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The Classical Background of the Colonial Anglican Clergy of Virginia

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The Classical Background of the Colonial Anglican Clergy of Virginia W&M ScholarWorks Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects 1957 The Classical Background of the Colonial Anglican Clergy of Virginia William Elliott Wilkins College of William & Mary - Arts & Sciences Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wm.edu/etd Part of the History of Religion Commons, and the Other Religion Commons Recommended Citation Wilkins, William Elliott, "The Classical Background of the Colonial Anglican Clergy of Virginia" (1957). Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects. Paper 1539624500. https://dx.doi.org/doi:10.21220/s2-hv7m-s563 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects at W&M ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects by an authorized administrator of W&M ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. t m Qummu**4 mmmmm m t m COLOSIAL A8GLICAJJ CHUOT OF VXROIHIA A T h esis Presented f © TnS xwfC^Xtiytr* f> r r n ■ it -At* —-~ C8t^ Jg* w*® «•, y*r A* Oi4 ^ AZMrJL@9!lvJI H L d L tt ’T tfTfc if> w > » am wni'inhii*i College of MOXiam and Itay In Partial Fulminant Of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arte By W. E lliott Wilkins, jr. «Jte@ 1957 PREFACE This study is a product of the help and encouragement of a number of persons, without whose assistance and advice it would not have come to fruition* My mother, Ruth Jones Wilkins, is foremost among these* Appreciation is due also to members of the staffs of the Widener Library of Harvard University, the New York Public Library, the Library of Congress, the Virginia State Library, the Library of the College of William and Mary, and the Norfolk Public Library, and especially to Mr. William G. Harkins, Librarian of the College of William and Mary, and to Hr* Herbert L. Ganter, Archivist, for their help and in­ terest, The members of the Committee on this thesis, Dr. A. P. Wagener, Dr. George J. Ryan, Dr. Lester J. Cappon, and Dr. Charles Crowe, have given generously of their time and talents in reading and in suggesting changes. TABLE OFcontents Page CHAFTS Introduction: General Status of the Colonial Clergy 1 CHAPTER II Education of the Colonial Virginia Clergy 16 CHAPTER III The Parsons and Their Books 35 CHAPTER IV Goronwy Owen, Samuel Henley and Jonathan Bouchers Three C lassicists 5o CHAPTER V Conclusions 75 BIBLIOGRAPHY 80 APPENDIX A The College Education of the Colonial Anglican Clergy of Virginia 8? APPENDIX B A List of Classical Texts How in the Library of the College of William and Mary, Which Belonged to Colonial Students at the College, Together With th e Names o f th e Owners, When Known 99 APPENDIX C The Extant Latin Verse of Goronwy Owen 101 APPENDIX D Table of Classical Works Possessed by Clergymen Whose Libraries are Rsported in Chapter III 107 APPENDIX E Jonathan Boucher * s Letter to Mr. Addison 111 C H A PTER I INTRODUCTION; GENERAL STATUS OF THE COLONIAL CLERGY Everyone familiar with. Virginia history knows about the reports widely circulated concerning the quality and qua­ lifications of the clergy in its Colonial Church. Their cha­ racter has been presented as questionable; their background, dubious; their standing, low. They are asserted to have spent most of their time dicing, drinking, riding to hounds, or employed in other diversions which were no part of their i sacerdotal or ministerial office. By inference, too, they were but mediocre scholars at best; their talents lay in a different field. This to the present day is the popular imp­ ression of the Colonial clergy of Virginia, the *•fox-hunting parsons” of story-book fame. Those who are familiar with the publications of 2 % Philip Alexander Bruce or of Edward L. Goodwin , to * William Meade, Old Churches and Families of V ir g in ia , Z vols. , Philadelphia, 1872, I, 162-164, II, 351-352. ^ Philip Alexander Bruce, Institutional History of Virginia in the Seventeenth Century, New York and London, 19 10. ^ Edward L. Goodwin, Colonial Church in Virginia, Milwaukee, 1927. 2 name only two, know that this picture is, to say the least, exaggerated, if not entirely false. Even Robert B, Sempie, an outspoken enemy of the old Church, says, f?Most of the ministers of the Establishment were men of classical and scientific education, patronized by men in power connected with great families, supported by competent salaries, and put into office by the strong arm of the civil power.*’^ This educated body of clergy he means to eorapare unfavor­ ably with the early Baptist preachers, one of whom at the time of his ordination was actually illiterate. It is Sempie, along with other denominational historians of the nineteenth century such as Howell^ and Bennett^, who is responsible for the sullied reputation of the Established clergy. He w r ite s: "Some of the cardinal precept® of morality were disregarded, and action® plainly forbidden by the 4 Robert R. Sempie, A History of the Rise and Progress of the Baptists in Virginia, Richmond, 1894, p. 44. 