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Johnson's Wonder-Working Providence, 1628-1651; ORIGINAL NARRATIVES OF EARLY AMERICAN HISTORY REPRODUCED UNDER THE AUSPICES OF THE AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION General Editor, J. FRANKLIN JAMESON, Ph.D., LL.D. DIRECTOR OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HISTORICAL RESEARCH IN THE CARNEGIE INSTITUTION OF WASHINGTON JOHNSON'S WONDER-WORKING PROVIDENCE 1628 — 1651 TITLE-PAGE OF THE "WONDER-WORKING PROVIDENCE" From a copy of the original in the Woburn Public Library ORIGINAL NARRATIVES OF EARLY AMERICAN HISTORY JOHNSON'S WONDER - WORKING PROVIDENCE 1628-1651 / n n EDITED BY J. FRANKLIN JAMESON, Ph.D., LL.D. DIRECTOR OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HISTORICAL RESEARCH IN THE CARNEGIE INSTITUTION OF WASHINGTON WITH A MAP AND TWO FACSIMILES CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS NEW YORK Copyright, 1910, by CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS Printed in the United States of America All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without the permission of Charles Scribner's Sons Sag, IS A. CONTENTS JOHNSON'S WONDER-WORKING PROVIDENCE OF SIONS SAVIOUR IN NEW ENGLAND—"HISTORY OF NEW ENGLAND" Edited by J. Franklin Jameson VAOX Introduction 3 To the Reader 21 Book I. The Sad Condition of Old England 23 The Call of Christ's People to New England; their Churches . 25 The Demeanor of their Church Officers 26 The Demeanor of the People 28 Their Civil Government; the Maintenance of the First Table . 30 Their Care for Warlike Discipline 33 Their Liberty; their Charter; their Means 36 The Massachusetts Indians . .39 The Pestilence 40 The Men of Plymouth and the Indians 42 John Endicott 44 The Settlement of Salem 45 The Founding of the Salem Church; Mr. Higginson and Mr. Skelton 46 The Glorious Beginnings of a Thorough Church Reformation . 49 The Farewell to England 50 The Cost of the Peopling of New England 54 God's Providence in Transporting his People Safely .... 56 An Exhortation to the Advancing of the Kingdom of Christ . 58 Providences in Deliverance from Perils of Waters .... 61 The Arrival of Winthrop's Fleet; the Old Planters .... 63 The First Elections, 1630; the Death of Isaac Johnson and Others . 65 The Gathering of the Church of Charlestown-Boston; Mr. Wilson . 67 The Church and Town of Dorchester; Mr. Maverick ... 69 The Church and Town of Boston 70 The Church and Town of Roxbury; Mr. Eliot 71 The Church and Town of Lynn; Mr. Batchellor .... 73 The Church and Town of Watertown; Mr. Phillips .... 74 The Trials of the Wilderness; Governor John Winthrop re-elected, 1631 75 The Lord's Protection of his People from the Indians; the Small Pox . 78 v vi CONTENTS PAGB The Elections of 1632; Deputy Governor Thomas Dudley . 81 Mr. James of Charlestown . 82 Mr. Weld of Roxbury . 83 Mr. Wilson of Boston; his Return .84 The Elections of 1633; Mr. Increase Nowell . .85 Supplies in Time of Need 86 Arrival of Mr. Haynes, Mr. Stone, and Mr. John Cotton ... 87 The Church and Town of Newtown or Cambridge; Mr. Hooker . 90 The Elections of 1634; Mr. Stone 93 The Escape of Mr. Norton and Mr. Shepard from England . 94 The Church and Town of Ipswich; Mr. Nathaniel Ward ... 95 The Arrival of Mr. Bellingham and Mr. Lothrop .... 97 The Church and Town of Newbury; Mr. Noyes and Mr. Parker . 98 The Arrival of Mr. Symmes 100 The Elections of 1635 101 The Arrival of Sir Henry Vane and Sir Richard Saltonstall . 102 Of Mr. Harlakenden and of Eleven Ministers; Mr. Norton . 103 Mr. Richard Mather 105 The Founding of Connecticut 105 The Gathering of the Second Cambridge Church; Mr. Shepard . 107 The Arrival of Mr. Hugh Peters 109 The Church and Town of Concord; Mr. Bulkley . .110 The Laborious Work of Planting it; Mr. Jones . .111 The Church and Town of Hingham; Mr. Hobart . .115 The Arrival of Mr. Thomas Flint, Mr. Carter, and others . .117 The Elections of 1636; Mr. Fenwick's Plantation . .118 Mr. Partridge of Duxbury; Mr. Nathaniel Rogers of Ipswich . .119 Mr. Whiting of Lynn 120 Satan raises Enemies against Christ's People . .121 Justification by Faith; Mr. Cotton 125 The Magnifying of Free Grace 126 The Gainsaying of Mrs. Hutchinson 127 The Shallowness of the Erronists 128 They slight the Ordinances of Christ 129 They disturb the Churches 131 The Distress of a Poor Soul landing at this Time . .133 The New England Churches prone neither to Heresy nor to Tyranny 136 The Elections of 1637 139 The Form of Civil Government in New England .... 140 Mr. Simon Bradstreet 141 The Principal Deputies * 143 Book II. The Beginning of the Pequot War 147 The Lord delivers his People from Error; the Calling of the Synod . 152 Prosperity in Outward Things 153 The Lord Preserves his People from Morton and the Bishops . 