Keppel Frederic Bishop Exeter (1 results)

KEPPEL, Frederic, Bishop of Exeter. A Sermon Preached before the Incorporated Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts; at Their Anniversary Meeting in the Parish Church of St. Mary-le-Bow, on Friday February 16, 1770. London: Printed by E. Owen and T. Harrison, 1770. 1st ed. 21,62,[1]]pp. orig. marbled wrappers. Wrappers rubbed, spine largely abraded, else a very good untrimmed copy. Founded in 1701, the Society was a major force in Anglican missionary activity around the world through the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Though their presence in the United States ceased with the end of the Revolutionary War in 1783, it continued their work in what remained of British North America, especially in the Caribbean. Keppel's sermon (the first pagination sequence) focuses on the need for educated ministers in America: "the chief objects of it's [sic] attention are such of our Colonists, who are unable to provide themselves with proper ministers without our assistance, and the rude and savage Indians who are yet unenlightened by the knowledge of the Gospel" (p. 7). He also touches on the role of missionaries in educating and converting Black slaves. The second pagination sequence is devoted to material about the Society: an abstract of their Charter and their proceedings for 1769-1770 (containing many letters sent by North American ministers), a list of members, and a list of the Church of England luminaries ("Bishops, Deans, &c.") who had preached before it. Presentation inscription at head of title-page: "To the Rev'd. Mr. Jarvis, From his Friend & Serv't, Mather Byles." Mather Byles (1706-1788) was a Boston clergyman, Loyalist, and friend of Benjamin Franklin. He is listed in this pamphlet as the Society's missionary at Christ Church in Boston. Abraham Jarvis (1739-1813) was the second bishop of Connecticut. He, too, was a Loyalist, believing that the Church owed loyalty to the Crown. Though Worldcat locates this in 22 libraries, we can find no record of a copy in the trade. …