USA > Rhode Island > Washington County > Narragansett > A history of the Episcopal Church in Narragansett, Rhode Island, including a history of other Episcopal churches in the state, Volume III > Part 6
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JO. STERLING, P. et Vice Cancell. JA. BROWN, Dec. Fac. GEO. CARMICHAEL, P. P.
JO. LAW, P. P. JO. LOWDON, P. P.
A. DUNLOP, G. L. P.
AND. ROSSE, H. L. P.
L. Sig. Pend.
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[ Translation]
THE SENATE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF GLAS- GOW TO THE CHRISTIAN READER HEREOF GREETING
T HERE resided here an ingenuous and upright youth, James Mac- Sparran, who having devoted himself so zealously to the study of philosophy and eloquence as to make creditable progress therein, on the successful completion of his academical career, deservedly obtained the degree of Master of Arts, which we usually confer on the studious and learned ; in consideration whereof we cannot refuse to him, on his de- parture, a certificate of Fis talents, worth and learning, as both our of- ficial duty and the merits of so deserving a youth require it of us. Where- fore we earnestly request all good men and all lovers of letters, freely to render unto this, our alumnus and their brother in CHRIST JESUS, all the good offices which are due to him as a student of polite letters, as of pure morals and true piety. In testimony whereof, we have sub- scribed our names to these presents, and sealed them with the common seal of this University. Given at Glasgow, the 5th day of March, A.D. 1709.
JO. STERLING, Pres. & Vice Chancellor. JA. BROWN, Dean of the Faculty. GEO. CARMICHAEL, Prof. of Philosophy.
JO. LAW, Prof. of Philosophy. JO. LOWDON, Prof. of Philosophy. A. DUNLOP, Prof. of Greek. AND. ROSSE, Prof. of Belles Lettres.
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Stamp 40 s
C ANCELLARIUS, Magiftri, et Scholares Univerfitatis Oxon. omnibus ad quos ha litera pervenerint falutem in Domino fempiternam : Cum eum in finem honores academici a majoribus noitris inftituti fuerint, ut viri de re literaria bene meriti gratiâ quâdam peculiari infignirentur ; cumq; nobis compertum fit, vi- rum reverendum Jacobum Macsparran, artium magittrum, in co- lonia Britanica, infula Rhodenfi dicta, ecclefix Anglicana pref- byterum, inter theologos apud Indos Occidentales, evangelio pro- pagando operam navantes, ingenio, doctrinâ, bonis moribus, gra- vitate, prudentiâ clarefcere, et cum primis effe memorandum ; ac fpeciatim a diffentientibus ab ecclefià noftrâ malè paffum effe, qui- bus cum per tredecim, plus minus annos, piè, prudenter, et ut ho- minem Chriftianum decet, non fine fuo magno damno, quod ad res temporales attinet, ftrenue conflictatus eft : fciatis nos cancella- rium, magiftros, et fcholares antedictos, reverendum virum Jaco- bum Macsparran, die Martis, videlicet, quinto die menfis Aprilis, anno Domini millefimo feptingentefimo tricefimo feptimo,99 in folenni et frequentiffimo doctorum et magittrorum fenatu, una- nimi fuffragio doctorem S. S. theologia conflituiffe, et renunciaffe ; eumq ; virtute prefentis diplomatis omnibus et fingulis doctoralis in S. S. theologia gradûs privilegiis et honoribus cumulaife. In cu- jus rei teftimonium ac fidem, publicum univerfitatis Oxon. figil- lum his literis apponi juffimus.
Locus sigilli pendentis
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[ Translation]
T HE Chancellor, officers and students of the University of Ox- ford, to all to whom these presents shall come, eternal salvation in the Lord:
Whereas academical honours were created by our forefathers, in order to honour by peculiar marks of favour such as have distinguished them- selves in letters, and whereas we have ascertained that the Rev. James MacSparran, Master of Arts, a Presbyter of the Church of England, of the British colony called Rhode Island, is distinguished among the divines in the West Indies, occupied with the propagation of the Gos- pel, for lis talents, learning, good deportment, judgement and gravity, deserving to be numbered among the first thereof, and especially to lave suffered at the hands of' those dissenting from our church, with wl.om le las contended for thirteen years, or thereabouts, manfully, piously, prudently, and as becometh a Christian, but not without great damage to lis worldly affairs : Now, Know, ye, that we, the Chancellor, off- cers and students aforesaid, in a solemn and numerously attended senate of our doctors and officers on Tuesday, to wit, the fifth day of April, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and thirty-seven, unanimously created the Reverend James MacSparran, Doctor of Sa- cred Theology; and have conferred on him by virtue of this Diploma, all and singular the privileges and honours belonging to the grade of Doctor of Theology. In faith and testimony whereof, we have caused the public seal of the University of Oxford to be affixed to these pre- sents.