5 Ibid., p. 17. ^ Robert Boyle C. Howell, The Early Baptists of Virginia, Philadelphia, n.d. , pp. 73-75. 7 William W. Bennett, Memorials of Methodism in Virginia, Richmond, 1871, Chapter I, paussim. 3 New Testament were often proclaimed by the clergy as harmless and innocent, or at worst, foibles of but little account. Having no discipline, every man followed the bent of his own inclination. It was not uncommon for the rectors of parishes to be men of the lo o s e st tr*orais. J; ® He states no authority for this remark. Careful investigation by Dr. Goodwin of the entire number of Colonial Anglican clergy reveals that out of six hundred forty-five of whom there is any record, !1only thirty-five present any record of o misconduct in the whole period from 16**? 'vC V735.” ' Thus, only about 5.4% of the whole number are reported to have been in any trouble whatsoever, and this in spite of tiiejfact that throughout the Colonial period in Virginia an Episcopal Church functioned without a resident bisiu^and with no effec- '* '* " " t * tive ecclesiastical authority. The Bishop ol London and his Commissary never effected any real organization of the Colonial Church, though from Blair’s time attempts were made to do so . ^ Robert B. Sempie, A History of the Rise and Progress of the Baptists in Virginia, Richmond, 1894, p. 43. 9 Qp, cit. » p. xvill. Dr. Goodwin was a priest of the Episcopal Church and Historiographer of the Diocese of V ir g inias, 1905-1 S' 2 4. The office of Commissary was established, (with James Blair as first incumbent) in an effort to provide some authority on this side of the Atlantic and some cohesion. Because, however, only the Bishop of London could remove an inducted minister, the Commissary’s power was not effective. 4 T he impression that these same men were ignorant o r uninterested in intellectual matters is proved equally baseless by inventories of their libraries at their deaths, by the letters they wrote, by the books they published, and in less direct ways, such as by legacies of books bequeathed 11 to them. Indeed, the records which remain show that the parson with little education was definitely an exception. As early as 1620 the Virginia Company did “ordaine and r e ­ quire, that in every Bur rough there be provided and placed 12 at least one godly and learned Minister, M and the Company*s continuing concern for a learned m inistry runs through the records almost like a refrain. In 1621, when a gift of money had been made to the Company, the Reverend Patrick Copland (who was nominated rector of the proposed College, but never c a m e fc© V irginia) was consulted whether to employ the money for a church or a school--and it was decided to turn it to the £. g. , Dr, John Holloway*s bequest of a Greek Testament to the Rev. John Rosier of Northampton County. Cf. Jennings C. Wise, Ye Kingdoms of Accawmacke, Richmond, 1911, p. 259, ^ Records of the Virginia Company, edited by Susan M. Kingsbury, 'Washington, 1906, four vols. Ill, 277, 13 e r e c tio n of a free school. From its first meeting in July, 1619, the General Assembly was the lawmaking body for Virginia's Church. Conformity was enforced--though seldom stringentiy--as it was in England, but there is little evidence that the bur­ den of the Establishment rested heavily on any shoulders, save those of the more ! 1 enfchusiasticalH groups. It is sig­ nificant that when preachers of these dissenting sects were arrested, their release was often conditioned upon a peace bond--an index of the sort of preaching they did. Throughout Colonial records there are few accounts of troubles with Dissenters. M ost Virginians accepted the Established Church, and the efforts of the General Assembly were bent to affairs within the Church much more often than to the regulation of non-conforming groups. Turning early to the problem of an educated clergy, this body enacted in 1631/2 that, R ecord s of the Virginia Company, edited by Susan M, Kingsbury, Washington, 1906, four vols., I, 538. ^ George McLaren Brydon, Virginia* 8 Mother Church, two vols. Vol. I, Richmond, 1947, Vol. II, Philadelphia, 1932. I, 67. 6 "Mynisters shall not give themselves to excesse in drinking, or ryott, spending the ire Tyme idelie by day or by night playing at dice, cards, or any other unlawful game, but at all Tyroes convenient they shall he are or reade somewhat of the holy scrip­ tures, or shall occupie themselves with some other honest studies, or exercise, alwayes doinge the things which shall apperteyne to hones tie and en­ deavour to profitt the church of G od,,.
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