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July 23, 1801 letter from William Cooper to Thomas Haweis

July 23, 1801 first and second pages of letter from William Cooper to Thomas Haweis

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Title	July 23, 1801 letter from William Cooper to Thomas Haweis
Post Date	July 23, 1801
Author	William Cooper
Recipient	Thomas Haweis (1734-1820)
Date	1801-07-23
Physical Description	6 pp. total; 5 pp. text; 1 p. address
Dimensions	37.4 x 23.8
Location (Box, Folder)	Box 1, File 24
Address To	At Lady Ann Erskine's, Spafields, London
Country To	England
Address From	Armagh
Country From	Ireland
Digital Resources Type	Image
Digitization Date	Digitized: 2012
Digitization Process	Digitization process: Derivatives resized at 4030 pixels in height or width
Digital Publisher	Bridwell Library, Special Collections; Perkins School of Theology; Southern Methodist University
Rights	Permission to publish materials must be obtained from the Head of Special Collections of the Bridwell Library
Decade	1800-1809

Title	July 23, 1801 first and second pages of letter from William Cooper to Thomas Haweis
Post Date	July 23, 1801
Author	William Cooper
Recipient	Thomas Haweis (1734-1820)
Date	1801-07-23
Physical Description	6 pp. total; 5 pp. text; 1 p. address
Dimensions	37.4 x 23.8
Location (Box, Folder)	Box 1, File 24
Address To	At Lady Ann Erskine's, Spafields, London
Country To	England
Address From	Armagh
Country From	Ireland
Transcriber	Gareth Lloyd
Plain Text Transcription	From William Cooper in Armagh to T.H. at Spa Fields Chapel in London. He should have written to T.H. a long time before now but has been so fatigued in his itinerancy that when he gets a free day, which is very seldom, he has not the energy to write. However, Cooper must put pen to paper now for he has a very important matter on which to seek advice. He mentioned in a previous communication the great kindness shown towards him by [Thomas] Barnard, the Bishop of Limerick. Cooper did not however mention everything that transpired between Cooper and the bishop, which omission makes him feel embarrassed when he considers the tenderness that T.H. has always displayed towards him. Cooper did want to acquaint his friend and mentor with the conversation and often resolved to write but something always stopped him – the bishop asked him to be secretive for the present. The matter is as follows: the bishop has asked if Cooper would be interested in seeking ordination as an Anglican priest. The approach came after much conversation on religion, learning and books. The bishop asked if Cooper had ever considered the possibility of holy orders, to which he had responded in the affirmative, but that he did not have formal education and his conscience would not permit him to retire from preaching for the four years it would take to study for a degree. Barnard replied that in particular cases, the necessity for a university education could be waived. The bishop also said that he had been very impressed by Cooper’s character and had wished to ordain him for some time. Nothing in fact would give Barnard greater pleasure than receiving Cooper into the ministry of the Anglican Church. Cooper expressed his gratitude for the compliment that the bishop had paid him and that he would be honored to receive ordination from the bishop’s hands. Cooper did also say however that he did not wish to be confined to one particular station and the bishop responded that he would not wish Cooper to be restricted either. God had evidently called Cooper to his work and rendered him highly qualified to preach the gospel and Barnard’s only desire was to open a more extensive area of activity in which Cooper could labor. There was one obstacle that the bishop pointed out – if he ordained Cooper without an appointment to a curacy, then Cooper could demand an annuity of £50 for the support of him and his family. Cooper replied that he had friends who would be willing to indemnify against such a demand. The bishop said that this possibility would not stop him from going ahead with laying hands on Cooper but that it was something that he had to raise. When Cooper was leaving Limerick, he called to take his leave of Barnard and he again introduced the subject by asking if Cooper had thought over the matter. Cooper said that he had and that he would consider it a great honor to be ordained by the bishop. Barnard asked him several questions about his background and reiterated how happy he would be to receive him into the ministry. Barnard also said that it would be valuable to obtain additional support from other respected members of the Church in order to strengthen the case. He asked Cooper to keep the conversation