FINIS
Appendix B
Reports and Abstracts : Reports of the Missionaries of Rhode Island to the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, taken from the Ab- stracts of their Anniversary Proceedings.
A S the reports of the missionaries were irregular until the year 1728, we have taken the liberty to precede them by extracting from Humphreys's Historical Account of the So- ciety for the Propagation of the Gospel, the reports from the Rhode Island missionaries up to that time. He says: "The Church- Wardens of Rhode Island wrote to the Bishop of London, and to the Society, in the year 1702, declaring their early zeal, that though they had not assembled themselves, to worship God after the manner of the Church of England above four years, they had built a handsome church. The Society resolved to send a missionary hither, both on account of their being first, and also a numerous people, settled on a flourishing island. The Rev. Mr. Honyman was appointed in 1704. He dis- charged the duties of his mission with great diligence. Though the island was full of persons of many persuasions, especially Quakers, the Governor himself being such, yet by his prudent behaviour, he gave offence to none, and gained many to the Church. He continued there till the year 1708, and then came to England upon his own private affairs, but returned soon to his cure again. There were three little towns on the continent, Freetown, Tiverton, and Little Compton, which had requested a missionary of the Society. Mr. Honyman was requested to visit them by turns on week days, till they could be supplied by a minister. Mr. Honyman frequently crossed over to them, and preached to them in a meeting-house, which he obtained the use of, and which was commodiously situated in the centre of the three towns. He said, the people at first, very ignorant and rude in religious matters, were yet very grave and attentive at divine worship. He performed this laborious duty several years. In 1712, a missionary was sent to these towns; Mr. Honyman began to have a little more leisure, but he was zea- lous to promote the work he had engaged in, and set up a lec-
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ture, and preached once a fortnight at Portsmouth, a town at the farthest end of the island, and soon found very great en- couragement to continue it, without any reward, but an un- expected and surprisingly large audience of people of many persuasions.
"About this time he represented also very earnestly to the Society the want of a missionary at a town called Providence, about thirty miles distant from Newport, a place very con- siderable from the number of its inhabitants. "Through the want of instruction, the people were become quite rude, and void of all knowledge in religion; yet they were of a good and teachable disposition. He visited this place, and preached to the greatest number of people that he ever had together since he came to America. He writes thus : 'There is a great prospect of settling a church here; and if the Society will send a missionary to a people so much in want, and so desirous of receiving the Gospel, perhaps this might prove one of the greatest acts of charity ever done yet.' A little while after, he writes thus : 'I have preached there again, and the number of people is so increased, that no house there could hold them, so that I was obliged to preach in the open fields. The people are now going about to get subscriptions to build a church. If the Society knew the necessity there is of a missionary here, they would immediately send one; in the meantime, I shall give them all the assistance I can,' The Society, upon this letter, appointed in the next year (1723) the Rev. George Pigot missionary there. Besides the faithful discharge of his duty at his own station, Mr. Honyman had been further in- strumental in gathering several congregations at Narragan- sett, Tiverton, Freetown, and at the above-mentioned place, Providence. In the year 1724, accounts came that he had baptized eighty within the two past years, of which nineteen were grown persons, three of them negroes, and two mulat- toes; and that there were probably belonging to his church at Newport above fifty communicants who lived in that place, exclusive of strangers. The Church people grew now too numerous to be accommodated with seats in the old church, and many more offered to join themselves to the Church com- munion. Mr. Honyman proposed to the church members the building of a new church and, subscribing himself thirty
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pounds, the people concurred and he soon after obtained a thousand pounds subscription for that purpose; but it was es- timated the building would cost twice as much, in that coun- try money. However, a sufficient sum was raised and, in the year 1726, the church was completed and Mr. Honyman preached in it. The body of the church is seventy feet long and forty-six feet wide; it has two tiers of windows, is full of pews, and hath galleries all round to the east end. It is owned, by people there, to be the most beautiful timber struc- ture in America. The old church is given to the neighbouring town of Warwick, who had no church of their own. There are Quakers and two sorts of Baptists 816 in Newport, yet the members of the Church of England increase daily ; and though there are not four alive of the first promoters of the Church who worship in this place, yet there are now above four times the number of all the first. This last church is generally full. Newport is the chief town on the island; is the place of resi- dence of the Governor; is a good compact town, large enough to make a considerable village in England. Mr. Honyman con- tinues our missionary here, and hath under his care also Free- town, Tiverton, and Little Compton.
