Adonijah Bidwell
Encyclopedia
Adonijah Bidwell was the first minister of Housatonic Township No. 1
. He played a large role in the formation and upkeep of the Monterey, Massachusetts
militia
. Classically educated at Yale
, he participated in the victorious Louisbourg, Nova Scotia
expedition during the third French and Indian War
.
in 1716. The son of Thomas Bidwell, a wealthy merchant involved in the triangular trade
, Adonijah had a comfortable childhood. As a young adult, Adonijah Bidwell attended Yale College and graduated in 1740. He was intermittently a teacher, a chaplain for the British and colonial expeditions to Canada
and, finally, a full time minister for Township No. 1 in Monterey, Massachusetts
.
. He chaplained other expeditions and ships between 1744 and 1747, and in 1748, accepted an offer to become the first minister of Township No. 1.
His house, finished in 1750, was located north of the Township No. 1 Meeting House. The Bidwell House Museum is now located in Monterey, Massachusetts.
, a poet and the daughter of his former tutor. It was a childless marriage, and lasted until Theodosia's death in 1759 of unknown causes. A year after Theodosia died, he married Jemima Devotion of West Hartford, Connecticut
, his second wife and a first cousin of Theodosia. They had four children: Adonijah the Younger, Barnabas Bidwell
, Jemima Bidwell, and Theodosia Bidwell. Adonijah the Younger inherited the family farm, while Barnabas Bidwell became a member of the United States House of Representatives
. He was later accused of embezzling money and fled to Canada. Jemima Devotion died in 1771. One year later, Reverend Bidwell married Ruth Kent of Suffield, Connecticut to take care of his four children. Ruth outlived the Reverend. After Adonijah's death, she married a Jonathan Judd, a second widower who was also a minister in Great Barrington. Upon his death in 1815, she lived with her brother and died at the age of 85.
code is too complex to gain more than the basic feel of a sermon. The meetinghouse, badly constructed and only half finished when Adonijah arrived, was a poor place to hold service and town meetings. The space leaked and was bitterly cold in the wintertime. Eventually, it fell into an increasing state of disrepair and then burned down. All that remains are two foundation stones and the stone steps leading to the church. As the church slowly decayed, it is likely that Adonijah Bidwell would have held sermons in his own house, utilizing the 48 chairs listed in his death inventory. The Reverend had five punch bowls listed in this inventory. His large home may have accommodated travellers passing through Tyringham on the Boston-Albany Post Road which was located near the Meeting House.
escalated, Reverend Bidwell took the side of the patriots. He also often centered his sermons around freedom, penning them in a cryptographic code to disguise the language to potential readers. In 1776, Adonijah Bidwell bore his "full proportion toward... the War" for Independence at age 62. He sold beef to the troops, gave up his salary for four years so they could be paid, and loaned the town an additional ₤60 to pay the soldiers. The debt was never repaid. Despite his fervent patriotism, Adonijah Bidwell hung several portraits of the king in his house. Messengers and soldiers under the king's command would have often stopped by frontier outposts, therefore, pictures were needed to suggest loyalty to the king. Following the American victory, Adonijah died in 1784 at age 68, leaving the farm and 1/3 of his possessions to his eldest son, Adonijah the Younger, as well as 1/3 of his worldly possessions to both Barnabas and widow Ruth.
Monterey, Massachusetts
Monterey is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 934 at the 2000 census.- History :...
. He played a large role in the formation and upkeep of the Monterey, Massachusetts
Monterey, Massachusetts
Monterey is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 934 at the 2000 census.- History :...
militia
Militia
The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...
. Classically educated at Yale
YALE
RapidMiner, formerly YALE , is an environment for machine learning, data mining, text mining, predictive analytics, and business analytics. It is used for research, education, training, rapid prototyping, application development, and industrial applications...
, he participated in the victorious Louisbourg, Nova Scotia
Louisbourg, Nova Scotia
Louisbourg is a community in Nova Scotia's Cape Breton Regional Municipality.-History:The town's name was given by French military forces who founded the Fortress of Louisbourg and its fortified seaport on the southwest part of the harbour, in honour of Louis XV...
expedition during the third French and Indian War
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...
.
Early life
Adonijah Bidwell was born in Hartford, ConnecticutHartford, Connecticut
Hartford is the capital of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960, it is the second most populous city on New England's largest river, the Connecticut River. As of the 2010 Census, Hartford's population was 124,775, making...
in 1716. The son of Thomas Bidwell, a wealthy merchant involved in the triangular trade
Triangular trade
Triangular trade, or triangle trade, is a historical term indicating among three ports or regions. Triangular trade usually evolves when a region has export commodities that are not required in the region from which its major imports come...
