James Freeman (clergyman)
James Freeman (April 22, 1759 – November 14, 1835)[1] was an American Unitarian clergyman and writer, "noteworthy as the first avowed preacher of Unitarianism in the United States". After graduating Harvard and becoming pastor of King's Chapel in Boston, Freeman's revised Book of Common Prayer was adopted by the congregation. This and Freeman's later ordination are credited as the origins of Unitarianism in New England. Later receiving a D.D. from Harvard Divinity School, he was also a founding member of the Massachusetts Historical Society.
For the Episcopal bishop, see James E. Freeman.
James Freeman
April 22, 1759
November 14, 1835 (aged 76)
First avowed Unitarian minister in the United States
November 1787
Early life[edit]
James Freeman was born in Charlestown, Massachusetts, on April 22, 1759.[2] After attending the Boston Latin Grammar School,[3] graduated from Harvard University with an A.B. in 1777,[4] and in 1782 became a reader at King's Chapel.[5][6] Though his education at Harvard had been interrupted by the American Revolutionary War, Freeman could read French, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese and was considered a scholar.[3]
Ministry[edit]
Arrival at King's Chapel[edit]
In 1783, Freeman was invited to become a lay reader at King's Chapel. Here, Freeman wished to use the modifications to the 1662 Book of Common Prayer that had been adopted at Trinity Church and was given the discretion to not say the Athanasian Creed.[2][7]: 60 [8]: 214–215 After completing the six-month term as reader, the King's Chapel congregation voted to make Freeman their pastor.[9]: 135 Freeman differed from many of his Unitarian-minded contemporaries, who were Congregationalists that approached Unitarian teaching through Arianism. Instead, Freeman was in regular correspondence with English Unitarians such as Theophilus Lindsey and first adopted Socinianism.[1][3] William Hazlitt, an English Unitarian that had traveled to the United States, soon convinced Freeman and "several respectable ministers" to cease reciting Trinitarian doxologies.[10]
Personal life and death[edit]
On July 17, 1788, Freeman married a woman named Martha, the widow of Boston merchant Samuel Clarke. While Freeman never had any children, Martha had a son from her prior marriage[3] and Freeman raised James Freeman Clarke as his grandson.[15]
Freeman, a member of the local school committee and fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, contributed to the periodicals and collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society, which he helped found.[2] Freeman also served as the society's first recording secretary from 1793 to 1812.[5] A teacher at Boston Latin Grammar School, Freeman received an honorary A.M. from Brown University in 1790 and a D.D. from Harvard Divinity School in 1811. Freeman died on November 14, 1835, in Newton, Massachusetts.[6]