Rev. James MacSparran was one of the great men given by Ireland to Rhode
Island in the early half of the eighteenth century. For nearly forty
years he was rector of St. Paul’s church,[5] in Narragansett, R. I., and
forms one of the grand figures in Rhode Island history.
He was born in or near Dungiven, Londonderry, Ireland, about the year
1680. He received the degree of M. A. from Glasgow University in 1709,
and that of D. D., from Oxford in 1731. He belonged to a Presbyterian
family. His first visit within the present territory of Rhode Island was
made about 1718.
He came from Boston to Bristol, then a part of Massachusetts, and
stopped during his visit at the house of a relative, the Widow
Pompelion, who resided at the corner of Hope and State streets.
Possessing credentials as a licentiate, he preached in Bristol and was
favorably received. Munro thus narrates[6] the incident:
“The pulpit was vacant, and the young Irishman was invited to preach in
the meeting house on the Sunday after he reached Bristol. Mr. M^cSparran
possessed, in an unusual degree, the remarkable eloquence with which so
many of the children of Ireland have been endowed, and his wonderful
oratory made such a deep impression upon the minds of his hearers that
at a church meeting held on the 16th of December, 1718, he was invited
to settle in the town as its pastor. On the 22d of December the town
concurred in the church’s choice, 73 votes being cast for Mr. M^cSparran
and but three against him.”
It was voted that his salary be £100 per year, and £100 was appropriated
toward the expense of his settlement. Thus far matters had gone along
smoothly. Trouble now arose, however. A date had been fixed for his
ordination, but the ministers who were expected to officiate refused to
do so.
MacSparran[7] being desirous of a settlement, offered to submit to lay
ordination. In the meantime, Rev. Dr. Mather of Massachusetts had
instituted charges against him. One of these was “Unguarded
conversation.” The matter came before a town-meeting in May, 1719, and
MacSparran was exonerated. Angered by their defeat, his opponents then
questioned the genuineness of his credentials. In order to give him an
opportunity to establish his standing, the town:
“Voted, That leave be granted to Mr. James MacSparran, our present
minister, to take a voyage to Ireland, in order to procure a
confirmation of his credentials, the truth of which being by some
questioned; and that he return to us again some time in June next
ensuing and proceed in the work of the ministry with us, if he procure
the confirmation of the aforesaid credentials.”
MacSparran departed, but never returned to that church or denomination.
The harsh and illiberal treatment he had received from Mather and other
zealots displeased him, and soon after he entered the Church of England,
in which he remained until his death.
MacSparran came to these parts again in 1721, this time as a Church of
England missionary. He began his ministerial labors at St. Paul’s church
in Narragansett (Kingstown, R. I.), and had charge of that colonial
parish until his death in 1757. The settlers in that neighborhood had
been visited by two ministers previous to Dr. MacSparran’s coming, but,
as he declares, “they lacked resolution to grapple with the difficulties
of the mission above a year apiece.”
MacSparran married Miss Hannah Gardiner, daughter of William Gardiner,
on May 22, 1722. The ceremony was performed in St. Paul’s church,
Narragansett, by Rev. Samuel Honeyman, who had gone from Newport for the
purpose. Dr. MacSparran was proud to be known as an Irishman. He could
write and speak the Irish language, and always had a great affection for
his native land. He was a kindly, noble-hearted man, and could, when
occasion required, eloquently defend his Roman Catholic
fellow-countrymen.
His very interesting work, “America Dissected,” was published at Dublin
in 1753. It gives us a good idea of the extent of Irish immigration and
of other matters in the colonies at that time. The work comprises
letters addressed by Dr. MacSparran from Narragansett “in the colony of
Rhode Island” to friends in Ireland. Here are extracts from one written
by him to Col. Henry Cary, under date of August, 1752:
“There has lately been made, upon and behind the mountains of Virginia,
a new Irish settlement, by a transmigration of sundry of those that,
within these thirty years past, went from the north of Ireland to
Pennsylvania. As the soil in that new Irish settlement is natural and
friendly to grass, they will for many years to come raise great
quantities of neat cattle.”
Writing of Maryland he says: “As the late Lord Baltimore was the first
Protestant peer of the Calvert family, his predecessors (as it was
natural they should) first peopled this province with a colony of Irish
Catholics.... There are some Quakers here, in consequence of its
bordering on Pennsylvania, and some Irish Presbyterians, owing to the
swarms that, for many years past, have winged their way westward out of
the great Hibernian hive.”
Again referring to Pennsylvania, Dr. MacSparran writes: “The Irish are
numerous in this province, who, besides their interspersions among the
English and others, have peopled a whole county by themselves, called
the county of _Donnegal_, with many other new out-towns and districts.
