Professor Forsythe's remarks about the bishops reminds me that we should
include in the discussion of the church-state relationship the
Commissary, James Blair, who wore so many hats in colonial Virginia: he
was founder of William and Mary College, Commissary for the Bishop of
London, and for a long time, President of the Governors Council.
Blair's power there was so extensive that even William Byrd II -- no
political lightweight -- felt dominated by him. The Royal Governor Sir
William Gooch loathed him, but recognized how entrenched his power was.
Only after Blair died, was Byrd able to assume the top position in the
Council that he so long wanted and Gooch was happy to have outlived him.
David Kiracofe.
David Kiracofe
History Department
MAK 1060
Grand Valley State University
Allendale, MI 49401
[log in to unmask]
>>> [log in to unmask] 03/31/05 10:04 AM >>>
Professor Kiracofe,
Your post is not pedantic, it is right to the point. Governance in
the
Early Modern period involved fewer actual bureaucrats and fewer laws and
regulations, but it was as I understand it quite complex. I had
forgotten
about the Act of Toleration, which was part of the price that General
Monck
(soon to be made a Duke) and what remained of the Long Parliament
extracted
from Charles II, in exchange for his Restoration to the throne.
Yet, toleration was for certain Protestant groups, not all. Quakers
were
persecuted in Virginia and Massachusetts after the Act was approved and
Catholics and Jews had quite limited religious freedom outside those few
colonies (PA, RI, and MD) that built religious toleration into their
civil
compacts.
It is very helpful to put colonial Virginia within the context of the
North American colonies and the Empire. Someone posted earlier noting
that
the Episcopalian Church was only established in America in 1789. This
is, I
think, true but it should have been put in context. During the colonial
period, while the Anglican Church was the state church of the UK and the
Empire (the Duchy of Hanover excepted), no bishops were appointed to any
of
the 13 colonies. It was in this way, not in the manner of church
wardens,
vestry boards, and tax support for Anglican parish operations, that the
EC
was not "established."
Harold S. Forsythe
Golieb Fellow
New York University, School of Law
----- Original Message -----
From: "David Kiracofe" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, March 31, 2005 9:54 AM
Subject: Re: Genealogy and racial integrity
>I don't want to sound pendantic, but the English Parliament passed in
> the late 17th century and the Virginia House of Burgesses recoginzed
the
> Act of Toleration. This meant that qualified dissenters -- including
> Baptists -- could be free from worshipping in the local Anglican
Parish.
> But the Act of Toleration did not release the dissenters from their
> financial obligations to support the parish -- this was really the
major
> sticking point -- and they had to hold their services in some fixed
> location. The unlicenced dissenters were attempting to circumvent the
> law that stated they had to preach at some regular place. Baptists
were
> not outlawed per se, just the preachers who would not adhere to the
> licensing law. This formed a major part of the so-called Baptist
> challenge that Rhys Isaac has illuminated for us.
>
> David Kiracofe
>
> David Kiracofe
> History Department
> MAK 1060
> Grand Valley State University
> Allendale, MI 49401
> [log in to unmask]
>>>> [log in to unmask] 03/31/05 1:01 AM >>>
> My ancestor, Rawley Pinn, started a Baptist Church in the 1700's,
which
> still exists today. The name of the Church is Fairmount Baptist, and
it
> is
> in Stapleton Virginia (Nelson County). Church records have been kept
> from
> the 1700's, when members had to hide from the Anglicans &
Episcopalians
> to
> have service. Rawley Pinn, was listed as Mulatto in the 1783 census,
and
> was
> also a farmer in Amherst County. He was the first pastor and founder
of
> Fairmount Baptist Church. The Baptist Movement was called the Great
> Awakening, and it was actually outlawed by the Anglican Church. In
1768,
> the
> Anglicans enforced the law against preaching by unlicensed dissenters,
> and
> about thirty-four Ministers were thrown in jail. I wonder how this
> happened
> since the point has been made that the Anglicans were not the law.
>
>
> Anita
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> AMAZON.COM PURCHASE SITE - NOTES AND DOCUMENTS OF FREE PERSONS OF
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> :
>
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>
> BOWDENS' OF POPES CREEK WEBSITE:
> http://www.orgsites.com/ca/mpbwdnfnd/index.html
>
> "The ruin of a nation begins in the homes of its
> people" African Proverb.
>
>
>
>
> ----Original Message Follows----
> From: Holly Wilhelm <[log in to unmask]>
> Reply-To: Discussion of research and writing about Virginia history
>
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