About John Davenport
John Davenport (Puritan)
Contemporary portrait of John Davenport (April 9, 1597 – May 30, 1670) was an English puritan clergyman and co-founder of the American colony of New Haven.
Early Life
Born in Coventry, Warwickshire, England to a wealthy family, Davenport was educated at Oxford University. He matriculated at Merton College in 1613 but migrated to Magdalen College two years later, eventually leaving Oxford before completing his degree.
His father was Henry Davenport (d. May 29, 1627), draper, alderman, and Mayor of Coventry, son of Edward Davenport, Mayor of Coventry, and was born of numerous royal families (1551), and Margery Harford. His mother, Winifred Barnaby (1569 - April 12, 1597), is a descendant of English and French Royalty. A direct descendant of King Edward the III and is most probably a descendant of William I of Scotland and of Henry I of England and a direct descendant of an illegitimate son of Henry II and Rosamond de Clifford.
Career
After serving as the chaplain of Hilton Castle he became the minister of St. Stephen Coleman Street in London. In 1625 he returned to Oxford for further studies. Following a disagreement over the inclusion of the destitute in church congregations, in 1633 he resigned from the established church and moved to Holland.
While in Holland, it is believed that he was the model for several portraits by Rembrandt, which are now thought to be self portraits of Rembrandt.
In 1637 he acquired the patent for a colony in Massachusetts and sailed with much of his congregation for Boston. In March of 1638 he co-founded the Colony of New Haven along with his classmate, Theophilus Eaton, a wealthy merchant from London who became the colony's first governor. He was a large proponent of education in his colony and is often credited with the co-founding of Hopkins School.
Davenport was a life-long advocate of the rigorous Puritan standards for church membership and for the strict qualifications for [[infant baptism]], which he believed should be administered only to the children of full church members. His time in Holland had been disrupted by a controversy with his supervising pastor John Paget over this issue, and it led to his withdrawal from the Puritan church in Amsterdam. In New England, he was a staunch opponent of the recommendations made by the Synod of 1662, known as the Half-Way Covenant, which proposed that the children of "half-way" members (those who had been baptized as infants but who had not given evidence of a "conversion" and been admitted to full membership) be allowed to receive baptism.
In September 1667, after the death of their pastor, John Wilson, the First Church in Boston invited Davenport to be their new pastor. A minority in that church opposed the invitation, objecting to his rejection of the compromise on infant baptism. Convention required that Davenport secure a release from his former congregation before accepting a new post, and the church in New Haven was reluctant to let him go. Still, he moved to Boston in the spring of 1668, and eventually produced excerpts of a letter from the New Haven church that appeared to grant his release. He was installed as pastor of the First Church in December 1668, but a faction opposed to his appointment sought to withdraw from the church to form a new congregation. A council of clergy from local churches endorsed their request, and they formed the Old South Church Third or Old South Church in May 1669.
Davenport preached the Election Sermon before the Massachusetts General Court in Boston, using the occasion to condemn the actions of "Councils" that interfered with the liberty and administration of individual congregations. Perhaps instigated by this sermon, the Deputies (the lower house of the General Court) named a commission to investigate the actions of the founders of the Third Church and the ministers who had endorsed the separation. However, the Assistants (the upper house) blocked any action, including the publication of Davenport's sermon at public expense. Later that summer, it was discovered that the release letter from New Haven had been severely redacted to give an impression that was not perhaps warranted, though Davenport's First Church rejected charges that they had been misrepresented.
Davenport's appointment to the leading church in New England and his inflammatory election sermon brought to a head the simmering disagreements over the compromise settlement of the Half-way Synod. But Davenport died the following year; [[Increase Mather]], the other leading Anti-Synodist, experienced a change of heart; and Synodist deputies swept the election of 1671, ending the temporary crisis. As a Burgess, he was an important figure in the colony up until his departure to Boston in 1669.
Davenport died in Boston of Apoplexy March 15, 1670, and was buried in the same tomb as John Cotton (puritan) in King's Chapel Burying Ground at Tremont and School Streets, Boston, MA.
Legacy
Yale University's Davenport College is named in his honor. Even while the Yale University itself was formed by the Rev. John Davenport. Both President George H. W. and George W. Bush attended Davenport College and were proved by DNA evidence to be related to John Davenport as well as descended from Thomas Davenport.
Recently, DNA evidence has proven that his grandfather, Edward Davenport of Coventry, was descended from the Davenports of Henbury. In addition, the DNA evidence has established his descent from Ormus de Davenport, of Cheshire, and also his relationship to the present day Lord Bromley Davenport.
Notable descendants include brothers John and James Davenport, who were Congressmen, Abraham Davenport, the "Dark Day" poem, Archibald Cox, the Watergate Special Prosecutor, and Maxwell Perkins, the editor.
References
External links
Contemporary portrait of John Davenport (April 9, 1597 – May 30, 1670) was an English puritan clergyman and co-founder of the American colony of New Haven.
Early Life
Born in Coventry, Warwickshire, England to a wealthy family, Davenport was educated at Oxford University. He matriculated at Merton College in 1613 but migrated to Magdalen College two years later, eventually leaving Oxford before completing his degree.