In one of these frontiers, on the forks of Delaware, I assisted my
brother (who left Ireland against my advice) in purchasing a large tract
of land, which by his wife’s demise, above a year ago, descends to his
children. The exportations from this province are principally wheaten
flour, which they send abroad in great quantities; and by the accessions
and industry of the Irish and Germans, they threaten, in a few years, to
lessen the American demands for Irish and other European linens.”
Alluding to New Hampshire he continues: “In this province lies that town
called London-Derry, all Irish, and famed for industry and riches.”
Then, leaving New Hampshire, he continues: “Next you enter Main,[8]
which in its civilized government, is annexed to the Massachusetts, as
Sagadahock also is; and both rather by use than right. In these two
eastern provinces many Irish are settled, and many have been ruined by
the French Indians and drove from their homes. It is pretty true to
observe of the Irish,[9] that those who come here with any wealth, are
the worse for their removal; though, doubtless, the next generation will
not suffer so much as their fathers; but those who, when they came, had
nothing to lose, have throve greatly by their labour.”
Dr. MacSparran’s reference to Rhode Island is of particular interest. He
writes of it as follows: “... the little colony of Rhode Island, etc.,
where Providence has fixed me, and where I have resided in quality of
missionary thirty-one years last April.... This little district extends
itself no more than forty miles in length, and thirty in breadth, or it
may be forty [for I write to you, sir, from memory]. It contains
1,024,000 acres, and is peopled with about 30,000 inhabitants, young and
old, white and black.... In 1700, after Quakerism and other heresies
had, in their turn, ruled and tinged all the inhabitants for the space
of forty-six years, the Church of England, that had been lost here
through the neglect of the crown, entered, as it were, unobserved and
unseen, and yet not without some success.
“A little church was built in Newport, the metropolis of the colony, in
1702, and that in which I officiate in Narragansett, in 1707.... I
entered on this mission in 1721, and found the people not a ... clean
sheet of paper, upon which I might make any impressions I pleased; but a
field full of briars and thorns, and noxious weeds, that were all to be
eradicated, before I could implant in them the simplicity of truth. By
my excursions and out labours, a church is built 25 miles to the
westward of me, but not now under my care; another 16 miles to the
northward of me, where I officiate once a month; and at a place six
miles further off, on the Saturday before that monthly Sunday. I
gathered a congregation at a place called New Bristol, where now
officiates a missionary from the Society, and I was the first Episcopal
minister that ever preached at Providence, where, for a long time, I
used to go four times a year, but that church has now a fixed missionary
of its own.”
In another place he tells us: “There are above three hundred vessels,
such as sloops, schooners, brigantines, and ships, from sixty tons and
upwards, that belong to this colony, and they are carriers for other
colonies.”
The church of St. Paul was built in 1707. When Kingstown was divided, in
1722, into the towns of North and South Kingstown, the church became
located about a mile over the line in the former place. In 1791 it was
incorporated as St. Paul’s church in North Kingstown. In 1800 the
building was removed to Wickford and the parish divided.
Dr. MacSparran was for nearly four decades closely identified with the
highest social and intellectual life of the colony. His scholarly
attainments made him the centre of a group[10] of cultivated minds. As
pastor of St. Paul’s church, he ministered to many of the leading
families in Rhode Island. He officiated at their weddings, administered
baptism, preached the gospel according to his convictions, and when
loved ones died uttered sweet words of condolence, sympathy and hope.
The church records contain such leading names as Updike, Arnold,
Lippitt, Gardiner, Helme, Wilkinson, Potter, Robinson and a large number
of others.
But “Parson” MacSparran, as he was lovingly called, was not alone the
friend and associate of the well-to-do. His love for the poor and lowly
was unbounded, and this sympathy found ample reciprocation in the hearts
of the humble.
In order to understand the general character of Narragansett society at
that period a few words may be necessary. Amos Perry[11] says: “The
honor of being, par excellence, the Narragansett country is generally
conceded to Charlestown and the original ‘Kings Towne,’ whose united
area is 19.8 per cent. of that of the entire state.” To make it plainer,
it should be said that the “Narragansett country” comprised that portion
of the state of Rhode Island now known as Washington county. It was so
called because it was the seat of the Narragansett Indians.[12] In 1654
it was named King’s Province, which in 1729 was changed to King’s
county. In 1781 that monarchical designation was dropped and the name
Washington substituted.
The county now comprises the towns of Charlestown, Exeter, Hopkinton,
North Kingstown, South Kingstown, Richmond, and Westerly. The
“Narragansett country” had long existed as an independent jurisdiction.
