev^.  Mr. 
Varnod,  Missionaiy  from  the  Ilon'ble  the  Societ}'. 

5.  St.  .Iolui""s,  a  large,  populous  and  nice  Parish,  in  which  is  a  deceut  Brick 
Church  2.5  miles  from  Charles  City,  lately  adorned  and  beautified  at  the  charge  of 
the  Parishioners,  and  a  veiy  convenient  Brick  Parsonage  House,  pleasantly  situated 
upon  a  Glebe  of  .'500  acres  of  Land.  The  Reverend  Mr.  Brian  Hunt,  Minister  and 
^iissionary  from  the  Hon'blo  the  Society,  ai-rived  there  about  March  or  April  last, 
and  was  kindly  received  by  the  people. 

0.  St.  Thomas's,  a  large  and  populous  Parish,  in  which  are  two  Churches  and 
two  Glebes,  but  no  Parsonage  House  as  yet  built.    The  ReV.  Mr.  Hasell,  who  hatli 


ST.  Andrew's   church. 


been  Minister  of  the  Parish  and  Missionary  from  the  Hon'ble  Society  14  ^eai-s,  and 
well  esteemed  by  his  people,  residing  upon  an  Estate,  and  in  an  House  of  his  own, 
whilst  the  Money  appropriated  from  tlie  Public  for  the  building  of  an  house  is  daily 
increasing,  being  put  out  upon  good  Security  at  the  legal  interest  of  the  County. 

7.  St.  Denis,  a  Congregation  of  French  Refugees  conforming  to  the  Church 
of  England,  and  within  the  bounds  of  St.  Tliomas  Parish,  and  made  a  district 
Parish  for  a  time,  until  the  present  inhabitants  or  their  children  attain  the  English 
Tongue.  The  Minister,  the  Rev'.  Mr.  .Tohn  La  Pierre,  who  hath  enjoyed  the  living 
about  12  years,  receiving  an  equal  salary  from  the  Treasuiy  with  the  other  Count}' 
Parishes,  but  is  no  Missionary. 

8.  Christ  Church,  a  large  Parish,  Init  poor,  where  is  a  Timber  Church  1:3  miles 
from  Charles  City,  a  Parsonage  House,  a  Glebe  of  100  acres  of  land:  tlie  present 
Minister,  the  Rcv'^  Mr.  Pownal,  one  of  the  Society's  Missionarys,  came  over  to  tiiat 
Parish  in  the  month  of  October  last. 

In  Craven  County  are  two  Parishes. 

9.  St.  James,  Santce,  a  Parish  consisting  chiefly  of  French  Refugees  con- 
forming to  the  Cliureh  of  England  in  which  is  a  Church  about  GO  miles  from  Charles 


THE   CHURCH   IN   SOUTH   CAROLINA. 


893 


City,  a  Parsonage  House  and  a  Glebe  of  near  1000  acres  of  land,  tli<'  present  Min- 
istJr  the  Rev^.^lr.  Albert  Powdcrous  a  learned  Divine  and  eonvcrt  from  the  C'hureli 
of  Rome  hatli  been  resident  there  about  two  years. 

10.  King  George's  Parish  wliieli  being  a  new  settlement  about  90  miles  from 
Charles  City  was  made  a  Parish  by  hisExeelleney  General  Nieholson,  His  Majesty's 
present  Governor,  about  10  IMiJUlhs  ago.  The  General  Assemljly  allowed  £1000 
(if  the  Currency  of  Carolina  and  his  Exeellency  has  given  £100  towards  the  building 
of  a  Church  there  w''  is  not  yet  bcgmi. 

In  Colleton  County  are  two  Parishes,  viz. 

11.  St.  Paul's  now  vacant  and  the  Parishioners  humble  supplicants  for.anotlici- 
Minister:  they  are  a  sober  well  inclined  people  kind  and  obliging  to  their  late 
Minister,  diligent  in  attending  the  word  of  God  and  desirous  of  all  good  instruction. 
The  Church  which  is  built  of  Brick  and  stands  20  miles  from  Charles  City  being 
too  small  for  the  present  congregation  is  at  this  time  enlarging  and  beautifying: 
the  inhabitants  liaving  raised  by  subscriptions  among  themselves  upwards  of  £1000 
and  obtained  from  the  General  Assembly  £uOO  of  the  Currency  of  Carolina,  besides 
a  Legacy  of  £100  bequeathed  to  that  use  by  Mr.  Jolm  Whitmarsh  of  the  said  Parish 
lately  deceased  and  some  few  other  presents.     Near  the  Church  is  a  Glebe  of  70 


KLI^b   OF    ST.    GLUK&E  »    CHLKCII,    DORCHtSrER. 


acres  of  land  whereon  was  a  very  convenient  brick  House  and  some  other  outbuild- 
ings which  were  burnt  down  by  the  Indians  in  the  year  171.")  and  not  yet  rebuilt. 
The  sum  of  £156  Carolina  money  was  allowed  out  of  the  Treasury  there  for  to  re- 
pair the  same  which  having  been  let  out  to  interest  is  now  about  £600. 

12.  St.  Bartholomew's :  this  parisli  hath  been  vacant  since  the  year  171.^ 
by  the  death  of  the  late  Incumbent  j\lr.  Osljorne,  one  of  the  Ilon'ble  Society's 
Rlissionarys.  It  ^vas  then  intirel\'  depopulated  by  the  Indian  Wnv  and  ver^'  few  of 
the  Inhabitants  have  since  returned,  who  live  remote  frcnu  one  another  and  have 
neither  Church  nor  Parsonage  House.  There's  a  Glebe  of  300  acres  of  land  and  some 
preparations  were  formerly  making  towards  a  Church  and  house.  But  the  war 
breaking  out  the  Inhabitants  dispersed  and  the  Minister  died,  and  nothing  of  late 
hath  lieen  done  in  it. 

In  Granville  County  there's  but  one  Parish. 

l;j.  St.  Helen's  inVhieh  is  neither  Church  nor  Parsonage  House,  the  General 
Assembly  hath  lately  allowed  £1000  of  the  Currency  of  Carolina  and  the  Governor 
£100  towards  the  Building  of  the  Churcli.  This  Parish  was  also  depojiulated  in  the 
Indian  War  but  many  of  the  Inhabitants  since  returned,  the  Rev''.  Mr.  Braytield, 


394  HISTORY   OF   THE   AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

SIGNATURES    OF    SOUTH    CAKOLIKA    CLEKGVJIEN,    1724. 

Chaplain  to  BQs  Majesty's  Forces  in  Carolina  Officiates  some  times  there.  There's 
also  a  Presbyterian  Teacher  who  lives  meanly  and  chiefly  upon  his  own  private 
interest. 

N.  B.  That  near  Charles  City  is  a  large  handsome  brick  House  and  a  Glebe 
of  17  acres  of  Land  for  the  Parsonage,  which  at  present  with  the  consent  of  the 
Minister  is  made  use  of  for  the  School  that  is  setting  up  there  by  Mr.  Morcitt  and 
an  house  within  the  City  hired  by  the  Public,  for  tlie  use  of  a  jMinister. 

N.  B.  That  towards  the  i-epairs  of  Parsonage  Houses  the  IVlinisters,  Church 
Wardens  and  Vestiy  of  each  Parish  are  empowered  to  draw  upon  the  Public 
Treasurer  any  sum  not  exceeding  £25  of  the  aforesaid  Proclamation  Money  per 
ann"  and  a  certain  sum  for  the  repairs  of  the  Churches  and  to  pay  the  Clerk,  Sex- 
tons, Registers  their  Salaries. 

N.  B.  There  are  within  the  several  Parishes  Dissenters  of  different  denomi- 
nations but  there  are  no  public  Teachers  at  present  except  among  the  Presbyterians 
or  Independents  who  have  four  or  five  tho'  not  above  two  or  three  of  them  that  are 
settled  Teachers. 

WM  TREDWELL  BULL, 

Late  Minister  of  St  Paul's,  Colleton  Cnunty, 

and  Commissary  to  Right  Reverend 

the  Lord  Bishop  of  London  in 

S".  Carolina. 


CHAPTER   XXII. 

THE   STRUGGLE   FOR   THE   EPISCOPATE. 

ALTHOUGH  two  centuries  were  permitted  to  elapse  between  the 
introduction  of  the  reformed,  yet  catliolic,  (/hurch  of  England 
upon  the  American  sliores  and  the  provision  of  the  episcopate 
to  complete  the  church's  orders  and  perfect  her  discipline,  still  the 
minds  of  those  iu  authority  in  tlie  mother-land  were  not  without  a 
sense  of  this  lacls,  and  a  desire  for  its  remedy,  almost  from  the  earliest 
days  of  discovery  and  settlement.  As  far  bacli  as  the  year  1G38  the 
sagacious  and  far-seeing  Laud,  wlio  had  earlier  despatched  a  commis- 
sary to  Plymouth,  the  Kev.  William  ilorrell,  to  superintend  the 
ecclesiastical  aflairs  of  New  England,  set  on  foot  a  scheme  to  remedy 
.the  evils  already  imminent  among  the  separatist  settlers  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts Bay  by  sending  a  bishop  to  New  England.  This  plan,  which, 
if  carried  into  efl'ect,  might  have  changed  not  only  the  ecclesiastical, 
but  also  the  civil,  history  of  a  continent,  was  thwarted  Ijy  the  outbreak 
of  troubles  in  Scotland  ;  and  it  was  shortly  a  question  if  the  Church 
would  survive  at  home,  rather  than  that  she  should  be  extended  and 
made  complete  abroad.  Still,  the  idea  was  by  no  means  lost  siglit  of, 
and  in  a  pamphlet  entitled  ''  Virginia's  Cure,"  pul^lished  shortly  after 
the  Restoration,  and  dedicated  to  Sheldon,  then  Bishop  of  London,  and 
Morley,  Bishop  of  Winchester,  the  demand  was  earnestly  made  for 
the  presence  of  a  bishop  in  the  province,  to  redress  evils  which  were 
rife  in  church  and  state,  and  awaken  a  more  healthy  and  vigorous 
spiritual  life.  Specially  was  the  need  of  a  bishop  urged,  with  a  view 
of  restoring  the  primitive  diaconate,  for  the  purpose  of  tilling  the 
vacant  parishes,  else  but  imperfectly  cared  for  by  lay-readers.  There 
were  "  divers  persons  already  iu  the  colony  tit  to  servo  the  Church  in 
the  office  of  Deacon,"  and,  "after  due  probation  and  examination,"' 
they  might  receive  authority  to  minister,  according  to  these  degrees,  in 
the  congregatioif .  This  appeal  was  urged  in  behalf  of  a  people  "  which 
generally  bear  a  great  love  to  the  stated  constitutions  of  the  CImrch 
of  England,  in  her  government  and  publick  worship,  which  gave  us," 
continues  the  writer,  "  who  went  thither  under  the  late  persecutions 
of  it,  the  advantage  to  use  it  constantly  among  them,  after  the  naval 
power  had  reduced  the  colony  under  the  power  (but  never  to  the 
obedience)  of  the  usurper;'  which  liberty  we  could  not  have  enjoyed 
had  not  the  people  generally  expressed  great  love  for  it."  It  is 
deeply  to  lie  regretted  that  this  earnest  praj'er  received  no  answer. 
An  attempt,  indeed,  was  made  to  provide  a  bishop  for  Virginia. 
The  nomination  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Alexander  Mun-ay,  who  had  been 

'  Cromwell. 


396  HISTORY   OF   THE   AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

a  companion  of  the  king  in  his  exile,  to  this  office  was  approved 
by  the  monarch  during  the  administration  of  Clarendon,  and  a  patent 
was  actually  made  out  constituting  this  divine  Bishop  of  Virginia 
with  a  general  charge  over  the  other  provinces ;  but  the  matter  failed 
of  accomplishment.  Objections  were  urged  against  the  fitness  of  Dr. 
Murray  for  the  ofiice  and  work  of  a  bishop ;  and  when  these  charges, 
upon  investigation,  were  found  to  be  groundless,  other  difiiculties 
were  raised,  which  delayed  and  finally  defeated  the  execution  of  the 
plan  proposed.  The  fall  of  Clarendon,  and  the  accession  of  the 
"  Cabal"  ministry  to  power,  are  supposed  by  some  to  have  occasioned 
this  failure.  Such,  at  least,  was  Dr.  Murray's  expliuation  of  the 
matter.  At  a  later  day  Archbishop  Seeker  states,  from  an  examina- 
tion of  Bishop  Gibson's  papers,  that  the  failure  was  owing  to  the  fact 
that  the  endowment  for  the  Virginia  episcopate  was  made  payable  out 
of  the  customs.  The  unexecuted  letters-patent  were  long  on  file 
among  the  archives  of  the  see  of  London.'  If  we  may  credit  the  asser- 
tion of  a  letter  sent  from  England  to  the  Massachusetts-Bay  Colony, 
bearing  date  of  1662,  the  question  of  an  American  episcopate  had 
been  under  consideration  at  least  ten  years  before  the  fiiilure  to  send 
Dr.  Murray  to  Virginia.  Hutchinson,  in  his  "History  of  iNIassa- 
chusetts,"  gives,  in  a  foot-note  to  his  narrative,  the  following  extract 
from  this  communication  :  — 

There  was  a  General  Governor  and  a  Mayor-General  chosen,  and  a  Bishop 
wilh  a  suffragan,  but  Mr.  Norton  writes  that  they  are  not  yet  out  of  hope  to  preveut 
it;  the  Governor's  name  is  Sir  Robert  Carr,  a  rank  Papist.^ 

There  is  no  other  evidence  with  respect  to  this  appointment,  if  it 
ever  was  made,  and  it  is  not  improbable  that  in  transcription  a  clerical 
error  may  have  substituted  the  year  1662  for  1672,  at  which  time,  as 
we  have  seen,  the  subject  was  actually  in  a  fair  way  of  accomplishment. 

The  labors  of  Dr.  Thomas  Bray,  in  the  exercise  of  his  commis- 
sarial  office  in  Maryland,  inspired  him  with  strong  convictions  of  the 
immediate  necessity  of  episcopal  oversight  for  the  American  clergy. 
With  a  view,  doubtless,  of  meeting  the  objection  which  was  possibly 
the  cause  of  the  failure  of  the  scheme  proposed  in  the  reign  of  King 
Charles  II.,  Bray  projected  a  plan  of  raising,  by  private  contributions, 
a  sum  sufficient  for  the  purchase  of  a  plantation  in  .Maryland,  upon 
which  the  bishop  might  reside,  and  from  which  he  might  receive  his 
support.  Oflerings  at  once  flowed  in  for  the  furtherance  of  this  scheme  ; 
but  opposition  from  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic  was  speedily  directed 
against  the  plan,  which  consequently  fell  to  the  ground.  The  minds 
of  the  members  of  the  venerable  society  at  the  very  outset  of  their  mis- 
sionary operations  were  occupied  in  this  direction,  and  the  suggestion 
that  a  Scotch  bishop  might  be  sent  to  America  as  a  suffragan  to  the 
Bishop  of  London  seems  to  have  failed  of  adoption  on  the  part  of  the 
society,  as  its  solution  of  the  acknowledged  diflSculty  of  supplying 
the  colonies  with  episcopal  supervision,  only  in  consequence  of  the 

'  Printed  in  the  author's  notes  to  "  Hist.  Coll.  '  Hutehinscn's  "  History  of  Massachusetts," 

Am.  Col.  Ch.,"  I.,  pp.  536-542.  i.,  p.  225,  note. 


THE   STRUGGLE  FOR  THE   EriSCOPATE.  397 

age  and  fewness  of  the  Scotch  bishops.  The  need  of  :i  bishop  for 
America  was  continually  urged  by  the  missionaries  sent  out  under  the 
auspices  of  the  society  from  the  very  start,  and  the  tirst  report  of  tlie 
society  published  from  a  letter  of  the  Eev.  John  Talbot,  the  com- 
panion and  follow-missioner  of  Keith,  written  from  New  York  in  1702, 
an  emphatic  utterance  of  this  universally  felt  and  confessed  desire  :  — 

There  are  earnest  addresses  from  divers  parts  of  the  Confincnt  and  Islands 
adjacent,  for  a  suffragan  to  visit  tue  several  churches  ;  ordalv  some,  con- 
firm OTHERS,  AND  BLESS  ALL. 

The  following  year  the  same  devoted  missionary  refei's  in  his  cor- 
respondence with  the  society  to  the  loss  of  many  to  dissent  for  want  of 
a  lawful  ministry,  while  those  who  were  willing  and  qualiiicd  to  serve 
were  deterred  from  seeking  holy  orders  by  the  hazard  and  expense  of 
a  voyage  to  England.     With  honest  plainness  he  continues  :  — 

Did  our  g^-aeious  Queen  Anne  but  know  the  necessities  of  her  many  good  sub- 
jects in  these  parts  of  the  world,  she  would  allow  lOOOi.  per  annum  rather  than  so 
many  sonls  should  suffer.  Meanwhile,  I  don't  doubt  but  some  learned  and  good 
man  wcnild  go  further,  and  do  the  church  more  service  with  lOQl.  per  annum  than 
with  a  coach  and  six  one  hundi'ed  years  hence. 

Writing,  in  1704,  to  his  former  fellow-traveller,  the  Rev.  George 
Keith,  who  was  again  in  England,  he  proceeds  to  speak  of  a  fit  person 
to  be  appointed,  and  to  suggest  the  manner  of  his  support :  — 

Mr.  John  Lillingston  designs,  it  seems,  to  go  to  England  next  year ;  he  seems 
to  be  the  fittest  person  tliat  America  affords  for  the  office  of  a  suffragan,  and  several 
persons,  both  of  the  laity  and  clergy,  have  wished  he  were  the  man ;  and  if  my  Lord 
of  London  thought  fit  to  authorize  him,  several  of  the  clergy,  both  of  this  province 
and  of  Maryland,  have  said  they  would  pay  their  tenths  unto  him,  as  my  Lord  of  Lon- 
don's vicegerent,  whereby  the  Bishop  of  America  might  have  as  honourable  provision 
as  some  in  Europe. 

The  other  missionaries  of  the  society  concurred  in  pressing  this 
important  matter  upon  the  attention  of  the  authorities  at  home.  "  Ex- 
cuse me  to  the  society,"  writes  the  Rev.  Thoroughgood  Moor,  in  1704, 
"  if  I  am  earnest  with  them  for  a  suffragan,  and  that  they  would  have 
a  particular  regard  to  the  unanimous  request  of  the  clergy  in  all  parts 
of  America  upon  this  account." 

If  further  confirmation  of  the  need  and  wish  for  a  bishop  were  de- 
sired, to  warrant  the  action  of  the  Church  at  home,  it  was  supplied,  in 
1705,  by  a  memorial  addressed  to  the  archbishops  and  bishops  from  a 
convocation  of  fourteen  clergymen  assembled  at  Burlington,  N.  J. ,  pray- 
ing for  the  "  presence  and  assistance  of  a  suffragan  bishop,  to  ordain 
such  persons  as  are  fit  to  bo  called  to  serve  in  the  sacred  ministry  of 
the  Church,"  and  stating  that  they  had  already  been  "deprived  of  the 
advantages  which  might  have  been  received  of  some  presbyterian  and 
independent  ministers  that  formerly  were,  and  others  that  still  are,  will- 
ing to  conform  and  receive  the  holy  character,  for  want  of  a  bishoj)  to 
give  it."     They  add  that  "the  baptized  want  to  bo  confirmed,"  and 


398  HISTORY   OF  THE  AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

their  plea  for  the  presence  of  a  bishop  was  supported  and  reiterated  hy 
the  royal  governors  and  leading  laity  as  well. 

Thus  urgently  appealed  to,  Ijoth  in  formal  petitions  and  in  pri- 
vate correspondence,  the  society  submitted  a  memorial  to  the  queen, 
in  1709,  in  which  the  pressing  need  of  the  American  Church  was 
strongly  stated,  and  measures  urged  for  its  relief.  Their  words  were 
as  follows :  — 

We  cannot  but  take  this  opportunity  I'urtber  to  represent  to  your  IMajesty, 
witli  the  greatest  humility,  tlie  eai-nest  and  repeated  desires,  not  only  of  tlie  Mission- 
aries, but  ol'  divers  other  eonsiderable  persons  that  are  in  communion  with  our  ex- 
cellent Church,  to  have  a  Bishop  settled  in  your  American  j)lantatious  (which  we 
humbly  conceive  to  be  very  useful  and  necessary  for  establishing  the  Gospel  in 
those  parts),  that  they  may  be  the  better  united  among  themselves  than  at  present 
they  are,  and  more  able  to  withstand  the  designs  of  their  enemies :  that  there  may  be 
confirmations,  which  in  their  present  state  they  cannot  have  the  benefit  of;  and 
that  an  easy  and  speedy  care  may  be  taken  of  all  the  other  affairs  of  the  Church, 
which  is  much  increased  in  those  parts,  and  to  which,  through  your  Majesty's  gi-acious 
protection  and  encouragement,  we  trust  that  yet  a  greater  addition  will  daily  be 
made.  We  humbly  beg  leave  to  add  that  we  are  informed  that  the  French  have 
received  several  great  advantages  from  their  establishhig  a  Bishop  at  Quebec. 

The  following  year  Colonel  Nicholson,  the  Governor  of  Virginia, 
whose  interest  in  the  Church  was  nndoitbted,  expressed  in  a  letter  to 
the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  his  conviction,  "that  unless  a  bishop  be 
sent,  in  a  short  time  the  Church  of  England  will  rather  diminish  than 
increase  in  North  America." 

It  was  about  this  time  that  the  attention  of  the  scheming  and  ami- 
bitious  Dean  Swift  was  directed  towards  the  Virginia  Episcopate.  His 
friend.  Colonel  Hunter,  had  been  appointed  lieutenant-governor  of 
this  province ;  but  he  failed  to  reach  his  seat  of  government,  having 
l)een  captured  by  the  French  on  his  voyage  across  the  Atlantic.  While 
a  prisoner  at  Paris,  Swift  M'rote  to  him,  January  12,  1708-9  :  — 

Vouz  savez  que  Monsieur  Addision,  notre  bon  ami,  est  f.ait  secr6taire  d'6tat 
d'Irlande  ;  and  unless  you  make  haste  over  and  get  my  Virginia  bishoprick  he  will 
persuade  me  to  go  with  him,  for  the  Virginia  project  is  oil,  which  is  a  great  dis- 
appohitment  to  the  design  I  had  of  displaying  my  politics  at  the  Emperor's  Court.' 

Two  months  later  he  again  refers  to  this  subject  in  a  letter  to  the 
same :  — 

I  shall  go  from  Ireland  sometime  in  summer,  being  not  able  to  make  my 
friends  in  the  ministry  consider  my  merits  or  their  promises  enough  to  keep  me 
here,  so  that  all  my  hopes  now  terminate  in  njy  bishoprick  of  Virginia.' 

Four  years  later,  when  Hunter  had,  after  his  failure  to  enter  upon 
his  appointment  to  Virginia,  received  the  post  of  Governor  of  New 
York,  he  writes  to  the  dean  as  follows  :  — 

I  have  purchased  a  seat  for  a  bishop,  and  by  orders  from  the  society  have  given 
orders  to  prepare  it  for  his  reception.  You  once  upon  a  day  n:.ave  me  hopes  of  see- 
ing you  there.    It  would  be  no  small  relief  to  have  so  good  a  friend  to  complain  to.' 

'  Swift's  Works,  Scott's  ed.,  xv.,  p.  295.  '  Ihid.,  p.  308.  ■■  Ibid.,  xvi.,  p.  4S. 


THE   STRUGGLE   FOR   THE   EPISCOPATE.  399 

These  extracts,  however,  fivil  to  prove  tliat  there  was  ever  the  seri- 
ous purpose  on  the  part  of  Ihose  in  power  of  sending  Swift  to  a  post 
for  which  he  was  in  every  way  unfitted,  and  in  which  lie  coidd  not 
liave  failed  to  do  more  injury  tiian  good.  It  is  probable  that  the  ap- 
pointment of  his  friend  to  an  American  government  aroused  the  rest- 
less and  intriguing  spirit  of  Swift  to  seek  for  himself  any  temporal 
advantage  (hat  might  thus  be  opened  to  him,  and  doubtless  the  mat- 
ter never  went  beyond  the  conversation  or  the  correspondence  of  the 
two  friends.  It  was  certainly  well  for  the  Church  in  America  that 
even  the  thought  of  such  an  appointment  perished  ere  it  came  to  the 
light.  It  was  inevitable  that  a  plan  so  important  in  itself,  and  so 
constantly  urged  in  the  letters  and  memorials  received  from  the  church- 
men and  clergy  in  America,  should  commend  itself  to  the  attention  and 
interest  of  the  authorities  of  the  Church  at  home.  It  is  a  matter  of 
record  that  the  Archbishop  of  York,  Dr.  Sharpe,  whose  unwearied 
interest  in  all  matters  of  church  extension  led  him  to  favor  and  further 
the  scheme  for  the  introduction  of  the  episcopate  among  the  protestant 
communions  upon  the  continent  of  Europe,  convened  and  presided  at 
a  meeting  on  the  20th  of  January,  1711,  at  which  the  bishop  of  Bristol, 
Dr.  Robinson,  the  bishop  of  St.  David's,  Dr.  Bisse,  and  the  celebrated 
Atterbury,  prolocutor  of  the  lowerHousc  of  Convocation,  and  Drs.  Smal- 
ridge  and  Stanhope,  were  present,  on  which  occasion  the  archbishop 
offered  a  "  proposal  concerning  bishops  being  provided  for  the  planta- 
tions ;  "  but  "as  the  Bishop  of  London,  who  from  his  recognized 
relation  to  the  colonial  churches  had  a  right  to  be  first  consulted  on 
such  a  project,  was  not  present,  the  matter  was  dropped." ' 

But  the  subject  was  still  pressed  u2:)on  the  attention  of  the  officers 
of  state.  A  second  memorial,  respecting  an  American  episcopate, 
was  i)resented  to  the  queen  by  the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the 
Gospel,  on  the  24th  of  March,  1713,  and  received  so  favoraWe  a  recep- 
tion from  Her  JNIajcsty  that  there  seemed  an  immediate  prospect  of 
success.  Unhappily,  the  death  of  the  queen,  shortly  after,  put  an  end 
to  the  design.  The  importunity  of  the  society  in  thus  renewing  the 
application  for  the  appointment  of  an  American  episcopate  wa«  justi- 
fied by  the  statement  that  it  acted  upon  the  repeated  requests  and  rep- 
resentations of  "governors  of  provinces,  ministers,  vestries,  and 
private  persons  in  the  plantation;"  and,  "after  a  loud  call  for  fifteen 
years,"  so  nearly  was  the  end  attained  that  by  royal  command  "a 
draught  of  a  bill  was  ordered,  proper  to  be  offered  to  the  parliament  for 
establishing  Bishops  and  Bishopricks  in  America."  Alas  !  that  on  the 
very  eve  of  accomplishment  the  hopes  of  the  friends  of  this  measure 
were  doomed  to  disappointment. 

The  society,  disappointed,  but  not  in  despair,  renewed  its  applica- 
tion to  George  I.  in  a  memorial  dated  June  3,  NIT),  and,  after  reciting 
the  events  described  abov%,  submitted  to  the  king's  consideration  a  plan 
for  the  creation  of  four  bishoprics,  two  for  the  islands  and  two  for  the 
continent.  Of  the  former  it  was  proposed  that  one  bishop  should  lie 
"  settled   at  Barbadoes,    for  itself  and  the  Leeward   Islands."     The 

"  Newcome's  "  Life  of  Abp.  Sliarpc,"  i.,  p.  532. 


400  HISTORY   OF  THE  AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

other  was  to  be  placed  "  at  Jamaica  for  itself  with  the  Bahama  and 
Bermuda  Islands."  Of  the  latter,  one  was  to  have  his  seat  at  Burling- 
ton, N.  J. ,  with  jurisdiction  "  from  the  east  side  of  Delaware  river  to  the 
utmost  bounds  of  the  king's  dominions  eastward,  including  Newfound- 
land." The  other  see  Avas  that  of  Williamsburg,  in  Virginia,  with  ju- 
risdiction "  from  the  west  side  of  Delaware  river  to  the  utmost  bounds 
of  the  British  dominions  westward."  The  income  of  the  bishops  of 
Barbadocs  and  Jamaica  was  to  be  £1,500  per  annum  respectively,  the 
fonner  prelate  having  the  presidency  of  Codrington  College,  and  the 
latter's  revenue  being  provided  out  of  the  "  church  lands  of  8t.  Christo- 
pher's, fonnerly  belonging  to  the  Jesuits  and  the  Carmelites  and  other 
French  popish  clergy."  The  Bishops  of  Burlington  and  Williamsburg 
were  to  receive  £1 ,000  per  annum,  while  for  the  former  the  society  had 
"  been  at  six  hundred  pounds'  charge  and  upwards  to  purchase  a  conven- 
ient house  and  land  for  his  residence."  Other  sources  whence  the  income 
named  could  be  obtained  were  suggested ,  such  as  "the  best  rectory  in  the 
capital  seat  of  each  bishop,"  with  the  tenth  part  of  all  future  grants 
and  escheats  to  the  crown,"  which  the  king  might  be  pleased  to  give, 
together  with  "  such  local  revenues  as  shall  be  thought  fit  to  be  made 
by  their  respective  assemblies."  If  these  and  other  resources  should 
prove  insufBcient,  or  be  deemed  impracticable,  the  memorial  further 
prayed  that  a  prebend  in  the  gift  of  the  crown,  the  mastershij)  of  the 
Savoy,  or  that  of  St.  Catherine's,  might  he  annexed  to  the  continental 
bishoprics,  for  the  supply  or  augmentation  of  their  maintenance. 

A  scheme  so  well  conceived  and  so  thoroughly  digested,  having 
received  the  hearty  countenance  of  the  late  sovereign,  might  have 
been  expected  to  secure  the  immediate  approval  of  the  crown.  But 
the  times  were  most  unfavorable  for  the  consideration  of  the  claims  of 
the  Church.  The  rebellion  had  just  broken  out  in  Scotland,  and  the 
political  jealousies  and  suspicions  then  rife,  intensified  by  a  distrust  of 
the  clergy,  who,  in  many  instances,  were  suspected  —  and  not  without 
cause  —  of  favoring  the  pretensions  of  the  exiled  House  of  Stuart,  pre- 
cluded all  hope  of  success,  at  least  during  the  administration  of  Sir 
Robert  Walpole.  It  was  not  likely  that  the  application  in  behalf  of  a 
few  churchmen  on  a  distant  continent  would  receive  a  hearing  when 
the  existence  of  the  government  itself  was  in  danger  from  rebellion, 
even  though  the  object  of  the  petition  was  asserted  to  be  "  to  forward 
the  great  work  of  converting  infidels  to  the  saving  faith  of  our  blessed 
Redeemer,  and  for  the  regulating  such  Christians  in  their  faith  and 
practice  as  are  already  converted  thereto."  The  adherents  of  the  House 
of  Hanover  felt  that  the  struggle  in  which  they  were  engaged  was  for 
life.  They  had  neither  thought  nor  time  for  matters  or  measures  that 
contemplated  merely  the  relief  of  the  spiritual  needs,  or  the  develop- 
ment of  the  ecclesiastial  constitution  of  the  far-away  provinces  of  the 
American  coast.  Thus  it  was  that  the  socief^^'s  plan,  which  had  been 
so  carefully  thought  out  and  so  ably  urged,  was  laid  aside.  The 
archl)ish()p.  Dr.  Tcnison,  who  died  in  December,  1715,  mindful  of  the 
need  which  the  society  had  so  repeatedly  sought  to  remedy,  bequeathed 
to  it  a  legacy  of  £1,000,  "  toward  the  settlement  of  two  bishops,  one  for 
the  continent,  the  other  for  the  isles  of  America  ;  "  and  it  was  in  the 


THE   STRUGGLE   FOK  THE   EPISCOPATE.  401 

same  undiscouraged  spirit,  and  with  like  eoufidouceof  ultimate  success, 
that  Dr.  Kennett,  then  Dean  and  shortly  afterwards  Bishop  of  Peter- 
borough, in  a  letter  to  his  correspondent  in  Boston,  the  Rev.  B.  Cole- 
man, an  independent  minister,  recites  the  difficulties  in  the  way  of  the 
society's  success  in  its  work  in  America,  and  the  means  of  relief :  — 

The  two  great  difficulties  that  still  lie  hard  upon  our  Society  for  Propao'ation 
of  the  Gospel  are,  1.  the  want  of  sober  and  religious  missionaries;  few  o&rinc 
themselves  to  tluit  sen'ice  for  the  glory  of  God  and  the  good  of  souls ;  but  cliieflv 
to  find  a  refuge  from  poverty  and  scandal.  2.  Such  men,  when  they  come  to 
the  places  allotted  to  them,  forget  their  mission;  and  Instead  of  proi)a"-atin<' 
Christianity,  arc  only  contending  for  rites  and  ceremonies,  or  for  powers  and^privi^ 
leges,  and  are  ilisputing  with  the  Vestries  of  eveiy  Parish,  unit  even  witli  the  civil 
government  of  eveiy  province.  Tlio  two  mischiefs  can  hardly  he  reili-ess'd  but  by 
Hxing  Schools  and  Universities  in  tliose  parts,  and  settling,  we  hope,  two  Bishops, 
one  for  the  Continent,  another  for  the  Islands,  with  advice  and  assistame  of  pres- 
byters, to  ordain  fit  persons,  especially  natives,  and  to  take  care  of  all  the  Churches.' 

The  repeated  delays  and  disappointments  in  securing  the  episcopal 
supervision,  so  imperatively  required  in  America,  called  forth  the 
earnest  remonstrances,  and  even  the  complaints,  of  men  like  Talbot, 
who  had  given  up  all  for  the  upholding  of  the  Church  of  the  livin" 
God  in  the  New  World.  The  following  characteristic  and  caustic 
criticism  is  contained  in  a  letter  from  this  worthy  missionary,  written 
in  1716:  — 

The  poor  Churcii  of  God  here  in  the  wilderness,  there's  none  to  guide  her 
among  all  the  sons  that  she  has  brought  forth,  nor  is  there  any  that  takes  her  by 
the  liand  of  all  the  sons  that  she  has  brouglit  up.  Wlien  the  apostles  heard  tliat 
Samaria  liad  received  the  Word  of  God,  immediately  they  sent  out  two  of  the 
Chiefs,  Peter  and  .Tohn,  to  Lay  their  hands  on  them,  and  pray  that  they  miglit  receive 
the  Holy  Gliost ;  they  did  not  stay  for  a  secular  design  of  salary ;  and  when  the 
apostles  lioard  that  the  word  of  God  was  preached  at  Antioch,  presently  tliey  sent 
out  Paul  and  Barnabas,  that  they  should  go  as  far  as  Antioeli  to  confirm  (he  disciples ; 
and  so  tlie  churclies  were  established  in  the  faith,  and  increased  in  number  daily. 
And  when  Paul  did  but  dream  that  a  man  of  ilacedonia  called  him,  he  set  sail  all 
so  fast,  and  went  over  himself  to  help  them.  But  we  have  been  here  these  twenty 
years  calling  till  cm-  hearts  ache,  and  ye  own  'tis  the  call  and  cause  of  God,  and 
yet  ye  have  not  lie.ard,  or  have  not  .answered,  and  that's  all  one.  ...  I  don't  pre- 
tend to  projiliecy,  but  you  know  'tis  said,  the  kingdom  of  God  shall  be  taken  from 
them  .and  given  to  a  nation  that  will  bring  forth  the  fi-uits  of  it.  God  give  us  all 
the  gi'ace  to  do  the  things  that  belong  to  our  peace. 

In  the  same  reproachful  strain  he  again  writes  :  — 

I  cannot  think  but  the  honourable  Society  had  done  much  more  if  they  had 
found  one  honest  man  to  bring  Gospel  orders  over  to  us.  No  doubt,  as  they  have 
freely  received,  tliey  would  freely  give ;  but  there's  a  ?iolo  episcopari  only  for  poor 
America,  but  she  sliall  h.ave  her  gospel-day  even  as  others,  but  we  shall  never  see 
it  unless  we  make  more  haste  than  we  have  done. 

But  it  was  not  only  the  wish  of  the  clergy  to  have  a  bishop  in 
America ;  the  vestries  and  laity,  from  time  to  time,  joined  in  the 
earnest  appeal  for  the  same  boon.  On  the  2d  of  June,  1718,  a 
petition  was  signed  by  order  of  the  vestries  of  Christ  Church,  Phi  la  • 

'Lifcof  Kcnncit,  p.  123. 


402  HISTORY   OF   THE   AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL  CIIURCn. 

delphia,  and  St.  Ann's,  Burlington,  as  well  as  by  the  clergy,  and  many 
of  the  laity  in  Maryland  at  a  later  date,  ^vhich  torciljly  states  the 
grievance  and  burdens  to  which  the  American  Church  was  subjected  on 
this  account :  — 

For  want  of  Episcopacy  being  establislied  amongst  us,  and  that  there  has 
never  been  any  Bishop  sent  to  visit  us,  our  cliurclies  remain  unconsecrated,  our 
children  are  grown  up  and  cannot  be  confirmed,  their  sureties  are  imder  solemn 
obligations,  but  cannot  be  absolved,  and  our  clergy,  sometimes,  imder  doubts,  and 
cannot  be  resolved: 

liut,  more  especially  for  the  want  of  that  sacred  power  which  is  inherent  to 
your  apostolic  office,  the  vacancies  which  daily  happen  in  our  ministry  cannot  be 
supplied  for  a  considerable  time  from  England,  whereby  many  congi'egations  are 
not  only  become  desolate,  and  the  light  of  tlic  Gospel  therein  extinguished ;  but 
great  encoin-agement  is  thereby  given  to  sectaries  of  all  sorts  which  abound  and 
increase  amongst  us ;  and  some  of  them  pretending  to  what  they  call  the  power  of 
ordination,  the  country  is  filled  with  fanatic  teachers,  debauching  the  good  inclina- 
tions of  many  poor  souls  who  are  left  destitute  of  any  instruction  or  ministry. 

About  this  time  an  unknown  benefactor  gave  to  the  venerable  so- 
ciety the  sum  of  £1,000,  with  instructions  that  "the  principal  and  in- 
terest might  be  applied  towards  the  maintenance  of  a  bishop  in  America, 
when  said  bishop  should  be  established."  In  1720  this  sum  was  in- 
creased by  a  gift  of  £500  from  Dugald  Campbell,  Esq.,  for  the  same 
purpose,  and  subsequently  a  benefaction  of  like  amount  was  received 
from  the  Lady  Elizabeth  Hastings.  These  free-will  offerings  from  the 
laity  show  that  the  sense  of  the  need  of  bishops  was  not  confined  to 
the  clergy  merely,  nor  even  to  Americans,  for  whose  benefit  the  plan 
was  proposed. 

The  hopes  so  often  expressed  l»y  the  honest  and  fearless  Talbot, 
that  "  a  head  "  would  be  provided  for  the  American  Church ,  "  to  propa- 
gate the  Gospel,"  —  to  propagate  it  by  imparting  some  spiritual  gift 
by  ordination  or  confirmation,  — at  length  faded  out.  The  tireless  mis- 
sionary still  pursued  his  work,  liuilding  churches  to  see  them  used  as 
"  stalls  and  stal)les  for  Quakers'  horses  Avhen  they  came  to  market  or 
meeting,"  and  securing  "  missioners  "  who  after  a  little  sought  refuge 
in  jNIarjdand  "for  the  sake  of  themselves,  their  wives,  and  their  chil- 
dren." For  his  own  part  he  felt  that  he  could  not  desert  the  "poor" 
flock"  he  had  gathered,  even  if  he  had  " neither  money,  credit,  nor 
tobacco."  Worn  with  excessive  labor  he  sought  permission  to  return 
for  a  time  to  England.  Here  he  claimed  and  received  for  a  time  the 
interest  of  Archbishop  Tenison's  legacy,  which,  until  the  appointment 
of  an  American  bishop  was  payal)le  to  an  aged  missionary.  But  life 
in  England  had  lost  its  charms  for  one  so  active  and  abundant  in  efibrt 
for  the  upbuilding  of  the  Church  of  God.  He  could  not  be  idle  when 
souls  were  perishing  in  schism  and  sin.  He  coidd  not  forget  the 
scenes  of  his  early  labors,  and  his  great  success.  The  missionary's 
heart  yearned  for  the  sons  he  had  begotten  in  the  faith,  and  so  he 
returned  to  spend  the  rest  of  his  days  "  apud  Americanos,"  as  was 
his  favorite  phrase.  Soon  after  his  retirrn  crcdililc  reports  were  re- 
ceived by  the  society  of  his  refusal  to  take  the  oath  of  allegiance  to 
the  king  and  of   his   omission    of  the    king's    name  in  the  church's 


THE   STRUGGLE  FOR  THE   EPISCOPATE.  403 

prayers.  lie  had  been  accused  by  Governor  Hunter,  as  long  before 
as  1715,  of  having  "  incorporated  the  Jacobites  in  the  Jerseys,  under 
the  name  of  a  church,  in  order  to  sanctify  li is  sedition  and  insolence  to 
the  goverunient ; "'  l)ut  he  had  indignantly  repelled  the  charge  lor  him- 
self and  for  his  people,  with  every  evidence  of  good  faith.  The  church- 
wardens and  vestry  at  Burlington  joined  in  this  denial,  and  the  accusa- 
tion of  the  governor  was,  without  doubt,  as  untrue  as  it  must  have 
l)ecn  malicious.  There  could  be  little  sympathy  between  the  friend 
and  admin'r  of  Swift  and  the  self-sacriticing,  conscientious,  and  hard- 
working "missioner"  at  Burlington.  The  Aery  charge,  however, 
may  have  been  the  occasion  of  its  subsequent  justification.  The  re- 
peated failure  of  the  efforts  to  provide  a  bishop  for  the  Church  in 
America,  to  whose  service  he  had  given  his  life,  may  have  turned  his 
attention  to  that  non-juring  schism  whose  bishops  were,  at  least,  un- 
shackled by  any  connection  with  the  State,  and  from  whose  hands  the 
coveted  apostolical  commission  might  be  supplied.  He  had  been 
able  to  boast,  "  I  sufl'er  all  things  for  the  elect's  sake,  the  poor  Church 
of  God,  here  in  the  Wilderness."  He  was  now,  after  years  of  faithful 
labor,  after  spending  and  being  spent  in  the  church's  service,  after 
winning  the  testimony  of  churchmen  far  and  near,  "  that  !)}•  his 
exemplary  life  and  ministry  he  had  been  the  greatest  advocate  for  the 
Church  of  England,  by  law  established,  that  ever  appeared  on  this 
shore,"  '  to  be  "  discharged  the  society  for  exercising  acts  of  jurisdic- 
tion over  the  brethren,  the  missionaries."  He  promptly  denied  the 
charge,  averring  that  he  "knew  nothing  aliout  it,  nor  anyl)ody  else, 
in  all  the  world  ;  "  but  that  a  change  had  come  over  the  old  mission- 
ary's spirit  is  evident.  There  is  no  further  appeal  made  in  his  betters 
for  a  bishop  for  America ;  nor  is  this  subject,  which  proved  the 
burden  of  his  earlier  correspondence,  again  referred  to.  Accused  as 
a  "  notorious  Jacobite '"  by  the  testimony  of  a  worthless,  strolling 
clei'gyman,  who,  in  the  same  breath  with  which  ho  maligned  Talbot, 
pronounced  a  place  "  slavish  "  "  where  they  I'equire  two  sermons 
every  Lord's  Day,  Prayers  all  the  week  and  Homilies  on  Festivals, 
besides  abundance  of  Funerals,  Christenings  at  home,  and  sick  to  be 
visited,"  —  Talliot  was  dismissed  from  the  society's  service,  his  church 
was  closed,  and  "  a  long,  long  penance  "  exacted  of  him  for  "  crimes  " 
which  he  professed  were  to  him  "  unknown."  The  same  questionable 
authority  complained  that  at  Philadelphia  "  he  convened  all  the  clergy 
to  meet,  put  on  his  robes  and  demanded  episcopal  obedience  from 
them.  One  wiser  than  the  rest  refused,  acquainted  the  governor  with 
the  ill-consequences  thereof,  the  danger  he  would  run  of  losing  his 
government ;  whereupon  the  governor  ordered  the  church  to  be  shut 
up."  "There  seems  to  be  no  reason  to  doulit,"  writes  Hawkins,  in 
his  historical  notices  of  the  missions  of  the  Church  of  England,  "that, 
during  his  visit  to  England,  he,  with  Dr.  AVelton.  had  l)een  consecrated 
l)y  the  non-juring  bishops.  Such  a  step  admits  of  no  justification  ;  but 
we  may  well  suppose  that  he  was  led  to  take  it  by  no  personal  ambi- 
tion, but  by  that  strong  and  earnest  conviction  of  the  absolute  necessity 

'  Memorial  of  Church-wardens  and  Vestiy-    New  Bristol,  and  St.  Maiy's,  Burlington,  to  the 
"" "    '  society. 


404  HISTORY   OF  THE   AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

of  an  episcopate  for  the  welfare  of  the  Church  in  America,  of  which  his 
letters  aflbnl  such  abundant  testimony.  It  appears  that  he  occasionally 
assumed  the  episcopal  dress,  and  that  he  administered  the  ordinance  of 
confirmation.  Whatever  confusion  or  schism  might  have  arisen  by  the 
irregular  exercise  of  the  episcopal  ofSce  was  prevented  l)y  an  order 
from  the  Privy  Council  for  Welton's^  return  to  England,  and  l)y  the 
death  of  Mr.  Talbot,  which  occurred  in  1727."  ^  Notices  of  Jlr.  Talbot 
occur  occasionally  in  the  correspondence  of  the  missionaries  with  the 
society,  or  with  their  diocesan,  the  Bishop  of  London.  The  excellent 
Jacob  Henderson,  Commissary  of  Maryland,  under  date  of  August  16, 
1724,  writes  that,  — 

Mr.  Talbot,  Minister  of  Durlingtou,  returned  from  England  about  two  years 
ago  in  Episcopal  Orders,  thougli  his  orders  till  now  of  late  have  been  kept  as  a 
gi'eat  secret,  and  Dr.  Welton  is  arrived  there  about  six  weeks  ago,  as  I'm  credibly 
informed,  in  the  same  capacity,  and  the  people  of  Pliiladelphia  are  so  fond  of  him 
that  they  will  have  him  right  or  wrong  for  their  minister. 

I  am  much  afraid  these  gentlemen  will  poison  the  people  of  that  province. 
I  cannot  see  what  can  prevent  it  but  the  speedy  arrival  of  a  Bishop  there,  one  of  the 
same  order  to  confront  them,  for  tlie  people  will  rather  take  conlirmation  from 
them  than  have  none  at  all,  and  by  that  means  they'll  hook  them  into  the  schism. 

In  June,  172G,  the  commissary  of  the  eastern  shore,  the  Rev. 
Christopher  Wilkinson,  writes  to  his  diocesan :  — 

I  understood  Dr.  Welton  has  left  Philadelphia  and  is  goue  lor  liisbon.  He 
and  the  rest  of  the  non-jurors  disagreed  very  much  among  tliemselves,  in  so  much 
that  they  avoided  one  another's  company.  Mr.  Talbot  and  Mr.  Smith  (who  also 
difi'er  very  much  in  their  sentiments  of  submission  to  the  established  government) 
have  been  with  us  in  Maiyland.  They  behaved  themselves  very  moilestly.  avoided 
fciLking  very  much,  and  resolved  to  submit  quietly  to  the  orders  sent  from  England 
to  proliibit  their  public  oiHciating  in  any  of  the  Churches,  or  to  set  up  separate 
meetings.^ 

A  few  weeks  later  the  Rev.  Archibald  Cummins,  who  had  lately 
arrived  in  Pennsylvania,  writes  to  the  Bishop  of  London  as  follows  :  — 

I  have  been  importuned  by  numbers  of  people  from  Bm'lington,  and  by  some 
of  this  Province,  to  write  to  your  Lordship  in  favour  of  Dr.  Talbot;  they  made  me 
promise  to  mention  him,  othenvise  I  would  not  presmue  to  do  it.  He  is  universally 
beloved,  even  by  Dissenters  here,  and  has  done  a  great  deal  of  good.  Welton  and 
he  had  diifered.  and  broke  otf  correspondence  by  reason  of  the  rash  chimerical 
projects  of  the  former,  long  before  the  Government  took  notice  of  them.  If  he 
were  connived  at  and  could  be  assisted  by  the  Society  (for  I  am  told  the  old  man's 
circumstances  are  veiy  mean),  he  promises  by  his  friends  to  be  peaceable  and  easy, 
and  to  do  all  the  good  he  can  for  the  future.'' 

Poor  old  man  !  He  had  lived  not  for  himself,  but  for  others.  He 
was  "universally  beloved,"  had  "done  a  great  deal  of  good,"  and  at 

*  Atlilcd  to  the  letter  from  UiTnston,  in  wbicli  added  a  scrawl  with  words  proceeding  oiii  of  the 

the  charjfc  is  made  that  Talbot  endeavored  to  mouth  of  the   Bishop  of  Peterboronjfh  to  this 

secure  the  canonical  oliedience  of  the  clcri.'-y,  is  a  ctfect  as  I  am  told,  'lam  not  he  tliat  betrayed 

"  P.S.,"  as  follows  :  "  He  is  succeeded  by  Dr.  Christ,  though  as  ready  to  do  it  as  ever  Judas 

Welton,  who  makes  a  j^-eat  noise  amongst  them  was.'    I  have  met  him  once  in  the  streets,  but 

by   reason  of   his  sutlcrinjjs.     He    has  brouji^ht  had  no  further  conversation  with  liim."  —  ProL 

with  him  to  the  value  of  £300  sterling  in  guns  Epis.  Hist.  Soc.  Coll.,  I.,  p.  93. 

and  fishing-tackle,  ^vith  divei's  printed  copies  of  '  Ibid.,  pp.  146,  147. 

his  famous  altar-piece  at  White-Chapel,    lie  has  ■•  J/iid.,  p.  97.                  '  Jljid.,  p.  90. 


THE   STRUGGLE  FOR   THE   EPISCOPATE.  40') 

the  close  of  an  exemplary  and  most  useful  life,  with  no  oflence 
charged  against  him  other  than  a  suspicion  of  Jacobite  tendencies  and 
practices,  and  the  alleged  exercise  of  episcopal  authorit3s  his  last  days 
could  only  be  spent  "peaceably  and  easy,"  if  he  were  "connived  at," 
so  that  he  might  still  "do  all  the  good"  in  his  jwwcr  to  the  end! 
Certainly  the  name  of  John  Talbot  may  well  be  held  in  loving  re- 
membrance by  the  Church  for  which  he  did  and  dared  so  much  I  ^ 

The  venerable  and  beloved  IJishop  Wliite  was  wont  to  relate  a 
tradition  which  he  heard  from  his  elder  brethren  when  he  was  but  a 
youth.     The  story  was  this  :  — 

A  gentleman  who  had  been  orilained  among  the  Congregationalists  of  New 
England,  and  who  had  officiated  among  them  as  a  minister  for  many  years,  at 
length,  to  tlie  surprise  of  his  friends,  began  to  express  doubts  about  the  validity  of 
his  ordination,  and  manifested  no  smalltrouble  of  mind  on  the  subject.  Suddenly, 
about  the  time  of  the  arrival  of  Talbot  and  \V^eltou,  ho  left  home  without  declaring 
the  place  of  liis  destination  or  pui-pose  of  his  journey.  After  an  interval  of  a  few 
weeks  he  returned,  and  gave  no  further  information  of  his  movements  than  that  he 
had  been  to  some  of  the  southern  colonies ;  he  also  said  on  his  return  that  he  was 
now  perfectly  satisfied  with  his  ordination,  and  from  that  day  never  manifested  the 
least  solicitude  on  the  subject,  but  continued  till  he  died  to  preach  to  his  congrega- 
tion. It  was  soon  whispered  by  those  whoso  cmiosily  here  found  materials  for^its 
exercise  that  the  minister  h.ad  been  on  a  visit  to  the  non-juring  bishops,  and  ob- 
tained ordination  from  one  of  them.  He  never  said  so ;  but  among  churchmen  it 
was  believed  that  such  was  the  fact." 

With  each  added  year  the  need  of  a  bishop  was  more  painfully  felt. 
In  1724  the  Rev.  Samuel  Johnson,  the  newly-ordained  missionary  at 
Stratford,  addressed  the  Bishop  of  London  on  the  subject,  urging  the 
appointment  of  a  bishop,  in  view  of  the  fact  that  "a  consideral^Ie  number 
of  young  gentlemen,"  and  "those  the  best  educated  among  us,"  "for 
want  of  episcopal  ordination,  decline  the  ministry,"  because  "  unwilling 
to  expose  themselves  to  the  danger  of  the  seas  and  distempers,  so 
terrifying  has  been  the  unhappy  fate  of  Mr.  Browne. "^  "So  that," 
continues  this  excellent  missionary,  "the  fountain  of  all  our  misery  is 
the  want  of  a  bishop,  for  whom  there  are  many  thousands  of  souls  in 
this  country  so  impatiently  long  and  pray,  and  for  want  do  e.Ktreraely 
suffer."  The  following  year  six  of  the  New  England  clergy,  includ- 
ing Dr.  Cutler  and  Mr.  Johnson,  prepared  a  memorial  to  the  venerable 
society,  in  which  they  pray  for  the  protection  and  guidance  of  "an 
orthodox  and  loyal  bishop"  residing  among  them,  lieferring  to  the 
presence  of  Dr.  Welton,  as  threatening  "  very  unhappy  consequences" 
to  the  Church  and  the  government,  they  add :  "  Not  only  those  who 
profess  themselves  churchmen  long  and  pray  for  this  great  blessino' 
of  a  worthy  bishop  with  us,  but  also  multitudes  of  those  who  are 
well-wishers  to  us,  Ijut  are  kept  concealed  for  want  thereof,  and  would 
immediately  appear  and  form  many  more  congregations  too,  if  once 
this  happiness  were  granted."''     The  Rev.  James  Honyman,  of  Rhode 

'  The  ini^enioiis  and  able  argument  of  the  '  Di'.  Hawks,  in  his  "  History  of  the  Church 

Rev.  Dr.  Fulton  in  support  of  the  view  tliat  Tal-  in  Marvlanit,"  p.  185. 

hot  was  not  consecrated,  will   be  found   among  '  The  Rev.  Daniel  Browne  died  in  Enfrlaud 

the  raoaograplts  appendeti  to  this  volume,  and  is  of  the  small-pox  shortly  after  admission  to  Holy 

well  worthy  ui'  earcful  consideration  in  this  cou-  Orders, 
nection.  '  Hawkins's  "  Hist.  Notices,"  p.  388. 


406  HISTORY   OF  THE  AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

Island,  besides  signing  this  memorial,  addressed  a  further  communica- 
tion to  the  Bishop  of  London,  submitliug  that  many  perplexing  doubts 
were  constantly  arising  which  could  only  be  resolved  by  the  authority 
of  an  ecclesiastical  suiicrior  resident  on  the  ground,  and  cognizant  of 
all  the  circumstances  that  might  affect  each  case  in  question. 

Nor  was  this  importunate  cry  for  the  presence  and  blessing  of  the 
episcopate  confined  to  the  clergy  and  congregations  of  the  northern 
and  middle  colonies.  After  numerous  fruitless  applications  in  the  past, 
the  clergy  of  Maryland  renewed  their  demand,  and  the  Bishop  of  Lon- 
don invited  them  to  nominate  one  of  their  own  number  for  the  office 
of  suffragan.  The  choice  fell  upon  the  Rev.  ]Mr.  Colebatch,  a  man  of 
exemplary  character  and  acknowledged  fitness  for  the  work  proposed. 
No  records  are  extant  to  acquaint  us  -with  the  grounds  the  bishop  had 
for  ])resuming  that  the  consecration  of  a  suffragan  would  be  permitted ; 
but  it  is  unlikely  that  he  would  have  made  the  request  for  a  nomina- 
tion unless  he  had  reason  to  assume  the  consent  of  the  crown.  But 
the  failure  of  the  effort  at  this  time  resulted  not  from  the  opposition  of 
the  authorities  in  England,  I)ut  in  the  province  itself.  The  proposi- 
tion of  the  l)ishop  being  noised  abroad,  a  writ  of  ne  exeat  was  applied 
for  and  granted  by  the  courts  of  Maryland  against  the  departure  for 
England  of  the  choice  of  the  clergy,  and  the  one  whom  both  his 
brethren  and  his  diocesan  were  anxious  to  see  intrusted  with  the 
office  of  a  suffragan  bishop  was  thus  forbidden  by  the  legislature  to 
leave  the  province. 

It  appears  from  a  letter  addressed  to  the  venerable  society  in 
1748,  by  one  of  its  most  faithful  and  successful  missionaries,  the  lie  v. 
Clement  Hall,  of  North  Carolina,  that  a  report  was  then  prevalent 
"that  a  Ijishop"  who  was,  to  quote  his  words,  "much  wanted,  and  by 
all  good  men  earnestly  tlesired,"  was  "about  to  be  sent  over  and 
settled  in  Virginia,"  and  the  writer  anxiously  asks  whether  the  report 
were  true.  The  absence  of  any  definite  answer  to  this  earnest  query 
is  sufficient  proof  that  if  any  ground  for  the  rumor  existed  other  than 
the  wish  of  good  men,  it  was  soon  removed,  and  the  long-continued 
indiil'erence  of  those  in  power  to  the  spiritual  needs  of  the  colonies 
was  persistently  maintained. 

The  excellent  Seeker,  Bishop  of  Oxford,  had,  in  his  sermon 
preached  before  the  society  in  1741,  pointed  out  the  advantages  arising 
from  the  presence  of  bishops  in  the  colonies  ;  and  Dr.  Sherlock,  Bishop 
of  London,  in  writing  to  good  Dr.  Johnson,  at  Stratford,  Conn.,  had 
informed  him  that  he  had  been  "  soliciting  the  establishment  of  one  or 
two  bishops  to  reside  in  proper  parts  of  the  plantations,  and  to  have 
the  conduct  and  direction  of  the  whole ; "  but  it  was  not  till  the  year 
17."jO  that  a  united  and  sustained  efi'ort  was  again  made  for  the  ac- 
complishment of  this  long-deferred  scheme.  The  zeal  with  which 
Bishops  Sherlock,  Seeker,  and  Butler  entered  upon  their  task,  seemed 
to  have  gained  strength  from  the  very  disappointments  which  had 
attended  all  previous  efforts. 

It  seems  strange  that  a  measure  necessary  for  the  very  existence 
of  the  Church  should  have  been  so  bitterly  and  perseveringly  opposed, 
and  finall}'  effectually  thwarted    by  the  machinations  of  those    who 


U<ru/r  Lam/no  i/ir7/f^i(/f 


THE   STRUGGLE   FOR  THE   EPISCOPATE.  407 

claimed  for  themselves  and  for  tlieir  own  reliirious  organization  tlio 
most  complete  tolenuice  and  the  most  perfect  freedom,  l^ains  had 
been  taken  from  the  tirst  to  assnro  dissenters  that  in  the  estaljli.shment 
of  episcopacy  in  the 
colonies  there  was  no 
design    of     infringing 

upon     the     rights    or      „  ., 

privileges  of  those  who  ^  r^~/^j 

were   not    in  tlie  com-  Pi,  ^       /^n       A^ 

nmnion  of  the  Cluirch.  cr^/L^  .    {^UOVT , 

\\\  a  letter  addressed  to 

the  Rev.  Mr.  Colman,  an  independent  minister  of  Boston,  by  Dr.  White 
Kennett,  Dean,  and  after  wards  Bishoj)  of  Peterborough,  we  find  the  follow- 
ing language  used  with  i-eferencc  to  the  proposed  American  episcopate  :  — 

I  hope  your  Churches  wouhl  not  be  joalous  of  it,  they  being  out  of  our  line, 
and  therefore  beyond  the  cognizance  of  any  overseers  to  be  sent  from  lience.' 

But  the  opposition  which  was  thus  deprecated,  by  one  who  spoke 
with  authority  as  a  leading  member  and  officer  of  the  venerable  society 
which  had  the  matter  at  that  time  in  hand,  was  shortly  aroused,  and 
year  li}^  year  intensified  by  the  very  progress  of  the  Church  to  which 
these  bishops  were  to  bo  sent  as  overseers.  The  introduction  of  the 
Church  into  the  northern  colonics,  which  was  effected  toward  the  close 
of  the  seventeenth  century,  and  its  rapid  development  on  every"  side 
in  the  early  part  of  the  succeeding  century,  had  excited  tlic  appre- 
hension that  the  coveted  blessings  of  the  New  England  theocracy 
were  to  bo  lost,  and  the  "standing  order,"  even  of  Puritan  iVIassachu- 
setts  and  Connecticut  was  to  be  made  subservient  to  another  polity  and 
a  less  rigid  rule  of  faith.  The  conversion  of  Rector  Cutler,  the  schol- 
arly head  of  Yale  College,  which  was  followed  by  the  defection  of 
one  after  another  from  the  ranks  of  Puritanism,  gave  rise,  as  we  have 
seen,  to  a  wide-spread  apprehension  ;  and  a  most  intense  opposition  to 
the  Church.  Controversies  had  arisen  on  every  side,  and  disputes  and 
bickerings  became  more  and  more  heated  as  years  went  on.  Prejudices 
were  aroused,  and  the  very  existence  of  the  New  England  cluu'chcs 
was  l)elieved  liy  many  to  be  imperilled.  The  great  principles  of  tolera- 
tion were  but  imperfectly  understood,  and  "it  was  not  to  l)e  endured 
that  episcopacy  should,  unmolested,  rear  its  mitred  head  among  the 
children  of  men  who  had  said  to  the  world  :  'Let  all  mankind  know 
that  we  came  into  the  u'iJdernefiK,  because  we  would  worship  God 
witiiout  that  Epincnpac;/,  that  Common  Pmi/er,  and  those  unwarrant- 
able cfremoiiies  with  which  the  land  of  our  forefathers  sejjidc/tres  lias 
been  defiled  ;  we  came  hither  because  we  would  have  our  posterity 
settled  under  the  full  and  pure  disj)en.mtions  of  the  gospel ;  defended 
by  rulers  that  sliouJd  he  of  nurselves.'"^ 

No  one  familiar  with  tlic  history  of  New  England  can  be  ignorant 
of  the  pains  taken  on  the  part  of  the  colonial  ministers  and  magis- 

'  Tm-eirs"  Life  of  Colman,"  r.  127.  quoted    liy    Dr.  Hawks,   in  "  Prot.  Epis.  Hist. 

'Mather's  "Masnalia,"  Book    in..  Part   i.,     .Soc.  Coll.,"  I.,  p.   U3. 
sec.  Til.,  page  219,  olVol.  I. :  Hartford    reprint. 


408  HISTORY  OF  THE   AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

trates  to  prevent,  b}'  the  use  of  all  available  means,  the  authorization 
of  bishops  for  America.  The  letters  of  instructions  to  the  provincial 
agents  who  were  employed  to  watch  over  the  interests  of  their  Ameri- 
can constituents  at  the  English  court  have  frequent  references  to  the 
importance  of  thwarting  any  scheme  for  the  introduction  of  a  trans- 
Atlantic  episcopacy.  The  correspondence  of  the  leading  ministers 
with  the  prominent  dissenters  of  England  abounds  in  references  to  this 
matter,  and  in  earnest  appeals  for  their  brethren's  cooperation  in  hinder- 
ing so  dreaded  an  invasion  of  their  alleged  rights.  Constant  representa- 
tions were  made  to  the  ministry  by  those  who  represented  the  dissent- 
ing interest  that  any  scheme  in  this  direction  Mould  be  attended  with 
most  serious  consequences.  Remonstrances,  appeals,  manifestoes, 
and  even  threats,  were  resorted  to,  to  convince  those  in  authority  of 
the  unpopularity  and  danger  of  promoting  such  a  measure. 

It  was  in  consequence  of  this  unreasonable  opposition,  and  with 
full  knowledge  of  the  means  resorted  to  at  home  and  in  the  colonies 
to  excite  and  intensify  it,  that  the  bishops  who  interested  themselves 
in  1750  in  the  efl'ort  to  obtain  the  consecration  of  bishops  for  Amer- 
ica were  at  pains  at  the  outset  to  remove  prejudice,  and  to  pre- 
vent misapprehension  by  laying  down  principles  which  should  have  dis- 
armed all  possible  hostility.  The  scheme  which  was  prepared  by 
these  eminent  prelates  was  such  as  could  oifer  neither  injury  nor  occa- 
sion ofl'ence  to  the  dissenters.  It  was  digested  and  prepared  by  the 
celebrated  author  of  the  "Analogy,"  Bishop  Butler,  and  as  copied 
from  his  manuscript,  was  first  published  to  the  world  by  the  cele- 
brated East  Apthorp,  of  Christ  Church,  Cambridge,  in  whose  hands 
the  original  then  was.      We  give  it  in  full :  — 

1.  That  no  coercive  power  is  desired  over  the  laity  in  any  case,  but  only  a 
power  to  regulate  the  behaviour  of  the  clergy  who  are  in  Episcopal  Orders,  and  to 
correct  and  ])unish  them  according  to  the  laws  of  the  Church  of  England,  in  case 
of  misbehaviour  or  neglect  of  duty,  with  such  power  as  the  commissaries  abroad 
have  exercised. 

2.  That  nothing  is  desired  for  such  bisliops  that  may  in  the  least  interfere 
with  the  dignity,  or  autliority,  or  interest  of  the  (Governor,  or  any  other  officer  of 
State:  Probates  of  wills,  license  for  marriages,  etc.,  to  be  left  in 'the  hands  where 
they  are ;  and  no  share  iu  the  temporal  government  is  desired  for  bishops. 

3.  The  maintenance  of  such  bishops  not  to  be  at  the  charge  of  the  colonies. 

4.  Xo  bishojDS  are  intended  to  be  settled  in  places  where  the  government  is 
left  iu  the  hands  of  dissenters,  as  iu  New  England,  etc.,  but  authority  to  be  given 
only  to  ordain  clergy  for  sucli  Church  of  England  congregations  as  are  among 
them,  and  to  inspect  into  the  manners  aud  beliaviour  of  the  said  clergy,  and  to  con- 
firm the  members  thereof. 

A  plan  conceived  in  this  almost  apologetic  manner,  and  with  these 
restrictions  upon  any  undue  exercise  of  the  episcopal  authority,  should 
have  precluded  opposition,  as  it  certainly  removed  all  possibility  of 
danger  or  cause  for  alarm.  It  seems  difficult  to  believe  that  the 
hostility  with  which  this  proposition  was  assailed  could  have  arisen 
from  real  scruples  of  conscience.  It  would  seem  as  if  the  real  cause 
of  opposition  must  have  been  a  natural  apprehension  that  the  Church 
of  England  in  America,  thus  perfected  in  its  organization,  and  thus 
invested   with  the  powers  of  self-government  and  self-perpetuation, 


THE   STRUGGLE   FOR  THE   EPISCOPATE.  409 

would  rapidly  increase  at  the  expense  of  the  dissenting  bodies  around 
it,  winning  converts  both  from  the  ministers  and  members  of  the 
various  sects  with  which  it  would  inevitably  come  in  competition,  from 
its  orderly  and  apostolic  government,  its  venerable  and  allractive 
forms,  and  its  inevitable  predvje  as  the  religion  of  the  court  and 
crown.  We  cannot  for  a  moment  believe  that  the  leading  dissenters 
were  ignorant  of  the  distinction  between  the  spiritual  rights  inhering 
to  the  episcopal  office  and  the  accidental  appendages  of  temporal 
power  which  belonged  to  the  lords  spiritual  of  the  mother-land. 
The  claim  of  the  American  churchmen  to  the  full  and  free  exercise  of 
their  faith,  involving,  as  it  necessarily  did,  the  perfection  of  their 
ecclesiastical  constitution,  was  undeniable ;  and  it  was  only  the  un- 
reasoning prejudice  of  ignorance  or  sectarian  hate  that  could  pretend 
to  view  this  simple  act  of  justice  as  threatening  the  liberties  of 
America.  There  may  have  been  those  who  doubted  the  possibility 
of  separating  between  the  powers  purely  spiritual  and  those  of  a 
temporal  nature,  which  for  years  had  been  associated  with  the  bishops 
of  the  mother-land,  and  fancied  that  the  American  bishop  could  not 
and  would  not  confine  himself  to  the  exercise  of  his  episcopal  powers 
simply,  without  aping  the  state,  and  seeking  to  obtain  the  temporal 
power,  of  his  episcopal  brethren  in  the  mother-land.  That  such  was 
the  conviction  of  many  honest  men  admits  of  little  doubt,  and  the  fact  that 
there  was  no  opposition  to  the  introduction  of  the  episcopal  office,  when 
the  independence  of  the  countiy  was  finally  assured,  proves  their 
sincerity  in  these  aijprehensions.  Their  doubts  and  invincible  preju- 
dices, in  spite  of  every  possible  assurance  to  the  contrary,  do  little 
credit  to  their  charity,  or  their  confidence  in  the  word  or  solemn  pro- 
fessions of  their  fellow-men,  and  they  are  certainly  without  excuse  for 
the  bitterness  and  rancor,  the  falsification,  calumny,  and  slander, 
exhibited  by  those  who  were  the  champions  in  the  pulpit  and  in  print 
of  the  cause  they  avowed. 

On  the  21st  of  February,  1750,  the  Bishop  of  London,  Dr. 
Sherlock,  presented  to  the  king  in  council  a  memorial  entitled  "  Con- 
siderations rehiting  to  Ecclesiastical  Government  in  his  Majesty's 
Dominions  in  America."  In  this  important  document  every  care  was 
taken  to  avoid  giving  any  occasion  of  oflence  to  dissenters,  or  others 
who  might  be  opposed  to  the  scheme  of  an  American  episcopate.  It 
disavows  any  purpose  of  appointing  a  bishop  either  for  New  England 
or  for  Pennsylvania.  It  proposes  to  confer  upon  the  American  prelates 
no  powers  l)ut  such  as  are  purely  spiritual  and  inherent  to  their  sacred 
office,  and  directly  and  distinctly  disclaims  any  purpose  of  supporting 
the  proposed  episcopate  by  a  tax  or  imposition  of  any  kind  ui)on  the 
people.  The  need  of  the  American  Church  was  temperately  but  co- 
gently urged,  and  nothing  was  omitted  to  give  assurance  of  the  full 
purpose  of  the  promoters  of  the  plan  to  avoid  any  possible  political 
complication,  or  to  evoke  any  sectarian  hostility  to  a  scheme  proposed 
solely  ^v'ith  a  view  to  the  establishment  of  the  American  churchmen  in 
their  spiritual  rights. 

But  the  time  chosen  for  the  presentation  of  these  "  Considera- 
tions "  proved  inopportune.     The  king  was  preparing  for  a  visit  to  the 


410  HISTORY    OF   THE    AMERICAN    EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

continent,  and  ostensibly  on  this  account  the  consideration  of  the 
bishojj's  memorial  was  deferred  until  the  monarch's  return  from 
Hanover.  And  thus  the  third  application  to  the  crown  proved  of  no 
avail. 

While  the  king  was  absent  a  correspondence  on  the  suliject  was 
entered  into  by  Bishop  Seeker  and  Walpole,  1)ut  the  interchange  of 
views  between  the  bishop  and  the  prime  minister  produced  no  mate- 
rial effect,  either  in  advancing  the  success  of  the  plan  proposed  or  in 
removing  the  strong  opposition  to  the  scheme  which  its  simple  men- 
tion had  excited  among  the  dissenters  at  home  and  in  America.  The 
"  true  reason  of  the  Bishop  of  London  being  opposed  and  defeated  in 
his  scheme  of  sending  in  bishops,"  writes  Dr.  Chandler  to  Johnson,  of 
Stratford,  was  this :  "  It  seems  that  the  Duke  of  Newcastle,  Mr. 
Pelham,  and  Mr.  Onslow,  can  have  the  interest  and  votes  of  the  whole 
body  of  the  dissenters  upon  condition  of  their  befriending  them  ;  and 
l)y  their  influence  on  those  persons  the  ministry  was  brought  to 
oppose  it."  ^     Comment  is  unnecessary. 

In  view  of  the  evident  impossibility  of  success  while  such  a 
powerful  opposition  was  arrayed  against  the  plan  of  an  American 
episcopate  it  was  not  likely  that  the  churchmen  in  whose  interest  the 
scheme  was  urged  would  voluntarily  provoke  discussion  with  reference 
to  it  which  could  only  intensify  the  assaults  of  the  dissenters,  and,  in 
the  end,  prejudice  their  cause.  At  the  same  time  it  was  impossible 
for  them  to  remain  passive  and  silent  when  assailed  by  misrepresenta- 
tion and  rancorous  abuse.  Chai'ges  from  pulpits  and  in  pamphlets 
and  in  newsprints  of  the  day  had  been  made  again  and  again  against 
the  venerable  society  for  an  alleged  violation  of  its  charter,  in  its 
sending  a  number  of  its  missionaries,  not  merely  to  the  destitute  and 
neglected  portions  of  the  colonies,  but  to  those  where,  in  the  view  of 
the  dissenters,  there  was  no  need  of  services  or  sacraments  other  than 
their  own.  More  than  one-third  of  the  society's  laborers,  exclusive  of 
those  stationed  in  Newfoundland,  Nova  Scotia,  and  the  West  Indies, 
were  employed  in  New  England,  and,  although  the  most  careful  and 
painstaking  scrutiny  had  failed  to  find  a  solitary  instance  where  a  mis- 
sionary had  been  sent  into  New  England  save  at  the  request  of  those 
to  whom  he  was  appointed  to  minister,  still  these  Church  of  England 
clergy  were  deemed  intruders,  and  their  congregations  charged  with  the 
sin  of  schism,  because  they  claimed  the  exercise  of  their  religion  on 
soil  deemed  the  exclusive  property  of  Puritanism.  It  was  asserted 
that  the  society  had  for  its  object  chiefly  "to  episcopize  dissenters." 
Such  a  charge,  urged  as  it  was  with  evident  irritation  and  hate,  could 
not  fail  to  elicit  discussion  and  reply.  The  Rev.  East  Apthorp,  the 
missionary  at  Cambridge,  a  clei'gyman  of  learning  and  piety,  published 
a  small  pamphlet  in  defence  of  the  society,  entitled  "  Considerations 
on  the  Institution  and  Conduct  of  the  .Society  for  Propagating  the 
Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts."  It  was  not  long  before  this  publication 
found  a  I'cviewer  in  the  celebrated  Jonathan  Mayhew,  of  Boston. 
"Equally  an  enemy  to  the  Trinity,  to  loyalty,  and  to  Episcopacy," as  Dr. 

'  JoUnsou  MSS.,  quoted  liy  Di-.  Hawks,  "  Prot.  Epis.  Hist.  Soc.  Coll.,"  i.,  p.  14fi,  note. 


THE   STRUGGLE   FOR  THE   EPISCOPATE. 


411 


Johnson  writes,  '  JMaj'hew,  in  liis  rci)ly,  not  only  criticised  tiic  conduct 
of  the  society  with  no  little  asperity,  but  added  many  bitter  and  angry 


reflections  on  the  Church  of  England,  especially  inveighing  against 
the  scheme  of  an  American  episcopate.     This  attack  of  the  puritan 


1  Hawks  and  Perry's  "  Coua.  Church  Documents,"  ii.,  p.  38. 


412  HISTORY   or  THE   AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

doctor,  which  was  au  occasion  of  son-ow  and  regret  to  leading  mem- 
bers of  his  own  body,  was  answered  anonymously  in  London,  in  a 
pamphlet  "  remarkable  for  its  strength  of  argument,  fairness  of  discus- 
sion, and  Christian  temper."  So  convincing  and  so  courteous  was  this 
reply  that  even  Mayhew  was  compelled  to  acknowledge  that  his  adver- 
sary was  "a  person  of  excellent  sense  and  a  happy  talent  at  writing; 
apparently  free  from  the  sordid,  illiberal  spirit  of  bigotry  ;  one  of  a 
cool  temper,  who  often  showed  much  candor ;  was  well  acquainted 
with  the  afi'airs  of  the  society,  and,  in  general,  a  fair  reasoner."  Still 
the  combative  doctor  published  two  replies  to  this  tract,  in  which, 
though  abating  much  of  his  former  acrimony,  he  persisted  in  main- 
taining that  he  was  not  "wrong  in  any  material  point."  To  these 
pamphlets  Mr.  Apthorp  wrote  a  dignified  and  sensible  reply,  which 
terminated  the  controversy.  Dr.  Mayhew,  on  reading  this  "  Review," 
announced  his  purpose  of  not  answering  it,  and,  in  the  following  year, 
he  died. 

The  "anonymous  tract,"  which  was  characterized  by  Mayhew, 
who  was,  however,  ignorant  of  the  authorship,  as  written  by  a  "wor- 
thy answerer,"  was  the  production  of  Archbishop  Seeker,  then 
jjresident  of  the  venerable  society.  Intimately  concerned  as  he  was 
in  the  conception  and  furtherance  of  the  plan  for  the  American  episco- 
pate, he  was  able  to  speak  with  authority  in  its  defence,  and  his  argu- 
ments were  such  as  could  not  readily  be  gainsaid.  It  was  this  de- 
fence and  the  earnest  advocacy  of  these  measures  for  the  relief  of  the 
oppressed  Church  of  England  in  America  that  subjected  this  eminent 
prelate  to  the  most  virulent  abuse  at  home  and  abroad.  "Posterity 
will  stand  amazed,"  observes  the  amiable  Porteus,  his  biographer, 
"  when  they  are  told  that,  on  tliis  account,  his  memory  has  been  pur- 
sued in  pamphlets  and  newspapers  with  such  unrelenting  rancour, 
such  unexampled  wantonness  of  abuse,  as  he  would  scarce  have 
deserved  had  he  attempted  to  eradicate  Christianity  out  of  America, 
and  to  introduce  Mahometanism  in  its  room ;  whereas,  the  plain  truth 
is,  that  all  he  wished  for  was  nothing  more  than  what  the  very  best 
friends  to  religious  freedom  ever  have  wished  for,  a  complete  tolera- 
tion for  the  Church  of  England  in  that  countri/."  ' 

While  the  archbishop  was  engaged  in  England  in  the  prepara- 
tion of  an  answer  to  Dr.  Mayhew,  the  Rev.  Henry  Caner,  of  the 
King's  Chapel  in  Boston,  and  Dr.  Samuel  Johnson,  of  Christ  Church, 
Stratford,  Connecticut,  were  engaged  in  a  similar  task.  Their  con- 
tributions to  this  controversy  appeared  in  the  same  volume,  the  "Ob- 
servations" by  Dr.  Johnson  forming  an  appendix  to  Mr.  Caner's 
vindication. 

A  contemporary  print,  entitled  "An  Attempt  to  Land  a  Bishop 
in  America,"  illusti-ates  the  alaim  and  hati'ed  on  the  part  of  those  of 
M'hom  Lord  Chatham  ^vi'ote,  that,  "divided  as  they  are  into  a  thousand 
forms  of  policy  and  religion,  there  is  one  point  on  which  tbey  all 
agree ;  they  equally  detest  the  pageantry  of  a  king,  and  the  super- 
cilious hypocrisy  of  a  bishop."     The  scene  depicted  in  this  print  is 

'  Beilby  Poiteus's  "  Life  of  Seeker,"  p.  53. 


THE   STRUGGLE   FOR   THE   EPISCOPATE. 


413 


on   a  wharf.     A  crowd  of  excited  colonists,  with  open  mouths  and 
violent   gesticulations,   ;ire   In'andishing    staves  and   clubs.     One,  in 


AN    ArrEMl>T    TO    LAND    A    BISHOP    IN    AMERICA. 


Quaker  garb,  stands  with  an  open  copy  of  Barclay's  "Apology"  in 
his  hand.  Others,  with  cro})ped  iiair  and  Puritan  faces,  are  shouting, 
"No  Loi-ds.  spiritual  or  temporal,  in  New'  England  ; "  and  are  hurling 


414  HISTORY    OF   THE    AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

copies  of  "  Sydnej'  on  Government,"  "  Calvin's  Works,"'  and  "  Locke," 
at  a  retreating  figure  who  is  climbing  the  shrouds  of  the  "Hillsborough  " 
ship,  which  is  being  thrust  ofl"  from  shore.  The  Episcopal  carriage 
is  dismounted  and  packed  on  deck ;  the  crosier  and  mitre  are 
placed  by  its  side,  and  the  affrighted  prelate,  whose  rochet  and 
chimere  are  streaming  behind  him  as  he  mounts  the  ropes  in  haste,  is 
crying,  "Lord,  now  lettest  Thou  Thy  servant  depart  in  peace  !  "  The 
legend  in  front  is,  "Shall  they  be  obliged  to  maintain  bishops,  Avho 
cannot  maintain  themselves?"  while  a  grinning  a})e,  in  the  foreground, 
poises  a  missile  to  hurl  at  the  bishop.  All  this  l)ravery  of  a  mol)  in 
pursuit  of  a  single,  unarmed,  unresisting  man  is  under  the  Ijanner  of 
"Liberty  and  Freedom  of  Conscience." 

The  controversy  ])rovoked  by  the  appearance  of  Apthorp's  de- 
fence of  the  society  from  the  charge  of  unfaitiifulness  in  its  adminis- 
tration was  hardly  over  when  the  use  of  certain  expressions  by  the 
Bishop  of  Landaff,  in  iiis  anniversary  sermon  before  the  society,  in 
which  he  depicted  the  religious  condition  of  some  of  the  American 
colonies  as  but  little  better  than  heathenish,  caused  the  war  of  words 
to  break  forth  afresh,  and  with  even  greater  bitterness.  It  was 
assumed,  though  without  reason,  that  these  assertions  had  especial 
reference  to  New  England,  and  the  llev.  Charles  Chauncy,  a  Congrega- 
tionalist  minister  of  Boston,  of  no  little  .ability  and  reputation,  under- 
took at  once  the  work  of  correction  and  reproof.  In  "a  letter  to  a 
friend,  containing  remai'ks  on  certain  passages"  in  the  Bishop  of 
Landaff's  sermon,  lie  took  occasion  not  only  to  controvert  the  su})- 
posed  attack  upon  the  religious  condition  and  institutions  of  Xew 
England,  but  also  to  assail  the  bishop's  arguments  in  favor  of  bishops 
in  America.  This  "Letter"  from  the  trenchant  pen  of  Chauncy  was 
followed  by  one  in  a  similar  vein,  and  so  closely  copying  the  argu- 
ments, and  even  the  language,  of  the  Puritan  divine  as  to  suggest 
l)lagiarism.  This  affected  performance  Avas  the  production  of  a  Mr. 
A^MlIiam  Livingston,  a  lawyer  of  New  York,  whose  literary  reputa- 
tion is  certainly  not  enhanced  by  the  i)roduction  of  a  Avork  Avhich  con- 
tained nothing  which  had  not  l)een  said  in  more  terse  and  sim})ler 
language  l)y  Dr.  Chauncy.  The  discussion  on  the  bishop's  sermon 
was  terminated  by  "A  Vindication,"  prepared  and  published  by  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Charles  Inglis,  of  New  York,  Avhose  familiarity  with  the 
facts  and  skilful  management  of  his  material,  cou]iled  with  incisive 
argument  and  pungent  sarcasm,  left  nothing  to  l>e  said  in  reply.  But 
while  the  controversy  with  reference  to  the  Bishop  of  Landaff's  sermon 

was  thus  summarily 
closed,  the  strife  Avas 
almost  immediately 
renewed,  and  the 
discussion  of  the 
whole  subject  be- 
came general. 

Early  in  1767  the  Rev.  Dr.  Johnson  of  Stratford,  in  Connect- 
icut, had  suggested  to  the  Rev.  Thomas  Bradbury  Chandler,  of  Eliza- 
bethtown,  in   NeAv  Jersey,  the  jn-opriety  of  appealing  in  a  calm  and 


THE   STEUGGLE   FOR  THE   EPISCOPATE.  41!) 

temperate  manner  to  the  general  public  in  favor  of  an  American  epis- 
copate. A  little  more  than  ten  years  before,  the  excellent  Johnson 
had  lost  a  son,  who  had  died  of  the  small-pox,  in  England,  while 
there  in  quest  of  orders.  Keenly  sensible  of  the  general  dread  of  this 
scourge  of  which  his  friend  and  fellow-conformist,  the  Rev.  Daniel 
Browne,  had  died.,  on  occasion  of  his  own  visit  to  England  for  ordina- 
tion, the  stricken  missionary,  who  had  never  lost  sight  of  the  matter 
in  his  correspondence  with  the  authorities  at  home,  now  sought  to 
allay  prejudice  and  disarm  opposition  to  a  scheme  by  which  others 
might  be  spared  the  bereavement  he  had  suflerod.  Shortly  after  this 
suggestion  was  made  it  was  decided,  at  a  voluntary  convocation  of 
the  clergy  of  New  York  and  New  Jersey,  among  whom  were  Drs. 
Auchmuty,  Rector  of  Trinity,  New  York  ;  Chandler,  afterwards  Bishop- 
designate  of  Nova  Scotia ;  and  Myles  Cooper,  President  of  King's 
College ;  Seabury,  afterwards  tirst  Bishop  of  Connecticut ;  Inghs, 
afterwards  first  Bishop  of  Nova  Scotia,  and  Abraham  Beach,  one  of 
the  leading  members  of  the  early  General  Conventions  of  the  Church 
after  the  revolution,  "that,  fairly  to  explain  the  plan  on  which 
American  bishops  had  been  requested,  to  lay  before  the  public  the 
reasons  of  this  request,  to  answer  the  objections  that  had  been  made, 
and  to  obviate  those  that  might  be  otherwise  conceived  against  it,  was 
not  only  proper  and  expedient,  but  a  matter  of  necessity  and  duty." 
We  transcribe  from  the  original  folio  in  the  handwriting  of  the 
secretary,  Mr.  Seabury,  the  Minutes  of  the  Proceedings  of  the  Con- 
vention of  New  York  :  — 

The  Clergy  of  the  Province  of  New  York  taking  into  their  seriousconsideration 
the  present  state  of  the  Church  of  England  in  the  Colonies,  where  it  is  obliged  to 
struggle  against  the  opposition  of  sectaries  of  various  denominations,  and  labours 
undei"^  the  want  of  the  Episcopal  Order,  and  all  the  advantages  and  blessings  resulting^ 
therefrom ;  agreed  upon  holding  voluntary  conventions,  at  least  once  in  the  year 
and  oftener  if  necessity  required,  as  the  most  likely  means  to  seive  the  interests  of 
the  Church  of  England ;  as  they  could  then  not  only  confer  together  upon  the  most 
likely  methods,  but  use  their  joint  influence  and  endeavours  to  obtain  the  happiness 
of  Bishops,  to  support  the  Church  against  the  uiu'easonalale  opposition  given  to  it 
in  tlie  Colonies,  and  cultivate  and  improve  a  good  understanding  and  union  with 
each  other. 

First  Convention,  May  21,  1766  : 

In  pursuance  of  this  agreement,  a  voluntary  Convention  of  the  Clergy  of  the 
Province  of  New  York,  assisted  by  some  of  their  brethren  from  New  Jersey  and 
Connecticut,  was  held  at  the  house  of  Doctor  Auchmuly,  in  New  York,  the  21st  of 
May,  1766. 
Present : 

Revs.  Doctor  Johnson,  Mr.  Cutting, 

"     Doctor  Auchmuty,  Mr.  Avery, 

"     Doctor  Chandler,  Mr.  Mimro, 

Mr.  Charlton,  Mr.  Jarvis, 

Mr.  Cooper,  Mr.  Seabury, 

Mr.  Ogilvie,  Mr.  McKean, 

Mr.  Cooke,  Mr.  Inglis.' 

On  the  day  following  the  clergy  united  in  a  letter  to  the  secretary 
of  the  venerable  society,  in  which  the  arguments  just  made  use  of  by 

'  This  intevcsting  and  valualjle  volume  is  still  preserved  in  the  hands  of  the  Rev.  Prof.  Wm.  J. 
Seabuiy,  D.D.,  of  New  York. 


416  HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

the  Rev.  Mr.  Seabury  are  enforced.     We  give  the  opening  para- 
graph :  — 

The  Clergy  of  Nevt  York  to  the  Secretakt. 

New  York,  May  22,  1766. 
Rev.  Sir  :  —  The  Clergy  of  the  Province  of  New  York  having  agreed  in  con- 
junction with  some  of  our  brethren  of  Connecticut  and  New  Jersey,  to  hold  volun- 
tary annual  conventions,  In  the  province  of  New  York,  for  the  sake  of  confcmng 
together  upon  the  most  proper  methods  of  promoting  the  welfare  of  the  Church  of 
England,  and  tlie  interests  of  religion  and  virtue  ;  and  also,  to  keep  up  as  a  body  an 
exact  correspondence  with  the  Honourable  Society,  we  embrace  with  pleasure  this 
opportunity,  which  our  tirst  meeting  hath  furnished  us  with,  to  present  our  duty  to 
the  Venerable  Society,  and  doubt  not  but  this  our  voluntary  union  lor  these  impor- 
tant purposes  will  meet  with  their  countenance  and  approbation.  AVith  the  greatest 
satisfaction  we  assure  the  Society  that  the  Chm'ch  in  this  province  is  in  as  good  a 
state  as  can  be  expected,  considering  the  peculiar  disadvantages  under  which  it 
still  labours.  We  cannot  omit  condoling  with  the  Society,  upon  the  great  loss 
whicli  the  Church  has  sustained  in  the  death  of  Messrs.  Wilson  and  Giles,  who 
perished  Ijy  shipwreck  near  the  entrance  of  Delaware  Bay.  From  the  character  of 
these  two  gentlemen  we  had  pleased  ourselves  with  the  prospect  of  having  two 
worthy  clergymen  added  to  our  numbers  ;  wliich,  to  our  great  grief,  we  find  too 
small  to  supply  the  real  wants  of  the  people  in  these  Colonies.  This  loss  brings 
to  our  mind  an  exact  calculation  made  not  many  years  ago,  that  not  less  than  one 
out  of  live,  who  li.ave  gone  home  for  Holy  Orders  from  tiie  Northern  Colonies,  have 
perished  in  the  attempt,  ten  having  miscarried  out  of  fifty-one.  This  we  consider 
as  an  incontestable  argument  for  the  necessity  of  American  Bishops,  and  we  do,  in 
the  most  earnest  manner,  beg  and  entreat  the  Venerable  Society,  to  whose  piety 
and  care  under  God  the  Church  of  England  owes  her  veiy  being  in  most  parts  of 
America,  that  they  would  use  their  utmost  influence  to  ell'ect  a  point  so  essential  to 
the  real  interests  of  the  Church  in  this  wide-extended  countiy.' 

In  June,  1767,  appeared  "An  Appeal  to  the  Public  in  favor  of 
the  Church  of  England  in  America."  This  work,  which  was  marked 
by  a  perspicuous  method  and  arrangement,  and  a  clear  and  judicious 
statement  of  facts  and  arguments,  consisted  in  the  main  of  a  brief 
view  of  the  evidence  in  favor  of  the  episcopal  office  in  the  Church, 
followed  by  a  presentation  of  the  obvious  justice  of  the  claim  of  Amer- 
ican churchmen  to  be  allowed  the  presence  and  privilege  of  a  chief 
shepherd,  whose  office  was  essential  to  their  idea  of  the  being  of  a 
church,  and  for  which  they  claimed  apostolic  and  primitive  precedent. 
The  plan  proposed  was  next  presented  in  detail,  and  the  fears  and 
objections  to  the  introduction  of  such  an  officer  into  American  ecclesi- 
astical aflairs  considered  and  met.  It  was  evident,  both  from  the  manner 
in  which  the  subject  was  treated,  and  from  the  cogency  of  the  argu- 
ments presented  in  its  behalf,  that  to  still  resist  such  an  appeal  on  the 
ground  of  certain  undefined,  but  possible  and  apprehended,  evils, 
savored  much  more  of  partisan  intolerance  than  of  Christian  charity 
or  common  fairness. 

The  opposition  to  the  "  Appeal  "  of  Dr.  Chandler  appears  to  have 
grown  out  of  disappointment,  on  the  part  of  the  Presbyterians  of  New 
York,  for  the  rejection  of  their  application  for  a  charter  by  the 
authorities  of  the  mother-land.  In  this  failure  of  their  application  for 
corporate  powers  and  privileges  the  Bishop  of  London  was  supposed 

'  N.y.  MSS.,  II.,  pp.  -106-7. 


TUE   STRUGGLE   FOR  TilK   EPISCOPATE.  417 

to  have  been  concei'ucd,  and  a  simultaneous  attack  upon  the  "  Appeal " 
followed,  giving  rise  to  the  suspicion  that  a  combination  had  been 
organized  to  crush  out  the  plan  for  an  American  episcopate,  com- 
mended in  the  "Appeal,"  in  behalf  of  which  the  Bishop  of  London  was 
known  to  be  deeply  interested.  A  series  of  papers  appeared  in  the 
"New  York  Gazette,"  under  the  name  of  the  "  American  Whig,"  which 
was  then  supposed,  and  afterwards  known,  to  be  chieHy  the  produc- 
tion of  jNIr.  William  Livingston,  while  the  "  Pennsylvania  Journal,"  in 
Philadelphia,  opened  its  columns  to  the  essays  of  the  "  Sentinel," 
which  were  conceived  in  a  similar  vein.  In  Boston,  Dr.  Chauncy, 
the  acknowledged  champion  of  independency,  published  "  The  Appeal 
to  the  Pul)lic  Answered."  The  invectives  of  the  "  American  Whig  " 
were  reproduced  in  the  newspapers  of  Boston  and  Philadelphia,  while 
the  lucubrations  of  the  "  Sentinel "  were  spread  befoi'e  the  public  by 
the  presses  of  the  sister  cities  of  Boston  and  New  York.  Thus,  as 
if  by  concerted  action,  and  simultaneously,  the  press  of  the  three 
leading  cities  of  America  was  subsidized  for  the  furtherance  of  an 
attack  upon  the  Church  more  violent  and  uncompromising  than  any 
which  had  preceded  it.  The  adherents  of  the  Church  were  not  silent. 
The  "American  \\'hig"  fountl  its  scurrility  answered  by  a  reviewer 
under  the  nom  de  plume  of  "  Timothy  Tickler,"  who  lashed  his  assail- 
ant with  merciless  severity  in  the  successive  numbers  of  "  A  Whip 
for  the  American  Whig."  These  papers  were  shortly  gathered  into 
a  volume,  and  we  have  only  to  turn  the  pages  of  "  A  Collection  of 
Tracts  from  the  late  News  Papers,  etc.,  containing  particularly  '  The 
American  Whig.'  '  A  Whip  fot  the  American  Whig,'  with  some  other 
pieces,  on  the  subject  of  the  Residence  of  Protestant  Bishops  in  the 
American  Colonies,  and  in  answer  to  the  writers  who  opposed  it,  etc. 
New  York  :  Printed  by  John  Holt,  at  the  Exchange,  17G8,"  in  nearly 
four  hundred  and  tifty  pages,  to  which  was  added,  the  following  year, 
another  volume  of  almo.st  the  same  size,  to  .see  the  liitterness  of  the 
controvei'sy,  which  sought  to  prove  to  the  popular  mind,  at  least,  — 

"  The  Bishops,  those  creatures  of  Kings, 
To  be  Dragons,  with  terrible  stings." 

The  Philadelphia  "Sentinel"  was  answered  by  one  of  the  most 
accomplished  and  able  writers  of  the  day,  the  celebrated  Dr.  William 
Smith,  Provost  of  the  College  and  Academy  of  Philadelphia.  These 
replies  were  followed  Ijy  "Remonstrants  "  and  "Anti-Sentinels,"  while 
the  lowest  depth  of  scurrility  and  low  humor  was  reached  in  a  "Ivick 
for  the  AVhipper,"  by  Sir  Isaac  Foot. 

In  answer  to  L)r.  Chauncy,  and  without  noticing  these  inferior 
and  anonymous  assailants,  Dr.  Chandler  published  "  The  Appeal 
Defended,"  and,  in  1771,  "The  Appeal  Further  Defended,"  in  reply 
to  a  second  retort  from  his  Boston  antagonist.  The  controversy  finally 
closed,  for  notliing  further  could  be  said  on  either  side.  The  reasons 
for  desiring  bishops  in  America  remained  unchanged.  They  were,  in 
fact,  unanswerable  ;  nor  could  the  intolerant  and  unreasonable  oppo- 
sition of  those  who  would  deny  to  churchmen  the  rights  and  privileges 


418  HISTORY  OF   THE  AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHUKCH. 

they  claimed  for  themselves  reach  beyond  a  certain  measure  of  invec- 
tive or  abuse.  The  hardsliips  borne  by  the  Churcii  in  being  com- 
pelled to  send  her  candidates  across  a  stormy  ocean,  and  to  a  land 
where  they  were  peculiarly  exposed  to  disease  and  death,  were  exem- 
plified during  the  very  midst  of  the  controversy.  In  the  loss  of  a 
single  ship  on  the  coast  of  New  Jersey,  almost  within  sight  of  port, 
two  missionaries,  returning  with  the  qualification  for  their  work  they 
had  dared  the  perils  of  the  sea  to  obtain,  perished,  one  of  whom  left  a 
family  in  New  York  dependent  upon  charity.  One-tifth  of  those  who 
went  abroad  for  holy  orders  never  returned.  Shipwreck,  captivity, 
and  death  in  foreign  prisons,  and  the  pestilence  which  claimed  its 
tribute  of  victims,  added  to  the  charges  of  a  long  journey  and  an  ex- 
pensive residence  in  the  mother-laud,  kept  the  supply  of  clergy  short, 
and  p:u"ishes  were  sometimes  a  score  of  years  in  securing  a  clergyman 
duly  qualified  to  minister  to  them  in  holy  things.  The  grievance  was 
one  felt  as  well  by  the  laity  as  by  the  clergy.  We  have  again  and 
asrain  referred  to  the  "  adclresses  "  from  officials  and  wardens  and 
vestries,  urging  their  right  to  be  heard  in  a  matter  so  closely  affecting 
themselves.  Nor  is  the  testimony  of  the  celebrated  Sir  William 
Johnson  on  this  point  to  be  overlooked.  This  staunch  promoter  of 
Christianity"  among  the  Indians  oflered  to  the  venerable  society 
twenty  thousand  acres  of  land  in  the  vicinity  of  Schenectady,  New 
York,  and  on  the  10th  of  December,  1768,  wrote  as  follows  :  — 

We  cannot  have  a  clergy  here  without  an  Episcopate ;  and  this  want  has  occa- 
sioned many  to  embrace  other  persuasions,  and  will  oblige  greater  nmnbers  to  follow 
their  example  ;  of  which  the  dissenters  are  very  sensible,  and  by  pretended  fears  of 
an  episcopal  jjower,  as  well  as  by  magnifying  their  own  uumliers  and  lessening 
ours,  give  it  all  possible  opposition. 

While  these  disputes  were  at  their  height  there  was  added,  as  a 
natural  result  of  the  systematic  eflbrts  made  by  the  dissenting  ministei's, 
from  their  pulpits  and  in  their  pul:)li cations,  to  inflame  the  prejudices  of 
the  populace,  the  interference  of  the  legislative  atithority  in  opposition 
to  the  scheme  for  an  American  episcopate.  On  the  12th  of  January, 
1768,  the  House  of  Representatives  of  the  Province  of  Massachusetts 
Bay  addressed  a  letter  to  its  agent  in  London,  Dennis  de  Berdt,  Esq., 
in  which  was  the  following  strong  deprecation  of  any  attempt  to  send 
bishoi)s  to  iVinerica  :  — 

The  establishment  of  a  Protestant  episcopate  in  America  is  also  very  zealously 
contended  for ;  and  it  is  very  alarming  to  a  people  whose  fathers,  from  the  hard- 
sliips they  snfi'ered  imder  such  an  establishment,  were  obliged  to  fly  their  native 
country  into  a  wilderness,  in  order  ])eaceably  to  enjoy  their  privileges  civil  and 
religious :  Their  being  threatened  with  the  loss  of  both  at  once  must  throw  them 
into  a  very  disagi'ceable  situation.  We  hope  in  God  such  an  establishment  will 
never  take  place  in  America;  and  we  desire  you  would  slrenuoiiHy  oppose  it.  The 
revenue  raised  in  America,  for  aught  we  clui  tell,  may  be  as  constitutionally  applied 
towards  the  sujjiiort  of  prelacy  as  of  soldiers  and  pensioners :  If  the  |)roperty  of 
the  subject  is  taken  from  him  without  his  consent,  it  is  immaterial  whetlicr  it  bo 
done  by  one  man  or  by  five  hundred,  or  whether  it  be  applied  for  the  support  of  the 
ecclesiastic  or  military  power,  or  lioth.  It  may  be  well  worth  the  oonsiileration  of 
the  best  politicians  in  Great  ISritain  or  America,  what  the  natural  tendency  is  of  a 
rigorous  pursuit  of  these  measures.' 

'  Quoted  by  Or.  Hawks,  iu  "  Prot.  Epis.  Hist.  Soc.  Coll.,"  i.,  pp.  Iji,  155. 


THE   STRUGGLE  FOR  THE  EPISCOPATE.  419 

Strange  to  say  this  opposition  to  a  plan  for  an  American  episco- 
pate on  the  part  of  the  Puritan  Legi.shiturc  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay 
Province  was  shortly  followed,  though  from  different  reasons,  by  similar 
action  on  the  part  of  the  House  of  Burgesses  of  Virginia,  which  was 
chiefly  composed  of  churchmen.  The  circumstances  of  this  action 
were  as  follows:  In  April,  1771,  the  Rev.  John  Camm,  the  com- 
missary of  Virginia,  summoned  a  convocation  of  the  clergy  of  Virginia 
to  meet  at  the  College  of  William  and  Mary,  on  the  4th  of  May.  At 
the  time  assigned  but  a  small  number  of  the  clergy  appeared,  and  when 
a  proposition  was  made  to  address  the  king  in  favor  of  an  American 
episcopate  those  who  were  present  proposed  and  carried  a  postpone- 
ment of  the  question  till  a  later  date.  At  the  time  of  the  second 
meeting,  on  the  4th  of  June,  although  the  nature  of  the  business 
contemplated  had  been  widely  advertised,  but  twelve  clergymen,  a  less 
number  than  before,  were  in  attendance.  The  first  question  considered 
was,  whether  sucii  a  minority  of  the  clergy,  there  being  at  the  time 
more  than  a  hundred  parishes  in  the  province,  and  most  of  them 
supplied,  could  be  deemed  a  convention  of  the  Virginia  clergy.  It 
was  at  length  decided,  but  not  without  opposition,  that  this  was  a  con- 
vention, the  call  having  been  duly  made.  A  proposition  to  address 
the  king  was,  after  discussion,  defeated.  It  was  then  decided  unani- 
mously that  the  convention  should  apply  to  the  Bishop  of  London  for 
his  opinion  and  advice.  Before  the  adjournment  of  the  convention, 
however,  the  action  with  respect  to  an  address  to  the  king  was  re- 
considered, and  the  measure  resolved  on.  It  was  urged  in  opposition 
to  this  action  that  it  implied  a  lack  of  respect  to  their  diocesan,  the 
Bishop  of  Loudon,  thus  to  address  the  crown.  Besides,  the  dis- 
turbances growing  out  of  the  passage  and  enforcement  of  the  stamp 
act,  and  the  ti'oubles  on  the  North  Carolina  border,  and  the  general 
uneasiness,  were  referred  to  as  indicating  that  the  present  was  an  un- 
suitable time  for  such  an  address.  There  was  no  opposition  to  the 
episcopal  office.  On  the  contrary,  the  convention  adopted  a  formal 
declaration  of  its  cordial  and  conscientious  approval  of  episcopal 
governmQnt.  Against  the  vote  to  address  the  crown  two  of  the  lead- 
ing clergy  formally  protested.  They  were  the  Rev.  Samuel  Henley, 
Professor  of  Moral  Philosophy,  and  the  Rev.  Thomas  Gwatkin,  Pro- 
fessor of  IMathematies  and  Natural  Philosophy,  in  William  and  JNIary 
College.     The  grounds  of  this  protest  were  as  follows  :  — 

First,  Because  as  the  number  of  the  clergy  of  this  colony  is  at  least  a 
hundred,  we  cannot  conceive  that  twelve  clergymen  are  a  sufficient  representation 
of  so  large  a  body. 

Secondly,  Because  the  said  resolution  contradicts  a  former  resol  ution  of  the 
same  Convention,  which  put  a  negative  upon  the  question,  whether  the  king  shozild 
be  addressed  upon  an  American  Episcopate  ?  and  that  an  assembly  met  upon  so 
important  an  occasion  should  rescind  a  resolution  agreed  to  and  entered  down  but 
a  few  minutes  before,  is  in  our  apprehension  contraiy  to  all  order  and  decorum. 

Thirdly,  Because  tlie  expression  American  Episcopate  includes  a  jurisdiction 
over  the  other  colonies ;  and  the  clergj'  of  Virginia  cannot,  with  any  propriety, 
petition  for  a  measure  which,  for  auglit  that  appears  to  the  contrary,  will  mate- 
rially aflfect  the  natural  rights  and  fundamental  laws  of  the  said  colonies,  witliout 
their  consent  and  approbation. 

Fourthly,  Because  the  establishment  of  an  American  Episcopate  at   this  time 


420  HISTORY   OF  THE   AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

would  tend  greatly  to  weaken  the  connerion  between  the  mother  country  and  her 
colonies,  to  continue  their  present  unhappy  disputes,  to  infuse  jealousies  and  fears 
into  the  minds  of  Protestant  Dissenters,  and  to  give  ill-disposed  persons  occasion 
to  raise  such  disturbances  as  may  endanger  the  very  existence  of  the  British  empire 
in  America. 

Fifthly,  Because  we  caimot  help  considering  it  as  extremely  indecent  for  the 
clergy  to  make  such  an  ai)plication  witliout  the  concurrence  of  the  President, 
Council,  and  Representatives  of  this  Province ;  an  usurpation  directly  repugnant 
to  the  rights  of  mankind. 

Sixtlily,  Because  the  Bishops  of  London  Iiave  always  exercised  ecclesiastical 
jurisdiction  over  this  colony,  and  we  are  perfectly  satisfied  with  the  mild,  just,  and 
"equitable  government  of  om*  excellent  diocesan,  the  present  Lord  Bishop  of  Lon- 
doii,  and  do  think  a  petition  to  the  crown  to  strip  his  Lordship  of  any  part  of  his  juris- 
diction but  an  ill-return  for  his  past  labours,  and  contrary  to  our  oath  of  canonical 
obedience.  We  do  further  conceive,  as  it  had  been  imanimously  determined  by  this 
veiy  Convention  that  his  Lordship  should  be  addressed  for  liis  opinion  relative  to 
this  measure,  the  clergy  ought  to  have  waited  tor  liis  Lordship's  paternal  advice 
before  they  had  proceeded  any  farther  in  an  affair  of  such  vast  importance. 

Seventhly,  Because  we  liave  particular  objections  to  that  part  of  the  resolution 
by  which  the  committee  are  directed  to  apphj,  as  it  is  termed, /or  the  hands  of  the 
mnjoritij  of  the  clergy  of  this  colomj :  a  method  of  proceeding,  in  our  opinion,  con- 
trary to  the  universal  practice  of  this  Christian  Church,  it  having  been  customary 
for  the  clergy  to  sign  all  acts  of  an  ecclesiastical  nature  in  jjublic  convention : 
whereas  the  manner  of  procuring  their  concurrence,  now  proposed,  is  unworthy 
the  decorum  and  dignity  by  which  so  venerable  a  body  ought  ever  to  be  guided. 

Two  other  clergymen  subsequently  joined  the  Rev.  Messrs. 
Henley  and  Gwatkin  in  this  protest,  the  llev.  Messrs.  Hewitt  and 
Bland,  and  their  action  was  deemed  of  sufficient  importance  to 
receive  the  consideration  of  the  House  of  Burgesses.  On  the  12th  of 
July  the  House,  which  was  largely,  if  not  wholly,  composed  of  at 
least  nominal  churchmen,  adopted  the  following  resolution  :  — 

Resolved,  nemine  contradicente.  That  the  thanks  of  this  House  be  given  to 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Ilenley,  the  Rev.  jNlr.  Gwatkin,  the  Rev.  iMr.  Hewitt,  and  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Bland,  for  the  wise  and  well-timed  opposition  they  have  made  to  the  pernicious 
project  of  a  few  mistaken  clergymen  for  introducing  an  American  bisho[) :  a 
measure  by  which  much  disturbance,  great  anxiety,  and  apprehension  would  cer- 
tainly take  place  among  his  Majesty's  faithful  American  subjects ;  and  that  Mr. 
Richard  Henry  Lee  and  Mr.  Bland  do  acquaint  them  tlierewith. 

It  cannot  be  concealed  that  much  of  the  inditference,  if  not  hos- 
tility, evidently  felt  by  the  Virginia  clergy  to  the  introduction  of  an 
American  episcopate  grew  out  of  the  laxity  in  morals  and  want  of 
spiritual  life  then  unliappily  prevalent  throughout  the  province.  Thus 
the  very  occasion  for  the  presence  of  bishops  was  made  an  objection 
to  their  introduction.  Besides,  the  establishment  of  the  episcopate 
would,  doubtless,  have  diminished  the  power  of  the  vestries  and  made 
the  clergy  less  dependent  upon  their  varying  humors  and  prejudices. 
This  possibility  rendered  the  wealthy  and  influential  laily  inimical  to 
the  scheme,  and  led  them  to  applaud  the  action  of  the  "protestors" 
again.st  the  commissary's  movement.  To  one  familiar  with  the  un- 
compromising opposition  to  the  exercise  of  the  atithority  of  the  Bishop 
of  London  shown  by  burgesses,  vestries,  and  the  leading  hiity  from 
the  very  first,  the  show  of  deference  to  their  "  excellent  diocesan  "  in 
the  protest  of  the  four  clergymen  seems  farcical  enough.  From  the 
lack  of  a  bishop  to  administer  the  needed  discipline  upon  recalcitrant 


THE   STRUGGLE  FOB  THE  EPISCOPATE.  421 

clergjmcn  and  to  interpose  the  episcopal  authority  against  the 
tyranny  of  the  vestries,  the  Church  in  ^■ir<2ll.ia  had  sunk  to  a  depth  of 
degradation  which,  on  the  tinal  loss  of  its  temporalities,  after  tiic  war 
for  independence,  thi'eatened  its  utter  extinction.  The  clerg}'  them- 
selves saw  their  error,  but  it  was  too  late.  Years  of  labor  and  devo- 
tion were  required  to  revive  the  embers  of  a  spiritual  fire  and  zeal 
that  had  well-nigh  burned  wholly  out.  The  work  had  to  be  done 
anew,  and  in  that  work,  so  happily  successful  at  a  later  day,  bishops  as 
well  as  clergy  and  laity  bore  each  and  all  their  part. 

It  would  appear,  from  the  newspaper  reports  of  the  time,  and 
from  other  sources,  that  a  petition  was  presented  by  eight  of  the 
Maryland  clergy  to  the  governor,  requesting  his  interest  in  England 
and  in  the  province  in  favor  of  the  introduction  of  an  American  epis- 
copate. The  petitioners  had  also  memorialized  the  crown,  the  arch- 
bishop, the  Bishop  of  London,  and  Lord  Baltimore,  to  the  same  eflect. 
The  governor  declined  to  receive  this  petition  as  the  act  of  the  whole 
body  of  the  clergy,  and  proposed  to  lay  the  matter  before  the  assem- 
bly. A  circular  letter  was  sent  by  the  petitioners  to  the  other 
clergy  of  the  province,  asking  permission  to  append  their  names  to 
the  petition  sent  to  England,  which  was  granted;  but  the  measure 
failed  to  win  the  approval  of  those  in  power  in  the  province. 

The  lack  of  interest  shown  liy  the  majority  of  the  Virginia  clergy, 
in  the  efibrt  to  secure  the  episcopate,  gave  rise  to  a  controversy 
between  them  and  the  clergy  at  the  North.  The  members  of  the  con- 
vocation who  had  urged  upon  Dr.  Chandler  the  prepai-ation  and  pul)- 
lication  of  the  "Appeal,"  prepared  "  An  Address  from  the  Clergy  of 
New  York  and  New  Jersey,  to  the  Episcopalians  in  Virginia,"  which 
was  published  in  1771,  and  to  which  Mr.  Gwatkin  made  reply  early  in 
the  following  year.  Mr.  Gwatkin's  pamphlet  is  chiefly  valuable  for 
its  explicit  statement  that  the  authors  of  the  pi'otest "  have  not  any  aver- 
sion to  Episcopacy  in  general,  to  that  mode  of  it  established  in  Eng- 
land, or  even  to  an  American  Episcopate,  introduced  at  a  proper  time, 
by  proper  auf/iorifies,  and  in  a  proper  manner."  It  gives  as  the  reason 
for  the  action  of  the  "  protesting "  clergy  in  their  opposition  to  an 
"immediate  establishment,"  "  a  prudential  regard  to  the  practicable,  a 
desire  to  preserve  peace,  heal  divisions,  and  calm  the  angry  passions 
of  an  inflamed  people." 

It  was  too  late  for  concessions  on  a  matter  such  as  this  to  ap- 
pease a  popular  indignation,  soon  to  flud  expression  in  open  I'cbellion 
against  the  authority  of  the  crown.  The  struggle  for  the  episcopate 
faded  out  of  mind  in  the  intensity  of  the  struggle  for  independence. 
That  very  episcopate  which,  in  the  providence  of  God,  had  lieen  denied 
all  through  the  period  of  the  country's  dependence,  was  freely  bestowed 
among  the  flrst  blessings  of  the  well-earned  peace. 

AVe  have  yet  to  add  the  details  of  the  organized  opposition  of 
the  Presbyterians  and  Puritans  to  the  plan  for  the  introduction  of 
American  Ijishops.  With  this  interesting  episode  of  the  story  of  the 
struggle  for  the  episcojiate  we  shall  close  our  account  of  the  ill-fated 
efforts  to  this  end,  made  during  a  period  of  more  than  a  century. 

So  reasonable  did  the  plea  of  the  churchmen  appear,  and  so  ear- 


422  IIISTOUY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHUKCH. 

nestly  was  their  cause  espoused  by  the  authorities  of  the  Church  at 
home,  that  there  was  felt  on  the  part  of  the  Puritans  of  New  England 
and  the  Presljyterians  of  New  York  and  Pennsylvania,  the  imperative 
need  of  union  and  cooperation  to  defeat  the  scheme.  The  Presbyte- 
rian Synod  of  New  York  and  Philadelphia  made  overtures  to  the  Con- 
ffresiationalist  Associations  of  Connecticut  with  a  view  "  for  forming  a 
plan  of  union,"  which  the  records,'  only  published  a  few  years  since, 
show  conclusively  to  have  been  desired  chiefly  to  prevent  an  American 
episcopate.  All  this  was  couched  under  the  agreement  "to  unite  our 
endeavours  and  counsels  for  spreading  the  Gospel,  and  defending  the 
religious  libertiesof  our  Churches."  The  Independents  and  Presbyterians 
of  Massachusetts,  New  Hampshire,  and  Rhode  Island,  and  the  Dutch 
lieformed  congregations  of  New  York,  New  Jersey,  and  Pennsylvania, 
were  invited  to  enter  this  alliance,  "both  for  promoting  the  kingdom 
of  Christ  and  preserving  our  religious  liberty."  The  "desire  that 
the  union  should  extend  through  all  the  colonies "  was  urged  upon 
"the  brethren  in  other  provinces."  A  copy  of  "the  Plan"  of  union 
was  enclosed  to  each  religious  body  invited  to  participate ;  but  the 
"  minutes  "  fail  to  give  us  this  document.  Appended  to  the  records 
is  a  draft  of  a  letter  with  the  significant  heading,  "  Suppose  a  gentle- 
man in  the  Colonies  should  write  to  his  correspondent  in  London  as 
follows  " :  — 

Sir,  —  ^Ve  understand  sundry  petitions  have  been  sent  home  by  some  of 
the  Episcop;il  Clergy  in  the  Colonies  in  order  to  obtain  the  appointment  of  a  Bishop 
liere  ;  anil  that  it  is  a  determined  point  on  your  side  of  the  water  to  embi'aee  the 
first  favourable  opportunity  for  that  purpose.  This  affair,  we  must  confess,  gives 
u8  much  anxiety,  not  that  we  are  of  intolerant  principles  ;  nor  do  we  envy  the 
Episcopal  Chiu'ches  the  privileges  of  a  bishop  for  the  purposes  of  ordination,  con- 
firmation, and  inspecting  the  morals  of  their  Clergy,  provided  tliey  have  no  kind 
of  superiority  over,  nor  power  any  v.-ay  to  alTect  tiie  civil  or  religious  interests  of 
other  denominations.  Let  this  be  but  settled  by  an  Act  of  Parliament,  and  such 
bishops  divested  of  the  powers  annexed  to  that  office  by  the  common  law  of  Eng- 
land, and  then  we  shall  be  more  easy.  Without  this  the  introduction  of  a  diocesan 
into  the  colonies  would  throw  us  into  the  utmost  confusion  and  distr.action.  For, 
though  it  is  alleged  that  no  other  than  the  above-hinted  moderate  Episcopacy  is 
desired  or  designed ;  yet  should  it  not  be  fixed  by  Parliamentary  authority,  wc 
have  no  security  that  matters  will  be  carried  no  farther;  yea,  from  the  restless 
spirit,  which  some  here  have  discovered,  we  have  reason  to  apprehend  that  there  is 
more  in  view.  Our  forefathers,  and  even'  some  of  ourselves,  have  seen  and  felt 
the  tyranny  of  Bishops'  Courts.  Many  of  the  first  inhabitants  of  these  colonies 
were  obliged  to  seek  an  asylum  among  savages,  in  this  wilderness,  in  order. to 
escape  the  ecclesiastical  tyranny  of  Arch-Bishop  Laud,  and  others  of  his  stamp. 
Such  tyranny',  if  now  exercised  in  America,  would  eitlier  drive  us  to  seek  new 
habitations  among  the  heathen,  where  England  could  not  claim  a  jurisdiction,  or 
excite  riots,  rebellion,  and  wild  disorder.  We  dread  the  consequences  as  often  as 
^ve  tliink  of  this  danger.  Gentlemen  acquainted  with  the  law  inform  us.  that 
a  Bishop  is  a  public  minister  of  State,  known  in  the  common  law  of  England, 
and  invested  with  a  power  of  erecting  courts  to  take  cognizance  of  all  affairs  testa- 

'  Minutes  of  tlie  Convention  of  Dcleiates  were  occupied  mainly  in  foi-mins  and  eoraplet- 

from  tlie  Synod  of  New  York  and  Philadelphia,  in.T  tlicir  plan  of  union  and  cttbrt,  and  the  sub- 

and  from  the  Associations  of  Connecticut,  held  sequent  Conventions  in  proscculiin^    measures 

annually  from  17l)6  to  1773  inclusive,    ll.artford,  for  promoting  the  liberties  of  their  Churelics, 

1843,  8°,  p.  68.    That  wc  du  not  misstate  the  rea-  threatened  at  the  time  by  the  .attempts  made  by 

sonfortlicformationoflliisbody  will  be  seen  from  tlie  friends  of  Episcopacy  in  the  Colonies  and 

the  lanfrnage  of  the  Committee  of  Pnlilicalion  in  Great  Britain  for  the  establishment  of  Diocesan 

their  report  to  the  General  Association  of  Con-  Bishops  in  America,"  etc. 
necticut:  "The  first   and  second   Conventions 


THE   STRUGGLE  FOR  THE   EPISCOPATE.  423 

mentary  and  matrimonial,  and  to  pnquiro  into  and  punish  for  all  oflences  of  scan- 
dal. JMi^lit  he  not  plead,  as  well  as  any  man,  that  the  eommon  law  of  England  is 
his  birthri<jht,  and  that  the  laws  in  (bree  belore  the  settling  of  the  Colonies  were 
brought  thither,  and  took  place  with  the  tirsl^settlers?  Wiiat  is  to  hinder  him  to 
claim  all  the  powers  exercised  by  Arch-Bishop  Laud  and  his  Keelcsiastical  Courts? 
All  acts  made  in  I'^ngland  since  that  lime  to  h>ssen  the  power  of  Bishops  and  their 
Courts  can  be  of  no  service  to  us;  for  it  is  not  mentioned  in  any  of  tliem, 
that  they  are  extended  to  the  Colonies,  and  the  reason  is  plain  ;  no  sucli  exor- 
bitant powers  were  claimed  or  exercised  among  us.  Now  can  anything  else 
than  the  most  tp-ievous  convulsion  in  the  Colonies"  bo  expected  from  such  a^revo- 
lution?  Will  it  at  all  go  down  with  us  to  have  the  whole  course  of  business 
turned  into  a  new  channel  ?  Woukl  it  be  yieldeil  that  the  Register's  oflicc,  the 
care  of  orphans,  &o.,  sliould  be  transferred  from  the  jn-esent  officers,  to  such  as  a 
Bishop  might  apjjoint  ?  Would  not  tlie  Colonics  suffer  I  ho  last  extremitii's  before 
they  would  submit  to  liavethe  legality  of  marriages  and  matters  res))eeting  divorce 
tried  in  an  Ecclesiastical  Court.!*  It  is  not  e.asy  to  conceive  what  endless  prosecu- 
tions under  tlie  notion  of  scandal  might  bo  multiplied.  A  covetous,  tyrannical  and 
domineering  Prelate,  or  his  Chancellor,  would  always  have  it  in  their  power  to 
harass  our  counti-y  and  make  our  lives  liittcr  by  lines,  imprisonments,  and  lawless 
severity.  Will  the  numerous  Colonists  who  came  hither  lor  the  sake  of  freedom 
from  ecclesiastical  oppression,  and  by  whoso  toil  a  great  increase  of  dominion  and 
commerce  hath  arisen  to  the  mother  country,  bear  to  find  themselves  divested  of 
the  equality  and  liberty  they  have  so  long  enjoyed,  and  brought  under  the  power 
of  a  paiticular  denomination,  etc.,  etc. ' 

That  anything  could  have  been  more  cleverly  concocted  than  this 
letter  to  excite  the  passions  and  prejudices  of  the  ignorant,  or  to  raise 
a  storm  of  popular  clamor  in  all  quarters  of  the  dissenting  interest,  it 
is  impossible  to  believe.  But  even  this  artful  manifesto  is  not  all. 
Added  to  this  remarkable  paper  is  a  letter  from  the  Rev.  Francis 
Allison,  Vice-Provost  of  the  College  and  Academy  of  Philadelphia, 
part  of  which  was  "  in  shorthand,  very  difficult  to  decipher,"  written 
in  answer  to  the  inquiry,  —  we  quote  the  words, — "Why  we  are 
persuaded  in  this  city  that  there  is  a  determination,  or  a  fixed  resolu- 
tion, to  send  bishops  to  America.''  The  authority  for  this  belief  is 
mentioned.  Dr.  Chandler's  report  of  a  conversation  with  the  arch- 
bishop, "That  it  was  hard  to  deny  that  privilege  to  the  Church  of 
England  in  America  that  she  allowed  to  all  dissenters,  viz.,  liberty 
of  conscience,"  was  guardedly  referred  to  ;  but  Dr.  Smith's  statements 
to  his  friend  and  associate  in  the  college  at  Philadelphia  were  most 
relied  upon  to  prove  the  danger  and  excite  opposition.  Certain 
phrases  and  the  line  of  argmnent  in  this  sliorthand  letter  go  far  to 
warrant  us  in  ascribing  the  authorship  of  the  paper  we  have  quoted 
at  length  to  the  pen  of  Dr.  Allison.  It  is  charged  as  one  of  the  proofs 
of  power  claimed,  and  likely  to  be  claimed,  by  American  bishops, 
that  already  in  New  York  "  all  the  marriage  licenses  granted  liy  the 
governor  are  stamped  with  the  mitre,"  and  that  in  the  New  England 
governments  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  appointed  the  notaries 
public. 

Meeting  after  meeting  followed ;  but  the  object  of  this  alliance, 
stated  at  the  outset,  as  we  have  seen,  to  be  "  both  for  promoting  the 
kingdom  of  (Christ  and  preserving  our  religious  liberty,"  had  only  to 
do,  so  far  as  the  records  show  the  action  taken,  with  preventing  the 
spread  of  the  Church,  and  denying  to  churchmen  the  liberty  of  having 

'  Minutes  of  the  Convention  of  Delegates,  cte.,  pp.  13,  11. 


424  HisTora'  of  the  American  episcopal  chukcii. 

their  ecclesiastical  system  perfected.  The  Massachusetts  ministers 
were  "  not  prepared  to  send  delegates  "  to  the  convention,  but  trans- 
mitted a  vote  of  their  body  that  the  "  Pastors  of  the  town  of  Boston," 
with  others,  "  maintain  a  friendly  correspondence  "  with  the  brethren, 
and  that  the  same  committee  "  write  to  the  Committee  of  Dissenters 
in  England  to  thank  them  for  the  concern  they  have  expressed  for 
our  religious  liberties,"!  and  to  desire  that  they  would  give  us  their 
assistance,  and  use  theu-  influence  for  the  preservation  of  the  same,  and 
in  particular,  "  that  a  bishop  may  not  be  sent  among  us."  At  the  con- 
vention at  Elizabethtown,  in  1768,  the  Committee  of  Correspondence 
with  the  English  dissenters  reported  a  letter,  which  was  approved,  and 
from  which  we  cite  the  following  extracts :  — 

But  it  is  very  evident  it  is  not  that  harmless  and  inoffensive  Bishop  which  is 
designed  for  us,  or  the  missionaries  among  us  request;  and  therefore  we  cannot  but 
be  apprehensive  of  danger  from  the  proposed  Episcopate,  however  plausible  the 
scheme  may  be  represented.  We  well  know  the  jealousy  of  the  Bishops  in  England 
concerning  their  own  power  and  dignity  suffering  by  their  example  of  such  a  muti- 
lated Bishop  in  America,  and  wo  also  know  the  force  of  a  British  Act  of  Parliament, 
and  have  gi-eat  reason  to  dread  the  establishment  of  British  courts  among  us.  Should 
they  claim  the  right  of  holding  these  courts,  and  of  exercising  the  power  belongino; 
to  tlieir  office,  by  the  common  law  of  England,  (which  is  esteemed  the  birtluight  of 
a  British  subject,)  we  could  have  no  counterbalance  to  this  enormous  power  in  our 
colonies,  where  we  have  no  nobility,  or  proper  coiuls,  to  check  the  dangerous 
exertions  of  their  authority ;  and  where  our  governors  and  judges  may  be  the  needy 
dependents  of  a  prime  minister,  and  therefore  afraid  to  disoblige  a  person  who  is 
sure  to  be  supported  by  the  whole  bench  of  Bishops  in  England ;  so  that  our  civil 
liberties  appear  to  us  to  be  in  inmiinent  danger  from  such  an  establishment.  Be- 
sides, nothing  seems  to  have  such  a  direet  tendency  to  weaken  the  dependence  of 
the  colonies  upon  Great  Britain,  and  to  separate  them  from  her;  an  event  which 
would  be  rumous  and  desU-uctive  to  both,  and  which  we,  therefore,  pray  God  long 
to  avert."  " 

In  1770  the  usual  proceedings  of  the  convention,  which  met  at 
Norwalk,  Conn.,  were  varied  by  the  appointment  of  committees  "to 
obtain  all  the  instances  of  Episcopal  oppression  they  can"  in  their 
respective  colonies,  and  also  "the  instances,  of  the  lenity  of  the"  Con- 
necticut "  Government  with  regard  to  the  Episcopal  dissenters  therein."  ' 
The  following  year  "  Dr.  Allison  brought  in  the  draiaght  of  a  letter  to 
the  Committee  of  Dissenters  in  London."  It  begins  with  the  state- 
ment that  the  opponents  of  an  American  episcopate  "  are  still  greatly 
alarmed."  "  The  whole  bench  of  Bishops,  and  many  bigots  with  you, 
are  constantly  teased  by  our  missionaries  to  procure  an  American 
Episcopate."     Reference  is  made  to  the  action  of  the  Virginia  clerg}- 

•  The  Enslish  committee  profess  themselves  and  allegiance  to  the  Kino^'s  majesty,  and  also  to 

"  fully  sensible  of  the  many  civil  and  relifjions  address  tlie  Kiner,  or  the  King's  ministers  from 

inconveniences  that  would  arise  from  the  intro-  time  to  time  with  assurances  of  the  unshaken 

duction  of  Diocesan  Bishops  into  America,"  and  loyalty  of  the  pastors  comprehended  in  this  union 

assure  their  correspondents  in  America  "  of  their  aiid  the  churches  under  their  care,  and  to  vindi- 

most  vifiilant  attention  to  oppose  and  frustrate  catc  them  if  unjustly  aspersed."     (Minutes,  etc., 

any  such  design,"  and  this  they  claim  to  he  done  p.  10)  Well  ^wrotc  tho^  excellent  and  well- 
in  behalf  (  '                                          --.            „.„  ,„»,„, 

civil  and  i 
2  Min 

loyaltv  made  _, -       -- 

Convention  and  incorporateil  into  their  "Plan  of    say  is,  tliat  wc  shall  p.ay  them  a  compliment  to 
Union"  arc  noticeable.  Article  III.  of  the  Plan    their  loyalty  at  the  expense  of  then- consistency." 
recites  among  the  details  of  "the  general  design"    — Discourses,  p.  93. 
"  to  recommend,  cultivate  and  preserve  loyalty  '  Minutes,  etc.,  p.  29. 


TliE   STRUGGLE   FOR   THE   EPISCOPATE.  425 

and  the  "  seasonable  stand  for  liberty,"  made  by  the  protesters  amoui;; 
the  clergy  against  the  petition  for  a  bishop.  The  assertion  that 
opposition  to  the  scheme  "  among  the  dissenters  has  ceased  "  is  pro- 
nonnced  false,  and  the  statement  made  that  "the  colonics  of  Massa- 
chusetts and  Connecticut  have  given  instructions  to  their  agents  to 
oppose  an  American  episcopate."  '  Similar  action  to  that  in  Virginia 
was  reported  from  Maryland.  The  "  utmost  skill  and  interest"  of  the 
English  dissenters  is  invoked  "to  avert  this  impending  blow  that  so 
surely  threatens  our  civil  and  religious  liberties."  "No  act  of  Parlia- 
ment," it  is  asserted,  "  can  secure  us  from  the  tyranny  of  "  episcopal 
"jurisdiction,"  nor  "can  we  have  any  security  against  being  obliged,  in 
time,  to  support  their  dignity,  and  to  pay  taxes  to  relieve  the  society 
in  paying  their  missionaries."^  "In  a  word,  we  think  ecclesiastics 
vested  with  such  power  dangerous  to  our  civil  and  religious  liberties ; 
and  it  seems  highly  probable  that  it  will  in  time  break  that  strong  con- 
nection which  now  happily  subsists  between  Great  Britain  and  her 
colonies  who  are  never  like  to  shake  off  their  dependence  on  the 
mother-country  until  they  have  bishops  established  among  them."'  We 
may  place  this  statement  beside  the  assertion  of  the  elder  President 
Adams,  that  "  the  apprehension  of  Episcopacy  contributed  as  much 
as  any  other  cause  to  arouse  the  attention,  not  only  of  the  inquiring 
mind,  but  of  the  common  people,  and  urge  them  to  close  thinking  on 
the  constitutional  authority  of  Parliament  over  the  colonies.  This  was 
a  fact  as  certain  as  any  in  the  history  of  North  America."'' 

In  1772  the  convention  again  assembled  at  Elizabethtown.  The 
General  Association  of  Connecticut  had  instructed  its  delegates  to 
"heartily  concur  with  the  Southern  gentlemen  in  counteracting  any 
motion  that  has  been  or  shall  be  made  for  said  Episcopate."  ^  Assurances 
were  received  from  the  English  committee  "  that  however  the  bishops 
and  clergy  may  labor  the  point,  the  persons  in  power  do  not  seem  to 
be  at  all  for  it  at  present,  and  we  hope  never  will."®  This  assurance 
aflbrded  the  convention  "  great  satisfaction."  They  gratefully  acknowl- 
edge their  correspondents'  "zeal  for  the  cause  of  religious  liberty  on 
this  extensive  continent."  ''  The  following  year  the  convention  assem- 
bled at  Stamford.  The  gathering  of  statistics  as  to  the  proportion  of 
churchmen  to  dissenters  occupied  much  of  their  time,  and  their  chief 
reference  to  "the  unjust  encroachments  of  Episcopal  domination,"  is  to 
the  efl'ect  that  the  "  Episcopal  adversaries"  of  "the  cause  of  religious 
lil)erty  "  only  wait  "a  favorable  opportunity  of  renewing  their  at- 
tempts, and,  if  possible,  efi'ecting  their  design  with  the  most  fatal  mis- 
chiefs to  this  growing  country."**  The  conventions  in  1773,  at  Stam- 
ford, Conn.,  and  in  1774,  at  Elizabethtown,  New  Jersey,  show  records 
that  are  noticeable  simply  for  the  absence  of  the  professions  of  loyalty  to 
the  crown ,  and  the  expressions  of  anxiety  lest  the  introduction  of  bishops 

'  Minutes,  etc.,  p.  33.  ■  Ibid.,  p.  34.  mci'  contributed  not  a  little  to  render  the  latter 

"  Ibid.,  p.  34.  successful."    "  This  controversy  was  clearly  one 

*  Fi'rfe  Morse's  "Annals,"  pp.  197-203  :  "That  ^a'cat  cause  that  led  to  the   revolution." — The 

the  American  opposition  to  Episcopacy  was  at  all  Rev.  Jonathan  Boucher  s  View  of  the  Causes  and 

connected  with  that  stiU  more  serious  one  soon  Consequences  of  Ike  American  Revolution  in  Thir 

afterwards  set  up  uirainst  civil  government,  was  teen  Discourses.    London,  1707. 
not  indeed  generally  apparent  at  the  time  :    but  "  Miuutes,  etc.,  p.  35.  "  Uiid.,  p.  36. 

it  is  now  indisputa'olc,  as  it  also  is   tiiat  tlie  for-  ^  Ibid.,  p.  38.  ^  Ibid.,  p.  42 


426  HISTOKY   OF   THE   AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

should  tend  to  weaken  the  union  between  Great  Britain  and  the  colonies. 
These  professions  had  served  their  purpose.  They  were  no  longer  re- 
quired, and  in  the  preparation  of  churchmen  and  dissenters  for  the 
struggle  for  independence  the  opposing  religionists  were  to  fight  .shoulder 
to  shoulder,  some  of  each  party  or  body  on  the  one  side  and  some  of 
each  on  the  other.  The  New  England  colonies  furnished  their  quota  of 
loyalists  from  the  Puritan  congregations  and  towns,  as  well  as  from 
the  few  church  parishes  ;  and  in  the  middle  states  and  at  the  southward, 
churchmen,  both  lay  and  clerical,  were  among  the  foremost  in  their 
resistance  to  British  oppression  and  in  their  appeal  to  the  wage  of  bat- 
tle for  the  support  of  the  popular  cause.  When  the  smoke  had  cleared 
away,  and  the  people,  after  years  of  privation,  suflering,  and  strife, 
had  won  their  coveted  freedom  by  their  swords,  it  was  found  that  all 
apprehension  of  peril  to  the  civil  or  religious  liberties,  secured  at  the 
cost  of  so  much  blood  and  treasure,  from  the  coming  of  bishops,  had 
vanished  ;  and  we  of  to-day  wonder  that  such  an  idea  could  have  ob- 
tained at  all.  That  it  did  enter  into  the  feelings  of  the  masses,  and 
influence  the  action  of  the  times,  we  have  fully  shown. 


ILLUSTRATIVE  NOTE. 


