Henry Alline: 1748-1784 9781442632707

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To Canadians of this century the name of Henry Alline is almost unknown. This biography introduces him to the general reader. Through the story of his life it also recreates the early settlement of the Maritime provinces, and examines the origins of one of the most dominant and continuing themes in Canadian life, evangelical pietism. Henry Alline emigrated from Rhode Island to Nova Scotia with his parents in 1760. Following his religious conversion during adolescence, he became an evangelical preacher and travelled throughout Nova Scotia spreading the gospel. But Alline was more than an itinerant preacher. Drawing on British (and indirectly on German) mystical writings, he rejected the tenets of Calvinism in favour of universal salvation and human free will. He emphasized Christian asceticism and mysticism. His writings, and his attempts to develop an intellectual rationale for his evangelical position, made him Canada's first metaphysical and mystical philosopher. In the history of early British settlement in Nova Scotia the name of Alline stands out because of his participation in the process and problems of settlement and his leadership during the trying times of the American Revolution. His career embodied a rejection of both the United States (by a rejection of Puritanism) and of Britain (by a rejection of church and state in Nova Scotia), and put Alline in a classic Nova Scotia position, neutrality, which could be justified by the importance of Christ and the relative unimportance

of government. The years in which Alline lived were

particularly critical ones for Canada, and his career both mirrors and dominates a period of pioneer hardship, political crises, and spiritual concern born of the uncertainties of human existence. J.M.

BUMSTED

received a

PH

D

from Brown University in 1965. He has

taught at Tufts and McMaster universities, and since 1969 has been associate professor of Canadian history at Simon Fraser. Professor Bumsted has published several articles on the history of early North America, especially eighteenth-century New England and Maritime Canada, and on evangelical pietism.

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J. M .

B U M S T E D

Henry Alline 1748-1784

C A N A D I A N

B I O G R A P H I C A L

U N I V E R S I T Y

OF

T O R O N T O

S T U D I E S PRESS

C A N A D I A N B I O G R A P H I C A L S T U D I E S

1 2

John Strachan 1778-1867, Roland-Michel

J.L.H.

HENDERSON

Barrin de La Galissoniere 1693-1756,

LIONEL GROULX

3

©

John Sandfield Macdonald

1812-1872, B R U C E

W. HODGINS

University of Toronto Press 1971 Printed in Canada I S B N 0-8020-3247-8

The illustration on the front of the jacket is a detail from Cornwallis, Grand Priare and Basin of Minas from North Mountain. Engraving by G Gellatly, from a drawing by William Eagar. Reproduced by permission of Metropo­ litan Toronto Library Board.

F O R

M Y

F A T H E R

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F O R E W O R D

T h e Canadian Biographical Studies is allied with the project of the Dictionary of Canadian Biography/ Dictionnaire biographique du Canada. These small volumes are designed primarily to interest the general reader, and they will be published i n two lan­ guages. They seek to fill a gap i n our knowledge of men who seemed often to be merely secondary figures, fre­ quently non-political contributors to our regional and national experience i n Canada. O u r social, educational, and economic history may perhaps be better understood in their light. In these Studies, the emphasis is upon an interpretation rather than a life. T h e limitation i n size challenges the author to consider the best use of anecdote, description of place, reference to general history, and use of quotation. The general reader will be offered the fruits of recent re­ search. N o t all of the volumes will aim at full comprehen­ siveness and completeness : some may be followed later by larger and fuller studies of the subject. M a n y of the present studies, it is hoped, may suggest new interpretative possibilities not only about the central figure but about his period. The editors have not followed two of Plutarch's chief standards : the subjects of these Studies have not been chosen only for their public virtue, or for their acknowl­ edged distinction. Most of them lived out their lives i n Canada, but for some their careers were conducted partly in other theatres. Some have been chosen because, though they were once widely known, they have since been unde­ servedly neglected. Some have been selected not for their

obvious leadership or eminence, but because they were sufficiently prominent to represent some of the qualities that guided their age, men of significance if not of first prominence. Some have been grouped i n studies that should throw light on interesting families, professional groups, or lobbies i n our past. Thus, the Studies present not biography alone, but social, economic and political history approached through the careers and ideas - acknowledged, but often unrecog­ nized - of Canadians of many ranks and diverse times. A L A N

W I L S O N

C O N T E N T S

FOREWORD

VU

1

"The Scenes and Pleasures of a Country L i f e "

I

2

"Redeeming Love Broke into M y Soul"

29

3

" T h e People Being M u c h Engaged and Awakened"

50

4

"Some things i n these Few Lines"

75

5

" A Burning and Shining Light, and Justly Esteemed the Apostle of Nova Scotia"

97

NOTES

BIBLIOGRAPHY

INDEX

103

IO7

113

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1 The Scenes and Pleasures ofa Country Life

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H e n r y A l l i n e was born i n Newport, R h o d e Island, on 14 January 1748, a n d he died i n N o r t h - H a m p t o n , N e w Hampshire, o n 28 J a n ­ uary 1784. H i s lifespan thus fell far short of the biblical three score a n d ten,' but this was hardly deserving of comment i n the 18th-cen­ tury A m e r i c a of w h i c h A l l i n e was a part. L i f e was hard, to call a doctor was more likely to kill than cure, and the risk of violent death was ever present. A bare recital of Alline's vital statistics fails totally to reveal how m u c h accomplishment he had packed into a short life, or to indicate that the p r i n c i p a l stage for his activities was not what is now the U n i t e d States, but what is today M a r i t i m e C a n a d a . H e n r y A l l i n e is virtually u n k n o w n to Canadians of the present century, but the years i n w h i c h he lived were particularly critical ones for C a n a d a , and his career both mirrors a n d dominates a period of pioneer hard­ ship, political crisis, a n d deep spiritual concern born of the uncer­ tainties of h u m a n existence. Alline's lifespan coincides almost exactly w i t h the first wave of British settlement i n N o v a Scotia a n d the years of the A m e r i c a n Revolution w h i c h represent such a watershed i n M a r i t i m e develop­ ment. Before the outbreak of the colonial rebellion, N o v a Scotia h a d been settled principally by natives of N e w E n g l a n d as part of a gen­ eral expansion of population i n British N o r t h A m e r i c a w h i c h reached its peak just after the middle of the 18th century. T h a t A l l i n e was born i n R h o d e Island was of no great importance : R h o d e Island a n d N o v a Scotia were both parts of a great British empire, a n d their citizens a l l British subjects. After 1783, i m m i g r a t i o n to M a r i t i m e C a n a d a w o u l d come from Loyalists displaced from the rebellious A m e r i c a n colonies and from the British Isles, especially Scotland and Ireland. T h e unity of the empire w o u l d be broken, a n d A l l i n e w o u l d die, although purely by accident, not on British soil, but on A m e r i c a n . English Canadians have a general tendency to think of their history as beginning w i t h the U n i t e d E m p i r e Loyalists, but the earlier N e w c

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E n g l a n d migration to the M a r i t i m e s was responsible for establishing N o v a Scotia as a British colony and set i n motion a good many of the fundamental ways of life w h i c h characterized M a r i t i m e C a n a d a for generations to come. I n this early history, the name of H e n r y A l l i n e stands out, both because of his o w n participation i n the process and problems of settlement a n d because of his assumption of leadership of the N e w E n g l a n d population d u r i n g the trying times of the A m e r i c a n Revolution. L i k e most British subjects w h o settled i n N o v a Scotia before 1775, H e n r y A l l i n e was a member of a venerable if not venerated N e w E n g l a n d family. H i s father, W i l l i a m A l l i n e , h a d been born i n Boston i n 1714 a n d could trace his ancestry back to Isaac Allerton, one of the Mayflower passengers w h o h a d landed at P l y m o u t h i n 1620. W i l l i a m ' s second marriage - to Rebeccah C l a r k of Boston i n 1738 produced eight children, of w h o m H e n r y was the second-born. W i l ­ l i a m Alline's successive residences at Boston a n d N e w p o r t - N e w England's largest urban centres - suggest that he was not by profession a farmer. It is possible that W i l l i a m was associated w i t h m i l l i n g be­ fore his arrival i n the M a r i t i m e s , since he later owned and operated a grain m i l l i n N o v a Scotia. I n his autobiography, the m a i n source of information about his personal life, H e n r y A l l i n e said little of his childhood i n N e w p o r t . B u t he d i d contrast the lively urban activities of the R h o d e Island city w i t h the less exciting 'scenes a n d pleasures of a country life' i n N o v a Scotia. N e w p o r t , after a l l , was one of British N o r t h A m e r i c a ' s most thriving u r b a n communities. Built o n the southern tip of R h o d e Island,' a small island just off the m a i n l a n d coast of the colony, N e w ­ port was an important seaport a n d manufacturing centre w i t h a population of six thousand. T h e A l l i n e family lived i n the midst of the activity. Besides the bustle of the wharves a n d artisan shops, N e w p o r t h a d a variety of attractions. U n l i k e other N e w E n g l a n d colonies, 1

2

£

A Country Life"

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R h o d e Island enjoyed almost complete religious toleration. A s a re­ sult, the city h a d not only P u r i t a n meeting-houses, but active c o m ­ munities of Baptists a n d Quakers, a n d even a synagogue of Sephardic Jews. O n e of N o r t h America's most inventive a n d original architects, Peter H a r r i s o n , was actively designing a n d constructing new b u i l d ­ ings i n N e w p o r t during H e n r y Alline's childhood days. T h e city h a d an outspoken newspaper i n the Newport Mercury, was talking about founding a university, and enjoyed one of the finest libraries on the continent. N e w p o r t also possessed a 'publick school' staffed by young gradu­ ates of H a r v a r d a n d Y a l e , w h i c h , though not a free school i n the modern sense, d i d accept 'many poor children gratis.' It was here that young H e n r y A l l i n e received his early education, being, as he later put it, 'something forward i n learning.' H e was taught to read, write, a n d cipher, a n d was probably introduced to the traditional classical education of 18th-century A n g l o - A m e r i c a . Unfortunately, his formal education ended at the age of 11 w i t h the family's migration to N o v a Scotia, a n d his later writings show little evidence of the mastery of Greek, L a t i n , a n d H e b r e w w h i c h marked a n educated m a n of his time. A l l i n e d i d , however, gain the basis of what was i n his maturity a more than serviceable literary style, and he d i d so i n a n educational institution w h i c h w o u l d stand comparison w i t h any i n N o r t h A m e r i c a . B u t his early education i n N e w p o r t was scarcely confined to formal schooling. Y o u n g H e n r y h a d i n addition the advantage of growing u p i n an u r b a n a n d urbane community. N e w p o r t boasted the erudite E z r a Stiles - later president of Y a l e College - as well as a population w h i c h cared about books a n d learning, revelled i n extraordinary dis­ plays of conspicuous consumption, and experienced the secular hurlyburly of a great 18th-century international seaport. A l t h o u g h A l l i n e came ultimately to dismiss m a n y of the values a n d life-styles w h i c h he h a d observed a n d admired i n Newport, this rejection was after a 3

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N o v a Scotia experience quite alien to his early years i n the city. M o r e ­ over, however m u c h he came to extol the virtues of other-worldly asceticism, he never d i d so i n an anti-intellectual framework. F r o m Newport, A l l i n e brought to N o v a Scotia a commitment to intellectual activity w h i c h he was unable to communicate to his contemporaries i n the province. W h i l e young H e n r y was growing u p i n Newport, developments were taking place i n N o v a Scotia w h i c h w o u l d significantly alter his life. T h e province h a d been ceded to B r i t a i n by the F r e n c h i n 1713, but British settlement was slow because of the presence of sizeable numbers of A c a d i a n F r e n c h on most of the best lands. T h e expulsion of these A c a d i a n s after the outbreak of the A n g l o - F r e n c h W a r i n 1754 need not be recounted here. Whatever motivated the British a n d however tragic the affair was, it was this action w h i c h made available prize lands u p o n w h i c h the N o v a Scotia government could settle loyal British subjects. T h e richest section was the area around the M i n a s basin, particularly the A n n a p o l i s valley. T h i s region of rolling meadows a n d naturally cleared intervale l a n d was character­ ized by fertile soils and a pleasant temperate climate. M a n y hillsides were covered w i t h wood, a n d the sea was at the inhabitant's door (although the basin experienced some of the most extreme tides any­ where i n the w o r l d ) . T h e bulk of the A c a d i a n s h a d lived here for generations, a n d h a d built substantial earthen dykes to control the tidal water a n d facilitate spring run-off. T h e l a n d r i c h from the sea was sufficient to support the A c a d i a n s and large numbers of livestock, a n d although they d i d not seem to labour hard, they were prosperous a n d contented. E v e n before the expulsion, a number of books a n d pamphlets available to W i l l i a m A l l i n e a n d his family stressed the value of the l a n d and the dykes. A Geographical History of Nova Scotia published i n 1749, for example, noted that the t i d a l washings 'are very good manure, and help greatly to enrich the Soil, insomuch.

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that the L a n d w i t h a little L a b o u r , yields fine Crops of C o r n the second year after it is drained, a n d i n a few years more, w i l l produce both Scotch, a n d several other kinds of Seed Grass. T h u s the F a r m e r is furnished w i t h both C o r n a n d G r a z i n g L a n d i n the marshes a n d a small part of U p l a n d supplies h i m w i t h G a r d e n Stuff.' A s early as 1756, negotiations were begun i n N e w E n g l a n d for new settlers. T h e ebbs a n d flows of military activity prevented m u c h concrete accomplishment i n this regard until October 1758, when Governor Charles Lawrence of N o v a Scotia published i n N e w E n g l a n d a pro­ clamation w h i c h W i l l i a m A l l i n e a n d m a n y of his compatriots must have studied extremely carefully. Lawrence announced the opening for settlement of 'upwards of one hundred thousand acres of intervale a n d p l o w lands, producing wheat, rye, barley, oats, hemp, flax,' w h i c h 'have been cultivated for more than one hundred years past and never fail of crops, nor need m a n u r i n g , ' a n d one hundred thousand acres of u p l a n d 'cleared and stocked w i t h English grass, planted w i t h orchards, gardens.' F o r m a n y N e w Englanders like W i l l i a m A l l i n e , w h o were heads of large families, this announcement was electrifying. N e w E n g l a n d at this time was experiencing a population explosion i n its older a n d more heavily settled sections - particularly eastern C o n ­ necticut, southern R h o d e Island, a n d eastern Massachusetts - w h i c h i n terms of prevailing agricultural practice and an independent yeo­ man-farmer ideal made these regions seem over-populated. M e n i n W i l l i a m Alline's position found it increasingly difficult to assure that sons a n d daughters w o u l d be able to move onto self-supporting farms of their o w n . T h e result was, i n the 1750s, a steady movement to u n ­ settled lands o n the frontiers of A m e r i c a : N e w Y o r k , Pennsylvania, N e w Ha m p s h i r e , the northern district of Massachusetts (now M a i n e ) , and, of course, N o v a Scotia. I n m a n y ways, migration to N o v a Scotia seemed particularly attractive. T h e government was offering large grants of free l a n d , as well as promising to pay trans4

5

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Alline

portation costs a n d initial support i n the new settlements. Transporta­ tion from coastal N e w E n g l a n d was entirely by water, far more con­ venient than the hardship of overland movement i n the 18th century. A n d the l a n d was cleared a n d i m p r o v e d by previous inhabitants, w h i c h w o u l d make settlement m u c h easier than i n the wildernesses of i n l a n d N o r t h A m e r i c a . W i l l i a m A l l i n e a n d m a n y others were inter­ ested, a n d desired to k n o w more about the N o v a Scotia government's plans for the region. I n answer to m a n y queries, Governor L a w r e n c e i n J a n u a r y of 1759 issued another proclamation w h i c h offered 100 acres of l a n d to each family head a n d 50 acres for each additional family member. H e assured settlers of representation i n a provincial legislative assembly created i n 1758 w i t h two representatives from each township, a n d he promised 'full liberty of conscience ... to persons of a l l persuasions, Papists excepted.' T h e proclamation intimated, but d i d not guarantee, that institutions of local government w o u l d be those w i t h w h i c h N e w Englanders were familiar. T h i s interpretation was not entirely true, as the settlers subsequendy discovered to their dismay. B u t for the moment N e w Englanders were assured, a n d negotiations opened be­ tween l a n d promoters, settlers' agents, a n d the government. W i l l i a m A l l i n e joined a group of 113 inhabitants of R h o d e Island a n d C o n ­ necticut w h i c h was granted l a n d for a settlement o n the north bank of the Pisiquid R i v e r at w h a t was to become F a l m o u t h , i n K i n g ' s County. A l t h o u g h W i l l i a m A l l i n e was probably not himself a farmer, he was undoubtedly as anxious as anyone to guarantee l a n d for his children i n a n age w h e n l a n d served not only as a means of livelihood but as a basis for social status as well. 6

Shortly after the F a l m o u t h grant h a d been seemingly consum­ mated, several upsetting developments occurred. It was discovered that some of the l a n d i n question h a d already been granted by the government i n 1736, a n d formal proceedings were needed to re-

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acquire it from the original grantees. T h i s was largely a technical problem, but it d i d delay a legal grant to F a l m o u t h u n t i l 1761, long after settlement a n d l a n d distribution h a d begun. M o r e critical was a severe hurricane w h i c h struck the N o v a Scotia coast i n N o v e m b e r of 1759, causing the tides o n the B a y of F u n d y to rise as m u c h as ten feet above n o r m a l . T h e result was destruction or damage to m a n y of the A c a d i a n dykes. Neither the government i n H a l i f a x nor the settlers could ascertain how serious the damage h a d been, but it undoubtedly contributed to a general feeling of uneasiness on the part of m a n y of the grantees. M o v i n g hundreds of miles to a new community was a n enormous gamble, a n d the Alunes could not be sure of either proper title to the l a n d promised them or the advantages of prior improve­ ments. M a n y grantees, including W i l l i a m A l l i n e , hesitated about taking the final step. I n 1760 the A l l i n e family, 'after a long consultation,' decided fin­ ally to emigrate to N o v a Scotia. B u t the understandable delay i n m a k i n g this decision meant that they were not among the first settlers, w h o arrived i n F a l m o u t h on schedule i n M a y of 1760 aboard two government-chartered sloops, the Sally a n d the Lydia. T h e 13 families i n this vanguard were naturally concerned about the future of their settlement, particularly i n view of the hurricane's damage a n d the absence of anyone among the arrivals familiar w i t h the dykes. Never­ theless, not all that they found was discouraging. T h e government h a d erected a palisade fort for military protection, a n d a government agent was already o n the spot to provide assistance. These first settlers were rewarded for their adventurousness by finding a number of u n ­ damaged A c a d i a n buildings w h i c h were subsequently distributed i n the summer of 1760 to those first arrived i n the township. 7

T h e Alunes' hesitation meant also that the family was not present at F a l m o u t h to assist i n the long-familiar actions w h i c h N e w E n g l a n d h a d institutionalized for the founding of new communities. A series

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of t o w n meetings held o n 9 a n d 10 J u n e 1760 chose by vote of the adult male inhabitants a moderator (or c h a i r m a n ) , a clerk, a n d a managing committee, a n d then proceeded to p l a n distribution of public lands for a commons, a t o w n site, a n d various religious a n d educational purposes. Preparations were begun for surveying a n d i n ­ specting the lands of the township i n advance of their distribution to the grantees according to N e w E n g l a n d custom. A township herds­ m a n was chosen to regulate movement of cattle a n d other livestock until fencing could be erected, a n d the cutting of w o o d was carefully controlled. T h e settlers took for granted that the government w o u l d approve of their actions. T h e proclamation of 1759 h a d stated, after all, that N o v a Scotia was to have political institutions similar to those i n N e w E n g l a n d ; to those familiar by long residence w i t h N e w E n g ­ l a n d communities, this meant the settling of important local business through democratic discussion and vote i n the open meetings. I n J u l y the township meeting allocated the standing A c a d i a n buildings, a process i n w h i c h no A l l i n e participated. H e n r y A l l i n e a n d his family must therefore have arrived i n F a l m o u t h sometime later i n the year, although i n time to take part i n the distribution of l a n d i n the a u t u m n of 1760. T h e F a l m o u t h grant of 1759 d i d not specify the total amount of acreage to be allotted to each grantee, perhaps because it was assumed that the government formula of 100 acres for each head of household a n d 50 acres for each additional family member w o u l d be observed. A c c o r d i n g to the official grant of 1761, W i l l i a m A l l i n e received a n amount exactly coinciding w i t h government policy: 500 acres, 100 for himself, 50 for his wife, and 50 for each of seven children. Despite government propaganda emphasizing the immediate utility of the l a n d , the A l l i n e grant probably included only about 25 acres of readily tillable soil. T h e remainder w o u l d have to be cleared a n d prepared for use, a task that w o u l d consume many hours of labour over a n u m -

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ber of years, a n d w h i c h young H e n r y w o u l d supervise. T h e township made every attempt to assure that each grantee got his fair share of the improved a n d more promising unimproved l a n d , a standard N e w E n g l a n d practice. W i l l i a m Alline's l a n d was apparently subsequently discovered to be inferior, a n d a n adjustment was made i n 1762. A l o n g w i t h every other grantee or proprietor i n F a l m o u t h , W i l l i a m A l l i n e received a half-acre house lot i n a central township plot located across the river from the present t o w n of W i n d s o r . I n the 17th cen­ tury, N e w Englanders h a d begun their settlement of the N e w W o r l d i n this form of compact, nucleated community, partly because it was familiar to them from E n g l a n d , a n d partly because it made politicalreligious functions more accessible to the residents. B y the 18th cen­ tury, however, settlement i n N e w E n g l a n d h a d become m u c h more scattered, w i t h each inhabitant usually b u i l d i n g his house on his o w n fenced farmland rather than i n a central community. I n N o v a Scotia the initial emphasis was on compact settlement for military reasons rather than out of a sense either of tradition or of purpose. B u t the insistence meant that the Alunes a n d their fellow settlers were to live together i n a community, a n d w o u l d walk or ride to their lands. A continued emphasis u p o n such compact settlements w o u l d have done m u c h to compensate for primitive living conditions a n d the isolation from the outside w o r l d of the townships of the M i n a s basin. H a d the people of F a l m o u t h a n d her sister townships maintained centralized homesites, a m u c h more active social, cultural, a n d religious life w o u l d have been possible than was the case w i t h individuals scattered on isolated farmlots over an extensive area. Unfortunately, the govern­ ment of N o v a Scotia, w h i c h interfered i n local affairs i n a variety of ways, failed or refused to insist u p o n nucleated villages. M o s t settlers, including the Alunes, quickly moved to their farmlots, and the social, cultural, a n d psychological advantages of a sense of community were lost.

