Elihu Spencer
Encyclopedia
Elihu Spencer was a Yankee
clergyman who served as a chaplain during the French and Indian War
. During the American Revolution
, he was invited to North Carolina by that colony's provincial congress to convince loyalist congregations to join the patriot cause.
Spencer was born in East Haddam, Connecticut and graduated from Yale
in 1746. He prepared to become a missionary to the Six Nations Iroquois
under
David Brainerd
and Jonathan Edwards. In 1748, he accompanied Edwards to an Indian conference in Albany, New York
, and on September 14 of that year, was ordained.
He served as a missionary on the New York frontier, and in 1750 he was appointed pastor of the Presbyterian Church in Elizabeth, New Jersey. In 1756, he was appointed pastor of another Presbyterian Church in Jamaica, Long Island. Two years later, New York Governor James De Lancey appointed him chaplain of the colonies troops who were preparing for service in the French and Indian War
.
After the war, Spencer served as pastor in Shrewsbury, Middletown Point, Shark River, and Amboy, New Jersey. In 1764 the synod of New York and Philadelphia send Spencer, along with Reverend Alexander McWhorter on a mission to organize the irregular North Carolina congregations.
Yankee
The term Yankee has several interrelated and often pejorative meanings, usually referring to people originating in the northeastern United States, or still more narrowly New England, where application of the term is largely restricted to descendants of the English settlers of the region.The...
clergyman who served as a chaplain during the 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...
. During the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
, he was invited to North Carolina by that colony's provincial congress to convince loyalist congregations to join the patriot cause.
Spencer was born in East Haddam, Connecticut and graduated from 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...
in 1746. He prepared to become a missionary to the Six Nations Iroquois
Iroquois
The Iroquois , also known as the Haudenosaunee or the "People of the Longhouse", are an association of several tribes of indigenous people of North America...
under
David Brainerd
David Brainerd
David Brainerd was an American missionary to the Native Americans who had a particularly fruitful ministry among the Delaware Indians of New Jersey. During his short life he was beset by many difficulties...
and Jonathan Edwards. In 1748, he accompanied Edwards to an Indian conference in Albany, New York
Albany, New York
Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...
, and on September 14 of that year, was ordained.
He served as a missionary on the New York frontier, and in 1750 he was appointed pastor of the Presbyterian Church in Elizabeth, New Jersey. In 1756, he was appointed pastor of another Presbyterian Church in Jamaica, Long Island. Two years later, New York Governor James De Lancey appointed him chaplain of the colonies troops who were preparing for service in the 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...
.
After the war, Spencer served as pastor in Shrewsbury, Middletown Point, Shark River, and Amboy, New Jersey. In 1764 the synod of New York and Philadelphia send Spencer, along with Reverend Alexander McWhorter on a mission to organize the irregular North Carolina congregations.