" Having just mentioned Providence, where Mr. Hony- man had gathered a congregation, and Mr. Pigot was ap- pointed missionary, it may be proper to give next an account of the mission there. The people, as described above, were negligent of all religion, till about the year 1722; the very best were such as called themselves Baptists, or Quakers, but it is feared many were Gortonians or Deists. This township is twenty miles square, and the present number of inhabit- ants is about four thousand. Out of all these, there was a small number, who in the year 1722, seriously reflecting on that irreligious state wherein they lived, resolved to endea- vour to build a church, get a minister, and live like Christians. They began to gather contributions among themselves; they got two hundred and fifty pounds ; they solicited their friends about them : they got two hundred pounds from Rhode Is- land, one hundred pounds from Boston, and twenty from other places. With this sum, and about two hundred pounds more, which they borrowed, they raised, on St. Barnabas's Day, 1722, a timber building for a church, being sixty feet in
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length, forty-one in breadth, and twenty-six high. The chief contributor was Colonel Joseph Whipple, who gave one hun- dred pounds. The Rev. Mr. Honyman gave ten pounds, and Mr. MacSparran, another of the Society's missionaries, gave five pounds. The people live dispersed over this large town- ship; they are industrious, employed chiefly in husbandry and handicraft, though very lately they have begun to enter upon foreign trade and navigation. Mr. Pigot, upon his first coming here, had not much above one hundred attending divine wor- ship; however, the numbers increased and he baptized, in less than two years, six grown persons, and the communicants were seventeen. And in the year 1727, he baptized eleven children, three grown persons, and the communicants were forty-four. The reader must remark that this mission is but just begun, and the church members are daily increasing.
"The people of Narragansett made application to the Bi- shop of London, about the year 1707, for a missionary, and built a church soon after by the voluntary contributions of the inhabitants. It is a timber building, and is commodiously situated for those who generally attend divine service. It is distant from Providence, the nearest church, twenty-seven miles. This county is above thirty miles long, and between twelve and thirteen broad. There are near four thousand in- habitants, including about two hundred negroes. Their busi- ness is husbandry, and their farms are large, so that the farm- ers seem rather graziers. They live at great distances from each other, and improve their lands in breeding horses, cattle, and sheep and carry the greatest supply of provisions to Bos- ton market.
"The people, who appeared at first desirous of the Church of England worship, were but few, but they were very ear- nest in it. In the year 1717, the Society appointed the Rev. Mr. Guy to that place. He arrived there soon after, and en- tered upon his mission with much zeal. The members of the Church of England received him with tokens of much joy. They presently provided him with a convenient house, and, because it was at some distance from the church, they pre- sented him with a horse and, in many other ways, shewed marks of their favour. He was very well respected by the people, and several, who lived regardless of all religion before he came,
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began to be constant attendants at divine worship. He resided at Narragansett (otherwise called Kingstown), and visited, by turns, the people of Freetown, Tiverton, Little Compton, and some other places. This mission was very laborious and the places were far distant, the weather here changing suddenly into severe extremes. Mr. Guy contracted indispositions and found himself not able to bear the fatigues, and was therefore, upon his request, removed to South Carolina, in 1719. The Rev. Mr. Honyman, in the vacancy of this church, visited the people at times and kept them together. The Rev. Mr. Mac- Sparran was appointed missionary there in 1720. In the fol- lowing year he acquainted the Society, that his congregation, though small at first, consisted then of about one hundred and sixty, with twelve Indian and black servants; that he had bap- tized thirty persons, six of them of a grown age, between eighteen and fifty; the communicants were but twelve. But, the next year, the members of the Church of England in- creased to two hundred and sixty, and he baptized ten grown persons; and in the following year fifteen grown persons de- sired and received baptism, and all the Church people, young and old, amounted to three hundred. Mr. MacSparran con- tinues now in this mission."
Abstracts of the Proceedings of the Society
“O N the 2nd of October, 1713, the Rev. Mr. Guy hav- ing his character and abilities, upon due examination, allowed, was received as the Society's missionary to St. Helen's in South Carolina, with the salary of £50 per annum and the usual allowance of money and books."