THE  popular  dislike  to  the  introduction  of  bishops  which  obtained  in  the  northern 
colonies  is  shown  b}-  the  following  extract  from  an  address  delivered  before  the 
"Webster  Historical  Society,"  by  the  Hon.  Mellen  Chamberhiiu,  entitled,  "John 
Adams,  the  Statesman  of  the  American  Revolution."  (Published  by  the  Societj-. 
Boston  :   188i)  :  — 

"  For  nearly  a  hundred  years  preceding  the  Revolution,  these  efforts  to  estab- 
lish Episcopacy  in  Massachusetts  were  causes  of  anxiety  and  ahirm.  On  the  anni- 
versary of  the  death  of  Charles  the  First,  .January  80, 1750,  twentj'-live  years  before 
the  war  broke  out.  Dr.  Jonathan  Mayhew,  of  Boston,  preached  a  discom-se  which 
became  famous  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic,  in  which  he  attacked  the  docti'ines  ot 
the  divine  riglit  of  kings,  passive  obedience,  and  the  exclusive  claims  of  the  Epis- 
copal hierarchy.  A  sentence  from  the  preface  to  the  published  sermon  will  indicate 
its  character  and  temper :  '  People  have  no  secm-ity  against  being  mrmercif  ully 
priest-ridden  but  by  keeping  all  imperious  bisLiops,  and  other  clergymen  who  love 
to  lord  it  over  God's  heritage,  fi-om  getting  tlieir  feet  into  tlie  stirrup  at  all.'  It 
breathes  an  intense  spirit  of  i-eligious  and  civil  lilierty,  and  did  much  to  intensify 
the  colonial  hatred  of  the  threatened  Episcopal  hierarcliy.  In  this  it  expressed  — 
perhaps  insjiired  —  the  sentiments  of  Samuel  Adams,  and  was  one  of  the  most 
powerful  inlluences  which  kept  alive  the  spirit  of  revolution,  and  finally  prepared 
the  minds  of  tlie  Massacluisctts  colonists  for  open  resistance.  The  followingex- 
ti-acts  will  sliow  how  continuous  was  the  expressed  hostilitv  to  Episcopacy,  —  a  feel- 
ing not  confined  to  the  ignorant,  illiberal  crowd,  but  shared  by  the  most  enlightened 
of  the  colonists :  — 

"  'Samuel  Adams,  as  the  voice  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  prcsmnably 
expressing  the  sentiments  of  tlie  people,  in  a  letter  to  their  agent  in  London,  in  1768, 
said,  "  The  establishment  of  a  Protestant  Episcopate  hi  America  is  also  very  zeal- 
ously contended  for ;  and  it  is  very  alarming  to  the  people  whose  fathers,  from  the 
hardships  they  siiflured  under  such  an  establishment,  were  obliged  to  fly  their  native 

countiy  into  a  wilderness We  hope  in  God  such  an  establishment  will 

never  take  place  in  America,  and  we  desire  you  would  strenuously  oppose  it.     The 


THE   STRUGGLE   FOR  THE    EPISCOPATE.  427 

revenue  raised  in  America,  for  anglit  we  can  tull,  may  be  constitutionally  applied 
towards  the  support  of  prelacy  as  of  soldiers  and  pensioners.'"  ' 

"  Dr.  Andrew  Eliot,  tlie  enliglitened  clergyman  who  declined  the  presidency  of 
Harvard  College,  in  one  of  a  series  of  letters  chielly  on  this  subject,  written  between 
1708  and  1771,  addressed  to  Thomas  IloUis,  in  England,  said,  '  The  people  of  New 
England  are  greatly  alarmed ;  the  arrival  of  a  bishop  would  raise  them  as  mucli  as 
any  one  thing.'  * 

"  As  late  as  1772,  the  Boston  Committee  of  Correspondence  appointed  to  state 
the  rights  of  the  colonists,  in  their  report  made  in  Faneuil  Hall,  among  other  thino-s 
declared,  '  That  various  attempts  have  been  made,  and  are  now  made,  to  establish 
an  Amin-ican  Episcopate  ; '  though  '  no  power  on  earth  can  justly  give  temporal  or 
spiritual  jm-isdiction  within  this  province  except  the  General  Court.'  "  ^ 

Our  author  proceeds  to  defend  the  position  that  "  there  was  at  that  time  a 
real  danger  to  civil  liberty,  as  it  existed  under  democratic  forms,  in  the  atti- 
tude and  claims  of  the  Anglican  hierarchy."  It  is  quite  as  unnecessary  for  us  to 
comlxit  this  view  as  it  would  be  to  attempt  to  conti'overt  the  assumption  just  cited 
that  "no  power  on  earth"  could  "justly  give  temporal  or  spiritual  jm-isdiction " 
within  the  limits  of  Massachusetts,  "  except  the  General  Court." 

5  Wells's  "  Life  of  Samuel  Adams,"  I.,  p.  1-37.  3  Thoroton's  "American  Pulpit,"  p.  192;  vide 

2  Mass.  Hist.  Soc.  Coll.  Series,  ni.,  Vol.  it.,  p.  492.     Adams'  Works,  EX.,  pp.  287,  288. 
Tiulor's"  Life  of  Otis,"  p.  136. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

KING'S      COLLEGE,     NEW    YORK,    AND    THE    COLLEGE     AND 
ACADEMY     OF     PHILADELPHLA.. 


j\: 


\  BOUT  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century  measures  were  set 
on  foot,  both  in  New  York  and  in  Phihxdelphia,  for  the  establish- 
ment of  seminaries  of  learning.  It  was  but  natural  that  one 
so  well  and  widely  known  and  respected  for  learning,  judgment,  and 
good  sense,  as  the  Rev.  Sanmel  Johnson,  D.D.,  of  Stratford,  should 
be  consulted  as  to  the  incipient  steps  to  be  taken  in  founding  these 
proposed  schools.  It  would  appear,  from  the  correspondence  between 
Dr.  Johnson  and  the  celebrated  Bishop  of  Cloyne,  Dr.  Berkeley,'  that 
the  founding  of  a  college  in  New  York  was  projected,  and  the  good 
offices  of  friends  in  England  and  Ireland  requested  early  in,  if  not 
before,  the  year  1749.  In  the  same  yetw  a  similar  project  was  set  on 
foot  in  Philadelphia,  numbering  among  its  friends  and  supporters  the 
celebrated  Benjamin  Franklin,  who  had  sketched  a  plan  for  an  institution 
of  the  higher  learning  as  early  as  1744,  and  who  had,  with  the  coopera- 
tion and  approval  of  several  of  his  friends,  among  whom  were  Thomas 
Hopkinson,  Tench  Coxe,  Francis  Hopkiuson,  and  Richard  Peters, 
issued  a  pamphlet  in  1 749,  entitled,  "  Proposals  relative  to  the  Education 
of  Youth  in  Pennsylvania."  Bishop  Berkeley's  suggestions  were  com- 
municated to  Franklin,  who  had  visited  Dr.  Johnson,  and  sought  his 
acceptance  of  the  charge  of  the  proposed  academy.  The  bishop  ad- 
vised that  the  charters  and  statutes  should  be  prepared  and  secured 
without  recourse  to  England,  and  that  the  enterprise  should  be  begun 
"with  a  president  and  two  fello\vs."  These,  he  advised,  should  be 
supplied  from  "seminaries  in  New  England."  The  "first  care  as  to 
learning"  was  that  "  tlie  Greek  and  Latin  classics  be  well  taught;" 
but  "the  principal  care  must  be  good  life  and  morals,  to  which,  as  well 
as  to  study,  early  hours  and  temperate  meals  will  much  conduce." 
The  "terms  for  degrees"  were  to  be  "the  same  as  at  Oxford,  or  Cam- 
bridge," which  "  would  give  credit  to  the  college,"  and  "  pave  the  way 
for  admitting  graduates  ad  eundem  in  the  English  universities." 
"Premiums  in  I)ooks  or  distinctions  in  habit"  were  suggested  as  likely 
to  "prove  useful  encouragements  to  the  students."  The  college  build- 
ing should  be  "regular,  plain,  and  cheap,"  each  student  having  "a 
small  room,  about  ten  feet  square,  to  himself."  The  "  principal 
expense,"  it  was  urged,  "should  be  in  making  a  handsome  provision 
for  the  president  and  fellows."  Such  were  the  "few  crude  thoughts 
thrown  together"  by  the  bishop.     Transmitted,  as  we  have  seen,  to 

1  Vide  "  The  Life  of  Samuel  Johnsou,  D.D.,    ....    By  Thomas  Bi-aclbiiry  CliancUer,  D.D." 
first  "Presklcnl  of  Kin^r's  CoUc^jc  in  New  York.    New  York ;  Lontl.   Rcprintccl,  1^-^- PP- 1*^0-16-1 


THE   COLLEGES   OF   NEW   YORK    AND   PHILADELPHIA. 


429 


Franklin,  these  were  carefully  considered  and  acted  upon,  while  the 
letter  of  Dr.  Johnson,  in  which  they  were  enclosed,  and  other 
"pieces"  of  his  composition,  served  to  increase  the  desire  of  the  trustees 
to  secure,  as  the  head  of  the  proposed  academy  and  college,  one 
"whose  experience  and  judgment  would  he  of  great  use  in  I'orming 
rules  and  establishing  good  methods  in  the  be2;innin<r,  and  whose  name 
for  learning  would  give  it  a  good  reputation."'     Franklin  strongly 


BENJAMIN     FRANKLIN. 


urged  the  doctor  to  accept,  meeting  the  objections  raised  by  Johnson, 
on  the  ground  of  age,  the  insufficiency  of  the  offered  support,  and  the 
little  prospect  of  increased  usefulness,  in  a  series  of  letters,  which  are 
of  interest  and  value  as  showing  the  estimate  placed  by  the  philoso- 
pher on  the  character,  learning,  and  influence  of  his  correspondent. 
The  formation  of  a  new  church  in  Philadelphia,  to  be  under  his  charge, 
was  suggested,  and  the  hall  of  the  academy  was  offered  for  tliis 
jiurpose.  As  three-fourths  of  the  trustees  Avere  members  of  the  Church 
of  England,  they  were  disposed  to  remove  every  obstacle  to  the  ac- 

'  Letter  of  Dr.  Franklin,  quoted  in  Beardslev'a  '*  Life  of  Ur.  -Jnhnson,"  p.  1.^8. 


430  mSTORY   OF   THE   AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

complisliment  of  their  wish.  To  Dr.  Johnson's  objections  to  the 
proposed  removal,  Franklin  replied  with  great  cleverness,  urging  that 
the  doctor's  "talents  for  the  education  of  youth"  were  "the  gift  of 
God ;  and  that  he  on  whom  they  are  bestowed,  whenever  a  way  is 
opened  for  the  use  of  them,  is  as  strongly  called  as  if  he  heard  a  voice 
from  heaven :  nothing  more  sui'ely  pointing  out  duty,  in  a  pul)lic 
service,  than  ability  and  opportunity  of  performing  it."'  To  John- 
son's expressions  of  unwillingness  to  intrude  his  services  as  a  clergy- 
man into  the  cure  of  Dr.  Jenney,  the  incuml^ent  of  Christ  Church,  the 
philosopher's  reply  is  most  characteristic :  "  Your  tenderness  of  the 
church's  peace  is  truly  laudal)]e  ;  ))ut,  methinks,  to  l)uiid  a  new  church 
in  a  growing  place  is  not  properly  dividing,  but  multiplying;  and  will 
really  be  a  means  of  increasing  the  number  of  those  who  worship  God 
in  that  way.  Many  who  cannot  now  be  accommodated  in  the  church 
go  to  other  places  or  stay  at  home;  and  if  we  had  another  church, 
many,  who  go  to  other  places  or  stay  at  home,  would  go  to  church. 
I  suppose  the  intei'est  of  the  Church  has  been  far  from  suffering  in 
Boston  by  the  building  of  two  new  churches  there  in  my  memory.  I 
had  for  sevei'al  years  nailed  against  the  wall  of  my  house  a  pigeon-box 
that  would  hold  six  pair ;  and,  though  they  bred  as  fast  as  my  neigh- 
bors' pigeons,  I  never  had  more  than  six  pair,  the  old  and  strong 
driving  out  the  young  and  weak,  and  oliliging  them  to  seek  new  habita- 
tions. At  length  I  put  up  an  additional  box,  with  apartments  for 
entertaining  twelve  pair  more,  and  it  was  soon  filled  with  inhabitants 
by  the  overflowings  of  my  tirst  box,  and  of  others  in  the  neighborhood. 
This  I  take  to  he  a  parallel  case  with  the  building  a  new  church  here."- 
But  the  arguments  of  Franklin  proved  unsuccessful.  The  printer- 
philosopher  undertook  the  publication  of  Johnson's  "  Elemcnta  Philo- 
sophica  :  containing  chiefly  Noetica,  or  Things  relating  to  the  ]\Iind  or 
Understanding ;  and  Ethica ,  or  Things  I'elating  to  the  Moral  Behaviour." 
This  work,  of  which  the  first  part  was  in  the  main  new,  and  the 
remainder  was  a  reissue  of  the  author's  "  System  of  Morality,"  was 
dedicated  to  Bishop  Berkeley,  whose  system  of  philosophy  the  work 
was  intended  to  explain  and  enforce.  The  author  of  this  scholarly 
work  was  only  willing  to  help  on  the  Philadelphia  Academy  by  advice 
and  suggestions. 

While  the  correspondence  with  Dr.  Johnson  was  going  on  the 
academy  was  formally  inaugurated.  The  rector,  David  Martin, 
A.M.,  Professor  of  Greek  and  Latin  languages,  whose  term  of 
service  began  with  the  opening  of  the  school  in  1749,  died  in  1751. 
"Ilisbody,"  writes  Franklin,  "was  carried  to  the  church,  respect- 
fully attended  by  the  trustees,  all  the  masters  and  scholars  in  their 
order,  and  a  great  number  of  the  citizens.  Mr.  Peters  preached  his 
funeral  sermon,  and  gave  him  the  just  and  honorable  character  he 
deserved."^  The  care  of  the  classical  students  was  assumed  by 
Mr.  Peters,  a  trustee,  and  one  of  the  "  Founders.''  The  English 
master  was  David  James   Dove,    "who   formerly  taught    grammar 

>  Dr.  Franklin's  letter,  quotctl  in  Bcardsley's  -  Ibid. 

"Xife  of  Jolinson,"  p.  162;  mV/c,  a/so,  Sparks's  •■■Franklin's   Letter  to  Dr.  .Jolinson,  quotcJ 

"  Works  of  Franklin,"  TIL,  pp.  47-SO.  in  Beardslcy's  "  Life  of  Johnson,"  p.  1G6. 


THE  COLLEGES  OF  NEW  YOHK  AND  PHILADELPHIA. 


431 


sixteen  years  at  Chichester  in  England."  '  FrankUn  speaks  of  him 
as  "  art  excellent  master,"  and  adds  that  "  his  scholars  have  made  a 
surprising  progress."-  In  the  "Catalogue  of  the  alumni  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Pennsylvania,"  3  the  name  of  Charles  Thompson,  afterwards 
Secretary  of  Congress,  precedes  that  of  Mr.  Dove  as  first  on  the  list 
of  "Tutors,"  the  date  of  both  appointments  being  1750.  Theophilus 
Grew  was  the  master  of  the  Mathematical  School.  In  1752  Frank 
lin  writes  to  Dr.  Johnson  that  — 

Our  Academj',  which  you  so  khidly  inquire  after,  goes  on  well.     Since  Mr. 
Martin's  death  the  Latin  and  Greek  School  has  been  under  the  care  of  Mr.  Allison, 


/^^^(^^l^ti^^ud    ^^t^^ 


a  dissenting  minister,  well  skilled  in  those  languages  and  long  practised  in  teach- 
ing. But  he  refused  the  rectorship,  or  to  have  an\thing  to  do  with  the  government 
of  the  other  schools.  So  that  remains  vacant,  and  obliges  the  trustees  to  more 
frequent  visits.  We  have  now  several  young  gentlemen  desirous  of  entering  on 
the  study  of  philosophy,  and  lectures  are  to  be  opened  this  week.  Mr.  Allison 
undertakes  logic  and  ethics,  making  3'our  work  his  text  to  comment  and  lecture 
upon.  Mr.  Peters  and  some  other  gentlemen  undertake  the  other  branches,  till  we 
shall  be  provided  with  a  rector  capable  of  the  whole,  who  may  attend  wholly  to 
tlie  instruction  of  youth  in  the  higher  parts  of  learning  as  they  come  out  fitted 
from  the  lower  schools.  Our  proprietors  have  lately  wrote  that  tliey  are  extreme]}' 
well  pleased  with  the  design,  will  take  our  seminary  under  their  patronage,  give 
us  a  charter,  and,  as  an  earnest  of  their  benevolence,  five  hundred  pounds  sterling. 
And  by  our  opening  a  charity  school,  in  wliii-h  near  one  hundred  poor  children  are 
taught  Reading,  Writing,  and  Arithmetic,  with  the  rudiments  of  Religion,  we  have 
gained  the  general  good-will  of  all  sorts  of  people,  from  whence  donations  and 


'  Franklin's  Letter  to  Dr.  Johnson. 


■  Ibid. 


'  Published  in  Philadelphia,  1S77. 


432  HISTORY   OF  THE   AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

bequests  may  be  reasonably  expected  to  accrue  from  time  to  time.  This  is  our 
present  situation,  and  we  think  it  a  promising  one  ;  especially  as  the  reputation  of 
our  schools  increases,  the  masters  being  all  very  capable  and  ililigent,  and  giving 
gi'eat  satisfaction  to  all  concerned.' 

The  three  schools,  of  Ancient  Languages,  English,  and  Mathe- 
matics, were  transfen-ed,  in  1751,  to  the  building  erected  a  fewyear.s 
before  by  the  followers  of  the  Rev.  George  Whitefield  as  a  "Taber- 
nacle." This  building,  which  was  situated  on  Fourth  street,  below 
Arch,  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  was  purchased  by  the  trustees  and 
refitted  for  their  purpose,  and  here  the  masters  and  ushers,  or  tutors, 
—  the  office  of  rector  being  vacant  since  Martin's  death,  —  pursued 
their  labors  for  the  instruction  of  the  pupils  in  their  respective  depart- 
ments. Failing  to  secure  the  services  of  Dr.  Johnson  as  rector  of 
the  Philadelphia  Academy,  the  attention  of  Franklin  and  his  fellow- 
trustees  was  called  to  another,  who,  in  view  of  the  remarkable  ability, 
the  tireless  devotion,  and  unexampled  success  displayed  in  his  efforts 
for  the  academy  and  college  which  grew  into  life  and  strength  under 
his  skilful  management,  may  well  be  regarded  as  the  founder  of  the 
University  of  Pennsylvania. 

William  Smith  was  born  on  the  7th  of  September,  1727,  on  the 
banks  of  the  river  Don,  a  few  miles  from  Aberdeen,  in  Scotland.  In 
1741  he  entered  the  University  of  Aberdeen,  taking  his  first  degree 
in  March,  1747.  After  spending  some  little  time  in  London  he 
embarked  for  New  York,  on  the  3d  of  March,  1751,  bringing  letters 
of  recommendation  from  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  to  Governoi- 
De  Lancey.  On  his  arrival  in  New  York  he  took  up  his  residence 
with  Colonel  Martin,  on  Long  Island,  as  tutor  to  his  two  children, 
whom  he  had  accompanied  from  England.  Here  he  remained  until 
August,  1753.  It  was  during  his  residence  in  New  York  that  he 
published  a  pamphlet  entitled  "  A  General  Idea  of  the  College  of 
Mirania."  This  was  issued  at  the  desire  and  cost  of  some  gentlem';n 
of  New  York,  as  a  sketch  for  a  proposed  institution  of  learning  in 
that  city.  This  pamphlet  was  sent  immediately  on  its  appearance 
from  the  press  to  the  Rev.  Richard  Peters  and  to  Benjamin  Franklin 
in  Philadelphia.     The  reply  of  Franklin  was  as  follows  :  — 

Mr.  Peters  has  just  been  with  me,  and  we  have  compared  notes  on  your  new 
piece.  We  find  nothing  in  the  scheme  of  Education,  however  excellent,  but  what 
is  in  our  opinion  very  practicable.  The  great  difficulty  will  be  to  find  the  Arastus,' 
and  other  suitiible  jjersons  in  New  York,  to  cany  it  into  execution  ;  but  such  may 
be  had  if  proper  encouragement  be^iven.  We  have  both  received  great  pleasure 
in  the  perusal  of  it.  For  my  part,  1  know  not  when  I  have  read  a  piece  that  has 
so  atfected  me  —  so  noble  and  just  are  the  sentiments,  so  warm  and  animated  the 
language."  ^ 

Praise  such  as  this  could  not  but  be  followed  by  action,  and,  at  a 
meeting  of  the  trustees,  held  on  the  25th  of  May,  1753,  "it  being 
jiroposed  that  Mr.  William  Smith,  a  gentleman  lately  arrived  from 
London,  should  be  entertained  for  some  time  upon  trial  to  teach  Natu- 

'  Franklin's  l,ettei'  to  Dr  .Johnson.  '  Life  and  Correspondence  of  the  Rev.  Wil- 

"  The  name  given  to  the  principiil,  or  head  uf    liam  Smitli,   D.D.,   by  Horace  Wcmys  Smith, 
the  ideal  college.  r..  p.  23. 


THE   COLLEGES   OF   NEW    VORK  AND   rillLADELPHIA.  433 

ral  Philosophy,  Logic,  etc.,  iu  case  he  will  uiKlertakc  the  same,  it  was 
agreed  to,  and  Mr.  rraiikliu  and  Mr.  Peters  are  desired  to  speak  with 
him  about  it."  ^  The  invitation  to  accept  a  jjosition  in  connection 
with  the  Philadelphia  Academy  appears  to  have  been  accepted,  though 
not  in  tiie  form  originally  contemplated.  Mr.  Smith  proceeded  to 
England  for  orders,  as  a  preliminary  step  to  entering  upon  his  work. 
On  the  21st  of  December,  1753,  he  was  ordained  deacon,  in  the  palace 
at  Fulham,  by  Dr.  John  Thomas,  Bishop  of  Lincoln,  at  the  request  and 
in  the  presence 
of  Dr.  Thomas 
Sherlock,  Bish- 
op of  London,  ^'^^y^/^'^i^  /  /^ 
who  was  in  de-  '=='^^'^t^>c<^--<^  C^c^  c2  /VSo 
dining  health,  ^ — ^  ,/  / 
and  on  (he  23d 

of     the      same  j^  v^  ^^^  ^^i^^_^      A 

month    he    was  -   -<^ 

ordained  priest 
at  the  same 
place  by  Dr. 
Richard  Obald- 
eston.  Bishop 
of  Carlisle.  On 
the  24th  of  the 
following  May, 
1754,    he     was 

"  inducted  Provost  of  the  College  and  Academy  of  Philadelphia,  and 
Professor  of  Natural  Philosophy."  On  the  day  following  ho  "com- 
menced teaching  in  the  philosophy  class,  also  ethics  and  rhetoric  to 
the  advanced  pupils."'^ 

At  the  time  of  Mr.  Smith's  entrance  upon  his  duties  at  the 
academy,  the  institution  was,  as  we  have  seen,  a  collection  of 
"schools."  The  classical,  the  English,  the  mathematical  and  the 
charitable  schools,  each  under  a  distinct  master,  but  all  under  the 
charge  of  a  "Rector"  or  a  "Provost,"  composed  the  institution.  To 
theschools  already  named  another  was  added,  the  "  Philosophy  School," 
in  which  ethics,  natural  philosophy,  and  rhetoric  w^ere  taught  to  ad- 
vanced pupils  by  the  provost.  In  this  "  Philosophy  School "  there 
were  a  senior  and  a  junior  class.  Later,  it  appears  that  a  freshman 
class  was  added  to  this  department,  into  which  pupils  from  the  classi- 
cal school  were  entered  after  due  preparation  and  examination.  Pub- 
lic examinations  were  frequent,  at  which  the  masters  were  interested 
attendants,  and  iu  the  details  of  which  they  were  at  liberty  to  partici- 
pate. Thus  far  there  was  no  college,  in  the  modern  sense  of  the 
^vord.  The  institution  was  simply  a  collection  of  five  schools,  under 
the  same  general  management,  the  School  of  Philosophy  being  the  most 
advanced.  The  instruction  imparted  in  this  department  gave  the  in- 
stitution its  only  claim  to  be  considered  as  a  college,  and  as  it  was 

'  Minutes  of  the  Trustees,  quoted  in  the  "  Life  and  CoiTCspondcncc   of  the  Rev.  William 
Smith,  D.D.,"  I.,  p.  '2G.  -  Life  and  CoiTcspondcncc,  i.,  p.  10. 


434 


HISTORY   OF   THE   AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 


destitute  of  the  power  to  confer  degrees  intlie  ;irts,  which  is  a  distiu- 
guishing  prerogative  of  a  college  or  university  properly  so  called, 
the  provost  and  vice-provost,  in  December,  1754,  suggested  to  the 
trustees  the  propriety  of  obtaining  an  additional  charter,  changing 
the  corporate  title  and  obtaining  the  power  to  confer  the  degrees  in 
arts.  On  the  14th  of  May,  1755,  the  governor  granted  to  "The 
•  Trustees  of  the  College,  Academy  and   Charitable  Schools  of  Phila- 


KEV.    WILLIAM    SMITH,   L).:>..   FROM    A    PORTRAIT    BY    GILBERT   STUAET. 

delphia"  the  new  charter  asked  for,  and  also  the  necessary  powers  of 
a  "Seminary  of  Universal  Learning,"  in  the  conferring  of  degrees.  On 
the  1 1th  of  July  the  salary  of  the  provost  was  iixed  by  the  trustees 
at  £200  per  annum,  to  commence  from  the  time  of  his  first  connection 
with  the  college.  The  names  of  Mr.  Smith  as  provost,  and  Mr. 
Allison  as  vice-provost,  appear  in  the  charter,  as  if  their  appoint- 
ments emanated  from  the  governor  himself.  The  minutes  of  the 
trustees  state  that  they  were  so  inserted  at  the  request  of  the  board. 
The  change  from  a  collection  of  schools,  such  as  we  have  described,  to 
a  college  occasioned  little  or  no  change  in  the  style  or  system  of 
instruction.  The  Classical  and  Philosophy  Schools  were  now  spoken 
of  as  the  college,  in  distinction  from  the  other  schools ;  the  chief 
change  growing  out  of  this  enlargement  of  the  plan  and  powers  of 
the  institution,  being  the  substitution  of  Mr.  Smith,  a  churchman  and  a 
clergyman,  for  Mr.  Allison,  a  Presbyterian  minister,  as  the  head  of 


THE   COLLEGES   OF   NEW   YORK    AND   PHILADELPHIA.  435 

the  college,  the  former  rector  or  head  now  taking  the  second  place.  It 
is  evident  that  during  the  year  of  his  connection  with  the  academy  Mr. 
Smith  had  given  such  unmistakable  proof,  not  only  of  scholarship,  but 
also  of  comprehensive  ideas  and  executive  abihty,  as  to  render  this 
change  in  the  relation  of  the  two  leading  instructors  inevitable.  That 
these  eminent  men,  differing  widely  as  they  did  on  vital  questions  of 
religion  and  politics  at  a  time  when  party  spirit  in  Church  and  State  was 
singularly  bitter,  should  have  worked  side  by  side  and  in  perfect  har- 
mony in  the  cause  of  education,  attests  their  common  devotion  to  the 
interests  of  the  college  they  served.  It  was  by  j\Ir.  Smith  that  the 
"Plan  of  Education"  to  be  pursued  in  the  college  was  prepared,  at 
the  request  of  the  trustees,  in  May,  1756.  Of  this  "Plan"  it  is 
enough  to  cite  the  words  of  President  Stille,  who  says  that  "  its  best 
eulogy  is,  that  it  has  formed  the  basis  of  our  present  American  Col- 
lege System."  ^  It  assumed  "that  nothing  can  be  proposed  by  any 
scheme  of  collegiate  education  but  to  lay  such  a  general  foundation 
in  all  branches  of  literature  as  may  enable  the  youth  to  perfect  them- 
selves in  those  particular  parts  to  which  their  business  or  genius  may 
afterwards  lead  them ;  and  scarce  anything  has  more  obstructed  the 
advancement  of  sound  learning  than  a  vain  imagination  that  a  few 
years  spent  at  college  can  render  youth  such  absolute  masters  of 
science  as  to  absolve  them  from  all  future  study."  ^  The  curriculum  pro- 
posed was,  both  in  its  selection  of  suljjects  and  in  the  order  in  which 
their  study  was  to  be  pursued,  not  unlike  that  which  obtained  till  within 
a  few  years  in  all  American  institutions  of  the  higher  learning.  The 
coui'se  was  intended  to  comprise  three  years.  During  this  time 
Juvenal,  Livy,  Cicero,  Horace's  Ars  Poetica,  Quintillian,  and  the 
Tusculan  Questions  were  read  in  the  order  we  have  given.  In  Greek, 
the  Iliad,  Pindar,  Thucydides,  Epictetus,  and  Plato  de  legibus  formed 
the  prescribed  course.  In  mathematics  the  studies  pursued  were 
quite  as  extended  as  in  our  own  times,  while  in  the  department  of 
natural  philosophy,  chemistry,  hydrostatics,  pneumatics,  optics,  and 
astronomy  received  attention  during  the  junior  and  senior  years. 
Ethics,  and  the  natural  and  civil  law,  as  illustrated  by  history,  formed 
an  important  part  of  this  course.  This  scheme  did  not  exist  merely 
on  paper.  It  was  faithfully  carried  out  in  its  details,  and  with  most 
satisfactory  results,  during  the  whole  period  of  its  gifted  author's  con- 
nection with  the  college.  The  instruction  was  singularly  thorough, 
and  the  college,  thus  provided  with  a  curi'iculum  of  unusual  merit, 
and  officered  in  the  best  possible  manner,  acquired  from  the  start  an 
enviable  reputation.  Within  two  years  from  the  time  the  charter  was 
granted  the  number  of  students  in  the  institution  was  about  three 
hundred,  of  whom  nearly  a  third  were  connected  with  the  college 
proper.  The  comprehensiveness  of  its  plan  and  the  thoroughness  of 
its  instruction,  together  with  the  acknowledged  ability  of  its  head, 
drew  students  not  merely  from  the  city  and  province,  but  from  Mary- 
land, Virginia,  the  Carolinas,  and  the  West  Indies.  The  college  was 
not  exclusively   a   church   institution.     In  the   words   of   its   pro- 

>  A  Memoir  of  the  Rev.  William  Smith,  D.D.,  by  Charles  J.  StillS,  p.  U.  "  Ibid. 


436  HISTORY   OF   THE  AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

vost,  addressed   to   Dr.   Bearcroft,  the   secretary   of  the  venerable 
society :  — 

The  chief  men  in  the  province  are  engaged  in  the  trusteeship  of  our  academy, 
and  its  foundation  is  on  the  most  catliolic  and  liberal  plan. 

I  find  Dr.  Jenney  '  is  not  very  fond  of  the  design,  and  says  that  our  trustees 
have  little  regard  for  religion.  But  the  truth  is  that  Irora  the  first  ho  has  opposed 
the  Institution,  because  it  was  not  made  a  Church  establishment,  and  all  the  Mas- 
ters to  be  of  that  persuasion.  His  zeal  for  the  best  church  on  earth  is  certainly 
commendable ;  but  it  may  be  carried  too  for.  Had  our  College  been  opened  on  that 
plan  in  such  a  place  as  Philadelphia,  the  students  would  indeed  have  been  a  very 
scant}'  number.  The  people  would  not  have  borne  even  the  mention  of  such  a 
design  at  first.  However  the  Church,  by  soft  and  easy  means,  daily  gains  ground 
in  it.  Of  t^venty-four  Trustees,  fifteen  or  sixteen  are  regular  churchmen ;  and 
when  our  late  additional  Charter  was  passed,  I,  who  am  a  minister  of  the  Church 
of  England,  had  the  preference  to  two  other  ministers  of  other  persuasions  of 
longer  standing  than  me  in  the  Institution,  and  was  made  Provost  of  the  same  by 
the  unanimous  voice  of  the  Trustees.  We  have  prayers  twice  a  day,  the  children 
learn  the  Church  Catechism,  and,  upon  the  whole,  I  never  knew  a  greater  regard 
for  religion  in  any  Seminaiy,  nor  IMasters  more  thoroughly  possessed  of  the  truth 
of  our  common  Christianity.'' 

On  the  17th  of  May,  1757,  the  first  commencement  of  the  college 
took  place.  Six  students  received  on  this  occasion  the  degree  of  Bachelor 
of  Arts.  The  first  name  on  the  list  of  alumni  is  that  of  Jacob  Duche, 
who,  by  his  speeches  and  sermons,  and  as  the  chaplain  of  the  Con- 
tinental Congress  in  1776,  obtained  a  distinguished  reputation  for 
devotion  to  the  cause  of  American  liberty  that  was  lost  by  his  sub- 
sequent defection  to  the  opposite  side.  Duche  was  for  a  time  Professor 
of  Oratory  in  the  college,  and  while  in  England  obtained  the  Doctorate 
in  Divinity.  Another  of  these  first  graduates  was  the  Rev.  Samuel 
Magaw,  D.D.,  a  leading  clergyman  in  the  measures  resulting  in  the 
organization  of  the  Church  in  Pennsylvania  and  in  the  United  States 
suljsequeut  to  the  revolution,  who  was  also  at  a  later  date  the  vice- 
provost  of  the  college  M'here  he  was  graduated.  Another  was  the 
celebrated  Francis  Hopkinson,  LL.D.,  a  member  of  the  Continental 
Congress,  a  signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  a  Judge  of  the 
United  States  District  Court  for  Pennsylvania,  and  a  prominent  member 
of  the  early  conventions  of  tlie  Church  in  the  State,  and  of  the  Church 
at  large.  Of  such  material  was  the  first  graduating  class  of  an  in- 
stitution numbering  among  its  students  at  the  time  men  who  were  to 
attain  the  highest  positions  in  Church  and  State.  At  this  time  AVilliam 
White  was  a  student  in  the  "  Mathematical  School." 

The  restless  activity  of  such  a  man  as  William  Smith  could  not 
content  itself  with  the  conduct  of  a  college  and  the  instruction  of 
youth.  He  entered  with  all  his  soul  into  the  political  controversies 
of  the  day,  and,  as  a  result  of  his  opposition  to  the  pacific  policy  of  the 
Quaker  assembly,  a  pretext  was  found  for  his  arrest,  conviction,  and 
imprisonment  for  several  months  for  an  alleged  "  breach  of  privilege  " 
in  "publishing  and  promoting"  a  libel  upon  the  assemlily  of  the 
province.  The  college  trustees  evidently  sympathized  with  their  im- 
prisoned provost.     They  directed  his  classes  to  attend  his  instructions 

'  The  Rector  of  Christ  Church,  Philadelphia,  =  Life  and  Correspondence  of  the  Rev.  Wil- 

and  Commissaiy  of  the  Bishop  of  London.  ILam  Smith,  D.D.,  I.,  p.  143. 


THE  COLLEGES  OF  NEW  YORK  AND  PHILADELPHIA.     437 

at  llio  jail,  aiul  uiianiiuously  accorded  him  leave  of  absence  in  Novem- 
ber, 1758,  to  visit  England  and  prosecute  his  appeal  to  the  king  in 
council.  His  appearance  in  England  was  well-timed.  It  was  at  the 
moment  when  the  elder  Pitt  was  planning  the  campaign  which  was  to 
put  an  end  to  the  rule  of  France  in  Nortli  America.  The  presence  of 
one  whose  political  martyrdom  had  been  occasioned  l)y  his  etibrts  to 
rouse  the  people  of  a  distant  and  exposed  provmce  to  defend  itself 
against  the  common  foe  could  not  fail  to  secure  for  him  and  the  in- 
terests he  had  at  heart  a  measure  of  sympathy  and  support.  To  these 
claims  upon  the  kindly  regard  of  the  public  there  was  added  the 
j)restige  of  a  successful  literary  career.  A  volume  of  sermons  pub- 
lished in  London,  in  1759,  reached  a  second  edition  in  a  few  years,  and 
received  from  the  "  Critical  Review  "  unusual  praise,  as  "  containing 
strokes  equal  to  any  in  the  Oraisons  Funebres  of  Bossuet."  The 
"  Monthly  Review,"  if  less  flattering,  was  even  more  discriminating 
in  its  words  of  approval.  It  was  to  be  expected,  in  view  of  these 
claims  to  notice  and  reward,  that  his  own  university  should  bestow  upon 
him  the  doctorate.  To  this  was  added  the  action  of  Oxford,  at  the 
suggestion  of  the  archbishop  and  other  prelates,  in  conferring  the  same 
distinction  in  view  of  his  services  to  Church  and  State.  His  appeal 
was  heard  in  council,  and  the  highest  court  of  judicature  pronounced, 
in  the  king's  name,  "his  high  displeasure  at  the  unwarrantal)le  be- 
haviour of  the  House  of  Representatives  of  Pennsylvania,  in  assuming 
to  themselves  powers  which  do  not  belong  to  them,  and  invading  both 
His  Majesty's  royal  prerogative,  and  the  liberties  of  the  sulyect."' 

Returning  with  ample  vindication  and  abundant  honors,  he  brought 
with  him  a  deed  of  gift,  from  the  Honorable  Thomas  Penn,  of  lands 
in  Bucks  County  for  the  college;  and  if  this  may  have  been  the  only 
present  advantage  acquired,  the  intimate  relations  into  which  he  had 
been  brought  with  many  "great  and  influential  personages,"  both  in 
Church  and  Stnte,  enabled  him  at  a  later  day  to  secure  for  the  college 
pecuniary  assistance  of  the  greatest  importance. 

The  second  commencement,  deferred  until  the  return  of  the 
provost,  was  held  on  the  11th  of  December,  1759.  Among  the 
graduates  were  Samuel  Keene,  afterwards  D.D.,  and  an  influential 
clergyman  of  ^Maryland  ;  William  Paca,  a  signer  of  the  Declaration  of 
Independence,  and  Samuel  Powell,  ]Mayor  of  Philadelphia  and  Speaker 
of  the  Senate  of  Pennsylvania,  and  one  of  the  active  spirits  in  the 
organization  of  the  American  Church  after  the  revolutionary  war. 

Dr.  Smith  could  not  fail,  from  his  position  at  the  head  of  the  col- 
lege and  as  the  leading  member  of  a  society  for  the  promotion  of 
schools  and  education  among  the  German  settlers  of  the  province,  to 
wield  no  little  influence  upon  the  clergy  and  laity  of  the  Church.  Dr. 
Jenney  was  almost  incapacitated  by  age  and  intirmities  from  taking 
the  position  which  his  office  as  commissary  and  his  rectorship  of  Christ 
Church  would  otherwise  have  secured  without  question.  In  the  con- 
vention of  the  clergy  of  the  province  the  provost  became  the  most 
prominent  figure,  and  in  his  frequent  and  familiar  intercourse  with  the 

•  Life  and  CoiTcspouelence  of  the  Ecv.  William  Smith,  i.,  p.  208. 


438  HISTORY   OF   THE   AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

authorities  of  the  Church  at  home  soon  acquired  a  controlling  influence 
in  the  management  of  church  affairs.  In  the  controversy  occasioned  by 
the  intrigues  and  machinations  of  the  turbulent  Macclenechan,  which 
resulted  in  the  founding  of  another  congregation,  afterwards  known  as 
St.  Paul's,  Dr.  Smith  was  most  prominent,  strenuously  maintaining 
the  order  and  discipline  of  the  Church,  and  rendering  most  faithful 
service  to  the  aged  and  intirm  Jenney  in  securing  the  removal  of  his 
temporary  assistant.  In  connection  with  these  duties  devolving  upon 
him  as  the  most  prominent  of  the  clergy  of  the  province,  it  was  the 
provost's  good  fortune  to  witness  the  steady  increase  of  the  college 
under  his  charge,  in  number  and  in  reputation,  till  the  necessity  of 
endowments  and  additional  buildings  l)ecame  apparent.  In  November, 
1761,  these  needs  of  the  college  formed  the  subject  of  an  exhaustive  re- 
port to  the  trustees,  and  in  view  of  the  fact,  then  disclosed,  that  the 
expense  of  the  maintenance  of  the  institution  had  for  several  years 
exceeded  its  income  by  about  £700  per  annum,  it  was  determined  to 
send  an  agent  to  England  to  solicit  funds  for  a  permanent  endowment 
and  for  the  erection  of  the  buildings  imperatively  required.  The 
acceptance  of  this  duty  by  the  provost  gave  to  the  discouraged  tmstees 
the  assurance  of  success.  Credentials  and  means  for  his  mission  were 
amply  furnished,  and  in  February,  1762,  Dr.  Smith  set  sail  from  New 
York  on  this  important  duty. 

Meanwhile  the  plans  for  the  foundation  of  a  college  in  New  York 
had  taken  shape  ;  and  in  the  hands  of  a  few  gentlemen  of  wealth  and 
position,  chiefly  members  of  the  Church  of  England,  and  with  the  aid 
of  Trinity  Church  in  supplying  the  site  for  the  proposed  institution, 
King's  College  had  sprung  into  being.  From  an  intimation  in  the 
records  of  Trinity  Church  it  would  appear  that,  as  early  as  1703,  it 
was  the  purpose  of  the  government  of  the  province,  then  in  the 
hands  of  Lord  Cornbury,  to  provide  a  site  for  a  college  on  the  island 
of  New  York.  In  1746  authority  was  granted  by  the  assembly  for 
raising  money  for  this  purpose  by  means  of  a  lottery,  and  within  the 
following  few  years  the  sum  of  three  thousand  four  hundred  and 
forty-three  pounds  eighteen  shillings,  was  raised  for  the  erection  of 
a  college  within  the  colony.  This  sum  was  placed  in  the  hands  of 
ti'ustees,  a  majority  of  whom  were  members  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land, and  a  number  of  whom  were  of  the  vestry  of  Trinitj^  Church. 
The  land  bestowed  by  Trinity  was  granted  on  condition  that  the 
president  of  the  college  for  the  time  being  should  be  in  communion 
with  the  Church  of  England,  and  the  morning  and  evening  prayers 
siiould  be  those  of  the  Church,  or  else  such  a  selection  from  the  "Book 
of  Common  Prayer "  as  should  be  agreed  upon  by  the  president  or 
trustees,  or  governors  of  the  said  college.  These  provisions,  giving  a 
churchly  character  to  the  proposed  institution,  and  the  majority 
accorded  to  the  Church  in  the  governing  l)oard,  excited  the  ani- 
mosity of  the  dissenters,  and  for  a  time  threatened  to  thwart  the 
plans  of  its  founders.  The  opposition  to  the  Church  of  England 
interest  was  led  by  Mr.  William  Livingston,  a  violent  enemy  of  the 
Church.  The  act  of  the  assembljs  obtained  in  the  beginning  of  the 
year  1753,  appointing  the  trustees  and  vesting  in  them  the  moneys 


THE   COLLEGES   OF   NEW   YORK   AND   PHILADELl'IILV.  439 

raised  by  the  lottery ;  and  the  supplemental  act  of  July,  the  same 
year,  appropriating  to  the  college  £500  out  of  "the  duty  of  excise," 
for  the  seven  years  from  the  first  day  of  January,  1754,  thouo-h 
bitterly  opposed,  were  followed  by  the  granting  of  the  royal  charter, 
on  the  olst  of  October,  1754.  The  college  was  opened  prior  to  the 
gi-anting  of  the  charter.  The  trustees  had  at  the  outset  chosen  the 
liev.  Dr.  Johnson  of  Stratfoi-d,  as  president  of  the  intended  insti- 
tution ;  and  in  April,  1754,  ho  reluctantly,  in  view  of  his  advanced 
years  and  the  exposure  to  disease  consequent  upon  residence  in  the 
city,  accepted  the  position  and  entered  upon  his  work.  In  June  he 
published,  in  the  newsprints  of  the  day,  an  account  of  the  design  of  the 
college,  the  plan  of  education  proposed,  and  the  requirements  for 
admission,  and  appointed  a  day  for  the  examination  of  candidates. 
Ten  appeared  at  the  appointed  time,  including  two  from  other  insti- 
tutions of  learning.  These  formed  the  first  class,  and  were  taken  by 
Dr.  Johnson  under  his  own  personal  care  and  instruction,  the  place 
of  meeting  being  the  large  vestry-room  belonging  to  Trinity  Church. 
The  president  was  chosen  one  of  the  ministers  of  Trinity  Church. 
He  drew  up  a  form  for  the  daily  prayers  taken  from  the  "Book  of 
Common  Prayer,"  with  a  special  collect  of  his  own  composition  for  the 
college,  which,  with  the  Psalter,  he  caused  to  be  printed  for  the  use  of 
the  students.  He  also  compiled  a  body  of  laws  for  present  use,  and  thus 
proceeded  to  bring  the  aflairs  of  the  institution  into  method  and  order. 
He  found  time  amidst  this  pressure  of  duties  to  enter  into  a  vigorous 
correspondence  with  President  Clapj),  of  Yale  College,  with  reference 
to  the  requirement  of  students  from  church  families  to  attend  the 
services  of  the  college  chapel,  "designed  to  guard  and  perpetuate  the 
Puritan  faith  ;  "  '  and,  as  a  result  of  his  irresistible  logic,  the  obnoxious 
rules  were  relaxed.  After  a  little  delay  he  removed,  with  his  family, 
to  New  York,  where  he  devoted  himself  assiduously  to  the  care  of  the 
college,  and  to  the  performance  of  his  duties  at  Trinity  Church.  At 
the  entrance  of  a  second  class  the  need  of  a  tutor  was  apparent,  and 
the  second  son  of  the  president,  William  Johnson,  a  graduate  of  Yale 
in  the  class  of  1748,  and  A.M.  in  course,  and  an  ad  eundem  master 
at  Harvard  in  1753,  was  appointed  to  this  post.  With  the  increase  of 
students  there  was  a  corresponding  increase  in  the  interest  exhibited 
by  the  community,  and  large  subscriptions  were  secured,  and  the 
plans  of  the  college  building  were  well  advanced. 

The  president  had  acquainted  the  Bishop  of  London  and  the 
venerable  society  \vith  the  design  of  the  college  and  his  appointment 
to  its  superintendency,  and  had  desired  the  kind  patronage  of  the 
bishop  and  the  society  in  its  behalf.  This  was  readily  accorded. 
The  bishop,  Dr.  Shei'lock,  in  his  reply  expressed  his  hearty  apjiroba- 
tion  of  the  college  and  of  the  choice  that  had  been  made  for  its  presi- 
dent, and  ho  earnestly  encouraged  Dr.  Johnson  to  persevere,  in  spite 
of  the  opposition  that  had  been  raised,  in  his  labors  for  the  cause  of 
Christian  and  churchly  education.  The  reply  from  the  society  was 
to  the  same  etlect ;   and  that  these  assurances  of  sympathy  and  aid 

•  BearJsley'3  "  Life  of  Dr.  Johnson,"  p.  200. 


440  HISTORY   OF  THE   AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

were  not  merely  complimentary  was  shortly  proved  by  acts  of  gen- 
erosity worthy  of  lasting  rememl^rance.  In  connection  with  this  cor- 
respondence and  taking  advantage  of  the  departure  of  ^Ir.  William 
Johnson,  the  college  tutor,  for  England,  to  receive  holy  orders,  the 
vestry  of  Trinity  Church,  which  from  the  first  had  shown  the  deepest 
interest  and  the  fullest  confidence  in  the  new  college,  addressed  the 
society  in  a  letter,  which  we  print  for  the  first  time  from  the  original, 
long  preserved  in  the  archives  of  this  veneraljle  body.  The  letter  is 
full  of  interest  and  value,  from  the  vivid  descriptions  it  gives  of  the 
men  and  measures  of  the  time  :  — 

New  York,  Nov.  3d,  1735. 

The  Vestr;/  of  Trinity  Church,  in  New  York,  to  the  Secretary :  — 

llEVD.  Sir, — We  esteem  it  a  great  honor  amidst  the  many  virulent  reproaclies 
we  have  met  with  to  find  our  contluct  with  regard  to  the  College  lately  Ibimded 
here  approved  Ijy  so  venerable  and  respectable  a  body  as  the  Society  for  the  Propa- 
gation of  the  Gospel,  and  to  have  received  their  thanks  for  the  donation  we  made, 
which  was  communicated  to  us  by  Mr.  Barclay,  and  which  we  most  gratefully 
acknowledge.  We  had  also  the  satisfaetiori  of  "the  universal  approbation  of  our 
constituents  notwithstanding  the  vast  debt  we  have  contracted  by  building  the 
Chajiel  of  late.  We  always  expected  that  a  gift  so  valuable  in  itself  and  so 
absolutely  necessary  (it  being  the  only  ground  within  the  city  jiroperly  situated, 
and  of  sufhcient  extent)  would  be  a  means  of  obtaining  some  privileges  to  the 
charity,  especially  as  the  promoters  of  the  afl'air  in  the  House  of  Representatives 
always  proposed  such  a  preference,  at  least,  as  is  granted  by  the  Charter,  but 
had  never  insisted  on  any  condition  till  we  found  some  persons  labouring 
to  exclude  all  systems  of  religion  out  of  the  constitution  of  the  College. 
Wlien  we  discovered  this  design  we  thought  ourselves  indispensably  obliged 
to  interpose,  and  have  had  the  countenance  of  many  good  men  of  all  denomina- 
tions, and,  in  particular,  the  ministers  of  the  Foreign  Protestant  Churches  iu  this 
(Jity,  who  are  aijpointed  Governors  of  tlie  College,  and  without  the  least  hesita- 
tion qualified,  agreeable  to  the  Charter,  and  continue  hearty  friends  to  it.  But, 
notwithstanding  this,  the  02)position  still  continues,  and  has  so  far  prevailed,  as  to 
have  hitherto  prevented  the  application  of  the  money  raised  by  lottery  for  the  use 
of  the  College.  To  effect  this  our  opponents  have  been  indefatigable;  the  most 
base  and  disingenuous  metliods  have  been  used  to  prejudice  the  common  people  in 
the  several  counties,  whom  they  have  endeavoured  to  jjersuade  that  the  test  im- 
posed on  tlie  President  will  infallibly  be  attended  with  the  establishment  of  Bishops 
and  tythes,  and  will  end  in  the  loss  of  all  their  religious  privileges,  and  eveu  in 
persecution  itself.  Petitions  have  been  drawn  &  handed  about,  to  be  signed 
against  the  charter  establishment,  and  weekly  papers  have  been  published  for  two 
years  ])ast,  wherein  all  the  friends  of  the  Church  and  the  Vestry  of  Trinity  Church, 
in  jjarticular,  have  been  abused  in  the  most  opprobrious  terms.  So  that  it  is  very 
uncertain  when  the  money  will  by  the  General  Assembly  be  vested  in  the  Govern- 
ors. In  the  meantime  they  have  begun  a  subscription  among  themselves,  and 
are  daily  purchasing  materials  to  lay  the  foundation  of  a  handsome,  convenient 
edifice,  which,  God  willing,  they  purpose  to  begin  next  Spring,  and  they  are 
induced  to  hope  that  as  the  dissenting  seminary  in  Now  .Tersey  has  had  the  General 
Assembly  of  the  Kirk  in  Scotland  engaged  in  its  behalf  last  year,  as  well  as  the 
dissenting  interest  in  England,  and  .as  we  are  informed  have  collected  a  very  con- 
sider.ablesum  of  money,  so  our  brethren  in  England  will  bo  ready  to  contribute  to 
preserve  tlie  Chui'oh  in  this  part  of  the  world  from  the  contempt  its  enemies  are 
endeavouring  to  bring  upon  it.  The  dissenters  have  already  three  semin.aries  in 
the  Northern  Governments.  They  hold  their  synods.  Presbyteries  and  associations 
and  exercise  the  whole  of  their  Ecclesiastical  (Government  to  the  no  small  advan- 
tage of  their  cause,  whilst  those  churches  which  are  branches  of  tlie  National  Estab- 
lishment .are  deprived  not  only  of  the  benefit  of  a  regular  Church  government,  but 
their  children  debarred  the  priviledge  of  a  liberal  education,  unless  they  will  accept 
of  it  on  such  conditions  as  Dissenters  require,  which  in  Yale  College  is  to  submit  to  a 
fine   as   often  as  they  attend  the  pulilie  worshiji  in  the  Church  of  England,  com- 


THE  COLLEGES  OF  NEW  YORK  AND  PHILADELPHIA.     441 

nmiiicants  only  excepted,  ami  that  only  on  Christmas  &  Sacrament  days.  This  we 
cannot  but  look  upon  us  liard  measure,  especially  as  we  can,  with  a  good  con- 
science, declare  that  we  are  so  far  from  that  Bigotry  and  narrowness  of  spirit  they 
have  of  late  been  pleased  to  charge  us  with,  that  we  would  not,  were  it  in  our 
power,  lay  the  least  restiviint  on  any  man's  conscience,  and  sliould  heartily  I'ejoice 
to  continue  in  brotlierly  love  and  cliarity  witli  all  our  Protestant  brethren,  as  we 
can  apijeal  to  all  men,  we  liave  always  done,  notwitlistanding  the  late  unmerited 
rcproaclies,  calumnies  and  opposition  we  liave  met  \\ith. 

Upon  the  whole,  as  we  are  informed,  the  Governors  of  the  College  intend  to 
jsroceed  according  to  the  Charter,  and  have  reason  to  think  that  this  will  be  the  best 
means  to  quell  the  present  opposition,  restore  peace,  promote  true  religion  and 
harmony  amongst  all  denominations  of  Christians  ;  and  at  length  induce  the  Assem- 
bly to  grant  the  money  raised  for  the  College.  ^Ve  humbly  beg  leave  to  recommend 
the  cause  in  which  they  are  engaged  to  the  Patronage  of  the  Venerable  Hoard  and  its 
several  members,  and  hope  that  when  a  subscription  shall  be  set  on  foot  in  England 
tlioy  will,  upon  proper  application,  encourage  and  assist  them  in  their  laudable 
undin-taking.  This  will  add  a  new  obligation  on  all  the  members  of  the  Church  of 
England,  as  this  in  all  probability  will  be  the  only  college  in  which  they  are  like  to 
have  an  interest.  We  commit  this  letter  to  the  care  of  Sir.  George  Ilarison,  one  of 
our  vestry  and  Mr.  William  .lohnson,  son  of  the  Kev.  Dr.  Johnson,  by  whom  we  beg 
leave  to  tender  our  best  regards  to  the  venerable  board  and  by  whom  they  may  be 
informed  more  particularly  in  any  matter  relating  to  this  subject. 

We  remain  with  much  respect, 

HENRY  BARCLAY, 

JAMES  ROBINSON, 

&  others. 

Mr.  John.son,  who  had  lieen  received  most  kindly  Ijy  hi.s  father's 
friend.s  and  correspondents  in  Enghmd,  and  had  been  Iionorcd  by  the 
degree  of  Master  of  Arts  from  the  two  ancient  universities,  died, 
shortly  after  his  admission  to  holy  orders,  of  the  small-pox,  adding  an- 
other to  the  number  of  youth  of  piety  and  learning  who,  in  seeking  the 
apo.stolic  commission  for  their  ministry,  gained  it  at  the  cost  of  their 
lives.  The  vacancy  in  the  college  sttifl",  occasioned  by  the  resignation 
of  this  gifted  and  promising  young  man,  had  been  filled  by  the  appoint- 
ment of  Air.  Leonard  Cutting,  A.M.,  who  had  been  educated  at  Eton 
and  at  Cambridge  and  was  thoroughly  furnished  for  his  work.  Materials 
were  provided  for  the  erection  of  the  college  building,  which  was  to 
be  built  "  on  the  skirts  of  the  city,"'  on  the  ground  given  by  Trinity 
Church.  On  the  23d  of  August,  1756,  the  corner-stone,  bearing  a 
suitable  inscription,  was  laid  by  the  royal  governor,  Sir  Charles  Hardy, 
on  which  occasion  the  president  made  a  brief  speech  in  Latin  to  the 
governors,  to  his  excellency  Sir  Charles  Hardy,  and  Mr.  DeLancey, 
the  lieutenant-governor,  congratulatory  on  this  happy  eveut.  The 
entrance  of  a  third  class  increased  the  numlier  of  students  to  about 
thirty,  and  as  the  president  was  forced  to  leave  the  city  in  November, 
on  account  of  the  spread  of  small-pox,  the  governors  provided  another 
instructor,  whom  they  made  Professor  of  Mathematics  and  Natural 
Philosophy,  Mr.  Daniel  Tread  well,  A.M.,  a  graduate  of  Harvard  Col- 
lege, and  recommended  by  Professor  Winthrop  as  eminently  qualified 
for  the  position.  This  same  year  a  member  of  the  venerable  society, 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Bristowe,  bequeathed  his  library  of  about  fifteen  hundred 
voltunes  "to  the  college  of  New  York,  of  which  Dr.  Johnson  is  presi- 

'  Chandler's  "  Life  of  Johnson,"  p.  96. 


442  HISTORY   OF  THE   AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

dent,"  thus  laying  the  foundation  of  the  present  library  of  Cohunhia 
College. 

The  progress  made  by  the  college  appears  from  the  following 
address  to  the  venerable  society,  now  first  printed  from  the  original 
in  the  archives  of  thnt  body  :  — 

To  The  at.  Rev.  Father  in  Ood  Lord  Bishop  of  London,  — 

The  humble  address  of  the  Governors  of  the  college  of  the  province  of  New 
York  in  the  City  of  New  York  in  America,  ]May  it  please  j-our  Lordship:  As  the 
care  of  the  Church  in  these  colonies  has  been  annexed  to  the  See  of  London  and  it 
is  therefore  fit  that  every  thing  here  relating  to  the  interest  of  Religion  &  Learning 
should  be  referred  to  your  Ijordshi])  and  recommended  to  your  Patronage,  the 
Governors  of  this  college  lately  incorporated  by  Koyal  Charter  for  instructing 
youth  in  the  liberal  sciences  do  humbly  beg  leave  to  lay  before  your  Lordship  some 
acooimt  of  our  proceedings  and  to  recommend  this  Infant  Seminary  to  your  Lord- 
ship's favour  and  kind  Pati'onage.  The  undertaking  has  indeed  met  with  much 
opposition  with  which  we  are  infoniied  your  Lordship  is  not  unacquainted,  which 
has  occasioned  the  loss  of  one  lialf  of  the  monies  originally  raised  by  public  Lot- 
teries for  carr3'ing  on  of  fcliis  design.  However  as  we  are  conscious  of  the  upright- 
ness of  our  intentions  and  encouraged  by  the  countenance  of  many  good  men  of  all 
denominations  we  ai'c  carrying  on  this  good  work  in  the  best  manner  our  circum- 
stances will  admit  of.  Several  young  gentlemen  have  been  admitted,  and  jn-ose- 
cute  their  studies  under  the  Inspection  of  the  Rev  Dr  Johnson  and  two  Tutors 
well  qualified.  We  have  given  orders  for  purchasing  an  apparatus  of  proper 
Listi'uments  for  teaching  mathematical  and  experimental  Philosophy.  We  are  also 
building  a  neat  and  convenient  edifice  for  public  schools  &  lodgings  (being  one 
side  of  a  quadrangle  hereafter  to  be  canned  on)  on  a  very  valuable  and  most 
agreeably  situated  bit  of  Ground  adjoining  to  this  City  which  is  a  donation  of  the 
Rector,  Churchwardens  &  Vestry  of  Trinity  Chm'ch.  But  being  sensible  that  we 
shall  not  be  able  to  bring  this  work  to  any  tolerable  degree  of  perfection  and 
answer  the  great  design  of  our  Incorporation  without  the  charitable  assistance  of 
our  Mother  Country ;  we  have  presumed  to  address  the  Honorable  Society  for  projia- 
gating  the  Gospel  for  their  coimtenance  &  influence  in  recommending  our  case 
to  such  gentlemen  as  may  be  disposed  to  assist  us  in  our  midertaking,  and  we 
humbly  bog  leave  also  to  ask  your  Lordship's  kind  patronage  and  influence  in  pui'- 
suanee  of  the  same  design  We  do  moreover  humbly  inti'cat  your  Lordship's 
prayers  and  blessings  upon  this  imjjortant  undertaking  and  that  your  Lordship's 
most  valuable  life  and  health  may  be  long  preserved  and  your  faithful  labours  in 
the  cause  of  God  and  his  true  Religion  may  be  abundantly  rewar<led  with  an 
eternal  crown  of  Glory  is  the  feiTent  prayer  of,  may  it  please  your  Lordship,  your 
Lordship's  most  dutiful  and  most  obedient  humble  Servants, 

JNO.   CHAMBERS, 

Presiding  Member  in  behalf  of  the  Oovernors. 

SAMUEL  JOHNSON, 

President  of  the  Co llcye. 
New  York,  27  May,  1758. 

On  the  21st  of  June,  1758,  the  college  held  its  first  commence- 
ment, at  which  seven  graduates  received  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of 
Arts,  among  them  Samuel  Provoost,  afterwards  first  Bishop  of  New 
York.  A  number  of  others,  graduates  of  Cambridge,  England, 
Harvard,  Yale,  and  the  College  of  New  Jersey,  took  the  ]\Iaster's 
degree,  making  the  whole  number  of  degrees  conferred  upwards  of 
twenty.  The  year  following  passed  off  smoothly  and  successfully. 
The  various  classes  were  divided  between  the  president  and  two  sub- 
ordinates, the  president  confining  himself  to  Greek,  logic,  metaphysics, 


THE   COLLEGES   OF   NEW   YORK   AND   PHILADELPHIA. 


443 


and  ethics.  The  college  building  was  now  rapidly  approaching  com- 
pletion. At  the  second  coninienceiueat,  in  1759,  two  only  proceeded 
Bachelors  of  Arts.  At  the  third  commencement,  in  1760,  six  young 
men  took  the  Bachelor's  degree,  among  them  the  celebrated  Isaac 
Wilkius,  who,  after  a  stormy  political  career,  entered  the  ministry, 
received  the  Doctoi'ate  in  Divinity,  and  was  for  many  years  a  i)r()nii- 
ueut  clergyman  in  the  diocese  of  Now  York.  On  this  occasion  the  gov- 
ernors of  the  college  met  in  the  college  hall,  and,  after  an  address  in 
Latin  from  the  president,  proceeded  to  St.  George's  Chapel,  where  the 
graduating  exercises  were  performed  and  the  degrees  conferred.  Pro- 
fessor Treadwell  had  died  in  the  spring  of  1760,  and  the  president  and 
Mr.  Cutting  were  compelled  to  do  double  duty  for  the  following  year. 
In  May,  1761,  occurred  the  fourth  commencement.  There  were  but 
three  graduates,  but  several  of  those  who  formed  the  first  class  now  took 


s''%^->.!^'-  '*', 


DISTANT   VIEW    01''    KING's    COLLEGE    IN   1763. 


governors  appointed 


their  Master's  degree.     The  following  year  the 

Mr.  Robert  Harpur,  A.M.,  who  had  been  educated  at  the  University 
of  Glasgow,  to  the  Professorship  of  Mathematics  and  Natural  Phi- 
losophy. With  the  aid  of  this  brilliant  instructor.  Dr.  Johnson's  last 
year  of  service  was  rendered  comparatively  easy.  He  held  his  fifth 
and  final  commencement  in  May,  17G2,  eight  young  men  taking  the 
Bachelor's  degree.  Before  his  retirement  from  office  he  was  able  to 
further  the  efforts  of  the  governors  to  augment  the  funds  of  the  college 
by  an  appeal  to  England.  The  expenses  of  carrying  on  the  institution 
\vere  already  causing  an  annual  encroachment  on  its  slender  capital, 
and,  although  greatliberality  had  been  shown  to  this  new  enterprise, 
it  was  not  to  be  expected  that  its  wants  could  be  fully  supplied  at  home. 
It  was  in  view  of  these  needs  and  of  the  interest  expressed  in  England 
in  the  inception  and  progress  of  the  college,  that,  at  the  instigation  of 


444  HISTORY   OF  THE   AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL    CHURCH. 

the  president,  the  services  of  Dr.  James  Jay,  as  agent  of  the  college, 
were  secured,  and  this  gentleman  was  formally  accredited  to  the  Arch- 
bishops, the  Universities,  antl  the  Socicity  for  the  Propagation  of  the 
Gospel  in  Foi'cign  Parts.  On  the  13th  of  May,  17 62,  Dr.  Jay  sailed 
from  New  York  on  his  mission.  Three  months  before,  on  the  ISth  of 
February,  Dr.  Smith  had  sailed  from  the  same  port  on  the  same 
errand. 

Dr.  Jay,  better  known  as  Sir  James  Jay,  Knight,  —  for  he  received 
this  distinction  from  the  king,  George  III.,  while  acting  as  agent  of 
King's  College,  —  was  a  brother  of  the  Hon.  John  Jay,  of  New  York, 
and  bore  with  him  on  his  important  mission,  among  other  letters  of 
introduction  and  commendation,  the  following  communication  addressed 
to  Archbishop  Seeker  by  Dr.  Johnson.  It  gives  so  interesting  and 
succinct  an  account  of  the  case  of  the  college  that  we  reproduce  it 
here :  *  — 

To  the  Most  Rev.  Father  in  God,  Thomas  Lord,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury, — 

May  it  please  your  Grace,  —  Your  Grace  is  well  acquainted  with  the  labors 
aud  difficulties  under  which  we  have  straggled  in  founding  our  College  and  carrjdng 
it  on  liitherto  and  has  been  informed  that  we  have  erected  an  eleg;uit  building  of 
one  hundred  and  eighty  feet  in  length  by  thirty  in  width  and  three  stories  in  height, 
which  is  now  just  finished  and  designed  for  one  side  of  a  quadrangle,  to  be  com- 
pleted as  we  shall  be  enabled.  But  as  we  are  not  yet  able  to  caiiy  it  any  further 
without  assistance,  nor  have  we  a  sufficient  fimd  to  support  the  necessary  officers  — 
the  Master,  Professors  and  Tutors  —  we  are  therefore  constrained  to  beg  the  chari- 
table contributions  of  such  public  spirited  gentlemen  as  are  generously  disposed  to 
promote  so  good  a  work,  and  have  empowered  the  bearer  hereof,  Dr.  James  Jay,  of 
this  city,  who  is  an  ingenious  yomig  gentleman  and  a  graduated  physician  of  the 
University  of  Eduiburgh,  to  ask  and  receive  such  benefactions  as  should  be  conti'ib- 
uted  to  tills  important  vmdertaldng.  And  as  yom'  Grace  is  the  ffi'st  member  of  our 
corporation,  and  has  given  abiuidant  demonsU'ation  of  your  delight  in  doin^  good 
offices,  and  especially  to  this  college,  for  which  we  are  inexpressibly  thankful,  we 
hiunljly  beg  leave  to  recommend  him  to  your  Grace,  and  enti'eat  you  in  addition  to 
your  former  goodness  that  you  will  give  him  your  best  advice  and  direction  for  his 
cariying  on  a  solicitation  for  benefactions,  and  if  you  think  proper  that  you  will 
inti'oduce  him  or  procure  him  to  be  inti'oduced  to  our  most  gracious  Sovereign  for  his 
favor ;  and  also  that  you  will  be  pleased  to  recommend  him  to  his  Grace  the  Lord 
Archbishop  of  York  and  the  Bishop  of  London,  or  any  other  of  the  nobilitj',  clergy, 
or  gently  as  your  Grace  shall  judge  most  expedient.  In  doing  this  you  will  un- 
speakably oblige,  may  it  please  your  Grace, 

Yom'  Grace's,  etc. 

Dr.  Smith,  as  we  learn  from  his  biographer,^  was  indignant  at 
what  he  deemed  an  unfair,  as  it  certainly  was  an  unexpected,  inter- 
ference with  his  purposes  and  plans.  There  was,  as  he  writes,  "a 
strange  clashing  of  interests  and  applications,"  and  the  proposal  "  to 
unite  both  designs"'  was  at  first  refused  by  the  irate  provost,  who 
thought  his  "  own  interest  best ; "  but  after  considerable  negotiation  it 
was  agreed  that  a  joint  application  in  behalf  of  both  colleges  should  be 
made  to  the  king.  "His  Majesty,"  wrote  Dr.  Smith,  "expressed  Ms 
approval  of  the  plan,  and  said  he  would  do  something  to  begin  the 
design  :  that  to  King's  College,  in  New  York,  he  would  order  £400 
sterling  ;  and  that  in  respect  to  the   college  in  Philadel]ihia,  he  ob- 

'  From  Bcardsley's  "  Life  of  Dr.  .Tohusou,"  -  Life  antl  Cori'espondence  of  the  Rev.  Wil- 

pp.  269,  270.  liam  Smith,  D.D.,  I.,  p.  300. 


THE   COLLEGES   OF   NEW   YORK   AND   rmLAi:)ELPlIIA.  445 

served  that  it  had  a  liberal  benefactor  iu  our  Proprietors,  who  stood 
as  it  were,  iu  his  room ;  but  that  he  must  not  suffer  so  good  u  design 
to  pass  without  some  mark  of  his  regard,  and  therefore  would  order 
£200  sterling  for  us."  '  A  royal  brief  for  collections  throughout  the 
united  kingdom  in  behalf  of  the  two  colleges  was  issued,  and  the  two 
agents  divided  the  territory  between  them,  Dr.  Smith  going  to  the 
north  of  England  and  Scothind,  and  Dr.  Jay  to  the  south  and  west. 
The  arrangements  being  amicably  concluded.  Dr.  Smith  pronounces 
his  rival,  Dr.  Jay,  "  an  active  and  sensible  young  fellow."  Tiie  "  IJrief " 
brought  in  £4,800  to  each  institution  ;  the  private  collections  £l,13r) 
10s.  iid.  to  each.  The  royal  bounty  was  £400  to  King's  Colh^ge,  and 
£200  to  the  college  and  academy  of  Philadelphia.  The  proprietaries 
of  Pennsylvania  gave  to  the  college  under  their  patronage  £500,  and 
£284  lis.  had  been  collected  by  Dr.  Smith  before  the  union  of  the  in- 
terests of  the  rival  institutions.  The  college  at  Philadelphia  received 
in  all  £6,921  7s.  6d.  It  was  estimated  by  Dr.  Smith  that  upwards 
of  eleven  thousand  persons  contributed  to  the  collection  made  under 
the  authority  of  the  Ijrief,  and  more  than  eight  hundred  responded  to 
the  private  appeals  of  Dr.  Jay  and  himself.  So  far  as  the  Philadelphia 
college  was  concerned  the  possession  of  this  added  capital  was  made 
an  incentive  to  further  efforts  to  increase  the  funds  of  the  institution. 
In  the  winter  of  1771—72  Dr.  Smith  paid  a  visit  to  Charleston,  South 
Carolina,  and,  iu  the  course  of  a  few  months,  collected  nearly  a  thou- 
sand guineas  for  the  college  from  the  inhabitants  of  that  city.  On  his 
return  he  set  on  foot  a  subscrijrtion  for  the  same  object  in  Philadelphia, 
from  which  nearly  £1,200  was  received.  Dr.  Morgan,  one  of  the  Pro- 
fessors of  the  Medical  Faculty,  applied  to  the  people  of  the  Island  of 
Jamaica  for  contributions  to  the  college  funds,  and  from  this  source 
about  £3,000  were  obtained.  It  was  by  services  and  labors  such  as 
these  that  William  Smith  won  for  himself  the  distinction  he  had 
coveted.  On  the  14th  of  September,  1762,  he  writes  to  the  Kev. 
Richard  Peters,  that  the  honor  he  proposed  was  "in  being  a  kind  of 
founder  of  our  college."  This  honor  he  fairly  earned  and  justly 
merited.  It  was  his  pleasure  and  privilege  to  watch  over  its  interest 
till,  amidst  the  vicissitudes  of  the  war  for  independence,  the  schools  of 
learning  were  closed,  and,  in  the  attempted  organization  of  its  govern- 
ment after  the  civil  disruption,  the  rights  of  the  college  authorities 
were  trampled  upon,  and  the  provost  dispossessed  from  the  place  he 
had  filled  with  so  much  honor  and  usefulness.  He  was  never  restored 
to  his  former  privileges  and  powers,  and  it  is  only  of  late  years  that 
full  justice  had  been  rendered  to  him  for  his  abundant  and  most  useful 
services  to  the  cause  of  Christian  education  and  the  advance  of  the 
higher  learning  in  America. 

The  retirement  of  Dr.  Johnson  from  the  presidency  of  King's 
College  was  followed  by  the  election  of  the  Rev.  INIyles  Cooper,  LL.D., 
whose  incumbency  closed  amidst  the  opening  scenes  of  the  Revolution. 
Among  those  who  received  their  graduating  degrees  at  the  hands  of 
this  able  and  gifted  man  were  Richard  Harison,  D.C'.L.,  John  Jay, 

•  IM'c  and  CorrcspouJcucc  of  the  Rev.  Wiillam  Smilh,  D.D.,  I.,  p.  301. 


446  HISTORY   OF  THE  AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

LL.D.,  Egbert  Beusou,  LL.D.,  Robert  R.  Livingstou,  Peter  Van 
Schaack,  LL.D.,  Bishop  Benjaiuiii  Moore,  Gouverueur  Morris,  and 
the  Rev.  Dr.  John  Bowden,  while  the  name  of  Alexander  Hamilton 
appears  on  the  list  of  students  entered  in  1774,  whom  the  exigencies 
of  the  times  prevented  from  completing  their  course  in  arts. 

Few  college  presidents  have  ever  superintended  the  intellectual 
training  and  development  of  a  brighter  array  of  men,  and,  in  estimat- 
ing the  services  rendered  to  the  Church  and  State  1),\'  the  college  pre- 
sided over  by  Johnson,  we  must  not  forget  the  long  and  brilliant 
incumbency  of  his  successor,  whose  love  for  church  and  crown  drove 
him  from  an  honored  and  useful  post. 


ILLUSTRATIVE    NOTE. 


AN  interesting  memorial  of  the  mission  of  Sir  James  Jay  and  Dr.  William  Smith, 
to  England,  is  found  in  "a  Sermon  Preached  on  occasion  of  the  Brief  for  the 
American  Colleges.  By  Daniel  Watson,  A.M.,  Vicar  of  Leek,  in  Yorkshire. 
Newcastle:  mdcclxhi,"  8°,  p.  36.  Our  author  dwells  upon  "  two  circumstances 
in  the  scheme,"  "  that  ought  to  recommend  it  to  the  favor  and  encouragement  of 
eveiy  good  Christian  and  true  Protestant,  and,  indeed,  of  eveiy  British  patriot." 

"  The  one,  that  the  persons  to  be  educated  in  these  American  Seminaries  are 
intended  as  antidotes  to  counteract  the  poison  of  the  false,  idolatrous,  and  slavish 
principles  instilled  into  the  poor  benighted  Indians,  by  Popish  emissaries,  who 
represent  Christianity  in  no  other  garb  than  what  she  is  forced  to  wear  in  the 
Roman  Church  —  the  garb  of  superstition  and  worldly  policy,  of  dissimulation  and 
ti'eachery,  of  pride,  cruelty  and  prosecution,  and  an  universal  hatred  towards  all 
who  refuse  to  worship  the  idols  they  have  set  up.  The  effects  of  which  wretched 
zeal  have  been  found  amongst  all  those  barbarous  nations,  who  have  been  imder 
the  influence  and  management  of  popish  powers  ;  and  severely  felt  by  such  of  our 
own  countrymen  in  particular,  who  have  been  uuhajipy  enough  to  lall  into  their 
hands. 

"  The  other  article  which  gives  a  particular  value  to  these  Seminaries  is,  that 
Protestant  youth  of  all  denominations  and  persuasions  are  received  into  them,  and 
partake  of  the  insti'uction  there  dispensed  without  respect  of  persons.  This  circum- 
stance, as  it  will  give  birth  to  many  amiable  and  lasting  friendships  in  after-life, 
between  men  of  different  persuasions ;  so  an  affectionate  intercourse  among  the 
students,  who  will  be  taught  to  thinlc  generously  of  each  other's  religion,  wHl  open 
a  fi'ce  communication  of  sentiments,  and  tend  to  wear  off"  that  sourness  of  part)-, 
which  has  been  the  disgi'ace  of  the  Reformation:  as  well  as  contribute  to  tlie 
detection  of  errors,  and  to  the  conviction  of  those  who  might  be  inclined  to  persist  in 
them,  only  because  they  were  the  eiTor  of  their  forefathers. 

"  Thiis,  you  see,  the  nature  and  extent  of  this  charitable  undertaking,  to  which 
your  contributions  are  now  solicited.  It  is  to  dispense  the  pure  and  peaceable  word 
of  God  amongst  those  poor,  uninformed  or  misguided  tribes  of  Indians,  who  are 
now  as  it  were  consigned  to  the  care  and  protection  of  Biutons  ;  whom  a  gi-acions 
Pro^^denco  seems  to  call  forth  to  '  be  a  light  to  lighten  those  Gentiles,'  and  thereby 
to  make  known  '  his  salvation  unto  the  end  of  the  earth.' 

"  And  if,  by  a  cheerful  obetlience  to  tliis  heavenly  call,  the  blessed  work  shoidd 
prosper  in  our  hands,  and  '  the  word  of  the  Lord  liavG  fi'ee  com-se  and  be  glorified,' 
gi-e;xt  and  distinguished  will  be  our  name,  and  precious  our  memory,  when  future 
historians  shall  record  and  distant  ages  read,  that  from  Britain  '  sounded  out  the 
word  of  the  Lord,'  into  those  remote  and  barbarous  regions,  and  that  from  this 
blessed  island  '  the  day-spring  fi'om  on  high  (in  its  native  lush-e,  first)  visited  them 
that  sat  in  darkness  and  in  the  shadow  of  death,  to  guide  their  feet  into  the  way 
of  peace.' " 


CHAPTER    XXIV. 

THE   POSITION   OF   THE    CLERGY   AT  THE   OPENING   OF  THE 
WAR   FOR   INDEPENDENCE. 

AT  the  beginning  of  the  struggle,  which  won  for  us  political 
independence,  and  ecclesiastical  independence  as  well,  tliere 
were  in  the  colonies  stretching  from  JMaine  to  Georgia  less 
than  three  hundred  parishes  or  congregations  of  the  Church,  and 
probably  not  far  from  two  hundred  and  fifty  clergymen.  jS'^early  two 
thousand  "  clerks  in  Holy  Orders  "  of  the  Anglican  Commmiion  had 
from  the  time  of  the  church's  introduction  into  the  Western  AVorld 
labored  for  a  longer  or  shorter  term  of  years  on  American  soil.'  But 
at  the  period  of  which  we  speak,  although  the  Church  was  expanding 
with  the  growth  of  the  country,  the  lack  of  the  episcopate,  with  its 
consequent  laxity  in  discipline,  and  the  hindrances  placed  in  her  path 
l)y  various  opposing  religious  bodies,  had  prevented  that  development 
which  would  have  been  expected  from  the  fact  of  her  early  planting 
and  partial  establishment.  The  Church  at  the  southward  was  the 
religion  of  the  wealthy,  the  cultivated,  and  refined ;  there  and  else- 
where it  was  the  church  of  the  representatives  of  roj'alty  at  each 
provincial  governor's  mimic  court ;  of  the  officers  of  the  array  and 
navy  of  the  king ;  of  those  who  had  supplemented  the  defects  of 
trans- Atlantic  education  and  training  at  the  ancient  universities ;  of 
the  younger  members  of  noble  families  who  had  found  homes  and 
fortunes  in  the  New  World.  Outside  of  New  England  it  was  the 
church  of  those  who  sought  political  prominence  in  the  colonial  assem- 
blies, or  coveted  the  rich  offices  in  the  gift  of  the  crown ;  of  the 
judges  on  the  bench  and  the  lawyers  at  the  bar ;  of  the  collectors  of 
the  ports ;  of  those  whose  business  brought  them  in  close  connection 
with  the  great  exporters  and  traders  abroad ;  in  short,  it  was  the 
church  of  the  bulk  of  that  conservative  element  which  amidst  provin- 
cial surroundings  prided  itself  on  its  admiration  for  and  devotion  to 
the  rule  and  reiarnino:  fashions  of  the  court.  Not  ignorant  nor  unmind- 
ful  of  this  vantage  gi'ound  of  the  Church,  an  astute  and  unscrupulous 
Puritan  divine  of  Connecticut  had  published,  a  few  j'ears  before  the 
struggle  l)etween  the  colonies  and  crown  Iiegan,  a  satirical  pamphlet 
of  nearly  fifty  pages,  setting  forth  "The  Eeal  Advantages  whicli  Min- 
isters and  People  may  enjoy,  especially  In  the  Colonies,  by  Conform- 
ing to  the  Church  of  England ;  Faithfully  considered,  and  iuipartially 

'  An  attempt  to  gather  the  names  and  no-  !on°r  list  of  men,  who  in  the  main  were  worthy  of 

ticc3  of  these  mission-priests  and  deacons  of  the  their  hijh  caUing,  is  sufficient  to  prove  (he  mis- 

mother-cliurch,  laboriu<;  on  tlio  American  Con-  sionary  spirit   of  the   mothcr-chiuch  from  the 

liucnt  and  the  islands  adjacent  prior  to  ISOO,  has  very  days  of  her  spiritual  independence  secured 

it'sulted  iu  the  collection  of  upwards  of  two  thou-  at  the  Reformation, 
sand  names,  with  references  to  authorities.    This 


448  HISTORY   OF   THE   AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

represented  iu  a  Letter  to  a  Young  Gentleman."  This  "  l)ase  pam- 
phlet," as  Dr.  Johnson  styled  it,'  written  by  Noah  Welles,  the 
Congrcgationalist  minister  of  Stamford,  Connecticut,  placed  in  strong 
contrast  the  manners  of  the  "polite"  and  "sprightly,"  "well-dressed," 
"  fashionable,"  "  brisk  and  lively,"  Churcli-of-England  professors,  with 
the  "Puritanical  preciseness"  of  "the  presbyterians  and  congregation- 
alists  in  New  England." 

Low  and  scurrilous  as  this  pamphlet  certainly  was,  the  point  of 
its  satire  was  its  pretended  exhibition  of  the  "  temporal  adv^antages " 
of  conformity,  and  the  claim  that  these  were  the  source  of  the  gradual 
advance  and  triumph  of  the  Church.  That  such  advantages  existed 
at  least,  where  the  Church  was  established,  or  had  gained  a  strong 
foothold,  it  would  be  absurd  to  deny.  The  days  of  persecution 
were  over  even  in  New  England.  The  popular  mind  was  exercised 
with  political  rather  than  with  theological  questions.  The  church- 
men   had    won,    at   least,    a    toleration,    and    although    the    odiu 


III 


theologicum  was  maintained  by  the  Puritan  leaders,  the  ministers, 
and  magistracy,  still  the  Church  was  gaining  ground  on  every  side, 
and  churchmen  were  uo  longer  thrown  into  jail,  or  exposed  to  loss 
of  their  goods,  for  the  support  of  the  puritan  ministry,  or  the 
building  of  Puritan  meeting-houses.  It  is  true  that  the  proposed 
introduction  of  bishops  has  been  named  by  high  authority  as  among 
the  causes  of  the  separation  of  the  colonies  from  the  mother-land ; 
and  that  it  may  have  influenced  some  in  their  desire  for  independence 
is  doubtless  the  case.  It  is  also  true  that  even  churchmen  were 
divided,  if  not  as  to  the  need  of  an  American  episcopate,  at  least 
as  to  its  expediency  at  a  time  when  the  project  was  assailed  by  invin- 
cible prejudice  and  hate.  In  the  political  questions  out  of  which  the 
revolutionary  struggle  grew  it  was  but  natural  that  the  clergy  gener- 
ally should  take  the  side  of  the  mother-country.  They  had  seen  the 
strength  and  greatness  of  the  land  ;  they  had  taken  solemn  oaths  of 
allegiance  to  the  crown  at  their  admission  to  holy  orders ;  their  sup- 
port was  largely  dependent  upon  the  venerable  society  abroad.  It  is 
a  noticeable  fact  that  in  the  provinces  where  the  Church  had  been  estab- 
lished and  the  clergy  had  their  support  directly  or  mdirectly  from 
those  to  whom  they  ministered,  and  even  in  the  case  of  those  par- 
ishes in  provinces  where  there  was  no  estal^lisliment,  where  the  peo- 
ple M'ere  the  immediate  sources  of  their  clergyman's  revenue,  there 
were  many  patriot  clergymen  sympathizing  with  and  sustaining  their 
parishioners  in  their  resistance  to  the  authority  of  the  crown.  The 
stipendiaries  of  the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel,  deriv- 
ing their  living  from  across  the  sea,  were  in  nearly  every  instance  loy- 
alists. This  was  the  case  without  any  necessary  imputation  of  being 
influenced  )\y  mere  pecuniary  considerations.  The  missionaries  of  the 
society  had  l)een  accustomed  to  look  at  all  things  from  an  English 
standing-point.  The  incumbents  of  the  parishes  in  Virginia  and 
Maryland  had  lived  in  an  atmosphere  of  debate  and  freedom.  They, 
in  common  with   their   parishioners,  had  acquired   in  their  isolation 

'  Beardslcy's  "  Life  and  Corrcspontloncc  of  Samuel  Johnson,  D.D.,"  pp.  272,  274. 


THE  POSITION   OF  THE   CLERGY.  449 

from  the  Old  World  an  independence  of  thought  and  life  that  made 
political  independence  no  novel  idea.  Not  content  with  foUowinj^ 
their  people  in  resistance  to  the  arbitrary  measures  of  the  British  par- 
liament and  crown,  they  chose  to  lead  the  way.  In  speeches  and  ser- 
mons, in  essays  and  addresses,  and  finail3'whcn  the  sword  was  drawn, 
even  in  the  exchange  of  the  surplice  for  the  soldier's  garb,  and  the 
rule  of  a  parish  for  the  command  of  a  regiment,  these  clei-gymen  of 
the  Church  were  not  at  all  behind  the  most  patriotic  of  their  people. 
The  names  of  the  Rev.  Charles  Minns  Thruston,  who  amidst  the 
opening  scenes  of  the  war  had  been  moderator  of  patriotic  gather- 
ings within  the  walls  of  his  own  church  in  Frederick  County,  Vir- 
ginia,' and  who  at  the  beginning  of  actual  strife  laid  aside  his  minis- 
try and  attained  the  rank  of  colonel  in  the  American  army ;  and  the 
Rev.  Peter  Muhlenberg,  of  Shenandoah  County,  who  had  also  been  a 
moderator  of  the  patriot  assemblies  at  Woodstock  ere  the  l)reaking 
out  of  the  struggle,  and  a  delegate  to  the  Virginia  Convention  of 
1773,^  who  also  raised  a  regiment  among  his  own  parishioners  and  served 
throughout  the  war,  attaining  the  rank  of  l)rigadier-general,  are  in- 
stances of  this  devotion  to  the  popular  cause.  Tradition  tells  us  that 
Muhlenberg's  last  sermon  was  preached  in  uniform  concealed  under 
his  ministerial  robe,  and  that  as  he  quoted  the  words  of  the  book  of 
Ecclesiastes  :  "  To  everything  there  is  a  season,  and  a  time  to  every 
purpose  under  the  heaven,"  —  "a  time  of  war,"  —  he  laid  aside  the 
preacher's  gown  and  walked  forth  a  soldier  in  garb  and  office,  followed 
by  his  people.  Of  the  Virginia  clergy.  Bishop  Madison  and  Messrs. 
Bracken,  Balmaine,  Buchanan,  Jarratt,  Griffith,  Davis,  and  many  others, 
were  avowed  and  decided  partisans  of  the  American  cause.'  In 
South  Carolina  the  Rev.  Henry  Purcell  was  appointed  by  Congress, 
May  7,  1772,  chaplain  of  the  Second  (South  Carolina  Regiment,  com- 
manded by  Colonel  Moulton,  and  in  1778  he  was  appointed  deputy 
judge-advocate-general  for  South  Carolina  and  Georgia.  The  Rev. 
AVilliam  Percy,  of  Charleston,  was  a  strong  partisan  of  the  popular 
side,  officiating  as  chaplain  to  the  troops,  and  delivering  an  address  on 
the  first  anniversary  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  In  conse- 
quence of  his  avowed  sympathy  with  the  rebels  he  was  silenced  "  on 
pain  of  confinement,"  on  the  occupation  of  the  city  by  the  British.  The 
Rev.  Robei't  Smith,  the  first  bishop  of  South  Carolina,  was  banished 
by  the  British,  and  served  as  a  soldier  in  the  American  ranks.  In  fact 
out  of  twenty  clergymen  in  South  Carolina  at  the  breaking  out  of  the 
war,  five  only  adhered  to  the  royalist  cause  and  left  the  country.'' 
William  White,  the  first  bishop  of  Pennsylvania,  was  a  chaplain  of  Con- 
gress, and  never  faltered  even  in  the  darkest  days  of  the  war  in  his 
adhesion  to  the  American  cause.  Croes,  first  bishop  of  New  Jersey, 
served  as  a  non-commissioned  officer  throughout  a  great  part  of  the 
contest ;  and  Provoost,  the  first  bishop  of  New  York,  was  distinguished 
as  a  leader  of  the  popular  side.     Parker,  second  bishop  of  jNIassachu- 

'  American  Archives,   Series   iv.,  Vol.    i.,  '  Hawks's    "  Ecclesiastical    Contributions," 

p.  393.  Vol.  I.,  Viro-inia,  p.  137. 

'IbiiJ.,  Series  iv.,  Vol.  i.,  pp.  41",  41S ;  Vol.  '  Dalcho's  "  IlistoiT  of  the  Epis.  Ch.  in  So. 

n.,  p.  165.  Car.,"  p.  206. 


450  HISTOKV   OF  THE  AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

setts,  was  among  the  first  to  recognize  the  new  order  of  things, 
accommodating  tiic  liturgy  to  the  changed  situation  of  pulilic  aftairs  ; 
while  Bass,  first  l)ishop  of  Massachusetts,  found  himself  dismissed 
from  the  service  of  the  societj'  on  the  ground  of  a  too  ready  compli- 
ance with  the  requirements  of  the  revolted  provincial  assembly. 
The  Convention  of  Virginia,  on  the  day  following  the  Declaration 
of  Independence,  altered  the  "Book  of  Common  Praj'er"  to  accom- 
modate it  to  the  new  condition  of  things.  These  alterations  almosf 
exclusively  related  to  the  prayers  for  those  in  authority,  and  through- 
out the  State  this  requirement  of  the  popular  assembly  met  with  lit- 
tle or  no  opposition.  Elsewhere  it  was  different.  Those  among  the 
clergy  who  felt  that  the  appeal  to  arms,  or  even  the  declaration  of  the 
Congress  declaring  the  colonies  independent,  did  not  warrant  them  in 
disregarding  the  obligation  of  their  vows  of  allegiance,  persisted  in 
the  use  of  the  prayer-book  services  unchanged,  or,  when  this  was  im- 
possible, closed  their  churches  and  met  such  of  their  people  as 
sj'mpathized  with  them  politically  by  stealth  or  in  private  houses.  "We 
propose  to  let  the  actors  in  these  stirring  scenes  tell  the  story  of  their 
unavailing  struggle  to  counteract  the  popular  will.  A  series  of  extracts 
from  manuscript  and  other  authorities  will  reveal  the  temper  of  the 
times  more  faithfull.y  than  any  modern  pen  could  hope  to  do. 

In  New  York  there  can  be  but  little  question  as  to  the  attitude  of 
the  major  part  of  the  Church  clergj'  from  the  first.  For  some  years  prior 
to  the  actual  beginning  of  hostilities  the  province  had  been  convulsed 
with  excitement,  growing  out  of  the  discussion  of  the  questions  re- 
lating to  popular  rights  and  gi'ievauces.  It  was  a  period  of  intense 
party  feeling  and  endless  debate.  While  the  people  were  proud  of  their 
English  origin,  and  had,  atalavishexpenseof  life  and  treasure,  aided  in 
the  subjugation  of  Canada,  and  thus  in  extending  the  English  dominion 
over  the  fairest  portions  of  North  America,  they  had  learned  the  lesson 
of  self-respect.  These  were  unwilling  to  be  denied  or  tamely  to  forfeit 
their  rights  as  freeborn  Englishmen.  They  felt  that  obedience  to  an 
unjust  rule  or  submission  to  tyranny  was  not  only  servile,  but  that  it 
brought  ruin  and  dishonor  with  the  loss  of  self-respect.  But  the  letters, 
speeches,  resolves,  and  solemn  asseverations  of  the  chief  actors  in  the 
bold  resistance  to  the  measures  of  Parliament  for  the  enforcement  of  its 
settled  purpose  of  deriving  a  revenue  from  the  American  provinces 
show  conclusively  that  there  was  at  the  first  no  purpose  of  indepen- 
dence, no  desire  for  separation  from  the  mother-laud .  Even  when  armed 
resistance  was  inevitable,  and  the  failure  to  appeal  to  arms  would  have 
been  the  confession  of  servitude,  the  leading  spirits  felt  and  acted  on 
the  conviction  that  when  the  crown  saw  that  the  struggle  was  not  with 
a  few  hot-headed  malcontents,  but  with  the  great  body  of  the  intelli- 
gent freemen  of  a  territorial  empire,  their  wrongs  would  l)e  righted  and 
their  manly  resistance  to  oppression  understood  and  approved.  It  was 
only  when  every  means  of  conciliation  had  failed  and  every  hope  of 
redress  had  been  disappointed  that  these  men  embarked  on  the  wild  sea 
of  revolution,  and  the  phrase  "sink  or  swim,  survive  or  perish," 
became  the  enforced  watchword  of  their  progress  to  independence. 

It  was  while  these  measures  were  still  matters  of  discussion,  and  all 


THE   POSITION   OF   THE   CLERGY.  4.') J 

mon's  minds  were  waiting  tiie  revelations  of  an  impenetrable  future,  and 
questioning  as  to  right  and  duty,  that  the  influence  ofthe  leading  clergy 
in  New  York  was  most  patiently  and  perseveringly  exercised  in  the 
interests  of  the  crown.  By  sermons,  in  newspaper  articles,  by  discus- 
sions at  the  "coff'ee-houses,"  —  these  noted  places  for  the  spreading  or 
manufacture  of  intelligence  and  the  moulding  of  popular  opinion,  —  these 
gifted,  keen,  intelligent  men  were  untiring  in  their  efforts  to  counteract 
the  wild  schemings  for  independence  manifested  by  the  people  of  Massa- 
chusetts, which  were  indorsed  only  by  the  bolder  spirits  of  the  Sons  of 
Liberty  of  New  York.  The  following  letter  will  clearly  indicate  the 
attitude  of  the  contending  parties  of  the  times  :  — 

It  is  true  that  the  Presbyterian  Junto,  or  self -constituted  Committee  of  the 
Sons  of  Liberty  for  the  city  of  Netv  York  (as  they  style  themselves),  whicli  had  stood 
ever  smce  the  time  of  the  Stamp  Act,  had  taken  upon  them  to  -ivrite  letters  to  Boston 
to  their  brethren  there,  assuring  them,  "  that  the  city  of  New  York  would  heartily 
join  them  against  the  cruel  and  arbitrary  proceedings  of  the  British  Parliament," 
etc.,  which  as  soon  as  the  gentlemen  of  proiierty  in  this  city  knew,  they  were  veiy 
justly  alarmed,  and  a  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  was  desired  at  the  Coifee  House, 
when,  in  spite  of  all  that  could  be  done  by  the  old  committee,  which  consisted  of 
eight  or  ten  flaming  patriots  without  property,  or  anything  else  but  impudence,  a 
new  committee  was  chosen,  consisting  of  fifty  members,  most  of  them  men  of  sense, 
coolness,  and  property ;  and  I  understand  that  nearly  the  same  thing  was  done  at 
Philadelphia. 

You  will  have  discovered  that  I  am  no  friend  to  Presbyterians,  that  I  fix  all 
the  blame  of  these  extraordinary  Arnerican  proceedings  upon  them.  You  would, 
perhaps,  think  it  proper  to  ask,  whether  no  Church  of  England  people  were  among 
themi'  Yes,  there  were,  to  their  eternal  shame  Ijg  it  spoken!  but  in  general  they 
were  interested  in  the  motion,  either  as  smugglers  of  tea,  or  as  being  overburdened 
with  drj'  goods  they  l<new  not  how  to  pay  for,  &  would  therefore  have  been  glad 
to  have  a  nou-importation  agreement,  or  a  resolution  to  pay  no  debts  to  England. 
But,  sir,  these  are  few  in  number.  Believe  me  the  Presbyterians  have  been  the  cliici' 
&  principal  instruments  in  all  these  flaming  measures,  &  tliej'  always  do  & 
ever  will  act  against  Government,  from  that  restless  &  turbulent  auti-nionarcliical 
spirit  which  has  always  distinguished  them  evcrJ^vhere,  whenever  they  had,  or  by 
any  means  could  assume  power,  however  illegally.  In  short,  I  am  nij'.self  well  con- 
vinced, that  if  Government  would  wish  to  preserve  and  encourage  loyalty  in  the 
Colonies,  they  must  countenance  the  Church  of  England  much  more  than  they  have 
done  hitherto.  It  is  .an  indubitable  fact  that  previous  to,  and  during  all  thdse  acts 
of  violence  committed  in  the  Colonies,  especially  to  the  eashvard,  the  Presbyterian 
pulpits  gi'oaned  with  the  most  wicked,  malicious  &  inflammatory  har.angues,  pro- 
nounced by  the  fitvorite  orators  amongst  tliat  sect,  spiriting  their  Godly  hearers  to 
the  most  violent  opposition  to  (iovernment;  persuading  them  that  the  intention  of 
(iovernmcnt  was  to  rule  them  with  arod  of  iron,  &  to  make  lliem  all  slaves;  and 
assuring  them  that  if  they  would  rise  as  one  man  to  oppose  those  arbitrary  schemes. 
God  would  assist  them  to  sweep  away  eveiy  ministerial  tool  (the  amiable  name  these 
wretches  are  pleased  to  bestow  on  the  professors  of  the  Church)  I'rom  the  face  of  the 
earth  ;  tliat  now  was  the  time  to  strike,  whilst  (iovernment  .at  liome  was  afriiid  of 
them  ;  together  with  a  long  stiing  of  such  seditious  stuft",  well  calculated  to  impose 
on  the  poor  devils  their  hearers,  .and  make  them  rim  into  every  degree  of  extrava- 
gance and  folly,  which  if  I  foresee  aright,  they  will  have  leisure  enough  to  besori-y 
for:  But  in  general,  the  Church  of  7? wr/?«W(Z  people  during  .all  this  time,  without 
any  public  oratory  to  spur  them,  did,  from  principle,  from  their  own  tnily  loval 
principles,  in  which  care  is  taken  to  educate  them,  every  thing  they  could  by  writing 
and  .argument,  &  their  influence,  to  stop  the  rapid  progress  of  sedition,  wliich  would 
have  gone  mueli  farther  lengrt^hs  if  it  liad  not  been  for  them.' 

As  the  season  advanced  the  feelings  of  the  people  deepened  in 

*  Extracts  of  a  letter  from  a  jrentlcraan  in  Xow  York,  toliis  correspondent  in  Loudon,  .May  31, 
1774.  —  Am.  .irchires,  Series  iv.,  Vol.  T.,  pp.  lilXI-301,  vole. 


452  niSTOIiY   OF   THE    AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

iiiten.sity.  Tho  following  communication  from  Dr.  Joseph  Warren, 
although  not  a  churchman,  to  the  "  Boston  Gazette,"  will  indicate 
a  change  in  popular  sentiment,  which  is  the  more  valual)lc  as  coming 
from  so  pure  and  trustworthy  a  source  :  — 

Boston,  September  24,  1774. 
To  the  Printers  of  the  Boston  Oazette, — 

As  I  have  been  informed  that   the    conduct  of  some  few  i)ersons   of  tlie 
Episcopal  (lenominntion,  in  maintaining    principles   inconsistent  with    the   viglits 


DR.    JOSEl'II    WARREN,    FROM    A    PAINTING    BY   COPLEY,    1774,    IN   THE 
POSSESSION    OF    DR.    DtTKMINSTER    BROWN,    BOSTON. 

and  libei'ties  of  mankind,  has  given  offence  to  some  zealous  friends  of  this 
country,  I  think  myself  obliged  to  publish  the  following  extract  of  a  letter,  dated 
September  9,  1774,  which  I  received  from  my  worthy  and  patriotic  friend,  Mr. 
Samuel  Adams,  a  Member  of  the  Congress  now  sitting  in  Philaiklpliia,  by  'whicli 
it  appears,  that  however  injudicious  .so'mc  individuals  may  have  been,  the  gentle- 
men of  the  established  church  of  England  arc  men  of  the  most  just  and  liberal 
sentiments,  and  are  high  in  the  esteem  of  the  most  sensible  and  resolute  defenders 


THE  POSITION  OF  THE   CLERGY.  453 

of  the  rights  of  the  people  of  this  Continent ;  and  I  earnestly  request  my  country- 
men to  avoid  everything  which  our  enemies  may  make  use  of  to  prejudice  our 
JCpiscopal  brethren  against  us,  by  representing  us  as  disposed  to  disturb  them  in 
the  free  exercise  of  their  religious  privileges ;  to  which  we  know  tliey  have  the 
most  undoubted  claim ;  and  which,  from  a  real  regard  to  the  honor  and  interest  of 
my  country,  and  the  rights  of  mankind,  I  hope  they  will  enjoy  as  long  as  the  name 
of  America  is  known  in  the  world.  J.  Warren. 

"  After  settling  the  mode  of  voting,  which  is  by  giving  each  t'olony  an  equal 
voice,  it  was  agreed  to  open  the  business  with  prayer.  As  many  of  our  wannest 
friends  are  members  of  the  Church  of  England,  I  thought  it  prudent,  as  well  on 
that  as  some  other  accounts,  to  move  that  the  service  should  be  performed  by  a 
clergyman  of  tliat  denomination.  Accordingly,  the  lessons  of  the  tlay  and  jsrayer 
were  read  by  the  Reverend  Doctor  Diiche,  wwio  afterwards  made  a  most  excellent 
extemporary  prayer,  by  which  he  discovered  himself  to  be  a  gentleman  of  sense 
and  piety,  and  a  warm  advocate  for  the  religious  and  civil  rights  of  America.''^ ' 

This  memorable  scene  has  been  made  the  subject  of  artistic  treat- 
ment, and  is  familiar  to  every  one.  It  is  noted,  with  reference  to  this 
solemn  inauguration  of  the  cause  of  the  colonies  by  the  use  of  the 
church's  prayers,  that  Mr.  Duch6  appeared  in  full  canonicals,  attended  by 
one  of  his  clerks.  He  used  the  prescribed  forms  for  the  day,  September 
7,  1774;  including  in  the  Psalter  Psalm  xxxv.  Its  suitableness  to 
the  occasion  produced  a  deep  impression.  The  invitation  to  Duch6  had 
proceeded  from  Samuel  Adams,  the  bitter  opponent  of  tlie  Church, 
and  especially  inimical  to  the  introduction  of  bishops  into  America.  In 
making  the  motion  he  observed  that  "  he  could  hear  a  prayer  from  a 
gentleman  of  piety  and  virtue."  ^  Washington  alone,  of  the  assembly, 
we  are  told,  knelt  during  the  prayers. 

In  Philadelphia  the  clergy  had  from  the  first  arrayed  themselves 
on  the  patriotic  side.  On  the  23d  of  June,  1775,  Dr.  Smith  preached 
a  sermon  in  Christ  Church,  "  on  the  present  situation  of  American 
affairs."  It  was  delivered  before  a  battalion  of  the  volunteer  militia 
of  Philadelphia,  and  in  the  presence  of  the  members  of  Congress  and 
"a  vast  concourse  of  people."'  The  impression  produced  by  this  re- 
markable discourse  was  unexampled.  Edition  after  edition  was  called 
for  in  Philadelphia,  in  Delaware,  and  elsewhere.  The  Chaml^crlain 
of  London  ordered  ten  thousand  coi)ies  to  be  printed  at  his  expense, 
and  distributed  freely  or  sold  at  a  nominal  price.  Other  editions 
appeared  in  various  cities.  It  was  translated  in  several  foreign  lan- 
guages. In  the  preface  the  author  states  his  position,  and  that  of  his 
l)rethren :  — 

Animated  with  the  purest  zeal  for  the  mutual  interests  of  Great  Britain  and 
the  Colonies,  evidently  panting  for  the  return  of  those  Halcyon  days  of  harmony, 
during  which  both  comitries  tiourislied  together  as  the  glory  and  wonder  of  the 
world ;  he  thought  it  his  duty,  with  the  utmost  impartiality,  to  attempt  a  statement  of 
the  unhappy  contrcjversy  which  rent  the  empire  in  pieces ;  and  to  show  if  jierad- 
venture  he  might  be  permitted  to  vouch  for  his  fellow-eitizons,  so  far  as  he  had  been 
conversant  among  them,  that  the  idea  of  an  independence  upon  the  Parent  eounti-y, 
or  the  least  licentious  opposition  to  its  just  interests,  were  utterly  foreign  to  their 
thoughts ;  that  tliey  contended  only  for  the  sanctity  of  charters  and  laws,  together 
with  the  right  of  granting  their  own  money ;  and  that  our  riglitful  Sovereign  had 
nowhere  more  lo3al  subjects,  or  more  zealously  attached  to  those  principles  of 
government,  under  whicli  his  family  inherits  the  throne. 

'  Am.  Ai-ch.,  Series  rv.,  i.,  p.  802.  '  Life  ami  t'oiiespoudeuce  of  tlie  Rev.  Will 

'  Life  and  WorksofJobn  Adams,  II. ,11. 36S.         iam  Smith,  D.D.,  i.,  p.  507. 


454  UISTOKY   OK   TUE   AMERICAN    EPISCOPAL   CUURCU. 

But  the  views  of  the  Philadelphia  clergy  are  better  expressed  iu 
their  own  language  :  — 

Philadelphia ,  June  30th,  1775. 
My  Lord,  --  We  now  sit  down  luider  deep  affliction  of  mind  to  addi-ess  your 
Lordship  upon  a  subject,  in  whicii  the  very  existence  of  our  Church  in  America 
seems  to  be  interested.  It  has  lon^  been  our  fervent  ijraver  to  Almighty  God  that 
tlie  unhappy  conti-overs}'  between  the  Parent  Countiy  and  these  Colonies  might  be 
terminated  upon  Principles  honourable  and  advantageous  to  both  wthout  proceed- 
ing to  the  extremities  of  civil  war  and  the  horrors  of  bloodshed.  We  have  long 
lamented  that  such  a  spirit  of  Wisdom  and  Love  could  not  mutually  prevail,  as 
mjo'ht  devise  some  liberal  plan  for  this  benevolent  pmiiose ;  and  we  have  spared  no 
pains  in  our  power  for  advancing  such  a  spirit  so  far  as  our  private  influence  ;ind 
atlvice  could  extend.     But  as  to  public  advice  we  have  hitheito  thought  it  our  duty 


that  wo  were  opposed  to  the  Interest  of  the  Country  in  which  we  live.  But  the 
time  is  now  come,  my  Lord,  when  even  our  silence  would  be  misconstrued  and  when 
we  are  called  upon  to  take  a  more  public  part.  The  Continental  Congress  have 
recommended  the  20th  of  next  month  as  a  day  of  Fasting,  Humiliation  and  Prayer 
thro'  all  the  Colonies  Our  Congregations,  too,  of  all  Ranks  have  associated  them- 
selves, determined  never  to  submit  to  the  Parliamentary  claim  of  taxing  them  at 
pleasure  and  the  Blood  already  spilt  in  maintaining  this  claim  is  unhappily  alien- 
ating the  afl'ections  of  many  from  the  Parent  Country  and  cementing  them  closer  iu 
the  niost  fixed  purpose  of  a  Resistance  dreadful  even  in  Contemplation.  Under 
those  circumstances  our  people  call  upon  us  antl  think  they  have  a  right  to  our 
advice  in  the  most  public  manner  from  tlie  Pulpit.  Should  we  refuse,  our  Princi- 
ples would  be  misrepresented  and  even  our  religious  usefulness  destroyed  among 
our  People.  And  our  complying  may  perhaps  be  interpreted  to  our  disadvantage 
in  the  Parent  Countiy.  Under  these  diliiculties  (which  have  been  increased  by  the 
necessity  some  of  our  Brethren  have  apprehended  themselves  imder  of  quitting 
their  charges)  and  being  at  a  great  distance  from  the  advice  of  our  superiors,  we 
had  only  our  own  consciences  and  each  other  to  consult,  and  have  accordingly 
determined  out  that  part  which  the  general  good  seems  to  require.  AV^e  were  the 
more  willing  to  comply  with  the  request  of  om-  Fellow  Citizens  as  we  were  sure 
their  Respect  for  us  was  so  great,  that  they  did  not  even  wish  any  thing  from  us 
inconsistent  with  our  characters  as  Ministers  of  the  Gospel  of  Peace.  Military 
Associations  are  no  new  things  in  this  Provence  where  we  never  have  any  Militia 
Law.  They  subsisted  during  the  different  Alarms  in  the  last  war,  and  they  now 
subsist  under  the  special  countenance  of  our  own  Assemblies  professing  the  most 
steady  Loyalty  to  His  Majesty,  together  with  an  earnest  desire  of  re-establishing 
our  former  haiTnony  with  tlie  Mother  Country,  and  submitting  in  all  things  agree- 
able to  the  ancient  modes  of  Government  among  us.  Viewing  matters  in  this  light, 
and  considering  that  not  only  that  they  were  members  of  our  own  congregations 
who  called  upon  us,  but  that  sermons  have  heretofore  been  preached  to  such  bodies 
we  thought  it  advisible  to  take  our  turn  with  the  Ministers  of  other  Denominations : 
and  a  Sermon  was  accordingly  preached  by  Dr.  Smith  the  17th  instant,  in  which 
he  thought  it  necessary  to  obviate  any  misrepresentations  that  might  be  made  of  the 
I'rinciples  of  our  Church.  Mr.  Duch6  is  likewise  to  preach  on  the  7th  July,  upon 
a  similar  Invitation  and  all  our  Clergy  throughout  the  Colonies,  we  believe,  will 
preach  on  the  day  recommended  by  the  Continental  Congress  for  a  Fast  And  God 
knows  that  exclusive  of  such  a  Recommendation,  there  never  was  a  Time  when 
I'rayer  and  Humiliation  were  more  incumbent  upon  us.  Tho'  it  has  of  late  been 
difficult  for  us  to  advise,  or  even  correspond  as  usual  with  our  Brethren  the  Clergy 
of  New  York,  we  find  that  they  have  likewise  in  their  Turn  officiated  to  their  Pro- 
vincial Congi-ess  now  sitting  there  as  Mr.  Duch6  did  both  this  year  &  the  last  at 
the  opening  of  the  Continental  Congi-ess.  Upon  this  fair  and  candid  state  of  things, 
we  hope  your  Lordship  will  think  our  conduct  has  been  such  as  became  us  and  we 
pray  that  we  may  be  considered  as  among  llis  Majesty's  most  dutiful  &  Loyal  sub- 
jects in  this  &  evei-y  other  ti-ansaction  of  our  lives.  Would  to  God  that  we  could 
become  mediators  for  tlie  Settlement  of  the  umiatural  Controversy  that  now  dis- 
tracts a  once  happy  Emjiire.     All  that  we  can  do  is  to  pray  for  such  a  Settlement 


THE   POSITION   OF   THE   CLKRGY.  456 

ami  to  pmsuo  those  riinciples  of  Moderation  and  Reason  whic)i  yonr  liOrdsliip  h;i3 
always  recommended  to  us.  \Vc  have  neither  Interest  nor  Consequence  sullicient 
to  take  any  ^eat  Lead  in  the  Aftairs  of  this  great  Coimtiy.  The  people  will  i'eel 
and  judge  for  themselves  in  matters  alVecting  their  own  civil  happiness;  and  were 
we  capable  of  any  attempt  wliich  might  have  the  appearance  of  drawing  them  to 
what  thej-  think  would  bo  a  Slavish  Uesignation  of  their  Rights,  it  would  be 
destiiiotivn  to  ourselves  as  well  as  to  the  Church  of  which  wo  are  ministers  But 
it  is  but  justice  to  our  Superiors  and  your  Lordship  in  particular  to  declare  that 
such  conduct  has  never  been  required  of  us.  Indeed  eould  it  possibly  be  required 
we  are  not  backward  to  say  that  om-  Consciences  would  not  permit  lis  to  injure 
the  Rights  of  the  Country.  We  are  to  leave  our  families  in  it  and  cannot  but  con- 
sider its  Inhabitants  entitled  as  well  as  their  Brethren  in  England  to  the  Right  of 
granting  their  own  money,  and  that  every  attempt  to  deprive  them  of  this  Right 
will  either  bo  found  abortive  in  the  end  or  attended  with  evils  which  would  infi- 
nitely outweigh  all  the  Benefit  to  be  obtained  by  it.  Such  being  our  persuasion, 
we  must  again  declare  it  to  be  our  constant  Prayer,  in  which  we  are  sure  your 
Lordsliip  joins  that  the  hearts  of  good  &  benevolent  men  in  both  Countries  may  be 
directed  towards  a  Plan  of  Reconciliation  wortliy  of  being  offered  by  a  great 
Nation  that  have  long  been  the  Patrons  of  Freedom  throughout  the  world,  and  not 
imworthy  of  being  accepted  by  a  People  sprung  from  them,  and  by  birlh  claiming 
a  participation  of  their  Rights.  Our  late  worthy  Governor,  the  Hon'"'"  Rich.  Penn, 
esq.,  does  us  the  favor  to  be  the  beai'cr  hereof,  and  has  been  pleased  to  say  he  will 
deliver  it  to  your  Lordship  in  Person.  To  him  therefore  we  beg  leave  to  refer 
yonr  Lordship  for  the  truth  of  the  facts  above  set  forth.  At  the  ensuing  meeting 
of  our  Corporation  for  the  relief  of  Widows,  &e.,  which  will  be  in  the  first  week  in 
October  ne.xt  We  shall  have  an  opportimity  of  seeing  a  Niunber  of  oiu'  Brethren 
together  and  consulting  more  generally  vrith  them  upon  the  present  state  of  our 
affairs  and  shall  be  happy  on  all  occasions  in  the  continuance  of  your  Lordship's 
paternal  Advice  and  Protection. 

Signed : 

RICHARD  PETERS, 
W"  SMITH, 
JACOB  DUCHfi, 
THOMAS  COOMBE, 
WILLLAM  STRINGER, 
WILLIAM  WHITE. 

Wliile  these  matters  were  transpiring  at  the  southward  the  ex- 
citement in  New  York  had  become  intense.  Scarcely  were  the 
measures  of  the  Continental  Congress  made  public,  through  the  press, 
when  the  clerical  party  in  the  citj^  undertook  their  critical  examination, 
and  sought  in  print,  and  in  public  and  private  speech,  to  counteract 
their  influence  and  evident  tendencies  to  open  revolt.  Pamphlets  on 
the  one  side  or  the  other,  articles  in  the  weekly  gazettes,  and  broad- 
sides, with  flaming  head-lines  and  all  the  artifices  within  the  printer's 
power  to  compel  attention  and  secure  a  reading,  came  thick  and  fast. 
Two  pamphlets  on  the  proceedings  of  the  Continental  Congress, 
marked  with  unusual  ability,  and  couched  in  an  easy  and  fomilinr  style, 
were  issued  from  the  press;  and  distributed  freely  througliout  the  prov- 
ince, and  far  and  wide  besides.  No  name  of  author  or  printer  aj)- 
peared,  and  while  the  writer  was  evidently  well-informed,  and  had, 
besides,  the  gift  of  incisive  argument  and  resistless  logic  that  could 
not  well  be  gainsaid,  the  only  resource  of  the  exasperated  Sons  of  Lib- 
erty was  to  mete  out  to  the  hapless  pamphlets  the  punishment  of  being 
tarred,  feathered,  and  nailed  to  the  pillory,  they  would  gladly  have 
visited  upon  the  nameless  author.  That  these  ebullitions  of  popular 
fin-y  were  no  fitting  reply  to  the  caustic  criticisms  of  the  "Friendly 
Address  to  all  Reasonable  Americans,  on  the  Subject  of  our  Political 


456  HISTORY   OF    THE   AMERICAN   EPISCOPAI.   CHURCH. 

Confusion,"  and  the  "Free  Thoughts  on  the  Proceedings  of  the  Con- 
tinental Congress,"  by  "A.  W.  Farmer,"'  was  evident  to  the  more 
thoughtful  of  the  patriotic  party,  and  the  work  of  answering  these  ob- 
jectionable pamphlets  Avas  felt  to  be  a  necessity.  Within  a  fortnight^ 
from  the  appearance  of  the  "  Farmer's "  free  thoughts,  there  was 
issued  "  A  Full  Vindication  of  the  Measures  of  the  Congi-ess  from  the 
Calumnies  of  their  Enemies,  in  Answer  to  a  Letter  under  the  Signa- 
ture of  A.W.  Farmer,"  comprising  "A  General  Address  to  the  Inhab- 
itants of  America,  and  a  Particular  Address  to  the  Farmers  of  the 
Province  of  New  York,"  by  "A  Friend  of  America."  The  effect  of 
this  admirable  reply  was  magical.  The  tide  of  popular  feeling  was 
turned  at  once.  In  thought,  argument,  and  style  the  work  was  mas- 
terly. Almost  simultaneously  with  the  appearance  of  this  answer,  and, 
as  before,  without  printer's  or  writer's  name,  appeared  another  pam- 
phlet from  the  Westchester  fanner,  entitled:  "An  Examination  into 
the  Conduct  of  the  Delegates  at  their  Grand  Convention,  .... 
addressed  to  the  Merchants  of  New  York,"  in  the  appendix  of  which 
the  challenge  was  thrown  out  to  the  author  of  "  A  Full  Vindication  " 
to  answer  this  later  publication  within  ten  days,  that  both  of  his 
replies  might  receive  consideration  at  the  same  time.  Promptly  on 
the  day  assigned,  which  chanced  to  be  Christmas  Eve,  the  farmer's  let- 
ter, addressed  to  the  author  of  "A Full  Vindication,"  appeai'ed  from 
the  press  of  James  Rivington.  It  was  not  until  the  following  Febru- 
ary that  the  reply  came,  entitled :  "The  Fanner  Refuted  ;  or,  A  More 
Impartial  and  Comprehensive  View  of  the  Dispute  between  Great 
Britain  and  her  Colonies,  intended  as  a  Further  Vindication  of  the 
Congress."  It  was  issued  from  Rivington's  press,  and  the  learning, 
argument,  earnestness,  and  maturity  of  this  reply  commanded  respect, 
and  it  was  felt  to  be  irresistible.  These  able  defences  of  the  popular 
cause  were  from  the  pen  of  a  stripling  of  eighteen  years  of  age,  —  a 
student,  at  the  time,  of  King's  College,  and  a  youth  of  brilliant  prom- 
ise indeed,  but  quite  unknown  before  to  fame.  In  these  remarkable 
pamphlets  Alexander  Hamilton  won  his  spurs.  Dr.  jNIyles  Cooper,  no 
mean  judge,  ridiculed  the  idea  that  these  answers,  which  had  proved  so 
damaging  to  the  cause  the  president  had  espoused,  could  be  written 
by  one  so  young  ;  but  abundant  proof  is  furnished,  were  any  needed, 
in  view  of  the  writer's  after-career,  to  ascribe  the  authorship  to  the 
student  of  King's.  Other  pamphlets  followed,  some  marked  with  abil- 
ity, and  some  destitute  of  anything  but  scurrility  ;  but  "A  Westchester 
Farmer"  was  heard  no  more.  His  share  in  these  measures  was 
brought  to  a  summary  close. 

It  was  not  known  with  certainty,  though  strongly  suspected,  at 
the  time,  that  the  rector  of  Westchester,  the  Rev.  Samuel  Seaburj'. 
afterwards  an  Oxford  "  D.D."  and  the  first  bishop  of  Connecticut,  a  man 

'  Dated  Novembe    16, 1774.    The  motto  of  we  have  di-awn  many  of  our  facts,  in  the  "  Life 

the  "  Fnendly  Address  "  was :  "  Am  I  therefore  and  Epoch  of  Alexander  Hamilton :  A  1  listorical 

become  yonr  enemy,  because  I    tell  you    the  Study,"  by  the  Honorable  Geor;xe  Shea,  Chief 

truth?  —  St.  Paul;"  and  that  of  (he  second  Justice  ot  the  Marine  Court.    Second  edition, 

pamphlet  was:  "Hear  me,  for  I  will  speak."  Revised  and  condensed.    Boston;  1880,  chapters 

=  On  the  15th  of  December,  1774.     Vide  an  n.,  vii.,  pp.  24,'i-341. 
admirable  risumi  of  this  coutrovci-sy  from  which 


THE   POSITION   OF  THE   CLERGY.  457 

of  strong  convictions,  clear  logical  perceptions,  thorouglily  furnished 
for  liis  work  by  stud}',  Icai-ning,  and  a  stern  sense  of  duty^  tireless  in  his 
advocacy  of  the  cause  of  church  or  crown,  was  the  author  of  these  able 
pamphlets,  which,  but  for  the  I)rilliant  essays  of  the  youthful  Hamilton, 
might  have  contirmed  the  people  of  New  York  in  their  hesitancy  and 
indecision  with  reference  to  the  resistance  unto  l)lood  of  the  measures 
of  the  British  Parliament.  It  is  evident  that  tlic  inspiration  of  Sea- 
bury  in  his  political  writings  Avas  the  fear  of  the  Puritan  supremacy 
and  the  consequent  subjugation  or  extinction  of  the  Church.  lie  had 
entered  into  the  field  of  polemics  almost  immediately  upon  his  settle- 
ment in  the  province.  Acquainted  as  he  was  with  the  objects  and  aims 
of  the  Puritan  and  Presliyterian  parties ;  fearing  that  the  principles 
and  purposes  of  ]\Iayhew  and  Chauncy,  Ilobart  and  Welles,  in  New 
England,  and  Livingston  and  his  party  in  New  York  and  New  Jersey, 
and  Allison  and  others  in  Pennsjdvania,  planned  the  destruction  of  the 
Church  as  well  as  resistance  to  the  will  of  the  crown,  he  was  not  the 
one  to  sit  tamely  by  when  "  periodical  papers  and  essays  began  to 
be  published  in  New  York,  tending  to  corrupt  the  principlesof  the 
people  with  regard  to  government,  and  to  weaken  their  attachment  to 
the  Constitution  of  this  Country  both  in  Church  and  State."  ^  "  In  con- 
junction with  a  number  of  his  brethren  and  friends,"  he  wrote  "-several 
essays  and  papers  in  answer  tothe  Walchtoicer,"  Livingston'spublication, 
"  with  a  view  to  prevent  the  ill  etfects  it  might  have  on  the  minds  of  the 
people."  "Some  years  after,  when  it  was  evident,  from  continued  pub- 
lications in  newspapers,  and  from  the  uniting  of  all  the  jarring  inter- 
ests of  the  Independents  and  Presbyterians  from  jNIassachusetts  to 
Georgia,  under  grand  committees  and  synods,  that  some  mischievous 
scheme  was  meditated  against  the  Church  of  England  and  the  British 
Government  in  America,"  he  entered  into  an  agreement  with  the 
Eev.  Dr.  T.  B.  Chandler,  then  of  Elizabethtown,  N.  J.,  and  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Inglis,  the  rector  of  Trinity  Church,  in  the  city  of  New  York, 
"to  watch  all  publications,  either  in  newspapers  or  pamphlets,  and 
so  to  obviate  the  evil  influence  of  such  as  appear  to  have  a  bad 
tendency  by  the  speediest  answers."  Assiduously  did  this  able  and 
earnest  man  perform  his  part  of  this  compact.  At  length,  "perceiving 
matters  were  taking  a  most  serious  and  alarming  turn,"  he  "  thought  it 
his  duty  to  exert  his  utmost  abilities  and  influence  in  support  of  the 
government."  Under  his  guidance,  aided  by  his  friend,  Isaac  Wilkins, 
"  near  four  hundred  friends  of  government  assembled  at  the  White 
Plains,  who  openly  opposed  and  protested  against  any  congress,  con- 
vention, or  committee,  and  who  were  determined,  if  possible,  to  sup- 
port the  legal  government  of  their  country."  So  bold  and  determined 
was  this  reactionary  movement,  and  so  dangerous  was  this  one  man's 
influence,  that  "there  was  no  way  of  getting  rid  of  such  an  opposition 
but  for  the  disafl'ected  in  New  York  to  send  for  an  armed  force  from 
Connecticut  into  the  county  of  Westchester,  which  they  did,  and  under 
its  power  carried  all  their  points."^ 

Acquainted  as  the  well-known  rector  of  Westchester  was  with  the 

•  Seaburj-  MSS.,  quoted  in  Shea's  "  Hamilton,"  p.  294.  '  Ibid.,  p.  29G. 


458  HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

leading  men  of  the  time,  we  may  well  believe  that  it  was  the  influence 
of  his  personal  interviews  "with  at  least  one-third"  of  its  members  and 
his  anonj'mous  "  Alarm  to  the  Legislature  of  New  Yoi'k"  that  made  the 
ColoniMl  Assembly  of  January-April,  1775,  decline  to  couiirm  the 
action,  and  refuse  to  recognize  the  authority,  of  the  Congress,  and  to 
memorialize,  even  at  this  late  day,  the  King  and  Parliament. 

Suspicions  were  now  rife  that  the  AVestchester  parson  was  the 
inspiration  of  tliis  retrograde  movement  as  well  as  the  author  of  the 
hated  pamphlets  bearing  the  nom  de  plume  of  "A  Westchester 
Farmer."  Soon  after  the  adjournment  of  this  obsequious  assembly 
the  attempt  was  made  l)y  a  body  of  troops  stationed  at  Ilye  to  arrest 
"Wilkins  and  Seabury.  For  the  time  tiiey  escaped  ;  "Wiikins  retiring 
to  England  and  Seabury  remaining  to  advise  and  assist  in  the  meas- 
ures of  the  royalists,  with  whom  he  was  in  constant  communication, 
and  by  whom  he  was  I'ecognized  as  a  leader  and  guide.  At  length, 
on  the  22d  of  November,  1775,  a  party  of  Connecticut  militia  entered 
New  York,  and  took  away  with  them  the  types  and  printing  material  of 
Rivington,  the  loyalist  printer.  This  high-handed  act,  and  the  seizure 
of  Seabury  a  few  days  before  hy  the  same  lawless  party,  was  the 
final  answer  of  the  Sons  of  Liberty  to  the  arguments  and  influence  of 
the  "  tory  parson."  It  is  to  the  credit  of  Hamilton  that  lie  openly  re- 
pudiated and  resented  this  style  of  popular  argument. 

AVe  cannot  better  tell  the  story  of  the  daj's  that  followed  than  in 
the  words  of  the  actors  in  those  scenes,  and,  if  the  tale  that  they  recite 
is  long  and  wearisome  in  its  details,  it  may  be  borne  in  mind  that  these 
words  are  those  of  men  of  mark,  who,  though  on  the  wrong  side, 
must  be  credited  with  a  conscientious  devotion  to  their  mistaken  idea 
of  duty  and  a  readiness  to  sufler  in  the  cause  of  church  and  crown, 
even  to  the  death  if  need  required.  They  did  what  they  believed  to 
be  their  duty  to  the  king  and  state,  and,  though  worsted  and  ruined  in 
the  struggle,  these  words  come  to  us  as  the  utterances  of  brave,  true 
men,  no  less  worthy  of  our  respect  and  remembrance  than  their 
brethren  who  dared  as  much,  but  judged  more  wisely  of  the  end. 

We  give  below  the  letter  of  the  liev.  Dr.  Inglis,  afterwards  first 
bishop  of  Nova  Scotia,  addressed  to  the  secretary  of  the  venerable 
society.     It  will  well  repay  perusal :  — 

New  York,  Oct.  31,  1776. 
Reverend  Sir,  — The  confusions  which  have  prevailed  in  North  America  for 
some  time  past  must  have  necessarily  interrupted  the  correspondence  of  the  Mission- 
aries with  the  Society,  and  that  to  such  a  degree  as  to  leave  the  Society  in  the 
dark  with  respect  to  the  situation,  both  of  the  Missionaries  and  the  Missions,  at 
present.  I  flatter  myself,  therelbre,  that  a  short  authentic  account  of  them,  and  of 
the  Church  of  England  in  general,  in  this  and  the  adjacent  colonies,  may  be  ac- 
ceptable to  the  society  at  this  most  critical  period.  The  success  of  his  Majesty's 
arms  in  reducing  this  city,  and  driving  out  the  rebels,  the  loth  of  last  month, 
aifords  me  an  opptntunity  of  doing  this,  as  packets  are  now  again  established 
between  this  jjort  and  England.  I  have  the  pleasure  to  assure  yon  that  all  the 
Society's  Missionaries,  without  excepting  one,  in  New  Jersey,  New  York,  Connect- 
icut, and,  so  far  as  I  can  learn,  in  the  other  New  England  colonies,  have  proved 
themselves  faithful ,  loyal  subjects  in  these  trying  times  ;  and  have  to  the  utmost  of 
their  power  opposed  the  spirit  of  disaffection  and  rebellion  which  has  involved  this 
continent  in  the  greatest  calamities.   I  must  add  that  all  the  other  clergy  of  our  church 


THE  POSITION   OF  THE   CLERGY.  459 

in  the  above  colonies,  thougli  not  in  the  society's  service,  have  obsei-ved  tlie  same 
lino  of  conduct;  and  altliouj^li  their  joint  endeavours  could  not  wlwlly  prevent  the 
rebellion,  yet  they  checked  it  considerably  ibr  some  time,  and  prevented  many 
thousands  from  plunging  into  it  who  otherwise  certainly  would  have  done  so. 

You  have,  doubtless,  been  long  since  informed  by  my  wortliy  friends,  Dr 
Chandler  and  Dr  Cooper,  to  what  a  height  our  violences  were  risen  so  early  as  IMay 
1775,  when  tliey  both  were  obliged  to  lly  from  hence,  and  seelc  protection  in  Eng- 
land. The  violences  have  been  gradually  incre.asing  ever  since,  and  this,  with  the 
delay  of  sending  over  succours,  and  the  king's  troops  totally  idjandoning  this  prov- 
ince, reducing  the  friends  of  the  government  here  to  a  most  disagreeable  and 
dangerous  situation,  particularly  the  clorg}-,  who  were  viewed  with  peculiar  envy 
and  malignity  by  the  disaffected,  for,  although  civil  liberty  was  the  ostensible  object, 
the  bait  that  was  Hung  out  to  catch  tlie  populace  at  large  and  engage  them  in  the 
rebellion,  yet  it  is  now  past  all  doubt  that  an  abolition  of  the  Church  of  England 
was  one  of  the  principal  springs  of  the  dissenting  loaders'  conduct:  and  lience  the 
unanimity  of  dissenters  in  this  business.  Their  universal  defection  from  govern- 
ment, emancipating  themselves  from  the  jurisdiction  of  Great  Britain,  aud  becom- 
ing independent,  was  a  necessary  stej)  toward  this  grand  object.  1  have  it  from 
good  authority  that  the  Presbyterian  ministers,  at  a  synod  where  most  of  them  in 
the  midiUe  colonies  were  collected,  passed  a  resolve  to  support  the  continental 
congress  in  all  their  measures.  This  and  this  only  can  account  for  the  unitbrmity 
of  their  conduct,  for  I  do  not  know  one  of  them,  nor  have  I  been  able,  after  strict 
inquiry,  to  hear  of  any,  who  did  not,  by  preacliing  and  every  eflbrt  in  their  power, 
promote  all  the  measures  of  the  congress,  however  extravagant. 

The  Clergy,  amidst  this  scene  of  tumult  and  disorder,  went  on  .steadily  %v'ith 
their  duty,  in  their  sermons  conflning  themselves  to  the  doctrines  of  the  Gospel 
without  toucliing  on  politics,  using  their  influence  to  allay  our  heats  and  cherish  a 
spirit  of  loyalty  among  the  jieoplo.  This  conduct,  however  harmless,  gave  great 
oflence  to  our  ilaming  patriots,  who  laid  it  down  as  a  maxim,  Tliat  those  who  were 
not  for  thera  were  against  them.  The  Clergy  were  everj^vhero  threatened,  often 
reviled  with  the  most  opprobrious  language,  sometimes  treated  with  brntal  violence. 
Some  have  been  carried  by  anucd  mobs  into  distant  provinces,  where  they  were 
detained  in  close  confinement  for  several  weeks,  and  much  insulted,  without  any 
crime  being  even  alleged  against  them.  Some  have  been  flung  into  jail  by  com- 
mittees for  frivolous  suspicions  of  plots,  of  which  even  their  persecutors  afterwards 
acquitted  them.  Some  who  were  obliged  to  fly  their  own  province  to  save  their 
lives  have  been  taken  prisoners,  sent  back,  and  are  threatened  to  be  tried  for  their 
lives  because  tliey  fled  from  danger.  Some  have  been  pulled  out  of  the  reading 
desk  because  they  prayed  for  the  king,  and  that  before  indopendeucy  was  declared. 
Others  have  been  warned  to  appear  at  militia  musters  with  their  arms,  have  been 
fined  for  not  appearing,  and  threatened  with  imprisomnent  for  not  paying  those 
fines.  Others  have  had  their  houses  pUmdered,  and  their  desks  broken  open  under 
pretence  of  their  containing  treasonable  papers. 

I  could  fill  a  volume  with  such  instances ;  and  you  may  rely  on  the  facts  which 
I  have  mentioned  as  indubitable,  for  I  can  name  the  persons,  and  have  these  par- 
ticulars attested  in  the  simjjlest  manner.  The  persons  concerned  are  all  my 
acquaintances,  and  not  very  distant ;  nor  did  they  draw  tliis  treatment  on  themselves 
by  any  imprudence,  but  for  adhering  to  their  duty,  which  gave  oflence  to  some 
demagogues,  wlio  raised  mobs  to  persecute  them  on  that  account.  Whatever  re- 
luctance or  pain  a  benevolent  heart  may  feel  in  recounting  such  things,  which  are, 
indeed,  a  disgrace  to  humanity  and  religion,  yet  they  ought  to  be  held  up  to  view, 
tlio  more  efl'ectually  to  expose  the  baneful  nature  of  persecution,  make  it  detestable, 
and  put  mankind  on  their  guard  against  its  first  approaches.  Were  every  instance 
of  this  kind  faitlifully  collected,  it  is  probable  that  the  sufl'erings  of  the  American 
clergy  would  appear,  in  many  respects,  not  inferior  to  those  of  the  English  clergy 
in  the  great  rebellion  of  the  last  century ;  and  snch  a  work  would  be  no  bad  supple- 
ment to  "Walker's  Sufl'erings  of  the  Clergy."  The  present  rebellion  is  certainly 
one  of  the  most  causeless,  unprovoked,  and  unnatural  that  ever  disgraced  any 
countiy;  a  rebellion  marked  with  peculiarly  aggravated  circumstances  of  guilt  and 
ingi'atitude,  yet  amidst  this  general  defection,  there  are  very  many  who  have  ex- 
hibited instances  of  fortitude  and  adherence  to  their  duty  which  do  honour  to 
human  nature  and  Christianity ;  many  who,  for  the  sake  of  a  good  conscience,  have 
incurred  insults,  persecutions,  and  loss  of  property,  when  a  compliance  with  the 
spirit  of  the  times  had  insured  them  applause,  profit,  and  that  eminence  of  which 


460  mSTORY   OF  THE   AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

the  human  heart  is  naturally  so  fond.  Perhaps  such  cases  are  the  most  trying  to  a 
man's  fortitude,  much  more  so,  in  my  opinion,  than  those  which  are  sudden,  and 
where  danger,  thougii  more  apparent,  yet  is  not  more  certain  or  real.  The  one  is 
like  a  weight  incessantly  pressing  on  us,  which  wastes  and  consumes  our  strength ; 
the  other,  like  a  transient  impulse,  which,  by  a  sudden  exertion  of  strength,  may 
be  resisted.  It  is  but  justice  to  say  that  those  instances  were  exhibited  by  members 
of  our  chittch  :  there  is  not  one  of  the  clergy  in  the  provinces  I  have  specified,  of 
whom  this  may  not  be  affirmed ;  and  very  lew  of  the  laity  who  were  respectable 
or  men  of  property  have  joined  in  the  rebellion. 

Thus  matters  continued ;  the  clergy  proceeding  regularly  in  the  discharge  of 
their  duty  when  the  hand  of  violence  did  not  interfere,  uutil  the  beginning  of  last 
Jidy,  when  the  congress  thought  proper  to  make  an  explicit  declaration  of  in- 
dependency, by  which  all  connection  with  Great  Britain  was  to  be  broken  off,  and 
the  Americans  released  from  any  allegiance  to  our  gracious  sovereign.  For  my 
p.art  I  had  long  expected  this  event :  it  was  what  the  measures  of  the  congress 
from  the  beginning  uniformly  and  necessarily  led  to.  This  declaration  increased 
the  embarrassments  of  the  clergy.  To  officiate  publicly,  and  not  pray  for  the  king 
and  royal  family  according  to  the  liturgy,  was  against  their  duty  and  oath,  as  well 
as  the  dictates  of  their  conscience ;  and  yet  to  use  the  prayers  for  the  king  and  royal 
family  would  have  drawn  inevitable  destruction  on  them.  The  only  course  which 
they  could  pursue,  to  avoid  both  evils,  was  to  suspend  the  public  exercise  of  their 
function,  and  shut  up  their  churches. 