His father was Henry Davenport (d. May 29, 1627), draper, alderman, and Mayor of Coventry, son of Edward Davenport, Mayor of Coventry, and was born of numerous royal families (1551), and Margery Harford. His mother, Winifred Barnaby (1569 - April 12, 1597), is a descendant of English and French Royalty. A direct descendant of King Edward the III and is most probably a descendant of William I of Scotland and of Henry I of England and a direct descendant of an illegitimate son of Henry II and Rosamond de Clifford.
Career
After serving as the chaplain of Hilton Castle he became the minister of St. Stephen Coleman Street in London. In 1625 he returned to Oxford for further studies. Following a disagreement over the inclusion of the destitute in church congregations, in 1633 he resigned from the established church and moved to Holland.
While in Holland, it is believed that he was the model for several portraits by Rembrandt, which are now thought to be self portraits of Rembrandt.
In 1637 he acquired the patent for a colony in Massachusetts and sailed with much of his congregation for Boston. In March of 1638 he co-founded the Colony of New Haven along with his classmate, Theophilus Eaton, a wealthy merchant from London who became the colony's first governor. He was a large proponent of education in his colony and is often credited with the co-founding of Hopkins School.
Davenport was a life-long advocate of the rigorous Puritan standards for church membership and for the strict qualifications for [[infant baptism]], which he believed should be administered only to the children of full church members. His time in Holland had been disrupted by a controversy with his supervising pastor John Paget over this issue, and it led to his withdrawal from the Puritan church in Amsterdam. In New England, he was a staunch opponent of the recommendations made by the Synod of 1662, known as the Half-Way Covenant, which proposed that the children of "half-way" members (those who had been baptized as infants but who had not given evidence of a "conversion" and been admitted to full membership) be allowed to receive baptism.
In September 1667, after the death of their pastor, John Wilson, the First Church in Boston invited Davenport to be their new pastor. A minority in that church opposed the invitation, objecting to his rejection of the compromise on infant baptism. Convention required that Davenport secure a release from his former congregation before accepting a new post, and the church in New Haven was reluctant to let him go. Still, he moved to Boston in the spring of 1668, and eventually produced excerpts of a letter from the New Haven church that appeared to grant his release. He was installed as pastor of the First Church in December 1668, but a faction opposed to his appointment sought to withdraw from the church to form a new congregation. A council of clergy from local churches endorsed their request, and they formed the Old South Church Third or Old South Church in May 1669.
Davenport preached the Election Sermon before the Massachusetts General Court in Boston, using the occasion to condemn the actions of "Councils" that interfered with the liberty and administration of individual congregations. Perhaps instigated by this sermon, the Deputies (the lower house of the General Court) named a commission to investigate the actions of the founders of the Third Church and the ministers who had endorsed the separation. However, the Assistants (the upper house) blocked any action, including the publication of Davenport's sermon at public expense. Later that summer, it was discovered that the release letter from New Haven had been severely redacted to give an impression that was not perhaps warranted, though Davenport's First Church rejected charges that they had been misrepresented.
Davenport's appointment to the leading church in New England and his inflammatory election sermon brought to a head the simmering disagreements over the compromise settlement of the Half-way Synod. But Davenport died the following year; [[Increase Mather]], the other leading Anti-Synodist, experienced a change of heart; and Synodist deputies swept the election of 1671, ending the temporary crisis. As a Burgess, he was an important figure in the colony up until his departure to Boston in 1669.
Davenport died in Boston of Apoplexy March 15, 1670, and was buried in the same tomb as John Cotton (puritan) in King's Chapel Burying Ground at Tremont and School Streets, Boston, MA.
Legacy
Yale University's Davenport College is named in his honor. Even while the Yale University itself was formed by the Rev. John Davenport. Both President George H. W. and George W. Bush attended Davenport College and were proved by DNA evidence to be related to John Davenport as well as descended from Thomas Davenport.
Recently, DNA evidence has proven that his grandfather, Edward Davenport of Coventry, was descended from the Davenports of Henbury. In addition, the DNA evidence has established his descent from Ormus de Davenport, of Cheshire, and also his relationship to the present day Lord Bromley Davenport.
Notable descendants include brothers John and James Davenport, who were Congressmen, Abraham Davenport, the "Dark Day" poem, Archibald Cox, the Watergate Special Prosecutor, and Maxwell Perkins, the editor.
References
- ↑ Lecture by Francis J. Bremer, Ph.D., at the Stamford Historical Society, April 17, 2005
- ↑ Gary Boyd Roberts. The Royal Descents of 600 Immigrants to the American Colonies or the United States, 1st edition. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 2004, pp. 422-3, 479-80; and Frederick Lews Weis, et al. Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonists Who Came to America before 1700, 8th edition. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 2004, line 230A, p. 205. See Roberts, pp. 422-3, for discussion of Barnaby's ancestry.
- Chronicles of Hopkins Grammar School: 1660-1935. Thomas B Davis. Quinnipiack Press, New Haven, CT. 1938
- http://www.davenportdna.com/ Davenport Surname DNA project
External links
- Genepool: Saint Stephen's page
- M'Clure, Alexander Wilson, The lives of John Wilson, John Norton, and John Davenport (1846)
- Hilton Castle, Durham An actual engraved image of Durham Castle can be found here, with links back to the London Genealogy page.
- Ancestry.com gives several references as to the death date of Davenport.
- Davenport DNA study