Finally, the king in council promulgated his decision uniting the
“King’s Province or Narragansett” to Rhode Island. For long years after,
the name “Narragansett country” was still affectionately retained in the
nomenclature of that district. In Dr. MacSparran’s time there were
numbers of wealthy landholders in Narragansett. Many of these owned
thousands of acres each and had great herds of cattle and flocks of
sheep. Many, too, were slave owners and slave dealers. As late as 1804,
Rhode Island had fifty-nine vessels engaged in the slave trade,
notwithstanding an act was passed in 1787 forbidding the traffic.[13]
For a long period the slaves were practically barred out of the church.
They were neither instructed, baptized, nor admitted to the communion.
To bestow such favors upon them was considered inconsistent by their
masters. But MacSparran, the great-hearted Irishman, combated this
error. He emphatically protested against this unchristian exclusion of
the slaves and ultimately prevailed in their behalf.
The Narragansett landholders and their families lived in princely style
on their vast estates. They were a hospitable race, cordial in their
welcomes, warm and lasting in their attachments. Fond of horse racing,
they raised a breed known as “Narragansett Pacers,” which became famous
throughout the country. Fox-hunting was also a favorite sport.
The glebe house occupied by Dr. MacSparran for over thirty years is yet
standing. It overlooks the Pettaquamscutt river. This river is really a
connected series of pretty lakes. Mr. Hazard once termed them the
“Killarneys of New England.” Dr. MacSparran taught many pupils at his
home, imparting a knowledge of the Greek and Latin classics and various
other branches. Writing in 1752, he says: “Mr. Thomas Clap, president of
Yale college, was my scholar when I came first to these parts, and on
all occasions gratefully acknowledges his receiving the first rudiments
of his learning from me, who, by the way, have not but a modicum to
boast of myself.” Dr. MacSparran has left this significant entry: “In
Bristol, New England, February 5th, 1722, were imprisoned in jail twelve
men of the Church of England for refusing to pay for the support of the
Presbyterian teacher, viz.: Mr. Nathaniel Cotton.” Others were
imprisoned in 1724 for a like offense, and Dr. MacSparran says: “I have
inserted this line in the church records, that the age to come may not
forget the opposing spirit of New England Presbyterians.” The following
extracts from the records of St. Paul’s church may prove of interest:
“July 11, 1721, four children were baptized at Providence, viz.: Mary
Bernon, and Eva Bernon, Anna Donnison, and Elizabeth Donnison, by Rev.
Mr. McSparran.
“November 8th, 1724. Captain Benoni Sweet was baptized at St. Paul’s, in
Narragansett, by the Rev. Mr. McSparran.
“April 22d, 1730. In Westerly, Narragansett, Christopher Champlin and
Hannah Hill, daughter of Captain John Hill, were joined together in holy
matrimony by the Rev. Mr. McSparran, at the house of the said Captain
John Hill.
“May 2d, 1730. Daniel Updike, Attorney-General of the Colony and
Lieutenant-Colonel of the militia of the Islands, was baptized by
immersion (in Petaquamscut river) by the Rev. Mr. McSparran, in presence
of Mr. McSparran, Hannah McSparran, his wife, and Josiah Arnold, church
warden, as witnesses.
“December 11th, 1735. Dr. Giles Goddard[14] of Groton, in Connecticut,
was married to Miss Sarah Updike, at the house of her father, Captain
Lodowick Updike, by Mr. McSparran.
“August 6, 1747. Dr. McSparran baptized Mrs. Elizabeth Wilkinson, wife
of Capt. Philip Wilkinson,[15] by immersion in Petaquamscut pond.
Witnesses, the Doctor, his wife, and Mrs. Coddington.
“Sept. 6th, Thursday, 1750. The bans of marriage being duly published at
the church of St. Paul’s, in Narragansett, no objections being made,
John Anthony, an Indian man, was married to Sarah George, an Indian
woman, the widow and Dowager Queen of Geo. Augustus Ninegret, deceased,
by Dr. McSparran.
“Nov. 18, 1750. Sunday, the banns being first duly asked, at St. Paul’s,
Dr. McSparran married William Potter, youngest son of Col. John Potter,
to Penelope Hazard, eldest daughter of Col. Thomas Hazard, both of South
Kingstown, at Col. Thomas Hazard’s house.
“Nov. 7, 1752. Dr. McSparran, at the house of Colonel Thomas Hazard, on
Boston Neck,[16] married George Hazard (son of George, the son of old
Thomas Hazard) to Sarah Hazard, the third daughter of said Colonel
Hazard.