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T h e major f a r m plot of the Allines was a long t h i n strip situated i n l a n d from the Pisiquid R i v e r . W i l l i a m A l l i n e drew the location by lot o n 15 N o v e m b e r 1760. E a c h proprietor also drew a 'six-acre lot' near the central townsite (probably intended for gardening) a n d i n addition received woodlots as well as dyke lots i n the o l d A c a d i a n section. W i l l i a m A l l i n e d i d not technically enjoy complete ownership of his l a n d , for he owed to the k i n g a small annual quitrent ( w h i c h the government of N o v a Scotia agreed initially not to collect), a n d he was forbidden from selling or alienating the l a n d . It was to be re­ turned to the authorities if W i l l i a m d i d not use it himself. These limitations were undoubtedly not considered of great importance by the settlers i n the first years. W h a t mattered was that for those w h o were 'proprietors' i n F a l m o u t h - a n d apparently all w h o settled be­ fore 1761 were so regarded even if they had not been part of the 1759 agreement w i t h the government — the distribution of l a n d was emin­ ently fair a n d democratic. O n e of the major reasons for migration to N o v a Scotia h a d been the difficulty of obtaining l a n d i n the settled regions of N e w E n g l a n d , a n d the settlers (as was true everywhere i n British N o r t h A m e r i c a ) tended to forget about the limitations placed u p o n their title to the l a n d . I n any case, the Allines a n d their neigh­ bours, having participated i n the process of allocating their o w n property, could turn w i t h some hope to the years of hardship w h i c h w o u l d follow. Nowhere i n N o r t h A m e r i c a were the early years of new settlement easy ones, a n d N o v a Scotia was no exception. I n F a l m o u t h , condi­ tions may have been a bit more trying for those like the Allines w h o h a d not arrived i n time to share i n the allocation of the existing A c a ­ d i a n buildings. F o r the first winter, a n d perhaps longer, the Allines apparently lived i n a tent, semi-exposed to the elements, including the d a m p cold a n d slushy snow of the N o v a Scotia season. H o u s i n g was not the only difficulty. F o o d shortages were endemic i n the first

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years of settlement. These were caused by a variety of factors. Suffi­ cient amounts of l a n d were not immediately available for planting, a n d many, including the A l l i n e family, arrived after the planting season. F e w of the settlers brought w i t h them sufficient stocks of seed, a n d fewer still h a d any experience w i t h N o v a Scotian weather con­ ditions a n d particularly the growing season, w h i c h was considerably shorter than i n southern N e w E n g l a n d . F o r m e r u r b a n dwellers such as the Allines must have found adjustment particularly h a r d . D u r i n g a food shortage, a r u n of b a d weather could become extremely critical, a n d N o v a Scotia experienced just such a r u n i n the early 1760s. T h e settlers at F a l m o u t h d i d succeed i n harvesting 600 tons of hay i n 1760, undoubtedly g r o w n o n the A c a d i a n dyke lands w h i c h were virtually the only part of the township readily available for agricul­ ture. S m a l l plots of vegetables w h i c h were planted suffered great damage from b a d weather. T h e provincial government was forced to step i n w i t h assistance o n a large scale d u r i n g the winter of 1 7 6 0 - 6 1 . T h e A l l i n e family kept alive on a diet of corn, mackerel, a n d flour, w h i c h provided sustenance but little more. T h e shortage of food re­ sulted i n the consumption of m u c h w h i c h should have been retained as seed, a n d sufficient supplies of seed could not be imported from N e w E n g l a n d to take u p the slack. Beginning i n 1761, the settlers i n F a l m o u t h managed to clear a good deal of additional l a n d for plant­ ing, a n d although the provincial government continued to provide bounties through 1763, i n A p r i l of that year it announced the cessa­ tion of government assistance. T h e inhabitants were o n their o w n . Fortunately, by this time local agriculture was prepared to respond to the challenge. W h i l e his parents worried over the housing shortage a n d the food crisis, young H e n r y A l l i n e was concerned w i t h other matters. It is not surprising that a city-bred a n d sensitive adolescent should be i m ­ pressed less w i t h prosaic difficulties than w i t h more romantic and

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sensational ones, particularly the I n d i a n menace. I n recalling the trails of his early years i n N o v a Scotia, H e n r y emphasized that 'it was frequently reported, that the Indians were about rising to destroy us; a n d many came out among us w i t h their faces painted, a n d declared that the English should not settle this country.' T h e young man's understandable fears could scarcely have been allayed by conversa­ tions w i t h his family's nearest neighbours, the Payzants. I n 1756 the elder Payzant - a Huguenot from C a e n w h o immigrated to N o v a Scotia i n 1753 - h a d been massacred by Indians. H i s wife a n d child­ ren were seized, taken to Quebec, a n d finally freed only i n 1759. T h e N o v a Scotia government setded M a r y Payzant a n d her family i n F a l m o u t h as compensation for their losses a n d sufferings. Y o u n g J o h n Payzant, about the same age as H e n r y A l l i n e a n d always his closest friend, undoubtedly h a d m a n y a hair-raising story to tell of his ad­ ventures i n captivity. S m a l l wonder that H e n r y 'laid awake m a n y a n d m a n y a n hour, sometimes almost a l l night listening' and thought when he 'heard the dog bark, or the cattle w a l k i n g around' that the Indians h a d come to massacre his family ! A l a r m s about Indians a n d A c a d i a n s continued until well after the signing of the European peace treaty i n 1763. T h e government h a d some soldiers i n the townships, and the local m i l i t i a was called out on more than one occasion. T h o u g h no serious trouble was ever encountered, this hazard was one more pres­ sure u p o n the new settlers. 8

A m o n g other hardships i n the early years of settlement was the absence i n the M i n a s basin townships of any organized religious or educational activities. E a r l i e r generations of N e w E n g l a n d settlers h a d insisted that the founding of new communities could not be u n ­ dertaken without p r o v i d i n g for religious worship and schooling. B u t the N o v a Scotia settlers h a d not taken such precautions, partly out of their poverty but m a i n l y because such steps were no longer i n A m e r i c a considered a prerequisite to settlement. Nevertheless, a population

"A Country Life"

15

accustomed to the advantages of schools a n d c h u r c h e s - a s most people from N e w E n g l a n d were - quickly felt their absence. F o r those like the Allines w h o h a d been u r b a n dwellers, the lack of these ele­ ments of settled existence was particularly apparent. Y o u n g H e n r y d i d pick u p at least the rudiments of the F r e n c h language, probably from his friend J o h n Payzant, but he noted w i t h regret that he re­ ceived no formal schooling after leaving R h o d e Island; w h e n he finally decided that he wanted and required more education, he was forced to consider returning to N e w E n g l a n d to acquire it. Perhaps even more critical was the lack of religious instruction a n d observance. O n e of the leaders of the F a l m o u t h community was a former church deacon w h o may have preached occasionally, but Shubael D i m o c k was no substitute for a full-time minister. F a l m o u t h built no structure i n w h i c h religious services could be held during its early years, a n d religion was preserved only by means such as those employed by the A l l i n e f a m i l y : regular observance of family prayer, Bible reading, a n d religious discussions w i t h i n the home. T h e early years of settlement also brought increasing proof that the implicit political promises made to the N e w E n g l a n d immigrants were not to be honoured. A legislative act w h i c h h a d permitted the settlers to divide their o w n lands was vetoed by the British govern­ ment i n 1761. Divisions already made, such as that i n w h i c h W i l l i a m A l l i n e h a d participated i n F a l m o u t h , were to be honoured, but no re-allocations were to be tolerated. Perhaps equally important, regu­ lations introduced by the legislature i n 1759 for the city of H a l i f a x turned the selection of local officers (such as overseers of the poor, hog-reeves, surveyors of highways, and fence-viewers) over to the G r a n d J u r y of the provincial C o u r t of General Sessions. B y spring of 1761 these H a l i f a x procedures h a d been extended to K i n g ' s County, a n d on 2 A p r i l the G r a n d J u r y chose for the townships of H o r t o n , Cornwallis, F a l m o u t h , a n d East F a l m o u t h (later N e w p o r t ) , sur-

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veyors of highways, surveyors of lumber, fence-viewers, a n d poundkeepers. I n November of the same year the appointment of constables was added to the G r a n d Jury's responsibilities, a n d i n 1762 overseers of the poor were selected the same way. After 1760 the Governor a n d his C o u n c i l appointed the key office of dyke commissioner i n the townships. E v e n as a proprietor a n d voter, W i l l i a m A l l i n e quickly lost the privilege of participating i n the selection of most officials who governed h i m . T h e process of discouraging N e w E n g l a n d town-meeting democ­ racy i n N o v a Scotia was i n full accord w i t h the general position fa­ voured by many enlightened imperial reformers, w h o saw a great danger to the lauded balance of the British constitution i n what seemed to them an over-emphasis i n A m e r i c a on the democratic w i l l of the people. W i l l i a m Douglass i n 1747 advocated the policy followed i n N o v a Scotia i n his A Summary, Historical and Political, of the First Planting, Progressive Improvements, and Present State of the British Settlements in North America^ Douglass was a close friend of Governor Jonathan Belcher of Massachusetts, father of the Jonathan Belcher who governed N o v a Scotia d u r i n g m u c h of the township controversy. F o r settlers like W i l l i a m A l l i n e , subtle constitutional adjustments were direct threats to their prerogatives as guaranteed by the province, particularly when local government was under attack. M o s t of the N e w E n g l a n d population i n N o v a Scotia cared far more about local than central government. L o c a l government was more immediate to them a n d concerned w i t h affairs that mattered. Begin­ n i n g i n 1761, W i l l i a m A l l i n e could vote to send Falmouth's two representatives to the provincial assembly w h i c h met at H a l i f a x ; he could even become a candidate. B u t such delegates were u n p a i d , and the cost i n time a n d money of travelling to a n d l i v i n g i n H a l i f a x put provincial office-holding beyond the reach of the average settler. Moreover, who could worry about larger issues when faced w i t h the

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17

more immediate ones of surviving? N o t surprisingly, F a l m o u t h per­ sistently selected outsiders to represent it i n H a l i f a x . I n the pre-revolutionary period only three individuals were elected to represent F a l ­ m o u t h : H e n r y D e n n y Denson, Isaac Deschamps, and E d w a r d Y o r k . Denson a n d Deschamps were both Halifax-connected landholders i n F a l m o u t h , and only Y o r k (whose seat was declared vacant i n 1775 for non-attendance) was a N e w Englander. W i l l i a m A l l i n e , his neigh­ bours, and their sons ultimately p a i d for their lack of concern w i t h provincial affairs. T h e assembly i n w h i c h they could have h a d a size­ able voice took the lead i n the total abolition of township democracy. N e w E n g l a n d settlers gradually became aware that political de­ velopments were r u n n i n g against their interests. I n 1762 the citizens of Liverpool protested that removal of the 'right a n d authority ... to nominate and appoint m e n among us to be our committee a n d to do other offices that the T o w n may want' was an encroachment ' i n our Freedom and Liberty a n d depriving us of a privilege that belongs to no body of people but ourselves.' I n 1763 the inhabitants of K i n g ' s C o u n t y ( i n w h i c h the Allines resided ) submitted a similar petition to the British government protesting the failure of the N o v a Scotia authorities to incorporate their townships, their inability to redivide their lands, a n d their lack of power to select their o w n officers a n d transact local affairs. T h e N e w Englanders got some support for their complaints from members of the provincial executive, but the provin­ cial assembly, probably fearful of threats to its o w n power, authority, a n d prerogatives w h i c h might result from strong local government, refused to permit the townships to do m u c h more than maintain their o w n poor. Despite physical hardship, the absence of the amenities of civiliza­ tion, and unhappiness w i t h political developments, by the beginning of 1764 the Allines and their neighbours were over the initial difficul­ ties of founding a new community. A census of 1763 recorded nearly 9

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80 families (just over 350 persons) i n the township of F a l m o u t h ; most of those not prepared to endure privation h a d by now retreated to N e w E n g l a n d . T h e period of day-to-day crisis was over, a n d the obstacles of initial organization, housing, food, a n d threats of violence familiar to the Allines had been surmounted. After 1764 the N e w E n g l a n d settlements of the M i n a s basin moved into a period of con­ solidation a n d relative stability w h i c h w o u l d be terminated only w i t h the outbreak of the A m e r i c a n R e v o l u t i o n . F o r H e n r y A l l i n e , these years after 1764 were ones of great importance, for it was i n this period that he passed through adolescence to manhood. Probably too young to appreciate just how uncertain life actually was i n the days of early settlement, his clearest memories were of this later period. T h e township i n w h i c h he lived remained o n the periphery of civilization a n d experienced further limitations of local control; cultural a n d religious disabilities were not m u c h improved. Nevertheless, peace a n d stability d i d greatly improve material living conditions for most N e w Englanders w h o remained i n N o v a Scotia, and life i n the rural townships d i d develop a form and pattern of its o w n . H e n r y came to feel a part of this 'country life,' but he was never entirely comfortable i n it. T h e Allines settled into a regular rhythm a n d routine based upon agrarian activities. L i k e most of their neighbours, they depended on family agriculture for survival. Henry's older brother W i l l i a m moved off onto a farmstead of his o w n , a n d his father operated a small grain m i l l . T h i s left H e n r y , as the eldest son living at home, to supervise farming operations o n the family's holdings, a n d he worked long hours i n the fields. A s time went on, the family came to rely more a n d more u p o n H e n r y , a n d by the eve of the A m e r i c a n Revolution he was effectual head of the household. H i s parents, by this time i n their sixties, undoubtedly followed the long-standing N e w E n g l a n d tradi­ tion of expecting H e n r y to remain at home and provide for their o l d

A Country Life"

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age i n return for the right to inherit the family property u p o n their death. U p to the point w h e n he began his evangelical career, H e n r y apparently accepted this expectation, w h i c h meant, among other things, that he deferred any thoughts of marriage. T h i s postponement was c o m m o n not only i n N e w E n g l a n d but i n most agrarian societies. T h e daily routine was least demanding u p o n H e n r y i n the winter months, particularly between December a n d A p r i l , w h e n snow cov­ ered the ground. D u r i n g this time farmers kept busy w i t h hunting a n d lumbering, the latter providing m a n y w i t h the only cash crop. W i n t e r was the season w h e n H e n r y was best able to pursue a program of reading a n d study. I n the early spring, he w o u l d have to clear trees a n d brush from l a n d not yet ready for cultivation. M a y was for plow­ ing, a n d by the end of the m o n t h fields were sown a n d crops planted. Despite the late start, everything grew rapidly. A t the close of the June planting season, H e n r y could turn to fishing i n local waters a n d to clearing more l a n d . Berrying was an important activity d u r i n g J u l y a n d August, a n d fruit from local orchards h a d to be picked. T h e hay harvest, critical for m a i n t a i n i n g the cattle a n d horses kept by each settler, was taken i n at the end of August. September, October, a n d early N o v e m b e r were harvest months, a n d by late N o v e m b e r winter was again setting i n . Livestock, of course, h a d to be fed a n d looked after throughout the year, a n d buildings needed constant attention. I n the a n n u a l cycle an industrious farmer h a d little opportunity for prolonged leisure a n d the cultivation of the m i n d . U n l i k e the N e w E n g l a n d settlements o n the west a n d south coasts of N o v a Scotia, w h i c h were basically fishing communities w i t h smallscale farming as a supplement, those i n the M i n a s basin consisted mainly of family farms operating o n a subsistence basis, w i t h the i n ­ habitants producing for themselves most of the essentials of life. H a r d money a n d currency were always i n short supply i n N o v a Scotia. T h e A n g l i c a n missionary Joseph Bennett wrote to E n g l a n d i n 1767 that

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' Y o u never knew so great a scarcity of money as prevails i n this prov­ ince ... a m a n w i t h great difficulties c a n get C a s h for a Sterling b i l l . ' Permanent servants or even temporary hired help were difficult a n d expensive to obtain, w h i c h was w h y the family unit was so important. W h a t little surplus was produced was generally traded w i t h N e w E n g l a n d , w h i c h h a d far better transportation links w i t h the townships than d i d H a l i f a x . F o r the Allines, overland ties w i t h H a l i f a x consisted as late as 1768 only of treacherous footpaths beyond Windsor. A s one official of the government i n 1766 described the situation: 1 0

A t present although several Paths have been cut to some of the Settle­ ments; yet none but that to Windsor have been so far compleated, as to admit of Carriages, which is yet i n an imperfect State, nor is any other passable for Horses without Difficulty (that to Annapolis excepted) on account of the Swamps and Rivers over which there are no Bridges; so that they may be deemed a Direction to the foot Travellers only. 11

T h e government made pious pronouncements about i m p r o v i n g roads, but lacked financial resources, w h i c h neither appeals to the British government nor local lotteries supplied. M o s t communication w i t h the outside w o r l d o n the part of farmers i n the M i n a s townships, therefore, was by sea through the agency of Yankee sea captains and traders. Despite a subsistence economy, H e n r y A l l i n e a n d his family were able to live reasonably comfortably, though scarcely i n luxury. T h e woods contained a good supply of game, particularly deer and w i l d fowl, a n d the rivers a n d bays teemed w i t h fish a n d shellfish. W i l d berries a n d fruit were available i n season. T h e Allines' diet could be rich a n d varied, at least d u r i n g the summer a n d autumn. I n an era before the introduction of modern cooking techniques a n d preserva­ tion facilities, the winter a n d spring m e n u was considerably more limited. A t this time, the presence of fresh meat o n the table fre-

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quently meant the killing of much-valued livestock, a n d a l l settlers lived largely on pickled pork, salted fish, dried corn, a n d various root vegetables. Nevertheless, European visitors to N o v a Scotia were a l ­ ways impressed w i t h the relative abundance of food, a n d accounts of diet w h i c h remain indicate that, even i n the winter months, m a l ­ nutrition was caused less by food shortages than by lack of variety a n d proper balance i n the diet. These were universal problems. M a n y of the necessities of life beyond foodstuffs were homemade, a n d the settlers lived simply. Henry's mother a n d sisters undoubtedly spun, wove, a n d dyed their o w n cloth, a n d made their o w n candles, soap, starch, a n d yeast. M o s t settlers dressed i n homespun clothes during the week, the m e n i n checked shorts, breeches or long trousers, the w o m e n i n woolseys a n d jackets. T h e high cost of stays (corsets) made these items of feminine apparel u n c o m m o n despite their cur­ rent fashionableness elsewhere. O n the Sabbath, those who attended worship services dressed i n their finest linen a n d cloth. T h e m e n i n the A l l i n e family wore their hair i n a queue ; the w o m e n tied theirs at the neck during the week a n d piled it high on their heads for special occasions. I n the summer most rural N o v a Scotians went barefoot m u c h of the time. T h e Allines eventually moved out of their temporary shelter into more permanent accommodations, w h i c h H e n r y w o u l d certainly have helped to b u i l d . T h e i r square wooden house, like those of most of their neighbours, probably h a d a centre chimney ( w i t h fireplaces for each downstairs room) and a good many sashed windows. Since glass was a rare a n d expensive commodity, windows were covered w i t h oiled paper instead. T h e houses w o u l d usually contain a full cellar, w h i c h was used to store root crops. N o v a Scotia architecture reminded observers of rural N e w E n g l a n d , its houses covered w i t h unpainted clapboarding o n the side walls a n d planked shingle o n the roof. Interior decoration was fairly simple and furnishings were m i n i -

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m a l . M o s t farms consisted of a dwelling house a n d a number of out­ buildings, the prominent one being the barn, a wooden structure usually clapboarded a n d shingled, w i t h a second floor for storing hay and corn. Livestock was housed i n partitioned compartments on the first floor, w h i c h h a d an entrance sufficiently large to permit a loaded wagon to enter. A l t h o u g h the life lived by H e n r y A l l i n e and his family i n early rural N o v a Scotia was relatively unsophisticated a n d plain, like most set­ tlers from N e w E n g l a n d they retained certain of the civilized ameni­ ties from their former homes. Travellers commented on the degree to w h i c h the Sabbath was observed - despite a relative lack of organized religion - a n d on the religious upbringing given to most children, w h o were taught 'a right notion of religion, a n d the great duty they owe to G o d a n d their parents.' T h i s was certainly the pattern i n the A l l i n e household. Little profanity was heard i n the N e w E n g l a n d townships, except perhaps from outsiders like Colonel H e n r y D e n n y Denson, about w h o m the F a l m o u t h settlers complained i n 1763 for foul a n d abusive language. A t the same time that children were brought u p to respect their parents, to speak politely, a n d to 'move the hat a n d foot o n passing their superiors,' N e w E n g l a n d rural society i n N o v a Scotia was far more democratic a n d unpretentious than that i n E n g l a n d . A s i n most households, the entire A l l i n e family ate at a single table at the same time, and they maintained few social distinctions w i t h their neighbours, everyone being called 'Misters a n d Sirs, a n d their maidens... M i s s e s . ' 12

13

H o w e v e r m u c h the struggle for existence was hard and perpetual, country life was not a l l work a n d toil. Settlers met communally for a variety of activities such as weddings a n d barn-raisings, w i t h 'frolicks' a n d parties quite c o m m o n among the young of both sexes, es­ pecially i n the winter months. I n F a l m o u t h , H e n r y A l l i n e was a leader of the young people i n his community, and for m a n y years was

"A Country Life"

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at the centre of youthful amusements. H e attended a constant r o u n d of parties a n d dances w h i c h featured a fiddler, songs, a n d games. After the m i d 1760s he could attend a n annual fair at Windsor, where prizes were awarded for the best local produce a n d where horse racing was a special feature. Since N o v a Scotian horses were small a n d bred less as draft animals than for riding, the races were probably reason­ ably stirring. Amusements i n early rural N o v a Scotia were simple by modern standards, but they helped the population to relieve the drudgery a n d boredom of the daily routine. T h e A n n a p o l i s valley was not the only rural area i n N o v a Scotia, a n d conditions were not identical everywhere. T h e fishing c o m m u n i ­ ties to the south a n d west contained more single men a n d d i d not place so m u c h emphasis o n family life ; they tended to be less stable a n d prosperous than a township like F a l m o u t h . T h e C u m b e r l a n d settlements on the northern neck contained a h i g h percentage of newer immigrants from Europe, a n d h a d their o w n traditions. B u t all rural areas h a d i n c o m m o n a sense of distinctiveness from N o v a Scotia's one urban centre, H a l i f a x . I n 1774, according to a traveller, H a l i f a x was a t o w n 'pleasantly situated on the west-side of the har­ bour ... above a mile i n length a n d three or four streets broad i n some parts; it contains upwards of six thousand inhabitants.' H a l i f a x h a d the king's 'only dockyard i n N o r t h A m e r i c a ' a n d 'large a n d con­ venient barracks for above a thousand m e n . ' Besides housing the military establishment, H a l i f a x contained the nerve-centres of govern­ ment, published the province's only newspapers, a n d was the c o m ­ mercial a n d manufacturing centre. F o r the r u r a l N o v a Scotian, H a l i f a x was not only the source of political authority, but, w i t h its taverns, theatres, brothels, a n d hard-living military men, it was Sodom a n d G o m o r r a h as well. 14

A l l N o v a Scotia society was characterized by the heavy consump­ tion of alcoholic beverages, w i t h r u m the preferred drink. B u t rural

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areas d i d not institutionalize dissipation i n the same way as H a l i f a x . M a n y farmers seem to have insisted upon a glass immediately u p o n rising i n the morning, a n d some spent their evenings i n local taverns (usually kept by w i d o w e d w o m e n ) , d r i n k i n g a n d arguing. M o s t set­ tlers may have manufactured their o w n liquor, especially the fabled 'spruce beer' made by boiling bark and molasses, then allowing the mixture to ferment. B u t as early as 1760, H a l i f a x was said to have 'upwards of 100 licensed houses, a n d perhaps as m a n y more w h i c h retail spirituous liquors without license ; so that the business of onehalf of the town is to sell r u m , a n d of the other half to drink i t . ' R u r a l N o v a Scotians may have 'frolicked,' but they d i d not attend the 'Play-House ... the Palace of Asmodeus, the Seat of Lewdness, the Nursery of Debauchery.' O n e critic i n 1770 argued that ' F o r m y part I a m of O p i n i o n that a Christian cannot w i t h a safer Conscience enter into the Playhouse than into a B r o t h e l . ' H e n r y A l l i n e came ultimately to reject liquor even i n moderation a n d innocent parties as 'useless earthly pleasures a n d vanities,' a n d not surprisingly, the sin­ fulness of H a l i f a x was so beyond his comprehension that he never felt comfortable i n the city. Halifax's distinctive reputation i n the eyes of rural settlers was added to by its undoubted political domination. I n the years u p to 1765 the inhabitants of the M i n a s basin continued quietly to hold town meetings a n d transact local business. B u t i n that year a new township act passed by the legislature took the power of appointment from the G r a n d J u r y a n d gave it to the justices of the C o u r t ( H a l i f a x appointees), w h o were to act u p o n nominations from the G r a n d J u r y . T h i s h a d the effect of further reducing the control over local affairs by the inhabitants. T h e same year saw a reduction of representation i n the assembly from two to one per township. T h e reason given for this a c t i o n - t h e increasing size a n d unwieldiness of the legislative body - may have been legitimate, but again the countryside found its 15

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25

political position altered unilaterally. A s if to demonstrate a convic­ tion that the assembly was not 'their ruling body - a feeling aided by difficulties of travel a n d communication - the settlers continued to elect prominent Haligonians a n d government officials to represent them. A l t h o u g h almost a l l power h a d after 1765 been stripped from the townships, H e n r y A l l i n e could have attended local meetings until 1770, w h e n activities from these bodies suggesting support for the rebels i n N e w E n g l a n d led the H a l i f a x government to forbid all local assemblies. T h e A l l i n e family was not politically active either before or after the effectual ending of town meeting democracy i n N o v a Scotia, a n d H e n r y came of political age only after local political authority h a d been completely emasculated. H e served one term as local constable when appointed by the C o u r t of General Sessions, but the office of constable - w h o kept the peace a n d enforced local regulations - was considered a n onerous one. Being constable was a duty, not an honour. H e n r y quite obviously was a n energetic young m a n . H e worked long hours to help support his family, and still h a d the vigour both to seek self-improvement through education a n d to lead the young people of his community i n a variety of harmless amusements. A n y inclination w h i c h he may have h a d to seek an outlet for his extraordinary energy i n government a n d politics was unquestionably stifled by the closed system of local a n d provincial politics i n effect i n early N o v a Scotia. T h e rulers of the province were i n the m a i n correct i n assuming that the absence of harsh financial levies u p o n the population w o u l d keep it relatively apathetic, to whatever extent the settlers were gov­ erned by a political system w i t h w h i c h they were not i n favour a n d w h i c h they d i d not control. N o v a Scotia h a d no direct taxation, a n d indirect taxes were exacted m a i n l y o n luxury goods and rums. T h e government made no concerted effort to collect quitrents w h i c h were 5

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due it, a n d most settlers h a d no reason to c o m p l a i n of the corruption i n H a l i f a x , since not they but the British treasury was being system­ atically bilked. Y o u n g m e n w i t h energy could always return to N e w E n g l a n d or marry a n d acquire their o w n property; raising a family i n rural N o v a Scotia w o u l d keep anyone extremely busy. H e n r y A l l i n e h a d acquiesced i n responsibilities w h i c h made it difficult for h i m to follow either of these paths. H e needed an outlet, but the system d i d not permit or encourage a bright young m a n from the backcountry without connections to enter politics a n d become involved i n govern­ ment. Part of the guilt he felt about his participation i n community amusements like dances a n d parties was undoubtedly a result of his recognition that he was engaged i n non-constructive activities. N o t surprisingly, therefore, H e n r y increasingly turned his attention i n w a r d toward concern for his spiritual condition. I n a quest for spiritual truth i n rural N o v a Scotia before 1775, H e n r y A l l i n e could expect little assistance from formal religious insti­ tutions. T h e situation that faced h i m i n F a l m o u t h was, if anything, worse than elsewhere i n the province. T h e achievement of economic stability after 1764 made it possible for some of the N e w E n g l a n d townships i n N o v a Scotia to obtain regular ministers, frequently uni­ versity-trained m e n from N e w E n g l a n d , but these men were not pre­ pared to accept primitive living conditions. T h e y expected regular salaries a n d prerequisites to m a i n t a i n themselves and their families i n at least m i n i m u m comfort. M o s t ministers remained only a short time i n N o v a Scotia, a n d their pastorates were filled w i t h continual con­ flicts w i t h their congregations over finances. T h e neighbouring c o m ­ munities of Cornwallis a n d Granville both enjoyed the ministrations of two of the more persistent N e w E n g l a n d pastors. B u t though Benajah Phelps a n d Arzareleah M o r s e remained i n faithful service to their congregations until after the outbreak of the A m e r i c a n R e v o ­ lution, w h e n their m o r a l support of the rebels caused them difficulty,

"A Country Life"

27

they d i d not seem at a l l anxious to b r i n g religion to the township of F a l m o u t h , w h i c h h a d no settled minister of any denomination. A l t h o u g h the Allines a n d most inhabitants of F a l m o u t h were by upbringing N e w E n g l a n d Puritans, they w o u l d probably have been responsive to almost anyone w h o offered his assistance. James M u r ­ doch, an Irish Presbyterian minister at nearby H o r t o n after 1767, apparently made no efforts to assist F a l m o u t h i n its distress. T h e C h u r c h of E n g l a n d tried to do something, however, a n d after 1762 the M i n a s region was served by Joseph Bennett, an A n g l i c a n mis­ sionary. Bennett, w h o was p a i d by the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel i n Foreign Parts ( k n o w n as the S P G ) i n E n g l a n d , was not forced to seek local financial support, but his mission area was enor­ mous a n d he could devote little time to F a l m o u t h . T h e need was so great, however, that despite N e w E n g l a n d conviction that A n g l i c a n ­ ism was exceeded i n perfidy a n d heresy only by R o m a n Catholicism, Bennett was tolerated as a m a n of G o d as a n alternative to no minister at all. A l t h o u g h the C h u r c h of E n g l a n d was technically the established church of the province, few inhabitants were aware of this and the Anglicans d i d not m u c h press the point i n this period. F o r several years i n the late 1760s, N e w p o r t - the village adjacent to F a l m o u t h enjoyed the services of J o h n Sutton, a Baptist minister from N e w Jersey. B u t Sutton left i n 1769, a n d Joseph Bennett opined T really think I shall never see another dissenting minister settled i n Either of them towns [Falmouth a n d Newport] m o r e . ' M o s t of the residents would probably have despairingly agreed. I n the absence of pastoral counselling, young H e n r y A l l i n e was placed u p o n his o w n resources i n his search for spiritual truth. G i v e n the shortage of books a n d other instruments of culture i n the F a l ­ m o u t h area, religious self-education was no mean task. H e m a y have h a d an opportunity to read the Halifax Gazette, the province's only newspaper for most of the period, but he undoubtedly found i n its 17

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pages no answers to the religious questions he was asking. F e w printed works made their w a y to the A n n a p o l i s valley, a n d the p l a n n i n g of a rational reading program was impossible. A l l H e n r y could do was to devour voraciously whatever came to h a n d - a few works of devo­ tional literature - a n d to rely u p o n his Bible. H e n r y A l l i n e undoubtedly h a d a psychological disposition toward the b r a n d of religious experience w h i c h he ultimately espoused a n d promoted - a personal religion of the heart w i t h tendencies toward mysticism a n d against authority - but political, social, cultural, a n d religious circumstances i n the M i n a s basin certainly contributed to this inclination. Inexperienced as he was i n formal a n d c o m m u n a l religious activity, it was not surprising that he w o u l d m i n i m i z e formal­ ism i n his o w n teaching. E x c l u d e d as he must have felt from political activity i n his spiritually formative years, it was understandable that he w o u l d seek i n religion a n alternative to political involvement and ultimately reject secular government as a worthwhile enterprise for himself a n d others. Exposed o n the one h a n d to heavy d r i n k i n g a n d o n the other to harmlessly unconstructive amusements, he developed an ethic w h i c h stressed spiritual asceticism a n d viewed such activities as worthless. D e n i e d the opportunity to marry by family circumstances a n d general custom, he committed himself to Christ. U n a b l e to de­ velop his intellectual position through exposure to the full range of h u m a n thinking, he drew heavily on the very limited resources at his disposal a n d found the results coincided w i t h his o w n inclinations. Alline's spiritual experiences a n d his religious ethic were deeply con­ ditioned by his environment. H i s dissatisfactions m a y have been shared by other r u r a l N o v a Scotians, but he almost alone h a d both the sensitiveness a n d the energy not only to reject the w o r l d i n w h i c h he lived but to offer a positive alternative for himself and his neigh­ bours.