This  accordingly  was  done.  It  is  very  remarkable  that,  although  the  clergy 
of  those  provinces  1  have  mentioned  did  not,  and  indeed  could  not  consult  each 
other  on  this  interesting  occasion,  yet  they  all  fell  into  the  same  method  of  shutting 
up  their  churches.  The  venerable  Mr.  Beach,  of  Comiecticut,  only  is  to  be  excepted, 
if  my  information  be  right,  who  officiated  as  usual  after  independency  was  de- 
clared, and,  upon  being  warned  of  his  danger,  declared,  vnth  the  lirmness  and  spirit 
of  a  primitive  confessor :  ' '  That  he  would  do  his  duty,  preach,  and  praj'  for  the  king 
till  the  rebels  cut  out  his  tongue."  All  the  chm-ches  in  Coimecticut  (Mr.  Beach's 
e.xcepted,  if  tlie  above  account  be  true,  and  I  had  it  from  pretty  good  authority) ,  as 
well  as  those  in  this  province,  except  in  this  city.  Long  Island,  and  Staten  Island, 
where  Ills  JIajesty's  arms  have  penetrated,  are  now  shut  up.  This  is  also  the  case 
with  every  church  in  New  Jersey ;  and  I  am  inlbrmed  by  a  gentleman  lately  re- 
turned frinn  Pennsylvania,  who  had  beeu  a  prisoner  there  for  some  time,  that  the 
churches  in  the  several  iMissions  ot  that  province  are  shut  up,  one  or  t^vo  excepted, 
where  the  prayers  for  the  king  and  royal  family  are  omitted.  The  chiu'ches  in  Phil- 
adelphia are  open.  How  matters  are  circumstanced  in  the  more  southerly  colonies, 
I  cannot  learn  witli  any  certainty ;  only  that  the  provincial  convention  of  Virginia 
have  taken  upon  themselves  to  publish  an  edict,  by  which  some  collects  for  tlie  king 
are  to  be  wholly  omitted  in  the  liturgy,  and  others  altered,  the  word  "  conmion- 
wealth  "  being  sulistituted  for  the  king.  For  my  part,  I  never  expected  much  good 
of  those  clergy  among  them  who  opposed  an  American  episcojxite.  If  such  should 
now  renounce  their  allegiance,  and  abandon  their  duty,  it  is  no  more  than  might 
naturally  be  looked  for.  There  are,  however,  several  worthy  clergymen  in  those 
provinces,  some  of  whom  have  taken  sanctuary  in  England,  particularly  from  Mary- 
land. This  pro^^nee,  although  the  most  loj-al  and  peaceable  of  any  on  the  conti- 
nent, by  a  strange  fatality  is  become  the  scene  of  war,  and  suflers  most.  This  city, 
especially,  has  a  double  jjoition  of  calamities,  brought  on  by  the  present  rebellion  ; 
and  perhaps  a  brief  detail  of  our  situation  for  some  months  past,  may  gratify  emi- 
osity,  and  convey  to  the  Society  the  clearest  idea  of  the  state  of  things  here.  Upon 
General  Howe's  dopartm'e  from  Boston  to  Halifax,  early  in  the  last  Spring,  the  rebel 
array  was  drawn  to  this  city,  which  they  fortified  in  the  best  manner  they  could,  ex- 
pecting it  would  be  attacked.  Most  of  the  inhabitants,  warned  l)y  these  symptoms 
of  the  gathering  storm,  moved  into  the  country,  and  carried  their  valuable  effects 
with  them.  Among  others,  I  moved  my  family,  consisting  of  a  wife  and  three  small 
children,  seventy  uules  up  the  Hudson  River  where  they  still  remain,  that  part  of 
the  country  being  yet  possessed  by  tlie  rebels.  Dr.  Auchmuty  the  rectur,  being 
much  indisposed  during  the  Spring  and  Summer,  retired  with  his  family  to  Bruns- 
wick, in  New  Jersey ;  and  the  care  of  the  churches  in  his  absence  of  eom'se  devolved 
on  me  as  the  oldest  assistant  —  a  situation  truly  difficult  and  trying  in  such  times, 
especially  as  the  other  assistants  were  young  and  inexperienced,  though  very  loyal 
and  otherwise  worthy  young  men.  About  the  middle  of  April,  Mr.  Washington, 
commander-in-cliief  of  the  rebel  forces,  came  to  town  with  a  large  reinforcement. 


THE  POSITION   OF  THE   CLERGY.  461 

Animated  by  his  presence,  and  I  suppose  encouraged  by  him,  the  rebel  committees 
vciy  much  liarasscd  tlie  loyal  inhabitants  here  and  on  Long  Island.  Thoy  were 
summoned  before  those  committees,  and  upon  refusing  to  give  up  their  arms  and 
take  the  oaths  that  were  tendered,  they  were  imprisoned  or  sent  into  banishment. 
An  army  was  sent  to  Long  Island  to  disarm  tlie  inhabitants  who  were  distinguished 
for  their  loyalty.  JIany  had  their  property  destroyed,  and  more  were  carried  off 
prisoners.  It  sliould  be  observed  tliat  members  of  the  (Jhurch  of  England  wei'o  the 
only  sutterers  on  this  occasion.  Tlie  members  of  tlie  Dutch  church  are  very  numer- 
ous there,  and  many  of  them  joined  in  opposing  the  rebellion,  yet  no  notice  was 
fciken  of  them,  nor  the  least  injury  done  to  them.  About  this  time  Mr.  Bloomer 
administered  the  sacrament  at  Newton,  wiiere  lie  had  but  four  or  live  male  com- 
municants, the  rest  having  been  driven  off  or  carried  away  prisoners.  At  this 
present  time  there  are  many  hundreds  from  tliis  city  and  province  prisoners  in  New 
England ;  among  these  the  mayor  of  New  York,  several  judges  and  members  of  his 
Majesty's  council,  witli  other  respectable  inhabitants. 

Soon  after  Washington's  arrival  he  attended  our  church  ;  but  on  Sunday 
morning,  before  divine  sei-vice,  one  of  the  rebel  generals  called  at  the  rector's 
house  (supposing  the  Latter  was  in  town),  and  not  tinding  him,  left  word  that  he 
came  to  inform  the  rector  that  General  Washington  would  be  at  churcli  and  would 
be  glad  if  the  violent  prayers  for  the  king  and  roj-al  family  were  omitted,  'i'his 
message  was  brought  to  me,  and,  as  you  may  suppose,  I  paid  no  regard  to  it. 

On  seeing  that  General  not  long  after,  I  remonstrated  against  the  unreason- 
ableness of  his  request,  which  he  must  know  the  clergy  could  not  comply  with, 
and  told  him  further,  that  it  was  in  liis  power  to  shut  up  our  churches,  but  by  no 
means  in  his  power  to  make  the  clergy  depart  li-om  their  duty.  This  declaration 
drew  from  liim  an  awkward  apology  for  his  conduct,  which,  I  believe,  was  not 
authorized  by  Washington.  Sucli  incidents  would  not  be  worth  mentioning,  un- 
less to  give  those  who  are  at  a  distance  a  better  idea  of  the  spirit  of  the  times. 
Jlay  ITtli  was  appointed  by  the  congress  as  a  day  of  jjublic  fasting,  ])rayer  and 
humiliation  throughout  the  continent.  At  the  unanimous  request  of  the  members 
of  our  churcli  wiio  were  then  in  town,  I  consented  to  jjreach  that  day,  and,  indeed, 
om-  situation  made  it  highly  ]irudcnt,  though  a  submission  to  an  authority  that  was 
so  far  usurped  was  exceedingly  grating  and  disagreeable.  In  giving  notice  the 
preceding  Sunday,  I  only  mentioned  that  there  would  be  a  sermon  the  ensuing 
Friday,  which  was  tlie  17th,  without  saying  anything  of  the  reason  or  by  what 
authority.  It  was  exceedingly  difficult  for  a  loyal  clergyman  to  jDreach  on  such  an 
occasion,  and  not  incur  danger  on  the  one  hand,  or  not  depart  from  his  duty  on  the 
other.  I  endeavoured  to  avoid  both,  making  peace  and  repentance  my  subject,  and 
explicitly  disclaiming  having  anything  to  do  with  politics.  This  sermon,  in  the 
composition  of  which  I  took  much  pains,  I  intend  to  publish,  for  varinus  reasons, 
should  I  be  able  to  recover  it  from  tlie  place  where  it  is  now,  with  all  my  books 
and  papers,  in  the  country.  The  several  churches  in  this  province  (except  two 
where  the  clergymen  thought  they  might  without  danger  omit  service),  and  so  far 
as  I  can  learn,  through  all  the  thirteen  united  colonies,  as  they  are  called,  were 
opened  on  this  occasion. 

IMatters  now  became  critical  here  in  the  higliest  degree.  The  rebel  army 
amounted  to  ne.arly  30,000.  All  tlieir  cannon  and  military  stores  were  drawn 
hither,  and  they  boasted  that  the  place  was  impregnable.  The  mortifications  and 
alarms  wliicli  the  clergy  met  with  were  innumerable.  I  lia\e  frequently  lieard 
myself  called  a  Tory,  a  traitor  to  my  country,  as  I  passed  the  streets,  and  epithets 
joined  to  each,  which  decency  forbids  me  to  set  down.  Violent  threats  were 
thrown  out  against  us,  in  case  the  king  were  any  longer  prayed  for.  One  Sunday, 
when  I  was  officiating,  and  had  proceeded  some  length  in  the  service,  a  com])any 
of  about  one  hundred  armed  rebels  niai-ched  into  the  Churcli  with  drums  beating 
and  fifes  playing,  their  guns  loaded  and  bayonets  fixed  as  if  going  to  battle.  The 
congregation  was  thrown  into  tlie  utmost  terror,  and  several  women  fainted,  ex- 
pecting a  massacre  was  intended.  I  took  no  notice  of  them  but  went  on  with  the 
service,  only  exerted  my  voice,  which  was  in  some  measure  drowned  by  the  noise  and 
tumult.  The  rebels  stood  thus  in  tlie  aisle  for  near  fifteen  minutes,  till,  being  asked 
into  pews  by  the  sexton,  they  complied.  Still,  liowever,  the  peojile  expected  that 
when  the  collects  for  the  king  and  royal  family  were  read,  I  should  be  fired  at,  as 
menaces  to  that  pni'pose  liad  been  frcipiently  flung  out.  The  matter,  liowever, 
passed  over  without  an  accident.  Nothing  of  this  kind  happened  before  or  since, 
which  made  it  more  remarkable.     I  was  afterwards  assm-cd  that  something  hostile 


462  HISTORY   OF  THE   AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

and  riolent  was  intended ;  but  He  who  stills  the  raging  of  the  sea,  and  madness  of 
the  people,  overruled  their  purpose,  whatever  it  was. 

In  tlie  beginning  of  July,  independency  was  declared:  as  tliis  event  was 
what  I  long  expected,  I  had  maturely  considered,  and  was  determined,  what 
line  of  conihict  to  pursue.  General  Howe  had  arrived  some  time  before  from 
Halifax,  as  did  Lord  Howe  from  Kngland.  They  had  taken  jiossession  of  Staten 
Island,  where  the  fleet  lay  in  sight  of  this  city,  at  the  distance  of  nine  miles;  and 
only  waited  for  the  arrival  of  the  fleet  from  England,  to  make  a  descent  and  reduce 
Uew  York.  This  circumstance  pointed  out  still  more  clearly  what  part  I  should 
act.  However,  I  thought  it  proper  to  consult  such  a  vestiy  as  were  in  town, 
and  others  of  the  congregation,  and  have  their  concurrence ;  and  I  must  do  them 
the  justice  to  say,  that  they  were  all  unanimous  for  shutting  up  the  churches;  and 
chose  rather  to  submit  to  that  temporaiy  inconvenience,  than  by  omitting  the 
prayers  for  the  king,  give  that  mark  of  disaflection  to  their  sovereign. 

To  have  prayed  for  him,  had  Ijeen  rash  to  the  last  degi-ee,  —  the  inevitable 
consequence  had  been  a  demolition  of  the  churches,  and  the  destruction  of  all  who 
frequented  them.  The  whole  rebel  force  was  collected  here,  and  the  most  violent 
partisans  from  all  parts  of  the  continent.  A  fine  equestrian  statue  of  the  king 
was  pulled  down  and  totally  demolished,  immediately  after  independency  was 
declared.  All  the  king's  arms,  even  those  on  signs  of  taverns,  were  destroyed. 
The  committee  sent  me  a  message,  which  I  esteemed  a  favour  and  indulgence,  to 
have  the  king's  arms  taken  down  in  the  Church,  or  else  tlie  mob  would  do  it,  and 
might  deface  and  injure  the  Churches.  I  immediately  complied.  People  were  not 
at  liberty  to  speak  their  sentiments  and  even  silence  was  consti'ued  as  a  mai-k  of 
disaflection. 

Things  being  thus  situated,  I  shut  up  the  churches.  Even  this  was  attended 
with  great  hazard  ;  for  it  was  declaring  in  the  strongest  manner,  our  disapproba- 
tion of  independency,  and  that  under  tlie  eye  of  Washington  and  his  army. 

The  other  assistants  now  went  to  their  respective  friends  in  the  country.  ]\Iy 
family  were  at  such  a  distance,  and  in  such  a  part  of  the  country,  that  I  could  not 
with  any  degree  of  safety  visit  them;  I  therefore  remained  in  the  city,  to  visit  the 
sick,  baptize  children,  bury  the  dead,  and  aft'ord  what  support  I  could  to  the  re- 
mains of  our  poor  flock,  who  were  much  dispirited;  for  sevei'al,  especially  of  the 
poorer  sort,  had  it  not  in  their  power  to  leave  the  city.  After  we  had  ceased  to 
officiate  publicly,  se\'eral  of  the  rebel  officers  sent  to  me  for  the  keys  of  the 
churches,  that  their  chaplains  might  preach  in  them ;  with  these  requisitions  I 
peremptorily  refused  to  comply,  and  let  them  know  that,  if  they  would  use  the 
churches,  they  must  break  the  gates  and  the  doors  to  get  in.  Accordingly  I  took 
possession  of  all  the  keys,  lest  the  sextons  might  be  tampered  with  ;  for  1  could  not 
bear  the  thought  that  their  secMtious  and  i-ebellious  effusions  should  be  jjoured  out 
in  our  churches.  When  these  requisitions  were  repeated  with  threats  my  answer 
was,  that  I  did  what  I  knew  to  be  my  duty,  and  that  I  would  adhere  to  it,  be  the 
consequences  what  they  would.  Upon  tins  they  desisted,  and  did  not  occupy  any 
of  the  churches. 

I  cannot  reflect  on  my  situation  at  that  time  without  the  warmest  emotions  of 
gratitude  to  Divine  Providence  for  preserving  me.  I  was  watched  with  a  jealous, 
suspicious  eye.  Besides  the  imputation  of  being  notoriously  disafl'eeted  —  an  im- 
putation which  had  Hung  others  in  jail  without  any  other  crime —  I  was  known  and 
pointed  at  as  the  author  of  several  pieces  against  the  proceedings  of  the  congress. 
In  February  last,  I  wrote  an  answer  to  a  pamphlet  entitled  "  Common  Sense" 
which  earnestly  recommended  and  justified  independency.  It  was  one  of  the  most 
virulent,  artful,  and  pernicious  pamphlets  I  ever  met  with,  and  perhaps  the  wit  of 
man  could  not  devise  one  better  calculated  to  do  mischief.  It  seduced  thousands.  At 
the  risk,  not  only  of  my  liberty,  but  also  of  my  life,  I  drew  up  an  answer,  and  had 
it  printed  here  ;  but  the  answer  was  no  sooner  advertised,  than  the  whole  impres- 
sion was  seized  by  the  sons  of  liberty,  and  burnt.  I  then  sent  a  copy  to  Phihulel- 
phia,  where  it  was  printed,  and  soon  went  through  the  second  edition.  This 
answer  was  laid  to  my  charge,  and  swelled  the  catalogue  of  my  political  transgres- 
sions. In  short,  I  was  in  the  utmost  danger,  and  it  is  to  the  overruling  hand  of 
Providence  tliat  I  attribute  my  deliverance  and  safety.  AVith  difficulty  I  stood  my 
ground  fill  about  the  middle  of  August,  when  almost  all  who  were  suspected  of 
diaifection  were  taken  up  and  sent  prisoners  to  New  England :  I  therefore  found  it 
necessary  to  return  to  Flushing,  on  Long  Island ;  but  I  had  no  sooner  left  that 
place,  than  the  committee  met,  and  entered  into  a  debate  about  seizing  me.    This 


THE  POSITION  OF  THE  CLERGY.  463 

obliged  me  to  shift  my  quarters,  and  keep  as  private  as  possible,  till  the  27th  of 
that  month,  when  General  Howe  defeated  the  rebels  on  Long  Island,  which  sot  mo 
and  many  others  at  liberty. 

On  Sunday,  the  15th  of  September,  General  Howe,  with  the  king's  forces, 
landed  on  New  York  Island,  four  miles  above  the  city ;  upon  which  the  rebels  aban- 
doned the  city,  and  retired  toward  King's  Bridge,  which  joins  this  Island  to  the 
continent.  Karly  on  Monday  morning,  the  Kith,  I  returned  to  the  city  which 
exhibited  a  most  melancholy  appearance,  being  deserted  and  pillaged.  J\Iy  house 
was  plundered  of  everything  by  the  rebels.  My  loss  amounts  to  near  £200,  this 
currency,  or  upwards  of  £1U0  sterling.  The  rebels  carried  off  all  (he  bells  in  the 
city,  partly  to  convert  them  into  cannon,  partly  to  prevent  notice  being  given 
speedily  of  the  destruction  they  meditated  against  the  city  by  fire,  when  it  began. 
On  Wednesday,  I  opened  one  of  tlio  churches,  and  solemnized  Divine  service, 
when  all  the  inhabitants  gladly  attended,  and  joy  was  lighted  up  in  every  counte- 
nance on  the  restoration  of  our  public  worship ;  for  very  few  remained  but  such  as 
were  members  of  our  Church.  Each  congratulated  himself  and  others  on  the 
prospect  of  returning  peace  and  security;  but  alas!  the  enemies  of  peace  were 
secretly  working  agamst  us. 

Several  rebels  secreted  themselves  in  the  houses,  to  execute  the  diabolical 
purpose  of  destroying  the  city.  On  the  Saturday  following  an  opportunity  pre- 
senteil  itself;  for  the  weather  being  very  dry,  anil  the  wind  blowing  fresh,  they 
set  fire  to  the  city  in  several  places  at  the  same  time,  between  twelve  and  one 
o'clock  in  the  morning.  The  fire  raged  Avith  the  utmost  fury,  and,  in  its  destruc- 
tive progress,  consumed  about  1000  houses,  or  a  fourth  part  of  the  wliole  city.  To 
the  vigorous  efibrts  of  the  officers  of  the  army  and  navy,  and  of  the  soldiers  and 
seamen,  it  is  owing  under  Providence,  that  tlic  whole  city  was  not  destroyed.  We 
had  three  chm-ches  of  which  Trinity  t'hureh  was  the  oldest  and  largest.  It  was  a 
venerable  edifice,  had  an  excellent  organ,  which  cost  8o0£  sterling,  and  was  otlier- 
wise  ornamented.  This  church,  with  the  rector's  house  and  the  charity  school,  — 
the  two  latter,  large  expensive  buildings  —  were  burned.  St.  Paul's  Church  and 
King's  College  had  shared  the  same  fate,  being  directly  on  the  line  of  the  fire,  had 
I  not  been  providentially  on  the  spot,  and  sent  a  number  of  people  with  water  on 
the  roof  of  each.  Our  houses  are  all  covered  with  cedar  shingles,  which  make  fire 
very  dangerous.  The  church  corporation  has  suffered  prodigiously,  as  was  evi- 
dently intended.  Besides  the  buildings  already  mentioned  about  200  houses, 
which  stood  on  the  church  gi'ound,  were  consumed,  so  that  the  loss  cannot  be 
estimated  at  less  than  2o,000£.  sterling. 

This  melancholy  accident,  and  the  principal  scene  of  war  being  here,  will 
occasion  the  clergy  of  this  city  to  be  the  greatest  sufferers  of  any  on  the  continent  bv 
the  present  rebellion.  The  church  corporation  had  some  thought  of  applying  to 
his  Slajesty  {or  a  brief  to  collect  money  in  England,  or  for  leave  to  open  a  subscrip- 
tion to  re|)air  their  loss  in  some  measure,  which,  I  fear,  will  involve  them  in  inex- 
tricable difficulties,  as  they  are  already  burdened  with  a  debt  of  more  than  20,000£, 
this  cmTency.  But  this  step  will  probaljly  be  deferred  till  the  city  and  country  are 
restored  to  his  Majesty's  peace  and  protection,  which  I  hope  will  be  soon,  as  a  peti- 
tion for  this  purpose,  signed  by  near  a  thousand  inhabitants,  has  been  presented  to 
the  king's  commissioners.  I  had  the  honour  of  drawing  up  this  petition,  and  from 
the  amiable  and  excellent  character  of  the  commissioners.  Lord  Howe  and  General 
Howe,  from  whom  everything  brave,  generous,  and  humane,  or  tending  to  the 
interest  of  Great  Britain,  and  the  colonies,  may  be  justly  expected,  I  flatter  myself 
that  the  praj-er  of  our  petition  will  soon  be  granted.  Perhaps  I  should  apologize 
for  this  detail,  in  which  I  myself  was  so  mucli  concerned,  but,  in  truth,  no  better 
method  occurred  to  me  of  conveying  to  you  information  of  wliat  I  thought  you  were 
desu'ous  to  know,  and  I  claim  no  merit  in  doing  what  I  always  conceived  to  be  my 
duty.  Any  of  my  brethren  in  my  situation  would  have  done  the  same  that  I  did  — 
many  of  them,  probably  much  better. 

All  the  missionaries  in  the  colonies  first  mentioned  are  resident  in  their  re- 
spective Missions,  although  their  churches  are  shut,  except  those  that  are  now  in 
England,  and  Mr.  Walter,  of  Boston,  who  is  here,  also  Mr.  Cooke,  who  ischai)lain 
to  tlie  Guards,  and  cannot  get  to  his  Mission,  as  that  part  of  the  country  is  still  in 
the  hands  of  the  rebels.  I  fear  many  of  the  Missionaries  are  distressed  for  want 
of  an  opportunity  to  draw  for  their  salaries,  and  I  apprehend  they  have  not  yet  re- 
ceived any  benefit  from  the  generous  collection  that  was  made  for  them  in  England. 
Dr.  Chandler  some  time  since  sent  mo  a  list  of  those  Missionaries  in  New  Jersey, 


464  HISTORY   OF  TIIK  AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

New  York,  and  Connecticut,  that  were  to  receive  those  benefactions,  and  the  sum 
allotted  to  each ;  desiring  that  I  should  give  them  notice,  and  inform  them  how  to 
draw  for  the  money.  But  I  have  not  yet  been  able  to  give  intelligence  of  this  to 
any,  excejjt  Messrs.  Bloomer  and  Cutting  —  all  communication  by  letter  with  the 
rest  being  entirely  cut  off.  Dr.  Chandler  also  kindly  informed  me,  that  the  Society 
transmitted  a  large  sum  to  Boston,  to  pay  the  missionaries  in  Massachusetts  and 
New  Hampshire;  but  I  im.iginc  General  llowe  left  Boston  before  the  money  could 
get  there ;  and  I  have  not  been  able  to  learn  who  the  person  was  to  whom  the 
money  was  delivered,  nor  what  is  become  of  it.  The  Missions  of  New  Windsor 
(or  Is'ewbury,  as  it  was  latterly  called)  and  of  Albany  are  still  vacant.  Mr.  Stuart 
continues  at  Fort  Hunter,  and  occasionally  officiates  at  Johnstown.  He  has  been 
of  much  service  in  that  place.  The  Indians  imdor  his  care  remain  firm  in  their 
attachment  to  the  king,  except  one  or  two  that  were  bribed  into  a  kind  of  neu- 
trality, with  rum  and  some  other  presents,  by  the  rebels,  but  will.  I  doubt  not,  be 
as  active  as  any  for  the  king's  service  now  that  General  Burgoyne  has  crossed  the 
hikes  from  Canada  with  his  army,  and  is  got  into  this  province.  Uiion  the  whole, 
the  Church  of  England  has  lost  none  of  its  members  by  the  rebellion  as  yet  —  none, 
I  mean,  whose  departure  from  it  can  be  deemed  a  loss ;  on  the  contrary,  its  own 
members  are  more  firmly  attached  to  it  than  ever.  And  even  the  sober  and  more 
rational  among  dissenters  —  for  they  are  not  all  equally  violent  and  frantic  —  look 
with  reverence  and  esteem  on  the  part  which  church  people  have  acted.  I  have 
no  doubt  but,  with  the  blessing  of  Providence,  his  IVIajesty's  arms  will  be  suc- 
cessful, and  finally  crush  this  unnatural  rebellion.  In  that  case,  if  the  steps  be 
taken  which  reason,  prudence,  and  common  sense  dictate,  the  Church  will  indubi- 
tably increase,  and  these  confusions  will  terminate  in  a  large  accession  to  its 
members.  Then  will  be  the  time  to  make  that  provision  for  the  American  Church 
which  is  necessary,  and  place  it  on  at  least  an  equal  footing  with  other  denomina- 
tions by  granting  it  an  episcopate,  and  thereby  allowing  it  a  full  toleration.  If 
this  opportunity  is  let  slip,  I  think  there  is  a  moral  certainty  that  such  another  will 
never  again  ofler;  and  I  must  conclude,  in  that  case,  that  Government  is  equally 
infatuated  with  the  Americans  at  present.  If  fifty  years  elapse  without  an  episco- 
pate here,  there  will  be  no  occasion  for  one  afterwards ;  and  to  fix  one  then  would 
be  as  impr.actlble  as  it  would  be  useless.  And  I  may  apj^eal  to  all  judicious  persons, 
whether  it  is  not  as  contrary  to  sound  policy,  as  it  certainly  is  to  right  reason  and 
justice,  that  the  king's  loyal  subjects  here,  members  of  the  national  Church,  should 
be  denied  a  privilege,  the  want  of  which  will  diminish  their  numbers,  and  that 
merely  to  gratify  the  clamours  of  dissenters  who  have  now  discovered  such  enmity 
to  the  constitution,  and  who  will  even  clamour  against  anything  that  will  tend  to 
benefit  or  increase  the  Cliurch  here.  The  time,  indeed,  is  not  yet  fully  come  to 
move  in  this  affair ;  but  I  apjjrehend  it  is  not  very  distant,  and,  therefore,  it  should 
be  thought  of.  Government  will  have  it  in  its  power  very  soon  to  settle  this  and 
other  matters  as  may  be  judged  expedient.  The  clergy  here  will  not  be  wanting 
in  anything  that  is  in  their  power  towards  the  accomplishment  of  so  desirable  an 
object,  and,  in  the  mean  time,  would  be  very  glad  to  have  the  Society's  advice  and 
directions  how  to  proceed.  I  may  add,  that  the  Society,  taught  by  late  experience, 
will  be  desirous  of  seeing  the  Church  placed  on  a  more  respectable  footing,  and  so 
fiir  as  I  can  judge,  will  join  in  such  prudent  measures  as  may  be  thought  necessary, 
on  their  part,  for  the  attainment  of  it. 

I  shall  not  trespass  further  on  your  time  and  patience,  by  adding  to  this  letter, 
which  Is  swelled  to  an  extraordinary  length,  for  which  the  interesting  occasion  and 
subject  must  be  my  apology,  than  to  assure  you,  that  I  am  with  the  most  perfect 
esteem  and  regard  to  yourself  and  the  Venerable  Socictj% 

Reverend  Sir,  Your  affectionate  and  hmnble  servant, 

CuARLES  Ingus. 

"  The  Kev.  D.  Hind." 

P.  S.  Since  tlie  above  was  written,  Dr  Auchmuty  is  come  to  town,  having 
with  great  difficulty,  escaped  from  the  rebels  at  Brunswick. 

To  these  sad,  earnest  words  we  add  those  of  an  humble  missionary 
of  the  society,  writiujj  from  his  place  of  refuge,  after  being  driven  from 
church  and  home  in  Connecticut :  — 


THE  POSITION   OF  THE   CLERGY.  465 

IBev.  Mr.  Sawi/er  to  the  Secretary.  —  Extract.} 

Flushino,  Long  Island,  November  8th,  1779. 

Rev.  Sik:  — The  cii'cumstiinoos  of  llio  Fairfield  IMission,  when  I  first  went  to 
it  are  already  known  to  the  Society ;  and  since  I  wrote  to  them,  the  Congre;;'ation 
have  been  so  f:ir  from  diminishing,  that  they  have  considerably  increased,  not  only 
in  numbers,  but  also  in  attachment  to  the  Church,  notwithstantting  the  many  opjw- 
sitions  to  religion  and  loyalty  which  have  happened  since.  I  liave  great  reason  to 
think  that  many  who  did  not  actually  join  us  were  prevented  merely  by  their  appre- 
hension of  a  participation  in  our  |)ersecutions,  for  which  it  seems  their  minds  were 
not  yet  sufficiently  prepared.  And  I  believe  that  if  it  shall  please  the  Lord  to  restore 
the  Constitutional  government  to  Connecticut,  the  Church  will  greatly  increase  in 
that  Province.  The  people  of  the  parisli  of  Nortli  Fairfield  erected  galleries  in 
their  Church,  shortly  after  they  came  under  my  care,  and  even  with  that  addition, 
it  soon  became  incapable  of  accommodating  the  Congregation.  They  intended  to 
have  finished  it  completely,  hut  were  discouraged  by  the  many  abuses  which  their 
Church  shared  in  common  with  the  other  Churches  in  the  l\Iission.  Shooting 
bullets  through  them,  breaking  the  windows,  stripping  off  the  hangings,  carrying 
off  the  leads  (even  such  as  were  essential  to  the  preservation  of  the  building,)  and  the 
most  beastly  defilements,  make  but  a  part  of  the  insults  which  were  offered  to  them. 
Add  to  this  that  ray  jieoplo  in  general  have  been  greatly  oppressed,  merely  on 
account  of  their  attachment  to  their  Church  and  King.  'Iheir  persons  have  been 
frequently  abused,  many  of  them  have  been  imprisoned  on  the  most  frivolous  pre- 
tences, and  their  imprisonment  aggravated  with  many  circumstances  of  cruelty. 
They  have  been  heavily  fined  for  refusing  to  rise  in  ai-ms  against  their  Sovereign 
and  the  legal  Constitution,  and  many  thinking  their  situation  intolerable  at  home, 
have,  by  flight,  sought  relief  in  the  King's  protection,  at  the  peril  of  their  lives, 
suffering  all  the  pungent  feelings  and  reflections  which  must  attend  a  separation 
from  their  families  under  such  circumstances.  And  not  a  few,  impatient  at  so 
miserable  a  servitude,  and  stimulated  by  I'cpeated  injuries  have  enteretl  into  the 
service  that  they  might  contribute  their  aid  for  the  recovery  of  the  King's  rights 
and  their  own  liberties. 

All  these  things  they  have  endured  with  a  patience  and  fortitude  indicative 
of  the  power  of  religion,  and  the  steadiness  of  their  virtue,  in  the  lace  of  an  oppo- 
sition very  violent  and  formidable.  The  loss  of  all  my  books  and  papers  jHits  it 
out  fif  my  power  to  transmit  an  exact  account  of  the  marriages,  funerals,  and 
baptisms  since  tlie  first  year  of  my  residence  in  Fairfield;  but  1  think  they  have 
not  greatly  altered  since  that  time.  There  has  been,  however,  a  considerable 
augmentation  in  the  number  of  Communicants.  I  think  on  my  first  going  to  Fair- 
fieFd,  they  did  not  exceed  -iO;  some  time  ago  they  wore  considerable  more  than 
100 ;  but  lately  I  believe  something  less,  owing  to  the  number  of  refugees  hinted 
at  aljove.  The  present  confusions  commenced  shortly  after  my  i-emoval  from  the 
mission  of  Newboro'  to  Fairfield,  and  foreseeing  the  calamities  which  have  befallen 
my  people,  I  freely  relinquished  the  rates  due  to  me  from  them,  by  the  laws  of  the 
Trovince  and  informed  them  that  I  should  expect  only  a  bare  subsistence  for  my 
family  during  the  ti-oubles,  towards  which  the  Society's  bounty  and  my  medical 
employment  also  contributed,  at  the  same  time  assuring  them  that  I  desired  only 
whatsoever  they  were  respectively  able  and  quite  willing  to  give  ;  and  (I  will  s.ay 
it  to  their  honor)  my  people  did  liot  forsake  nor  neglect  me  in  my  gi-eat  and  most 
threatening  situation,  even  when  their  very  personal  safety  seemed  to  require  a 
very  dift'erent  kind  of  conduct.  Nothing  but  an  opinion  that  it  would  be  expected 
of  me  could  have  induced  me  to  trouble  the  Society  with  my  personal  concerns. 
I  shall  therefore  take  uj)  but  little  of  tlieir  time  with  it.  For  some  time  after  I 
went  to  Fairfield  I  lived  in  tolerable  quiet,  owing  to  the  undecisive  measures  of 
that  period ;  though  always  known  to  disapprove  the  public  conduct,  and  strongly 
suspected  of  endeavoring  to  counteract  it.  Dut  this  repose  was  soon  interrupted 
by  a  public  order  for  disarming  the  Loyalists.  Upon  this  occurring  my  house  was 
beset  by  more  than  200  armed  horsemen,  whose  design  was  to  demand  my  arms. 
But  they  were  ior  that  time  diverted  from  their  ])urpose  by  the  violent  agitation 
they  saw  the  terror  of  their  apiiearanco  had  thrown  my  wife  into,  and  which,  con- 
sidering her  being  sick  and  in  the  latter  stages  of  pregnancy,  was  indeed  enough 
to  awaken  some  degree  of  humanity  even  in  their  breasts.  After  this  I  was  con- 
fined for  some  timelo  my  house  and  garden,  by  order  of  the  person  who  commanded 
the  Militia  of  the  Town,  from  which  time  I  w.os  pointed  out  by  the  leaders  of  the 


466  HISTORY   OF  THE  AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

people  as  an  object  of  their  hatred  and  detestation  :  and  very  few  of  my  neighbors 
(who  were  chiefly  dissenters)  wouhl  hold  any  kind  of  society  with  mo,  or  even 
with  my  family ;  and  my  sons  were  frequently  insulted,  anil  jjersonally  abused  for 
cari-yinj^  provision  to  the  jail  from  my  house,  when  some  of  my  parishioners  were 
conlined  therein  ;  as  well  as  on  other  occasions.  After  this  I  was  advertised  as  an 
enemy  to  my  country  (l)y  an  order  of  the  Committee)  for  refusing  to  sign  an  asso- 
ciation, \vhich  obliged  its  subscribers  to  oppose  the  King  with  life  and  fortune,  and 
to  withdraw  all  olliccs  of  even  justice,  humanity  antl  charity  from  eveiy  recusant. 
In  consequence  of  this  advertisement,  all  persons  were  forbitlden  to  hold  any  kind 
of  correspondence,  or  have  any  manner  of  dealing  with  me,  on  pain  of  bringing 
tliemselvcs  into  the  same  prtnlicament.  TMs  order  was  posted  up  in  every  store, 
mill,  mechanical  shop  and  ])ublic  house  in  the  country,  and  was  repcatecUy  pub- 
lished in  the  newspapers.  But  through  the  goodness  of  the  Lord  we  wanted  for 
nothing;  our  people  under  the  cover  of  the  night  and  as  it  were  by  stealth,  sup- 
plying us  with  plenty  of  the  comforts  and  necessaries  of  life. 

These  measures  proving  insufficient  to  shake  my  attachment  to  his  Majesty's 
person  and  government,  I  was  at  length  banished,  (upon  the  false  and  malicious 
))rctence  of  my  being  an  enemy  to  the  good  of  my  Country)  to  a  place  called  New 
Uritain  in  Farruingtou  about  GO  or  70  miles  from  Fairfield,  where  I  was  entirely 
unknown,  excejjt  to  one  poor  man  ;  the  iuliabitants  difl'ering  li'om  me,  both  in  relig- 
ious and  political  ])rinciples.  However,  the  family  in  which  I  lived  showed  me 
such  marks  of  kindness  as  they  could,  and  I  was  treated  with  civility  by  the  neigh- 
bors. In  this  exile  I  remained  about  7  months,  after  which  I  was  peiinitted  to 
return  home  to  be  confined  to  the  parish  of  Fairfield,  which  is  about  f  miles  in 
diameter ;  my  people  having  given  security  in  large  sums  that  I  should  not  trans- 
gress this  limitation,  and  in  that  situation  I  remained  about  18  months.  After  this 
my  bounds  were  made  co-extensive  with  those  of  Fairfield  county,  which  was  a 
gi'eat  satisfaction  to  me,  as  it  allowed  me  to  visit  the  congregations  of  North  Fair- 
field and  Stratfield,  who  had  been  so  long  deprived  of  my  ministry,  —  and  so  I 
remained  otticiating  2  Sundays  out  of  4  at  Fairfield  dividing  the  other  2  equally 
between  the  2  other  parishes,  until  I  came  away.  We  did  not  use  any  part  of  th'e 
Liturgy  lately,  for  I  could  not  make  it  agreeable  either  to  my  inclination  or  con- 
science to  mutilate  it,  especially  in  so  material  a  point  as  that  is  wherein  our  duties 
as  subjects  are  recognized.  AV'e  met  at  the  usual  hoiu-  every  Sunday,  read  parts  of 
the  Old  and  New  Testaments  and  some  Psalms.  All  these  were  selected  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  convey  such  instruction  and  sentiments  as  were  suited  to  our  situa- 
tion. We  sang  Psalms  with  the  same  view.  On  the  Sunday  mornings  I  reail  the 
Homilies  in  their  course,  and  on  the  afternoons  I  expounded  either  parts  of  the 
Catechism,  or  some  such  passages  of  holy  Scripture  as  seemed  adapted  to  our  case 
in  particular,  or  to  the  public  calamities  in  general.  By  this  method  we  enjoyed 
one  of  the  two  general  designs  of  jiublic  religious  meetings.  I  mean  public  instruc- 
tion: the  other,  to  wit  public  worship  it  is  easy  to  believe  was  inadmissible  in  our 
circumstances,  \\ithout  taking  such  lilaerties  with  the  Service  as  I  confess  I  should 
blame  even  a  Superior  in  the  Church  for  assuming.  Resolved  to  adhere  to  these 
principles  and  public  profession's,  which  upon  very  mature  deliberation  and  clear 
conviction  I  had  adopted  and  made,  I  yielded  not  a  tittle  to  those  who  opposed 
them,  and  had  determined  to  remain  with  my  people  to  see  the  end,  but  was 
obliged  to  alter  this  resolution  by  that  sudden  vicissitude,  which  I  must  now,  with 
painful  reflection  relate  to  the  Society.  On  the  7th  day  of  July  last,  JMajor  General 
Tryon  landed  at  Fairfield  with  a  body  of  his  Majesty's  troops,  and  took  possession 
of  "the  town  and  its  environs,  the  greater  part  of  the  inhabitants  having  tackled 
their  teams  and  removed  what  they  could  on  his  approach.  This  cut  off  all  hope 
from  the  few  Loyalists  of  saving  any  part  of  their  eflects,  if  the  town  should  be 
burnt,  every  carriage  being  taken  away  Tiie  General  was  so  kind,  however  as  to 
order  me  a  guard  to  protect  my  house  and  some  others  in  its  vicinity,  when  he  had 
resolved  to  commit  the  rest  of  the  town  to  the  flames ;  for  as  I  had  already-  hinted, 
I  had  tletermined  to  remain  at  home.  But  the  ungovernable  flames  soon  extended 
to  them  all,  aud  in  a  few  minutes  left  me  with  a  family  consisting  of  a  wife  and 
eight  children,  destitute  of  food,  house  and  raiment.  Thus  reduced,  I  could  not 
think  of  remaining  in  a  place  where  it  would  have  been  imjjossible  to  have  clothed 
and  refurnished  my  family.  Therefore  availing  myself  of  the  protection  oflered 
by  the  present  opportunity,  I  retired  within  the  King's  lines  with  them.  As  it  was 
impossible  (from  the  want  of  Carriages)  to  save  anjthing  out  of  the  house,  the 
valuable  little  library  given  by  the  Society,  was  burnt,  together  with  my  own,  and 


THE   POSITION   OF   THE   CLERGY.  467 

the  Plate  belonjjiiig  to  Trinit}'  C'lunvli  at  Fairliehl  was  lost,  as  well  as  that  of  my 
own  I'amilv,  ami  that  liaudsoine  Hiuivli  itself  was  entirely  eonsumed.  The  people 
of  the  mission  met  with  a  lieavy  stniUe  in  the  loss  of  their  Church,  Parsonage  house, 
plate,  books,  &e,  not  to  mention  myself  tlieir  unworthy  minister.  JNIy  own  loss 
includes  my  little  all;  but  what  1  most  regret  is  my  absence  from  my  lloek,  to 
which  my  heart  was,  anil  still  is  most  tenderly  attached,  I  trust,  however,  that 
the  great  Shepherd  of  the  Sheep  will  keep  them  in  his  own  tuition  and  care.  I 
bless  the  Lord  for  that,  through  all  my  trials,  I  have  endeavoured  to  keep  a  con- 
science void  of  ofl'ence  toward  God  and  toward  man,  continually  striving  to  dis- 
charge my  duties  to  my  Master,  my  King,  and  my  people  ;  antl  am  bound  to  tliank 
tlie  Lord  daily,  for  that  divine  protection,  that  tranquillity  of  mind,  and  that  peace 
of  conscience,  wiiicli,  through  his  grace,  I  have  all  along  enjoyed. 

We  might  add  letter  to  letter,  like  the  prophet's  roll,  full  of 
"weeping,  lamentation,  and  woe."  But  it  needs  no  further  extracts 
from  these  pitiful  ejiistles  to  excite  our  sympathy  with  these  mistaken 
but  conscientious  and  devoted  "  confessors  "  for  Church  and  king.  It 
is  enough  that  they  doul)tless  saw  reason  to  bless  God  for  the  final 
issue  of  the  struggle  in  whose  opening  scenes  their  lots  were  cast. 
That  issue  brought  independence  to  the  Church  for  which  they  had 
labored,  lived,  and  would  have  died.  The  episcopate,  so  stoutly 
opposed  before,  so  bitterly  assailed,  and  so  persistently  desired,  was 
among  the  first  fruits  of  the  happy  peace,  and  from  the  ashes  of 
despoiled  temples  and  the  graves  of  inartyred  sons  of  the  Church 
there  sprang  up,  with  l)eauty  in  place  of  ashes,  and  the  garment  of  praise 
for  the  spirit  of  heaviness,  our  perfected  and  beautified  Zion,  to  be,  as 
we  fondly  believe,  the  joy  of  the  whole  earth. 


n.LUSTRATIVE  NOTE. 


NOTICES  of  the  clergy  who  espoused  the  popular  cause  in  the  struggle  for  in- 
dependence, and  of  others  wlio  were  prominent  in  their  devotion  to  the  crown, 
will  be  found  in  other  connections.  Sufiicient  appears  in  the  present  chapter  to 
convince  the  impartial  reader  that  both  ^V]lig  and  Tory  could  bo  consistent  chiu-ch- 
men  and  loyal  to  the  cause  and  commands  of  Christ,  though  failing  to  see  "eye  to 
eye,"  or  to  agree  in  a  matter  tlio  important  bearings  of  which  could  not  but  appear 
differently  to  men  of  different  training,  surroiuidings,  sentiments,  and  fcistes.  The 
literatiu-e  of  this  jieriod,  comprising  as  it  does  sermons,  addresses,  political  essays, 
and  appeals,  broadsides  and  poetical  effusions,  on  either  side,  is  of  no  little  interest. 
It  would  require  many  pages  for  the  briefest  and  barest  bibliographical  reproduc- 
tion. At  this  period,  as  from  the  first  of  our  history,  churchmen  were  among  the 
most  voluminous  contributors  to  the  publications  of  the  American  press. 

Bitter  as  were  the  sufferings  of  the  "  refugee"'  clergy  who  lost  country  and 
home  as  well  as  the  cause  they  espoused,  it  is  gratifying  to  know  that  their  conduct 
won  for  them  the  sympathy  and  sujjport  of  the  people  of  Great  Britain.  In  the 
sermon  delivered  before  the  Venerable  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  (iospel 
in  Foreign  Parts,  at  the  aimiversary  meeting  in  1784,  the  Bishop  of  Oxford,  l)r. 
John  Butler,  thus  refers  to  the  faitlifulness  and  loyalty  of  the  missionaries  :  — 

"  The  characters  of  those  worthies  will  entitle  them  to  a  lasting  memori.al  in 
some  future  impartial  history  of  the  late  events  in  that  country.  Their  firm  perse- 
verance in  their  duty,  amidst  temptations,  menaces,  and  in  some  cases  cruelty, 
would  have  distinguished  tliem  as  meritorious  men  in  better  times.  In  the  present 
age,  when  persecution  has  tried  the  constancy  of  very  few  sufferers  for  conscience 
here,  so  many  in  one  cause  argue  a  larger  portion  of  disinterested  virtue  still 


4G8 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 


existing  somewhere  among  mankind  than  a  severe  observer  of  the  world  might  be 
disposed  to  admit." 

It  may  be  added  to  what  has  already  been  said,  in  giving  the  position  of  the 
clergy  at  the  southward  on  the  questions  of  the  hour,  that  the  lay  members  of  the 
Church  in  Virginia  especially  were  foremost  in  their  support  of  the  popular  cause. 
The  language  of  the  late  William  C.  Uives  is  full  and  clear  on  this  point :  "  With- 
out denying  to  other  religious  denominations  their  full  and  glorious  share  of  the 
early  struggles  for  political  liberty  in  Virginia,  it  WQuld  be  to  blot  out  the  records 
of  history  not  to  recognize  this  patent  fact,  that  the  leadei's  and  chief  actors 
here  (with  one  or  two  exceptions,  and  those  not  belonging  to  any  religious 
profession)  were  members  of  the  Established  Church."  As  Bishop  Meade  well 
observes,  when  animadverting  on  the  delinquencies  of  the  clergy  and  their  struggles 
with  the  vestries,  who  were  the  representatives  and  defenders  of  the  people's 
spiritual  rights  as  well  as  political  liberty :"  The  vestries,  who  were  the  intel- 
ligence and  moral  strength  of  the  land,  had  been  slowly  fighting  the  battles  of  the 
Revolution  lor  a  himdred  and  fi.fty  years.  Ta.xation  and  representation  were  only 
other  words  for  support  and  election  of  ministers.  The  principle  was  the  same." 
It  is  not  impossible  that  the  source  and  spring  of  the  great  popular  uprising  which 
secured  for  us  our  independence  may  yet  be  traced  to  the  church  controversies  in 
Virginia,  instead  of  the  town-meetings  of  New  England. 


Q/i/yiy 


XUuiQitvataii;   ^onoavnpt)&. 


MONOGRAPH    I. 


THE  RELATIONS   OF    THE    FOUNDERS    OF    THE    MASSACHU- 
SETTS  COLONY   TO   THE   CHURCH   OF   ENGLAND. 

By  the  HON.  ROBERT  C.  WINTHROP,  LL.D., 
Freaident  of  (he  Massachusetts  Historical  Society, 

IT  has  more  than  ouce  been  asked  how  it  happened,  or  could  have 
happened,  that  the  Massachusetts  Company,  having  addressed  an 

affectionate  farewell  to  their  brethren  of  the  Church  of  England, 
at  the  very  last  moment  before  they  embarked  for  America,  in  which 
they  spoke  of  themselves  "as  those  who  esteem  it  our  honor  to  call  the 
Church  of  England,  from  whence  we  rise,  our  dear  mother, 
ever  acknowledging  that  such  hope  and  part  as  we  have  obtained  in 
the  common  salvation  we  have  received  in  her  bosom,  and  sucked  it 
from  her  breasts,"  should,  immediately  on  their  arrival,  have  practi- 
cally ignored,  or  certainly  disused,  all  the  forms  and  ceremonies  of  that 
Church,  and  should  have  proceeded  to  institute  a  church  or  churches 
of  their  own. 

It  has  sometimes,  indeed,  been  inquired  of  me  personally,  how  it 
was  to  be  explained  that  Governor 
Winthrop,  who  had  not  only  signed   *—~—^/y)>    ^  , 
that  farewell  letter  officially,  and,         yf^  ,  ^^  ^  ^  Lyt- /^J^  i  /% 

as  I  think,  written  it  himself,  but      // L^ 

had  long  been  a  patron  of  the  little     (J  ^,i_^ 

church  at  Groton,  and  presented 

to  its  living,  should  have  made  no  reference  to  the  Church  of  England 
on  coming  here,  but  should  have  united,  without  delay,  in  the  organ- 
ization of  a  church  of  an  entirely  different  form  of  worship  and  of  a 
wholly  independent  character. 

Now,  let  me  say  that  few  things  are  more  to  be  regretted  than 
the  entire  loss  of  Governor  Wiuthrop's  letters  to  his  friends  in  Eng- 
land at  this  early  period  of  Massachusetts'  history.  We  ha\'e,  most 
fortunately,  his  letters  to  his  wife  and  to  his  eldest  son,  who  remained 
in  England  for  a  year  and  a  half  longer.  These,  however,  were  letters 
of  affection  and  private  business,  and  they  deal  but  little  with  matters 
of  public  concern,  either  religious  or  civil. 

But  in  his  very  tirst  letter  to  his  wife,  dated  at  Charlestown  on 
the  16th  of  July,  1630,  he  says  to  her:  "The  larger  discourse  of  all 


470  HISTORY   OF  THE   AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

things  thou  shalt  receive  from  my  brother  Downing,  whicli  I  must 
send  by  some  of  the  last  ships."  Again,  in  his  letter  to  his  son,  from 
Charlestown,  23d  July,  he  says  :  "  For  the  course  of  our  voyage,  and 
other  occurrents,  you  shall  understand  them  by  a  journal,  which  I 
send  with  my  letters  to  your  uncle  D."  And,  in  a  subsequent  part  of 
the  same  long  letter,  he  adds  .  "  Take  order  that  a  copy  of  ray  Rela- 
tion, &c.,  be  sent  to  Sir  Nath.  Barnardistou,  and  my  excuse  for  not 
writing  to  him  and  Sir  Wm.  Springe,  with  my  sahitations  to  them 
both."  Still  again,  in  his  letter  to  his  son,  from  Charlestown,  August 
14,  he  says:  "For our  condition  here,  and  our  voyage  hither,  I  wrote 
to  you  about  a  fortnight  since,  by  Mr.  Eevel,  but  more  fully  in  a 
journal  and  Eelation,  which  I  sent  to  your  uncle  Downing."     Once 

more,  in  a  letter  to  his 
-s  r  f  f  r    //   ^  J    r    /•      .       r     son,  of  Sept.  9,  1630, 

•        /•  ten  to  your  mother  and 

^nyCa^QdZei  '^-^ 7-7  tl  STOPS'  to  your  uncle  Downing 
^   *"   /-^^  -^  at  lai'ge,  of  all  things 

here,  to  which  I  must 
refer  you,  in  regard  of  my  much  business  and  little  leisure  here." 
And,  lastly,  in  a  letter  to  his  son,  of  jNIarch  28,  1G31,  he  says:  "I 
have  written  to  your  uncle  D.  concerning  all  our  business,  fearing 
you  should  be  come  away." 

I  misrht  give  other  reasons  for  thinking  that  Emanuel  Downing, 
—  a  lawyer  of  the  Inner  Temple  in  London,  — who  had  married  Gov- 
ernor Winthrop's  sister,  and  who  did  not  follow  him  to  Massachusetts 
for  seven  or  eight  years  after  the  transfer  of  the  government  to  New 
England,  was  the  person  to  whom  Winthrop  communicated  every- 
thing concerning  the  early  course  of  proceedings  in  the  colony.  As 
late  as  March,  163(3,  I  find  Downing  writing  to  the  governor:  "I 
heartily  thank  you  for  your  large  information  of  the  state  of  the  Plan- 
tation. I  was  the  other  day  with  Secretary  Coke,  who  told  me  that 
there  hath  not  been  a  word  of  your  Plantation  at  Council  Board  these 
many  months  past." 

I  have  said  all  this  to  justify  the  expression  of  an  opinion  that 
much  of  the  inner  policy  of  Governor  Winthrop  and  the  iMassachusetts 
Company,  at  this  early  period,  has  been  lost  to  our  history  by  the  dis- 
appearance of  these  letters  to  Downing.  So  convinced  was  I  of  the 
ti'uth  of  this  impression  that,  many  years  ago,  during  one  of  my  visits 
to  England,  I  made  diligent  ciTorts  to  discover  whether  any  of  Down- 
ing's  papers,  between  1629  and  his  coming  over  to  New  England  in 
1638,  were  still  in  existence;  but  without  success.  Could  these 
"  large  discourses,"  and  journals,  and  Relations  of  Governor  Winthrop, 
sent  to  Downing,  be  found,  I  have  little  doubt  that  some  of  the 
problems  of  our  early  political  and  ecclesiastical  history  might  be 
solved. 

These  Relations  and  journals,  indeed,  would  exactly  supply  the 
deficiencies,  and  fill  up  the  "large  blanks"  so  often  noted  and  regret- 
ted in  the  governor's  history  of  this  early  period,  as  we  now  have  it 
in  print,  and  which  reach,  with  few  exceptions,  from  the  17th  of  June 


FOUNDERS   OF  THE  MASSACHUSETTS   COLONY.  471 

to  the  beginning  of  December,  1G30.^  He  had  not  leisure  for  copyin" 
into  his  diary  what  he  had  written  to  Downing. 

But,  in  default  of  such  authentic  materials,  I  venture  to  proceed 
with  such  conjectures  as  I  have  formed,  from  the  facts  which  are 
known  to  us,  in  regard  to  the  question  which  I  have  stated  as  the  sub- 
ject of  this  paper. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  tliat  Governor  "Winthrop,  up  to  the  time  of 
his  embarking  on  Ijoard  the  "Arbella,"  —  though  never  what  would 
be  called  a  high-churchman, —  was  warmly  attached  to  the  Church 
of  England,  and  was  a  communicant  at  the  little  parish  church  of 
Groton,  of  which  he  was  the  owner  of  the  living,  and  to  which  he 
presented  the  Rev.  William  Leigh  as  late  as  1626.  There  is  a  letter 
to  him  from  the  Rev.  Henry  Sands,  a  previous  pastor  of  Groton,  of 
earlier  but  uncertain  date,"^  which  shows  that  he  was  much  relied  on  in 
church  afi'airs,  and  was  consulted  al)out  the  livings  of  Stoke  Vicarage 
and  Nayland,  among  others,  and  which  entreated  his  endeavors,  "  in 
the  aflection  which  I  know  you  bear  to  the  Church  of  God,  to  look 
into  it  and  help." 

There  is,  also,  a  little  autograph  volume  of  his  still  extant,  in  my 
own  possession,  in  which  all  the  sermons  which  he  heard  on  Sundays 
and  on  prayer-days,  during  a  hirge  part  of  1627  and  1628,  are  care- 
fully noted,  with  the  names  of  the  preachers,  the  texts  of  their  dis- 
courses, and  the  various  heads  and  arguments,  carefully  and  copiously 
written  out.  Any  one  disposed  for  such  an  inquiiy  might  obtain  from 
this  manuscript  volume  a  good  idea  of  the  style  of  preaching  in  a  quiet 
English  jjai-ish  at  that  period. 

1  may  add  that  now  and  then  we  find  pleasant  evidence  that  the 
governor  did  not  forget  the  great  days  of  the  Chui'ch  calendar.  In  a 
letter  of  his  to  his  wife,  dated  19th  December,  1623,  when  he  was  on 
his  law  circuit,  and  found  that  he  was  not  likely  to  be  at  home  at  the 
approaching  Christmas,  he  says  :  — 

I  feare  it  wilbe  towards  the  ende  of  next  weeks  before  I  shall  retume ;  yet  I 
pray  tliee  let  povisio  be  made,  and  all  o'  poore  feasted,  thougli  I  be  from  home,  so  J 
shalbe  the  lesse  missed.^ 

It  may  not  be  forgotten,  too,  that  the  governor  begins  the  journal, 
now  commonly  known  as  his  "History  of  New  England,"  on  "Easter 
Monday,  March  29"  (1630),  while  his  fleet  was  still  " riding  at  the 
Cowes ; "  and  that  he  thus  associated  the  outset  of  the  Massachusetts 
emigration  —  not  without  purpose,  as  I  think  —  with  the  great  church 
festival  of  the  Resurrection.  It  is  thus  sufficiently  clear  that  AV'in- 
throp,  up  to  the  last  moment  of  his  leaving  England,  was  a  member 
of  the  English  Church.  How,  then,  did  he  so  soon  become  —  as  he 
certainly  did  become — an  American  Congregationalist  ? 

The  first  suggestion  Avhich  occurs  to  me,  in  connection  with  this 
question,  is  that  the  English  Church  at  that  day  was  simply  the 
Church  of  England  ;  without  a  recognized  ]Dretension  to  any  catholic 
or  universal  character.     It  was  a  State  Church,  whose  forms  and  cere- 

•  See  Savage's  "  Winthrop  "  between  these  -  Life  and  Letters,  p.  1G9. 

dates.  '  Ibid.,  I.,  p.  403. 


472  HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

monies  were  at  the  will  of  kings  and  parliaments  and  convocations 
summoned  by  the  sovereign.  It  was  a  local,  national  church,  which 
during  the  previous  century  only  had  separated  itself  from  the  Church 
of  Rome,  and  which  had  hardly  yet  acquired  that  fi.xcd  and  settled  con- 
dition, to  tlie  common  mind,  which  would  have  led  those  who  were 
leaving  England  as  their  home  to  feel  that  they  necessarily,  or 
even  naturally,  carried  any  obligations  to  that  church  with  them. 
They  might  love  it  ever  so  sincerely,  but  they  were  leaving  it  for  a 
land  where  it  had  no  existence,  and  their  farewell  letter  was  literally  a 
letter  ''  taking  leave  "  of  it. 

In  one  of  his  "  Answers  to  01)jections,"  in  the  paper  entitled 
"  Reasons  to  be  considered  for  justifying  the  Undertakers  of  the  in- 
tended Plantation  in  New  Engtand,"  Winthrop  says,  indeed  :  "  Since 
Christ's  time  the  Church  is  to  be  considered  as  universal  without  dis- 
tinction of  countries."  But  that  phrase  included  the  Church  of  Rome 
and  "  all  other  churches  of  Europe,"  and  has  no  particular  reference  to 
the  Church  of  England.  In  the  same  paper  he  had  previously  said  : 
"What  can  be  a  better  work,  and  more  honorable  and  worthy  a 
Christian,  than  to  help  raise  and  support  a  pfirti'culai-  Church  while  it 
is  in  the  infancy  ?  "  and  in  his  "  Conclusions  "  he  distinctly  asserts  his 
conviction  that  "  the  service  of  raising  and  upholding  a  particular 
Church  is  to  be  preferred  before  the  bettering  of  some  part  of  a 
Church  already  established."  He  adds  most  significantly  :  "The  mem- 
bers of  that  Church  may  I)e  of  more  use  to  their  mother  Church  here, 
than  many  of  those  whom  she  shall  still  keep  in  her  own  bosom." 

It  will  be  seen,  too,  by  a  letter  of  the  governor's, ^  that  he  had  in- 
vited a  special  meeting  of  ministers  on  the  9th  of  November,  in  Lon- 
don, to  consult  in  regard  to  church  matters,  saying  that  "  we  want 
hitherto  able  and  sufficient  ministers  to  join  with  us  in  the  work,"  and 
adding :  "  The  reasons  whereof  we  find  to  be  the  conscience  of  the 
obligation  by  which  they  stand  bound  unto  this  Church  for  the  service 
in  which  most  of  them  are  employed  at  present."  "The  conscience  of 
the  obligation"  was,  of  course,  only  a  matter  for  ministers  in  orders. 
If,  however,  we  could  learn  what  was  said  and  done  at  that  meeting, 
and  how  far  those  who  attended  it  advised  that,  by  going  to  New  Eng- 
land, ministers  and  people  would  be  relieved  and  released  from  any 
obligations  by  which  they  seemed  bound  to  the  English  Church,  we 
should  be  wiser  than  we  are  now.  But  it  is  plain,  from  the  words  of 
the  invitation,  that  such  a  release  for  ministers  was  the  subject  to  be 
considered. 

In  Winthrop's  letter  to  Dr.  Gager,  also,  inviting  him  to  come 
over  as  physician  to  the  company,  he  expressly  speaks  of  "  the  work 
we  are  in  hand  with  "  as  "  the  establishing  a  Church  in  New  Eng- 
land." ^ 

It  would  seem,  from  these  expressions,  that  the  governor  con- 
templated the  estal)lishment  of  a  particular  church,  distinct  from  the 
mother  Church  of  England,  though  by  no  means  necessarily  or  nat- 
urally in  any  opposition  to  it.      How  could  it  fail  to  be  distinct,  three 

'  Printed  in  his  "  Life  ami  Letters,"  i.,  p.  354,  and  dated  Oct.  27,  1629.  =  Ibid.,  p.  335. 


FOUNDEUS   OF  THE    MASSACHUSETTS   COLONY.  473 

thousand  miles  away  from  it,  and  those  three  thousand  equal  to  ten 
tiuK^s  three  thousand,  in  difficulty  of  communication,  as  compared  with 
the  i)resent  day !  An  attempt  to  stretch  any  practical  episcopal 
authority  across  the  Atlantic,  at  that  day,  would  not  only  have  been 
futile  in  itself,  but  would  have  involved  the  New  England  churches  in 
endless  embarrassment  and  confusion.  Confirmations,  consecrations, 
orderings  of  priests  and  deacons,  and  everything  else  dependent  on 
Ijishops,  must  have  been  postponed  indefinitely.  Should  the  Puritans 
have  gone  along  without  any  religious  services,  —  "  forsaking  the  as- 
sembling of  themselves  together"  for  the  worship  of  God, — until 
such  matters  could  be  arranged  and  provided  for,  even  had  they  been 
ever  so  willing  for  them  ?  Such  a  suggestion  is  its  own  best  answer. 
It  is  enough  to  say  that  there  was  a  physical  impossibility  in  any  sub- 
stantial subordination  on  one  side,  or  any  substantial  supervision  on 
the  other.      OpjJosuU  natura. 

The  Virginia  colonists  had,  indeed,  instituted  a  little  church  on 
the  Englisli  model  as  early  as  1607,  with  the  services  of  the  Prayer 
Book  ;  and  the  historian  Bancroft  tells  us  that  "the  Church  of  Eng- 
land was  confirmed  as  the  Church  of  Virginia"  in  1(319.  But  the 
early  experiences  of  that  colony  in  its  episco|)al  relations  —  so  far  as 
any  account  of  them  is  to  be  found  —  are  hardly  at  variance  with  the 
views  I  have  suggested.  Some  idea  of  their  difiiculties  maybe  formed 
from  the  letter  of  Governor  Argall  to  the  Virginia  Company,  in  1617. 
requesting  Sir  Dudle^^  Digges  to  obtain  from  the  archbishop  a  permit 
for  Mr.  Wickham,  who  was  not  in  orders,  to  administer  the  holy  com- 
munion, as  the  Rev.  Alexander  Whittaker  had  been  drowned,  and  as 
there  was  no  other  person.'  The  archbishop's  reply  is  not  given ;  nor 
have  I  been  able  to  turn  to  any  other  indication  of  episcopal  authority 
being  invited  or  exercised  in  those  early  days  of  the  Virginia  colony. 

The  earliest  paper  in  the  Virginia  volume  of  "  Historical  Collec- 
tions relating  to  the  .\merican  Colonial  Church"  is  :  The  Instructions 
to  Sir  William  Berkeley,  in  1650  (from  whom  is  not  stated  —  j)rob- 
ably  from  the  Virginia  Company) — "to  bo  careful  Almighty  God 
l)e  duly  and  daily  served  according  to  the  form  of  religion  established 
in  the  Church  of  England."'^  After  1(550  there  is  no  other  paper  in 
that  volume  bearing  an  earlier  date  than  1(579.  Other  evidences  of  epis- 
copal supervision  in  the  Virginia  colonial  church  at  that  da}'  may  per- 
haps be  discovered.  Otherwise  its  history  would  seem  to  confirm  the 
idea  that  distance  and  infrequency  of  commimication  rendered  such 
supei-vision  impracticable,  even  where  it  was  desired  and  solicited.^ 
It  is  plain  that  there  was  a  necessity  for  much  independent  action, 
alike  in  civil  and  iu  religious  affairs,  both  in  Virginia  and  in  Xew  Eng- 
land. 

Winthrop's  idea  of  the  Church,  in  the  cxpi-ession  which  I  have 

1  Neill's  "  Virginia  Comp.iny  of  Loudon,"  p.  Churches  and  Families  of  Virfriuia,"  is  iustruc- 

113.  tive   on   this  point.       He   mentions   that   other 

-  The  acconiulished    editor  of   the   volume  piayei's  besides  those  in  the  Praver  Book  were 

(BishopPerry,of  Iowa)  says, in  his  "Notes, "that  freely  used  there,  and  that  tiicre  was  an  utior 

similar  iusti'uctions  were  given  to  .Sir  Francis  want  of  episcopal  supervision.      He  represents 

Wyat  in  1G21,  and  renewed  on  each  subsequent  it  as  an  attempt  to  carry  on  a  churcli  without  a 

upi)oiutmeut.  bi.^hnp. 

»  Bishop  Meade's  "  .Vi'ticle  I.,"  in  his  "Old 


474  HISTORY   OF  THE   AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

quoted,  must  plainly  have  been  conformable  to  that  grand  definition  of 
it  in  one  of  the  closing  prayers  of  the  Episcopal  Communion  Service  : 
"The  mystical  body  of  thy  Son,  which  is  the  blessed  company  of  all 
faithful  people."  Indeed,  there  are  at  least  five  other  phrases  or  desig- 
nations in  the  English  Prayer  Book,  with  which  the  governor  must 
have  been  familiar,  which  obviously  mean  the  same  thing,  and  must 
be  interpreted  consistently  with  each  other:  "The  Holy  Catholick 
Church,"  in  the  Apostles'  Creed;  "One  Catholick  and  Apostolick 
Church,"  in  the  Nicene  Creed ;  "  The  Holy  Church  throughout  all 
the  World,"  in  the  "TeDeum";  "The  Catholick  Church," ^  in  the 
Prayer  for  all  Conditions  of  Men  ;  and  "Thy  Holy  Church  Universal," 
in  the  Litany.  There  may  be  others,  but  they  were  all  probaljly 
taken  from  the  ancient  Uses  and  Liturgies  ;  and  few  persons,  I  imagine, 
at  that  day,  would  have  limited  the  application  of  either  of  them  ex- 
clusively to  the  Church  of  England.  Nor  would  any  one,  I  think,  so 
limit  them  at  this  day. 

Nor  did  such  a  church  depend  for  its  existence  or  its  continuance 
on  any  particular  forms  or  ceremonies.  Indeed,  the  very  preface  of 
the  English  Prayer  Book,  as  originally  published  at  the  restoration 
of  Charles  II.,  contains  words  which  are  full  of  significance  on  this 
subject:  "The  particular  forms  of  Divine  Worsiiip,  and  the  rites  and 
ceremonies  appointed  to  be  used  therein,  l)eing  things  in  their  own 
nature  indifferent,  and  alterable,  and  so  acknowledged  ;  it  is  but 
reasonable,  that  upon  weighty  and  important  considerations,  accord- 
inf  to  the  various  exigency  of  times  and  occasions,  such  changes 
and  alterations  should  be  made  therein,  as  to  those  that  are  in  place 
of  authority  should  from  time  to  time  seem  either  necessary  or  ex- 
pedient." 

These  very  words  were  incorporated  into  the  preface  of  our 
American  Prayer  Book  in  1789,  and  were  relied  on  as  the  justifica- 
tion of  the  changes  which  were  adopted  for  the  Episcopal  Church  in 
the  United  States.  That  preface,  indeed,  begins  by  the  distinct  as- 
sertion, that  "it  is  a  most  invaluable  part  of  that  blessed  liberty 
wherewith  Christ  hath  made  us  free,  that  in  his  worship  different 
forms  and  usages  may  without  offence  l)e  allowed,  provided  the  sub- 
stance of  the  Faith  be  i^ept  entire  "  There  will  be  no  allegation  that 
the  Puritans  did  not  keep  entire  the  "substance  of  the  Faith." 

In  the  English  preface  "Of  Ceremonies"  it  is  also  said,  in  con- 
clusion :  "And  in  these  our  doings  we  condemn  no  other  nations,  nor 
prescribe  anything  but  to  our  own  people  only ;  for  we  think  it  con- 
venient that  every  country  should  use  such  ceremonies  as  thej^  shall 
think  best  to  the  setting  forth  of  God's  honor  and  glory,  and  to  the 
reducing  of  the  people  to  a  most  perfect  and  godly  living,  without 
error  or  superstition ;  and  that  they  should  put  away  other  things, 
which  ft-om  time  to  time  they  perceive  to  be  most  abused,  as  in  men's 
ordinances  it  often  chanceth  diversely  in  divers  countries." 

Such  expressions  as  these,  though  thirty  years  later  than  the 
coming  of  the  Massachusetts  Colony,  may  not  unreasonably  be  cited 

'  This  is  changed,  in  the  American  Prayer  Book,  into  "  Tliy  Holy  Chnnli  Iluiversal." 


FOUNDEKS   OF  THE   MASSACHUSETTS   COLONY.  17o 

in  illustr.ation  of  the  views  of  some,  at  least,  of  the  English  church- 
men at  an  eai'liei'  period.  They  are  plainly  the  very  views  wliich  were 
held  and  acted  on  in  New  England.  And  this  is  distinctly  set  forth 
and  maintained  in  "The  Planter's  Plea," — a  tract  generally  ascribed 
to  the  Rev.  John  White,  an  eminent  Puritan  minister,  known  to  history 
as  "the  Patriarch  of  Dorchester"  (England),  and  published  in  London 
in  1630,  in  "manifestation  of  the  causes  moving  such  as  have  lately 
undertaken  a  plantation  in  New-England: — for  the  satisfaction 
of  those  that  question  the  lawfuhiesse  of  the  Action."  This  tract 
might  well  be  rcprhited  in  some  volume  of  historical  collections,  as  an 
original,  contemporaneous  cxi^osition  of  the  motives  and  intentions  of 
the  Massachnsetts  colonists,  both  in  their  civil  and  religious  relations. 

And  this  brings  me  to  a  word  or  two  about  the  Prayer  Book. 
My  friend.  Dr.  Geo.  E.  Ellis,  one  of  the  vice-presidents  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts Historical  Society,  was  substantially  correct  in  wh.at  he  said, 
at  the  First  Church  Commemoration,  in  regard  to  the  absence  of  any 
copies  of  the  old  English  Prayer  Book  from  the  early  inventories  of 
the  New  England  colonists,  and  to  the  fact  that  none  of  them  were  to 
be  found  at  this  day  in  any  of  our  Historical  or  Antiquarian  Libraries. 
It  is  true  that  I  have  two  of  them,  which  undoubtedly  belonged  to 
Governor  Wiuthrop  or  his  immediate  family.  One  of  them,  however, 
is  bound  up  with  the  old  Family  Bible  of  the  governor's  father ;  and 
the  other  is  bound  up  ^vitli  a  Greek  Testament,  and  is  the  very  one 
which  was  nibbled  by  the  mice,  and  which  gave  the  governor  occasion 
to  I'evive  an  old  superstition  which  may  be  traced  as  far  back  as  the 
days  of  Cicero.'  But  these  are  excc])tional  cases  and  hardly  incon- 
sistent with  Dr.  Ellis's  statement.  There  are,  however,  two  consid- 
erations which  may  serve  to  explain  the  rarity  of  the  Prayer  Book  in 
New  England  at  any  earl}'  period. 

In  the  first  place,  it  may  be  doubted  whether  the  Prayer  Book 
was  a  very  common  Ijook,  even  in  Old  England,  at  the  time  the  Mas- 
sachusetts Colony  came  over  here.  During  the  reign  of  Charles  1.. 
even  up  to  the  year  1642,— twelve  years  after  Winthrop's  arrival, — 
it  is  ascertained  that  there  were  printed  in  all  36  editions  of  the  Prayer 
Book,  but  of  these  22  were  printed  in  folio  and  quarto,  and  were  evi- 
dently for  the  use  of  churches,  cathedrals,  universities,  and  those  who 
officiated  in  them.  Twelve  more  of  the  editions  were  in  octavo, — 
not  the  compact  and  portable  size  which  would  seem  to  have  been 
suited  to  general,  popular  use  ;  —  while  only  two  editions  remain  of 
the  smaller  and  cheaper  and  more  convenient  sort  which  would  be 
adapted  to  the  common  people.  I  may  add  that  the  smaller  Prayer 
Book  of  those  early  days  —  if  I  may  judge  by  the  two  copies  in  my 
own  possession  —  was  by  no  means  easily  used,  or  atti'active  as  a 
manual.  Some  pages  of  it  seem  to  be  only  a  sort  of  index  or  direc- 
tory of  the  Service.  Thus,  the  Collects  are  all  given  in  close  sequence, 
but  with  only  numerical  references  to  the  Epistles  and  Gospels. 

It  may  safely  be  inferred,  I  think,  that  the  Prayer  Book  could 
not  have  been  commonly  found  in  the  homes  of  the  great  body  of  the 

'  Dc  Divinationc,  Lib.  ii. 


476  HISTORY    OF   TTTE    AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL   riU'RCH. 

populatiiiii  al  that  day, — even  of  tliosc  wlio  could  read. — and  lliat 
the  larger  mmilicr  listened  to  it  in  their  eiutrehe.s,  and,  perhaps,  liad 
some  of  the  octavo  editions  in  their  pews,  or  seats,  ratlier  than  pos- 
sessed it  as  a  treasure  of  their  own.  And,  indeed,  if  1  liave  read 
aright  the  Bibliographer's  ^Manual  of  Lowndes,  iis  corrected  and  en- 
laraed  1)\'  IJohn,  these  old  editions  of  the  Prayer  Book  are  almost  as 
rare  al  this  dav  in  Old  England  as  in  New  England.  They  are  found 
in  a  few  i;reat  librai'ies  of  universities  or  ehurclies,  and  of  course  in  the 
British  Museum,  and  are  occasionally  sold  at  large  prices.  But  the 
'•reat  mass  of  copies  seems  to  have  disappeared. 

But,  in  the  second  place,  it  must  not  he  forgotten  that  in  1644-45 
the  use  of  the  Prayer  Boolv  in  pu))lie  and  jjrivate  was  for1)idden  In- 
law, and  all  copies  of  it  were  ordered  to  he  dcli\ered  u\),  and  hea^■y 
j)enalties  imposed  upon  all  otfenders.  '  It  is  quite  supposable,  to  say 
the  least,  that  the  Massachusetts  Puritans,  who  were  so  entirely  iu 
symijathy  with  the  Counuonwealth  party  in  England,  may  have  given 

up  or  got  rid  of  their  Prayer 
Books,  also,  at  this  time,  if 
there  were  any  here  ;  and  this 
might  account  for  there  being 
few  or  none  left  to  the  present  day.  This  may  have  been  the  time 
when  Governor  Winthrop  gave  one  of  his  copies  to  the  library  of 
Harvard  College,  as  having  no  use  for  it  himself.  There  was  no  Har- 
vard College  library  for  him  to  give  it  to  much  before  this  date. 

I  nuist  not  forget  to  allude  to  an  imi)ortant  fact  in  connection 
with  the  general  suliject  of  this  in(juiry.  It  is  well  i-emenibercd  that 
John    and    Samuel    Browne, 

who  had  gone  out  to  the  Salem  ^^---- — —p*^     ^^ 

Plantation  with  high    recom-  ^.^9^^^  '  ^^r'/it^^^C^Zif 


<^^^*-Vi^^   CJBj/O***.*^^ 


mendations  from  the  go\ernor 
and  company  in  London,  and 
one  or  both  of  whom  were 
designated  to  be  of  Endicotfs 

Council,  ill  1(529,  were  sent  back  to  England  by  him  for  disturbing 
the  ))eace  of  the  plantation,  and  of  the  little  church  there,  by  attempt- 
ing to  introduce  the  forms  and  inayers  of  the  Episcopal  Church. 
They  must  have  brought  their  Prayer  Books  with  them,  and  they 
probably  carried  them^back  again.  Their  case,  as  we  know,  was 
brought  before  the  Massachusetts  Company  in  London,  and  was  re- 
ferred to  a  committee  for  consideration.  It  happened  that  Governor 
Wintliroi)  was  on  that  committee,  and  he  may  have  learned  liy  that 
investigation  that  the  Salem  Plantation  was  not  disjjosed  for  any 
Prayer-Book  service.  The  Puritans  at  Salem  and  the  Pilgrims  at 
Plymouth  were  of  one  mind  on  that  matter,  and  they  concurred  in 
establishing  Congregational  forms.  But  while  thei-e  is  no  report  on 
the  records^ from'the  committee  to  whom  the  case  of  the  Brownes  was 
referred,  yet  a  letter  of  some  sharpness  and  severity  addressed  to  Mr. 
Skelton  and  Mr.   Higginsou,    the    Salem   ministers,  would  certainly 

'History  ol'the  Book  ol' Common  Pnivcr  (p.    ulso,  1  :uu  hiclclncil  for  the  statements  about  the 
67 ) ,  by  Rev".  Clement  M.  Butler,  D.D.,  to  whom,    early  editions  of  the  English  Prayer  Book. 


FOUNDERS  OF  THE   MASSACHUSETTS   COLONY.  477 

imply,  I  think,  that  the  Massachusetts  governor  and  company  in 
London,  just  before  they  transferred  the  chief  government  to  New 
England,  were  by  no  means  inclined  to  sanction  or  approve  any  posi- 
tive proscription  of  the  English  Church  or  church  service  at  Salem. 

After  their  arrival  here,  too,  a  similar  spirit  was  repeatedly  mani- 
fested. There  was  at  least  a  reverent  caution  in  almost  all  tlioir 
religious  movements. 

Thus,  Roger  Williams,  we  all  remember,  "refu.sed.to  join  with 
the  congregation  at  Boston,"  in  1630-31,  "because  (as  Winthrop  ex- 
pressly states)  they  would  not  make  a  public  declaration  of  (heir 
repentance  for  having  communion  with  the  churches  of  England  while 
they  lived  there." 

And  when,  on  the  27th  of  August,  1630  (old  style),  John  Wil- 
son was  chosen  teacher,  and  Mr.  Nowell  an  elder,  and  Mr.  Gager 
and  Mr.  Aspinwall,  deacons,  of  the  first  Boston  Church,  Governor 
Winthrop  says  in  his  Journal :  "  We  used  imposition  of  hands,  l)ut 
with  this  pi'otestation  by  all,  that  it  was  only  as  a  sign  of  election  and 
confirmation,  not  of  any  intent  that  Mr.  Wilson  should  renounce  his 
ministry  he  received  in  England." 

And  still  again,  when  the  First  Church  Covenant  was  about  to  be 
formed,  scruples  were  distinctly  expressed  and  enjoined,  as  shown  by 
the  letters  of  Wiu.slow  and  Fuller  relating  to  it,  about  the  election  of 
church  officers.  "Not  then  intending  rashly  to  proceed  to  the  choice 
of  officers;"  this  was  their  language. 

It  is  true  that  George  Phillips,  the  pastor  of  the  Watertown 
Church,  and  a  signer  of  the  Farewell  Letter,  took  a  different  view  at 
first.     He  had  privately  told  Dr.  Samuel  Ful- 
ler, of  Plymouth,  —  so  writes  Dr.   Fuller  to  /  fpim 
Governor  Bradford, — "that  if  they  will  have     ^^^y-^      ^fj 
iiim  stand  minister  bj^  that  calling  which  he  re-     «?      '/^Z^gi^ 
ceived  from  the  prelates  in  England,  he  will         —ff^f^,^ j.^^^ 
leave  them."    But  the  late  president  of  the  Mas-       %yj  ^^'*^Lr~ 
sachusetts  Historical  Society,  Mr.  Savage,  in 

direct  allusion  to  this  statement,  says  emphatically:  "  Tliis  was  not  the 
spirit  of  the  first  settlers  of  Massachusetts,  until  they  had  lived  some, 
years  in  the  2oilderness ;  "  "and  I  imagine  (he  adds)  Phillips  was  over- 
come, by  the  persuasion  of  friends,  to  postpone  the  scruple  he  had 
communicated  to  the  Plymouth  Colonist."  ^ 

Nothing  could  be  further  from  my  purpose  than  to  draw  into 
doubt  the  immediate  and  hearty  adoption  of  Congregational  forms  of 
worship  by  the  founders  of  Massachusetts,  as  an  historical  fact ;  or  to 
question  Governor  Winthrop's  full  share  in  their  adoption.  The  only 
question  is,  in  what  spirit,  and  under  what  circumstances,  they  were 
adopted.  And  I  have  only  desire  to  show  that,  at  the  outset,  the 
churches  of  Massachusetts  were  organized  in  no  hostile  opposition  to 
the  Church  of  England,  and  in  no  spirit  inconsistent  with  the  affec- 
tionate farewell  which  was  addressed  by  the  governor  and  company 
to  their  brethren  of  that  church.      Everything  in  the  character  of 

'  Savage's  "  Wiutlux)p,"  edition  1853,  p.  16,  foot-note. 


478  HISTORY   OF   THE   AMEUICAN   Eri.SCOl'Al.   CUUllCH. 


2.     Brcwptcr. 


Wiuftlow. 


PILGIJIM    RELICS. 


that  paper,  and  of  the  men  who  signed  it,  assures  mo  that  it  was  no 
politic  manifesto,  to  conceal  or  cover  purposes  and  plans  already 
formed  ;  but  an  honest,  affectionate  expression  of  a  sincere  feeling  on 
leaving  England.  On  their  arrival  here,  they  conformed  at  once  to 
the  condition  of  the  colony  and  the  exigencies  of  religion.  In  doing 
so  they  renounced  no  previous  convictions  or  relations.  But  Chris- 
tianity was  to  them  above  all  churches,  and  the  worship  of  God  above 
all  forms  or  ceremonies.  Having  adhered  to  the  Church  of  England, 
as  the  best  mode  of  worshipping  God,  while  there,  — they  united  in 
Congregational  worship,  as  the  best,  and,  as  I  think,  the  only  mode, 
in  which  that  worship  could,  under  the  circumstances,  have  been 
arranged  and  conducted  here. 


MONOGRAPH    11. 

EARLY    DISCOVERIES    AND    SETTLEMENTS   ON  THE    COAST 
OF    NEW   ENGLAND,  UNDER   CHURCH   AUSPICES. 

By  the  rev.  benjamin  F.  DeCOSXA,  D.D., 
Rector  of  the   Church  of   St.  John  the  Evangelistt  Jfew    York   City, 

EARLY  ill  the  sixteenth  ceutuiy  New  Eugland  became  known  as 
"  Norumbega,"  a  name  never  satisfactorily  explained.'  The 
country  was  first  styled  "New  England"  in  1616,  by  Captani  John 
Smith.  Some  of  the  early  non-conformists  called  it'Tatmos,"-  and 
others  "  Canaan  ;"^  though  Smith  alluded  to  "  Norumbega"  as  late  as 
the  year  1620.  Prior  to  receiving  the  name  of  "New  Eugland,"  the 
country  was  also  called  "  North  Virginia." 

The  first  Englishman  known  to  have  visited  ixwy  portion  of  New 
England  was  David  Ingram,  a  sailor,  who,  in  January,  1568,  with  about 
one  hundred  companions,  was  landed  by  Hawkins  on  the  shore  of  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico.  Accompanied  by  three  of  his  associates,  he  travelled 
overland  to  Maine,  reaching  the  St.  John's  River,  where  he  embarked 
in  a  French  ship,  and  finally  arrived  in  England.  ■* 

Sir  Humphrey  Gilbert  may  have  visited  New  England  in  1573, 
but  the  first  known  English  expedition,  probably  made  to  this  region, 
was  led  by  a  Portuguese,  Simon  Ferdinando,*  in  1579  ;  while  all  that 
is  known  of  Ferdinando's  ecclesiastical  character  is  indicated  by  the 
fact  that  he  was  once  in  prison  on  "  suspicion  of  heressie,"  being  bailed 
out  by  the  Vice-Admiral  Herbert.  In  1584—86  he  was  employed  in 
connection  with  South  Virginia  exploration.  Ralph  Lane  attested  his 
character  and  worth,  and  especially  his  "grete  skylle  and  grete  gov- 
ernment." 

The  first  Englishman  known  to  have  conducted  an  English  ex- 
pedition to  our  coast  was  John  Walker,  who,  during  the  year   1580, 

'  Some  have  regarded  the  word  as  of  Indian  tion  of  Bishop  White's  "  Memoirs  of  the  Prol- 

origin,  while  others  assign  it  to  the  Old  North-  estant  Episcopal  Church,"  where  early  services 

eru  or  Icelandic  language.    On  this  subject  the  and  sacramental  celebrations  are  noticed.     On 

reader  is  referred  to  the  author's  discussion  in  Ingi-am,  see   the   M.S.  in  "The  Tanner  CoUec- 

the  "  Narrative  and  Critical  History  of  Amer-  tion,"  in  the  Bodleian  Library,  the  "  Bare  Tra- 

ica,"  Vol.  III.,  Chapter  VI.    Also,  to  "  The  Lost  vailes"  of  Job  Hortop,  London,  1591 ;  the  narra- 

City  of  New  England."  live  of  Miles  Phillips,  in  Hakluyt,  ed.  1589,  p. 

=  Calendar  of   State  Papers,  A mencan    and  568,  and  "  The  Magazine  of  American  History," 

the  West  Indies,  Loudon,  1880,  p.  9.  March,  1883. 

^  Sewall's  Diary,  *' Mass.  Hist.  Collections,"  '■When  on  that  coast  one  of   Ferdinando's 

Series    v.,  Vol.  vii.,    p.   96.    Morton's   "New  ships  got  agi-ound,  which  mishap  Dr.  Hawks  im- 

ICnglish  Canaan."  proved  {"  Histor}'  of  North  Carolina,"  i.j  196)  to 

'  The  voyages  of  Cabot  and  John  Rutt  have  declare  that  he  was  a  Spaniard  hh-ed  by  Ins  nation 

no  special  connection  with  our  subject.  On  these  to  frusti'ate  the  designs  of  the  colonists,  calliu^ 

and  other  English  voyages,  see  Cliapters  i.  and  liim  a   "treacherous  villain"  and  "contempti- 

VI.,  Vol.    III.,  of  "  The  NaiTative  and  Critical  ble  mariner ;"  whereas  he  was  a  true  and  stcad- 

Uistory;"    and  for  English,  Spanish,  and  other  fast  friend  of   Englisli  colonization.     See  the 

voyages,  sec  the  Introduction  to  the  Third  Edi-  "  Narrative  and  Critical  History,  "  III.,  VI. 


480 


HISTORY   OF   THE   AMERICAN    EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 


iu  the  service  of  Sir  Humphrey  Gilbert,  came  out  with  a  ship  to  the 
coast  of  Maine.  On  the  banli  of  the  Penobscot  he  discovered  a  mine 
of  silver.     Silver  is   now  found  generally  distributed  on  the    Maine 


coast,  and  the  mining  of  the  ore  is  a  recognized  industry.  He  gave  a 
short  description  of  the  Penobscot  River,  -^vhich  at  that  time  was 
called  the  "  Norumbega."  He  obtained  a  quantity  of  furs,  and  made 
the  return  voyage  in  "xvii  days."  ^     Walker,  it  would  appear,  after- 

'  This  cut  follows  a  photograph  of  the  bas-  marginal  entry  in  a  paper  at  the  "  State  Paper 

i-elipf  given  iu  the  Hakluyt  Society's  edition  of  Office,"  runs  as  follows :  "  Sr.  IT.  Gilbert's  man 

the  "II;i\vl;in3  Voyages."    Another  engraving  is  brought  of  the  syds  of  this  beast  from  Ihe  place 

given  in  "Harper's  Magazine."  Jan.,  1H83,  p.  221.  lie  iliscovered ;"  while  the  "bcaat"  referred  to 

■  The  clue  to  tliis  voyage  is  an  odd  one.    A  was  of  the  kind  mcutioued  iu  the  pa|)er  contain- 


EARLY   niSCOVEKlES   AND   SETTLEMENTS.  481 

wards  took  Orders  iu  the  Church.  At  least,  in  1582,  a  John  Walker 
had  some  sort  of  a  living  conferred  upon  him.  The  MS.  which  would 
have  settled  the  point  conclusively  is  one  of  the  Cotton  MSS.,  in- 
jui'ed  by  fire.^  At  the  time  it  was  written  a  John  "Walker  was  upon 
the  point  of  sailing  in  Fcnton's  expedition  to  the  Moluccas. 

The  knowledge  acquired  by  AValkcr  in  Norunibega  insjiired  Sir 
Humphrey  Gilbert's  activity,  and  it  was  in  connection  with  an  at- 
tempted expedition  to  New  England  that  this  brave  churchman  lost 
his  life. 

After  the  death  of  Sir  Humphrey,  Kalcgh  turned  his  attention 
towards  South  Virginia,  and  plans  for  general  colonization  were 
drawn  up.  Among  these  plans  was  that  of  Captain  Christopher 
Carlisle,  who,  in  April,  1583,  proposed  to  establish  a  colony  near  the 
mouth  of  the  Hudson,  where  the  i)eople  would  Ijc  free  from  the 
power  and  requirements  of  the  Eoman  Church,  many  places  coveted 
as  colonial  sites  being  already  secured  by  the  agents  of  that  faith. 
A  site  further  southward  was  nevertheless  selected,  and  in  1584  the 
work  of  colonization  was  begun  by  Ralegh  and  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land men,  Carlisle  eventually  taking  part  in  the  work.  The  idea  of 
colonization  was  at  this  period  the  peculiar  possession  of  the  men 
of  the  Church  of  England.  No  tendency  in  that  direction  was  shown 
by  non-conformists,  who  were  not  alive  to  the  subject  until  the  seven- 
teenth century.  The  notion  that  American  or  New  England  coloniza- 
tion had  its  rise  among  non-conformists,  being  the  peculiar  product 
of  the  religious  dissensions,  has  no  foundation  in  fact.^  In  the  seven- 
teenth century  colonization  formed  a  jiopular  theme  in  the  Church, 
while  the  necessities  of  England  were  great.  An  excessive  population 
with  abundant  manufactures  demanded  new  fields,  and  these  were 
found.    It  was  the  example  of  churchmen,  in  connection  with  Virginia 

ing  the  Examination  of  David  Ingram,  15S2,  and  too  and  fro  In  foure  monetlia  after  the  first  dis- 

thc  voyage  was  of  recent  date.    The  year  1580  coverie  thereof. 

was  the  only  year  when  a  voyage  coukl   have  2.    Secondly,  that   one   wind  sufficeth   to 

been  made  for  Gilbert  by  Wallicr.     The  MS.  make  the  passage,  whereas  most  of  your  other 

says  that  "  Jolm  Walker  and  his  company  did  voyages  of  like  length,  are   subiect  to  3  .  or  4  . 

disconer  a  silver  mine  w^jin  the  River  Noram-  winds. 

bega,  on  the  nortli  shore,  upon  a  hill  not  farre  3.    Thirdly,  that  it  is  to  be  perfourmed  at 

from  the  river's  side,  about  ix  leagues  from  the  all  times  of  the  yeere. 

mouth  thereof."  4.    Fomthly,  that  the  passage  is  vpon  the 

'The  MS.  is  in  the  British  Museum  (Otlio,  high  sea,  whereby  you   are  not  bound  to   the 

E.,  VUI.,   fol.,    130).     In  a  letter  to  the  E:nl  of  knowledge  of  dangers,  on  any  other  coast,  more 

Ijcieester,  he  speaks  of  my  *'  lv\ing,"  whicli  is  to  then  of  that  Countrcy,  and  of  ours  here  at  home. 

be  kept  "  uutyll  1  returnb  fro  the  indyaus,"  that  5.    Fifthly,  that'those  parts  of  England  and 

is,  from  the  Indies.  The  record  says :  "  The  5  day  Ir-eland,  which  lie  aptest  for  the  proceeding  out- 

about  10  aclocke  in  the  forenoo'ue,  Mr.  Walker  ward  or  homeward  vpon  this  voyage,  are  very 

died,  who   had  bene  weakc   and   sicke  of   the  well  stored  of  goodly  harbours, 

bloodie  fluxe  6  dayes,  wee  tooke  a  view  of  his  6.    Sixthly,  that  it  is  to  bee  accounted  of  no 

things,  and,  prised  tlicm,  and  lieaved  hira  over-  danger  at  all  as  touching  the  power  of   any 

board,  and  shot  a  pccse  for   liis  knell." — Hah-  foreign  prince    or  state,  when  it  is    compared 

luyVs  Principal  Ifamgaiions,  iii.,  p.  7C7.  with  any  of  the  best  of  all  other  voyages  before 

-  The  propositions  of  Carlisle  which  relate  to  recited, 

the  more  northern  parts  of  the  coast,  are  worthy  7.    And  to  the  godly  minded,  it  hath  this 

of  a  distinct  record  here  :  —  comfortable  commoditie,  that  in  this  trade  their 

But  who  shall  looke  into  the  qualitie  of  this  Factours,  bee  they  their  servants  or  children, 
voyage,  being  directed  to  the  latitude  of  fortie  shall  hauc  no  instructions  or  confessions  of 
degrees  or  tiiercaboutes,  of  tliat  hitbermost  part  Idolatrous  Religion  enforced  vpon  them,  but 
of  America,  shal  Und  it  hath  as  many  poiuts  of  contrarily  shall  be  at  their  free  libcrtie  of  con- 
good  moment  belonging  vnto  it,  as  may  almost  science,  and  shall  find  the  same  Religion  cxcr- 
be  wished  for.  cised,  which  is  most  agreeable  vnto  their  Barents 

1 .     As  first  it  is  to  be  vnderstood,  that  it  is  and  Masters.  —  Halduyt,  in.,  p.  1S4,  and  cd.  15SD, 

not  any  long  course,  for  it  may  be  perfourmed  p.  720. 


482  HISTORY   OF  THE   AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

and  New  England,  that  stimulated  the  Leyden  Pilgrims.  Nou-oon- 
Ibi-mists  have  simply  tried  to  secure  a  patent  upon  something  that  they 
did  not  invent. 

The  expedition  of  Gosnold  to  New  England  in  1602,  with  its  at- 
tendant publication,  had  considerable  influence,  though  the  voyage, 
as  we  now  know,  was'  unauthorized,  and  the  cargo  of  cedar  and  sassa- 
fras, obtained  at  the  Elizabeth  Islands,  was  confiscated.'  There  is 
no  trace  of  non-conformity  in  connection  with  this  voyage,  while 
Robert  Salterne,  the  supercargo,  soon  after  took  Orders  in  the  Church. 
He  was  of  an  old  church  family  at  Bristol,  and  it  is  probable  that  he 
performed  liturgical  services  in  New  England. 

In  1603  Martin  Priug  made  his  celebrated  voyage,  being  aided  in 
the  enterj^rise  by  Eicliard  Plakluyt,  who,  with  others,  obtained  the 
sanction  of  Kalcgh,  the  patentee.  With  two  ships  Pring  harbored  at 
Plymouth,"  having  Salterne  as  his  supercargo  ;  and  here  we  may  reason- 
ably suppose  that  divine  worship  was  celebrated  by  Church  of  England 
men  seventeen  years  l)efore  the  arrival  of  the  Pilgrims  from  Holland. 

We  next  come  to  the  voyage  of  Waymouth  ,^  who ,  in  1 605 ,  anchored 
at  Monhegan.  Afterwards,  putting  his  ship  in  harljor  at  Booth's  Bay, 
he  ascended  and  explored  the  Kennebec.  We  have  a  distinct  notice 
of  the  church  services  said  in  the  cabin  of  his  shijD,  the  "Archangel," 
the  savages  being  present,  and  showing  great  interest  and  respect. 
The  historian  of  this  voyage  declares  that  a  "public  good,  and  true 
zeal  of  promulgating  God's  holy  Church  by  planting  Christianity,  to  be 
the  sole  intent  of  the  honorable  setter-forth  of  this  discovery  ;"  while 
the  "setter-forth"  was  no  complaining  non-conformist,  but  a  loyal 
churchman,  the  Earl  of  Arundel.  Eosier's  narrative  of  the  voyage 
stiiTcd  the  minds  of  the  people,  and  attracted  the  notice  of  the  Dutch  , 
but  one  incident  of  the  voyage  was  destined  to  have  great  weight.  We 
refer  to  the  capture  by  Waymouth  of  five  tall  and  intelligent  natives. 
They  were  taken  to  England,  and  put  under  good  training,  in  due  time 
attracting  the  attention  of  Sir  Ferdinando  Gorges ;  who  says  that 
these  Indians  were  the  means,  "  imder  God,  of  putting  on  foot  and 
giving  life  to  all  our  plantations."     Accordingly,  in  1606,  in  connec- 

'  The  general  account  of  this  voyage  is  Kiven  Islands,  was  indicated  by  the  writer,  in  conncc- 

in  an  exceedingly  rare  work,  the  last  copy  sold  tion  with  the  voyage  of  Gosnold  iu  1878.    See 

bringing  #800.    'The  following  is  its  title :  —  "  N.  E.  Hist,  and  Genealogical  Register,"  p.  7G, 

"  A  Briefe  and  true  Relation  of  the  Discou-  and  "  Narrative  and  Critical  History,"  Vol.  iii., 

erie  of  the  North  part  of  Vu'giuia ;  being  a  most  Chap.  VI.    The  narrative  of  Pring's  voyage  is 

pleasant,  fruitful!,  and  commodious  Soile.     Made  found  in  Purchas,  IV.,  p.  1054.   See  v.,  p.  829 ;  cd. 

thispresentyeare,  1602, by Captaiue Bartholomew  1626,  and  icprintcd  in  the  "Mass.  Hist.  Collcc- 

Gosnold,    Captaine  Bartholomew    Gilbert,    and  tions."     Purchas  published  editions  of  his  work 

divers  other  gentlemen  their  associats,  by  the  inonevolumeinl()13,'14,and'17.  Inl62dbepub- 

pcmiission  of  the  honourable  Knight,  Sir  Walter  lished  "Purchas  His  Pilgrims,"  iu  four  volumes, 

Ralegh,   etc.     Written  by  Mr.  lohn  Brereton,  and  iu  1626  a  supplemental  volume,  "Purchas: 

one  of  the  voyage.    Whereunto  is  annexed  a  His  Pilgrimage;  or.  Relations  of  the  World," 

Treatise  of  Mr.  Edward  Hayes.    4to,  London,  etc.    Also  see  "Plvmouth  Before  the  Pilgrims," 

Geor.  Bishop,  1602."  "  Mag.  of  Amcr.  History,"  Dec.,  1882. 

It  is  pooily  reprinted  in  the  thu'd  series  of  ^ "  A  True  Relation  of  the  most  prosperous 
"Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,"  Vol.  VIII.  The  error  in  the  voyagemadcthispresentyeare,  1605,  by  Captaine 
title-page  of  the  worh  was  pointed  out  by  the  George  Waymouth,  in  the  Discoucry  of  the  Land 
writer  iu  a  paper  read  before  the  New  England  of  Virginia;  where  he  discouered  60  miles  of  a 
Historic  Genealogical  Society,  and  the  unauthor-  most  cxcelleut  River;  together  with  a  most 
ized  character  of  the  voyage  shown.  See  the  fertile  land.  Written  by  lames  Rosier,  a  Gentle- 
Society 's  Register,  1878,  p.  76.  Also  see  "  Maga-  man  employed  iu  the  voyage.  Londini,  Impen- 
zine  of  American  History,"  August,  1883.  sis,  Geor.  Bishop,  1605."    The  copy  of  this  book 

=  The  fact  that  Pring  harbored  at  Plymouth,  in  the  Brinley  sale  was  bought  for  $800. 
and  not  at  Gosnold's  hai'bor,  in  the  Elizabeth 


EARLY  DISCOVERIES   AND   SETTLEMENTS. 


483 


tion  with  the  Chief  Justice,  Sir  John  Popham,  and  others,  ho  ol)t!uned 
from  the  king  a  patent ;  and  two  colonics  were  projected,  one  for  North 
and  the  other  for  South  Virginia.  During  the  same  year  a  ship  was 
sent  out  under  Martin  Pring  to  explore  the  coast  anew,  and  tliis  indi- 
vidual brought  hack  the  best  survey  that  Sir  Ferdinando  had  ever  seen.' 
In  1()07  the  expedition,  composed  of  the  ship  "Mary  and  eTohn,"  under 
Captain  Gilbert,  and  the  fly-boat, "  Gift  of  God,"  commanded  by  Captain 
George  Popham,  set  forth,  and  in  due  time  reached  the  coast  of  jNIaiuc.- 
The  ships,  which  had  parted  company  at  the  Azores,  met  at  the  Island 
of  jNIonhegan,  not  far  from  the  Kennebec,  and  here,  on  Sunday,  August 
19,  the  two  ships'  companies  landed,  with  their  chaplain,  the  Kcv.  Rich- 
ard Seymour,  and  celebrated  divine  service.     This,  indeed,  was  the 


snip    OF   TIIE    SEVENTEENTH    CENTURY. 


first  particular  act  of  worship  to  which  we  can  point  in  the  history  of 
New  England,  while  Richard  Seymour,  a  minister  of  the  Church  of 
England,  was  the  first  Christian  priest  at  present  known  to  have  stood 
upon  what  is  now  considered  New  England  soil. 

The  town  l)cgun  on  the  peninsula  of  Sabino,  at  the   mouth  of 


'  See  the  "  Brief  Karration  "  of  Gorges,  B.  i. 
Chap.  V.  Ecprintcd  in  tlie  "Collections  of  the 
Maine  Historical  Society,"  Vol.  ii.  Also,  on  the 
river  discovered  by  Waymonth,  sec  the  "  Reply 
to  Mr.  Bancroft," ""  Mag.  of  Am.  History,"  Au'- 
gust,  1SS3. 

2  On  the  Pophani  Colony,  sec  the  writer's 
work  entitleil,  "  A  Relation  oi"  a  Voyage  to  Saga- 
dahoc, now  iirst  printed  from  the  original  manu- 
script in  the  Lambeth  Palace  Library,"  edited 
with  preface,  notes,  and  appendix.  Cambridge, 
John  Wilson  &  Son,  University  Press,  1S80.  The 
preface  reviews  the  story  of  the  settlement;  and 
the  appendix  reprints  the  extracts  from  Gorges, 
Smith,  Purchas,  and  Alexander,  from  which, 
previous  to  the  publication  of  Strachcy's  account, 


all  knowledge  of  the  colony  was  derived.  Tlie 
MS.  containing  the  account  of  the  voyage,  sup- 
posed by  Palfrey  to  be  lost,  was  found  l)y  the 
writer.  The  foregoing  was  reprinted  from  the 
"Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,"  Vol.  xviii.,  1880-81.  On 
this  subject  see  also  the  "  Memorial  Volume 
of  the  Maine  Historical  Society,"  edited  by  Dr. 
r,allard.  Also  see  "  The  Historic  of  Travailo 
into  Virginia  Britannia;  expressing  the cosmog- 
raphie  and  eomodities  of  the  countiy,  togitlier 
with  the  manrei's  and  customes  of  the  people: 
Gathered  and  observed  as  well  by  those  who 
went  first  thither,  as  collected  by  William 
Strachey,  Gent."  Edited  bv  R.  H.  Major,  for  the 
Hakluyt  Society,  London,  "1849.    p.  159. 


484  HISTORY   OF  THE   AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHITRCH. 

the  Kennebec,  was  abandoned,  for  the  reason  that  the  president, 
George  Popham,  died  during  the  winter  of  1607-8,  Mhich  proved  one 
of  gi-eat  severity ;  while,  in  tlic  spring,  news  came  of  the  death  of 
Chief  Justice  Popham,  together  with  a  summons  for  Captain  Gilbert's 
return,  he  being  required  to  look  after  some  estates.  The  colonists, 
therefore,  left  their  fort,  church,  and  dwelling-houses,  and  went  home 
to  England.  Strachey  says — we  know  not  upon  what  authority  — 
that  "all'"  returned  ;  but  it  docs  not  follow,  by  any  means,  that  their 
property  at  Sabino  was  never  afterwards  utilized.  Much  less  are  we 
authorized  to  afiirm  that  the  Popham  colonists  had  no  immediate  suc- 
cessors, as  wc  know  only  the  names  of  the  officers  of  the  colony.  No 
doubt  one  immediate  result  of  their  return  was  a  feeling  of  discour- 
agement ;  yet,  beyond  question,  this  feeling  quickly  passed  away. 
The  experience  of  1607-8  was  salutary  in  its  effects,  and  revealed  to 
Gorges  and  his  associates  the  nature  of  the  difficulties  with  which  they 
had  to  contend.  To  say  that  the  work  at  Sabino  had  no  influence  in 
forwarding  colonization  is  to  assume  that  none  of  the  men  engaged  in 
the  enterprise  ever  took  part  in  colonization,  and  never  came  out  to 
New  England  again,  which  is  simply  making  ignorance  the  foundation 
of  the  argument,  according  to  the  custom  of  those  advocates  who 
would  have  us  believe  that  the  real  work  of  colonization  of  New  Eng- 
land began  in  1620,  instead  of  having  its  origin  in  connection  with 
non-religious  issues  in  the  previous  century,  when  it  was  clearly 
recognized  as  a  social  and  commercial  necessity.  We  discover,  from 
the  names  given  on  Smith's  map  of  New  England,  that  many  who 
acted  with  the  Popham  Colony  did  not  lose  their  interest.  The 
names  of  towns  familiar  to  the  Popham  colonists  were  soon  transferred 
to  the  coast  of  Maine.  The  notion  that  the  movement  towards  coloni- 
zation died  out  is  an  unsupported  assumption.  Captain  John  Smith 
says,  in  one  place,  that  there  were  "no  more  speeches"  for  coloniza- 
tion ;  but  the  reply  to  his  own  statement,  written  at  a  season  of  de- 
pression resulting  from  captivity,  is  found  in  his  sul)sequent  narrative 
of  operations,  when  he  was  appointed  Admiral  of  New  England,  and 
authorized  to  commence  work  in  earnest,  being  prevented  from  laying 
permanent  foundations  by  head-winds,  that  kept  him  all  summer  from 
going  to  sea.  That  the  patent  of  New  England  did  not  lie  dead  he 
himself  proves:  while,  from  the  ^'car  1608,  the  coast  of  Maine  was 
alive  with  the  English,  who  asserted  their  supremacy,  —  capturing 
French  vessels,'  and  l)reaking  up  tlie  French  settlement  at  Mount 
Desert.^  Captain  John  Smith,  too,  was  on  the  coast,  which  he 
thoroughly  explored  and  described  in  his  famous  book.-* 

1  See  Biai'd's  Letter  in  Carayon's  "Pi'omif  re  existed  witli  respect  to  colonization.  See  "A 
Mission,"  p.  62.  '  Description  of  New-Enjland :  or,  The  Obsei-va- 

2  See  "  Relations  des  .Jesuites,"  Queliee ;  tions  ami  Discoucries  of  Captain  lolin  Smith 
1858,  Vol.  I.,  p.  44 ;  "  Col.  State  P.ipers,"  1574-  (Admirall  of  that  country)  in  the  North  of 
1C13,  Vol.  I.,  articles  18  and  25  ;  Chatnplain's  America,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord,  1614;  ivitli  the 
"  Qi]uvi"e3,"  III.,  17;  Lescarbot's  "  NouvcUe  successe  of  sixc  Ships  that  went  out  the  next 
France," cd.  1618,  Lib.  iv..  Chap,  xiii.;  the  Pop-  yeare,  1C15,  and  the  accidents  befell  him  amons 
ham  "Memorial  Volume;"  and  the  writer's  the  French  men  of  w.arre ;  with  tlie  proofo  of 
"Scenes  in  the  Isle  of  Mount  Desert."  New  the  present  benefit lliiscountrcyaffoords, whither 
York :  1869.  this  present  yeare,  1616,  eiglit  voluntary  ships  are 

3  Smith,  in  1614,  is  his  own  historian,  and  gone  to  malio  further  TryaU.  At  London: 
his  wi-itings  show  the  growth  of  the  feeling  that  printed  by  Humfrey  Lowncs,  for  Robert  Clerke ; 


EARLY   DISCOVERIES    AND   SETTLEMENTS. 


485 


On  the  other  hand,  we  may  pause  to  note  again  the  fact  that 
nothing  was  done  on  the  coast  of  New  England  by  non-conformists 
previous  to  1G20.  The  adventurers  prior  to  that  date  were  men-sent 
out  by  prominent  members  of  the  Church  of  England.  They  examined 
and  mapped  its  harbors,  they  discovered  its  iishing-gTounds,  and  made 
every  preparation  necessary  for  the  occupation  of  the  country.  They 
created  that  fiivorable  state  of  public  sentiment  at  home  which  led 
oppressed  religionists  and  others  to  emigrate,  and  turned  the  attention 
of  all  classes  to  the  advantages  of  the  New  AV^orld.  In  1G20,  when 
driven  by  stress  of  weather  to  take  shelter  at  Cape  Cod,  the  Leyden 
colonists  decided  to  change  their  plan  and  settle  at  Plymouth,'  so 
named  in  IGIG,  their  occupation  of  the  country  was  at  once  appi'oved 
by  Sir  Ferdinando  Gorges-  and  his  episcopal  coadjutors,  who  gave 
the  Plymouth  settlers  a  legal  right  to  remain,  and  aflbrdcd  them  every 
encouragement.-'  Other  colonists  followed,  as  the  time  for  the  con- 
quest of  the  New  England  wilderness  had  come.  If  dissenters  had  not 
entered  upon  the  work,  churchmen  enough  would  have  been  found. 
As  it  happened  many  did  come.  The  Plymouth  colonists  even  were 
strongly  tinctured  with  church  sentiments,  a  great  gulf  existing  be- 
tween many  of  those  people  and  the  settlers  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  as 
we  know  from  the  Seven  Articles  of  the  Church  of  Leyden,''  which. 


and  are  to  be  soiiW  at  his  house  called  the  Locljre, 
in  Chancery  lane,  oner  afrainst  Lincohics  Inne, 
1616."  Also,"  The  Gcucrall  Historic  of  Virginia, 
New  England,  and  the  Summer  Isles,  .  .  . 
from  then'  first  be^nuning.  An",  1584,  to  the 
present,  1626."  London  :  1632.  This  work  now 
brings  an  enormous  price,  but  it  has  been  re- 
printed at  Richmond.  .-Vrber,  London,  1884, 
gives  a  reprint  of  Smith's  complete  works. 

^  See  "A  Relation  or  lournall  of  the  begin- 
ning and  proceedings  of  the  English  Plantation 
settled  at  Plimouth,"  London,  1622,  carefully 
reprinted, and  edited  by  Dexter, as" Mourt'sRo'- 
lation."    Boston,  1865. 

-  For  Sir  Ferdinando's  history  of  his  actions 
sec  "  ABriefe  Nan-ation  of  the  Originall  Under- 
takings of  the  advancement  of  Plantations  into 
the  Piirts  of  America,  especially  showing  the 
beginning,  progress  and  continuance  of  that  of 
New  England.  Written  by  the  Right  WorshipfuU 
Sir  Ferdinando  Gorges,  Knight  and  Governour  of 
the  Fort  and  Island  of  Plymouth,  in  Devonshire. 
London.  Printed  by  E.  Brndcuell,  for  Natli. 
Brook,  at  the  Angell  in  Corn-hill,  1658."  This 
work  is  reprinted  in  the  "Collections  of  tlie 
Maine  Ilistorical  Society,"  S.  i.,  Vol,  ii. 

'  The  charter  granted  to  the  colonists  of 
Plymouth  by  the  "  President  and  Council  of 
New  England,"  bore  date  of  .June  1,  1621. 
It  is  a  document  issued  by  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land "Plymouth  Company"  to  a  singular  baud 
of  non-conformists  at  Plymouth,  Massachusetts, 
where  it  is  still  preserved,  and  is  described  as 
"  the  oldest  document  in  Massachusetts  officially 
connected  with  her  history."  It  is  a  church 
document.  — Urad/ord's  Journal,  p.  107. 

<  "  Seven  ,\rtikels  which  y  Church  of  Ley- 
den sent  to  3"°  Counsell  of  England  to  bee  consid- 
ered of  in  rcspeckt  of  their  judgments  occationed 
about  theer  going  to  Virginia  Anno  1618, 

"1,  To  y  confession  of  fayth  pubhshcd  in 
y"  name  of  y°  Church  of  England  &  to  eveiy 
artikell  thereof  wee  do  w'''  y"  reformed  cliurches 
wheer  we  live  &  also  els  where  assent  Avholv. 


"  2.  As  wee  do  acknowlidg  y"  doctryne  of 
fayth  theer  tawght  so  do  wee  y"  fruites  and 
effeckts  of  y"  same  doctryne  to  y"  begetting  of 
saving  fayth  in  thousands  in  y  laud  (conform- 
istes  &  reforraistes)  as  y'  ar  called  w"*  whom 
also  as  w"'  our  In-ethrcu  wee  do  desycr  to  keepe 
sperituall  communion  in  peace  and  will  prackiis 
in  our  parts  all  lawlull  things. 

"  3.  The  King's  Majesty  wee  acknowlidg 
for  Suprcame  Ciovernor  in  his  Dominion  in  all 
causes  and  over  all  p.arsons  [persons]  audy'  none 
may  dceklyno  or  apealo  from  his  authority  or 
judgment  in  any  cause  whatsoever,  but  y*  in  all 
thingcs  obedience  is  dewe  unto  him,  ether  active, 
if  y»  thing  commanded  be  not  agaynst  God's 
woord,  or  passive  yf  itt  bee,  except  pardon  can 
bee  obtayned. 

"4.  Weejudg  ittlawfuU  for  his  Majesty  to 
apoynt  bishops,  civiU  overseers,  or  officers  in 
authoryty  onder  hime,  in  y*'  severall  provinces, 
dioses,  congregations  or  parrishes  to  oversee 
y"  Churches  and  governe  them  civilly  according 
to  y  Lawes  of  y  Land,  imttowhom  yJ  ar  in  all 
thingcs  to  geve  an  account  &  by  them  to  bee 
ordered  according  to  Godlynes. 

"ft.  The  authority  of  y  present  bishops  in 
j°  Land  wee  do  acknowlidg  so  far  forth  as 
y"  same  is  indeed  derived  from  his  Majesty  untto 
tlicm  and  as  y?  proseed  in  his  name,  whom  wee 
will  also  theerin  honor  in  all  things  and  hime  in 
them. 

"  6.  Wee  beleeve  y'  no  sinod,  classes,  con- 
vocation, or  assembly  of  Ecclcsiasticall  Officers 
hath  any  power  or  authoryty  att  all  but  as 
y"  same  by  y^  Majestraet  gcven  unto  them. 

"  7.  Lastly,  wee  desycr  to  give  untto  all 
Superiors  dew  honnor  to  preserve  y°  unity  of 
y"  speritt  w"^  all  y  feare  God,  to  have  peace 
w*^  all  men  what  in  us  lycth  it  wheerein  wee  err 
to  bee  instructed  by  any."  —  Subscribed  by  John 
Robinson  and  William  Bricster. 

—  X.  Ynrh  Hist.  Coll., 
S.  2,  Vol.  111.,  Pt.  1,  p.  29.3. 


486  HISTORY  OF  THE   AMKRICAN   EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

in  some  respects,  go  beyond  anything  that  churchmen  would  consent 

to  in  our  day. 

When  Endicott  left  the  Old  World,  in  1628,  the  language  of  the 
company  was,  "Farewell  the  church  of  God  in  England,  and  all 
Christian  friends  there  !  We  do  not  go  to  New  England  as  Separatists 
from  the  Church  of  England  ;"i  and,  in  1630,  Winthrop's  company 
"  esteem  it  an  honour  to  call  the  Church  of  England  from  whence  wee 
rise,  our  dear  mother."  Such  men  as  the  Brownes  of  Salem  came  over 
with  an  implied  contract  in  fiwor  of  the  Cliurch.  From  Smith's  map 
of  New  England,  1616,  it  would  appear  that  the  country  had  been 
preempted  by  churchmen.  As  is  well  known,  the  map  originally  was 
covered  with  Indian  names,  ^  and  young  Prince  Charles  was  requested 
to  revise  them.  This  appears  to  have  been  done  after  consultation 
with  influential  men  well  versed  in  all  matters  relating  to  New  England  ; 
for  while  the  prince  shows  in  the  selection  of  names  a  decided  partiality 
for  Scotland,  his  native  country,  he  nevertheless  makes  an  intelligent 
distribution  of  certain  names  with  reference  to  the  enterprise  of  the 
Church  of  England  men  in  the  south  and  west.  Except  "Boston" 
and  "Hull,"  taken  from  Nottinghamshire  and  Lincolnshire,  there  is 
nothino-  to  recall  the  homes  of  the  non-conformists.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  churchmen  of  Bristol,  always  so  prominent  in  connection  with  New 
England,  find  their  brave  city  recognized  ;  while  "Plymouth,"  ^  a  gi-eat 
seat  of  Church  of  England  enterprise,  the  home  of  Gorges  and  the 
startino--point  of  the  Popham  colonists,  displaces  the  aboriginal 
"  Accomac,"  pointed  out  as  the  proper  site  for  a  colony  by  Smith,  and 
surveyed  by  Pring  in  1603;  while  Dermer  made  a  peace  with  the 
Indians  in  1619,  and  thus  opened  the  way  for  the  Leyden  colonists,  who 
found  Plymouth  prepared  for  them  by  churchmen  and  bearing  its  pi-cscnt 
Englisli  name.  So,  too,  "Poynt  Sutlift","  near  the  present  Scituatc, 
foruied  a  distinct  recognition  of  that  true  churchman,  Dr.  Sutlifle,  Dean 
of  Exeter,  who  took  such  a  profound  interest  in  colonization,  and  spent 
his  money  freely  in  behalf  of  New  England  enterprise.  The  Rev. 
Samuel  Purchas  by  his  publications  also  performed  an  important  part 
and  showed  great  zeal. 

A  greater  name,  however,  than  any  of  those  mentioned,  and  one  that 
demands  special  notice,  is  that  of  the  Rev.  Richard  Hakluyt,  who  is  not 
to  be  confounded  with  Hakluyt  the  elder,  of  Yatton.  It  is  unfortunate 
that  we  know  so  little  of  the  history  of  this  remarkable  man,  who  was 
liorn  about  the  year  1553,  being  educated  at  Westminster  School  and 
Christ  Church  College,  Oxford.  By  accident,  while  a  boy  at  West- 
minster, he  visited  the  rooms  of  his  cousin  Richard,  a  gentleman  of  the 
Middle  Temple,  where  he  "  found  lying  vpon  his  boord  certeinc  bookes 
of  Cosmographie  with  a  vniversal  Mappe."     These  attracted  the  lad's 

'  Mather's  "  Magnalia,"  B.  m.,  Part  II.,  grims]  received  at  the  last  EnKlish  port  from 

Chap.  I.  which  they  had  sailed,  the  oldest  New  England 

=  Sec  on   map  and  names,  "Narrative  and  colony  took  the  name  of  Plymouth."    In   1620 

Critical  History,"   III.,   Chap.  VI.,  and    "  Me-  the  harhor  was  well  known,  having  been  mapped 

morial  History  of  Boston,"  I.,  p.  52.  hy  the  English ;  also,  by  the  French  in  1005,  and 

=  Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  Plymouth  the  Dutch  in  1611.    It  was  one  of  the  red  men 

wag  named  iu  1616  by  Prince  Charles,  Mr.  Ban-  who  had  associated  with  churchmen  in   Maine, 

croft,  in  the  latest  revised  edition  of  his  United  the  Chief  Samoset,  who  surprised  the  Plymouth 

States  (I.,  p.  209) ,  innocently  says ;  "  In  memoi-y  Pilgrims,  in  1620,  with  the  salutation,  "  Welcome, 

of  the  hospitalities  which  the  company  [the  Pil-  Englishmen." 


EARLY  DISCOVERIES   AND   SETTLEMENTS.  487 

attentioa,  whereupon  the  owner  of  the  Cosmographie,  Hulvhiyt  Siiys, 
began  to  mstruct  his  ignorance,  and  turned  to  the  lU7th  Psalm,  dwell- 
ing upon  those  who  go  down  into  the  sea  in  ships.  The  seed  was  sown 
upon  good  ground,  and  Hakluyt's  course  was  fixed  for  life,  since  he 
says : — 

The  words  of  the  Prophet,  together  with  my  cousin's  discourse  (things  of  higli 
and  rare  delight  to  my  yoimg  nature),  tooke  so  deepe  an  impression  that  I  con- 
stantly resolved,  if  euerl  were  preferred  to  the  Vniversitj',  where  better  time  and 
more 'convenient  place  might  be  ministred  for  these  studies,  I  would,  by  God's 
assist:»nce,  prosecute  that  knowledge  and  kinde  of  literature,  the  doores  whereof 
(after  a  sort)  were  so  happily  opened  before  me. 

Hakluyt  was  a  man  of  broad  and  comprehensive  views.  ^Vhile  a 
diligent  preacher,  and  a  painful  student  of  theology,  he  was  not  un- 
mindful of  the  humanities.  His  mind  went  out  in  search  of  all 
availal)le  knowledge,  but  especially  did  he  delight  to  supplement  his 
sacred  studies  with  the  results  of  historical  research ;  to  all  of  which 
he  gave  a  practical  turn,  and  thus  became  eminently  useful  in  opening 
new  countries  to  the  enterprise  of  Englishmen,  who,  along  the  paths 
of  a  successful  commerce,  bore  the  banner  of  Christ  and  the  Chiu'ch. 
The  activity  of  Hakluyt  was  felt  in  all  parts  of  the  civilized  Avorld, 
but  especially  do  we  trace  his  influence  in  America ;  while  to-day, 
among  historical  students,  no  name  carries  with  it  more  authority,  or 
is  quoted  with  more  respect,  than  that  of  Eichard  Hakluyt.  New 
England  especially  owes  him  a  debt.  Under  the  impulse  created  by 
his  genius  and  learning,  and  reinforced  by  his  enterjjrise  and  liberal 
financial  benefactions,  the  work  of  colonization  was  stimulated  to  a  re- 
markable degree.  Bitter  non-conformists,  who  never  acknowledged 
any  obligation,  adopted  his  reasonings,  and  followed  his  policy.  Thus, 
largely  under  his  guidance,  the  course  of  emph-e  took  its  westward 
wa3^  There  were  religious  persecutions  in  those  days,  but  there  were 
also  churchmen  who  acted  from  a  deep  conviction  produced  by  the 
arguments  in  favor  of  colonization,  the  strongest  of  which  were  put  by 
Hakluji;,  whose  name  was  a  power.  It  was  Hakluyt,  Sir  Fcrdinaudo 
Gorges,  and  their  fellow-laborers,  together  with  the  printing-press,' 
not  Archbishop  Laud,  and  the  members  of  the  Star  Chamber,  who 
colonized  New  England.     Sir  Ferdinando  Gorges,  however,  was  the 

'  Hakluyt's  works  appear  ia  the  following  tant  quarters  of  the  Earth  at  any  time  within  the 

oi'der: —  compasse  nf  these  1600  i/eres:  Divided  into  three 

Divers  voyages  touching  the    discouerie  of  eeverall  I  olumes,  according  to  the  positions  0/ the 

America  and  the  Islands  adjacent  vnio  the  same,  Regions  wherevnto  they  were  directed,   etc.,  etc. 

made  Jirst  of  all  h>j  our  Englishmen,  and  after-  By    Richard  Uakluyt,  Preacher,  and  sometime 

wards  l>y  the  Frenchmen  and  Britons,  etc.,  etc.  Student  of  Christ-Church  in  Oxford.    Imprinted 

Imprinted  at  London  for   Tliomas   Woodcocke,  at  London  by  George  Bishop,  Ralph  Newberie, 

dwelling  in  paules  Church-Yard,  at  the  signe  of  and  Robert  Barker,  anno  1,599. 
the  blacke  beare,  1SS2.    Reprinted  by  the  Hak-  Tliis  work  was  in  three  volumes  folio ;  the 

luyt  Society,  ISoO.  thhd  printed  in  1600.    For  the  convenience  of 

The  Principal  Navigations,  Voiages,  and  Dis-  students,  it  may  be  noted   that    this  woi'k  was 

coveries  of  the  English  Nation,  made  by  Sea  and  reprinted  with  care  in  1809-12,  by  George  Wood- 

Over  Land,  to  the  most  remote  and  farthest  distant  fall,  ecUtod  by  R.  II.  Evans,  and  is  now  so  scarce 

quarters  of  the  Earth,  etc.    Imprinted  at  London  that  it  brings  £20  to  £30. 

by  George  Bishop  and  Ralph  Newberie,  Deputies  Among    Ir.ter    pieces   was     the    following 

to  Chriitopher  Booker,  Printer  to  the  Queene'smost  narrative,  entitled:  — 
excellent  Ilaiestie,  1589.  Virginia  richly  valued.  By  the  description  of 

The  Principal  Navigations,  voyages,  Traf-  the  maine  land  of  Florida,  her  next  neighbor,  etc., 

fi:/ues, and  Discovti-iesrf  the  English  Nation  made  etc.     London,  1009. 
by  Sea  or  overland,  to  the  remote  and  farthest  dis- 


488  HISTORY    OF   THE   AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

official  representative  of  the  movement.  To  him,  therefore,  is  accorded 
in  a  special  sense  the  title  of  "Father  of  New  England  Colonization." 
The  names  of  these  two  churchmen,  Gorges  and  Hakluyt,  will  go 
down  the  line  of  the  generations  together.  It  M'as  men  of  their  stamp 
who  established  colonization  in  New  England,  as  well  as  in  Virginia,  and 
also  rendered  the  existence  of  non-conformity  possible,  by  their  kind- 
ness and  toleration  clothing  the  opponents  of  the  Chm"ch  with  a  power, 
ruthlessly  employed  at  last,  to  strike  down  her  sous. 

Let  us  pass  however,  to  notice  several  of  the  chui'chmeu  who 
appear  in  the  early  history  of  New  England  as  colonists. 

Whether  at  the  time  the  Leyden  Pilgrims  reached  Plymouth 
there  were  any  other  white  settlers  on  the  coast  of  Massachusetts  we 
need  not  inquire,  though  it  is  now  quite  certain  that,  in  INIaine,  per- 
manent settlers  were  on  the  ground  long  prior  to  1G20  ;  while,  soon  after 
1620,  colonists  appeared  in  Maine  in  large  numbers.'  In  the  Plymouth 
settlement  there  was  an  element  decidedly  in  favor  of  tiie  Church,  as 
we  may  conclude  from  the  fact  that  at  Christmas,  1621,  Bradford 
says,  the  "  most  of  this  new-company  excused  them  selves  and  said  it 
wente  against  theer  consciences  to  work  on  y'  day."^ 

One  of  those  some  time  afterwards  associated  with  the  people  of 
Plymouth  was  the  Eev.  'NA'illiam  Morrell,  whom  we  may  style  "The 
first  Ecclesiastical  Commissioner  in  New  England."  Morrell  was  the 
minister  of  the  colony  attempted  at  Weymouth  "  Fore-river,"  one  of 
the  southern  arms  of  Boston  harbor.  This  little  stream  waters  a 
region  of  great  historic  interest.^  Upon  the  banks  of  this  river  stood 
the  ancient  "  Wessagusset,"  a  settlement  commenced  by  the  English 
before  Blackstone  had  entered  the  peninsula  of  Boston.  In  1622 
Weston  sent  a  colony  to  that  place,  of  which  no  trace  remained  in 
March,  1623,  except  a  solitary  block-house.  In  the  following  Sep- 
tember Captain  Robert  Gorges,  son  of  Sir  Ferdinando,  renewed  the 
attempt,  having  been  made  lieutenant-general,  or  "  Gove""  of  y" 
Countrie,"  with  large  jurisdiction,  both  civil  and  ecclesiastical.  He 
was  furnished  with  a  council,  and  had  Francis  West  for  vice-admiral. 
Like  his  father,  Gorges  was  a  churchman,  and  had  in  view  the  estab- 
lishment of  episcopacy  in  Massachusetts.  Accordingly,  with  his 
colony,  he  brought  over  Morrell.  Though  none  of  this  second  band 
of  colonists  appear  to  have  been  massacred  by  the  Indians,  like  some 
of  the  first,  in  many  other  respects  tliey  fared  but  little  better. 
Gorges  appears  to  have  been  disgusted  with  his  principality.  At 
least  Bradford  says,  "  The  Gov""  and  some  y'  depended  upon  him  re- 
turned for  England,  haveing  scarcly  saluted  ye  cunti'ie  in  his  Govern- 

1  Readers  of  New  England  history  -were  fact  of  all  New  England,  for  the  period  of  160O- 
long  accustomed  to  the  tedious  iteration,  that,  iu  20,  remains,  like  other  portions,  to  be  written.  In 
1020,  there  was  not  a  single  white  colonist  hving  connection  with  this  period  it  is  too  often  for- 
between  Virginia  and  Newfoundland.  This  gotten  that  at  the  time  the  Pilgrims  were  st.arving 
statement  rested  upon  its  basis  of  ignorance  until  at  Plymouth  free  representative  government  had 
the  publication  of  the  Labadist  journal,  proving,  bccn'cstablished  in  Virginia,  in  May,  1622. 
in  connection  with  other  establislied  facts,  that  a  ^  Bradford's  Journal, "  Collections  of  Massa- 

colony  existed  at  Manhattan  in  16l.i,  when  Jean  chusetts  Historical  Society,"  S.  4,  Vol.  iii., 
Vigne  was   born.    In  the  joui-nal  of  the  N.Y.    p.  12. 

Biographical  Society  (1885)  Dr.  Purple  gives  an  ^  See.  on  this  subject,  "  Bi-adford's  History," 

account  of  four  generations  of  Vigne  descend-  pp.  148-168, 149-154,  "  Proceedings  of  the  Mass. 
ants.     Tlie  story  of  Pemaquid.  Maine,  and  in    1  list.  Society,"  1878,  p.  195. 


EARLY  DISCOVERIES   AND   SETTLEMENTS.  489 

mente,  not  finding  the  state  of  things  hear  to  answei-  his  qualiitie  and 
condition."  It  has  generally  been  supposed  that  after  his  departure 
the  people  at  once  left  Wessagusset,  and  that  the  remnant,  with 
Morrell,  took  up  their  abode  at  Plymouth.  Bradford,  however,  says, 
"The  people  dispersed  them  selves,  some  went  for  England,  others 
for  Virginia,  some  few  remained,  and  were  helped  with  supplies  from 
hence."  Bradford  says  that  Morrell  was  in  the  country  "aljout  a  year 
after  y"  Gov''  returned,"  and  finally  sailed  for  England  from  Plymouth. 
Bradford,  as  Governor  of  Plymouth,  was,  ex-officio,  a  member  of 
Gorges'  Council,  and  the  people  of  Plymouth,  many  of  whom,  being 
attached  to  the  Church  of  England,  were  led  as  well  by  brotherly  sym- 
pathy as  by  a  common  humanity  to  aid  the  people  at  Wessagusset. 

The  length  of  MorreU's  sojourn  at  Pljanouth  is  not  known.  Brad- 
ford gives  a  curious  jDiece  of  information  concerning  him,  sayino-, 
"  He  had  I  know  not  what  power  and  authority  of  superintendancie 
over  other  churches  granted  him,  and  sundrie  instructions  for  that 
end ;  but  he  never  showed  it,  or  made  any  use  of  it ;  (it  should  seeme 
he  saw  it  was  in  vaine  ;)  ho  only  speake  of  it  to  some  hear  at  his  soino' 
away.   ' 

The  language  of  Bradford  is  peculiar.  Ho  says  that  IMorrell  had  a 
superintendency  over  other  churches.  Did  this  commission  refer  to  the 
"  other  churches"  in  Virginia,  whither  a  portion  of  his  flock  went,  or 
was  the  commission  drawn  in  accordance  with  the  fourth  of  the  Seven 
Ai-ticles  of  Leyden,  in  which  the  intending  colonists  acknowledged  it 
"  lawfull  for  his  Majesty  to  apoynt  bishops,  civill  overseers,  or  officers 
in  authoryty  onder  hime  ...  to  oversee  y"  Churches  ?  "  It  would 
appear  to  include  the  latter,  as  we  infer,  from  Bradford's  statement, 
that  Morrell  saw  that  any  attempt  to  exercise  his  functions  would 
prove  "  in  vaine."  Bradford,  possibly,  like  some  moderns,  was  not 
acquainted  with  the  existence  of  the  Articles. 

Of  the  general  services  rendered  by  Morrell  in  Massachusetts  we 
cannot  speak.  His  special  performance  was  the  composition  of  a 
Latin  poem  descriptive  of  the  country.  This  poem  was  printed  in  a 
pamphlet  upon  his  return  to  England,  Morrell  describing  himself  in 
the  dedication  as  "late  preacher  with  the  Eight  Wor:  Capt.  Rob: 
Gorge  late  governor  of  New  England."  It  would  appear  that  cither 
at  Plymouth  or  Wessagusset  he  found  little  to  do,  especially  in  his 
character  as  commissioner.  In  his  address  to  the  "  Vnderstanding 
Reader"  he  says  that  it  was  during  his  "melancholy  leasure  "  that  he 
"conceived  these  rude  words,"  which  his  "conscious  muse  censured." 
The  phrase  "  melancholy  leasure "  may,  perhaps,  be  understood  as 
referring  to  the  dark  days  of  the  winter  of  1623-4,  when  he  sought 
to  warm  himself  l>y  the  green  logs  of  the  block-house  fire  ;  though  life 
there  may  not  have  been  so  melancholy,  after  all,  since  Morton,  of 
Merry  Mount,  resorted  thither  sometimes  in  the  winter  for  "the 
benefit  of  company,"  and  was  arrested  there  in  1028, — a  circumstance 
which  has  been  used  to  prove  that  the  second  settlement  of  Wessa- 
gusset did  not  come  to  an  end  in  1G24,  when  Morrell  left.     Of  the 

'  Bi-adfonVs  Journal,  p.  \7A. 


490  HISTORY  OF   THE    AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

truth  of  the  latter  conclusion  we  cannot  well  judge  at  present,  but 
it  is  certain  that  Morrell  was  much  discouraged,  and  resigned  his 
semi-episcopal  jurisdiction,  seemingly  with  little  regret. 

Morrell's  preliminary  address  to  the  lords,  knights,  and  gentle- 
men who  had  undertaken  the  colony  at  Wessagussct,  like  most  docu- 
ments of  the  kind,  is  more  or  less  difluse  and  wordy,  besides  being 
sprinkled  with  Latin,  in  common  with  the  dedication  and  postscript. 
His  purpose  in  ^vl■iting  was  to  furnish  correct  information  concerning 
the  country  and  the  natives.  The  woi'k  of  founding  new  colonies  he 
considered  roj'al  and  religious  employment.' 

There  is  nothing  in  the  poem  to  indicate  that  the  colony  at  Wessa- 
gussct was  a  failure ;  though  it  is  clear,  even  if  Its  continuity  was 
preserved,  that  it  lost  its  episcopal  character  by  its  close  proximity  to 
independency.  That  there  was  always  a  certain  number  of  inhabi- 
tants around  Boston  from  1624  to  1631  is  evident  from  an  entry  in 
Winthrop's  journal.  Of  the  causes  which  led  to  the  failure  at  Wessa- 
gusset  we  need  not  speak,  though  it  would  appear  as  though  Robert 
Gorges,  not  acting  in  the  spirit  of  brave  old  Sir  Ferdinando,  was 
largely  responsible.  If  he  had  persevered  a  flourishing  episcopal 
community  might  have  been  formed  on  the  south  side  of  Boston 
harbor,  and  possibly  decided  the  ecclesiastical  character  of  Massa- 
chusetts. 

About  this  period  we  find  at  Weymouth  an  ex-clergyman  of  the 
Church  of  England,  the  Rev.  Robert  Hull,  who  was  complicated  in 
aifairs  connected  with  that  place.  Yet  too  little  is  known  aliout  him 
at  present  to  warrant  any  attempt  to  give  his  story.''  If  space  allowed, 
it  would  be  of  interest  here  to  repeat  the  story  of  Thomas  ilorton, 
of  "Merry  Mount,"  who,  about  the  year  1622,  established  himself  at 
WoUaston,  in  the  present  Quincy,  Massachusetts ;  in  the  autumn  of 
1630  being  banished  to  England  for  the  second  time  on  false  and 
malignant  charges ;  and  who,  upon  his  return  to  the  country  in  1644, 
was  apprehended,  and  condemned  without  law,  finally  dying  at  Aga- 
menticus,  the  modern  York,  from  the  efiiects  of  the  privations  which  he 
suflered  in  prison  at  Boston.  The  persecution  of  Morton  by  the  au- 
thorities ended  in  judicial  murder.  Morton  was  a  man  of  talent,  a 
lawyer  by  profession,  and,  according  to  Samuel  Maverick,  "a  gentle- 
man of  good  qualitie."  Morton  lacked  discretion,  and  was  an  unmerciful 
satirist,  in  the  Third  Book  of  his  "New  English  Canaan"  making  his 
enemies  wince.  The  worst  of  charges  were  brought  against  him,  but 
in  no  case  could  they  ofier  any  proof.  His  crime  consisted  chiefly  in 
his  opposition  to  Separatism.  The  cruel  and  illegal  ti'eatment  which  he 
received  will  blacken  the  memory  of  his  persecutors  so  long  as  New 
England  history  is  read.     He  had  a  patent  for  his  land ;  he  violated 

•  The  Massachusetts  Historical  Society  has  The  Dedication  is  sijjned  William  MoircU. 

a  copy  of  Morrell's  book,  though  it  lacks  the  The  poem  is  reprinted  ia  the  "Mass.  Coll.,"  1792, 

title-papte.    We  give  the  title  from  the  British  p.  125. 
Museum  copy :  —  "  On    this    person  see  the  "  Con£a"e2"atioual 

"  New  England  or  A  hriefe  ennumeration  of  Quarterly,"  April,  1877.  Also  Freeman's"  Ilistoiy 
the  Ayre,  Earth,  Water,  Fish  and  Fowles  of  of  Cape  Cod."  Hull  was  evidently  discountc- 
thatCountiy.  With  a  Description  of  the  Natures,  nanccd  by  the  powers  at  Boston,  to  whom  event- 
Orders,  Habits  and  Religion  of  the  Native ;  in  ually  he  succumbed ;  though  it  wonld  pppear 
l.atine  and  English  Vei'se.  Sat  breve.  Si  sat  that  he  came  to  New  England  to  aid  in  render- 
bene,    London,  Imprinted  hy  I>.  D.,  1625."  ing  the  people  obedient  to  the  Cluuch. 