, Adonijah had a comfortable childhood. As a young adult, Adonijah Bidwell attended Yale College and graduated in 1740. He was intermittently a teacher, a chaplain for the British and colonial expeditions to Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and, finally, a full time minister for Township No. 1 in Monterey, Massachusetts
Monterey, Massachusetts
Monterey is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 934 at the 2000 census.- History :...
.
Career beginnings
In 1745 he was the chaplain on the William Pepperell expedition to Louisbourg during King George's WarKing George's War
King George's War is the name given to the operations in North America that formed part of the War of the Austrian Succession . It was the third of the four French and Indian Wars. It took place primarily in the British provinces of New York, Massachusetts Bay, New Hampshire, and Nova Scotia...
. He chaplained other expeditions and ships between 1744 and 1747, and in 1748, accepted an offer to become the first minister of Township No. 1.
His house, finished in 1750, was located north of the Township No. 1 Meeting House. The Bidwell House Museum is now located in Monterey, Massachusetts.
Family life
In 1752, Adonijah Bidwell married Theodosia Colton of Suffield, ConnecticutSuffield, Connecticut
Suffield is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. It had once been within the boundaries of Massachusetts. The town is located in the Connecticut River Valley with the town of Enfield neighboring to the east. In 1900, 3,521 people lived in Suffield; and in 1910, 3,841. As of the...
, a poet and the daughter of his former tutor. It was a childless marriage, and lasted until Theodosia's death in 1759 of unknown causes. A year after Theodosia died, he married Jemima Devotion of West Hartford, Connecticut
West Hartford, Connecticut
West Hartford is a town located in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The town was incorporated in 1854. Prior to that date, the town was a parish of Hartford....
, his second wife and a first cousin of Theodosia. They had four children: Adonijah the Younger, Barnabas Bidwell
Barnabas Bidwell
Barnabas Bidwell was a dual Canadian and American politician of the late 18th and early 19th Centuries.Bidwell was born to Adonijah Bidwell and Jemima Devotion in Township No. 1 , and graduated from Yale College in 1785. He later attended Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island...
, Jemima Bidwell, and Theodosia Bidwell. Adonijah the Younger inherited the family farm, while Barnabas Bidwell became a member of the United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
. He was later accused of embezzling money and fled to Canada. Jemima Devotion died in 1771. One year later, Reverend Bidwell married Ruth Kent of Suffield, Connecticut to take care of his four children. Ruth outlived the Reverend. After Adonijah's death, she married a Jonathan Judd, a second widower who was also a minister in Great Barrington. Upon his death in 1815, she lived with her brother and died at the age of 85.
Church life and business
As the minister of Housatonic Township No. 1, Bidwell would have been expected to write two sermons each week. Members of the church would congregate in the morning before taking a short break for midday meal. Those close enough would travel back to their houses for dinner, however, most would bring along lunch pails. The second sermon began around 1:00 p.m. and stretched late into the afternoon. Reverend Bidwell's sermons often dealt with love or forgiveness, however his shorthandShorthand
Shorthand is an abbreviated symbolic writing method that increases speed or brevity of writing as compared to a normal method of writing a language. The process of writing in shorthand is called stenography, from the Greek stenos and graphē or graphie...
code is too complex to gain more than the basic feel of a sermon. The meetinghouse, badly constructed and only half finished when Adonijah arrived, was a poor place to hold service and town meetings. The space leaked and was bitterly cold in the wintertime. Eventually, it fell into an increasing state of disrepair and then burned down. All that remains are two foundation stones and the stone steps leading to the church. As the church slowly decayed, it is likely that Adonijah Bidwell would have held sermons in his own house, utilizing the 48 chairs listed in his death inventory. The Reverend had five punch bowls listed in this inventory. His large home may have accommodated travellers passing through Tyringham on the Boston-Albany Post Road which was located near the Meeting House.
Bidwell the Patriot
As tensions between the colonies and BritainGreat Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
escalated, Reverend Bidwell took the side of the patriots. He also often centered his sermons around freedom, penning them in a cryptographic code to disguise the language to potential readers. In 1776, Adonijah Bidwell bore his "full proportion toward... the War" for Independence at age 62. He sold beef to the troops, gave up his salary for four years so they could be paid, and loaned the town an additional ₤60 to pay the soldiers. The debt was never repaid. Despite his fervent patriotism, Adonijah Bidwell hung several portraits of the king in his house. Messengers and soldiers under the king's command would have often stopped by frontier outposts, therefore, pictures were needed to suggest loyalty to the king. Following the American victory, Adonijah died in 1784 at age 68, leaving the farm and 1/3 of his possessions to his eldest son, Adonijah the Younger, as well as 1/3 of his worldly possessions to both Barnabas and widow Ruth.