Thomas B. Parker to Thomas Jefferson, 14 August 1819
From Thomas B. Parker
Boston Augt 14. 1819
Sir.
Your letter of the 2nd inst duly came to hand. Before I wrote you I was confident it would not be agreeable to you to have your private letters exposed to the publick—particularly such letters as relate to any kind of controversies, but my friends were so very urgent I could not get off without complying with their wishes so far as to ask your permission. They are now satisfied of the impropriety of their request notwithstanding their great zeal and you may rest assured Sir it would give me pain were I the cause of the least inquietude1 to you. Your letter shall be kept private unless something occurs above my control. I send you a copy of the “Trial” and Mr Channing’s sermon which I got bound together for my own use and I also forward ½ Doz. copies of the “Trial” for the use of your friends. Mr Channing’s discourse has caused a great Stir amongst2 what are called the orthodox.—
Thomas B Parker
RC (DLC); at foot of text: “Thomas Jefferson Esq At Poplar <Grove> Forest.—Va”; endorsed by TJ as received 28 Aug. 1819. Mistakenly recorded in SJL as a letter of 28 Aug. 1819 received on that date. Enclosure: “A Lover of the Truth” [Charles Prentiss?], The Trial: Calvin and Hopkins versus the Bible and Common Sense ([Boston, 1819]; , 9 [no. 534 and, possibly, no. 538]).
mr channing’s sermon was likely an unidentified edition of William Ellery Channing, A Sermon delivered at the Ordination of the Rev. Jared Sparks, to the pastoral care of the First Independent Church in Baltimore, May 5, 1819 (Baltimore, 1819; possibly , 9 [no. 538]). This early Unitarian manifesto caused a great stir ().
1. Manuscript: “inquetude.”
2. Manuscript: “amongt.”
Index Entries
- A Sermon delivered at the Ordination of the Rev. Jared Sparks (W. E. Channing) search
- Channing, William Ellery; A Sermon delivered at the Ordination of the Rev. Jared Sparks search
- Jefferson, Thomas; Books and Library; works sent to search
- Jefferson, Thomas; Correspondence; publication of papers search
- Parker, Thomas B.; and publication of TJ’s letter search
- Parker, Thomas B.; letters from search
- Parker, Thomas B.; sends pamphlets to TJ search
- Prentiss, Charles; purported author ofThe Trial: Calvin and Hopkins versus the Bible and Common Sense (“A Lover of the Truth”) search
- religion; Unitarianism search
- religion; works on search
- The Trial: Calvin and Hopkins versus the Bible and Common Sense (“A Lover of the Truth” [C. Prentiss?]) search
- Unitarianism; works on search
- “A Lover of the Truth” [C. Prentiss?]; The Trial: Calvin and Hopkins versus the Bible and Common Sense search