154 The Malignancy of the English Prelates and their Downfall . .157 The Embassy to Canonicus 161 CONTENTS vii PAGE The Insolence of the Pequots 164 The March against them; the Ministers' Exhortations . .165 The Destruction of the Pequots 167 The Assemblage of the Synod 170 Four Sorts of Men who might profitably have Attended . 171 The Disarming of Dangerous Heretics; Excommunication of Some . 175 The Planting of the Colony of New Haven 176 Mr. John Davenport 177 Mr. Theophilus Eaton; Mr. Hopkins 178 The Church and Town of Dedham; Mr. Allen 179 The Church and Town of Weymouth 181 The Elections of 1638 182 The Establishment of a Printing Press 183 The Church and Town of Rowley; Mr. Ezekiel Rogers and Mr. Miller 183 The Earthquake; the Banishment of the Erronists .... 185 Their Bad End 186 Mr. John Harvard and Harvard College 187 The Elections of 1639; the Church and Town of Hampton; Mr. Dalton 188 The Church and Town of Salisbury; Mr. Worcester .... 189 Mr. Knowles added to the Church of Watertown .... 190 Sad Accident at Boston 191 The Elections of 1640; the Arrival of Mr. Burr and Mr. Rayner . 192 Of other Ministers 193 The Planting of Long Island 195 The Church and Town of Sudbury; Mr. Brown . .195 The Church and Town of Braintree; Mr. Thompson and Mr. Flint . 197 The Desire for the Promotion of Learning 198 The Founding of Harvard College 200 Hopeful Plants raised up therein 202 President Dunster 204 The Elections of 1641 205 The Church and Town of Gloucester; Mr. Blinman . .205 The Church and Town of Dover 206 Sundry Misguided Persons sail for the Isle of Providence . 207 The Elections of 1642; the Fall in the Price of Cattle . .209 The Prosperity of New England 210 The Founding of the Town of Woburn 212 The Gathering of the Church 214 The Church Covenant 216 The Ordination of Mr. Thomas Carter 217 The Elections of 1643; the New England Confederation . .219 The Struggle between Miantonomoh and Uncas 220 The Death of Miantonomoh 222 The Outrageous Conduct of the Gortonists 222 Their Punishment 224 The Elections of 1644; The Church and Town of Reading; Mr. Green 225 viii CONTENTS PAGE The Church and Town of Wenham; Mr. Fisk . .226 Military Precautions and Arrangements 227 The Military Commanders . .229 The Fortifications .231 Book III. The Elections of 1645 ........ 234 The Church and Town of Haverhill; Mr. John Ward . .234 The Sons of Canonicus overawed 235 The Church and Town of Springfield; Mr. Moxon . .236 Fasting and Prayer for the Brethren in England 238 The Elections of 1646; the Petition of Dr. Child and others . 240 The Mission of Winslow 241 The Second Synod of Cambridge; the Cambridge Platform . 242 The Images of the Sun 243 The Compiling of the Laws of 1648 244 The Elections of 1647; the Rise of Manufactures . .245 The Elections of 1648; the Church and Town of Andover . 249 The Church and Town of Maiden 250 The North Church of Boston 251 The Death of Winthrop and other Eminent Persons . .251 Other Disasters 253 The Elections of 1650 254 Of 1651; Special Providences 255 Verses on God's Dealings with His New England People . 257 The Preaching of Christ to the Indians 261 Ministers sent to the Godly in Virginia 265 Judgments following their Expulsion 266 The Church in the Bermudas 267 The Time of the Fall of Antichrist 268 Concluding Verses on God's Wonder-working Providence . 272 Index 277 MAP AND FACSIMILE REPRODUCTIONS Title-Page of the "Wonder-working Providence." From a copy of the original in the Woburn Public Library . Frontispiece PAGE Map op New England in 1628-1651. From Palfrey's "History of New England" 64 First Page op the Records op the Town of Woburn. Handwriting of Major William Johnson, son of Captain Edward Johnson . .213 WONDER-WORKING PROVIDENCE OF SIONS SAVIOUR IN NEW ENGLAND 1628-1651 INTRODUCTION Late in the year 1653, but under date of 1654, Nathaniel Brooke, a London publisher, "at the Angel in Cornhill," brought out a small octavo book of two hundred and thirty- six pages, entitled A History of New-England, from the Eng- lish planting in the Yeere 1628 untill the Yeere 1652, etc. The title, inexact in any case, for the book is rather a history of Massachusetts than of all New England, was evidently affixed by the publisher. His advertisements show that at one time he thought of giving the book the title Historicall Relation of the First Planting of the English in New England in the Year 1628 to the Year 1653 and all the Materiall Passages happening there. But many reiterations in the text of the book show that the author's own title for his production was that which ap- pears in the running headlines of the printed book, and by which it has been generally known, The Wonder-working Providence of Sion's Saviour in New England.
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