2 Redeeming

Love Broke into My Soul

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T h e ultimate result of H e n r y Alline's evangelical career was to under­ mine a n d virtually destroy the P u r i t a n orthodoxy w h i c h his family a n d most of their fellow N e w Englanders h a d brought w i t h them to N o v a Scotia. Despite his subsequent attacks o n Calvinistic doctrine a n d o n the practices of the P u r i t a n churches, however, the process by w h i c h A l l i n e achieved personal spiritual truth was entirely w i t h i n the bounds of the P u r i t a n tradition. Indeed, Alline's conversion experi­ ences, w h i c h he recorded at length as part of his legacy to the w o r l d , were so typical of N e w E n g l a n d Puritanism that his account of them seems almost stereotyped. If anything out of the ordinary was present i n Alline's relation of his conversion, it was i n terms of length (from age 8 to age 26) a n d intensity rather than i n configuration. Alline's conversion followed closely the pattern set forth by P u r i t a n theo­ logians over a period of several centuries and epitomized by hundreds of individual Puritans detailing their o w n experiences. T h a t A l l i n e should record the major event of his life i n almost stereotyped terms might be expected. A l t h o u g h the M i n a s basin m a y have been deficient i n its formal religious activity, it h a d large n u m ­ bers of residents w h o h a d been exposed to a n d indeed participated i n the greatest of a l l N o r t h A m e r i c a n explosions of evangelical pietism, the Great A w a k e n i n g of the 1740s i n N e w E n g l a n d . M o s t of the Y a n k e e settlers i n N o v a Scotia came from areas w h i c h h a d been heavily affected by the A w a k e n i n g - especially eastern Massachusetts, coastal R h o d e Island, a n d eastern Connecticut. A strong correlation existed between those regions experiencing the l a n d shortages w h i c h produced emigration to new communities a n d areas responding fa­ vourably to the phenomenon of revivalism. T o whatever extent the A w a k e n i n g i n N e w E n g l a n d was or was not caused by socio-economic conditions, it d i d produce a renewed interest i n the nature of personal conversion - i n pietistic terms - an interest w h i c h was brought to N o v a Scotia.

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O n e of the results of this new concern was the publication or re­ printing of the spiritual experiences of m a n y a P u r i t a n pietist. A m o n g the most popular of these works was the spiritual diary of the I n d i a n missionary D a v i d Brainerd, w h i c h was edited by Jonathan Edwards (one of the h i g h priests of the N e w E n g l a n d revival) a n d w h i c h served countless individuals as a model both for the Christian experi­ ence a n d for the C h r i s t i a n life. T h e diary of Brainerd, the journals of the A n g l i c a n evangelist George Whitefield, a n d a variety of accounts of other Puritans (such as J o h n B u n y a n ) whose spiritual experiences were considered edifying a n d uplifting became best-sellers i n 18thcentury A m e r i c a . N o v a Scotia experienced a shortage of more ab­ struse doctrinal works, but these less technical a n d highly popular books were undoubtedly brought to N o v a Scotia along w i t h family Bibles by m a n y of the N e w E n g l a n d settlers. T h e y were available for study to young H e n r y A l l i n e , w h o later recorded, ' I read of many experiences a n d accounts of a work of grace i n the souls of others.' These popular devotional works made it fashionable for those w i t h pietistic leanings to keep some sort of spiritual 'diary,' a n d H e n r y A l l i n e was no exception. U s i n g such 'accounts' - w h i c h were invari­ ably couched i n the standard P u r i t a n conversion i d i o m - as a model a n d inspiration for explaining his o w n conversion, Alline's narrative naturally echoed that of others. N e w E n g l a n d Puritanism, although basically Calvinistic, h a d modified a n d refined the teachings of the great Geneva reformer i n a variety of ways. Subtle doctrinal matters ultimately became of concern to H e n r y A l l i n e , particularly toward the end of his career, but at this formative stage of his life they were considerably less important. A l ­ though, as he noted, he ' d i d read a n d study m u c h , ' soon attaining 'a great theory of religion for one of m y age,' what really concerned young A l l i n e was his personal relationship w i t h G o d . I n a way, doc­ trinal subtleties d i d not matter here. Puritans w i t h i n a great range of 1

2

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Love"

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theological positions could agree on this point, a n d h a d developed a m a p of the 'route from sin to holiness a n d explained the way G o d carried a saint along i t . ' U n d e r l y i n g this chart were any number of theological assumptions and hidden disagreements, but one d i d not need to comprehend or acquiesce i n theological fine points to accept the basic stages oudined i n many writings a n d exemplified i n the various 'accounts of a work of grace.' L e a r n e d P u r i t a n divines worked out the details i n their studies and argued over them i n assemblies; what the average individual needed were the directions, w h i c h be­ came standardized. N o t a l l Puritans were agreed on the exact number of the stages on the road to conversion but five c a n readily be identified. First came Christian knowledge, based u p o n c h u r c h attendance, family worship, a n d catechism. H e r e one came to understand intellectually what God's w o r d was, a n d once this understanding was achieved, the i n ­ dividual could then be brought - by G o d - to an awareness of the distinctions between good a n d evil. T h i s awareness merged imper­ ceptibly into the second stage, w h i c h Puritans called 'conviction.' H e r e the i n d i v i d u a l 'perceived his helpless a n d hopeless condition a n d despaired of salvation.' C o n v i c t i o n was hardly synonymous w i t h salvation; m a n y never got beyond this 'legal fear.' B u t to some ( i n Calvinistic terms the 'elect' ) , G o d gave a w i l l a n d desire to believe i n H i m that was usually labelled 'grace.' T h i s third stage d i d not com­ plete the conversion process. T h e i n d i v i d u a l soon found that his soul began to doubt a n d despair of having actually experienced saving faith, a n d he engaged i n a prolonged struggle against his fears of i n ­ sufficiency. T h e fourth stage of combat against doubt never really ended, but eventually the true saint w o u l d t r i u m p h over his despair a n d achieve some sense of personal assurance, the fifth a n d final step i n the conversion process. 3

4

H e n r y A l l i n e described the conversion process i n terms consistent

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w i t h the above analysis i n Two Mites Cast into the Offering of God. W i t h m a n y Puritans A l l i n e held that 'although the work of conversion is instantaneous, yet the work of conviction m a y be gradual.' T h e question of w h i c h stage was instantaneous a n d w h i c h prolonged was one as o l d as Puritanism. F o r orthodox Puritans total assurance was never achieved, since the absence of continuing doubt demonstrated self-delusion rather than genuine faith. O n e of the criticisms later levied against H e n r y A l l i n e and his followers was that they were too certain, too spiritually arrogant, a n d hence not true saints. B u t as Alline's diary indicates, personal doubts d i d continue, however m u c h his actions m a y sometimes have belied them. K n o w l e d g e , conviction, grace (or saving f a i t h ) , combat, a n d assurance: these were the stages through w h i c h Puritans passed on their way to holiness and sainthood, a n d H e n r y Alline's conversion was no exception. Despite attacks o n C a l v i n i s m i n his account of his spiritual strug­ gles, A l l i n e thus chose, either consciously or unconsciously, to present his experiences i n standard P u r i t a n terms. T h e account i n his Journal begins w i t h emphasis o n his early acquisition of Christian knowledge, the first step o n the road to salvation, w h i c h quickly merged into evi­ dences of conviction. W i l l i a m a n d Rebeccah A l l i n e gave h i m a n early instruction i n the principles of the christian religion,' a n d he was Very early moved u p o n by the spirit of G o d , though I knew not then what ailed me.' W h e n he was about eight years old, a thunderstorm raised i n h i m concern for death a n d hell, a n d that night i n bed he began to pray i n a serious fashion, though previously he h a d been taught only 'to repeat a number of words, as I d i d m y lesson at school.' A t this point he 'began to examine a n d study' what he read a n d was taught i n his catechism and he feared God's wrath, for ' I thought myself i n great danger, a n d often, when w r i t i n g at school w o u l d so ponder on m y miserable condition, that I could scarcely keep m y distress con­ cealed.' F r o m the age of nine, young A l l i n e 'began to read m u c h i n c

^Redeeming Love"

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the books I could understand, a n d studied m u c h to find out how to get i n favour w i t h the great invisible G o d . ' H e attended meetings ' a l ­ most every Sabbath' but got little spiritual satisfaction. E v e n before his family's move to N o v a Scotia, therefore, H e n r y h a d passed through the first two steps toward conversion. H e h a d reached the stage of attained Christian knowledge, and h a d recognized his o w n helplessness i n the face of his Creator. H i s position was probably fairly similar to that of a good many Yankee immigrants to the frontier. U n l i k e most of his neighbours, however, H e n r y A l l i n e d i d not permit the rough way of life i n his new home to arrest perman­ ently his spiritual pilgrimage. 5

I n N o v a Scotia, the pursuit of Christian knowledge and of an understanding of good a n d evil continued for young H e n r y . B u t like all good Puritans, he found that study and prayer were not enough to gain 'some insight i n this infinite mystery.' B y the age of 17, he was 'now very m o r a l ' i n his life but 'found no rest of conscience' i n this. A s he noted, T flattered myself that if I d i d not get drunk, nor curse, nor swear, there w o u l d be no sin i n frolicking a n d carnal m i r t h , and I thought G o d w o u l d indulge young people w i t h some (what I called simple or civil) recreation. Attempts to 'break off from b a d company' w h e n under temporary distress d i d not work, a n d 'the amusements of the time w o u l d soon make me be as w i l d as before.' A l l i n e h a d reached the point beyond m o r a l life (the so-called 'covenant of w o r k s ' ) , but h a d obviously not experienced the infusion of G o d ' s grace. There were signs of change, however, although i n his account A l l i n e contin­ ually berates himself for his hypocrisy. H e was 'the chief contriver a n d ringleader of the frolicks,' but at heart he was uneasy a n d ' w o u l d act the hypocrite a n d feign a merry heart.' H i s parents warned h i m of the results of continued surrender to 'carnal passions,' but neither their advice nor constant discussion of the 'disputed points' of religion 'such as election, reprobation, resurrection, baptism' d i d m u c h good. 5

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These, A l l i n e remembered, only 'increased m y distress, for I thought I could deceive the very elect.' S u c h self-deprecation need not be taken strictly at face value, of course, since this was a l l part of the P u r i t a n process of introspection leading to the acquisition of saving grace. T h e first sign of grace came to A l l i n e when he was about 20 years of age. W h i l e w a l k i n g alone at night, he was suddenly 'surrounded w i t h a n u n c o m m o n light; it seemed like a blaze of fire.' F o r almost a minute he saw thousands of 'devils a n d damned spirits,' a n d realized that he h a d no w a y to combat them, since he h a d wilfully rejected God's grace a n d mercy. F o r half an hour he stood trembling, eyes downcast, convinced that he was lost a n d justly condemned. W h e n he raised his eyes, he saw ' a large blaze of light i n the shape of a circle, w i t h that side next to me open as though it yawned after me, a n d as it drew very n i g h me, it closed u p i n a small compass, then broke out i n small sparkles, a n d vanished away. W r i t i n g years after the event, A l l i n e postulated that the light 'was one of the c o m m o n phenomena of nature, such as exhaled vapours or nitre, that h a d gathered i n the air.' B u t this d i d not really matter, he argued, because 'it was not the less alarming to m e ; for I believe it was really designed by G o d as an alarming means, as m u c h as if it was a miracle sent to me i n particu­ l a r . ' A l t h o u g h this statement can be taken to mean that A l l i n e was w i l l i n g to accept a natural explanation for his vision, it is not quite as 'scientific' as it might sound. A l l i n e , like most Puritans, believed that G o d acted through natural phenomena, a n d i n later years he adopted a good deal of nature mysticism w h i c h he learned from the A n g l i c a n writer W i l l i a m L a w ' s exposition of the theosophy of Jacob Boehme. 6

5

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T h e state of Alline's emotions at this point can best be appreciated i n terms of his next experience. F o l l o w i n g these initial 'visions' he

"Redeeming

Love"

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determined to beg G o d for mercy a n d redeeming love. H e returned to his home a n d the privacy of his bedroom. But, he recorded : I had not been long in the room, before there was represented to my view a beautiful woman (one whom I had seen before, but had no great acquaintance with) and the happiness that I thought I might enjoy with her stole away my affections from thinking much of G o d or my state. T h e devil told me that I need not commit any sin for to enjoy her; that I might marry her, which was lawful : yea, I so acquiesced i n the temp­ tation, that my affections were after her, and she appeared the most beautiful object that ever I beheld. M y passions were so inflamed with the prospect, that I thought I would not omit the first opportunity to go see her and propose marriage to her. I thought I would be the happiest man on earth, if I might but have her for a companion for life. A psychiatrist w o u l d have little difficulty i n explaining the significance of this vision, w i t h its obvious sexual overtones. H i s unmarried state was clearly o n Alline's m i n d at this point, a n d undoubtedly explains the form w h i c h temptation took. H e realized his state of m i n d h i m ­ self, writing that the vision indicated 'the subtilty of that grand adver­ sary, w h o might by this temptation have proved m y eternal ruin, if G o d h a d not interposed." I n tried a n d true P u r i t a n fashion, he h a d moved beyond the stage of saving faith into that of spiritual combat. H e was 'not only made to see the temptation, but likewise to detest it from m y very heart, a n d enabled to withstand i t . ' T h e next few years were for H e n r y A l l i n e a continual period of distress a n d uncertainty. 'Wherever I went, or whatever I d i d , night or day, I was groaning under a load of guilt and darkness, praying a n d crying continually for mercy.' H e remained convinced that he 'had nothing saving' i n his heart, and he most feared 'getting back into m y former state of security, so as wholly to forget m y lost a n d undone condition.' W h i l e visiting some friends, he was disturbed by 8

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their m o c k i n g of the ' N e w - L i g h t s ' (those awakened by the earlier N e w E n g l a n d revivals), but though he believed that such an awaken­ ing was the work of G o d , he lacked 'the power to speak i n behalf of it.' F i n a l assurance of conversion came for A l l i n e on 26 M a r c h 1775. It was a Sunday, but F a l m o u t h - as usual - h a d 'no preaching.' So H e n r y went wandering i n the fields, where he was again struck w i t h his o w n insufficiency a n d unimportance i n the face of G o d . R e t u r n ­ ing to the house, he sank into a chair asking ' W i l l G o d have mercy u p o n me, or must I sink forever?' B y chance he picked u p an o l d Bible a n d turned to the 38th Psalm ( ' O L o r d , rebuke me not i n thy w r a t h : neither chasten me i n thy hot displeasure' ), w h i c h 'took h o l d of me w i t h such power, that it seemed to go through m y whole soul, and read therein every thought of m y heart, a n d raised m y soul w i t h groans a n d earnest cries to G o d , so that it seemed as if G o d was pray­ ing i n , w i t h , a n d for me.' A s a result of this experience and continual prayers, he arrived at 'that instant of time when I gave u p all to h i m , to do w i t h me, as he pleased, and was w i l l i n g that G o d should reign i n me a n d rule over me at his pleasure.' Suddenly, he recorded, 're­ deeming love broke into m y soul w i t h repeated scriptures w i t h such power, that m y whole soul seemed to be melted d o w n w i t h love.' H a l f a n hour later, H e n r y felt a call to 'labour i n the ministry a n d ... preach the gospel.' T h i s experience led to another long period (over a year) of uncertainty and inner debate over the validity of his ministerial call, but it was subsequent to a n d quite apart from the achievement of assurance conversion. Indeed, A l l i n e admitted, ' I lived a considerable time without any distressing doubts.' A l t h o u g h these ultimately returned, they were henceforth always surmountable. After 26 M a r c h 1775 H e n r y A l l i n e considered himself a converted m a n , a n d acted accordingly. 9

10

Despite the traditional nature of his conversion experience, A l l i n e

'Redeeming

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was tending to move i n a direction away from P u r i t a n theological orthodoxy. T o a great extent this tendency resulted from his lengthy internal conflict over his ministerial call, and from political develop­ ments i n N o v a Scotia at this time w h i c h w o u l d make it impossible for h i m to follow standard N e w E n g l a n d procedure for ministerial q u a l i ­ fication. B u t inherent i n his personal conversion experience and i n the external circumstances of his life i n N e w p o r t a n d N o v a Scotia were other factors w h i c h undermined his traditional P u r i t a n upbringing a n d values. I n his subsequent account of his conversion, A l l i n e em­ phasized the extent to w h i c h his personal experiences deviated from what he h a d been taught i n formal religious instruction. H o w m u c h of this was ex post jacto analysis is impossible to ascertain, but it is probably true that A l l i n e at the time of his conversion d i d uncover what he considered to be discrepancies between 'orthodoxy' as he h a d been taught it a n d his o w n experiences. H e was particularly con­ cerned about what he considered to be the failure of traditional P u r i ­ tanism to emphasize the need for the 'new birth. B u t he also objected to the orthodox Calvinistic picture of a vengeful a n d retributive rather than a loving G o d , and to the insistence on the doctrine of preordained election of the saints, w h i c h underlined the inability of m a n to act for his o w n salvation. These doubts m a y seem paradoxical for one w h o was undergoing a traditional P u r i t a n conversion experience, but no paradox really exists. Alline's experiences were entirely w i t h i n the framework of orthodoxy; it was the conclusions he drew from them w h i c h were not. T h e inconsistency came about largely because he h a d not received a fair exposure to a n d a full understanding of the complex doctrine w h i c h was N e w E n g l a n d Puritanism. F o r this he could not really be b l a m e d ; he had left R h o d e Island at an early age - taking away an incomplete view i n any case - and h a d little opportunity for further expansion of his understanding of doctrinal complexities i n N o v a 5

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Scotia. Moreover, N e w E n g l a n d Puritanism, always an uneasy at­ tempt to m a i n t a i n i n tension a host of seemingly contradictory con­ cepts a n d tendencies, h a d never been a monolithic 'orthodoxy. I n his formative years, no one attempted to explain to H e n r y A l l i n e how his personal doubts could be reconciled w i t h acceptable P u r i t a n doctrine, a n d by the time someone undertook this task, his position h a d hard­ ened far beyond the point where it was reconcilable. Indeed, particu­ larly i n the crucial period of his conversion a n d debate over his call to preach - when A l l i n e was still well w i t h i n the bounds of N e w E n g l a n d orthodoxy - a l l aspects of his personal experience h a d the tendency to reinforce his ultimate decision to break w i t h traditional Puritanism as he understood it. Alline's contact w i t h influences w h i c h eroded his commitment to N e w E n g l a n d Puritanism may have begun while his family was still i n R h o d e Island. H e r e the Allines frequently attended the Congrega­ tional church of w h i c h E z r a Stiles was the pastor. Stiles was a learned a n d urbane m a n , but his intellectual achievements — w h i c h were m a n y - were hardly designed to appeal to the young H e n r y A l l i n e . A Stiles sermon, packed w i t h erudition a n d doctrinal subtleties, was not, as A l l i n e commented, 'adapted to the capacity of children, and not 'tell them i n p l a i n words, that they must be b o r n again by the spirit of G o d , a n d that they must feel and k n o w this new birth each one for himself.' S u c h emphasis could hardly be expected of E z r a Stiles, whose father h a d been one of the p r i n c i p a l Connecticut opponents of the Great A w a k e n i n g , a n d w h o himself h a d been a student at Y a l e when that university was purged of pietistic elements. B u t if A l l i n e d i d not learn about the new birth from Stiles, he m a y have picked u p some of the N e w p o r t minister's other views. I n intellectual approach, Stiles was a rationalist, a n d although this w o u l d not have appealed to the young H e n r y A l l i n e , the Newporter's distaste for the Calvinistic view of the depravity of m a n m a y have made some impact. So too 5

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there might have been an appeal i n some of Stiles's ecumenical spirit a n d scepticism about the value of rigid rules of c h u r c h practice. Whatever else E z r a Stiles may have been, he was certainly a fullfledged member of the N e w E n g l a n d P u r i t a n establishment, a n d one of its finest products. After leaving Newport, H e n r y A l l i n e h a d no further opportunity for exposure to such a n individual. I n N o v a Scotia, Alline's p r i n c i p a l ecclesiastical contacts were w i t h those who h a d either consciously rejected the P u r i t a n establishment or whose religious position was completely outside it. Separate Congregationalists, Baptists, Quakers, a n d Anglicans composed the major religious forces i n the M i n a s township population, a n d a l l of these different traditions m a y have played a role i n Alline's religious development. Perhaps the most important of these anti-Puritan influences was provided by the Separate Congregationalists, or 'Separates, as they were usually k n o w n . These were N e w E n g l a n d colonists w h o had been strongly influenced a n d frequently converted d u r i n g the heyday of the Great A w a k e n i n g i n the early 1740s. L i k e A l l i n e , they tended to emphasize the importance of an intensely emotional conversion experience a n d the necessity for the 'new birth.' F o r m u c h of the P u r i t a n establishment i n N e w E n g l a n d , a n d especially i n Connec­ ticut (where traditional C a l v i n i s m was extremely powerful a n d churches carefully regulated from above), these pietistic converts seemed far too radical. S u c h extremists criticized their ministers for not being converted ( i n the intense sense that they h a d been), de­ m a n d e d that the churches be purged of those under the 'covenant of works, a n d insisted that the sacraments of the churches - c o m ­ m u n i o n a n d baptism - be restricted to those who met their conception of true saints. Despite the large numbers of pietists, especially i n east­ ern Connecticut, the P u r i t a n establishment i n church a n d state of that colony was able to force out those 'radicals' who d i d not willingly separate from it. T h e 'Separates' proceeded to organize their o w n 5