confidential for the present excepting a few trustworthy friends. They then parted. Cooper called on the Bishop of Dublin - he was very friendly but said nothing about ordination and neither did Cooper. Soon after, he met the bishop again in the street on his way to the castle to pay a morning call on his relative the Lord Lieutenant. They walked together for a considerable distance but did not converse on that subject. The bishop parted from him in a very affectionate manner and asked to be kept informed of the success of his ministry. Cooper’s Dublin friends are in general enthusiastic that he should obtain ordination – [John] Walker in particular who has drawn up a short address to the bishop as follows: “We the undersigned, from our knowledge of the moral character, zeal and abilities of Mr Cooper, beg leave to express our opinion that he is a person well-qualified to recive episcopal ordination…” This declaration was signed by three ministers in Limerick, two of whom are particular friends of the bishop as well as by two fellows of Trinity College in Dublin, Mr [John] Walker and Dr [Joseph] Stopford. It was given to Cooper last night, but he will not send it to Barnard until he has received T.H’s opinion. He would be very grateful if T.H. could respond with all possible speed – he thinks that his good friend’s advice would be the deciding factor in whether Cooper accepts this situation or not. It is very difficult to judge what the Lord would have him do. If he does gain ordination, he hopes that he will still be able to continue in connexion with the Countess of Huntingdon. There is another matter that is connected to the ordination issue yet is separate from it. There is in Ireland many parishes in which there is no [Anglican] church or as much as one Protestant family. Such parishes are often administered in conjunction with a neighbouring parish that does have a church. In County Clare there is one Frederick Blood who is a pious, zealous minister. In addition to the parish in which he labors as the Anglican priest, Blood has charge of another parish that falls into the category described above. Now there is no work for any minister in the parish, but by a late Act of Parliament, Blood is required to keep a curate there at a cost of £75 (Irish) per annum. Blood wishes to appoint someone who will itinerate throughout the kingdom and if Cooper is ordained, Mr Walker and several others have suggested that he would be a suitable choice. It would provide him with an income and his travelling expenses would be paid by the Evangelical Society. Also, for six months out of every two years, he would be free to work in England on behalf of the Countess of Huntingdon. There is indeed an urgent call for his labors but the societies, at least in the North, are too poor to support Cooper and his family. What would be T.H.’s counsel on this matter? In a postscript, he asks T.H. to mention this to no-one except Mr [John] Eyre to whom Cooper also intends to write for advice. In a second sheet, Cooper adds that as he was unaware if T.H. was in London or Brighton, he has directed this letter as T.H. can see. He hopes to see T.H. in England in about two months. His wife and children William and Mary are well. (2 sheets, 5p.)
Notes	Joseph Stopford (1766-1833) was born in County Cork, Ireland. He entered Trinity College Dublin in 1781, was elected fellow in 1790 and was appointed doctor of divinity and Archbishop King’s Lecturer in Divinity in 1801. Stopford was one of the main champions of the evangelical movement in Ireland. John Eyre (1754-1803) was born at Bodmin in Cornwall While serving as an apprentice clothier Eyre was converted by the Calvinistic Methodist preacher Andrew Kinsman and was subsequently disowned by his father. He trained at the Countess of Huntingdon’s college at Trevecca and also itinerated in Cornwall between 1774 and 1778. Eyre was ordained into the Anglican ministry in 1779 and held curacies in Sussex, London and Berkshire. In 1785 he was appointed to the Episcopal chapel at Homerton near London. Eyre was a founder member of the London Missionary Society and also edited the Evangelical Magazine.
Digital Resources Type	Image
Digitization Date	Digitized: 2012
Digitization Process	Digitization process: Derivatives resized at 4030 pixels in height or width
Digital Publisher	Bridwell Library, Special Collections; Perkins School of Theology; Southern Methodist University
Rights	Permission to publish materials must be obtained from the Head of Special Collections of the Bridwell Library
Decade	1800-1809

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July 23, 1801 letter from William Cooper to Thomas Haweis

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