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The Appointment and Instruction of S. P. G. Missionaries

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 July 2009

Alfred W. Newcombe
Alfred W. Newcombe
Affiliation:
Knox College
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Extract

From the opening of the eighteenth century to the close of the Revolution the cause and interests of the Church of England were promoted in the American colonies mainly by the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel. During this period that organization, commonly known as the S. P. G., employed in the colonies a total of three hundred different missionaries. These men were settled throughout the thirteen colonies, but because of the privileged position occupied by the church in Virginia and Maryland, the distribution was by no means equalized.

Type
Research Article
Information
Church History , Volume 5 , Issue 4 , December 1936 , pp. 340 - 358
Copyright
Copyright © American Society of Church History 1936

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References

1 This material is largely drawn from a chapter of the writer's unpublished doctoral dissertation in the Library of the University of Michigan.

2 A total of 309 were appointed, but due to seven deaths from smallpox and drowning, to the cancellation of one appointment obtained by forged credentials, and to early misconduct in the case of another, 9 of that number never really served the Society. Of the remaining 300, 52 worked in South Carolina; 33 in North Carolina; 12 in Georgia; 2 in Virginia; 5 in Maryland; 45 in Pennsylvania and Delaware; 43 in New Jersey; 58 in New York; and 81 in New England. This accounts for a total of 331 of whom 31 served in more than one colony and have been counted more than once. Pascoe, C. F., Two Hundred Years of the S. P. G., London, 1901, II, pp. 849–856Google Scholar, Presents a missionary roll for the colonies and a summarized table on p. 847.

3 The missionary roll as cited above is limited to the original thirteen colonies. The Society Journal, however, affords evidence of a contribution made to the development of the church in East and West Florida. The Lords Commissioners of Trade and Plantations, through its Secretary, John Pownall, Requested the aid of the S. P. G. That Society recommended the Reverend Samuel Hart for Mobile, the Reverend William Dawson for Pensacola, and a Mr. Bovier, who spoke both French and English, as a teacher for Mobile. It agreed also to send books to the clergy in both East and West Florida, and strongly urged the Commissioners to provide churches and home for the Clergy and if proper, to advance some portion of the salary toward the expenses of the voyage. See the Journal for March 16, April 13, and May 18, 1764; also for July 19, 1765. During the same years, 1701–1784, the Society maintained 65 missionaries in other parts of the British possessions. Of this number 10 were stationed in Newfoundland and Labrador; 19 in Nova Scotia; 2 in New Brunswick; 2 in Quebec; 13 in Barbados; 10 in the Bahamas; 2 in Jamaica; 4 on the Moskito Shore; 2 in West Africa; and 1 in Europe. Pascoe, , Two Hundred Years, II, pp. 856 et seq.Google Scholar

4 For example, William Black and Edward Vaughn. Jour., July 19, 1706; Oct. 15, 1708. See also Georgia Colonial Records, I p. 327.Google Scholar

5 Jour., May 15, 1702; November. 14, 1704; February. 13, 1718–19.

6 Ibid., January. 15, 1702–1703.

7 For example, the church wardens and vestry of Newport, Rhode Island. Jour., January. 18, 1722–1723. See also Jour., january. 17, 1734–1735; S. P. G. I etters B XI, 37 (S. Johson, Stratford, Conn. to Secy. of S. P. G., october. 2, 1743); Foote, H. W., Annals of King's Chapel Boston, 1900, II p. 236.Google Scholar

8 Jour., July 20, 1744; Foote, , Annals, I, p. 255.Google Scholar

9 Jour., Mar. 16. 1759; Mar. 19, 1762; S. P. G. Letters. B IX, 28 (S. Seabury, New London, Conn. to Secy., Oct. 6, 1741); B. I, Pt. II, 212 (S. Johnzn, Stratford, Conn. to Secy., Apr. 28, 1727).

