James MacSparran (10 September 1693 – 5 December 1757) was an Irish-born

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

clergyman, writer,

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, and

slaveowner Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

Biography

Early life

James MacSparran was born at

Dungiven Dungiven () is a small town, townland and civil parish in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It is near the main A6 Belfast to Derry road, which bypasses the town. It lies where the rivers Roe, Owenreagh and Owenbeg meet at the foot of the B ...

, co. Deny, and received his education at the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

, where he was admitted M.A. on 5 March 1709. He appears to have been brought up as a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

, but having, as he says, been afflicted and abused by a false charge in his youth he was induced to become an

Anglican clergyman The Anglican ministry is both the leadership and agency of Christian service in the Anglican Communion. "Ministry" commonly refers to the office of ordained clergy: the ''threefold order'' of bishops, priests and deacons. More accurately, Anglica ...

in 1720, and in 1721 was sent by the

Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Societi ...

as a missionary to

Narragansett, Rhode Island Narragansett is a town in Washington County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 14,532 at the 2020 census. However, during the summer months the town's population more than doubles to near 34,000. The town of Narragansett occupies ...

Career

He was minister of St. Paul's Church there for thirty-six years. Furthermore, he was also instrumental in erecting the church at

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in 1725, and occasionally preached there. When in 1729 Dean (afterwards

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

) George Berkelev and the portrait-painter

John Smibert John Smibert (rarely spelled Smybert; ; 24 March 1688 – 2 April 1751) was a Scottish-born painter, regarded as the first academically trained artist to live and work regularly in British America. Career Born in Edinburgh on 24 March 1688, Smi ...

, F.S.A., arrived at Rhode Island, they made a lengthened stay with Mac Sparran, and Smibert painted the portraits of both him and his wife. (The portraits are currently owned by the

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and the

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston The Museum of Fine Arts (often abbreviated as MFA Boston or MFA) is an art museum in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the 20th-largest art museum in the world, measured by public gallery area. It contains 8,161 paintings and more than 450,000 works ...

, respectively.) The climate did not agree with Macsparran, and he was besides involved in a lawsuit with the non- conformists about

glebe Glebe (; also known as church furlong, rectory manor or parson's close(s))McGurk 1970, p. 17 is an area of land within an ecclesiastical parish used to support a parish priest. The land may be owned by the church, or its profits may be reserved ...

land which lasted for twenty-eight years. In June 1736 he went to England for a year. The

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, to mark their appreciation of the sacrifices which he had made in resisting the

dissenter A dissenter (from the Latin ''dissentire'', "to disagree") is one who dissents (disagrees) in matters of opinion, belief, etc. Usage in Christianity Dissent from the Anglican church In the social and religious history of England and Wales, and ...

s, conferred on him the degree of D.D. on 5 April 1787. On 4 Aug. 1751 Macsparran preached at St. Paul's Church, Narragansett, a sermon on the 'Sacred Dignity of the Christian Priesthood vindicated,' which he afterwards had printed at

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, ...

. The object of his discourse was to correct sundry irregularities which had crept into the worship of the English church in America; but the congregational clergy chose to understand it as directed against themselves, and some vigorous pamphleteering ensued, in which, however, Macsparran declined to take part. In 1752 the lawsuit, on which Mac Sparran expended at least 600 pounds, ended in favour of the 'independent teacher,' The

Bishop of London A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

condoled with him on the loss of a cause 'so just on the church's side,' and hinted that there would be no difficulty in making him bishop of Rhode Island were he so inclined. Mac Sparran accordingly went to England in the autumn of 1754, accompanied by his wife; but the death of his wife induced him to return to America in February 1756 without becoming a bishop. 'He had rather dwell,' he said, 'in the hearts of his parishioners than wear all the bishop's gowns in the world.' He longed in reality for preferment in Ireland, for which he knew himself to be peculiarly well qualified, as he could read and write, and upon occasion preach, in Irish. His chief work is entitled ''America Dissected: being a Full and True Account of the American Colonies'',

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, 1753. It consists of three letters addressed respectively to the Hon. Colonel Henry Cary, his cousin the Rev. Paul Limrick, and William Stevenson, and was published to warn 'unsteady people' against emigrating to America on account of bad climate, bad money, danger from enemies, pestilent heresies, and the like. This curious work, which is among the scarcest of

Americana Americana may refer to: *Americana (music), a genre or style of American music *Americana (culture), artifacts of the culture of the United States Film, radio and television * ''Americana'' (1992 TV series), a documentary series presented by J ...

, was reprinted in an appendix to Wilkins Updike's ''History of the Episcopal Church in Narragansett'', New York City, 1847, with portraits of Macsparran and his wife. Mac Sparran likewise published several sermons, which are also very scarce. He contemplated printing an extended history of the colonies, especially of New England, but of this no trace could be found among his papers.

Death

Mac Sparran died at his house in South Kingston, Rhode Island, on 1 Dec. 1757, and was buried on 6 Dec. under the altar in St. Paul's, Narragansett. On 22 May 1722 he married Hannah, daughter of William Gardiner of

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, Narragansett. She died in London of

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...

on 24 June 1755, and was buried in Broadway Chapel burying-yard in

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

, leaving no issue. He was inducted into the

Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame The Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame was established in the State of Rhode Island in 1965. Its mission statement states that the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame "exists to honor and recognize, and to extol and publicize the achievements of th ...

in 1998.

References

1693 births 1757 deaths {{more cats, date=September 2021