In the Footsteps of the Puritans: Whitefield in New England

George Whitefield was excited to visit New England. The Grand Itinerant arrived in 1740, amidst his third missionary tour to the British North American colonies. It would be the first of many trips to New England, his death coming in the parsonage of the Old South Presbyterian Church in Newburyport, Massachusetts during his seventh and final tour. Whitefield visited each of the New England colonies, although most of his time was spent in Massachusetts.
 
By the time of Whitefield’s arrival to the region, New England’s growing emphasis on individualism, increased commercial connections to the greater Atlantic World and immigration (among other things) had undermined Puritan influence on civic life. A new royal charter in 1690 had also opened the Congregationalist stronghold up to other protestant sects, even if denominations were frequently not treated equally. The region’s religious topography included Congregationalists, French Catholics, Dutch Reformed, Quakers, and Anglicans. Despite these changes, most New England clergy were the Harvard (or Yale) educated scions of well-connected clerical families. As had their Puritan predecessors, they also expected considerable deference from their congregants, even if they had much less weigh in civic matters.
 
Whitefield arrived to a region with a fragile religious peace, but one where many clergy worried about the decline in piety. Both Whitefield’s popularity, and his controversial reputation preceded him. Benjamin Coleman, Jonathan Edwards, and the other clergy who were responsible for inviting him to New England recognized that his visit was not without risk. Nonetheless, they hoped that he would renew New Englanders’ interests in religious life.
 
This talk will explore Whitefield’s reception in the New England colonies, his relationship with its clergy, and the effect his visits had on New England’s religious life. It will conclude with a discussion of his death, funeral, and memorialization.
 
Old South will be offering free on the hour tours before Jessica’s talk, starting at 12pm.  This is in partnership with the Essex National Heritage’s annual Trails and Sails Event. 
 
 
Jessica Parr is a historian specializing in the history of religion and race in the Early Modern Atlantic World. She received her PhD in 2012 from the University of New Hampshire at Durham, and currently teaches at the University of New Hampshire at Manchester and Emmanuel College (Boston). Her first book, Inventing George Whitefield: Race, Revivalism, and the Making of a Religious Icon, was published in 2015 by the University Press of Mississippi. She is also a regular contributor to The Junto: an Early American Blog. Parr is the recipient of several grants and fellowship.