From 1713 to 1714. "For Marblehead or Narragansett was designed the Rev. Mr. Dudley Bradstreet, a native of the country and a proselyte of their way by education, grandson of Governor Bradstreet." He died before ordination.
"To the Rev. Mr. H. Wheatley for his intended services at Narragansett, £70 per annum, it being a place well deserv- ing the encouragement of the Society as the former (Marble- head), and calling for it frequently by addresses to his late Majesty, the Lord Bishop of London, the General (Nichol- son§41) signifying the subscribers to be favourers of the Church
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of England, and desirous of a regular minister to be placed among them."
From 1716 to 1717. Mr. Guy at Narragansett. Salary £70. From 1717 to 1718. The Society resolve to exert themselves to send new missionaries to Narragansett. Mr. Guy not men- tioned and not missionary at Narragansett.
Mr. Guy at St. Andrew's parish, South Carolina, 1718- 1719; he reports.
From 1719 to 1720. To the Rev. James MacSparran, ap- pointed by the Society missionary to Narragansett, in New England, £70 per annum, who is to officiate, as opportunity shall offer, at Bristol, Freetown, Swanzey, and Little Comp- ton, where there are many people members of the Church of England, destitute of a minister.
From 1720 to 1721. The Society have this year supplied the following places with missionaries :
"The Rev. Mr. James Orem, to New Bristol, in New Eng- land, with the like salary of £60 per annum, where the people have lately built a church at their own charge, and promised to contribute handsomely towards the maintenance of a mis- sionary."
And the Rev. George Pigot is appointed at Stratford, Con- necticut, with the same salary.
Mr. Honyman, missionary at Newport, Rhode Island, re- ported, "That he preaches twice every Sunday, catechises twice a week, and administers Sacrament every month, and has bap- tized in about two years past seventy-three persons, of whom nineteen are adults."
Mr. Honyman, £70; Mr. MacSparran, £70; Mr. Orem, at Bristol, £60; Mr. Pigot, at Stratford, £60.
From 1721, February, to 1722. The Society have appointed for South Carolina " the Rev. Mr. Usher (a gentleman educated at Harvard College in New England, who lately came over for Episcopal ordination) to St. George's, with a salary of £50."
Messrs. Cutler, Brown, and Johnson came over for ordi- nation.
The Rev. Mr. Honyman, minister of Rhode Island, in New England, reports, " That he had been lately to preach at Pro- vidence, a town in that colony, to the greatest number of
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people he ever had together since he came to America; that no house being able to hold them, he was obliged to preach in the fields; that they are getting subscriptions for building a church, and he doubts not but there will be a considerable congregation."
" The Rev. Mr. MacSparran, minister at Narragansett, that his congregation consists of about one hundred and sixty, with twelve Indian and black servants; that he has baptized thirty persons, six of whom are adults, from the age of eighteen to fifty, and the rest under that. The number of his communi- cants is but twelve, but has great hopes that it will be doubled in a short time."
"The Rev. Mr. Orem, minister at Bristol, that the church there is almost finished, the inhabitants having spared no pains to carry on the work, having already expended £1500, and some hundreds more will be required to complete the building; that there is a very numerous assembly that attends the wor- ship of the Church every Lord's day, and join in the services with the greatest gravity and decency imaginable, many of whom, before his coming, were strangers to the liturgy of the Church of England."
Mr. Honyman, £70; Mr. MacSparran, £70; Mr. Orem, £60.
From 1722 to 1723. Mr. Pigot removed to Providence from Stratford, and Samuel Johnson appointed in his room at Strat- ford, where the people have raised subscriptions to build a church, and where there is a prospect of a very numerous congregation,
To Bristol, the Rev. Mr. John Usher, with a like salary, on the Rev. Mr. Orem's removal to New York.
The Rev. Mr. Honyman reported " That within two years past he hath baptized eighty-two, of which nineteen were adults, three of them negroes, two Indians, and two mulattoes; that there are properly belonging to that church above fifty communicants, that live in that place, exclusive of strangers ; that the people growing too numerous for the church, and others offering to join them if they could be accommodated with room, he proposed the building of a new church, and has obtained near {1000 subscriptions for that purpose, though it is supposed the building will cost twice that money; that
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the materials are getting ready, and the workmen will begin upon them in the spring."
From the Rev. Mr. MacSparran, minister at Narragansett : " That he has baptized there the last year seven adult persons, one a mulatto woman, and six children; and at Bristol, three adults and five children; that the number of those who profess themselves of the Church of England is about two hundred and sixty, and that he has had three new communicants in the last year, and has so far prevailed as to have several children, during Lent season, come to the church every Sunday and publicly repeat the Church Catechism, which they performed with decency and distinctness; that the people are wonder- fully enamoured with that method of bringing up children."