EARLY  DISCOVERIES   AND   SETTLEMENTS.  491 

no  law ;  he  lived  apart  Ijy  himself,  attending  to  his  own  interests ; 
yet,  being  an  enemy  to  dissent,  a  successful  trader  and  an  advocate 
of  common  prayer,  it  was  decreed  that  he  must  not  be  tolerated. 
AVhat  to  some  may  appear  the  more  singular  is  the  fiict  that  they 
objected  not  only  to  his  use  of  Common  Prayer,  but  to  the  Bible, 
which  the  leaders  among  the  non-conformists  in  New  England  did  not 
regard  with  the  tavor  now  taken  for  granted.  They  were  afraid  to  trust 
the  people  publicly  with  any  considerable  portion  without  its  being  ex- 
pounded. A  curious  illustration  is  found  in  the  case  of  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Beach,  who  left  the  Congregational  ministry  at  Newtown,  Connecticut, 
after  alarming  the  people  by  reading  "  whole  chapters  of  the  Word  of 
God."  1 

His  enemies  charged  Morton  witli  selling  fire-arms  to  the  Indians, 
against  which  there  was  no  law  ;  but  the  most  dangerous  things,  after 
all,  were  the  Bible  and  Prayer  Book  ;  and  hence  it  was  declared  that 
he  must  go.  To  add  to  the  cruelty  of  their  proceedings  his  bouse 
was  burnt  before  his  eyes,  and  every  indignity  was  shown  him  that 
malice  could  devise.^ 

Another  prominent  churchman  was  Samuel  Maverick,  who,  at  a 
subsequent  pe- 
riod, performed  y  M  <        yy 

of  Royal  Com- 
missioner.    Maverick  was    the   first  white    inha))itant    of  "Noddle's 
Island,"  now  East  Boston.'     Josselj'n  says  that  he  was  the  son  of  the 
Rev.  John  Maverick,  the  dissenting  minister  of  Dorchester,  who  came 
over  in  1630  ;  but  this,  perhaps,  is  hardly  certain. 

In  the  side  discussions,  where  the  name  of  Maverick,  or  Mavericke, 
is  occasionally  found,  it  is  the  custom  either  to  speak  of  the  date  of  his 
arrival  in  Massachusetts  as  unknown,  or  to  fix  it  at  1623,  associating 
him  with  the  Weymouth  colonists  brought  over  by  Gorges.  Some 
testimony  on  this  point  appears  to  have  escaped  notice  ;  for,  in  1669, 
he  wrote  to  Sampson  Bond  that  he  was  in  New  England  from  "  the 
first  settling."  In  the  same  letter,  however,  he  speaks  more  definitely, 
saj'ing  "  it  is  45  yeares  since  I  came  into  New  England."  His  memory, 
perhaps,  was  accurate  respecting  dates,  as  may  be  inferred  from  his 
statement  of  1640,  that  he  had  had  ten  years'  experience  of  the  colo- 
nists at  Boston,  who  came  over  in  1630.  If  Maverick's  statement  of 
1669  is  perfectly  exact,  it  follows  that  he  came  in  1624,  and,  there- 
fore, had  nothing  to  do  with  those  who  came  with  Robert  Gorges  in 

'  History  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  entitled,  "New  England's  Vindication,"  printed 

in  America,   by   Wilberforce.      London,    1806.  for  Henry   Gardener,    1660.      This   shows  that 

p.  118.  WoUaston,  Morton's  associate,  also  had  a  patent. 

-  See  the  Stoiy  of  Morton,  in  the  "Magazine  of  See    The   Prince    Society's    edition    of   "The 

American  History,"  Februoi-y,  1882 ;  and  Charles  New  English  Canaan,"  edited  by  Cliarles  Francis 

P'rancis    Adams,   in    the  "Atlantic    Monthly,"  Adams,  Boston,   4to,    1883;    with    a  favorable 

May  and  J  unc,  1877.  The  "Clarendon  Papers,"  in  review  of  the  same  in  "  The  Nation,"  .June  7, 1883. 

tlie  "  New  York  Historical  Collections,"  1869,  p.  Consult,  also,  a  review  of  an  opposite  character 

40  ;  together  with  Slorton's  book,  "  The  New  Eng-  in"  The  Chui-chman,"  August  IS,  188:i ;  reprinted, 

lish  Canaan,"  which  forms  sued  a  bibliographi-  revised,  as  "A  Few  01)sei-vations,"  etc..  New 

cal    puzzle.      For  a  testimony  respecting    Ilie  York,  1883, 
realily  of  Morton's  Patent,  see  a  rare  publication  s  See  Sumner's  "  History  of  East  Boston." 


492  HISTORY   OF  THE   AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

1622  aud  1G23.  At  all  events  it  may  be  regarded  as  certain  that  be 
was  on  the  ground  in  1C24  ;  while  the  question  of  bis  su{)posed  con- 
nection with  Gorges,  who  came  in  September,  1623,  must  he  decided 
by  other  testimony,  the  discussion  of  which  is  of  more  importance 
than  some  suppose.  It  may,  nevertheless,  be  observed,  that  it  has 
l)ccn  argued  that  Maverick  came  with  Gorges  in  1623,  because,  in 
1629,  in  connection  with  Blackstone  and  otiiers,  he  was  empowered 
by  the  authority  in  England  to  put  Oldham  in  possession  of  certain 
territory  in  Massachusetts.  We  find,  however,  that  Blackstone,  also 
concerned  in  that  transaction,  was  empowered,  in  1631,  to  put  Hilton 
in  possession  at  Dover.  If  the  latter  fact  were  the  only  one  known 
concerning  Blackstone,  it  might  be  concluded  that,  because  thus 
empowered,  be  also  came  over  with  Gorges.  The  evidence  that 
Maverick  came  with  Gorges  in  1623  is  presumptive  and  weak,  which 
is  equally  true  with  respect  to  Blackstone.  If  either  had  come  over 
with  Gorges,  Morrell,  the  chaplain  of  the  expedition,  might  not  have 
written,  that  "Gentlemen  or  Citizens"  were  "too  lugh  and  not  patient 
enough  of  such  services "  to  make  good  colonists.  Blackstone  and 
Maverick  were  gentlemen,  yet  eminently  practical,  hard-working,  and 
successful.  IMaverick,  as  we  first  find  him  in  bis  fortified  dwelling, 
literally  proving  that  an  Englishman's  house  is  bis  castle,  does  not 
impress  us  as  a  refugee  from  the  dismantled  colony  at  Weymouth,  but 
appears  in  his  strong  keep  as  a  man  of  original  ideas,  possessing 
resources  sufiicient  for  a  large  and  independent  undertaking.  This 
leads  us  to  quote  the  earliest  known  reference  to  him,  which  is  in 
Johnson's  "  Sion's  Saviour."  Referring  to  the  people  who  came  to 
Boston  in  1630,  Johnson  says, — 

On  the  north  side  of  Charles  River,  they  landed  neare  a  small  island  called 
NoddelVs  Island,  where  one  Samuel  Mavereck.  then  lining,  a  man  of  very  loving 
and  com-teous  behavior,  very  ready  to  entertain  strangers,  yet  an  enemy  to  the 
Reformation  in  hand,  being  strong  for  the  Lordly  Prelaticall  power  one  [on]  this 
Island  ;  he  had  biiilt  a  small  fort  with  the  help  of  one  Mr.  David  Thompson,  placing 
therein  fom-e  Murtlierers  to  protect  him  from  the  Indians.  • 

Maverick  was  a  young  man  of  superior  talents  and  education, 
and  seems  to  have  been  in  some  respects  a  reflection  of  the  romantic 
baronial  chief,  whose  halls  were  open  to  all  friends,  while  his  frown- 
ing cannon  was  ready  to  salute  the  foe. 

It  is  said,  on  fair  authority,  that  the  Thompson  referred  to  came 
to  Boston  harbor  in  1626,  and  that  he  died  about  1628.  This  places 
the  building  of  the  fort  near  1627.  It  is,  nevertheless,  argued  that 
Maverick  could  not  have  been  at  Noddle's  Island  then,  for  the  reason 
that  he  was  not  taxed  in  1628  in  connection  with  the  rate  raised  for 
the  purpose  of  expelling  Morton  of  jNIcrrymount.  Those  who  have 
thus  treated  the  subject  do  not  appear  to  have  known  anything  of 
Maverick's  statement,  that  he  had  been  in  New  England  forty-nine 

'Wonder-worliinf;  Pi-ovklcnco  of  Sion's  Sav-  1716,  Chief  .Tustice  Scnall  vainly  tried  to  have 

iour,  in  New  Enjrland.     Eilited  by  W.  F.  Poole,  the  slaves  taken  out  of  the  rates  applied  to  Cattle 

Andover,  1867.     Inthis  work  an  attempt  is  made  and  Hogs.     See  his  diary,  "  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.," 

to  injure  the  reputation  of  Maveriek  in  connec-  Series  v..  Vol.  VII.,  p.  87.      Vide,  also,  Coffin's 

tion  with  slavery.     Maverick,  in  some  respects,  "  Hist,  of  Newbuiy,"  p.  188. 
was  no  better  than  his  neighbors.      As  late  as 


EAELY   DISCOVERIES   AND   SETTLEMENTS.  493 

years,  nor  do  they  appear  to  have  been  acquainted  with  another  fact, 
namely,  that  he  sympathized  with  Morton  and  denounced  his  enemies. 
In  1638,  when  Josselyn  arrived  at  Boston,  he  described  Maverick 
as  "  the  only  hospitable  man  in  the  countrey,  giving  entertainment  to 
all  comers  gi-a/is."^  Still,  his  course  was  necessarily  one  of  conflict 
with  his  neighbors,  who,  in  various  ways,  confessed  his  importance 
and  worth.  Winthrop's  colony,  which  arrived  in  1G30,  was  hardly 
seated  at  Boston,  when  Maverick  came  forward  to  aid  them  in  procur- 
ing corn  at  Narragansett,  as  they  were  in  danger  of  famine.  His  co- 
operation in  secular  aflairs  was  often  indispensa))le,  and  his  mercantile 
operations  were  conducted  far  and  wide.  In  1G30  he  was  admitted  a 
freeman.  Nevertheless  the  later  enactment  confined  the  privilege 
to  members  of  "the  Church."  In  1634-5  his  lavish  hospitality  to 
strangers  excited  such  apprehension  that  the  court  decreed  that  he 
should  "remove  his  habitation  for  himselfe  and  his  family  to  Boston, 
and  in  the  meantyme  shall  not  give  entertainment  to  any  strangers 
for  a  longer  tyme  than  one  night,  without  leave  from  some  Assistant, 
and  all  this  to  be  done  under  the  penalty  of  £100."  At  this  time  men 
at  home  were  taking  measures  to  dissolve  the  non-conformist  power, 
which  was  so  outrageously  al)uscd.  Hence,  every  stranger  was 
jealously  watched,  and  Maverick,  Ijcing  strong  for  the  "  Lordly  Pre- 
laticall  power,"  was  suspected.  Maverick  was  evidently  a  whole- 
souled,  jovial  Briton,  and  a  stanch  churchman,  who  despised  the 
narrowness  and  intolerance  of  the  non-conformists.  He  was  sympa- 
thetic, and,  perhaps,  not  always  prudent,  since  in  1641  ho  was 
fined  £10  for  sheltering  two  convicted  evil-doers.  Yet  the  fines  were 
sometimes  quite  of  the  nature  of  black-mail,  and  appeared  all  the 
more  odious  from  the  fact  that  Maverick  contributed  so  liberally  to 
tlie  public  defence.  For  years  he  thus  suffered  a  series  of  petty 
persecutions.  Affairs  reached  a  climax,  however,  in  1646,  as  a  move- 
ment, which  had  been  commenced  in  more  liberal  Plymouth,  was 
transferred  to  Boston,  when,  in  common  with  a  number  of  others, 
Maverick  signed  "A  Remonstrance  and  Humble  Petition"  to  the 
General  Court,  asking  for  a  settled  form  of  government,  according  to 
the  fundamental  law  of  England,  together  with  lil)erty  to  worship 
God  as  their  consciences  dictated.  The  petitioners  were  summoned 
before  the  court,  and  told  that  they  were  arraigned  for  contemptuous 
and  seditious  expressions,  and  not  for  using  the  right  of  petition.  It 
was  well  for  Boston  that  t'.ie  home  government  was  not  then  prepared 
to  defend  the  churchmen  in  that  city,  as  it  might  have  been  done  too 
thoroughly.  Some  of  the  petitionei's  were  fined,  and  Maverick  was 
made  to  pay  ten  pounds.  The  condemned  men  then  claimed  the 
right  to  petition  the  Commissioners  of  Planta- 
tions  in  England.  Several  of  the  petitioners  were  '^^td^y  /a'^A/77 
seized,  but  others  escaped  by  sea.    In  his  Thursday   {/'  ^         ^ 

lecture,  before  the  ship  sailed.  Master  John  Cotton 
warned  all  going  over  of  the  danger  of  carrying  petitions,  as  any  such 
document  would  prove  a  Jonas;  recommending,  in  case  a  stonn  arose, 

■  An  Account  of  Two  Voyages  to  New  England  and  London,  1674,  p.  12. 


494  HISTORY    OF   THE   AMEKICAN   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

that  the  trunks  of  the  passengers  should  be  searched,  and  that,  if  any 
such  document  were  found,  it  should  be  thrown  overboard.  The 
storm  came,  and  a  woman  who  had  heard  Master  Cotton's  lecture 
began  to  rave.  Going  to  Mr.  Vassal,  one  of  the  petitioners,  she 
called  him  up  at  midnight,  accusing  him  of  possessing  "  some  writings 
against  the  people  of  God."  She  was  accordingly  accommodated  with 
a  copy  of  a  petition  drawn  up  by  the  Bostoniaus  themselves,  which, 
with  all  due  ceremony,  was  thrown  overboard.  At  the  end  of  four- 
teen days  the  ship  arrived,  when  the  true  Jonas  was  cast  up  in  safety 
at  London.  Nevertheless,  John  Cotton's  wisdom  was  duly  applauded, 
and  the  safety  of  the  ship  was  attributed  to  the  drowning  of  the  un- 
hallowed document  devised  by  INIaverick  and  his  brother  churchmen. 
In  1G87  Maverick's  daughter,  in  a  petition  to  Governor  Andros, 
referred  to  a  petition  which  her  father  and  others  addressed  to  "  King 
Charles  the  First,  of  blessed  memory,"  in  which  they  requested  several 
liberties,  amongst  others,  that  of  "  the  baptizing  of  their  children."  This 
is  the  petition  that  made  the  trouljle,  and  cost  Maverick  twelve  days'  im- 
prisonment, with  a  fine  of  £100.  Such  was  the  treatment  measured 
out  to  a  man,  who,  as  Drake  confesses,  "  I'oston  could  not  do  with- 
out." Though  compelled  to  help  support  the  Congregational  preachers, 
he  was  deprived  of  the  oi'dinauces  he  valued,  steadily  refusing  to  join 
"the  Church." 

Eventually,  being  weary  of  contention,  INIaverick  sold  Noddle's 
Island,  and  went  to  England.  "The  Clarendon  Papers"  show  that,  soon 
after  the  accession  of  Charles  II. ,  he  was  laboring  most  earnestly  to  direct 
attention  to  the  abuses  from  which  he  had  suffered.  Cromwell  was 
dead,  and,  as  the  new  power  sympathized  with  him,  he  sought  to  have 
episcopacy  established  in  New  England  by  law,  and  proposed  to  make 
all  alike  pay  church-rates  ;  but  he  argued  in  favor  of  toleration  as  re- 
garded "fundamentals,"  his  plan  providing  that  the  people  should  be 
left  to  use  the  Prayer  Book  or  not,  as  they  pleased.  He  did  not  un- 
derstand Toleration  in  Blackstone's  sense,  and  was  strong  for  "  the  pre- 
laticall  power,"  but  he  was  in  advance  of  the  men  of  the  times,  and 
especially  those  of  New  England.  His  letters  to  the  Earl  of  Claren- 
don show  that  he  miscalculated  the  temper  of  the  people,  in  suppos- 
ing that  it  would  be  an  easy  matter  to  set  up  the  estal)lishmentin  New 
England.  With  his  plan  for  New  England,  he  urged  another  for  the 
conquest  of  New  York.  The  plan  suggested  was  followed,  securing 
the  predicted  results.     He  argued  that,  upon  the  appearance  of  the 

English  at  jNIanhattan  with  a  suitable  force, 
the  Dutch  would  surrender  without  a  blow ; 
which  event  transpired  under  his  own  eyes, 
/^//^J(      "^  1(5()4,  when  he  returned  to  America  as  a 
/  ^^'i— <^  '    Ivoyal  Commissioner.     At  Boston  his  mis- 
sion was  a  failure,  the  commissioners  being 
resisted ;  but  in  New  York  the  Church  was  planted,  the  Dutch  and  the 
English  amicably  using  the  same  chapel,  the  rights  of  the  Dutch  being 
scrupulously  observed. ' 

'  Sec  the  "Clavendon  Papers,"  in  the  "  New  York  Hist.  Coll.,"  1S70.    Also  consult  general 
index  of  "  New  York  Colonial  Papers  "  for  notices  of  Maverick. 


EARLY   DISCOVERIES   AND   SETTLEMENTS.  4!l,5 

In  October,  1GG9,  he  received  from  the  Duke  of  York  the  "-ift 
of  a  "house  in  tlie  Brood  way,"  and,  though  we  occasionally  hear  of 
him  as  visiting  ^Massachusetts,  he  appears  to  have  died  in  New  York 
prior  to  May,  1G7G. 

The  well-known  story  of  the  brothers  John  and  Samuel  Browne 
may  here  be  treated  briefly.  They  came  in  1G29  to  Salem,  as  members 
of  Endicott's  Council,  expecting  that  the  Church  would  be  adhered  to 
in  good  faith.  But  when  they  found  that  the  most  of  the  people  were 
untrue,  they  commenced  services  themselves,  using  the  "Book  of  Com- 
mon Prayer."  Hence  wo  read  in  Nathaniel  Morton's  book  that  Endicott 
"convented  the  two  brothers  before  him,"  when  "they  accused  the  minis- 
ters as  departing  from  the  orders  of  the  Church  of  England,  that  they 
were  separatists,  and  would  be  analinptists,  &c.  but  for  tiiemsclves, 
they  would  hold  to  the  ordei's  of  the  Churcii  of  England.  The  ministers 
answered  for  themselves,  tiiat  they  were  neither  separatists  nor  anal)ap- 
tists,  they  did  not  separate  from  the  Church  of  England,  nor  from  the  or- 
dinances of  God  there  but  only  from  the  corruptions  and  disorders 
there ;  and  that  they  came  away  from  the  common  prayer  and 
ceremonies,  and  had  suflered  much  for  their  non-conformity  in  their 
native  land ;  and,  therefore,  being  in  a  place  ^vhere  they  might  have 
their  liberty,  they  neither  could  nor  would  use  them,  because  they  judged 
the  imposition  of  these  things  to  be  sinful  corruptions  in  the  worship 
of  God."  After  this  attempt  to  meet  the  charge  of  being  Separatists, 
the  Governor  told  them,  that  "New  England  was  no  place  for  such  as 
they ;  and  therefore  he  sent  them  both  back  for  England,  at  the  re- 
turn of  the  ships  the  same  year."'  In  other  cases,  the  action  of  these 
people  is  susceptible  of  some  explanation,  but  here  we  can  refer  their 
course  to  no  respectable  consideration,  it  being  characterized  by 
flagrant  dishonesty.  Yet,  in  the  face  of  this  treatment  of  the  Browne 
brothers,  we  are  told  that  Thomas  iMorton  was  not  persecuted  because 
he  advocated  the  Episcopal  order  and  the  "Book  of  Common  Prayer."' 

'New  EnglantVs  Jlemonal :  ov  a  Brief  Tic-  izcd  "  in  no  hostile  spirit  to  the  Church  of  Enif- 

lution  of  the  most  memorable  and  Eemarliable  land."    Theii-  action  was  predicted  at  home,  and 

Passages  in  the  Providence  of  God,  manifested  it  was  necessary  for  men  to  acquiesce  or  leave  the 

to  the  Planters  of  New  l-^ngland  in  America ;  countiy.     Rather  than  to  allow  the  whole  move- 

With  Special  reference  to  the  first  Colony  thereof  ment  to  miscariy  Governor  Winthrop  acceded, 

called  New-Plimouth.     By  Nathaniel  Morton,  In  fact,  he  had  come  out  to  New  England  to  stay. 

Secretary  to  the  Court,  for  the  .Jurisdiction  of  and  if  originally  he  was  an  Erastian,  so  far  as  lie 

New-Plimouth.      Cambridge,  printed  by  S.   G.  may  have  been  concerned  the  setting  up  of  re- 

and  M.  J.   for  John   Usher,  of  Boston,    1G69.  ligion  in  a  new  form  was  sutKcicntly  logical.     As 

We  quote  from  the  Fifth  Edition,  Boston,  1S26,  forthereallcaders,menlikeSkclton,  they  claimed 

p.  14S.  to  act  on  different  principles.     See  the  paper  on 

-  Salem  appeai-s  to  have  been  the  stronghold  this  point  bv  the  lion.  Robert  C. Winthrop,  in  tlie 

of  that  violent  dissent  which  finally  shaped  the  "  Proceedings  of  the  Mass.  Hist.  Society,  1881," 

policy  of  Massachusetts.     Skelton  was  the  leader,  p.  2S8.    In  Felt's  "  New  England,"  i.,  p.  143,  we 

and  iie  boldly  refused  the  Sacrament  to  the  (iov-  find  some  light  on  the  means  employed  to  per- 

ernorandothcrsof  the  Church  party.  When  Win-  suatle  those  who  stood  aloof  for  a  time  from 

throp  arrived,  in  1630,  the  conseiTative  clement  Skelton.      John  Cotton  writes    from    England 

was  strong,  but  the  Separatists  were  decided,  to  Skelton  at  Salera  :  "It  hath  not  a  little  troubled 

Smith  says  that  Winthrop  and  his  council  were  me  that  you  should  deny  the  Lord's  Supper  to 

put  "  to  their  utmost  wits."    The  struggle  was  so  such  Godly  and  faithful  servants  of  Christ  as  Mr. 

hot  that,  according  to  Smith,  "  some  two  hundred  Governor,  Mr.  Johnson.  Mr.  Dudley  and   Mr. 

of  the  colonists  went  home."    Winthrop  recog-  Coddington.     .     .     .     Jly  grief  increased  upon 

nized  the  gravity  of  the  situation  and  speaks  of  me  when  I  heard  you  denied  baptism  unto  Mr. 

*'  the  no  small  company  left  out  of  church  fellow-  Coddington's  Child,  and  that  upon  a  reason  worse 

ship  and  civill  office  and  frecdome."     Under  the  than  the  fact.    And  that  which  added  wonder  to 

circumstances  we  need  not  make  any  mystery  of  my  grief  was,  that  I  heard  you  admitted  one  of 

the  change  effected  in  everything  relating  to  the  Mr.  Lothrop's   Congregation    not  only  to  the 

Church,  nor  to  argue  that  the  Separatists  organ-  Lord's  supper  but  his  Child  to  Baptism,  upon 


496 


HISTORY  OF   THE   AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 


Anothci"  character  to  l)e  mentioued  is  Thomas  Walford,  of 
Charlestown,  the  ancient  Mishawam,  who  established  the  first  Eng- 
lish home  on  that  peninsula.  How  and  when  he  came  over  we  cannot 
say,  though  it  may  be  taken  for  granted,  perhaps,  that  he  came  with 
Maverick  and  Blackstone. 

It  is  evident  that  a  serious  purpose  was  entertained  I)}'  this  trio 
in  taking  possession  of  three  separate,  yet  contiguous  and  important 
positions,  like  those  they  occupied  at  the  junction  of  the  Mystic  and 
Charles  rivers.  Walford's  name  is  in  the  list  of  those  registered  in 
1629,  when  Mishawam  was  "brought  into  the  denomination  of  an 
English  towne."  He  is  described  by  the  new-comers  as  "  Tho. 
Walford,  smith,  y'  lived  heere  alone  liefore."  In  1630  he  found  a 
person  capable  of  sympathizing  with  him.  This  was  the  Rev. 
Francis  Bright,  who  came  with  Winthrop's  company.  Ilubl^ard 
confesses  that  Mr.  Bright  was  a  "  godly  minister ; " '  but,  upon 
favoring  episcopacy,  he  was  obliged  to  leave  and  go  back  to  Eng- 
land, his  associates  at  once  playing  false.  Dudley  shows  that  Mr. 
Bright  was  not  the  only  one  to  protest  against  the  abandonment 
of  the  Church  by  the  Winthrop  party,  as  others  went  back  to 
Enghuid,  or  else  resorted  to  the  settlement  in  Maine.  Possibl3\  Win- 
throp, himself,  yielded  at  last  to  the  defection,  to  save  his  influence 
with  the  people.  It  is  certain  that  Roger  Williams  charges  him  with 
going  with  the  stream  for  his  banishment.^  After  the  retiu'n  of  Bright 
and  his  friends,  AValford  was  the  oni^^  churchman  left  in  Charlestown. 
He,  however,  was  destined  to  go,  as  a  charge  was  soon  trumped 
up  against  him.  From  the  records  of  the  General  Court,  May  3d, 
1631,  we  learn  that,  "Tho:  Walford,  of  Charlton,  is  flyned  xl% 
and  inioyned,  hee  and  his  wife,  to  depte^  out  of  the  lymits  of  this 
pattent  before  the  20"'  day  of  October  nexte,  vnder  paine  of  confis- 
cacon  of  his  goods,  for  his  contempt  of  authoritie  &  confrontinge 
officers,  &c."  One  may  readily  imagine  what  contempt  of  authority 
might  mean,  as  well  as  the  "  so  forth."  It  is  clear,  however,  that  he 
did  not  pay  his  fine,  as  seven  years  later  the  court,  in  attcmjjting  to 
save  its  own  dignity,  discovered  that  AValford  had  paid  his  fine  "  by 
Killing  a  AYolfe."  *  Sir  Richard  Saltonstall's  fine  was  remitted  at  the 
same  time,  showing  that  the  "  crimes  "  they  committed  were  mcon- 
venient,  rather  than  discreditable.     Walford,  no  doubt,  was  a  worthy 


risbl  of  Testimony  fioin  bis  Churcli,  whereas  Mr. 
Codclin<rton  bringing  tlie  same  i'rom  tbe  cbicf  of 
our  congrefration,  was  not  accepted.  Two  things 
I  concieve  herein  to  be  erroneous ;  first  that  you 
think  no  man  may  be  admitted  to  tlic  Sacrament, 
though  a  member  of  the  Catholic  Church,  unless 
lie  be  a  member  of  Some  reformed  Cluirch ;  sec- 
ondly, that  none  of  the  Congregations  of  England 
arc  particular  reformed  churches  but  Mr.  Loth- 
rop's  and  sucli  as  his.  .  .  .  You  went  hence 
of  another  judgment,  and  I  am  afraid  your  change 
balli  sprung  from  the  Plymouth  men."  Cotton 
refutes  Skelton,  defends  the  Church  of  England, 
and  says  :  "  Till  Christ  give  us  a  bill  of  divorce- 
ment, do  not  you  divorce  yourselves  from  us." 
Nevertheless,  Cotton  went  to  Salem  himself,  in 
1636,  and  formally  recanted  his  sounil  doctrine 
and  joined  the  revolt,  thus  divorcing  himself. 


I A  General  History  of  New  England,  from 
the  Discovery  to  mdclxxx.    pp.  112,  113. 

'  Williams  sa^'S  in  his  letter,  "  The  Rhode 
Island  Tracts,"  No.  14,  that  "  John  Winthrop, 
the  grandfather,  "  was  carried  with  the  stream 
for  my  banishment."  Personally  they  were 
friends. 

It  is  quite  as  reasonable  to  infer  from  the 
kindly  relations  he  sustained  to  Maverick,  that  he 
was  **  carried  with  the  stream  "  in  th.at  case,  also. 
Evidently  the  course  of  his  associates  did  not 
really  have  his  approval,  and  wlicn  Ratcliff's 
ears  were  cut  off,  Winthrop  stayed  the  sentence 
of  banisliment  decreed  by  the  court.  —  Mass. 
Hec,  I.,  p.  88. 

s  Records  of  Mass.,  Vol.  I..  I62S-41,  p.  8G. 

<  Ibid.,  p.  243. 


EARLY   DISCOVEIUES   AND   SETTLEMENTS.  497 

man,  though  they  drove  him  out  before  he  could  pay  his  debts.' 
When  he  had  gone  they  seized  his  cflects.  The  refugee  went  to 
Portsmouth,  New  Hampshire,  then  known  as  Strawberry  Bank,  where 
lo.yal  members  of  the  Church  of  England  were  free,  and  where,  in 
1G40,  he  became  warden  of  the  church. 

In  this  connection  we  may  notice  the  minister  of  the  church  at 
Portsmouth,  who,  in  1642,  is  described  by  Winthrop  in  his  journal 
as  "one  Eichard  Gibson,  a  Scholar,  sent  some  three  or  four  years 
since  to  Eichman's  Island  to  be  a  minister  to  a  fishing  plantation 
there  belonging  to  one  Mr.  Trelawney  of  Plimouth  [England], 
He  removed  thence  to  Pascataquack,  and  this  year  was  Entertained  by 
Fishermen  at  the  Isle  of  Shoals  to  preach  to  them.  He,  Ijeing  wholly 
addicted  to  the  hierachy  and  discipline  of  England,  did  exercise  a 
ministerial  function  in  the  same  way,  and  did  marry  and  baptise  at 
the  Isle  of  Shoals."  ^ 

Gibson  was  denounced  by  the  non-conformist  minister,  Larkham, 
of  Dover,  as  a  "hireling; "  whereupon,  Gibson  wrote  him  an  open 
letter.  Afterwards,  when  passing  through  Boston,  Gibson  was 
seized  and  fined,  it  being  understood  that  he  was  to  leave  the 
country.  In  those  days  contempt  of  authority  consisted  in  standing 
upon  one's  manhood. 

We  now  turn  to  another  and  very  different  character,  the  Eev. 
William  Blaxton,  or  Blackstone,  who,  with  \\'alford  and  Maverick, 
early  found  a  home  near  the  same  spot.  About  the  year  1624  this 
man  might  have  been  found  living  alone  in  a  little  cottage  on  the  pen- 
insula of  Boston.  Of  his  personal  history  we  have  few  details,  though 
we  know  that  he  took  his  master's  desrrco  at  Cambridge  in  1621,  and 
soon  after  came  to  Boston,  sequestering  himself  in  the  wilderness.  It 
is  not  probable,  as  already  indicated,  that  he  came  over  in  1623  with 
Gorges  and  Morrell.  The  first  mention  we  have  of  Blackstone  is 
that  June  9,  1628,  he  was  assessed  twelve  shillings  towards  the 
expense  of  arresting  Thomas  Morton,  though  there  is  nothing  to 
prove  that  he  paid  the  tax,  while  even  if  forced  to  pay  it  he  could 
not  have  sympathized  with  the  proceeding.'  In  1630  Winthrop  and 
his  party  arrived  at  Charlestown,  where  the  water  was  not  good,  and, 
accordingly,  Blackstone  invited  the  people  to  cross  over  to  Shawmut, 
as  Boston  was  then  called.  By  what  authoi'ity  he  acted  we  cannot 
say;  yet  it  appears  that,  April  29,  1629,  he  had  been  empowered  by 
Gorges  to  put  Oldham  in  possession  of  lands  near  Boston ;  while  in 
1631  he  performed  a  similar  act  in  connection  with  Hilton,  at  Dover. 
Winthrop  immediately  began  to  organize  a  government,  and  the  Court 
of  Assistants  decreed,  August  7,  1630,  that  "  Tri-Mountain  be  called 
Boston."  October  19,  1630,  Blackstone  was  admitted  a  Freeman, — 
a  privilege  accorded  to  Maverick.  But  the  following  May  the  reaction 
came,  and  men  who  had  expected  toleration  found  themselves  sti'ug- 
gling  hopelessly  in  what  Eogor  AVilliams  called  "  the  Stream."  Hence 
it  was  voted  that  none  should  be  freemen,  except  those  who  joined 

>  Mas3.  Recoi-ds,  p.  167.  '  It  would  lie  n  jri-ave  reflection  upon  such 

'The  Hist,  of  New  England   from   1630  to  a  ninn  to  suppose  that  he  had  any  sympalliy  with 

leiO.     IJditecl  by  Savage.     Boston,  1S26.     Vol.  the  pci-secution  of  Morton.   See ""  A  Few  Obser- 

II.,  p.  66.  vations." 


498 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 


"  the  church."  '  Thus,  soon  did  they  recede  from  their  first  principles. 
Tliis  was  a  high-handed  act ;  and  even  Hutcliinson  declared  it  a  law 
which,  if  enacted  by  Parliament,  might  well  have  been  "the  first  in 
the  roll  of  grievances."  Hubbard  sneers  at  Blackstone  and  his  "  Canon- 
ical! Coate ; "-  butMather,  in  his  "Magnalia,"  speaks  of  him  as  one  of  the 
"godly  Episcopalians."  This  worthy  also  says  that  Blackstone  ex- 
plained his  position  as  follows  :  "  I  came  from  England  because  I  did 
not  like  the  Lord-Bisliops ;  but  I  can't  join  you,  because  I  would  not 
be  under  the  Lord  Brethren  ! "  ^    In  the  end  he  was  obliged  to  leave  the 

rising  town  on  the  pen- 
insula, which  he  had 
found  a  dense  forest. 
It  was  about  the  year 
1635  that  he  plunged 
into  the  ^\nlderness, 
taking  his  course  south- 
ward, to  find  a  new 
home  in  Rhode  Island, 
of  which  State  he  was 
the  first  English  inhabi- 
tant. He  built  a  house 
in  \\hat  is  now  the  town 
of  Cumberland,  where  he 
lived  and  died  ;  though, 
in  1G59,  he  returned  to 
Boston  to  marry  ]\Iis- 
tress  Sarah  Stevenson, 
the  ceremony  being  \>ex- 
formed  by  Governor  En- 
dicott.  His  death  took 
place  in  1(573. 

Blackstone  was  an 

earnest    and    devout 

churchman,  gentle   and 

genial  in  his  manners,  retiring  and  studious  in  his  tastes,  and  altogether 

unfitted  to  struggle  with  the  violent  non-conformists  with  whom  he 

Co 


BLACKSTONES    LOT. 


»  New  Enrrland  Historical  and  Genealogical 
Kegistcr,  Vol.  iii.,  p.  41. 

2  General  History,  p.  113. 

^  Magnalia,  ill..  Chap.  ii. 

'  It  is  l;no\vn  that  Blackstone,  in  1634,  I'e- 
seiTing  only  six  acres,  sold  ont  to  tlie  colonists 
his  right  to  tlie  remainder  of  tlic  peninsnla,  and 
tliat  at  tliis  date  lie  removed  to  an  estate,  whicli 
he  named  "  Study  Hill,"  situated  near  tlie  rail- 
road station  in  the  present  town  of  Lonsdale, 
Rhode  Island,  where  he  hccaine,  as  stated  in  the 
text,  the  first  white  inhaliitant  of  that  State.  The 
six-acre  lot  is  here  hounded  hy  Beacon  street,  the 
dotted  line,  and  the  original  shore  line.  In 
lCS-1,  Francis  Hudson,  ferryman,  aged  sixty- 
eight;  John  Odlin,  aged  eighty-two;  William 
Lythcrland,  aged  seventy-six ;  and  Rohert  Wal- 
licr,  aged  seventy-eight,  —  all  made  deposition  as 
to  the  purchase  of  the  peninsula  from  Blackstone. 

This  document  is  indorsed,  *'.Tohn  Odlin, 
&c.,  their  depositions  ah'  Blackstou'a  Sale  of  his 


Land  in  Boston,"  and  is  printed  by   Shurtleff, 
*'  Dcsc.  of  Boston,"  p.  296,  as  follows  :  — 

'*  The  Deposition  of  John  Odlin,  aged  about 
Eighty-two  yeares;  Robert  Walker,  aged  about 
Seventy-eight  yeares ;  Francis  Hudson,  aged 
about  Sixty-eight  yeares ;  and  William  Lytlier- 
jand,  aged  about  Seventy-six  yeaics.  These 
Deponents  being  ancient  dwellers  and  Inhabi- 
tants of  the  Town  of  Boston,  in  New  England, 
from  the  time  of  first  planting  and  settling 
thereof,  and  continuing  so  at  this  day,  do  jointly 
testify  and  depose  that  in  or  about  the  ycare  of 
our  Lord  One  thousand  Six  hundred  thirty  and 
fibur,  the  then  present  Inhabitants  of  s''  Town 
of  Boston  (of  wliome  the  Ilono''''  John  Win- 
throp,  Esq'-'  Govcrno'  of  the  Colony,  was 
Cheife)  did  treate  and  agree  with  M'-  William 
Blackstone  for  the  purcliase  of  his  Estate  and 
right  in  any  Laiuls  lying  within  the  s'^  neck  of 
Land  called  Boston  :  and  for  S''  purchase  asrrced 
that  every  householder  should  pay  Six  Shillings, 


EARLY  DISCOVERIES  AND   SETTLEMENTS.  499 

came  in  contact.  He  was  moderate  in  his  opinions,  and  no  doubt 
found  the  extreme  prelacy  of  his  times  distastelVd.  Hence  his  jirefer- 
enco  for  a  Hie  in  the  wilderness,  where  he  could  enjoy  the  charms  of 
nature,  and  indulge  in  those  simple  pursuits  that  he  loved  so  well.  A 
fondness  for  children  was  one  of  his  marked  characteristics,  while  the 
story  of  his  old  age  suggests  the  last  years  of  the  disciple  St.  John. 
Blackstone,  however,  is  not  yet  appreciated,  and  inferior  names  have 
been  set  forward  to  obscure  his  fame,  both  in  Massachusetts  and 
Rhode  Island.  There  is,  however,  Drake's  prophecy  on  record,  that 
Boston  will  yet  "  build  his  monument." 

In  closing,  it  is  hardly  necessary  to  characterize,  as  a  whole,  the 
treatment  meted  out  to  the  men  of  the  Church  of  England  by  non-con- 
formists. The  illegal  measures  used  to  stay  the  advance  of  church 
principles  need  not  be  dwelt  upon,  thougli  it  may  be  observed  that  in 
this  respect  Boston  achieved  preeminence,  while  Plymouth  showed  the 
more  tolerant  mood.  Leaving  out  Bradford,  the  course  of  Plymouth 
was  often  kindly  and  hospitable.  As  a  rule,  however,  no  churchman 
could  live  comfortably,  especially  if  he  possessed  marked  individuality 
and  refused  to  temporize,  or  go  "with  the  stream."  Manliness 
and  outspoken  conviction  were  signs  of  a  contempt  for  authority. 
Culture  and  refinement,  godly  simplicity  and  unobtrusiveness  were  of 
no  avail,  and  Blackstone  left  Massachusetts  to  seek  a  new  home  in  the 
pathless  woods. 

jNIather  aflbrds  the  somewhat  singular  example  of  a  public  man 
recognizing  the  fact  that  members  of  the  Church  of  England  might  pos- 
sess claims  to  religious  character.  The  statement  that  Blackstone 
was  one  of  the  "  Godly  Episcopalians "  evidently  indicates  that, 
in  his  opinion  at  least,  there  were  others. 

Beyond  question  these  early  churchmen  around  Massachusetts  Bay 
had  an  influence,  though  public  worship  according  to  the  forms  of  the 
Church  was  proscribed,  freedom  of  conscience  at  this  period  being  re- 
stricted to  Rhode  Island  and  Maine,  where  churchmen  were  free.  It 
is  probable  that  the  Prayer-Book  was  largely  employed  in  private, 
though,  from  the  extreme  rarity  of  early  copies  of  the  "Liturgy,"  it  has 
been  argued  that  no  one  cared  for  the  book,  and  that  it  was  left  to 
perish  by  decay.  This  point  has  been  pressed  with  considerable  anima- 
tion, notwithstanding  the  fact  that  copies  of  the  early  "New  England 

which  was  accordingly  Collected,  none  paying  dwelt  near  Providence,  whcie  lie  liv'd  till  y'  day 

less,  some  considerably  more  than  Six  Shillings,  of  his  dcaili. 

and  the  s*^  snrae   Collected  was  delivered  and  "  Deposed  this  10th  of  June,  1684,  by  John 

paid  to  M'-  Blackstone  to  bis  full  content  and  Odiin,   Robert   Walker,    Francis    Hudson,   and 

satisfaction;  in  consideration  whereof  bee  Sold  WilliLini  hytlicrland,  according  to  tbeir  respcc- 

unto  the  then  Inhabitants  of  s''  Town  and  tbeir  tive  Testimonyc. 

heire3  and  assignees  for  ever  his   whole   right  "Ijcforeus, 

and  interest  in  all  and  every  of  the  l^auds  lying  S.  Bkadstueet,  Gou'  n' . 

within  s''  neck.  Reserving  onely  unto  bimselfe  Sam.  Sew,vll,  Assist." 

about  Six  acres  of  Land  on  the  point  commonly 

called  Blackston's  Point,   on  part  whereof  his  ShnrtlcfT  notes  that  OdIin   was  a  cutler  by 

then  dwelling  bouse  stood ;  after  which  purchase  trade,  and  died  Dec.  IS,  16S.).     Hudson  was  the 

the  Town  laid  out  a  place  for  a  tr.ayuing  field,  fishei-man  who  gave  his  name   to   the  point  of 

which  ever  since  and  now  is  used  lor  that  pur-  the    peninsula    nearest  Cbarlestown.      Walker 

pose   and   for   the   feeding  of  Cattell.     Pioliert  was  a  weaver,  and  died  May  29,  IGS7.     Lyibcr- 

Walker  &  W'"-  Lj'therland  further  testify  that  land  was  an  Antinoniian,  who  removed  to  Rhode 

M'-   Blackstone  bought  a  Stock  of  Cows  with  Island  and  became  town  clerk  of  Newport,  and 

the  Money  he  rec*  as  above,  and  Removed  and  died  veiy  old. 


500 


HISTORY   OF   THE   AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 


Primei',''  once  as  plenty  as  leaves  in  Vallombrosa,  are  now  so  rare  that 
of  the  tirst  two  editions  not  a  single  copy  is  known,  while  the  earliest 
copy  yet  pointed  out  —  an  imperfect  one  —  ])ears  the  late  date  of  1727. 
Yet  at  the  best  the  early  period  was  for  the  Church  a  day  of  small 
things,  brute  force  being  employed  to  suppress  whatsoever  was  opposed 
to  the  will  of  the  majority,  until  a  power  beyond  the  sea,  brushing 
aside  the  pretence  of  separatism ,  that  toleration  was  fraught  with  dan- 
ger to  the  body  politic,  gave  liberty  of  conscience  and  fi-eedom  of 
worship  to  all. 


.     p^    yW^  C.£^~^>^ae^ 


MONOGRAPH    III. 

PURITANISM    IN    NEW    ENGLAND   AND    THE    EPISCOPAL 

CHURCH. 

By  the  rev.  THOMAS   WINTHROP  COIT,  D.D.,  LL.D., 

Professor  in  the  Berkeley  Divinity  School,  Middletown,  Conn. 

THE  attitude  of  the  Puritans  towards  the  Episcopal  Churcli  cannot 
be  understood,  cannot  certainly  he  ajjpreciated,  unless  one  has  a 
vivid  idea  of  what  maybe  styled  the  genius  of  Puritanism.  Many 
of  its  advocates  claim  that  Puritanism  is  no  new  thing,  and  never  should 
have  been  treated  by  the  Church  of  England  as  if  a  novelty,  and  uprear- 
ing  its  head  as  an  intruder.  They  claim  antiquity  for  it,  nay,  high  an- 
tiquity. They  say  it  has  had  its  succession,  indeed,  its  apostolic 
succession,  as  well  as  Episcopacy,  and  so  should  have  been  regarded 
by  Episcopacy  as  a  coequal,  and  not  as  an  upstart  and  an  interferer. 

Weil,  if  it  be  true,  as  Sir  Thomas  Overbury  said  (and  he  was 
one  who  knew  it  thoroughly  ;  he  died  in  l(il3) ,  that  the  genius  of  Puri- 
tanism consists  in  opposition  and  contradiction  ;  and  if  his  judgment 
has  been  alErmed  by  very  many  others,  who  have  had  experience  of 
its  qualities,  then  this  genius  consists  in  the  sturdy  and  unyielding 
assertion  of  the  light  of  private  judgment.^  And  if  this  be  so,  then 
undoubtedly  the  very  highest  antiquity  can  be  conceded  to  Puritanism 
without  a  moment's  hesitation. 

But  to  abstain  from  researches  amid  what  maj^  be  called  preform- 
ative  Puritanism,  which  would  require  the  history  of  self-assertion 
from  the  days  of  Cain,  and  to  come  to  its  acknowledged  beginnings  in 
Enghmd,  and  its  direful  conflicts  with  England's  Episcopal  Church ; 
we  are  glad  to  discover  in  Dr.  Dexter's  bibliography,  that  he  places 
them  fairly  and  squarely  in  the  person  of  Robert  Browne,  who 
died  in  1(531,  "eighty  years  old  or  more."  Modern  and  timorous 
Puritans  are  apt  to  be  nervous  over  Browne's  eccentric  history,  as 
not  very  glorifying  to  the  professions  they  are  apt  to  make,  when 
comparing  themselves  with  other  people.  But  Dr.  Dexter  prides 
himself  on  his  Puritan  spirit,  and  does  not  hesitate  to  say  of  him, 
as  follows  :  "  It  is  very  clear,  that  Browne's  mind  took  tiie  load,  and 
that  here  at  Norwich,  following  the  track  of  thought  which  he  had 
long  been  elaborating,  he  thoroughly  discovered  and  restated  the 
original  congregational  way,  in  all  its  simplicity  and  symmetry.  And 
here  in  this,  or  the  following  year  [about  1580],   by  his  prompting 

'  Tlie  well-known  Owen  Feltliam,  who  died  i-ebel ;  or  one  tliat  would  exclude  order,  that  his 

about   1078,  Rihc  this   as  his  experience  of   a  brain    mi?ht    rule."  —  Resoloes,  cd.  1840,  p.  8. 

Puritan  :    "  As  he  is  more  generally  in  these  Twelve  editions  of  the  Resolves  were  published 

times  taken,  I  suppose  we  may  call  him  a  church-  by  1 709. 


502  HISTORY  OF  THE   AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

and  under  his  guidance,  was  formed  the  first  church  in  modern  days 
of  which  I  have  any  l^nowledgc,  which  was  intelligently,  and  as  one 
might  say  philosophically,  congregational  in  its  platform  and  processes  ; 
he  becoming  its  pastor."  ^ 

The  plague-spot  in  this  bold  and  foremost  champion  of  English 
Puritanism,  however,  is,  that  he  was  not  true  to  his  colors.  He  re- 
coiled, and  died  the  rector  of  an  Episcopal  parish  !  But  Dr.  Dexter 
summons  good  old  Thomas  Fuller  to  the  rescue,  to  show  that  Browne 
held  fast  to  his  Puritanism,  and  died  changed  only  on  the  outside. 
Let  the  decision  stand.  If  it  is  a  true  one,  then  Browne  was  a  miser- 
able hypocrite  ;  and  with  this  stain  on  his  escutcheon,  the  originating, 
the  inaugurating,  the  polemical  defender  of  Puritanism  in  England 
may  be  passed  by  without  further  comment. 

The  cause  survived,  no  doubt,  its  recreant  champion ;  and  one  of 
its  worst  and  most  intolerable  features  it  now  becomes  necessary  to 
bring  forward.  Perhaps  the  worst  and  most  intolerable  feature  of 
Popery  is  its  assumption,  that  not  the  Church  only,  but  the  state  also, 
must  be  subject  to,  and  conformed  unto,  itself;  that  there  is  no  such 
thing  as  a  legitimate  civil  authority  unless  sanctioned  liy  itself;  and 
that,  in  consequence,  it  has  a  perfect  right  to  excommunicate  any  civil 
government  which  will  not  comply  with  its  demands  ;  and  thus  deprive 
its  officials  of  their  accredited  rights  and  personal  safety,  delivering 
them  over  to  ruin  in  this  world,  and  perdition  in  the  world  which  is 
to  come.  Now,  in  this  respect,  in  these  claims,  Puritanism  and 
Romanism  are  complete,  though  by  no  means  intimate,  parallels.  The 
explanation  comes  from  the  old  adage,  that,  "Two  of  a  ti-ade  cannot 
agree ; "  or,  as  the  philoso)ihical  historian  of  Rome  explains  the 
matter,  "Cruel  the  wars  of  brethren  are."^ 

It  must  be  carefully  understood  that  it  was  not  bare  endurance, 
or  simple  toleration,  which  the  Puritans  asked  of  England  in  the 
sixteenth  century.  Unquestionably  it  is  the  opinion  of  multitudes 
that  it  was  so,  and  that  such  consideration  was  all  which  the  Puritans 
desired,  or  wanted.  And  this  impression  has  been  prolonged  and 
deepened  by  those  who  knew  better,  because  it  was  for  their  interest 
and  their  gratification  to  have  it  so.  The  Pope  is  denounced  and 
upbraided  without  stint,  because  he  undertook  his  uttermost,  and 
excommunicated  the  Queen  of  England.  But  if  the  Puritans  did  not 
do  as  much  actually,  they  claimed  the  full  authority  to  do  so.  "The 
presbytery  and  eldership  may  for  some  causes,  after  admonition, 
'  if  there  ensue  no  cause  of  reformation,  excommunicate  the  Queen."  ^ 
Now  surely  this  was  claiming  (just  what  the  Pope  did)  the  right  to 
subvert  and  prostrate  the  actual  constitution  of  England,  and  to 
erect  their  own  upon  its  humiliation  and  extinction.  They  without 
flinching  carried  their  theory  out,  says  Dr.  Nichols,  in  his  defence  of 
the  Chvu-ch  of  England,  for  they  proceeded  to  "  anoint  Hackett,  in  the 
name  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  the  Queen  having  for- 
feited her  crown,  and  being  worthy  to  be  deprived  ;  and  in  the  same 
manner,  as  is  used  in  the  inauguration  of  princes,  he  is  proclaimed  by 

'  Dexter,  p.  70.  '  Tacitus's  Hist.,  rv.,  Chap.  70.  =  Coil's  "  Puritanism,"  p.  58. 


PURITANISM   IN  NEW   ENGLAND.  503 

his  followers  through  Cheapsido,  not  only  king  of  this  nation,  but  of 
all  Europe"  ! !     True  enough,  this  seems  a  freak  of  solemn  madness, 
as  the  good  divine  pi'oclaims  it.    But  the  issue  was  ti'emendous.     The 
freak  became  a  bloody  reality,  when,  on  the  30th  of  January,  1648,  the 
head  of  Charles  I.  fell  from  a  block,  and  the  old  government  of  England 
■was  for  a  time  extinguished.     And  it  might  have  been  extmguished  for 
all  time,  if  the  advice  of  the  shrewd  Hugh  Peters  to 
those   who    condemned    and    slew   him    had    been     fl  ^;    i- / 
accepted.      Peters    proposed   the    burning    of    the    7*        /    ^^ 
national  records  in  the  Tower.     "Let  us,"  said  he, 
"  rub  out,  and  begin  anew."     And,  if  the  conflagration  had  followed, 
old  England  would  have  encountered  her  funeral  pile.' 

The  rubl)ing-out  process  was  liegiui  by  Pius  V.,  in  1570,  and  was 
followed  up,  with  a  full  intention  of  carrying  it  on  unto  perfection,  by 
Philip  II.  with  his  "  invincible  Armada,"  in  1588.  It  was  begun  by 
the  Puritans  in  1580,  and  tiuished  (as  was  triumphantly  hoped  and 
boasted)  by  Cromwell  and  his  minions,  in  the  execution  of  Charles  I. 
in  1648.  The  parallel  is  singularly  complete,  and  the  two  histories 
run  side  by  side ;  the  one  being  the  quicker  f\iilure,  and  that  is  all. 
Had  Philip  II.  been  successful,  Puritanism,  though  it  looked  on  with 
secret  aspirations,  would  have  found  itself  "rubbed  out"  on  the  rack, 
or  in  the  dungeons  of  the  Inquisition.  Yet  it  would  have  suffered 
with  grim  contentment,  had  the  government  of  England, and  its  "de- 
tested hierarchy,"  been  companions  in  its  desolation.  For,  as  Dr. 
Dexter  contends,  the  founder  of  Puritanism  in  England  was  no  demo- 
crat,^ although  ten  pages  previously  he  had  admitted  that  he  was.^ 
Doubtless  he  was  a  much  better  churchman  than  his  portrait-painter, 
who  ignobly  compares  the  Church  to  a  great  hulk  cut  across  by  water- 
tight diaphragms. ''  He  believed  in  a  spiritual  monarchy  as  stiffly  as 
an  ultramontane  Romanist;  and,  if  his  own  monarchy  could  not  be  up- 
permost, he  was  content  that  a  parallel  should  take  its  place,  for  he  could 
not  endure  the  bastard  monarchy  of  the  Church  and  state  of  England. 

All  this  became  clear  enough  as  soon  as  Puritanism  could  open 
its  mouth  widely.  Browne,  e.g.,  went  to  Scotland,  to  see  if  he 
could  find  shelter  under  the  wings  of  Presbyterianism.  "  Alas  ! " 
he  was  inspired  to  saj%  "I  have  seen  all  mamier  of  wickedness 
to  abound  much  more  in  their  best  places  in  Scotland  than  in  our 
worser  places  here  in  England."  He  added,  if  Presbyterianism 
should  become  ascendant,  "that  then,  instead  of  one  Pope,  we  should 
have  a  thousand,  and  of  some  Lord  Bishops,  in  name  a  thousand, 
lordly  tyrants  in  deed  who  now  do  disdain  the  names." ^  That  is  to  say, 
Browne's  experience  with  Presbyterianism  was  precisely  that  of  Wil- 
liam Blackstone's  with  the  New  England  Puritans  of  a  later  day  ;  who 
said  (honest,  outspoken  soul)  that  he  fled  to  JMassachusetts  to  escape 
the  Lord  Bishops,  and  then  fled  to  Ilhode  Island  to  escape  the 
Lord  Brethren  !  Wherefore  there  was  no  salvation  for  Puritanism 
unless  it  took  to  itself  a  kingdom,  and  wielded  its  own  sword. 
Accordingly  it  had  to  do  as   Romanism  does,  pi-oclaim  the  right  to 

•  Lilc  by  Samuel  Peters,  p.  71.        '  Dexter,  p.  106.  ^Jhid.,  p.  96.         *  Ibid.,  p.  110. 

e/ii(/.,  pp.  78,  79. 


504  HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

persecute,  —  a  doctrine  which  is  avowed  by  even  the  amiable  Ley  den 
Pilgrims.'  And  their  aptitude  in  wielding  this  formidable  instrument 
was  so  unsparing,  that  Dr.  Dexter  wincingly  confesses  it  had  in  it, 
and  about  it,  "a  severe  minuteness,"  and  an  "inquisitorial  flavor." 
They  split,  ho  says,  upon  this  rock.  We  were  not  aware  before,  that 
Puritanism,  by  its  own  confession,  had  gone  upon  the  breakers.^ 

So  Puritanism  started  with  a  platform  as  stern  and  frowning  as 
if  it  had  come  out  of  the  school  of  St.  Dominic  in  Spain.  But  it  suc- 
ceeded badly  in  its  pugnacious  warfare.  The  government  had  tines  and 
imprisonments  for  open  and  threatening  opposition.  And  therefore  it 
tried,  what  the  infidels  do  (as  our  own  country's  history  illustrates) 
when  they  cannot  put  down  Christianity  by  "  bodily  exercise."  It  tried 
lampoons  and  ridicule  ;  and  this  brings  us  to  the  JVIartin  Mar-prelate 
controversy.  Such  a  controversy  needs  but  the  naming  of  it  for  its 
ample  condemnation ;  though  it  may  be  well  enough  to  add,  that  the 
Church  had  some  champions  as  able  as  its  remorseless  enemies. 
These  satellites,  agreeably  to  Solomon's  counsel,  answered  fools 
according  to  their  folly  ;  and  Puritanism  was  defeated  in  her  campaign 
of  libels. 

Finally,  when  rebellion  and  ridicule  were  both  found  insufficient, 
it  tried  petition  and  not  uncourteous  remonstrance.  These  efforts 
made  their  appearance  in  1604,  when  Queen  Elizabeth  had  passed  off 
the  stage,  and  high  hopes  were  entertained  of  James  I.,  since  he  came 
from  a  Presbyterian  zone,  and  was  considered  as  leaning  half-way 
towards  "The  Pure."  But  King  James,  though  he  had  had  a  toler- 
able Presbyterian  schooling,  Mas  sufficiently  awake  to  see  that  men 
who  cried  out  lustily,  "  We  will  have  no  bishops,"  would  soon  cry  out 
full  loudly,  "We  will  also  have  no  king;"  and  they  were  wofully  dis- 
appointed in  him.  He  would  not  listen  to  their  cant  about  the  relics 
of  Popery,  strewed  all  over  the  prayer-book.  "  Why,"  exclaimed 
he,  in  good  vernacular,  "  if  we  must  have  nothing  whatever  in  conunon 
Avith  Roman  Catholics  we  must  go  barefoot,  for  Roman  Catholics  wear 
shoes  and  stockings  ! " 

Yet  he  was  complaisant  enough  about  matters  open  to  reasonable 
reformation.  He  allowed  "  The  Short  Catechism "  to  be  lengthened, 
and  to  have  something  in  it  about  the  sacraments.  Strange  that 
churchmen  who  are  supposed  to  magnify  sacraments  unduly,  should 
have  neglected  them  in  their  cathechetical  instructions,  and  that  their 
remissness  should  be  corrected  by  Puritanic  criticism !  But  Fas 
est  ab  hoste  doceri ;  only  some  may  think  it  fully  good  Bishop  Hall's 
"  hard  measure  "  to  have  one's  ancestors  chastised  roundly  for  want 
of  churchliness,  and  then  be  chastised  himself  for  laying  in  a  stock 
of  the  same  commodity.  However,  this  is  the  self-consistency  of 
Puritans ;  for  they  openly  declared,  in  their  "  Apologeticall  Narra- 
tion "  ^  that  they  would  not  be  bound  to-morrow  by  the  opinions  of 
to-day. 

Then  as  to  the  Bible   itself.     It  needed  a   revised  translation. 

>  De\ter,p.  85.  old  h'ick  of  the  licretics,  accoi-din?  to  St.  Basil, 

'  Ibid.,  p.  108.  to  be  always  chaugius  and  rechauginy,  and  pro- 

'Edwards's  "Antapologia,"  p.  85.  It  was  an   fessiug  a  liberty  oi' future  ehanging. — Epist.  72. 


PURITANISM  IN  NEW   ENGLAND.  505 

Pcrliaps  "the  Saints"  were  not  without  hope  of  iutcrwcavinij  many 
a  thread  into  a  new  translation,  from  the  Bible  concocted  at  (Jeneva, 
and  which  was  circulating  in  England,  though  not  permitted  "to  I)e 
read  in  churches."  Yet  the  king  again,  and  with  royal  grace,  submit- 
ted, and  inaugurated  the  time-honored  volume  of  1611.  If  Puritans 
now  disavow  this,  they  should  have  the  grace  to  remember,  that  they 
lower  a  work  to  which  their  own  ancestry  virtually  gave  birth.  May 
1)0  there  was  a  sting  in  the  dedication  to  King  James,  the  smart  of 
which  still  survives,  and  I'ankles  in  tlicir  memories.  They  are  alluded 
to  in  the  words,  "  self-conccitcd  Ijrcthrcn,  who  run  their  own  ways, 
and  give  liking  unto  nothing  ])ut  what  is  framed  l)y  themselves, 
and  Jiammercd  on  their  own  anvil."  The  description  may  be  too 
life-like ;  but  the  dedication  has  been  abandoned  in  America,  and 
its  causticity  ought  to  be  forgotten. 

Not  to  speak  of  other  matters,  condescension  as  to  a  catechism, 
and  the  Bible  itself,  ought  to  have  satistied  reasonable  men  that  by 
pursuing  a  course  of  moderation  they  could  obtain  enough  to  meet 
desires  proper  to  be  gratified  ;  especiallj'  when  they  had  a  champion  in 
the  \cvj  highest  position  in  the  Church  of  England, —  the  Archbishop- 
ric of  Canterbury.  George  Al)bot,  a  Puritan  to  his  bones  and  marrow, 
was  Archbishop  of  Cautcrlmry  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century,  from 
1610  to  1G33.  And  if  he  had  made  Puritanism  as  attractive  and  winning 
as  he  might  have  done,  and  especially  if  he  had  been  as  judicious  and 
courteous  as  he  might  have  been,  such  a  sharp  corrective  for  his  fail- 
ures as  was  supplied  in  the  person  of  his  successor,  William  Laud, 
quite  probably  would  not  have  been  wanted  or  attempted  ;  and  then 
the  mountainous  heap  of  calumny  which  has  been  cast  upon  this 
notorious  name  might  have  been  unborn  forevermore.  But  Puritan- 
ism was  impracticable,  and  Laud  was  impracticable  too ;  especially 
when  he  discovered  that  he  could  not  rely  on  Puritanical  veracity. 
Irascible  and  impatient,  if  he  were,  ho  was  eminently  truthful.  But 
he  said  Puritans  paltered  with  him,  like  so  many 
Jesuits;  aud  he  became  as  intolerant  as  they  were  '^^.' f/CtkarS^ 
insincere.    Thomas  Shepard,  afterwards  the  minister  / 

of  Cambridge,  near  Boston,  I\Iass.,  admitted  that 
Laud  made  this  one  of  his  specific  grounds  of  discipline  against  his 
Puritanic  In-ethren,  and  that,  open-mouthed  as  well  as  open-hearted, 
he  charged  this  fault  upon  them  to  their  very  faces.  Perhaps  the 
archbishop  was  not  over-much  mistaken  ;  for,  at  a  later  day,  the  colony 
of  New  Haven  actually  enacted  a  law  against  the  sin  of  lying ;  and  it 
must  have  been  sadly  prevalent  to  require  civil  interference,  since  we 
have  heard  a  lawyer  say  in  open  court  that,  at  common  law,  lying  was 
no  offence  whatever. 

Even  before  Laud's  time,  and  he  was  not  archbishop  till  1633, 
Puritanism  was  so  uncomforta1)le  and  fidgety  in  England  that  it 
sought  a  refuge  across  the  British  Channel,  and  nestled  down  in  Hol- 
land. And  there,  if  toleration  and  spiritual  freedom  were  all  it  wanted, 
—  "  freedom  to  worship  God,"  as  the  hackneyed  phrase  goes, —  it  had 
them  to  overflowing.  If  Calvinism  was  what  it  languished  for,  the 
Synod  of  Dort  had  supplied  it,  incorrupt  and  undefiled.     And  why, 


506  HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

then,  was  it  not  content  and  restful  among  the  pacific  and  good-natured 
Dutcli?  It  had  a  congenial  home  among  them,  and  had  it  been  dis- 
posed to  keep  the  golden  rule,  and  treat  otiiers  as  it  would  itself  be 
treated,  it  might  have  retained  that  home  for  generations.  Why,  then, 
were  the  Puritans  not  quiescent  and  suljinissive,  not  to  say  grateful  and 
aflectionate  ?  Did  the  old  notion  of  ascendancy  and  a  spiritual  monarchy, 
with  themselves  as  kings  therein,  return  ;  and  did  they  pant  to  estab- 
lish such  a  government  on  a  soil  totally  their  own  ?  We  cannot  com- 
prehend their  dissatisfaction  with  Holland  on  any  other  supposition, 
for  their  aspirations  were  indescribably  lofty.  They  meant  to  regcn- 
ei'ate  revelation  itself.  As  Robinson,  their  viceroy,  said,  in  his  farewell 
address,  neither  lAither  nor  Calvin  had  reached  theology's  wide  circum- 
ference, and  there  was  yet  more  truth  to  break  forth  out  of  God's  holy 
word.  They  meant  to  have  a  territory  and  a  religion  over  which  they 
might  rule  as  aljsolutely  as  the  pretended  autocrats  of  the  terraqueous 
elobe  rcclininii  in  the  chamliers  of  the  Vatican. 

And  their  behavior,  the  moment  they  could  claim  anj'thing  like 
governmental  independence,  proved  this  to  demonstration.  They  came 
to  this  country  ostensibly  under  a  charter,  which  made  them  nothing 
but  a  commercial  company,  like  that  of  the  East  Indies.  That  charter's 
legitimate  home,  like  the  charter  of  the  East  India  Company,  was  the 
central  city  of  London.  But  they  smuggled  it  out  of  London,  bi-ought 
it  across  the  ocean,  and  converted  it  at  once  (one  might  say  trans- 
substantiated  it)  into  a  charter  of  civil  and  churchly  independence. 
They  claimed  under  it,  as  lawyer  Lechford  said  in  his  "  Plaine  Deal- 
ing," "the  power  of  Parliament,  King's  Bench,  Common  Pleas,  Chan- 
cery, High  Commission,  and  Star  Chamber,  and  all  other  courts  in 
England,"  and  under  it  had  proceeded,  "for  ecclesiasticall  and  civil 
ofiences,"  to  fine,  to  imprison,  to  whip,  to  cut  ofl^  ears,  to  banish,  to  put 
to  death,  "  without  sufficient  record."  This  last  item  of  Lechford's  is 
most  momentous,  and  genuinely  Poj)ish ;  for  Romanists  well  under- 
stand the  art  of  putting  telltale  records  out  of  sight.* 

Unquestionalily  these  matters  would  have  been  looked  into  by 
careful  eyes,  and  that  charter  vacated  by  a  writ  quo  warranto;  but  the 
commotions  of  the  rebellion  intervened,  and  the  charter  lived  an  un- 
expected age.  That  they  were  endowed  with  such  an  instrument 
certainly  did  not  show  that  the  English  government  was  disposed  to 
ti'eat  them  with  contempt,  or  inconsidcration,  or  a  spiteful  charity. 
They  professed  that  the  charter  was  an  enormous  boon,  and  a  sort  of 
irrevocable  privilege.  Have  they  ever  shown  one  j^article  of  grati- 
tude for  the  princely  endowment? 

Not  a  pennyworth  of  thanksgiving  ever  reached  a  royal  ear  for 
such  a  priceless,  yet  unbought,  gift.  13ut  now  we  arc  to  see  something 
of  the  avowed  temper  with  which  they  hied  themselves  away  from 
England,  with  a  jewel  fit  to  adorn  a  royal  diadem  in  their  good 
custody.  Why,  they  almost  cried  their  eyes  out  over  their  self-exile 
from  Britain's  maternal  shores,  as  the  famous  (so  called)  Arbella 
letter,    written   on  l)oard  their  barque,  pathetically  testifies :     "  We 

'  Plaine  Dealing,  Trumbull's  edition,  p.  63. 


PURITANISM   IN  NEW  ENGLAND.  507 

desire  you  would  be  pleased  to  tukc  notice  of  the  principals  and  bod}' 
of  our  company,  as  those  who  esteem  it  an  honor  to  call  the  Church  of 
England,  from  whence  we  rise,  our  dear  mother,  and  cannot  pai-tfrom 
our  native  country,  where  she  specially  rcsideth,  without  much  sadness 
of  heart  and  many  tears  in  our  eyes;  ever  acknowledging,  that  such 
hope  and  part  as  we  have  obtained  in  the  comniou  salvation,  we  have 
received  in  her  bosom  and  sucked  it  from  her  breasts.  We  leave  it 
not,  therefore,  as  loathing  that  milk  wherewith  we  were  nourished 
there,  but,  blessing  God  for  the  parentage  and  education,  as  members 
of  the  same  body,  shall  always  rejoice  in  her  good,  and  unfeiguedl}'' 
grieve  for  any  sorrow  that  shall  ever  betide  her  ;  and,  while  we  have 
breath,  sincerely  desire  and  endeavor  the  continuance  and  abundance 
of  her  welfare,  and  the  enlargement  of  her  bounds  in  the  kingdom  of 
Christ  Jesus."  <■ 

One  might  easily  suppose  that  people  using  such  a  yearning  dialect, 
were  actually  emissaries  of  the  Church  of  England,  to  establish  her  in 
a  foreign  land,  as  the  most  loveh'  and  sacred  benediction  which  they 
could  possibly  bestow  upon  it.  If  they  established  a  religious  body  in 
"these  goings  down  of  the  sun,"  that  body  should  have  been  part  and 
parcel  of  the  Church  of  England,  — an  offshoot  from  the  parent  stock, 
but  still  belonging  to  its  formal  jurisdiction.  One  could  hardly  con- 
ceive the  possibility  of  speaking  of  the  Church  of  England,  in  the 
tenderly  filial  tone  of  this  eloquent  epistle,  and  then  of  an  acting  in 
fearful  contravention  to  it,  by  honest  and  Christ-like  men. 

But  we  are  now  to  see  how  the  Church  of  England  was  treated  in 
the  persons  of  those  who  joined  in  that  epistle  with  undoubted  ear- 
nestness of  heart.  Unsophisticated  men,  like  the  Brownes  of  Salem 
and  their  associates,  ventured  to  worship  God  in  a  city  whose  name 
was  jicace,  according  to  the  rites  and  ceremonies  of  the  Church  of 
England,  and,  too,  in  an  huml)lcand  unpretending  way,  not  at  all  fault- 
ing or  discountenancino;  those  who  chose  to  treat  those  rites  and  cere- 
monies  with  open  neglect,  not  to  say  absolute  disdain.  Of  course 
they  might  reasonably  expect  to  receive  the  treatment  which  Puritans 
in  England  bitterly  complained  they  did  not  receive  from  the  govern- 
ment of  England.     Alas,  the  old  Horatian  adage  — 

"  When  o'er  the  world  we  range, 
'Tis  but  our  climate,  not  our  minds,  we  change,"  — 

would  seem,  in  their  case,  to  have  been  read  backwards.  For  when 
the  Puritans  had  put  a  broad,  and  then  hardly  passable  ocean,  between 
themselves  and  those  whom  in  words  they  glorify,  it  is  manifest  that 
a  change  has  come  over  them,  such  as  Papists  would  call  a  very 
change  of  substance.  They  lost  their  homebred  character  entirely, 
lost  the  temper  which  was  so  tender  and  touching  in  the  cabin  of  the 
"  Arbella,"  and  became  as  un-English  and  as  unchurchly  as  if  they 
had  never  known  the  country  which  brought  them  forth,  or  the  Church 
which  had  put  upon  their  foreheads  the  seal  of  baptism.  They  were 
anti-English   in    their  civil  tastes,   anti-Church  of  England  in  their 

'  Hubbard's  "New  Ensland,"  pp.  126, 127. 


508  HISTORY  OF  THE   AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

tastes  ecclesiastical.  They  were  a  kingdom  and  a  church  exclusively 
and  sovereignly  their  own. 

Wherefore,  the  Brownes,  and  their  prayer-book  (for,  of  course, 
they  had  no  ministerial  aid)  were  despatched  back  to  England,  as 
utterly  unfit  for  an  atmosphere  too  pure  for  schismatical  intrusion. 
Their  very  letters  {proh  j)udor/)  were  broken  open,  as  if  they  were 
spies  or  traitors. 

And  not  only  did  they  presume  to  be  supreme,  and  beyond  the 
brook  of  contradiction,  iu  matters  ecclesiastical ;  they  aspired  to  the 
same  ascendancy  in  matters  temporal  and  civil.  Eoger  Williams  did 
not  construe  the  famous  charter  as  ))roadly  as  they  presumed  to  do, 
according  to  the  testimony  of  Thomns  Leohford,  an  eye  and  ear  wit- 
ness who  listened  with  a  lawyer's  practised  faculties.  Williams 
strenuously  maintained  that  it  gave  them  no  territorial  rights.  They 
wei"e  not,  he  contended,  the  original  proprietors  of  the  soil,  and  could 
not  be  made  such  by  a  piece  of  royal  parchment.  The  King  of  Eng- 
land could  no  more  give  away  North  America  to  Englishmen  than  the 
Pope  of  Rome  could  give  away  South  America  to  Spaniards.  Accord- 
ingly Williams  was  treated  with  summary  severity,  as  a  conspirator  or 
a  vile  incendiary.  He  had  to  flee  for  his  very  life,  and  beyond  the 
outermost  limits  of  their  presumptive  jurisdiction.  He  had  to  go,  too, 
in  the  dead  of  winter,  and  bury  himself  among  the  more  compassionate 
savages  of  Ehode  Island. 

It  is  perfectly  clear  then,  it  is  as  demonstraljly  clear  as  history 
can  make  it,  that  the  Puritans  came  to  these  far-away  shores  not  for 
mere  liberty  to  worship  God,  agreeably  to  their  own  modes  and 
fancies,  but  to  establish  a  church  and  a  state  which  should  be  exclu- 
sively and  potentially  their  own.  We  say  church  and  state,  after  the 
old  European  and  Romish  fashions  ;  because,  while  they  prated  loudly 
about  the  tyranny  of  popes  and  kings,  they  followed  popes  and  kings 
implicitly  in  putting  the  Church  before  the  state  in  rank,  and  above 
the  state  in  authority  and  power.  We  are  almost  talked  deaf  about 
this  matter  by  their  valorous  eulogists,  who  contend  that  they  are 
the  absolute  founders  of  civil  liberty.  Why,  it  was  one  of  their  earli- 
est laws  that  no  one  should  be  permitted  to  cast  a  vote  who  did  not 
belong  to  their  church-communion.  And  it  was  one  of  their  famous 
one  hundred  elementary  decretals  that  the  man  who  attempted  to 
change  or  I'cform  their  government  should  pay  for  his  presumption 
with  his  life.  It  was  a  law  levelled,  no  doubt,  against  such  desperate 
logicians  as  Roger  Williams.  This  dauntless  Anabaptist  taught  them 
its  indispensable  necessity  for  their  governmental  safet3^  And  the 
old  crime  of  lese-majesty  was  as  virtually,  if  not  as  technically, 
embodied  in  their  statutes  as  in  the  codes  of  the  Roman  emperoi's. 

The  formal  inauguration,  it  may  be,  of  Puritan  supremacy  and 
infiillibility  was  made  by  James  Cranford,  who,  while  the  Long  Par- 
liament and  the  Westminster  Assembly  were  in  vigorous  action, 
preached  a  high-toned,  trenchant  sermon  in  St.  Paul's  (or  Paul's,  as 
the  printed  title  is),  London,  as  the  mouth-piece  of  bot/t,  Feb.  1,  1645. 
He  called  it  "  Haereseo-Machia ;  or,  The  ^liscliiefs  of  Heresy."  In 
that   inaugurating   sermon,    after  declaiming   against   what   he   pro- 


PURITANISM   IN   NEW   ENGLAND.  509 

nounced  heresy,  with  every  possible  argument,  he  solemnly  appealed 
to  magistrates  to  join  in  the  eventful  battle  against  a  hideous  foe. 
He  told  these  congregated  authorities  of  England,  sitting  within  the 
compass  probably  of  a  ringing  and  penetrating  voice,  —  and  told  them, 
too,  full  plainly,  —  "That  there  was  never  in  the  world  any  godly 
emperor  or  king,  that  can  be  produced,  but  thought  the  care  of  relig- 
ion did  appertain  to  him,  that  it  was  his  duty  to  suppress  idolatries, 
HERESIES,  SCHISMS,  and  accordingly  hath  been  acting  more  or  less  to 
this  purpose."  1  And  again,  heightening  his  appeal:  "That  those 
emperors  and  kings  who  arc  recorded  voluntarihj  to  have  tolerated  all 
religious,  or  carelessly  to  have  neglected  the  growth  of  heresies  and 
schisms  in  the  church,  have  been,  the  former,  apostates,  atheists,  here- 
tics ;  the  latter,  branded  for  their  neglect." '  While  he  crowned  his 
Demosthenian  philippic,  and  tried  to  palsy  any  commiserating  tongue, 
by  adding  that,  "  Never  did  any  orthodox  divine  constantly  deny  this 
power  to  the  magistrate,  or  plead  for  a  toleration  of  all  sects."  ^ 

This  was  all  which  Now  England  wanted  to  justify  the  hail-storm 
of  persecution  which  had  been  rained  upon  the  hapless  opponents  of 
Puritanism  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic.  And  one  of  the  governors 
of  Massachusetts  —  one,  too,  of  her  most  eminent  and  admired  ones  — 
echoed  the  positions  of  Master  Cranford  ;  not  to  say  that  the  echo  was, 
if  possiljle,  louder  than  the  prototype.  Cranford  preached  in  1045; 
this  governor  (Thomas  Dudley)  died  in  1653,  and  after  his  death  a 
sonnet  was  found  upon  his  person,  from  which  we  quote  the  follow- 
ing lines :  "^  — 

"  Let  men  of  God  in  courts  anil  churebcs  watch, 
O'er  such  as  <lo  a  toleration  liateh, 
Lest  that  ill  egg  bring  fortli  a  cockatrice, 
To  poison  all  with  heresy  and  vice. 
If  men  he  left,  and  otherwise  combine, 
My  Epitaph's  I  died  no  libertine." 

Said  President  Oakcs,  of  Harvard  University,  in  an  election  ser- 
mon before  an  assembly  of  Massachusetts  magnates,  "I  look  upon 
toleration  as  the  lirst-born  of  all  abominations."  Mr.  Ward,  author 
of  "The  Simple  Cobliler  of  Agawam,"  surpasses  President  Oakes. 
First,  he  calls  toleration  "room  for  hell  above  ground ; "  and  then 
takes  a  flight,  the  mtitch  of  which  probably  history  cannot  produce, 
unless  she  brings  it  from  the  records  of  the  Inquisition  :  "  To  author- 
ize an  untruth  by  a  toleration  of  State  is  to  build  a  sconce  against  the 
walls  of  heaven  to  batter  God  out  of  his  chair."  And  it  would  be  a 
very  easy  task  to  multiply  such  blighting,  blistering  examples.  No 
wonder  that  John  Seldcn,  whom  some  have  ventured  to  pronounce  a 
Puritan,  l)ut  who  was  sometimes  one  of  their  keenest  critics,  should 
sum  up  the  aim  of  Puritan  jiastors  in  the  following  predictive  sentence  : 
"The  people  must  not  think  a  thought  towards  God  but  as  their 
pastors  will  put  it  into  their  mouths.  They  will  make  right  sheep  of 
us."  1 

'  Hubbard's  "  New  Ensland,"  ii.  19.  =  Mather's  "  MasaaUa."  I.,  p.  122.    Hartford,  1820. 

'^  Table  Talk.    Prayer  No.  8. 


510  HISTORY   OF  THE  AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

Selden  knew  them,  to  "the  joints  and  marrow."  At  one  time 
they  were  his  butt,  and,  at  another,  his  mockery.  Now  he  scarified, 
and  now  he  scorched,  them. 

Still,  even  such  openings  admit  a  climax;  and,  if  so,  they  had  it 
in  two  books,  written  b}^  John  Cotton,  on  the  power  of  the  keys, 
and  the  absolute  righteousness  of  persecution.  The  first  ought  to  have 
been  published  at  llome,  with  the  Pope  for  an  editor.  The  second, 
which  claimed  to  wash  white,  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb,  "the  bloody 
tenent"  of  persecution,  should  have  been  published  at  Madrid,  with 
(had  he  been  living)  Philip  II.  for  an  editor.  A  man  who  delighted 
to  see  heretics  burning  at  the  stake,  and  put  his  own  son  to  death 
because  tainted  with  Protestantism,  would  have  gloried  in  this  volume, 
and  pei'haps  have  recommended  its  author  for  the  honors  of  canoniza- 
tion. 

Having  opened  a  holy  war,  a  crusade  against  all  opponents  to 
their  sacred  and  inspired  Commonwealth,  the  Puritans  proceed  to 
carry  out  the  programme  of  Cranford,  and  to  stigmatize  every  senti- 
ment they  could  not  sanction  with  their  infallible  approval.  They 
went  to  such  enormous  lengths  that,  says  one  of  the  profoundest 
jurists  New  England  skies  have  ever  covered,  "  The  arm  of  the  civil 
government  was  constanthj  employed  in  support  of  the  denunciations 
of  the  Church ;  and  without  its  forms  the  Inquisition  existed  in 
substance,  with  a  full  share  of  its  terrors  and  its  violence."  * 

I  cannot,  however,  dwell  upon  their  envenomed  hostility  against 
Quakers,  whom  they  styled  "  cursed  "  even  in  their  statute  law  ;  against 
Baptists ;  against  even  old-fashioned  Presbyterians  ;  and  the  poor  Indian, 
whom  their  idolized  charter  bound  them  to  commiserate  and  Christian- 
ize, and  whom  they  might  have  easily  got  along  with,  had  they 
treated  them  as  they  were  treated  by  the  inhabitants  of  one  of  their 
own  townships,  well  named  Concoi'd  !  ^ 

My  immediate  Ijusiness  is  to  show  how  they  demeaned  them- 
selves towards  the  representatives  in  New  England  of  that  church, 
towards  which,  so  far  as  words  went,  they  most  filially  and  lo3^ally  paid 
homage  in  the  Arbclla  letter. 

And,  even  with  such  a  plan  in  view,  so  broad  is  the  ground  which 
might  be  covered,  tliat  it  is  necessary  for  me  to  restrict  my  observa- 
tions, and  then  to  take  up  illustrative  cases  for  a  multitude  of  others, 
leaving  long  details  unmentioned.  Characteristic  facts,  sufficient  to 
sustain  my  i)ositions,  must  answer ;  and  those  positions  are  the  fol- 
lowing :  First,  the  treatment  which  Episcopalians  received  when  they 
remonstrated  with  Puritan  authorities  for  decent,  if  not  courteous, 
consideration.  Next,  the  contempt  and  disparagement  manifested  by 
Puritans  for  English  ordinations.  Lastly,  their  eiforts  to  suppress 
English  missions,  and  to  stave  oITan  American  episcopate. 

(1.)     Their  treatment  of  Episcopal  remonstrances. 

On  the  other  side  of  the  ocean  it  was  taking  too  low  a  stand  for 
Puritanism  to  deal  in  simple  remonstrances.  It  took  higher,  immensely 
higher,  ground.     It  admonished  those  with  whom  it  came  in  contact 

■  Stoiy's  "  Miscellanies,"  p.  <>6. 

"  .See  Shattuck's  "  Concord ;"  also,  "  Mass.  Ilist.  Coll.,"  1st  Scr.,  i.,  p.  241. 


PURITANISM   IN  NEW  ENGLAND.  511 

as  its  civil  and  ecclesiastical  superiors.  And  if  it  aimed  at  an  individ- 
ual, and  wrote  such  a  folio  as  William  Prynnc  did,  styling  it  "Canter- 
bury's Doom,"  and  endeavored  to  extinguish  an  ecclesiastic  as  liercely 
hated  as  William  Laud  was,  wo  might  not  have  been  much  astonished. 
But  it  took  a  loftier,  a  uuicii  more  tlaring,  ilight.  It  admonished  Par- 
liament I  It  took  to  most  serious  task  the  supreme  authority  of  Eng- 
land itself,  as  a  law-maker.  It  talked  to  sovereign  England  as  if  it 
were  the  contriver  of  a  Justinian  code,  or  the  compiler  of  a  national 
constitution.  The  demeanor  of  these  admonitions  became  so  truculent, 
that  the  judicious  Hooker  felt  called  u[)on,  in  the  preface  to  his  elaborate 
"Polity,"  to  show  the  sweeping  temper  they  enkindled  and  deepened. 
"Under  the  happy  reign  of  her  Majesty  which  now  is,  the  greatest 
matter  a  while  contended  for  was  the  cap  and  surplice,  till  there  came 
Admonitions  directed  unto  the  High  Court  of  Parliament,  ])y  men 
who.  concealing  their  names,  thought  it  glory  enough  to  discover  their 
minds  and  atl'cctions,  which  were  now  bent  even  against  all  the  laws 
and  orders  wherein  this  Church  is  found  unconformal)le  to  the  platform 
of  Geneva."  '■  The  Puritans,  in  Hooker's  estimation,  had  at  last  l)ccome 
root  and  l)ranch  men.  To  speak  in  their  own  adopted  rhetoric,  not 
a  hoof  of  England's  body  politic  was  to  be  left  behind. 

Now,  surely,  if  such  dashing  admonition  were  admissible  in  Old 
England,  a  moderate  remonstrance  at  least  might  be  endured  in  New 
England.  So  reasoned  the  churchmen  of  New  England,  who,  some- 
how or  other,  had  clustered  together,  after  the  ignominious  expulsion 
of  the  Brownes.  The  sermon  of  Cranford  had  perhaps  made  its  ap- 
pearance in  the  latitude  of  Boston,  and  was  thought  by  the  timid  "a 
token  of  perdition."  Wherefore,  in  the  year  after  its  deliver}^  in  1 646, 
sundry  Episcopalians  veutui'cd  to  indite  a  petition  to  the  General  Court 
(as  it  was  called) ,  begging  for  a  tritle  of  Christian  forljearance  and  toler- 
ation. Tliey  "prayed  that  civil  liberty  and  freedom  might  l)c  granted 
to  all  truly  English,  and  that  all  members  of  the  Church  of  England 
or  Scotland,  not  scandalous,  might  be  admitted  to  the  privileges  of  the 
churches  of  New  England ;  or,  if  these  civil  and  I'cligious  liberties 
were  refused,  that  they  might  be  freed  from  the  heavy  taxes  imposed 
upon  them,  and  from  the  impresses  made  of  them,  or  their  children, 
or  servants,  into  the  war."^ 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  petition  covered  the  case  of  Presbyterians 
as  well  as  Episcopalians.  And  now  let  us  remark  how  those  who 
could  scold  Parliament  I'eceived,  not  a  harsh  tale  of  grievances,  and  a 
demand  for  overturning  reformation,  but  a  moderate  and  harmless  re- 
quest to  I)ethink  themselves  as  Christian  men  for  Christians  generalhj. 
Did  they  receive  the  petition  ?  Oh,  yes  ;  they  did  as  much  as  that.  Did 
they  answer  it?  Oh,  yes  ;  as  we  might  have  been  thoroughly  assured. 
They  had  not  to  deal  with  jNIartin-AIar-Prelate  libels,  l)ut  with  a  regu- 
lar and  respectful  legal  document;  for  the  right  of  petition  is  one 
about  which  New  England  once  thundered  at  the  doors  of  Congress, 
in  days  when  the  abolition  of  slavery  was  a  burning  theme.  They 
turned  it  over  and  over,  shuffled  it  backwards  and  forwards,  weighed 

>  Prcf.,  Ch.  2,  {  10.  2  Hutchinson's  Ilist.,  I.,  p.  137. 


512  HISTORY   OF  THE  AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

it  in  the  balances  of  prudence  and  of  policy,  for  four  long  months. 
But  even  then  they  could  not  get  cool  enough  to  brook  it.  Their  con- 
sultations over  it  seemed  to  fester  like  a  cancer,  and  at  last  threw  out 
their  attainted  venom.  The  petition  was  treated  as  factious  and  i-ebel- 
lious ;  or,  as  Dr.  Morse  said,  in  one  of  the  early  editions  of  liis 
"Geography,"  "The  colony  was  clisturl)ed  l)y  some  of  its  principal  in- 
habitants, who  had  conceived  a  dislike  of  some  of  the  laws  and  the 
government.  Several  of  these  disaffected  persons  were  imprisoned,  and 
the  rest  compelled  to  give  secui'ity  for  their  future  good  behaviour." 
People  put  under  bail  or  imprisoned  for  exorcising  the  inalienable 
right  of  petition!  And  this,  too,  when  to  ward  otf  sundry  remon- 
strances from  England,  about  their  treatment  of  Anabaptists  and  Pres- 
byterians, they  appoint  a  committee  to  proclaim,  as  with  the  thunders 
of  Niagara,  "  their  utter  disaffection  to  arbitrary  government."  '  If 
they  had  belonged  to  the  old  colony  of  New  Haven,  could  they  have 
been  indicted  under  the  statute  against  fibbing? 

(2.)     The  next  point  is  their  estimate  of  English  ordinations. 

If  there  be  one  matter  in  regard  to  which  Congregationalists  and 
their  parallels  are  sensitive  beyond  all  others,  it  is  the  matter  of  ordi- 
nation. And  this  sensitiveness  is  easily  explained.  When  a  man  is 
liable  to  censure  for  a  particular  weakness,  any  censure  directed  against 
that  weakness  touches  him,  rouses  him,  inflames  him,  ten  times  more 
than  censure  levelled  against  him  on  a  side  where  he  is  invulnerable. 
Our  neighboi's  are  heavily  displeased  at  our  inappreciation  of  their 
ordinations,  because  they  know  we  have  good  reason  for  it.  If  the 
general  practices  of  antiquity  may  be  a  guide  about  disputed  ques- 
tions, we  know  there  is  world-wide  testimony  to  show  that  in  the 
days  of  the  Council  of  Nice,  Episcopacy  was  the  church  government 
of  Christendom ;  and  if  all  who  believe  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity 
is  now,  as  it  was  then,  the  groat  central  doctrine  of  Christendom, 
and  consider  this  fact  as  one  of  its  grand  historic  proofs,  —  if  all 
such  would  accept  the  Episcopal  discipline  which  went  along  with 
it,  there  would  be  such  a  prospect  of  unity  as  has  not  dawned  on  us 
for  many  a  weary,  disheartening  century. 

But,  to  turn  from  such  a  vein  of  thought,  however  inevitable, 
could  it  a  priori  be  doomed  a  possibility,  that  those  who  could  not 
endure  for  a  moment  any  cheapening  of  their  own  ministerial  standing 
would  turn  around  and  cheapen  the  same  thing  in  those  whose  minis- 
terial standing  is  unquestionable?  Should  I  be  credited,  if  I  said 
openly  and  broadly,  that  Congregationalists  neither  believed  in,  nor 
would  acknowledge  as  valid,  Episcopal  oi'dinations ?  Nay,  should  I 
not  be  told  that  my  assertion  was  a  gross  and  palpable,  not  to  say  a 
highly  discreditable,  error?  Nevertheless,  whatever  may  be  the  pres- 
ent state  of  Congregational  opinion,  "  fnmi  the  beginning  it  was  not 
so."  They,  doubtless,  had  some  qualms  al)out  the  formidable  stop,  as 
the  ordination  of  a  Mr.  Wilson  demonstrates,  ))ut  their  spirits  were 
soon  clarified,  and  made  full  strong.     They  then  disavowed  the  ordi- 

'  Felt's  "  Salem,"  i.,  pp.  172-176. 


PURITANISM  IN   NEW  ENGLAND.  513 

nations  of  England,  on  principle,  because  the  laity  had  no  share  in  thera. 
And  now  ior  the  proof  of  this  stout  allegation. 

Many  instances  rise  to  my  recollection,  but  one  is  as  good  as 
twenty,  and  especially  such  an  one  as  it  is  proposed  to  quote.  John 
Cotton  wrote  that  awiul  liook,  in  which  he  professed  to  have  washed 
white  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb,  "the  bloody  tenent"  of  persecution, 
and  made  it  as  clean  as  the  white  linen  of  the  saints  in  glory.  Cotton 
Mather,  in  his  "  Magnalia,"  slips  by  the  treatise  in  half  a  line  !  And 
yet,  say  Morse  and  Parish,  in  their  compendious  history  of  New  Eng- 
land, "Mr.  Cotton  is  said  to  have  been  more  useful  and  influential 
in  settling  the  civil  as  well  as  ecclesiastical  policy  of  New  England 
than  any  other  person."  ^  Notwithstanding,  this  foremost  personage, 
though  an  ordained  clergyman  of  the  Church  of  England,  was  ordained 
over  again,  when,  after  "flying  from  the  deprivations  of  Europe  to 
the  American  strand,"  he  found  himself  at  home.  And,  what  is  very 
surprising,  he  is  ordained  with  a  formality  not  surpassed  in  the  fonns 
of  the  Church  which  was  repudiated  I  The  account  may  be  found  by 
the  curious  in  Governor  Winthrop's  journal.^ 

Great  and  incessant  complaint  is  made  of  the  prayer-book,  be- 
cause a  bishop  says,  when  a  presbyter  is  ordained,  "  Receive  the 
Holy  Ghost."  '  But  it  appears,  from  the  Cottonian  ordination,  that  a 
Puritan  pastor,  laying  on  hands  with  a  couple  of  laymen,  can  do  the 
same  thing  (virtually,  if  not  technically)  ;  nor  so  only,  but  they  can 
claim  an  actual  communication  of  the  gifts  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  a 
sanction  of  their  act  "as  by  a  sign  from  God ;  "  in  other  words,  by  an 
invisible,  if  not  a  visible,  miracle  1  How  any  higher  assumptions  could 
be  taken  we  cannot  see.  How  it  could  be  proclaimed  more  strongly 
that  the  official  gifts  of  the  Holy  Ghost  had  not  previously  endowed  a 
candidate  for  ordination  we  cannot  see ;  but  if  there  be  the  least 
doubt  about  the  fact  that  any  previous  ordination  was  nullified  with 
holy  scorn,  such  doubt  can  be  removed  by  the  requisition,  that  the 
candidate  for  the  prerogatives  of  a  puritanic  ministry  should  humble 
himself,  and  acknowledge  any  previous  ordination  as  a  sin  !  •*  Could 
any  device  be  a  completer  protest  and  denunciation  against  any  pre- 
vious (so-called)  ordination?  It  ti'eated  such  ordination  as  a  sacri- 
lege, and  stigmatized  it  as  a  crime.  In  some  of  its  flights  of  fancy 
Puritanism  hooted  at  ordination  by  bishops  as  a  forge  of  Popery,  and 
blackened  with  the  smoke  of  the  bottomless  pit.' 

Certainly  such  a  case  will  answer  as  a  test-case,  if  any  one  can. 
It  is  the  case  of  the  foremost  and  most  unblenching  defender  of  Puritanic 
persecutions,  and  of  a  man  whom  his  own  satellites  and  admirers  pro- 
nounce (to  use  a  modern  term)  the  evolver  of  New  England's  civil 
and  ecclesiastical  polity. 

If  anything  could  heighten  this  tragi-comedy  to  the  uttermost 
it  would  be  the  marvellous  fact  that  such  a  tissue  of  assumptions  could 

'  p.  100.  sumption  when  they  use  it  in  communicating 

"Savage's  edition,   1823,  Vol.  I.,  pp.  Hi,  holy  orders.  —  Selden's   Table-Talk. 

115.  *  S.avajre's  "  Winthrop,"  i.,  p.  217.    Felt's 

»  Selden  makes  light  of  the  phi'ase,  and  "  Salem,"  pp.  104,  105. 

says  the  Jews  used  it  in  making  a  lawyer.   Sure-  °  Lechlbrd's  "  Plain  Dealing,"  p.  17,  notes. 

ly,  then,  Christians  are  not  gnuty  of  profane  as- 


514  fflSTORY   OF   THE   AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

be  gone  through  with,  and  be  enacted  by  any  seven  individuals,  and 
perhaps  by  two!  The  question  about  the  fluxionary  number  necessary 
to  constitute  a  religious  society  (or,  as  we  now  say,  a  church)  is  a 
radical  one.  It  made  trouble  in  New  England  as  far  back  as  1635,  at 
the  ordination  of  Thomas  Shepard,  another  unfrocked  Episcopalian. 
After  serious  debate  seven  was  selected  as  the  critical  figure,  because 
Wisdom's  house  was  erected  with  seven  pillars.'  Governor  Winthrop 
says  that  Mr.  Shepard  and  six  others  constituted  an  ecclesias- 
tical body  poUtic,  which  possessed  as  much  inherent  power  as  any 
diocese  in  Christendom  ;  perhaps  more,  for  those  seven  constituted  an 
independent  sovereignty.^  And  the  descendants  of  such  men,  looking 
down  upon  the  Church  of  England  and  her  most  solemn  acts  as  farces 
or  presumptions,  nay,  possibly  sins,  now  turn  squarely  round  and 
complain  that  Episcopalians  do  not  honor  their  ordinations  as  highly 
as  their  own. 

"  O  Judgment!  thou  art  fled  to  brutish  beasts, 
And  men  have  lost  their  reason." 

(3.)  There  is  but  one  point  more  which  can  be  embraced  in  these 
short  sketches.  This  is  the  treatment  of  the  missionaries  of  the 
English  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel,  and  the  efforts 
to  stave  off  the  establishment  of  an  American  episcopate. 

As  to  the  treatment  of  Episcopal  missionaries,  as  good  an  idea  as 
the  case  admits  can  be  obtained  from  a  notice  of  the  first  resident 
Episcopal  clergyman  in  the  city  of  Boston,  and  his  reception  in  the 
centre  of  a  Puritan  dominion.  It  was  not  till  the  old  charter  was 
annihilated,  and  a  royal  governor  gained  foothold  in  Massachusetts, 
that  an  Episcopal  clergyman  could  safely  follow.  Most  graphically 
does  the  poetic  Mr.  Greeiawood,  in  his  "  History  of  King's  Chapel,"  open 
this  inauspicious  era  in  the  romantic  history  of  New  England's  eccle- 
siastical "  Remarkables"  :  "  The  Rose  frigate  must  have  seemed  to  the 
greater  part  of  the  Bostonians,  or  Bostoneers,  as  Randolph  called  them, 
freighted  heavily  with  woe,  bearing,  as  it  did,  the  Rev.  Robert  Rat- 
cliffe,  of  the  Church  of  England,  with  his  surplice  and  his  'Book  of 
Common  Prayer,'  to  say  nothing  of  the  commission  which  appointed  a 
president  over  them  by  the  king's  sole  authority."^ 

It  was,  doubtless,  Mr.  Ratcliffe's  inevitable  fate  to  be  made  as 
comfortless  as  might  be,  by  the  denial  of  a  pulpit,  and  even  of  a  bell 

to  summon  a  congregation  to  offer 
that  Litany  which  teaches  church- 
men to  pray  for  "  enemies,  persecu- 
tors and  slanderers,"  that  God  may 
pardon  them,  and  turn  their  hearts 
into  the  ways  of  charity  and  peace. 
The  grievances  of  such  people  were 
ingeniously  and  industriously  mul- 
tiplied till  they  had  to  cry  out  for  deliverance  to  "William  HI., 
who,  though  a  Dutchman  from  the  purlieus  of  the  Synod  of  Dort,  was 

'  Prov.  uc.  1.  -  Savage's  "Wiuthrop,"  I.,  p.  180.  '  P.  15. 


PURITANISM  IN  NEW  ENGLAND.  515 

not  given  over  to  Cnlvinistic  implacability.  They  soberly  declared, 
in  a  petition  addressed  to  him,  (hat  they  had  been  "  injured  and  abused 
both  in  their  civil  and  religious  concernments,  our  Church  bj'  their 
rage  and  fury  having  been  greatly  hurt  and  damnified,  and  daily 
threatened  to  be  pulled  down  and  destroyed,  our  minister  hindered 
and  obstructed  in  the  discharge  of  his  duty  and  office,  and  wo  now 
put  under  the  burthen  of  most  excessive  rates  and  taxes,  to  support 
the  interest  of  a  disloyal  prevailing  party  amongst  us,  who  under  pre- 
tence of  the  public  good  design  nothing  but  ruin  and  destruction  to 
us  and  the  whole  country."  '  The  only  wonder  about  this  petition  is, 
tiiat  it  was  not  united  in  by  Quakers,  Baptists,  Presbyterians,  and 
others,  who  could  have  widened  its  arguments  and  deepened  its  lam- 
entations. Perhaps  churchmen  were  somewhat  nervous  about  having 
others  associated  with  them,  lest  their  own  chances  of  success  be  there- 
by lessened.  The  government  might  have  hearkened  to  a  clan  when 
they  would  shrink  from  unloosing  an  army. 

As  to  the  eflbrts  of  Puritans  to  stave  oflT  the  introduction  of 
bishops,  perhaps  no  better  idea  of  them  can  be  communicated  than 
by  introducing  the  name  and  fortunes  of  John  Checkley,  an  individual 
whom,  for  his  sleepless  industry  in  relation  to  this  subject,  the  Puritans 
accounted  an  emissary  of  the  prince  of  darkness.  Checkley  was  born 
in  1680,  and  died  in  1753,  in  his  seventy-fourth  year.  He  was  a 
Bostonian  by  birth,  educated,  it  is  said  at  Oxford,  and  later  a  traveller 
on  the  Continent,  bringing  home  with  him  curiosities  of  art  and  val- 
uable manuscripts.  So  he  was  a  scholar  and  a  cosmopolite,  and  his 
attainments  ought  to  have  made  him  worthy  of  notice  and  cultivation  ; 
but,  alas  !  he  was  "  destitute  of  vital  piety." 

Checkley,  it  is  altogether  probable,  had  intercourse  with  the  ec- 
clesiastical authorities  of  England,  and  kept  them  informed  of  the  state 
of  aftau's  on  this  side  of  the  ocean.  He  published,  in  1723,  a  pamphlet 
which  was  the  forerunner  of  the  Episcopal  controversy  in  America. 
He  followed  it  with  Leslie's  "  Short  and  Easy  Method,"  to  which  he 
subjoined  a  discourse  concerning  Episcopacy.  This  was  quite  too 
much  ;  he  was  getting  to  be  positively  alarming,  and  accordingly  the 
strong  arm  of  law  was  laid  upon  him.  He  was  arrested,  and  tried  as 
a  public  libeller  and  peace-disturber,  was  fined  fifty  pounds  and  bonded 
in  a  hundred  pounds  to  keep  the  peace,  and  doomed  withal  to  pay  the 
costs  of  his  own  prosecution.  Hapless  mortal  I  he  was  fined  fifty 
pounds  for  defending  the  king's  religion,  and  yet  breaking  the  royal 
peace,  and  within  earshot  of  Faneuil  Hall,  the  cradle  of  libei'ty  ! 

Checkley  was  not  at  all  dismayed.  With  the  assistance  of  Dr. 
Cutler,  who  gave  up  the  Presidency  of  Yale  College,  and  became  an 
Episcopalian  in  1723,  he  contrived  to  defeat  the  assemliling  of  a  Puri- 
tanic Council,  which  was  to  assemble  in  1724—5.  This  atrocious  crime 
was  never  forgiven  or  forgotten.  When  he  afterwards  went  to  Eng- 
land, to  obtain  hoi}'  orders,  he  was  pursued  by  representations  which 
pictured  him  out  as  a  traitor  to  the  Ilouse  of  Hanover. 

Luckless,  but  unintimidated,  he   never  remitted  his   efforts   to 

'  Mas3.  Hist.  Coll.,  3d  series,  vn.,  p.  194. 


516  HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

become  a  clergyman,  and  was  ordained  a  deacon,  at  last,  at  an 
age  never  known  before  for  such  promotion, — in  his  sixtieth  year. 
He  lived  a  minister,  in  Providence,  R.I.,  some  fourteen  years; 
and  if  any  names  deserve  inscription  on  our  church's  roll  of  honor, 
Checkley's  should  be  among  the  foremost.  It  is  deeply  to  be  lamented 
that  he  left  no  "history  of  his  own  times."  He  had  a  lively  imagina- 
tion and  a  trenchant  wit,  as  was  evinced  by  his  "  Dissenter's  Cate- 
chism ; "  and  we  should  have  had  an  "  Apology  for  the  Introduction  of 
Bishops  into  British  Colonies  "  as  famous  among  ourselves  as  Tertul- 
lian's  keen  one  in  long-departed  days.* 

The  controversy  respecting  Episcopal  missions  between  Chauncy 
and  Mayhew  on  the  Puritan  side,  and  Abp.  Seeker,  with  Apthorp  and 
Chandler,  on  the  Episcopal  side,  cannot  be  reviewed  for  want  of  space  ; 
nor  the  cruel  insinuation  that  zeal  for  the  introduction  of  a  monarchi- 
cal Episcopacy  was  one  of  the  causes  of  the  American  Ee volution. 
That  Episcopalians  could  be  patriots,  let  this  memorable  proof  be  a 
sufficient  attestation.  "It  is  possible,  also,  that  a  majority  of  the 
signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence  are  Episcopalians."** 

And  now,  finally,  to  show  that  the  Pm-itans,  while  endeavoring  to 
uproot  Episcopacy,  and  plant  their  theocracy  in  its  stead,  as  the  best 
possible  of  exchanges,  made  a  huge  eflbrt  and  a  corresponding  failure, 
I  will  close  with  quotations  from  two  distinguished  Puritan  authors,  to 
prove  that  the  elements  of  unsettleduess,  division,  and  theological 
uncertainty  which  we  now  see  on  all  sides  in  Puritanical  quarters, 
started  and  abounded  in  England  before  they  developed  themselves 
still  fui-ther  upon,  as  Cotton  Mather  calls  it,  "  the  American  strand." 

Though  never  overfond  of  the  Apocrypha,  the  Puritans  could 
justify  its  estimate  of  thoroughness  :  — 

"  There  be  spirits  that  are  created  for  vengeance, 
Wliich  in  their  fury  lay  on  sore  strokes."^ 

And  now,  by  the  testimony  of  their  own  authors,  let  us  see  how 
much  their  "  sore  strokes  "  accomplished. 

Here  is  a  panorama  of  Puritanism,  by  Thomas  Reeve,  B.D., 
drawn  out  under  the  droppings  of  its  primitive  sanctuaries  in  London, 
the  fostering  home  of  the  Long  Parliament,  and  the  "  Most  Sacred  " 
Westminster  Assembly :  — 

Every  corporation  hath  a  new  brotherhood  of  believers,  every  pulpit  new  coin 
coming  hot  out  of  the  mint,  every  secret  meeting  a  secret  rule  of  faith,  and  a 
secret  form  of  worship.  Oh,  what  variety  of  Saviours  have  we !  Every  man  is 
for  his  particular  Redeemer,  his  distinct  messeno;cr  of  the  Covenant.  Here  is 
Christ,  and  there  is  Christ.  Now  who  shall  calm  this  troubled  sea,  raise  up  these 
ruins,  new-joint  these  dislocated  bones,  reduce  these  mutineers  ?  * 

And,  again,  p.  146  :  — 

God  would  be  ashamed  to  walk  before  you  in  such  ways,  or  to  prescribe  to 
you  such  paths.    K  your  eyes  be  open,  what  repentance  do  ye  see  amongst  us,  but 

•  See  Updike's  "  Narragansett,"  pp.  205-11.  "  Ecclus.  xxxis.  28. 

'  Updike,  ut  supra,  p.  246.  '  Reeve's  "  Plea  for  Nineveh,"  1657,  p.  16. 


PimiTANISM   IN   NEW   ENGLAND.  517 

beating  down  of  crosses,  crashing  of  church-windows,  demolishing  a  font,  new- 
placing  acommunion-table,  and  phicking  oil"  that  same  abominable  rochet  ?  iJuthatli 
this  Reformation  cleansed  away  one  sinP  Hath  it  made  us  more  moral  than  Turks, 
or  more  pure  than  many  Paynims  and  infidels  ?  Are  our  evil  motions,  our  evil 
lusts,  and  our  evil  ways  gone  ?  Is  there  not  as  much  pride  and  riot,  and  covetous- 
ness  and  slander,  and  theft  and  craft,  peevishness  and  perfidiousness,  cozenage  and 
contention,  as  there  is  this  day  among  Scythians  and  Barbarians?  A  nimble  voyage 
then  that  we  have  made,  who  are  not  sailed  beyond  the  Land's  End ;  a  long  journey 
that  we  have  travelled,  who  are  not  gotten  out  of  our  old  ways ! ' 

Once  more,  to  show  his  close  circumspection,  and  wonderful  com- 
mand of  language,  pp.  150,   151  :  — 

For  all  the  noise  of  our  sermon-bells,  and  the  mysteries  of  the  Kingdom  of 
Heaven  preached  among  us,  here  is  nothing  but  shaveing  and  fleeceing,  pinching 
and  biting,  catching  and  crushing,  supplanting  and  circumventing,  consuming  and 
confounding,  decocting  and  despoiling,  slaying  and  flajring,  prosecuting  and  perse- 
cuting, mingling  and  powderino;,  glozing  and  varnishing,  sophisticating  and  adul- 
terating, lengthening  out  of  suits,  and  spinning  out  of  quarrels,  siding  and  shoul- 
dering, trampling  and  shivering,  dreadful  decrees  in  the  Court  of  Conscience,  and 
horrid  orders  divers  times,  in  the  best  Court  of  Judicature,  as  if  oppression  were  a 
science,  and  tyranny  a  trade.  .  .  .  Oh,  if  I  should  lead  you  into  the  forest 
itself,  where  all  the  wild  beasts  and  ravenous  serpents  do  range,  ye  would  think 
this  were  the  land  of  tigers  and  dragons!  And  for  all  this,  yet  are  we  the  just 
Nation  ? 

One  is  tempted  to  give  his  full-length  portrait  of  Puritan  parsons, 
on  p.  104  ;  but  the  fear  it  may  be  considered  the  work  of  a  mechanic, 
dealing  in  "  untempered  mortar,"  induces  me  to  pass  it  by.  Eeeve's 
folio,  of  more  than  350  pages,  will  richly  repay  a  laborious  explorer. 

And  now,  lastly,  let  us  listen  to  a  few  words  from  Richard  Baxter, 
one  of  the  choicest  of  Puritanic  saints.  His  work  on  "  CathoHc 
Unity"  will  be  the  one  quoted,  since,  to  do  him  but  justice,  he  knew 
how  to  use  the  word  "Catholic"  in  a  non-Roman  sense,  — no  mean  at- 
tainment for  his  day,  and  especially  amid  his  surroundings.  He  gave 
a  pitiful  list  of  the  sects  which  thrived  in  the  rebellion,  till  he  cried 
out,  mind-sick  and  heart-sick,  "  I  am  weary  of  mentioning  these  des- 
perate errors ;"  so  he  wound  up  with  the  following  burst  of  Baxterian 
rhetoric:  "The  Anabaptist  hath  a  scab,  and  the  Separatist  hath  a 
wound ;  but  the  common  ungodly  multitude  have  the  leprosy  and 
plague-sores  from  top  to  toe.  Profaueness  is  a  hodge-podge  and  galli- 
mawfry,  of  all  the  heresies  in  the  world  in  one."  No  wonder  that 
Henry  Foulis,  M.A.,  who  could  produce  according  to  Isaac  d'Israeli, 
"au  extraordinary  folio,"  who  was  once  inclined  to  be  a  Puritan,  and 
who  knew  his  old  comrades  ab  ovo  usque  ad  malum,  should  describe 
them  in  rhetoric  quite  as  peculiar  as  Mr.  Baxter's,  only  rather  more 
scholarly  :  "The  Teneriif  or  Pico  shall  sooner  shrink  to  mole-hills,  the 
name  of  the  Escurial  be  forgotten,  and  the  gi-eat  tun  at  Heidelberg 
filled  with  Rhenish  wine  be  a  draught  to  a  pigmy,  than  a  non-con- 
formist cease  from  being  disobedient,  or  our  disciplinarians  from  hating 
and  persecuting  our  lawful  government  of  Bishops."  ^     Perhaps  one 

'  Compare  Reeve's  "  Plea  for  Nineveh,"  pp.     2d  ed.,  1674,  p.  145,  with  some  language   left 
74,  75.  out,  which  might  be  thought  hai-sher  than  that 

-  Foulis's  "  Plots  of  our  Pretended  Saints,"     which  is  quoted. 


518  HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

cannot  better  close  than  in  the  language  of  Roger  Williams  to  John 
Cotton  :  "  Oh  that  it  may  please  the  Father  of  Lights  to  awaken  both 
himself,  and  other  of  my  honored  countrymen,  to  see  how,  though 
their  hearts  wake,  in  respect  of  personal  grace  and  life  of  Jesus,  yet 
they  sleep,  insensible  of  much  concerning  the  purity  of  the  Lord's 
worship,  or  the  sori'ows  of  such,  whom  they  style  brethren  and  beloved 
in  Christ,  afflicted  by  them  !  " ' 


sr^W:  ^o^vtr- 


I  Answer  to  Cotton  on  the  "  Bloody  tenent  of  persecution."    Hanserd  Knolly 's  Society  ed.,  1848, 
p.  383. 


MONOGRAPH    IV. 


DEAN    BERKELEY'S    SOJOURN    IN   AMERICA,    1729-1731. 

By  the  rev.  MOSES  COIT  TYLER,  LL.D., 

Professor  of  American  History,  in  Cornell  University,  New  York. 

ON  the  23d  of  Juiuuuy,  1729,  a  Britisli  sliip  of  ahoiit  two  hundred 
and  fifty  tons  was  seen  hovering  oft'  the  coast  of  Rhode  Island 
and  making  signals  for  a  pilot.  In  response  to  these  signals 
two  pilots  boarded  the  ship.  It  jnoved  to  be  the  hired  vessel  of  an 
eminent  Englisli  clergyman,  the  Eev.  George  Berkeley,  Dean  of 
Derry,  who  had  with  him  his  wife  and  a  small  party  of  friends,  and 
was  desirous  of  landing  somewhere  in  Rhode  Island.  The  pilots  in- 
formed him  that  the  harbor  of  Newport  was  near,  and  that  in  the  town 
there  was  an  Eiiiscopal  church,  the  minister  of  which  was  the  Rev. 
James  Honj'man.  At  once  the  dean  wrote  a  letter  to  Mr.  Hony- 
man,  notifying  him  of  his  approach.  What  followed  is  best  told  in 
the  picturesque  narrative  of  a  local  historian  of  the  event.  The 
pilots  took  the  dean's  letter  "on  shore  at  Conanicut  Island,  and  called 
on  Mr.  Gardner  and  Mr.  Martin,  two  members  of  Mr.  Honyman"s 
church,  informing  them  that  a  great  dignitary  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land, called  Dean,  was  on  board  the  ship,  together  with  other  gentle- 
men passengers.  They  handed  them  the  letter  from  the  dean,  which 
Gardner  and  Martin  brought  to  Newport  with  all  possil)le  despatch. 
On  their  arrival  tiiey  found  Mr.  Honyman  was  at  church,  it  being  a 
holiday  on  which  divine  service  was  held  there.  They  then  sent  the 
letter  by  a  servant,  who  delivered  it  to  Mr.  Honyman  in  his  pulpit. 
He  opened  it,  and  read  it  to  the  congregation,  from  the  contents  of 
which  it  appeared  the  dean  might  be  expected  to  land  in  Newport 
every  moment.  The  clnu'ch  Mas  dismissed  with  tlic  l)lessing,  and 
Mr.  Honyman,  with  the  wardens,  vestry,  and  congregation,  male  and 
female,  repaired  immediately  to  the  wharf,  where  they  arrived  a  little 
before  the  dean,  his  family,  and  friends." 

On  the  day  after  this  notable  event  a  Newport  correspondent  of 
"  The  New  England  Weekly  Courier "  thus  announced  the  news  to 
the  people  of  Boston  :  "  Yesterday  arrived  here  Dean  Berkeley,  of 
Londonderry,  in  a  pretty  large  ship.  He  is  a  gentleman  of  middle 
stature,  of  an  agreeable,  pleasant,  and  erect  aspect.  He  was  ushered 
into  the  town  with  a  great  number  of  gentlemen,  to  whom  he  behaved 
himself  after  a  very  complaisant  manner.  'Tis  said  he  proposes  to 
tarry  hero  with  his  family  al)out  three  months."' 

Instead  of  tarrying   there  only   al)<)ut  three    months    the  deau 

'  Cited  iu  Fraser's  "  Life  and  Letters  of  George  Bei-keley,"  p.  154. 


520 


HISTORY   OF   THE   AMERICAN    EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 


tarried  there  nearly  three  years.  He  soon  purchased  a  farm  three  or 
four  miles  from  Newport,  near  the  sea ;  and  he  built  there  a  large 
house,  which  he  named  "Whitehall."  He  had  brought  with  him,  not 
only  ample  wealth  in  money  and  in  personal  and  household  goods, 
but  a  library  of  several  thousand  volumes.  During  the  whole  time 
of  his  sojourn  in  America  he  lived  very  quietly,  and  in  almost  un- 
broken retirement.  He  was  kindly  and  fomiliar  Mith  people  of  all 
religious  faiths  in  Newport.  Occasionally  he  preached  in  the  New- 
port church,  or  went  with  the  faithful  missionary,  Mr.  Honyman, 
among  the  Narragansett  Indians.     He  was  the  highest  officer  of  the 


"WHITEHALL,"    THE    RESIDENCE    OF    DEAN    BERKELEY    WHILE    IN 
RHODE    ISLAND. 


Anglican  Church  who  had  ever  been  in  America  ;  and  his  coming  hither 
and  his  long  stay  here  were  a  mystery  to  the  pulilic,  and  to  some  of 
them,  likewise,  a  source  of  alarm.  It  was  said  that  he  intended  to 
found  a  college  at  the  Bermudas  ;  but,  if  so,  why  did  be  not  go  to  the 
Bermudas,  and  set  about  it?  There  were  some  who  suspected  that 
he  might  be  an  emissary  of  the  English  Church,  and  that  he  had  come 
to  New  England  with  the  subtle  purpose  of  laying  some  kind  of  pre- 
latical  mine  for  the  l1lo^ving  up  and  destruction  of  the  ecclesiastical 
system  already  established  there.  Several  years  before  Berkeley's 
arrival,  Timothy  Cutler,  the  president  of  Yale  College,  Daniel  Brown, 
its  tutor,  together  with  two  prominent  Congregational  pastors  in  Con- 
necticut, Samuel  Johnson  and  James  Wetmore,  had  gone  over  in  a 
body  to  the  English  Church.     The  event  had  produced  no  little  con- 


DEAN   BERKELEY'S   SOJOURN   IN   AMERICA.  521 

sternation.  Was  it  not  likely  that  the  astute  and  plausible  Dean  of 
Derry  had  come  out  to  America  to  entice  others  of  the  New  England 
ministry  into  a  similar  defection  ?  At  any  rate  the  proceedings  of  the 
dean  would  bear  watching. 

And,  on  his  part,  there  seemed  to  be  not  the  least  objection  to  their 
being  watched.  Ho  had  nothing  to  conceal.  It  did  appear  somewhat 
strange  that  an  ambitious  and  dangerous  ecclesiastical  emissary,  instead 
of  pushing  out  into  the  colonies,  and  making  acquaintances  among  the 
people,  should  have  retired  to  the  solitude  of  an  island  on  the  coast, 
and  should  have  spent  his  time  there  after  the  manner  of  a  philosophical 
hermit.  Certainly  he  was  affable  to  all  whom  by  any  accident  he  fell 
in  with  ;  and  he  courteously  received  all,  whether  distinguished  or  un- 
distinguished, who  chose  to  call  upon  him  ;  but  he  solicited  no  man's 
company  ;  he  interfered  with  no  man's  opinions.  In  the  way  of  charity 
he  gave  much,  but  himself  had  no  favors  to  ask.  Excepting  occasional 
missionary  tours  among  the  Indians,  and  a  single  visit  to  Boston  for 
the  purpose  of  taking  ship  for  England,  he  made  no  journeys  into  the 
country  that  he  was  credited  with  the  design  of  subjugating ;  and  when 
at  last  he  took  his  leave  of  America,  and  returned  to  England,  he  left 
after  him  here  only  a  beautiful  and  gracious  memory,  —  the  memory  of 
a  blameless,  wise,  benignant,  and  helpful  presence  upon  these  shores. 
Here  was  born  to  him  his  eldest  sou,  Henry ;  and  here  also  was  born, 
and  here  died,  his  second  child,  Lucia,  and  her  body  was  laid  tenderly 
in  Trinity  church-yard,  at  Newport ;  here  he  wrote  his  greatest  and 
most  famous  literary  work,  the  philosophical  dialogue  called  "Alci- 
phron ;  "  and  here,  by  the  disinterested  and  catholic  love  which  he 
manifested  for  America,  by  the  stimulus  he  gave  to  philosophical  and 
classical  studies  in  this  country,  and  especially  by  the  magnanimous 
and  inspiring  faith  he  uttered  in  the  destinies  of  the  Christian  Church 
and  of  the  Christian  commonwealth  in  America,  he  won  for  himself  a 
title  to  our  perpetual  remembrance  and  gratitude. 

As  has  been  already  mentioned  Berkeley's  visit  to  America,  and 
his  long  and  seemingly  purposeless  residence  here,  were  not  understood 
in  his  own  time  by  the  pul>lic  on  either  side  of  the  Atlantic  ;  and  it 
may  be  added  that,  though  the  materials  for  understanding  the 
reasons  both  for  his  coming  and  for  his  going  have  at  last  been  fully 
spread  before  the  public,'  there  still  lingers  over  the  subject  something 
of  the  mystery  which  invested  it  a  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago.  To 
persons  who  have  not  yet  taken  the  pains  to  study  carefully  the  ma- 
terials just  referred  to,  it  still  seems  strange  that  a  devout  and  earnest 
clergyman  of  the  English  Church,  holding  the  high  office  of  dean,  in 
the  prime  of  his  life,  and  in  the  full  vigor  of  his  health,  should  have 
withdrawn  himself  from  his  duties  at  home,  and  with  his  wife,  his  house- 
hold goods,  his  books,  and  a  few  friends,  should  have  settled  down  in  a 
secluded  spot  on  the  coast  of  America ;  should  have  there  sauntered 

'  The  chief  depositai'ieg  of  materials  i-elatin<;  1881,  containiug  biographical  facts  broucfht  to 

to  Berkeley   are  the  following:    "The  Works  liffht  since  1871;    and  the   series   of  admirahle 

of  Georije  Berkeley,"  edited  hy  A.  C.  Fraser,  3  liistorical  and  biographical  works  produced  by 

vols.,  Oxford,  1871 ;  "  Life  and  Letters  of  George  the  Reverend  E.  E.  Beardsley,  of  New  Haven, 

Berkeley,"  by  A.  C.  Fraser,  1871 ;  "  Berkeley,"  particularly  his   "  Life  and  Correspondence  of 

by  A.  C.  Fraser,  Edinburgh  and  Philadelphia,  Samuel  Johnson,  D.U.,"  New  York,  187i. 


522  HISTORY    OF   TIIE   AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

and  loitered  for  nearly  three  j'ears,  and  then,  apparently  without 
achieving,  or  trying  to  achieve,  any  visible  result  which  he  could  not 
have  accomplished  as  well  by  staying  at  home,  should  have  gathered 
up  his  effects,  and  have  sailed  back  to  England. 

In  reality,  however,  Berkeley's  American  visit  was,  in  its  plan,  its 
execution,  and  its  fruit,  much  more  than  it  seemed  to  the  pubHc  eye, 
either  at  that  time  or  since  ;  and  while  it  was  a  thing  that  could  have 
been  projected  only  by  an  idealist  and  a  moral  enthusiast  —  such  as 
Berkeley  was  —  it  must  be  pronounced,  even  on  cool  survey,  amission 
of  chivalric  benevolence  certainly,  but  also  of  profound  and  even  creative 
sagacity.  In  its  boldness  and  its  generosity  it  was  dictated  by  an 
apostolic  disinterestedness  and  courage,  to  which,  of  course,  that  age 
was  unaccustomed,  and  which  places  it  in  the  light  of  an  almost  comic 
incongruity  with  the  spirit  of  the  age  in  which  it  occuri'ed.  In  the 
history  of  our  colonial  period  it  forms  a  romantic  chapter.  But,  in 
order  to  understand  it  we  need  first  to  understand  Berkeley  himself, 
as  well  as  his  attitude  towards  the  times  he  lived  in. 

George  Berkeley  was  born  in  Ireland,  County  Kilkenny,  on  the 
12th  March,  1685,  being  descended  from  Cavalier  English  ancestry, 
and  particularly  related  to  the  family  of  Lord  Berkeley,  of  Stratton. 
He  studied  at  the  famous  Kilkenny  School,  which  has  been  called  "the 
Eton  of  Ireland;"  and  in  1700  he  entered  Trinity  College,  Dublin, 
where  he  continued  to  reside  as  student  and  fellow  for  the  next  thirteen 
years,  and  where  he  achieved  the  highest  distinction  for  scholarship,  and 
especially  for  original  philosophic  thought. 

From  childhood  he  had  been  an  unusual  person.  To  his  associates 
in  particular  he  had  been  an  object  of  wonder  or  of  mirth,  by  the 
eccentricity  of  his  enthusiasms,  and  by  his  marvellous  fertility  in  the 
dreaming  of  gorgeous  and  impossible  dreams  for  the  impi'ovement  of 
mankind  in  knowledge,  virtue,  and  happiness.  As  he  ripened  into 
manhood  he  became  a  person  of  extraordinary  attractions.  He  was 
of  singular  beauty  and  geniality  ;  his  learning  was  great ;  he  had  un- 
common genius  for  scientific  and  metaphysical  speculation  ;  as  a  con- 
versationalist he  was  remarkable  even  in  an  age  in  which  conversation 
was  cultivated  as  a  fine  art ;  and  all  these  l^rilliant  qualities  in  him  were 
crowned  by  the  mildness,  the  tender  and  earnest  charity,  of  a  devout 
Christian.  In  1709  he  received  his  first  ordination ;  and  thencefor 
ward  to  the  end  of  his  days,  though  he  never  had  regular  service  as  a 
parish  priest,  he  was  a  frequeutauda  very  impressive  preacher ;  indeed, 
he  was  a  great  and  an  eloquent  jihilosopher  in  the  pulpit,  taking  his 
place  in  that  illustrious  line  of  mighty  thinkers  in  the  Christian  minis- 
try in  which  stand  Butler,  Cudworth,  Barrow,  Hooker,  Fenelon, 
Malebranche,  Aquinas,  Augustine,  Origeu,  and  Saint  Paul,  —  men  to 
whom  theology  was  "  the  highest  form  of  philosophy,  and  the  reverential 
spirit  of  religion  its  noisiest  consecration." 

Even  before  his  ordination,  in  1709,  Berkeley  had  begun  to  pro- 
duce those  philosophical  writings  in  which  he  gradually  unfolded  his 
celebrated  ideal  theory  of  the  universe.^     This  theory  begins  with  a 

'The  \mtinor9  particularly  refeiTcd  to  are    419-502;  "An  E«a^  towards  a  Xew  Tlieorv  of 
"  Commonplace  Book,"  in  "  I'^ifc  anil  Letters,"    Vision,"  published  in  1709;    "  A  Treatise   con- 


DEAN    BERKELEY'S   SOJOURN   IN    AMERICA. 


523 


negative  i)ropositioii,  —  a  denial  of  Uk;  existence  of  matter  inde- 
pendent of  spirit.  But  it  at  once  proceeds  to  an  affirmative  proposi- 
tion,  involving  a  "trutli  of  unsurpassed  grandeur,   simplicity,  pro- 


eeiniug  the  Principles  of  Human  Kuowlcdge,"  is  progreasivcly  stated  and  defended;  and  the 
1710;  "Three  Dialogues  betnceu  Ilylas  and  last  of  them  is  what  Eraser  calls  it, —  "  the  gem 
Philomis,"  1713.    In  these  writings  his  theory    of  British  metaphysical  literature." 


524  HISTORY   OF  THE   AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

fundity,  and  weight,"  namely,  that  the  only  true  substance  is  spirit; 
that  the  only  true  cause  is  an  intelligent  will ;  therefore,  that  what>- 
ever  exists,  or  appears  to  exist,  can  be  philosophically  explained  only 
through  the  powers  and  qualities  of  spirit. 

The  special  use  which  Berkeley  made  of  his  theory  was  in  refuta- 
tion of  the  anti-religious  philosophy  of  his  time.  He  thought  that 
a  belief  in  the  absolute  existence  of  matter  leads  to  atheism.  Against 
this  tendency  he  set  his  own  theory,  —  one  of  great  subtlety  and  logi- 
cal power,  —  wherein  the  so-called  material  universe  is  but  a  vast  sys- 
tem of  symbols  "  through  which  the  Deity  makes  His  being  and  His 
attriljutes  known  to  man.  What  seems,  or  is  taken  to  be,  the  mate- 
rial universe  is  simply  the  manifested  ideas  of  God."  '  Since  our 
sensible  perceptions  "must  be  caused,  and  since  they  cannot  be  caused 
by  non-causative,  and  hence  non-existent,  matter,  they  must  be  ascribed 
to  the  agency  of  God,  the  Supreme  Spirit.  The  world  is  God's  voice. 
His  language,  a  set  of  symbols  or  signs.  Physical  science,  neglecting 
the  questions  of  essential  lieing  and  causation,  has  but  to  ascertain  and 
record  these  symbols  in  their  observable  order  of  coexistence  and 
sequence.  Philosophy  shows  that  through  them  we  are  in  communion 
with,  and  gracious  dependence  on,  an  omnipresent  Deity."  ^ 

Thus,  down  to  the  year  1713,  when  he  had  reached  his  twenty-third 
j'ear,  the  life  of  George  Berkeley  had  passed  in  studious  retirement, 
mainly  in  Trinit}^  College,  Dublin.  He  had  got  well  acquainted  with 
books;  he  knew  little  of  men,  of  cities,  of  the  ways  of  society  in  the 
great  world  outside  the  walls  of  his  college.  Now  began  the  epoch  in 
his  life,  nearly  eight  years  long,  in  which  he  devoted  himself  to  travel, 
and  to  the  direct  study  of  human  nature  and  human  society.  He  had 
already  begun  to  reap  some  portion  of  his  great  fame  as  a  metaphysi- 
cian. Moreover,  he  had  won  the  es])ecial  friendship  of  Dean  Swift,  who 
in  the  same  year  became  dean  of  Saint  Patrick's,  and  who  was  destined 
directly  and  indirectly'  to  have  a  decisive  influence  on  Berkeley's  fortunes. 
Early  in  January,  1713,  young  Berkeley  went  over  to  London,  in 
order,  as  he  said  at  the  time,  to  print  his  "  new  book  of  Dialogues 
and  to  make  acquaintance  with  men  of  merit."  ^  From  the  first  he 
was  under  the  powerful  patronage  of  Dean  Swift,  and  by  him  was 
soon  presented  at  the  court  of  Queen  Anne,  as  well  as  at  the  more 
illustrious  court  of  the  poets,  wits,  and  philosophers  who  were  shed- 
ding lustre  upon  that  period.  By  his  extraordinary  conversational 
powers  and  by  the  indescribable  charm  of  his  character  he  at  once 
made  his  way  there  into  universal  favor.  Addison  and  Steele  took 
him  to  their  hearts.  At  Steele's  request  he  wrote  several  papers  for 
"The  Guardian."  By  Pope  and  his  troop  of  literary  friends  he  was 
welcomed  with  aflectionate  admiration  ;  and  Pope  himself  formed  for 
Berkeley  that  friendship  which  prompted  him,  years  afterward,  when 
Berkeley  had  risen  to  be  Bishop  of  Cloyne,  to  pay  to  the  prelate  an 
immortal  poetic  tribute  : — 

'  F.  Ueberweg,  "  A  Histoiy  of  Philosophy,"  of  Berkeley's  theory  is  givea  by  Fr4ser  in  hh 

II.,  pp.  383,  384.  edition  of  iJerkeley's  Works,  i.,  pp.  118-121. 

'  Georse  S.  Morris,  "  British  Thought   and  a  Berkeley ,  p.  97. 

Thinkers,"  pp.  221-222.  A  condensed  exposition 


DEAN   BERKELEY'S    SOJOURN   IN    AMERICA.  525 

"  Even  in  a  bishop  I  can  spy  desert. 
Seeker  is  decent;  Rnndle  lias  a  lioart; 
Manners  with  candor  are  to  Benson  given ; 
To  Berkeley  ^ every  virtue  under  heaven." 

One  of  the  great  figures  in  London  society,  at  the  time  of  Berke- 
ley's entrance  into  it,  was  Francis  Atterbnry,  Bisbop  of  Rochester.  He 
had  been  hearing,  on  all  hands,  praises  of  the  brilliant  young  Dublin 
philosopher  and  divine,  who  had  made  a  sudden  and  brilliant  dash 
into  the  elegant  world  of  Loudon,  and  he  expressed  a  desire  to  see 
him.  Accordingly,  one  day,  the  Earl  of  Berkeley  introduced  his 
kinsman  to  the  bishop,  and  after  the  interview  was  over,  the  Earl 
said,  "Does  my  cousin  answer  your  lordship's  expectations ? "  The 
bishop,  lifting  up  his  hands,  said  fervently,  "  So  much  understanding, 
so  much  knowledge,  so  much  innocence,  and  such  humility,  I  did  not 
think  had  been  the  portion  of  any  but  angels,  till  I  saw  this  gentle- 
man." ' 

After  a  few  months  spent  by  him  in  these  splendid  scenes  in  Lon- 
don Berkeley's  mind  seemed  eager  to  inspect  still  more  of  the  life  and 
manners  of  men  ;  and  accordingly,  in  the  autumn  of  1713,  he  accepted 
the  position  of  chaplain  and  secretary  to  the  Earl  of  Peterborough, 
who  was  then  setting  out  as  ambassador  to  the  King  of  Sicily.  Thus 
began  Berkeley's  long  sojourn  upon  the  continent,  —  first,  for  a  single 
year,  and  afterward  for  four  years,  —  a  sojourn  which  gave  him  the 
opportunity  of  making  profound  and  extensive  studies  into  the  condi- 
tion of  European  society. 

Upon  his  final  return  to  England  from  the  continent,  in  1720, 
Berkeley  found  there  nearly  everything  that  could  shock  and  grieve 
him.  The  famous  South-Sea  speculations  had  just  before  reached  their 
summit  of  madness  and  corruption,  and  had  fallen  to  the  ground  with 
a  great  crash,  spreading  almost  inconceivable  distress  over  England. 
The  appalling  spectacle  of  personal  and  social  profligacy  which  then 
met  the  eye  of  Berkeley  in  his  own  country  came  to  him  as  a  dreadful 
sequel  to  all  the  revelations  of  folly  and  of  crime  which  his  life  upon 
the  continent  had  made  to  him ;  and  upon  his  sensitive  and  meditative 
spirit  this  wrought  an  impression  that  fixed  the  direction  of  his 
thoughts  for  the  next  ten  years  of  his  life.  It  was  amid  these  mourn- 
ful scenes  of  misery  and  wrong  in  Eui'ope  that  he  conceived  the  mag- 
nificent project  that  thenceforward  for  a  long  time  absorbed  him,  and 
that  brought  liim  at  last  to  America  to  attempt  its  realization. 

By  a  pamphlet  of  Berkeley's,  published  anonymously  in  London 
in  1721,  and  entitled  "  An  Essay  towards  preventing  the  Ruin  of  Great 
Britain,"  we  are  enabled  to  ascertain  that  in  that  year  he  had  become 
well-nigh  convinced  that  the  political  and  moral  diseases  of  the  Old 
^Vorld,  and  especially  of  liis  own  country,  had  at  last  reached  the  vital 
organs  of  civilization,  and  were  incurable.  "  I  know  it  is  an  old  folly  to 
make  peevish  complaints  of  the  times,  and  charge  the  common  failures 
of  human  nature  on  a  particular  age.  One  may  nevertheless  venture 
to  afiirm  that  the  present  hath  brought  forth  new  and  portentous 

'  Life  and  Letters  of  Berkeley,  p.  59. 


526  HISTORY   OF  THE   AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

villanies,  not  to  be  paralleled  in  our  own  or  any  other  history.  Wc  have 
been  lon<T  preparing  for  some  gi'eat  catastrophe.  Vice  and  villany  have 
by  degrees  grown  reputable  among  us.  .  .  .  We  have  made  a  jest 
of  public  spirit,  and  cancelled  all  respect  for  whatever  our  laws  and 
religion  repute  sacred.  The  old  English  modesty  is  quite  worn  off; 
and,  instead  of  blushing  for  our  crimes,  we  are  ashamed  only  of  piety 
and  virtue.  In  short,  other  nations  have  been  wicked,  but  we  are  the 
first  who  have  been  wicked  upon  principle.  The  truth  is,  our  symptoms 
are  so  liad  that,  notwithstanding  all  the  care  and  vigilance  of  the  legis- 
lature, it  is  to  be  feared  the  final  period  of  our  state  approaches." ' 

These  being  his  fears  respecting  the  future  of  civilization  in  the  Old 
World,  he  seems  to  have  concluded  that  there  was  no  hope  for  the 
human  race  except  in  a  gradual  transfer  of  itself  from  the  Old  World  to 
the  New,  where,  freed  from  the  clogs  and  goads  of  evil  tradition, — 
freed  from  the  palsy  and  Ijlindness  and  Imrrenness  of  society  in  its 
dotage,  mankind  might,  at  any  rate,  begin  its  career  over  again  ;  and, 
avoiding  the  follies  and  crimes  that  had  brought  Europe  to  the  verge 
of  destruction,  might  build  for  itself  a  future  higher,  broader,  nobler, 
than  its  past.  AVhatever  we  may  now  think  of  this  brave  scheme,  it  was 
the  scheme  of  no  sordid  or  conmionplace  natui-e  :  it  was  the  scheme 
.  of  a  profound  thinker  and  of  a  most  lienevolent  enthusiast.  As  he 
brooded  over  this  great  thought  his  mind  had  to  utter  itself  in  some 
expression  loftier  fhan  even  such  noble  prose  as  he  could  command. 
In  those  years  it  was,  probably,  that  he  composed  that  curious  and  now 
celebrated  poem,  on  the  decay,  the  helplessness,  the  hopelessness,  of 
the  Old  World,  and  on  the  approach  of  a  new  and  a  grander  era  for 
human  nature  in  the  world  beyond  the  sea,  —  a  poem  which  will  last 
among  us  as  long  as  civilization  shall  hold  out  in  this  hemisphere,  —  a 
poem  that  utters,  perhaps,  the  most  generous  and  the  most  inspiring 
word  about  America  ever  spoken  by  any  European.  In  the  light  of  our 
present  narrative  we  may  be  glad  to  read  once  more  these  familiar 
verses,  as  now  having  for  us,  it  may  be,  the  force  of  a  fresh  and  a 
richer  meaning :  — 

"  The  muse,  disgusted  at  an  age  and  clime 
Barren  of  every  glorious  theme, 
In  distant  lands  now  waits  a  better  time. 
Producing  subjects  worthy  fame. 

