Background
Francis Le Jau was born in Angers, France, of Huguenot parents.
- Photos
- Works
- Photos
- Works
Francis Le Jau
Edit ProfileEducation
Early in life Francis must have had educational advantages and cultural contacts, for he was master of at least six languages and displayed habitual inclination toward the fine arts. He graduated from Trinity College, Dublin, receiving the degree of M. A. in 1693, and of B. D. in 1696; the degree of D. D. was conferred upon him, January 24, 1700.
Career
About 1685, probably under stress of persecution, Le Jau fled with others to England, where he embraced Anglicanism. Before 1700 he was canon in St. Paul's Cathedral, London, but though established in this influential parish, he decided in that year, because of ill health, to go to Antigua, West Indies, as a missionary. There he and his family lived nearly six years and laid the foundations for the social and moral uplift of 2, 000 negro slaves who were under his immediate care.
In 1706, after a brief return to the British Isles, he emigrated to Goose Creek, South Carolina, eighteen miles from Charles Town. At intervals, during the absence of the Commissary, he served St. Philip's Church, Charles Town. In addition to his regular work among the whites, he interested himself in the education of negroes and Indian slaves; and the work he did in their behalf constitutes an important chapter in the history of the province. Generations of them were taught to read and write when there was as yet no school in the parish. Despite long-continued resistance on the part of their owners, he established the family relation among the slaves, and composed ritual pledges adapted to their peculiar needs, to which they made public avowal at baptism, marriage, and reception into his church. He concerned himself, also, with their physical and social welfare, denouncing the brutal treatment accorded them, and publicly condemning the law that provided for physical mutilation of runaway slaves. He exposed cruel practices in letters to the British authorities and called upon them to put slavery upon a more humane basis.
Despite his wide learning Le Jau reflected some of the superstitions of his time. He found in cruelties practised on slaves the cause for epidemics of fever and smallpox, as well as of Indian wars; in the "dying of much cattle" he discerned a punishment of heaven for the laziness of the people. Until his death he defended the specifications of his creed and resisted all encroachments upon the Anglican liturgy. The luster of his pulpit, however, must have been a subject of frequent comment among visitors to Charles Town and Goose Creek. His letters contain references to large congregations, and indicate that it was common for the church building to be filled with white people, while negro slaves and Indians crowded the open windows and doorway.
Shortly before his death he was appointed to the pulpit of St. Philip's Church, Charles Town. Simultaneously he became Commissary of the Bishop of London. His appointment is dated July 31, 1717; but before this he had been attacked by a lingering illness, which caused a paralysis of his lower limbs and affected his speech. He died in poverty.
Achievements
Connections
His first marriage was with Jeanne Antoinette Huguenin, April 13, 1690. She bore him four children and died Christmas day, 1700. Elizabeth Harrison, of Westminster, his second wife, bore him two children.
