John Davenport
Who was John Davenport?
British priest 1597-1670
Biographical data adapted from Wikipedia’s article on John Davenport (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Biography
John Davenport, born on April 9, 1597, in Coventry, England, became a major Puritan clergyman in the 1600s. He studied at Magdalen College and Merton College, Oxford, where he developed his lasting theological beliefs. After his education, he was ordained in the Church of England and served as curate and then vicar of St Stephen Coleman Street in London, known for its Puritan views. His sermons drew significant attention, making him a key figure in London's Puritan community during the 1620s.
As religious tensions increased under Charles I and Archbishop William Laud, Davenport clashed with church officials. His involvement with the Feoffees for Impropriations, aimed at installing Puritan ministers, brought official scrutiny. To avoid prosecution, Davenport fled to the Netherlands in 1633 and briefly ministered to English exiles in Amsterdam. Dissatisfied with church governance disputes there, he looked to the American colonies for a new beginning.
In 1637, Davenport sailed to New England with merchant Theophilus Eaton and a group of settlers. After a winter in Boston, they moved south and in 1638 founded New Haven on Long Island Sound's northern shore. Davenport became the main minister of New Haven, working with Eaton, its governor, to create a government based on biblical law. The New Haven colony was strict, allowing only church members full civic rights.
Davenport stayed in New Haven for nearly 30 years, guiding it while it was independent. He strongly opposed the Half-Way Covenant of 1662, which aimed to offer partial church membership to children of baptized, unconverted parents. His stance put him in the minority among New England clergy, increasing tensions with others. When New Haven joined Connecticut in 1665, Davenport saw it as a defeat for his vision of a pure theocracy.
In 1668, amid controversy, Davenport became minister of the First Church of Boston, causing a split in the congregation. His last years were marked by this conflict and poor health. He passed away in Boston on May 30, 1670, leaving behind sermons and theological writings that showed his dedication to a strict Congregationalist view of church and society.
Before Fame
John Davenport grew up in Coventry when English Protestantism was going through intense debates about church reform. The Elizabethan Religious Settlement had created a national church, but many felt it hadn't fully removed Catholic influences. This push for more reform shaped the intellectual environment of Davenport's youth. His studies at Magdalen College and Merton College, Oxford, involved both classical learning and the theological debates of the time, providing him with the scholarly background he'd use throughout his ministry.
After leaving Oxford, Davenport entered the ministry and quickly showed his talent as a preacher. His appointment to St Stephen Coleman Street placed him at the heart of London's Puritan community, where merchants, lawyers, and devout laypeople gathered to hear sermons that questioned the direction of the established church. This congregation and its ties gave Davenport access to influential groups, including those who would later support and organize the move to New Haven. His growing reputation made him a target for church authorities but also secured his place among those who shared his vision for a more thoroughly reformed Christianity.
Key Achievements
- Co-founded the New Haven Colony in 1638 alongside Theophilus Eaton, establishing one of the most strictly governed Puritan communities in New England.
- Served as the leading minister and theological architect of New Haven's Bible-based civil government for nearly thirty years.
- Authored significant Puritan theological works, including treatises on church governance and civil order that influenced colonial thought.
- Played a central role in the Feoffees for Impropriations in England, an organized effort to extend Puritan influence within the Church of England.
- Sheltered the regicide judges Whalley and Goffe, protecting them from royal agents seeking to enforce the Restoration government's judgment against them.
Did You Know?
- 01.Davenport helped found the Hopkins Grammar School in New Haven in 1660, one of the oldest schools in the United States still in operation.
- 02.He harbored two of the regicide judges, Edward Whalley and William Goffe, who had signed the death warrant of King Charles I, sheltering them in New Haven from English authorities seeking their arrest.
- 03.His congregation at St Stephen Coleman Street in London was so associated with Puritan activity that it was sometimes called the 'foremost Puritan parish in London.'
- 04.Davenport wrote a treatise titled 'A Discourse About Civil Government in a New Plantation Whose Design Is Religion,' which laid out his vision of a Bible-based civil order for New Haven.
- 05.His acceptance of the Boston pastorate in 1668 was so controversial that a dissenting faction within First Church formally protested, eventually forming a separate congregation known as Old South Church.