Timothy Cutler (May 31, 1684 – August 17, 1765) was an American Episcopal clergyman and

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

Family background

Cutler was born in Charlestown, Massachusetts, a descendant of Robert Cutler who settled there prior to October 28, 1636. His father was Major John Cutler, an

anchor An anchor is a device, normally made of metal , used to secure a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the craft from drifting due to wind or current. The word derives from Latin ''ancora'', which itself comes from the Greek ἄ� ...

smith, and his mother, Martha Wiswall. Both his father and grandfather opposed the government formed after the overthrow of

Edmund Andros Sir Edmund Andros (6 December 1637 – 24 February 1714) was an English colonial administrator in British America. He was the governor of the Dominion of New England during most of its three-year existence. At other times, Andros served ...

, an early colonial

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

in North America, and head of the short-lived

Dominion of New England The Dominion of New England in America (1686–1689) was an administrative union of English colonies covering New England and the Mid-Atlantic Colonies (except for Delaware Colony and the Province of Pennsylvania). Its political structure rep ...

in 1689. Although severely penalized, they refused to subscribe to the government until it had received royal sanction. His ancestors' tendency to conform to the established order suggests a reason for Timothy's subsequent conversion to the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

Early life

When seventeen years old, Cutler graduated from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...

, and on January 11, 1709/10, having come from Massachusetts to

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

with the recommendation of being "one of the best preachers both colonies afforded", he was ordained pastor of the Congregational church in Stratford. On March 21, 1710/11, he married Elizabeth, daughter of Rev. Samuel Andrew of

Milford, Connecticut Milford is a coastal city in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, located between New Haven and Bridgeport. The population was 50,558 at the 2020 United States Census. The city includes the village of Devon and the borough of Woodmon ...

, then acting rector of Yale College. Cutler served his parish acceptably until March 1718/19 when, conditions at Yale College calling imperatively for a resident rector, he undertook that office at the request of the trustees, his appointment being formally approved in September. Although his father-in-law was doubtless instrumental in securing his appointment, Cutler was in general well-fitted for the position, being "an excellent

Linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...

", a "good Logician, Geographer, and Rhetorician", while "in the Philosophy &

Metaphysics Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that studies the fundamental nature of reality, the first principles of being, identity and change, space and time, causality, necessity, and possibility. It includes questions about the nature of conscio ...

& Ethics of his Day or juvenile Education he was great. . . . He was of an high, lofty, & despotic mien. He made a grand figure as the Head of a College". Cutler continued to teach the Enlightenment Curriculum first instituted by Tutor Samuel Johnson in 1716, with courses on algebra, calculus, and moral philosophy. The new rectorship "opened auspiciously and an era of prosperity seemed at hand when, on September 13, 1722, the rector, with Tutor Daniel Browne and several Congregational clergymen, met with the trustees, declared themselves doubtful of the validity of their ordination, and asked advice with regard to entering the Church of England." Upon request they made a written statement of their position, and the meeting was adjourned for a month. In the meantime Governor Saltonstall arranged a public debate on the matter, held October 16, as a result of which, on the following day, at a special meeting of the trustees, it was voted to "excuse the Rev. Mr. Cutler from all further services as Rector of Yale College", and it was provided that all future rectors and tutors should declare to the trustees their assent to the Saybrook Confession of Faith, and give satisfaction as to their opposition to " Arminian and prelatical corruptions." They returned Yale to its previous orthodoxy, what the former Yale Tutor, the American Dr. Samuel Johnson in 1770 described as "the scholastic cobwebs of a few little English and Dutch systems that would hardly now be taken up in the street.” Several nineteenth century Harvard and Yale commentators, citing Cutler's Puritan opponents, suggest that Cutler was never wholeheartedly a

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 ...

, that he had been converted to Episcopalianism when at Stratford by John Checkley, and that in spite of this fact had accepted the rectorship of a Congregational college, publicly declaring what he had privately believed only when a desirable place in the Established Church was assured him. With the 1929 publication of American Dr. Samuel Johnson's ''Autobiography'', we find that Cutler, Yale Tutor Daniel Brown, and seven other local clergy formed a study group in 1719. Assigning Johnson to translate, and meeting in secret at each other's homes, they carefully studied the source texts in Yale's library in the original languages over a three-year period. They only reluctantly decided that their Presbyterian ordination was questionable, and that an Episcopal ordination was to be preferred. Despite great pressure from Governor Saltenstall, their family, friends and the Puritan community (so fierce, that five of the nine recanted), Cutler, along with three others, determined to become ministers of the Church of England.

Later life

During a yearlong visit to

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, Cutler was ordained by the

Bishop of Norwich The Bishop of Norwich is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Norwich in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers most of the county of Norfolk and part of Suffolk. The bishop of Norwich is Graham Usher. The see is in t ...

in March 1723. He also received the degree of D.D. from both

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to th ...

and the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...

, the first American-born clergyman to receive a Doctorate. Cutler became rector of the newly formed Christ Church,

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, where he served until his death. Cutler became one of the leading Episcopal clergymen of

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...

, venerated for his learning, but perhaps too haughty in manner to be popular. He founded the church at Dedham and took care of Christ Church, Braintree. Puritans, however, dominated Boston. Massachusetts leaned toward a theocracy under Cotton Mather, who defended the conviction of witches on spectral evidence, and Harvard taught a pre-Enlightenment curriculum over 100 years old. While Cutler was away on his ordination trip, Boston's elite had jailed printer James Franklin of the '' New England Currant'' for political attacks, and fined his publisher John Checkley for printing Episcopal books. As the leading Anglican in Massachusetts, Cutler defended the rights of his fellow believers, standing against the Church, State, College theocracy of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He pushed for the emancipation of his church members from the church tax imposed by the Puritan theocracy. He started a library of Anglican books in his church. With Rev. Samuel Myles of

King's Chapel King's Chapel is an American independent Christian unitarian congregation affiliated with the Unitarian Universalist Association that is "unitarian Christian in theology, Anglican in worship, and congregational in governance." It is housed ...

he laid claim to a seat on the Board of Overseers of Harvard, as a minister of the Episcopal Church in Boston, maintaining that he was a "teaching elder" as required by the college charter. Unsurprisingly, both the Overseers and General Court decided against him. Cutler urged a

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 c ...

be appointed for the American colonies. He published four sermons, two preached before the

Connecticut General Assembly The Connecticut General Assembly (CGA) is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is a bicameral body composed of the 151-member House of Representatives and the 36-member Senate. It meets in the state capital, Hartford. Th ...

(on May 9, 1717, and October 18, 1719) - a singular honor in the Standing Order of the Puritan Connecticut government - and two while he was Rector of Christ Church, Boston.Harris Elwood Starr.

Theology

In 1723 Timothy Cutler and others shocked the community of the Yale College by leaving

Congregationalism Congregationalist polity, or congregational polity, often known as congregationalism, is a system of ecclesiastical polity in which every local church (congregation) is independent, ecclesiastically sovereign, or "autonomous". Its first articulat ...

for Anglicanism. The theological issues in dispute related principally to church governance. Besides, the move into Anglicanism involved an embrace of Arminian teachings on

salvation Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its ...

as well.

Notes and references

* "Timothy Cutler", in ''Dictionary of American Biography Base Set''. American Council of Learned Societies, 1928-1936. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Thomson Gale. 2005. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRC

Citations

Sources

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cutler, Timothy 1684 births 1765 deaths American Episcopalians Arminian ministers Arminian writers Harvard College alumni People from colonial Boston People of colonial Connecticut People of colonial Massachusetts Presidents of Yale University People from Charlestown, Boston