[Rarebooks] fa: Moses Welch: A REPLY TO THE CORRESPONDENT (re. Rev. Oliver Dodge) - Norwich, CT 1794

[ArCh]

Auction ending Sunday, November 14. Images and more details can be found at the URL below or by searching for the seller name arch_in_la. 

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Ardwight Chamberlain
Ann Arbor, MI, USA


Moses C. Welch: A Reply to The Correspondent. Containing an attempt to point out certain Inconsistencies and Misrepresentations in that Publication; Together with some Strictures upon the Appendix, in a familiar Letter to a Friend. Norwich [Conn.]: Printed by Thomas Hubbard, 1794. Disbound pamphlet, 8vo (20.5); 64 pp. Evans 28058; Sabin 102523; ESTC W8584.

An early American imprint pertaining to the Congregational Church in Connecticut, INSCRIBED on the title-page: "For the Rev. David [Sansom?] from his friend and fellow laborer, The Author" (inscription trimmed). Mild browning, occasional spots, first and last leaves working loose from the text block.

A reply to Zephaniah Swift's anonymously published The Correspondent, concerning the case of the Rev. Oliver Dodge of Pomfret, Connecticut. Dodge, a recent Harvard graduate, was invited to Pomfret to assume the role of assistant minister. While on probation, however, the young man "manifested at times an alarming license in speech and conduct" and was accused of a "disregard to truth, neglect of duty, irreverent application of Scripture, and unbecoming levity," and the church council refused to ordain him. While "The Correspondent" had defended Dodge from the charges, this "Reply" doubles down on them. The subsequent controversy led to a rift in the congregation that lasted for more than six years, until "the conduct of Mr. Dodge grew at length more and more scandalous," and "he became openly profane and drunken, even entering his pulpit in a condition of intoxication." And that was the end of Mr. Dodge, as far as the Pomfret congregation goes. For a fuller account of the affair, see: Bayles, Richard: History of Windham County, Connecticut 1889.