"  In  happy  climes,  where,  from  the  genial  sun 
And  virgin  earth  such  scenes  ensue. 
The  force  of  art  by  nature  seems  outdone. 
And  fancied  beauties  by  the  true. 

"  In  happy  climes,  the  seat  of  innocence. 
Where  nature  guides  and  virtue  rules, 
Where  men  shall  not  impose  for  truth  and  sense 
The  pedantry  of  courts  and  schools. 

"  There  shall  be  sung  another  Golden  Age, 
The  rise  of  empire  and  of  arts, 
The  good  and  great  inspiring  epic  rage, 
The  wisest  heads  and  noblest  hearts. 

'  Berkeley's  Works,  iii.,  p.  210. 


DEAN   BERKELEY'S   SOJOURN   IN   AMERICA.  527 

"  Not  such  as  Europe  hrocds  in  her  decay; 
Such  as  she  bred  wlieu  t'resli  and  young, 
When  heavenly  flame  did  animate  her  ohiy, 
By  future  poets  shall  be  sung. 

"  Westward  the  course  of  empire  take.s  its  way; 
The  four  first  acts  already  past, 
A  fifth  shall  close  the  drama  with  the  day ;  — 
Time's  noblest  offspring  is  the  last."  ' 

Such  was  George  Berkeley's  superb  and  generous  dream.  To 
his  spiritual  and  prophetic  genius  it  seemed  to  be  revealed,  like  a 
picture  painted  on  the  air,  that  the  next  great  shifting  in  the  central 
seat  of  the  world's  civilization  was  to  be  from  the  eastern  hemisphere 
to  the  western,  —  from  Europe  to  America.  But  when  that  event 
should  take  place  what  was  to  prevent  American  civilization  from  going 
over  the  steps,  and  finally  reaching  the  fatal  end  of  civilization  in 
Europe  ?  In  Berkeley's  opinion  nothing  could  avert  this  result  but 
these  two  things  :  religion  and  education,  —  the  two  walking  hand  in 
hand.  The  Old  World  was  advancing  to  its  doom,  because  the  people 
of  the  Old  World  had  lost  the  old-fashioned  virtues  of  ftiith,  reverence, 
and  simplicity  ;  had,  consequently,  ceased  to  be  a  "  religious,  brave,  sin- 
cere people,  of  plain,  uncorrupt  manners,  respecting  inbred  worth 
rather  than  titles  and  appearances ;  "  had  ceased  to  be  "  assertors  of 
liberty,  lovers  of  their  country,  jealous  of  their  own  rights,  and  un- 
willing to  infringe  the  rights  of  others  ;  "  had  ceased  to  be  "  improvers 
of  learning  and  useful  arts,  enemies  to  luxury,  tender  of  other  men's 
lives,  and  prodigal  of  their  own ;  "  '  and  had  become  idlers,  gamblers, 
spendthi'ifts,  mockers,  libertines,  and  atheists.  Of  coiu'se,  the  only 
way  to  save  the  New  World,  when  it  should  finally  become  the  seat 
of  civilization,  from  advancing  to  the  same  doom,  was  to  save  it  from 
falling  into  the  same  degeneracy ;  and  this  could  be  accomplished  in 
no  other  waj'  than  by  the  prompt,  wise,  and  efficient  organization  in 
America,  first,  of  religious  training,  second,  of  intellectual  training, — 
in  short,  of  the  Christian  Church,  and  of  the  Christian  university. 

The  former  had  been  already  in  some  measure  provided  for,  in 
Berkeley's  opinion,  by  the  partial  establishment  of  the  Colonial  Church 
in  America,  largely  through  the  eflbrts  of  the  noble  "Society  for  the 
Propagation  of  the  Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts."  It  was  to  the  second 
need  of  the  New  World  —  its  educational  need  —  that  Berkeley  resolved 
to  devote  his  powers ;  and  to  this  end  he  wrought  out  his  scheme  of  a 
great  American  university.  His  idea  was  to  estaljlish  this  university 
at  some  spot  that  should  be  favorable  to  the  health,  industry,  and 
morals  of  the  students,  and  at  the  same  time  central  and  commodious 
for  all  the  English  possessions  in  the  Western  hemisphere,  both  insu- 
lar and  continental ;  and  with  this  view,  he  fixed  upon  the  islands  of 
Bermuda.  There  he  would  begin  by  the  erection  of  a  single  college, 
to  be  called  "The  College  of  St.  Paul ;  "    to  be  governed  by  a  presi- 

1  Berkeley's  Works,  nr.,  p.  232.     In  "  I?.  I.  ment;  and  it  seems  to  have  been  carelessly  made. 

Hi^t.   Sec.  Coll.,"  rv.,  p.  36,  Professor  Romeo  All  internal  and  collateral  evidence  points  to  the 

Elton  stales  ih.it  these  verses  "  were  written  by  place  and  period  suggested  in  the  text. 
Bishop  Berkeley  during  his  residence  in  New-  '  Berkeley's  Works,  iir.,  p.  Jll. 

port."      Elton  gives  no  authority  for  his  state- 


o 


528  HISTORY   OF   THE  AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

dent  and  nine  fellows,  who  were  to  form  the  corporation.  His  own 
life  he  would  devote  to  the  great  work,  by  going  out  personally  as 
president ;  and  he  hoped  to  take  with  him  as  fellow-laborers  the 
requisite  number  of  accomplished  and  earnest  scholars,  whom  he 
might  be  able  to  enlist  for  the  task.  The  Bishop  of  London  was  to  be 
the  ofScial  visitor  to  the  college ;  and  the  secretary  of  state  for  the 
American  Colonies  was  to  be  its  chancellor.  In  the  charter  which  he 
drew  up,  the  college  was  declared  to  be  "  for  the  instruction  of 
students  in  literature  and  theology,  with  a  view  to  the  promotion 
of  Christian  civilization  alike  in  the  English  and  in  the  heathen  parts  of 
America."  ^  In  a  letter  to  his  friend,  Lord  Percival,  written  in  March, 
1723,  ho  revealed  his  purpose  of  giving  his  life  to  that  object,  men- 
tioning, likewise,  his  reasons  for  preferring  the  Bermuda  Islands ;  at 
the  same  time  presenting  "the  bright  vision  of  an  academic  home  in 
those  fair  lands  of  the  West,  whose  idyllic  bliss  poets  had  sung,  and 
from  which  Christian  civilization  might  now  be  made  to  radiate  over 
the  vast  continent  of  America,  with  its  magnificent  possibilities  in  the 
future  history  of  the  race  of  man.  Berkeley  seemed  to  see  a  better 
republic  than  Plato's,  and  a  grander  Utopia  than  More's,  as  the  issue 
of  his  ideal  university  in  those  Summer  Isles."  ^ 

Of  course,  the  realization  of  this  scheme  would  require  a  large  en- 
dowment. Berkeley  himself  had  not  sufficient  fortune  for  the  purpose  ; 
but  he  had  what  was  more  than  equivalent  to  a  fortune,  —  a  wonderful 
power  of  imparting  to  others  his  own  ideas,  and  even  his  own  en- 
thusiasms. Evidently  his  true  course  was  to  take  such  promotion  in 
the  Church  at  home  as  should  come  to  him  ;  and  then,  using  all  his 
opportunities  for  winning  over  men  of  wealth  and  influence,  to  keep 
steadily  at  work,  and  to  bide  his  time.     This  course  he  took. 

In  the  latter  part  of  1721  he  had  returned  to  Dublin,  as  chap- 
lain to  the  Lord-Lieutenant  of  Ireland,  and  at  once  had  resumed  his 
old  relations  in  Trinity  College — in  which  he  was  soon  made  divinity 
lecturer,  Greek  lecturer,  Hebrew  lecturer,  senior  proctor,  and  uni- 
versity preacher.  Early  in  the  following  year  he  had  been  made 
Dean  of  Dromore  —  a  non-resident  incumbency,  the  value  of  which 
was  probably  about  fourteen  hundred  pounds.  In  1723  Esther  Van- 
homrigh  —  the  "Vanessa"  of  Dean  Swift's  love  scandals  —  died,  and 
in  her  will  she  surprised  Berkeley  by  leaving  him  a  legacy  of  about 
four  thousand  pounds.  In  1724  good  fortune  still  pursued  him;  for 
in  that  year  he  was  given  the  deanery  of  Derry,  which  both  he  and 
Dean  Swift  described  as  "the  best  preferment  in  Ireland."  Thus  he 
was  well  advanced  on  the  glittering  highway  of  promotion  in  the 
Church  ;  but,  instead  of  pursuing  that  path,  he  was  still  swayed  by  his 
eager  purpose  of  giving  up  all  and  of  going  out  into  the  American 
wilderness  to  spend  his  life  in  founding  a  university  there.  He  now 
thought  that  the  time  was  fully  ripe  for  him  to  go  over  to  Loudon, 
and  to  press  for  the  accomplishment  of  his  project.  His  success 
in  London  was  promoted  in  no  small  measure  by  Dean  Swift, 
who,    among  other  friendly  acts,  wrote  from  Dublin  on    behalf  of 

1  Life  iuicl  Letters  of  BerkGlcy,  p.  108.  '■  Berkeley,  pp.  121-122. 


DEAN  BERKELEY'S   SOJOURN  IN   AMERICA.  529 

Berkeley  a  letter  to  Lord  Carteret,  a  statesman  whose  great  in- 
fluence Berkeley  particularly  wished  to  secure.  This  letter  of  Deau 
Swift's  is  an  amusing  revelation,  both  of  his  own  character 
and  of  Berkeley's, — the  one  woi'ldly,  ambitious,  and  with- 
out enthusiasm,  yet  steady  and  hearty  in  friendship ;  the  other, 
spiritual,  self-forgetting,  and  lost  in  daring  schemes  of  doing  some 
great  service  in  the  world  for  God  and  man.  After  mentioning  to 
Lord  Carteret  Berkeley's  personal  history,  and  especially  his  recent 
promotion  to  be  Dean  of  Deny,  Swift  continues  :  "  Your  Excellency 
will  be  frightened  when  I  tell  you  all  this  is  but  an  introduction  ;  for 
I  am  now  to  mention  his  errand.  He  is  an  absolute  philosopher  with 
regard  to  money,  titles,  and  power;  and  for  three  years  past  has 
been  struck  with  a  notion  of  founding  a  university  at  Bermudas,  by  a 
charter  from  the  crown.  He  has  seduced  several  of  the  hopefullest 
young  clergjnmen  and  others  here,  many  of  them  well  provided  for, 
and  all  in  the  fairest  way  for  preferment ;  but  in  England  his  con- 
quests are  greater,  and  I  doubt  will  spread  very  far  this  winter.  Ho 
showed  me  a  little  tract  which  he  designs  to  publish ;  and  there  your 
Excellency  will  see  his  whole  scheme  of  a  life  academico-philosophi- 
cal,  ...  of  a  college  founded  for  Indian  scholars  and  missionaries  ; 
where  he  most  exorbitantly  proposes  a  whole  hundred  pounds  a  year 
for  himself,  fifty  pounds  for  a  Fellow,  and  ten  for  a  student.  His  heart 
will  break  if  his  Deanery  be  not  taken  from  him,  and  left  to  your 
Excellency's  disposal.  I  discouraged  him  by  the  coldness  of  courts 
and  ministers,  who  will  interpret  all  this  as  impossible  and  a  vision ; 
but  nothing  will  do.  And  therefoi'e,  I  humbly  entreat  your  Excel- 
lency either  to  use  such  persuasions  as  will  keep  one  of  the  first  men 
in  the  kingdom,  for  learning  and  virtue,  quiet  at  home,  or  assist  him 
by  your  ci'edit  to  compass  his  romantic  design ;  which,  however,  is 
very  noble  and  generous,  and  directly  proper  for  a  person  of  your 
excellent  education  to  encourage."  * 

On  reaching  London  one  of  the  first  things  that  Berkeley  did 
was  to  publish  the  "  little  tract "  to  which  Swift  had  refeiTed.  ^  In 
order  to  raise  the  endowment  necessary  for  the  college  therein 
described  his  original  purpose  probably  was  to  depend  on  voluntary 
gifts  rather  than  on  an  appropriation  from  the  government.  Had  he 
steadily  adhered  to  this  plan  it  is  likely  that  he  would  have  succeeded, 
and  would  have  saved  himself  the  bitter  disappointment  that  came  in 
after  years.  No  doubt  the  intellectual  indiifereuce  of  London  society 
at  that  period,  its  frivolity,  and  its  sordid  spirit,  would  have  been 
barriers  to  his  immediate  success  in  an  appeal  for  pecuniary  aid  for 
such  a  project  as  his ;  yet  even  those  barriers  could  not  long  have 
resisted  the  magic  of  his  brilliant  and  contagious  earnestness.  Several 
anecdotes  have  come  down  to  us  illustrating  the  incomparable 
powers  of  persuasion  with  which  he  prosecuted  his  undertaking.  For 
example,  the  famous  club  of  wits,  "  the  Scriblerus  Club,"  met  one 

'  lAte  and  Letters  of  Berkeley,  pp  102-103.  itj,  by  a  Collej^c  to  be  erected  in  the  Summer 

^ "  A  Proposal  for  the  Better  Supplying  of  Islands,  otherwise  called  the  Isles  of  Bennuda." 

Churches  in  our  Foreign  Plantations,  and  for  — Berkeley's  PFbris,  iii.,  pp.  213-231. 

Converting  the  Savage  Americans  to  Christian- 


530  HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

day  for  dinner  at  the  house  of  Lord  Bathurst,  and  before  Berkeley 
came  in  the  members  agreed  among  themselves  that  they  would  rally 
him  on  his  wild  scheme  of  going  out  to  Bermuda.  Lord  Bathurst  says 
that  they  fully  carried  out  their  programme  ;  but  that  "  Berkeley,  hav- 
ing listened  to  all  the  lively  things  they  had  to  say,  begged  to  be  heard 
in  his  turn ;  and  displayed  his  plan  with  such  an  astonishing  and 
animating  force  of  eloquence  and  enthusiasm  that  they  were  struck 
dumb,  and,  after  some  pause,  rose  up  all  together  with  earnestness, 
exclaiming,  'Let  us  all  set  out  with  him  immediately.'" 

He  also  captivated  many  other  distinguished  persons ;  and  he 
raised  by  subscription  more  than  five  thousand  pounds,  —  a  sum  which 
might  have  been  greatly  increased  had  he  not  been  tempted  to  seek  a 
government  appropriation.  He  even  made  his  way  to  the  ear  and  the 
heart  of  King  George  the  First ;  and,  more  diiScult  still,  to  the  friend- 
ly forbearance  of  Sir  Robert  Walpole,  from  whom  he  got,  not  only  a 
pei'sonal  subscription  of  two  hundred  pounds,  but  the  promise  of  not 
opposing  in  the  House  Berkeley's  scheme  of  an  appropriation.  Besides 
a  charter  for  his  college  Berkeley  procured  the  introduction  of  a  bill 
wherein  a  suitable  portion  of  the  proceeds  arising  from  the  sale  of 
certain  lands  in  the  West  Indies  was  to  be  bestowed  upon  the  coUege. 
Evidently  Walpole  consented  to  this  bUl,  fully  believing  that  in  the 
nature  of  things,  and  without  any  effort  on  his  part,  it  would  fail  of 
passing  the  House  of  Commons.  But  he  did  not  rightly  estimate  the 
energy  and  the  persuasiveness  of  Berkeley.  In  May,  1726,  the  bill 
was  carried  through  the  House,  "none  having  the  confidence  to  speak 
against  it,  and  not  above  two  giving  their  negative,  which  was  done  in 
so  low  a  voice  as  if  they  themselves  were  ashamed  of  it."^ 

Accordingly,  Walpole  gave  to  Berkeley  a  promise  of  twenty 
thousand  pounds.  Thus  far  all  seemed  prosperous  ;  but  Berkeley  had 
still  to  learn  that  it  was  one  thing  to  get  from  a  statesman  like  Walpole 
a  promise  of  twenty  thousand  pounds,  and  quite  another  thing  to  get 
the  twenty  thousand  pounds.  He  was,  however,  full  of  hope.  He 
spent  the  next  two  years  in  completing  his  preparations  for  going,  and 
especially  in  waiting  for  the  promised  grant.  Berkeley's  long  delay 
in  England  began  to  be  the  occasion  of  a  new  embarrassment.  "  Had 
I  continued  there,"  he  wi'ote,  "the  report  would  have  obtained  (which 
I  had  found  beginning  to  spread)  that  I  had  dropped  the  design  after 
it  had  cost  me  and  my  friends  so  much  trouble  and  expense. 
This  obliged  me  to  come  away.  .  .  .  Nothing  less  could  have 
convinced  the  world  that  I  was  in  eai'nest."^  Moreover,  Walpole  is 
said  to  have  told  him  that  the  grant  could  not  be  paid  until  he  had 
actually  made  some  investment  in  America  for  the  college.' 

In  this  lies  the  secret  of  all  his  subsequent  proceedings,  and  of  his 
final  failure.  He  had  put  his  trust  in  Walpole,  who  had  too  much  use 
for  money  at  home,  in  adapting  to  members  of  parliament  his  favorite 
methods  of  political  persuasion,  for  him  to  be  willing  to  waste  twenty 
thousand  pounds  in  a  fantastic  educational  project  in  the  Bermudas. 

Nothing  was  left  for  Berkeley  but  to  start,  to  get  to  the  other  side 

1  Life  and  Lettci-s  of  Berkeley,  p.  125.  =  Life  and  Letters  of  Berkeley,  p.  153. 

2  Berkeley,  p.  13.1. 


DEAN   BERKELEY'S   SOJOURN   IN   AMERIOA.  531 

of  the  Atlantic,  and  to  buy  there  land  enough  to  constitute  an  actual 
investment  for  the  college.  He  thought  it  best  to  go  first  to  New  Eng- 
land, and  there  to  await  the  further  proceedings  of  the  prime  minister ; 
and  his  purchase  of  the  farm  near  Newport  and  all  his  long  delay 
there  were  due  to  the  necessity  of  deferring  to  the  inclinations  of  that 
great  officer. 

All  this  it  was  that  gave  to  his  movements  an  air  of  mystery,  of 
incertitude,  of  fickleness  ;  and  all  this  could  not  at  that  time  be  public- 
ly explained.  Month  after  month  passed  over  him  in  Rhode  Island, 
as  he  waited  for  the  fulfilment  of  Walpole's  promise.  He  wrote  letters 
of  entreaty,  of  expostulation.  Nothing  was  done.  A  whole  year  passed 
by.  He  then  wrote  to  his  friend,  Lord  Percival :  "I  wait  here,  with 
all  the  anxiety  that  attends  suspense,  until  I  know  what  I  can  depend 
upon,  and  what  course  I  am  to  take.  I  must  own  the  disappointments 
I  have  met  with  have  really  touched  me,  not  without  much  affecting 
my  health  and  spirits.  If  the  founding  of  a  college  for  the  spread  of 
religion  and  learning  in  America  had  l^een  a  foolish  project,  it  cannot 
be  supposed  the  court,  the  ministers,  and  the  parliament  could  have 
given  such  encouragement  to  it ;  and  if,  after  that  encouragement,  they 
who  engaged  to  endow  and  protect  it  let  it  drop,  the  disappointment 
indeed  may  be  to  me,  but  the  censure,  I  think,  will  light  elsewhere."' 
At  last  came  a  message  from  Wal[X)le,  which  crushed  out  of  him  the 
last  spark  of  hope  for  the  success  of  his  plan.  The  Bishop  of  London, 
who  was  a  friend  of  Berkeley's,  pressed  upon  Walpole  the  direct  question 
respecting  the  payment  of  the  money.  "If,"'  said  Walpole,  "you 
put  this  question  to  me  as  a  minister,  I  must  and  can  assure  you  that 
the  money  shall  most  undoubtedly  be  paid  as  soon  as  suits  with  public 
convenience ;  but,  if  you  ask  me  as  a  friend  whether  Dean  Berkeley 
should  continue  in  America,  expecting  the  payment  of  twenty  thousand 
pounds,  I  advise  him  by  all  means  to  return  home  to  Europe,  and  to 
give  up  his  present  expectations."  ^ 

This  cniel  word  drove  a  dagger  into  the  heart  of  Berkeley's  hope- 
fulness. Even  to  him  it  was  now  obvious  that  his  beautiful  project 
was  dead.  There  was  but  one  thing  left  for  him  to  do,  namely,  to 
bury  it,  and  then  to  turn  to  other  tasks.  After  lingering  a  few  months 
longer  in  the  soothing  quiet  of  his  Rhode  Island  hermitage.  Berkeley 
went  back  to  London.  This  was  in  the  autumn  of  1731.  In  1734  he 
was  made  Bishop  of  Cloyne.     In  1753  he  died. 

Such  is  the  true  secret  of  Berkeley's  celebrated  visit  to  America, 
— an  incident  in  his  life  which  was  misunderstood  and  ridiculed  at  the 
time,  and  was  in  some  quarters  the  occasion  of  groundless  suspicion 
and  of  needless  alarm.  Its  real  meaning,  with  what  it  contained  of 
saintly  enthusiasm,  and  of  a  wiser  than  worldly  statesmanship,  is  made 
apparent  by  being  simply  and  truthfully  narrated.  The  years  during 
which  Berkeley  was  in  personal  presence  upon  these  shores  will  be 
forever  ennobled  in  our  annals  by  that  splendid  and  gracious  memory. 

Although  Berkeley  returned  from  his  American  visit   he  never 

I  Berkeley,  p.  133.   In  the  latter  part  of  this    obvious  typogiaphical  errors  therein,  which  make 
sentence  I  have  deviated  from  the    text  from    nonsense  of  the jpassage. 
which  T  quote,  by  venturing  to   con-ect    two  i  Life  and  Letters  of  Berkeley,  p.  186. 


532  HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

recovered  from  it.  He  was  a  changed  man  ever  afterwards.  AVitli 
the  shattering  of  that  gorgeous  and  eager  dream  of  his  against  the 
rough  touch  of  reality  something  of  the  bloom  of  being  went  from 
him,  —  something,  too,  of  his  old  elasticity  in  hope  and  joy;  and  in 
their  place  camethe  sadness  of  a  riper  wisdom,  and  the  sweetness  of 
having  drunken  of  a  bitter  cup.  And  if  in  him  and  his  family  and 
his  best  writings  one  can  trace  the  eflects  of  his  contact  with  America, 
so  still,  in  a  hundred  benignant  ways,  one  can  trace  in  America  the 
effects  of  its  contact  with  him. 

But  few  wi'itten  memorials  remain  of  Berkeley's  preaching  any- 
where ;  but  by  far  the  larger  number  of  these  memorials  are  the  rough 
notes  made  for  sermons  preached  by  him  in  America.'  In  looking 
over  these  jagged  memoranda,  one  cannot  help  reading  between  the 
lines  Berkeley's  own  criticisms,  always  acute  and  delicate,  and  some- 
times almost  satirical,  upon  the  tone  of  life  and  thought  in  New  Eng- 
land in  the  iirst  half  of  the  eighteenth  century ;  upon  its  prevailing 
dissent  from  the  Anglican  Church ;  upon  the  discordance  and  the 
pettiness  of  its  sectarian  divisions ;  upon  its  Puritanic  moroseness  ; 
upon  the  incipient  stages  of  that  reaction  which  took  place  somewhat 
later  in  New  England,  from  believing  too  much  to  believing  too  little  ; 
upon  the  duties  of  Christian  masters  in  a  relation  of  religious  responsi- 
bility to  their  slaves  ;  and  especially  upon  the  vices  peculiar  to  a  people 
distinguished  for  sobriety.  The  population  of  Newport,  at  the  time 
of  Berkeley's  residence  there,  was  probably  even  more  variegated  in 
religious  opinions  than  were  other  towns  in  New  England.  It  con- 
sisted, as  Berkeley  wrote,  "  of  many  sorts  and  subdivisions  of  sects. 
Here  are  four  sorts  of  Anabaptists,  besides  Presbyterians,  Quakers, 
Independents,  and  many  of  no  profession  at  all," — not  to  mention 
Moravians,  Jews,  and  several  other  religious  bodies  which,  doubtless, 
Berkeley  had  not  then  heard  of  as  being  there.  "  They  all  agree,"  he 
adds,  "  in  one  point,  —  that  the  Church  of  England  is  the  second  best."^ 
And  yet  the  manly,  reasonable,  and  conciliatory  way  in  which  Berkeley 
met  all  these  people,  mottled  as  they  were  with  their  manifold  badges 
of  disagi-eement,  won  for  him  among  them  gi-eat  liking  and  respect. 
"  All  sects,"  we  are  told,  "  mshed  to  hear  him ;  even  the  Quakers  with 
their  broad-brimmed  hats  came  and  stood  in  the  aisles."  ^  Evidently 
Berkeley  found  as  much  interest  in  studying  them  as  they  did  in  study- 
ing him ;  and,  observing  the  several  topics  discussed  by  him  in  the 
sermons  which  he  preached  there,  we  can  see  how  wisely,  how  frankly, 
with  how  catholic  and  gentle  a  fidelity,  he  adjusted  his  teaching  to  their 
spiritual  and  intellectual  needs  :  — 

"Divisions  into  essentials  and  circumstantials  in  religion.  Cir- 
cumstantials of  less  value  (1)  from  the  nature  of  things ;  (2)  from 
their  being  left  undefined ;  (3)  from  the  concession  of  our  Church, 
which  is  foully  misrepresented."  "• 

"  Sad  that  religion,  which  requires  us  to  love,  should  become  the 
cause  of  our  hating  one  another.     But  it  is  not  religion,  it  is,"  etc. 

>  These  are  published  in  the  volume  of  "  Life  2  Life  iuij  Lettera  of  Berkeley,  p.  160. 

aud  Letters  of  Berkeley,"  pp.  629-649.  » Ibid.  ■*  Uid.,  p.  632. 


DEAN   BERKELEY'S   SOJOURN   IN   AMERICA. 


533 


"Joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost,  not  sullen,  sour,  morose,  joyless,  but 
rejoicing." 

"  Since  we  have  so  great  things  in  view,  let  us  overlook  petty 
differences ;  let  us  look  up  to  God  our  common  Father ;  let  us  bear 
one  another's  infirmities ;  instead  of  quarrelling  about  those  things 
wherein  we  differ,  let  us  practise  those  things  wherein  we  agree.'" 

It  is  possible  that  he  may  even  then  have  detected  in  Newport 
tlie  early  New  England  tendency  toward  Unitarianism  ;  for  he  has  left 


DEAN   BERKELEY  S    FAVORITE   RESORT   AT   >fEWTORT,    NOW   CALLED 
BEEKJSLEr'S   SEAT." 


the  outline  of  a  very  careful  and  a  very  powerful  sermon  on  the 
divinity  of  our  Saviour.^  It  is  certain  that  ho  met  there  loose  doctrines 
on  church  organization,  and  narrow  doctrines  on  the  rite  of  baptism ; 
and  that  he  chose  to  inculcate  from  the  pulpit,  with  reference  to  both 
these  subjects,  higher  and  nobler  conceptions  of  the  truth.'' 

Two  of  the  remarkable  sermons  which  he  has  thus  left  us  are 
significant  of  his  penetrating  study  into  the  characteristic  vices  of  a 
community  neither  sensual  nor  frivolous, —  vices  born  of  the  ungen- 
erous activity  of  a  legion  of  unbridled  tongues.  '  These  sermons  fur- 
nish us  with  examples  of  his  aptitude  for  social  criticism,  —  criticism 


'  Lift  and  Letters  of  Berkeley,  p.  G33. 
'  While  sitting  upon  these  roclcs,  traditiou 
says,  he  composed  his  *'  Aleiphrou." 


=  Life  and  Letters  of  Berkeley,  pp.  634-636. 
*  Ibid.,  pp.  636-610. 
°  Ihid.,  pp.  645-6i8. 


534  HISTORY   OF   THE   AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

SO  finely  edged  as  to  culminate  into  something  like  satire.  "Vices, 
like  weeds,  diiferent  in  different  countiies ;  national  vice  familiar ; 
intemperate  lust  in  Italy ;  drinking  in  Germany ;  tares  wherever 
there  is  good  seed ;  though  not  sensual,  not  less  deadly  ;  e.g.,  detrac- 
tion :  would  not  steal  6d. ,  but  rob  a  man  of  his  reputation ;  they  who 
have  no  relish  for  wine  have  itching  ears  for  scandal ;  this  vice  often 
observed  in  sober  people  ;  praise  and  blame  natural  justice  ;  where  we 
know  a  man  lives  in  habitual  sin  unrepented,  we  may  prevent  hypo- 
crites from  doing  evil ;  but  to  judge  without  enquuy,  to  show  a  facility 
in  believing  and  a  readiness  to  report  evil  of  one's  neighbor  ;  frequency, 
little  horror,  great  guilt." ^  Satan  "tempts  men  to  sensuality,  but  he 
is  in  his  own  natui-e  malicious  and  malignant ;  pride  and  ill-nature,  two 
vices  most  severely  rebuked  by  our  Saviour.  All  deviations  sinful, 
but  those  upon  dry  purpose  more  so  ;  malignity  of  spirit  like  an  ulcer 
in  the  nobler  parts  .  .  . ;  age  cures  sensual  vices,  this  grows  with 
age;  .  .  .  more  to  be  guarded  against,  because  less  scandalous;  im- 
posing on  others  and  even  on  themselves  as  religion  and  a  zeal  for 
God's  service,  when  it  really  proceeds  only  from  ill-will  to  man,  and 
is  no  part  of  our  duty  to  God,  but  directly  contrary  to  it."^ 

These  passages  from  Berkeley's  sermons  are  probably  enough  to 
indicate  for  that  branch  of  his  writings  the  reaction  upon  his  mind 
of  his  American  visit.  But  in  his  more  elaborate  compositions,  espe- 
cially in  "  Alciphron  "  and  in  "  Siris,"  the  tokens  of  this  reaction  are 
far  more  distinct  and  impressive.  Indeed,  the  former  of  these  works, 
as  it  was  Ijegun  and  ended  in  America,  so  is  it  pervaded  by  allusions 
to  his  life  in  America,  —  to  his  home  here,  to  his  sea-side  study,  to  the 
beautiful  scenery  about  him,  to  the  notable  traits  and  customs  of  the 
people  in  the  neighborhood,  to  his  own  daily  employments,  to  the 
friends  who  visited  him  or  whom  he  visited,  and  especially  to  the 
great  and  bitter  disappointment  wlaich  had  overtaken  him  on  these 
shores.  The  writing  of  "  Alciphron  "  was  a  wholesome  diversion  of 
his  mind  from  the  grief  caused  by  that  disappointment ;  and  its  first 
sentences  are  a  tender  and  a  manly  acknowledgment  of  the  gi-ief  from 
which  his  new  literary  task  was  to  enable  him  in  some  measure  to 
work  himself  free  :  — 

I  flattered  myself,  Theages,  that  before  this  time  I  might  have  been  able  to 
have  sent  yoii  an  agreeable  accoimt  of  the  success  of  the  aftair  which  brought  me 
into  this  remote  corner  of  the  country.  But  instead  of  this,  I  should  now  give  you 
the  detail  of  its  misoamage,  if  I  did  not  rather  choose  to  entertain  you  with  some 
amusing  incidents,  which  have  helped  to  make  me  easy  imder  a  circumstance  I 
could  neither  obviate  nor  foresee.  Events  are  not  in  oiu-  power ;  but  it  always  is 
to  make  a  good  use  even  of  the  very  worst.  And,  I  must  needs  own,  the  com-se 
and  event  of  tliis  affair  gave  opportunity  for  reflections  that  make  me  some  amends 
for  a  gi-eat  loss  of  time,  pains,  and  expense.  A  life  of  action,  which  takes  its  issue 
from  the  counsels,  passions,  and  views  of  other  men,  if  it  doth  not  draw  a  man  to 
imitate,  will  at  least  teach  him  to  obsei-ve.  And  a  mind  at  liberty  to  reflect  on  its 
own  observations,  if  it  produce  nothing  useful  to  the  world,  seldom  fails  of  enter- 
tainment to  itself.  For  several  months  past  I  have  enjoyed  such  liberty  and  leisure 
in  this  distant  retreat,  far  beyond  the  verge  of  that  great  whirlpool  of  business, 
faction,  and  pleasure,  which  is  called  the  woi-ld.s 

'  Life  aud  Lettei-3  of  Berkeley,  p.  G46.  '  Berkeley's  Works,  ii.,  pp.  23-24. 

2  7Ji<i.,  pp.  647-648. 


DEAN   BERKELEY'S   SOJOURN   IN   AMERICA.  535 

In  1744,  thirteen  years  after  his  return  from  America,  Berkeley 
pubhshed  liis  wonderful  little  treatise,  entitled  "  Siris :  A  Chain  of 
Philosojihical  Eeflections  and  Enquiries  concerning  the  Virtues  of  Tar- 
Water,  and  Divers  other  Subjects  connected  together  and  arising  one 
from  Another."!  «Qq  ^j^q  whole,"  says  the  latest  editor  of  Berkeley's 
writings,  "the  scanty  speculative  literature  of  these  islands  in  the  last 
century  contains  no  other  work  nearly  so  remarkable.  .  .  .  There  is 
the  unexpectedness  of  genius  in  its  whole  movement.  It  bi-eathes  the 
spirit  of  Plato  and  the  Neoplatonists  in  the  least  Platonic  generation 
of  English  history  since  the  revival  of  letters  ;  and  it  draws  this  Platonic 
spirit  from  a  thing  so  commonplace  as  Tar.  It  connects  Tar  with  the 
highest  thoughts  in  metaphysics  and  theology,  by  links  which  involve 
some  of  the  most  subtle,  botanical,  chemical,  physiological,  optical, 
and  mechanical  speculations  of  its  time.  Its  immediate  aim  is  to  con- 
firm rationally  the  benevolent  conjecture  that  Tar  yields  a  '  water  of 
health '  fitted  to  remove,  or,  at  least,  to  mitigate,  all  the  diseases  of  our 
organism  in  this  mortal  state,  and  to  convey  fresh  supplies  of  the  very 
vital  essence  itself  into  the  animal  creation.  Its  successive  links  of 
physical  science  are  gradually  connected,  first,  with  the  ancient  and 
modern  literature  of  the  philosophy  of  fire,  and,  next,  with  the  medi- 
tations of  the  greatest  of  the  ancients,  about  the  substantial  and  casual 
dependence  of  the  universe  upon  conscious  mind."^ 

Berkeley's  confidence  in  the  medicinal  efficacy  of  tar-water  thus 
became  the  master  enthusiasm  of  the  last  twelve  years  of  his  life : 
and,  as  usual,  the  enthusiasm  which  he  himself  felt  upon  the  subject 
he  succeeded  in  communicating  to  the  public.  His  book  rose  into 
instant  celebrity.  It  I'an  through  several  editions  in  England.  Trans- 
lations of  it  into  French,  Dutch,  German,  Portuguese  were  published 
on  the  Continent.  Tar-water  "  became  the  rage  in  England  as  well 
as  in  Ireland.  Manufactories  of  Tar-water  were  established  in  lion- 
don,  Dublin,  and  other  places  in  the  course  of  the  summer.  The 
anger  of  the  professional  physicians  was  aroused  against  the  ecclesias- 
tical intruder  into  their  province.  Pamphlets  were  written  against 
the  new  medicine,  and  other  pamphlets  were  wi'itten  in  reply.  A 
Tar-water  controversy  ensued.  .  .  .  The  infection  spread  to  other 
countries.  .  .  .  Tar-water  establishments  were  set  a  going  in  various 
parts  of  Europe  and  America."*  All  this  was  another  of  the  effects 
upon  him  and  his  whole  after-life  produced  by  his  American  visit ; 
for  it  was  in  America,  and  among  the  NaiTagansett  Indians,  that  he 
had  first  learned  of  the  invigorating  and  curative  properties  of  tar. 

There  can  be  little  doubt  that  when,  in  1731,  Dean  Berkeley  took 
ship  in  Boston  harbor,  and  sailed  out  into  the  sea  for  England,  he  felt 
that  his  visit  to  America  had  l)een  a  failure,  and  that  he  was  returning 
home  a  baffled  man,  —  the  golden  hope  of  his  life  blighted.  What 
gladness  it  would  have  brought  to  him  could  he  but  have  had  a  glimpse 
into  the  far  future,  and  could  have  seen  how  all  along  its  unfolding 
centuries  that  seemingly  bafiled  visit  of  his  was  to  keep  on  bearing 
fruit  in  the  innumerable  benign  eflects  it  was  to  have  upon  civilization 

'  Berkeley's  Works,  n.,  pp.  341-608.  •"  Life  and  Lettei-s  of  Berkeley,  p.  294. 

=  Ibul.,  II.,  pp.  343-344. 


536  HISTOEY   OF   THE   AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

in  the  New  World,  —  upon  the  establishment  of  universities  here ; 
upon  the  cultivation  of  all  liberal  studies ;  upon  the  improvement  of 
society  in  morals  and  in  manners,  and  especially  upon  the  upbuilding 
ofthe  Church  of  God  !  He  had  not,  indeed,  accomplished  the  immediate 
object  of  his  expedition  —  the  founding  of  an  American  university  in 
the  Bermuda  Islands ;  but,  by  methods  different  from  those  intended 
by  him,  and  in  ways  more  manifold  than  even  he  could  have  dreamed 
of,  he  has  since  accomplished,  and  through  all  coming  time,  by  a 
thousand  ineffaceable  influences,  he  will  continue  to  accomplish,  the 
very  results  —  the  beneficent,  beautiful,  superb  results  —  which  he  had 
aimed  at  by  the  founding  of  his  university.  It  is  the  old  story  over 
again  —  the  tragedy  of  a  Providence  wiser  than  man's  foresight,  God 
giving  the  victory  to  His  faithful  servant,  even  through  the  bitterness 
of  overruling  him  and  defeating  him. 

To  trace  with  proper  fulness  of  detail  the  direct  and  indirect 
effects  which  Berkeley's  sojourn  in  America  has  wrought  upon  the  in- 
tellectual life  of  this  country,  in  philosophy,  in  literature,  in  learning, 
in  the  spirit  and  method  of  higher  education,  would  require  a  chapter 
devoted  to  that  single  topic.  A  mere  grouping  of  hints  is  all  that  can 
be  attempted  in  this  place. 

Of  course,  in  those  days  of  diflScult  and  dangerous  ocean-travel, 
when  the  spectacle  of  a  distinguished  European  visitor  in  America  was 
something  to  awaken  awe  in  the  colonial  mind,  it  was  an  immediate  and 
an  immense  intellectual  stimulus  to  have  as  an  actual  visitor  among  us 
for  two  or  three  years  a  ripe  European  scholar,  of  great  genius,  of 
exquisite  accomplishments,  of  noble  ideals,  of  fascinating  gifts  in  ex- 
pression. Naturally  the  cultivated  society  of  Newport  was  the  first  to 
feel  the  intellectual  effect  of  his  visit ;  and  from  it  sprang  the  philo- 
sophical society  of  that  town,  and  ultimately  the-  Redwood  Library,  — 
an  institution  at  once  the  parent  and  the  model  of  many  others  in 
America,  and  still  prosperous  and  useful  now  in  the  second  century  of 
its  existence.'  Then,  too,  there  soon  began  to  come  to  Berkeley,  in 
his  new  home,  various  American  pilgi'ims  to  seek  his  counsel,  —  men 
of  letters,  like  John  Adams,  the  poet ;  and  men  of  science,  like  Samuel 
Johnson,  the  metaphysician ;  all  of  whom  seem  to  have  found  inspira- 
tion and  guidance  in  the  great  man's  brotherly  and  brilliant  words. 
Johnson,  indeed,  became  Berkeley's  avowed  disciple  in  philosophy : 
and  for  many  years  afterward,  in  his  books,  his  sermons,  his  academic 
lectures,  he  kept  alight  and  he  held  aloft,  in  this  land,  the  torch  of 
Berkeley's  radiant  and  consoling  idea.^  Moreover,  during  those  years 
of  Berkeley's  sojourn  in  Rhode  Island  there  was  in  a  frontier  western 
parish  in  Massachusetts  a  young  theologian,  trained  only  in  a  small 
colonial  college,  already  beginning  to  droop  under  the  burdens  of 
poverty,  of  public  care,  and  of  ill-health,  but  endowed  with  a  philo- 
sophical genius  not  unworthy  to  be  matched  with  that  of  Berkeley 
himself.  We  have  no  evidence  that  Jonathan  Edwards  ever  made  the 
rugged  journey  from  Northampton  to  Newpoil  to  see  George  Berkeley  ; 

'  W.  Updike,  "  Memoira  of  the  K.  I.  Bar,"  =E.E.  Beardsley,  "  Lifeand  Coirespondence 

pp.  61-62 ;  "  Public  Libraries  of  tlieU.  S.,"  Part    of  Samuel  Johuson,''  pp.  67,  70,  75,  77,  82,  131, 
I.,  pp.  15-16.  132,  169. 


DEAN   BERKELEY'S    SOJOUKN   IN    AMERICA.  537 

but  the  Xorthampton  pastor  had  already,  several  years  before,  worked 
his  way,  perhaps  by  an  independent  process,  to  Berkeley's  very 
doctrine  ;  and  it  can  hardly  be  doubted  that  the  celebrity  of  Berkeley's 
visit  hei'e,  and  the  keen  attention  to  his  philosophy  which  his  visit 
awakened  amonnr  thouniitful  New  Ensjlanders,  were  felt  as  a  boon  of 
intellectual  sj'mpath}'  by  that  lonely  student  in  the  wilds  of  Western 
Massachusetts,  and  may  have  helped  somewhat  to  strengthen  him  for 
liis  service  as  a  "  defender  of  Berkeley's  great  philosophical  conception 
in  its  application  to  the  material  world."  ^ 

Undoubtedly  the  great  intiucncc  of  Berkeley  on  the  intellectual 
life  of  this  country  is  seen  most  conspicuously  in  the  stimulus  which  he 
gave  to  higher  education  here.  The  mere  fact  that  such  a  man  as 
Berkeley,  with  such  inducements  as  he  had  to  remain  in  his  place  at 
home,  had  been  willing  to  give  up  time,  and  wealth,  and  chosen  studies, 
and  official  advancement,  and  the  charms  of  an  ancient  society,  and  had 
brought  hither  across  the  sea  into  the  wilderness  nearly  all  that  was 
sacred  and  precious  to  him  in  the  world,  and  that  he  here  stood  ready, 
year  after  year,  to  devote  his  life,  his  genius,  all  his  energies  to  the 
promotion  of  higher  education  in  America,  was  itself  a  dramatic 
demonstration,  at  least  of  his  ov/n  sense  of  the  vast  importance  to 
America  of  higher  education.  Though  he  did  not  succeed,  in  his  own 
person,  in  founding  an  American  college,  that  spectacle  of  his  noble 
failure  to  found  one  stands  for  all  time  in  its  pathos,  bearing  witness 
to  an  imperishable  and  an  unsurpassal)le  duty. 

Moreover,  almost  as  soon  as  ]3erkeley  touched  land,  he  began  to 
give  out  sympathy  and  counsel  and  help  to  the  men  who  were  already 
workinc:  in  American  colleijes,  or  who  were  working  for  them.  It  did 
not  hinder  him  that  the  colleges  nearest  to  him  were  under  the  control  of 
dissenters  from  his  church ;  and  yet,  even  in  his  purpose  to  befriend 
these  colleges,  he  found  himself  the  object  of  some  sectarian  suspicion. 
"  Pray  let  me  know,"  he  wrote  to  Samuel  Johnson  in  March,  1730, 
"  whether  they  would  admit  the  writings  of  Hooker  and  Chillingworth 
into  the  library  of  the  college  in  New  Haven."-  Two  years  afterward, 
when  Berkeley  had  returned  to  England,  and  had  sent  thence  to  Yale 
Collese  a  munificent  gift  of  books,  a  famous  Boston  preacher,  Benjamin 
Colman,  wrote  to  the  president  of  the  college  urging  that  the  gift  be 
not  accepted,  if  it  be  "  clogged  with  any  conditions  that  directly  or  in- 
directly tend  to  the  introduction  of  Episcopacy."* 

But  tokens  of  suspicion  like  these  —  not  unnatural  under  the  cir- 
cumstances —  did  not  chill  the  fiow  of  Berkeley's  kind  feeling  toward 
the  New  England  colleges,  or  his  desire  to  help  them.  When  he  was 
upon  the  point  of  embarking  for  England  he  sent  to  Johnson  some 
Greek  and  Latin  books  to  he  given,  if  it  should  seem  best,  to  Yale 
College  ;  and  he  accompanied  the  gift  by  the  promise  of  still  trying  to 
help,  even  after  his  return  to  the  Old  World,  the  cause  of  education  in 
America.     "  My  endeavors  shall  not  be  wanting,  some  way  or  other, 

'Life    and   Letters    of  Berkeley,  p.    182;  « Life  and  CoiTespondence  of  Samuel  John- 
George  P.  Fisher,  "  Discussions  in  IliitoiT  and  son,  p.  73. 

■philosophy,"  pp.  229-234.    See,  also,  the  anthor's  =■  E.  Turell's  "  Life  of  Beryamin  Colman." 

"  History  of  American  Literature,"  li.,  pp.  82-  pp.  59-6L 
183. 


538  HISTORY  OF  THE   AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

to  be  useful ;  and  I  should  be  very  glad  to  be  so  in  particular  to  the 
College  at  New  Haven."  '  This  promise  was  not  forgotten.  In  less 
than  a  year  after  his  departure  he  ti'ansmitted  to  the  President  of  Yale 
College  a  deed  -  conveying  to  that  institution  his  farm  in  Rhode  Island  ; 
"the  yearly  rents  and  protits  "  from  which  wore  to  be  spent,  not  only 
for  the  purchase  of  Ijooks  in  Greek  and  Latin,  as  prizes  for  proficiency 
in  those  languages,  but  also  as  scholarships  for  the  maintenance  of 
three  Bachelors  who  should  be  selected  for  their  excellence  in  Latin  and 
Greek,  and  should  reside  in  the  college  in  post-graduate  studies  for 
three  years.  It  would  be  hard  to  enumerate  all  the  eflects  of  this  gift 
in  stimulating  classical  culture  in  this  country.  This  single  fact  may 
be  mentioned,  however,  that  in  the  long  roll  of  the  Berkeleyan  "schol- 
ars of  the  house,"  ^  from  1733  to  the  present,  one  finds  many  names  that 
have  become  distinguished  for  classical  learning,  for  literary  talent,  and 
especially  for  service  in  the  higher  educational  work  of  the  country  : 
Eleazer  Wheelock,  the  founder  and  first  President  of  Dartmouth  Col- 
lege ;  Aaron  Burr,  President  of  Princeton  College  ;  William  Samuel 
Johnson,  President  of  Columbia  College ;  Naphtali  Daggett  and 
Timothy  Dwight,  Presidents  of  Yale  College ;  Al)raham  Baldwin, 
founder  and  President  of  the  University  of  Georgia  ;  Samuel  Austin, 
President  of  the  University  of  Vermont ;  Jeremiah  Atwater,  President 
of  Middlebury  and  of  Dickinson  Colleges  ;  Sereno  Edwards  Dwight, 
President  of  Hamilton  College  ;  Joel  Jones,  first  President  of  Girard 
College ;  Edward  Beecher,  President  of  Illinois  College ;  besides 
jurists,  statesmen,  scholars,  and  writers,  like  Jared  IngersoU,  James 
Abraham  Hillhouse,  Silas  Deane,  John  Trumbull,  Joseph  Buckminster, 
Abiel  Holmes,  James  Murdoch,  Norman  Pinney,  William  Moseley 
Holland,  and  Charles  Astor  Bristed. 

In  1733,  the  year  following  that  of  his  gift  of  land  to  Yale  Col- 
lege, Berkeley  proved  his  undiminished  remembrance  of  the  struggling 
young  colleges  in  America  by  sending  over  both  to  Yale  and  to 
Harvard  valuable  pi'csents  of  books.  The  collection  which  he  thus 
gave  to  Yale  College  was  the  larger  one  of  the  two.  It  consisted  of 
about  a  thousand  volumes,  and  included  well-chosen  works  in  Greek 
and  Latin  literature,  in  the  Fathers,  in  church  history,  in  divinity,  in 
philosophy,  in  mathematics,  medicine  and  natural  history,  in  English 
and  French  literature,  and  in  history,  —  altogether,  according  to  an 
early  historian  of  Yale,  "the  l)est  collection  of  books  which  had  ever 
been  brought  at  one  time  to  America."  "^ 

Perhaps  it  may  be  said,  also,  that  his  help  to  higher  education  in 
Amenca  was  quite  as  efi'cctive  in  the  form  of  sympathy  and  of  good 
counsels  as  it  was  in  that  of  good  gifts.  To  the  very  end  of  his  life 
he  kei)t  up  his  correspondence  with  America,  and  even  handed  down 
to  his  widow  and  to  his  children  a  legacy  of  American  friendships  ;  and 
in  nearly  all   his  letters  sent  hither  there  breathes  the  same  glowing 

'  Ijifo     and     CoiTospondence     of    Samuel  <  President  Clap,  cited  in  "  Life  and  Letters 

Johnson,  p.  78.  of  Berkeley,"  p.  194.    A  copy  of  the  invoice  of 

"  Given  in    fidl  in  "Life  and  Letters  of  the  books  sent  hy  Berkeley  to  Yale  College  h:is 

Berkelej  ,"  pp.  193-194,  note.  been  published  by  President  Daniel  C.  Gilman  in 

'  A  list  of  these  scholars  from  1733  to  1851  is  "  New  Uaven  Col.  Historical  Society  Transac- 

piven  in  "  The  Yale    Literary    Magazine,"  for  tions." 
Feb.,  1852,  pp.  152-154. 


DEAN   BERKELEY'S   SOJOURN  IN  AMERICA.  539 

and  affectionate  zeal  for  the  cause  of  good  letters  in  America,  and, 
tlirou"li  that,  of  noble  thinking  and  of  noble  living,  to  be  promoted 
by  the  young  colleges  of  the  New  World.  So  long  as  he  lived  tidings 
were  regularly  sent  to  him  from  Yale  College  respecting  the  progress 
of  learning  there,  particular!}'  under  the  impulse  given  by  his  endow- 
ment. In  1750  he  writes:  "I  tind  also  by  a  letter  from  Mr.  Clap 
that  learning  continues  to  make  notable  advances  in  Yale  College. 
This  gives  me  great  satisfaction."^  In  1751  he  writes:  "I  am 
glad  to  find  by  Mr.  Clap's  letter,  and  the  specimens  of  literature 
enclosed  in  his  packet,  that  learning  continues  to  make  a  progress  in 
Yale  College,  and  hope  that  virtue  and  Christian  charity  may  keep 
pace  with  it."^  In  the  same  year  he  writes  to  President  Clap  him- 
self:  "The  daily  increase  of  religion  and  learning  in  your  seminary 
of  Yale  College  gives  me  very  sensible  pleasure,  and  an  ample  recom- 
pense for  my  poor  endeavors  to  further  these  good  ends."^  And 
when,  but  a  few  years  before  his  death,  his  advice  was  asked  by  Samuel 
Johnson,  respecting  plans  for  a  college  at  New  York,  he  wrote  back  a 
letter  of  wise  and  faitliful  counsel,  which  did  much  to  mould  the  organi- 
zation both  of  King's  College*  and  of  the  College  of  Philadelphia.^ 
Indeed,  as  respects  King's  College,  we  have  documentary  evidence 
that  it  was  formed  by  its  first  trustees  explicitly  and  consciously  upon 
the  model  thus  conveyed  to  them,  through  Samuel  Johnson,  from 
Bishop  Berkeley.®  This  fact  has  not  been  sufficiently  known.  The 
true  spiritual  founder  of  Columbia  College  was  the  Bishop  of  Cloyne. 
To  one  who  loves  the  memory  of  that  wise  and  saintly  prelate,  and 
who  has  been  touched  by  the  grief  he  suffered  over  the  apparent  dis- 
comfiture of  his  hope  of  founding  "  a  college  for  the  spread  of  relig- 
ion and  learning  in  Amei'ica,"  it  must  give  pleasure  to  learn  that 
before  Bishop  Berkeley  passed  away  from  this  earth  he  had  the  con- 
soling assurance  that  the  college  at  New  York  was  to  be  founded  upon 
the  model  furnished  by  him.  So  that,  after  all,  the  beautiful  dream 
of  Berkeley's  life  was  granted  to  him,  and  in  a  way  wiser  than  he  had 
thought  of.  Not,  indeed,  in  the  Bermuda  Islands, — which  would 
have  been  too  remote  and  too  isolated  a  spot  for  a  great  American 
university,  —  but  in  the  very  heart  of  the  future  metropolis  of  the  New 
World ;  not,  indeed,  by  the  labor  of  his  own  hand,  and  yet  according 
to  the  express  directions  of  his  most  mature  judgment ;  not,  indeed, 
under  his  own  presidency,  and  yet  under  the  presidency  of  his 
most  beloved  American  friend  and  of  his  most  devoted  American 
disciple,  was  Berkeley  finally  permitted  to  establish  a  college  for 
"  the  promotion  of  Christian  civilization  alike  in  the  English  and  in 
the  heathen  parts  of  America."  And  there  can  be  little  doubt  that 
from  the  first  the  college  should  have  been  named  for  Berkeley  i-ather 
than  for  the  king.  And,  without  any  doubt,  when,  just  after  the 
Revolutionary  war,  the  original  roj'alist  name  of  the  college  was  neces- 
sarily dropped,  and  a  new  name  was  sought  for,  nothing  could  have 

'  Life  and  CoiTCspondence  of  Samuel  John-  *Xotv  Columbia  Collep'C. 

son,  p.  170.  'Now  the  University  of  Pennsylvania. 

-  Hid.,  p.  171.  °  Life  and  Corrcspoiidcuce  of  Samuel  John- 

*  Life  and  Lettci-s,  p.  327.  son,  pp.  154-155 ;  170. 


540  HISTORY   OF   THE   AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

been  more  appropriate  than  that  the  college  should  then  have  been 
re-christened  with  the  beautiful  and  significant  name  of  Berkeley. 

But  though  Berkeley's  own  college  in  America  has  not  been 
called  by  his  name,  Berkeley's  effort  for  "  the  spread  of  religion  and 
learning  in  America  "  has  not  been  without  tokens  of  commemoration 
among  us.  In  the  college  at  New  Haven,  of  which  he  was  so  gener- 
ous a  benefactor,  his  name  is  woven  into  imperishaljle  association 
with  the  noblest  and  the  most  stimulating  studies  ;  while  from  a  memo- 
rial window  in  its  chapel  that  name  beams  like  a  benediction  upon 
all  who,  like  him,  unite  sincere  piety  with  sincere  love  of  truth.  In 
the  oldest  college-town  in  America  a  street  has  been  named  in  honor 
of  Berkeley,  l)y  an  eminent  writer  •  who  was  devoted  to  the  studies 
which  Berkeley  loved,  and  to  the  Church  of  which  Berkeley  was  an  illus- 
trious champion.  In  the  cities  of  New  York  and  Providence,  in  recent 
years,  institutions  for  the  higher  secondary  education  had  been  named  in 
memory  of  Berkeley,  as  "  a  missionary  who  crossed  the  seas  to  bring 
to  this  land  the  torch  of  knowledge."-  And  far  away  upon  the  west- 
ern verge  of  this  continent,  — a  continent  which  Berkeley  believed  to 
be  the  predestined  seat  of  the  last  and  most  glorious  act  in  the  drama 
of  Man's  History  upon  Earth,  —  over  against  the  very  gleam  of  the 
Golden  Gate  of  San  Fi-ancisco,  and  almost  within  sound  of  the  surf 
crashing  upon  the  sands  of  the  Pacific,  a  great  State  has  founded  a 
great  university ;  and,  while  it  has  given  its  own  name  to  the  univer- 
sity, it  has  bestowed  upon  the  university-town  the  name  of  Berkeley, 
in  remembrance  of  "  one  of  the  very  best  of  the  early  friends  of  col- 
lege education  in  America."  At  Trinity  College,  in  Hartford,  —  a 
college  that  was  founded  and  has  been  faithfully  reared  in  the  very 
spirit  of  Berkeley's  ideas  upon  education,  —  the  president,  at  the 
annual  commencement,  sits  in  the  chair  in  which  Berkeley  used  to  sit 
at  Newport,  in  which  Berkeley  is  believed  to  have  written  his 
"Alciphron,"  and  from  which  Berkeley  must  have  dreamed  many  a 
dream  and  prayed  many  a  prayer  "  for  the  spread  of  religion  and 
learning  in  America."  And,  finally,  we  may  hope  that  "The  Berke- 
ley Divinity  School,"  at  Middletown,  will  be  for  many  ages  a  monument 
—  and  something  more  productive  than  a  monument — to  the  sacred  and 
dear  memory  of  that  apostolic  scholar,  who,  in  an  age  of  sensualists 
and  of  self-seekers,  gave  up  all  earthly  pleasures  and  gains,  and  came 
forth  over  the  sea,  that  he  might  found  in  America  a  college  of  which 
the  chief  purpose  should  be  to  train  up  young  men  worthily  for  the 
service  of  God's  Church  in  this  New  World. 


Hju  "^odr-i 


'  Richard  II.  Dana,  the  yoiinfrer.  schools  by  President  Oilman,  of  Johns  Hopkins 

^Tiie  name  w.13  given  to  the  first  of  these    University,  whose  words  I  quote  above. 


MONOGRAPH    V. 

THE  NON-JURING  BISHOPS  IN  AMERICA. 

By  the  rev.  JOHN  FULTON,  D.D.,  LL.D., 

Hector  of  Si.  George's  Church,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 


THE  subject  of  tlie  non-jurors  in  America  is  rather  of  interest  to 
the  antiquary  than  of  importance  to  the  historian ;  because, 
whether  it  bo  asserted  or  denied  that  bishops  of  the  non-juring 
sect  did  actually  visit  or  reside  in  the  colo- 
nies, it  is  certain  that  they  exercised  no 
episcopal  jurisdiction  and  left  behind  them 
no  perceptible  inlluence  in  the  Colonial 
Church.  The  anti(iuarian  interest  of  the  sub- 
ject, however,  which  was  always  notaljle, 
has  of  late  years  been  greatly  increased  liy 
the  publication,  in  1876,  of  an  elaborate  and 
very  valuable  "History  of  the  Church  in 
Burlington,  New  Jersey,"  by  the  Eev.  Dr. 
Hills,  rector  of  St.  ilary's,  Burlington. - 
Dr.  Hills  has  prefixed  to  his  work  an  inscrip- 
tion or  dedication,  as  follows:  "To  the 
Kev.  John  Tall)ot,  M.A.,  founder  and 
first  rector  of  the  church  in  Burlington, 
who,  after  twenty  years  of  missionary  toil,  with  ceaseless  but  ineffeet- 


EPTSCOPAL    SEAL    liEAKING 
THE    NAME    OF    TALBOT.' 


*  The  oriirin  of  the  non-jurors'  scliisra  mav 
be  brieHy  told.  After  the  levohition  of  16S9, 
Sancroft,  Archbisliop  of  Cantei-bury,  the  Bisli- 
ops  of  Ely,  Norwirli,  Gloncestef,  Chichester, 
Peterborough,  and  Ken  of  Bath  aud  Wells,  to- 
gether with  some  four  hundred  cleri^ymen  and 
members  of  the  uuiversities,  refused  to  take  the 
lc<jal  oaths  of  allen^iance  to  W^illiani  of  Orancje. 
Ileuce  their  name  of  non-jurors.  For  a  year 
the  bishops  were  permitted  to  oecupy  their  official 
residences  thou^jh  they  refrained  from  the  exer- 
cise of  their  episcopal  functions.  The  g-overn- 
ment  endeavored  to  conciliate  them,  offeriuf^  to 
introiluce  a  bill  in  parliament  to  excuse  tiiem  from 
the  oaths,  provided  they  would  consent  to  per- 
form tlie  duties  of  their  office.  This  they  refused 
to  do  because  of  the  prayers,  in  almost  every 
service  of  the  Church,  requiring  the  names  of 
William  and  Mary  to  lie  mentioned  as  kinj?  and 
queen.  They  were  thereupon  deprived  and 
others  appointed  to  their  sees,  Tillotson  bcin^ 
appointed  primate.  Ken  thereupon  retired  to 
private  life;  hut  .Sancroft  and  the  deprived 
bishops  of  Xonvich,Peterborou<^h,  and  Ely  main- 
tained that  they  were  the  only  true  hierarchy  of 
the  Church  of  Enf;hind,  and  that,  the  Church  of 
England  as  by  law  cstal.ilished  beinp:  schismatical, 
it  was  at  once  their  rijlit  and  their  duty  to  ex- 
tend their  own  episcopate  and  provide  for  its 


continuance.  They  therefore  proceeded  to  con- 
secrate two  other  bishops  in  1093.  In  1713  three 
more  were  consecrated,  in  1716  two,  in  1720  or 
21  two  others,  and  then  occurred  the  first  dis- 
ruption of  the  non-jurors,  on  the  dis])uted  ques- 
tion of  the  "  Usages,"  some  of  them  dcsirin;;,  and 
others  i-cfusinji:,  to  adopt  the  mixed  chalice, 
prayers  for  the  dead,  and  the  invocation  and 
oblation  in  the  Eucharist.  From  the  first  the 
sect  was  small;  it  was  never  sustained  by  more 
than  a  h.andful  of  lay  people ;  it  was  rent  by 
division  after  division,  and  dwindled  away  until 
it  totally  disappeared.  The  last  survivor  of  the 
non-juring  episcopate  is  said  to  have  died  iu 
obscurity  in  1S05. 

2  Trenton,  N..T.,  William  S.  Sharp,  Printer, 
1876.  Though  the  writer  of  these  pages  cannot 
adopt  the  opinions  nor  admit  the  conclusions  of 
Dr.  Hills  in  certain  matters,  he  can  bear  personal 
testimony  to  the  accuracy  with  whicli  the  "History 
of  the  Church  in  Burlington  "  reproduces  the  docu- 
ments it  cont,ains.  Without  exception  all  of  these 
relating  to  John  Talbot  have  beencarefnllycom- 
pared  with  original  authorities,  to  which  the 
references  —  few  of  which  arc  given  in  the 
history  —  are  all  given  in  this  paper.  Dr.  Hills' 
monograph,  read  before  tlie  Historical  Society  of 
Pennsylvania,  gives  no  references. 

^  From  an  enlarged  photograph. 


542  HISTORY   OF  THE  AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

ual  entreaties  that  a  bishop  might  be  given  to  America,  was  incluccd 
to  receive  consecration  from  a  line  of  non-jui'ors  in  England  ;  and  re- 
turned to  Burlington,  wlicre,  after  three  years  more  of  ministration, 
followed  by  two  of  inliil)ition,  he  died,  and  was  buried  within  the  walls 
of  the  church  which  he  had  built,'  A.D.  1727."  In  November,  1878, 
a  mural  tablet  was  ei'ccted  in  St.  Mary's,  Burlington,  on  the  upper 
part  of  which  appears  the  enlarged  figure  of  a  seal  bearing  a  mitre. 
Under  the  mitre  is  a  monogram  in  script  characters  which  shows  the 
letters  "T.  A.  L."  interlaced  with  the  letters  "T.  O.  B.,"  so  that  by 
reading  the  first  syllable  of  the  monogram  forwards  and  the  second 
T)ackwards  we  discover  the  name  Talbot.  Around  and  beneath  the 
seal  is  this  inscription :  "  Enlarged  Fac-sdiile  of  the  seal  of 
JOHN  TALBOT,  founder  of  this  church,  1703.  A  BISHOP  by 
non-juror  consecration  1722.  Died  in  Burlington  November  29th, 
1727.  Beloved  and  Lamented.  St.  John  ii.,  17."  Some  two  hundred 
and  fifty  pages  of  Dr.  Hills'  history  are  devoted  to  the  life  and  labors 
of  John  Talbot,  and  it  is  assumed  that  the  facts  and  documents  pre- 
sented are  suiBcicnt  to  support  the  very  general  tradition  set  forth  in 
the  inscription,  and  the  briefer  assertion  of  the  mural  tablet.  The 
volume  contains  also  a  few  documents  concerning  the  residence  in 
Philadelphia  (1724-172G)  of  the  rather  notorious  non-juror.  Dr. 
Welton.  Of  Dr.  Welton's  irregular  eonseci'ation,  and  of  his  visit  to 
Philadelphia,  there  is  no  doubt ;  that  a  person  bearing  the  surname  of 
Talbot  was  consecrated  at  the  same  time  as  Welton,  or  shortly  after- 
wards, is  not  denied ;  but  that  John  Talbot  of  Burlington  was  in  sym- 
pathy with  the  political  principles,  or  an  adherent  of  the  schismatical 
sect  of  the  non-jurors,  can  only  be  proved  by  admitting  the  unsupported 
accusations  of  a  few  malignant  enemies,  and  at  the  same  time  rejecting 
the  evidence  of  his  friends  and  his  own  solemn  protestations  of  loyalty 
to  the  sovereigns  of  the  Protestant  succession  and  fidelity  to  the 
Church  of  England  as  by  law  established,  both  of  which  asseverations 
are  supported  by  the  unbroken  testimony  of  his  whole  life. 

THE    case    of   dr.    WELTON.' 

Dr.  Welton,  though  a  Jacobite,  was  not  originally  one  of  the 
non-jurors,  but  held  preferment  in  the  Church  of  England  as  rector 
of  the  important  and  populous  parish  of  Whitechapel.  At  the  time 
of  the  Sachevei'ell  impeachment,  in  1710,  he  made  himself  uncnviably 
conspicuous  bj'  setting  up  as  an  altar-piece  in  his  church  a  painting  of 
the  Lord's  Supper,  in  which  Dean  Kennet's  portrait,  in  gown  and 
bands,  appeared  in  the  place  of  Judas  Iscariot.  It  is  said  that  Bishop 
Burnet  was  the  person  first  intended  to  be  vilified  by  this  picture,  but 

>  In  a  paper  read  by  Dr.  Ilill'!,  in  1S78,  before  it  may  be  saiti, '  No  man  knowcth  of  liis  sepulchre 

the  Pennsylvania    Historical    Society,    entitled  unto  this  day.' " 

"John  Talbot,  the  first  Bishop  in  North  America,"  ^  it  is  curiously  sussestive  of  the  imperfec- 
wc  find  these  words :  "  But  where  is  the  spot  in  tion  of  existing  memoranda  concernin;j  the  non- 
which  this  holy  pair  repose  ?  (i.  (.,  Talbot  and  his  jurors  that  while  Pcrcival  and  Lathbury.  and 
wife).  Where  is  the  decent,  plain  monument  all  who  follow  them,  give  Dr.  Welton's  Christian 
wliich  Mrs.  Talbot  ordered  in  her  will  V  Her  as-  name  as  Robert,  the  Rawliuson  MS.,  which  con- 
sets  were  ample  to  cover  its  cost.  But  no  monu-  tains  the  only  contemporary  list  of  non-juror 
meat  can  be  found,  and  —  no  grave !    Of  Talbot  consecrations  accessible  to  the  public,  gives  it  as 

Bic,  i.e.,  Eicardua  or  Richard. 


THK   NON-JURING  BISHOPS  IN  AMERICA.  543 

that  the  painter,  apprehending  prosecution,  preferred  to  select  a,  less 
powerful  opponent  of  Sachcvcrell. '  Crowds  are  said  to  have  flocked  daily 
to  examine  the  picture  until  its  removal  was  oi'dered  l:)y  the  Bishop  of 
London.  Then,  or  shortly  afterwards,  Wciton  preached  a  seditious 
sermon,  which  led  the  government  to  interfere ;  he  was  deprived  of 
his  living  of  AVhitechapel,  left  the  Church  of  England,  and  became 
preacher  to  a  congregation  of  non-jurors,  thus,  for  the  first  time, 
uniting  with  their  secf.-  When  the  first  disruption  of  the  non-jurors 
took  place  on  the  question  of  the  "Usages,"  each  of  the  contending 
factions  j)roceeded  to  continue  its  succession  of  bishops.  In  1720 
Kalph  Taylor  and,  in  1720  or  1721,  Hilkiah  Bedford  were  consecrated 
by  Spinckes,  Ilawes,  andGandy,  who  rejected  the  "Usages."*  Other 
minor  disruptions  rapidly  ensued,  and,  in  1723-4,  Taylor  alone,  and  of 
his  own  sole  authority,  proceeded  to  consecrate  Welton.  This  act 
was  so  manifestly  uncanonical  and  so  violently  irregular  according 
to  the  principles  of  the  non-jurors  themselves,  that  neither  Taylor 
nor  Welton  was  ever  recognized  as  a  bishop  by  any  of  the  non-jurors 
in  England ;  but  Lathbury  says  that  both  of  them  "  exercised  the 
episcopal  functions  in  the  American  colonies."''  That  Taylor  ever 
exercised  episcopal  functions  in  any  of  the  colonies  may  be  doubted 
in  the  absence  of  contemporaneous  evidence,  but  it  is  possible  that 
he  may  have  spent  a  short  time  in  some  part  of  America.  A  rumor 
certainly  prevailed  thsit  another  non-juror  Ijcsides  Dr.  Welton  had 
gone  to  America,^  and  concerning  Welton  thei'e  is  no  doubt  whatever. 
He  went  to  Philadelphia  in  June  or  July,  1724;^  and  under  date  of 
August  3,  1724,  Governor  Burnet  wrote  to  the  Bishop  of  London: 
"I  am  informed  that  the  present  incumbent  at  Philadelphia  is  Dr. 
Welton,  formerly  rector  of  Whitechapel."''  From  a  memorial  ad- 
dressed by  Peter  Evans,  a  vestryman  of  Philadelphia,  to  the  Bishop 
of  London,  *  it  appears  that  on  the  credit  of  "English  printed  news- 
papers "  the  vestrj'  were  induced  to  believe  that  \Velton  had  taken 
the  oath  of  alleijiance  and  had  conformed  to  the  government .  As  the 
church  was  then  vacant,  and  no  services  liad  been  held  in  it  for  some 
months,  Welton  was  invited  to  officiate  until  a  missionary  should  be 
sent  by  the  Bishop  of  London.  Though  he  had  no  license  from  the 
bishop,"  Welton  complied,  apparently  against  the  governor's  desire.'" 
He  was  naturally  obnoxious  to  the  governor  and  ot;hers,''  and  it  was 
not  long  before  he  became  involved  in  disputes  with  the  clergy  who 
were  supposed  to  l)e  in  sympathy  with  his  Jacobite  views. '^  There  is 
no  evidence  that  Talbot  and  Welton  ever  met ;  but  a  correspondence 
which  h.'id  been  opened  between  them  was  broken  otf  Ijy  Talbot, 
because  of  Welton's  "  rash  and  chimerical  projects,"  long  before  the 

iLecky's  "England  in  the  XTVlIIth  Ccn-  Johnson,"  p.  Co ;  see,  also,  Peirv's  "Hist.  Coll. 

tuiy,"  I.,  p.  G2.  Am.  Col.  Church  "  (Pcnn.),  p.  ftS. 

'  Latlibuiy,  pp.  2.")^,  2.57.  ■••  Perry's  "  Hist.  CoU.  Am.  Col.  Church  " 

3Lathbm-y,   p.   3G3:   Pcicival    (^Vm.  cil.),  (Md.),p.  243. 

p.  133.  -■  llills's  Hist.,  p.  188. 

«  Lathbuiy,  p.  364.  "Pcriy's  "Hist.  Coll.  Am.  Col.   Chui-cL  " 

'  Letter  from  Rev.  John  Berriman,  of  Lon-  (Penn.),  pp.  139-142. 

don,  to  the  Rev.  Sam.  .Johnson,  of  Connecticut,  "Ibid.,  p.  136. 

dated    Fcbruaiy   17,   172,"),  "Wc   hear  of  two  >» /Wrf.,  pp.  143,  144. 

non-juring  Bishops  (Dr.  Welton  for  one)  who  "Ibid.,  pp.  liS,  148,  151. 

are  gone  into  America."    "Bcardsley's  Life  of  'Ibid.  (Md.),  p.  255. 


544  HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

goveriDueiit  had  taken  notice  of  them.  ^  Whatever  Welton's  treason- 
able plans  may  have  been,  or  however  they  were  brought  to  the 
knowledge  of  the  government,  he  was  served,  in  172G,  with  the  King's 
AVrit  of  Priv}'  Seal,  commanding  him,  on  his  allegiance,  to  return  to 
Great  Britain  forthwith.  ^  In  ]\larch  of  that  year  he  sailed  for  Lisbon, 
Avhere  he  died  of  dropsj^  during  the  ensuing  summer,  refusing  on  his 
death-bed  to  commune  with  the  English  clergyman.  After  his  death 
an  episcopal  seal,  which  he  was  thought  to  have  used  in  America,  was 
found  among  his  effects.  ^  From  the  abundant  references  to  contem- 
poraneous documents  which  have  Ijeen  given,  and  to  which  more 
might  be  added,  there  can  be  no  doul)t  of  "VVelton's  residence  in  Phila- 
delphia from  June  or  Jul^',  1724,  till  March,  1726.  It  will  be  observed, 
however,  that  there  is  no  evidence  whatever  that  he  exercised  or 
claimed  episcopal  jurisdiction,  or  that  he  performed  a  single  act  per- 
taining to  the  episcopal  office,  during  the  time  of  his  residence  in 
America. 

JOHN   TALBOT   OF   BURLINGTON.'* 

John  Talbot  of  Burlington,  as  he  will  always  be  known  in  the 
annals  of  a  grateful  church,  was  born  and  baptized  in  the  parish  of 
Wymondham,  Norfolk,  England,  in  1645.  His  parents  were  Thomas 
Talbot,  gentleman,  of  Gonville  Hall,  in  that  county,  and  Jone  (lone?) , 
his  wife,  who  was  the  daughter  of  Sir  John  Medc,  of  Loffts,  in  the 
county  of  Essex.  He  was  educated  at  Elmden,  Essex,  and  was  ad- 
mitted as  a  sizar  in  Christ's  College,  Cambridge,  in  February,  1660, 
matriculating  in  the  following  July.  He  passed  B.A.,  1663,  became  a 
Fellow  of  Peter  House,  1664,  and  was  admitted  M.A.  in  1671,  by 
royal  mandate  from  Charles  II.,  as  the  Cambridge  registry  shows, 
though  the  reason  why  such  a  mandate  was  given  or  requu-ed  is  not 
known.  In  June,  1695,  he  was  instituted  to  the  rectory  of  Fretherne, 
Gloucestershire,  as  appears  from  the  bishops'  registers  at  Gloucester. 
His  parish  was  very  small,  containing  only  twenty  houses  and  about 
a  hundred  and  twenty-Kve  inhabitants.  So  small  a  field  furnished  but 
scant  scope  for  a  man  of  his  energy,  and  we  next  find  him  mentioned 
in  George  Keith's  Journal  as  chaplain  of  the  "  Centurion."  Keith  writes 
under  date  of  "June  28,  Sunday  (1702).  The  Reverend  Mr.  John 
Talbot,  who  had  been  Chaplain  in  the  Centurion  preached  there,"  i.e. 
at "  the  Queen's  Chapel"  in  Boston.^  The  chaplain,  who  was  now  fifty- 
seven  years  of  age,  became  the  missionary  companion  of  Keith  in  the 
service  of  the  S.P.G.,  travelling  or  cooperating  with  him  till  1705, 
when  Keith  left  America.®     Their  journeys  extended  through  nine  or 

•Perry's  "Hist.  Coll.  Am.  Col.  Church"  scnted.  The  facts  concerning  his  parentage,  ecUi- 

(Pcnn.).  p- 149.  cation,  institution   as  rector  of  Fretherue  and 

^  Ibid.,  pp.  146,  235.  loss  of  that  rectory,  noiv  first  printed   in  this 

=  ILilis's  Hist.,  pp.  205,  206.  country,  are  learned  from  a  notice  of  Dr.  Hills's 

'  It  is  not  proposed  in  what  follows  to  relate  History  contained  in  tlie  "  Transactions  of  the 

the  labors  of  John  Talbot.    Neither  is  it  intended  Bristol  and  Gloucestershire  Archffiol.  Soc,"  Vol. 

to  show  the  frequency  with  which  he,  like  many  v. ;  and  as  they  have  been  gathered  from  pa- 

othcr  colonial  churchmen,  prayed  for  the  erection  rochial,  diocesan,  and  university'  records,  they 

of  a  colonial  episcopate.     The  single  matter  to  be  are  undoubtedly  authentic.     For  this  iuformatio'u 

investigated  in  this  connection  is,  whether  John  the  writer  is  indebted  to  Dr.  Hills. 
Talbot  of  Burlington  was  a  bishop  by  Non-Juror  '  Keith's  Journal,  in  "  Collections  of  Prot.  Ep. 

consecration.     It  will  be  believed  that   every  Hist.  See,"  1851,  p.  6. 
relevant  fact  known  to  the  writer  is  fairly  pre-  «  Ihiil.,  p.  55. 


THE   NON-JURING   BISHOPS   IN   AMERICA.  545 

ten  provinces,'  and  though  they  were  mostly  together,  Talbot  was  often 
alone.  His  alTcction  for  Keith  was  very  great.  He  writes  to  the 
secretary  of  Keith's  "  true  and  laudable  service "  in  glowing  terms ; 
and,  after  Keith's  departure,  he  writes  to  Keith  himself:  "Ah,  Mr. 
Keith,  I  have  wanted  you  but  once,  and  that  is  ever  since  you  left." 
"When  Keith  returned  to  England,  Talbot  had  eligible  oilers  made  to 
him  to  leave  the  society's  service  and  to  take  easier  duty,  with  twice  or 
thrice  the  stipend,^  elsewhere ;  but  he  could  not  be  induced  to  desert 
his  work.  A  flourishing  congregation,  mostly  gatiiered  from  the 
Quakers,^  had  been  formed  in  Burlington.  Talipot  laid  the  corner- 
stone of  St.  Mary's  Church  there  on  Lady-day,  1703  ;  ■•  and,  the  people 
desiring  him  for  their  permanent  minister,*  he  settled,  in  1704,  in  a 
city,  and  in  charge  of  a  church,  with  which  his  name  will  be  forever 
connected.^  When  Talbot  left  England  he  had  put  his  small  parish 
of  Fretherne  in  charge  of  a  curate,  and  in  July,  1704,  it  was  seques- 
trated on  account  of  his  non-residence,  his  curate  being  instituted  to 
the  rectory.''  Thenceforward  John  Talbot  belonged  exclusively  to  the 
colonial  church. 

From  the  very  beginning  of  his  missionary  work  Talbot  saw  that 
the  vital  necessity  of  the  colonial  church  was  the  estal)lishment  of  a 
colonial  episcopate,  and  for  nearly  twenty  years  he  continued,  in 
season  and  out  of  season,  to  urge  in  earnest  and  sometimes  very  touch- 
ing language  that  a  bishop  of  their  own,  or,  at  least,  a  suffi-agan  of  the 
Bishop  of  London,  might  be  given  to  the  acephalous  churches  in  the 
colonies.*  None  of  his  letters  betray  the  least  thought  of  obtaining 
the  episcopal  office  for  himself;  but  one  of  them,  addressed  to  Keith 
in  1705,  warmly  recommends  another  clergyman  for  sutfragan.^  In 
the  winter  of  1705-6  he  went  to  England  as  the  bearer  of  an  address 
to  the  queen  praying  for  a  suffragan  bishop.  He  had  no  other  business 
in  England,  and  he  was  not  successful  in  that.'"  He  was  about  to 
return  home  to  his  labors  when  he  was  hindered  by  some  slanderous 
accusations"  made  against  him,  from  which,  however,  he  soon  cleared 
himself.  He  was  not  alone  in  the  persecution  he  endured.  The 
Church  had  been  so  successful  in  regaining  her  people  from  the  dis- 
senters that  her  clergy  for  a  time  were  bitterly  assailed.  On  his 
return  home  he  mentions  four  who  had  been  "outed"  or  "scouted" 
from  the  provinces  of  New  York  and  New  Jersey.'^  There  is  every 
reason  to  believe  that  the  "  lies  and  slanders"  raised  against  Talbot  and 
his  brethren  included  the  charge  of  secret  disloyalty.  Nothing  could  be 
easier  to  allege,  nothing  more  difficult  to  disprove,  and  hardly  any- 
thing more  damaging  to  a  missionary  working  under  a  Whig  bishop, 
than  an  imputation  of  Jacobitism.  Slanders  need  only  to  be  iterated 
and  reiterated  in  order  to  do  damage  some  time  or  other,  and  it  is  not 

•Keith's  Journal,  in  "CoUeotions  of  Prot.    Hills's  Histoid  in  "  Transactions  of  the  Bristol 

Epis.  Hist.  Soc,"  1S51,  p.  68.  and  Gloucestershire  Archa?ol.  Soc.,"  Vol.  v. 

^  Ibid.,  p.  58.  8  It  is  needless  to  multiply  quotations  on  this 

2  Ibid.,  XXX.,  pp.  49,  50.  point;  the  list  of  references  would  contain  a  list 

*  Ibid.,  XXXVI.  of  nearly  all  John  Talbot's  letters. 

■>  Ibid.,  xsxi.  »  Coll.  of  Prot.  Ep.  Hist.  Soc.  (1851),  p.  58. 

«  Ibid.,  p.  58.  '» Ibid.,  pp.  88,  59. 

'  Ibid.,  p.  59.     See,  also,  a  review  of  Dr.           "  Ibid.,  p.  59.               '=  Ibid.,  pp.  GO..  61. 


546  HISTORY   OF  THE   AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

impossible,  nor  even  improbable,  that   the  evil   seed  sown   iu    1706 
brought  forth  its  bitter  fruit  in  1724. 

The  tii'st  distinct  intimation  of  disloyal  tendencies  or  practices  at- 
tributed to  Talbot  is  contained  in  a  letter  of  Governor  Hunter,  which 
was  written  in  February,  1711,  under  circumstances  which  have  not 
heretofore  been  fully  investigated.  In  the  parish  of  Jamaica,  N.Y., 
a  controversy  had  arisen  which  led  to  serious  complications,  extending 
through  several  years. ^  The  governor's  course  in  this  case  was  gravely 
objectionable  to  the  rector  of  Jamaica  and  to  clergymen  elsewhere, 
who  thought  that  the  pi'cccdent  established  at  Jamaica  would  have 
serious  consequences  for  the  Church  throughout  the  colonies.  A  mis- 
sionary called  Henderson  was  discovered  to  have  secretly  circulated 
among  the  clergy  some  sort  of  "representation"  against  the  governor 
to  bo  transmitted  to  the  home  authorities.  Talbot  was  at  tliat  time 
about  to  make  a  second  voyage  to  England,  and  had  requested  Henderson 
to  supply  his  place  in  Burlington.  While  he  was  in  New  York,  the 
fact  that  Henderson's  "  representation  "  had  been  prepared  became 
known  to  the  governor,  who,  nevertheless,  remained  in  ignorance  of  its 
contents,  its  signers,  and  the  person  or  persons  to  whom  it  was  ad- 
dressed. Governor  Hunter  thereupon  wrote  to  the  seci'etary  an  ener- 
getic letter  in  which  he  mentions  Talbot  in  connection  with  Hender- 
son.^ "Col.  Quary,"  he  says,  "acquainted  me  that  in  his  passage 
through  Burlington  he  found  that  poor  congregation  all  in  a  flame.  Mr. 
Henderson  it  seems  had  thought  fit  in  performing  Divine  Service  to 
leave  out  that  prayer  in  the  Litany  for  Victory  over  all  her  Maj'^* 
Enemies,  and  the  prayer  appointed  to  be  said  in  time  of  War ;  the  chiefs 
of  that  Congregation  had  took  exceptions  at  this,  but  he  gave  them  no 
other  reasons  for  so  doing  but  that  INIr.  Talbot  had  done  so,  they  re- 
ply'd  that  having  been  long  acquainted  with  Mr.  Talbot's  exemplary  life 
they  were  willing  to  bear  with  his  scruples,  but  ho  could  pretend  none 
having  formerly  never  omitted  them,  &  further  that  this  would  look  as 
if  that  congregation  could  not  bear  any  such  prayers,  which  was  a  thing 
very  far  from  their  hearts.  Mr.  Quary  desu-ed  me  to  speak  to  Mr. 
Talbot  upon  this  head  ;  I  begg'd  of  kim  first  to  do  so,  and  then  if  there 
was  any  necessity  I  wou'd ;  he  did  so,  and  the  result  was  that  Mr. 
Talbot  went  back  to  Burlington  and  Mr.  Henderson  came  hither 
to  go  for  London  in  his  place,  having  in  charge  the  secret  Kep° 
mentioned."  It  does  not  appear  that  Mr.  Talbot  ever  heard  of  this 
letter,  and  hence  we  do  not  know  what  he  might  have  said  in  reply  to 
the  statement  it  contains  concerning  him ;  but,  to  say  the  least,  that 
statement  appears  to  be  hardly  credible.  In  the  first  place  it  is  very 
unlikely  that  the  "  poor  congregation  "  of  Burlington  should  be  "all  in 
a  flame  "  because  a  visiting  clergyman  read  the  service  precisely  as  they 
were  accustomed  to  hear  it  read  by  their  own  minister.  In  the  next 
place  the  prayer  appointed  by  the  English  Church  for  use  in  time  of  war 
is  couched  in  such  terms  that  it  might  have  been  used  by  the  most 
scrupulous  Jacobite  even  during  a  war  between  Queen  Anne  and  the 
Pretender;  "  save  and  deliver  ws    .     .     .    that  t^e  may  be  preserved," 

'  Doc.  Hist,  of  N.Y.,  m.,  pp.  224-304 ;  Col.  '  Col.  Hist,  of  N.T.,  v.,  p.  401 ;  Doc.  Hist,  of 

Hist,  of  X.Y.,  v.,  pp.  310-319.  N.Y.,  ui.,  pp.  250-256. 


THE   NON-JURING  BISHOPS   IN  AMERICA.  547 

etc. ;  —  such  is  its  phraseology  ;  the  sovereign  is  not  mentioned  in  it 
at  all.  In  the  third  place  it  is  difficult  to  conceive  how  any  English- 
man, even  a  Jacobite,  and  much  more  an  Englishman  who,  as  will  pres- 
ently he  seen,  professed  to  have  been  a  Whig  from  the  beginning, 
could  have  any  scruple  at  that  time  in  using  the  supplication  in  the 
litany  which  prayed  that  the  queen  might  have  "victory  over  all  her 
enemies."  For  the  war  then  waging,  and  which  had  been  waging  ever 
since  Talbot  settled  in  Burlington,  was  the  war  of  the  Spanish  succes- 
sion, in  which  England,  Holland,  Austria,  and  the  German  Empire  were 
contending  against  France.  It  was  a  war,  not  between  Anne  and  the 
Pretender,  but  between  Europe  and  England's  hereditary  enemy.  Still 
further,  if  Hunter  had  positively  known,  or  if  he  had  thought  himself 
able  to  prove,  that  Talbot  had  been  mutilating  the  service  of  the  Church 
in  a  disloyal  way,  it  is  much  more  likely  that  a  man  of  his  violent 
temper  and  strong  anti-Jacobite  views  would  have  demanded  Talbot's 
dismissal  by  the  society  than  that  he  should  send  him  quietly  back  to 
his  cure.  It  seems  more  reasonable  to  suppose  that  the  governor,  not 
knowing  at  the  moment  whether  or  not  Talbot  had  been  concerned  in 
the  "representation,"  very  adroitly  availed  himself  of  a  story,  about 
which  he  was  careful  not  to  converse  with  Talbot  himself,  and  wrote 
of  him  to  the  secretary  in  a  way  which  made  it  easy  to  attack  or  de- 
fend him  at  a  future  time  as  subsequent  events  might  require.  It 
turned  out  that  Talbot  actually  had  signed  the  "representation,"  but 
hastily,  when  travelling,  and  without  having  read  its  contents  or  know- 
ing, as  it  seems,  that  it  contained  an  attack  upon  the  governor.'  He 
at  once  disavowed  all  responsibility  for  it,  and  was  indignant  at  the 
clergyman  by  whom  he  had  been  induced  to  sign  it  when  lie  was  "  tak- 
ing the  boat."  ^  The  governor  forthwith  took  Talljot  into  his  good 
graces.  "  j\Ir.  Talbot,"  he  Avrote  to  the  secretary  on  the  7th  of  IMay, 
"  I  have  found  to  be  a  perfect  honest  man,  and  an  indefatigable  Laborer : 
If  he  had  less  warmth  he  might  have  more  success  but  that's  the  efl'ect 
of  constitution."  ^ 

Mr.  Talbot  did  not  long  retain  the  governor's  good  opinion,  for 
his  regret  at  having  been  misled  into  signing  the  representation  of  the 
Jamaica  case  without  due  consideration  did  not  prevent  his  joining  de- 
liberately with  other  clergymen  in  a  second  memorial  concerning  the 
same  case.  The  second  memorial  was  drawn  up  in  the  month  of 
November,  1711,  and  was  signed  by  Poyer,  rector  of  Jamaica  ;  Vesey, 
rector  of  New  York ;  Bartow,  rector  of  AVestchester ;  Evans,  rector  of 
Philadelphia ;  Talbot,  of  Burlington ;  Henderson,  minister  of  Dover 
Hundred  ;  McKenzie,  of  Staten  Island,  and  Thomas,  rector  of  Hemp- 
stead . ■*  This  elaborate  document  narrates  the  Jamaica  case  in  a  manner 
which  must  have  been  exasperating  to  the  governor;  and  the  fact  that 
Talbot  was  one  of  its  signers  sufficienth'  explains  Hunter's  subsequent 
enmity  to  him. 

If  Talbot  had  no  opportunity  to  deny  the  governor's  statement 
concerning  him  in  1711,  he  was  destined  to  have  ample  occasion,  four 

'Col.  Hist,  of  N.Y.,  v.,  p.  324;  Doc.  Hist,  of  sHiHs's  Hist.,  p.  101  (no  reference). 

X.Y.,  III.,  p.  249.  •■  Doc.  Hist,  of  N.Y.,  m.,  pp.  224-233. 

=  Col.  Hist,  of  N.Y.,  v.,  p.  324. 


548  HISTORY   OF  THE   AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

years  later,  to  repel  a  virulent  attack  made  upon  him  by  the  same 
person.  On  April  9th,  1715,  Governor  Hunter,  who  had  mightily 
changed  his  former  favoral)Ie  opinion  of  him,  wrote  to  the  secretary 
as  follows  :  "  Mr.  Talbot  has  incorporated  the  Jacobites  in  the  Jerseys 
under  the  name  of  a  church,  in  order  to  sanctify  his  Sedition  and  Inso- 
lence to  the  Government.  That  stale  pretence  is  now  pretty  much 
discussed.  ...  If  the  Society  talies  not  more  care  for  the  future, 
than  has  been  taken  hitherto,  in  the  choice  of  their  missionaries, 
instead  of  estalilishing  Religion,  they'll  destroy  all  government  and 
good  manners." '  An  extract  from  this  letter  was  at  once  communi- 
cated by  the  secretary  to  Talbot,  ^  who  wrote  to  the  Bishop  of  Lon- 
don saying  :  "  I  am  sorry  I  should  be  accused  of  sedition  in  my  old 
age,  ^  after  I  iiave  travelled  more  than  anybody  to  keep  the  peace  in 
Church  and  state.  My  lord,  please  to  ask  Mr.  Secretary  Hall  and  he 
will  tell  3'ou  that  /?c«.s'  a  Williamite  from  the  heyinniwj.  ■•  Let  them 
consult  the  admiralty  office  and  they  will  find  that  /  tooh  all  the  oaths 
that  were  necessary  to  qualify  me  for  the  seiwice  which  I  have  per- 
formed faithfully  abroad  and  at  home.  As  soon  as  I  have  time  I  will 
call  the  church  together  to  answer  for  themselves  and  me  too  to  the 
illustrious  Society  for  propagating  the  Gospel.  Meanwhile,  the  Lord 
rebuke  the  evil  spirit  of  lyinf/  and  slander  that  is  gone  out  against  the 
Church."*'  Jeremiah  Bass,  warden  of  the  church  in  Burlington,  who 
was  clerk  of  the  council,  secretary  of  the  province,  and  prothonotary 
of  the  supreme  court,  also  wrote  expressing  his  amazement  at  the 
charge  of  Governor  Hunter,  which  he  declared  to  be  "  entireli/ false." 
He  protested  that  the  minister,  churchwardens,  and  vestrymen  of 
Burlington  were  "  no  Jacobites,"  and  he  affirmed  that  they  prayed 
daily  in  their  families  and  in  their  churches  for  the  king's  prosperity.  ^ 
No  less  indignant  is  the  address  of  the  churchwardens  and  vestry- 
men to  the  society. ''  They  pay  the  highest  tribute  to  Mr.  Talbot  as  a 
"pious  and  apostolic  person"  whose  exemplary  life  and  labors  "are 
the  best  recommendation  of  tlie  religion  he  professes ; "  they  affirm 
that  they  have  "never  heard  cither  in  his  public  discourses  or  his 
private  conversation  anything  that  might  encourage  sedition ; "  and 
they  dismiss  the  governor's  accusation  with  this  contemptuous  denial  : 
"  What  could  induce  this  gentleman  to  endeavor  to  fix  so  barbarous,  so 
calumnious,  so  vert/ false  and  f/roundlrss  a  scandal  is  to  us  altogether  un- 
accountable, to  which  we  think  the  shortest  answer  that  can  be  given  is 
that  of  Nehemiah  to  Sanballat,  'There  are  no  such  things  done  as  thou 
saycst,  but  tliou  feignest  them  out  of  thine  own  heart.'  "  Then  Talbot 
himself  addressed  the  society,^  thanking  them  for  the  opportunity  of 
defence  which  had  been  afforded  to  him.  In  this  letter  he  betrays 
some  of  that  wamnth  of  constitution  which  Governor  Hunter  had  ob- 
served some  years  before.  "To  ))e  an  accuser,"  he  says,  "is  bad,  to 
be  a  false  accuser  is  worse,  but  a  false  accuser  of  the  brethren  is  liter- 

•Collcctinn  of  Pi-ot.  Epis.  Hist.  Soc,  18.")!,  'Pciir's    "Hist.  Coll.  Am.  Col.  Church" 

p.  75.            -Ilji,l., )).  7'i.  (Penn.),  pp.  93, 94. 

sAt  that  time  ho  was  about  seveuty  years  "HiUs's  Hi'^t.,  p.  IW.  141. 

of  afro.  '  Col.    of    Protestant    Episcopal    Historical 

<At  the  time  of   the  Revolution  of   lfiS9  Society,  ISol,  p.  7G. 

which  brou<ilit  William    to  the  throne,  Talliot  '  jliid.,  p.  77. 
was  forty-four  years  of  age. 


THE   NON-JURING  BISHOPS   IN  AMERICA.  549 

ally  a  Devil.  I  make  no  difference,  for  T  call  God  to  witness,  I  know 
no  soul,  in  the  Church  of  Burlington,  nor  in  any  other  Church  I  have 
planted,  but  is  irell  affected  to  tlie  Protestant  Church  of  England  and 
present  Government  in  the  House  ofJIanover;  therefore  he  that  accused 
us  all  for  Jacobites  hath  the  gi'catcr  sin.  I  can  compare  it  to 
nothing  more  or  less  than  Doeg,  thoEdomite,  who  stalihcd  the  Priests' 
characters  and  then  cut  all  their  throats."  After  a  due  consideration  of 
these  documents  it  will  hardly  l)e  possil)le  to  give  credence  to  either 
of  the  accusations  of  Governor  Hunter.  Both  of  them  arc  more 
than  sufficiently  answered  by  the  rej)iies  to  the  second. 

Mr.  Tallxit  was  suffering  from  slanders  with  whicii  others  of  the 
clergy  were  equally  assailed.  In  the  following  year  accusations  were  sent 
to  the  society  charging  the  Rev.  Messrs.  Ross  and  Humphreys,  the  only 
missionaries  at  tliat  time  in  Pennsylvania,  with  disloyalty  and  with 
omitting  the  iirayers  for  the  king  appointed  in  the  prayer-book.  The 
society  at  once  made  these  charges  known  to  the  missionaries.  Mr. 
Ross  replied  giving  hearty  thanks  to  "the  Venerable  Society  for  their 
generous  and  above-board  dealing  with  their  Missionaries."  He  said 
that  ]\Ir.  Humphreys  and  himself  were  alone  in  Pennsylvania,  except 
that  Mr.  Tall)ot,  though  of  a  distinct  government,  "  resides  now  mostly 
at  Philadeli)hia"  (assisting  them,  Mr.  Humphre3's  said).^  Ross  con- 
tinued :  "  Now  as  to  our  affection  to  the  Government  of  King  George, 
our  demeanor  we  think  has  been  such  at  all  times  and  in  all  places, 
that  our  loyalty  and  love  for  King  George  cannot  be  questioned  or  com- 
jjlaincd  of.  If  it  is,  we  are  ready  to  answer  whatever  may  be  alleged 
to  the  contrary-.  Wc  have  never  presumed  to  vary  from  the  prayers 
of  the  Church  by  adding  or  ciu'tailing  in  one  jot  or  tittle  ;  and  if  any 
complaints  are  made,  they  are  false  and  groundless."^  While  these 
charges  were  pending,  the  society  re- 

(juested  Col.  Ciookin.   Ijieut. -Governor  ^ — .       ^ 

of  Pennsylvania,  to  give  information  of     /^J^^    -    />ilr^v>> 
any  disloyalty  on  the  part  of  mission-    yj^^oQ  •     C/ffiZ/xCrC^ 
aries,  and  at  the  same  time  to  give  a  J j^^ 

copy  of  anv  such  accusation  to  the  ac-  /^  '  jb 

cused  party. 3    Col.Gookiuiu  reply  for-  h Oty^/ort/tM 

wai'detl  a  charge  that  Talbot  was  disaf-  ^ 

fected   and   had    refused   the  oaths  of 

allegiance,  though  it  is  to  be  observed  that  he  preferred  no  charge 
against  him  of  nuitilating  or  omitting  any  of  the  prayers  of  the  Church. 
The  secretary,  in  August,  1717,  forwarded  a  copy  of  Col.  Gookin's 
charges  to  Talbot,  requiring  of  him  an  immediate  reply,  and  demanding 
that,  if  he  had  not  already  taken  the  oaths  of  allegiance,  he  should 
forthwith  transmit  to  the  society  an  authentic  certificate  of  having  so 
done.''  Talbot's  reply  is  not  known,  but  it  requires  little  ingenuity  to 
conceive  that  it  would  be  in  the  form  of  an  authentic  certificate  that  lie 
had  taken  the  required  oaths  at  his  proper  domicile  in  the  province  of 
New  Jersey,  when  the  law  required  him  to  do  so  on  the  accession  of 
King  George,  three  years  before.     If  he  had  not  taken  them  at  that 

'  Perry's   "  Hist.   CoU.   Am.  Col.   Church  "  -  UmL,  pp.  103,  103. 

(Penn.),  p.  103.  » Ibid.,  p.  104.        <  Ihid.,  p.  112. 


550  HISTORY    OF   THE   AMEUICAN   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

time  the  fact  would  have  been  ofEcially  reported  to  his  enemj-,  Govern- 
or Hunter,  wlio  would  certainly  have  alleged  so  conclusive  a  proof  of 
disloyalty  in  his  attack  on  Talbot  in  1715.  There  was  no  reason  why 
Talbot  should  not  take  the  oaths  when  lawfully  required,  since  he  called 
God  to  witness  that  he  was  well  affected  to  the  House  of  Hanover. 
And  there  is  direct  evidence  that  he  did  take  the  oaths  ;  for  the  letter 
of  Secretary  Bass,  already  quoted,  contains  a  sentence  which  amounts 
to  a  declaration  that  Talbot,  whom  he  was  defending,  was  well  known 
to  have  taken  them.  "  God  grant,"  he  says  in  that  letter,  "  that  he 
(the  king)  had  none  worse  inclined  amongst  his  (Gov.  Hunter's)  most 
intimate  friends,  one  of  w'^''  to  my  knowledge  //as  refused  the  oath 
when  tendered."^  If  Talbot  himself  had  refused  the  oath,  it  is  very 
certain  that  Secretary  Bass  would  not  have  alluded  to  such  a  refusal  as 
evidence  of  disloyalty.  The  truth  seems  to  be  that  Talbot,  having 
promptly  taken  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  King  George  when  it  was 
lawfully  required  at  the  time  of  his  accession  to  the  throne  in  1714,  had 
very  properly  declined  to  submit  to  the  imputation  of  disloyalty  which 
was  implied  in  its  being  tendered  to  him  a  second  time  three  years  after- 
wards, when  the  law  did  not  require  it,  and  when  he  was  temporarily  resi- 
dent in  another  province.  At  all  events,  his  answer  to  Col.  Gookin's 
charge  must  have  been  entirely  satisfactory  to  the  society,  since  nothing 
more  seems  to  have  been  said  on  the  subject.  Even  in  Pennsylvania  he 
was  not  injured  by  Col.  Gookin's  accusation  ;  for,  within  a  fewmonths,  we 
find  that  he  was  one  of  the  clergymen  nominated  by  Governor  Sir  Will  iam 
Keith  to  supply  Christ  Church,  Philadelphia,  which  was  then  vacant. - 
Talbot's  excellent  standing  in  the  estimation  of  the  society  and  of 
his  bishop  was  signally  proved  a  few  years  later.  In  the  latter  part  of 
1720,  being  then  seventy-five  years  of  age,  he  went  to  England  and  ap- 
plied for  the  interest  on  "Archbishop  Tenison's  legacy  "  of  £1,000,  which 
that  prolate  hud  bequeathed  towards  the  settlement  of  bishops  in  Ameri- 
ca, and,  till  such  time  as  bishops  should  be  lawfully  appointed,  to  the 
maintenance  of  deserving  missionaries  of  the  province  of  Canterbury.  In 
April,  1721,  the  interest  which  had  already  accrued  on  this  legacy,  and, 
at  a  later  date,  the  income  derived  therefrom,  were  directed  by  an  order 
in  chancery  to  be  paid  to  Mr.  Talbot  on  account  cf  his  long  service  as  a 
missionary  of  the  societ}',  the  true  pains  he  had  exhibited  in  his  holy 
function,  his  zeal,  his  exemplary  life  and  conversation,  and  his  great 
service  to  the  Church.'  Testimonials  to  this  effect  must,  of  course, 
have  been  presented  by  the  Bishop  of  London  and  by  the  society 
l)efore  such  an  order  could  have  been  issued.  TaI))ot  remained  in 
England  nearly  or  quite  two  yeai-s,  and  it  is  during  this  time,  when 
he  was  seventy-six  or  seventy-seven  years  old,  that  he  is  said  to  have 
received  consecration  from  the  non-jurors.  Indeed,  it  is  the  only 
lime  at  which  he  could  possibly  have  received  such  consecration.  It 
is  not  denied  that  a  person  surnamed  Talljot  (Christian  name  unknown) 
was  consecrated  in  1723  or  1724,  that  is,  a  year  or  two  3'ears  after 
Talbot's  return  to  America ;  but  even  supposing  that  the  consecration 
of  that  person  had  taken  place  in  1721  or  1722,  it  would  require  the 

'  Hills's  Hi^t.,  p.  141.  =Cf)l.  of  Prot.  Ep.   Hist.  Soc.   (ISol),  pp. 

'Dorr's  "  Hist. of  Chvist  Church,"  pp.  44,  4.').    70,  SO. 


THE  NON-JURING   BISHOPS   IN   AMERICA.  551 

strongest  evidence  to  identify  Lira  with  John  Talbot  of  Burlington, 
an  original  AVilliamitc  and  Ilanovci'ian,  at  the  very  time  when  he  was 
seeking  and  obtaining  from  the  Hanoverian  government,  tlirough  the 
Bishop  of  London  and  the  S.P.G.,  a  sum  of  money  in  lump  and  a 
pension  for  life  besides.  Independently  of  the  duplicity  towards 
the  government,  the  bishop,  and  the  society  which  such  a  proceeding 
would  iiavo  involved,  it  is  obvious  that  the  instinct  of  self-interest 
alone  would  guard  a  man  so  old  as  Talbot  was  from  a  course  which 
was  not  only  contrary  to  his  principles,  but  likely  to  involve  him  in 
very  serious  difficulties. 

Towards  the  end  of  1722 '  Talbot  returned  to  Burlington  full  of 
zeal  for  his  work,  and  evidently  happy  in  it.  His  letters  to  the  secre- 
tary (at  that  time)  are  bright  and  chatty,  showing  his  cheerful  assur- 
ance of  his  good  standing  with  his  correspondent.  ^  Incidentally,  too, 
he  furnishes  evidence  that  he  had  no  apprehension  of  trouble  from 
colonial  authorities.  Governor  Burnet,  son  of  the  famous  bishop  of 
that  name,  and  equally  pronounced  in  his  Whig  principles,  spent  some 
three  months  in  Burlington  while  Talbot  was  temporarily  absent  in 
Philadelphia.  "  Mr.  Burnet,"  he  writes,  "  has  been  here  this  quarter 
almost,  &  he  says  'tis  more  pleasant  than  Salisbury  in  England." 
Thus  far  there  was  no  sign  of  the  storm  which  was  soon  to  break  upon 
the  old  man's  head. 

But  the  storm  was  about  to  break,  nevertheless,  and  it  was 
brought  about  very  simply,  as  will  appear  on  a  critical  examination  of 
the  facts.  No  such  examination  has  heretofore  been  satisfactorily 
made.  After  the  death  of  the  Eev.  Mr.  Vicary,  Christ  Church,  Phila- 
delphia, was  filled  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Urmston,  a  clergyman  whose  char- 
acter had  apparently  been  disreputable  in  North  Carolina  and  else- 
where. His  conduct  in  Philadelphia  was  described  by  a  member  of 
the  vestry  as  "  not  proper  to  be  mentioned  or  allowed  in  any  sober 
society."^  He  had  no  license  from  the  Bishop  of  London  except  his 
former  license  for  Carolina,  and  no  testimonials  from  that  province  ; '' 
and  on  account  of  his  scandalous  behavior  the  vestry  dismissed  him,  as 
thej'  had  a  perfect  right  to  do.  He  was  not  easily  got  rid  of.  Though 
the  vestiy  refused  to  support  him,  they  were  obliged  at  last  to  pay 
him  to  go  away.  ^  He  removec^  to  Maryland,  ^  where  he  was  drunk 
at  a  convocation  of  the  clergy,^  and  was  deprived  for  ill  conduct  by 
the  Bishop  of  London's  commissary.  He  was  at  length  accidentally 
burnt  to  death  in  1731,  while  in  a  state  of  intoxication.^  Such  was  the 
man  whose  enmity  wrought  the  crowning  sorrow  of  Talbot's  days. 

When  the  vestry  of  Philadelphia  had  dismissed  Urmston,  a  con- 
vocation of  the  clergy  was  held  at  Chichester,  Pennsylvania,  in  October, 
1723,^  at  which  the  missionaries  present  appointed  a  deputation  to  the 
vestry  of  Philadelphia  to  express  their  readiness  to  concur  in  the  dis- 
missal of  Urmston  if  the  matter  should  be  properly  brought  before 
them.     Talbot  was  one  of  the  deputation,  and  his  name  appears  at  the 

1  Col.  of  Pi-ot.  Ep.  Hist.  Soc.  (1851),  p.  80.  « Ihid.  (Md.),  p.  296. 

'PenT's   "Ilist.   Coll.  Am.   Col.  Church"  n /AjV/.  (Pcun.),  p.  133. 

(Penn.),  pp.  133,  134;  Collections  of  Prot.  Ep.  "Ihid.  (IMcl.),  p.  296. 

Hist.  Soc.  (1851),  pp.  180-84.  '  I/,i,l.  p.  296. 

'Peny's  "Hist.  Coll.  Am.  Col.  Church"  »/Wf/.,  p.  302. 

(Penn.),  p.  141.  "Ibid.  (Penn.),  p.  141. 


552  HISTORY  OF   THE   AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

bead  of  the  list  of  signers  of  the  memorandum  of  the  convocation  con- 
cerning Urmston.  The  vestry  were  much  gratified,  and  requested  the 
clergymen  who  had  thus  sustained  them  to  supply  the  church  until  a 
settled  missionary  should  arrive.'  Shortly  afterwards  Talliot  was 
taken  ill  while  performing  services  at  Burlington  ;  and,  for  a  time,  his 
"head-quarters"  were  in  Philadcl[)hia.^  While  regaining  his  health  he 
supplied  the  vacancy  in  Christ  Church.  Urmston's  wrath  was  bound- 
less. He  declared  that  Talbot  had  "caused  him  to  be  turned  out  of 
Philadelphia  to  make  room  for  himself."  His  "ravings,"  as  Dr.  Hills 
rightly  calls  thcm,^  betray  the  most  malignant  spirit  of  revenge.  The 
previous  charges  against  Talbot  by  Governors  Hunter  and  Gookin 
readily  suggested  the  one  point  of  attack  against  a  man  whose  general 
life  and  conversation  had  extorted  commendation  even  from  his  ene- 
mies. The  old  charges  of  disloyalty,  of  refusing  oaths  of  allegiance, 
and  of  omitting  or  garbling  prayers,  were  revived  and  renewed. 
Urmston  wrote  repeatedly  to  Dr.  Bray,  of  London,  representing 
himself  as  a  loyalist  persecuted  by  a  malicious  and  unscrupulous 
Jacobite.  It  seems  to  be  probaljle  that  he  wrote  in  a  similar  strain  to 
Governor  Burnet,  and  that  Burnet  then  very  naturally  explained  Tal- 
bot's absence  from  Burlington  during  the  governor's  three-months'  visit 
to  that  place,  and  on  other  occasions,  by  supposing  that  the  disloyal 
missionary  was  anxious  to  avoid  him.  To  these  stories,  however, 
Urmston  added  a  new  feature  in  June,  1724.  "  Some  of  his  (Tall)ot's) 
confidants,"  he  wrote,  "  have  discovered  that  he  is  in  "  ■*  orders, 

as  many  more  rebels  are.  I  have  heard  of  no  ordinations  he  has  made 
as  yet ;  but  doubtless  he'll  persuade  all  the  clergy  who  are  his  creatures 
to  be  ordained  liy  him."  A  month  later  Urmston's  drunken  malignity 
quickened  his  invention,  and  his  accusations  became  more  specific  and 
circumstantial.  Referi-ing  to  the  convocation  of  clergy  which  had 
sustained  his  dismissal  from  Christ  Church  ten  months  before,  he  said 
that  Talbot  "convened  all  the  clergy  to  meet,  put  on  his  robes,  and 
demanded  episcopal  obedience  from  them ;  one  wiser  than  the  rest 
refused,  acquainted  the  Governor  with  the  ill  consequences  thereof, 
the  danger  he  would  I'un  of  losing  his  Government,  whereupon  the 
Governor  ordered  the  Church  to  be  shut  up."  This  absurd  statement  is 
sufficiently  contradicted  by  a  letter  of  iSir  William  Keith,  the  governor, 
dated  July  24,  1724.  "  It  is  confidently  reported  here,"  he  says,  "that 
some  of  these  non-juring  Clergymen  pretend  to  the  authority  and  ofiice 
of  bishops  in  the  Church  which,  however,  they  do  not  own."  '  It  would 
have  been  impossil)le  for  Sir  William  to  write  in  these  terms  if  a  formal 
accusation  had  Ijcen  laid  licfore  him  by  a  clergyman  and  an  eye-witness 
that  Talbot  had  both  declared  himself  to  be  a  bishop,  and  had  demanded 
canonical  obedience  from  the  other  clergy ;  therefore  this  letter  of  the 
governor  is  a  peremptory  denial  of  Urmston's  foolish  story.     The  Rev. 

•  Don's  "  nist.  of  Chi-ist  Church,  Philadel-  these  extracts  by  "  commancl "  of  the  bishop,  and 

phia,"  pp.  61,  52.  without  a  word  of  iudorsement  of  their  con- 

'  Peny's   "  Ilist.   Coll.  Am.  Col.   Church"  XcnU.  — Perry's    Jlist.   Coll.  Am.   Col.    Church 

(Penn.),  p.  133.  (J/<?.),  pp.  236-238;  (/"ran.)  142,  143.    Col.  of 

"  Urmstou's  extant  letters  are  dated  June  Prot.  Fp.  Hut.lSoc.  (1851),  p.  89. 
ult.,  1724,  and  .Tuly  29,  1724,  but  he  had  written  '  A  blank  occura  here  in  the  manuscript, 

others  previously.     Evtracts  from  his  letters  were  'Perry's    "Hist.   Coll.  Am.   Col.  Church 

forwarded  to  the    Bishop  of  London    by   ilr.  (Penn.),  p.  138. 
Stiibbs,  in  April,  1725.  Mr.  Stubbs  communicated 


THE  NON-JUKING   BISHOPS   IN   AMERICA.  553 

INIr.  Henderson,  however,  writing  from  Maryland,  and  evidently  on 
the  credit  of  Urmston  who  had  gone  to  Maryland  after  his  dismissal 
from  Philadelphia,  writes,  in  August,  1724,'  that  "Mr.  Talbot,  minister 
of  Burlington,  returned  from  England  a1)out  two  years  ago  in  Ejiis- 
copal  orders,  though  his  orders  till  now  of  late"  (i.e.  till  the  time  of 
Urmston's  removal  to  Maryland)  "  have  been  kept  a  great  secret."^  In 
the  same  month  Governor  Burnet  wrote  that  Talbot  had  "  had  the  folly 
to  confess  to  some  that  have  published  it  that  he  is  a  Bishop.'"-'  Hen- 
derson and  Burnet  were  evidently  repeating  Urmston's  slander,  so  that 
Urmston  alone  is  absolutely  the  only  contemporary  witness  to  prove 
that  Talbot  ever  pretended  to  be,  or  ever  admitted  that  he  was,  a  bishop 
by  non-juror  consecration.  Even  Urmston  did  not  pretend  to  be  an 
original  witness,  and  the  only  circumstance  alleged  by  him  in  support 
of  his  malignant  calumnj^  is  clearly  dispi-ovcd  by  the  evidence  of 
Governor  Keith,  whom  Urmston  declared  to  have  been  a  principal 
party  to  the  alleged  transaction.  A  flimsier  or  more  disreputable  sup- 
port for  a  malicious  slander  against  a  venerable  man  it  would  be  difficult 
to  conceive. 

Unfortunately  for  Talbot,  the  true  character  of  Urmston  was  not 
yet  known  to  any  of  his  correspondents.  Unfortunately,  too,  the 
Bishop  of  London,  under  whose  patronage  Talbot  had  received  the 
Tenison  legacy,  was  dead.  Still  more  unfoi'tunately,  the  members 
of  the  board  of  managers  of  the  S.P.G.  were  new  men,  unac- 
quainted with  his  jirevious  history,  and  ignorant  of  his  previous  vindi- 
cation fiom  false  charges  of  disloyalty.  *  It  was  the  old  story  ampli- 
fied :  "Another  king  arose  which  knew  not  Joseph."  The  allegations 
against  Talbot  went  to  the  new  bishop,  and  from  the  new  bishop  to 
the  new  board,  Avith  all  the  startling  freshness  of  novelty.  The  hear- 
say e\'idence  of  Burnet  and  Henderson,  M'hich  was  really  based  upon 
Urmston's  slanders,  seemed  to  Ijc  confii'med  by  Urmston  himself  as 
an  independent  and  competent  witness  ;  and  Urmston's  representation 
that  he  was  the  victim  of  a  Jacobite  intrigue  was  apparently  sustained 
by  the  authenticated  fact  that  Weltou  had  succeeded  him,  and  was 
actually  officiating  as  minister  of  Christ  Church,  Philadelphia.  The 
society  acted  somewhat  hastilj'.  To  (he  charge  of  Talbot's  non- 
juror consecration  it  paid  no  attention,  the  members  of  the  board 
probably  considering  the  notion  that  a  man  of  nearly  eighty  should 
seek  or  obtain  Episcopal  consecration  too  idle  to  be  seriously  enter- 
tained;  but,  on  October  16,  1724,  they  recorded  the  following  order: 
"The  Society  being  informed  that  their  Missionary  at  Burlington,  in 
New  Jersey,  would  never  take  the  oaths  to  the  king,  and  never  prays 
for  him  by  name  in  the  Liturg}^  —  Ordered,  that  the  Secretary  acquaint 
him  that  the  Society  have  received  the  said  information  from  a  person 
of  very  good  credit,  and  therefore  have  suspended  i)ayment  of  his 
salarj'  till  he  can  clear  himself  of  these  facts  laid  to  his  charge."  At 
the  same  session  the  board  took  steps  to  prevent  any  further  payment 

'  PeriT's  "  IILst.  Coll.  Am.  Col.  Church  "  then  existing  board,  dated  Dec.  18,  1724,  stating 

(Md.),p.  543.  that  tlie  charpres  then  made  were  "  the  first  in- 

^  Thid.  timation  they  received  of  Mr.  Talbot's  disaffec- 

"  Hills 's  Hist,,  p.  188.  tion  to  the  Government." 
'  This  is  evident  from  a  memorandum  of  the 


554 


HISTORY   OF  THE  AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 


to  Talbot  of  tlie  interest  on  the  Tenison  legacy. '  This  action  of  the 
vencral)le  society  may  be  justified  on  the  ground  that  if  Talljot  were 
really  guilty  of  the  charges  against  him,  ho  was  not  entitled  to  receive 
a  salary  from  the  society  he  had  I)ecn  deceiving,  and  had  no  claim 
whatever  to  the  Tenison  legacy ;  but,  to  say  the  least,  the  course 
pursued  contrasts  unfavorably  with  the  "generous  and  above-board 
dealing  with  their  missionaries"  which  had  characterized  the  previous 
administration  at  a  much  more  critical  time.  Then  the  secretary  pre- 
sumed the  innocence  of  their  missionaries  in  the  face  of  very  influen- 
tial representations  made  against  them.  On  this  occasion  the  board 
presumed  that  Talbot  was  guilty.  They  proceeded  on  the  presumption 
of  his  guilt,  and,  in  the  matter  of  the  Tenison  legacy,  they  took  steps 
which  implied  an  entire  prejudgment  of  his  case. 

It  docs  not  appear  that  Talbot  had  ever  heard  of  the  communica- 
tion of  Urmston's  slanders  to  the  Bishop  of  London.  Indeed,  it  is 
very  doubtful  whether  he  ever  heard  of  them  at  all,  for  they  were 
propagated  from  Maryland  and  New  York,  not  from  Burlington  or  Phila- 
delphia. In  March,  1725,  ho  was  going  on  bravely  and  cheerily  with 
his  work,  ^  reading  daily  morning  and  evening  prayer  in  his  church  ; 
making  a  deed  of  gift  of  land  for  its  support ;  bequeathing  his  library 
to  his  parish ;  providing  a  parsonage  and  glebe  for  his  successors, 
"  they  conforraiug  to  and  complying  with  the  rubrics  and  canons  of 
the  Church  of  England,"  and  reading  the  "Book  of  Common  Prayer" 
"as  by  law  established,"  —  when  he  received  the  official  letter  of  the 


•As  the  final  action  of  the  S.P.G.  in  the 
case  of  Talbot  has  not,  so  far  as  the  writer  knows, 
been  published  in  any  previous  work,  it  is  here 
subjoined,  a  certified  copy  from  the  minutes  of 
the  board  having  been  kindly  furnished  for  this 
work  by  the  Rev.  Henry  W.  Tucker,  secretary 
of  the  venerable  society. 

"16  October,  1724:"  — "9.  Tlie  Society  be- 
ing informed  that  Mr.  Talbot  their  Jlissionaiy  at 
Burlington,  in  New  Jersey,  would  never  take  the 
oaths  to  the  king  and  never  prays  for  him  by 
name  in  the  Liturgy :  Ordered  that  the  Secie- 
taiy  acquaint  him  that  the  Society  have  received 
the  said  information  from  a  Person  of  very  good 
credit,  and  tUcieforo  have  suspended  any  farther 
payment  of  his  salary  till  he  can  clear  himself 
from  the  facts  laid  to  his  charge. 

"  10.  Ordered  that  the  Secretary  wait  on  Mr. 
Bennett  the  Master  in  Chanceiy  to  ivuow  how 
far  tlie  said  Mr.  Talbot  has  received  the  interest 
of  tlie  £1000  left  by  the  late  Archbishop  Teni- 
son for  the  Estalilishmcnt  of  Bishops  in  America, 
and  to  desire  him  to  put  a  stop  to  any  future  pay- 
ment of  the  same. "     [.Journal  5,  page  9.] 

"  20  Nov.,  1724.'"  "  The  Secrctaiy  ac- 
quainted the  Board  ...  he  finds  that  Mr.  Tal- 
bot has  received  the  interest  of  the  £1000  .  .  . 
to  Midsummer  last,  and  that  Mr.  Bennett  has 
promised  that  no  further  payment  shall  be  made 
to  him.  ..."     [.lournal  5,  page  12.] 

"  18  Dec,  1724."  "  6.  Upon  reading  the 
Minute  of  the  Society  at  last  Meeting  relating 
to  Mr.  Talbot,  and  a  letter  without  name  to  Dr. 
Bray  dated  Cecil  County  in  Maryland  29  July 
1724  sent  to  the  Board  l>v  the  Lord  Bishop  of 
London  complaining  of  Mr.  Tali)0t*3  disatfcc- 
tion  to  the  present  Government,  etc,,  and  the 
board  being  informed  that  Dr.  Welton  is  arrived 
at  Philadelphia,  in  Pcnnsilvania :  Ordered  tliat 
letters  be  wrote  to  the  Goveruoi-s  of  New  York 


and  Pcnnsilvania  acquainting  them  with  the 
accounts  the  Society  have  received  of  the  lie- 
haviour  of  Mr.  Talbot  and  Dr.  Welton  and  par- 
ticularly acquainting  tiovernor  Burnet  that  the 
Society  have,  upon  the  first  information  they  re- 
ceivecf  of  Mr.  Talbot's  disaffection  to  the  Gov- 
ernment, suspended  tlie  payment  of  his  salary 
from  this  Board  and  stopt  the  furllicr  payment  of 
the  Interest  of  the  late  Archbishop  Tenison's 
Thousand  Pound  bequeathed  for  settling  Bishops 
in  America."     [-Jourual  5,  page  19.] 

"17  Sep.,  Ii25."  "6.  The  Secret.ary  laid  be- 
fore the  Board  a  letter  from  Mr.  Edwards  inti- 
mating what's  necessary  to  be  done  to  discharge 
the  order  in  chancery  for  the  payment  of  the  In- 
terest of  the  late  Archbishop  T'enison's  legacy  to 
Mr.  Talbot ;  Agreed  l)y  the  Society  tliat  they  .are 
of  opinion  that  it  is  not  proper  any  more  interest 
sliould  be  paid  to  Mr.  Talbot,  anci  that  Mr.  Ed- 
wards be  desireil  to  proceed  in  tlic  proper  man- 
ner in  the  Court  of  Chancery  for  discharging 
said  order."     [Journal  5,  page  57.] 

"  15  Oct.,  1725."  "  2.  A  letter  from  Mr. 
Talbot  dated  Burlington  8  July  1725  was  read 
praying  tliat  he  may  be  paid  his  salary  to  Lady 
Day  last  for  wliicli  iie  hath  drawn  a  Bill  payable 
to  Mr.  Thomas  Tovey :  Agreed  that  this  matter 
be  suspended  till  the  Society  can  be  informed 
where  his  residence  has  been  and  how  he  has 
performed  Divine  Service  since  Lady  Day  1721 
and  that  Mr.  Tovey  to  whom  his  bills  are  pay- 
able be  acquainted  that  the  Society  expect  be- 
fore anj"  money  be  paid  to  Mr.  Talbot  he  should 
transmit  proper  certificates  of  such  his  residence 
and  performance  of  Divine  Service."  [Jom'nal 
0,  pacre  58.] 

2"PcnVs  "Hist.  CoU.  Am.  Col.  Church" 
(Penn.),  pp.  133,  134;  Col.  of  Prot.  Ep.  Hist. 
Soc.  (1851),pp.  80-S4. 


THE  NON-JURING  BlSUOrS   IN  AMERICA.  655 

secretary  advising  him  of  his  virtual  dismissal  by  the  society  in  whose 
service  he  had  spent  nearly  quarter  of  a  century,  equalled  by  few  and 
excelled  by  none  in  the  abundance  of  his  labors  and  the  exemplary 
piety  of  his  holy  life.  Shortly  afterwards  his  draft  for  the  amount  of 
his  salary  was  returned  protested.  The  action  of  the  society  having 
been  taken  on  the  complaint  of  the  Bishop  of  London,  Talbot  wrote 
to  the  bishop  a  manly,  but  sorrowfully  touching,  leiter  of  protest. ' 
"  I  understand,"  he  said,  "  from  some  friends  in  England  that  I  have 
been  discharged  the  Society  for  Exercising  Acts  of  Jurisdiction  over 
my  brethren,  the  Missionaries,  etc.  This  is  very  strange  to  me,  for 
I  knew  nolhing  about  it,  nor  anijhody  elue  in  all  the  icorld.  I  could 
disprove  it  hij  1000  ivitnesftes.  ...  As  your  lordship  has  done  me 
the  wrong,  so  I  hope  you  will  do  mc  the  right,  upon  better  informa- 
tion, to  let  me  be  in  statu  quo,  —  for  indeed  I  have  suffered  great  wrong 
for  no  offence  or  fault  that  I  hnoiv  of.  A  long,  long  penance  have  I 
done  for  crimes,  alas/  to  me  unkmnvn,  but  God  has  been  with 
me,  and  made  all  things  work  together  for  my  good ;  meanwhile  I 
hope  your  lordship  will  hear  the  right,  and  do  nothing  rashly,  but 
upon  your  authority,  for  the  editication  and  not  for  the  destruction  of 
this  poor  Church." 

Tall)ot's  affecting  remonstrances  were  of  no  avail ;  thej'  seem  to 
have  rocei\ed  no  reply,  and  without  the  favorable  judgment  of  the 
bishop  he  knew  it  would  be  useless  to  remonstrate  with  the  society. 
If  he  had  really  been  a  secret  non-juror  and  a  bishop  he  might  have 
been  expected  to  declare  himself  now  at  last  when  he  had  nothing  more 
to  hope  either  from  the  Church  or  from  the  government.  He  did  no 
such  thing.  Ho  rested  meekly  from  his  labors.  He  did  not  strive 
nor  cry.  Deeply  as  he  felt  his  wrongs,  he  made  no  complaint,  and  he 
never  dreamed  of  making  a  schism.  He  behaved,  we  are  told,  "very 
modestly,  avoided  talking  very  much,  resolved  to  submit  to  the  ordei's 
sent  from  England,"  an<l  would  not  "set  up  separate  meetings."^  A 
touching  petition  in  his  favor  was  sent  from  Philadelphia,  New  Bristol, 
and  Burlington,  signed  by  all  the  wardens  and  vestrymen,^  in  which 
they  affirmed  that  they  were  not  privy  to  the  conduct  by  which  he  had 
become  "  disagreeable  to  his  superiors."  The  Bishop  of  London's  own 
commissary  when  he  arrived  could  not  resist  the  general  impor- 
tunity, but  likewise  wrote  in  Talbot's  behalf,  as  a  man  "  universally  lie- 
loved  even  by  the  dissenters."*  It  was  all  in  vain;  and  in  less  than 
two  years  from  the  time  of  his  dismissal  the  "  American  Weekly 
Mirror,"  for  Nov.  23-30,  1727,  contained  the  following  notice  :  "Phil- 
adelphia, Novemljcr  30th,  1727.  Yesterday,  died  at  "Burlington,  the 
Reverend  Mr.  John  Talbot,  formerly  minister  of  that  place,  who  was 
a  pious,  good  man,  and  much  lamented."  ^  By  reason  of  great  strength 
Talbot  had  come  to  fourscore  and  two  years  before  he  "  fell  on  sleep." 

The  whole  of  the  contemporary  evidence  that  has  ever  been  pre- 
sented to  prove  that  John  Talbot  asserted  or  confessed  that  he  had 
been  consecrated  by  the  non-jurors  has  now  been  considered ;  and  it 
must  certainly  be  admitted  that  the  evidence  does  not  sustain  the  as- 

■Col.  of  Prot.  Ep.  Hi5t.  Soc.  (1851),  pp.  83,  »  /j;^    p_  gs,  ^  yj^        97 

»i.  ^/j;y.,p.  97.  « niiisViiist.,  p.  211.        ^ 


556 


HISTORY   OF  THE  AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 


sertion.  Tall)ot's  consecration  is  not  proved,  but  is  emphatically  denied 
out  of  his  own  mouth.  Evidence  of  the  fact,  if  fact  it  was,  must  be 
sought  for  elsewhere ;  and  the  justice  of  history  must  demand  that 
evidence  to  prove  that  John  Talbot's  last  years  were  j'cars  of  habitual 
prevarication  and  duplicity,  and  that  his  last  sorrowful  letter  to  his 
bishop  was  a  masterpiece  of  disingenuous  paltering  in  a  double  sense, 
shall  be  indisputable  in  its  authority  and  unequivocal  in  its  declarations. 
No  such  evidence  has  been  produced. 

Dr.  Hills's  statement'  is  inexact.  The  only  authorities  cited  by  him, 
cither  in  the  text  or  in  the  foot-note  of  the  single  page  devoted  to  tliis 
part  of  the  evidence  of  John  Talbot's  consecration,  are  "  Percival  on  the 
Apostolical  Succession  " ^  and  Latlibury 's  "  History  of  the  Non- Jui'ors." ^ 
On  the  credit  of  these  wi'iters  Dr.  Hills  says  :  "  Taylor,  singly,  conse- 
crated Dr.  Robert  Welton  —  who  had  been  deprived  of  the  rectorship 
of  Whitcchapel,  London,  for  his  adhesion  to  the  Non-Jurors  "*  —  and 
Ralpli  Taylor  AuA Robert  Welton  together,  consecrated  JoiiN  Talbot."* 
A  glance  at  the  works  of  Percival  and  Lathbury  suffices  to  show  that 
they  do  not  say  so.  The  Christian  name  Joim  does  not  appear  in 
either  of  them.     PercivaFs  table  of  non-juror  consecrations  reads:  — 


NAME  OF  BISHOP. 


George  Hickes,  ob.  Dec.  15,  1715.        \ 
Thomas  WagstafEe,  ob.  Oct.  17,  1712.  / 


ob.  May  2G,  1726.  ") 
b.  Sept.  22,  1722.  \ 
2S,  ob.  July  28,  1727.  J 


Jeremiah  Collier,  ob.  May  2G,  172G. 
Samuel  Hawes,  ob. 
Nathaniel  Spinckes, 


Henry  Gandy,  ob.  Feb.  26,  1733.  I 

Thomas  Brett,  ob.  March  5,  17-13-4.     J 


Hilkiah  Bedford,  ob.  Nov.  25,  1724.      I 
Ralph  Taylor,  ob.  Dec,  26,  1722.  J 


Robert  Welton, 

Talbot, 


Dale  of  Consecration. 


February  24,  1693 


June  3,  1713. 


June  26,  1716. 


April  6,  1721. 
March  22,  1720. 


1723-4. 
1723-4. 


Naraee  of  Consecrators. 


'Vhomas  Peterborough. 
William  Norwich. 
Francis  Ely. 

{Georije  Hickes,  1. 
.Vrcliibald  Campbell. 
James  Gadderar. 

f  Jeremiah  Collier,  3. 
Samuel  Hawes,  4. 
Nathaniel  Spinckes,  5. 
.Archibald  C'amplicll. 
James  Gadderar. 

{Samuel  Hawes,  4. 
Nathaniel  Spinckes,  5. 
Henry  GanJy,  6. 

Ralph  Taylor,  9. 

f  Ralph  Taylor. 
\  Robert  Welton. 


It  will  be  readily  seen  that  " Talbot "  cannot  be  read  John 

Talbot.     It  means  a  person  surnamed  Talbot,  but  of  whose  christian 
name  there  is  no  record.     Lathl)ury  speaks  of  the  person  consecrated 

simply  as  "  Talbot."     To  suggest  the  identity  of  Percival's  " 

Talbot"  and  Lathbury's  "Talbot"  with  John  Talbot  of  Burlington, 


1  Hist.,  p.  168. 

"  Am.  cil.,  pp.  132-134. 

«  Ibid.,  p.  364. 


*  EiTor.  M^clton  joined  the  non-jurors 
after  lie  was  deprived. 

■■'  HilU's  Ilist.,  p.  168.  The  quotation  is  typo- 
graphically iis  Dr.  IliUs  prints  it. 


THE  NON-JUKING  BISHOPS  IN  AMERICA.  557 

there  is  absolutely  nothing  except  that  Percival  says  that "  Welton  and 
Talbot  both  went  to  the  colonies  in  North  America  .  .  .  and  ex- 
ercised the  episcopal  functions  ;  "  while  Lathbury  says  that  "  Taijlor 
and  Welton  •  .  .  both  exercised  the  episcopal  functions  in  the 
American  colonies."  Beyond  these  contradictory  statements  there  is 
no  evidence  whatever  that  any  of  the  three  "  exercised  episcopal  func- 
tions "  in  America.  But  the  authority  of  historians  who  write  a  hun- 
dred and  twenty  years  after  an  event,  depends,  of  course,  on  the  value 
of  their  sources  of  information  ;  and  Percival  is  careful  to  distinguish 
his  "memoranda  of  the  ecclesiastical  history  of  the  Non-Jurors"  from 
the  authentic  history  contained  in  the  rest  of  his  valualjle  work.  His 
memoranda,  he  says,  "are  drawn  partly  from  some  curious  printed 
documents  in  my  own  possession,  and  partly  from  information  furnished 
by"  two  clergymen  who  were  still  living  in  1839  I  Such  memoranda 
are  exceedingly  valuable,  but  they  are  not  conclusive  ;  and  it  is  not  to  be 
wondered  that  the  documents  and  the  information  fail  to  agree,  as  Per- 
cival's  notes  show  ;  nor  is  it  surprising  that  the  consecrations  of  "Wel- 
ton and  " Talbot "  should  be  said  in  the  table  to  have  taken  place 

in  1723-4,  while  the  sole  consecrator  of  Welton  is  said  in  the  pre- 
vious line  to  have  died  in  1722.    Which  of  these  dates  is  erroneous  is 

not  of   supreme  importance   in   this    connection.     If  " Talbot " 

was  consecrated  in  1723-4,  it  was  a  physical  impossibility  that  he 
should  have  been  John  Talbot  of  Burlington,  who  was  then  in  Amer- 
ica.    But,  admitting  that  Ralph  Ta3dor  died  in  1722,  and  that  " 

Talbot"  was  consecrated  in  1721  or  1722,  it  would  still  bo  impossible, 
in  the  absence  of  all  evidence,  and  at  the  cost  of  denying  the  sincerity 

and  veracity  of  a  saintly  man,  to  affirm  that  " Talbot"  was  John 

Talbot  of  Burlington. 

One  contemporaneous  record,  and  that  of  very  high  authority, 
has  been  discovered  in  the  MSS.  of  Dr.  Rawlinson,  which  are  pre- 
served in  the  Bodleian  Library  at  Oxford.  These  jNISS.  contain  a  list 
of  non-juror  consecrations  and  ordinations.  The  Rev.  W.  D.  JMacray, 
who  first  pulilished  the  list  of  consecrations,'  remarks  that  "Dr.  Raw- 
linson being  himself  one  of  the'  non-juring'  episcopal  college  (although 
he  appears  to  have  taken  all  possible  precautions  to  conceal  the  fact 
of  his  even  being  in  orders)  the  memoranda  he  furnishes  may  be 
regarded  as  in  the  highest  degree  authentic."  For  the  most  part  they 
agree  with  Percival's  first  tal)le,  though,  in  detail,  more  closely  with 
Bowdler's  MSS.  to  which  Percival  refers.  But  so  far  as  John  Talbot 
is  concerned  they  throw  no  additional  light  on  our  inquiry.  Rawlin- 
son's  entries  concerning  Welton  and  Talbot  are  as  follows:  —  ^ 

"  Ric.  AVilton,  D.D.,  was  consecrated  by  Dr.  Taylor  alone  in  a  clandestine 
manner."  ■(  »  *  *  Talbot,  INI. A.,  was  consecrated  by  the  same  person,  at  the 
same  time,  and  as  irregularly."  ^ 

•NotesanelQueries,  3d  Scrics.Vol.  I.,  p.  225.  date  of  consecration,  in  the  Clii-istian  n.ime  of 

'  Ibid.,  p.  248.  Welton,   and  also  in  addin;;  M.A.   to    'Jalliot's 

'It  will  be  seen  that  Rawlinson  a'p'ces  with  name.    The  date,  if  it  had  been  given,  .as  it  is 

Perciva|  and  Lathbury  in  omittino;  the  Christian  in  most  of  Rawlinson's  list,  would  have  been  very 

name  of  Talbot.    He  differs  from  all  of  Percival's  valuable.    The  addition  of  the  nnivei-sity  dciri'ee 

authorities,  and  also  from  Lathbury,  in  making  to  ■'  •  *  •  Talbot's  "  name  is  of  small  moment, 

Talbot  and  Welton  to  have  been  consecrated  to-  since  none  of  the  non-jiirors    (whose    clerical 

gethcr.    He  varies  from  them  in  omitting  the  adherents  were  .almost,  if  not  quite,  all  univer- 


558  HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

There  remains  to  be  noticed  only  a  curious  incident  which  might 
(or  might  not)  he  of  consideralile  weight  if  we  knew  more  about  it. 
Tlio  seal  represented  on  the  mural  tablet  recently  erected  in  St.  Mary's 
Church,  Burlington,  has  been  already  described.  The  inscription  on 
the  tal)let  declares  it  to  have  been  John  Talbot's  seal.  This  is  not 
strictly  correct.  ^  It  is  needless  to  point  out  the  circumstance  that  John 
Talbot  is  not  known  to  have  ever  seen  this  seal,  ■while  it  is  morally 
certain  that  he  never  used  it.  But  supposing  him  to  have  owned  it,  as 
is  certainly  proba)>le,  it  does  not  follow  by  any  means  that  it  was  his 
own  official  seal,  or  was  intended  to  represent  his  own  episcopal  rank. 
At  that  very  time  there  was  living  in  England  William  Talbot,  the  only 
bishop  of  that  name  who  had  been  elevated  to  the  episcopate  of  the 
Church  of  luigland  since  the  Eeformation.  He  \vas  appointed  to  the 
see  of  Oxford  in  1G99,  was  translated  to  Salisbury  in  1V15,  was  further 
promoted  to  Durham  in  1722,  and  remained  there  till  his  death  in 
1730.  Now,  John  Talbot  Avas  a  man  of  gentle  l)irth,  and  it  is  perfectly 
possible  that  he  may  have  been  a  kinsman  of  the  bishop.  Even  if  he 
were  not,  it  is  very  likely  that  he  would  seek  some  occasion  to  meet  a 
liishop  of  his  own  name  while  he  was  in  England  ;  and  it  is  also  possible 
that  the  bishop  may  have  given  a  seal-ring  to  his  venerable  kinsman 
or  namesake  as  a  memento  of  their  meeting.  If  he  did  so,  it  would 
not,  of  course,  be  his  official  seal,  which  would  have  borne  the  arms 
of  his  see;  but  a  private  ring,  such  as  that  which  ISIrs.  Talbot  used, 
bearing  simply  a  mitre  with  the  monogram  of  the  bishop's  surname, 
TALBOT.  Thus,  without  violating  proliability  in  the  least  degree, 
Mrs.  Talbot's  seal  can  lie  easily  accounted  for  Avithout  assuming  that 
her  husband  claimed  episcopal  rank. 