“April 11th, 1756, being Palm Sunday, Doctor McSparran read prayers,
preached, and baptized a child named Gilbert Stewart,[17] son of Gilbert
Stewart, the snuff-grinder. Sureties, the Doctor, Mr. Benjamin Mumford,
and Mrs. Hannah Mumford.”
In 1741‒2, MacSparran in a letter to the Society for the Propagation of
the Gospel in Foreign Parts, writes that in the middle arm of the sea,
which divides the island of Rhode Island from the Narragansett shore,
lies an island called Conanicut, “about eight or nine miles long, and
two wide, containing about four or five hundred inhabitants, who had
never had Christianity preached to them in any shape than Quakerism,”
until he addressed them upon express invitation. He was so pleased with
his first visit to the island that he determined to repeat the visit
monthly. In the course of his letters he expresses the wish that Ireland
was at liberty to send the colonies her woolens instead of her linens,
“which will soon cease to be in demand here.”
MacSparran was unalterably opposed, in season and out of season, to all
efforts to form a legislative union between England and Ireland. He
gives expression to his sentiments on this point, in a letter to
Ireland,[18] wherein he declares:
“Our attention has for some time been taken up with the news of measures
on foot to unite Ireland to England, as Scotland is. I pray God they may
never take effect; for if they do, farewell liberty. You are greater
slaves already than our negroes, and an union of that kind would make
you more underlings than you are now. The accounts of the open
irreligion of the greater island inclines me to imagine, that Ireland is
on the brink of obtaining (as if these accounts are true, it deserves),
its ancient name of Insula Sanctorum. But if ever you come into a closer
connection with the more eastern island, corruption will increase.... I
suppose those that are sent to rule with you, like those who sometimes
are sent here, imagine fleecing to be a better business than feeding the
flock. The revolution which happened before you and I were born, might
be thought a wise and necessary measure, but we see it has been followed
with some bad consequences. To get free from Popery, we have run into
infidelity and scepticism.... Except the little revival religion had in
Queen Ann’s reign, the church has gained no ground, but in America,
since that period.”
Dr. MacSparran, in a letter addressed[19] to a friend in Ireland under
date of 1752, again refers to Rhode Island, saying: “There are here,
which is no good symptom, a vast many law suits, more in one year than
the county of Derry has in twenty ... and Billy McEvers has been so long
your father’s and your honor’s constable, that he would make a very good
figure on the bench of our courts of sessions and of common pleas, and
no contemptible one on those of our courts of assize and general gaol
delivery.”
Writing to his friend William Stevenson, in Ireland, Aug. 21, 1752,
MacSparran informs him that “My brother and his wife died a year ago
last June.... I have to go for England for ten or twelve months, to go
to the baths for better health; if I can bring matters to bear to get to
England, my next push will be to be seated in Ireland.... I am in the
hands of a good God, who has the hearts of men at command; and if he
sees that I can serve the interests of Christ’s church, either in the
use of the English or Irish language, which you know I can write and
read, and upon occasion could preach in, He will raise me up friends,
and restore me to my native land, or near it—if not, His will be done.”
Dr. MacSparran’s brother, whom he mentions, Archibald, sailed from
Ireland for Rhode Island, but the ship made another port and he settled
near New Castle on Delaware bay. He had seven children: Margaret, Eliza,
Bridget, John, James, Archibald, and Joseph. Dr. MacSparran, as I have
said, had no children. The Doctor and his wife went to England sometime
before 1755. She died there in the latter year.
The Doctor returned to Rhode Island and made pastoral visits to
Providence, Warwick and several other places. In 1757 he died.[20] The
manner of his death was a little remarkable. It is thus described in
papers in the possession of the Updike family:
“Dr. MacSparran caught his death at father’s. He went to prayer, and had
read and was going to kneel, and being a fat, heavy man, and putting his
hands on the table to ease himself down, the table split off and his
weight came down and he hit the edge of his eyebrow against the sharp
edge of the table leg and he bled profusely—but he would have nothing
done till he had finished his prayer. They bound it up and he got home
and never recovered.”
He was buried under the communion table of St. Paul’s. In 1781 his
successor, Rev. Samuel Fayerweather, was laid beside him. It is believed
that Dr. MacSparran had written a history of Narragansett, but the
manuscript was not found after his death. It may have previously been
sent to Ireland. He bequeathed his house and farm to church purposes and
the property became a glebe for the rectors of St. Paul’s.
Sometime previous to his death he sent his diplomas as Master and Doctor
to Rev. Paul Limrick, a cousin in Ireland, requesting the latter to have
them registered in the parish registry of Dungiven. He asked to have
this done “not through vanity, but being a pilgrim on earth and not
knowing but my _carcase_ may fall in a strange land, it would be
pleasing to me that my relations in time to come might be able to speak
of me with authority.”