10 Jour., January. 16, 1740–1741; February. 17, 1748–1749.

11 Ibid., December. 21, 1753.

12 Jour., January 16, 1735–1736. “Wesley was a missionary, but not an appointee of the Venerable Society,” Says ProfessorOsgood, H. L., The American Colonies in the Eighteenth Century, New York, 1924, III, pp. 109–110Google Scholar. But according to the Journal, Jan. 16, 1735–1736, Wesey was recommended to the S. P. G. by the Georgia Trustees to take the place of Samuel Quincy in Savannah when Quincy should leave. The Society agreed to the proposal. Quincy ended his work in 1736. Wesley served there from 1736 to 1737. A letter from Wesley to the Society dated Savannah, July 26, 1737, is reported by the Journal, July 21, 1738. In it he says his first idea was to receive no salary but food and clothing in kind only; he accepted the Society bounty for the good of his flock, which he did not need for personal subsistence.

13 Jour., April. 17, 1702; March. 2, 1704–1705; Journal of the Standing Committee, Apr. 7, 1702.

14 If married, missionaries were required to take their wives with them unless for reasons acceptable to the Society. Jour., November. 18, 1709.

15 Jour., March. 2. 1704–1705; Collection of Soeiety Papers, 1706, pp. 20–21Google Scholar. This report can be most conveniently found in Pascoe, , Two Hundred Years, II, p. 837.Google Scholar

16 The Society later adopted a proposal of the clergy of New York and New Jersey to the effect that except in extraordinary cases no American and dates should thereafter be considered beyond those whom they had already accepted and to whom permission had been given to sail to England for orders. An exception was to be made if they were, or had been, students in some college and could produce a certificate of good behavior from the president of that institution. Jour. September. 15, 1769.

17 Jour., July 19, 1706.

18 Ibid., September. 17, 1703.

19 Ibid., February. 21, 1717–1718.

20 Jour., August. 18, 1704. In some cases the bishop of London supplied the text and appointed some members to hear the sermon. On one occasion an individual member was asked to supply the text and hear the sermon. In most cases no information is available as to how the text was supplied nor as to how the hearers were chosen. Out of fifty-three texts which the writer noted, curious enough to warrant mention is the fact that forty-one were taken from the Gospel of Matthew; thirty-seven from the fifth chapter of that Gospel; eight from the third verse, and nine from the ninth verse of that chapter.

21 Jour., September. 15, 1710.

22 Ibid., July 19, 1706.

23 Sept. 28, 1763, quoted in Beardsley, E. Edwards, Life and Correspondence of Samuel Johnson, New York, 1874, pp. 277–8Google Scholar. In 1744 the Society informed the missionaries of its decision not to appoint any new missionaries, no matter how recommended, without permission previously obtained from the Society. S. P. G. Letters B XIII, 20, dated Sept. 27, 1744.

24 Jour., September. 19, 1760.

25 Ibid., October. 17, 1760.

26 Ibid., November. 21, 1760.

27 Dix, Morgan, History of the Parish of Trinity Church in the City of New York, New York, 1898-1906, I, p. 104.Google Scholar

28 Ibid., I, p. 104.

29 The evidence for this conclusion is to be found mainly in Pascoe, , Two Hundred Years, II, pp. 849–856.Google Scholar

30 Hawkins, Ernest, Historical Notices of the Missions of the Church of England in the North American Colonies, London, 1845, pp. 193, 199Google Scholar. This is confirmed by Samuel Johnson in a letter to the Society, Nov. 12 1766. Jour., Mar. 20, 1767. John Wiswall in a letter to the Society from Boston, Aug. 11, 1775, reported a voyage to England for ordination cost him eighty pounds sterling. S. P. G. Letters B XXIII, 269.

31 Beardsley, E. Edwards, The History of the Episcopal Church in Connecticut from the Settlement of the Colony to the Death of Bishop Seabury, New York, 1869, I, p. 155.Google Scholar

32 Ibid., I, p. 197.

33 Foote, , Annals of King's Chapel, I. p. 317Google Scholar. Aware of this heavy expense, the Society at one time considered meeting it in part or in full. Collection of Society Papers. 1706, p. 74Google Scholar. In accordance with this evidence of its consideration, Samuel Johnson in a letter to the Secretary from Stratford, Conn., dated Apr. 28 1727, asked the Society to meet the expenses of Henry Caner. S. P. G. Letters, B I, 212. But neither in this nor in other cases does the Society appear to have taken action.