To  sum  up  the  case  of  John  Talliot :  — 

1 .  It  is  almost  absurd  to  imagine  that  a  man  nearly  eighty  years  of 
age  would  seek  the  episcopate,  or  that  any  sane  man  would  consecrate  him. 

2.  The  evidence  that  John  Talbot  was  ever  a  Jacobite  is  merely 
trivial  when  set  against  his  own  solemn  declaration,  confirmed  by  the 
imequivocal  testimony  of  those  who  best  knew  him,  that  he  was  "a 
Williamito  from  the  beginning,"  and  "well  affected  towards  the  House 
of  Hanover."  Clearly  he  had  nothing  in  common  with  the  political 
principles  which  were  the  sole  foundation  for  the  non-juror  schism. 

If  it  be  said  that  Talbot  might,  nevertheless,  have  sought  non- 
juror consecration  in  order  to  obtain   for  the  colonial  churches  the 

sity  men")   would  have  been  likely  to  thinlv  of  and  the  cut  in  the  history,  shows  that  the  mono- 

consecratinjj  any  man  who  had  not  a  university  gram  contains  not  one  letter  of  the  name  "John," 

dejrree.     Nevertheless,  to  make  the  most  of  this  not  even  the  letler  .1,  but  simply  the  letters  T, 

limitation,  it  must  still  be  said  tiiat  unless  it  could  A,  "L,  interlaced  with  T,  O,  B.     It  is  true  that 

be  provcil  that  no  person  of  the  name  of  Talbot  the  cnjj^raving:  in  the  pamplilet  ditfers  consider* 

was  admitted  M.A.  in  any  of  the  universities  of  ably  from  the  cut  in  the  history,  by  making  part 

England  or  Scotland  between  the  years  of,  say,  of  the  double  initial  letter  resemble  a  J,  while  in 

1666     and    171"i,  Rawlinson's    "*  *  »  Talbot,  the  cut  it  is  clearly  a  T.     But  if  that  letter  is 

M.A.,"  cannot  be  identilied  with  .John  Talbot.  read  .T,  there  is  not  a  stroke  to  suggest  the  final 

'All  that  is  knownof  the  seal  is  that  it  was  used  T  of  Talbot;  the  O  is  placed  at  hap-hazard  ;  and 

byTall)ot's  widow  in  making  her  will  threeyears  the  monogi*ara   is   without  method.      Head  as 

after  his  death.     In  his  iiistory  (p.  .5),  Dr.  ilills  above  suggested,  every  line  is  .accounted  for,  and 

says  that  the  monogram  on  the  seal  represents  the  idea  ot  the  monogram  is  clear  and  consistent, 

"the  full  name, 'J.  Talbot.' "     In  his  paper  read  It  represents  TAIjBUT,  neither  less  nor  more.' 
before  the  Historical  Society  of  Pennsvlvania, 

two  years  hater,  he  savs  th;rt  it  contains  "  all  the  ,  gi„^^  ,^5,  monograph  loft  the  writer's  hands, 

letters  of  the  name  John  Talbot.       A  careful  the  engraving  of  the  nenl,  which  is  given  on  p.  541. 

exammation  ot  the  engraving  in  the  pamphlet,  has  been  correctly  made  for  this  work. 


THE   NON-JUIUNG   BISHOPS   IN   AMERICA.  559 

inestimable  benefits  of  the  episcopate,  tlic  answer  is:  (1st.)  That  he 
certainly  carried  no  such  plan  into  operation.  We  have  his  own 
emphatic  declaration  that  he  did  not  pretend  to  any  sort  of  jurisdic- 
tion ;  and  as  to  episcopal  acts,  there  is  not  even  a  pretence  of  i)roof 
that  ho  ever  performed  one.'  (2d.)  Such  a  plan  would  have  been 
the  scheme  of  a  madman.  The  introduction  of  a  schismatical  non- 
juror episcopate  into  the  colonies  could  have  had  but  one  of  two 
clfccts :  either  to  rend  the  feel)lo  colonial  churches  into  contending 
factions,  or  to  bring  about  a  general  schism  from  the  Church  of  P>ng- 
land.  What  Talltot  labored  for  was  the  unity  of  the  colonial  churches, 
and,  therefore,  he  praj'cd  for  the  establishment  of  a  regular  colonial 
episcopate.  But  he  desired  not  less  earnestly  that  the  colonial 
churches  should  be  and  remain  part  of  the  established  Church  of  Eng- 
land. He  never  contemplated  anything  else.  At  the  very  time^ 
when  Urmston  was  defaming  him  he  was  securing  a  glebe  and  par- 
sonage to  his  successors  with  the  stringent  provision  that  each  of  them 
should  be  a  "presbyter  of  the  Church  of  England,  as  by  law  now 
established"  and  that  ho  should  "  perform  Divine  Service  and  other 
duties  in  the  said  church,  according  to  the  Lyturgie  of  the  Church  of 
England,  as  is  now  appointed,"  "  confoi-ming  to  and  complying  with 
the  Rubrics  and  Canons  of  the  Church  of  England,  as  aforesaid."-' 
It  is  plainly  inconceivable  that  a  man  who  was  thus  ensuring  con- 
formity to  the  Church  of  England  in  his  own  church  after  his  own 
approaching  death,  should  himself  have  been  a  non-conformist  of  the 
most  dangerous  kind,  and  actually  engaged  in  a  wild  scheme,  which,  if 
successful,  must  involve  a  schism  from  the  Church  of  England.  (3d.) 
It  may  be  briefly  said  that  not  one  contemporary  line  or  letter  exists 
to  show  that  John  Talbot  ever  entertained  such  a  purpose. 

If  it  be  said  that  Talbot  might  have  received  consecration  from 
non-jurors  without  entertaining  non-juror  principles,  the  answer  is 
that  he  could  have  done  so  only  by  deceiving  his  consecrators  with  a 
pretence  of  non-juror  principles.  It  is  very  certain  that  Taylor,  who 
could  not  maintain  communion  even  with  non-jurors  from  whom  he 
dificred,  would  not  have  consecrated  a  man  who  did  not  profess  to 
agree  with  him  ;  and  it  is  no  less  certain  that  the  violent  Wclton,  who 
had  been  deprived  of  his  preferments,  and  is  said  to  have  been  impris- 
oned for  his  practices,  and  who,  on  his  very  death-bed,  refused  com- 
munion with  a  clergyman  of  the  Church  of  England,  would  never 
have  consented  to  the  consecration  of  another  man  who  did  not  un- 
equivocally profess  the  principles  for  which  Welton  suflcred.  Thus, 
if  this  hypothesis  were  true,  Talliot  must  have  been  guilty  of  deceit, 
not  only  towards  the  Bishop  of  London,  but  towards  the  very  men 
whose  consecrating  hands  were  laid  upon  his  head ;  an  infamy  too 
monstrous,  surol}^  to  be  ci'cditod.  Furthermore,  he  could  not  have  so 
deceived  Taylor  and  ^Yeltou.  His  very  position  as  a  missionary  of 
the  S.P.G.,  which  he  never  resigned,  proved  him  not  to  be  a  non- 

'  Dr.  Ilills,  in  Ins  monosraph,  p.  2G,  says :  be  well  omittctl.    "  Ahsolutclr  nothing  "  of  the 

"  There  is  absolutely  nothing  that  can  be  shown  kinil  has  over  Ijcen  cliscovcrcJ. 
beyond  question  to  have  been,  on  his  part,  an  -  fluly  17,  1724. 

Episcopal  act."     The  qualifying  phrase  might  ^  Hills'  Hist.,  pp.  180-185. 


560  HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

juror ;  since  the  society  required  its  missionaries  to  talie  the  oaths, ^ 
and  to  ))e  in  conmuuiion  with  the  Church  of  Enfflaiid. 

3.  The  only  source  of  the  contemporary  assertion  that  he  claimed 
non-juror  consecration  was  the  malignant  invention  of  the  drunken 
Urmston,  whose  absurd  slander  is  contradicted  in  its  only  circumstance 
by  the  testimony  of  Sir  William  Keith. 

4.  The  meagre  accounts  of  Percival  and  Lathbury.  and  of  the  later 
writers  who  have  Idindly  followed  them,  are  too  late  and  of  too  uncer- 
tain authority  to  be  conclusive  ;  they  are  mutually  contradictory  in 
one  important  point ;  Percival's  chronology  contradicts  itself  in  a  mat- 
ter of  vital  moment  to  this  investigation ;  Rawlinson  differs  greatly 
from  i)oth  Lathltury  and  Percival ;  and,  if  all  these  objections  were 
disposed  of,  the  identity  of  liawlinson's  "  *  *  *  Talbot,"  Percival's 
" Talbot,"  and  Lathbury's  "Talbot,"  with  John  Talbot  of  Bur- 
lington would  still  remain  to  l)e  proved. 

5.  The  incident  of  the  seal  is  too  easily  accounted  for  to  be 
received  as  proof  of  an  assertion  not  otherwise  sustained. 

Such,  and  such  alone,  is  the  evidence  that  this  saintly  man 
throughout  the  latter  years  of  his  life  (and,  if  then,  probablj'  before) 
was  a  habitual  ])revaricator  ;  a  dissembler  with  the  bishop  to  whom  he 
owed  and  professed  obedience ;  a  deceiver  of  the  society  whose 
appointment  he  held  ;  and  a  secret  schismatic  from  the  Church  at  whose 
altars  he  ministered.  The  hidden  mitre  of  a  short-lived  schism  would 
have  been  dearly  purchased  at  such  a  cost  of  character ;  and  to  com- 
pel one  to  believe  that  a  man  of  spotless  reputation,  of  the  highest 
standing,  and  of  nearly  fourscore  years  of  age,  secretly  sought  from 
the  almost  solitary  representative  of  a  schism  within  a  schism  the 
doubtful  honor  of  a  spurious  and  clandestine  episcopate  which  he  never 
had  the  courage  to  avow :  to  compel  one  to  believe,  moreover,  that 
the  last  most  touching  letter  of  remonstrance  to  his  bishop  written  by 
this  venei'able  man  was  a  tissue  of  disingenuous  evasion,  one  would 
need  to  have  some  evidence  more  trustworthy  than  the  slanders  of 
declared  enemies,  the  ravings  of  a  disreputable  priest,  a  contempo- 
raneous record  which  leaves  personal  identification  impossible,  self- 
contradictory  memoranda  of  unknown  origin  published  more  than  a 
century  after  his  death,  or  the  impression  of  a  seal  which  he  never 
used  and  the  significance  of  which  cannot  now  be  ascertained.  jNIost 
assuredly  the  consecration  of  John  Talbot  of  Burlington  l)y  the  non- 
jurors has  not  yet  been  proved ;  and  if  the  discovery  of  further 
evidence  shall  hereafter  pi'ove  it  to  have  actually  been  a  fact,  the 
w'orld  will  be  obliged  thenceforward  to  admit  the  old  French  paradox 
that  nothing  is  certain  except  the  impossible. 


V(Ma..va/  KiZ^JcJi-0-x^ 


'PciTy'3  "  Hist.  Coll.  Am.  Col.  Church"  (Peim.),  p.  104. 


MONOGRAPH     VI. 


YALE   COLLEGE  AND   THE   CHURCH. 

Bt  the  EEV.  E.   EDWARDS  BEARDSLEY,  D.D.,   LL.D., 

Hector  of  St.  Thomaa^a  Church,  New  Haven. 

THERE  hangs  in  my  study  a  small  engraving,  of  cabinet  size,  pre- 
sented to  me  twelve  years  ago  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Venerable 
Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts.  It 
is  a  portrait  of  the  Rev.  George  Keith,  the  first  missionary  sent  out 
m  1702,  under  the  auspices  of  that  society,  to  make  observation  and 
report  the  condition  and  prospects  of  the  Church  of  England  in  North 
America.  Keith  was  a  native  of  Aberdeen,  Scotland,  of  good  talents 
and  respectable  attainments,  "  with  whom,"  says  Bishop  Burnet,  in  his 
"  History  of  his  Own  Time,"  ^  "  I  had  my  first  education."  He  emigrated 
to  this  country  and  appeared  in  1682  in  East  Jersey,  where  he  held  the 
office  of  sui-veyor-general,  and  zealously  maintained  the  religious  tenets 
of  the  Quakers,  among  whom  ho  was  a  bright  luminary,  and  exercised 
his  preaching  faculty  with  much  acceptance.  Remembering  the  former 
persecutions  of  his  people  in  New  England,  he  made  a  visit  to  Boston, 
and,  believing  the  champions  of  Puritanism  to  be  teaching  false  doctrine, 
he  boldly  attacked  them,  and  challenged  them  to  a  public  disputation, 
which  they  declined,  "  having,"  as  they  said,  "  neither  list  nor  leisure 
to  attend  his  motions." 

He  afterwards  removed  to  Philadelphia,  and  soon  became' involved 
in  a  more  momentous  controversy  with  the  Quakers  themselves,  the 
great  body  of  whom  he  accused  of  Deism,  and  of  departing  from  the 
principles  originally  held  by  the  Society  of  Friends.  The  final  result 
of  this  controversy  was  a  separation  from  his  enthusiastic  and  bigoted 
brethren,  with  whom  he  had  fellowshipped  for  upwards  of  thirty  years  ; 
and  in  1G94  he  went  to  England,  when  he  conformed  to  the  Church, 
was  admitted  to  holy  orders,  and  on  the  28th  day  of  April,  ]  702, 
sailed  for  America  in  the  interests  of  the  Society  for  the  Propagation 
of  the  Gospel  in  Foi'eign  Parts.  This  society  had  been  established  by 
royal  charter  on  June  16,  A.D.  1700. 

Landing  at  Boston,  he  proceeded  in  company  with  the  Rev.  John 
Talbot,  who  had  been  chaplain  of  the  ship,  to  the  work  of  his  mission, 
and  extended  his  travels  from  New  Hampshire  into  New  York  and  the 
provinces  farther  south,  —  presenting  with  evident  vigor  and  earnest- 
ness the  order  and  doctrines  of  the  Church,  and  lifting  up  his  voice 
against  the  errors  of  Quakerism  and  the  evils  of  sect.  He  was  in  New 
London  on  Sunday  the  13th  of  September,  1702,  and  was  enteilained 

'  Vol.  IV.,  Oxfoid  ecUaon,  1823,  p.  446. 


502  HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

by  Gurdon  Saltonstall,  the  Congregational  minister  of  the  place,  who 
"expressed  his  good  affection  to  the  Church  of  England,"  and  desired 
both  him  and  his  companion  in  labors  to  preach,  —  an  opportunity 
which  they  never  failed  to  improve  when  courteously  tendered.  Col. 
Winthrop,  (he  governor  of  the  colony,  had  his  residence  here,  and 
also  extended  to  them  a  generous  hospitality.  Keith  is  not  known  to 
have  pressed  his  feet  upon  the  soil  of  any  other  place  within  the  limits 
of  Connecticut,  and  this  is  believed  to  have  been  the  first  public 
occasion  on  which  a  recognized  minister  of  the  Church  of  England 
officiated  in  the  colony. 

It  is  a  singular  coincidence  that  while  a  few  great  and  good  prel- 
ates, divines,  lords,  and  laymen  were  preparing  in  London  to  establish 
a  society  to  provide  for  the  care  and  instruction  of  English  churchmen 
in  the  colonies  first,  and  then  for  the  conversion  of  Indian  savages  and 
the  negroes,  a  number  of  the  principal  Congregational  ministers  in 
Connecticut  gathered  together  to  take  the  initiative  steps  towards 
founding  a  collegiate  school,  and  obtaining  for  it  a  charter  from  the 
colonial  legislature.  There  was  no  visible  or  necessary  connection 
between  the  two  movements.  The  parties  who  orfginated  them  dwelt 
three  thousand  miles  apart,  and  acted  on  ditferent  lines  of  thought,  and 
with  diflcrent  ends  in  view. 

According  to  Keith,  who  kept  a  journal  of  his  travels  for  the  in- 
formation of  the  society,  the  religious  condition  of  the  colonies  was 
distracted,  variable,  and,  under  the  umbrage  of  liberty  of  conscience, 
mixed  up  with  great  licentiousness  in  form  and  practice.  The  drift 
from  the  Church  of  England  had  carried  the  settlers,  for  the  most  part, 
beyond  wholesome  restraint ;  and  her  half  a  dozen  clergymen  in  all 
North  America  could  do  little  towards  turning  and  keeping  men  in 
"the  old  paths  and  the  good  way."  Where  civil  enactments  required 
from  the  people  the  support  of  schools  and  public  worship,  the  direction 
was  in  the  hands  of  those  who  were  unfriendly  to  the  usages  and 
religious  instruction  M'hich  prevailed  in  the  mother-country.  JNIany 
loving  subjects  of  Great  Britain,  sighing  for  the  ancient  order  of  things, 
and  the  prayer-book,  with  its  positive  teaching,  were  ready,  with  some 
assistance  from  their  friends  at  home,  to  welcome  and  support  ministers 
of  the  Church  of  England,  "learned  and  orthodox,"  who  might  be 
sent  to  them  ;  and  the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel  was 
formed  primarily  to  answer  their  appeals,  and  it  did  answer  them 
according  to  the  terms  of  its  charter  and  the  wealth  of  its  resources. 

The  estaljlishment  of  a  college  in  the  colony  of  Connecticut  was 
intended  to  provide  the  advantages  of  a  higher  education  and  perpet- 
uate the  order  of  the  Congregational  ministry.  "  By  this  means," 
says  Trumbull,^  the  inhabitants  and  churches  "might  educate  young 
men,  from  among  themselves,  for  the  sacred  ministry,  and  for  the 
various  departments  in  civil  life  and  diffuse  literature  and  piety  more 
generally  among  the  people.  The  clergy  and  people  in  general,  by 
long  experience,  found  the  great  inconvenience  of  educating  their  sons 
at   so    great  a    distance    as  Cambridge,   and    in  carrying    so  much 

•Hist,  of  Conn.,  Vol.  i.,  p.  472. 


YALE   COLLEGE   AND   THE   CHUliCII.  563 

money  out  of  the  Colony,  which  otherwise  might  be  a  considerable 
emolument  to  the  Commonwealth.  A  well-founded  college  might  not 
only  serve  the  interests  of  the  churches  in  this  government,  but  in  the 
neighboring  colonies." 

The  charter  ol)taincd  from  the  General  Assembly  at  its  October  ses- 
sion, in  1701,  "ordained  that  the  corporation  should  consist  of  ministers 
only,"  resident  in  Connecticut,  which  meant  Congregational  ministers,  as 
no  others  were  then  to  be  found  in  the  colony.  A  majority  of  the  original 
number  dwelt  in  the  sea-side  towns  from  Fairtield  to  Stonington,  and 
met  at  Saybroolc  a  month  after  the  granting  of  the  charter,  where, 
"upon  mature  consideration,"  they  decided  to  locate  the  college.  They 
chose  at  the  same  meeting  one  of  the  board,  Abraham  Pierson,  pastor 
of  the  Congregational  church  in  the  adjoining  town  of  Killiugworth, 
to  be  the  rector,  and  prescribed  rules  and  regulations  for  his  guidance 
and  that  of  the  students.  They  took  good  care  to  guard  and  foster 
the  Puritan  system  of  religious  belief  by  forbidding  any  other  theo- 
logical instruction  to  be  given  except  such  as  might  he  directed  and 
appointed  by  the  trustees.  Weekly  recitations  in  the  Westminster 
Assembly's  Catechism,  Ames'  Medulla  Theologia,  and  Cases  of  Con- 
science and  expositions  from  the  head  of  the  institution  were  among 
the  requirements  prescribed  and  enforced. 

The  college  was  launched  under  these  general  conditions  and 
privileges  and  began  its  eventful  career,  regulated  and  governed  with 
the  wisdom  and  learning  of  Pierson,  a  Harvard  graduate,  until  his 
death  in  1707.  Then  Sanuiel  Andrew,  another  graduate  of  Harvard, 
one  of  the  board  and  pastor  of  iMilford,  was  appointed  rector  pro 
tempore,  and  a  poi'tion  of  the  students,  four  in  all,  was  transferred  to 
his  immediate  oversight,  and  the  remainder  was  left  in  charge  of  two 
tutors  at  Say  brook. 

It  is  no  part  of  the  pui'pose  of  this  article,  and  it  would  not 
become  me,  to  detail  the  troubles  which  sprung  from  dissatisfaction 
with  the  location  of  the  college  and  the  efforts  to  remove  it  to  a  more 
central  position  in  the  colony.  It  will  be  enough  to  mention  that 
complaint  was  made  of  the  want  of  proper  accommodations  at  Say- 
brook ;  and  towards  the  end  of  the  year  1715  a  reljellion  broke  out 
against  the  tutors  and  the  students  from  towns  on  the  Connecticut 
river,  —  encouraged  and  led  by  Timothy  Woodbridge  and  Thomas 
Buckingham,  ministers  at  Hartford  and  trustees  of  the  college,  —  col- 
lected together  in  AVethersfield,  where  instruction  was  dispensed  to 
them,  and  in  which  place  or  in  Hartford  these  trustees  wished  the  insti- 
tution to  be  permanently  located.  The  agitation  of  tlie  question 
stuTed  up  a  violent  opposition  in  Sa3'brook,  and  the  final  decision,  in 
the  autumn  of  1710,  to  establish  it  in  New  Haven,  was  followed  by 
obstructions  quite  inconsistent  with  the  principles  of  common  law  and 
order.  The  sanction' of  the  General  Assembly,  which  met  shortly 
after  this  action,  was  invoked  and  obtained  for  the  I'cmoval,  and  the 
trustees  proceeded  to  choose  Samuel  Johnson,  two  years  a  graduate, 
to  be  one  of  the  tutors,  and  with  a  view  of  conciliating  the  dissen- 
tients, Samuel  Smith,  who  was  a  tutor  of  the  Wethersfield  party,  was 
Belected  to  be  the  other.     But  he  declined  the  appointment,  though 


564  HISTORY  OF  THE   AMEEICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

Johnson  was  commissioned  by  the  trustees  to  wait  on  him  and  induce 
him  to  accept  the  office  and  bring  his  scholars  with  him  to  New 
Haven. 

While  the  conflicthig  interests  were  yet  unreconciled,  a  college 
building  was  erected,  "that  stupendous  architectural  moustrosity," 
says  Professor  Dexter, '  "  which  stood  till  the  Revolution,"  and  Daniel 
Browu  —  a  classmate  of  Johnson  —  was  chosen  (o  be  his  colleague  ;  and 
now  the  institution  found  now  frieuds,  and  was  acquiring  a  good  repu- 
tation. The  interposition  of  the  General  Assembly  was  again 
sought,  cowponere  lites,  and  at  last  the  differences  were  compro- 
mised in  this  way :  the  scholars  should  return  to  their  duty  and 
abide  at  New  Haven;  and,  in  case  they  did,  the  degrees  which  had 
been  given  at  Wethcrsficld  should  be  allowed  good,  "and  a  State- 
House  should  be  buUt  at  the  public  ex[)ense  at  Hartford."  Liberal 
donations  of  money  and  of  books  had  been  already  received,  and 
Governor  Elihu  Yale,  born  in  New  England,  but  emigrating  early 
and  making  a  fortune  as  agent  or  president  —  which  gave  him  his 
title  —  of  the  East  India  Company  of  London  merchants,  chartered 
by  Queen  Elizabeth,  had  been  so  munificent  in  his  benefactions  that 
the  trustees  overwhelmed  him  with  thanks  and  gave  him  immortal 
honor  by  fixing  on  the  college  the  name  it  has  ever  since  borne  and 
gloried  in. 

Governor  Yale  was  a  churchman,  if  not  of  the  most  saintly  kind, 
yet  good  enough  to  be  a  generous  patron  of  religion  and  learning, 
and  to  find  his  charitable  gifts  peculiarly  acceptable  to  those  who  were 
far  from  his  way  of  thinking  and  acting.  Jeremiah  Dummer,  agent 
for  the  colony  of  Connecticut,  writing  to  Governor  Saltonstall,  from 
Middle  Temple,  London,  April  14,  1719,  said  :-  "I  heartily  congratu- 
late you  upon  the  happy  union  of  the  colony  in  fixing  the  college  at 
New  Haven,  after  some  diiferences  which  might  have  1)ecn  attended 
with  ill  consequences.  Mr.  Yale  is  very  much  rejoiced  at  this  good 
news,  and  more  than  a  little  pleased  with  his  being  the  patron  of  such 
a  seat  of  the  muses :  saving  that  he  expressed  at  first  some  kind  of 
concern,  whether  it  was  well  in  him,  being  a  churchman,  to  promote 
an  academy  of  dissenters.  But,  when  we  had  discoursed  that  point 
freely,  he  appeared  convinced  that  the  business  of  good  men  is  to 
spread  religion  and  learning  among  mankind  without  being  too  fondly 
attached  to  particular  tenets,  about  which  the  world  never  was,  nor 
never  will  be,  agreed.  Besides,  if  the  discipline  of  the  Church  of 
England  be  most  agreealilo  to  Scripture  and  primitive  practice,  there's 
no  better  way  to  make  men  sensible  of  it  tlian  by  giving  them  good 
learning." 

Johnson  and  Brown  appear  to  have  canied  on  the  instruction 
successfully  together  under  the  oversight  of  the  rector  jtro  tempore, 
but  the  former  was  ready  to  retire  and  devote  himself  to  the  work  of 
the  ministry ;  and  the  friends  of  the  institution,  now  that  its  library 
and  appointments  were  so  ample,  were  desirous  of  seeing  it  placed 
under  an  active,  efficient,  and   resident  head.     Timothy  Cutler,  of 

'  N.n.  Colony  Ilistorical    Society  Papers,  '  State  Libraiy,  Hartford,  MS.  Documents, 

Vol.  III.,  p.  241.  Vol.  n. 


YALE  COLLEGE  AND  THE  CHURCH.  565 

Massachusetts  birth,  and  a  Harvard  graduate,  had  been  settled  nearly 
ten  years  over  the  Congregational  church  in  Stratford.  He  was  a  man 
of  varied  culture  and  extensive  acquirements,  of  commanding  presence 
and  dignit}^,  and  possessed  the  qualities  of  an  instructive  and  popu- 
lar preacher.  Soon  after  his  settlement  in  Stratford  he  married  a 
daughter  of  Samuel  Andrew,  of  JNIilford,  the  acting  head  of  the  col- 
lege, and  through  his  influence  he  was  presented  to  the  favorable 
notice  of  the  trustees  and  elected  to  the  office  of  rector  in  1719.  He 
"  looked  upon  it  as  nothing  less  than  a  call  of  Providence,"  and  ac- 
cepted, to  the  great  grief  of  the  Stratford  people,  who  were  reluctant 
to  part  with  him,  and  Avho  demanded  and  obtained  some  pecuniary 
consideration  for  the  disappointment  and  loss  which  his  removal  would 
occasion  the  town. 

Mr.  Cutler  established  himself  with  his  family  at  New  Haven  in 
the  autumn,  and  with  the  assistance  of  Daniel  Brown,  who  was  retained 
in  the  tutorship,  began  his  classic  career  as  rector  of  Yale  College. 
Theology  was  the  study  to  which  Johnson  had  always  intended  to 
devote  himself;  and  the  people  of  West  Haven,  at  that  time  an  out- 
lying village  within  the  town  of  New  Haven,  earnestly  desired  him  to 
become  their  pastor,  and,  yieldhig  to  their  solicitations,  he  was  ordained 
there  in  the  Congregational  way  on  the  20th  of  March,  1720,  "having 
been,"  according  to  his  own  statement,  "a  preacher  occasionally  ever 
since  he  was  eighteen."  This  position  left  him  in  the  neighborhood 
of  the  college  and  of  his  literary  friends,  and  afforded  him  easy  access 
to  the  library,  which  contained  the  works  of  some  of  the  most  eminent 
writers  of  the  Church  of  England  in  that  day,  both  clergymen  and 
laymen.  A  good  man  in  Guilford,  his  native  place,  had  given  him  a 
prayer-book,  and  this,  in  connection  with  the  previous  perusal  of 
Archbishop  King  "  on  the  Inventions  of  men  in  the  Worship  of  God," 
weakened  his  prejudices  against  the  Cimrch,  and  confirmed  him  in  the 
opinion  that  the  use  of  precomposed  forms  in  public  worship  was 
both  more  devotional  and  more  edifying,  and  showed  greater  reverence 
for  the  Divine  Majesty. 

About  the  time  of  his  settlement  at  AVest  Haven  Johnson  com- 
menced a  catalogue  of  the  books  which  he  had  studied  carefully.  And 
curiously  enough  at  the  head  of  this  list  stands  the  Liturgy  of  the 
Church  of  England,  followed  immediately  by  Potter  on  "  Church  Gov- 
ernment" and  Patrick's  "Devotions,"  and  then  by  " the  AVliole  Duty 
of  Man,"  Wall  on  "Infimt  Baptism,"  Echard's  "Church  History," 
and  Hooker's  "Ecclesiastical  Polity."  The  shelves  of  the  well-selected 
library  —  this  was  before  the  day  of  Berkeley's  benefactions  —  con- 
tained other  books  in  English  theology,  among  them  the  works  of 
Barrow,  Beveridge,  Ball,  Burnet,  Hoadly,  Pearson,  Sharp,  Sherlock, 
South,  Taylor,  Tillotson,  Wake,  and  Whitbj',  and  all  were  included  in 
the  list  of  those  which  passed  under  his  review  and  consideration  dur- 
ing his  settlement  at  West  Haven. 

Such  a  course  of  reading  could  not  fail  to  affect  and  influence  his 
candid  and  inquiring  mind.  It  threw  new  light  over  subjects  that  had 
long  embarrassed  him,  and  he  was  unable  to  discover  any  sufficient 
support  for  the  Congregational  form  of  church  government,  or  for  the 


566  HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

rigid  Calnnistic  tenets  in  which  he  had  been  educated.  He  spoke  his 
doubts  to  his  literary  friends,  and  they  shared  them  with  him  ;  so  that 
from  first  meeting  in  a  fratei'nal  way,  at  the  residences  of  each  other, 
or  in  the  college  library,  and  examining  the  doctrines  and  practices  of 
the  primitive  Church,  they  had  l)egan  to  be  uneasy  and  anxious  about 
the  form  and  authority  of  their  own  discipline  and  worship.  How  to 
conduct  themselves  under  the  circumstances  was  a  difficult  and  delicate 
question.  There  were  six  of  these  earnest  inquirers,  besides  Johnson, 
and  they  occupied  responsil)le  positions  in  and  around  New  Haven. 
Cutler  and  Brown  carried  on  the  college  ;  John  Hart  was  the  minister 
at  East  Guilfoi'd,  now  Madison  ;  Jared  Eliot  was  the  minister  at  Kil- 
lingworth ;  Samuel  Whittelse3'^  at  Wallingford,  and  James  AVetmore 
at  North  Haven.  With  the  exception  of  Cutler  all  were  graduates  of 
the  college,  and  three  of  them  were  classmates  who  had  been  brought 
into  very  intimate  association  with  each  other.  Their  conferences  and 
readings  led  them  to  the  conclusion  that  the  Church  of  England  was 
the  nearest  to  the  apostolic  model,  and,  if  conformity  to  it  had  been  an 
easy  thing,  they  would  undoubtedly  all  have  relinquished  at  once  their 
positions  and  made  the  change.' 

It  is  to  be  observed  that  these  conferences  were  the  spontaneous 
growth  of  self-directed  investigations.  At  that  date  there  was  not  a 
house  of  worship  in  the  coloiiy  belonging  to  the  Church  of  England, 
and  no  settled  minister  or  missionary.  The  Rev.  George  Muirson,  of 
Scottish  birth,  was  ordained  by  tiie  Bishop  of  London,  in  1705,  and 
sent  over  by  the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel  as  a  mis- 
sionary at  Rye,  —  a  town  originally  included  within  the  jurisdiction 
of  Connecticut,  but  finally  annexed  to  the  province  of  New  York.  In 
company  with  a  distinguished  lay  gentleman  he  set  out,  in  the  summer 
of  1706,  to  explore  the  sea-side  towns  from  Greenwich  eastward,  but 
did  not  cross  the  Housatonio  river,  or  go  any  nearer  New  Haven  than 
Stratford.  Here  he  found  "a  considerable  number  of  professors  of 
the  Church  of  England"  who  desired  him  to  repeat  his  visit,  which  he 
did  the  next  year ;  and  the  society  was  importuned  to  appoint  him  a 
missionary  to  that  place,  but  Muirson  died  in  Octo))er,  1708,  too  soon 
to  hear  of  his  transfer,  if  not  too  soon  for  the  Church  in  Connecticut. 

It  was  in  September  of  this  year  that  "  the  Reverend  Ministers 
and  Messengers  of  all  the  Churches"  in  Connecticut  met  at  Saybrook 
and  adopted  "  a  Confession  of  faith,  Heads  of  Agreement  and  Regula- 
tion in  the  administration  of  Church  discipline,"  which  the  general 
assembly  fully  approved  and  "  ordained  that  all  the  churches  within 
the  Government  that  are  or  shall  he  thus  united  in  Doctrine,  worship 
and  discipline  for  the  future  shall  be  owned  and  acknowledged  estab- 
lished by  law," —  provided  that  any  society  or  church  soberly  difiering 
or  dissenting  therefrom  should  be  allowed  to  "  exercise  worship  and 
discipline  in  their  own  way  according  to  their  Conscience."  This  pro- 
viso did  not  exempt  the  solierly  dissenting  bodies  from  the  pa3'ment 
of  taxes  for  the  support  of  the  established  order. 

The  little  handful  of  churchmen  at  Stratford  was  unfortunate  in 

'  Aiitlioi''s  "  Life  and  CoiTcspoudcncc  of  Sanmcl  Jolinson,  D.D.,"  pp.  13,  14. 


YALE  COLLEGE  AND  THE  CHURCH.  5(!7 

the  next  missionary  sent  to  them,  and  the  first  who  pretended  to 
reside  in  the  phice,  and  yet  was  away  much  of  the  time  for  the  sake 
of  his  own  indulgence.  He  pi'oved  to  be  unworthy  of  liis  office,  and 
set  things  l)acliward  and  not  forward.  But  in  the  spring  of  1722 
there  appeared  among  tlicm  a  difl'crcnt  missionary,  in  the  person  of  the 
Rev.  Georire  Pisrot,  who  was  earnest,  energetic,  and  consistent  in  his 
walli  and  conversation.  He  moved  the  people  to  proceed  vigorously 
to  complete  the  building  of  a  church,  which  had  been  projected  years 
before  and  was  interrufited  by  various  discouragements  and  embar- 
rassments. But  he  suddenly  became  more  deeply  interested  in  the 
grander  movement  going  on  in  New  Haven.  Johnson  had  made  him 
an  early  visit  and  both  surprised  and  gratified  him  by  informing  him 
of  the  direction  in  which  some  of  the  leading  minds  in  the  colony 
were  drifting.  After  a  private  conference  with  the  inquirers,  held  by 
special  invitation  at  New  Haven,  "great  expectations  of  a  glorious 
revolution  of  the  ecclesiastics  in  this  country "  were  raised  in  Mr. 
Pigot .  He  was  a  little  too  sanguine  perhaps  as  to  the  extent  of  the  final 
result,  but  he  had  seen  and  heard  enough  to  be  convinced  that  a  start- 
ling movement  was  near  at  hand.  He  found  a  majority  of  the  inquir- 
ers determined  to  declare  their  conformity  to  the  Church  of  England  ; 
and  yet  they  complained  much  of  the  necessity  which  compelled  them 
to  cross  the  ocean  to  obtain  the  valid  ordination  which  their  course  of 
reading  led  them  to  desire. 

Johnson,  who  was  the  leader  among  them  and  the  most  active, 
appears  to  have  kept  himself  open  to  conviction  to  the  last  moment, 
for,  after  making  an  entry  in  the  catalogue  of  books  before  referred 
to  of  the  works  of  Cyprian,  he  added  immediately  under  it  the  words  : 
"  Which,  with  other  ancient  and  modern  author's  read  for  the  last 
three  years,  have  proved  so  convincing  of  the  necessity  of  Episcopal 
Ordination  to  me  and  my  friends,  that  this  Commencement,  September 
13,  1722,  we  found  it  necessary  to  express  our  doubts  to  the  minis- 
ters, from  whom,  if  we  receive  not  satisfaction,  we  shall  be  obliged 
to  desist." 

Just  twenty  years  to  a  day  had  passed  since  Keith  was  cour- 
teously entertained  at  New  London  by  Gurdon  Saltonstall,  then  the 
Congregational  minister  of  the  place,  but  now  in  civil  life,  having  laid 
aside  the  duties  of  the  sacred  office,  and,  from  1707,  been  chosen  gov- 
ernor of  the  colony.  He  was  present  at  the  Commencement  when 
the  seven  gentlemen  made  their  declaration  to  the  trustees  in  the 
library  of  the  college,  representing  that  they  labored  under  difficul- 
ties in  "relation  to  their  continuance  out  of  the  visible  communion  of 
an  Episcopal  church,"  and  "  signifying  that  some  of  them  doubted  the 
validity,  and  the  rest  were  more  fully  persuaded  of  the  invalidity  of 
the  Presbyterian  ordination,  in  opposition  to  the  Episcopal."  They 
desired  "satisfaction,"  and  o[)portunity  was  allowed  for'  further  in- 
quiry and  consultation,  in  the  hope  that  they  might  get  rid  of  their 
scruples,  or  at  least  become  quiet  and  contented  in  their  positions. 
No  official  action  of  the  board  was  taken,  but,  as  the  General  Assem- 
bly was  to  meet  in  New  Haven  the  ensuing  October,  Governor  Salton- 
stall suggested  that  a  debate  should  be  held  in  the  college  library  the 


568  HISTORY   OF   THE  AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

day  aftei'  the  session  commenced  for  the  purpose  of  discussing  the 
whole  subject  and  disposing  of  questions  that  had  created  serious 
alarm  in  the  public  mind  throughout  the  colony. 

Preparations  for  this  debate  were  entered  upon  with  great  ear- 
nestness and  not  a  little  anxiety.  Outside  advice  and  help  were  so- 
licited. One  simple-minded  man  wrote  to  his  clerical  brother  in 
Boston,  and,  confessing  that  he  had  not  read  much  upon  the  contro- 
versy, said  he  would  be  "very  glad  to  have  some  books  that  do 
nervously  handle  this  point  concerning  ordination  by  Presbyters, 
whether  good  or  not."  The  trustees  at  Norwalk  and  Stamford, 
Buckingham  and  Davenport,  poured  out  their  sorrows  in  a  joint 
letter  to  the  JNIathers  of  the  same  city,  "  bemoaning  the  dark  provi- 
dence" which  hung  over  them,  and  not  only  asking  their  Christian 
sympathy  and  prayers,  but  their  "assistance  in  a  conjoined  testimony 
in  the  cause  of  Christ  to  the  government  and  people  "  of  Connecticut. 

The  debate  was  held  according  to  appointment.  If  the  ten 
trustees  were  all  present,  and  the  ministers  directly  concerned,  and 
others  who  took  a  deep  interest  in  the  result,  it  is  not  difScult  to  bring 
to  our  minds  a  scene  in  the  college  library  as  exciting  as  it  was 
singular.  No  nimble  reporter  was  there  to  take  down  the  words,  as 
they  fell  from  the  lips  of  the  earnest  disputants.  But  we  have  two  ac- 
counts of  it ;  one  by  Trumbull,  who  says  :  "  Governor  Saltonstall  was 
a  great  man,  and  well  versed  in  the  Episcopal  Conti'oversy,  and  the 
tradition  has  been  that  he  judged  it  of  such  general  importance,  in  the 
then  circumstances  of  the  colony,  that  the  point  should  be  well  under- 
stood that  he  publicly  disputed  it  with  Mr.  Cutler  at  the  Commence- 
ment, and  that  he  was  judged  by  the  clergy  and  spectators  in  general, 
to  have  been  superior  to  him  as  to  argument,  and  gave  them  much 
satisfaction  relative  to  the  subject.  It  was  supposed  that  several  other 
gentlemen  of  considerable  character  among  the  clergy  were  in  the 
scheme  of  declaring  for  Episcopacy,  and  of  carrying  over  the  people 
of  Connecticut  in  general  to  that  persuasion.  But  as  they  had  been 
more  private  in  their  measures,  and  had  made  no  open  profession  of 
Episcopacy,  when  they  saw  the  consequences  with  respect  to  the  rector 
and  the  other  ministers,  that  the  people  would  not  hear  them,  but  dis- 
missed them  from  their  service,  they  were  glad  to  conceal  theu'  former 
purposes,  and  to  continue  in  their  respective  places."  ^ 

The  other  account  is  I)y  Johnson,  which  is  in  no  sense  traditional, 
but  is  the  statement  of  an  eye-witness  and  participant  in  the  contro- 
versy. He  is  the  only  one  of  the  numlicr  M'ho  has  left  a  manuscript 
record  of  the  proceedings  ;  at  least,  no  other  has  been  brought  to  light ; 
and  he  has  detailed  so  minutely  and  faithfully  his  personal  trials  and 
conflicting  interests,  and  the  successive  steps  which  led  him  to  renounce 
Congregationalism  and  accept  the  Church  of  England,  that  he  is  to  be 
believed  in  what  he  relates  of  himself,  of  his  companions,  and  of  the 
debate.  Gov.  Saltonstall,  says  he,  "  moderated  very  genteely  "  on  the 
occasion  ;  but  the  "  gentlemen  on  the  Dissenting  side  "  had  not  directed 
their  studies  this  ^vay,  and  hence  when  they  came  to  the  deliate  they 

1  Hist,  of  Conn.,  Vol.  II.,  p.  33. 


YALE   COLLEGE  AND  THE   CHURCH.  5G9 

were  not  so  well  prepared  to  cope  with  their  opponents  and  answer 
their  arguments.  They  rested  their  principal  objection  to  Episcopacy 
on  the  promiscuous  use  of  the  words  bishop  and  presbyter  in  the  New 
Testament;  but  this  olijection  was  met  by  citing  such  Scrijiture  facts 
as  the  evident  superintcndency  of  Timothy  over  the  clergy  and  people 
at  Ephesus,  and  of  Titus  in  Crete,  and  of  tiie  angels  of  the  seven 
churches  in  Asia.  The  history  of  the  first  and  purest  ages  of  Clms- 
tianity  was  also  appealed  to,  and  "  at  length,"  he  adds,  "  an  old  minister 
got  up  and  made  an  harangue  against  them  in  a  declamatory  way  to 
raise  an  odium ;  but  he  had  not  gone  far  before  Mr.  Saltonstall  got  up 
and  said  he  only  designed  a  friendly  argument,  and  so  i)ut  an  end  to 
the  conference."  ^  Johnson  made  a  record  of  the  state  of  his  mind  and 
heart  three  days  before  the  debate  took  place,  which  shows  that  he 
did  not  expect  any  new  light  to  rise  from  it  and  shine  through  his  doubts. 

The  result  was  that  of  those  who  signed  the  declaration  sent  in  to 
the  trustees,  on  commencement  day,  four  were  inflexible  in  their 
purpose  to  go  forward  and  pursue  the  path  into  which  they  had  been 
led  bv  their  consciences  and  the  li<rht  of  Anglican  theolojrv.  The 
other  three,  not  being  able  to  withstand  the  alternate  displeasure  and 
entreaties  of  their  friends,  and  putting  their  scruples  to  one  side, 
quietly  settled  back  into  their  pastoral  relations,  and  continued  to  the 
end  of  their  days  in  the  service  of  the  Congregational  ministry. 
Chandler  saj's,  in  his  Life  of  Johnson  :  "Amidst  all  the  controversies 
in  which  the  Church  was  engaged  during  their  lives,  they  were  never 
known  to  act  or  say  or  insinuate  anything  to  her  disadvantage."^ 

After  the  dispute  in  the  college  library,  and  all  pleadings  had  been 
fully  closed,  the  trustees  met  to  deliberate  and  act.  Mr.  Cutler  was 
"excused  from  further  services,  as  rector  of  Yale  College,"  and  the 
resignation  of  ]Mr.  Brown  as  tutor  was  accepted.  To  prevent  the 
recurrence  of  a  like  sorrowful  occasion,  and  "continue  the  repository 
of  truth  and  the  reservoir  of  pure  and  sound  principles,  doctrine  and 
education,"  the  trustees  then  voted,  "that  all  such  persons  as  shall 
hereafter  be  elected  to  the  office  of  rector  or  tutor  in  this  college, 
shall  before  they  are  accepted  therein,  before  the  trustees,  declare 
their  assent  to  the  confession  of  faith  owned  and  assented  to  by  the 
elders  and  messengers  of  the  churches  in  this  colony  of  Connecticut, 
assembled  by  delegation  at  Saybrook,  September  9,  1708  ;  and  con- 
firmed by  act  of  the  General  Assembly  ;  and  shall  particularly  give 
satisfaction  to  them,  of  the  soundness  of  their  faith,  in  opposition  to 
Armenian  and  prelatical  corruptions,  or  of  any  other  of  dangerous 
consequence  to  the  purity  and  peace  of  our  churches."  '  The  power 
was  given  to  two  trustees  with  the  rector  to  institute  this  examination 
in  the  case  of  a  tutor,  when  the  whole  boai-d  could  not  be  assembled. 
And  still  further  it  was  voted,  "  that  upon  just  grounds  of  suspicion 
of  the  rector's  or  a  tutor's  inclination  to  Armenian  or  prelatical  prin- 
ciples, a  meeting  of  the  trustees  shall  be  called  to  examine  into  the 


case." 


The  displacement  of  Rector  Cutler  from  his  office  after  deelar- 

'Jolmsou  MSS.  2  P.  31.  =  Hist,  of  Conn.,  Vol.  ir.,  p.  34. 


570  HISTORY   OF   THE   AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

ing  for  Episcopacy  was  a  natural  proceeding  to  be  expected  under  the 
circumstances ;  few  will  be  bold  enough  to  censure  it  even  at  this 
late  day  ;  but,  as  we  look  at  it  now,  we  are  amazed  that  a  centuiy  was 
sutl'cred  to  go  by  before  the  law,  which  prohibited  members  of  the 
faculty  from  entertaining  "  Armenian  or  prclatic  principles,"  was 
completely  eliminated  from  the  statutes  of  the  college.  ^ 

The  important  step  which  was  to  follow  ecclesiastical  separation 
from  their  friends  was  taken  without  delay.  On  the  13th  of  Octo- 
ber, not  expecting  then  to  get  any  satisfaction  from  the  debate, 
and  uninfluenced  l)y  "the  frowns  or  applauses,  the  pleasures  or  prof- 
its of  the  world,"  Johnson  made  this  entry  in  his  diary :  "It  seems 
to  be  my  duty  to  venture  myself  in  the  arms  of  Almighty  Providence 
to  cross  the  ocean  for  the  sake  of  that  excellent  church,  the  Chui'ch  of 
England  ;  and  God  preserve  mo,  and  if  I  err  God  forgive  me."  Ten 
days  later  he  and  his  two  friends,  Cutler  and  Brown,  were  on  their 
journey  to  Boston  to  emliark  for  the  shores  of  the  Old  World.  After 
a  boisterous  and  uncomfortable  voyage  of  five  weeks  and  four  days 
they  arrived  at  their  destination  in  England,  where  the  knowledge  of 
their  aflair  had  preceded  them  and  prepared  the  way  for  a  most  cordial 
reception.  Their  errand  served  as  an  introduction  to  remarkable  per- 
sons and  places,  and  the  many  civilities  shown  them  were  both  pleas- 
ant and  encouraging.  But  mingled  with  these  were  unexpected  trials 
and  sorrows.  That  dreadful  disease,  the  small-pox,  fell  first  upon  the 
eldest  of  the  number,  Mr.  Cutler,  and  scarcely  had  he  recovered 
and  all  been  admitted  to  the  priesthood  by  the  Bishop  of  Norwich, 
acting  at  the  desire  of  the  Archl^ishop  of  Canterbury  and  the  Bishop 
of  London,  when  Brown  was  taken  with  the  same  disease,  and,  after 
an  illness  of  nine  days,  he  died  on  the  13th  of  April,  and  was  interred 
in  St.  Dunstan-in-tlae-West,  his  funeral  being  "attended  by  about 
thirty  clergy  of  the  town." 

The  constantly  changing  scenes  through  which  they  afterwards 
passed  could  not  put  this  great  disappointment  and  affliction  from  their 
minds,  and  especially  from  the  mind  of  Johnson,  who,  as  Brown's 
classmate  and  intimate  friend,  knew  him  l)est  and  loved  him  with  a 
gentle  and  afl'ectionate  heart.  Before  the  occurrence  of  this  sad  event  it 
was  the  agreement  of  the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel  that 
Brown  should  be  appointed  to  a  mission  which  was  to  become  vacant 
at  Bristol  in  Rhode  Island.  Cutler  was  to  have  the  charge  of  a  new 
church  about  to  be  opened  in  Boston,  a  scanty  living  for  him  with  a 
wife  and  seven  children,  and  Johnson  was  to  go  to  Stratford  in  Con- 
necticut, to  fill  the  place  which  INIr.  Pigot  would  vacate  by  removing  to 
Providence.  The  annual  income  of  the  society  at  this  time  was  about 
£2,000,  and  the  usual  stipend  allowed  to  each  missionary  was  £50  or 
£60  a  year,  sometimes  less,  according  to  the  expcnsiveness  and 
requirements  of  the  field  to  which  he  was  sent. 

Almost  the  whole  time  of  their  sojourn  abroad  was  passed  in  Lon- 
don, and  after  they  reached  the  metropolis  the  longest  journeys  they 

1  It  was  repealed  at  a  special  meeting  of  the  presented  to  the  General  Assetnbly.    The  estab- 

eorporatiou  of  Yale  College,  licld  in   liarlford,  lishment  of  a  second  college  in  the  State  was 

May,  1823,  on  the  day  before  the  petition  for  the  strongly  opposed, 
charter  of  a  second  (now  Trinity)  College  was 


YALE  COLLEGE  AND  THE   CHTJKCH.  571 

mado  out  of  it  were  to  Oxford  aud  Cambridge,  where  tbey  were  re- 
ceived with  many  demonstrations  of  liindly  feeling,  and  each  univer- 
sity conferred  upon  them  its  public  honors. 

On  the  morning  of  the  4th  of  Jul}',  1723,  Cutler  and  Johnson 
were  surprised  at  their  lodgings  in  London  by  the  arrival  of  James 
Wetmorc  from  New  England.  He  stood  up  side  by  side  with  them  in 
the  college  libi'ary,  and  tirmly  delivered  his  testimony  for  Episcopacy  ; 
but  not  ha\ing  made  suitable  arrangements  for  the  voyage,  and  relin- 
quished his  pastoral  charge  at  North  Haven,  he  was  left  behind  when 
they  embarked,  aud  had  now  come  to  receive  ordination  and  take  the 
humblest  duty  which  might  be  assigned  him  as  a  minister  of  the 
Church  of  England. 

In  just  three  weeks  from  his  arrival  he  was  admitted  to  holy 
orders,  and  was  ready  to  return  with  them  to  America  in  the  same 
ship.  It  was  two  months  after  leaving  London,  when  they  arrived  at 
Boston,  September  24,  1723,  and  Wetmorc  preached  on  the  following 
Sunday  in  King's  Chapel  from  the  text :  "  Blessed  is  that  servant 
whom  his  lord,  when  he  cometh,  shall  find  so  doing."  ^  He  was  sent 
as  amissionary  to  New  York,  but  at  a  later  date  was  transferred  to 
llye,  where  he  died  of  the  small-pox  in  1700,  having  faithfully  served 
the  church  in  that  place  for  nearly  thirty-four  years. 

Johnson  reached  Stratford  on  the  5th  of  November,  and  found 
the  work  of  Iniilding  a  house  of  pul)lic  worship  for  churchmen,  which 
had  been  revived  by  Mv.  Pigot,  but  little  advanced  towards  comple- 
tion. His  coming  inspired  it  with  new  life,  and  after  many  hindrances 
the  edifice  was  opened  for  divine  service  on  Chi-istmas  dajs  1724.  He 
made  Stratford  the  centre  from  which  he  carried  his  ministrations  to 
other  towns  in  the  colony.  These  ministrations  were  not  called  for 
in  New  Haven,  and  he  did  not,  as  the  sole  missionary  of  the  Church  of 
England  in  Connecticut,  attempt  by  any  aggressive  steps  to  establish 
services  where  he  knew  he  would  encounter  an  opposition  sharpened 
by  the  remembrance  of  recent  and  exciting  events.  He  continued  his 
interest  in  the  college,  however,  which  was  still  feeling  the  shock  of 
its  astonishment  at  the  declarations  for  Episcopacy,  and,  so  far  as  we 
can  learn,  the  trustees  manifested  no  particular  hostility  to  him  in  view 
of  the  change  in  his  ecclesiastical  relations.  They  had  done  their  best 
to  reverse  its  influence,  and  probably  thought  that  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land, with  a  single  representation  in  the  clerical  ofiice,  could  make  no 
perceptible  gain  upon  the  aff'ections  of  the  people  of  the  colony  as 
against  the  estaljlished  order  of  religion. 

At  the  Commencement  in  1724,  graduated  Henry  Caner,  a  son 
of  the  builder  of  the  first  college  edifice,  the  "  architectural  mon- 
strosity "  before  refen-cd  to ;  and  for  three  years  after  leaving  the 
institution  he  lived  under  the  eye  of  Johnson  and  assisted  him  aud 
did  good  service  for  the  Church  at  Fairfield  as  a  catechist  and  school- 
master. His  father,  of  the  same  baptismal  name,  was  enrolled  among 
the  communicants  at  Stratford  by  Mr.  Pigot,  September  2,  1722,  and 
evidently  went   to  that  place  to  commune,  as  many  churchmen  scat- 

'  Foote's  "  Annals  of  Kin^^'s  Chapel,"  1.,  p.  323. 


572  HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

tered  in  the  neighboring  towns  were  accustomed  to  do  when  tlie  only 
Episcopal  clergyman  in  Connecticut  was  stationed  there.  The  son 
was  enrolled  by  Johnson,  Easter  day,  1715.  He  went  to  England  for 
holy  orders,  and  returned  in  the  autumn  of  1727,  with  an  appoint- 
ment to  Fairfield,  where  a  church  had  been  erected  and  was  now 
awaiting  the  ministrations  of  a  resident  missionary. 

From  this  onward  for  a  century  there  was  not  an  average  of  one 
graduate  a  year  from  Yale  College  who  entered  the  ministry  of  the 
Episcopal  Church.  John  Beach  and  Jonathan  Arnold,  whose  names 
appear  in  classes  of  an  earlier  date,  were  settled  as  pastors  over  Con- 
gregational churches  in  Connecticut ;  but,  subsequently,  becoming  dis- 
satisfied with  their  ordination  and  form  of  church  government,  they 
suiTendered  their  positions  and  went  to  England  to  obtain  what  seemed 
to  them  to  be  valid  authority  to  preach  the  gospel  and  administer  the 
sacraments.  Their  change,  no  doubt,  was  largely  due  to  the  instrumen- 
tality of  Johnson,  one  of  whom  —  Arnold  —  had  been  his  successor 
in  the  pastorate  at  West  Haven,  and  the  other  was  a  native  of  Strat- 
ford and  a  pupil  of  his  during  a  part  of  the  collegiate  course. 

It  has  been  sometimes  said  that  these  men  in  relinquishing  their 
connections  and  taking  up  new  ones  in  the  Chui'ch  of  England  made  no 
very  great  sacrifices.  But  not  to  mention  other  things,  the  voyage 
across  the  Atlantic,  at  that  period,  not  in  luxurious  and  palatial  steam- 
ships as  now,  but  in  the  close  and  narrow  caljins  of  sailing-vessels,  was 
a  monotonous  and  awful  undertaking.  Business  rather  than  pleasure 
impelled  men  to  attempt  it,  and  strong  health  was  needed  to  l3ear  the 
hardships  of  being  tossed  for  weeks  and  months  on  the  ocean.  Surely  a 
conscientious  regard  for  what  they  believed  to  be  the  truth,  and  not  ambi- 
tion, or  the  spirit  of  adventure,  must  have  been  theu-  governing  motive. 
They  took  their  lives  in  their  hands  when  they  went  forth,  and  of 
those  who  embarked  for  England  to  obtain  ordination  prior  to  1766 
one  in  every  five  was  lost  at  sea  or  fell  by  sickness.  "  Plow  long,  O 
Lord,  holy  and  true  !  "  was  the  pathetic  exclamation  of  Johnson  when 
tidings  reached  him  of  the  death  of  two  promising  young  missiona- 
ries returning  to  this  country,  and  already  nearing  "the  haven  where 
they  would  be," — "How  long  shall  the  appointment  of  bishops  for  the 
American  Colonies  be  hindered  by  the  policy  of  secular  rulers  at 
homo,  and  the  Church  be  suffered  to  bleed  and  mourn?" 

Yale  College  and  the  Church  cannot  be  grouped  and  considered 
together  without  bringing  prominently  to  view  the  benefactions  of 
Bishop  Berkeley.  His  scheme  of  founding  an  institution  in  the  Ber- 
mudas, where  not  only  English  youth  of  the  plantations  might  be 
trained  to  "  supply  American  churches  \vith  pastors  of  good  morals  and 
good  learning,"  but  where  a  "number  of  young  American  savages 
might  also  be  educated  till  they  had  taken  the  degree  of  Master  of 
Arts,"  was  projected  with  sanguine  hopes  of  success  ;  and  he  undertook 
to  realize  it  by  leaving  the  rich  deanery  of  Dcrry  behind  and  coming 
to  America  to  set  in  motion  the  living  machinery  to  work  it.  Thus  he 
did  not  publish  his  scheme  as  the  speculation  of  a  benevolent  philoso- 
pher for  others  to  take  up  and  act  upon,  if  they  thought  best,  but 
he  put  his  resources  and  personal  energies  into  it,  and,  besides  a  royal 


YALE   COLLEGE   AND  THE  CHURCH.  573 

charter  and  a  government  grant  of  £20,000,  he  obtained  handsome 
subscriptions  in  England  to  carry  it  into  execution.  His  arrival  at 
Ne\v|Dort,  Rhode  Island,  near  the  end  of  January,  1729,  his  purchasing 
a  farm,  building  a  house  which  he  named  Whitehall,  and  tarrying 
there  for  almost  three  years,  only  to  be  disappointed  and  mortified  by 
the  treachery  of  the  prime  minister.  Sir  Robert  Walpole,  who  practi- 
cally refused  to  pay  the  money  wliich  had  been  promised,  are  circum- 
stances too  well  known  to  require  repetition  in  this  article.  Ho  was 
not,  however,  idle  during  his  recluse  life  at  Newport.  It  furnished 
him  an  opportunity  to  become  personally  acquainted  with  several  of  the 
clergy  in  New  England  ;  with  men  who  studied  his  philosophy,  imbibed 
his  principles,  and  sympathized  with  him  in  his  benevolent  cnteq:)rise. 

Johnson  was  so  much  of  a  convert  to  his  system  that  ho  opened 
a  correspondence  with  him,  visited  him  at  Whitehall,  where  not  only 
great  metaphysical  questions  were  exanxincd,  but  other  subjects  con- 
sidered bearing  on  Christian  education,  and  on  the  way  to  do  something 
to  repair  in  a  fractional  measure  the  injury  occasioned  by  the  fivilure 
of  the  Bermuda  scheme.  In  the  summer  of  1731  he  paid  Berkeley  a 
final  visit,  received  from  him  several  valuable  books,  and  directed  his 
attention  to  the  good  fruits  that  might  flow  from  increasing  the  library 
of  Yale  College.  The  dean  was  then  preparing  to  leave  the  country, 
and  two  months  later,  September  7th,  ho  wrote  him :  "I  am  now  upon 
the  point  of  setting  out  for  Boston  in  order  to  embark  for  England. 
But  the  hurry  I  am  in  could  not  excuse  my  neglecting  to  acknowledge 
the  favor  of  j-our  letter.  .  .  .  My  endeavors  shall  not  be  wanting, 
some  way  or  other,  to  be  useful ;  and  I  shall  lie  very  glad  to  bo  so  in 
particular  to  the  College  at  New  Haven,  and  the  more  so  as  you  were 
once  a  member  of  it,  and  have  still  an  influence  there.  Pray  return 
my  service  to  those  gentlemen  who  sent  their  compliments  by  you." 

Berkeley  reappeared  in  London,  February,  1732,  and  soon  pub- 
lished his  "  Alciphron  ;  or.  The  Minute  Philosopher,"  a  work  in  seven 
dialogues,  largely  written  at  Newport,  and  designed  to  meet  the  ques- 
tionings of  the  freethinkers  whom  he  had  personally  known,  and  to 
check,  if  possible,  the  growi;h  of  scepticism  and  irreligion.  Having 
set  himself  right  about  the  Bermuda  scheme,  and  made  a  satisfactory 
disposition  of  the  private  suljscriptions  received  in  its  support,  he 
remembered  his  promise  to  Johnson,  and  in  midsummer  of  this  year 
wrote  to  him,  enclosing  "the  instrument  of  conveyance  in  form  of 
law,'"  which  deeded  his  farm  in  Rhode  Island  to  the  trustees  of  Yale 
College.  Twelve  months  passed  away,  and  he  had  interested  some  of 
tlie  Bemiuda  subscribers  to  such  a  degree  in  the  institution  that,  with 
their  assistance,  ho  was  enabled  to  send  a  donation  to  the  library  of 
nearly  one  thousand  volmnes,  valued  at  about  £500  ;  "the  finest  col- 
lection of  books,"  according  to  Rector  Clap,  "which  had  then  ever 
been  brought  to  America." 

Johnson,  in  his  autobiogi-aphy,  mentions  that  "the  Trustees, 
though  they  made  an  appearance  of  much  thankfulness,  were  almost 
afraid  to  accept  the  noble  donation,"  suspecting  a  design  to  proselyte, 
and  thinking,  perhaps,  the  gift  might  prove  a  Trojan  horse,  letting 
out  new  disasters  over  the  quieted  colony.     President  Stiles,  who  was 


5T4:  HISTOKY  OF   THE   AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

not  disposed  to  credit  Johnson  witli  the  sole  agency  in  the  matter, 
says,  in  liis  diary,  he  "  persuaded  the  Dean  to  believe  that  Yale  Col- 
lege would  soon  become  Episcopal,  and  that  they  had  received  his 
immaterial  pliilosophy.  This,  or  some  other  motive,  caused  the  Dean 
to  make  a  gift  of  his  Ifhodo  Island  farm,  ninety-six  acres,  with  a  library 
of  aliout  a  thousand  volumes,  to  Yale  College,  in  1733."' 

The  dust  of  a  century  and  a  half  rests  on  the  "motive,"  and  if  we 
could  brush  it  away  we  would  doubtless  tind  nothing  in  the  thought 
of  Berkeley  but  a  desire  to  promote  the  interests  of  religion  and  sound 
learning,  mingled  with  a  hope  "to  inform  their  judgment  and  dispose 
men  lo  think  better  of  the  Church."''  Ho  wished  to  break  down  the 
inherited  prejudices  of  New  England  people,  and  open  a  door  for  the 
attainment  of  "more  liberal  improvements  of  learning."  A  sharp 
religious  controversy  sprung  up  aliout  this  time,  and  was  attended  or 
followed  by  efforts  of  Congregational  ministers  in  Connecticut  and 
]\Iassachusctts  to  depreciate  the  work  of  the  missionaries  of  the 
Church  of  England.  It  was  a  da}'  of  persecutions  when  it  was 
believed  that  the  end  would  sanctify  the  means.  In  a  letter  to  Arch- 
bishop Seeker,  written  many  years  later,  and  referring  to  this  period, 
Johnson  said  :  "  I  maintained  all  along  a  very  friendly  correspondence 
■with  the  chief  men  among  them,  and  endeavored  to  do  them  all  the 
good  oiBces  I  could,  and  in  particular  I  procured  a  noble  donation 
from  Bishop  Berkeley  for  their  college  in  land  and  books  to  the  value 
of  nigh  £2,000  sterling.  But  behold  the  gratitude  of  these  men.  At 
the  same  time  that  I  was  doing  them  these  good  oflSces  they  were 
contriving  and  did  send  to  the  Bishop  of  London  a  long  letter,  full  of 
gross  falsehoods  and  misrepresentations,  of  complaint  against  us  with 
a  view  to  get  all  the  church  people  deprived  of  their  miuisters,  and 
then  of  their  subsistence,  which  he  laid  before  the  society,  and  which 
I  believe  your  Grace  may  find  among  papers  of  the  year  1735.  In 
reply  to  which  the  society  gave  them  leave  to  produce  evidence  to 
make  good  their  complaints  against  us,  which  they  endeavored  to  do, 
but  could  make  nothing  of  it." 

After  Berkeley  was  promoted  (1734)  to  the  see  of  Cloyne,  a 
secluded  bishopric  in  the  southern  [)art  of  his  native  Ireland,  where 
he  was  almost  as  much  out  of  the  world  as  he  had  been  at  Newport, 
he  did  not  cease  to  be  concerned  about  the  result  of  his  benefactions 
or  fail  to  keep  up,  by  letter,  a  toleralily  frequent  intercourse  with  his 
congenial  friend  at  Stratford.  Johnson  was  faithful  to  inform  him  of 
the  progress  of  the  college,  and  Rector  Clap  occasionally  sent  him 
"agreeable  specimens  of  learning,"  to  show  that  the  scholars  on  his 
foundation  deserved  the  honors  which  they  won.  He  intended  "his 
great  donation  should  be  equally  for  a  common  benefit,  without  respect 
to  parties,"  and  that  intention  ajipears  to  have  been  fulfilled. 

All  this  time  the  Church  of  England  was  steadily  gaining  in  the 
colony ;  and  when  Whitcfield  arrived,  and  produced  an  excitement 
never  liefore  known  in  its  religious  history,  the  president  and  tutors 
of  Yale  College  signed  a  declaration  condemnatory  of  his  principles 

'  See  "  Life  anil  CoiTesponJcnee  of  Samuel  =  Anderson's  "Hist,  of  the  Colonial  Churcli," 

Jolmson,"  pp.  79,  81.  Vol.  in.,  p.  375. 


e 


YALE   COLLEGE   AND   THE   CHURCH.  575 

and  purposes ;  and,  without  expressing  it,  really  sympathizing  more 
with  the  sober  and  godly  teaching  of  the  society's  missionaries  than 
with  the  intentions  and  extravagancies  of  the  great  revivalist.  Care 
was  taken,  however,  not  to  encourage  the  growth  of  Episcopacy,  but 
rather  to  perpetuate  the  estal)lishcd  oi-der  of  religion.  So  far  from 
being  favored  in  any  way  by  the  various  acts  of  the  General  AssemJjly, 
modifying  or  extending  the  powers  of  the  college  under  its  charter, 
churchmen  had  reason  to  complain  that  their  sons  were  denied  the 
privilege  of  attending  on  Sundays  the  worship  which  they  desired  and 
conscientiously  preferred.  It  was  a  hardship  that  thej'  were  obliged 
to  ask  leave  for  every  attendance  of  this  kind,  —  a  hardship  that,  after 
a  church  had  been  erected  in  New  Haven  and  a  minister  appointed  to 
it,  the  law,  with  the  penalty  of  a  tine  attached,  still  hung  over  them, 
which  required  them  to  worship  in  the  college  chapel  on  all  Sundays, 
except  Communion  Sundays.  So  late  as  the  beginning  of  the  present 
centurjr,  when  Bishop  Jaivis  was  about  to  place  his  son  at  Yale,  he 
called  upon  Dr.  Dwight,  then  president,  to  settle  the  preliminaries, 
and  among  other  things,  said,  "I  shall  expect  my  son  to  attend 
Church." — "Certainly,"  was  the  I'cjily,  "it  is  his  right ;  only  he  will 
be  obliged  constantly  to  ask  leave."  —  "If  it  is  his  right,"  said  the 
bishop,  "he  ought  not  to  ask  leave." — "Oh,"  answered  the  jiresident, 
"  that  is  a  measure  of  precaution.  Young  gentlemen  might  make  their 
exemption  a  pretext  to  attend  no  public  woi'ship." "  The  bishop  was 
willing  to  trust  his  son,  and  insisted  upon  his  not  being  required  con- 
stantly to  ask  leave,  and  Dr.  Dwight  yielded  the  point.  But  every 
Monday  morning,  when  the  list  of  delinquents  of  the  past  week  was 
called  over,  the  requisition,  "  Jarvis,  absent  from  the  chapel  on  the 
Sabbath,"  was  invariably  followed  by  the  response,  "  Sir,  I  was  at 
Church."  This  is  believed  to  be  the  first  instance  where  the  son  of  a 
churchman  was  allowed,  as  a  matter  of  right,  to  absent  himself  from 
the  services  of  the  Congregational  chapel  on  Sundays.'  Students  who 
came  from  what  were  called  the  "minor  sects,"  if  any  such  there  were, 
made  no  sacrifice  in  going  to  the  chapel,  for  they  were  not  accustomed 
to  the  use  of  a  liturgy,  and  found  the  form  of  worship  near  enough  to 
their  own  to  be  content.  Besides,  there  was  no  Baptist  or  Methodist 
meeting-house  in  New  Haven  prior  to  1800. 

The  change  of  the  charter,  brought  about  under  the  administra- 
tion of  President  Stiles,  whereby,  in  1792,  the  governor  of  the  State, 
lieut. -governor,  and  six  assistants,  or  senators,  were  introduced  into 
the  corporation,  was  evidently  intended  to  restrain  the  ecclesiastical 
power,  and  give  civilians  a  chance  to  participate  in  the  oversight  and 
management  of  the  interests  and  funds  of  the  college.  It  did  not 
cease  to  recognize  the  established  order  of  religion  interpreted  sum- 
marily by  what  was  known  as  the  Saybrook  Platform,  nor  did  it 
modify  the  tests  required  of  members  of  the  faculty,  or  touch  the 
religious  predilections  of  the  students. 

Up  to  this  time  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity  had  not  been 
conferred  upon  any  Episcopal  clergyman  ;  t)ut  at  the  Commencement 

'  See  " Memoir  of  Bishop  Janis,"  liy  bis  Son.    Eveigi'een.    Vol.  in.,  p.  175. 


57G  HISTORY  OF  THE   AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

ill  1702,  Richard  Mansfield,  the  patriarchal  priest,  who  held  the  rec- 
torship of  his  parish  in  Derby  seventy-two  years,  and  died  1820,  in 
the  ninety-seventh  year  of  his  age,  received  the  distinction,  and  was 
the  first  churchman  honored  in  this  way  by  his  Alma  Hater.  The 
audiorities  had  shown  wisdom  in  not  sprinkling  the  degree  very  freely 
among  graduates  who  attained  celebrity  as  learned  Congregational 
divines,  —  a  wisdom,  be  it  spoken  to  their  praise,  which  continues  to 
mark  their  policy  to  the  present  day. 

The  political  i-evolution  in  the  state  which  resulted  in  the  over- 
throw of  the  old  charter  of  King  Charles  11.,  and  the  adoption  of  a 
new  constitution  in  1818,  removed  the  last  restriction  upon  the  con- 
sciences of  men,  so  that  religion  in  every  denominational  form  was 
thereafter  left  to  the  free  acceptance  or  deliberate  rejection  of  the  in- 
habitants of  Connecticut.  The  union  of  church  and  state,  which  had 
existed  from  the  settlement  of  the  colony,  was  broken,  and  taxation 
for  the  support  of  public  worship  was  superseded  by  the  voluntary 
system.  The  Episcopal  Church  felt  the  influence  of  this  revolution 
at  once,  and,  increasing  in  numbers  and  respectability,  began  to  take 
and  occupy  a  higher  place  in  the  social  state.  Of  the  fifty-eight 
graduates  from  Yale,  in  the  class  of  1820,  four  entered  her  ministry, — 
two  of  them  being  from  Connecticut  and  the  other  two  from  South 
Carolina.  The  college  could  not  aflbrd  to  pursue  an  illilieral  policy 
while  the  spirit  of  liberality  was  spi'eading  so  thoroughly  in  the  com- 
monwealth, and  the  repeal,  by  the  corporation,  of  all  religious  tests  for 
the  members  of  the  facultjs  in  1823,  was  followed  five  years  later  by 
appointing  to  a  tutorship  a  churchman,  George  Jones,  who  was  sub- 
sequently admitted  to  holy  orders  by  Bishop  Browncll  and  served 
as  a  chaplain  in  the  United  States  navy  until  his  death  in  1870.  More 
than  a  century  had  elapsed  since  the  trustees  readily  accepted  the 
resignation  of  Daniel  Brown,  for  t-he  reason  that  he  with  others  had 
declared  for  Episcopacy,  and  this  graduate  was  the  fir.st  churchman 
introduced  into  the  faculty  under  a  broader  view  of  religious  tolera- 
tion. Among  the  officers  of  instruction  at  the  present  time  are  repre- 
sentatives of  the  principal  religious  denominations  in  the  land,  the 
Roman  Catholic'not  excepted,  and,  according  to  Professor  Baldwin, ' 
"very  possibly  some  who  belong  to  no  religious  denomination  at  all." 


•N.H.  Colony  Historical  Society  Papoi-s,  Vol.  UI.,  p.  435. 


MONOGRAPH     VII. 

SOME   HISTORIC    CHURCHES. —NEW  ENGLAND. 

ST.  JOHN'S  CnUliCH,  PORTSMOUTH,  N.H. 
By   thk    key.    henry    E.    HOVEY,    M.A.,    Rectoh. 

THE  first  public  religious  services  of  any  kind  held  in  Poi'tsmouth, 
N.H.  (then  knowu  by  the  fragrant  name  of  Strawberry  Bank) 
were  those  of  the  Church  of  England.  In  the  year  1G38  the 
Rev.  Richard  Gibson  (A.B.,  Cantab.,  1636)  appears  as  the  minister 
of  the  infant  colony.  He  exercised  his  office  with  diligence  and 
fidelit}'  until  1642,  when  he  was  summoned  to  Boston  by  the  General 
Court  of  Massachusetts  to  defend  himself  against  the  charge  of  baptiz- 
ing infants  and  solemnizing  marriages  at  the  Isles  of  Shoals  (off  this 
harl)or)  according  to  the  ritual  of  the  Church  of  England.  He  never 
returned  to  Portsmouth,  and  for  ninety  years  there  is  no  evidence  of 
the  services  of  the  Church  of  England  being  held  in  Portsmouth. 

In  1732  the  site  of  the  present  St.  Joim's,  on  the  crest  of  Church 
Hill,  was  given  by  a  Mr.  Hope,  of  London,  and  a  wooden  church 
erected,  and  named  Queen's  Chapel,  in  honor  of  Queen  Caroline, 
consort  of  George  II.,  who  gave  it  several  folio  prayer-books,  and  a 
service  of  plate  for  the  altar,  consisting  of  two  large  flagons,  a  chalice, 
a  paten,  antl  a  christening-basin  stamped  with  the  royal  arms. 

In  173G  the  Rev.  Arthur  Browne  (M.A.,  Trin.  Coll.,  Dublin, 
1729),  a  native  of  Drogheda  in  Ireland,  was  inducted  as  rector,  and 
so  continued  until  his  death  in  1773.  His  rectorship,  of  nearly  forty 
years,  appears  to  have  been  one  of  quiet  and  uneventful  prosperity. 
In  1744  he  writes  to  the  Society  for  Propagating  the  Gospel  in 
Foreign  Parts,  that  "he  has  a  large  parish,  who  behave  well,  and  show 
an  uncommon  regard  to  the  Church." 

In  1761  INIajor  Mason,  of  the  British  Mai'ine  Corps,  and  his 
daughters  Sarah,  Catherine,  and  Anne  Elizabeth,  presented  to  the 
church  the  font  of  variegated  porphyritic  marl)le,  which  is  in  use  at 
the  present  day.  It  had  been  captured  from  the  French  in  a  naval 
battle  off  the  coast  of  Senegal,  Africa,  by  a  British  expedition.  It  was 
said  to  have  l)een  on  its  way  from  a  cathedral  in  Portugal  to  a  Roman 
Catholic  mission  in  Senegal,  and  to  have  been  of  great  a^e  at  the  time 
of  its  capture.  It  is  oval  in  shape,  of  large  size,  and  a  striking  and 
beautiful  object  in  the  interior  of  the  church. 

In  1763  the  Rev.  Mr.  Browne  (as  is  related  in  Longfellow's 
familiar  poem^)  was  called  upon  suddenly,  at  a  dinner  party  at  the 

'  Tales  of  a  Wayside  Inn.    The  Poet's  Talc. 


578  HISTORY   OF   THE  AMERICAN  EPISCOPAIi  CHURCH. 

Wentworth  Mansion,  to  unite  in  marriage  Governor  Benning  Went- 
worth,  and  the  servant-maid,  Martha  Hilton,  who  afterward  gracefully 
bore  the  honors  of  Lady  Wentworth  :  — 

The  Governor  rising  from  his  chair 
Played  slightly  with  liis  ruffles,  then  looked  down, 
And  said  unto  the  Reverend  Arthur  Browne  : 
"  This  is  my  birthday ;  it  shall  lilsewise  be 
My  wedding  day ;  and  you  shall  marry  me !  " 

The  listening  guests  were  greatly  mystified, 

None  more  so  than  the  Rector,  who  replied : 

"  Marry  you?    Yes,  that  were  a  pleasant  task. 

Your  Excellency;  but  to  whom?  I  ask." 

The  Governor  answered  :  "To  this  lady  here ;  " 

And  beckoned  Martha  Hilton  to  draw  near. 

She  came  and  stood,  all  blushes,  at  his  side. 

The  Rector  paused.     The  impatient  Governor  cried  : 

"  This  is  the  lady;  do  you  hesitate? 

Then  I  command  you  as  Chief  Magistrate." 

The  Rector  read  the  service  loud  and  clear  : 

"  Dearly  beloved,  we  are  gathered  here," 

And  so  on  to  the  end.     At  his  command 

On  the  fourth  finger  of  her  fair  left  hand 

The  Governor  placed  the  ring.     And  that  was  all ! 

Martha  was  Lady  Wentworth  of  the  Hall. 

The  poet  states  that  the  rector  "hesitated."  The  record  shows 
no  evidence  of  anything  of  the  sort.  The  stout-hearted  rector  no 
doubt  remembered  at  once  that  the  Church  could  know  no  difference 
in  social  rank  between  the  governor  and  the  servant,  and  that  here 
were  two  parties,  both  of  age,  both  of  sound  minds,  and  both  desirous 
of  matrimony.  The  marriage  was  didy  solemnized,  and  the  husband 
and  wife  each  loved,  honored,  and  cherished  the  other,  until  the 
death  of  the  governor,  in  1770,  did  them  part. 

In  June,  1773,  the  Rev.  Arthur  Browne  finished  his  course  and 
was  gathered  to  his  fathers,  in  a  good  old  age.  The  local  historian  of 
the  time  thus  speaks  of  him  :  '  "  He  was  strongly  attached  to  the  cere- 
monies of  the  Church  and  observed  them  with  scrupulous  exactness. 
He  claimed  some  prerogatives  as  a  parson  which,  though  usual  in  the 
English  Church,  had  never  been  assumed  by  the  other  ministers  here. 
This  circumstance  rendered  him  unpopular  with  the  dissenters,  and 
caused  them  to  charge  him  with  bigotry.  He  was  beloved  by  his 
parish,  who  lamented  hi.s  death." 

After  1773  there  followed  the  troublous  times  of  the  American 
Revolution.  No  rector  was  settled  liere  until  178G.  During  the  in- 
terval Rev.  Edward  Bass,  afterward  first  Bishop  of  Massachusetts, 
frequently  supplied  the  vacancy. 

In  1779  Hon.  Theodore  Atkinson  died,  leaving  a  legacy  of  about 
£200  to  St.  John's  Church,  the  interest  of  which  was  to  be  expended 
in  bread,  to  be  distributed  to  the  poor  in  church  every  Sunday  morn- 
ing. The  trust  has  been  faithfully  executed  for  more  than  one  hun- 
dred years,  and  so  continues  to  the  present  day.  Every  Sunday- 
morning,  the  dole  of  bread  piled  upon  the  brass  covers  of  the  font, 
and  ready  to  be  distributed  to  poor  women  after  service,  is  an 
attractive  and  pleasant  sight. 

'  Annals  of  Poi-tsmouth.    By  Nathaniel  Adams,    p.  236. 


SOME    HISTOIUC   CHURCHES.— NEW   ENGLAND. 


579 


In  1786  the  Rev.  John  Cosen  Ogden,  ordained  by  Bi.shop  Sea- 
bury,  of  Connecticut,  became  rector,  and  remained  until  1793. 

In  1795  the  Rev.  Josepii  Willard,  ordainedby  Bi!^hopProvoost,  of 
New  York,  was  elected  rector,  and  exercised  a  paternal  and  useful  min- 
istry until  Eustcr,  ISUO,  when  he  removed  to  Newark,  New  Jersey. 
On  Christmas-eve,  180(5,  the  old  church  was  consumed  by  tire  during  a 


THE    INTERIOR   OF    ST.    JOHNS    CHURCH. 


great  conflagration  which  swept  through  that  part  of  the  town.  On 
St.  John  the  Bajjtist's  day,  1807,  the  corner-stone  of  the  present  edifice 
was  laid.  The  church,  which  contains  portions  of  the  materials  of  the 
earlier  structure,  was  opened  for  divine  service  on  May  29,  1808,  on 
which  occasion  a  sermon  was  preached  by  Rev.  James  Morss,  of  New- 
buryport.  The  building  is  of  brick,  and  with  good  pi'oportions.  Its 
architecture,  in  ISOfi,  was  much  superior  to  that  by  which  it  was  sur- 
rounded, and  the  church  is  to-day  a  jileasing  and  dignified  structure. 
The  Rev.  Mr.  Morss  thus  speaks  of  it :  "  On  entering  the  superb  Edifice 
and  observing  the  elegance  of  its  structure,  the  beauty  and  simplicity 


580  HISTORY   OF   THE    AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

of  its  decorations,  together  with  its  happy  accommodation  to  the  pur- 
pose for  which  it  is  intended,  emotions  of  delight  and  sentiments  of 
gratitude  naturally  arise." 

At  the  time  of  the  fh'e  and  the  subsequent  rebuilding  of  St. 
John's,  the  parish  was  without  a  rector,  the  Kev.  jNIr.  Willard  having 
resigned  in  the  spring  of  180G.  In  1810,  under  the  l)right  auspices 
of  the  nevy  church-building,  with  health  and  youthful  vigor,  the  Rev. 
Charles  Burroughs,  DD.,  began  his  long  and  happj^  rectorship  of 
nearly  half  a  century. 

In  183G  the  "Brattle  Organ"  came  into  the  possession  of  St. 
John's.  As  far  as  known  it  is  the  oldest  organ  in  America.  It  was 
imported  about  1710  by  Hon.  Thomas  Brattle,  treasurer  of  Harvard 
College.  By  will  he  bequeathed  it  to  the  Bnittle-street  Church  in  Bos- 
ton, under  certain  conditions,  which  not  being  fulfilled,  the  instrument 
went  to  King's  Chapel,  Boston,  where  it  was  in  constant  use  until 
1756.  It  was  then  sold  to  St.  Paul's  Church,  A'ewburyport,  where  it 
was  used  for  eighty  years,  until  1836.  In  that  year  St.  John's  Chapel 
was  erected,  on  State  street,  Portsmouth,  and  the  venerable  organ 
was  purchased  by  Rev.  Dr.  Burroughs,  and  placed  therein.  It  is  still 
in  constant  use  at  the  chapel  services,  and  in  the  Sunday-school. 

Dr.  Burrouglis's  resignation,  in  1857,  brings  the  history  of  St. 
John's  at  once  down  to  modern  times.  Since  then  the  rectors  have 
been  Rev.  William  A.  Hitchcock,  D.D.,  Rev.  Thomas  F.  Davies,  D.D., 
Rev.  Rufus  W.  Clark,  Jr., Rev.  Joel  F.  Bingham,  D.D.,  Rev.  Charles 
A.  Hollirook,  and  Rev.  Henry  E.  Hovey. 

For  the  ten  or  fifteen  years  last  past  Portsmouth  has  not  grown 
in  population,  and  has  somewhat  fallen  ofl'  in  commercial  importance, 
but  old  St.  John's  continues  to  fill  its  place  and  do  its  work.  During 
the  rectorship  of  Rev.  Mr.  Ilolbrook  a  Children's  Home  was  estab- 
lished, which  is  now  in  prosperous  operation,  and  within  the  present 
year  (1884)  a  Cottage  Hospital  has  been  opened,  which,  it  is  hoped, 
may  be  of  some  service  to  the  community. 


^^i^ 


^•r. 


rh^ 


UNION  CHURGH,    WEST  CLAREMONT,   N.H. 

Bv  TiiK  KEV.  FRANCIS  CHASE,  M.A., 
Rector  of  the  Church  of  St.  James  the  Less,  Searsdale ,  N.  Y- 

So  far  as  is  known  the  parish  of  Union  Church,  AVest  Clareraont, 
was  the  first  one  organized  in  the  Connecticut  river  valley,  north  of 
the  Massachusetts  line.  The  town  of  Claremont  was  settled  in  1767 
liy  a  company  of  emigrants  from  Farmington,  Conn.  Several  of 
these,  with  their  leader,  Capt.  Samuel  Brooks,  were  churchmen. 
They  took  with  them  Samuel  Cole,  as  lay-reader  and  school-master. 
The  Rev.  Samuel  Peters  visited  Claremont  ofBcially  in  1770,  and 
probably   organized    the   parish.      In  June,    1773,    the  Rev.    Rimna 


SOME   HISTOUIC   CHURCHES.  —  NEW   ENGLAND. 


581 


Cossit,  the  first  rector,  was  duly  collated  into  the  parish  by  Gov. 
Wentworth.  The  church  edifice,  now  known  as  Union  Church,  was 
commenced  in  September,  1773.  Its  length  was  fifty-five  feet,  its 
breadth  forty  feet,  and  its  heioht,  twenty  feet.  The  plan  is  said  to 
have  been  furnished  by  Gov.  Wentworth,  who  promised  to  give  the 
nails  and  glass  needed,  and  also  a  bell  and  organ.  These  jiromises 
could  not  be  kept.  The  building  was  enclo.'^ed,  however,  a  floor  laid, 
and  a  desk  and  "deacon's  seat  "  made.     In  this  condition  it  was  used 


1^/4 


UNION     CHURCH.     WEST     CL.\REirONT. 


for  divine  service,  during  the  summer  months, .until  17)^.S,  M'hen  the 
outside  was  finished.  In  1S2()  an  acklition  of  twenty-five  feet  was 
made  to  the  length  of  the  church. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Co.ssit,  who  was  loyal  to  the  crown,  with  two  of 
his  principal  parishioners,  was  confined  within  the  limits  of  the  town 
during  the  war,  except  so  far  as  the  ministrations  of  religion  were 
concerned.     In  nsf^  he  resigned  the  parish. 

The  ministrations  of  other  clergymen  were  lirief  until  1795,  when 
the  Eev.  Daniel  Barber  was  chosen  rector.  He  was  prominent  in  the 
movement  (1800-1808)  to  form  a  diocese  in  the  valley  of  Connecticut 
river.  He  became,  in  advanced  years,  perverted  to  Romanism,  and 
was  for  that  cause  obliged  to  leave  the   j)arish  in  1818.     The  next 


582  HISTORV    OF   THE   AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

rector  was  the  Rev.  James  B.  Howe,  who  continued  till  184;^.  The 
church  grew  under  his  care,  and  immediately  after  his  departure  a 
separate  parish  was  formed  of  its  numerous  members  in  Claremont 
village.  The  old  church  chose  the  Eev.  Henry  S.  Smith  for  its 
rector.  He  held  this  office,  respected  and  beloved,  until  his  death,  in 
1872,  and  was  followed,  after  a  brief  interval,  by  liis  son,  the  Eev.  "\V. 
B.  T.  Smith,  the  present  rector. 


CHRIST  CHURCH,    BOSTON. 

Bv   THE   REV.    HEXRY   BURROUGHS,    D.D., 

l.atf  Ri^i:tor  vf  Christ  Church,  Boston. 

Christ  Church  is  the  oldest  house  of  worship,  and  with,  perhaps, 
a  single  exception,  the  oldest  public  liuilding  in  Boston.  The  first 
stone  was  laid  on  the  15th  of  April,  1728,  by  the  Rev.  Samuel  Myles, 
incuml)ent  of  King's  Chapel,  who  concluded  the  impressive  ceremony 
with  the  words,  "  May  the  Gates  of  Hell  never  prevail  against  it." 
The  church  was  opened  for  divine  service  on  Sunday  the  29th  of 
Decemlier  in  the  same  year,  when  the  Rev.  Dr.  Cutler  preached  from 
the  7th  verse  of  the  .Tlith  chapter  of  Isaiah,  "For  mine  house  shall  be 
called  a  house  of  jn'ayer  for  all  peoi)le."  It  is  seventy  feet  long,  fifty 
feet  wide,  and  thirty-five  feet  high.  The  walls,  which  are  of  In-ick, 
are  two  and  a  half  feet  in  thickness.  The  tower  is  twenty-four  feet 
square,  and  its  walls  are  three  and  a  half  feet  thick.  The  spire  rises 
to  the  height  of  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  feet.  The  architect  is 
not  known,  ])ut  the  building  was  evidently  constructed  after  one  of  the 
designs  of  Sir  Christopher  Wren.  The  steeple  was  not  finished  until 
1740.  It  was  blown  down  in  1804,  and  rebuilt  in  1807.  The  spire 
was  lowered  to  the  ground  in  1847  for  repairs,  and  restored  to  its 
place.  There  were  at  first  three  aisles,  and  the  pews  were  square. 
The  pulpit,  reading-desk,  and  clerk's  desk  were  on  the  north  side  of 
the  middle  aisle.  The  present  pulpit,  desk,  and  pews  are  of  more 
recent  date.  The  steeple  Mas  rebuilt  after  the  original  plan,  and  in 
other  respects  the  church  remains  sul)stantiall_y  the  same  as  it  was  Ijefore 
the  revolution. 

On  the  2d  of  October,  1722,  the  committee  appointed  to  collect 
money  for  building  the  new  church  wrote  to  the  Rev.  Dr.  Timothy 
Cutler,  congratulating  him  and  his  friends  on  account  of  their  late 
declaration  of  l)elief  that  the  Church  of  England  is  a  true  l)ranch  of 
the  Catholic  Church,  and  in\iting  him  to  come  to  Boston  and  proceed 
to  London  for  holy  orders.  They  promised  to  pay  for  the  passages  of 
Cutler,  Johnson,  and  Brown,  to  provide  a  sum  for  Dr.  Cutler's  support 
in  England,  and  to  send  a  jjctition  to  the  Bishop  of  London  to  license 


SOME   HISTORIC   CHURCHES— NEW  ENGLAND.  583 

him  to  preach  in  the  church  about  to  be  erected.  The  invitation  was 
accepted,  and  Dr.  Cutler  was  ordained  in  London  in  JNIarch,  1723,  and 
arrived  in  Boston  on  the  24th  of  September.  He  was  appointed  a 
missionary  of  the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel  in  Foreign 
Parts,  and  his  reports  to  that  society  furnish  a  history  of  his  parish 
during  his  incumbency  of  foily-two  years.  His  first  letter,  dated  Jan. 
4,  1724,  describes  the  opening  service  on  the  preceding  Sunday,  when 
the  church,  not  yet  finished,  was  crowded  with  hearers.  There  were 
eighty  families  and  forty  communicants.  Many  were  drawn  into  the 
Church  under  his  ministry,  especially  the  young.  The  congregation 
increased  to  eight  hundred  persons,  who  were  very  constant  and  devout 
at  public  worship,  and  the  parish  was  in  peace.  The  number  of  com- 
municants was  ninety-four.  In  1750,  after  Trinity  Church  was  built, 
Christ  Church  was  the  smallest  of  the  three  Episcopal  churches  in 
Boston.  It  was  never,  during  the  colonial  times,  able  to  maintain  its 
rector  without  the  aid  of  the  Society  for  Propagating  the  Gospel.  To 
that  venerable  society  the  parish  is  indebted  not  only  for  pecuniary 
assistance,  but  also  for  a  handsome  theological  library  now  in  its  pos- 
session. 

Dr.  Cutler  wrote  in  1724  that  this  church  had  but  one  piece  of 
silver  for  the  communion  service.  That  is  the  smaller  of  the  two 
chalices,  and  it  is  marked,  "The  gift  of  Captain  Thomas  Tudor  to 
Christ  Church,  in  Boston,  1724."  Two  of  the  large  flagons  were  pro- 
cured with  the  gold  and  silver  received  in  the  offertory,  and  on  them 
are  the  words,  "  Belonging  to  Christ  Church,  Boston,  New  England, 
1729."  The  name  and  arms  of  Leonard  Vassall  are  on  a  paten  given 
by  him  in  1730.  The  massive  christening-basin  bears  the  inscription, 
■'The  gift  of  Arthur  Savage,  Esq.,  to  Christ  Church  in  Boston,  1730," 
with  the  arms  of  his  family.  On  two  of  the  flagons,  the  larger  chalice, 
a  paten,  and  a  receiver  for  the  offertory,  may  be  seen  the  royal  arms 
with  the  words,  "The  gift  of  His  jNlajesty  King  George  II.  to  Christ 
Church  at  Boston  in  New  England,  at  the  request  of  his  excellency 
governour  Belcher,  1733."  There  is  also  an  oval  vessel  with  a  cover 
which  was  presented  by  Mrs.  Hannah  Smith  in  1815. 

Besides  the  silver,  George  II.  gave  to  this  church  a  folio  Bible, 
printed  at  Oxford  by  John  Baskett  in  1717,  and  celebrated  for  the 
elegance  of  the  printing  and  engravings,  fourteen  large  prayer-books, 
cushions,  carpets,  damask,  and  two  surplices  of  fine  Holland.  Three 
of  these  prayer-books,  adapted  to  the  American  service,  the  Bible  and 
the  silver,  are  now  in  use.  Gov.  Belcher,  to  whose  favorable  rep- 
resentations the  parish  is  indebted  for  the  king's  generous  gifts,  was  a 
Congregationalist,  and  his  interest  in  the  church  was  founded  upon  his 
regard  for  Dr.  Cutler. 

The  bells  are  eight  in  number,  the  lightest  weighing  620  lbs. ,  and 
the  heaviest  1 ,545  lbs.  They  cost  £560  in  England.  We  will  let  them 
speak  for  themselves.  The  first,  tenor,  has  this  inscription:  "This 
peal  of  eight  bells  is  the  gift  of  a  number  of  generous  persons  to  Christ 
Church  in  Boston,  New  England,  Anno  1744,  A.R."  On  the  second 
are  the  words  :  "  This  Church  was  founded  in  the  year  1723.  Timothy 
Cutler,  Doctor  in  Divinity,  the  first  Rector,  A.R.   1744."     The  third 


584  HISTORY   OF   THE  AMERICAN   EPIwSCOPAL  CHURCH. 

says :  "  We  are  the  first  ring  of  bells  cast  for  the  British  Empire  in 
North  America,  A.R.  1744."  The  fom-th  exclaims,  "  God  preserve  tiic 
Church  of  England  !  1744."  The  fifth  commemorates,  "  William  Shirley, 
Esq.,  Governour  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay  in  N.E.  Anno  1744." 
The  sixth  tells  us:  "The  subscription  for  these  bells  was  begun  liy 
lohn  Hammock,  and  Robt.  Temple,  Church  Wardens,  Anno  1743. 
Completed  by  Robert  lenkins,  and  Ino.  Gould,  Church  Wardens, 
1744."  The  seventh  adds,  "  Since  generosity  has  opened  our  mouths, 
our  tongues  shall  ring  aloud  its  praise,  1744."  And  the  eighth  con- 
cludes, "  Al)el  Rudhall  of  Gloucester  cast  us  all.     Anno.  1744." 

These  bells  are  provided  witii  wheels  for  round  ringing,  but  they 
are  now  struck  by  means  of  cords  attached  to  the  tongues,  instead  of 
being  rung  as  they  were  foi'merly.  They  are  remarkable  for  purity 
of  tone,  sweetness,  and  harmony.  They  may  still  be  heard,  as  in  the 
olden  time,  for  two  weeks  at  the  Christmas  season,  filling  the  night  air 
with  the  glad  tidings  that  angels  l)rought  in  the  night  to  the  shepherds 
in  the  field. 

The  first  oi'gan  was  brought  from  Newport  in  1736.  The  second 
was  made  in  17.59  by  Thomas  Johnston.  The  interior  was  rebuilt  by 
Mr.  Goodrich  about  fifty  years  ago. 

The  four  figures  of  cherubim,  and  the  two  chandeliers,  were  pre- 
sented, in  1740,  by  the  captain,  John  Grushea,  and  the  owners  of  the 
British  ship  "Queen  of  Hungary,"  and  were  taken  from  a  French 
vessel. 

Dr.  Cutler  founded  the  church  at  Dedham,  took  care  of  Christ 
Church,  Braintree,  and  preached  frequently  in  towns  where  there  was 
no  Episcopal  church.  He  contended  for  the  rights  of  the  clergy  of  the 
Church  of  England,  and  engaged  actively  in  measures  for  the  defence 
of  those  who  were  prosecuted  for  marrying  according  to  the  usage  in 
the  "  Book  of  Common  Prayer,"  and  for  the  relief  of  Episcopalians  who 
were  fined  and  imprisoned  for  not  supporting  the  Independent  teach- 
ers, and  paying  for  building  and  repairing  their  houses  of  worship. 
He  never  ceased  to  urge  the  appointment  of  a  l^ishop  for  the  Ameri- 
can colonies.  Under  all  the  difficulties  arising  from  the  want  of  Epis- 
copal oversight,  and  from  the  hostility  of  the  dominant  sect  in  New 
England,  he  laliored  without  ceasing  until  the  infirmities  of  age  com- 
pelled him  to  rest.  During  the  last  nine  years  of  his  life  he  was  unable 
to  perform  public  duty.  He  died  on  the  17th  of  August,  1765,  at  the 
age  of  eighty-one  years,  and  was  buried  under  the  chancel  of  his  church. 

During  Dr.  Cutler's  long  illness  James  Greaton  acted  at  first  as 
lay-reader,  and  was  afterwards  ordained,  upon  the  recommendation  of 
the  vestry,  by  the  Bishop  of  London,  and  appointed  assistant  to  the 
rector.  An  unpleasant  controversy,  which  sadly  disturbed  the  peace 
and  harmony  of  the  congregation,  for  a  long  time,  ended  in  a  request 
from  Mr.  Greaton  to  the  Society  for  Propagating  the  Gospel,  on  the 
28th  of  August,  1767,  that  he  might  be  removed  from  the  mission. 

On  Easter  jNIonday,  1768,  the  vestr}'  invited  Dr.  Mather  Byles, 
Junior,  who  had  been  a  Congregationalist  minister  in  Connecticut,  and 
had  entered  the  Episcopal  Church,  to  become  their  rector.  They  also 
raised  a  sum  of  money  to  assist  in  paj'ing  his  expenses  in  going  to 


SOME   HISTORIC   CHURCHES. —  NEW   ENGLAND.  .585 

England  for  holy  orders,  and  agreed  to  give  him  £100  per  annum. 
He  accepted  the  invitation,  was  ordained  in  England  and  appointed 
missionary,  and  returned  to  Boston  on  the  28th  of  September.  He 
found  one  hundred  families  and  fifty  communicants.  Ninety-eight 
baptisms  are  recorded  by  him  in  a  single  year.  He  was  an  acceptable 
preacher  and  a  faithful  and  laborious  pastor,  but  he  was  a  stanch 
loyalist,  and  the  revolutionary  spirit  was  already  at  work  in  his  con- 
gregation. Feeling  himself  bound  l\y  his  oath  of  allegiance  to  the 
king  and  his  promise  of  conformity  to  the  English  Prayer-Book,  he 
could  not  join  with  the  friends  of  liberty,  and  he  I'esigned  his  charge. 

Dr.  Byles's  resignation  was  accepted  on  Easter  Tuesday,  April 
18,  1775,  and  it  was  on  the  evening  of  that  day  that  the  signal  lan- 
terns of  Paul  Revere,  from  the  church  steeple,  announced  the  begin- 
ning of  those  hostilities  which  ended  in  the  establishment  of  the 
independence  of  the  United  States. 

It  was  suspected  that  General  Gage  was  preparing  an  expedition 
to  Concord  to  cajjture  the  stores  and  ammunition  collected  there  by 
the  Americans,  and  Dr.  Joseph  Warren  remained  in  Boston,  ^vhile 
the  Provincial  Congress  was  in  session  at  Concord,  to  Avatch  the  move- 
ments of  the  British,  and  communicate  them  to  Hancock  and  Adams, 
who  were  attending  the  Congress,  and  were  staying  at  the  house  of 
the  Rev.  Jonas  Clark,  in  Lexington.  On  the  15th  of  April  there  were 
discovered  signs  of  an  early  movement  of  the  troops,  and  Paul  Revei'e, 
by  Dr.  Warren's  request,  rode  to  Lexington  and  gave  notice  to  the 
patriots.  On  his  return  it  occurred  to  him  that  when  it  should  become 
necessary  to  send  word  that  the  British  were  actually  on  the  march  it 
might  be  impossible  for  a  messenger  to  leave  Boston,  and  he  agreed 
with  Colonel  Conant  and  other  friends  whom  he  saw  in  Charlestown, 
that — in  his  own  words  —  "if  the  British  went  out  by  water  we 
would  show  two  lanterns  in  the  North  Church  steeple,  and  if  by  land 
one,  as  a  signal." 

On  the  evening  of  the  18th,  Dr.  Warren,  finding  that  the  troops 
were  preparing  to  cross  in  boats,  sent  for  Revere  in  great  haste, 
and  begged  him  to  set  out  for  Lexington  immediately.  Revere  went 
to  the  North  End,  made  his  preparations,  and  was  rowed  with  muffled 
oars,  under  the  guns  of  a  British  vessel,  to  the  Charlestown  shore, 
where  he  met  Conant  and  others,  who  said  "they  had  seen  our  sig- 
nals." "I  told  them  what  was  acting,"  writes  Revere,  "and  went  to 
get  me  a  horse."  During  the  interval  between  the  15th  and  the  18th 
of  April  he  arranged  for  the  lanterns  to  be  shown  from  the  steeple  of 
Christ  Church,  then  and  for  many  years  commonly  called  the  Nortli 
Church.  He  selected  this  building  because  its  lofty  tower  and  spire 
overlook  the  town  of  Charlestown  ;  and  the  lanterns  were  probably 
held  at  the  window  long  enough  to  be  seen  by  those  who  were  look- 
ing out  for  them,  and  were  not  displayed  in  such  a  manner  as  to  be 
visible  to  any  one  in  the  street  below.  His  purpose  was,  that  by  them 
the  information  which  he  was  to  communicate  to  the  patriots  might  be 
made  known  to  his  friends  on  the  opposite  shore  in  case  he  should  be 
prevented  from  crossing.  He  does  not  mention  the  name  of  the  per- 
son whom  he  employed  to  make  the  appointed  signal.     It  seems  most 


586  HISTORY  OF  THE   AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

natural  aud  probable  ibut  he  would  intrust  the  task  to  the  sexton, 
Robert  Newman,  who  was  his  friend  and  neighbor,  like  himself  a 
North-End  mechanic,  and  a  friend  of  liberty,  and  who  was  young, 
active,  and  familiar  with  the  difficult  ascent  of  the  steeple,  where  he 
had  to  climb  by  pegs  driven  into  the  upright  timbers.  As  sexton  he 
had  the  keys  of  the  church,  and  was  least  likely  to  excite  suspicion 
if  seen  entering  the  building  at  night.  And  the  tradition,  universally 
received  among  those  living  near  the  church,  and  strengthened  by  the 
testimony  of  persons  who  knew  Revere  aud  his  friends,  agrees  with 
this  supposition.  It  is,  however,  believed  by  some  that  it  was  not 
Robert  Newman,  but  John  Pulling,  a  meml>er  of  the  vestry,  who  car- 
ried up  the  lanterns  to  the  windows  in  the  steeple. 

This  interesting  incident  was  commemorated  on  the  evening  of  the 
I8th  of  April,  1875,  by  services  and  historical  addresses;  and  two 
lanterns  were  carried  up  to  the  steeple  bj^  the  venerable  Samuel  H. 
Newman,  the  youngest  and  only  suiwiving  son  of  Robert  Newman, 
attended  by  the  pi'esent  sexton,  and  displayed  to  thousands,  who, 
unable  to  enter  the  crowded  church,  filled  the  neighboring  streets.  At 
the  first  sight  of  this  simple  memorial  the  vast  multitude  bowed  their 
heads,  as  it"  impressed  by  its  solemnity,  aud  then  filled  the  air  with  ac- 
clamations. 

By  order  of  the  city  government  a  tablet  has  been  placed  in  the 
front  wall  of  the  tower  with  the  following  inscription :  "  The  signal 
lanterns  of  Paul  Revere,  displayed  in  the  steeple  of  this  church,  April 
18,  1775,  warned  the  country  of  the  march  of  the  British  Troops  to 
Lexington  and  Concord." 

Dr.  Byles  remained  in  Boston  while  it  was  occupied  by  the  British, 
and  offered  to  preach  in  his  old  church ;  but  his  proposal,  he  says,  was 
treated  with  neglect.  He  went  to  Halif^ix  in  1776,  and  in  1778  became 
rector  of  St.  John's,  New  Brunswick,  where  he  died  March  12,  1814, 
in  his  eightieth  year.  In  1778  the  "French  Congregation"  received 
from  the  American  government  leave  to  use  Christ  Church,  which  had 
been  closed  since  1775,  and  it  would  have  been  lost  to  our  communion 
had  not  the  Rev.  Samuel  Parker,  of  Trinity  Church,  by  invitation  of 
those  of  the  parish  who  remained  in  town,  preached  in  it  every  Sunday 
afternoon.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Lewis  afterwards  officiated.  He  was  desired 
by  a  vote  of  the  vestry  in  1779  "to  prepare  a  proper  form  of  Prayer 
for  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  for  the  several  States,  and  for 
their  Success  in  the  present  important  Contest,  to  be  used  daily  in  the 
Church."  The  Rev.  William  Montague  and  others  officiated  until  1792, 
when  the  Rev.  Dr.  William  Walter  accepted  the  rectorship.  He  was 
rector  of  Trinity  Church  before  the  Revolution,  but  left  Boston  after 
the  war  begun,  and  resided  in  Shelburne,  N.S.,  where  he  was 
appointed  rector  of  St.  George's  Church.  He  returned  to  Boston,  and 
remained  in  charge  of  Christ  Church  until  his  death,  on  the  5th  of 
December,  1800.  His  successor  was  the  Rev.  Samuel  Haskell,  who  left 
in  1803.  Asa  Eaton,  who  was  graduated  that  year  at  Harvard  College, 
and  who  is  supj)osed,  while  a  student,  to  have  had  in  view  the  ministry 
of  the  Congregationalists,  was  then  engaged  as  lay-reader.  He  soon 
became  convinced  of  the  truth  of  the  claims  of  the  Episcopal  Church, 


SOME   HISTORIC   CHURCHES.  —  NEW   ENGLAND.  587 

and  prepared  himself  for  holy  orders.  There  being  no  bishop  in  Mas- 
sachusetts at  the  time,  he  was  ordained  deacon  on  the  31st  of  July,  and 
priest  on  the  2d  of  August,  1805,  by  Bishop  Benjamin  Moore,  in 
Trinity  Church,  New  York.  By  the  divine  blessing  on  his  faithful 
labors,  continued  for  twenty-four  years,  this  parish  rose  from  the 
depression  that  followed  the  separation  from  England  to  a  high  state 
of  prosperity.  The  Rev.  Dr.  Edson  writes  that  "in  standing  this 
parish  had  become  at  least  the  second  in  the  State.  In  point  of  life 
and  efficiency,  as  a  member  of  the  whole,  it  was  first."  Dr.  Eaton 
introduced  a  third  service  on  Sundays,  at  a  time  when  "  Evening 
lectures  "  were  regarded  with  distrust  by  the  more  conservative  of  our 
clergy.  He  devoted  one  evening  in  the  week  to  a  meeting  for  prayer 
and  pastoral  instruction,  and,  with  the  aid  of  Shubael  Bell,  one  of  the 
wardens,  he  established  a  Sunday-school  when  there  was  no  other  in 
Boston,  nor,  as  far  as  they  knew,  in  America.  This  was  not  a  mere 
class  for  Bible  instmction,  but  a  school  regularly  organized  after  the 
model  of  the  Sunday-schools  in  England.  This  school  went  into  opera- 
tion on  the  15th  of  June,  1815. 

Shubael  Bell  presented  the  bust  of  Washington,  which  was  said 
by  La  Fayette,  who  went  to  see  it  in  1825,  to  be  a  faithful  likeness. 
The  artist  is  unknown. 

Dr.  Eaton  took  a  prominent  part  in  the  formation  of  the  Eastern 
diocese  and  the  election  of  Bishop  Griswold.  He  held  at  one  time  the 
rectorship  of  Christ  Church  in  Cambridge,  and  maintained  services 
there  and  at  St.  Mary's,  Newton.  He  aided  in  keeping  alive  the  old 
parishes  that  survived  the  Revolution,  and  in  the  establishment  of  new 
churches.  He  resigned  the  rectorship  in  1829,  on  account  of  an  in- 
firmity of  the  voice.  He  was  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  William 
Croswell,  then  a  young  man  in  deacon's  orders,  who  was  ordained 
priest  on  the  24th  of  June,  1829,  in  Christ  Church.  His  poems  will 
preserve  to  many  generations  the  memory  of  his  connection  with  the 
church  that  he  so  dearly  loved.  In  the  memoir,  wiitten  by  his  father, 
may  be  found  a  full  record  of  his  pastorate  of  eleven  years. 

^\'e  have  space  only  to  enumerate  his  successors.  The  Rev.  John 
Woart  was  rector  from  1840  to  1851 ;  the  Rev.  W.  T.  Smithett  from 
1852  to  1859;  the  Rev.  J.  T.  Burrill  from  1860  to.1868,  and  the 
Rev.  Henry  Burroughs,  D.D.,  from  1868  to  1881.  During  the  last 
forty  years  large  numbers  have  been  baptized  and  confirmed,  and  there 
has  been  a  great  deal  of  good  done  among  the  poor  of  the  North  End. 
The  Sunday-school  continues  to  draw  large  numbers  into  the  church. 
But,  in  consequence  of  the  removal  of  Protestant  families  from  that 
part  of  the  city  whei'e  the  church  is  situated,  there  has  been  a  decrease 
in  the  attendance  upon  the  public  services.  During  the  last  thirteen 
years  three  hundred  and  twenty  have  been  baptized,  one  hundred  and 
sixty-two  confirmed,  and  two  hundred  and  sixty-two  added  to  the  com- 
munion, while,  during  the  same  period,  one  hundred  and  seventy  com- 
municants have  died  or  removed.  Some  of  the  families  who  have 
removed  to  other  parts  of  Boston,  or  to  the  neighboring  cities,  continue 
to  attend  the  church,  and  at  present  no  one  of  the  vestry,  and  less  than 
half  of  the  Sunday-school  teachers,  reside  at  the  North  End. 


588  IIISTOKV   OF   THE   AMERICAN    EPISCOl'AL   CHURCH. 

We  cannot  conclude  this"brief  sketch  without  aUuding  to  the  bene- 
factors of  tliis  parish  :  Mrs.  Jane  Keen  Richardson,  who  left  to  it  her 
estate  in  Chambers  street ;  Mrs.  Catharine  Hay,  the  widow  of  the 
youngest  son  of  Lord  Hay,  who  gave  $1,000  to  accumulate  for  the 
purpose  of  procuring  a  parsonage  ;  Miss  Eliza  Burroughs,  the  foundei- 
of  the  Burroughs  Fund,  the  income  of  which,  $70  per  annum,  is  given 
to  the  poor  ;  WilHam  Price,  l)y  whose  will  the  rector  of  Christ  Church 
yn-caches  two  of  the  Lent  lectures  in  Trinity  Church,  and  the  poor  of 
tiie  parish  receive  one-half  of  the  collections  at  the  lectures,  and  tiie 
nol)le-hearted,  gracious.  Christian  ladies,  Betsey  and  Lydia  Loring, 
without  whose  constant  and  most  generous  gifts  this  church  would  long- 
ago  have  been  closed  and  its  services  discontinued.  With  the  income 
from  the  funds  thus  established,  and  the  liberal  aid  of  memliers  of 
other  parishes,  services  are  still  maintained  in  this  \'enerable  and 
liistorical  church,  which  must  be  always  full  of  interest  as  a  monument 
of  the  colonial  period,  and  of  the  revolutionary  war. 


oP/^ytr-o-o^^-^^U. 


CHRIST  CHURCH,  CAMBRIDGE. 

By  the  REV.  NICHOLAS  IIOPPIN,  D.D., 

Formerly  Rector  of  Clirifit  Church. 

The  archives  of  the  venerable  society  contain  the  following 
account  of  the  introduction  of  the  Church  in  Camliridge :  "  Several 
worthy  gentlemen  of  the  town  of  Caml)ridgc,  in  the  Province  of 
Massachusetts  Bay,  memlicrs  of  tlie  Church  of  England,  having  peti- 
tioned the  Society  to  grant  them  a  missionary',  who  may  officiate  not 
only  to  them  and  the  adjacent  towns,  but  also  to  such  students  of 
Harvard  University  who  are  of  the  Church  of  England,  and  are  at 
jiresent  obliged  at  great  inconvenience  to  go  to  Boston  for  an  oppor- 
tunity of  public  worship  according  to  the  liturgy  of  the  Church,  and 

setting  forth  in  their  petition  that 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Apthorp,  Fellow  of 
Jesus  College  in  the  University 
of  Cambridge,  England,  is  every 
way  qualified  for  the  advance- 
ment of  religion  among  them,  in 
Holy  Orders,  and  on  a  visit  to  his  friends  in  Boston,  the  Society,  out 
of  a  peculiar  regard  to  the  merit  and  approved  aliilities  of  Mr.  Apthorp, 
which  will  enable  him  very  much  to  promote  religion  and  learning  in  that 
his  native  colony,  have  appointed  him  their  missionary  to  the  Church  of 
Cambridge,  in  the  colony  of  Massachusetts  Bay ;  and  the  gentlemen 


SOME  HISTORIC  CHURCHES.  — NEW  ENGLAND. 


589 


of  that  Church,  by  a  letter  dated  November  20th,  1759,  return  their 
hearty  thanks  to  the  Society  for  this  appointment,  and  promise  that 
they  will  neglect  nothing  in  their  power  to  render  themselves  worthy 
of  its  patronage." 

The  original  subscription  for  building  the  church  is  dated  at  Bos- 
ton, April  25,  1759.  The  petition  to  the  society  was  signed  by 
Henry  Vassal,  Joseph  Lee,  John  Vassal,  Ralph  Inman,  Thomas  Oliver, 
David  Phips,  Robert  Temple,  James  Apthorp.  At  a  meeting  held  at 
Boston  Sei)tember  29,  1759,  the  six  tirst-named  gentlemen  were 
chosen  as  the  liuilding  committee.  In  their  letter  of  thanks  to  the  society 
for  establishing  the  mission  at  Cambridge,  dated  November  24,  1759, 
the  committee  say  :  "  We  have  applied  to  a  masterly  architect  for  a 
plan,  and  purpose  to  build  a  handsome  church  of  wood."  The  architect 
alluded  to  was  Mr.  Peter  Hari'ison,  then  residing  at  Newport,  Rhode 
Island,  whose  designs  of  pub- 
lic buildings  have  been  much 
admired  for  correct  taste .  He 
was  the  architect  of  the  Red- 
wood Library,  Newport,  and 
of  the  King's  Chapel,  Boston. 
Christ  Church,  built  from  his 
designs,  at  a  cost,  not  includ- 
ing the  land,  of  about  £1 ,300 
sterling,  seems  to  have  been 
always  regarded  as  an  edifice 
of  superior  elegance.  In  his 
sermon  at  the  opening  of  the 
church,  which  took  place 
Thursday,  October  15,  17()1, 
Mr.  Apthorp  says  of  it : 
"  Much  has  been  done  already 
by  your  munificence  towards 
completing  a  structure,  the 
least  merit  of  which  is  the 

honor  it  does  to  our  country  by  adding  to  the  few  specimens  we  have  of 
excellence  in  the  fine  arts."  The  "  Massachusetts  Magazine"  for  July, 
1792,  which  gives  an  engraved  view  of  the  building,  speaks  of  it  as 
"  commodious  and  elegant."  The  Rev.  Dr.  Holmes,  in  his  history  of 
Cambridge,  says  :  "It  is  considered  by  connoisseurs  in  architecture  as 
one  of  the  best  constructed  churches  in  New  England."  The  vener- 
able Andrew  Burnaby,  archdeacon  of  Leicester,  England,  in  bis 
"Travels  through  the  Middle  Settlements  of  North  America"  (1760, 
p.  141),  says  :  "  A  church  has  been  lately  erected  at  Cambridge  within 
sight  of  the  College.  The  building  is  elegant,  and  the  minister  of  it, 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Apthorp,  is  a  very  amial)]e  young  man  of  shining  parts, 
and  pure  and  engaging  manners." 

The  missions  of  the  society  in  this  country,  though  demanded  of 
the  Church  of  England  by  so  many  considerations  of  duty  to  her 
children,  had  been,  on  political  as  well  as  theological  grounds,  for 
some  lime  regarded  with  alarm,  particularly  in  New  England.     The 


CHIilST   CHURCH,    CAMBRIDGE. 


great  learning; 


590  HISTORY   OF   THE   AiMKUICAN   El^ISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

founding  of  the  church  at  Cambridge,  in  the  immediate  neighborhood 
of  the  college,  and  the  appointment  of  so  able  and  accomplished  a 
missionary,  seems  to  have  given  rise  to  renewed  distrust  with  regard 
to  the  ulterior  ol)jects  of  the  society.  Mr.  Apthorp  felt  called  u})()ii 
to  defend  its  proceedings,  and  pulilished,  in  17()3,  "Considerations  on 
the  Institution  and  Conduct  of  the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the 
Gospel."  This  led  to  a  sharp  reply  from  the  Rev.  Jonathan  Mayliew, 
D.D.,  pastor  of  the  West  Church,  in  Boston.  Dr.  Thomas  Seeker, 
then  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  published,  in  1764,  without  his  name, 
a  temperate  and  dignified  answer  to  Dr.  Mayhew,  to  which  Dr.  May- 
hew  replied ;  and  his  reply  was  reviewed  in  1765  by  Mr.  Apthorp, 
then  in  England. 

It  was  thought  that  the  bitterness  with  which  he  was  assailed  in 
this  controversy  was  the  reason  of  Mr.  Apthorp's  abandoning  his 
original  purpose  of  returning  to  America.  It  was  hinted  that  he  had 
an  eye  to  the  episcopate,  in  case  bishoprics  should  be  established  in 
the  colonies.  Upon  settling  in  Cambridge  he  built  a  spacious  and 
costly  mansion,  the  unwonted  splendor  of  which  caused  many  remarks. 
Said  the  Rev.  Dr.  Mayhew,  in  one  of  his  pamphlets  :  "  Since  the  mis- 
sion was  established  in  Cambridge,  and  a  very  sumptuous  dwelling- 
house  (for  this  country)  erected  there,  that  town  hath  been  often 
talked  of  by  the  Episcopalians,  as  well  as  others,  as  the  proposed  place 
of  residence  for  a  bishop."  In  another  he  amusingly  surmised  that 
"  a  certain  superb  edifice  near  Harvard  College  was  even  from  the  foun- 
dation designed  for  the  palace  of  one  of  the  humble  successors  of  the 
Apostles." 

No  doubt,  Mr.  Apthorp's  situation  in  Cambridge  was  rendered 
uncomfortable  by  this  controversy,  and  he  the  more  readily  embraced 
the  opportunity  of  preferment  in  England.  In  1765  Archbishop 
Seeker  gave  him  the  vicarage  of  Croydon,  near  London.  For  twenty- 
eight  years  he  continued  vicar  of  Croydon,  performing  the  duties  of  a 
parish  priest  with  exempfary  diligence,  and  to  the  great  satisfaction 
of  the  inhabitants,  by  whom  he  was  very  justly  revered,  and  who 
showed  their  regard  for  him  when  he  had  lost  his  sight,  by  a  noble 
present  of  nearly  £2,000  sterling.  Here  he  foimd  time  for  his 
favorite  classical  and  historical  studies,  and  here,  early  in  1778, 
he  entered  the  list  against  the  historian  Gibbon  by  the  publication  of 
"  Letters  on  the  Prevalence  of  Christianity  before  its  Civil  Establish- 
ment, with  Observations  on  a  late  History  of  the  Roman  Empire." 
Soon  after  the  appearance  of  this  work  Archbishop  Cornwallis  con- 
ferred on  him  the  degree  of  D.D.,  and  collated  him  to  the  rectorship 
of  St.  Mary-le-Bone,  London.  In  1790  he  was  made  a  prebendary  of 
St.  Paul's  Cathedral,  and  had  the  offer  of  the  bishopric  of  Kildare, 
which  he  declined  on  account  of  the  state  of  his  health.  In  1793 
Bishop  Porteus,  on  the  recommendation  of  Archbishop  Moore,  gave 
him  the  ver^^  valuable  prebend  of  Finsbuiy,  attached  to  St.  Paul's. 
The  remainder  of  his  days  were  passed  at  Cambridge,  England.  After 
bearing  patiently  a  long  sickness  of  six  years  he  died  at  the  advanced 
age  of  eighty-four,  and  was  buried  with  great  honor  in  the  chapel  of 
Jesus  College,  Cambridge. 


SOME   HISTORIC   CHUIICHES.  — NEW  ENGLAND.  591 

After  the  removal  of  Mr.  Apthorp,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Griffith  officiated 
from  December,  1764,  till  May,  1765.  In  the  summer  of  1766  the 
parish  obtained  tlie  consent  of  the  Rev.  Winwood  Serjeant  to  become 
their  missionary,  and  requested  the  Rev.  William  Agar  to  officiate  till 
Mr.  Serjeant's  arrival.  On  September  1,  1767,  Mr.  Serjeant  wrote 
to  the  society  informing  them  that  he  had  entered  upon  his  new  cure. 
He  remained  as  missionary  till  the  breaking  out  of  the  war.  The  Rev. 
Dr.  Cancr,  writing  from  Boston  to  the  society,  June  2,  1775,  says : 
"  Mr.  Serjeant,  of  Cambridge,  has  been  obliged,  with  his  family,  to 
fly  for  the  safety  of  their  Vwqs,  nor  can  I  learn  where  he  is  concealed. 
His  fine  church  is  turned  into  barracks  by  the  rebels,  and  a  beautiful 
organ  that  was  iu  it  broke  to  pieces."  The  Rev.  Mr.  Weeks,  writing 
from  Marblchead  in  1778,  says  :  "Mr.  Serjeant's  parish  at  Cambridge 
is  wholly  broken  up.  The  elegant  houses  of  those  gentlemen  who 
once  belonged  to  it  are  now  occupied  by  the  rebels."  Mr.  Serjeant 
did  not  long  survive  his  misfortunes,  and  the  dispersion  of  his  congre- 
gation. He  died  September  20,  1780,  at  Bath,  England,  whither  his 
family  had  removed. 

A  large  body  of  the  tumultuous  and  unorganized  provincial  forces, 
which  crowded  into  the  environs  of  Boston  after  the  battle  of  Lexing- 
ton, took  ]iossession  of  the  church,  the  colleges,  and  private  houses  in 
Cambridge.  At  the  time  of  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill  Capt.  Chester's 
company,  from  Wetherslield,  Conn.,  seems  to  have  been  quartered  in 
the  building.  Geuei'al  Washington  arrived  in  Cambridge  on  Sunday, 
July  2,  1775.  On  the  10th  of  July  he  wrote  to  the  president  of  the 
Continental  Congress  that  the  army  suffered  great  disadvantages  for 
the  want  of  tents.  Their  barracks  for  the  winter  were  not  completed 
in  the  latter  part  of  November,  so  that  it  miglit  have  been  December 
before  the  church  was  vacated.  Mrs.  Washington  arrived  at  Cam- 
bridge ou  Monday,  December  11th.  On  Sunday,  the  last  day  of  the 
year  1775,  Colonel  William  Palfrey,  "at  the  request  of  Mrs.  Wash- 
ington, performed  Divine  service  at  the  church  at  Cambridge.  There 
were  present  the  general  and  lady,  Mrs.  Gates,  Mrs.  Custis,  and  a 
number  of  others."  It  is  more  than  probable  that  service  was  per- 
formed in  the  church  on  other  occasions  while  the  head-quarters 
of  the  army  were  at  Cambridge.  Thei'e  has  always  been  a  tradition 
that  General  Washington  was  in  the  habit  of  worshipping  there  ;  and 
when  the  church  was  repaired  in  1825,  a  pew  which  he  occupied  was 
pointed  out  by  a  person  who  had  been  present. 

For  fifteen  years  from  the  breaking  out  of  the  revolutionary  war, 
or  rather  from  the  time  when  General  Washington,  with  his  house- 
hold and  others,  solemnized  the  departing  year  by  attending  public 
worship,  Deceml>er  31,  1775,  the  church  lay  neglected  and  disgraced, 
the  doors  shattered,  and  all  the  windows  broken  out  exposed  to  rain 
and  every  sort  of  depredation,  its  beauty  gone,  its  sanctuary  defiled, 
the  wind  howling  through  its  deserted  aisles  and  about  its  stained  and 
decaying  walls.  No  eflbrt  appears  to  have  been  made  for  the  renewal  of 
divine  worship  till  the  beginning  of  the  year  1790.  On  the  14th  of  July 
the  church  was  again  opened  for  service,  when  the  Rev.  Dr.  Parker, 
I'ector  of  Ti-inity  Church,  Boston,  preached  from  Ephes.  ii.   19-22. 


592  HISTORY    OF   THE    AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

The  Rev.  Joseph  Warren  had  been  "put  into  Deacon's  orders "'  by 
Bishop  Sealmry,  for  Christ  Church,  and  officiated  till  Easter,  1791.  The 
Eev.  Dr.  "Walter  and  the  Rev.  William  Montague,  as  assistant,  then 
served  conjointly  for  a  time.  Readers  were  employed,  amono;  them 
Theodore  Dohon,  aftei-ward  Bishop  of  South  Carolina,  and  Jonathan 
Mayhcw  Waiiiwright,  afterward  Provisional  Bishop  of  New  York.  In 
182.5  the  Inulding,  which  had  fallen  into  decay,  was  repaired  and  re- 
opened July  30,  1826,  a  sermon  being  preached  by  the  Rev.  George 
Otis,  A.M. ,  one  of  the  faculty  of  Harvard  College.  Of  those  who  have 
in  later  days  served  this  ancient  parish  as  rectors,  two  are  now  bishojjs 
of  the  Church,  — the  Right  Rev.  Drs.  Vail  and  M.  A.  DeAVolfe  Howe. 
Of  those  who  have  temporarily  served  in  this  congregation  the  Rev. 
Dr.  John  Williams  is  now  Bishoj)  of  Connecticut,  and  the  Rev. 
Horatio  Southgate  was  the  Missionary'  Bisliop  in  Turkey.  The  Rev. 
Dr.  Thomas  AVinthrop  Coit,  D.D.,  the  Rev.  Nicholas  Hoppin,  D.D., 
the  Rev.  Wm.  Chauncey  Langdon,  D.D.,  and  the  Rev.  James  F. 
Spalding,  have  been  rectors  of  this  historic  church.  It  has  been 
recently  repaired  and  restored  to  its  former  beauty. 


^^Ck-^/^,^. 


TRINITY   CHURCH,    NEWPORT,   R.I.,    AND   ST.    PAUL'S     CHURCH, 

KINGSTON,  R.I. 

By  the  RT.  rev.  THOMAS    MARCH    CLARK,  D.U.,  LL.l).,  Cantab., 
Bishop  (if  Rhode  Island. 

TRINri'Y     CUUKCll. 

The  Episcopal  Church  was  established  in  Newport,  R.I.,  by  the 
instrumentality  of  Sir  Francis  Nicholson,  in  1698,  and  in  1702  what 
was  at  that  time  called  a  "  a  handsome  church  "  was  completed  and 
occupied.  A  bell  was  presented  to  the  church  by  Queen  Anne,  in 
1709.  It  is  a  fact  worth  noticing  that,  in  171o,  "  the  Minister,  church- 
wardens, and  vestry,  petitioned  the  Queen  for  the  estal)lishment  of 
Bishops  in  America,  setting  forth  the  great  benefits  that  would  result 
to  the  Church  from  such  a  measure." 

In  1724  the  number  of  conununicants,  and  other  attendants  uj)on 
public  worship,  had  so  far  increased  as  to  call  for  the  erection  of  a  new 
church,  and  in  1726  the  tirst  service  was  held  in  the  edifice  now  stand- 
ing. The  building  was  originally  seventy  feet  long  and  forty-six 
wide,  and  was  regarded  by  the  people  of  that  da}'  as  the  most  lieauti- 
ful  timber  structure  in  America.  In  1 762  the  church  was  divided  in  the 
centre  and  an  addition  made,  lengthening  the  building  thirty  feet.  No 
other  change  has  ever  been  made  either  in  the  interior  or  the  exterior. 
The  spacious  square  pews,  the  lofty  jiulpit,  surmounted  by  the  old- 
fashioned  sounding-board,  with  the  large  reading-desk  and  clerk's  pew 


SOME   HISTORIC   CHURCHES. —  NEW   ENGLAND.  ^)i)ii 

lit  its  base,  the  hijrh  galleries  on  three  sides  of  the  Ituildiiig,  the  tablets 
on  the  chancel  wall,  —  all  remain  as  they  were  moi'e  than  a  hundred  and 
tit'ty  year.s  ago.  It  is  probably  the  only  ecclesiastical  edifice  in  the 
land,  of  the  same  dale,  which  has  never  been  touched  by  the  ruthless 
hand  of  innovation  ;  even  the  royal  crown  continues  to  glisten  at  the 
to]i  of  the  spire,  which  is  explained  by  the  fact  that  from  177G  to 
1771)  the  British  fleet  and  army  had  possession  of  the  island  of  lihode 
Island.  After  the  evacuation  of  Newport  by  the  king's  troops,  the 
church  was  entered  and  d('s})oilcd  of  the  altar-})iece,  consisting  of  the 
king's  arms,  the  lion  and  the  unicorn,  which  was  set  up  for  a  target: 
but  the  other  eml)lems  of  roj^alty,  the  crown  on  the  spire  and  another 
on  the  top  of  the  organ,  not  being  very  accessible,  were  allowed  to  re- 
main. The  wardens' poles  still  stand  in  their  place,  indicating  the  pews 
which  were  occupied  by  those  high  functionaries.  The  church  appears 
to  be  as  sound  and  substantial  as  ever,  and  is  likely  to  continue  for 
many  yeans  to  come.  Although  the  pews  are  not  veiy  convenient, 
and  the  view  of  the  chancel  is  nuich  obscured  hy  the  cumbersome  pul- 
pit and  reading-desk,  which  occupy  the  middle  aisle,  there  is  no  dispo- 
sition to  disturb  the  existing  arrangement,  and  the  church  will  probably 
continue  as  it  is  until  it  falls  a  prey  to  the  elements. 

The  connection  of  Bishop  Berkeley  with  this  ancient  church,  and 
the  fact  that  for  some  time  he  occn])ied  the  pulpit  and  ministered  the  sac- 
rament in  the  chancel,  just  as  tlicy  now  are,  gives  to  the  place  a  special 
hallowed  interest.  He  arrived  in  the  harbor  on  the  2d  of  Sep- 
tember, 1729,  and  notice  was  sent  at  once  to  the  minister  of  Trinity 
Church,  who  was  at  the  time  holding  service,  as  it  was  a  holy  daj%  and 
after  the  l)euediction,  the  minister,  wardens,  vestry,  and  congregation 
proceeded  to  the  wharf  to  welcome  the  distinguished  dean.  The  house 
which  he  built  on  the  outskirts  of  Newport  and  named  White-Hall  is 
still  standing,  and  the  cleft  in  the  "  Hanging  Rocks,"  on  the  shore, 
which  he  fitted  uj)  with  a  chair  and  writing-desk,  and  where  he  is  said 
to  have  written  "  The  Minute  Philosopher,"'  now  goes  by  his  name.  The 
organ,  with  its  crown  and  two  gilded  mitres,  which  he  gave  to  the  church , 
occupies  the  same  place  where  it  stood  nearly  a  century  and  a  half  ago, 
and  the  remains  of  his  child  still  slumber  in  Trinity  church-yard,  where 
this  inscription  may  to-day  lie  read,  "Joining  to  the  south  of  this  tomb, 
lies  Lucia  Berkeley,  daughter  of  Dean  Berkeley,  Obit,  the  5th  of 
September,  1 731 ."  So  long  as  he  remained  in  Newport,  the  preaching 
of  the  dean,  as  might  have  been  expected,  attracted  great  crowds  to  the 
church.  Some  of  our  older  churches  here  have  of  late  been  restored 
to  their  original  condition,  as  far  as  was  practical ;  but  it  is  peculiar 
to  Trinity,  Newport,  that  all  things  remain  as  they  were  in  the  begin- 
ning. There  may  be  a  little  warmer  color  on  the  walls,  some  slight 
adornments,  here  and  there,  to  suit  the  more  florid  taste  of  the  times  ; 
but  this  is  all,  —  steeple,  and  spire,  and  organ,  and  aisles,  and  pews, 
and  desks,  and  pulpit,  and  chancel,  have  seen  no  change.  The  men 
and  women  of  olden  time,  if  they  should  rise  from  their  graves,  could 
find  their  way  to  the  old  seat  in  tlie  old  pew  without  a  guide,  and  hear 
the  same  old  clock  strike  the  hour  in  the  belfty,  and  walk  by  the  same 
winding  way  to  take  their  places  at  the  chancel  rail. 


594  HISTORY   OF  THE   AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

ST.     PATJL'8     church. 

Before  the  year  1700  a  number  of  families  attached  to  the  Church 
of  England  had  settled  in  what  was  known  as  the  Narragansett  country, 
and  worship  was  held  in  private  houses  until  the  year  1707,  when  the 
church  was  built,  which  is  now  known  as  St.  Paul's,  Kingston.  The 
date  of  its  erection  is  still  legible  over  the  main  door,  and  it  is  I^elieved 
to  be  the  oldest  Episcopal  church  now  standing  in  the  northern  part 
of  the  United  States.  It  was  erected  on  a  site  five  miles  north  of  the 
place  where  it  now  stands,  and  removed  to  its  present  position  in 
the  year  1800.  The  original  burying-ground  is  still  presei-ved,  with 
the  sexton's  house  at  the  entrance,  and  a  few  years  since  a  massive 
granite  cross  was  placed  on  the  spot,  once  occupied  by  the  chancel  of 
the  church,  in  memory  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  McSparran,  for  many  years  the 
minister  of  the  parish.  A  new  church  has  been  erected  in  the  village 
of  Wickford,  not  far  from  the  ancient  edifice  which  occupies  a  position 
on  an  eminence  commanding  the  bay.  Occasional  services  are  held 
in  the  old  building,  which  is  carefully  protected  from  decay.  Like 
Trinity  Church,  Newport,  no  changes  have  been  made  in  the  Narra- 
gansett church,  as  it  used  to  be  called,  except  that  the  chancel,  which 
formerly  stood  on  the  east  side,  has  been  removed  to  the  north  side, 
where  the  pulpit  and  reading-desk  stood.  Some  vestiges  of  the 
drapery  that  once  adorned  this  part  of  the  church  still  remain,  ))ut  the 
faded  and  blackened  fragments  give  no  token  even  of  their  original 
color.  All  the  arrangements  of  the  interior  of  the  building  are 
clumsy,  unsightly,  and  inconvenient ;  it  is  evident  that  timber  was  very 
abundant  when  this  church  was  built,  a  hundred  and  seventy-five  years 
ago,  and  architecture  in  that  region  a  thing  unknown.  The  time  was 
when  roads  did  not  exist  in  the  Nan-agansett  country,  that  sixty  or 
seventy  horses  might  be  seen  tethered  about  the  church  premises  on 
a  pleasant  Sunday  morning,  each  with  its  pillion  for  the  accommoda- 
tion of  the  women  and  children,  and  it  was  a  very  aristocratic  as- 
semblage that  gathered  there  for  worship.  Several  distinguished 
clergymen  officiated  there  from  time  to  time ;  among  them  may  be 
mentioned  Dr.  McSparran,  author  of  a  work  on  the  colonies,  entitled 
"America  Dissected."  Printed  in  Dublin,  1753.  The  Eev.  Mr. 
Fayerweather,  who  died  in  1781,  and  whose  body  lies  beside  the  re- 
mains of  Dr.  McSparran,  in  the  old  church-yard;  the  Rev.  William 
Smith  who  succeeded  him,  and  from  whose  pen  we  have  the  office  in 
the  "Book  of  Common  Prayer,"  for  the  "Institution  of  Ministers  into 
Parishes  or  Churches,"  and  who,  perhaps,  did  more  than  any  one  else  to 
introduce  chanting  into  our  services. 