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churches and fight a bitter campaign against the establishment, w h i c h persecuted them i n a variety of open a n d subtle ways. Eastern C o n ­ necticut was not only the centre of the Separates but also a region of severe l a n d hunger a n d shortages, and, not surprisingly, large n u m ­ bers of these anti-establishment Puritans, w h o considered themselves more orthodox than the churches they h a d abandoned, came to N o v a Scotia. I n H e n r y Alline's F a l m o u t h , one of the early leaders of the com­ munity was Shubael D i m o c k , formerly deacon of the Separate C h u r c h of Mansfield, Connecticut. D i m o c k h a d suffered at the hands of the Standing O r d e r , as Separates referred to the Connecticut establishment, a n d his treatment was a major factor i n his decision to emigrate to N o v a Scotia, where liberty of conscience h a d been p r o m ­ ised by the government. I n F a l m o u t h he preached to a small number of settlers, perhaps including the A l l i n e family, before m o v i n g across the river to Newport. A n o t h e r leading Separate was D a n i e l H o v e y of H o r t o n , father of several F a l m o u t h grantees. H o v e y early tested the sincerity of the government's promises of religious liberty. H e was arrested a n d charged by the county Quarter Sessions i n 1761 for 'uttering certain scandalous words and expressions tending to stir u p sedition i n the minds of H i s Majesty's subjects,' a n d for undertaking to preach the gospel. Defying the court, H o v e y insisted he w o u l d con­ tinue to preach until the authorities 'cut out his tongue.' T h e case was taken to H a l i f a x , where the C o u n c i l dismissed the charges a n d found the Quarter Sessions action 'irregular.' A l t h o u g h A l l i n e does not mention this influence i n his autobiography - he was perhaps purposely vague about a l l such matters - the religious enthusiasm of the M i n a s Separates must have d r a w n h i m to them. F r o m m e n like D i m o c k and Hovey, A l l i n e undoubtedly acquired or strengthened a good m a n y of his later positions. T h e Separates were clearly antiauthoritarian i n their attitudes a n d actions. C o n v i n c e d of the right12

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eousness of their o w n doctrinal position and of the primacy of eternal salvation over earthly success, they d i d not hesitate to defy duly con­ stituted authority i n church a n d state. T h e y rejected traditional P u r i ­ tanism less for doctrinal reasons than over questions of emphasis a n d church practice. L i k e the Separates, H e n r y A l l i n e emphasized the need for the new birth a n d personal salvation over the maintenance of order i n either church or state. Similarly, he was always extremely suspicious of for­ m a l institutions a n d rigid c h u r c h practices, preferring instead to stress experience rather than organization. O n e of the strongest influences of the Separates upon A l l i n e was undoubtedly their attitude towards the question of c h u r c h membership. T h e Separates always insisted that the only criterion for membership, a n d admission to the sacra­ ments, was the achievement of the new birth. M a n y of the more r a d i ­ cal converts of the Great A w a k e n i n g came to reject infant baptism as unscriptural, but the Separates always maintained that an individual's beliefs regarding baptism should not be a bar to c o m m u n i o n w i t h other saints. T h i s position o n open c o m m u n i o n ' soon broke d o w n i n N e w E n g l a n d , but the advocacy of H e n r y A l l i n e perpetuated it i n N o v a Scotia. T h e later insistence of A l l i n e u p o n open c o m m u n i o n between B a p ­ tists a n d non-Baptists ran counter to the tide not only i n N e w E n g l a n d but i n N o v a Scotia as well. E v e n before Alline's emergence as an evangelical preacher i n 1776, the strength of those who insisted on closed c o m m u n i o n - particularly those w h o restricted the sacrament to individuals who had rejected infant baptism - was growing. T h e Annapolis valley was visited by several Baptist preachers i n the 1760s, particularly J o h n Sutton of H o p e w e l l , N e w Jersey, w h o ministered to a congregation at N e w p o r t from 1766 to 1769, a n d Ebenezer M o u l t o n , a Massachusetts Baptist preacher who emigrated to Y a r ­ m o u t h on the west coast of N o v a Scotia i n 1761. M o u l t o n organized c

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a Baptist church i n H o r t o n (Wolfville) i n the m i d 1760s, but he d i d not remain l o n g i n the community. B o t h Sutton and M o u l t o n were 'New-Lights, i.e., evangelical pietists, a n d H e n r y A l l i n e undoubtedly was familiar w i t h them. B u t however m u c h the Baptists may have reinforced his pietism, their insistence on rigid standards of church membership apart from the new birth always repelled h i m . Never­ theless, others were w o n over, i n c l u d i n g several sons of Shubael D i m o c k a n d perhaps the older m a n as well. 5

A l t h o u g h Alline's acquaintanceship w i t h Separates a n d Baptists i n the formative years of his religious development is reasonably certain despite his o w n reticence about recording it, his familiarity w i t h the Q u a k e r a n d A n g l i c a n elements i n his community is somewhat more problematic. Nevertheless, a small Q u a k e r enclave d i d exist i n F a l ­ mouth, a n d an A n g l i c a n missionary d i d regularly visit the township. It is possible that A l l i n e a n d the A n g l i c a n Joseph Bennett d i d come into contact, a n d it may have been from Bennett that A l l i n e obtained some of the A n g l i c a n devotional literature w i t h w h i c h he was later familiar, particularly the writings of W i l l i a m L a w . A s for the Quakers, they a n d A l l i n e certainly should have felt sympathetic v i ­ brations. T h e Friends believed i n the inner light, were anti-sacramen­ tal, anti-authoritarian, a n d anti-Calvinistic - a l l Alline's principles as well - a n d their rejection of the affairs of the w o r l d (including military service) was i n full accord w i t h Alline's fundamental teach­ ings. S u c h similarities may not reflect any direct connection between the Quakers a n d A l l i n e so m u c h as they underline the parallels be­ tween the growth of the Society of Friends and the ' N e w - L i g h t ' move­ ment w h i c h A l l i n e came later to lead i n N o v a Scotia d u r i n g the A m e r i c a n Revolution. A s a religious sect, the Quakers were princi­ pally a response to the tension, uncertainty, a n d violence of the English C i v i l W a r ; m a n y Englishmen responded to wartime condi-

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tions by searching for some permanence a n d assurance i n religion. T h e y found it w i t h the Quakers, w h o emphasized a personal rather than a social religious experience, a n d rejected most of those standards of society w h i c h were associated w i t h the war. I n a similar way, H e n r y Alline's N e w - L i g h t movement was a response to the uncer­ tainty a n d tension of the era of the A m e r i c a n Revolution, a n d m a n y N o v a Scotians, particularly those from N e w E n g l a n d , sought a n d found assurance i n the new birth preached by A l l i n e . Whatever the impact of Separates, Baptists, Quakers, a n d A n g l i ­ cans u p o n A l l i n e , i n the last analysis his environment a n d external circumstances beyond his control were the critical factors. H e h a d reached assurance of conversion o n 26 M a r c h 1775. Little more than three weeks later, the battles of Lexington a n d C o n c o r d signalled the opening of the w a r of the A m e r i c a n Revolution. N o v a Scotians h a d been aware of the growing chasm between B r i t a i n a n d her N o r t h A m e r i c a n colonies. M o s t settlers h a d friends or relatives i n N e w E n g l a n d or elsewhere w h o were r a b i d patriots prepared to fight for their beliefs. N o v a Scotia, however, was far too dependent u p o n British assistance a n d far too disorganized socially a n d politically beyond H a l i f a x to respond to grievances i n a n aggressive manner. So long as the disagreement remained verbal, N o v a Scotians could vicariously support the Americans without damaging either them­ selves or their psyches. T h e opening of actual hostilities i n Boston where were stationed General T h o m a s Gage's regiments formerly based i n H a l i f a x - made it necessary for most residents of N o v a Scotia to take some sort of stand, at least mentally. T h e vast majority chose not to support the rebels, a decision best suited to their o w n selfinterest but one w h i c h cost something i n self-respect. T h i s decision was not made by the average settler instantaneously i n A p r i l of 1775, but was reached over the succeeding year and a half of uncertainty,

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virtually the same time-span during w h i c h H e n r y A l l i n e was engaged i n resolving his o w n knotty problem of whether or not he should respond to G o d ' s call to preach. F o r a variety of reasons, the problem of his call became inextricably interwoven for A l l i n e w i t h the d i l e m m a of contending political loyal­ ties. A l o n g w i t h m a n y of his neighbours, A l l i n e rejected N e w E n g l a n d a n d its rebellion. B u t he adopted a stance not simply of political neu­ tralism but of w i t h d r a w a l from politics combined w i t h a renunciation of spiritual-religious-intellectual allegiances a n d ties as well. B y w i t h ­ d r a w i n g from the secular w o r l d of N o v a Scotia, he indicated his dis­ satisfaction w i t h the prevailing British establishment there. B y reject­ ing Puritanism, he demonstrated that he was no slavish follower of the N e w E n g l a n d 'line' of rebellion a n d revolution w h i c h Puritanism h a d aided a n d abetted. A l l i n e successfully disassociated himself from both sides i n the revolutionary crisis, a n d his account of his debate over accepting a call to preach is revealing a n d symptomatic, perhaps even intentionally symbolic, of the response of m a n y N o v a Scotians to the d i l e m m a posed by the A m e r i c a n rebellion. O n 23 M a r c h 1775 Alline's immediate response to his call to preach was 'amen, L o r d , I ' l l go, I ' l l go, send me, send me.' H e realized what an unlikely preacher he w o u l d make, admitting : my capacity i n the world was low, being obliged to labour daily with my hands to get a living; my father's estate was not very large, and my parents being almost past labour, I had the whole care of these temporal concerns. A s for learning, it was true I had read and studied more than was common for one i n my station, but my education was but small: what I had of human literature, I had acquired of myself without schooling, excepting what I had obtained before I was eleven years of age, for I never went to school, after I came to N o v a Scotia. 13

A m o n g other things, this statement certainly underlines Alline's cre­ dentials as a N o v a Scotian, a n d a not untypical one at that.

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After the initial enthusiasm of his conversion h a d w o r n off, how­ ever, the obstacle of education became a serious problem. T h i s feel­ ing of an impediment unquestionably had its roots i n N e w E n g l a n d . Puritanism i n N e w E n g l a n d h a d always insisted o n a learned ministry, one conversant w i t h the 'tongues' ( L a t i n , Greek, a n d H e b r e w ) , a n attainment achieved only through university education w h i c h was a N e w E n g l a n d monopoly. H e n r y could not easily reject this standard, noting: the prejudices of education and the strong ties of tradition so chained me down, that I could not think of myself qualified for it, without having a great deal of human learning; and although I sometimes had not the least doubt, but G o d had called me to the ministry, yet I could not believe, that it was his will, that I should preach, until he had found some way to get me qualified by human assistance. 14

I n A p r i l or M a y of 1775, A l l i n e h a d discussed the problem w i t h one of his brothers-in-law, probably J o h n Payzant, w h o also 'was under the chains ... respecting h u m a n learning.' H e advised A l l i n e to read a n d study, until 'some door opened ... to attain to more learning.' H i s future remained uncertain until October of 1775, although A l l i n e was still d r a w n to N e w E n g l a n d . H e finally decided that he 'could not preach' until he 'had acquired learning, a n d therefore must proceed to N e w - E n g l a n d , a n d endeavour some w a y or other to get learning there.' H e h a d little money, but w i t h his parents' con­ sent he set out for Boston, where he h a d 'many relations.' A t this time the military a n d political implications of the A m e r i c a n rebellion were still not entirely clear to most N o v a Scotians. T o w n meetings held i n the summer of 1775 supported N e w E n g l a n d , though m a n y residents signed declarations of loyalty to the C r o w n . A good deal of movement of people between N o v a Scotia a n d N e w E n g l a n d still was possible, particularly o n vessels supplying General Gage's occupation 15

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army i n Boston w i t h N o v a Scotia foodstuffs. N e w E n g l a n d privateers were active i n preying o n this trade. T h e N o v a Scotia government h a d only begun to raise a military force to defend the province, and N e w Englanders i n the province were only starting to fear the danger of young m e n being pressed to go to war. I n Cornwallis, the port from w h i c h H e n r y was to board a vessel for Boston, he discovered that the vessel 'was seized, and w o u l d not get clear until the Spring. H e a r i n g that his family had caught the small pox and desired h i m to return to them, he gave u p all thoughts of N e w E n g l a n d and returned to F a l m o u t h , where inoculations against the dread disease saved a n d protected almost everyone. I n November of 1775 the government i n the province decided to call u p one-fifth of the provincial militia under the c o m m a n d of H e n r y D e n n y Denson. T h i s action forced the inhabitants to a con­ scious decision on their position relative to the war. M a n y refused to serve, and the government had difficulty finding officers. H e n r y A l l i n e was 'solicited by some of the officers to put i n for a commission i n the militia. H e refused, though he had some regrets u n t i l the L o r d showed h i m 'the vanity of a l l things here below and the w o r t h of souls. H e saw that his only commission should be one 'from heaven to go forth, and enlist m y fellow-mortals to fight under the banners of Jesus C h r i s t . A l l i n e had faced u p to the British establishment a n d h a d positively rejected it, finding a religious justification for pursuing a policy outlined by the inhabitants of Y a r m o u t h i n a petition to the government : £

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We were almost all of us born in N e w England, we have Fathers, Brothers & Sisters i n that country, divided betwixt natural affection to our nearest relations, and good Faith and Friendship to our K i n g and Country, we want to ... be permitted at this time to live i n a peaceable State, as we look on to be the only situation in which we with our Wives and Children, can be in any tolerable degree safe. 18

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L i k e the A c a d i a n s before them, the N e w Englanders i n the face of external crisis desired 'to be neuter. A l t h o u g h the m i l i t i a callup forced m a n y N o v a Scotians to seek refuge i n neutrality, they - like H e n r y A l l i n e - h a d still explicitly re­ jected only the British demand for their loyalties. I n early 1776, how­ ever, rumours of an A m e r i c a n invasion of N o v a Scotia were being cir­ culated i n the province. B y m i d - A p r i l of that year H e n r y A l l i n e 'be­ gan to see that I h a d a l l this time been led astray by labouring so m u c h after h u m a n learning a n d wisdom, a n d h a d held back from the call of G o d . O n 18 A p r i l , a day 'set apart for fasting a n d prayer on the eve of the first anniversary of L e x i n g t o n a n d C o n c o r d , H e n r y A l l i n e 'came out a n d spoke by way of exhortation, but he was still a little uncertain. T h e chronology as recorded i n his autobiography is a bit unclear, but it was apparently on 19 A p r i l 1776 that A l l i n e made his final decision to begin a public preaching career. H e w o u l d have been h a r d put to find a more symbolic date for m a k i n g a final break w i t h the N e w E n g l a n d traditions w h i c h h a d hitherto held h i m back. O n 19 A p r i l he became an emancipated m a n , free of British institu­ tions a n d Yankee traditions. Henceforth H e n r y A l l i n e was the ' N e w L i g h t preacher, a n d he w o u l d offer to other N o v a Scotians what he himself h a d f o u n d : a spiritual assurance w h i c h rejected a n d tran­ scended the tribulations of the secular w o r l d , whether British or A m e r i c a n . It was a message both conditioned by a n d suited to the age, a n d was unmistakably N o v a Scotian i n its emphasis. 5

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3 The People Being Much Engaged and Awakened

I n A p r i l of 1776 H e n r y A l l i n e began an itinerant preaching career w h i c h ended only w i t h his death on 2 February 1784 i n N e w H a m p ­ shire. A t the time of his decision to answer the call to preach, A l l i n e was 28 years o l d . Neatly but plainly dressed, he d i d not present a pre­ possessing public figure, being of ' m e d i u m size, straight, thin of body, light complexion, light curly hair, a n d dreamy blue eyes.' H o w e v e r ordinary i n physical appearance, A l l i n e h a d nevertheless certain i n ­ tangible qualities of charisma a n d leadership w h i c h made h i m long remembered by N o v a Scotians. E v e n before his conversion, he h a d by his o w n admission been the p r i n c i p a l leader of the young people i n his community, a n d he was considered of sufficient standing to be offered a militia commission by the government i n 1776. Whether at the beginning of his preaching career there were any indications of the tubercular condition w h i c h ultimately cut short his life is uncertain, but i n later years he showed signs of what contemporaries called con­ sumption - a sickly, pale physical appearance contrasting w i t h a hyperactive, occasionally feverish, mental state. T h e N o v a Scotia w i t h i n w h i c h A l l i n e began his preaching career was a tension-racked province. A l t h o u g h a 'rebel' invasion d i d not occur until October of 1776, w h e n Colonel Jonathan E d d y of C u m ­ berland led a n abortive attack o n F o r t C u m b e r l a n d not too far from the A n n a p o l i s valley, rumours of an invasion h a d been floating about the province for nearly a year. E d d y ' s forces were recruited m a i n l y from M a c h i a s , Passamaquoddy, a n d M a u g e r v i l l e (the latter two c o m ­ munities i n what was to become N e w B r u n s w i c k ) , a n d he was joined by only a few N e w Englanders from the M i n a s townships. T h e 'inva­ sion' was easily driven off i n N o v e m b e r of 1776, and warfare i n N o v a Scotia thereafter 'settled d o w n to its exhausting, nerve racking forms - privateering, counter-privateering, the establishment a n d destruc­ tion of privateer bases, a n d the uncertain business of rival b i d d i n g for the friendship of the Indians near the M a i n e boundary.' 1

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F r o m the time of his decision to preach i n A p r i l of 1776 to his for­ m a l ordination as a n 'Itinerant Preacher' three years later, A l l i n e con­ fined his activities to the region around the M i n a s basin. U n c e r t a i n ­ ties of travel i n these years w h e n privateering was rampant i n the waters off N o v a Scotia tended to keep h i m close to home, as d i d his o w n lack of confidence i n his reception i n strange communities. B u t it was probably Alline's relationship w i t h his family w h i c h was the basic factor i n limiting his evangelical circuit. H e may have succeeded i n breaking free of p r i m a r y political a n d cultural allegiances to B r i t a i n a n d N e w E n g l a n d , but he h a d not yet succeeded i n emancipating himself from family loyalties. T h e acceptance of the preaching call got h i m out of the house but not out of the family circle. N o t surpris­ ingly, his parents initially opposed his preaching, 'as sometimes to leave the house as I was speaking.' T o some extent they m a y have retained a commitment to P u r i t a n traditions w i t h w h i c h A l l i n e h a d broken, but they undoubtedly also recognized i n Henry's new voca­ tion a threat to his continued presence as effectual head of the house­ hold. I n the long r u n , however, Alline's parents could not deny Christ any more than he could. B y 1779 military threats were lessened, H e n r y h a d built u p confi­ dence i n his abilities, a n d his parents had been w o n over. T h e result was his ordination as a n evangelist on 6 A p r i l of that year by three A n n a p o l i s V a l l e y churches. T h e most important part of the ceremony was the handing over to A l l i n e of 'my credentials signed by the dele­ gates.' These provided a formal basis for the extension of his itinerant activities into the remainder of M a r i t i m e C a n a d a and ultimately into the U n i t e d States. I n 1779 he entered the C u m b e r l a n d region of N o v a Scotia ( m u c h of w h i c h became part of N e w Brunswick) a n d the Saint J o h n R i v e r valley, particularly Maugerville, a community depressed i n m i n d a n d spirit after the E d d y fiasco of 1776. H i s ever widening circuit i n 1781 grew to include the N e w E n g l a n d fishing 3

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communities on the southern a n d western shores of N o v a Scotia. I n 1782 he undertook a journey to the Island of St. J o h n (now Prince E d w a r d Island) a n d i n 1783 he set forth for N e w E n g l a n d . A l t h o u g h his evangelical techniques undoubtedly improved w i t h experience, H e n r y A l l i n e maintained m u c h the same method of opera­ tion throughout his entire career. L i k e most successful evangelists, he h a d his o w n distinctive style, but his general approach was based u p o n well-known a n d long-tested principles of revivalism refined dur­ ing the Great A w a k e n i n g : itinerant preaching i n any available place; extemporaneous sermons designed for dramatic conversions; lay par­ ticipation i n religious services; emotional extravagance; a n d open confrontation w i t h those w h o opposed evangelical principles. F r o m the beginning of his ministry, A l l i n e travelled continually a n d seldom spent more than a few days i n any one township or lo­ cality. E v e n when his circuit had become greatly widened to include areas w h i c h required lengthy a n d difficult journeys to reach, he re­ m a i n e d i n one place only briefly a n d away from his central base i n the M i n a s townships for no more than a few months; he never d i d completely free himself from his family. M o s t of his early travelling i n the basin was done on horseback, and he not uncommonly rode forty to fifty miles i n a single day. H e usually journeyed to places more dis­ tant from his home (such as the Saint J o h n valley or the south shore townships) by boat, a n d indeed m o v e d from community to c o m ­ munity by whatever f o r m of transportation was available. O n one occasion, he and a young m a n who carried his saddlebags hiked forty miles i n five days on snowshoes; on another, he walked over twenty miles overland before horses were obtained to continue the journey. Neither b a d weather nor his o w n disabilities ever delayed A l l i n e . H e hiked o n one cold J a n u a r y day when, he wrote, ' I often h a d scales of ice o n m y face a n d eyes, for the snow blowed very thick a l l the day,' but after resting the night i n a tiny house he was able to resume the

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journey the following m o r n i n g . Frequently accompanied o n his sojourns by those w h o h a d become converted or were simply curious, he employed the time to preach to a n d exhort his companions. I n the m a n y communities where facilities for public meetings were lacking a n d i n others where the meeting-house was closed to h i m by the incumbent minister, A l l i n e preached of necessity i n private houses, i n barns, or i n the open air. O u t d o o r services were quite commonly held, partly because more could thus be accommodated, partly be­ cause they enabled A l l i n e to preach by the water's edge as he travelled by boat or by the roadside as he made his way from one village to another. H e d i d not consider either a formal church edifice or money of m u c h priority i n his scale of spiritual values. L i k e all good evan­ gelists, he brought religion to the people, and his willingness to jour­ ney a n d preach under a l l conditions struck a responsive chord among N o v a Scotians still struggling (particularly outside the more settled communities) o n the brink of survival. Settlers lacking the means to support clergymen of the more orthodox churches could scarcely avoid contrasting A l l i n e and his fellow evangelists w i t h other clergymen of 'worldly' values w h o were concerned w i t h matters such as regular salaries a n d their o w n physical comfort. I n m a n y scattered and iso­ lated areas A l l i n e was the first clergyman ever seen, a n d fully aware of the hardships he h a d experienced to reach them, the people were favourably disposed to h i m before he actually began his preaching. U n l i k e the settled clergyman - particularly the P u r i t a n one - w h o laboriously prepared his weekly or bi-weekly sermon and read it from the pulpit, the evangelist relied o n extemporaneous preaching. A l l i n e was no exception here, a n d he frequently preached three or four times a day i n different locations. Because the usual sermon was i m ­ provised, it is difficult to tell whether the samples of Alline's sermons w h i c h reached the public press are entirely typical of his technique. But as the published sermons and several diary entries indicate, A l l i n e 5

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apparently followed the usual evangelical practice of beginning w i t h a biblical text into w h i c h was woven the central message of revival. H e h a d a standard series of points w h i c h he desired to make a n d a firm grasp of the biblical i d i o m i n w h i c h to couch them. Constant movement made it unnecessary to m a i n t a i n a large stock of different sermons since no one i n his audience w o u l d hear more than a few at any time. A l l i n e was capable of developing o n the spot a sermon on any biblical text. O n one occasion, an 'enemy to the cause challenged h i m 'to preach from a particular text he w o u l d give me. A s A l l i n e recorded, 5

5

I told h i m I would not preach to satisfy curiosity, because I must labour for the good of society; but would as willingly preach from one text as from another, if the L o r d gave it to me. H e said, he desired no more, and then mentioned the text, which seemed immediately to be given to me, and took hold of my mind. I told h i m I would preach from it for it was a blessed text. I then went i n and preached, and it was the most powerful meeting I ever saw i n that country. 6

Response to such a challenge was a part of Alline s method. T h e m a i n message of any of Alline's sermons was the need for i m ­ mediate recognition of the danger to one's soul and the need for the 'new birth,' a conversion experience w h i c h w o u l d parallel his o w n . M o s t of his audience apparently understood this message, although frequently i n a rather simplistic form. O n e listener explained that ' H e n r y A l l i n e was a " N e w L i g h t " a n d that the " N e w L i g h t " were the people of G o d for they were Christians and that none could go to H e a v e n unless they were converted.' T h e evangelist's task was not solely one of preaching the gospel, however. A s A l l i n e recorded on one of m a n y similar occasions, 'the people being m u c h engaged and awakened, were w i t h me continually, so that I was preaching, pray­ ing, exhorting or discoursing, almost all the time, from early i n the morning, till twelve at night.' A l t h o u g h he revelled i n such activity, 5

7

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particularly w h e n it seemed to be producing results, it was still ex­ hausting a n d probably helped contribute to his early death. A l l good evangelists have of necessity to be students of mass be­ haviour, w i t h a fine sense of h o w to employ c r o w d reaction for their purposes. A l t h o u g h his o w n conversion had been an intensely private experience, A l l i n e soon realized that a spiritual awakening was easier to induce i n public gatherings. H e encouraged participation by his audience i n the worship service a n d employed a large number of hymns (many of w h i c h he himself h a d written i n the absence of hymnals) i n the hours of praying a n d singing w h i c h comprised one of his gatherings. Alline's hymns were clearly i n the English tradition led by Isaac Watts a n d Charles Wesley, a n d they are deserving of m u c h more attention than they have hitherto received from students both of hymnology a n d of C a n a d i a n literature. M u c h of what A l l i n e produced was little more than a w k w a r d versifying, but at his best a n d particularly when he was not w o r k i n g i n strict verse patterns of metre a n d rhyme - he was capable of exciting work. L o v e was one of his favourite themes : 9

A h like itself breaks forth unbounded Love T o fill the void of ev'ry hungry M i n d T h a t pants to drink from that o'er flowing Sea; N o r can that ancient Fountain be contain'd. O Love Divine transform me like Thyself That when the fleeting Scenes of M o r t a l Climes ( A n d Sin, thou Foe! ) all in Oblivion sunk T o gaze on thee all ravish'd with the V i e w ( A h humble Seat) I ' l l found while Thought is known T h y worthy Fame in one begining Song ( M y G o d ! ) that grand immortal Note! A M E N 1

0

O n e of his most popular hymns - so well regarded that contemporar­ ies preserved it i n manuscript - concluded :

"The People ... Awakened"

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Wounded Hearts may now Rejoice Mourners hear the Saviours Voice Hasten to the Courts Above There to Sing Redeeming Love Soon from all the Storms of Night We to Heaven will take our Flight Winged on the Celestial Dove Sailing i n Redeeming Love Love shall be our Lasting Theme Love shall Every Soul Inflame Always N o w i n Realms Above A h , A m e n Redeeming Lovef.] 11

