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William Montague (cleric)

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William Montague was an Anglican cleric at Old North Church in Boston and St. Paul's in Dedham, Massachusetts.

Personal life

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Coat of Arms of William Montague

Montague was born in South Hadley, Massachusetts on September 23, 1757, to Joseph and Sarah Henry Montague.[1] He was graduated from Dartmouth College in 1784.[1]

He was married to Jane Little.[2][3] Their daughter, also named Jane Little Montague, was a teacher at the Mill Village School and the First Middle School in Dedham.[2] Another daughter, Sarah Ann Montague, taught in the East Street School.[3] She had a son who served in the Civil War as a captain in the 38th Infantry Regiment.[3]

While in England, Montague obtained the musket ball that killed Joseph Warren.[4][5] His son, William Henry Montague, donated it to the New England Historic Genealogical Society, an organization he helped found.[4] Montague also fought in the Revolutionary War.[4]

He died in Dedham July 22, 1833.[1][4]

Ministry

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He was ordained by Bishop Samuel Seabury of Connecticut.[1] Montague was rector of Old North Church in Boston from 1787 to 1792.[1] After traveling to London in 1790, he became the first minister ordained in America to occupy a pulpit of the English Church.[1]

In May 1777, Rev. William Clark, a Tory, was charged by the Board of Selectmen in Dedham of being a traitor to the American Revolution.[6][7] He was arrested and jailed for 10 weeks on a prison ship.[8][9] In June 1778, Fisher Ames obtained a pass for him and Clark was allowed to leave America.[8][10] It was not until 1791 that the congregation regrouped and called Montague.[11][12]

Montague received a salary in Dedham of £100 sterling.[13] He remained in the Dedham church until 1818.[1][a] He lived on the south side High Street, near the intersection with East Street.[5][b]

Teaching career

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Monatague taught in the First Middle School for three winters in 1793–94, 1794–95, and 1795–96.[1] In 1800, he taught in Dorchester.[1][c] He is said to have excelled as a teacher of mathematics.[1]

Notes

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  1. ^ Burgess has his departure as being in 1815.[12]
  2. ^ The Titcomb family later lived in this house.[5]
  3. ^ His assistant was Lawrence Sprague, the son of Dr. John Sprague of Dedham.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Slafter 1905, p. 89.
  2. ^ a b Slafter 1905, p. 117.
  3. ^ a b c Slafter 1905, p. 129.
  4. ^ a b c d Parker, Frederic W. (1898). "Bullet taken from the Body of Gen. Warren, who was killed at the Battle of Bunker Hill". The New England Historical and Genealogical Register. 52. Heritage Books: 147. ISBN 978-0-7884-0916-5.
  5. ^ a b c Clarke 1903, p. 12.
  6. ^ Hanson 1976, p. 155-156.
  7. ^ Dedham Historical Society 2001, p. 27.
  8. ^ a b Hanson 1976, p. 158.
  9. ^ Worthington 1827, p. 71.
  10. ^ Hurd 1884, p. 56.
  11. ^ Hanson 1976, p. 164.
  12. ^ a b Burgess, Ebenezer (1840). Dedham Pulpit: Or, Sermons by the Pastors of the First Church in Dedham in the XVIIth and XVIIIth Centuries. Perkins & Marvin. p. 515. Retrieved May 3, 2021.
  13. ^ Burt, Sally (January 2008). "Church History". St. Paul's Church. Retrieved May 6, 2021.

Works cited

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