The  early  records  of  this  parish  are  very  full  and  in  excellent 
preservation.  They  contain  a  great  deal  of  material  which  no  rector 
in  our  times  would  think  of  entering  in  his  parochial  record-book,  and 
some  of  which  might,  with  much  propriety,  have  been  omitted. 


^^^;2?^iL<ct  ^   ^^^<c.^. 


SOME   HISTORIC   CHURCHES. —  NKW   ENGLAND. 


595 


THE   OLD  NARRAQANSETT  CHURCH. 

liv  T1I13  KEV.  DANIEL  GOODWIN,  M.A., 

Rector  of  St.  Luke's  Church,  East  Greenioich,  if./. 

The  section  known  in  coloniiil  times  as  "the  NaiTagan.sett  Coun- 
try" lay  in  the  sonthern  portion  of  the  present  State  of  Rhode  Island, 
upon  tiie  mainland,  west  of  ^'arragansett  Bay.  Sometime  previously 
to  the  year  1700  several  families  attached  to  the  worshij)  of  the  Church 
of  England  had  settled  within  this  territory,  and  held  occasional 
services     in     private 

houses.     In  the  year  ^^_ 

1 706  the  Rev.  Ciu-is-  ^         " 

toplier  Bridge  liecame 
their  first  ])astor,  and 
in  the  following  year 
was  ereet(^d,  liy  the 
voluntary  subscrip- 
tions of  the  residents, 
the  Xarragansett 
Church,  the  oldest 
Eitiscopal  ecclesiasti- 
cal structure  still 
standing  in  New 
England. 

Tiie  church  was 
constructed  ( )f  timber, 
after  the  familiar  pre- 
vailing Puritanical 
meeting-house  style 
of  architecture,  with 
two  tiers  of  win(low> 
entirely  around  it  inid 
a  broad  door  oi)ening 
directly  into  the  inte- 
rior. A  lofty  pulpit, 
surmounted  by  a 
canopy,  with  a  mod- 
est reading-desk  in 
front,  stood  at  the  head  of  the  middle  alley,  while  roomy,  square  pews 
occupied  most  of  the  floor.  Above  was  a  broad  gallery  extending 
around  tlne(»  sides  and  affording  almost  as  much  seating  space  as  there 
was  below. 

The  most  distinguished  of  the  rectors  of  St.  Paufs  Church  was 
the  Rev.  ,Janies  McSparran,  D.D.,  a  missionary  of  the  venerable  so- 
ciety, judged  by  some  to  lie  the  ablest  .sent  out  to  America  during  the 
colonial  period.  He  was  appointed  to  the  position  in  172(1.  and  re- 
mained in  it  until  his  death,  in  1757. 

In  those  days  the  Narrasransett  countrv  was  noted  for  its  exten- 


ini;  OLD  N.vRH.^OANSErr  CHmicn. 


59(5  HISTORY   OF  THE   AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

sive  plantations,  its  retinues  of  slaves,  and  its  profuse  hospitalitj'. 
Prominent  among  the  families  was  that  of  the  Gardiners,  from  which 
the  young  missionary  chose  his  wife,  a  sister  of  Dr.  Sylvester  Gardi- 
ner, the  founder  of  the  city  of  that  name  upon  the  Kennebec. 

On  a  bright  Sunday  morning,  one  hundred  and  lifty  years  ago, 
the  quaint  church  must  have  been  the  centre  of  a  scene  most  pleasant 
to  behold,  and  of  a  character  of  which  the  memory  has  almost  van- 
ished. There  were  then  no  carriages  of  any  consequence  owned  in 
NaiTagansett,  the  narrow  roads  being  little  fitted  to  their  use,  and 
almost  everybody  depended  upon  the  saddle  as  the  means  of  convey- 
ance. At  an  early  hour,  perhaps,  arrived  the  portly  doctor  upon  the 
back  of  one  of  the  famous  Narragansett  pacers,  with  his  fair  consort 
upon  a  pillion  behind,  the  two  having  ridden  leisurely  from  their  com- 
fortable glebe-house,  a  couple  of  miles  away.  Thick  and  fast  follows 
the  congregation,  — the  Phillipses  and  the  Ballburs,  and  the  Updikes 
and  the  Gai-diners.  Not  impossibly  Ga))riel  Bernon,  one  of  the  tirst 
vestrymen,  has  come  down  the  twenty-seven  miles  from  Providence 
to  worship  once  more  with  his  former  neighbors. 

The  prevailing  sect  in  the  colony  at  this  period  is  the  Quaker, 
))ut  it  is  no  ])lain  company  in  dral)  and  brown  that  is  gathering  within  the 
walls  of  this  rural  sanctuary.  Gay  cavaliers  in  scarlet  coats  escort 
richly  dressed  dames,  such  as  look  down  upon  us  from  the  canvases 
of  Smil^ert  and  Copley.  Casting  your  eye  up  into  the  ample  gallery, 
you  oljserve  groups  of  ebony-skinned  servants,  in  the  defence  of 
whose  right  to  all  the  privileges  of  the  church  the  good  doctor  is 
strenuous.  If  our  Sunday  is  one  not  later  than  1731,  it  may  be  that 
the  genial  Dean  Berkeley,  often  a  visitor  in  Narragansett,  has  come 
over  from  Newport  to  delight  the  congregation  with  one  of  his  philo- 
sophical sermons  or  l)ring  a  smile  to  their  faces  by  his  honest  declara- 
tion, "Give  the  devil  his  due,  John  Calvin  was  a  great  man."' 

But  sad  days  were  in  store  for  the  quiet  temple  on  the  Narragan- 
sett hill-side.  Ere  the  century  was  over  the  sound  of  strife  penetrated 
the  region  from  the  great  world  without,  and  for  years  the  doors 
were  shut,  the  Church  of  England  sharing  the  unpopularity  of  every- 
thing associated  with  the  mother-country.  The  house  of  God  was 
turned  into  a  barrack  for  rude  soldiers,  and  patriotic  songs  leplaced 
those  of  Zion. 

After  the  smoke  and  din  of  war  had  passed  away,  and  the  cen- 
tury was  nearing  its  close,  the  church  was  reopened,  a  little  congrega- 
tion was  gathered  and  ministered  to  by  such  men  as  Fayerweatherand 
William  Smith,  the  compiler  of  the  Institution  office,  while  the  newly 
consecrated  Bishop  Seabury  sometimes  favored  it  with  his  presence. 
It  was  soon  found,  however,  that  the  population  around  the  old 
church  had  so  largely  changed  and  diminished  that  a  new  site  had 
become  desirable.  Accordingly,  in  the  last  month  of  the  last  year  of 
the  eighteenth  century,  it  was  voted  that  the  edilicc,  which  had  main- 
tained its  position  for  nearly  a  hundred  years,  should  be  removed  to 
the  more  thriving  village  of  Wickford,  iive  miles  to  the  nortliwai'd. 
But  the  enterprise  was  not  accomplished  without  considerable  opposi- 
tion.    The  surrounding  inhabitants  could  ill  bear  to  lose  the  venerable 


SOME    HISTORIC   CHURCHES.  -   NEW  ENULANI).  597 

landmark  with  wliicli  tliey  and  their  t'atlicrs  for  tliree  or  four  irenera- 
tions  had  been  familiar.  Strange  superstitions  had  grown  up  and 
mingled  with  more  enlightened  and  hallowed  associations.  It  was 
conlidently  believed  that  when  a  member  of  one  of  the  neighl)oring 
families  was  to  be  removed  by  death  duo  and  awful  warning  of  the 
fact  was  always  given  by  the  Hashing  of  weird  spectre  lights  from  the 
windows  of  the  tenantless  temple  at  night.  Even  when  the  removal 
was  actually  undertaken  there  is  a  tnidition  that  the  jiowers  of  the  air 
intervened  to  hinder  the  desecration,  tiie  workmen,  who  liad  l)egun  to 
make  prepai'ations,  being  more  than  once  driven  away  by  a  tierce  tem- 
pest. But  tinally  the  plan  prevailed  and  the  anti(]ue  editice  was  set 
up  where  it  now  stands,  with  the  addition  of  a  neat  tower  and  spire. 
For  two  or  three  generations  the  old  church-yard,  whence  the  sanc- 
tuary had  been  removed,  lay  neglected  antl  almost  forgotten.  There, 
beneath  the  tall  grass,  slumliei'ed,  in  one  common  level,  the  brave 
master  and  the  humble  slave  of  the  regime  which  had  passed  away 
forever.  The  grave  of  Dr.  McSparran,  who  had  been  buried  under 
the  communion-table,  was  left  utterly  unmarked  and  liare,  save  as 
kindly  Nature  spread  over  it  her  soft,  green  turf.  At  length,  how- 
ever, in  18(39,  the  diocese  of  Rhode  Island,  tardily  acknowledging 
her  del)t  to  the  mother-church  of  P^ngiand.  erected  over  the  si)ot  a 
massive  memorial  cross  of  granite,  with  suitaltle  inscrii>tions. 

For  nearly  a  iialf  century  after  its  removal  the  old  church  con- 
tinued to  be  used  by  St.  Paul's  parish,  A\'ickford.  until  a  new  house 
of  woi'ship  was  erected.  Not  to  mention  others  who  ministered 
within  its  walls,  it  should  l)e  rememl)ered  that  the  saintly  Griswold 
fre([uently  hallowed  it  by  his  presence.  For  the  last  thirty-tive  ^^ears 
the  \'enerMble  editice  has  been  only  occasionally  opened  tor  services  in 
mild  summer  weather.  At  such  times  the  re{)resent:itives  of  the 
original  families  have  joyfully  gathered  in  large  munl)ers,  and 
thronged  the  old  familiar  pews  of  their  ancestors.  The  ancient,  well- 
worn  service-books  ha\e  been  brought  out  from  their  hiding-j)laces 
and  laid  u]ion  the  flesk,  and  again  the  antiipiated  structure  has  re- 
sounded with  prayer  and  praise  and  Scripture  and  sermon. 

About  fifteen  years  ago  the  steeple,  although  nearly  a  century 
newer  than  the  rest  of  the  church,  fell  on  a  perfectly  windless  night. 
Subsecjuently,  some  repairs  were  made  ui)on  the  building,  and  an  in- 
scrij)tion  recounting  the  main  dates  in  its  history  placed  over  the  cen- 
tral door.  Now  "the  old  Xarragansett  Church,"  already  become  a 
shrine  whither  the  eager  feet  of  many  a  pious  piigi'im  are  wont  to  hasten, 
bids  fair  to  stand  a  half  century,  or  even  a  century  longer,  as  a  witness 
of  the  zeal  of  the  fathers  for  tiie  w'orshiji  of  the  living  God. 


598  HISTORY   OF   THE   AMERICAN    EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 


SOME   HISTORIC   CHURCHES. —  THE   MIDDLE   STATES. 

THE    HISTORIC   AND  ANTE-REVOLVTIONABY  CHURGHES   OF   LONO 

ISLAND. 

El-   HENRY   ONDERDONK,   Jr.,  A.B.,   Cantab., 
Author  of  thf  "  Antiquities  of  the  Parish  Churches  of  Hempstead  and  Jnmaiva,  L.J." 

The  parish  church  of  Jamaica  dates  from  1702,  being  the  first 
Church  of  England  on  Long  Island,  and  the  earliest  recipient  of  the 
bounty  of  the  iSociet}'  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel.  That  so- 
ciety sent  over  the  Rev.  Patrick  Gordon,  with  an  allowance  of  £50  per 
annum,  as  rector  of  Queen's  County.  Unfortunately  Mr.  Gordon 
died  at  Jamaica  the  day  ))efore  he  was  to  have  officiated,  and  was 
buried  beneath  the  pulpit  of  the  church,  on  the  28th  of  July,  1702.  By 
a  law  of  the  colony,  as  then  interpreted,  the  stone  edifice  (erected 
in  16'J9  by  the  town)  became  the  property  of  the  Church  of  England, 
and  as  such  was  occupied  for  divine  worship  till  1728.  After  the 
death  of  Mr.  Gordon,  Lord  Cornbury,  the  governor,  appointed  the 
Eev.  James  Honyman  to  the  cure,  Avho  served  till  the  arrival  of  the 
society's  second  missionary,  the  Rev.  William  Urquhart,  who  was  in- 
ducted July  27,  1704,  and  lived  in  undisturbed  possession  of  the  church 
and  parsonage  till  his  death,  the  last  of  August,  1709.  Public  services 
were  kept  up  in  the  church  by  the  neighboring  clergy  till  the  arrival 
of  the  society's  third  missionary,  the  Rev.  Thomas  Poyer,  who,  having 
been  sliipwrecked  on  the  south  shore  of  Long  Island,  had  to  journey 
one  himdred  miles  by  land  to  his  parish,  where  he  was  inducted  July  8, 
1710.  Mr.  Poyei"'s  faithful  labors  were  continued  here,  through  much 
trial  and  suffering,  till  the  15th  of  January,  1732,  when  he  went  where 
the  weary  are  at  rest.  He  had  never  been  allowed  to  set  foot  in  the 
parsonage,  and,  in  the  eighteenth  year  of  his  ministry,  was  ousted 
from  the  church,  in  a  suit  brought  by  the  town,  \vherein  the  judge  was 
charged  with  unfair  ruling.  The  majority  of  his  ijarishiouers,  being 
dissenters,  annoyed  him  in  many  ways,  often  refusing  to  pay  his 
salary,  and  in  his  recourse  to  law  he  sometimes  lost  his  suit. 

The  Rev.  Thomas  Colgau,  having  been  recommended  to  the 
society  by  the  rector  and  wardens  of  Trinity  Church,  became  their 
foin-th  missionary  at  Jamaica.  He  continued  public  worship  in  the 
county  court-house,  as  his  predecessor  had  done,  till  1734,  when,  by 
the  favor  and  liberality  of  Governor  Crosby  and  other  contributors,  a 
half  acre  of  land  was  bought,  and  a  building  erected  thereon,  which  was 
opened,  April  5th,  with  considerable  ceremony,  for  divine  worship, 
by  the  name  of  Grace  Church.  It  Avas  thought  to  be  one  of  the 
handsomest  churches  in  North  America.  In  1737  the  pews  (thirty) 
were  sold.  In  1747  a  bell  was  liought  from  the  proceeds  of  a  lottery. 
After  a  peaceable  and  pros})erous  ministry  Mr.  Colgan  ceased  from  his 
labors  in  December,  1755,  and  was  buried  in  the  chancel  of  his  church. 

In  January,  1757,  after  some  difficulties,  fomented  by  the  dissent- 
ers, a  suitable  successor  to  Mr.  Colgan  was  found  in  the  Rev.  Samuel 


SOME   HISTORIC   CHURCHES. —MIDDLE   STATES.  599 

Seabui-y,  Jr.,  who  was  transferred  from  New  Brunswick  to  the  living 
of  Jamaica,  and  remained  till  1766,  when  he  left  for  lack  of  sufficient 
support,  and  was  instituted,  Deceml)er  3,  in  St.  Peter's  Church,  West- 
chester. 

In  17(il  the  church  obtained  a  charter,  which  empowered  it  to 
receive  legacies  and  gifts, manage  its  temporal  affairs,  and  have  a  vestry 
of  its  own,  elected  by  and  out  of  its  communicants.  There  was  now 
a  doul)le  set  of  vestrymen,  —  one  elected  by  the  voters  of  the  three 
towns  of  the  parish,  the  otiier  by  those  in  communion  of  the  Church 
of  England.  The  parish  vestry,  with  the  justices  of  the  peace,  levied 
and  disbursed  the  minister's  and  poor  tax,  as  heretofore. 

Newtown  was  a  component  ]Mni  of  the  parish  of  Jamaica  till  the 
close  of  the  revolutionary  war.  In  I7t>4  a  place  of  worship  had  been 
erected,  and  repaired  by  tax  levied  on  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  town 
alike  ;  but  the  dissenting  minister  having  gone  elsewhere,  by  the  favor 
of  the  gover;K)r,  it  was  put  in  possession  of  the  Eev.  William  Urquhart. 
Services  were  held  monthly.  In  1715  the  building  was  much  dilapidated. 
In  May,  1735.  a  building  was  erected  on  a  lot  of  twenty  square  rods, 
given  by  the  town  for  a  church  in  1733.  In  1760  it  was  repaired  and 
the  steeple  reltuiU,  in  which  was  hung  a  l)ell  given  by  Mr.  Provoo.st,  a 
relative  of  the  future  l)ishop.  William  Saekett,  by  will,  left  the 
church  a  house  and  laud  of  the  yearly  value  of  £30  or  £40. 

The  church  erected  in  1735,  though  altered,  is  still  standing,  and 
is  used  as  a  Sunday  school-room. 

Flushing  was  also  n  component  part  of  tlie  parish  of  Jamaica,  till 
the  close  of  the  revoiutionarj^  war.  Being  inhabited  chiefly  by 
Quakers  it  had  no  house  of  worship  other  than  a  Friends'  meeting- 
house, and  when  the  society's  missionaries  held  their  monthly  ser- 
vices there  they  were  forced  to  occupy  the  town-hall  or  an  old  guard- 
house west  of  the  village  pond. 

In  1746  Capt.  Hugh  Went  worth  gave  money  and  half  an  acre  of 
land  to  set  a  church  upon.  At  tirst  it  was  enclosed  barely  sufficient  to 
keep  out  the  weather  ;  but  in  1760  it  was  finished  with  a  steeple  and  boll. 


^•^vWxz:^    /^  ^^^w:^**^^^ 


niSTORIC    CHURCHES     OF    NEW    JERSEY. 

Bv  THE  REV.  GEORGE  M0RG4N  HILLS,  D.D., 
Rector  0/  St.  .)fary'a  C/iiircfi,  Burlington,  2T.  J. 

ST.  Mary's  church. 
On  the  i3th  of  July,  1695,  "several  persons.  Inhabitants  in  and 
about  Burlington,  together  with  John  Tatham,  Edward  Hunloke  and 
Nathaniel  Westland,"  bought  a  piece  of  land  on  Wood  street  near 


000  IIISTOKY   OF  THE  AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHUUCH. 

Broad,  tor  a  "Christian  burying  ground. "     On  tlie  16th  of  Septem- 
l)er,  1702,  this  ground  was  enlarged,  and  tlic  whole  fenced  in.    On  the 
29th  of  October,  the  missioners,  Keith  and  Talbot,  reached  Burlington. 
Keith's  "  Journal "  says  :  — 

November  1,  Sunday.  We  preached  at  the  Toun-IIousu,  at  Burlington  (the 
Chm'ch  not  being  then  built)  and  we  had  a  great  Auditory  of  diverse  sorts,  some 
of  the  (Jhureh,  and  some  of  the  late  Converts  from  Quakerism.  Mr.  Talbot 
[n-eached  before  Noon,  and  1  in  the  Afternoon.  My  text  was  John  17,  ;!.  t'ol. 
liamilton,  then  Governour,  of  AVest  .Jersey,  wa-s  present  both  Forenoon  and  After- 
noon, and  at  his  Invitation,  we  dined  with  him. 

Feb.  21,  Sunday,  171)2.  I  preached  at  lUirliiigton,  in  West  .Tersey,  on  Rorn. 
10,  7,  8,  9  and  Feb.  22,  I  baptized  the  wife  of  Mr.  Rob.  Wheeler  and  his  three 
children  and  fi\e  others  :  in  all,  9  persons.  He  and  his  wife  had  been  Quakers, 
but  are  c(jme  over  to  the  (_'hm-eh. 

Feb.  20,  1702-3,  Keith  writes  to  the  Bishop  of  London  :  — 

The  people  well  affected  to  the  Church,  have  gathered  two  hundred  pounds 
towards  building  a  Church  at  Burlington,  in  W.  Jersey;  they  are  to  begin  to  build 
as  they  have  told  me,  this  Spring. 

On  the  6th  of  March,  the  land  adjoining  the  "Christian  Iturying 
ground"  on  the  south,  being  the  lot  on  the  corner  of  AVood  and 
Broad  streets,  was  liought  by  Nathaniel  Westland.  Robert  Wlieeler 
and  Hugh  Huddy,  as  "  fleotiees  in  Trust,  for  the  Erecting  a  Church  and 
other  buildings,  as  occasion  may  serve  for  Charitable  uses,"  "for  the 
sum  of  Twenty  Pounds  of  Currant  Silver  money  within  the  Province." 

On  the  10th  April,  1703,  Mr.  Talbot  writes : — 

Last  Lord's  day  1  was  at  Burlington,  the  chief  town  in  West  Jersey,  where  I 
have  preached  many  times  in  a  house  hard  by  the  Quakers  meeting  .  . "  after  Ser- 
mon I  went  out  with  the  rest  of  the  people,  and  laid  the  corner  stone  of  Saint 
Mary's  Church. 

May  3d,  he  writes  :  — 

I  was  at  Burlington  last  Lady  day,  and  after  prayers  we  went  to  the  Ground 
where  they  were  going  to  build  a  Church,  and  I  laid  the  first  stone,  which  I  hope 
will  be  none  other  than  the  House  of  God  and  Gate  of  Heaven  to  the  People.  Coll. 
Nicholson,  Governor  here,  was  the  chief  founder  of  this  as  well  as  many  more; 
and  indeed  he  has  lieen  the  Ijcnefactor  to  all  the  Churches  on  this  land  of  North 
America.  God  bless  this  C'hurch,  and  let  them  prosper  that  love  it.  We  called 
this  Church  St.  Mary's,  it  being  upon  her  day. 

Keith's  "  Journal "  says  :  — 

August  22,  Simday,  170i').  I  preached  at  the  New  Church  at  Burlington,  on 
2  Sam.  23.  3,  i.  My  l^ord  Cornbury  was  present  and  many  Gentlemen  who  accom- 
])anied  him,  both  from  New  York,  and  the  two  Jcrscyx,  having  liad  his  ("'ommission 
to  be  Governour  of  Wc^t  and  East  Jersey,  Read  at  the  Town  House  there,  some; 
Days  before.    It  was  the  first  Sermon  that  was  preached  in  that  Church. 

On  the  2d  April, -J^4,  Nath.  Westland,  Hugh  Huddy,  Robert 
Wheeler,  William  Budd,  and  thirteen  other  men,  sent  a  petition  to 
England,  in  which  ihey  say  :  — 

The  Reverend  Mr.  Keith  on  his  first  arrivall  appointed  a  time  and  place  to 
road  out  of  the  Quakers'  authors  their  grosse  errors  l)ut  they  refused  to  lie.ar  him 
and  continue  to  revile  and  reproaeh  him  for  exposing  them,  but  we  of  the  Chui'ch 


SOMK  HISTORIC  CHURCHES.— MIDDLE   STATES.  601 

of  Engl.aml  members  have  a  ^'eat  value  forliim  for  liis  good  instructions  and  great 
Pains  amongst  us  to  confirm  us  in  tlio  true  ortliodox  doctrine,  and  hatli  also  bi-ought 
over  sundry  of  liis  former  friends  Quakers  who  are  now  joined  witli  us.  These 
encom-agcments  caused  us  sometime  since  to  joyn  in  a  subscription  to  build  a 
churcli  here,  which  tho'  not  as  yet  near  finished,  have  heard  many  good  sermons  in 
it  from  the  Rev.  Mi'.  Keith  and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Jno.  Talbot  whom  next  to  Mr.  Keitli 
we  liavc  a  very  great  esteem  for,  and  do  in  all  hmnility,  beseech  j-our  Lordships 
ho  may  receive  orders  from  you  to  settle  ^\ath  us,  and  indeed  he  is  generally  so 
respected  by  us  that  we  should  esteem  it  a  great  happiness  to  enjoy  him,  and  we 
liave  great  ho])es  God  Almighty  will  make  him  very  Insti'umentall  not  only  to  con- 
firm and  build  us  up  in  the  true  orthodox  doctrine,  but  also  to  bring  many  over 
from  the  Quakers,  lie  being  so  very  well  qualifyed  as  we  presume  thereto.  Our 
circumstances  att  present  arc  so  that  we  cannot  without  the  assistance  of  your  Lord- 
ships maintain  a  minister,  tho'  we  are  in  hopes  as  Quakerism  decreases  our 
church  members  will  enerease  so  that  in  time  we  may  be  enabled  to  allow  a  Rev- 
erend Minister  such  a  competency  as  to  have  a  comfortable  subsistence  amongst  us. 

On  the  4th  October,  1704,  Lord  Cornbury  granted  his  Warrant 
for  a  Patent  to  Incorporate  Chnrch- Wardens  and  Vestrymen  under 
"  the  name  of  St.  Anne's  Church  in  BurHngton."  This  charter,  signed 
"J.  Bass,  by  His  Excellency's  command,"  JNlr.  Bass  subsequently  in- 
forms us  "by  some  unaccountable  neglect,  had  omitted  to  pass." 

October  20,  1705,  Mr.  Talbot  "writes  to  Mr.  Keith,  who  had 
returned  to  England  :  — 

Coll.  Nicholson  took  Bills  of  Mr.  Bass  for  the  money  in  hand,  £70,  Pensylva- 
nia  money,  and  gave  it  all  to  the  Churches  in  these  Provinces,  v.'ith  Bills  of  Ex- 
change to  make  it  up  to  £100  sterling,  besides  what  he  subscribed  to  the  Churches 
to  be  erected  at  Hopewell,  Elizabeth  Town,  Amboy  and  Salem.  We  have  made  it 
appear  that  he  has  exhibited  to  the  Chm'ches  in  these  Provinces  about  £1,000; 
besides,  what  he  has  given  to  particular  persons  and  the  poor  would  amount  to 
some  hundreds  more,  which  we  did  not  think  fit  to  mention.  He  is  a  man  of  as 
much  prudence,  temperance,  justice,  and  fortitude  as  any  Governor  in  America, 
without  disparagement  to  any,  and  of  much  more  zeal  for  the  house  and  service  of 
God.  I  have  seen  four  of  them  together  at  Church  ia  Burlington,  but  in  the  after- 
noon their  place  had  been  empty  had  it  not  been  for  the  Honorable  Governor 
Nicholson ;  so  that  I  can't  but  obsei-ve  tho  example  of  his  piety  in  the  Church, 
is  as  rare  as  his  bounty  towards  it ;  no  wonder  then  that  all  that  love  the  Church  of 
England  are  fond  of  Governor  Nicholson,  who  is  a  true  son,  or  rather  a  nursing 
father  of  her  in  America. 

Keith's  "  Journal "  has  this  minute  :  — 

Mr.  Talbot  has  Baptized  most  of  them  who  have  been  Baptized  since  our  Arri- 
val among  them,  and  particularly  all  the  Children,  both  Males  and  Females  of  Wil- 
liam Budd,  who  foi-merly  was  a  Quaker-Preacher,  but  is  come  over  from  Quakerism, 
to  the  Church,  with  diverse  others  of  the  Neighbourhood,  in  the  Comitiy  about  the 
Town  of  Burlington,  who  come  usually  to  the  Church  at  Burlington  on  the  Lord's- 
Da}^ ;  some  of  them  Six,  Eight,  and  some  of  them  Ten,  or  Twelve  Miles,  and  some 
of  them  more. 

On  the  2d  November,  1705,  fifteen  of  the  clergy,  including  several 
of  the  Church  of  Sweden,  met  in  Burlington,  when  an  address  was 
drawn  up,  signed,  and  sent,  under  cover  to  the  Bishop  of  London,  to 
the  S.  P.  G. 

This  address,  with  a  letter  commendatory  of  Mr.  Talliot,  was  sent 
by  his  hand  to  England.  He  returned  to  America  in  17U7-8,  and 
"acquainted  us  that  he  had   presented  our  humble  Address  to  Her 


602  HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

Majesty,  and  the  other  Letters  that  we  sent ;  and  that  Her  Majesty 
had  been  graciously  pleased  to  give  us  Lead,  and  Glass,  and  Pulpit 
Cloth,  and  Altar  Cloth,  and  a  Silver  Chalice,  and  Salver  for  the  Com- 
munion Table  and  a  Brocade  Altar  Cloth  ;  and  that  she  had  also  sent 
Lead,  and  Glass,  and  Pulpit  Cloths,  and  Altar  Cloths  for  the  Churches 
of  Hopewell  and  Salem,  which  we  received  by  the  hands  of  the 
Honorable  Col.  Robert  Quarry.  He  also  brought  us  an  Embossed 
Silver  Chalice  and  Patten,  the  gift  of  Madame  Catharine  Bovey,  of 
Flaxley." 

Jan.  25,  1700,  a  charter  was  granted  to  "The  Minister,  Church- 
wardens and  Vestrymen  of  the  Church  of  St.  Mary  in  Burlington," 
by  which  "  the  Rev.  Mr.  John  Talbot,  Rector,  Mr.  Robert  Wheeler, 
and  Mr.  Geoi'ge  Willis,  Church-Wardens,  and  Col.  Daniel  Coxe, 
Lieut.  Col.  Huddy,  Alexander  Gritfith,  Her  Majesty's  Attorney 
General,  Jeremiah  Bass,  Her  Majesty's  Secretaiy  of  this  Pi'ovince, 
and  sundry  others,  were  constituted  a  Body  Corporate." 

In  Ajjril,  1711,  the  church  received  from  the  Hon.  Col.  Roljert 
Quarry  "  the  gift  of  a  large  silver  Beaker  vv'ith  a  cover  well-engraved 
for  the  use  of  the  Communion." 

Oct.  29,  1712,  Governor  Hunter,  in  behalf  of  the  S. P.  G., con- 
summated the  purchase,  for  "£G00,  sterling  money  of  England,"  of 
"the  mansion-house  and  lands,"  for  a  bishop's  seat.  This  property  a 
few  years  before  was  described  as  "  the  Great  and  Stately  Palace  of 
John  Tateham,  Esq.,  pleasantly  situated  on  the  North  side  of  the  Town, 
having  a  very  fine  and  delightful  Garden  and  Orchard  adjoyning  to  it." 
Its  domain,  of  fifteen  acres,  was  bounded  on  the  north  by  the  Delaware 
river,  on  the  east  by  Assiscunk  creek,  on  the  south  l)y  Broad  st.,  and 
on  the  west  by  what  was  afterwards  called  St.  JNIary  st.  It  was  "  as 
level  as  a  bowling  green."  The  posts  of  its  fences  were  cedar ;  the 
covering  of  its  roof,  lead ;  and  there  were  offices  and  a  coach-house 
and  staljles,  and  every  appointment  to  make  it  at  once  the  grandest  and 
—  for  want  of  a  purchaser — the  cheapest  establishment  in  America. 
A  bill  was  ordered  to  be  drafted  to  be  offered  in  parliament  for  estab- 
lishing bishoprics  in  America ;  but,  before  its  introduction,  its  great 
patroness.  Queen  Anne,  died.  Jlr.  Talbot,  who,  for  twenty  years, 
had  been  incessant  in  toils,  and  importunate  in  appeals  for  what  he 
deemed  the  chief  need  of  the  provinces,  sailed  for  England  in  1720, 
leaving  the  parish  with  ex-Governor  Bass  as  lay-reader. 

Returning  to  America  in  1722,  Talbot,  on  the  13th  of  July,  1724, 
made  over  for  the  use  of  his  successors,  the  rectors  of  St.  Mary's  Church, 
forever,  more  than  two  hundred  acres  of  land,  which  he  had  pui'chased, 
with  a  legacy  of  £100  left  by  Dr.  Frampton,  the  deprived  Bishop  of 
Gloucester. 

Sept.  7,  1724,  Talbot  writes  :  — 

I  pro;\ch  once  on  Sunday  morn  and  Catechise  or  Homilize  in  the  afternoon.  I 
read  the  prayers  of  the  Church,  in  the  Church,  decently,  according  to  the  order  of 
Jloming  and  Evening  Prayer,  daily  througli  the  year,  and  that  is  more  than  is  done 
in  any  Church  that  I  know,  apud  Americanos. 

In  1725  Talbot  was  discharged  from  the  service  of  the  S.  P.  G., 


SOME   IIISTOKIC   CHUECHES.  — MIDDLE   STATES.  003 

and  ordered  by  the  Governor  to  "surcease  officiating."  He  died  in 
Burlington,  Nov.  20,  1727,  universally  beloved  and  lamented. 

In  1730  the  Rev.  Rol)ert  \V"cyman  became  rector  of  St.  INIary's,  and 
remained  till  his  death,  Nov.  28,  1737,  "leaving  this  world  with  an  uni- 
versal good  character  as  a  true  and  faithful  lal)orcr  in  God's  vineyard." 

On  the  10th  of  May,  1738,  the  Ilcv.  Colin  Campbell,  M.A.,  arrived 
in  Burlington  as  minister  of  the  i)arish.  In  1712  he  founded  the 
church  at  Mt.  IIoll}^,  and  served  it  together  with  St.  Mary's.  His  mis- 
sionary rectorship  continued  until  his  death,  Aug.  9,  17G(!, — a  period 
of  nearly  twenty-nine  years.  "  He  was  faithful  in  the  Discharge  of 
every  Trust,  and  particularly  of  his  most  Sacred  Trust,  as  a  Minister 
of  the  Gospel  of  Jesus." 

On  the  25th  of  July,  1767,  the  Rev.  Jonathan  Odell,  M.A., 
reached  Burlington,  and  the  next  day  was  inducted  into  the  rectorship 
by  His  Excellency  William  Franklin,  Esq.,  Governor  of  New  Jersey. 

In  1768-9  Mr.  Odell  was  a  leading  spirit  in  founding  the  Corpora- 
tion for  the  Relief  of  Widows  and  Orphans  of  deceased  Clergymen, 
and  was  its  first  secretary.  In  1769  he  enlarged  St.  Mary's  Church 
by  an  addition  of  twenty-three  feet  westward ;  placing  a  new  bell  in 
the  l)elfry,  and  silk  hangings,  furnished  by  the  wife  of  Governor 
Franklin,  on  "the  pulpit,  desk,  and  taljlc."  In  1771  he  resumed  the 
practice  of  medicine,  for  which  he  was  educated,  declining  the  salary 
from  the  parish  till  the  dcl)t  for  enlarging  the  church  should  Ije  paid. 

At  the  out])reak  of  the  Revolution,  as  a  subject  of  Great  Britain 
and  a  clergyman  of  the  Church  of  England,  he  used  all  efforts  to  pre- 
seiTe  peace.  In  October,  1775,  two  letters  of  his  were  seized  and 
referred  to  the  "  Council  of  Safety,"  and  afterwards  to  the  Provincial 
Congress,  who  declined  to  pass  censure  against  him. 

A  few  days  after  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  Dr.  Odell's 
parole  was  taken,  restricting  him  to  a  circle  within  eight  miles  of 
Burlington.  In  December,  1776,  he  was  hidden  by  a  Quakeress,  in  a 
secret  chamber  of  her  house,  from  a  party  of  aimed  Tory-hunters ; 
and  in  the  evening  was  placed  in  other  lodgings,  whence  he  escaped, 
leaving  his  wife  and  three  children,  (he  youngest  not  five  weeks  old. 
The  vestry,  on  the  following  Easter,  voted  that  his  salaiy  be  contin- 
ued, notwithstanding  his  absence, — a  pleasing  proof  of  their  attach- 
ment. During  his  ministr}^  —  a  period  of  nine  years  and  five  months 
—  the  "Parish  Register"  has  twenty-six  closely  filled  pages  of  neatly 
and  accurately  kept  records  ;  the  totals  of  which  arc  :  Baptisms,  249  ; 
ISIarriages,  122  ;  Burials,  131 ;  —  a  very  large  exhibit.  The  first  ten  of 
these  pages  are  "attested"  at  the  foot  of  each  by  "Jon.  Odell,  Min- 
ister, William  Lyndon,  Abrm.  Ilewlings,  Wardens."  This  rare,  if  not 
the  only,  instance  of  this  kind  in  this  country,  originated  under  Canon 
70,  James  I.,  1603. 

Under  date  "New  York,  January  25,  1777,"  Dr.  Odell  wi'ites  :  — 

Since  the  cteolaration  of  Independency  the  alternative  has  been  either  to  make 
such  alterations  in  the  Liturgy,  as  both  honor  and  conscience  must  lie  alarmed  at, 
or  else  to  shut  up  our  Churches  and  discontituie  our  attendance  on  the  public  Worshi|). 
It  was  impossiljle  for  me  to  hesitate  a  moment  in  such  a  case,  and  1  tind  that  many 
of  the  Clergy  in  Pennsylvania,  and  every  one  in  New  Jersey  (Mr.  Blackwell  only 


C04  HISTORY   OF  THE  AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

accepted)  have  thought  it  their  indispensable  duty  in  tliis  perplexing  situation 
to  suspend  our  public  Ministrations  rather  than  make  any  alteration  in  the  established 
Liturgy.  At  tlie  same  time,  we  were  persuaded  tliat  in  every  other  respect  to 
pui'sue  a  conduct  inoffensive,  if  possible,  even  in  the  eye  of  om-  Knemies,  was  what 
the  Society  both  wislied  and  expected  from  us  &  what  we  owed  to  our  own  char- 
acters as  Ministers  of  the  Gospel. 

CHRIST   CHURCH,    SHREWSBURY. 

The  first  services  of  the  Church  of  England  in  jNIonmouth  county 
were  held  by  the  Rev.  Alexander  Innes,  of  Middletown,  East  Jersey. 
Feb.  2(5,  1702-3,  Keith  writes  to  the  Bishop  of  London  :  — 

Col.  Morris  is  a  very  good  friend  to  the  Church,  and  a  promoter  of  it,  and  was 
very  kind  and  assistant  to  us,  and  is  veiy  regular  in  his  family,  and  his  Lady  is 
a  very  pious  and  good  Woman,  his  family  is  a  little  Church ;  he  useth  the  Common 
Prayer  hi  his  family  daily,  and  on  Sundays  his  neighbours  come  to  his  house  as  to 
a  Church,  and  at  times  Mr.  Innes  pveacheth  in  his  liouse.  I  suppose  your  Lord- 
ship remembereth  Mr.  Innes,  a  good  man,  but  a  nonjuror. 

Keith's  "  Journal "  says  :  — 

October  24,  Sunday,  1702.  I  preached  at  Shrewsbury,  in  East  Jersey,  at  a 
House  near  the  Quakers'  meeting-house,  and  it  happened  that  it  was  the  Time  of 
the  Quakers' Yearly  Meeting  at  Shrewsbury:  My  Text  was  2  Pet.  2,  1,  2.  The 
Church  Prayers  being  read  before  Sermon,  we  Iiad  a  great  Congregation,  generally 
well  affected  to  the  Chm'ch,  and  diverse  of  theiu  were  of  the  Church. 

December  25,  Friday,  bein^  Clu-istmas  day,  I  preaclied  at  the  House  of  Mr. 
Morris,  on  Luke  2,  10,  11.  And  after  Sermon  diverse  of  the  Auditory  received 
with  us  the  Holy  Sacrament ;  both  Mr.  Morris  and  his  Wife,  and  diverse  others. 
Mr.  Talbot  did  administer  it. 

October  17,  1703,  Srmday.  I  preached  at  Shrewsbury,  near  the  Quakers 
Meeting  there,  on  Psal.  103,  17,  18. 

October  24,  Sunday.  I  preached  again  there  on  Heb.  8,  10,  11.  And  Mr. 
Innesse  baptized  two  Men  and  a  Child. 

Between  1703  and  1705  a  church  building  was  erected. 

October  20,  1734,  the  Eev.  Mr.  Forbes,  missionary  for  Mon- 
mouth county,  reports,  "  that  upon  his  arrival  he  found  many  Persons 
zealous  for  the  Church  of  England  worship ;  that  he  hath  baptized 
about  seventy  Persons,  one  a  Alan  upwards  of  thirty  years  of  age,  a 
young  Woman  of  about  nineteen,  and  several  Children  of  five  and  six 
Years  of  Age :  that  in  that  County  where  he  is  the  only  Missionary, 
there  is  one  very  fair  and  handsome  Building  for  a  Church,  and  besides 
that  three  other  Places  for  the  Accommodation  of  People  who  live  at 
a  Distance ;  where  he  is  oI)liflred  to  ofiiciate  not  without  Fatiijue  and 
Expense." 

In  1744-5  the  Society's  "Report  "  says,  "  The  Churches  in  Mon- 
mouth County  are  placed  under  the  Rev.  Mr.  [Thomas]  Thompson,  a 
Fellow  of  Christ  College  in  Camln-idge." 

In  1747-S  jNIr.  Thompson  reports,  "that  they  have  almost  finished 
a  neat  Church,  and  that  in  the  year  he  has  baptized  sixty-one  Children 
and  sixteen  white  Adults,  one  Nogroe  Adult,  and  two  Mulattos,  and 
received  fifty  new  Communicants." 

This  was  the  second  church  building.     It  was  of  stone. 

In  1751  the  Rev.  Samuel  Cooke,  a  graduate  of  Cambridge,  Eng- 
land, became  the  missionary.     In  1765  he  had  the  care  of  the  churches 


SOME  HISTORIC   CHURCHES. —MIDDLE   STATES.  G05 

at  Shrewsbury,  Middletown,  and  Freehold,  but  afterwards  gave  up 
the  last.  The  corner-stone  of  a  third  edifice  was  laid  in  1769,  the 
building  being  constructed  after  plans  furnished  by  the  Rev.  William 
Smith,  D.D.,  pi-ovost  of  the  College  and  Academy  of  Philadelphia. 

In  1773-4  Mr.  Cooke  reports  "that  the  Church  at  Shrewsliury 
is  so  far  finished  as  to  be  made  use  of;  that  it  cost  upwards  of  800/. 
and  the  inside  will  cost  200Z.  more." 


c^^,  c^^^2^. 


TEE   UNITED   CHURCHES    OF    CUEIST   CHURCH  AND    ST.  PETER'S, 

PHILADELPHIA. 

By  the  rev.   THOMAS   F.   DAVIES,   D.D., 

Rector  of  St.  Peter's,  Philadelphia. 
CHEIST    CIITJECH. 

The  historj'  of  Christ  Church,  Philadelphia,  is  far  more  than  that 
of  a  local  church,  or  an  individual  parish.  It  is  interwoven  with  that 
of  the  colonial  days  and  the  revolutionary  struggle ;  there  were 
ofiered  up  the  prayers  of  the  gi'eat  founders  of  the  republic,  and  there 
were  accomplished  the  unification  of  the  Church  and  the  ratification  of 
the  prayer-book. 

It  was  in  the  year  1695,  twelve  years  after  the  founding  of  Phila- 
delphia, that  measures  were  first  taken  to  erect  in  the  growing  city  a 
building  for  the  worship  of  Almighty  God  after  the  fonns  of  the 
Church  of  England.  A  lot  140  feet  by  132  w^as  obtained  on  the  west 
side  of  Second  street  above  High,  and  a  church  of  moderate  size  was 
completed  within  the  year.  "  The  population  of  Philadelphia,"  says 
Dr.  Dorr,  "  at  that  time  could  not  have  been  more  than  four  or  five 
thousand,  and  the  building  then  erected,  though  humble  in  its  size  and 
architecture,  must  have  been  a  goodly  structure  for  a  city  then  in  its 
infancy." 

No  authentic  traditions  enable  us  to  determine  its  plan  or  dimen- 
sions, or  even  the  material  of  which  it  was  built.  It  was  probably 
partly  of  wood  and  partly  of  Ijrick.  The  congregation  increased  so 
rapidly  that  the  cliureli  required  enlargement  in  1711,  and  on  the  27th 
of  Api'il,  1727,  the  corner-stone  of  the  present  church  was  laid  by  the 
Honora1)le  P.  Gordon,  governor  of  the  province  of  Pennsylvania. 
The  walls  of  the  new  building  rose  around  those  of  the  old  in  which 
the  congregation  still  worshipped,  and  the  edifice  was  completed  in  its 
present  form  in  1744.  The  architect  was  Dr.  John  Kearsley,  and  its 
stately  l)eauty  and  admirable  proportions  do  lasting  honor  to  his  skill 
and  taste.  The  chime  of  bells,  proverbial  for  the  sweetness  of  its 
tones,  was  placed  in  the  tower  in  1754. 

Interesting  memorials  of  the  colonial  days  are  found  in  the  valuable 
library  which  began  to  be  gathered  in  1695,  and  was  subsequently  en- 


t;06  HISTORY  OF  THE   AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

riched  by  gifts  from  Queen  Anne,  and  by  the  generous  contribution  of 
Ludovic  Christian  Sprogell  in  1728  ;  in  the  coraraunion  plate,  which 
bears  upon  one  of  its  flagons  and  chalices  the  inscription  "Anxa  Regina 
in  usum  Ecclesiae  AaglicancB  apud  Philadelphium  A.D.  1708;"  in 
the  royal  arms  carved  in  wood  whicli  adorned  the  pew  of  the  governor 
of  the  province;  in  the  medallion  bass-relief  of  George  II.,  which 
had  its  place  until  the  Declaration  of  Independence  in  the  eastern  gable 
of  the  church,  and  in  the  funeral  escutcheon  or  hatchment  of  Robert 
Smythe,  sometime  Chief  Justice  of  New  Jersey  by  appointment  of  the 
Crown. 

It  would  require  far  more  than  our  permitted  space  to  recall  the 
many  hallowed  associations  which  cluster  around  this  sacred  edifice 
and  render  it  dear  to  the  heart  of  every  American  churchman.  It  will 
suffice  to  mention  a  few. 

Here,  for  six  years,  while  President  of  the  United  States,  Wash- 
ington was  an  habitual  worshipper.  Hither,  upon  Thursday,  the  20th 
July,  1775,  upon  the  day  set  apart  Ijy  its  authority  to  be  observed 
through  all  the  American  provinces  as  one  of  humiliation,  fasting,  and 
prayer,  the  Continental  Congress  came  in  a  body  from  the  State-House 
to  attend  divine  service  and  listened  to  a  sermon  founded  upon  the 
14th  verse  of  the  80th  Psalm  ("the  American  Vine"),  from  the  Rev. 
Jacob  Duche,  assistant  minister  of  the  parish. 

Here,  upon  the  27th  September,  1785,  was  held  the  first  General 
Convention  of  the  American  Church,  and  also  the  second,  in  June  of 
the  following  year.  Here,  upon  the  14th  September,  1787,  the  con- 
vention of  the  diocese  elected  the  Rev.  Dr.  William  White,  Bishop 
of  Pennsylvania.  Here,  also,  assembled  the  General  Convention  of 
1789,  when  the  whole  American  Church  was  for  the  first  time  rep- 
resented, the  illustrious  Seal)ury,  the  first  in  the  line  of  American 
bishops,  lieing  in  attendance,  with  clerical  deputies  representing  New 
Hampshire,  Massachusetts,  and  Connecticut.  This  convention  will  be 
ever  memorable  in  our  history  for  the  ratification  of  the  prayer-book 
in  its  present  form,  and  for  the  happy  accomplishment  of  that  which 
had  been  ardently  desired  rather  than  confidently  expected  by  all  true 
churchmen,  —  the  unification  of  the  Church  in  all  the  dioceses  under  one 
constitution. 

It  is  worthy  of  mention  also  that  three  of  the  signers  of  the 
Declaration  of  Independence  were  pew-holders  of  Christ  Church,  viz., 
Benjamin  Franklin,  who  served  for  several  years  as  a  vestry-man ; 
Francis  Hopkinson,  the  rector's  warden,  who  gave  his  services  for  a 
period  as  organist,  and  received  the  thanks  of  the  vestry  "  for  his  labour 
of  love,"  and  Rolwrt  Morris,  the  financier  of  the  Revolution,  and 
brother-in-law  of  Bishop  White. 

During  its  history  of  nearly  two  hundred  years  Christ  Church  has 
been  presided  over  by  twelve  rectors,  —  jjcrhaps  it  would  be  more 
accurate  to  say  by  eleven,  for  the  death  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  James  ensued 
almost  immediately  upon  his  accession  to  the  rectorship.  The  list  is 
headed  l)y  the  Rev.  Thomas  Clayton,  who  was  sent  out  by  Dr. 
Compton,  Bishop  of  London,  in  1G95.  He  is  described  as  "a  zealous 
and  faithful  pastor,"  and  died  after  a  ministry  of  some  three  years  from 


SOME   HISTORIC  CHURCHES. —MIDDLE   STATES.  G07 

a  contagious  disease  contracted  in  the  discliarge  of  his  pastoral  duty. 
The  Eev.  Evan  Evans,  D.D.,  1700-1718,  was  unwearied  in  his  hibors 
both  in  his  parish  and  in  all  the  surrounding  country.  lie  retired  with 
impaired  health  to  a  smaller  cure  in  Maryland  in  1718,  and  died  in 
1721.  The  vcneral)lo  society  recorded  upon  its  minutes  "tiiat  he  had 
been  a  faithful  missionary,  and  had  proved  a  great  instrument  towards 
settling  religion  and  tlie  Church  of  England  in  those  wild  parts."  The 
Rev.  John  Vicary,  1719-1722,  was  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  Ralph 
Welton,  D.D.,  who  had  received  Episcopal  consecration  from  one  of 
the  non-juring  bishops.  lie  was  recalled  to  England  in  1726,  and 
was  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  Archibald  Cummings,  who  fuKiilcd  his 
ministry  "  with  good  success  and  great  satisfaction  to  the  people  "  until 
his  death  in  1741.  Tlic  next  rector,  the  Rev.  Rol)crt  Jenncy,  LL.D., 
had  for  many  years  done  good  service  as  a  missionary  of  the  venerable 
society  in  Westchester  county,  N.Y. ,  and  at  Hempstead,  L.I.  He  died 
in  January,  1762,  in  the  7Gth  year  of  his  age  and  the  53d  of  his 
ministry,  having  been  rector  of  Christ  Church  more  than  nineteen  years. 
The  Rev.  Richard  Peters,  D.D.,  1762-1775,  was  a  liberal  benefactor 
of  the  parish.  He  resigned,  on  account  of  the  infirmities  of  age,  in 
September,  1775,  and  was  followed  by  the  Rev.  Jacob  Duche,  the 
senior  assistant,  who  had  already  acquired,  from  his  perfect  elocution 
and  fine  voice,  great  reputation  as  a  reader  and  preacher.  It  was  he 
who  ofl'ered  the  first  prayer  in  the  Continental  Congress  on  the  5th 
September,  1774.  Becoming  disheartened  as  to  the  success  of  the 
American  cause  he  withdrew  and  went  to  England  in  December,  1777. 
His  successor  was  the  Rev.  William  White,  D.D.,  who  had  served  for 
seven  years  as  an  assistant  minister  in  the  parish.  He  was  elected 
rector  on  the  15th  April,  1779,  and  held  the  otEce  until  his  death  in 
July,  1836.  He  was  a  native  of  Philadelphia,  and  was  l)aptized  in 
infancy  in  Christ  Church.  The  whole  of  his  long  life  was  passed  in  the 
city  of  his  birth,  and  before  the  eyes  of  the  same  community  which  has 
never  ceased  to  hold  him  in  most  profound  and  filial  veneration.  Dr. 
White  was  consecrated  Bishop  of  Pennsylvania  at  Lambeth,  4th 
February,  1787. 

The  successor  of  Bishop  White  in  the  rectorship  was  the  Rev. 
John  Waller  James,  who  lived  but  four  weeks  after  his  accession  to 
office.  The  Rev.  Benjamin  Dorr,  D.D.,  was  elected  rector  on  the  9th 
March,  1837,  and  fulfilled  his  duties  with  distinguished  ability  and 
purity  until  his  death,  18th  September,  1869.  The  Church  is  indebted 
to  him  for  the  scheme  of  its  endowment  fund,  to  which  he  left  a  liberal 
bequest,  as  well  as  for  the  gift  of  his  valuable  library.  He  was  suc- 
ceeded l)y  his  assistant,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Edward  A.  Foggo,  under  whose 
faithful  labors  the  endowment  fund  has  been  completed,  and  the 
vigorous  life  of  the  parish  maintained. 

ST.    PETEIl'S    CHURCH. 

Among  the  valuable  papers  of  the  Penn  fiimily  preserved  in  the 
Library  of  the  Historical  Society  of  Pennsylvania  is  a  document 
which  throws  light  upon  the  origin  of  St.  Peter's  Church,  Philadelphia. 
It  is  a  petition  bearing  date  August  1,  1754,  signed  by  a  number  of 


608  HISTORY  OF  THE  AMEKICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCII. 

the  leading  citizens  of  Philadelphia  and  addressed  to  the  proprietors 
of  the  province.  Its  prayer  was  for  the  grant  of  a  lot  on  the  south- 
west corner  of  Third  and  Pine  streets  for  a  church  and  church-yard 
for  the  use  of  members  of  the  Church  of  England.  The  proprie- 
tors generously  responded  by  the  donation  of  the  valuable  lot  extend- 
ing from  Third  to  Fourth  street. 

No  farther  steps,  or  at  least  no  decisive  ones,  were  taken  until 
June  20,  1758,  when  the  following  entry  is  found  in  the  minutes  of 
the  Vestry  of  Christ  Church  :  "  It  is  unanimously  agreed  that  another 
church  is  much  wanted  ;  and  it  is  proposed  that  the  taking  and  col- 
lecting the  suljscriptions,  and  conducting  of  the  affairs  relating  to  the 
building  and  finishing  the  said  intended  church,  shall  be  under  the 
management  of  the  IMinister,  Church- Wardens  and  Vestry  of  Christ 
Church  for  the  time  being."  Mr.  Joseph  Sims  was  appointed  treas- 
urer, and  Dr.  John  Kearsley,  the  architect  of  Christ  Church,  was  chair- 
man of  the  committee  charged  with  the  duty  of  securing  subscrip- 
tions and  preparing  a  plan  for  the  new  church.  At  a  meeting  of  the 
vestry  held  a  week  later,  June  27th,  the  plan  was  submitted  and  ap- 
proved, and  the  work  directed  to  be  entered  upon  without  delay.  The 
dimensions  were  to  be  the  same  as  those  of  Christ  Church,  ninety  feet 
by  sixty,  with  the  pulpit  and  reading-desk  at  the  west  end  and  the 
chancel  at  the  east.  The  organ  was  to  be  placed  in  the  middle  of  the 
north  gallery,  facing  the  pew  in  the  south  gallery  reserved  for  the 
honorable  proprietaries,  and  in  the  cupola  were  to  be  hung  the  two 
bells  originally  used  in  Christ  Church.' 

In  accordance  with  those  plans  St.  Peter's  Church  was  erected, 
and  in  August,  1761,  the  announcement  was  made  to  the  vestry  that 
it  was  ready  for  the  opening  service.  The  aged  rector.  Dr.  Jenney, 
was  so  far  incapacitated  by  age  and  infirmity  as  to  be  unal^Ie  to  give 
his  personal  attendance,  but  he  was  requested  by  the  vestry  to  name 
the  preacher  for  the  occasion.  His  choice  fell  upon  the  Eev.  Dr. 
Richard  Peters.  Dr.  Peters'  engagements  not  permitting  him  to 
undertake  the  duty,  the  rector's  choice  next  fell  on  the  Rev.  Dr. 
William  Smith,  provost  of  the  College  of  Philadelphia.  The  sen-ice 
was  held  September  4,  1761.  The  sermon  by  Dr.  Smith,  which  was 
subsequently  printed,  was  founded  upon  1  Kings  viii.  13,  27,  57,  60. 
The  history  of  St.  Peter's  Church  until  1832,  when  it  became  a 
separate  corporation,  is  identical  with  that  of  Christ  Church.  Neither 
church  was  willing  to  sever  its  connection  with  the  venerable  rector. 
Bishop  White,  who  accordingly  remained  rector  of  each  until  his  death 
in  1836.  The  Rev.  Dr.  William  H.  De  Lancey,  then  provost  of  the 
University  of  Pennsylvania,  had  been  chosen  assistant  minister  of 
St.  Peter's  Church  in  1833,  with  the  right  of  succession,  and  entered 
upon  his  office  as  rector  directly  upon  the  death  of  Bishop  White. 

Dr.  De  Lancey  vacated  the  rectorship  upon  his  consecration  as 
the  first  Bishop  of  Western  New  York,  i\Iay  0,  1830.  His  ministry 
was  marked  by  the  erection  of  a  building  for  the  Sunday-school 
(which  gave  place  to  a  larger  one  in  1872) ,  and  by  the  establishment  of 

'  The  larprer  of  these  hells  now  hanfrs  in  the    the  smaller  in  that  of  Ghi-ist  Church  Chapel,  Pine 
lower  of  the  Chapel  of  Christ  Church  Hospital,    street,  above  19th. 


SOME   IirSTOIUC   CHURCHES.— MIDDLE   STATES.  609 

the  parish  day-school,  which  still  continues  in  successful  operation. 
Dr.  Do  Lancey  was  succeeded  by  his  assistant  the  Eev.  Dr.  William 
H.  Odenheimer,  who  discharged  his  office  with  unsurpassed  energy, 
ability,  and  faithfulness,  until  his  consecration  as  Bishop  of  New  Jersey, 
Oct.  13, 1859.  He  was  succeeded  by  the  Itev.  Dr.  Geoi'ge  Leeds,  now 
rector  of  Grace  Church,  Baltimore,  in  April,  18G0.  The  present  rector, 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Thomas  F.  Davies,  was  elected  February  22,  18G8. 

The  I'ectorship  of  Dr.  Odenheimer  is  memorable  from  the  fact  that 
he  was  the  first  to  restore,  with  the  cordial  and  unanimous  concurrence 
of  his  vestry,  to  the  American  Church  the  daily  service  of  morning 
and  evening  jjrayer,  and  the  celebration  of  the  holy  communion  on 
every  Sunday  and  holy  day  throughout  the  year.  During  his  rector- 
ship the  to'wer  and  spire  at  the  western  end  of  the  church  ^vere  built, 
a  chime  of  eight  bells  having  been  presented  in  1842  by  Benjamin  C. 
Wilcocks,  Esq.,  a  member  of  the  congregation.  This  is  the  only 
architectural  change  in  the  exterior  of  St.  Peter's  Church  since  its  first 
erection.  The  only  internal  change  was  made  in  1785,  when  a  galler}' 
for  the  organ  was  built  over  the  chancel,  the  space  occupied  by  it  in 
the  north  gallery  being  required  for  additional  pews.  With  the  ex- 
ception of  Independence  Hall,  St.  Peter's  Church  is  the  only  building 
of  the  last  century  in  Philadelphia  which  retains  its  original  features. 
The  square  pews  with  their  high,  straight  backs,  the  aisles  paved  with 
stone  and  marble,  the  lofty  pulpit  with  the  sounding-board  above,  and 
the  reading-desk  beneath — all  endeared  to  the  congi'egation  by  un- 
numbered and  most  hallowed  memories,  remain  as  they  were  in  the 
beginning.  The  prosperity  of  the  parish  has  suffered  little  abatement 
ti'om  the  lapse  of  time,  and  its  future  maintenance  is  secured  by  an 
endowment  fund,  the  plan  of  which  was  prepared  by  the  Hon.  Horace 
Binney  in  April,  1872. 

Among  the  distinguished  clergymen  who  have  served  as  assistant 
ministers  may  be  named  the  Rev.  Robert  Blaclcwell,  D.D.,  1781—1811 ; 
the  Rev.  James  Abercrombie,  D.D.,  1794-1832;  the  Rev.  Jackson 
Kemper,  D.D.,  1811-1831;  the  Rev.  James  Milnor,  D.D.,  1814- 
1816;  and  the  Rev.  William  A.  Mulilenberg,  D.D., 1817-1820. 

Two  or  three  facts  of  interest  may  be  added.  It  is  recorded  by 
Bishop  White,  in  a  letter  dated  Nov.  28,  1832,  that  Washington, 
during  one  winter  before  his  presidency,  while  in  Philadelphia,  at- 
tended regularly  at  St.  Peter's  Church. 

The  first  sermon  by  Bishop  White,  on  his  return  from  England  as 
bishop,  was  preached  from  the  pulpit  of  St.  Peter's,  and  there  he  also 
preached  his  last  sermon  on  the  Sunday  three  weeks  before  his  death. 
It  was  in  this  church  that  he  held  his  first  confirmation,  Nov.  10, 
1787,  and  also  his  second,  Dec.  12th  of  the  same  year,  the  first  class 
numbering  forty-four,  and  the  second  thirty-five.  The  largest 
confirmation  ever  held  by  him  was  in  St.  Peter's,  Easter  eve, 
INIarch  28,  1812,  when  the  number  confirmed  was  one  hundred  and 
seventy -five. 

We  are  permitted  to  make  the  following  extract  from  "  Notes  of 
the  White  family."  by  Thomas  H.  Montgomery,  Esq.,  a  great- gi'and- 
son  of  the  bishop  :  — 


610  HISTORY   OF   THE  AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

The  early  part  of  the  married  life  of  Bishop  White  was  passed  in  the  house 
at  the  South  West  comer  of  Pine  and  Front  Sti-eets,  upon  the  site  of  which  now 
stands  St.  Peter's  House,  that  noble  establishment  of  St.  Peter's  Church.  Some 
months  before  his  marriage  he  had  been  appointed  one  of  the  Assistant  Ministers  of 
Christ  Church  and  St  Peter's,  —  and  as  junior  Assistant  his  duties  may  have  been 
given  principally  to  St.  Peter's  Chiu-ch,  —  hence  the  reason  for  establishing  himself 
in  its  near  vicinity.  In  his  study  in  this  house  were  planned  upon  the  close  of  the 
War  all  the  measures  looking  to  a  Union  of  the  Clergy  and  Congregations  of  the 
Commonwealth,  out  of  which  grew  the  federate  IJnion  of  the  Chm-ches  in  all 
the  States  forming  the  American  Church. 

In  .1  letter  to  Bishop  John  Inglis,  of  Nova  Scotia,  Feb.  11,  1826, 

Bishop  White  says  :  — 

It  is  as  you  suppose  a  great  gratification  to  me  to  behold  our  Church  so  in- 
creased and  increasing,  since  its  organization  was  begim  in  my  parlor  in  the  spring 
of  1784. 


SOME   HISTORIC   CHURCHES.  —  SOUTHERN    STATES. 

MARYLAND   (DIOCESE   OF  EASTON). 

By  the  RT.    rev.  HENRY   C.   LAY,  D.D.,  LL.D., 

Bishop  of  Eaaton. 

KMMANUEL   CHURCH,    CHESTERTO'SVN. 

This  church  was  ordered  to  be  built  in  1768,  but  it  was  not 
6nished  till  after  1770,  when  another  act  was  passed  assessing  £360 
on  the  parish  to  be  applied  to  the  finishing  it,  and  enclosing  the  bury- 
ing ground.  It  was  l)uilt  of  brick,  sixty  feet  long  by  forty  wide, 
two  stories  high,  with  a  stone  foundation.  This  was,  at  first,  a  chapel 
of  ease,  —  the  parish  church  being  about  five  miles  north-west  of 
Chestertown.  In  1801,  1834,  and  1845  this  church  was  repaired,  and 
on  the  8th  of  February,  1882,  after  having  been  "remodelled  and 
changed  from  an  inconvenient  building,  difficult  to  speak  in,  into  a 
church  of  admirable  acoustic  properties,"  it  was  consecrated  by  Bishop 
Lay,  by  the  name  of  Emmanuel  Church.  There  was  neither  record 
nor  tradition  to  show  that  it  had  ever  had  a  name  till  the  time  of  its 
consecration. 

ST.    ANDREW'S    CHURCH,    SOMERSET    PARISH,    PRINCESS    ANNE. 

It  having  been  represented  to  the  General  Assembly  of  Maryland 
that  "The  Chapel  of  Ease,  called  King's  Mill  Chapel,  is  much  decayed 
and  will  in  a  little  time  be  dangerous,"  the  vestry  were  authorized 
to  sell  King's  Mill  Chapel,  and  purchase  two  acres  in  Princess  Anne, 
and  build  a  chapel  thereon.  On  the  31st  of  March,  1767,  the 
vestry  agreed  that  the  new  chapel  should  be  sixty  feet  by  forty,  exclu- 
sive of  the  chancel  arch,  and  the  contract  for  building  it  was  made. 
May  12,  1767,  the  vestry  paid  for  the  lot.  The  bricks  for  the  church 
were  made  on  the  lot. 


SOME   HISTORIC   CHURCHES.  — SOUTHERN   STATES.  611 

March  6,  1770,  the  vestry  refused  to  receive  the  chapel,  the  work 
not  havinj;  been  done  accordino;  to  agreement.  But  on  the  9th  of 
July,  1771,  it  was  received  by  them. 

On  the  11th  of  November,  1845,  the  church  was  consecrated  by 
Bishop  VVhittingham. 

ST.    PAUIi'S   CHURCH,    ST.  PAUL's    PARISH,    KENT   COUNTY. 

On  the  27th  of  August,  1711,  "  a  brick  church"  (the  one  then 
and  since  known  as  St.  Paul's,  Kent)  "  was  ordered  to  be  built  just 
by  the  former  one,"  which  was  of  wood,  "to  be  40  feet  by  30,  with  a 
circle  at  the  east  end."  On  the  2d  of  February,  1713,  the  builder 
delivered  the  church  to  the  vestry. 

During  the  ministry  of  the  Rev.  James  Sterling,  between  1740 
and  1763,  an  addition  was  made  on  the  north,  doubling  the  size.  It  be- 
came cruciform,  but  without  a  head  to  the  cross.  The  pulpit  was  over 
the  south  door.     It  was  consecrated  by  Bishop  Whittingham  in  1843. 

ALL-HALLOWS,  ALL-HALLOWS  PARISH,  SNOW  HILL,  WORCESTER  COUNTY. 

In  June,  1748,  was  passed  an  Act  to  levy  on  the  taxable  inhab- 
itants of  All- Hallows  Parish  eighty  thousand  pounds  of  tobacco,  to 
build  a  parish  church  of  brick,  on  part  of  the  ground  laid  out  for  pub- 
lic use,  in  Snow  Hill  town. 

The  building  was  probably  begun  in  1749,  but  could  not  have 
been  finished  until  after  1756,  as  in  May  of  that  year  another  Act  was 
passed  levying  a  further  tax  of  forty-five  thousand  pounds  of  tobacco 
towards  the  completion  of  Snow  Hill  Church.  It  is  rectangular,  and 
very  plain.  Within  are  two  tablets,  with  inscriptions  in  gilt  letters. 
The  lettering,  even  now,  is  fresh  and  bright.  One  is  to  the  memory 
of  the  daughter,  who  died  in  1769,  and  the  other  of  the  wife,  who 
died  in  1771,  of  the  rector  of  the  parish.  The  dead  of  six  generations 
lie  in  the  church-yard,  and  it  is  still  used  as  a  burying-ground. 

A  wooden  church  was  formerly  on  or  very  near  the  site  of  this. 

ST.  Luke's  church,  st.  luke's  parish,  queen  anne  county. 

In  1728  this  parish  was  taken  from  St.  Paul's,  and  made  a 
separate  cure.  A  chapel  of  ease  was  then  in  use,  which  stood  within 
the  present  chm"ch-yard,  and  hard  by  the  site  of  the  present  church. 
The  work  upon  this  —  henceforth  to  be  the  parish  church  —  began  in 
the  summer  of  1730,  and  was  finished  by  the  end  of  1731.  With  the 
close  of  the  Revolution,  the  glory  of  this  church  began  to  wane,  and 
though  we  find  that  in  1 793  Bishop  Claggett  confirmed  here  a  class  of 
thirty,  yet  darkness  soon  settled  upon  it. 

In  1826  Bishop  Kemp  reported  it  was  in  a  ruinous  condition. 

In  1841  Bishop  Whittingham  speaks  of  the  "  venerable,  but 
dilapidated  edifice."  The  next  year,  1842,  he  records  that  he  "ofii- 
ciated  with  deep  thankfulness  to  God  ...  in  the  partially 
repaired  and  reopened  Church  of  St.  Luke's,  at  Church  Hill."  Forty 
years  afterwards  it  was  thoroughly'  restored.  The  old  walls  stand  as 
they  were  originally  built  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago.     The  spa- 


612  HISTORY   OF   THE   AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

cious  apsidal  chancel,  the  lofty,  arched  ceiling,  the  hip  roof,  have  all 
been  retained:  and  the  7th  of  March,  1881,  it  was  reopened,  and 
rededicated  by  Bishop  Lay.  In  the  church-yard  around  lie  buried  the 
dead  of  nearly  two  centuries. 

ST.  LUliE'S,  WYE,  TALBOT  COUNTY. 

In  1694  this  church  was  a  chapel  of  ease  within  St.  Paul's  par- 
ish, which  embraced  the  whole  of  Queen  Anne  and  Caroline  and  part 
of  Talbot  county.  As  AVye  chapel  very  soon  after  needed  renewal 
it  must  have  been  standing  for  a  number  of  years,  even  at  that  earlj' 
date.     The  present  church  was  built  between  1717  and  1721. 

Between  1830  and  1836  this  church  became  so  dilapidated  that  it 
could  no  longer  be  used  as  a  place  of  worship.  A  few  years  later  ''  it 
became  necessary  that  Bishop  Whittingham  and  three  friends  should 
reach  a  certain  steamboat  landing,  very  early  in  the  morning.  The 
way  led  them  near  this  old  church.  Going  to  it  they  found  that  the 
church  had  become  a  stable.  The  cattle  were  driven  out,  and  then, 
standing  in  the  desecrated  chancel,  in  the  gray  light  of  the  morning, 
the  bishop  said  '  Let  us  pray,'  and  the  four  brethren  knelt  together. 
He  poured  out  his  soul  in  supplication,  entreating  the  Lord  to  revive 
his  work,  to  build  the  old  waste  places  and  make  the  sound  of  praise 
to  be  again  heard  in  this  house  called  by  his  name.  The  service  ended, 
the}^  liarred  the  entrance  with  fence-rails  and  went  their  way.  But. 
before  they  had  left  the  building  they  contributed  what  was  the 
foundation  of  a  fund  for  the  restoration  of  the  church,"^  and  on  the 
20th  day  of  July,  1854,  this  ancient  temple  was  set  apart,  by  Bishop 
Whittingham,  to  the  worship  of  God,  and  has  since  been  in  constant 
use.     It  is  surrounded  by  a  grove  of  the  most  venerable  oaks. 

ST.    MARY'S    church,    NORTH    ELK. 

The  earliest  known  document  relating  to  this  church  is  a  manu- 
script letter  from  the  vestry  of  the  parish  (North  Elk)  to  the  Bishop 
of  London,  in  1715.  They  say  that  "notwithstanding  we  have  been 
made  a  Parish  by  the  laws  of  our  Country  about  nine  years  and,  in  the 
time,  have  buildcd  a  Church,"  they  are  destitute  of  a  minister.  In 
1742  an  act  was  passed  authorizing  the  inhabitants  of  St.  Mary  Anne 
(North  Elk)  parish  to  raise  £800  for  building  "  a  new  church  of  ])rick 
in  the  same  place  where  the  old  one  stands."  In  1743  the  church  was 
built.  It  is  fifty-five  feet  by  thirty,  the  walls  thirteen  feet  high  and 
eighteen  inches  thick. 

From  1706  to  1835  this  parish,  with  very  partial  exceptions,  was 
vacant.  In  1836  it  was  reported  to  the  convention  that  "  St.  Mavy 
Anne's  Church,  which  for  many  years  had  been  neglected,  was  dilapi- 
dated, and  the  vestry  room  was  fitted  up  for  service." 

In  the  report  to  the  convention  of  1845,  we  learn  that  "  St. 
Mary's,  the  ancient  and  venerable  parish  church,  having  never  been 
consecrated,  tho'  built  more  than  one  hundred  years  ago,  was  conse- 
crated by  Bishop  Whittingham,  Sept.  3,  1844."" 

'Abbreviated  from  Braud's  "Life  of  Bp.  Whittingham." 


SOME   HISTORIC   CHURCHES.  —  SOUTHERN   STATES. 


t)13 


TRINITY'    CHUKCH,    CHURCH    CREEK,    DORCHESTER    PARISH,    DORCHESTER 

COUNTY. 

In  l(i!l4  tlic  council  ordered  the  vestries  of  the  parisiies  Ijcloug- 
ing  to  Dorchester  county  to  l)uild  a  chapel  of  ease  in  each  parish,  in 
some  place  lying  most  convenient  to  the  parishioners.  This  was  at 
that  time  one  of  the  parish  churches.  In  1801  Dr.  (afterwards  Bishop) 
Kemp  reported  that  "the  Parish  Church  is  in  ruins."  In  l.S(),S,  "that 
the  Church  lias  lately  been  partially  repaired,  but  is  hardly  comfort- 
able. Since  the  Revolution  they  have  never  had  a  regularly  settled 
minister,  but  one  year."  In  1841  Bishop  Whittinoham  reports  to  his 
convention  that  "the  venerable  ))uilding  greatly  needs  the  completion 
of  repairs,  begun  a  few  years  ago."  It  was  repaired  in  1852,  and, 
April  17,  1858,  was  consecrated  by  Bishop  Whitehouse,  acting  for 
the  Bishop  of  Maiyland.  In  his  report  of  the  consecration  he  says, 
"  This  building  is  one  of  the  oldest  in  Maryland,  and,  having  fallen  into 
decay,  has  been  now  judiciously  restored.  The  old  Bil)le  and  one 
piece  of  Connnunion  plate  go  back  to  the  reign  of  Queen  Anne.  The 
cushion  on  Avhich  I  knelt  at  the  Lord's  table  was  used,  it  is  said,  in  the 
coronation  of  that  Sovereign.  It  is  of  rich  crimson  velvet,  of  large 
size,  and,  the  tradition  is,  was  presented  by  Bishop  Spratt." 


I^AaO^        C.   .      '^COA^ 


MARYLAND. 

Bt  the  rev.  GEORGK  A.  LEAKIN,  A.M., 
Rector  of  Triniti/  Church,  BaUimore,  Md. 


ALL-HALLOWS  CHURCH,  ALL-HALLOWS  PARISH,  ANNE  ARUNDEL  COUNTY. 

This   quaint   structure  is  one  of  the  few  buildings  remaining  as 

originally  con- 
structed about  the 
3^ear  1692.  The 
walls  are  the  same, 
and  nothing,  save 
repair  necessary  to 
its  preservation ,  has 
interfered  witli  its 
original  design. 
The  bell  bears  date 
of  1727,  and  it  is 
proposed  in  the  res- 
toration to  rebuild 
the  tower  taken 
down  early  in  the 
present    century. 


.;>»"• 


■»^».' \'ti' 


ALI.-HAI.I.OWS    PARISH    CnriUll,    MAKYL.VND,    lUILT    1692 

and  give  voice  again  to  those  tones  which  have,  for  more  than  one 


614  HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

hundred  and  fifty  years,  called  the  faithful  to  prayer  throughout  the 
surrounding  country. 

ST.  Margaret's,  Westminster  parish,  anne  arundel  county. 

The  old  Marley  Chapel  is  the  only  ante-Revolution  church  edifice 
in  this  parish  of  which  there  is  the  slightest  visible  trace,  and  that  has 
for  years  been  given  over  to  the  owls  and  bats.  It  is  about  nine  miles 
from  Baltimore,  near  the  bridge,  over  Marley  Creek,  which  empties 
into  Curtis  Ci'eek,  a  tributary  of  the  Patapsco.  It  is  in  the  woods, 
built  of  brick ;  its  walls  are  in  good  preservation,  but  the  interior  is 
greatly  a1)used.  The  walls  are  discolored ;  the  roof  broken ;  the 
doors  and  shutters  unftistened ;  the  pews  and  furniture  removed. 
Returning  from  the  deserted  sanctuary,  with  some  gathered  wild-flow- 
ers, we  could  unite  in  the  Psalmist's  grief:  "Thy  servants  think  upon 
her  stones,  and  it  pitieth  them  to  see  her  in  the  dust."  May  the  time 
soon  come  when  the  long-suspended  worship  of  our  ancestors  shall  be 
resumed  by  their  descendants. 


^     ^   e?C£cU4^ 


COLONIAL  VIRGINIA. 

Bv  TUE  REV.  PHILIP  SLAUGHTER,  D.D., 
historiographer  of  the  Dioceae  of  Virginia. 

JAMESTOWN. 

The  picturesque  ruin  at  Jamestown,  on  the  James  river,  in 
the  parish  and  county  of  James  City,  marks  the  site  of  the  first 
fort,  the  first  town,  the  first  church,  and  the  scene  of  the  first  legis- 
lature, the  first  baptism,  the  first  holy  communion,  and  the  first  mar- 
riage, in  the  first  colony,  permanently  planted  by  Englishmen  on  the 
continent  of  America. 

Although  this  ruin  does  not  represent  the  church  in  which  good 
Master  Hunt  officiated  (1607-8),  yet  it  is  the  last  link  in  a  chain 
which  connects  it  with  that  "  Church  in  the  Wilderness."  As  we  look 
back  we  see  the  landing  of  the  pioneer  pilgrims,  prominent  among 
whom  were  Newport,  "Master  of  Transportation,"  Capt.  Smith,  the 
first  hero  and  historian  of  Virginia,  and  the  gallant  Percy,  who  fixes 
the  14th  May  as  the  day  of  the  first  landing.  We  see  the  Indian 
warriors,  "armed  for  strife,"  lurking  in  the  forest,  and  springing  at  the 
war-whoop  from  every  bush  and  glen.  We  see  the  flames  of  sedition 
quenched  by  the  gentle  Hunt,  with  "the  water  of  patience,"  followed 
by  the  holy  communion.  We  see  the  worshippers,  in  their  first  temple, 
sitting  ui)on  unhewn  logs,  within  walls  of  rails,  and  Master  Hunt 
standing  upon  a  bar  of  wood  nailed  to  two  trees  telling  of  the  "  Good 
News,"  and  making  the  forest  resound  with  the  burning  words  of  the 
old  liturgy. 


SOME   HISTORIC   CHURCHES. —  SOUTHERN   STATES.  615 

Such  was  the  first  church  in  the  wilderness  until  "  they  built  a 
homely  tiling  on  crochets,  and  covered  with  sedge  and  earth."  And 
yet  they  had  daily  "  comniou  prayer ;  every  Sunday  two  sei-mons, 
and  every  three  months  the  communion,  till  our  minister  died." 

The  next  winter  this  humble  place  of  worship  was  burned,  and 
though  the  preacher  "  lost  his  library  and  everything  he  had  but  the 
clothes  on  his  back,  yet  none  heard  him  repine,  and,  till  he  could  not 
speak,  he  never  ceased  to  urge  us  to  persevere."  Upon  these  facts 
the  comment  of  the  chronicler  is,  "Questionless  his  soul  is  with  God." 

In  the  spring  "  the  Palace  stayed,"  as  a  thing  needless ;  and  the 
church  was  repaired  (or  rebuilt). 

On  the  23d  day  of  June,  1610,  Sir  Thomas  Gates  arrived  from  the 
Bermudas  with  the  ships  "  Patience  "  and  "Deliverance,"  two  cedar  ves- 
sels, bringing  with  him  another  clergyman.  Rev.  Richard  Bucke. 
He  found  the  colony  reduced  by  starvation  and  pestilence  to  fifty 
persons.  The  first  place  he  visited  was  the  "ruined  church,"  "and 
having  the  bell  rung,  such  of  the  people  as  could  crawl,  joined  in  the 
sorrowful  prayers  of  Mr.  Bucke."  Gates  embarked  the  sui-vivors  and 
fell  down  the  river  with  the  tide,  "  none  dropping  a  tear"  at  bidding, 
as  they  thought,  a  final  farewell  to  Jamestown.  But  being  met  by 
Governor  De  La  War,  they  returned.  His  lordship's  first  act  on 
landing  was  to  fall  upon  his  knees  on  the  ground  in  prayer.  Thence 
he  went  in  procession  to  the  church  and  heard  a  sermon  from  Mr. 
Bucke.  The  captain-general  gave  orders  (says  Strachey)  "for  repair- 
ing the  Church."  De  La  War's  health  failing,  he  was  succeeded. by 
Sir  Thomas  Dale,  who  was  attended  by  Whittaker,  a  graduate  of 
Cambridge,  who  "left  his  warm  nest  in  England  for  the  high  and 
heroical  end  of  preaching  the  Gospel  to  the  Gentiles,"  and  who  earned, 
by  his  devotion  unto  death,  the  title  of  the  "Apostle  of  Virginia."  It 
was  he  who  baptized  and  married  Pocahontas. 

When  Sir  Thomas  Argall  reached  James  City,  May,  1617,  he 
found  "  five  or  six  houses  and  a  ruinated  Church."  Say  the  planters, 
in  their  "  Declaration  :  "  "The  store-house  was  used  for  a  Church." 

In  1619,  when  the  captain-general  arrived,  "  he  found  a  Church 
50  feet  by  30,  built  of  timber  at  the  sole  charge  of  the  inhabitants," 
so  that  this  could  not  have  been  the  church  which  De  La  War  visited 
with  so  much  ceremony,  and  which  he  caused  to  be  kept  "so  sweet 
and  clean  and  trimmed  with  flowers  ;  "  as  that  church  was  sixty  feet 
by  twenty-four. 

Sir  George  Yardley  convoked  the  tk'st  legislative  body  on  this 
continent,  and  it  met  in  the  church.  "The  most  convenient  place  we 
could  find  to  sit  in  was  the  Quire  of  the  Church,  where  Sir  George 
Yardley  sat  in  his  usual  place  —  the  Council  on  either  side,  the  Sec- 
retary before  him,  the  Sergeant  at  the  Bar  —  and  forasmuch  as  men's 
afiiiirs  do  not  prosper  when  God's  service  is  neglected,  all  the  Burgesses 
took  their  place  in  the  Quire  until  prayer  was  said  by  Mr.  Bucke,  that 
God  w*  sanctify  all  our  proceeding  to  his  own  glory  and  the  good  of 
this  plantation.  They  then  passed  into  the  Church  and  were  sworn." 
They  took  measures  for  erecting  a  university  and  college,  and  for  the 
education  of  the  Indians. 


616  HISTORY   OF   THE  AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

Next  followed  in  succession  Governors  West,  Pott,  Sir  John 
Harvey,  and  Sir  Francis  Wyatt,  when,  in  1640  (says  Neill,  who  does 
not  cite  his  authority),  twelve  houses  were  built,  one  of  brick  by 
Secretary  Kemp,  "  the  fairest  in  the  colony,"  and,  at  the  same  time, 
"the  first  brick  Church  in  Virginia  was  commenced." 

We  know  but  little  of  the  history  of  this  church  but  that  it 
is  associated  with  the  successive  governors,  Sir  Francis  Wyatt,  Sir 
William  Herkeley,  Kempc,  Burnett,  Digges,  ^Matthews,  and  Berkeley 
(again),  till  the  burning  of  Jamestown  by  the  so-called  rebel,  Nathan- 
iel Bacon.     We  know  little  of  the  ministers  who  filled  the  interval. 

The  truth  is,  the  clergy  had  been  the  occasion  of  so  much  scandal 
that  lay-readers  were  preferred.  Governor  Berkeley  said:  "The 
worst  are  sent  over  to  us,  until  the  persecution  in  Cromwell's  time 
drove  divers  worthy  ministers  hither;"  and  Godwyn,  grandson  of 
a  bishop  of  Hereford,  says  that  "  two-thirds  of  the  pulpits  in  Virginia 
were  filled  with  leaden  lay-priests  of  the  vestries'  ordination ; "  and 
adds  that  "  with  short  intervals,  Jamestown  was  without  an  ordained 
minister  for  twenty  years." 

When  "the  metropolis"  was  burned  by  Bacon,  it  is  described  by 
a  contemporary  as  "running  east  and  west  about  f  of  a  mile 
upon  the  river,  and  having  some  16  or  18  houses,  most  (as  is 
the  Church)  of  Brick,  faire  &  large,  &  in  them  is  about  a  dozen 
families  (all  the  houses  not  being  occupied)  who  get  their  living 
by  keeping  ordinaries  at  extra-ordinary  prices."  The  town  was  laid 
in  ashes,  including  the  church.  The  Assembly  met  at  Green  Spring 
in  1676,  and  at  the  private  house  of  Mr.  Thorpe,  at  Middle  Planta- 
tion, in  1677,  and  returned  to  James  City  in  1679,  where  it  continued 
to  meet  until  1699,  when  it  sat  at  the  college.  There  is  nothing  in  the 
Acts  of  Assembly  about  building  another  State-house  at  Jamestown ; 
and  Hugh  Jones  says,  as  late  as  1724,  "that  the  town  consisted  of 
heaps  of  Ijrick  rubbish,  with  thi"ee  or  four  dwellings."  There  was  an 
old  church,  two  miles  from  Jamestown,  called  "  The  Church  in  the 
Maine."  Under  this  church  was  a  brick  vault,  in  which  had  been 
divers  coffins  ;  on  the  plate  of  one  was  the  name  of  Elizabeth,  wife  of 
Rev.  Mr.  Bland  and  daughter  of  William  Yates,  once  president  of  the 
college.  In  the  yard  was  the  tomb  of  "  Rev.  William  Gough,  died 
January  1683-4,  minister  of  this  place,"  as  says  the  epitaph. 

It  may  be  that  this  church  was  substituted  for  the  one  burned, 
and  that  when  the  church  of  "  James  City,  or  Jamestown"  (by  both 
of  which  names  the  town  was  called),  was  spoken  of,  this  one  Avas 
meant.  Bishop  Madison,  who  was  one  of  the  ministers  of  Jamestown, 
certainly  ofiSciated  at  this  church  after  his  removal  to  Williamsburg. 

The  original  graveyard  contained  half  an  acre,  covered  with 
sycamore  and  mulberry  trees.  The  bricks  of  the  old  enclosure,  and 
some  from  the  church,  were  used  about  1796  b}^  Wm.  Lee,  of  Green 
SiJring,  and  John  Ambler,  in  protecting  the  tombstones.  The  tower  is 
eighteen  feet  square,  and  the  foundations  of  the  church  are  still  marked 
by  the  bricks. 

President  Tyler  said  that  "  when  a  boy  of  sixteen  he  was  present 
at  the  Centennial  Celebration  of  1807,  and  saw  Bishop  Madison,  stand- 


SOME   HISTORIC   CHURCHES.  —  SOUTHERN   STATES.  617 

iug  OH  a  tomb,  open  the  services  with  prayer.  The  occasion,  the 
scenery,  the  broken  .spire,  the  tombs,  the  tall  and  graceful  form  of  the 
suppliant  and  the  full  tones  of  his  sonorous  voice,  made  an  impression 
which  time  in  no  deo;ree  cilaced."  The  Travis  house  and  the  Ambler 
house  are  gone.  The  fragments  of  the  tomlis  have  been  carried  off  by 
remorseless  relic-hunters.  The  river  is  uearing  the  ruin,  and  soon  the 
metropolis  of  the  ancient  Colony  and  Dominion  of  Virginia  will  live 
only  in  story  and  in  song. 

HENRICO    CITY    (HENRICOPOLIS)  ,    CHARLES    CITTIE    (ciTY   POINT),    AND 
THE    CITV   OF    RICHMOND. 

Another  line  of  radiation  from  Jamestown  was  up  the  river  to 
the  city  of  Henrico,  at  Farrar's  Island  (Dutch  Gap),  and  Charles  City, 
and  Bermuda,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Appomattox.  Here  churches  were 
built  of  wood,  and  the  foundations  laid  of  a  brick  church,  at  Hen- 
ricopolis  (named  in  honor  of  the  Prince  of  Wales),  which  was  to  be  the 
seat  of  a  university  for  the  education  of  Virginian  and  Indian  youths. 
The  proposed  university  and  preparatory  scliool  opened  the  hearts  of 
bishops,  presbyters,  and  eminent  laymen  of  England.  Collections 
were  ordered  in  every  diocese.  Thousands  of  acres  of  river-bottom, 
overlooked  by  the  imposing  site,  were  appropriated.  Carpenters, 
bricklayers,  and  other  artisans,  young  men  and  maidens  (for  wives), 
were  sent  there.  Donations,  in  money,  plate,  Bibles,  and  church  or- 
naments, were  poured  into  the  college  coffers.  A  church  of  wood  was 
erected,  and  the  foundations  of  a  brick  church  laid.  The  pastor,  Whit- 
taker,  and  Superintendent  Thorpe  were  earnest  and  active,  and  all 
things  seemed  ready  for  realizing  the  hopes  of  the  adventurers. 
But  the  brilliant  promise  was  blighted  in  a  single  night  by  the  tragic 
massacre  of  li!22.  The  timely  warning  of  a  faithful  Christian  Indian, 
who  revealed  the  plot  to  Pace,  with  whom  he  lived,  alone  saved  the 
colony  from  utter  extirpation.  Henrico  City  developed  into  Henrico 
parish  and  county,  with  the  court-house  at  Varina,  and  the  mother- 
church  at  Curies.  It  was  at  Varina  that  Stith,  the  rector  of  the  parish, 
wrote  the  history  of  Virginia.  The  fine  lands  of  the  col  lege  ultimately  be- 
came the  property  of  the  Randolphs,  whose  seats,  Turkey  Island,  Varina, 
Curies,  Wilton,  Chats  worth,  etc.,  ran  along  the  river  with  the  progress 
of  population  towards  the  present  site  of  the  city  of  Richmond.' 

In  17.39  it  was  decided  to  build  a  church  on  the  hill  called  "Indian 
Town,"  probably  because  it  was  near  '"Powhatan,"  one  of  the  seats  of 
the  Indian  chieftain  of  that  name.  The  site  was  given  by  Colonel 
Byrd.  The  dimensions  were  to  be  sixty  by  twenty-five  feet,  and  the 
pitch  fourteen  feet;  the  cost  £.317  10s.  current  money. 

The  first  meeting  of  the  vestry  recorded  in  the  books  wns  in  1750, 
the  church  having  been  finished  some  years  (proba]>ly  in  1740)  and 
supplied  with  lay-readers.  It  was  then  known  as  the  "  Upper  Church," 
by  wliich  name,  as  also  "Richmond  Church,"  and  the  "  Church  on 
Richmond  Hill,"  it  was  alternately  called  until  1829,  when  it  first  ap- 
pears in  the  vestry  roll  as  "  St.  John's  Church." 

'  Bancroft  iuadvei-tently  (we  suppose)  makes  the  present  site  of  Richmond  the  site  of  Hcd- 
ricopolis. 


OlS  IIISTOKV    OF   THE   AMEUICAN   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

It  is  ii  plain  structure  of  wood,  in  the  form  of  the  letter  T,  with  a 
sharply-ridged  roof;  it  has  a  spire  of  modern  construction,  and  a  hell 
of  surpassing  melody.  The  yard,  filling  a  square,  is  enclosed  hy  a 
wall  of  brick.  It  is  furrowed  with  graves,  historical  with  tombs  and 
inscriptions,  and  embowered  in  fine  trees.' 

Three  wars  have  raged  around  the  old  church,  and  still  it  stands, 
the  pride  of  Kichmond,  and  a  shrine  to  which  pilgi-ims  and  strangers, 
as  well  as  citizens,  often  wend  their  way.  It  has  survived  its  mother. 
Curies,  and,  indeed,  every  other  colonial  church  on  the  north  bank  of 
the  river  to  Jamestown,  with  the  exception  of  old  Wcstover ;  and  on 
the  south  side  every  edifice  to  "  old  Merchant's  Hope,"  in  Martin's  Bran- 
don parish.  It  overlooks  the  seat  of  Powhatan,  and  the  "Falls"  of 
the  river,  where  Newport  and  Smith  erected  a  cross,  with  the  inscrip- 
tion, "Jacobus  Rex,  1607." 

St.  John's  still  possesses  the  baptismal  font  which  belonged  at 
Curies.  The  sounding-board  which  reflected  the  voice  of  Buchanan 
has  done  the  like  office  for  his  successors.  The  old  bell  calls  to  prayer 
with  a  voice  as  sweet  as  when  it  first  waked  the  echoes  of  the  neigh- 
boring hills.  l)ut  independently  of  the  services  and  memories  which 
endear  old  St.  John's  to  the  Christian  heart,  it  has  a  world-wide 
interest  as  the  scene  of  the  convention  of  1775,  which  met  to  concert 
measures  for  putting  in  motion  the  American  Revolution,  and  that 
of  1789,  for  ratifying  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States. 

wood's   church,    dale    parish  ;    SAPPONY    CHURCH,  BATH   PARISH,  AND 
BLANDFORD   CHURCH,    BKISTOL   PAP.ISH. 

The  tide  of  population  which  ran  up  James  river,  depositing 
settlers  at  intervals  upon  its  banks,  was  in  part  deflected  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Appomattox  and  ascended  that  river  (rivers  being  the  only 
roads)  and  its  tributaries,  meeting  towards  the  north  currents  of  colo- 
nists who  had  come  from  the  upper  James,  and  like  currents  from 
Surrey  and  Isle  of  Wight,  and  combining  with  them  flowed  onward 
to  the  Blue  Mountains.  In  this  area,  comprehending  what  is  now 
known  as  the  "  South  side  "  (of  James  river) ,  new  parishes  were  in- 
stituted, and  new  churches  erected,  to  keep  pace  with  the  onward 
progress  of  the  population.  Most  of  these  structures  have  perished. 
Some  have  been  restored,  and  others  are  tottering  to  their  fall.  It 
would  l)e  a  sad  talc  to  tell  of  the  sacrilegious  hands  which  have  l)een 
laid  upon  some  old  altars,  and  of  the  base  uses  that  have  been  made 
of  fonts  and  sacramental  chalices  and  patens.  Of  the  colonial  edifices 
which  remain  I  have  only  space  to  note  a  few.  Old  AVood's  Church 
(named  for  a  prominent  pioneer)  is  one  of  the  oldest  of  all  wooden 
churches  extant,  having  been  built  in  1707.  Its  frame,  which  has  out- 
lasted several  restorations  of  its  outer  coverings,  is  still  sound.  It 
stands  in  Dale  parish,  about  five  miles  from  Petersburg.  It  has  been 
appropriated  by  the  Methodists,  and  is  notable  as  having  been,  in  days 
gone  by,  under  the  care  of  the  Rev.  William  Leigh,  father  of  the  jurist 
and  statesman,  Benjamin  Watkins  Leigh. 

'  Services  at  Ciii'les  and  at  Chiipcl  seem  to  have  been  kept    up  till   1773,  when  the  earliest 
extant  vestrv-book  ends. 


SOME   HISTORIC   CHURCHES.  —  SOUTHERN   STATES.  619 

Sappony  Church  is  in  Bath  parish,  and  is  worthy  of  commemora- 
tion as  the  scene  of  the  Inhors  of  the  Rev.  Devereux  Jai'ratt,  who,  in 
the  dark  days  of  the  Church  (1768-94),  when  the  iircs  on  her  altars 
burned  low,  by  his  elocjuence  and  evangelical  fervor,  rekindled  the 
smouldering  embers  on  many  hearths  and  in  many  hearts.  After  the 
Revolution,  he  never  lost  his  faith,  but  predicted  that  "the  old 
Church  would  rise  from  the  dust  and  again  be  a  praise  in  the 
land."  It  was  of  this  man  and  this  church'  (Sappony)  that  Bishop 
Moore  was  speaking  when  he  said  to  the  convention  of  1818  :  "When 
I  entered  within  its  walls  I  felt  that  I  was  treading  on  holy  ground, 
and  I  could  not  forbear  supplicating  Heaven  that  the  mantle  of  this 
holy  man  of  God  might  fall  on  me."  - 

BLANDFORD    CHURCH,    BRISTOL   PARISH. 

The  town  of  Blandford,  which  has  been  absorbed  by  Petersburg, 
was  for  many  years  the  centre  of  commerce,  of  society,  and  of  relig- 
ion. It  owed  its  prosperity  to  the  trade  in  tobacco  (chiefly)  with 
Glasgow,  whose  merchants  kept  factories  in  Blandford,  Dumfries,  and 
other  towns  in  Virginia.  These  "  Tobacco  Lords  "  were  the  great  folk 
of  Glasgow.  They  promenaded  the  Irongate  in  long  scarlet  robes  and 
portentous  wigs,  and  other  men  gave  way  as  they  passed.  Virginia 
street,  in  Glasgow,  perpetuates  the  memory  of  these  merchant  princes. 
Blandford  shared  this  prosperity,  and  the  Scottish  Gordons,  Ramsays, 
Murrays,  j\Iaitlands,  and  others  were  leading  men  "on  change,"  and 
in  the  church,  and,  intermarrying  with  our  Virginian  maidens,  have 
transmitted  their  blood  to  many  of  our  best  people.  Among  the  law- 
yers who  illustrated  the  bar  of  Blandford  were  William  Davies,  grand- 
son of  Samuel,  president  of  Princeton,  and  the  grandfather  of  the 
present  Bishop  of  Virginia :  and  George  Keith  Taylor,  who  married 
the  sister  of  Chief  Justice  iNIarshall.  There  are  those  now  living  who 
have  dim  memories  of  sumptuous  dinners,  merry  marriages,  and 
shining  equipages,  which  made  Blandford  the  centre  around  which  the 
social  circle  revolved. 

But  a  change  has  come  over  her.  The  sounds  of  revelry  are  no 
more  heard  in  her  halls,  nor  the  voices  of  her  merchants  "on  change," 
nor  the  pleas  of  lawyers  at  her  bar,  nor  the  words  of  preachers  in  the 
old  pulpit ;  and  a  poet  of  Petersburg,  William  Murray  Robinson,  has 
sung  her  dirge  in  lines  that  will  live  after  him.^ 

As  our  Virginia  "Old  jMortality"  (Charles  Campbell)  long  ago 
said,  "  Blandford  is  now  chiefly  remarkable  for  the  melancholy  charm 
of  a  moss-velveted  and  ivy-embroidered  colonial  church,  whose  yard 
is  the  Petersburg  cemetery,  at  present  in  the  most  picturesque  phase 
of  dilapidation."  This  church  was  begun  in  1734,  Colonel  Robert 
Boiling,  Major  William  Poythress,  and  Captain  William  Starke,  were 
the  building  committee,  and  Thomas  Ravenscroft^  was  the  contractor. 

1  Sappony  CIhutIi  was  built  by  ordci-  of  the  'Whittle,  and  Bcclvwith  were  associated  with  the 

vestiT  of  13ristol  parish,  which  then  included  it,  south  side  of  James  river  by  their  having  been 

in  17^7 ;  a  f;ood  substantial  frame  building,  forty  born  or  having  lived  within  it. 
by  twenty  feet,  underpinned  with  rock-stone  and  ^This  poem  may  be  seen  in  the  author's 

fm-nished  with  fitting  ornaments.  "  Bristol  Parish." 

2  It  is  wortliy  of  being  noted  that  Bishops  '  Bishop  Ravenscroft  was  born  near  Bland- 

Ravenscroft,     Otey,     Cobbs,     Atkinson,    Lay,  ford. 


620  HISTORY   OF  THE   AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

The  church  is  always  called  in  the  vestry  books,  "  The  Brick  Church 
on  Wells  Hill." 

In  1752  an  addition  was  made  "to  the  North  side  of  the  Church 
of  thirty  by  twenty  feet  &  James  Murray,  Kobert  Boiling  &  Col. 
Bland  wore  authorized  to  build  pews  in  the  South  end  of  the  addition, 
for  their  families,  at  their  own  expense,  &  the  Churcii  was  enclosed 
with  a  l)rick  wall  five  feet  hiijh."  Col.  Richard  Bland  was  the  con- 
tractor for  £400,  and  Col.  William  Poythress  was  given  leave  to  enclose 
a  place  within  the  church-jard  as  a  burial  place  for  his  family. 

During  the  last  century  the  heights  of  the  Appomattox  were 
crowned  with  country  seats,  where  higli-ljred  planters  and  I'ich  mer- 
chants kept  open  house,  and  dispensed  an  elegant  hospitality  to  all 
comers. 

Cawson's,  conuuanding  a  view  of  the  two  rivers,  with  their  wooded 
isles,  of  Bei-muda  Hundred,  City  Point,  and  in  the  distance  Shirley, 
was  the  seat  of  the  Blands.  The  spacious  mansion,  with  its  wings  and 
ofEces ;  its  broad  avenues  and  winding  walks ;  its  green  turf  and 
shrubbery,  represented  in  the  Kew  World  the  baronial  seats  of  Old 
England.  Here  was  born  the  celebrated  John  Randolph,  of  Roanoke, 
the  gTandson  of  the  proprietor.  Col.  T.  Bland. 

Not  far  off  was  Kippax,  the  seat  of  Robert  Boiling,  who  married 
Jane  Rolfe,  granddaughter  of  Pocahontas. 

On  the  other  side  of  the  river  was  Cobbs,  the  seat  of  John  Boil- 
ing, and  of  his  descendants,  and  here  was  thej^rs^  institution /or  teach- 
ing deaf  mutes  in  America. 

Higher  up  on  the  same  side  was  Matoax,  whei'e  still,  under  old 
oaks,  are  to  be  seen  the  tombs  of  John  Randolph  and  of  his  wife,  the 
parents  of  John  of  Roanoke. 

Then  within  sight  of  the  church,  was  Green-Croft,  the  seat  of  Sir 
William  Skipwith.  "  Conjuror's  Neck,"  of  the  Kennons  ;  BoUingbrook 
of  the  Boilings ;  Puddledock  of  the  Herberts  and  Harrisons ;  Mans- 
field Athold,  Branchester,  and  others,  were  near  at  hand. 

These  with  the  Fcilds,  Mays,  Joneses,  Murrays,  Robertsons,  Poy- 
threses,  Atkinsons,  Mores,  Maitlands,  Shores,  Stiths,  RufEns,  Walkers, 
Armisteads,  Taylors,  etc.,  etc.,  were  the  successive  vestrymen  and 
members  of  Blandford  Church,  justices  of  the  peace,  and  leading 
l)oliticians. 

The  town  of  Blanchford  declined  with  the  declining  century,  and 
as  it  went  down  the  old  church  was  left  alone  in  her  glory,  — a  sad  and 
silent  sentinel  at  the  gates  of  the  citadel  of  tombs.' 

ST.  John's  church,  hampton. 

Another  line  of  radiation  from  Jamestown,  the  original  centre, 
was  (1610)  to  Kecoughtan  (variously  spelled).  It  is  said  l)y  all  our 
authors  that  this  Indian  village,  visited  by  the  English  at  their  first 
coming,  was  the  site  of  the  present  town  of  Hampton ;  but  in  Captain 
Smith's  map  Kecoughtan  is  set  down  on  the  eastern  bank  of  the  river, 
whereas  Hampton  is  on  the  western  bank.     The  settlers  petitioned 

'  See  the  writer's  "  History  of  Bristol  Parish." 


SOJfE   HISTORIC   CHURCHES.  —  SOUTHERN   STATES.  621 

the  first  legislature  (1619)  to  change  the  savage  name  Kiccowtan. 
At  the  next  session  it  appears  in  the  journals  as  'Elizabeth  cittic" 
(town),  around  which  grew  up  Elizabeth  City  County.  Notwitii- 
standing  the  change  of  name,  the  village  continued  to  be  called 
"  Kecoughtan "  until  Hampton  was  made  a  town  by  law. 

George  Keith,  the  convert  from  Quakerism,  who  ti'avclled  from 
New  England  to  North  Carolina,  speaks  in  his  diary  of  preaching 
repeatedly  at  Kicketan  (as  he  spells  it)  in  1703-4.  It  is  worthy  of 
nole  that  his  fellow-laborer,  Talbot,  preached  at  Kicketan,  and  that 
he  preached  at  Hampton  Church ;  so  that  there  was  as  late  as  1704 
a  church  at  Hampton,  and  one  at  Kicketan. 

A  ]\Ir.  Baker  had  Ijceu  buried  in  the  new  church  (Hampton),  and 
Mr.  Brough  in  the  old  church  at  Kicketan,  as  early  as  1(567.  In  the 
yard  of  the  old  church  was  also  found  the  epitaphs  of  Admiral  Neville, 
who  died  in  1697  ;  of  Thomas  Curie,  1700;  and  of  Andrew  Thomp- 
son, minister  of  the  parish,  1719. 

It  seems  to  have  escaped  the  notice  of  authors  that  John  Rolfe, 
who  married  Pocahontas,  states  in  his  letter  to  King  James,  that  in 
1616  the  Kev.  Wm.  Mays  (Mease)  was  the  minister  at  Kiccowtan 
(sic),  and  there  were  only  twenty  inhabitants  there.  In  1644,  perhaps, 
Philip  Mallory  was  minister  at  Hampton.  By  a  law  of  the  colony  it 
was  provided  that  each  minister,  M'ith  six  persons  of  his  family,  should 
be  free  from  taxes,  provided  he  be  examined  by  P.  Mallory  and  John 
Green,  and  produce  their  certificates  of  his  abilities,  and  in  1660-61 
Mallory  was  sent  by  the  General  Assembly  to  "  solicit  our  Church 
atfairs  in  England."  Bishop  Meade  was  of  the  opinion  that  the  present 
church  was  built  between  1660  and  1667.  This  opinion  is  strength- 
ened by  the  fiict  that  this  w-as  an  era  of  church  extension. 

This  antique  church  has  survived  the  so-called  Rebellion  of  Bacon, 
the  war  of  the  Revolution,  and  the  sacking  and  plundering  of  Hamp- 
ton.    In  the  last  war  with  Great  Britain  the  church  l)ecame  a  barrack. 
The  bats  and  owls  held  their  revels  in  its  hallowed  courts,  and  faithful  ^ 
ones  wept  when  they  remembered  the  temple  in  its  first  glory. 

About  1824-5  a  vestry  was  chosen,  and  it  was  resolved  to 
repair  the  church  which  was  then  standing  with  bare  walls  and  without 
a  door  or  window  or  floor.  To  give  impetus  to  the  work,  the  interior 
was  cleansed,  and  Bishop  Moore  was  persuaded  to  come  and  hold 
service.  He  came,  and  the  old  walls  resounded  with  prayer  and 
praise,  and  no  one  who  ever  heard  that  "  old  man  eloquent,"  with 
streaming  eyes  and  hands  tremulous  with  emotion,  speak  of  "  the 
hallowed  courts  our  fathers  trod,"  could  doubt  the  result. 

"  I  sat  on  the  bare  tiles,"  said  our  informant, '  "  but  what  a  scene, 
and  what  a  day  !  It  was  manifest  to  all  that  the  glory  of  the  Lord 
filled  the  house." 

The  church  was  repaired,  and  in  December,  1829,  Bishop  Moore 
had  the  privilege  of  consecrating  it  from  all  unhallowed  uses.  I  may 
add,  in  conclusion,  that  this  church  has  lately  been  the  scene  of  an 

'  R.  B.  Sei-vant,  anoW  secrctaiT  of  the  ves-  a   dissenter    in   the   family,   which   was    kept 
try,  who  said  in  1856,  "  My  graiidlathei-  was  the  together   by  the    habitual  use  of   the    prayer- 
commandant  at  Old    Point  one   hundred   and  book  and  family  prayer," 
eighty  years  ago,  and  there  has  not  since  been 


622  HISTORY   OF  THE   AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

event  of  supassing  interest,  when  a  class  of  Indian  boys  were  con- 
finned  by  the  Bishop  of  Virginia.  They,  and  perhaps  those  who 
witnessed  it,  little  knew  that  he  who  laid  his  hand  upon  their  heads 
was  himself  a  lineal  descendant  of  the  aboriginal  ruler  of  this  realm, — 
the  imperial  Powhatan. 

BRUTON    PARISH,  WILLIAMSBURG. 

Another  line  of  radiation  from  Jamestown  was  to  Williamsburg. 

In  1632  the  General  Asseml)ly  ordered  every  fortieth  man  between 
Queen's  Creek  and  Archer's  Hope  Creek  to  the  newly-built  plantation 
of  Dr.  Pott,  to  be  emploj^ed  in  building  houses,  and  otFered  every 
man  who  seated  there  fifty  acres  of  land  and  freedom  from  ta.ves. 
In  16.57  the  parish  of  Middle  Plantation  and  Havrop  parish  wei'e 
united,  and  the  new  parish  called  "  Middletown  parish."  Soon  after- 
wards this  parish  was  reorganized  and  called  "  Bruton,"  doubtless  by 
the  Sud wells,  who  came  from  Bruton  parish,  England. 

The  vestry-book  began  1667,  and  came  down  to  1769.  There 
were  then  two  cliurches  in  the  parish  which  needed  repair ;  but  the 
vestry  decided  to  liuild  a  new  church  of  brick.  The  first  incumlient 
was  Kev.  Rowland  Jones,  who  died  in  1688.  He  also  ofiiciated 
at  Mai'tin's  Hundred  parish.  Mr.  Jones  had  a  pew  in  the  chancel  of 
the  new  church,  as  also  had  John  Page  and  Edward  Jennings. 
There  being  no  bishop  to  consecrate  the  church,  Mr.  Jones  was  re- 
quested "to  dedicate  it."  Those  facts  suggest  the  inquiry  whether 
the  present  venerated  edifice  is  the  same  referred  to  in  the  foregoing 
acts  of  the  vestry  of  Bruton  parish.     Opinions  dlfier  as  to  its  age. 

It  thus  appears  that  the  church  of  Bruton  was  in  a  very  ruinous 
condition  in  1710  ;  that  it  was  the  desire  and  purpose  of  the  vestry  to 
build  a  new  church,  and  that  to  this  end  they  humbly  asked  the  aid 
of  the  General  Assembly.  What  response  was  made  to  the  petition  is 
not  known.  However,  it  would  seem,  from  a  document  in  the  calen- 
dar of  Virginia  State  Papers,  that  the  cross  on  "the  wings  "  was  added 
to  the  church  in  or  after  1713. 

The  city  of  Williamsburg,  the  college  of  William  and  Mary, 
and  Christ  Church,  are  so  intimately  blended  that  to  treat  them  apart 
is  a  difiicult  operation.  For  the  college,  I  must  refer  to  its  history 
published  by  the  Faculty  in  1874,  to  Bishop  Meade's  "  Old  Churches 
and  Families,"  to  Hugh  Jones,  to  Henning's  Statutes,  to  Gov.  Wise's 
"Decades,"  the  general  histories  of  the  State,  and  to  Grigsby's 
"Historical  Picture"  of  the  Convention  of  1776.  No  one  can  tread 
the  streets  of  Williamsburg,  whose  very  names  are  suggestive  of 
other  times  and  other  men,  without  bringing  before  his  mind  a 
picture  of  the  city  in  her  first  glory,  before 

"  Decay's  effacing  fingers 
Had  swept  the  lines  wliere  beauty  lingers." 

This  church  possesses  three  pieces  of  a  "  Communion  Service  "  which 
was  presented  to  the  church  at  Jamestown  by  Governor  Morrison  in 
1661.  The  motto  is,  "Mixe  not  holy  things  with  profane."  Inscrip- 
tion :  "For  the  use  of  James  City  Parish  Church." 


o 


SOME    HISTORIC   CHURCHES.  —  SOUTHERN    STATES.  G23 

The  Bi'uton  parish  service  (proper)  consists  of  a  tanliard, 
stamped  with  a  crown,  G.  III.  R. ,  a  gold  i)aten,  a  gold  cup,  with  two 
handles,  a  cover  and  plate  ;  also,  two  silver  alms  basins,  from  an 
"  alumnns  of  W"  &  Mary  College,  Class  1815."  On  the  linen  is : 
"Randolph — Brutou  Parish  Church."  In  the  church-yard  are  many 
handsome  tombs,  with  armorial  bearings  and  quaint  devices  and 
inscriptions.  M}'  space  will  only  allow  a  brief  abstract  of  a  few  of 
them.  "His  Excellency  Governor  Nott,  a  good  OhriHtian  &  a  good 
Governor,  died  Aug.  23,  1766,  aged  44.  Tlie  Gen.  Assembly 
of  this  Colony  raised  this  monument  in  grateful  memory  of  his  many 
virtues."  —  'Sacred  to  the  memory  of  John  Blair  of  tlie  Council, 
Judge  of  the  Court  of  Appeals  of  V"  &  of  the  Supreme  Court. 
He  died  as  he  had  lived,  a  pious  &  sincere  Christian,  d.  Aug.  31, 
1800,  aged  68  yrs.  &  10  mos."  Judge  Blair,  a  man  of  singular 
purity,  was  the  nephew  of  the  commissary.  There  are  also  the 
tombs  of  Judge  Blair's  wife  and  son  and  daughter,  and  one  "  to 
Roland  Jones,  Minister  of  the  Parish,  died  1688,"  and  one  to  the 
great  lawyer  "  Barradall."  The  first  and  second  capitols,  and  the 
successive  college  buildings  at  the  opposite  ends  of  the  grand  Gloces- 
ter  avenue ;  the  successive  palaces,  with  their  grounds  and  gardens ; 
the  Braflerton  house,  with  good  Mr.  Griffin  and  his  Indian  boys  ;  the 
]irivate  mansions,  associated  with  the  names  of  Washington,  Wythe, 
Wirt,  the  Randolphs  and  Tuckers,  rise  up  before  one,  and  the  scenes 
in  the  dramas  of  which  they  have  been  the  theatre  pass  in  review  before 
the  mind's  eye.  The  irate  Nicholson  and  the  gentle  Nott,  the  knightly 
Spotswood  and  Sir  Hugh  Drysdale,  Governors  Gooch,  Dinwiddie, 
and  Fauquier ;  Lords  Botetourt  and  Dunmore ;  the  Commissaries 
Blair,  Dawson,  Stith,  Horrocks,  Camm,and  Robinson  ;  the  chancellors, 
presidents  and  professors  of  the  college  ;  the  crowds  of  students  who 
have  sported  upon  the  green  and  thronged  these  halls  of  learning,  on 
their  way  to  the  pulpit,  the  bar,  the  bench,  and  the  halls  of  legislation  ; 
the  colonial  clergy  in  convention,  and  the  pastors  of  the  parish  in 
their  daily  labors ;  Washington,  Jefferson,  Madison,  Monroe,  Harri- 
son, Tyler,  the  Randolphs  and  Lees,  the  Nicholsons  and  the  Careys, 
Pendleton,  Henry,  Marshall,  Nelson,  and  the  many  statesmen  sitting 
in  committees  at  the  old  "  Raleigh  "  tavern  and  makin<;  the  halls  resound 
with  grave  debate  and  luminous  with  flashes  of  wit  and  oratory  ;  and 
finally,  the  files  of  British,  French,  Federal,  and  Confederate  soldiers 
camping  on  the  college  green,  and  marching  through  the  streets, — 
make  up  the  grand  procession  ot  nearly  two  centuries. 

ST.    LUICE'S    church,    NEWPORT    PARISH,    ISLE    OF    WIGHT    COUNTY. 

Another  point  in  the  circumference  of  the  circle  of  which  James- 
town was  the  centre  was  Warrosgueake,  spelled  in  many  various 
ways.i  Smith  discovered  it  December  29, 1608.  It  was  represented  in 
House  of  Burgesses  from  1629  to  1634,  when  it  was  made  a  county. 
The  name  was  changed  to  Isle  of  Wight  in  1637.  Most  of  the  early 
records  of  its  parishes  were  destroyed  at  Tarleton's  invasion,  and  the 

1  Smith  spells  it  Warroskarae  ami  WaiTo-    Stitli,  WaiTosqueake;  Henning,  Wanosquocack. 
squiack;    on    Fiy's    map    it  is  Warricqueack ; 


624 


HISTORY    OF   THE   AMERICAN    EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 


remuining  fragments  used  for  cartridges  in  the  war  of  1812.  The  only 
extant  records  are  from  1724  to  1771.  One  of  its  colonial  churches 
of  brick  was  on  Burwell's  Bay,  on  the  land  of  Colonel  Burwell,  colo- 
nial clerk.  About  1810  this  church  was  pulled  down,  and  the  materials 
used  for  building  a  barn,  which  was  struck  by  lightning  and  consumed. 


ST.    LUKE  S    CUUllCH,    NEAR    SMrnil'IELD,    VA. 

The  bell  was  exchanged  for  a  "Brandy  Still."  But  the  pride  of  the 
county  is  the  grand  old  church,  St.  I^uke's,  still  standing,  though  a 
"mere  empty  shell,"  not  far  from  Smithficld  on  the  road  to  Suffolk. 
St.  Luke's  is  regarded  by  the  citizens  witii  something  like  the  enthu- 
siasm with  which  the  islanders  of  Wight,  in  England,  look  u]X)n  the 
ruins  of  the  churches  illustrated  by  the  genius  of  Legh  Kichmond. 
This  is  a  very  old  church,  prol)al)]y  the  oldest  standing  in  Virginia. 
The  tradition  is  that  it  was  built  in  1632,  and  the  writer  would  not  sug- 
gest a  doubt  about  it  but  for  the  difficulty  of  reconciling  it  with  a  fact 
stated  on  one  of  the  extant  tombstones.     General  Bridgers  is  said' 

'  See  Bishop  Meade's  "Old  Churches,"  Vol.  I.,  p.  305. 


SOME  HISTORIC   CIIUECHES.  —  SOUTHERN   STATES.  625 

to  have  been  the  son  of  Hon.  Joseph  Bridgers,  "who  superintended  the 
building  of  St.  Luke's  Church  ;  "  but,  according  to  the  inscription  on 
the  tomb  of  Hon.  Joseph  Bridgers,  he  died  in  1088,  ayed fifty-eight 
years.  If  this  be  so  he  was  only  two  years  old  when  the  church  was 
built.  If,  therefore,  ho  superintended  the  building  of  the  church,  it 
must  have  been  built  some  time  later  (say  twenty  or  more  years), 
as  he  would  hardly  have  performed  that  office  before  he  was  of  age. 

It  is  said  of  this  church,  and  of  St.  John's,  Hampton,  and  of 
many  other  public  and  priA  ate  cditices,  that  they  were  built  of  im- 
ported brick.  But  there  seems  to  have  been  no  occasion  for 
importing  bricks.  Bricks  were  certainly  made  in  Virginia  as  early  as 
1611,  when  Sir  Thomas  Dale  founded  Henricopolis  and  Bermuda. 
"Hei-e,"  says  a  tract  published  by  the  authority  of  the  council,  "the 
spade-men  fell  to  digging,  the  brick-men  burned  their  bricks  and  have 
built  competent  houses,  the  first  story  all  of  brick."  ^  Many  such 
testimonies  might  be  adduced,  and  bills  for  burning  brick  are  still  ex- 
tant. The  writer  has  consulted  many  persons  most  familiar  with  our 
history,  and  all  of  them  agree  in  sa^nng  that  they  have  never  seen  any 
proof  that  any  church  was  built  of  imported  bricks. 

St.  Luke's  was  one  of  the  oldest  as  well  as  most  elegant 
churches  in  the  colony.  Its  massive  walls  and  loft}'  tower  were  of  the 
best  material  of  brick  and  oak,  faithfully  and  skilfully  wrought,  and 
the  east  window  of  stained  glass,  twenty-tive  feet  high,  made  it  a  marvel 
in  the  wilderness  of  woods  in  the  midst  of  which  it  was  placed.  Ac- 
cording to  the  vestry-book,  a  new  roof  was  put  on  the  church  in  1737. 

ST.  Paul's  church,  Norfolk. 

Elizabeth  river  was  one  of  the  water-ways  by  which  the  first 
settlers  penetrated  the  interior  of  Virginia.  The  banks  of  Elizabeth 
river  and  its  tri])utarics  were  settled  very  early,  and  parishes  were 
instituted  and  churches  built  along  them.  The  date  of  Elizabeth-river 
parish  is  not  known,  but  it  had  a  minister  as  early  as  1637.  The  par- 
ishes of  Lower  Norfolk,  including  what  is  now  Princess  Anne  County, 
were  represented  in  the  House  of  Bui'gesses  in  1042-3.  Lynhaven 
river  now  runs  through  the  burying-ground  of  an  old  church  (now  gone) , 
and  there  are  tombstones  at  the  bottom  of  the  stream.  The  old 
Donation  Church,  too,  still  stands  in  ruins  in  Princess  Anne  County. 

In  1680  Rev.  Wm.  Nern  was  minister  of  Elizabeth-river  parish, 
and  James  Porter  of  Lynhaven  parish.  In  1682  the  town  was  laid 
out.  In  1686  Lord  Howard  gave  one  hundred  acres  of  land  for  a 
glebe.  In  1700  Samuel  Boush  gave  a  chalice  to  the  "Parish  Church 
of  Norfolk  Town."  In  1705  the  town  was  incorporated.  In  1736 
Norfolk  borough  was  established  bj'  royal  charter.  In  1739  the  pres- 
ent church  was  built.  The  date  of  the  oldest  vestry-book  of  Eliza- 
beth-river parish  is  1749.  In  1751  Capt.  Whitwell,  counuander  of 
his  majest3''s  ship  "Triton,"  presented  a  piece  of  silver  plate  to  the 
church  in  "  compliment  to  his  wife  being  buried  there."  In  1762 
Christopher  Perkins  gave  a  large  silver  flagon  "  in  honour  of  his  wife 

I  Vide  the  "  New  Life  of  Virginia,"  in  Vol.  i.,  in  Force's  Tracts  (1612). 


626  HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

buried  there."  In  17G4  an  Act  was  passed  by  the  Assembly,  requiring 
"the  minister  of  this  parish  to  live  in  Norfolk  and  have  his  salary  in 
money,  the  lands  l)cing  too  poor  to  bring  tobacco  to  advantage."  In 
17G4  the  pastor  of  the  old  church  (Mr.  Davis)  was  chairman  of  the 
"Sons  of  Liberty."  When  the  Revolution  came,  Norfolk  was  bom- 
barded, and  on  New  Year's  day,  1776,  a  ball  was  lodged  in  the  wall 
of  the  church,  and  is  still  preserved.  The  Communion  plate  was  car- 
ried to  Scotland  by  the  enemy. 

With  the  rebuilding  of  the  city  after  the  war  the  church  was  re- 
paired, and  the  services  resumed.  Services  in  commemoration  of  the 
death  of  Washington  were  held  in  the  church  on  the  22d  of  Feln-uary, 
1800.  In  the  same  year  a  new  (Christ)  church  was  organized.  In 
1803  the  pastor  of  the  old  church,  Mr.  Bland,  died,  and  the  congre- 
gation "was  scattered  like  a  flock  without  a  Shepherd."  In  183l"the 
old  church,  which  had  been  in  a  state  of  suspended  animation,  was 
revived  under  the  name  of  "St.  Paul's,"  having  hitherto  been  called 
"the  Old  Church,"  and  the  "Borough  Church."  It  was  consecrated 
by  Bishop  Moore,  and  has  renewed  its  youth. 

CHUECHES    ox    YORK    AND    RAPPAnANNOCK    PIVERS. 

Another  line  of  radiation  from  Jamestown  was  to  Charles  (now 
York)  river.  Charles  Church  is  gone,  and  the  colonial  church  at 
Yorktown,  to  which  Governor  Nicholson  subscribed  £20  sterling  in 
1G9G,  was  burned  in  1814.  The  bell  of  1725  has  been  preserved,  and 
a  new  church  has  l)een  built  on  the  site  of  the  old  one.  Some  old  tombs, 
specially  of  the  Nelsons,  are  the  only  relics  of  the  old  rkjime.  Gov- 
ernor Spottswood  was  buried  in  "  the  Temple  "  at  Temple  farm ;  but 
even  the  fraorments  of  his  tomb  are  gone. 

Passing  up  York  river  to  New  Kent,  we  find  one  venerable  church 
(St.  Peter's)  in  use.  It  is  an  imposing  edifice,  built  in  1703,  and  cost 
one  hundred  and  foi-ty-six  thousand  pounds  of  tobacco.  Its  spacious 
courts  were  once  filled  by  the  Bassetts,  Lewises,  Claytons,  Bacons, 
Custises,  Dandridges,  and  others. 

Among  the  ministers  of  this  church  was  the  Rev.  David  Mossom, 
fi'om  whose  epitaph  1  quote  the  following  lines  :  — 

Reverendus  David  Mossom  prope  jacet 

Collcgii  St.  Joannis  Cantabrigiaj  olira  Alumnua 

Hujus  Parochia;  Rector  Annos  Quadraginta 

Omnibus  Ecclcsite  Anglicanae  Presljytcriis 

Inter  Americanos  Ordine  Presbyteratus  Primus ; 

Londini  Natus  25  Martci,  1690. 

Obiit  4<>  Janii.  17G7. 

A  notable  minister  of  the  parish  was  Moreau,  who  wrote  the  Bishop 
of  London :  "  If  ministers  here  were  as  they  ought  to  be  we  should 
have  no  dissenters.  An  eminent  Bishop  being  sent  over  here  would 
make  Hell  tremble,  and  settle  the  Church  of  England  here  forever." 

St.  Paul's  parish,  Hanover,  was  cut  off  from  St.  Peter's,  1704, 
and  in  time  other  jjarishes  and  counties  were  erected  in  Louisa,  Albe- 
marle, and  to  the  Blue  Mountains.  Of  the  colonial  churches  built  in 
them,  a  very  few  remain,  conspicuous  among  which  is  "The  Fork 


SOME   HISTORIC   CHURCHES.  —  SOUTUERN   STATES.  (527 

Church,"  in  St.  Murtin's  purish,  Hanover ;  its  old  silv^er  communion 
service,  when  in  custody  of  Mrs.  Berkeley,  of  Airwell,  vras  demanded 
by  a  British  oiEcer,  and  she  sent  him  word  defiantly  "  to  come  and  take  it." 

If  now  we  return  to  the  bay,  and  survey  the  County  of  Matthews, 
we  shall  not  find  a  sini>le  colonial  church  remaininij.  In  Gloccstor,  old 
Poplar  Spring  Church,  in  Petsworth  parisii,  built  in  1723,  to  supply  the 
place  of  one  in  ruins,  with  costly  pulpit  and  appurtenances  of  crimson 
damask  and  lace,  and  with  a  fine  picture  of  the  "  Last  Judgment "  over 
thechancel, where  the  AVashingtons,  Lewises,  Porteuscs,  audXhrockmor- 
tons  once  worsliipped,  has  perished.  Old  Ware  Church,  once  in  ruins, 
but  restored  by  the  Taliafcrros,  Smiths,  Tabbs,  etc.,  is  now  in  use,  <as  is 
also  the  noble  Abington  Church,  built  in  1765,  upon  or  near  the  site  of  an 
old  edifice,  and  restored  by  the  exertions  of  Colonel  Lewis,  of  Eagle 
Point.  In  Glocestcr  are  the  graveyards  of  the  Manns,  of  Timberneck 
Bay ;  of  the  Bidwclls,  of  Carter's  Creek ;  of  the  Pages  at  Eoscwell. 
In  this  county,  too,  is  the  classic  Werowocomico,  royal  seat  of  the  Em- 
peror Powhatan.  If  sve  cross  the  Pinkatank  into  Middlesex  we  find 
what  used  to  be  called  "the  Great  Church,"  which  was  built  in  1712, 
on  the  site  of  one  built  in  1666.  It  was  midway  between  Rosegill 
and  Brandon,  the  seats  of  the  Wormlcys  and  Grymes.  After  being 
in  use  for  a  century  it  was  deseited,  and  the  roof  fell  in.  A  sycamore 
shrub  sprung  up  between  the  walls  and  grew  to  be  a  great  tree,  its 
boughs  spreading  over  the  walls.  When,  in  1840,  it  was  decided  to 
reopen  the  church,  the  tree  had  first  to  be  cut  out,  and  two  feet  of 
earth  removed,  before  the  stone  aisles  were  reached.  Sir  Henry 
Checkley,  knight  and  governor  of  the  colony,  and  Madame  Catherine 
Wormley,  wife  of  the  first  Ralph  Wormley,  Rev.  J.  Shepherd,  and 
others,  were  buried  within  it.  Around  it  lie  frngments  of  tombs  and 
graves  of  the  Grymes  and  other  families.  The  plate  was  presented  to 
the  church  by  Ralph  AA'ormley. 

Sir  Gray  and  Sir  William  Sldpwith,  and  Sir  Henry  Checkley, 
baronets,  were  vestry-men  of  this  church. 

These,  with  the  Wormlcj^s,  Gr}Tnes,  Berkelej^s,  Beverlys,  Church- 
ills,  Robinsons,  Corbins  and  others,  vestry-men  and  meml)ers  of  this 
church,  were  leaders  in  society,  in  the  Church,  and  in  the  State,  rival- 
ling in  style  the  rich  barons  of  England. 

KING    AND   QUEEN   COUNTY. 

In  the  County  of  King  and  Queen  were  several  very  fine  colonial 
churches,  one  of  which  (Stratton-Major)  was  eighty  by  fifty  feet  in 
size,  and  cost  £1,300.  In  the  vestry-book  are  the  names  of  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  families,  to  whom  pews  were  assigned  in  this  church. 

Among  these  were  Speaker  Robinson,  Commissary  Robinson,  and 
many  of  the  leading  people  of  the  colony.  Another,  St.  Stephen's, 
still  stands,  and  has,  I  think,  ))ecn  long  used  b}'  the  Baptists.  In  the 
adjoining  county.  King  William,  four  colonial  churches  have  survived, 
in  two  of  which,  West  Point,  or  St.  John's  and  St.  David's,  church 
services  have  1)een  resumed  ;  and  the  other  two,  Acquisition  and  Man- 
gohock,  have  been  taken  possession  of  by  others.  In  South  Farnham, 
Essex,  were  two  colonial  churches,  which,  in  the  days  of  the  church's 


628  HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

humiliation,  were  ruthlessly  destroyed,  one  pulled  down  and  the  other 
burned.  The  very  flag-stones  of  the  aisles  were  used  for  walks,  and 
tombstones  were  converted  into  grindstones,  on  which  parts  of  inscrip- 
tions have  been  recognized.  The  Communion  plate,  though  a  private 
gift,  was  confiscated.  In  St.  Anne's  parish,  old  Vauter's  Church  was 
preserved  from  spoliation  by  the  firmness  of  Mrs.  IMuscoe  Garnett, 
who,  when  persons  came  to  carry  off  the  tlag-stones,  claimed  it  as  her 
own  upon  the  ground  that  it  was  upon  her  land. 

In  the  neighboring  county  of  Caroline  the  Mount  Church  was 
converted  into  an  academy,  and  a  fine-toned  organ  and  the  glebe  sold 
by  Act  of  Assembly.  The  organ,  said  to  be  the  first  imported 
into  Virginia,  is,  or  was,  in  a  lloman  Catholic  chapel  in  George- 
town, D  C. 

THE    NORTHERN    NECK. 

This  section  was  a  cradle  of  the  American  Revolution.  The  first 
protest  against  the  Stamp  Act  was  written  by  Richard  Henry  Lee  and 
signed  by  one  hundred  and  sixteen  gentlemen  at  Leeds,  in  April,  17G5. 
In  Northumberland  County  were  three  colonial  churches,  attended  by 
the  Lees,  Thorntons,  Presleys,  Poythresses,  Kenners,  etc.  One  of 
these,  Wycomico  Church,  was  cruciform,  and  measured  seventy-five 
feet  in  each  direction.  It  was  the  last  survivor  of  the  three,  and  its 
site  is  now  enclosed  and  cultivated  with  an  adjoining  field. 

In  Lancaster  County  stands  in  a  green  old  age  the  far-famed  Christ 
Church,  l)uilt  in  1732  (on  the  site  of  an  older  one)  by  Robert  Carter 
(commonly  called  "  King  Carter" ) ,  President  of  the  Council,  at  his  own 
expense.  The  walls  are  three  feet  thick,  and  the  roof  so  steep  and 
high  that  the  want  of  a  tower  for  eflect  is  not  felt.  The  form  (a 
cross)  and  the  proportions  are  admirable.  But  for  a  defect  in  the 
gutters  it  would  not  have  needed  the  new  roof  wliich  was  put  upon  it 
some  years  since.  Only  the  cornices  were  renewed,  the  broken  glass 
supplied,  and  the  pulpit  and  pews  painted.  The  pews  had  high  backs 
and  a  railing  of  brass  rods,  with  damask  curtains.  When  Bishop 
Meade  visited  it,  about  1855,  the  freestone  aisles  had  been  untouched 
by  time.  The  walnut  Communion  table  was  unimpaired,  and  the 
chancel  rails  perfect.  The  marble  font  was  there,  and  the  cedar  dial- 
post,  with  the  name  of  John  Carter,  which  had  belonged  to  the  old 
church  on  whose  site  this  one  M'as  built,  was  preserved.  .The  bishop 
said,  "  It  was  peculiai'ly  delightful  to  raise  the  voice  in  a  house  whose 
form  and  l)cautiful  aisles  seemed  to  give  force  and  music  to  the  feeblest 
tongue  beyond  any  building  in  which  he  ever  said  or  heard  the  hallowed 
services  of  the  Sanctuary.  Where  is  the  house,"  he  exclaimed,  "in 
these  degenerate  days  of  slight  architecture  that  can  compare,  either 
within  or  without,  with  old  Christ  Church  ?"  The  tombs  of  the  Carters 
and  others,  within  and  without  this  l)uilding,  add  to  its  historic  charm. 
The  oldest  is  that  of  the  common  ancestor,  John  Carter,  who  died  in 
16G9.  Another  church,  yet  in  use  in  Lancaster,  is  White  Chapel,  built 
on  the  site  of  an  older  one  in  1740.  Nearly  all  the  tombs  around  this 
church  were  inscribed  with  the  name  "Ball,"  the  maternal  famil}'  of 
Washington. 


ROME  HISTORIC   CHURCHES.  —  SOUTHEKN   STATES.  629 


YEOCOMICO   AND   WASHINGTON   PARISHES,    'WESTMORELAND    COTTNTr. 

Westmoreland  is  classic  cn'ound.  It  has  been  called  the  "Athens 
of  Virginia."  It  is  the  hirthplacc  of  Washington,  and  of  his  favorite 
nephew,  Judge  Bushrod  Washington,  the  devisee  of  Mt.  Vernon; 
of  the  colonial  governor,  Thomas  Lee  ;  of  IJichard  Henry  and  Francis 
Lightfoot  Lee,  signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence  ;  of  Arthur 
Lcc ;  of  Light  Horse  Harry  Lee,  General  and  Governor  of  Virginia, 
and  father  of  Robei-t  E.  Leo  ;  of  James  Monroe  ;  and  of  John  Payne, 
first  bishop  of  Cape  Palmas.  Here  was  the  home,  and  here  are  the 
crumbled  vaults  of  the  Washingtons  and  the  Lees. 

Stratford,  Mt.  Pleasant,  Wakefield,  wake  mournful  memories. 
The  first,  Stratford,  rebuilt  by  Caroline,  Queen  of  England,  out  of  her 
private  purse,  is  the  only  relic  of  these  baronial  mansions.  Here,  too, 
was  Pope's  Creek  Church,  where  Washington  was  baptized,  and  where 
he  learned  from  the  catechism  those  duties  to  God  and  to  his  neighbor 
which  he  so  well  illustrated  in  his  life.  And  here  were  Noraini,  Leeds, 
and  Yeocomico  churches,  of  which  the  last,  only,  built  in  170G, 
remained,  of  M^hose  profanations,  and  of  whose  restoration,  we  must 
refer  to  Bishop  Meade's  "Old  Churches." 


NORTH   FARNHAM    PARISH,    RICHMOND   COUNTY. 

In  this  parish  wei'e  three  colonial  churches.  One  of  these,  near 
the  court-house,  was  built  in  1737.  It  was  cruciform  and  surrounded 
by  a  brick  wall.  In  1813  its  walls  were  crushed  ])y  the  falling  roof. 
A  minister  of  this  church  (Giberne)  had  a  prayer-book  which  had  been 
used  l)y  Queen  Anne  in  her  private  chapel.  Its  massive  tankard,  gob- 
let, and  plate  were  sold  by  order  of  the  court  and  purchased  by  Colo- 
nel John  Taylor,  of  Mount  Airy,  who  presented  them  to  St.  John's 
Church,  Washington,  D.C.  They  have  been  returned  to  the  parish 
since  its  revival,  and  are  now  used  in  old  Farnham  Chui'ch,  the  only 
one  of  the  three  which  survived  the  wreck.  This  church,  on  the  main 
road  from  Riclimond  court-house  to  Lancaster  court-house,  is  in  the 
form  of  a  cross,  and  in  the  best  style  of  colonial  architectui'e.  It 
was  built  about  1725-30.  After  1802  it  Avas  deserted.  The  brick 
wall  which  guarded  the  dead  was  used  for  hearths  and  chimneys. 
The  interior  was  stripped.  It  became  a  granary  and  stable,  and  lior- 
ribile  dictu!  a  distillery,  and  the  font  was  profaned  into  a  festive  bowl, 
until  it  was  found  battered  and  bruised  in  the  cellar  of  a  deserted  tav- 
ern. But  the  walls  stood  not  only  "a  monument  of  the  fidelity  of 
ancient  architecture,  but  as  signals  of  Providence  to  the  faithful  to 
repair  the  desolation."  Those  signals  were  heeded.  The  church  has 
been  restored.  The  font  resumed  its  place,  and  the  pulpit,  desk,  and 
sounding-ljoard,  M'hich  were  once  in  Clu-ist  Church,  Baltimore,  are  now 
in  old  Farnham,  which  was  consecrated  by  Bishop  ileade  in  1837,  and 
has  again  been  repaired  and  beautified  by  the  descendants  of  the  Car- 
ters, of  Sabine  Hall ;  the  Taylors,  of  Mount  Airy ;  the  Chinns  and 
Fauntlcroys  ;  the  Peaclys,  Brockenburghs,  and  others  who  saw  this 
church  in  her  first  glory. 