Alline's verse is discussed briefly i n most text books i n C a n a d i a n literature, but a full-scale analysis of it has never been undertaken, a n d is m u c h needed. I n addition to singing, those w h o h a d experienced grace were en­ couraged to speak out a n d tell their experiences. A t W i n d s o r , one w o m a n 'who h a d come fourteen miles to hear the gospel' was delivered from the bondage of sin, and the borders of eternal perdition, and brought to the glorious liberty of the children of G o d . She was so overjoyed, that she could not contain, but cried out i n divine raptures, with shouts of praise to G o d , and exhorting souls to come and share with her. 12

Several of Alline's followers, including his brother-in-law J o h n Payzant a n d T h o m a s H a n d l e y C h i p m a n , began their o w n ministerial careers by 'exhorting' at public meetings. Opponents of A l l i n e a n d other evangelists i n N o v a Scotia a n d elsewhere criticized them for encouraging 'emotional extravagances.' F r o m Alline's point of view, most of the population were unconverted sinners sunk i n 'darkness,' a n d any means w h i c h helped to encourage

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the true spirit of redeeming Christ was hardly to be condemned. I n Liverpool, A l l i n e recorded w i t h obvious a n d genuine pleasure that many were brought out of darkness and rejoiced, and exhorted in public. A n d O how affecting it was to see some young people not only exhort their companions, but also take their parents by the hand, and entreat them for their soul's sake to rest no longer in their sins, but fly to Jesus Christ while there was hope. One young lad (who turned out to be a very bright christian) I saw, after sermon, take his father by the hand, and cry out, O father, you have been a great sinner, and now are an old man : an old sinner, with grey hairs upon your head, going right down to destruction. O turn, turn, dear father, return and fly to Jesus Christ : with many other such like expressions and entreaties, enough to melt a stony heart. O n e critic i n the c r o w d yelled out, 'that is damned foolishness.' Alline's response was simple a n d crushing: T looked u p o n h i m , a n d charged h i m to cease, a n d likewise to remember what his d o o m w o u l d be, that dares to blaspheme to the gospel of the L o r d Jesus C h r i s t . N o t only was A l l i n e able to deal effectively w i t h critics a n d 'opposers,' as he called them, but he clearly enjoyed doing so. It was an essential part of the constant combat against godlessness a n d darkness, of course, but such encounters also usually worked out to his advantage. M o s t of Alline's opposers, especially i n the early years of his m i n ­ istry, were clerical leaders of the organized churches, especially the Presbyterians. I n the disturbed w a r years, the N e w E n g l a n d ministers were, o n the whole, too few a n d weak to attack A l l i n e , a n d it was not until 1781, w h e n he a n d Jonathan Scott of Y a r m o u t h h a d a confron­ tation, that A l l i n e came face-to-face w i t h a N e w E n g l a n d opponent as determined as he was. Scott was a contemporary of A l l i n e , having been b o r n i n Lunenberg, Massachusetts, i n 1744 a n d having come to N o v a Scotia i n 1764. L i k e A l l i n e , Scott spent the h a r d years of the 1760s as a farmer, but unlike the evangelist, he married a n d started 513

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to raise a family. I n 1770 Scott began preaching i n the church at Jebogue ( Y a r m o u t h ) , a n d i n 1772 - though lacking university edu­ cation - he went to N e w E n g l a n d to become formally ordained as minister over the Y a r m o u t h church. Scott w o u l d later receive a dis­ missal ffom his people a n d move ( i n 1792) to what is today M a i n e , but i n 1781 he was i n control of his congregation a n d saw himself as the principal P u r i t a n opponent of Alline's evangelicalism. B o t h Scott a n d A l l i n e recorded their versions of the 1781 meetings. T h e two accounts are not incompatible, but indicate clearly that each m a n sought to couch his i n terms most favourable to himself. A c c o r d ­ ing to the evangelist, he a n d Scott met at the home of a local deacon, a n d Scott 'raged so to m y face that I was obliged to tell h i m , that a l ­ l o w i n g I was ever so wrong, for he h a d discovered a m u r d e r i n g spirit i n that rage a n d wrangling, w h i c h I told h i m was far from the spirit a n d ways of Jesus; a n d at last his passion was so high, that he left the house.' Scott admitted that o n this occasion he told A l l i n e 'that his Impudence had fitted him for his Work B u t i n Scott's account this interchange h a d been preceded by a long discussion some days earlier i n the more hospitable atmosphere of Scott's home. H e r e Scott h a d stated his reasons for opposing A l l i n e , w h o replied, 'with an Air of Contempt a n d Disdain, " I have N o t h i n g to say; you have settled the Point, a n d have termed me an Imposture, a n d have censured me very h i g h . " ' Nevertheless, not until after dinner d i d A l l i n e leave Scott's home a n d not until later d i d he respond to Scott's accusations. Earlier, i n 1776 at Cornwallis, 'the standing minister of, a n d then at the place, came to hear a n d seemed determined to dash me,' but Benajah Phelps, an 'uncompromising W h i g ' who had been dismissed by his congregation 'on account of some division,' was hardly i n a strong position to exercise m u c h influence. T h e Scots Presbyterian clergy of the C u m b e r l a n d region, virtual autocrats i n their congrega­ tions a n d staunch royalists, were m u c h stronger critics, although they 14

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met w i t h little success. A l l i n e experienced only token opposition from the A n g l i c a n missionaries, partly because there were so few of them i n the back country where he travelled a n d partly because he was not particularly active a m o n g A n g l i c a n communicants. N o direct contro­ versy between A l l i n e a n d his p r i n c i p a l evangelical rivals, the M e t h o d ­ ists, ever erupted, but he a n d W i l l i a m Black, the Methodist leader, certainly contended for public support, especially i n the C u m b e r l a n d area. T h e absence of conflict w i t h the Methodists was probably largely a result of the h i g h regard w h i c h Black always held for A l l i n e . I n 1783 Black wrote to A l l i n e (who by this time was V e r y i l l i n body ) : 5

Although we differ i n sentiment, let us manifest our love to each other. I always admired your gifts and graces, and affectionately loved your person, although I could never receive your peculiar opinions. But shall we on this account destroy the work of God? G o d forbid! M a y the L o r d take away all bigotry, and fill us with pure, genuine, catholic l o v e ! 18

F o r his part, A l l i n e was not so certain that Black h a d ever experienced a 'saving change of heart.' A l t h o u g h A l l i n e saw public disputations w i t h the opposition as 'very unprofitable,' a n d hoped to guard 'against such waste of time, for I w o u l d rather have the enemy say, that I was afraid to hold the contest than to be guilty of spending time so unprofitably,' he was never able to keep this resolution. H i s o w n assurance of his duty a n d righteousness contributed to continued confrontations, but so too d i d a n awareness that he generally came out ahead, at least i n the minds of the public for w h i c h both sides contended. I n T r u r o , deep i n the heart of Presbyterian country, he faced o n his first visit a public opinion w h i c h led the settlers to 'gaze at me, as I passed their doors, w i t h as m u c h strangeness, as if I was one of the antediluvians,' a n d he was even refused a room at the public house. A three-hour dispu­ tation - w h i c h the opposition ended i n disgust - led the audience to

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declare 'that they were satisfied, a n d that they now saw a n d were astonished at what prejudice a n d false reports h a d done. T h u s , con­ cluded A l l i n e , 'the enemies of Christ, by their endeavouring to shut the door against the gospel, were the means of opening i t . Jonathan Scott subsequently accused A l l i n e of publicly overstating the vehemence of the opposition he h a d met, w h i c h 'gained h i m Pity, to a l l Appearance, a n d served to enflame the People, a n d promote the E n d , no D o u b t , w h i c h he aimed a t . Certainly, even without misrepresentation, Alline's opposers d i d little more than w i n h i m sympathy and a sizeable audience for his activities w h i c h might other­ wise not have gathered. Alline's defence of his mission was a good one ; he h a d plenty of practice i n developing arguments w h i c h were unas­ sailable given his assumptions, a n d like most pietists he infuriated his opposition w i t h a n assurance w h i c h some called arrogance. I n his early years, the bulk of the opposition concentrated their attack o n Alline's right to preach. After 1781, w h e n the evangelist began to publish books setting forth a rather unorthodox doctrinal position, he encountered more serious criticism. B u t m u c h of his following d i d not care about doctrinal subtleties, a n d his books apparently d i d not cir­ culate widely i n the province before his death. A certain negative re­ action to his doctrine i n some of the N e w E n g l a n d townships, how­ ever, m a y help explain his decision to w i d e n his ministry to more iso­ lated areas. T h e principal thrust of the opposition was easily handled by A l l i n e . M o s t of his clerical critics asserted that he h a d no right to intrude o n their territory, for they were the duly ordained ministers i n the area a n d A l l i n e nothing but a semi-literate lay exhorter without creden­ tials, w h o was breaking u p congregations a n d causing schism. O p p o n ­ ents never accepted Alline's ordination i n 1779 as legitimate. T h i s was a simple attack for A l l i n e to demolish. H e began w i t h the assertion that a l l Christians should have experienced the new birth, for without 5

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it one was a creature of legalism, lacking saving grace. H e moved from this point to brand his opponent as a 'Pharisee, a r g u i n g : 5

all the high-priests, scribes and pharisees, who opposed the work of G o d , and crucified the L o r d of Glory, had the same pretences, and made the same excuses, as you do; they would not acknowledge, that they were crucifying the L o r d of Glory, or opposing the work of God, but said, they were only bearing a testimony against imposters, and deluded men, to obstruct errors; and enthusiasm creeping into the house of G o d , &c. you say, this is not right, and that is not right... A n d was this not the lan­ guage of all the enemies of Christ before you even from the beginning of the world, and had they not the same reasons for opposing all the servants of God, when sent among them? 21

H a v i n g shifted the burden of proof to his opponent, A l l i n e was i n position to follow u p his o w n advantage. S h o u l d the critic insist that his o w n spiritual credentials were impeccable, A l l i n e could then query w h y he was not out attacking those 'meeting for carnal m i r t h , spend­ i n g hours over a bottle of wine i n a l l manner of v a i n discourse, a n d the young people frolicking a n d playing at cards, instead of bother­ i n g those 'meeting often for the worship of G o d ' where 'those young people, instead of frolicking and singing carnal songs are praying a n d singing psalms, hymns a n d spiritual songs, exhorting their compan­ ions to fly from the w r a t h to come. It was a difficult argument to counter. F o r those w h o insisted o n pressing further to question Alline's edu­ cational background and his right to preach, the answers were reason­ ably simple. A l l i n e d i d not 'reject natural abilities, nor h u m a n learn­ i n g w h e n brought i n their proper place ..., but their being brought i n , to supply the want of divine assistance and authority from heaven, has already been the means of large spreading a n d supporting the cause of anti-christ.' A n educated m a n might understand the letter of the gospel, but what mattered was its spirit. A l l i n e d i d not despise 5

5

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learning, but 1 must acknowledge it appears to me very needless to be at too m u c h pains i n pursuit of education, 'only to attain the name of a collegian. T h e L o r d , after a l l , does not say that 'colleges, u n i ­ versities, bishops, priests, or presbyteries are the way or the door; but he saith I a m the way a n d I a m the door. T h e ordination and licens­ ing of ministers were nothing more than steps by the enemies of Christ to produce 'a snare for i m m o r t a l souls. F o r those w h o traced ordina­ tion back to the c h u r c h at R o m e , A l l i n e queried : are then the R o m a n Catholic priests true ministers of the gospel? T h e standard Protestant answer was ' O f course not, for they are not true Christians. T h e n whatever makes a true Christian makes a true minister of the gospel, and the essential qualification is that a m a n be regenerate, 'a m a n w i t h a new born soul, a m a n that hath been restored to G o d from his fallen state, that hath been slain by the l a w a n d made alive by the gospel, a n d thereby he knoweth the terrors of the law, the power a n d sweetness of the everlasting gospel. N o t all true Christians could be ministers, for m a n y lacked the proper gifts and abilities, but they should not be prevented from preaching. Hopefully, they w o u l d them­ selves discover 'the place a n d station, for w h i c h G o d hath designed them. F o r H e n r y A l l i n e , the essence of Christianity was the new birth, and all other aspects of religion, w h i c h i n general detracted from concentration on the essentials, were nothing but the devil's work, traps of the anti-Christ. H e denied that he favoured schisms or separ­ ations i n a c h u r c h of Christ, but of course most so-called churches were not i n his view churches of Christ. E c h o i n g the sentiments of centuries of reformers, A l l i n e argued that to remain i n a c h u r c h sunk ' i n the form of godliness without the power was 'not holding u p the powers of darkness to their destruction, but, more important, it was 'taking an effectual step to b r i n g death and darkness u p o n one s pre­ cious s o u l . 4

5

5

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5

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23

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A l t h o u g h i n his writings A l l i n e devoted a good deal of attention to his opposition, its force a n d importance should not be overempha­ sized. O n the whole, most N o v a Scotians w i t h w h o m he came into contact were not only sympathetic to his mission, but psychologically a n d emotionally ready for his message. A l l i n e intuitively concentrated his activities i n those areas most likely to be receptive to h i m , although not a l l shared exactly the same reason or combination of reasons for being so responsive. H e d i d not visit H a l i f a x until 1781, a n d then only to get a book 'from the press' ; he found the city a 'land of darkness' offering h i m no opportunity to preach the gospel. I n general, A l l i n e concentrated his efforts on rural a n d frontier N o v a Scotia. Here m u c h of the population was living close to the edge of economic disaster a n d i n a state of discontented rootlessness. Moreover, the rural a n d back-country people were predisposed to favour revival a n d were fre­ quently living without churches a n d clergymen. A l l of these problems were exacerbated by the A m e r i c a n R e v o l u t i o n . T h e religious awakening A l l i n e touched off was hardly a safetyvalve w h i c h drew the attention of N e w E n g l a n d residents of N o v a Scotia from revolution to revival. T h e province was not i n a state of evangelical fervour i n 1776, and religious enthusiasm seemed to b u i l d only as the military a n d political threat declined. Nevertheless, the Great A w a k e n i n g a n d the A m e r i c a n R e v o l u t i o n were clearly closely related phenomena i n N o v a Scotia. T h e revival does not explain the political situation, but the agitation, unrest, a n d dislocation produced by the R e v o l u t i o n certainly contributed to the reaction of many i n the province (especially N e w Englanders) to the evangelical message preached by H e n r y A l l i n e a n d those who followed i n his footsteps. A t the same time, care must be taken not to attribute too m u c h to the political crisis. T h e M a r i t i m e s were ripe for revival even before L e x ­ ington a n d C o n c o r d . T h e R e v o l u t i o n helped provide a n instrument 24

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of A w a k e n i n g i n the person of A l l i n e , a n d heightened the sense of dissatisfaction and discontent i n m a n y rural parts of the province. A s a newly settled area, the M a r i t i m e s naturally experienced eco­ nomic difficulties, some regions less than others. T h e A n n a p o l i s valley, w i t h the best agricultural lands i n the province, was far more pros­ perous than the Chignecto peninsula, the coastal fishing ports, the Island of St. J o h n , or the m a i n l a n d settlements i n Sunbury County. A new arrival to the Island of St. J o h n i n 1775, for example, wrote When we arrived at new L o n d o n I was mutch Surprized to see what a place it was, It being so very different from the Idea I had formed of it. I then begin to repent of my Voyage and wish my Selfe i n O l d London again; but wishes and repentance was now too late; but I soon came to the determination of leaving this place as soon as possible from the first V i e w . A t first Entering N e w L o n d o n from the Woods it was cut down within a quarter of a mile of the first house when from the path on our right we could see a little row of L o g houses and one large house on our left i n all about Sixteen houses... I soon found my friend Compton & Wife ... were badly off for provisions having nothing but Salt Codfish and Potatoes with plenty of good W a t e r . 26

A l t h o u g h the A n n a p o l i s valley may have been able to sell its agricul­ tural surplus to the troops during the war, communities like N e w L o n d o n , a n d there were m a n y of them i n the M a r i t i m e s , obviously h a d no surplus to sell. F o r H a l i f a x a n d a few of the wealthier traders i n the outports, there may have been profits from wartime trading, but for the average settler o n the seacoast the Revolution meant p r i v a ­ teer raids a n d the danger of capture or disaster at sea as well as the interrupted shipment of m u c h needed supplies from outside. If not a l l communities felt equally the discontent born of i m m e d i ­ ate economic hardship, a l l shared i n the psychological uneasiness born of having pulled u p roots elsewhere to settle i n N o v a Scotia. T h e

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emotional individualism characteristic of evangelical pietism has a l ­ ways flourished under the unstable conditions of fragmentation a n d mobility w h i c h accompany any major migration of people, whether from one continent to another or from countryside to city. Since such movement frequently means at least short-term economic hardship, as it certainly d i d i n N o v a Scotia, it is difficult to make a clear separa­ tion between the two factors. B u t even areas w h i c h enjoyed relative prosperity still experienced the dissatisfaction familiar to anyone w h o has cut himself off from relatives and friends a n d has not created new relationships w i t h neighbours. B y the very nature of its recent settle­ ment, N o v a Scotia was populated by rootless people. I n many rural areas, particularly the prosperous ones, the movement of the popula­ tion to i n d i v i d u a l farmsteads sealed the failure of village communities w h i c h might have compensated for broken ties of family a n d friend­ ship. T h e c o m i n g of the A m e r i c a n R e v o l u t i o n was the final straw, especially for N e w Englanders, since if they remained i n N o v a Scotia they were forced to a conscious break w i t h their former friends and relations. T h e last tenuous emotional tie w i t h 'home' was cut, and the other-worldly ethic of pietism provided both a n outlet a n d a rationale for the crisis of identity faced by m a n y i n the province. E c o n o m i c hardship a n d rootlessness, therefore, made almost a l l rural N o v a Scotians susceptible i n various degrees to revivalism. Par­ ticularly receptive were the N e w Englanders, w h o also had strong religious reasons for being favourably disposed to the phenomenon. Almost everyone brought u p i n N e w E n g l a n d h a d learned from child­ hood of the importance of an experience of conversion - as had H e n r y A l l i n e himself - a n d m a n y older folk h a d been exposed to the Great A w a k e n i n g w h i c h h a d occurred i n that region i n the 1740s. N o v a Scotia 'Yankees' viewed wistfully those halcyon days w h e n spiritual concern h a d swept the countryside a n d when religion mattered. Moreover, the c o m i n g of the Revolution greatly weakened the tenuous

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grip w h i c h organized religion (particularly A m e r i c a n Puritanism) h a d on m u c h of the province. T h e P u r i t a n churches of N o v a Scotia always i n t r o u b l e - h a d lost all but four of their ministers by 1777, a n d several of these were under suspicion of sympathizing w i t h the rebels. T h e only two clergymen unaffected by the political situation were Israel Cheever of Liverpool and Jonathan Scott of Jebogue ( Y a r m o u t h ) , both serving fishing ports on the southwestern shores of the province. A n g l i c a n missionaries withdrew from service i n most areas of N o v a Scotia at the outbreak of hostilities, a n d the N e w E n g ­ l a n d townships of the M i n a s basin, the Chignecto peninsula, a n d the Saint J o h n R i v e r valley were virtually bereft of spiritual leadership except for the few Presbyterian ministers i n the Scottish settlements i n C u m b e r l a n d County, w h o never really attempted to fill the void. T h e itinerant evangelical activities of H e n r y A l l i n e and his disciples were ideally designed to fill this spiritual v a c u u m . A l t h o u g h Alline's revival was not directly responsible for the failure of N o v a Scotians to support the rebels - there were more immediate reasons for not doing so — the political crisis added additional tension to a province already predisposed to revivalism. Perhaps inadvert­ ently, the A w a k e n i n g i n N o v a Scotia became something of a counter­ revolutionary force. H e n r y A l l i n e h a d no interest i n secular politics, a n d w o u l d have denied as vehemently that he was a reactionary as that he was a radical. B u t through the confluence of circumstances beyond his control a n d even beyond his comprehension, A l l i n e was both. Fortunately for the British government, Alline's radicalism was directed almost exclusively against N e w E n g l a n d Puritanism a n d its traditions. B u t since these represented a critical component of N e w England's tenuous ties w i t h many N o v a Scotians, every blow w h i c h A l l i n e struck against P u r i t a n authority helped w i d e n the already con­ siderable gap between the rebellious colonies and the province. T h e British establishment came ultimately to view the evangelical pietism

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of revivalism as dangerous subversive influence i n M a r i t i m e C a n a d a and elsewhere i n British N o r t h A m e r i c a - a n d i n many ways it was but one result of Alline's career was to destroy completely A m e r i c a n Puritanism i n C a n a d a , for w h i c h the authorities should have been grateful. Nevertheless, to see the Great A w a k e n i n g i n N o v a Scotia only i n a political context w o u l d be a great mistake. Whatever the motivations of A l l i n e and his followers, whatever the results of their actions, the Great A w a k e n i n g i n N o v a Scotia was principally a movement of spiritual reform m u c h like those w h i c h h a d over the centuries convulsed Christianity. T h e historical movements w h i c h most closely paralleled and preconditioned the pietistic A w a k ­ ening i n N o v a Scotia were the P u r i t a n reform impulse i n 16th- and 17th-century E n g l a n d , and the Great A w a k e n i n g i n 18th-century N e w E n g l a n d . A l l these movements had i n c o m m o n a re-emphasis on regenerate m a n and the rejection of the formalism of the existing churches; all emphasized the i n d i v i d u a l voluntarism of the sect over the social comprehension of the church. H a d A l l i n e so chosen, he could have stressed his agreement w i t h m a n y of the great Puritan reformers, especially i n terms of organization and polity. H i s position on structure was one w h i c h had m u c h i n c o m m o n w i t h earlier P u r i ­ tanism i n its heyday of reform, and A l l i n e can quite legitimately be viewed as an unconscious heir of great P u r i t a n Separatists such as J o h n R o b i n s o n or Robert Browne. I n terms of polity, A l l i n e probably rejected the P u r i t a n reform tradition less than d i d the Methodists, his principal competitors, whose form of ecclesiastical organization was highly structured and hierarchical. A l l i n e , then, was not really assailing historical Puritanism ( w h i c h he probably never understood and whose divines he had not read) but only its N o v a Scotian manifestations - or perversions. U n f o r t u n ­ ately, he was never able to stabilize i n N o v a Scotia all of the principles of church organization to w h i c h he was most committed, and the

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result was that he destroyed rather than created. B u t this was not be­ cause he lacked a positive program. T o a limited extent, the Baptists i n N o v a Scotia inherited Alline's general position, but they were far less militant a n d individualistic than A l l i n e on most points except for the rejection of infant baptism, a matter w h i c h A l l i n e preferred not to emphasize. A l t h o u g h H e n r y A l l i n e never produced a single a n d unified state­ ment of his program for ecclesiastical organization, its m a i n outlines are clear from scattered references i n his writings a n d from his activi­ ties i n organizing churches i n N o v a Scotia from 1776 to 1782. These churches constituted his institutional legacy to religious life i n N o v a Scotia. T h e first c h u r c h w h i c h he gathered was, naturally enough, at F a l m o u t h and N e w p o r t i n September 1776. I n J u l y of 1778 a church i n Cornwallis a n d H o r t o n (Wolfville) was founded w i t h Alline's as­ sistance, a n d he co-operated i n the organization of a Baptist church i n H o r t o n o n October of the same year. It was these three churches that h a d collaborated i n A p r i l of 1779 to ordain A l l i n e as an 'Itiner­ ant Preacher.' Alline's first tour into the area north of the B a y of F u n d y resulted i n the reorganization of the Maugerfield (or M a u g e r ville) church i n 1779 i n accordance w i t h his ' N e w - L i g h t ' principles. I n 1780 a church composed of inhabitants from the Annapolis C o u n t y townships of Granville, Annapolis, a n d W i l m o t was created, a n d late i n 1782 one was founded i n the south shore community of L i v e r p o o l . M o s t of these churches continued to rely on A l l i n e as pastor until his death. I n his absence worship services were carried on by the deacons. T h i s was a time-honoured arrangement i n the N o r t h A m e r i c a n back country, a n d one w h i c h was continued by the M a r i t i m e Baptists. I f the church a n d its members prospered, a resident minister might ultimately be sought, but i n the meantime an evangelist served as preacher. A s was typical of the founding of 'come-outer' churches i n 18th-

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century A m e r i c a , none of those associated w i t h H e n r y A l l i n e was or­ ganized i n communities w h i c h considered themselves satisfied w i t h the services of less pietistic and more settled pastors. I n Y a r m o u t h , where Jonathan Scott was active, energetic, and well liked, pietism made some inroads but d i d not produce a formal organization. N e w ­ port-Falmouth, H o r t o n , and Maugerville a l l were totally destitute of clerical leadership, and earlier church organizations had disintegrated. I n these communities, a N e w - L i g h t church was filling a religious a n d spiritual void. A t Cornwallis, Annapolis, and Liverpool, P u r i t a n Congregational ministers were all engaged i n acrimonious disputa­ tions w i t h their parishioners over salaries long before the introduction of evangelical enthusiasm had occurred, and pietism gained from the conflict. T h e N e w - L i g h t s d i d not so m u c h overturn the settled churches as take advantage of their difficulties. T h e organizational principles enunciated by H e n r y A l l i n e and other N e w - L i g h t s were perfectly designed to exploit weaknesses. T h e N e w - L i g h t program was not, however, one w h i c h could easily adjust to less chaotic and more stable conditions. Methodism's hierarchical and more formal­ ized institutional structure was m u c h better able to consolidate the gains of evangelicalism and to survive temporary lulls i n popular en­ thusiasm. T h e N e w - L i g h t churches were formed i n periods of chaos a n d crisis, and h a d certain built-in tendencies toward instability w h i c h ultimately destroyed - or at least profoundly altered - them. A large measure of responsibility for the institutional difficulties of the N o v a Scotia N e w - L i g h t movement rests ultimately w i t h its foun­ der. Part of the explanation is that he was too m u c h the evangelical, not sufficiently concerned w i t h matters of routine organization and structure. H i s basic interest was i n conversion, not i n the sacraments or the form of ecclesiastical polity. H a d he lived longer, he might well have seen the need for new emphases ; Alline's career coincided almost exactly w i t h the years of revolutionary upheaval i n N o r t h A m e r i c a ,

