A New England Prison Diary: Slander, Religion, and Markets in Early America

Chapter 1. “A Stranger of Good Address and Personal Appearance”

apter 1 “a stranger of good address and personal appearance” On a spring day in late April of 1806, the Reverend Curtis Coe, minister of the Congregational Church in Durham, New Hampshire, took to the pulpit to deliver his valedictory address. Among those who undoubtedly assembled to bid farewell to their pastor were church deacon Samuel Joy (elected to his post in 1791, though he did not accept it until 1792); his wife, Hannah Meader Joy; and the couple’s youngest sons, twenty-year-old Ebenezer and sixteen-year-old Timothy. The atmosphere in the fourteen-year-old meetinghouse that day was certainly charged as the Joy family assumed their places in their pew (number 42, at the rear of the meetinghouse and to the left of the main entrance). The congregation was unsettled due to recent events. Confusion and anxiety lined many faces. After nearly twenty-six years of dedicated service to his ›ock and to the community, the ‹fty-sixyear -old Coe, an old-line, Brown University–educated, orthodox Congregationalist , was leaving his post, forced out by a combination of Baptist and “Liberal” dissenters and a growing body of Durham residents who rejected the idea of an established church and embraced the rapidly expanding Revolutionary principle of separation of church and state. Mounted behind his pulpit, the six-foot-tall Coe faced his congregation . Such a paragon of dignity and strength must have cut an impressive ‹gure.“More than twenty-eight years have elapsed since, in compliance with your request, I ‹rst visited you; and more than twenty ‹ve years, since my life was solemnly consecrated to your service,” Coe began in an emotional voice. “It was expected,” he continued, “that the remainder of mortal life would have been spent in arduous labors for the endless salvation of a friendly people.” “But the unfriendly conduct 11 of some has,” Coe continued, “for a number of years, interrupted our general harmony, served to encourage dissipation, and eclipsed my once fair prospects of usefulness.” “Hence,” the pastor lamented, “my public labors, among you, must now discontinue.”1 Not one to miss a ‹nal opportunity to preach his brand of Calvinist orthodoxy to an attentive audience, Coe seized the moment and proceeded to deliver a cautionary jeremiad from the pulpit. Unleashing a continuous barrage of Calvinist doctrine (a discussion of the depraved state of humankind; a review of the doctrine of unconditional election; a discourse on the unmerited favor of God’s mercy, the perfection of God, etc.), the embattled minister returned to his favorite theme—the doctrine of “free, sovereign, and special Grace.” In full stride now, Coe warned, Such is the evil of hard and impenitent hearts, that they ever continue unwilling to accept everlasting mercy, unless sovereign grace inclines them. Nothing, indeed, is required of the sinner, in order to acceptance [sic], but repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. But still they choose rather to die in their sins, than to turn, unless an almighty power shall make them willing. Hence, no truth is more evident from the bible, and from observation, than that special grace is given to some, while others are left to their own evil courses. Despite his best efforts, this message had not resonated with the residents of Durham, he claimed. As a result, “sorrow, grief and lamentation become us, that so few appear cordially to love the religion of Christ, the source of all real happiness and true pleasure in time and eternity.”2 Embedded within Coe’s familiar discourse on Calvinist theology was a biting critique of contemporary Durham and American society writ large. “The pleasures of sin, or the deceitful charms of this vain world, have alas,” Coe deplored, “gained more attention, than endless good and life everlasting.” Greatly disturbed by what he perceived to be the sel‹shness and greed of the times—traits inimical to his understanding of Protestantism—Coe queried his audience, “Is not the land de‹led by falsehood, profanity, and blasphemy of the present age?” “Has not self,” he asked, “often had the ascendancy, and more inconsiderable motives gained general attention?” Emphasizing the point further, Coe warned, “In these last days perilous times have come. a new england prison diary 12 Men have become lovers of their owne [sic] selves, and lovers of pleasures , more than lovers of God.” “You were born to live in a day of uncommon temptation...