630  IlISTOKY   OF  THE  AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 


ST.    PAULS   CHURCH,    KING   GKORGE   COUNTY. 

This  church  was  erected  about  176G.  In  1812  Messrs.  Meade 
and  Norris  visited  this  parish.  They  found  the  church  in  ruius. 
There  was  no  window,  door,  or  pew,  and  the  roof  was  ready  to  fall. 
A  stand  was  raised  at  one  angle  of  the  cross,  and  services  were  held, 
the  people  standing  amidst  pools  of  water.  By  an  Act  of  the  Legisla- 
ture it  was  converted  into  an  academy.  The  academy  failing,  it  was 
restored  to  its  rightful  owners.  One-fourth  of  it  was  fitted  up  for  a 
rectory,  and  the  remainder  into  one  of  the  most  convenient  places  of 
worship  in  the  diocese. 

An  old  negi-o  woman,  a  pious  member  of  the  church,  used,  after  it 
was  deserted,  to  go  every  Sundaj^  and  sit  amidst  the  ruins,  sajing  it 
"  did  her  more  good  to  think  over  the  old  prayers  than  to  go  into 
the  new  ways." 

The  Washingtons,  Taj'lors,  Grymes,  Alexanders,  Tennants, 
Fitzhughs,  Stuarts,  Stiths,  Dades,  Hoocs,  Turners,  Ashtons,  Thorn- 
tons, and  Taliaferros,  etc.,  were  the  chief  church  families  which  kept 
alive  the  fitful  fires  upon  these  old  altars. 

ACQUIA   CHURCH,    STAFFORD   COUNTY. 

The  first  church  was  burned  in  1751.  The  present  church  was 
finished  in  1757.  The  names  of  the  minister  and  vestrj'^  are  still  to  be 
seen  painted  on  the  gallery:  "Rev.  Jno.  Moncure,  minister;  Peter 
Hourcman,  Jno.  Mercer,  John  Lee,  Mott  Donephan,  Henry  Tyler, 
Wm.  Mountjoy,  Benj.  Strother,  Thos.  Fitzhugh,  Peter  Daniel,  Travers 
Cooke,  John  Fitzhugh,  John  Peyton,  vestry-men." 

The  church  is  a  two-storied  building  in  the  form  of  a  cross.  It 
is  on  a  commanding  site,  near  the  old  stage  road  from  Dumfries  to 
Fredericksburg.  When  Bishop  Meade  visited  it,  in  1837,  he  said  it 
was  a  sad  sight  to  see  the  space  about  the  church,  which  used  to  be 
filled  with  horses,  carriages,  and  footmen,  now  overgrown  with 
bushes  and  trees,  thrusting  their  branches  through  the  broken  win- 
dows. When  he  visited  it  again,  in  1856,  the  house  had  been  re- 
paired, chiefly  by  the  descendants  of  the  old  minister  (Moncure). 
"  The  light  of  Heaven  had  been  let  in  upon  the  gloomy  sanctuary,  the 
dingy  walls  looked  new  and  fresh,  and  it  seemed  to  him  one  of  the 
most  inspiring  temples  in  the  land." 

POHICK   CHURCH,    FAIRFAX   COUNTY. 

This  is  the  church  so  intimately  connected  with  the  name  of 
Washington,  who  was  a  vestry-man  at  the  same  time  in  Truro  and  in 
Fairfax  parishes,  both  in  Fairfax  County.  In  the  interval  between  the 
French  war  and  the  American  Revolution  Washington  was  specially 
interested  in  church  aflairs,  and  suflered  no  company  to  keep  him  from 
the  house  of  prayer.  When  the  old  church,  a  frame  buikliug,  on  the 
south  side  of  Pohick  run,  decayed,  and  it  was  decided  to  biiikl  a  new 
church,  George  Mason  advocated  the  old  site,  in  consideration  of  its 
associations;  but  AVashington,  who  was  a  practical  surveyor,  made  a 


SOME  HISTORIC   CHURCHES.  — SOUTHERN   STATES.  631 

map  of  the  parish,  showing  the  relations  of  the  dwellings  to  the  two 
proposed  sites,  which  settled  the  question  in  favor  of  the  north  side  of 
the  run,  as  being  more  central.  An  inscription  on  one  of  the  columns 
of  the  chancel  shows  the  date  of  its  being  finished,  177o.  A  deed 
dated  February  24,  1774,  from  George  Washington,  George  Mason, 
and  other  vestry-men,  conveying  a  pew  to  the  rector  (Massey)  in  the 
"new  church,  latelj  built  near  Pohiek,"  confirms  the  inscription. 

From  a  book  entitled  "Four  years  and  a-half  in  America,"  pub- 
lished in  1803,  by  Davis,  who  had  been  a  teacher  in  this  section,  I 
quote  the  following:  "About  eight  miles  from  Occoquon  mills  is  a 
house  of  worship,  called  'Powheek'  church,  a  name  it  claims  from  a 
run  which  Hows  near  its  walls.  Thither  I  rode  on  Sundays,  and  joined 
the  Congregation  of  Parson  Weems,  who  was  cheerful  in  his  mien, 
that  he  might  win  men  to  religion.  A  Virginian  church-j'ard  on  Sun- 
day resembles  rather  a  race-course,  than  a  sepulchral  ground.  The 
ladies  come  to  it  in  carriages,  and  the  men,  dismounting  from  their 
horses,  tie  them  to  the  trees.  The  steeples  of  Virginian  churches  are 
designed  not  for  utility,  but  for  ornament,  for  the  bell  is  suspended 
from  a  tree.  It  is  also  observable  that  the  gate  is  always  carefully 
locked  by  the  Sexton,  who  retires  last.  I  was  confounded  on  first 
entering  the  church-yard  to  hear, 

"  '  Steed  threaten  steed  with  high  and  boastful  neigh.' 

Nor  was  I  less  stunned  with  the  rattling  of  carriage  wheels,  the  crack- 
ing of  whips,  and  the  vociferations  of  the  gentlemen  to  the  negroes 
who  attend  them.  But  the  discourse  of  Parson  Weems  calmed  my 
perturbation,  for  he  presented  the  great  doctrines  of  salvation  as  one 
who  had  experienced  their  power.  About  one-half  of  the  congrega- 
tion were  negroes  who  gave  evidence  of  sincere  piety,  an  artless  sim- 
plicity, and  passionate  aspirations  after  Christ." 

Thiiiy-three  years  passed,  and  Bishop  Meade  says  of  it,  in  1837  ; 
"  It  was  raining,  and  I  found  no  one  there.  The  wide  open  doors  invited 
me  to  enter,  as  they  did  the  beasts  of  the  field  and  the  fowls  of  the 
air.  The  interior  having  been  well  built,  is  good.  The  chancel,  Com- 
munion table,  and  tables  of  the  law,  are  in  good  order.  The  roof  only 
is  decaying,  and  the  water  was  dropping  upon  the  sacred  places.  On 
the  doors  of  the  pews  in  gilt  letters  are  the  names  of  the  families 
who  once  occupied  them.  How  could  I  while  traversing  these  long 
aisles,  entering  the  sacred  chancel  and  ascending  the  lofty  pulpit, 
forbear  to  ask,  Is  this  the  House  of  God  built  by  the  Washingtons, 
Masons,  McCartys,  Fairfaxes,  Grahams,  and  Lewises?  Is  this  also 
doomed  to  moulder  piecemeal  away,  or  when  some  signal  is  given, 
to  become  the  prey  of  spoilers?  Surely,  reverence  for  the  greatest 
of  patriots,  if  not  for  religion,  might  be  effectually  appealed  to  in 
behalf  of  this  one  Temple  of  God.  The  families  who  worshipped  here 
are  nearly  all  gone,  but  there  are  immortal  beings  around  it,  which 
would  be  forever  blessed  l)y  the  fliithful  preaching  of  the  "Word." 

Thirty-eight  j'cars  roll  round,  and  again  the  scene  changes. 
Bishop  Whittle,  in  1876,  says :  "On  the  3d  of  last  October  I  conse- 


632  HISTORY   OF  THE   AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

crated  Pohick  Church.  This  venerable  building,  in  the  locatioa  and 
erection  of  which  General  Washington  was  so  active,  was  for  many 
years  the  parish  church  of  the  family  at  Mount  Vernon.  It  was  dur- 
ing the  late  war  left  to  crumble  under  the  wasting  influence  of  the 
weather,  and  l)e  carried  off  at  pleasure  by  any  one  who  fancied  its 
materials  for  private  use.  So,  after  the  war  of  the  Revolution,  disap- 
'pearcd  the  church  in  which  'the  father  of  his  country'  is  said  to  have 
been  christened,  and  such  seemed  to  be  the  doom  of  the  church  of 
his  manhood ;  but  its  sad  condition  came  to  the  knowledge  of  a  gen- 
erous Christian  gentleman  in  New  York,  who  inquired,  then  came  and 
looked,  and  then  never  remitted  liis  eflbrts  until  the  ruin  was  repaired. 
A  new  chancel,  with  all  its  appropriate  furniture,  and  a  handsome 
communion  service  was  provided,  a  font  in  front,  and  a  convenient 
robing-room  on  one  side  of  the  chancel  and  a  good  pipe  organ  on  the 
other.     The  restoration  was  complete." 

CHRIST   CHURCH,    ALEXANDRIA. 

In  17G4  Fairfax  parish  was  cut  off  from  Truro  parish,  both  in  the 
County  of  Fairfax.  Within  the  limits  of  the  new  parish  were  already 
two  new  churches,  —  one  at  the  Little  Falls  of  the  Potomac,  on  the 
land  of  Thomas  Lee ;  and  the  other  at  or  near  Hunting  Creek  ware- 
house (Alexandria),  established  by  Act  of  Assembly  in  174{^. 

The  vestry-book  of  Fairfax  parish  begins  in  1765.  In  1766  the 
vestry  decided  to  build  two  new  churches  —  one  at  the  Falls,  and  the 
other  at  Alexandria. 

The  church  at  Alexandria  cost  £600,  and  it  was  finished  in 
1773.  Washington, . who  was  a  vestry-man  of  Pohick  Church,  and 
had  a  pew  there,  was  also  a  vestry-man  of  this  new  church,  and  bought 
the  first  pew  (No.  5)  in  it,  for  which  he  gave  the  highest  price,  i.e., 
£36  10s.  After  the  war  Washington  attended  this  church,  and  when, 
tithes  having  ceased,  the  church  was  supported  by  pew-rents  and 
voluntary  subscriptions,  Washington,  with  others,  pledged  an  annual 
tax  of  £5.  This  pledge,  signed  with  his  own  hand,  is  on  the  record. 
This  pew  has  been  occupied  by  some  of  his  fiimily  ever  since,  and 
among  them  by  General  R.  E.  Lee,  Mho  married  the  granddaushtcr 
of  his  step-son,  George  AVashington  Parke  Custis,  who  presented  to 
the  church  a  family  Bible  which  had  belonged  to  \\'ashington. 
General  Lee  was  confirmed  in  the  church  in  1853,  and  it  has  on  its 
walls  twin  tablets  to  George  Washington  and  Robert  E.  Lee.  The 
large  old-fashioned  pews  were  divided  in  1821,  but  Washington's  was 
restored  in  1837.     It  was  again  divided  and  again  restored. 

Dr.  Griffith,  the  rector  after  the  war,  had  been  chaplain  in  the 
army,  and  was  the  personal  friend  of  Washington,  and  a  welcome 
visitor  at  Mt.  Vernon.  He  originated  the  first  movement  for  a  con- 
vention in  Virginia  after  the  overthrow  of  the  Church  by  the  Revolution, 
and  was  the  first  bishop-elect  of  Virginia.  His  successor  Avas  the  heir 
of  the  title  of  Lord  Fairfax,  who  once  owned  the  whole  Northern  Neck. 
William  (afterwards  bishop)  Meade  took  charge  of  this  church  in  his 
twenty-first  year,  and  attracted  to  its  congregation  many  members  of 
Congress,  who  received  lasting  impressions  from  his  ministry. 


SOME   HISTORIC  CHURCHES.  — SOUTHERN   STATES.  633 

Conspicuous  iunong  these  were  John  Randolph,  of  Roanoke,  and 
the  Hon()ia1)l('  (afterwaids)  the  Rev.  Dr.  Mihior. 

In  l.S7;>  the  church  celebrated  its  centennial.  The  rector,  Rev. 
Di'.  McKini,  delivered  a  historical  discourse,  and  the  writer  of  those 
skctclies  delivered  an  unwritten  poem. 


C.A>\^ 


JlX^ 


DIOCESE     OF    EAST    CAROLINA,    ST.    PAUVS     PARISH,    EDENTON, 
CHOWAN    COUNTY.    N.G. 

By    the    rev.    ROBERT    B.    DRAKE,   M.A., 
Qf  the  JHocesii  of  Eaat  Carolina. 

From  the  old  book  of  Records  of  the  Proceedings  of  the  Vestry 
of  St.  Paul's  Parish,  Chowan  Precinct,  Province  of  North  Carolina, 
beginning  December  15,  1701,  and  ending  in  the  year  1776, 1  extract 
the  following  particulars  relating  to  the  church  edifices  of  the  parish  :  — 

At  the  tirst  meeting  of  the  vestry,  December  15,  1701:  "It 
being  debated  where  a  Church  should  be  built,  Mr.  Edward  Smithwick 
undertakes  to  give  one  Acre  of  Land  upon  his  old  plantation  and  to 
give  a  conveyance  for  the  same  to  the  Church  Wardens." 

"  It  is  appointed  that  Coll.  William  Wilkinson  and  Cap'.  Thomas 
Lenten  shall   be  Church  Wardens  for  the  following  j^ear  who  shall 

agree  with  a  workman  for  building  a  Church  25  feet  long posts 

in  the  ground  and  held  to  the  Collar  beams  and  to  find  all  manner  of 
Iron  AVork,  Vizt.  Nails  and  Locks,  &c.  with  full  power  to  contract 
and  agree  with  the  said  workman  as  to  their  discretion  shall  seem 
meet  and  convenient." 

December  15,  1702.  "The  Chappel  being  this  day  viewed  by 
all  the  Vestry  here  present  and  are  satisfyed  therewith  and  do  receive 
the  House  and  Key  from  Mr.  John  Porter." 

"At  a  Vestry  held  at  the  Chappel  the  ilth  day  of  March,  170| " 
—  "Ordered  that  the  Church  Wardens  do  speedily  agree  with  a  Work- 
man to  make  Pulpit  and  Pew  for  t  he  Reader  with  Desks  fitting  for  the 
same  and  in  as  decent  a  manner  as  may  he.  and  what  they  shall  agree 
for  the  Vestry  do  oblige  themselves  to  see  paid." 

In  170S  it  was  "Ordered  that  the  Church  Wardens  endeavour  to 
have  the  Pulpit  finished  w\{\\  all  possilile  speed  as  likewise  the  Desk 
and  what  other  things  belong  to  it,  as  likewise  to  have  the  Church  Floor 
laid  with  Brick,  l)ut  upon  further  Dcliate  of  the  Matter  it's  agreed  upon 
that  the  floor  shall  be  laid  with  Plank,  as  being  the  cheapest  and 
Most  expeditious  way  of  having  it  done." 

"  At  a  Meeting  of  the  Vestiy  holdeu  at  the  Chappell  on  Sunday 
the  25th  of  July,  1708  — '  Whereas  it  hath  been  taken  into  our  mature 


634 


HISTORY   OF  THE  AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 


consideration  tl:e  many  and  great  Inconveniences  which  attend  the 
Chappell  which  is  ah'eady  built,  both  in  Respect  of  its  ill  situation, 
Smallness  and  rough  and  unfit  Workmanship  :  — 

" '  We  therefore  to  shew  our  true  Zeal  for  the  Gloiy  of  God  and 
propagating  so  good  a  work  do  unanimously  agree  that  a  Church  of 
Forty  feet  long  and  twenty-four  wide,  fourteen  Feet  from  Tenant  to 
Tenant  for  Hight,  the  remaining  part  of  the  work  to  be  proportionable; 
the  Roof  to  be  first  Plankt  and  then  shingled  with  good  Cypress 
shingles  and  the  whole  to  be  ceiled  with  plank.'" 

In  a  letter  to  the  society,  written  March  2d,  1713-4,  the  vestry 
say  :  "  We  have  but  one  sorry  Church  on  the  North  Shore  of  the  Sound, 
never  finished.     No  ornaments  lielonging  to  a  Church." 

"At  a  Vestry  held  at  Edenton  the  31st  (?)  Day  of  November 
1724  —  'Ordered  that  the  Church  wardens  desire  the  Commissioners 

f o  r  b  u  i  1  d  i  ng  the 
Court  House  &c  to 
draw  out  of  the 
hands  of  the  Lds. 
Propts.  Receiver 
Gene  ral  the  Sum 
of  Two  Hundred 
Pounds  Sterling  and 
also  the  Sum  of  two 
hundred  Pounds  out 
of  the  Hands  of  the 
P  u  b  1  i  ck  Treasurer 
the  same  being  ap- 
propriated for  the 
building  a  Cluu'ch  at 
P^denton ,  and  that 
the  Commissioners 
be  desired  to  pro- 
ceed on  the  same 
building.'"' 

"  the  tenth  dav 
of  May  173(5.  'Or- 
dered that  to  con- 
tribute towards  de- 
fraying the  Expenses  of  Building  a  Church  at  Edenton  ...  a  tax 
or  levey  be  levied  on  each  Tithable  in  the  Parish  for  the  ensuing  year.'  " 
July  1,  1738.  It  is  ordered  that  moneys  shall  be  paid  to 
"Thomas  Luton  to  be  by  him  applied  towards  compleating  a  Church 
now  begun  at  Edenton." 

June  28,  1744.  "On  motion  of  Mr.  Henry  Baker  that  as  he  has 
given  one  acre  of  Land  &  Timber  to  build  a  Chappie  on  Knotty  Pine 
Swamp,  whereon  the  Chappie  now  stands,  in  consideration  thereof  it 
is  ordered  that  he  shall  have  Liberty  to  Imild  a  Pew  in  any  Part  of  the 
sd  Chappie  he  pleases." 

On  May  19,  1750,  action  was  taken  to  raise  "money  to  be  ap- 
plyedtowards  the  Inclosing  and  Finishing  the  Church  at  Edenton." 


ST.  PAUL  S,  EDENTON,  NORTH  CAROLINA. 


SOME   HISTORIC  CHURCHES. —  SOUTHERN   STATES.  635 

In  17.'')2  the  salary  of  the  minister.  Rev.  Clement  ILiIl,  was 
reduced  to  "50  pounds  proclamation  mone}',"  in  order  to  raise  money 
"  for  finishing  the  Church  and  other  necessary  charges." 

In  1753  a  tax  is  levied  for  finishing  the  church  at  Edenton. 

On  Monday,  28th  of  October,  1765,  it  was  "Ordered  that  Mr. 
Hance  Holler  Tile  the  Chancel  and  Glaze  the  windows  of  the  Church 
and  Repair  the  Doors." 

May  18,  1774.  It  is  "  Ordered  that  Thos.  Williams  be  allowed 
eight  pounds  proc.  for  building  the  pillors  of  the  Church." 

"  Thomas  Hunter  agrees  to  finish  all  the  inside  wooden  work  of 
the  Church  and  the  doors  in  a  good  decent  workmanlike  manner " 
—  "the  same  work  to  be  compleated  in  three  months  from  this 
date." 

The  dimensions  of  the  church  are  as  follows  :  Length  of  nave, 
sixty  feet ;  width,  forty  feet  three  inches.  The  chancel  is  apsidai ,  width, 
twenty -two  feet  three  inches ;  depth,  nine  feet :  tower,  height  of 
brick-work,  forty  feet,  of  spire,  about  forty  feet;  total  about  eighty 
feet ;  base  of  tower,  fifteen  feet  nine  inches  by  eighteen  feet  three 
inches.  All  of  these  are  measurements  of  the  outside  of  the  build- 
ing. The  walls  of  the  tower  are  three  feet  thick ;  of  the  nave  two 
feet  four  inches  thick.  The  church  is  placed  east  and  west,  chancel 
in  the  east,  regardless  of  the  course  of  the  streets  of  the  town,  which 
are  not  parallel  with  sides  of  the  church. 

The  edifice  is  in  a  state  of  good  preservation.  There  are  four 
windows  on  each  side  of  the  church,  one  in  the  chancel,  and  two  in 
the  tower. 

There  are  persons  now  living  who  can  remember  when  the  church 
floor  was  in  tiles,  and  "  intra-mural"  burials  were  frequent.  All  the 
floor  is  now  laid  in  wood.  Gallei-ies  extend  along  three  sides  of  the 
l)uilding. 

St.  Paul's  Parish,  Chowan  Precinct,  Province  of  North  Carolina, 
was  organized  Dec.  15,  1701,  by  the  meeting  of  those  who  had  been 
appointed  ve.stry-men  by  the  Act  of  Assembly,  Nov.  12th,  preceding. 
The  minutes  of  the  vestry  are  still  preserved,  from  which  the  follow- 
ing extracts  are  made  :  — 

"  AVhereas  Dr.  John  Blair  presenting  himself  before  the  Vestry  as 
a  Minister  of  the  Gospel  and  having  the  approbation  of  the  D. 
Govcrnour  he  is  received  as  a  Minister  of  the  Gospel,  and  the  Church 
Wardens  for  and  in  behalf  of  the  Vestry  do  assume  to  pay  to  the 
said  Dr.  John  Blair  30  pounds  (as  the  Law  provides)  per  Annum 
The  year  to  begin  the  first  day  of  this  instant  March  (1703/4)." 

In  May,  1704  or  5  (it  is  indistinct):  "The  Revd.  John  Blair 
serving  as  Minister  of  the  Gospel  out  of  his  charitable  gift  hath  given 
what  salery  is  due  to  him  to  the  poor,  for  which  the  gentlemen  of  the 
Vestry  return  him  thanks." 

In  September,  1705,  "Mr.  Henry  Gerrard  presenting  himself  to 
the  Vestry  as  a  Minister  of  the  Gospel  and  he  having  the  Hono""' 
Deputy  Gov",  approbation  is  received  by  the  Vestry  into  this  Precinct, 
and  the  said  Mr.  Henry  Gerrard  declaring  that  by  reason  of  the  great 
distance  betwixt  this  Precinct  and  Pequimins  and  the  diilyness  of  the 


636  HISTORY   OF  THE   AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

roads  he  is  not  able  to  serve  iu  the  two  Precincts  and  therefore  is 
willing  to  attend  in  this  Precinct  wholly  and  decline  his  intentions  of 
sei-ving  in  Pequimons.  And  the  Church  Wardens  for  and  in  behalf 
of  the  Vestry  do  undertake  to  jiay  to  the  aforesaid  Mr.  Henry  Ger- 
rard  thirty  pounds  per  annum,  as  the  Law  directs,  besides  these 
voluntary  subsci-iptions  viz' :  —  £25:  8.s:  " 

From  time  to  time  "readers"  arc  appointed,  and  paid  for  their 
services.  The  reader's  duties  are  thus  defined  :  to  "  keep  the  keys  of 
the  church  and  keep  the  church  clean,  and  keep  the  woods  fired,  at 
the  time  of  the  year,  round  the  chappel,  also  to  provide  water  for  the 
baptizing  of  children,  and  to  attend  the  chappel  every  Lord's  day,  when 
the  Minister  is  here  to  officiate  as  a  clerk,  and  when  the  Minister  is 
absent  to  read  Divine  service  and  a  Sermon,  etc.,  to  keep  the  Vestiy 
Journal  and  to  attend  the  Vestry  at  their  jNleetings.  He  promising 
to  the  Vestry  to  lead  a  soljer  and  exemjilary  life  in  his  station." 

In  1708,  May  5th,  the  Rev.  AVilliam  Gordon  is  chosen  "  to 
officiate  in  this  Precinct,"  who  is  spoken  of  July  28th.  1708,  as 
"speedily  designed  for  England,"  and  a  reader  is  ap23ointed. 

In  1708  it  is  ordered  that  £45  be  paid  to  the  Rev.  i\lr.  Urmstou 
"  for  having  officiated  in  this  Precinct  from  the  time  of  his  first  coming 
into  this  government  till  the  25th  inst." 

In  1712-13  a  Bible  is  presented  thi'ough  Mr.  Urmston. 

May  1st,  1723.  "Ordered  that  the 'Reverend  Mr.  Newman, 
Missionary  be  [mid  the  sum  of  ten  pounds  out  of  the  next  year's 
collection  to  make  good  the  sum  of  Twenty  pounds  which  was  prom- 
ised by  the  Vestry  for  his  officiating  part  of  the  last  year." 

November  18th,  1723.  "The  Rev.  Mr.  Newman,  Missionary, 
having  officiated  but  one-half  of  the  year,  and  being  departed  this 
life  ;  the  vestry  in  consideration  of  the  said  Mr.  Newman's  pious  and 
good  behaviour  during  the  time  of  his  Mission  among  us.  and  also 
being  willing  to  contribute  towards  the  accommodation  of  his  widow's 
intended  Voiage  to  Great  Britain,  it  is  ordered  that  the  whole  year's 
sallary  be  paid  to  his  widow,  notwithstanding  his  decease." 

In  1724  action  was  taken  to  use  the  £400  in  the  hands  of  the 
lords  proprietors'  receiver-general,  and  of  the  public  treasurer,  for  the 
building  of  a  church,  which  is  the  one  now  standing. 

August  18th,  1725,  "the  Reverend  Doct'.  John  Blacknall  wlio 
is  received  Minister  Resident  Avas  accordingly  qualified." 

"  We  have  now  in  use  a  Chalice  and  Paten,  in  Silver,  inscribed, 
'The  Gift  of  Colonell  Edward  Mosely.  for  y'  use  of  y'=  Church  in 
Edenton,  in  the  year  1725.'" 

Feb.  23d,  1728-8,  "Five  pounds  to  the  Revd.  Mr.  Fountain. 
Five  pounds  to  the  Revd.  Mr.  Marsden,  for  their  officiating  .at  Eden- 
ton, and  forty  shillings  pd.  to  the  Revd.  Mr.  Marsden's  clerk." 

In  1731's  accounts,  "  To  the  Revd  JNIr.  Marsden  for  a  sermon  5£.'" 
ditto  Revd.  Mr.  Robinson,  ditto  Revd  Mr.  Jones. 

Easter  Monday,  1732,  "The  Revd.  Mr.  Granvile  having  per- 
formed Divine  Service  in  this  Parish  beorininff  one  fortnioht  before 
Easter  Sunday,  and  the  Vestry  being  willing  to  encourage  him  to  con- 
tinue as  well  as  that  he  be  pay'd  for  the  time  past,  it  is  ordered  that 


SOME   HISTORIC    CHURCHES.  —  SOUTHERN   STATES.  (J37 

lie  l)c  paid  from  the  sd.  time  he  hegun  for  one  year  the  aforesd.  sum 
to  be  raised  by  the  Parish  Tax  now  lay'd  excepting  sixteen  pounds  pr. 
annum  to  l)e  allowed  to  Mr.  llountree  for  coutinuii:g  as  Reader  and 
the  same  to  Mr.  Sagg  to  continue  Reader  and  what  other  accidental 
charges  shall  arise  in  yo  Parish.  And  that  the  said  Mr.  Granvile  be 
allowed  pro  rata  for  the  time  he  officiates,  if  ho  serves  less  than  a 
year  :  —  and  that  he  officiate  two  Sundays  out  of  five  in  the  upper  parts 
of  the  Parish,  vizt.  one  at  the  Cha|)pell,  4  other  Sundays  in  ye  five  at 
or  near  Abraham  Mills  and  the  remaining  Sundays  at  Edenton." 

Accounts  for  April,  1732,  "To  pd.  for  washing  Doct^  Boyd's 
Surplice,  10  shillings."     In  May,  pd  Docf.  Boyd  for  preaching,  5£. 

In  1736  Rev.  John  Garzia  is  mentioned  as  having  officiated. 
There  is  now  in  the  possession  of  tiie  Parish,  a  large  silver  chalice  in- 
scribed, "  D.  1).  Johannes  Garzia  Eeclesite  Angiicanaj  Presbyter." 

February.  1745,  Rev.  Clement  Ilall  was  "  allowed  sixty  pounds 
Proclamation  money  per  annum  for  officiating  two  Sundays  in  three  at 
Edenton."  In  1746-47  vestry  "continued"  Rev.  Mr.  Hall  adminis- 
ter. In  1750  "Resolved  agreed  tliat  the  Revd.  Mr.  Clem'.  Hall  be 
retained  as  clerk  and  rector  of  this  Parish." 

In  175o  it  is  ordered  that  the  Rev.  Mr.  Hall  be  allowed  "Fifty 
Pounds  Proclamation  Money  for  performing  Devine  Service,  and 
officiating  as  Clerk  and  Rector  of  this  Parish  this  present  year,  and 
that  he  officiate  21  Sundays  at  Sarum,  Constants,  and  Farlees  Chappels 
and  the  rest  of  his  time  at  Edenton,  except  when  absent  on  the  duty 
of  his  mission." 

In  1756  the  vestry  "continued"  Rev.  Mr.  Hall  on  condition  he 
would  do  tiie  duty  as  they  defined  it,  otherwise  that  he  be  discharged. 

In  175[),  Feliruary  24th,  Rev.  Daniel  Earl  is  agreed  with  to  act  as 
rector,  the  Rev.  Clement  Hall  having  died. 


(£>-^f^.  Aa-e.^. 


BT.    THOMAS'S    CHURCH,    BATH,    BEAUFORT   COUNTY,   N.C. 

By  the  rev.  JOSEPH    RLOUNT   CHESHIRE,  Jr.,  A.M., 
Rector  of  St.  Peter's  Church,  Charlotte,  North  Carolina. 

The  oldest  l)uilding  in  the  State,  probably.  It  is  a  substantial 
brick  I)uildiiig,  the  floor  of  which  is  also  laid  with  large,  square,  well- 
made  brick.  I  noticed  on  the  outside  front,  imliedded  in  the  wall, 
a  marl)le  tal)lct  bearing  the  following  inscription  :  "  William  Wallinw, 
in  memory    of  John    Lawsou,'    Joel   Martin,  and   Simon  Anderson, 

'  The  .Julm  Lawson  mentioncil  above  wa,'!  released,  but  Lawson  was  put  to  death  with  hor- 

s>u-veyor-general  of  North  Carolina,  and   was,  rible  tortures,   hciug  stuck  full  of  lifrht  wood 

with  Baron  DeGrali'enreid,  captured  by  the  In-  splinters  and  burned  to  death.     His  "  iTistoiy  of 

dians  in  the  war  of  1711.    DeUrafl'cnreid  wa.s  North  Carolina"  is  one  of  the  rare"  Americana." 


638  HISTORY   OF   THE   AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

founders  of  Bath  town  in  1706."  Above  this  is  another  marble  tablet 
with  the  following:  "8t.  Thomas,  built  in  1734."  The  belfry  sets 
unadorned  on  the  back  and  lower  part  of  the  building ;  it  is  neither 
in  taste  nor  unique,  yet  it  contains  the  bell  presented  by  Queen 
Anne. 

There  is  another  building,  probably  built  before  the  Revolution, 
which  is  used  as  a  church.  This  is  Trinity  Church,  Chockowinit}', 
Beaufort  County,  but  more  commonly  known  as  "  Parmn  Blount's 
Chapel."  It  was  built  by  the  Rev.  Nathaniel  Blount,  a  native  of 
Beaufort  County,  of  a  distinguished  family  in  the  State,  who  was 
ordained  about  177.3,  and  was  the  last  survivor  of  our  colonial  clergy, 
dying  about  1812.  I  have  never  seen  his  name  as  a  missionary  of 
the  society,  and  so  I  suppose  he  must  have  had  means  of  his  own  or  a 
large  and  intluential  connection  to  sustain  liim.  No  one  knows  when 
the  chapel  was  built,  but  it  is  believed  to  have  been  erected  shortly 
after  his  return  from  England.  It  is  about  two  miles  from  Washing- 
ton,  N.C.,  on  the  other  side  of  Pamlico  river,  and,  with  St.  Paul's, 
Edenton,  and  St.  Thomas's,  Bath,  makes  up  the  "historic  churches" 
of  North  Carolina. 


HI8T0MIC     GHVRCHE8    IN    SOUTE    CAROLINA. 

Bt  J.  .1.  PRINGLE   SMITH, 
0/  Charleaton,  Stmtfi  Carolina. 

ST.   James's,   goosecreek. 

This  parish  was  created,  and  its  boundaries  defined,  by  Act  of 
Assembly,  November,  1706.  Before  that  date  the  region  about 
Gooseereek  had  become  thickly  settled,  and  a  clergyman,  Rev.  William 
Corbin,  A.M.,  officiated  there  in  1700.  It  was  also  the  scene  of  the 
labors  of  Rev.  Samuel  Thomas,  the  first  missionary  sent  to  South 
Carolina  by  the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel.  He  arrived 
in  1702.  Mr.  Thomas  labored  with  much  zeal  and  success  among 
both  whites  and  lilacks  ;  teaching  many  of  the  latter  to  read.  He  died 
in  170.5.  In  conformity  with  the  "church  act"  the  parishioners  met  in 
April,  1707,  and  elected  ehurch-wardens  and  vestry-men  ;  and  soon  after 
a  church  was  built.  Dr.  Le  Jau  was  the  successor  of  Mr.  Thomas. 
Under  his  ministry  the  congregation  ))ecame  too  large  for  the  church, 
and  a  new  one  was  built,  —  a  handsome  edifice  of  brick,  and  rough-cast. 
It  stands  near  Gooseereek  bridge.  As  Dr.  Le  Jau  died  in  1717,  this 
church  is  a  very  old  one.  It  was  the  only  country  church  not  profaned 
by  the  Biitish  army  in  the  revolutionary  war.  This  was  attributed 
to  the  ftict  that  the  roval  arms  were  allowed  to  remain  o\  er  the  east 


SOME   HISTORIC   CHURCHES.  —  SOUTHERN    STATES.  639 

window.     They  arc  there  to  this  day.     The  church  is  in  good  preser- 
vation. 

ST.   James's,  santee. 

This  parish  at  first  consisted  chiefly  of  French  refugees  conform- 
ing to  the  worship  of  the  Church  of  England.  The  church  was  l)uilt 
at  James-Town,  the  exact  site  of  whicli  is  now  doubtful.  "  The 
inhabitants  of  James-Town  finding  their  situation  too  narrow,  spread 
over  the  country,  abandoning  the  town"  (Ramsay).  It  is  not  known 
exactly  when  this  church  was  built.  Its  ruins  still  reuiained  when 
Dalcho  wrote,  in  1820.  The  inhabitants  petitioned  the  Assemltly  in 
170G  to  make  their  settlement  a  parish,  expressing  their  desire  to  be 
united  to  the  Church  of  England.  Accordingly  an  act  to  that  efl'ect 
was  passed  April  9,  170t).  This  was  afterwards  repealed,  and  the 
parish  was  established  l)y  the  church  act  of  November,  1706  ;  the 
church  at  James-Town  being  declared  to  be  the  parish  church. 

June  12,  1714,  an  act  was  passed  "to  erect  a  parochial  chapel  of 
ease  in  the  parish  of  St.  James,"  at  Echaw.  This  gave  place  to  a 
larger  and  better  building  of  brick,  in  1748,  which  was  declared  to  be 
the  parish  church,  James-Town  being  deserted.  The  situation  of  the 
church  at  Echaw  becoming  inconvenient  to  many  of  the  -parishioners, 
an  act  was  passed.  April,  1768,  directing  another  to  bo  built  at  or  near 
Wambaw  bridge,  to  be  called  the  Parish  Church  of  St.  James,  Santee. 
Thereupon  the  church  at  Echaw  again  I>ecame  a  ciiapel  of  ease.  The 
first  three  rectors  of  St.  James's  were  French  clergymen  :  Rev.  P.  de 
Richbourg  (died  in  1717),  Rev.  Mr.  Ponderous  (died  in  1730),  and 
Rev.  S.  Coulet  (died  in  1748).  The  second  named  was  licensed  for 
this  cure  by  Dr.  Robinson,  Bishop  of  London,  and  the  third  (originally 
a  priest  of  Rome),  by  Bishop  Gibson.  The  Bible  and  prayer-book 
were  given  in  1773  by  Mrs.  Rebecca  Motte,  of  revolutionary  fame. 

ST.  .John's,  parish    Berkeley, 
created  by  Actof  1706  ;  boundaries  described  by  Act  of  December,  1 708. 

In  1707  the  Rev.  Robert  Maule,  a  missionary  sent  by  the  Society 
for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel,  was  appointed  by  the  governor  and 
council  to  the  cure  of  this  parish.  No  church  being  yet  built,  Mr. 
Maule  held  divine  service  in  the  church  of  the  French  Protestants,  l)y 
invitation  of  their  minister,  Rev.  Mr.  Tuilliard. 

In  1710  a  church  l)uilding  was  begun,  and  finished  the  next  year. 
Two  glebes  belonged  to  this  parish,  and  a  parsonage.  The  parish 
being  of  large  extent,  many  of  the  jiarishioners  were  prevented,  by  dis- 
tance, from  attending  public  worship.  They  built,  by  subscription,  a 
neat  brick  chapel,  near  Strawberry  ferry.  This,  by  Act  of  1725,  was 
established  as  a  chapel  of  ease.  By  bequests  of  James  Child  and  Fran- 
cis Williams,  increased  by  subscriptions  of  the  parishioners,  a  free 
school  was  erected.  The  parish  church  was  accidentally  burnt  in  175.5, 
and  the  next  year  an  act  was  passed  for  building  another.  The  site 
chosen  was  near  Biggin  creek,  whence  the  name  Biggin  Church.  It  is 
sixty  feet  by  forty.  Both  church  and  chapel  being  at  the  lower  end  of  the 
parish,  an  act  was  passed  in  1770  for  building  a  chapel  in  the  upper  part. 


640  HISTORY   OF   THE   AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

A  garrison  of  British  troops  was  stationed  in  Biggin  Church  in 
1781.  When  compelled  to  aljiiudon  it  they  set  it  on  lire.  The  de- 
struction was,  however,  but  partial ;  and  afterwards  it  was  thoroughly 
restored,  and  was  used  until  the  late  war.  \Vheu  that  ended  it  was 
found  to  have  been  much  uijured  in  the  interior,  and  to  be  in  need  of 
repairs.  These  •were  delayoil  in  conseqLience  of  changes  and  removals 
of  parishioners,  and  the  impoverishment  of  those  who  remained.  Mean- 
time, decay  has  pi-ogressed,  and  the  elements  are  doing  their  work ;  but 
means  are  still  wanting  for  its  repair. 

CHRIST   CHURCH   PARISH, 

created  by  "church  act"  of  1706;  boundaries  defined  by  Act  of 
1708.  The  foundation  of  the  church  was  laid  in  1707.  The  first 
I'ector  (Rev.  Richard  Marsden)  was  chosen  in  1708,  and  wardens 
and  vestry  in  the  same  year.  Two  grants  of  money  from  the  Assem- 
bly enabled  the  vestry  to  finish  the  church,  to  purchase  a  glebe,  and 
build  a  parsonage.  The  church  was  accidentally  burnt  in  1724 ;  but 
arrangements  were  immediately  made  to  rebuild  it ;  and  this  second 
edifice  was  dedicated  in  March,  1727.  In  1750  the  number  of  com- 
municants was  sixty.  The  interior  of  the  church  suflered  greatly  from 
abuse  and  fire  in  1782  by  the  British.  In  the  late  war  it  was  used  as 
a  hospital,  and  again  the  interior  ^vas  much  damaged.  Afterwards, 
through  "neglect,  the  hand  of  time,  and  depredations,"  it  was  well- 
nigh  in  a  state  of  ruin,  scarcely  anything  left  but  its  walls  and  part  of 
the  roof. 

By  great  efforts  this  ancient  sanctuary  has  been  repaired.  It  was 
consecrated  by  Bishop  Howe  in  1874. 

ST.  Andrew's  parish, 

created  by  Act  of  1706  ;  boundaries  defined  by  Act  of  1708. 

The  first  rector.  Rev.  Alexander  Wood,  A.M.,  began  his  duties 
in  1707.  The  church  was  built  of  brick,  forty  feet  by  twenty-five.  A 
parsonage  house  was  added  on  a  glebe  of  twenty-six  acres,  to  which 
sixty  were  added.  In  1723  an  addition  was  made.  The  original  struct- 
ure was  left  to  form  the  length  of  a  cross,  and  arms  were  now  built, 
making  the  dimensions  forty  feet  one  way  and  fifty-two  the  other,  with 
a  handsome  chancel  twelve  feet  by  twenty-four.  At  the  west  end  was 
a  gallery  appropriated  to  colored  people. 

In  1733  the  rector.  Rev.  JNIr.  Guy,  reported  his  parish  as  in  a 
flourishing  condition,  with  a  chapel  on  James  Island.  As  an  evi- 
dence of  the  large  means  and  the  Christian  liberality  of  the  parishioners, 
it  may  be  mentioned  that  in  1740  the  sum  of  £368  14*'.  Gd.  was  col- 
lected at  the  doors  of  the  churcJi  for  the  relief  of  the  sufferers  by  a 
great  fire  in  Charles-Town.  In  1756  the  chapel  on  James  Island  was 
established  by  Act  of  Assembly  as  a  chapel  of  ease  to  St.  Andrew's 
parish.  In  1764  a  fire  destroyed  the  interior  of  the  church,  but  small 
portions  only  of  the  walls.  It  was  soon  restored  by  subscriptions  of  the 
inhabitants. 

This  fine  old  country  church  has  always  been  noted  for  its  solidity 


SOME   HISTORIC   CHURCHES.  —SOUTHERN   STATES.  (141 

iiud  its  solemn  beauty.  It  has  been,  with  but  Httle  interruption,  in  use 
for  a  century  and  thi-ee-quarters.  The  longest  intcirruption  was  caused 
during  the  late  war,  and  for  pome  time  after,  by  the  injuries  to  the  inte- 
rior. These  have  been  sufficiently  repaired  to  allow  the  resumption  of 
public  worship. 

ST.    HELENA,    BEAUFORT. 

The  parish  of  St.  Helena  was  created  by  Act  of  June,  1712. 
"With  the  consent  of  Commissary  Johnson,  the  inhabitants  invited  the 
Rev.  William  Guy,  assistant  minister  of  St  Philip's,  Charleston,  to 
become  rector.  They  wrote  also  to  the  Society  for  the  Propagation 
of  the  Gospel  and  obtained  the  appointment  of  Mr.  Guy  as  missionary. 
Services  were  at  first  held  in  private  houses.  The  Indian  war  of  1 7 1.5  in- 
terrupted further  proceedings.  In  1724  a  brick  church  was  built, — 
forty  feet  by  thirty,  —  with  a  chancel  ten  feet  deep.  The  Rev.  Lewis 
Jones  was  appointed  to  this  cure  in  1725  by  the  society.  He  served 
until  1745.  Through  a  legacy  from  Mr.  Jones  a  free  school  was 
opened  in  the  town  of  Beaufort  in  1749.  In  1736  an  act  was  passed 
authorizing  the  erection  of  a  chapel  near  Hoospa  Neck,  in  which  the 
rector  of  St.  Helena  was  to  perform  service  at  .stated  times.  At  an 
early  date  a  church  was  built,  of  brick  and  tapia,  on  St.  Helena  Island, 
a  chapel  of  ease  to  the  church  in  Beaufort.  After  the  Revolution  this 
was  made  -a  separate  parish.  The  church  in  Beaufort  claims  the 
maternity  of  no  less  than  "eleven  churches  and  chapels"  on  the  neigh- 
boring mainland  and  islands.  Among  these  was  a  very  large  and 
commodious  house  of  worship  erected  for  colored  people,  "several 
hundred  of  whom  were  wont  to  assemble  therein  on  Sundays "  for 
divine  worship. 

PRINCE    GEORGE,  AVINYAH    PARISH, 

established  by  Act  of  Assembly,  10th  March,  1721.  A  church 
and  parsonage  was  ordered  to  be  built  in  such  place  as  the  governor 
and  council  should  approve,  with  the  consent  of  a  majority  of  the  in- 
habitants, who  were  of  the  Church  of  England,  the  rector  to  be  chosen 
in  conformitj'  with  the  church  act,  and  to  have  a  salary  of  £150  per 
annum.  Subsequently  two  parishes  were  formed  from  parts  of  Prince 
George,  viz.  :  Prince  Frederick  in  1734,  and  All-Saints  in  1767. 

A  subscription  for  the  church  of  the  original,  undivided  parish 
was  opened.  Governor  Nicholson  giving  £100,  and  the  building  was 
began  in  1726.     It  stood  near  the  ferry  over  Black  river. 

The  inhabitants  applied  to  the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the 
Gospel  stating  that  the  Assembly  had  granted  a  salary  of  £100  procla- 
mation money  for  maintenance  of  a  minister,  and  requesting  the  society 
to  send  one.  /Vfter  several  applications  the  society  removed  the  Re\". 
Thomas  Morritt  from  the  free  school  in  Charles-Town  to  this  parish.  The 
register  contains  entries  of  bapti.sms  by  this  clergyman  in  1726.  The 
first  pages  of  this  register,  containing  the  elections  and  acts  of  the 
vestiy,  are  lost.  The  earliest  record  is  for  Easter  Monday,  April, 
1729,  giving  the  names  of  the  parish  officers  chosen.  From  that 
time  (lie  journal  is  complete  until  1734,  when  the  pari.sh  was  divided. 


642  HISTORY   or   THE   AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

In  1730  the  church  was  completed.  In  1734  the  division  of  the 
parish  was  effected.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Morritt  continued  as  rector  of  the 
new  parish,  Prince  Frederick's.  The  church  fell  within  the  limits  of 
the  last-named  parish ;  consequently  a  new  church  and  parsonage 
house  were  ordered  to  be  built  for  Prince  George's.  By  an  Act  of 
March,  1741-2,  an  appropriation  was  made  of  "all  such  monies  as 
should  be  paid  into  the  public  treasuiy  by  virtue  of  the  General  Duty 
Act,  for  duties  on  goods  imported  into  Georgetown  for  five  years." 
But  the  amount  provided  proving  insufficient,  £1,000  were  appro- 
priated by  the  Assembly  from  other  sources.  Occasional  services 
were  performed  by  Rev.  John  Fordyce  (successor  of  Mr.  Morritt  in 
Prince  Frederick's)  until  1746,  when  Rev.  Alexander  Keith  arrived 
from  England,  having  I^ieen  licensed  by  the  Bishop  of  London  to  offi- 
ciate in  this  parish. 

The  parish  was  served  by  a  succession  of  missionaries  until  1766. 
The  vestry  then  offered  a  salary  of  £108  per  annum,  and  the  expenses 
of  the  passage  from  England.  Soon  after  the  Rev.  James  Stuart,  of 
Maryland,  entered  on  his  duties  in  1771-2. 

During  the  revolution  the  interior  of  the  church  was  burned.  It 
was,  however,  completely  repaired,  and  improvements  were  added. 
It  is  a  substantial,  old-iashioned  edifice  of  brick. 

FKiNCE  William's  paiush. 

Separated  from  St.  Helena  and  made  a  distinct  parish  by  Act  of 
May  25, 1745.  Occasional  services  were  held  until  1758,  when  a  rector 
was  elected,  the  Rev.  Robert  Cooper.  Sheldon  Church  was  named 
after  Gilbert  Sheldon,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  but  previously 
Bishop  of  London,  and  therefore  diocesan  of  the  American  churches. 
It  is  supposed  to  have  been  begun  in  1751.  It  was  probably  com- 
pleted in  1753,  as  an  act  was  passed  in  that  year  authorizing  the 
commissioners  to  sell  the  pews  to  enable  them  "  to  finish  and  adorn 
the  church."  In  ancient  times  the  bronze  statue  of  Prince  William 
of  Cumberland  on  horseback  surmounted  the  portico.  Just  within  the 
door  of  the  church  there  stood  originall}^  a  large  font  supported  by 
lion's  feet,  in  bronze.  This  font  was  descriJied  by  an  aged  lady  who 
had  seen  it  in  her  childhood,  and  had  been  told  that  the  negro 
children  born  on  her  ftither's  place  (Gen.  Stephen  Ball,  grandson  of 
Lieut. -Governor  Ball)  were  baptized  at  this  font.  This  no  doubt 
had  been  the  custom  of  the  family,  carrying  out  the  instructions  of 
Bishop  Gibson,  in  his  pastoral  letter  in  1726,  addressed  to  the  "Mas- 
ters and  Mistresses  of  Families  in  the  English  plantations  abroad, 
exhorting  them  to  encourage  and  promote  the  instruction  of  their 
Negroes  in  the  Christian  faith."  Lieut. -Governor  Ball  largely  assisted 
in  the  building  and  endowment  of  Sheldon  Church. 

It  has  been  the  fate  of  this  venerable  church  to  pass  through  two 
wars,  and  in  both  cases  nothing  was  left  but  its  massive  walls.  The 
interior  was  burnt  by  the  British  in  1780  on  their  march  from  Savan- 
nah to  Charleston.  From  1780  to  1830  it  remained  a  desolate  ruin. 
In  or  about  the  last-mentioned  year  it  was  restored,  and  was  well  main- 
tained and  attended  until  the  war  of  1861.     In  1865,  when  that  war 


SOME   HISTOKIC   CHURCHES. —  SOUTHERN   STATES.  (143 

ended,  nothing  remained,  save  as  before,  the  bare  walls.     The  interior, 
pnlpit,  desk,  organ,  pews,  flooring,  were  all  gone. 


ST.  Michael's,  Charleston. 

Charles-Town  having  by  the  middle  of  the  last  century  greatly 
increased  in  size  and  population,  the  General  Assembly  found  it  nec- 
essary, from  considerations  both  religious  and  civil,  to  divide  the 
town  into  two  parishes,  and  to  provide  for  another  church.  An  act 
to  this  eflect  was  passed  in  June,  1751,  and  the  new  parish  was  named 
St.  Michael.  The  parish  church  was  ordered  to  be  built  "on  or  near 
the  place  where  the  old  St.  Philip's  Church  formerly  stood."  Tn  the 
next  year  the  corner-stone  was  laid  by  Governor  Glf^n. 

On  the  16th  April,  1759,  the  parishioners  met  and  elected  wardens 
and  vestry,  and  the  church  was  opened  for  public  worship  on  1st  Feb- 
ruary, 1761,  Rev.  Robert  Cooper,  rector.  It  is  of  brick,  rough-cast, 
extreme  length  one  hundred  and  thirty  feet  by  sixty  in  breadth.  The 
steeple  rises  from  the  roof  about  one  hundred  and  eighty-five  feet  from 
the  ground,  and  is  reniarkal)lc  "for  the  lightness  of  its  architecture, 
the  chasteness  of  its  ornaments  and  the  symmetry  of  its  parts."  There 
is  a  fine  chime  of  bells,  imported  from  England.  Bishops  Dehon  and 
Bowen  were  successively  rectors  of  this  parish. 


ST.  Stephen's. 

Taken  from  St.  James's,  Santee,  and  established  by  Act  of  Assem- 
bly, 11th  May,  1754. 

A  chapel  of  ease  of  St.  James's  parish  fell  within  the  limits  of  the 
new  parish,  and  was  declared  to  be  the  parish  church  of  St.  Stephen's. 

Rev.  Alexander  Keith  (who  had  been  assistant  minister  at  St. 
Philip's,  Charles-Town)  was  the  first  rector.  He  officiated  in  the 
above-mentioned  church.  This  becoming  decayed,  and  too  small,  the 
parishioners  petitioned  for  a  new  parish  church,  and  an  act  was  passed 
19th  May,  1762,  appointing  commissioners  to  receive  subscriptions,  etc. 
The  chui'ch  is  built  of  brick,  and  is  ornamented  with  Doric  pilasters. 
It  has  a  handsome  mahogany  pulpit.     The  floor  is  tiled. 

all-saints',  waccamaw. 

Taken  from  Prince  George  Winyah,  by  Act  of  23d  May,  1767. 
The  church  is  of  brick,  and  in  good  condition.  This  was  one  of  the 
most  wealthy  of  the  rural  parishes.  It  was  the  cure  for  thirty  years 
of  that  zealous  and  faithful  servant  of  God,  Rev.  Alexander  Glennie, 
whose  work  here  ^vas  among  Aft'ica's  sons,  in  whose  behalf  he 
labored  most  diligently.  His  efforts  for  their  spiritual  improvement 
brought  forth,  l)y  God's  blessing,  fruit  an  hundredfold.  Large  num- 
bers of  the  slaves  were  communicants ;  hundreds  of  colored  children 
learned  and  recited  intelligently  the  catechism.  The  planters  made 
liberal  provision  for  the  spiritual  instruction  of  their  slaves,  and  aided 
in  supplying  them  and  their  families  with  systematic  teaching. 


644 


HISTOKV    OF   THE   AMERICAK    EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 


ST.  David's,  cheraw. 

Established  by  Act  of  12th  April,  1768.  Wardens  Jind  vestry  were 
chosen  in  August  followinij:. 

The  church  l)uihlino-  was  erected  at  Cheraw  Hill,  upon  land 
given  for  the  purpose  by  Ely  Kershaw.  It  was  not  quite  completed 
until  1774,  but  was  opened  for  public  worship  in  December,  1772. 


ST.    DAVIDS,    CIIEKAW,    S.C. 

Descri))ed  as  a  "frame  building  on  a  l)rick  foundation,  fifty-three  feet 
long,  thirty  wide,  and  sixteen  feet  high,  with  a  coxed  ceiling  and  arched 
windows  ;  chancel,  ten  feet  by  six." 

For  some  time  in  1781  it  was  occupied  by  British  soldiers,  of 
whom  several,  falling  victims  to  the  climate,  lie  buried  near  by. 

"The  veneral)le  l)uilding  slill  stands.  It  was  erected  with  the 
care  befitting  such  a  work,  and  on  a  sure  foundation." 


Jr/^^z^^^-^^^^^--^ 


MONOGRAPH  VIII. 


THE   CHURCH    CHARITIES    OF    THE   EIGHTEENTH    CENTURV. 
THE  BOSTON  EPISCOPAL    CHARITABLE   SOCIETY. 

Founded,  1724. 

By  MR.  THOMAS   C.  AMORY,  A.JI., 
Vict- President  of  th^.  Society. 

"  Dare  qiiam  acciperc."    Acta  20 :  35. 

TIIE  scanty  comforts  of  the  early  settlers  on  these  shores  rendered 
them  all  the  more  considerate  of  each  others  necessities.  This 
was  exemplitied  by  the  last  loaf  shared  by  Winthrop  with  his 
less  fortunate  neighbor.  Few,  however,  had  left  home  in  penury, 
and  instances  of  extreme  destitution  were  rare.  As  they  multiplied 
later,  legal  relief  was  provided,  and,  becoming  a  burden,  the  towns  in 
some  of  the  colonies  warned  off  new-comers,  lest  by  continued  residence 
they  might  gain  a  settlement  and  a  pennanent  and  hereditary  claim  to 
support.  Still,  the  colonists  generally  were  too  devout  and  diligent 
students  of  the  Bible  not  to  obey  its  precepts.  Churches  and  minis- 
ters, from  their  limited  resources,  spared  what  they  could.  Farmers 
gave  bread  to  the  hungry,  shelter  to  the  homeless,  for  the  most  part 
without  compensation.  Wayfarers,  whether  lofty  or  lowly,  Indians 
or  Quakers,  and  other  schismatics,  when  banished  or  menaced  with 
penalty ;  even  Gofl'  and  Whalley,  fugitives  from  royal  resentment, 
whose  visits  were  dangerous  or  compromising,  received  cordial  wel- 
come and  hospitable  treatment. 

Work  was  plenty  for  willing  hands,  and  in  case  of  age  or  in- 
firmity, kinsfolk  helped.  If  pestilence,  famine,  war,  or  conflagration 
pressed  heavily  on  such  obligations,  appeals  to  wider  sympathies 
afforded  adequate  relief.  The  gathering  of  the  distafis  on  Boston 
Common  in  1709  is  one  memorable  instance  of  coml)ined  action  under 
common  calamity;  and  that  terrible  scourge  the  small-pox,  unmiti- 
gated then  by  vaccination,  had  been  rife  in  Boston  not  long  be- 
fore our  society  was  founded.  It  was  not  the  first  association  for 
charitable  purposes  in  New  England.  The  earliest  of  which  wo  have 
any  tradition  was  the  Scotch  Charital)le,  of  Boston,  in  1(365.  The 
second,  in  the  same  place,  sixty  3'ears  later,  in  1724,  owed  its  origin  to 
our  own  church,  as  its  name  implies. 

Its  founders,  atHuent  and  influential,  had  taken  a  leading  part  in 
building  up  the  two  then  existing  }iarishes  of  our  church  in  Boston, 
King's  Chapel  and  Christ's,  and  helped  to  form  that  of  Trinity,  con- 
secrated ten  years  later.  Several  of  their  names  are  associated  with 
many  another  work  of  utility,  or  charity,  and  their  example  has  been 


G4()  HISTOHY   OF  THE  AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

transmitted  through  their  successive  generations.  Peter  Faneuil  gave 
the  town  its  market-house  and  hall,  well  known  alike  by  his  own 
name  and  as  the  cradle  of  liberty.  Charles  Apthorp,  rich  and  bounti- 
ful, was  the  father  of  East  Apthorp,  designed  for  our  first  Anglican 
diocese  :  at  least  his  elegant  abode  at  Cambridge,  which  remains,  is  still 
familiarly  known  to  many  as  the  "  Episcopal  palace."  William  Price,  in 
1772,  left  his  estate  to  King's  Chapel,  or  Trinity,  for  lectures,  charity, 
and  parochial  purposes,  the  income,  now  $9,000,  being  divided  between 
them;  though  the  former  by  its  change  of  creed,  in  1809,  when  the 
estate  vested,  could  no  longer  assume  the  conditions.  The  memory 
of  Thomas  Greene,  from  Nari'agansett,  attaches  as  a  principal  con- 
tributor to  a  fund  belonging  to  Trinity,  now  $100,000,  for  the  sup- 
port of  its  assistant  ministers. 

The  original  associates  consisted  largely  of  recent  comers  to  the 
province.  The  provincial  charter  of  1692  sulijecting  the  northern 
colonies  more  directly  to  the  crown,  its  officials  took  up  their  abode 
in  the  principal  towns.  Lechmere,  Fi'ankland,  Jekyl,  and,  later. 
Governor  Shirley,  wei-e  on  its  rolls.  Increasing  wealth  and  numbers, 
the  struggle  for  supremacy  on  this  continent  with  France,  and  its 
attendant  armaments,  quickened  trade  and  intercourse  with  the  Old 
World.  Among  the  earliest  members  are  found  the  names  of  Amory, 
Aston,  Ballard,  Blount,  Gibbs,  Lambert,  Kilby,  Comberton,  Cowell, 
Waldo,  Winslow,  and  Wendell,  engaged  in  foreign  commerce  ;  Crease, 
Freeman,  and  Gibbon,  eminent  physicians;  Tyng,  Brinley,  Vassal, 
Lyde,  Ilyslop,  Holker,  Gordon,  Grainger,  Ivers,  Inman,  Coffin, 
Auchmuty,  King,  Phillips,  Sterling,  and  many  besides,  in  various 
ways  entitled  to  consideration.  The  Channel  Islands  gave  Duma- 
resque,  and,  later,  Sohier  and  Brimmer.  The  Huguenots,  besides 
Faneuil,  added  Boutineau,  Bayard,  Bethune,  De  Blois,  Johonnot,  Mas- 
carene,  Rideout,  Rachel,  and  the  publican,  LukeVardy.  These  well- 
known  names,  and  many  more  who  were  distinguished  then,  or  have 
been  since,  in  our  local  annals  or  on  wider  theatres,  prove  that  the 
founders  of  our  society,  and  of  the  several  parishes  of  the  English 
Established  Church  in  Boston,  were  the  compeers  of  any  of  their  con- 
temporai'ies  in  character,  education,  pulilic  service,  or  practical  piety. 

It  is  of  common  remark  that  an  especial  blessing  attends  chari- 
table entei-prises,  and  our  society  has  not  proved  an  exception.  The  ad- 
mission fees,  now  $100  each,  and  the  annual  assessments,  are  invested  ; 
and  Mrs.  ^Nlarriot,  1793,  IMrs.  Howard,  1802,  and  Mrs.  Sprague 
have  given  legacies  exceeding  $10,000,  and  Ihcro  have  been  other  con- 
sideralile  bequests  and  donations.  The  income  has  been  generally  all 
distributed,  yet  the  present  amount  of  the  fund  is  $70,000.  By  its 
act  of  incoi'poration  in  1784,  the  society  was  empowered  to  hold  prop- 
ei-ty  yielding  an  income  of  £900,  extended  in  1853  to  $100,000 : 
and  again  in  1880  to  $250,000,  a  large  addition  to  its  funds  having 
been  generously  promised  by  will  to  establish  a  home  for  church  mem- 
bers wiio  have  seen  better  days. 


^}i^^>^  eA    d.  Jl 


eA    'Q,.  A-v^*-^-^ 


CHURCH  CHARITIES  OF  THE   EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY.  647 


TRE   aonPORATION  FOll   THE   liELIEF  OF  WIDOWS  AND   GIIILDUEN 
OF  CLERGYMEN  OF  THE  PROTESTANT  EPISCOPAL  CUORCU. 

Br  THE  LATE  JOHN  WILLIAM   WALLACE,  LL.D., 
0/  Philadelphia. 

I.    PRE-KEVOLUTIONARY    HISTORY. 

The  distressed  condition  to  which  the  Episcopal  clergy  in  the 
more  northern  of  the  then  British  provinces  of  America  found  them- 
selves reduced  by  advanced  years,  infirmity  of  health,  and  other  casu- 
alties, early  attracted  notice  from  benevolent  members  of  the  English 
Church.  As  early  as  December,  1715,  Archbishop  Teuison  left  £1,000 
sterling  to  his  executors  to  })ut  it  out  "  to  interest  upon  sure  public 
funds,"  and  until  the  happening  of  an  event  which  never  occun-ed '  — 
"  to  apply  the  interest  to  the  benefit  of  such  missionaries,  being  English- 
men, and  of  the  province  of  Canterbury,  as  they  should  find,  upon  good 
information,  to  have  taken  true  pains  in  the  respective  places  which  have 
lieen  committed  ))y  the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel  in 
Foreign  Parts,  to  their  care  in  the  said  foreign  plantations,  and  have 
been  by  unavoidable  sickness  or  other  infirmities  of  the  body,  or  old  age, 
disabled  from  the  performance  of  their  duties  in  the  said  places  or  pre- 
cincts, and  forced  to  return  to  England."  But  this  bequest  made  no 
provision  for  the  helpless  widows  and  the  unprotected  children  whom 
the  clergy  leave  behind  them  when  summoned  to  their  promised  re- 
wards. The  condition  of  such  survivors  in  our  early  British  provinces, 
settled  as  they  mostly  were  "  in  the  dissidence  of  dissent,"  we  may 
well  believe  to  have  been  distressing  in  the  extreme.  But  prior  to 
the  middle  of  the  last  century  I  am  not  aware  that  any  attempt  was 
made  to  provide  relief  against  it.  In  October,  1767,  it  was  resolved 
at  a  meeting  of  the  clergy  at  Elizabethtown,  New  Jersey,  "to  appoint 
a  committee  to  frame  some  plan  of  provision"  for  them.  And  in  pur- 
suance of  the  appointment,  the  Ivev.  Dr.  Auchmuty,  rector  of  Trinity 
Church,  New  York  ;  the  E.e^'.  Dr.  ]Myles  Cooper,  President  of  King's 
College  ;  the  Eev.  Mr.  Cooke,  missionary  at  Shrewsbury  in  New  Jer- 
sey, and  the  Rev.  Dr.  AVilliam  Smith,  provost  of  the  college  and  acade- 
my in  Philadelphia,  drew  up  a  scheme  for  insurance  on  lives  of  the 
clergy  in  the  provinces  of  New  York,  Penusjdvania,  and  New  Jersey, 
and  recommended  to  them  to  solicit  charters  in  each  of  the  provinces 
named.  The  result  of  this  meeting  was  the  establishment  of"  The  Cor- 
poration for  the  Relief  of  the  Widows  and  Children  of  Clergymen  in  the 
Communion  of  the  Church  of  England  in  xYmerica ; "  a  society  whose 
funds,  then  common  to  the  clergy  in  the  three  provinces  of  New  York, 
Pennsylvania,  and  New  Jersey,  amounted  in  its  origin  to  £407  10s.  in 
Pennsylvania  money,  about  $1,106  of  our  Federal  money,  but  which, 
after  paying  every  lawful  claim  ever  presented  to  it  in  the  way  of  con- 
tract, and  after  having  distributed  to  those  entitled  to  its  benefits  thou- 
sands upon  thousands  of  dollars  above  what  they  were  entitled    to 

1  The  consecration  of  two  bishops,  "one  foi'  Archbishop  Seeker's  Letter  to  the  Right  Hon. 
the  Continent,  another  for  the  Isles  of  North  UoratioWalpoleconcerningBishopsin  America." 
America."     See  "A  Critical  Commentary  on     Philadelphia,  1771,  p.  21. 


648  HISTORY  OF  THE   AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

demand  of  right,  finds  itself  aftei*  a  century  of  existence,  in  the  Penn- 
sylvania branch  of  it  alone,  the  possessor  of  nearly  $300,000 ;  its 
obligations  being  less  than  a  third  of  this  sum. 

The  design  of  the  coi'poratiou  having  obtained  the  approbation  of 
the  clergy,  and  a  draft  of  a  charter  being  settled,  two  persons  were 
appointed  in  each  province  to  solicit  the  passing  thereof,  viz.,  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Auchmuty  and  Dr.  Cooper  in  New  York,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Cooke 
and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Odell  in  New  Jersey,  and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Peters  and 
Dr.  Smith  in  Pennsylvania.  The  charter  for  Pennsylvania  was  ob- 
tained on  the  7th  of  February,  17G9  ;  the  Honorable  John  Penn,  Es- 
quire, the  Governor,  having  ordered  the  seal  to  be  put  to  it  on  the 
first  appUcation.  His  Excellency  Governor  Fi'anklin  showed  the 
same  readiness,  and  the  charter  of  New  Jersey  was  completed  in 
May.  That  for  New  York,  although  cheerfully  assented  to  by  His 
Excellency  Sir  Henry  Moore,  Bart.,  was  delayed  by  his  indisposition 
and  death ;  but  the  passing  of  it  was  one  of  the  first  acts  of  his  succes- 
sor, the  Honorable  Lieutenant-Governor  Colden,  who  put  the  seal  to  it 
on  the  29th  of  September.'  The  corporation  was  one  and  the  same 
in  each  of  the  three  provinces ;  the  objects  of  the  three  charters,  the 
trusts,  the  powers,  and  the  funds,  were  the  sam;e  ;  and  the  concerns  of 
the  corporation  were  regulated  by  the  same  managei's  or  officers,  meet^ 
ing  in  Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey,  and  New  York.^  Each  recited  that 
the  clergy  of  the  Church  of  England  were  with  great  difficulty  able 
to  provide  for  their  families,  so  that  their  widows  and  children  were 
often  left  in  great  distress,  and  that,  to  provide  a  remedy,  application 
had  been  made  to  the  proprietaries  to  erect  a  corporation  for  receiv- 
ing, managing,  and  dispensing  of  such  sums  of  money  as  might  be 
subscribed  and  paid  in  from  time  to  time  by  the  clergy  and  mission- 
aries themselves,  and  such  benefactions  as  might  be  given  by  charitable 
and  well-disposed  persons  as  a  fund  towards  the  support  and  relief  of 
their  widows  and  children.  And  the  patent  of  incorporation  thereupon 
GAVE  and  GRANTED  that  certain  persons  designated  should  be  a  body 
politic,  by  the  name  of  "  The  Corporation  for  the  Relief  of  the  Widows 
and  Children  of  Clergymen  in  the  Communion  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land in  America."  Power  was  given  to  the  corporators  and  their  suc- 
cessors to  meet  on  the  first  Tuesday  after  the  Feast  of  St.  Michael  in 
every  year.  The  charter  constituted  the  Rev.  Richard  Peters,  of 
Philadelphia,  the  first  pi'esident  of  the  corporation,  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Thomas  Bradbury  Chandler,  the  first  treasurer,  and  the  Rev.  Jonathan 
Odell,  the  first  secretary.  It  was  ordained  that  the  accounts  and 
transactions  of  the  society  should  be  laid  from  time  to  time  before  the 
Archbishops  of  Canterlniry  and  York,  and  the  Bishop  of  London. 

The  first  Tuesday  after  the  Feast  of  St.  Michael,  the  charter  day, 
as  fixed  by  the  letters-patent,  fell,  in  the  year  1769,  upon  the  3d  of 
October ;  and  in  that  month  of  "  pathetic  loveliness,"  in  the  tranquil 
town  of  Burlington,  New  Jersey,  our  corporation  first  asseml)led. 
Clerical  memliers  had  travelled  from  New  York,  Pennsylvania,  and 
from  several  parts  of  New  Jersey,  to  be  pi'esent ;  and  it  may  be  interest- 

1 29th  September,  1769.  iipyl   to  the  fundameutal  By-Laws  and  Tables 

'See  tlic  preface  (by  the  Hon.  Iloi-aeo  Kin-    of  Hales,  ete.,  Pliiladelphia,  1851. 


CHURCH  CHARITIES   OF  THE   EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY. 


G49 


ingto-notc  that  among  the  representatives  from  New  Jersey  was  John 
Lawrence,  Mayor  of  lUu'lington,  and  father,  I  believe,  of  Captain 
James  Lawrence,  wliose  gaUant,  though  unsuceessfui,  bravery  during 
our  second  war  with  England  has  made  his  name  so  well  known. 

With  a  view  of  having  a  larger  number  of  corporators  than 
■were  present  at  Burlington  tlie  meeting  proceeded  to  Philadelphia, 
without  breaking  up.  A  committee  composed  of  Doctors  Smith, 
Auchmuty,  Chandler,  and  Cooi)er.  with  Benjamin  Chew,  Joseph  Gallo- 
way, John  Koss,  and  Cortland  Skinner,  Esquires,  was  appointed  to 
prepare  business  for  the  meeting  to  be  held  there  :  and  it  was 

"  liesolved,  That  at  every  annual  meeting  of  the  Corporation,  a  sermon,  suitable 
to  the  ooeasion,  be  preached  by  some  one  of  the  members ;  and  that  each  clerical 
member  be  prepared  to  preach  in  his  tm'u,  according  to  the  order  in  which  he  is 
named  in  tlie  cliarters." 


lington. 


On  the  10th  of  October  a  number  of  persons  assembled  at  Bur- 
A  contemporar}'  printed  record  presents  them  thus  : 


Revekend  RICHARD  PETERS,  President. 


Hon.  John  Penn,  Esq.,  Lieutenant- 
Governor  of  Penus3"lvania. 

Hon.  James  Hamilton,  Esq. 

Benjamin  Cuew,  Esq.,  Attorney-Gen- 
eral of  Ponn.sylvania. 

James  Tilguman,  Esq. 

Charles  Read,  Esq. 

Frederick  Smytue,  Esq.,  Chief  Jus- 
tice of  New  Jersey. 

Joseph  Galloway,  Esq.,  Speaker  of 
the  Assembly  of  Pennsylvania. 

Alexander  Stedman,  '\ 

John  Ross,  I  ,:^„„, -,.  „ 

Richard  Hocklf.y,         Esqmres. 

Samuel  Johnson,        J 

Thomas  Willing,  Esq.,  one  of  the 
Judges  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Pemi- 
sylvania. 

John  Swift,  "\ 

Samuel  Powel,  iFsnmrp.? 

Francis  Hopkinson,     ^^^qmres. 

Dr.  John  Kearsley,  J 

Daniel  Coxe,  Esq.,  of  Trenton,  New 
Jersey. 


■  D.D. 


1 


LL.D. 


John  Lawrence,  Esq.,  Mayor  of  Bur- 
lington, New  Jersey. 

Rev.  William  Smith,  ") 
"  Samuel  Auchmuty,  I 
"     Thomas    Bkaduury  i 

ClIAJTOLER,  J 

"  ]\Iyles  Cooper  .    . 

"  William  Currie, 

"  Richard  Charlton, 

"  George  Craig, 

"  Samuel  Cooke, 

"  Thomas  Barton, 

"  William  Thompson, 

"  Jacob  Duciii5. 

"  Leonard  Cutting, 

"  Ale.xandeu  Murray, 

"  Jonathan  Odell, 

"  Samuel  Magaw, 

"  John  Andrews, 

"  Abraham  Beach, 

"  William  Ay  res, 

"  William  Frazer, 

"  Henry  Muhlenberg. 


Clerks. 


The  first  action  of  the  society  seems  to  have  bceti  attendance  on 
divine  worship  in  Christ  Church,  in  which  venerable  temple,  historic 
in  the  annals  of  the  Church  and  State  alike,  Dr.  Smith,  whose  name 
stood  lirst  in  order  among  those  of  the  clergy  in  the  charter,  and  who 
was  the  preacher  for  the  year,  proceeded  to  deliver  his  discourse. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  sermon,  a  collection,  called  in  the 
pi'inted  account  of  the  day,  "a  very  generous  one,"  and  amounting  to 
£40  10s.  Pennsylvania  money, — equivalent.  I  believe,  to  about  $140, 
—  was  made  "  at  the  church  doors  for  the  benefit  of  the  charity."  And 
the  members  of  the  corporation  having  continued  in  church  till  the  con- 
gregation was  dispersed,  went  then  in  a  body  to  wait  on  the  Gov- 


650  HISTORY   OF  THE  AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

ernor,  with  an  address  of  thanlis  for  his  having  granted  them  a  charter 
of  incoi'poratiou. 

This  proceeding  being  ended,  the  gentlemen  present "  dined  to- 
gether," and  proceeded  to  estabhsh  their  fundamental  laws.  They 
were  reenactcd  without  important  change  in  1814,  and  have  been  often 
printed.    The  eldest  Mr.  Binney  has  summed  up  their  character  thus  :  — 

They  allowed  of  one  mode  of  contribution  only,  by  annual  payments  to  the 
coi-poration  of  either  eight,  sixteen,  or  twenty-four  dollars,  at  the  option  of  tlie 
clergymen  contributing;  and  it  stipulated  to  give  relief  to  his  surviving  widow 
and  children,  and  to  either  if  there  were  not  botli  descriptions  of  sunuvors,  accord- 
ing to  one  uniform  rule.  The  clergyman  was  bound  to  make  his  jxayment  regu- 
larly in  each  year  during  his  life,  and  to  make  fifteen  annual  contributions  certainly, 
to  entitle  his  widow  and  children  to  the  largest  rate  of  relief,  namely,  if  he  left  a 
widow,  only,  to  an  annuity  of  iivefold  the  amount  of  the  annual  payment  during 
her  widowhooil,  and,  if  she  maiTied  again,  to  one-half  of  the  quintnjile  annuity  for 
her  life  ;  if  he  left  both  widow  and  children  the  annuity  was  divided  between  them, 
—  one-third  to  the  widow,  as  aforesaid,  and  two-thirds  of  it  to  the  cliildren  for 
thirteen  years;  if  he  left  a  widow  and  one  child  the  annuity  was  divided  between 
the  widow  and  child,  —  one-half  to  the  widow,  as  aforesaid,  and  the  other  half  to 
the  child  for  thirteen  years ;  and  if  he  left  a  child  or  children  and  no  widow  the 
child  or  children  took  the  whole  annuity  for  the  term  of  thirtceu  years.  If  the 
clergyman  paid  any  nmiiber  less  than  five  annual  contributions,  liis  widow  and 
children  were  entitled  only  to  ten  per  cent,  per  annum  on  the  amount  of  his  contri- 
butions, for  thirteen  years;  and  if  he  paid  five  or  more,  and  loss  than  fifteen  annual 
contributions,  they  were  entitled  to  only  half  the  amount  of  the  full  annuity,  until 
the  amount  of  the  half  retained  by  the  corporation,  added  to  the  five  or  more  pay- 
ments made  by  the  deceased,  without  computing  interest,  should,  together,  make 
a  sum  equal  to  fifteen  annual  payments,  at  which  time  the  fall  annuity  became 
payable. 

Bishop  White  informs  us  that  great  pains  were  bestowed  on  the 
formation  of  the  society,  and  "especially  in  the  obtaining  of  correct 
principles  of  calculation,  Avarranted  by  extensive  observation  of  the 
duration  of  lives."  To  whom  was  the  society  and  the  science  of  life 
insurance  indebted  for  this  effort,  so  far  in  advance  of  most  on  this 
continent,  to  ascertain  those  principles  of  reversionary  payment  by 
which  the  society  could  best  and  most  safely  afford  its  relief  ? 

No  effort  in  such  a  matter  could  have  been  well  made  at  Phila- 
delphia in  the  year  1769,  by  such  gentlemen  as  then  represented  our 
province  in  the  board  of  managers,  without  some  consultation  with 
the  great  "  economist  and  calculator  "  of  his  day,  Dr.  Benjamin  Frank- 
lin. His  tastes  led  him  to  inquiries  of  this  class ;  and,  though  Dr. 
Smith  had  licen  estranged  from  him,  and  charged  him,  in  1762,  with 
want  of  truth,  and  with  malignant  tempers,^  Franklin  was  not  the 
less,  in  17(i9,  in  frequent  correspondence  with  some  of  the  citizens  of 
Philadelphia  wlio  formed  the  early  members  of  the  society,  and,  as  one 
of  the  trustees  of  the  College  of  Philadelphia,  was,  to  some  degi-ee, 
in  associations,  probably,  with  Dr.  Smith  himself.  It  is  remarkable, 
that  in  the  very  year  of  the  society's  incorporation,  Dr.  Price  addressed 
to  Franklin  his  well-known  "  Observations  on  the  Expectations  of  Lives, 
the  Increase  of  Mankind,  the  numl)er  of  Inhaliitants  of  London,  and 
the  influence  of  Great  Towns  on  Health  and  Population,"-  and  tliatthe 

'  See  Stille's  "  Jlfmoir  of  Dr.  Smith,"  pp.  '  See  "  Obsei-vations  on  Revci-sionaiy  Pay- 

29,  30.  ments,"  by  Richard  Price.    I^oiulon,  1772. 


CHURCH   CHARITIES   OF  THE   EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY.  G51 

minutes  of  17 To  show  tb:it  Dr.  Price,  at  the  request  of  Franl^lin,  had 
I)cen  considering  the  scheme  of  annuities  of  wliich  we  are  spealcing,  and 
gave  his  judgment  upon  them.  The  fact  of  Franlcliu's  hand  in  llie 
original  formation  of  it  seems  to  be  rendered  almost  certain  l)y  tlie 
further  fact  that  Mr.  Galloway,  a  close  and  confidential  friend  of 
Pranklin,  and  eminent  as  a  lawyer  of  the  province,  was  a  member  of 
the  committee  appointed  at  the  first  meeting  to  prepare  business  for 
the  meeting  at  Pliiladcdphia,  where  these  laws  were  resolved  on,  and 
that  in  a  contemporaiy  printed  account  it  is  mentioned  that  "  the 
great  attention  paid  to  it  by  the  lay  members,  the  accuracy  and 
care  with  which  all  the  proposed  articles  and  fundamental  rules  were 
examined,  digested,  and  corrected,  enpeckdlij  hy  (jenllemcn  of  the  law, 
deserve  to  be  held  continually  in  grateful  remembrance  by  the  clergy." 
Application  had  been  made,  apparently,  in  the  very  incipiency 
of  the  scheme,  to  the  venerable  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the 
Gospel,  praying  their  countenance  and  assistance  in  carrying  the  new 
design  into  execution.  Their  answer,  signed  by  their  secretary,  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Burton,  was  as  follows  :  — 

That,  as  a  mark  of  tlieir  earnest  desire  to  for^rard  so  benevolent  an  under- 
taking', they  willingly  charge  themselves  witli  an  animal  contribution  of  £20  ster- 
ling to  tlie  scheme,  for  each  of  the  Provinces  of  New  York,  New  Jersey,  and 
Pennsylvania ;  that  is,  £G0  sterling  per  annum  in  the  whole  ;  for  which  the  treasurer 
of  the  Corporation  for  the  Relief  of  the  Widows,  &c.,  may  draw  on  the  treasurer 
to  the  Society  for  Propagating  the  Gospel,  commencing  from  the  time  that  the 
charters  shall  be  obtamed,  and  the  subscriptions  of  the  clergy  themselves  take 
place. 

"The  thanks  due  to  the  venerable  society  for  such  a  mark  of  their 
goodness  and  kindness  to  the  Episcopal  clergy  in  these  parts"  were 
ordered  to  be  properly  transmitted  to  them ;  and  M'erc  presented  in 
a  letter  from  the  President,  Dr.  Peters. 

The  meeting  of  1770  was  in  New  York,  and  the  annual  sermon 
was  preached  by  Dr.  Auchmut}^  The  minutes  contain  the  following 
record  of  a  layman's  liberality  :  — 

Upon  a  motion  made  that  a  jjroper  seal  might  be  ordered  for  the  corpora- 
tion, Mr.  Le  Koy  generously  oifereil  to  pay  the  expense  of  any  seal  that  shall  be 
agi'ced  upon ;  the  price  not  exceeding  teu  guineas. 

Tlie  meeting  of  1771  was  at  Perth  Amboy,  New  Jersey;  Dr. 
Chandler  preaching  the  annual  sermon.  Governor  Golden,  of  New 
York,  had  now  given  place  to  Governor  Tryon.  The  minutes  thus 
record  the  fact,  with  the  action  of  the  corporation  upon  it :  — 

Dr.  Smith,  Dr.  Auchmuty,  and  Dr.  Chandler  were  appointed  a  committee  to 
di'aw  up  immediately  a  proper  address  to  his  Excellency  Governor  Tryon,  con- 
gratulating him  upon  his  safe  an-ival  in  liis  government,  and  acquainting  him  that 
the  corporation  had  done  themselves  the  honor  of  choosing  his  Excellency  a 
member. 

In  1772,  the  meeting  being  for  this  year  in  Pennsylvania,  at  Phil- 
adelphia, a  similar  proceeding  took  place  in  regard  to  "  the  Honorable 
Richard  Peun,  Esquire,  Governor  of  Pennsylvania,  who  was  unani- 
mouslj'  elected  a  member  of  the  corporation." 


652  HISTORY   OF  THE   AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

Such,  within  foui*  years  of  the  Dechiratioii  of  Independence,  in 
New  York,  New  Jersey,  and  Pennsylvania,  where  the  spiritual  stands 
now  so  independent,  was  the  relation  of  the  Church  to  powers 
temporal. 

The  records  of  1772,  at  Philadelphia,  present  no  event  of  inter- 
est.    Some  little  incidents  arc  thus  quaintly  recorded  :  — 

The  corporation  proceeded  to  Christ  Church,  and  as  the  Rev.  Dr.  Cooper, 
President  of  Ring's  C'<}no<i:e  in  New  York,  whoso  turn  it  was  to  preacli,  could  not 
attend,  the  annnal  sermon  was  preached  by  tlie  Rev.  Dr.  Peters,  Rector  of  Christ 
Cliurch  and  St.  Peter's,  Phihrdelphia,  and  a  liberal  collection  made  for  the  charity. 
After  sermon,  Mr.  Ilopkinson,  one  of  the  treasurers,  acquainted  the  Corpora- 
tion that  Richard  Hockley,  Esq.,  one  of  the  members,  had  generously  subscribed 
five  pounds  per  amium,  Pennsylvania  money,  during  his  natural  life,  for  the  bene- 
fit of  the  fund,  for  which  the  corporation  requested  him  to  accept  their  sincere 
thanks. 

As  Dr.  Cooper,  whose  turn  it  was  to  preach  at  this  meeting,  could  not  attend : 
Agreed,  That  he  has  not  thereljy  lapsed  his  turn,  and  that  he  be  jjrepared  to 
preach  at  the  next  animal  meeting. 

Agreed,  That  the  thanks  of  this  corporation  be  given  to  their  wortliy  Presi- 
dent, for  his  sermon  preached  this  day  before  them,  at  which  £120  35.  4(f.  was  col- 
lected. 

The  minutes  of  1773  record,  in  a  style  of  similar  simplicity,  an 
evidence  of  the  ever  ready  service  of  the  venerable  president.  They 
tell  us  that  "as  the  Rev.  Mr.  Reading,  missionary  at  Apoquiniminck, 
in  Pennsylvania,  who  had  undertaken  to  preach  the  annual  sermon, 
was  prevented  from  attending  by  a  sudden  and  severe  indisposition, 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Peters,  in  this  necessity,  was  pleased  to  preach  the  same 
sermon  which  he  had  preached  (but  not  printed)  the  former  3'ear  at 
Philadelphia ;  "  and  a  handsome  collection  was  made  in  the  church. 

By  whatever  person  —  whether  by  Dr.  Franklin,  or  l)y  some  other 
man  less  disposed  to  such  studies  —  the  scheme  of  annual  payments 
and  annuities  was  settled,  and  whether  it  was  or  was  not  settled  on  a 
true  estimate  of  the  rates  of  life  and  death,  it  is  certain  that  the  mana- 
gers of  the  corporation  from  its  origin  did  not  trust  to  the  payments 
made  by  persons  contracting  with  it,  to  make  good  the  promi.sed  annu- 
ities. A  "  sermon  suitable  to  the  occasion,"  to  l)e  preached  at  each 
annual  meeting,  was  a  matter  meant  to  be  tixed,  as  we  have  seen,  as 
a  permanent  arrangement  at  the  first  meeting  held  1iy  the  society ; 
and  a  collection  followed  as  of  course.  In  1772  it  is  "recommended 
to  the  clergy,  who  are  members  of  this  corporation,  to  take  all 
convenient  opportunities  in  their  respective  parishes,  both  pul)licly 
and  privately,  to  solicit  benefiictions  to  this  charitable  institution." 
And  in  1774,  with  obvious  perception,  even  at  that  early  day,  of  the 
shadows  which  coming  events  were  casting  before  them,  we  find  the 
foimders  of  the  corporation,  while  acknowledging  a  gift  of  £13  lO.s. 
from  John  Dickinson,  Esq.,  of  £(5  from  Dr.  Alexander  Ross,  of 
Jamaica,  of  £20  from  the  lion.  James  Hamilton,  of  Pennsylvania, 
and  of  £5  from  Mr.  James  Nixon,  endeavoring  to  place  its  beneficent 
purpose  upon  a  base  of  less  varying  strength,  by  an  endowment  of 
land  from  the  crown.  The  minutes  of  October,  in  that  year,  contain 
the  following  entry  :  — 


CHURCH  CHAKITIES   OF  THK  EIGHTEENTH  CENTUKY.  G53 

liesolvcd,  That  this  corporation  ought  luimbly  to  solicit  a  grant  of  a  quantity 
of  land  iVom  llis  RIa.tksty,  for  the  t'nrthcr  sui>i)oi't  of  this  cliaritablo  institution; 
tliat  tliey  tliink  sucli  grant  ccjultl  bu  advantageously  located  in  (_;anada,  on  the  far 
side  of  the  Oliio,  near  or  adjoining  the  western  boundary  of  Feunsylvania,  and  that 
the  following  gentlemen,  viz., 

The  lliglit  Honorable  the  Earl  of  Sterling,  the  Ilonoraljle  Mr.  (Miicf  Justice 
Smith,  and  the  llev.  Dr.  Chandler,  of  New  Jersey;  Goldsb(u-ough  lianj-ar  and 
James  Dnane,  Kscjs.,  with  the  llev.  Ur.  Auehmuty,  of  Now  York;  and  the  lion. 
James  Hamilton  and  iJcnjamiu  Chew,  K.sq.,  with  the  llev.  Dr.  Smith,  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, 

Be  and  they  are  hereby  nominated  a  committee,  with  jiowcrs  to  locate  the 
lands,  determine  the  proper  ijuantity  tcj  be  jirayetl  for,  and  also  to  pri^pan;  and  send 
home  the  petition,  at  siieh  time  as  Ihey  may  think  i)roper.  And  it  is  the  opinion  of 
this  board  that  such  application  should  be  spccdilij  made. 

Whether  the  application  was  "speedily  made"  or  not,  the  min- 
utes do  not  sliow  us.  If  it  was  not  so  made  it  was  proI)al)ly  not  made 
at  all.  The  Revolution  was  soon  upon  us.  The  Church  of  England, 
and  the  missionaries  which  it  sent  us,  were  associated  largely  with 
England  hcr.sclf,  and  came  in  for  a  share  of  the  odium  merited  by  her 
rulers.  Many  of  the  missionaries,  abandoning  tlic  country,  returned 
to  the  mother-country,  and  the  society  for  the  relief  of  their  widows 
and  children  seemed  in  danger  of  extinction,  l)y  the  failure  alike  of  the 
conditions  and  the  necessities  for  which  it  had  been  incorporated. 

There  was  no  meeting  subsequently  to  1775.  The  contributors, 
who  in  1771  numbered  twenty-seven,  had  l)y  October,  1775,  decreased, 
if  an  entry  of  payments  on  the  minutes  represents  them  all,  to  four. 
One  of  the  treasurers.  Dr.  Chandler,  remained  faithful  to  Great 
Britain,  and  retired  from  this  country.  And  it  is  a  curious  incident 
that  the  earliest  president  of  the  society,  its  faithful  friend  and  very 
liberal  benefactor,  Ur.  Peters,  died  six  days  after  the  Declaration  of 
Independence  was  read  from  the  steps  of  the  State-House.  After 
the  minutes  of  the  meeting  of  1774  —  whose  proceedings  seem  to  have 
been  more  than  usually  full,  and  to  have  been  very  fully  recorded  — 
we  find  in  the  records  a  short  and  expressive  entry  :  — 

The  minutes  of  the  proceedings  of  the  corporation  for  the  year  1775  have 
been  lost  in  the  confusion  of  the  war,  which  commenced  in  th.at  year.  During  the 
war  the  corporation  did  not  meet. 

The  whole  corporation  stock  in  October,  1774,  was,  in  Pennsyl- 
vania currency,  £2,572  12.s.  lOcZ.  ;  that  is  to  say,  in  their  own,  or  some 
other  currency,  not  all  of  it  Pennsylvanian  :  — 

For  Pennsylvania £1,411  6.  10. 

For  New  York 1,00C  7.     8-|. 

For  New  Jersey 232  6.     8. 

So  ends  the  pre-revolutionary  history  of  the  corporation.  For 
nearly  ten  years — during  parts  of  wliich  the  British  army  was  in  the 
possession  of  New  York,  Philadeliihia,  and  of  many  jjarts  of  Xew 
Jersey  —  the  corporation  was  without  any  corporate  head,  and,  as 
respected  the  State  of  New  Jersey,  without  a  treasurer.  It  lay,  in- 
deed, through  the  whole  war,  in  a  state  so  hitent  and  inactive  that 
but  for  three  or  four  persons  it  might  have  been  regarded  as  in  a  state 
more  of  death  than  of  dormancy. 


654  HISTORY   OF   THE   AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 


II.    POST-REVOLUTIONARY   HISTORY. 

With  the  returu  of  peace,  the  thoughts  of  a  few  members  of 
the  corporation  who  had  remained  upon  this  continent  were  directed 
to  the  resuscitation  and  reoi'ganization  of  the  body. 

The  members,  who,  till  the  war,  or  shortly  prior  to  it,  had  taken 
an  interest  in  the  corporation  were  numerous.  At  the  meeting  of 
October  3,  1773,  there  were  present:  Dr.  Peters,  Dr.  Smith,  Dr. 
Auchmuty,  Dr.  Chandler,  Dr.  Cooper,  Dr.  Ogilvie,  Mr.  Craig, 
Mr.  Seabury,  Mr.  luglis,  Mr.  Duche,  Mr.  Cutting,  Mr.  Beach, 
Mr.  Frazer,  Mr.  Sayre,  Mr.  Bloomer,  Mr.  Provoost,  Mr.  Coombe, 
Mr.  White,  Mr.  Ayres.  And  at  that  meeting  Mr.  William  Stringer 
and  Mr.  Robert  Blackwell  were  chosen  members.  In  previous 
records  we  find,  in  addition,  the  names  of  Mr.  Charlton,  iMr. 
Eeading,  INIr.  Cooke,  Mr.  Preston,  Mr.  Browne,  Air.  Magaw,  Mr. 
Andrews,  and  Mr.  Frazer;  twenty-nine  clergy  in  all  of  the  Church 
of  England,  belonging  to  one  or  other  of  the  three  States;  and  being, 
I  suppose,  most  of  the  clergy  of  the  Church  of  England  in  them. 

Of  all  these,  full  two-thirds  disappear  from  the  records  in  the 
revolutionary  term  ;  and  I  suppose  that  the  year  1784  probably  found 
few  alive,  and  on  this  hemisphere,  other  than  Dr.  Smith,  Dr.  AVhite, 
Dr.  Blackwell,  Dr.  Magaw,  Dr.  Provoost,  Dr.  Beach,  Dr.  Andrews, 
Mr.  Cutting,  ]Mr.  Bloomer,  and  Mr.  Frazer. 

The  first  action  by  members  of  the  society  towards  reestablishing 
it,  after  the  peace,  was  a  meeting  of  a  few  clergymen  at  New  Bruns- 
wick, New  Jersey,  on  the  13th  and  14th  of  May,  1784. ^  Here  it  was 
determined  to  i^rocure  a  larger  meeting  on  the  5th  of  October,  at 
New  York. 

At  the  meeting,  reassembled  in  New  York,  "on  the  Tuesday  of 
October  proposed,  being  the  first  Tuesday  after  the  feast  of  St. 
Michael,"  the  work  of  reestablishment  was  proceeded  in.  The  late 
president,  Dr.  Peters,  having  died  July  10,  1776,  and  "it  being 
now  proposed  to  appoint  a  chairman  to  open  the  business,  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Smith  was  chosen  for  that  purpose."  The  Rev.  Benjamin 
INIoore,  afterwards  Bishop  of  New  York,  acted  as  the  secretary. 
The  first  thing  was  the  appointment  of  a  committee  of  three 
clerical  and  three  lay  members,  —  Drs.  Smith,  White,  and  Pi'ovoost, 
and  Messrs.  Duane,  Peters,  and  Livingston,  —  "to  examine  into 
the  aflairs  of  this  corporation  since  the  last  meeting  at  Philadelphia, 
on  Tuesday  after  the  feast  of  St.  Michael,  in  the  year  1775,  and  to 
report  thereon  as  soon  as  may  be."  Having  adjourned  to  attend 
jilivine  service,  at  St.  Paul's  Church,  New  York,  on  Wednesday  the 
6th,  where  the  annual  sermon  was  preached  by  Dr.  Magaw,  the 
rector  of  St.  Paul's  Church,  Philadelphia,  the  meeting  was  reassembled 
on  the  8lh,  the  committee  being  ready  to  report. 

The  minutes  tell  us  that  the  Hon.  Mr.  Duane,  in  behalf  of  the 
committee,  submitted  the  following,  "  its  observations  and  advice"  :  — 

1  Bishop  White's  "Memoirs,"  2d  ed.,  p.  21.    date  as  "  11th  May,  1784."   Vide  Peixy's  "  Hist. 
This  is  the  date  Kivon  by  Bishop  White.    Tlie    Notes  and  Documents,"  pp.  6-8. 
original  MS.  in  the  hands  of  the  editor  gives  tlie 


CHURCH   CHARITIES   OF   THE   EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY.  655 

That  it  is  expedient  that  the  objections  -vvliich  miglit  bo  made,  on  account  of 
the  ncm-uscr  of  tlie  powers  jrraiitcd  by  the  eharter,  be  I'cmovcd. 

That  the  respective  l^egishiturcs  of  New  York,  New  Jersey,  and  Pennsylvania 
be  applied  to  for  this  purpose. 

That  the  last  clause  of  the  charter  shall  bo  so  far  altered  as,  instead  of  sub- 
jecting the  accounts  and  proceedings  of  the  corporation  to  the  revisal  and  ratifica- 
tion therein  specified,  the  same  accounts  and  proceedings  shall  hereafter  be  revised, 
checked,  and  confirmed  in  the  manner  expressed  in  the  said  charter  by  thefiovernor. 
Chancellor,  and  C'liief  ,Iustice  of  the  State  of  New  York,  or  any  two  of  them;  and 
by  the  Governor,  or  President,  (he  Chief  Justice,  and  the  Atlorney-Gcneral  of  tho 
States  of  Pennsj'lvania  and  New  Jersey  respectively,  or  by  any  two  of  them.  And 
that  the  title  of  the  corporaticm  shall  be  altered  as  follows:  "  The  Corporation  for 
the  Relief  of  Widows  and  Vhildrcn  of  Clergymen  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church 
in  the  United  States  of  Ayiierica." 

And,  also,  that  the  following  clause  in  the  proviso  of  tho  said  charter  bo  an- 
nulled or  repealed,  viz. :  "  And  not  contrary  to  the  laws  of  that  jxirt  of  Great 
Britain  called  England." 

That  committees  be  ajipointcd  for  each  of  the  said  three  States,  with  power  to 
represent  and  act  for  this  eorijoration  in  tho  premises. 

That  in  full  confidence  that  the  benevolent  design  for  which  this  corporation 
was  instituted  will  bo  encouraged  by  the  said  Legislatures,  this  corporation  ought 
to  proceed  to  the  election  of  the  usual  and  necessary  officers  for  conducting  their 
business,  as  well  as  of  members  for  tilling  up  vacancies.  And  also  to  examine 
into  the  state  of  their  funds,  and  all  other  matters  which  require  immediate  at- 
tention. 

The  corporation  now  proceeded  to  ballot  for  twenty-nine  new 
members.  Their  names  ajipear  upon  the  roll  of  corporators  under  the 
date  of  1784.  It  is  interesting  to  note  the  names  of  General  Alexan- 
der  Hamilton,  then  in  his  twenty-seventh  year,  and  of  John  Jay, 
among  those  from  New  York,  and  of  both  Robert  and  Gouverneur 
Morris  among  those  from  Pennsjdvania.  OfScers  were  also  elected  ; 
Dr.  Smith  was  appointed  president;  and  the  Rev.  Benjamin  Moore, 
secretary.  The  treasurers  were,  for  JVew  York,  John  Alsop ;  for 
JVew  Jersey,  Joshua  Maddox  Wallace  ;  and/b?'  Pennsijlvania ,  Samuel 
Powel,  this  last  reappointed.  Standing  committees  of  correspondence, 
and  for  obtaining  an  alteration  and  confirmation  of  the  charter,  were 
also  elected  ;  Dr.  White,  and  JNIr.  Peters,  for  Pennsijlvania ;  Messrs. 
John  Stevens  and  J.  M.  AVallacc.  for  New  Jersey  ;  and  Messrs.  Duane, 
Robert  R.  Livingston,  with  the  Rev.  Mr.  Provoost,  for  JVew  York. 

The  assets  of  the  society  were  found  in  different  degrees  of  sound- 
ness in  the  difl'erent  States.  Those  in  Pennsylvania,  which  had  lieen 
under  the  care  of  Samuel  Powel,  Esq.,  were  solid  and  forthcoming. 
Mr.  Powel  reported  in  1786,  that  since  the  4th  of  October,  1775,  he 
had  — 

Received  on  account  of  the  corporation,  the  sum  of      .         .         ,         £1,359.  5.  6. 
And  had  jiaid  away .  1,354.  4.  2. 


Balance  in  favor  of  the  Treasury £5.  1.  4. 

And  that  the  total  amount  of  the  corporation's  stock  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, including  mortgages,  was  £2,795  10s.  Qd.  Claiming  the  fulfil- 
ment  of  a  promise  made  to  him  at  some  former  meeting,  for  leave  to 
resign  his  olEce,  he  was  discharged  from  the  trust  after  thirteen  years' 
service  —  from   1773  to  1786 — "with  the  thanks  of  the  corporation 


656  HISTORY   OF   THE   AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

for  his  fidelity,  accuracy,  and  attention  to  the  interests  of  the  institu- 
tion under  oircumstances  of  peculiar  difEculty." 

The  fluid  in  Xcw  York  was  in  a  condition  not  quite  so  satisfactory. 
A  proposition  of  the  treasurer,  made  apparently  in  1785,  that  he  should 
give  landed  security  for  £1,237  lO.s.  7|(/.  ftjKcie  principal,  with  interest 
in  future,  was  accepted  by  the  corporation,  and  the  sum  above  named 
may  ))c  taken  as  the  property  of  the  corporation  in  New  York. 

With  the  retirement  "  beyond  seas,"  as  it  is  called  in  the  minutes, 
of  Dr.  Chandler,  the  wdiole  fund  (£232  G.s.  8cZ.)  existing  for  New 
Jersey,  in  1777,  was  lost. 

At  the  close  of  the  Revolution  the  aggregated  funds  of  the  cor- 
poration consisted  of  the  — 

Fund  in  Pennsylvania £2,79.5.  10.  6. 

"      New  York £1,237.  10.  7|. 

"  New  Jersey;  moneys  received  from  1775  to  1784,  from 
the  Kev.  Mr.  Blackwell,  Frazur,  Beach,  and  Odell, 
subscribers  for  that  State 18.  14.  3. 

"With  this  capital,  surviving  the  shock  of  the  Revolution,  the  cor- 
poration renewed  its  meetings,  its  annual  sermons,  and  its  business  ;  Dr. 
Smith,  after  the  adjournment  of  the  meeting  at  New  York,  remained 
in  that  city  to  preach  on  the  following  Sunday,  both  morning  and  after- 
noon, which  added  £112  19,s.  lOcZ.  to  the  corporate  moneys.  The  next 
meeting  was  fixed  for  Trenton,  but  the  minutes  of  17cS")  inform  us  that, 
owing  to  the  bad  weather  and  other  incidents,  the  meml)crs  could  not 
be  asseml)led  in  sufEcieut  numbers  to  do  business,  and  that  certain  of 
the  members,  who  met  in  Philadelphia,  sent  some  of  those  present  to 
Trenton  to  procure  an  adjournment,  to  meet  on  the  20th  of  June  in 
the  next  ycAV  at  Philadelphia,  and  that  those  who  met  at  Trenton  ad- 
journed accordingly.  The  meeting  of  1786  was  so  held  ;  and,  among 
its  agreeable  incidents,  was  the  announcement,  l)y  the  Rev.  Dr.  Moore, 
that  Mr.  James  De  Blez,  of  New  York,  had  bequeathed  to  the  cor- 
poration a  no  less  sum  than  £400. 

With  the  return  of  peace  the  ol^ligations  of  the  corporation  to 
its  various  subscribers,  several  of  whom  had  died  since  the  last  meet- 
ing in  1775,  and  whose  families  stood,  therefore,  in  special  relations  to 
the  body,  made  matter  of  some  difEculty.  How  fir  the  loyalist  clergy 
who  abandoned  the  country,  and  had  died  in  England,  were  to  be 
regarded  on  the  same  footins;  as  those  who  followed  the  fortunes  of 
the  colonies,  and  withstood  invading  arms, — how  far  and  on  whom 
the  cesser  of  payments  for  ten  years  should  operate  to  destroy  prior 
rights,  or  how  far  and  for  whom  the  penalties  of  forfeiture  were 
suspended  by  the  war,  these,  and  many  questions  of  difEculty,  both  in 
the  principles  and  details  of  computing  the  annuities,  may  have  natu- 
rally embarrassed  the  resy)ective  treasurers.  A  committee,  composed  of 
Rev.  Drs.  Smith  and  White  from  the  clergy,  and  of  Messrs.  Wilcox, 
Wallace,  and  Chaloner  from  the  laity,  was  appointed  to  settle  the 
annuities,  and,  on  their  report  it  was 

Eesolvcd,  That  the  respective  treasurers  be  instructed  to  settle  with  the  sev- 


CHURCH    CHARITIES   OF  THE   EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY.  657 

eral  annuitants  who  aru  entitlod  to  relief  from  the  funds  of  this  corporation, 
accordino;  to  tiie  tenor  and  intent  of  the  fundamental  articles. 

That  is  to  say,  that  they  shall  pay,  as  soon  as  they  .shall  bo  enabled,  their 
respective  annuities,  accordins;  to  the  classes  to  which  they  belonc;,  or  to  such 
as  shall  demand  tlie  same,  deducting  such  forfeitures  as  may  have  been  incurred  by 
the  respective  subscribers. 

But,  whereas,  the  general  calamities  of  war  have  prevented  the  subscribers 
from  making  any  payments  after  the  Tuesday  immediately  preceding  the  feast  of 
St.  Michael,  in  the  j-ear  177G,  it  is 

Uesolvcd,  That  no  linos  or  forfeitures  shall  lie  deemed  to  have  been  incurred 
after  that  time,  or  be  deducted  from  the  annuities  due. 

The  matter  being  one  of  contract,  where  the  war  had  but  sus- 
pended remedies,  and  not  anuUed  the  ol)li<;ation,  no  distinction  ap- 
jiears  to  have  been  made  between  the  families  of  the  loyalist  cleriry 
and  those  who  adhered  to  the  colonies.  And  in  the  following  year, 
at  a  meeting  composed  of  men,  most  of  whose  names  are  found  in  the 
early  councils  of  the  Church  in  America,  the  continuing  identity  of 
the  Church  in  England  with  the  Church  in  America  would  appear 
to  have  been  recognized  in  a  resolution  somewhat  striking,  thus  :  — 

That  .an  address  be  made  to  the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel, 
soliciting  the  p.ayment  of  arrearages  of  their  annual  contribution  to  this  corpo- 
ration, with  which  they  generously  charged  themselves. 

The  year  1789  is  to  be  signalized  by  the  retirement  of  Dr.  Smith 
from  the  presidency  of  the  corporation.  The  thanks  of  the  corporation 
were  given  to  him  for  his  long  and  faithful  services  as  president ;  and 
the  Rev.  Dr.  AVhite,  who  had  been  a  member  since  1772,  and  had 
now  recently  been  consecrated  to  the  episcopate,  was  elected  to  the  place. 

In  the  same  year  the  corporation  had  the  gratiiieation  of  receiv- 
ing, by  request,  from  Andrew  Doz,  one  of  its  members,  the  largest 
sum  ever  received  from  one  individual.  He  left  his  property,  on  the 
death  of  his  wife  and  widowed  daughter,  and,  as  it  is  recorded  by 
the  latter,  "  with  their  entire  approbation,"  almost  wholly  to  institutions 
of  the  Church  ;  one-seventh  part  of  his  estate,  this  share  producing,  so 
far  as  can  be  ascertained,  about  $4,000,'  coming  to  the  society. 

The  corporation  continued  its  annual  meetings  through  the  years 
1790  and  1791.  At  the  meeting  of  the  former  year  we  tind  Hamilton,  at 
that  time  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  consulting  with  White  and  Pro- 
voost  upon  the  wisdom  of  a  change  in  a  fundamental  rule  of  the  cor- 
poration, suggested,  we  are  told,  "  on  account  of  the  calamities  of  the 
late  war."  In  any  such  council  we  may  l)elicve  that  the  voice  of  the 
first  secretary  was  potential.  The  member  of  the  body  who  records 
his  presence  and  his  action  was  the  excellent  Benjamin  Moore,  D.D., 
then  and  long  secretary  of  the  corporation  ;  no  stranger  to  his  sincerity 
in  all  things,  or  to  his  interest  in  what  concerned  the  ministers  of 
religion,  when  summoned,  fourteen  years  afterwards  to  the  bedside  of 
the  expiring  patriot,  there  to  administer  to  him  a  sacrament  of  the 
Church,  and.  to  receive  from  his  lips,  amidst  the  agony  of  a  mortal 
wound,  the  solemn  assurance  that  he  had  "no  ill  will"  against  the  man 

'  Mr.  Binncy's  Preface,  p.  8. 


658  HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN   EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

who  sought  imd  took  his  life ;    and  lliat  "  he  forgave  all  that  had 
happened." 

The  minutes  of  this  year,  1791,  tell  us  tliat  the  meeting  was  at 
Trenton,  and  after  making  mention  of  the  election  of  officers,  that 

The  corporation  then  proceeded  to  the  church,  where  a  sermon  hi2;hly  suitable 
to  the  occasion  was  preached  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Blackwell  to  a  number  of  the  re- 
spectable inluibitants  of  Trenton  and  its  vicinity.     The  collection  was  £7  12s.  Id. 

This,  I  believe,  was  the  last  sermon  preached  before  the  society, 
and  the  last  collection  made  in  its  ))clialf. 

From  1791  to  1796  the  minutes  record  no  meetings,  except  one 
in  1793,  and  for  several  years,  up  to  1813,  there  were  many  interrup- 
tions of  them.  Without  doul)t  the  frequent  joiu'ncyings  of  the 
members,  performed  by  some  of  them  most  faithfully  to  Philadel- 
phia, New  York,  and  to  diiferent  towns  in  New  Jersey,  must  have 
been  found  greatly  laborious,  accomplished  as  they  were  before 
the  days  of  either  steamboats  or  railways,  and  when  the  transport  was 
to  be  made  across  the  arid  sands  of  New  Jersey,  either  in  the  common 
stage,  or  the  less  expeditious  private  carriage  of  the  owner ;  the  only 
variation  to  such  a  conveyance  being  by  the  "  periaguas  "  of  that  day 
on  water  at  the  e.xtremities  of  the  road,  and  where  storms  and  calms 
were  as  frequent  as  the  more  grateful  zephyrs.  The  aggregation 
of  the  society  had  been  made  in  the  days  of  the  church's  infancy  and 
feebleness  on  this  continent.  With  bishops  of  its  own,  and  with 
increasing  strength,  a  separation  and  independent  action  were  better. 
The  minutes  of  May,  1796,  accordingly  disclose  to  us,  that  at  a  meet- 
ing held  in  Trenton,  it  was  the  opinion  of  the  members  present  that 
three  distinct  corporations  ought  to  be  formed ;  one  for  each  of  the 
three  States.  And  a  separation  was  then  resolved  on,  with  a  division 
of  funds  on  these  principles  :  — 

1.  That  an  estimate  should  be  made  of  all  moneys  conti'ibuted  in  the  States 
I'espectively,  whether  by  subscription  or  donation. 

2.  That  an  estimate  should  be  made  of  all  moneys  contributed  by  corpora- 
tions, or  by  individuals  not  residing  in  any  of  the  three  States. 

3.  That  an  exact  statement  of  the  funds  of  the  present  corporation  should 
be  made,  from  which  it  might  be  ascert;uned  how  far  they  fell  short  of  the  sums 
wliich  had  been  received. 

4.  That  a  new  fund  should  be  raised  in  each  State  by  a  dem.and  on  the  pres- 
ent aggregate  fund,  in  a  ratio  compounded  of  a  right  to  one-third  of  what  should 
apjiear  on  Article  2,  and  to  a  share  in  what  should  appear  on  Article  1,  propor- 
tioned to  the  moneys  which  had  been  contributed  in  each  State,  whether  by  sub- 
scription or  by  donation. 

Under  these  resolutions,  a  committee,  of  whom  the  acting  mem- 
bers were  Bishop  White  and  Dr.  Blackwell,  for  Pennsylvania,  Dr. 
Beach,  for  New  York,  and  Mr.  Joshua  INladdox  Wallace,  for  New 
Jersey,  was  appointed  to  effect  the  division  of  the  corporate  funds  on 
the  foregoing  plan.  They  found,  on  the  27tli  November,  1806,  that  the 
whole  fund  consisted  of  $26,485,  and  that  there  would  be  to  be  assigned 

To  the  separate  corporation  in  New  York   ....      $11,806 

Pennsylvania       .        .        .        10,390 
"  "  "  New  Jersey         .        .        .  4,289 

$2C.4S5 


CHURCH  CHARITIES   OF  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY.  659 

And  the  legi.slaturcs  of  New  York,  Pennsylvania,  and  New  Jer- 
sey, having  created  new  corporations  in  their  States  respectively,' 
to  whom  the  powers  and  duties  of  the  aggregate  corporations  were 
transferred,  the  several  portions  of  the  fund  were  paid  to  them  respec- 
tively ;  provision  being  made  for  the  rights  of  existing  contractors 
with  the  corporation,  who  had,  of  course,  a  claim  on  the  whole  fund. 
Upon  this  transfer  the  principal  actoi's  in  the  events  by  which  the 
division  was  accomplished,  prepared  and  executed  with  solemnity  a 
paper  which  was  intended  as  a  perpetual  record  and  counsel.  It  thus 
declares :  — 

Philadelphia,  November  27th,  1806. 
We,  the  subscribers,  having  this  day  ratified  a  phiii  of  division  of  the  fund 
of  the  Corporation  for  tlie  Relief  of  tlie  Widows  and  Children  of  Clergymen  of 
the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  the  United  States  of  America,  embrace  the 
opportunity  of  recording  our  unanimous  opinion,  intending  to  deliver  the  same  to 
the  members  of  the  said  corporation  in  tlie  States  in  -wliioh  we  respectively  I'cside, 
that  it  will  be  incumbent  on  the  contemplated  corporations  in  the  distinct  States  to 
continue  their  respective  funds  on  tlie  general  principles  on  which  the  aggi'cgate 
fund  was  established,  and  especially  to  keep  in  ^iew  the  principle  that  contribu- 
tions duly  paid,  agreeably  to  the  fundamental  laws,  are  the  price  of  the  purcliase 
of  an  annuity,  which  should  be  rendered  as  secure  as  the  nature  of  human  affairs 
will  permit,  and  that  in  regard  not  only  to  former  but  also  to  future  contributors, 
the  aggi-egatc  corporation  liaving  pledged  themselves,  and  as  far  as  they  could, 
their  successors,  to  that  effect. 

AVm.  WniTE, 
Abm.  Beach, 
PiOiiEUT  Blackwell, 
J.  M.  Wallace. 

The  drafts  of  proper  instruments  were  prepared  in  form.  They 
confirmed  the  proceedings  of  the  members  who  met  at  Trenton  in  INIay, 
1796,  and  the  acts  of  the  committee  at  Philadelphia,  on  the  27th 
November,  1806,  and  the  separation,  apportionment,  and  division  of 
the  aggregate  funds,  and  they  approved  of  the  creation  of  the  three 
new  corporations,  and  of  the  payments  made.  Each  member  sever- 
ally released  and  acquitted  each  and  every  other  from  all  claim  and 
responsibility  for  any  matter  in  the  premises,  and  each  declared  his 
assent  and  agi'eement  to  the  dissolution  of  the  aggregate  corporation, 
and  directed  that  its  common  seal  might  be  affixed  by  the  president  to 
the  presents.  And  they  thereupon  surrendered  up  all  rights  under 
the  old  corporation,  and  declared  that  thenceforth  it  should  cease. 

The  draft,  being  engrossed,  was  signed  by  twenty-four  meml)ers 
of  the  corporation,  and  subsequently  sealed  with  the  common  seal ; 
the  last  use  to  which  that  seal  —  which  the  generosity  of  Mr.  Le  Roy 
had  provided  for  in  the  year  1770,  and  whose  legend  and  devices  its 
lilieral  donor,  with  INIr.  Kempe,  Dr.  Auchmuty,  and  Dr.  Cooper, 
were  then  appointed  to  prescribe — was  ever  applied.  The  seal  being 
affixed,  it  was  afterwards  solemnly  1n-oken  by  the  Rt.  Rev.  Dr.  White, 
president  of  the  corporation. 

So  ended  the  formal  existence  of  the  ancient  corpor-ation  of  the 
colonies  and  of  the  revolutionary  epoch.  The  names  of  the  twenty- 
four  who  signed  the  act  of  dissolution  comprised,  with  the  Rev.  John 

»The  Act  of  the  Legislature  of  Pennsylvania  was  passed  28th  JIarch,  1797. 


660 


HISTORY  OF  THE   AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 


Campbell,  of  Pennsylvania,  and  a  very  few  others,  perhaps,  of  New 
York  and  New  Jersey,  all  the  surviving  members  of  that  day.  They 
had  been  faithful  guardians  of  their  trust,  and  now  delivered  it  up 
strengthened  and  enriched  for  much  greater  usefulness  than  when 
they  had  received  it.  As  we  have  given  the  names  of  those  by 
whom,  in  its  first  meeting,  the  society  was  constituted,  so  we  may 
properly  record  the  names  of  these  last.     They  were  :  — 


Fob  Pennsylvania. 


The 
The 


Rt.  Rev.  William  White,  D.D. 

Rev.  Robert  Blaokwell,  D.D. 

"         Joseph  Pilmore,  D.D. 

"         James  Abeucromme,  D.D. 

"         Joseph  Hutcihns. 

"         Joseph  Clarkson. 
Edward  Tilghmax,  Esq., 
The  Hon.  Richard  Peters. 

"       John  D.  Coxe. 
Gen.  Francis  Gurnet. 
Matthew  Clarkson,  Esq. 
Tench  Coxe,  Esq. 
James  Ash,  Esq. 
Benjamin  Smith  Barton,  M.D. 


Fob  New  York. 

The  Rt.  Rev.  Benjamin  Moore,  D.D. 

"      Saml.  Provoost,  D.D. 
The  Rev.  Abraham  Beach,  D.D. 
Richard  Channing  Moore,  D.D. 
The  Rev.  William  IIammel. 


Fob  New  Jersey. 

The  Rev.  Charles  Henry  Wharton, 

D.D. 
Joshua  Maddox  Wallace,  Esq. 
William  Coxe,  Esq. 


xJ^^^^J^..:.^^ 


CHRIST  CHURCH  HOSPITAL,  PHILADELPHIA. 
Bt  the  rev.  EDWARD  A.  EOGGO,  D.D., 

Rector  of  Christ  Church, 
CHRIST    CHURCH    HOSPITAL,    PHILADELPHIA. 

This  institution  was  founded  A.D.  1772  by  Dr.  John  Kearsley, 
who  died  in  January  of  that  year,  and  who,  for  fifty-three  years, 
served  on  the  vestry  of  Christ  Church.  In  the  language  of  his  will, 
dated  April  29,  1769,  "for  the  support  of  ten  or  more  poor  or 
distressed  women  of  the  Communion  of  the  Church  of  England,  or 
such  as  the  said  corporation  and  their  successors  shall  deem  such ; 
prefeiTing  clergymen's  widows  before  others,  and  supplying  them  with 
meat,  drink,  and  lodging,  and  the  assistance  of  persons  practising  phys- 
ic and  surgery,  I  give  and  bequeath  such  and  such  properties  to  the 
Cori)oration  of  the  United  Churches  of  Christ  Church  and  St.  Peter's, 
to  found  'Christ  Church  Hospital.'"  Dr.  Kearsley  was  the  architect 
of  the  present  building  of  Christ  Church,  and,  as  some  think,  of  In- 
dependence Hall  also.  The  first  building  was  on  Arch  street,  above 
Third,  and  could  accommodate  only  eight  persons.  This  was  pulled 
down  in  1785,  and  a  larger  building  erected  on  the  spot.     In  1818  a 


CHURCH   CHARITIES   OF  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY.  6G1 

spacious  edifice  was  ei'ectod  on  Cherry  street.  This  contained  twenty 
rooms.  In  1856  a  tract  of  hind  of  one  hundred  and  twenty-six  acres 
was  purchased  on  Bchuont  avenue,  West  Philadelphia,  on  which  a 
magnificent  fire-proof  building  has  been  erected,  at  a  cost  of  over 
$135,000.  It  has  a  front  of  two  hundred  and  thirty-seven  feet,  with 
a  wing  of  one  hundred  feet  in  depth.  A  beautiful  chapel,  nicely  fur- 
nished, forms  a  part  of  this  wing,  and  regular  services  are  held  on  the 
chui-ch's  holydays. 

In  January,  1789,  Joseph  Dobbins,  Esq.,  of  South  Carolina, 
gave  to  the  institution  £500,  and  two  lots  of  land  in  the  city 
of  Philadelphia.  These  lots  in  time  increased  very  much  in  value, 
and  the  sale  of  them  furnished  the  money  with  which  to  i)urchaso  the 
farm.  De  Lanccy  place,  between  Spruce  and  Pino  streets,  above 
Eighteenth,  now  occupies  what  was  then  teraied  "  pasture  lots."  Mr. 
Dobbins  died  in  Columbia,  S.C.,  on  the  29th  of  May,  1804,  leaving 
all  his  estate,  real  and  personal,  "to  the  poor  and  distressed  widows 
supported  by  the  bounty  of  Dr.  Kearsley,  in  Christ  Church  Hospital." 

There  are  at  present  about  seventy  inmates,  who  are  most  comfort- 
ably provided  for.  A  well-furnished  room  is  provided  for  each,  and  the 
parlor  and  library  are  open  to  all,  Mhere  they  meet  as  members  of  a 
Christian  household.  We  have  no  doubt  that  in  the  future,  as  the  en- 
dowment by  judicious  administration  increases,  it  will  support  one 
hundred  and  fifty  or  more,  in  the  noble  structure  provided  for  the  pur- 
pose. 


THE  ORPHAN  HOUSE  AT  BETHESDA,    OA. 
Er  THE  RT.  REV.  JOHN  WATROUS  BECKWITH,  D.D.,  LL.D., 

Bishop  of  Georgia. 

The  history  of  Bethesda,  so  for  as  that  history  is  known,  forms 
but  a  brief  chapter  in  the  life  of  the  Rev.  George  Whitefield.  He  laid 
its  foundations;  under  him,  and  owing  to  his  devotion,  it  flourished; 
and  after  his  death  it  gradually  weakened,  passed  away,  and,  except 
the  mere  outline  of  its  story,  was  forgotten.  It  is  of  special  interest 
as  being,  probably,  the  first  institution  of  charity  for  the  protection 
and  education  of  orphan  children  established  in  this  country ;  and  as 
being  the  work  of  a  clergyman  of  the  Church. 

The  idea  of  establishing  an  orphan's  home  in  Georgia  was  already 
in  the  minds  of  the  llev.  Charles  Wesley  and  General  Oglethorpe,  and 
was  by  them  imparted  to  Whitefield.  In  a  letter  written  by  him  in 
1745_6  he  says :  "Some  have  thought  that  the  erecting  such  a  build- 
ing was  only  the  produce  of  ni}'  own  brain,  but  they  arc  much  mis- 


662  HISTOKY   OF   THE  AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCU. 

taken,  for  it  was  first  proposed  to  me  by  my  dear  friend,  the  Rev. 
Charles  Wesley,  who,  with  His  Excellency  General  Oglethorpe,  had 
conceived  a  scheme  for  carrying  on  such  a  scheme  Ijefore  I  had  any 
thoughts  of  going  abroad  myself." 

Having  determined  that  his  duty  lay  in  Georgia,  he  at  once  went 
to  work  to  raise  funds  for  the  poor  children  of  the  colony.  On  the 
28th  of  December,  1737,  aged  twent^'-three,  he  sailed  on  board  the 
"Whitakcr"for  the  New  World.  On  the  5th  of  May,  1738,  the 
"Whitakcr"  anchored  oif  Tyl)ee,  and  George  Whitetield,  having 
preached  to  the  crew  a  farewell  sermon,  went  forward  to  Savannah, 
accompanied  by  his  devoted  friend,  Mr.  James  Habersham,  afterwards 
president  of  the  colony  of  Georgia,  who  had  come  to  Georgia  "  only 
from  motives  of  warm  friendship  for  Mr.  Whitefield,  and  his  deep  love 
for  the  missionary  work."  The  condition  of  the  children,  especially 
those  who  were  orphans,  at  once  claimed  his  attention.  Such  was  the 
destitution  of  these  poor  waifs  that,  instead  of  attempting  the  erection 
of  an  orphan  house,  he  used  the  money  collected  in  England  to  provide 
thera  a  temporary  home  and  proper  care  and  superintendence,  and,  in 
September  of  the  same  year,  returned  to  England  and  busied  himself 
raising  funds.  The  trustees  of  Georgia  oflered  him  a  salary  to  labor 
in  Savannah ;  but  this  he  declined,  asking  instead  that  they  would 
grant  him  a  tract  of  land,  on  which  he  might  erect  an  orphan  house. 
In  consequence  of  this  request  five  hundred  acres  of  land  were  donated 
him,  and  thus  was  secured  the  original  tract  upon  which  was  to  be 
placed  the  "  Whitefield  Orphan  House." 

In  less  than  one  year,  we  are  told,  the  young  missionary  collected 
in  England  more  than  one  thousand  pounds,  and,  with  this  amount  in 
hand,  he  left  his  home,  August  14,  1739,  and  returned  to  Georgia, 
attended  by  eight  men  and  three  children.  On  the  25th  of  March, 
17'40,  the  first  brick  was  laid  of  the  main  building,  which  was  then 
named  by  him  "Bethesda"or  "The  House  of  Mercy."  In  December, 
1741,  Mr.  Whitefield,  writing  of  "  the  great  house,"  says  :  "It  is  now 
weather-boarded  and  shingled,  and  a  piazza  of  10  foot  wide  built  all 
around  it,  which  will  be  wonderfully  convenient  in  the  heat  of  sum- 
mer. One  part  of  the  house  would  have  been  entirely  finished  had 
not  the  Spaniards  lately  taken  from  us  a  schooner  loaded  witli  ten 
thousand  bricks,  and  a  great  deal  of  provisions,  with  one  of  our  fam- 
ily. And  therefore  I  could  not,  till  lately,  procure  another  boat  to 
fetch  brick  from  Charlestown.  Notwithstanding  this  and  many  other 
hindrances,  the  work  has  been  carried  on  with  great  success  and  speed. 
There  are  no  less  than  4  frame  houses,  a  large  stable  and  cart-house,  be- 
side the  great  house.  In  that  there  will  be,  I  think,  16  commodious 
rooms,  besides  a  large  cellar  of  GO  feet  long  and  40  wide.  Near  20 
acres  of  land  are  cleared  round  about  it,  and  a  large  road  from  Savan- 
nah to  the  Orphan  House,  12  miles  in  length  :  a  thing  not  before  done 
since  the  Province  was  settled."  At  this  time  INIr.  Whitefield  and  the 
children  were  living  in  the  out-houses  above  mentioned.  Of  these  chil- 
dren ,  he  says  in  a  letter  dated  December  23, 1 741 ,  there  were  forty-nine, 
of  whom  twenty-three  were  English,  ten  Scotch,  four  Dutch,  five  French, 
andseven  Americans.    "  Twenty-two  of  these  are  fatherless  and  mother- 


CHURCH  CHARITIES   OF  THE  EIGHTEENTH   CENTURY.  663 

less  ; —  IG  boys  and  6  girls.  The  others  arc  some  of  thcra  fatherless,  and 
some  without  mothers  :  all  oI)jects  of  charity,  except  three,  whose  friends 
recompense  the  Orphan  House  for  tiicir  maintenance."  His  design  iu 
founding  the  Orphan  House  was,  as  he  says,  "  to  l)uild  up  souls  for 
God."  He  endeavored  "  to  preach  most  of  all  to  the  children's  hearts." 
But,  that  they  might  be  able  to  give  a  reason  for  the  hope  that  was  in 
them,  he  constantly  instructed  them  out  of  the  Church  of  England 
articles  which  ho  turned  into  catechetical  questions. 

The  girls  were  taught  to  "  spin,  sew,  wash,  knit,  clean  the  house, 
get  up  linen,"  and  "general  housewifery."  Both  boys  and  girls  were 
emplo3'ed  in  picking  cotton.  An  infirmary  was  attached  to  the  insti- 
tution, where  a  woman  was  in  constant  attendance.  Including  two 
school-masters  and  their  wives, — acting  as  school-mistresses, — a 
superintendent,  a  surgeon  and  his  wife,  a  shoemaker  and  spinstress, 
laborers  and  hired  servants,  there  were  upwards  of  eighty  persons 
attached  to  the  establishment.  Bethesda  at  this  time  owned  "200 
hogs  and  100  head  of  cattle,"  under  the  charge  of  a  man  who  was  paid 
£40  sterling  to  take  care  of  them.  The  lands  were  cultivated  by 
hired  white  servants  and  the  larger  boys,  but  JNIr.  Whitetield  doubts 
whether  such  labor  can  be  made  profitable,  and  he  suggests  the  ex- 
pediency of  the  introduction  of  negroes,  who,  at  that  time,  were  pro- 
hibited in  the  colony  of  Georgia,  but  allowed  iu  South  Carolina.  J\Ir. 
Whitefield  states  that  up  to  this  time  (1741 )  there  had  been  expended 
in  behalf  of  the  Orphan  House,  £3,358.  7s.  5\d. 

In  1745  he  writes :  "  JMany  boys  have  been  put  out  to  trades, 
and  many  gii'ls  put  out  to  service.  One  that  I  brought  from  New 
England  is  handsome!}'  settled  in  Carolina,  and  another  from  Phila- 
delphia is  married  and  lives  comfortably  in  Savannah."  The  zeal  of 
this  godly  man  seems  at  times  to  have  seriously  interfcrred  with  the 
comfort  of  his  neighboi's.  Mr.  William  Stephens,  in  its  "Journal  of 
Proceedings,"  etc..  Vol.  II.,  page  248,  complains  that  Mr.  Whitefiold 
was  so  zealous  in  his  ari'angements  for  the  construction  of  the  Orphan 
House  and  other  liuildings  belonging  to  it,  that  he  monopolized  the 
services  of  every  bricklayer,  sawyer,  and  carpenter  in  the  province, 
and  so  determined  was  he  to  fill  his  house  with  orphans  that  he  became 
involved  in  serious  disputes,  and  finally  Gen.  Oglethorpe  thought  it 
necessary  to  forbid  his  taking  away  any  orphans  from  their  masters. 
In  1748-9  he  remained  in  England  as  chaplain  to  Lady  Huntingdon. 
In  1750  his  views  seem  to  have  greatly  enlarged.  So  encouraged  was 
he  by  the  success  of  the  Orphan  House  that  he  determined  to  make 
Bethesda  a  college,  wherein  the  sons  of  Carolina  and  Georcia  ffentle- 
men  might  "  be  initiated  in  academic  exercises."  A  charter  was  prayed 
for  "  upon  the  plan  of  the  New  Jersey  College."  In  this  memorial 
Whitefield  declares  himself  "ready  to  give  up  his  present  trust  and 
make  a  free  gift  of  all  lands,  negroes,  goods  and  chattels,  which  he 
then  stood  possessed  of  in  the  Province  of  Georgia,  for  the  iiresent 
founding  and  towards  the  future  support  of  a  college,  to  be  called  by 
the  name  of  Bethesda  College,  in  the  Province  of  Georgia."  ^     In  the 

'  A  Letter  to  His  Excellency  Gov.  Wrisht,  etc.,  page  6.    LonJon :  17GS. 


664  HISTORY  OF  THE   AMERICAN  EPISCOPAL  CIIUHCH. 

same  memorial  hepraystbat  two  thousand  acres  of  land  "might  l>c  granted 
in  trust  towards  carrying  on  the  desirable  end  of  founding  a  college." 
At  this  time  the  Orphan  House  had  been  in  existence  about  twenty-six 
years,  and  over  £12,000  had  been  expended  in  its  maintenance.  The 
lands  prayed  for  were  located  "  on  the  north  fork  of  Turtle  Iviver, 
called  the  Lesser  Swamp,  if  vacant,  or  where  lauds  may  be  found 
vacant  south  of  the  Eiver  Altamaha." 

In  a  letter  addressed  by  Mr.  Whiteficld  to  the  Archl)ishop  of 
Canterbury,  under  date,  London,  July  4,  17G7,  he  thus  alludes  to  the 
condition  of  the  Orphan  House,  and  its  propert}'^ :  "  Upon  a  moderate 
computation,  may  it  please  j^our  Grace,  I  believe  its  pi-esent  annual 
income  is  between  four  and  five  hundred  pounds  sterling.  The  House 
is  surrounded  with  eighteen  hundred  acres  of  land,  a  plan  of  which 
and  likewise  of  the  House  itself  I  herein  inclose,  and  humbl}^  pre- 
sent for  your  Grace's  perusal.  The  numl)er  of  negroes,  young  and 
old,  employed  on  various  parts  of  these  lands,  in  sawing  timber,  rais- 
ing rice  for  exportation,  and  corn,  with  all  other  kinds  of  provisions 
for  the  family,  is  about  thirty.  Besides  these  the  college  will  l)e  im- 
mediately possessed  of  two  thousand  acres  of  land,  near  Altamaha, 
which  were  granted  me  liy  the  Governor  and  Council,  when  I  was  last 
in  Georgia,  and  a  thousand  acres  more,  left,  as  I  am  informed,  by  the 
late  liev.  and  worthj-  Mr.  Zouberbuhler.  So  that,  liy  laying  out  only  a 
thousand  pounds  in  purchasing  an  additional  number  of  negroes,  and 
allowing  another  thousand  for  repairing  the  House,  and  building  the 
two  intended  wings,  the  present  annual  income  may  very  easily 
and  speedily  be  augmented  to  a  thousand  pounds  per  annum.  . 
At  present  I  would  only  further  propose  that  the  negro  children  be- 
longing to  the  College  shall  be  instructed,  in  their  intervals  of  labour, 
by  one  of  the  poorer  students,  as  is  done  now  by  one  of  the  scholars 
in  the  present  Orphan  House.  Aud  I  do  not  see  why  an  adilitioual 
provision  may  not  likewise  be  made  for  educating  and  maintaining  a 
number  of  Indian  children,  which,  I  imagine,  may  easily  be  procured 
from  the  Creeks,  Cliocktaws,  Cherokecs  and  the  other  neighbour- 
ing nations.  Hence  the  whole  will  bo  a  free  gift  to  the  Colony  of 
Georgia,  —  a  complex,  extensive  charit}'  be  established,  and  at  the 
same  time  not  a  single  person  obliged,  by  any  publick  act  of  Assem- 
bly, to  pay  an  involuntary  forced  tax  towards  the  support  of  a 
Seminar}'  for  which  many  of  the  more  distant  and  poorer  Colonists' 
children  cannot  possibly  receive  any  immediate  advantage,  and  yet 
the  whole  Colony  by  the  Christian  and  liberal  education  of  a  great 
number  of  its  individuals  be  universally  benefited."  Such  was  ^Yhite- 
field's  plan  and  such  were  his  hopes.  His  plan  was  a  noble  one,  and 
his  hopes  were  such  as  became  a  wise  and  Christian  man  working  in  the 
present  and  building  for  the  future.  But  his  zeal  could  rouse  no  enthu- 
siasm in  the  distant  home  government ;  his  humble  praj'er  was  re- 
fused him  ;  the  charter  could  not  be  obtained,  and  the  dream  of  his 
life,  for  the  realization  of  which  much  of  that  life  had  been  spent, 
perished,  and  he  was  compelled  to  content  himself  with  caring  for  the 
few  orphans  whom  he  had  collected.  Three  years  later  and  this 
genuine  philanthropist,  worn  out  by  cares  and    labor,  entered  into 


CHURCH   CHARITIES   OF  THE   EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY. 


665 


rest.  He  died  at  Newburyport,  Mass.,  September  30,  1770. 
The  history  of  Bethesda,  after  the  death  of  Whitelicld,  is  bolh  brief 
and  sad.  When  his  will  was  opened  it  was  found  that  he  had  be- 
queathed "the  Orphan  House  in  Bethesda,  and  likewise  all  the  build- 
ings, land,  books  and  furniture  belonging  thereto,  to  that  elect  Lady, 
that  mother  in  Israel,  that  mirror  of  true  and  undetiled  religion,  the 
Right  Honorable  Selina,  Countess  of  Huntingdon ; '  and  in  case  she 
should  enter  upon  her  glorious  rest  before  my  decease,  to  Honourable 
James  Habersham,  a  merchant  of  Savannah."  Lady  Huntingdon  at 
once  undertook  the  charge  committed  to  her  by  her  dead  friend. 
"  But  her  plans  and  efforts,  in  reference  to  the  Ori)han  House,  were 
suddenly  arrested  by  the  destruction  of  the  Ijuildings  bj^  lightning." 
"  By  liberal  contribution  of  her  own  private  means  and  the  assistance 
of  others,  she  soon  restored  buildings  capacious  enough  to  accommo- 
date the  few  pupils  now  in  attendance ; "  but  the  life  of  the  insti- 
tution seemed  to  have  departed.  Lady  Huntingdon  died  June  17, 
17SI1.  At  her  death  the  school  was  discontinued,  the  estate  reclaimed 
l)y  the  State  legislature,  and  the  management  of  it  committed  to  a 
board  of  trustees.  "In  1805  one  of  the  wings  of  the  building  was 
destroyed,  and  other  parts  so  injured,  by  fire,  as  to  render  repair  im- 
jiossible  ;  and  the  out-l)uildings  were  so  damaged  l)y  a  hurricane  as  to 
render  them  valueless."  In  1809  the  property  was  sold,  by  order  of 
the  legislature,  and  the  Bethesda  of  Whitefield  ceased  to  exist. 


'  In  the  Georgia  Historical  Society  builtlin>r,    to  believe  that  this  painting  once  adorned  the 
in  Savannah,  there  is  a  large    portrait  ol'  the    walls  of  "  the  Great  House  "  iu  Bethesda. 
Countess  of  Huntingdon.    Tliere  is  good  reason 


BX5880  .P46  v.l 

The  history  of  the  American  Episcopal 


Princeton  Theological  Semmary-Speer  Library 


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