Enoch Mudge (1776–1850) was the first native
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 to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...
er to be ordained as a
Methodist minister
In Christianity, a minister is a person authorised by a church or other religious organization to perform functions such as teaching of beliefs; leading services such as weddings, baptisms or funerals; or otherwise providing spiritual guidanc ...
.
Biography
Born in
Lynn, Mass., he was converted under
Jesse Lee, the pioneer of
Methodism
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's br ...
in New England, and entered the ministry in 1793. He labored as an itinerant preacher in
Maine
Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...
until 1799, when his health gave way and he was forced to retire. He settled in
Orrington, Maine
Orrington is a town on the Penobscot River estuary in Penobscot County, Maine, Penobscot County, Maine, United States. The population was 3,812 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census.
History
Orrington was originally part of Condustiegg or ...
, and was twice chosen Representative to the
General Court of Massachusetts
The Massachusetts General Court (formally styled the General Court of Massachusetts) is the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The name "General Court" is a hold-over from the earliest days of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, ...
, in 1811-12 and 1815-16. In 1811 he had much to do with passing the "Religious Freedom Bill," which repealed a law requiring
taxpayers of any denomination to pay taxes to support the
Congregational Church
Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its ...
. In 1814 he was chaplain to a Maine militia regiment that participated in the
Battle of Hampden
The Battle of Hampden was an action in the British campaign to conquer present-day Maine and remake it into the colony of New Ireland during the War of 1812. Sir John Sherbrooke led a British force from Halifax, Nova Scotia to establish New Ire ...
during the
War of 1812
The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...
.
["The Battle of Hampden" Harry Chapman, ''Sprague's Journal of Maine History'', vol. II, no. 4 (Oct., 1914)
] In 1816 he moved back to Massachusetts and resumed preaching. From 1832 to 1844 he was
pastor
A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...
of the
Seamen's Bethel
The Seamen's Bethel (or Seaman's Bethel) is a chapel in New Bedford, Massachusetts, United States, located at 15 Johnny Cake Hill.
History
Built by the ''New Bedford Port Society'', it was completed on May 2, 1832. It is a contributing property ...
in
New Bedford
New Bedford (Massachusett: ) is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts. It is located on the Acushnet River in what is known as the South Coast region. Up through the 17th century, the area was the territory of the Wampanoag Native American pe ...
. There
Herman Melville
Herman Melville (Name change, born Melvill; August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891) was an American people, American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance (literature), American Renaissance period. Among his bes ...
heard him preach, and Mudge was one of the models for the character of
Father Mapple in ''
Moby-Dick
''Moby-Dick; or, The Whale'' is an 1851 novel by American writer Herman Melville. The book is the sailor Ishmael (Moby-Dick), Ishmael's narrative of the obsessive quest of Captain Ahab, Ahab, captain of the whaler, whaling ship ''Pequod (Moby- ...
''. Enoch Mudge was the father of
Thomas H. Mudge and the uncle of
Zachariah A. Mudge.
*
References
External links
Enoch Mudge Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mudge, Enoch
1776 births
1850 deaths
People from Lynn, Massachusetts
American Methodist clergy
19th-century Methodist ministers
Members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives
War of 1812 chaplains