34 Osgood, , American Colonies in the Eighteenth Century, II, p. 32.Google Scholar

35 Society appointees about to sail for America were requested to take a passage if possible upon a merchant ship. Jour., October. 17, 1707.

36 Andrews, C. M., Colonial Folkways, New Haven, 1920, p. 207.Google Scholar

37 Ibid., p. 207.

38 Thompson, Thomas, An Account of Two Missionary Voyages by the Appointment of the S. P. G., London, 1759, pp. 1–2.Google Scholar

39 S. P. G. Letters, B IV, 9. 10. (Thomas Newman, North Carolina, June 29, 1722).

40 Pascoe, , Two Hundred Years, II, p. 854.Google Scholar

41 Beardsley, , Life and Corresp. of S. Johnson, p. 301Google Scholar. With their death the number of those who had lost their lives in quest of orders was 10 out of 51 candidates. Ibid.

42 Pascoe, , Two Hundred Years, II, p. 854.Google Scholar

43 Tiffany, Charles C., A History of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the U. S., New York, 1895, p. 132Google Scholar. This is probably somewhat exaggerated. See also Johnson, Samuel; his Career and Writings, ed. by H., and Schneider, C., New York, 1929, I, p. 163Google Scholar; Beardsley, , Life and Corresp. of S. Johnson, p. 233.Google Scholar

44 Beardsley, , Hist. of Ep. Ch. in Conn., I, p. 142Google Scholar. In the same work the author tells us that the church at Hebron, Conn. failed in three efforts to get a missionary as the candidates whom they sent to England died there or were lost at sea on the return. Ibid., I, p. 207.

45 Whitehead, Benjamin, Church Law, London, 1892, p. 184.Google Scholar

46 Burn, Richard, The Ecclesiastical Law, ed. by Phillimore, Robert, London, 1761, I, p. 44–5Google Scholar; Gibson, Edmund, Codex Juris Ecclesiastici Anglicani, Oxord, 1761, I, p. 145Google Scholar; Watson, William, The Clergyman's Law, London, 1747, p. 142.Google Scholar

47 Beardsley, , Life and Corresp. of S. Johnson, pp. 35–7Google Scholar; Bartlet, W. S., The Frontier Missionary: a Memoir of the Life of Rev. Jacob Bailey, Vol. II of Coll. of Prot. Ep. Hist. Soc., New York, 1853, pp. 62, 64Google Scholar. See Sykes, Norman, “Episcopal Administration in England in the 18th Century,” Eng. Hist. Rev., XLVII (07, 1932), pp. 418–23CrossRefGoogle Scholar for the presence in London of other bishops.

48 Whitehead, , Ch. Law, p. 120Google Scholar; Burn, , The Eccles. Law, III, p. 50Google Scholar; Gibson, , Cod. Jur. Eccles. Angli., p. 146Google Scholar; Watson, , The Clergyman's Law, pp. 142–3.Google Scholar

49 Bartlet, , Mem. of J. Bailey, pp. 61–2.Google Scholar

50 Bartlet, , Mem. of J. Bailey, p. 62Google Scholar; Hills, George M.. History of the Church in Burlington, New Jersey, Trenton, 1876, p. 314Google Scholar, gives the text of an oath taken by deacons.

51 Burn, , The Eccies. Law, III. p. 55.Google Scholar

52 Watson, , The Clergyman's Law, p. 143Google Scholar; Gibson, , Cod. Jur. Eccles. Angli., I, p. 151.Google Scholar

53 Sykes, , “Epis. Admin. in Eng. in 18th Cent.,” Eng. Hist. Rev., XLVII, p. 435.Google Scholar

54 Seabury, W. J., Mem. of Bishop Seabury, New York, 1908, pp. 4, 6.Google Scholar

55 Beardsley, , Life and Corresp. of S. Johnson, pp. 35–7.Google Scholar

56 Ibid., pp. 217–8.

57 Watson, , The Clergyman's Law, p. 143Google Scholar; Gibson, , Cod. Jur. Eccles. Angli., I, p. 151.Google Scholar

58 Watson, , The Clergyman's Law, p. 143.Google Scholar

59 Ibid., pp. 143–5; Bartlet, , Mem. of J. Bailey, p. 64.Google Scholar

60 Ibid., pp. 64–5. See also Thompson, , An Acct. of Two Miss. Voyages, p. 2Google Scholar; Cross, A. L., The Anglican Episcopate and the American Colonies, New York, 1902, Appendix VII gives text of a typical license.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

61 S. P. G. Letters, B VII, p. 75 (Church wardens of Scituate, Mass., to Secy., Dec. 1738); B I, Pt. II, 250 (Subscribers in Norwich, Conn., to Secy., Mar. 2, 1768.