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and he never faced a period of stability. Moreover, what organiza­ tional principles A l l i n e d i d emphasize tended to be difficult to m a i n ­ tain over the long haul. T h i s was particularly true of his position o n infant baptism. A g a i n , h a d he not died i n 1784, he might have come to recognize this as a problem. A s it was, i n his brief career H e n r y A l l i n e was always the religious prophet, never really the priest. T h e basis of N e w - L i g h t church organization was the commitment of the evangelical pietist that the only true Christians were those who h a d undergone the new birth, the crisis conversion. Since those w h o h a d not experienced saving grace were by definition outside Chris­ tianity, they obviously d i d not belong w i t h i n a true church of Christ, w h i c h was a number of T r u e Believers by an Acquaintence i n the Fellowship of the Gospel, V o l u n t a r i l y and understandingly Covenant­ ing and embodying together for the maintaining of the W o r s h i p of G o d . T o ensure that only those w h o h a d enjoyed a W o r k of Grace i n their H a r t were admitted to membership, candidates were required to relate publicly their experiences or to be tested by private delegates. O n l y those for w h o m existed ' G o o d Scriptural evidence and Soul Satisfying K n o w l e d g e of 'union to Jesus Christ were eligible to participate i n the sacrament of the L o r d ' s S u p p e r . T h e other sacrament w h i c h the N e w Lights accepted was that of baptism. H e r e was a problem, since ' R e a l Believers held 'different Sentiments ... Respecting that Ordinance, some approving baptism of infants a n d others rejecting it, some preferring sprinkling a n d others immersion. W i t h the exception of the H o r t o n church, w h i c h always restricted membership to those w h o denied infant baptism, early N e w - L i g h t churches i n N o v a Scotia opened c o m m u n i o n to 'those that practice either by Sprinkling or Immersion either to Infants or Adults. A s h a d been the case thirty years earlier i n N e w E n g l a n d , this policy resulted i n a good many conflicts among the church m e m ­ bership, and Alline's diary mentions these continually from 1776 to £

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his death. A l l i n e always viewed the questions of mode a n d subjects of baptism as 'non-essential matters,' a n d constantly bemoaned 'that ever christians should contend about that, w h i c h never was nor never w i l l be of any benefit to their souls instead of contending for the truth as it is i n Jesus.' B u t even among his closest followers, T h o m a s H a n d l e y C h i p m a n was a n antipedobaptist, a n d by the beginning of the 19th century, only J o h n Payzant held out a m o n g N e w - L i g h t ministers for the A l l i n e position. O n c e it was agreed that only true believers should belong to the C h u r c h of Christ, then logic demanded that infants (who have not experienced saving faith) be excluded from the sacraments of the church. Alline's view that the question was non-essential m a y have been reasonable, but, given the clashes w i t h i n the churches over the issue, it was an impractical position, a n d only his great stature among the various flocks w h i c h considered h i m their pastor prevented disaster before his death. Payzant a n d C h i p m a n represented i n their careers the two diver­ gent wings of the N e w - L i g h t movement i n N o v a Scotia. B o t h were ordained to open c o m m u n i o n churches, C h i p m a n at A n n a p o l i s i n 1779 a n d Payzant at Cornwallis i n 1786. Payzant left Cornwallis i n the early 1790s following internal struggles over the question of bap­ tism, a n d moved to Liverpool, where he succeeded J o n a t h a n Scott a n d served as pastor from 1793 to his death i n 1834. T o the end of his life, J o h n Payzant remained convinced that the question of the mode of baptism was one of little consequence to true Christians, a n d he was widely respected by Baptists like C h i p m a n despite their disagree­ ment w i t h h i m . C h i p m a n moved to the pastorate of the N i c t a u x Baptist C h u r c h i n 1809, w h i c h he served until his death i n 1830. I n 1811 C h i p m a n led his church to renounce open c o m m u n i o n p r i n ­ ciples a n d become avowedly Baptist, a direction taken following bitter debates by most N e w - L i g h t s i n N o v a Scotia. 28

Alline's prestige a n d relationship w i t h the N e w - L i g h t churches

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w h i c h he helped to organize obscured other organizational difficulties w h i c h later afflicted N o v a Scotia New-Lights. T h e churches, for ex­ ample, insisted o n power to discipline those w h o behaved i n a n u n ­ christian manner, a n d even maintained that 'Brethren i n Christ ... aught not to go to L a w one w i t h another, but that a l l their differences aught to be decided by the Brethren.' T h i s position ultimately resulted i n a variety of disputes w i t h i n churches over alleged wrongdoing, a n d i n small communities, where everyone was acquainted w i t h (or re­ lated to) everyone else, it produced continual quarrels as sides were chosen. Because of the insistence of the N e w - L i g h t churches o n con­ gregational autonomy a n d internal democracy, no outside agency for adjudicating local disputes existed. T h e minister's position was limited, for he h a d 'no more Power i n C h u r c h government than any other Brother excepting by the Superiority of [his] ... Gifts a n d Graces,' except that ' I n case of A T i e ' he was 'to have the Privilege of a D o u b l e V o t e . ' W h i l e A l l i n e lived, he was able to exercise sufficient authority a n d moderation to keep conflict w i t h i n manageable bounds. After his death, the disintegration of the churches w h i c h accompanied their shift to Baptist principles forced a later generation of Baptist ministers to organize a formal association to assist i n keeping the peace. I n one final but extremely important matter, that of finances, A l l i n e again avoided inherent difficulties by virtue of his o w n practice. B o t h because of the memory of disputes within the standing churches over finances a n d because of positive religious principle, the N e w Lights opposed formal contracts w i t h ministers a n d mandatory con­ tribution for financial support. It was 'the Indispensable duty of a l l the Society as well as every member of the C h u r c h to Contribute to­ w a r d the Support of the Gospel, a n d all other necessary charges that m a y arise i n the C h u r c h according to their Several Abilities,' but this duty was voluntaristic, left to the believer's o w n conscience. A l l i n e cared nothing for b u i l d i n g formal structures i n w h i c h to hold c h u r c h

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meetings, a n d he was only interested i n obtaining sufficient money to meet his very modest needs. A t his death, his personal effects consisted of ' a horse a n d sleigh, his apparel, a n d about twelve dollars i n m o n e y . ' A s principal pastor for most of the N e w - L i g h t churches d u r i n g his lifetime, A l l i n e provided spiritual service at m i n i m a l cost to the congregations. B u t this ideal situation could not continue long after his demise, a n d the N e w - L i g h t churches h a d either to face u p to increased expenditures or collapse. I n a very real sense, therefore, H e n r y A l l i n e was not only the moti­ vating but also the unifying element i n the N e w - L i g h t revival of N o v a Scotia. W h e t h e r the movement, w i t h a l l of its tenuous a n d unstable elements, could survive without his enthusiastic a n d altruistic leader­ ship was something w h i c h no N e w - L i g h t seriously considered. A l l i n e is usually pictured as some sort of religious fanatic a n d zealot, but he was more than that. H e was a brilliant leader whose principal failing was that his personal abilities obscured the inherent difficulties w h i c h his movement faced. 29

4 Some things in these Few Lines

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H e n r y A l l i n e has received little recognition as a literary a n d intellec­ tual figure w h o must be taken seriously. F o r most of the chroniclers of evangelicalism i n N o v a Scotia, m a n y of w h o m wrote i n the i gth cen­ tury, A l l i n e was simply a pioneer itinerant evangelist. I n this historical tradition, his literary activity was made to appear a peripheral a n d unimportant happenstance. T o m a n y commentators, A l l i n e has thus appeared a n anti-intellectual revivalist; to others, w h o recognized that he h a d attempted to grapple w i t h what were for h i m the critical issues of his time, his t h i n k i n g was confused a n d wrong-headed. B u t H e n r y A l l i n e was more than a simple-minded evangelical; he was British Canada's most important a n d prolific intellectual voice i n the 18th century, deserving far more recognition a n d attention than he has so far been accorded. It is perhaps another illustration of the prophet without honour i n his o w n l a n d that Alline's writings fell into almost immediate obscurity among his o w n countrymen a n d have been influential only i n the U n i t e d States, where they served as the ideological underpinnings of the Freewill Baptist movement founded by Benjamin R a n d a l l . Alline's published writings were more numerous a n d substantial i n content than those of any other C a n a d i a n of his time. H e began writing for public consumption only after his ordination i n 1779, a n d most of his works, although not a l l , were originally printed i n N o v a Scotia, the first appearing early i n 1781. H e wrote i n o d d moments snatched from the busy itinerant life of the evangelist. T h e A l l i n e literary heritage consists of one closely reasoned a n d lengthy doctrinal treatise ( Two Mites Cast into the Offering of God), one unclassifiable pamphlet (the Anti-Traditionist), three sermons, a volume of Hymns and Spiritual Songs, a n d an autobiography ( The Life and Journal of Henry Alline). Two Mites, the Anti-Traditionist, the three sermons, a n d a short collection of hymns w h i c h has not survived, were all printed i n H a l i f a x between 1781 and 1783. T h e first two works, one

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of the sermons a n d a long selection of hymns ( w h i c h was published posthumously) were reprinted i n the U n i t e d States under the auspices of the Freewill Baptists, a n d the hymns went through at least four A m e r i c a n editions. T h e autobiography was also published after A l ­ line's death i n the U n i t e d States, apparently from a manuscript w h i c h he left for this purpose. T h e tone and substance of Alline's writings are spiritual and pietistic, full of theological and doctrinal controver­ sies w h i c h do not strike a responsive chord i n the modern reader. It is doubtful whether the collected works of H e n r y A l l i n e w o u l d ever be­ come a modern best-seller. B u t w i t h i n the confines of his o w n horizons a n d his o w n time, A l l i n e was an intellectual and literary giant. F o l l o w i n g his formal schooling i n R h o d e Island, H e n r y A l l i n e was forced to use his o w n devices to continue his education. H i s person­ ality, his environment, and the times i n w h i c h he lived clearly con­ ditioned his commitment to the religious and spiritual issues w h i c h dominate his writings. B u t though A l l i n e was self-made and selfeducated to a large extent, the process of intellectual development d i d not occur i n a complete void. A s a guide to prose style and language, he h a d the greatest single standard i n the English language : the K i n g James version of the Bible. I n terms of poetic form and content, he was familiar w i t h the writings of J o h n M i l t o n , A l e x a n d e r Pope, and J o h n Pomfret, as well as the spiritual songs and hymns of E d w a r d Y o u n g and Isaac Watts, the p r i n c i p a l shapers of the modern hymnal tradition. H e had also sampled a variety of religious writers, including M a r t i n L u t h e r and J o h n B u n y a n . Significantly, there is little indica­ tion of familiarity w i t h the great doctrinal works of A m e r i c a n P u r i ­ tanism. A l t h o u g h A l l i n e does cite books by Increase and Samuel M a t h e r i n his writings, these were works discussing P u r i t a n church organization rather than theology. Some of Alline's writings, especi­ ally the Anti-Traditionist, show certain parallels w i t h the metaphysical works of Jonathan Edwards, the great 18th-century N e w E n g l a n d

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P u r i t a n figure, but he gives no direct evidence of familiarity w i t h E d w a r d e a n t h i n k i n g ; it appears likely that the similarities are coin­ cidental rather than direct. T h e writers and thinkers w i t h w h o m A l l i n e seems to have been most familiar were English rather than A m e r i c a n . T h e y were gener­ ally m e n w i t h a pietistic bent but lacking a systematic intellectual position. A l t h o u g h Alline's basic doctrinal principles a n d attitudes were clearly his o w n , one author d i d offer a theological formulation w h i c h fitted his o w n predispositions : W i l l i a m L a w , the great English divine; on h i m A l l i n e relied for the development of his o w n formal ideology. F e w contemporaries recognized Alline's debt to W i l l i a m L a w , and fewer still w o u l d have been favourably impressed by that knowledge. L a w , after a l l , was a non-juring A n g l i c a n excluded from livings w i t h i n his church, and was an ascetic mystic to boot. W h a t W i l l i a m L a w w o u l d have thought of his N o v a Scotian ad­ herent is difficult to say. O n the other hand, A l l i n e h a d m u c h i n com­ m o n w i t h L a w , and responded favourably to the tenor of L a w ' s writ­ ings. B o t h emphasized a thorough pietism bordering on asceticism; for both men, the relationship w i t h G o d was a daylong, lifelong mat­ ter. Neither married, and neither had any particular interest i n worldly affairs. L a w rejected w a r because of the danger it brought to unconverted soldiers, a sentiment w i t h w h i c h A l l i n e w o u l d probably have agreed. L a w h a d w i t h d r a w n from the w o r l d after refusing to accept the Glorious R e v o l u t i o n i n E n g l a n d i n 1688, and he insisted on loyalty to the ousted Stuart monarchs; A l l i n e forsook the w o r l d rather than take sides i n the A m e r i c a n R e v o l u t i o n i n N o v a Scotia. But W i l l i a m L a w became a recluse whose version of Christianity was considered too perfectionist and difficult for the average m a n ; he d i d not attempt to convert others except through his writings, and his thoughts turned increasingly i n w a r d toward mysticism. A l t h o u g h A l l i n e was equally mystical and ascetic, he attempted to combine

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these tendencies w i t h an enthusiastic evangelicalism. W h i l e L a w the pietist clashed w i t h J o h n Wesley the evangelical i n E n g l a n d , A l l i n e i n N o v a Scotia wrestled w i t h reconciling these two disparate positions. H e was never entirely successful, and the effort undermined m a n y of his evangelical successes, particularly when he adopted some of L a w ' s later philosophy. A l t h o u g h W i l l i a m L a w communicated w i t h the w o r l d only through his writings, these were both numerous and exceptionally well received i n 18th-century E n g l a n d . Aside from various polemical writings on theological and religious issues of the time, L a w ' s works can be divided into two parts. T h e first of them, written for the most part early i n his career, were basically guidebooks to devotion. T w o of these, Christian Perfection and A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life, were ex­ tremely popular w i t h 18th-century pietists and evangelicals, and constituted one of the most important early influences on J o h n Wes­ ley, the founder of M e t h o d i s m . T h e y later served as basic texts for the Evangelical movement w i t h i n the A n g l i c a n church at the end of the century. I n his later years, however, L a w came under the influence of the 16th-century G e r m a n theosophist and mystic, Jacob Boehme, a n d m a n y of his later works attempted to introduce Boehme's notions to the E n g l i s h audience. Evangelicals like J o h n Wesley completely re­ jected L a w ' s Behmenistic writings, w h i c h they considered overly con­ fusing and mystical. Boehme's thinking as expounded by L a w (and even Wesley admitted L a w almost succeeded i n m a k i n g the ideas consistent and palatable) appealed greatly to H e n r y A l l i n e , however, a n d the N o v a Scotian employed this rather unorthodox system as the basis for his o w n doctrinal position and to attack the traditional C a l v i n i s m of most of his countrymen. Alline's personal experiences always h a d existential overtones, and his use of Behmenistic doctrines gave his writings a formal existential foundation. A l l i n e not only rejected the assumptions accepted by most N o v a

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Scotians, but he replaced them w i t h an esoteric system almost totally incomprehensible to most of his audience, a n d certainly a tenuous one to maintain. I n his writings, Alline's p r i n c i p a l impediment was not, however, a n absence of intellectual substance, but a n insistence u p o n a position far beyond the understanding of the average N o v a Scotian who responded positively to Alline's evangelical pietism while being repelled or confused by his doctrine. Alline's emphasis on the new birth, his Christian perfectionism, his rejection of earthly accom­ plishments, were themselves difficult enough to communicate to a community of 'sinners,' a n d his effort to give these i n print a firm a n d viable theological basis verged on the disastrous particularly i n terms of its reception by the public. H i s attempts to construct an alternative to Calvinistic theology as he understood it and his struggle to trans­ form mysicism from a personal tendency into a n element of formal theology met little favourable response from those receptive to his pietism a n d evangelical activities. N o v a Scotians were w i l l i n g to ac­ cept a certain undefinable deviation within traditional values, but not an open attack on the value system itself. T h i s was probably most apparent w i t h regard to his anti-Calvinism. T h e traditional Calvinistic position as understood by most N o v a Scotians —New Englander a n d Scots Presbyterian a l i k e - w a s well stated i n 1784 by Jonathan Scott, pastor of the church at Jebogue ( Y a r m o u t h ) i n a reply to Alline's Two Mites. H a v i n g clashed earlier w i t h A l l i n e the evangelist, Scott was obviously pleased to renew the conflict i n A Brief View of the Religious Tenets and Sentiments ... of Mr. Henry Alline, w h i c h attacked Alline's religious position a n d focussed o n his theology. Scott's Calvinistic G o d was at once omnipotent a n d inscrutable, except i n so far as he chose to reveal himself through the scriptures. ' O u t of his mere sovereign W i l l and good Pleasure, from Eternity,' G o d 'hath chosen a n d elected some men i n Christ to everlasting G l o r y a n d Blessedness,' and condemned the remainder to

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eternal damnation. T h e fall of A d a m placed a l l m a n k i n d i n T r e s ­ passes a n d Sins,' a n d 'the Justice of G o d is offended by, a n d incensed against the Sins of Man' A c c o r d i n g to Scott, the 'Revenging, i n ­ censed, vindictive Justice' of damnation does not make G o d u n benevolent, for it 'is an amiable, bright a n d glorious perfection i n the most holy G o d . ' T o atone for the sins of men, Christ 'made his Life a Sacrifice to the offended, revenging Justice of G o d , ' a n d 'fully satis­ fied' this justice for 'those w h o truely believe on his N a m e , at a l l T i m e s even to the E n d of the W o r l d . ' O f course, atonement was limited, for only those who h a d been unconditionally elected a n d predestined by G o d could hope to be saved. Sinners 'have not Power to quicken themselves, but are dependent on a sovereign G o d for such M e r c y . ' A n y attempt to assign to the sinner an initial freedom to act o n his o w n behalf for salvation or to make anyone eligible for G o d ' s grace was rejected by Calvinists like Scott as, i n the epithet of the time, 'Arminianism.' Jonathan Scott was no reactionary. H i s defence of C a l v i n i s m not only ranged widely i n the writings of the P u r i t a n fathers, but also relied heavily on the recent restatement of Calvinistic dogma by the great N e w E n g l a n d theologian, Jonathan Edwards. Nevertheless, Scott not only accepted the 'Five Points of C a l v i n i s m ' as enunciated by the Synod of D o r t ( 1618-1619) - unconditional election, limited atonement, total depravity, irresistible grace, and the perseverance of the saints - but also insisted on a vengeful, arbitrary, and selective G o d . Against this view of the Deity, particularly, H e n r y A l l i n e re­ belled. 1

T h e refusal to accept the doctrines of C a l v i n i s m was i n part a result of Alline's o w n experience of conversion. H e h a d discovered at that time that G o d was not only benevolent but loving, and felt that, as a sinner, he h a d turned to G o d of his o w n free w i l l . A l l i n e h a d made the 'decision for Christ' unaided by outside h u m a n factors, a n d this

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fact seemed to increase the degree of responsibility w h i c h he alone had for the action. A s has already been noted, Alline's experience was quite compatible w i t h orthodox C a l v i n i s m ; it a l l depended o n h o w one interpreted the process of the extension of grace by G o d a n d the response of the i n d i v i d u a l to this offer. B y itself, his conversion d i d not inevitably lead to an anti-Calvinistic position. B u t w h e n A l l i n e attempted to fit this conversion into the evangelical message w h i c h he began to preach to N o v a Scotians, the result was a reaction against orthodox dogma. Strict C a l v i n i s m a n d evangelical revivalism have always been u n ­ easy partners. If only a few m e n are unconditionally elected a n d most are unconditionally consigned to damnation, a n d if the power to 'quicken' comes from G o d only to those previously chosen, the scope of action for the revivalist becomes extremely limited. H e can do no more than assist those few who have already been foreordained to be awakened by G o d a n d cannot hope to have any effect on the great mass of sinful humanity. Evangelical revivalism, by its very nature, tends to universalism (all men can be saved) a n d arminianism (salva­ tion comes through a n effort of w i l l by m a n ) . M o s t great revivalists have rejected or at least largely reinterpreted orthodox Calvinist doc­ trine. A m o n g major revivals, only the Great A w a k e n i n g i n N e w E n g ­ l a n d from 1740 to 1745 occurred i n a basically Calvinistic framework, and this was a result of the peculiar version of C a l v i n i s m prevalent i n N e w E n g l a n d at the time combined w i t h a relative absence of C a l v i n ­ istic doctrine i n the preaching of the itinerant evangelists. M e n like George Whitefield, Gilbert Tennent, a n d Eleazer Wheelock may have been Calvinists, but their revival sermons blithely ignored questions of dogma. Jonathan Edwards maintained a strict C a l v i n i s m , but was not really an itinerant or a successful evangelical. T o t a l l y divorced from N e w E n g l a n d theology, H e n r y A l l i n e naturally found himself tending toward universalism and arminianism, and he sought a con-

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sistent doctrinal system i n w h i c h to place these tendencies. T h i s he found i n the writings of W i l l i a m L a w . T h e major message of L a w was that ' G o d is L o v e . ' B u t if the deity is benevolent, h o w could evil enter into the universe? L a w answered this question by emphasizing that the perfect a n d good qualities of G o d m a y become imperfect a n d evil i n limited a n d finite creatures. H e postulated a 'pre-Creation' of angels existing i n heavily light a n d love. T h e angels revolted from G o d of their o w n free w i l l , a n d their fall produced the w o r l d , for out of their ruined, angelic k i n g d o m G o d created the w o r l d a n d m a n . A d a m , like the angels, fell because of G o d ' s gift of free w i l l . W h e n m a n , the breath of G o d , began to w i l l a n d desire contrary to the deity, he became an earthly creature and, i n effect, died. L a w saw this interpretation of the fall as consistent w i t h the great truth that G o d is L o v e , and also as an explanation of original sin a n d sinful m a n . H o w could earthly, sinful, dead A d a m beget anything other than children of the same nature and condition w i t h himself? M a n could be restored only by a new birth - by having G o d rekindle the divine life. T h i s was the function of Jesus, the second A d a m , a n d his redemption was universal. T h e atonement of Christ extinguished sin i n the Creature, and Jesus was the light of all m e n who are by free grace of G o d made sons of the second A d a m ; a l l m e n share i n Christ's rebirth. Christ's suffering made all m e n eligible for salvation, a n d G o d h a d granted all men free w i l l . Therefore, a l l m e n could be saved, although the process of rebirth was not an easy one. C a l v i n i s m was an abomination to W i l l i a m L a w , and his theological system totally overturned the teachings of the Geneva reformer and his followers. M o s t of the basic principles of L a w were repeated and expanded by H e n r y A l l i n e i n his major work of systematic theology, Two Mites Cast into the Offering of God. A l l i n e i n his preface admitted that the reader might find 'some things i n these few lines, that may appear

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new, a n d different from what you have been taught, a n d frankly i n ­ dicated his objections to traditional d o g m a . H e warned that though he h a d made use of some writers, he d i d not necessarily approve all their principles. H i s teaching was eclectic, though grounded i n the w o r d of G o d , the scriptures. T h e w a r n i n g was probably intended to protect A l l i n e against accusations of being a slavish disciple of L a w , but proved irrelevant, since among his contemporaries only J o h n Wesley (who h a d been sent Alline's works by the N o v a Scotia M e t h o ­ dist, W i l l i a m Black) appears to have recognized Alline's debt to L a w . Alline's use of L a w was clearly selective, a n d the N o v a Scotian i n a variety of ways made the position his o w n . H e d i d not rely heavily on citations to the authority of L a w or any other theologian (partly be­ cause he wrote on the road' removed from any book collections), he translated those principles he adopted into a language he hoped w o u l d be comprehensible to N o v a Scotians, a n d he grounded his argument i n scripture a n d c o m m o n sense. E v e n his references to scripture were frequently cryptic and incomplete, and Alline's p r i n c i p a l didactic device was the everyday metaphor and simile following from what he regarded as assumptions acceptable to all reasonable men : the bene­ volence of G o d a n d the free w i l l of m a n . A l l i n e began his exposition of systematic doctrine i n Two Mites w i t h a statement of his two major insights. G o d is good, a n d m a n himself is responsible for the fall from grace (and hence is capable of recovering redemption). H e left no doubt from the very beginning of this work that his major attack w o u l d be on Calvinism. G o d created m a n according to H i s o w n nature as an intelligent being 'capable of acting as a free Agent.' T o claim that the fall was foreordained was to charge sin u p o n G o d , w h o is not inscrutable. A l l laws, decrees, or statutes, i n heaven, earth, or hell, are a reflection of G o d ' s divine nature, a n d is it not more reasonable, scriptural, a n d Christian to believe that G o d acts from love rather than vindictiveness? Calvinist 5

