Society for the Propagation of the Gospel

Chronology

• 1649 : Ordinance in England for the Propagation of the Gospel in New Englandhttps://archive.org/details/accountofsociety00soci/page/3/mode/1up (page 4)
• 1661 : "New Spirit to these Good Designs" ~• under Charles II
• 1675 : Charle II revives effort as there were "scarce three ordained ministers in all of the colonies" see An account of the Society for Propagating the Gospel in Foreign Parts, established by the Royal Charter of King William III ( henceforth "Account (1706)" ). see page 12
• 1693 : Founding of William and Mary College (Account (1706) page 26
• 1700 : "Around 1700, 200 French reformed families lived in what is today New York City, together with 450 Dutch Reformed Calvinist and 90 Anglican families " (Butler 47, 147)
• 1701 Charter (Account (1706) page 15 : 16 June 1701
• c.1703 : Founding of William and Mary College (Account (1706) page 26
• 1776-1783 SPG during the Revolution
  • Homeland Security in the Pennsylvania Backcountry, 1777–1778: The Example of the Reverend Mr. Daniel Batwelle, SPG James P. Myers Jr. Pennsylvania History: A Journal of Mid-Atlantic Studies, Vol. 78, No. 3 (Summer 2011), pp. 247-271 (25 pages)

https://doi.org/10.5325/pennhistory.78.3.0247 jstor

17th -18th - 19th century members

• Boyle : (the scientist) The Hon. Robert Boyle
• Bray : Reverend Thomas Bray (founder of the SPG)
• Chamberlayne : https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Chamberlayne-164 (first secretary of the SPG) John Chamberlayne
• Compton : Henry Compton, Bishop of London = Henry Compton, Bishop of London
• Currie : Rev. William Currie resigned position in the Colony of PA due to the Revolution
• Holman : Dame Jane Holman, relict of John Weston, Northamptonshire; bequest of £1,000 op. cit. pg.86
• Jenkins : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leoline_Jenkins ; Sir Leoline Jenkins
• Keith : Rev. George Keith, D.D.
• Laborie : Jacques Laborie at L'´Eglise du St. Esprit (Manhattan)
• Murray : Reverend Doctor Alexander Murray (SPG) (at St. Gabriel's, Douglassville PA until Sep. 1778 ) one successor was Rev. John Wade
  • see: https://www.geni.com/documents/view?doc_id=6000000213907754821
• Neau Rev. Elias Neau
• Nichols (also Nicholls) : Henry Nichols (1678-1748) was the first residential missionary to Pennsylvannia for the “Society for Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts”, arriving in 1703. His churches were located in Chester, Concord, Radnor, and Montgomery.
• Nicholson, Francis (1655-1728) Gov. of Maryland , charter member
• Ogden : Rev. John C. Ogden (1751-1800) (in Vermont) https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-17-02-0212 ; https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-31-02-0011
• Oley : Vicar Barnabas Oley (1602-1686) ; https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Dictionary_of_National_Biography,_18... ; bequest for the cause in https://archive.org/details/accountofsociety00soci/page/9/mode/1up page 9
• OIglethorpe : Gen. James Edward Oglethorpe (associated with Dr. Bray: see https://www.americanantiquarian.org/proceedings/44806985.pdf page 316
• Perceval : John Perceval, 1st Earl of Egmont
• Porteus : Beilby Porteus, Bishop of Chester (1776-87) and then of London (1787-1809: he was appointed by Pitt) and therefore episcopally responsible for the churches in the remaining colonies in America. In 1769 Beilby Porteus was appointed as chaplain to King George III.
• Ross : Rev. George Aeneas Ross, M.A.
• Swedburg Jesper Danielis Swedberg
• Tassin : Abel Tessin aka Sieur d'Alione, secretary to King William at the Hague. A bequest of the said Hollander to the SPG (see: https://www.americanantiquarian.org/proceedings/44806985.pdf page 315); https://historyreclaimed.co.uk/codrington-at-all-souls-the-awakenin...
• Tenison : Thomas Tenison, Archbishop of Canterbury
• Willis : Richard Willis (1664-1734), Dean of Lincoln op.cit. pg. 80 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Willis_(bishop) ; first sermon on behalf of the new SPG Feb. 20, 1701/2

"The four men who, as shown by these documents, provided the society with its active leadership during its formative years were: the Archbishop of Canterbury (Bray), Thomas Tenison; the Bishop of London, Henry Compton; its first secretary, John Chamberlayne; and its first treasurer, John Hodges."

" The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts (SPG) was a Church of England missionary organization active in the British Atlantic world in the 18th and 19th centuries. Founded in 1701 by Reverend Thomas Bray and a small group of lay and clerical associates, it sent Anglican clergymen and religious literature to Britain’s colonies, supported schoolmasters and the establishment of new churches, and lobbied for a more expansive place for the Church of England in Britain’s burgeoning empire. In total, the SPG supported more than four hundred overseas agents in the 18th century."

(snip)

"The SPG devoted the bulk of its resources to bringing Anglican worship to European settlers and was instrumental in the long-term institutional development of the Church of England and Episcopalianism in the United States, Canada, and elsewhere. It also worked, albeit with mixed results, toward the Christianization of Native Americans and free and enslaved Africans and African Americans. The society’s original charter confined its operations to Britain’s colonies, so its activities in much of mainland North America ceased with the establishment of an independent United States in 1783." ~• from: oxfordbibliographies.com

(snip)

"(there remains a context that) incorporates the history of the 18th-century SPG into a wider argument about the relationship between missionary activity and the aims of British imperialists." {Porter 2004}

(snip)

"The society remains active worldwide, operating after 1965 as the United Society for the Propagation of the Gospel (USPG) and since a 2012 rebranding as the United Society or “Us.” "

sources

• https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-978019973041...
• Stable URL https://www.jstor.org/stable/42612462 Roses Among The Thorns: Colonial Swedes and Anglicans on the Delaware : Kim-Eric Williams
• An Account of the Society for Propagating the Gospel in Foreign Parts: Established by the Royal Charter of King William III., With Their Proceedings and Success, and Hopes of Continual Progress Under the Happy Reign of Her Most Excellent Majesty Queen Anne ( Pub. by forgotten books) see Amazon
• An account of the Society for Propagating the Gospel in Foreign Parts, established by the Royal Charter of King William III (1706); printed by order of John Chamberlayne , sec. of the SPG
• wikipedia
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_clergy_in_the_American_Revolu...
• Religious Orthodoxy and Trans-Confessional Practices in Colonial New York and South Carolina by Susanne Lachenicht• Dans Revue française d’études américaines 2014/4 (n° 141), pages 21 à 31 see: https://www.cairn.info/revue-francaise-d-etudes-americaines-2014-4-...
• https://trinitywallstreet.org/stories-news/unearthing-our-past ~• section entitled: "Catechizing and Education"