62 Ibid., B I, Pt. II, 238 (Subscribers in Providence, B. I., to Bp. of London, Dee. 26, 1727); B XIII, p. 175 (Subscribers in Simabury, Conn., to Arehbp. of Canterbury, Apr. 28, 1744).

63 Ibid., B I, Pt. II, 250 (Subscribers in Norwich, Conn., to Secy., Mar. 2, 1768). They ask for the services of John Tyler.

64 Ibid., B IX, 2 (Roger Price, Boston, to Seey., Oct. 10, 3741); B VII, Pt. II, 32 (S. Johnson, Stratford, Conn., to Secy., Nov. 10, 1740); B I, Pt. II, 163 (Col. Dudley and Col. Nicholson, Boston, to Secy., Dec. 5, 1713).

65 Abstract of Soc. Proceedings (1770), p. 14Google Scholar; Ibid., (1771), p. 14.

66 Foote, , Annals. I, p. 255.Google Scholar

67 Jour., May 30, 1707.

68 Ibid., Oct. 17, 1707.

69 Jour., Oct. 7, 1715.

70 Ibid., Oct. 16, 1724.

71 It was later discovered that the Virginia establishment did not apply to the parish in question, Jour., Nov. 20, 1724. But Pascoe, , Two Hundred Years, II, p. 851Google Scholar, indicates that a minister there received Society aid, though his name was not recorded in the Journal.

72 Jour., Jan. 17, 1745–1746.

73 Ibid., Sept. 18, 1761.

74 Ibid., Feb. 17, 1764.

75 Ibid., June. 12, 1767.

76 Jour., Nov. 19, 1779.

77 Ibid., Sept. 21, 1781.

78 Ibid., Nov. 15, 1782.

79 Ibid., July 18, 1783.

80 For example, see Jour., June 19, 1702.

81 Jour., Feb. 14, 1706–1707. The average term appears to have been somewhat in excess of ten years. But the terms varied greatly. Of the three hundred missionaries, some served for a year or less, many for twenty-five years and over, while one. John Beach, served for fifty years, and even more surprising, John Usher served in Bristol, Rhode Island, for fifty--two years. Pascoe, , Two Hundred Years, II, pp. 852 and 854.Google Scholar

82 Jour., Feb. 21, 1706–1707.

83 Ibid., Mar. 2, 1704–1705.

84 Ibid., may 18, 1705.

85 These instructions may be found in the Coll, , of Society Papers, 1706, pp. 24–32Google Scholar; in Anderson, J. S. W., The History of the Church of England in the Colonies, London, 1845-1856, III, pp. 154–158Google Scholar; Pascoe, , Two Hundred Years, II, pp. 838–840.Google Scholar

86 For a brief synopsis of this material consult Humphreys, David, An Historical Account of the Incorporated Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, London, 1730, ch. 4.Google Scholar

87 Anderson, , Hist. of the Col. Ch., III. p. 153.Google Scholar

88 A Standing Order of 1714 required them to acquaint the Secretary with the place of their London lodging and to keep in touch with him. Jour., Aug. 21, 1714.

89 A Standing Order of 1715 provided that in the future missionaries who did not sail in the Spring or Autumn season immediately following their appointment, should be dismissed. Jour., May 20, 1715.

90 Abstract of Society Proceedings, 1715, pp. 12–17Google Scholar; Ibid., 1715, pp. 43–8.

91 Jour., Feb. 20, 1756; Abs. of Soc. Procs., 1756, pp. 43–8.Google Scholar

92 Jour., Mar. 11, 1756.