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writings are of no more w o r t h than so m a n y o l d A l m a n a c k s . ' If G o d is not vengeful, arbitrary, a n d unknowable, so m a n is not powerless to act o n his o w n behalf. M a n is i n a state of probation, a n d 'salvation a n d damnation originates here at your o w n door,' w i t h 'no bar be­ tween you a n d redeeming love, but what is i n your o w n breast, held u p of choice.' I n an attack o n the inconsistency of evangelical C a l ­ vinism, A l l i n e pointed out that while Calvinists preached there is room for all, their doctrine of election belied the claim. W i t h his major themes clearly enunciated, A l l i n e then moved o n to attempt to construct a coherent doctrinal system w h i c h supported his position. T h e fall of A d a m came not because of eating an apple or through the imposition of God's w i l l ; G o d d i d not k i l l or threaten to kill A d a m for eating the apple, but simply warned of the consequences w h i c h w o u l d ensure from a separation from H i m . M a n fell of his o w n volition, w i t h his collective free w i l l embodied i n one being — A d a m . A l l i n e insisted he d i d not reject original sin, for there could be no doubt that the 'whole race of m a n k i n d are i n a fallen state of sin a n d misery,' but he argued against the c o m m o n views of the fall a n d the 'imputation' of sin to A d a m ' s descendants. W h e n G o d created m a n , he created all m a n k i n d , a n d a l l m e n (as embodied i n A d a m ) were guilty of breaking the communication of the divine light a n d love of G o d . T o wait for election is foolish, since it w i l l never come ; all m e n fell into an equal condition, a n d all h a d the same opportunity for salvation - to fly to the l a m b of G o d , 'whose infinite love waits to re­ deem you out of your o w n nature a n d restore you to his.' G o d stooped to redeem sinners through Christ, stepping d o w n into the nature of m a n so 'as to become capable of his suffering a n d death for the fallen w o r l d . ' G o d d i d this not 'to appease any vindictive wrath, or satisfy any incensed justice i n the deity but to die wholly i n , a n d for, the fallen race ; to remove w r a t h and hell and ten thousand disorders from them.' £

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A l l m a n k i n d was equally sinful, a n d a l l m a n k i n d can be saved. T o this extent A l l i n e was a universalis^ G o d offered redemption to all that w i l l a n d can be redeemed out of the w o r l d . B u t not a l l w o u l d be saved, because not a l l w o u l d experience a 'divine change of heart. A l l i n e insisted that he d i d not deny the doctrine of election ; he simply objected to the concept that G o d d i d the electing. ' I f there is any cause, w h y some are more choaked w i t h thorns, and tied d o w n to this bestial w o r l d , than others, the cause must certainly be found i n m a n , a n d not i n the hands of G o d . It was m a n w h o built u p 'walls of separation between G o d a n d his soul, a n d then charged G o d w i t h being the cause of his destruction. L i k e most successful evangelists, A l l i n e saw salvation c o m i n g when m a n 'determined to cast himself at his feet, a n d trust wholly to his mercy, a n d free grace for salvation ; a n d cries out w i t h the trembling leper, Lord if thou wilt!" Alline s overt attack on C a l v i n i s m undoubtedly cost h i m a good deal of support from w i t h i n the province, for N e w Englanders a n d Scottish Presbyterians h a d grown u p w i t h the doctrine since their childhood. M o s t , if not a l l , of the churches w h i c h he founded were basically Calvinistic i n their 'Articles of F a i t h . Indeed, the Cornwallis church, embodied i n 1778 w i t h A l l i n e p r e s e n t - o n e of the churches w h i c h ordained h i m to the ministry - drew u p a statement of belief w h i c h denied almost i n its entirety his o w n doctrinal position. A l ­ though Cornwallis never repudiated h i m , another of his sponsoring churches - the H o r t o n Baptist C h u r c h - d i d so immediately after the publication of Two Mites. O n 3 February 1781 the H o r t o n church called for 'a general meeting of the churches that was assisting i n the ordination of M r . H e n r y A l l i n e , partly because of his position 'con­ cerning the ordinance of Baptism a n d partly because of 'some of his Doctrine. A l l i n e a n d the other churches refused to meet, a n d on 2 A p r i l 1781 the H o r t o n church admonished 'our Brother H e n r y A l l i n e i n the first place for paying no regard to the Request of the C h u r c h c

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a n d for Publishing Erronious principles i n p r i n t . ' Similarly, i n L i v e r ­ pool, Simeon Perkins, the town's leading citizen, turned against A l ­ line, probably after reading Two Mites. I n his 1784 attack o n A l l i n e , Jonathan Scott undoubtedly sensed the undercurrent of discontent w i t h Alline's 'doctrine' a n d hit hard at his anti-Calvinism, obviously anticipating that a thorough exposure of the evangelist's break w i t h tradition w o u l d turn m a n y against h i m . I n the long r u n it undoubt­ edly d i d , a n d the successful heirs of Alline's evangelical thrust were the Baptists, whose position was generally Calvinistic i n nature. 6

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If A l l i n e produced disenchantment because of his attack on C a l ­ vinism, at least this was a result of a point of view clearly expounded. T h e opening chapters of Two Mites were Alline's clearest a n d most carefully reasoned statements. Unfortunately, i n the concluding pages of Two Mites, i n his pamphlet the Anti-Traditionist, and scattered throughout his published sermons was a far less rational current of metaphysical mysticism w h i c h was totally incomprehensible to the average reader. It was this underlying theme i n his writings w h i c h led J o h n Wesley to comment that A l l i n e 'is very far from being a m a n of sound understanding; but he has been dabbling i n M y s t i c a l writers, i n matters w h i c h are too high for h i m , far above his comprehension. I dare not waste m y time u p o n such miserable j a r g o n . ' Wesley might not agree w i t h Alline's anti-Calvinistic position, but he could not dis­ miss the first hundred pages of Two Mites as 'miserable jargon.' M u c h of Alline's other published writing was nevertheless open to the charge of confusing abstruseness. H e was attempting to come to grips w i t h the important intellectual a n d philosophical issues of his time, how­ ever, a n d the position w h i c h he expounded resembled, i n broad out­ line, that of W i l l i a m L a w (from w h o m m u c h of it was taken) a n d Jonathan Edwards. 8

Occasional glimpses of Alline's views intruded even i n the earlier pages of Two Mites, but they were undeveloped and the reader could pass them over as essentially unnecessary to the argument. H e spoke

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briefly i n chapter 2 ( ' O n God's Decrees and M a n ' s fall not Decreed' ) of the 'everlasting O u t b i r t h , ' an emanation from G o d of an eternal nature w h i c h transcended the created universe, but he d i d not expand the concept at this point. T h e O u t b i r t h was returned to i n the AntiTraditionist, however, as A l l i n e attempted to explain 'the Design and Nature of Creation,' the first attempt by a C a n a d i a n writer i n English to wrestle w i t h this complex metaphysical question. A l l i n e i n Two Mites had insisted that G o d could be comprehended by m a n ; i n the Anti-Traditionist he emphasized that H e 'is, ever was, a n d forever w i l l be incomprehensible.' Nevertheless, H e n r y A l l i n e w o u l d 'endeavour to discover something of the Certainty, consistency, a n d N a t u r e of an infinite, beginning, ever-lasting, self-existent and Supreme Being.' Since it was axiomatic that nothing comes into exis­ tence from 'nothing or chance,' this not only demonstrated a 'first Cause' but one 'possessed of an infinite unbeginning self-necessary Source of Life.' A l l G o d ' s actions 'manifest his G l o r y , Goodness, Happiness,' and he created 'wholly from the V i e w and Enjoyment of himself.' T h i s particular view of G o d ' s reasons for creation has a good deal i n c o m m o n w i t h that advanced by Jonathan Edwards a quarter-century earlier. B u t Alline's subsequent exposition makes it clear that his source was the L a w - B o e h m e tradition rather than that of Edwards, for he then proposed an existential angelic system w h i c h existed before the physical universe was created. B o t h systems were not really creations, but rather an ' O u t b i r t h , ' a manifestation of God's indwelling presence i n everything. T h e fall of the angels from G o d created the w o r l d , w h i c h was 'corporeal' rather than ethereal. F o r A l l i n e , the corporeal physical universe is 'fallen Nature interposed,' w i t h the implication that the material w o r l d is distinctly inferior to the spiritual i n a n actual rather than a symbolic sense. T h i s position was as close to mysticism as any Protestant could possibly get, and led A l l i n e to favour a severe asceticism as well. 9

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fall but was rather a consequence of it. M a n as originally 'created' was sexless, but 'when this innumerable T h r o n g h a d broke off from the T r i u n e Father, they thereby broke u p a n d made a Division a m o n g themselves, a n d i n their o w n M a l e a n d F e m a l [sic] Powers, not only at E n m i t y against G o d ; a n d at W a r one w i t h another, but each one having that T r i u n e Life broke u p at W a r a n d w i t h a T o r m e n t to h i m ­ self.' R e d e m p t i o n comes only through a reunion of the Creature w i t h G o d , i n w h i c h the male a n d the female w i l l again 'be as m u c h a n d undividedly one as he a n d his F a t h e r . ' A l l i n e here found a doctrinal justification for his personal decision to resist the wiles of women. 11

Because A l l i n e equated the material universe a n d fallen nature, the resurrection for h i m became spiritual a n d mystical rather than physi­ cal. M u c h of his writing, i n the concluding chapters of Two Mites, i n the Anti-Traditionist, a n d i n the sermons, was devoted to detailed descriptions of the resurrection a n d the day of judgement. 'Hellfire a n d brimstone' eschatology was part of the stock-in-trade of most revivalists, but for A l l i n e the day of judgement was more than simply a persuasive device. It was a genuine mystical vision. H i s language i n these passages became coloured a n d v i v i d : T h e seas roar, the rocks melt, the earth trembles, the thunders rattle, lightnings play ; earthquakes rend ; inundations overflow ; houses burn ; pyramids reel ; villages, towns and kingdoms sink ; while burning hills exceed mount Aetna's or Visuvius' [sic] flames ; the graves open ; the dead arise the quick are changed ; and first the saints appear. ... What awful throes! What heart rending groans and cheerful shouts are now heard thro' the promiscuous and innumerable throngs! 12

T h r o u g h o u t his eschatological passages, the reader must sense that

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A l l i n e wrote as an eye-witness reporter, a n d i n more than one place i n his works are references to his o w n visions a n d experiences. H e n r y A l l i n e was not imagining but describing. T h e passages exemplary of Alline's mystical streak at its most c o m ­ pelling are probably not to be found i n his published writings, either i n the metaphysical or i n the eschatological sections. T h e y must i n ­ stead be sought i n private correspondence, only a few pieces of w h i c h have survived. W h e n A l l i n e attempted to fit mysticism into a theo­ logical system he sounded forced a n d confused, and was open to the charge levelled against h i m by Jonathan Scott that he sought to appeal to the Tassions of the Reader, especially the young, ignorant a n d i n ­ consistent, w h o are influenced more by the S o u n d a n d Gingle of the w o r d s . ' B u t Alline's mysticism was considerably more than a rhetor­ ical trick a n d i n several unpublished letters he produced some fine a n d m o v i n g passages of religious literature. F r o m Argyle, for example, i n 1782 he wrote: 13

A n d O let me intreat a people near my heart to keep near your Glorious Leader; that you may be both happy, and usefull; I know there is no need of Telling you he is A l l i n A l l , and that without h i m all is Vanity and vexation of Spirit; O then what can possibly find place i n your souls but Jesus that infinite Lover! C a n fears, or frowns, prosperity or adversity, Crowns and Kingdoms, Life or Death break your hold, or Steal your affections from h i m that is so strong, so worthy of your Love who Bought you so dear? ... O the unspeakable happiness those must enjoy who walk near the lovely Jesus! Surely it must be great indeed when one W h o Travels at so vast a distance As I do, Enjoy so much from the Glimmering Rays, that I now and then Attain of the hem of his Garment. 14

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I n such passages H e n r y A l l i n e was wholly himself, a n d was a far more attractive figure than i n his self-conscious published writings. H i s i n ­ volved mystical doctrines certainly repelled the non-nonsense M e t h o ­ dists, a n d probably threw a good m a n y converts into their camp, particularly after his death. Related to Alline's mysticism was a strong current of asceticism. Alline's anti-Calvinism was comprehensible a n d convincing, though it flew i n the face of traditional beliefs. H i s mysticism was esoteric a n d confusing to most N o v a Scotians. T h e difficulty w i t h his asceticism was that it was too demanding and unrealistic an ethic for a leader of a potential mass movement to espouse. Intellectually, Alline's almost medieval monasticism was a logical conclusion of his mystical view of the material w o r l d as fallen nature, w h i c h must be transcended by the new birth into reunion w i t h G o d . T h e h u m a n body was corporeal a n d sinful by nature, a n d h a d to be battled against by the 'inmost soul, or i m m o r t a l m i n d . ' A l l i n e called for 'the mortification of the o l d m a n , ' for 'as you love your o w n soul, keep under your b o d y . ' It was i n an effort to 'starve the old m a n ' that he opposed 'frolicking,' drink­ ing, horse-racing, profanity, a n d other forms of h u m a n 'wickedness.' U n l i k e later opponents of 'sin,' he d i d not hold that the body was a temple of G o d that must be kept pure, but rather that material exist­ ence was by definition a n iniquity w h i c h must be overcome. N o v a Scotia was not a n unusually corrupt society so m u c h as Alline's standards were extremely high. B u t part of his social ethic involved the foresaking of a l l worldly pleasures - however innocent appearing to most of the populace - a n d he himself set the example, h a r d as it was to follow. 15

T o view A l l i n e as preaching nothing more than a process of bodily self-flagellation is really to miss the widespread popular appeal a n d significance of his message i n N o v a Scotia d u r i n g the A m e r i c a n R e v o ­ lution. H i s rejection of the w o r l d fitted into the political a n d social

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conditions of the time, a n d scattered throughout his writings is not only a n 'otherworldly' asceticism, but an ethical appeal w h i c h was, i n its o w n way, revolutionary. T r a d i t i o n a l Calvinists objected to his theology, evangelical Methodists to his mysticism, but both these groups were by and large outside positions of power and authority i n the province. T h e A n g l i c a n establishment i n N o v a Scotia, however, came to view the " A l l i n i t e s " as a definite threat to its position. I n the short run, A l l i n e contributed to keeping N o v a Scotia quiet during the trying years of Revolution. But i n the long run, the implications of his ethical position were dangerous to the authorities, for he emphasized a levelling egalitarianism w h i c h rejected instituted government i n favour of what can probably best be described as the self-government of the godly. Egalitarianism was an integral part of Alline's evangelical message, since the Redeemer offered himself to 'any m a n , Jew or Gentile, bond or free, male or female, old or young, r i c h or poor, none excepted.' A l l m a n k i n d was capable of salvation, for there was no election of the saints by G o d but rather a process of self-selection. A l l i n e was not content w i t h a simple universalist message, however, a n d he made a special appeal to the disinherited. T h i s involved i n part a denial that 'earthly dignity, the esteem of m a n or a conspicuous station i n the w o r l d ' made a m a n of G o d , a n d i n part a positive implication that the spirit of Christ is more likely to be found 'among the most poor a n d despicable people on the earth.' I n his account of the day of judge­ ment he included among the 'ungodly' not only 'murderers, whore­ mongers and adulterers,' but 'kings, princes and monarchs.' H e d i d not insist that all monarchs were ungodly but simply that they w o u l d have no special privileges on the day of judgement. A n d he was w i l l i n g to push his teaching to its ultimate conclusion, emphasizing that Christ commanded his followers 'to salute no m a n by the w a y . ' 16

A l o n g w i t h his levelling message, w h i c h was bound to have a power-

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ful appeal i n a newly settled back-country society such as that i n N o v a Scotia, was a n anti-militaristic note w h i c h found fertile soil i n the province. F o r A l l i n e , 'wars a n d rumours of war, yea the most i n ­ humane wars spreading desolation through the w o r l d like a flood' were signals of the approaching day of judgement. I n a 1782 sermon at Liverpool, he gave thanks for the absence of w a r i n N o v a Scotia, but insisted that this was not 'because of the cleaness [sic] of our hands, or past righteousness: for surely we have not only h a d our hands equally engaged i n the sins that have incurred the lamentable disorder; but have likewise perpetrated the same c r i m e s . ' A l l i n e i n ­ dicated a continuing suspicion that those i n military service were particularly dissolute and sinful, although he offered them the mes­ sage of redemption. Understandably, the A n g l i c a n authorities came to see a revolu­ tionary movement i n the N e w - L i g h t revival begun by A l l i n e . It has been fashionable to see A n g l i c a n fears as unwarranted, but the estab­ lishment was not being overly sensitive. T h e government of N o v a Scotia, emphasizing as it d i d loyalty to the monarchy a n d the need for a deferential social order, i n w h i c h the lower classes w o u l d consent to being governed by their betters, was quite perceptive i n its frequently voiced suspicions that 'the conductors of these people are engaged i n the general p l a n of a total revolution in religious and civil govern­ ment.' H e n r y A l l i n e never attacked the established A n g l i c a n C h u r c h nor d i d he explicitly preach a doctrine of the separation of church or state, but this was because he h a d more important things to do i n his short ministry. H e made it quite clear to civil leaders, however, that 'great is the influence of m e n i n your state; a n d as great when your ways are perverse a n d your examples u n g o d l y . ' T h r o u g h o u t his career, A l l i n e insisted o n a w i t h d r a w a l from 'this ensnaring w o r l d ' by true Christians, for 'you have no continuing city here.' B u t the antiauthoritarian levelling implications of his doctrine and ethic, c o m 17

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bined w i t h the democratic nature of c h u r c h government as he expounded it, were capable of producing a revolutionary ideology, as h a d occurred i n the thirteen colonies to the south of N o v a Scotia. T h a t Canada's evangelical pietism never became revolutionary is to be attributed to his successors a n d not to A l l i n e himself. W i t h a l l Alline's writings, one is struck by the speed w i t h w h i c h they were forgotten a n d their lack of deep impact u p o n the society i n w h i c h they were written. E v e n his hymns, so popular i n their o w n time that they were laboriously copied out by h a n d a n d approved even by his opponents, have long since ceased to be part of Canada's hymnology. Ironically, the only A l l i n e h y m n w h i c h remained i n hymnals long beyond his death was attributed to someone else. A s was the case w i t h his doctrinal principles, the hymns remained important far longer a n d were more influential i n the U n i t e d States than i n Alline's native l a n d . It is frequently difficult to explain why any figure sinks into ob­ scurity. I n the case of A l l i n e , however, several factors seem important. I n the first place, his writings were ignored by his contemporaries i n British N o r t h A m e r i c a because existential mysticism was too revision­ ist a n d too intellectualized to suit the society of the time. H i s evan­ gelical successors, the Calvinistic Baptists and the Methodists, were more interested i n revivalism than i n setting d o w n i n print the doc­ trine on w h i c h it was based. After Alline's death, evangelical pietism i n the M a r i t i m e s ignored, perhaps even refused to enter, the area of the printed w o r d for nearly half a century. B y the time pietists again turned to publishing their ideas, Alline's intellectual position was little more than an historical curiosity. B u t many individuals w h o were neglected by their immediate descendants have been resurrected a n d admired by subsequent generations. T h a t this has not happened w i t h H e n r y A l l i n e is a result of other factors built into the historical devel­ opment of C a n a d a . A l l i n e devoted his life to goals w i t h w h i c h our

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modern secular society is distinctly out of sympathy, a n d he pursued them i n a region w h i c h most Canadians have come to regard as of only secondary importance to the nation. T h e obscurity of H e n r y A l l i n e is a measure of the failure of most Canadians to move beyond the study of politics i n central C a n a d a i n the search for their heritage.

5

A Burning and Shining Light, and Justly Esteemed the Apostle of Nova Scotia

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Late i n 1783 the dying H e n r y A l l i n e resolutely set forth to N e w E n g ­ land, insisting I w o u l d go a n d proclaim m y Master's name, where I never h a d preached, as long as I could ride or stand, if it was even to the last expiring breath.' H e quite literally lived u p to this promise, preaching his last sermon only a week before his death. W h a t i m ­ pelled A l l i n e to leave the M a r i t i m e s for the U n i t e d States? Perhaps, as has recently been suggested, he felt it the duty of a n awakened N o v a Scotia to b r i n g the gospel to a fallen N e w E n g l a n d . B u t there is little evidence that A l l i n e saw the A m e r i c a n s i n any more dire need of awakening than the population of what remained of Britain's A m e r i ­ can empire, or that he felt any special sense of mission to the U n i t e d States. Before 1783 (the year i n w h i c h B r i t a i n by treaty formally recognized the independence of the U n i t e d States) a journey there might have been dangerous a n d difficult. If one examines Alline's constantly w i d e n i n g evangelical territory it becomes obvious that the coming of political peace virtually coincided w i t h that point at w h i c h his circuit reached the borders of the U n i t e d States. H e was continu­ ally expanding his mission to reach a new audience ( 'where I never h a d preached' ) a n d it was the Americans' turn. A l t h o u g h the bulk of his labours h a d been i n M a r i t i m e C a n a d a , A l l i n e died i n N o r t h - H a m p t o n , N e w H a m p s h i r e , at the home of D a v i d M c C l u r e , a minister of the Calvinistic P u r i t a n establishment of N e w E n g l a n d against w h i c h A l l i n e h a d battled most of his adult life. H i s funeral was executed by a P u r i t a n church, his corpse b o r n to its grave by P u r i t a n ministers ( i n c l u d i n g Seth N o b l e , formerly of M a u g e r f i e l d ) , a n d he was interred i n a b u r y i n g yard surrounded by orthodox Calvinists. Despite the irony surrounding his death a n d burial, it was entirely fitting that the location should not be i n N o v a Scotia but i n coastal N e w H a m p s h i r e , for this symbolized the future direction of Alline's immediate influence. H i s work i n the M a r i t i m e s had been finished, and his mission w o u l d live on through the efforts C

1

2

ioo

Henry

Alline

of B e n j a m i n R a n d a l l of Portsmouth, N e w H a m p s h i r e ( a few miles north of N o r t h - H a m p t o n ) , w h o founded the Freewill Baptist move­ ment i n the U n i t e d States. A s the epitaph on Alline's gravestone recorded, ' H e was a b u r n i n g a n d shining L i g h t , a n d was justly esteemed the apostle of N o v a Scotia.' B u t most of the churches w h i c h A l l i n e h a d founded i n N o v a Scotia a n d N e w Brunswick either collapsed or went over to the B a p ­ tists, w h o rejected his anti-Calvinistic theology a n d his attempts to open c o m m u n i o n to a l l who h a d experienced the new birth. Almost all the succeeding generation of Baptist ministers h a d their souls first stirred by A l l i n e , but they were i n the end converted by others. B o t h his concrete accomplishments a n d his writings were forgotten. Y e t to write A l l i n e off as a failure w o u l d be a mistake. H i s life as an evangelical missionary was short, but it encompassed a crucial period i n the history of the M a r i t i m e s ; he was not only a creature of his age, but he played an important role i n it as well. H e symbolized the diffi­ culties w h i c h N e w Englanders faced i n N o v a Scotia during the era of the A m e r i c a n Revolution, a n d i n addition he offered a viable alterna­ tive to political involvement and earthly discontent. T h e alternative, like A l l i n e himself, was a complex one, at one time anti-British a n d anti-American, radical a n d counter-revolutionary. H i s message was peculiarly N o v a Scotian, a n d it h a d a special relevance i n the years of political crisis w h i c h the province faced. I n a sense, this helps explain the r a p i d descent of his reputation into o b l i v i o n : conditions after 1784 altered greatly, but he d i d not live to change w i t h the times. 3

Finally, however m u c h A l l i n e was a product of his age, he was also a product of the desire of m a n throughout most of history for closer c o m m u n i o n w i t h his Creator. T h e part of Alline's message that was exclusively a n d unmistakably his may have h a d a short life, but the general movement of evangelical pietism w h i c h he sparked i n C a n a d a survived, prospered, a n d grew to become a basic component of the

"A Burning and Shining Light"

101

C a n a d i a n ethos a n d way of life until well into the present century. T h e ideals of pietism do not appeal to most members of modern society, a n d it must be admitted that what has longest survived of pietism is not the deep concern for one's o w n relationship w i t h G o d but rather a compulsive attempt to regulate the external behaviour of others. H e n r y A l l i n e d i d not make the mistake of confusing m o r a l regulation w i t h what he considered to be the core of Christianity love of G o d . A l l i n e m a y have opposed sin, but he w o u l d not neces­ sarily have supported legislation to curtail it. Indeed, the various 'blue laws' w h i c h remain i n C a n a d a as a p r i n c i p a l heritage of pietism w o u l d probably have been openly deplored by A l l i n e a n d his genera­ tion, since their ethic stressed individual reform through a closer c o m ­ m u n i o n w i t h G o d rather than corporate or governmental action. A l t h o u g h A l l i n e might not have agreed w i t h subsequent legislation taken i n the name of C h r i s t i a n piety, he was still responsible for i n ­ troducing into C a n a d a pietistic ways of viewing the w o r l d a n d evan­ gelical means of spreading the gospel. These were ideally suited to a pioneer country. F o r as l o n g as the nation h a d a frontier, evangelical pietism w o u l d remain a v a l i d approach to man's search for a mean­ ingful relationship w i t h G o d .

