Background

Charles Chauncy was born in 1592 (baptised November 5, 1592) at Ardeley, Hertfordshire, England. He was the son of George Chauncy and his wife Agnes Welch, widow of Edward Humbertson.

Education

Charles was educated at Westminster School. In 1610 he matriculated at Trinity College, Cambridge, at Easter. He received the Bachelor of Arts degree in 1613-1614, the Master of Arts degree in 1617, and Bachelor of Divinity degree in 1624.

Career

In 1614 Chauncy became a fellow of Trinity College and a Greek lecturer in the same college in 1624 and 1626. He was vicar of St. Michael’s in Cambridge in 1626; of Ware, Herts, in 1627; of Marston St. Lawrence in 1633-1637. Because of his opposition to some of Archbishop Laud’s regulations, he was twice summoned before the high commission court, —in 1630 while he was in Ware, and again, in 1634 while he was in Marston St. Lawrence. On the second occasion he was imprisoned for some months. In each case he submitted only to regret his submission later.

On June 12, 1637, Dr. S. Clerke wrote to Sir John Lambe: “Mr. Chauncy mends like sour ale in summer. He held a fast on Wednesday last, and . .. he with another preached some six or eight hours. The whole tribe of Gad flocked thither, some three-score from Northampton ; the Lord Say, with his lady, honoured them with their presence”. Evidently a new storm was brewing and Chauncy fled before it, reaching New England a few days before the great earthquake, which occurred on June 1, 1638.

Before leaving England he wrote a Retraction of his submission which was published in London in 1641. In New England he went first to Plymouth as a helper to Mr. Reyner, the pastor. Trouble soon arose on account of his theory concerning baptism which he seems to have believed should be by immersion even in the case of infants. On November 2, 1640, Hooker of Hartford wrote to Shepard of Cambridge: “Mr. Chancy and the church [at Plymouth] are to part. . .. At a day of fast . .. he openly professed he did as verily believe the truth of his opinions as that there was a God in heaven, and that he was settled in it as the earth was upon the center . .. I profess how it is possible to keep peace with a man so adventurous and per- tinaceous, who will vent what he list and maintain what he vents, its beyond all the skill I have to conceive”.

In 1641, he removed to Scituate where he found some remnants of Mr. Lothrop’s party who sympathized with him but also others who were inclined to the Church of England. The result was a schism and the two churches wrangled until conditions became unbearable. In 1654, Chauncy left for Boston, intending to return to his former parish in Ware, which had invited him back. At the moment, however, Harvard College was without a president owing to the enforced withdrawal of Henry Dunster because of his Baptist convictions, and the Overseers appointed Mather and Norton a committee to invite Chauncy to the vacant office. Since his views had become well-known, the Committee was instructed to signify to him that the Overseers “expected and desired that he forbear to disseminate or publish any tenets concerning the necessity of immersion in baptism and celebration of the Lord’s Supper at evening or to expose the received doctrine therein”.

Accepting these humiliating conditions, and the meager stipend of £100, Chauncy became, on November 29, 1654, the second president of Harvard College and continued in that office until his death on February 19, 1671/2. As president, he seems to have been eminently successful. His naturally impulsive temper was curbed by the responsibilities of his position, and, although he disagreed with Jonathan Mitchell, pastor of the Cambridge church, upon the Half-way Covenant, their personal relations seem to have continued friendly. His faults of temper were more than offset by his acknowledged erudition, to which Ezra Stiles of Yale bore glowing testimony. In addition to works already mentioned, Chauncy published: The Doctrine of the Sacrament (1642); God’s Mercy Shewed to His People (1655) and Sermon on Amos (1665). He also wrote, in Latin prose and verse, various productions for state occasions at Cambridge, England, most of which are in William Chauncey Fowler, Memorials of the Chaunceys, Including President Chauncy, His Ancestors and Descendants (1858).

Achievements

• Chauncy was the leading scholar in the New England of his day and the most learned of all Harvard presidents. By his sermons and his writings he exerted a great influence in colonial Massachusetts.

Works

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  • Ministers Cautioned Against the Occasions of Contempt: A Sermon Preached Before the Ministers of the Province of Massachusetts-Bay, in New England, at ... in Boston; May 31, 1744 (Classic Reprint)

    (Excerpt from Ministers Cautioned Against the Occasions of...)

  • The Validity of Presbyterian Ordination Asserted and Maintained: A Discourse Delivered at the Anniversary Dudleian-Lecture, at Harvard College in Cambridge New England, May 12, 1762 (Classic Reprint)

    (Excerpt from The Validity of Presbyterian Ordination Asse...)

  • The Wonderful Narrative: Or A Faithful Account Of The French Prophets, Their Agitations, Ecstasies, And Inspirations (1742)

    (The Wonderful Narrative: Or A Faithful Account Of The Fre...)

  • A discourse on the good news from a far country."" Deliver'd July 24th. A day of thanks-giving to Almighty God, throughout the province of the Massachusetts-Bay in New-England

    ( The 18th century was a wealth of knowledge, exploration...)

  • The Mystery Hid from Ages and Generation: or, The Salvation of All Men the Grand Thing Aimed at in the Scheme of God, as Opened in the New-Testament ... bring into Effect (Amer Philosophy, Religion)

    ( ""With our American Philosophy and Religion series, App...)

  • Seasonable Thoughts on Religion in NE: A Treatise in Five Parts (Amer Philosophy, Religion)

    ( ""With our American Philosophy and Religion series, App...)

  • Breaking of bread: in remembrance of the dying love of Christ, a Gospel institution: five sermons in which the institution is explained, a general ... and enforced, objections answered, No. 4

    (Leopold Classic Library is delighted to publish this clas...)

  • The Mystery Hid From Ages and Generations

    (This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that was curat...)

  • Trust In God, The Duty Of A People In A Day Of Trouble: A Sermon Preached, May 30, 1770

    (This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of th...)

  • Washington And His Army During Their March Through And Return To New Jersey: In December, 1776, And January, 1777 (1856)

    (This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of th...)

Connections

On March 17, 1630, Chauncy was married to Catharine, daughter of Robert Eyre.

Father:

George Chauncy

Mother:

Agnes Welch

Spouse:

Catharine Eyre

References

• Seasonable Revolutionary: The Mind of Charles Chauncy