Mr. Honyman, £70; Mr. MacSparran, £70; Mr. Pigot, £60; Mr. Usher, £60.
From 1723 to 1724. From the Rev. Mr. Usher: "That the number of those who profess themselves of the Church of England are forty-five families; that he has baptized six adults, and that the number of communicants are twenty-three."
From the Rev. Mr. MacSparran : " That he has baptized six adult persons last year, one of which is an Indian woman, and several children, and had four new communicants; that there are about two hundred Indians and negroes, twenty of which constantly come to church."
Mr. Honyman, £70; Mr. MacSparran, £70; Mr. Usher, £60; Mr. Pigot, £60.
From 1724 to 1725. From the Rev. Mr. Honyman: "That his congregation has very much increased; that they are now building a large new church; that in the year 1724, he baptized forty-three, among which were eight adults, six of them negroes and Indians, and one Indian child."
From the Rev. Mr. Pigot : " That his congregation is gen- erally one hundred, though the greater part not of that town; that he has baptized six adults, and the number of his com- municants are seventeen."
From the Rev. Mr. Usher: "That he has baptized five adult persons, and admitted seven to the Communion, and that the number of actual communicants is thirty."
Salaries, same.
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From 1725 to 1726. From the Rev. Mr. Honyman: " Ac- quainting that the new church there is nigh finished, and will be ready for the Society's present as soon as it can be sent (which present is a plain purple communion cloth, pulpit cloth, and cushion), and that the people had given the old church, with all its furniture, to a neighbouring place, where they conceive it will be of great use."
Salaries, same. No other reports from Missionaries this year. From 1726 to 1727. From Mr. Honyman : " That their new church is now finished and in a flourishing condition, and in- creases daily ; that he has often visited Freetown, Little Comp- ton, and Tiverton, and preached there on week days, in a meet- ing-house belonging to the Independents, of which they al- lowed him the use, where the people are very attentive to his sermons and desire the Society's compassion ; that he preaches twice every Sunday in his own church, administers the sac- rament every month; observes all fasts and festivals; has prayers twice a week in Lent, and publicly catechises the children."
From the Rev. Mr. Pigot: "That he has baptized, from July, 1726, to July, 1727, three adults and eleven infants, ad- mitted nine to the Sacrament, and that the whole number of his communicants is forty-four."
No other reports this year. Salaries the same.
Front 1727 to 1728. From the Rev. Mr. Pigot, late minister at Providence: " That during the time of his four years' ministry among them he baptized sixteen adults, besides infants, and had forty-four communicants; and that there is a large con- gregation at Marblehead, where he now officiates."
From the Rev. Mr. Honyman, minister at Newport : "That his church there is in a flourishing condition, and that upon week days he observes stated lectures in the adjacent places of Tiverton, Freetown, and Little Compton, which are com- monly attended by considerable numbers of people. He lately preached at Providence to à large congregation, and admin- istered both Sacraments to several persons."
1729. Mr. Honyman, missionary at Rhode Island, £70; Mr. MacSparran, missionary at Narragansett, £70; Rev. Ar- thur Browne, appointed missionary to Providence, £60.
..
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Accounts have been received from the Rev. Mr. Hony- man, minister at Newport, in Rhode Island, that his church is in a flourishing condition, and that within the last two years he has baptized eighty-eight, fourteen of which are adults.
From 1729 to 1730. The Rev. Mr. Usher, of Bristol, writes, "That his congregation has so much increased that there is scarce room in the church to hold them, and therefore he in- tends to build a gallery soon, for their better acconiniodation." In the same letter he gives a brief account of the progress he hath made in his mission since his appointment, in these words : "Since my first settlement in Bristol to this time, which is just seven years, I have baptized one hundred and twenty- one, twelve of which I baptized at Rehoboth and Barrington, at which places I have preached several times; of the num- ber twenty-two were adults, and three adult Indians. I have had sundry negroes make application for baptism, that were able to render a very good account of the hope that was in them, and their practices were generally agreeable to the principles of the Christian religion. But I am not permitted to comply with their request and my own duty, being forbid by their masters, notwithstanding they have the Bishop of London's letter, and the late Bishop of St. Asaph's sermon to that pur- pose, to which I have added my own endeavours, both from the pulpit and in private conversation, to persuade them to comply therewith."
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