The Official Story
Chapter 2

Henry Sewall mounts an attack against Rev. Mr. Foster

Hallowell's town clerk Captain Henry Sewall had experienced a profound religious conversion several years before the arrival of Isaac Foster. In his view, Foster did not understand the critical importance of man's depravity and God's grace when considering the fate of men. He thought the young minister put too much faith in human deeds and human will.

Fortunately for us, Henry Sewall (like Martha Ballard) recorded the events in his life. Sewall's diary, which is not nearly as massive as Martha's, is very different from hers in content. It is filled with the political and church events which Martha mentions only peripherally.

Read what Sewall said about a Sabbath meeting he approved of. It tells you a great deal about the kind of religious experience he was looking for. He wrote: "Evidenced a remarkable and gracious manifestation of God's peculiar goodness. Had meat to eat which the world knows not of." For Sewall, church was a place to be awakened; he wanted the heavens to open. He believed God chose those who would be saved. And he believed he'd been chosen. Like other Evangelical Congregationalists, Sewall believed that human beings are innately depraved, and that God through Christ displayed mercy and forgiveness to a predestined elect, whose salvation had nothing to do with their measley deeds on earth. Sewall clearly saw himself as one of the elect, able to sample "meat the world knows not of."

Henry Sewall was alarmed by the preaching of the young Isaac Foster. See what Sewall recorded in his diary about Foster on July 23 of 1786, on August 6 and again on August 8 and August 15. Just after Foster moved to town, Sewall complained: "Mr Foster preached --poor Doctrine." He called one of Foster's sermons "rank Arminianism." And twice, he met privately with Foster, to convince him "of the impropriety of his doctrine" and interview him "respecting his...heretical doctrines." Sewall also complained about the sermon given by Isaac Foster's brother on October 8th which he dubbed "flagrant freewill doctrine."

The "Arminians" Sewall referred were a sophisticated, mostly urban group who did not believe human beings are innately depraved; in fact, they believed that God's conduct of the universe proceeded from reasonable principles intelligible to the human mind. A letter Henry Sewall wrote to his son has survived; in it, we can read his doctrinal views of various sects, since he spelled them out to instruct his son.

What was Martha's reaction to Isaac Foster's sermons?

When Foster's ordination drew near, Sewall fasted, and prayed, and on October 4th, drew up a list of seven objections to the new minister which he presented to the young minister and to the town's ordination council. (As written up in North's town history, no objection #5 was listed.) His October 11th attempt to block the ordination failed, and the next day he sarcastically recorded Foster's claims before the council. After that he boycotted public worship, and was heard accusing the Rev. Mr. Isaac Foster of being a liar.



previous
 The New Minister
     
next
 What was the response of the young Rev. Mr. Isaac Foster? Did he turn the other cheek?

Table of Contents
The History of Augusta
North, James W.
1870		 View Image
View Image
View Frames version

 Title page     Page 226   Page 226 insert     Page 227     Page 228 
     

 

Page 228

  

1790. General Henry Sewall 227
 

religious views. Towards the close of his life his religious rigor was much softened.
  When Lafayette, the nation's guest, reached Portland in 1825, Gen. Sewall, who was well acquainted with him in the army, went on to see him, and warily approached in the crowd not intending at first to make himself known, but Lafayette saw and recognized him and perceiving his design exclaimed, "Ah! Henry Sewall you can't cheat me." They embraced, and the aged soldiers wept. Sewall kept a diary for many years in which are briefly entered notices of events and business and family matters. This including dates from 1784 to 1820, came into the writer's hands and has been used in preparing this history.
  Gen. Sewall married Tabitha Sewall, his cousin, daughter of John Sewall of Georgetown, February 9, 1786; she died, and he married Rachel Crosby of Salem, Mass., another cousin, June 3, 1811. She died June 15 1830, aged seventy-seven years, and he married for his third wife Elizabeth Lowell, daughter of John Lowell of Bosteon, September 9, 1833. She survived him and died in 1862 at an advanced age.
  Gen. Sewall died September 4, 1845, aged ninety-three years. He had seven children, all by his first wife, two sons, Charles and William, and five daughters. Abigail was married to Eben Dutch and Susanna to Robert Gardiner of Hallowell. The others died young and unmarried.