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N O T E S

C H A P T E R 1

2 3 4 5 6

7 8 9 io

11 12

13 14

15

16 17

O N E

Genealogies of the A l l i n e family are given i n J o h n V . Duncanson, Falmouth — A New England Township in Nova Scotia 1760-1965 (Windsor, O n t , 1965), p p . 167-168. Spelling of the name i n contemporary documents is usually either 'Allin' or 'Allen,' which suggests that it is to be pronounced to rhyme with 'win' not 'wine.' H e n r y Alline, The Life and Journal of the Rev. Mr. Henry Alline (Boston 1806), p. 7 Alline, Life and Journal, p. 3 Otis Little, A Geographical History of Nova Scotia (London i749)> PP- 22-23 Boston Gazette, 12 October 1758 T h i s proclamation is reprinted i n full i n John Bourinot, 'Builders of N o v a Scotia: A Historical Review' (Royal Society of C a n a d a , Transactions, 1899, p p . 136-137). Alline, Life and Journal, p. 7 Ibid. Public Archives of N o v a Scotia, vol. 211,24 July 1762 Quoted i n K . R . Williams, 'Social Conditions in N o v a Scotia 1749-1783' (unpublished M . A . thesis, M c G i l l University, 1936), p. 150Quoted i n Williams, 'Social Conditions,' p. 151. J o h n Robinson and Thomas Rispin, Journey through Nova-Scotia containing a particular Account of the Country and its Inhabitants ( Y o r k 1774), reprinted i n Report of the Board of Trustees of the Public Archives of Nova Scotia (1944), p. 49. Robinson and Rispin, Journey, pp. 49-50 C a r l Bridenbaugh, ed., 'Patrick M ' Robert's Tour through Part of the North Provinces of America? {Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, L I X , 1935, 153-155) H o n . Alexander G r a n t to Rev. E z r a Stiles, M a y 1760, reprinted in George S. Brown, Yarmouth, Nova Scotia (Boston 1888), p. 128. Nova Scotia Chronicle and Weekly Advertiser, 16 January 1770 Joseph Bennett to S P G , 29 August 1769, Transcripts of Papers of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel i n Foreign Parts, Public Archives of C a n a d a , B . 25, p. 370

104

Notes C H A P T E R 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18

19

Alline, Life and Journal, p. 20 Alline, Life and Journal, p. 9 E d m u n d S. M o r g a n , Visible Saints: The History of a Puritan (New Y o r k 1963), p. 67 M o r g a n , Visible Saints, p. 68 Alline, Life and Journal, pp. 3-4, 4-5, 6 Alline, Life and Journal, pp. 10, 12-13, 16-17, 17-19 Alline, Life and Journal, pp. 20-22 Alline, Life and Journal, pp. 23-24 Alline, Life and Journal, pp. 24-31 Alline, Life and Journal, pp. 31-39 Alline, Life and Journal, p. 4 Duncanson, Falmouth, p. 274 Alline, Life and Journal, pp. 36-37 Alline, Life and Journal, p. 41 Alline, Life and Journal, p. 42 Alline, Life and Journal, pp. 42-43 Alline, Life and Journal, p. 44 Quoted in J o h n B. Brebner, The Neutral Yankees of Nova Scotia: A Marginal Colony during the Revolutionary Years (New Y o r k i 9 3 7 ) , P P - 309-310. Alline, Life and Journal, pp. 4 5 - 4 7

C H A P T E R 1

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 io

T W O

Idea

T H R E E

A ' M r s . Fox' of H o r t o n , quoted by W . B . Bezanson, The Romance of Religion: A Sketch of the Life of Henry Alline in the Pioneer Days of the Maritime Provinces (Kentville 1927), P- 15. Brebner, Neutral Yankees, p. 324 Alline, Life and Journal, p. 47 Alline, Life and Journal, p. 70, see below, p. 69 Alline, Life and Journal, p. 151 Alline, Life and Journal, p. 109 Joseph C r a n d a l l , 'Autobiography' (Maritime Baptist Historical Collection, A c a d i a University, W o l f ville, N o v a Scotia), p. 1 Alline, Life and Journal, p. 147 H e n r y Alline, Hymns and Spiritual Songs (several editions) Alline, A Court P- 13

for the Trial

of Anti-Traditionist

(n.p., n.d. ),

Notes 11 12 13 14

15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

26 27

28 29

Personal letters of H e n r y Alline et al. (Maritime Baptist Historical Collection) Alline, Life and Journal, p. 145 Alline, Life and Journal, p. 167 See Charles Bruce Fergusson, ed., The Life of Jonathan Scott (Halifax i960) and E a r l B . E d d y , ' T h e U n c r o w n e d Bishop of Congregationalism: T h e Story of Jonathan Scott,' (Committee of Archives of the U n i t e d C h u r c h of C a n a d a , Bulletin, ix, 1956, 25-34Alline, Life and Journal, p. 151 Scott, A Brief View of the Religious Tenets and Sentiments... of Mr. Henry Alline (Halifax 1784), pp. 221-224 Alline, Life and Journal, p. 50 Matthew Richey, A Memoir of the Late Rev. William Black, Wesley an Minister (Halifax 1839), pp. 107-108 Alline, Life and Journal, pp. 53, 160-162 Jonathan Scott, A Brief View, p. 223 H e n r y Alline, Two Mites Cast Into the Offering of God for the Benefit of Mankind (Dover, N . H . , 1804), 234-235 Alline, Two Mites, 109, 127, 144, 148-149, 155, 124 Alline, Two Mites, pp. 248-249 Alline, Life and Journal, pp. 117-118 F o r alternative interpretations of the N o v a Scotia Awakening to the one which follows, see M . W . Armstrong, 'Neutrality and Religion i n Revolutionary N o v a Scotia,' New England Quarterly, xrx ( 1946), 50-62 ; and George Rawlyk and G o r d o n Stewart, 'Nova Scotia's Sense of Mission,' Histoire sociale/Social History, number 2 (November 1968), pp. 5-17. 3

D . C . Harvey, ed., Journeys

to the Island

of St. John

(Toronto

1955), P - 39 T h e 'Articles of F a i t h and practice with the Covenant that is confessed by the C h u r c h of Christ i n Cornwallis this 15th day of July O n e T h o u s a n d , Seven H u n d r e d and Seventy Eight' (Cornwallis C h u r c h Records, M a r i t i m e Baptist Historical Collection) offer the best evidence of church practice i n Allinite churches. Quotations i n the remainder of this chapter come from this covenant, unless otherwise noted. Alline, Life and Journal, p. 75 Alline, Life and Journal, p. 179 C H A P T E R

1 2

105

F O U R

Scott, A Brief View, p p , 27, 61, 67, 75-77, 31 Alline, Two Mites, pp. i i i - i v

io6

Notes 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

18

19 20

Alline, Two Mites, pp. 2, 9, 14, 23 Alline, Two Mites, pp. 37, 53, 68, 72 Alline, Two Mites, pp. 98, 103, 88 H o r t o n C h u r c h Records (Maritime Baptist Historical Collection), pp. 28-31 Perkins, Diary, II, 222 J o h n Telford, ed., The Letters of the Rev. John Wesley, V I I ( L o n d o n i 9 3 i ) , p . 182 Alline, A Court for the Trial of Anti-Traditionist, pp. 10, 15-17 Alline, Anti-Traditionist, pp. 23—36 Alline, Anti-Traditionist, pp. 37-38 Alline, Two Mites, pp. 194-195 Scott, A Brief View, p. 168 H e n r y Alline to 'my D e a r fellow pilgrims for the promis'd L a n d , ' 16 October 1782 (Maritime Baptist Historical Collection) Alline, Two Mites, pp. 96-97 Alline, Two Mites, pp. 86, 109, 205-206, 245 Alline, A Sermon on a Day of Thanksgiving Preached at Liverpool (Halifax, n.d.), p. 22. T h i s statement seems the clearest evidence that Alline d i d not see N o v a Scotia as being particularly favoured by G o d , as Rawlyk and Stewart have argued. J . M . Bumsted, ' C h u r c h and State i n Maritime C a n a d a , 1749-1807' (Canadian Historical Association, Historical Papers, 1968, p. 56) Alline, Liverpool Sermon, p. 25 Alline, Two Mites, pp. 243, 245

C H A P T E R 1 2 3

F I V E

Alline, Life and Journal, p. 171 Rawlyk and Stewart, 'Nova Scotia's Sense of Mission' A n illustration of the gravestone is reproduced in Duncanson, Falmouth, p. 39.

B I B L I O G R A P H Y

Henry Alline published five works within his own lifetime. These were: Two Mites on Some of the Most Important and much disputed Points of Divinity ... (Halifax 1781 ) ; A Court for the Trial of Anti-Traditionist (no date, no place, but probably Halifax 1783) ; Sermon Preached to, and at the Request, of a Religious Society of Young Men United and Engaged for the Maintaining and Enjoying of Religious Worship in Liverpool, on the igth November, 1782 (Halifax, no date, but probably 1783) ; A Sermon on a Day of Thanksgiving Preached at Liverpool, By Henry Alline. On the 21st, of November 1782 (Halifax, no date, but probably 1783) ; and A Sermon Preached on the igth of February 1783 at Fort-Midway (Halifax, no date, but probably 1783 ). T h e first item was reprinted " W i t h Some Amendments by Benjamin R a n d a l " and retitled Two Mites, Cast into the Offering of God, for the Benefit of Mankind (Dover, N e w Hampshire, 1804). T h e reprinting differs from the 1781 edition only i n the omission of a few paragraphs, for reasons which appear inexplicable. T h e Anti-Traditionist was reprinted at Dover i n 1797, and the Fort-Midway sermon (retitled A Gospel Call to Sinners ! ) was reprinted i n Newburyport, Massachusetts, i n 1795. In addition to these works, The Life and Journal of the Rev. Mr. Henry Alline (Boston 1806) and Alline's Hymns and Spiritual Songs (four editions: Boston 1786; Dover, N e w Hampshire, 1795 and 1797; and Stonington-Port, Connecticut, 1802) appeared after his death, apparently from manuscripts which Alline left in charge of the Reverend D a v i d M c C l u r e , at whose house he died in 1784.

io8

Bibliography Besides the published writings, there are a few Alline items i n manuscript at the Maritime Baptist Historical Collection, Acadia University, Wolfville, N o v a Scotia. A manuscript copy of The Life and Journal purportedly in Alline's hand is i n this collection, but the writing appears insead to be that of M c C l u r e , for a section i n the same hand as the entire manuscript was added describing Alline's death and funeral. The collection does include the manuscript - in Alline's writing - of Two Mites. O n l y one of a number of Alline letters ('To the gospel church at Argyle' which still bears the address of M r . John Spinney at Argyle' and the original seal) is definitely i n Alline's handwriting, and no other pieces i n the collection except Two Mites appear to be originals. Nevertheless, this collection (calendared in A Catalogue of the Maritime Baptist Historical Collection in the Library of Acadia University, available from the Library) is the richest and almost only source for the New-Light/Baptist movement in the Maritimes, and I have relied upon it heavily. Three full-length biographical studies of Alline have been undertaken previous to this one. O n l y W . B . Bezanson, The Romance of Religion: A Sketch of the Life of Henry Alline (Kentville, N S , 1927) has been published. But see also E a r l W . Eldridge, 'Henry A l l i n e : T h e Apostle of N o v a Scotia' (unpublished B D thesis, Andover-Newton Theological School, 1948 ), and George A . Morrison, 'Henry Alline - M a n of Conflict' (unpub­ lished B D thesis, Acadia University, 1954). Maurice W . Armstrong, The Great Awakening in Nova Scotia, IJJ6-I8OQ (Hartford 1948) really has Alline as its hero and central focus, and is a superb piece of scholarship. Armstrong's view of Alline is far more sympathetic than the one to be found i n the opening chapter of S. D . Clark, £

Bibliography

109

Church and Sect in Canada (Toronto 1948). A fascinat­ ing and provocative brief interpretation of Alline's career is that by George Rawlyk and Gordon Stewart, ' N o v a Scotia's Sense of Mission,' Social History/Histoire sociale, number 2 (November 1968), 5-17. T h e best available assessment of Alline as a literary figure - tantalizingly brief - is by Fred Cogswell i n C a r l F . K l i n c k et al, eds., Literary History of Canada: Canadian Literature in English (Toronto 1965), 74-77. T h e literature on the N e w England background both of settlement i n N o v a Scotia and of religion is enormous. Among the most useful works are E d m u n d S. Morgan, Visible Saints: The History of a Puritan Idea (New Y o r k 1963) ; Richard S. Bushman, From Puritan and Yankee: Character and the Social Order In Connecticut, i6go1765, and M . W . Armstrong, backgrounds of Religious Liberty i n N o v a Scotia,' Nova Scotia Historical Society Collections, x x v n (1947), 17-32. For the Great Awaken­ ing i n New England, see E d m u n d S. Gaustad, The Great Awakening in New England (New York 1957) ; C . C . Goen, Revivalism and Separatism in New England (New Haven 1962) ; A l a n Heimert, Religion and the American Mind: From the Great Awakening to the Revolution (Cambridge, Mass., 1966), and W i l l i a m G . M c L o u g h l i n , Isaac Backus and the American Pietistic Tradition (Boston 1966). A n extremely provocative essay on causes of the Awakening is provided by Philip J . Greven, Jr., 'Family Mobility, and Revivalism i n Early America : Some Perspectives and Hypotheses,' paper read at the Southern Historical Association meetings i n N e w Orleans, 1968. For a review of recent literature, see J . M . Bumsted, 'What Must I do to be Saved? A Consideration of Recent Writings on the Great Awakening i n Colonial America,'

11 o

Bibliography Bulletin of the Canadian Association of American Studies, spring/summer, 1968. Autobiographical writings such as Alline's account of his conversion are discussed by Daniel B . Shea, Jr., Spiritual Autobiography in Early America (Princeton, N J , 1968) ; Shea does not consider Alline, however. T h e classic monograph on pre-Loyalist N o v a Scotia is John B . Brebner's The Neutral Yankees of Nova Scotia: A Marginal Colony during the Revolutionary Years (New Y o r k 1937 ). Other published works of importance include I. F . Mackinnon, Settlements and Churches in Nova Scotia iy^g-iyyô (Montreal 1930) and W . S. M a c N u t t , The Atlantic Provinces: The Emergence of Colonial Society, iyi2-i8$y (Toronto 1965), especially 53-75. T w o of the most important studies remain unpub­ lished: J . S. Martell, Tre-Loyalist Settlements around Minas Basin' (unpublished M A thesis, Dalhousie Univer­ sity, 1933), and K . R . Williams, 'Social Conditions i n N o v a Scotia 1749-1783' (unpublished M A thesis, M c G i l l University, 1936). T h e best contemporary sources are John Robinson and Thomas Rispin, Journey through Nova Scotia containing a particular Account of the Country and its Inhabitants (York 1774; reprinted i n Report of the Board of Trustees of the Public Archives of Nova Scotia 1944, 26-57) ; the first two volumes of the Diary of Simeon Perkins (Toronto 1948, 1958) ; C a r l Bridenbaugh, ed., 'Patrick M ' Robert's Tour through Part of the North Provinces of America' Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, L I X (1935), 153-158; Edward Winslow?, 'Sketch of the Province of N o v a Scotia, and chiefly of such parts as are settled, 1783/ New Brunswick Historical Society Collection, 11, 142-162; and A Narativ of the

Bibliography

111

Voyage of Tho's Curtis to the Island of St. John's ... in the year 1775 i n D . G . Harvey, ed., Journeys to the Island of St. John (Toronto 1958), 9-69. In studying the early period of settlement i n the M a r i ­ times, the various local histories of communities, counties, and regions are indispensable. Most of these are listed i n W . F . E . Morley, Canadian Local Histories to /950: A Bibliography, I, The Atlantic Provinces (Toronto 1967). T w o local histories which were of particular value for the study of Alline are John V . Duncanson, Falmouth: A New England Township in Nova Scotia (Windsor, Ont., 1965) and A . W . H . Eaton, History of Kings County, Nova Scotia: Heart of the Acadian Land (Salem 1910). T h e only full-length study of N o v a Scotia during the war of the American Revolution is W . B . K e r r , The Maritime Provinces of British North America and the American Revolution (Sackville, N B , 1941); the issues of the critical years are considered i n readings edited by George A . Rawlyk, Revolution Rejected, 1775-1776 (Scarborough 1968), 9-54. Works on the early history of the various religious denominations i n British North America are plentiful. For the Methodists, see T . W . Smith, History of Methodism in Eastern British America (Halifax 1877) and Goldwin S. French, Parsons and Politics: The Role of the Wesleyan Methodists in Upper Canada and the Maritimes from 1780 to 1855 (Toronto 1962). For the Baptists, consult I. E . Bill, Fifty Years with the Baptist Ministers and Churches of the Maritime Provinces (Halifax 1902), and G . E . Levy, The Baptists of the Maritime Provinces, 1753-194.6 (Saint John 1946). T h e

112

Bibliography Presbyterian story is told i n W i l l i a m Gregg, History of the Presbyterian Church in Canada (Toronto 1885). Most of Alline's important contemporaries have been examined by scholars. T h e classic study of W i l l i a m L a w is J . H . Overton, William Law, Nonjuror and Mystic ... A Sketch of his Life, Character, and Opinions (London 1881 ). T h e relationship between L a w and John Wesley is analysed i n E r i c W . Baker, A Herald of the Evangelical Revival: A Critical Inquiry into the Relation of William Law to John Wesley and the Beginnings of Methodism (London 1948). For Jacob Boehme, consult Hans L . Martensen and Stephen Hobhouse, Jacob Boehme ( 575~ ^ 4) Studies in his Life and Teaching (London 1949). For Alline's N o v a Scotia contemporaries, see Matthew Richey, A Memoir of the Late Rev. William Black, Wesleyan Minister (Halifax 1839) ; M . W . Armstrong, ' "Elder M o u l t o n " and the N o v a Scotia Baptists,' Dalhousie Review, x x i v (1944), 320-323; and C . B . Fergusson, ed., The Life of Jonathan Scott (Halifax i 9 6 0 ) . A n obviously important source for understanding Alline's relationship to his contemporaries is Scott's A Brief View of the Religious Tenets and Sentiments ... of Mr. Henry Alline (Halifax 1784). This work is dis­ cussed at length i n M . W . Armstrong, 'Jonathan Scott's "Brief V i e w , " ' Harvard Theological Review, X L (1947), 121-136. For the American Freewill Baptists, perhaps Alline's closest doctrinal disciples, see John Buzzell, The Life of the Elder Benjamin Randall (Limerick, Maine, 1827), and Norman Baxter, History of the Free­ will Baptists: A Study in New England Separatism (Rochester 1957). I

I

2

:

I N D E X

Acadians, 6, 9, 12-14, 49 AUerton, Isaac, 4 Alline, Henry: ancestry, 4; child­ hood, i n Rhode Island 4-6, i n N o v a Scotia 10-28; and Puri­ tanism, 31-34, 39-42, 68-69; conversion, 31 - 4 9 ; and Calvin­ ism, 34-35, 39, 82-88; call to ministry, 38-39, 45-49; and Separate Congregationalists, 41-43 ; and Baptists, 43-44; and Quakers, 44-45 ; and Anglicans, 44, 92-95 ; and American Revo­ lution, 47-49, 52, 64-68, 92-93; physical description, 51 ; as itin­ erant preacher, 52-74, 99; as hymnist, 56-57, 95; disagree­ ments with standing order, 5 7 64, 92-95 ; as church founder, 69-74; attitude toward infant baptism, 71-72; estate of, 74; and Freewill Baptists, 77, 9 9 100 ; literary and intellectual in­ fluences on, 78-81 ; and W i l l i a m L a w , 79-81, 84-85, 89; and Jacob Boehme, 80, 89 ; theology of, 84-96; mysticism of, 90-92; asceticism of, 92 ; anti-militarism 93-94; egalitarianism of, 9 3 94; significance of, 94-96, 100101; funeral of, 99 o f

5

- writings of : Anti-Traditionist, 77-78, 88-90, i03n, i o s n ; Hymns and Spiritual Songs, 77, i 0 3 n ; Life and Journal, 34, 71, 77, i 0 2 - i 0 5 n ; A Sermon Preached on a Day of Thanks­ giving at Liverpool, 94, I05n; Two Mites Cast into the Offer­ ing of God, 34, 77, 81, 84-90, i04-i05n Alline, Rebeccah (née C l a r k ) , 4, 34, 52 Alline, William (brother), 18 Alline, W i l l i a m (father), 4, 6-8, 10-12, 15-16, 18, 34,52 American Revolution, 18, 26, 4 4 45, 64-66, 79, 92-93 Anglicanism, 27, 41, 44-45, 67, 93-94 Anglo-French War, 6 Annapolis, N S , 20, 69-70, 72 Annapolis County New-Light Church, 69 Annapolis Valley, 6, 22, 28, 43, 65 Argyle, N S , 91 Arminianism, 82 Baptists, 5,41,43-45,68-69,95, 100 Belcher, Jonathan (Chief Justice, N S ) , 16

ii4

Index

Belcher, Jonathan (Governor, Mass.), 16 Bennett, Joseph, 19, 27, 44, I 0 2 n Bible ( K i n g James Version), 78 Black, William, 60, 85 Boehme, Jacob, 36, 80, 89 Boston, Mass., 4, 45, 48 Boston Gazette, I 0 2 n Brainerd, David, 32 Browne, Robert, 68 Bunyan, John, 32, 78 Caen (France), 14 Calvinism, 31, 41, 80-88 Calvin, John, 32, 84 Cheever, Israel, 67 Chignecto Peninsula, 65, 67 Chipman, Thomas Handley, 57, 72 C h u r c h of England, 27 C i v i l W a r (England), 44 Connecticut, 7-8, 31, 40-42 Cornwallis, N S , 15, 26, 48, 59, 70, 72 Cornwallis and Horton New-Light Church, 69, 87, i04n Crandall, Joseph, I 0 3 n Cumberland, N S , 51 Cumberland County, N S , 23, 52, 59, 67 Denson, Henry Denny, 17, 2 2 , 4 8 Deschamps, Isaac, 17 Dimock, Shubael, 15,42, 44 Douglass, W i l l i a m , 16

East Falmouth, N S , see Newport Eddy, Colonel Jonathan, 51-52 Edwards, Jonathan, 32, 78, 82-83, 88-89 Evangelical Movement (Anglican C h u r c h ) , 80 Falmouth, N S , 8-13, 15-16, 22, 26-27, 38, 42, 48, 70 Falmouth and Newport NewLight Church, 69 Five Points of Calvinism, 82 Fort Cumberland, 51 Fox, M r s . (of H o r t o n ) , I 0 3 n Freewill Baptist Movement, 77-78, 100

Fundy, Bay of, 9, 69 Gage, General Thomas, 45, 47 Geographical History of Nova Scotia, A, 6 Glorious Revolution of 1688, 79 Grant, Alexander, I 0 2 n Granville, N S , 26, 69 Great Awakening, 31, 40-42, 52, 66, 83 Halifax, N S , 9, 15-17. 23-24, 26, 42, 45, 64-65 Halifax Gazette, 27 Harrison, Peter, 5 H a r v a r d University, 5 Hopewell, N J , 43 Horton, N S , 15, 27, 42, 44, 70 Hovey, Daniel, 42

Index

Mayflower, 4 Methodists, 60, 68, 70, 80,92-93,

Indians, 14 Ireland, 3 Jews, Sephardic, 5 Journey through Nova 1774,

Scotia,

I02n

King's County, N S , 8, 15, 17 L a w , W i l l i a m , 36, 44, 79-80, 8 4 85, 88-89 Lawrence, Governor Charles, 7-8, 16 Lexington and Concord, Mass., 45, 49, 64 Little Otis, I 0 2 n Liverpool, N S , 17,57,67, 70, 72, 88 Liverpool New-Light Church, 69 Lunenberg, Mass., 58 Luther, M a r t i n , 78 Lydia (sloop), 9 M'Robert, Patrick, i02n M c C l u r e , David, 99 Machias, Maine, 51 Maine, 7 Massachusetts, 7, 31 Mather, Increase, 78 Mather, Samuel, 78 Maugerfield, N B (or Maugerville), 5 ! , 5 2 , 7 ° , 99 Maugerfield New-Light C h u r c h , 69

115

95 M i l t o n , John, 78 Minas Basin, 6, 11,14,18-19, 24, 28, 52, 67 Minas Townships, 53 Morse, Arzareleah, 26 Moulton, Ebenezer, 43-44 M u r d o c h , James, 27 N e w Hampshire, 7,51, 99 N e w Jersey, 27 N e w London, P E I , 65 N e w York, 7 New-Light churches, i n N o v a Scotia, 69-74 New-Lights, 38, 44 Newport, N S , 15, 27, 39, 43, 70 Newport, RI, 3-6, 40 Newport Mercury, 5 Nictaux Baptist Church, 72 Noble, Seth, 99 North-Hampton, N H , 3, 9 9 - 1 0 0 Nova Scotia Chronicle and Weekly Advertiser, I 0 2 n N o v a Scotia Court of General Sessions, 15, 24-25 Passamaquoddy, N B , 51 Payzant family, 14 Payzant, John, 14-15, 47, 57, 72 Payzant, M a r y , 14 Pennsylvania, 7

II6

Index the Gospel i n Foreign Parts

Perkins, Simeon, 88 Phelps, Benajah, 26, 59 Pisiquid River, 8, 12 Plymouth, Mass., 4 Pomfret, John, 78 Pope, Alexander, 78 Portsmouth, N H , 100 Presbyterians, 58-59 Puritanism, 31-32, 68

Stiles, Ezra, 5, 40-41, i 0 2 n Summary ... British Settlements in North America, A (Douglass), 16 Sunbury County, N B , 65 Sutton, John, 27,43-44 Synod of Dort, 82

Quakers, 5, 41, 44-45 Quebec, 14

Tennent, Gilbert, 83 Truro, N S , 60-61

Randall, Benjamin, 77, 100 Rhode Island, 3-4, 7-8, 15, 31,

United Empire Loyalists, 3

39-40 Richey, Matthew, i04n Rispin, Thomas, I 0 2 n Robinson, John (author, Journey through Nova Scotia), I 0 2 n Robinson, John, 68 R o m a n Catholicism, 27, 63

Watts, Isaac, 56, 78 Wesley, Charles, 56 Wesley, John, 80, 85, 88 Wheelock, Eleazer, 83 Whitefield, George, 32, 82 Wilmot, N S , 69 Windsor, N S , I I , 20, 23,57 Wolf ville Baptist C h u r c h , 69, 71, 87, i o s n Wolfville, N S (see also Horton,

St. John, Island of (Prince E d w a r d Island), 53, 65 Saint John River valley, 52-53, 67 Sally (sloop), 9 Scott, Jonathan, 58-59, 61, 67, 70, 72, 81-82, 88, 91, 104-10511 Scotland, 3 Separate Congregationalists (Separates), 41-45 Society for the Propagation of

(SPG),27

NS),44

Yale College, 5,40 Yarmouth ( Jebogue), N S , 43,48, 58-59, 67, 70,81 York, Edward, 17 Young, Edward, 78

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