THE HISTORY AND ANTIQUITIES OF DISSENTING CHURCHES, &c. &c. DEADMAN'S-PLACE. PURITAN. EXTINCT. DEADMAN'S-PLACE, says Strype, is a long, dirty, straggling-street, of no great account for buildings or inhabitants. * It is said to have received its name from the number of dead that was buried there during one of the plagues that desolated London prior to that in 1665. Of the congregation that assembled in that neighbourhood during the reign of Charles I. but little satisfactory information can be obtained. Many mistakes have arisen with respect to its history, and it is difficult to reconcile the conflicting testimony of different authors upon the subject. It is very certain that the congregation lately assembling in Deadman's-place can claim, upon no good ground, any relationship to the old church of which we are speaking; much less has it any title to be distinguished, as it has been by VOL. IV. * Strype's Stow, vol. ii. p. 28. Ꭱ DEADMAN'S-PLACE.-Puritan, Extinct. many persons, as the oldest church, formed upon congregational principles, in England. A careful investigation of the documents that have passed under our notice has fully convinced us, that the history of four different societies has been blended together, and supposed to belong to one church, although perfectly distinct, as the reader will perceive in the sequel of this article. Mr. Neal, in his History of the Puritans, has represented Mr. Henry Jacob as the founder of the church in Deadman's-place; and in so doing has led many persons into an error. That Mr. Jacob laid the foundation of the first Independent church in England, is a point not to be disputed; and that he was succeeded in the pastoral office by Mr. John Lathorp, is also sufficiently clear: But some dispute arises as to who was Mr. Lathorp's successor. Mr. Neal's account is, that " upon Mr. Lathorp's retiring into New-England, the congregation chose for their pastor the famous Mr. Canne, author of the Marginal References in the Bible; who, after he had preached to them for a year or two, was driven by the severity of the times into Holland."* Crosby gives a very different account of this matter. He says, on the authority of a manuscript, that the church of which Mr. Canne was pastor, was planted by a Mr. Hubbard, and was a different society from that which had Mr. Jacob and Mr. Lathorp for their pastors; which latter, says he, was succeeded by the famous Mr. Jessey. The manuscript in question was an abstract of their journal, or church-book, which, Crosby says, formed part of the materials that he had lent to Mr. Neal. As both these writers were in possession of the same documents, it is surprising that they should have made so different a use of them. To reconcile their differences is a task to which we are not competent; nor shall we stay to inquire how far Mr. Crosby is justified in his ebullitions of anger against the * Hist. of the Puritans, vol. i. p. 663. 4to. edit. DEADMAN'S-PLACE.-Puritan, Extinct. historian of the Puritans. Upon mature consideration, we are disposed to confide in Crosby's account, more especially as Mr. Neal has not given us his authority for varying from the manuscript that was put into his hands. There is an evident inconsistency in the dates, according to Mr. Neal's representation of the succession. He describes Mr. Lathorp as retiring to New-England, in 1634, and there says, "after his departure the church chose for their pastor the famous Mr. Canne." There is evidence, however, that Mr. Canne removed to Holland some considerable time previous to that year. We have notices of two books published by him in 1632 and 1634, dated from thence, in which he styles himself, "Pastor of the Ancient English Church at Amsterdam." From the life of Mr. Jessey, published in 1671, it appears that after Mr. Lathorp's church had been destitute a short time, he was called to succeed him in the office of pastor. This confirms Crosby's representation, and under a conviction of its credibility, we have given a particular account of Mr. Lathorp's church conformably to it, at the commencement of our work. Having endeavoured to show that Mr. Jacob's church was a different society to that which assembled in Deadman's-place, it remains to pursue the history of the latter according to the best helps that remain with us. It appears then from their records, that the church in Deadman's-place was constituted about the year 1621; our English Solomon then sitting upon the throne. The first pastor is said to have been a Mr. HUBBARD, or HERBERT. Of the particular circumstances attending its formation we have no intelligence. It took place about five years after the settlement of Mr. Jacob's church; and it is probable that during that period the number of Independents in London had considerably increased. Some uncertainty seems to have prevailed as to what denomination this society be See vol. 1. p. 36, &c. DEADMAN'S-PLACE.- -Puritan, Extinct. longed. Fuller, in his Church History, calls it a congregation of Anabaptists; but in this he was mistaken. The majority of the people were undoubtedly Independents and Poedo-baptists. It may be observed, however, that this church acted all along upon the principle of mixed communion, and chose their pastors indifferently from amongst the Baptists or Poedo-baptists. With respect to its duration, we have met with no documents that will enable us to determine it with precision. The last pastor upon record is a Mr. Stephen More, who was chosen to that office about twenty years after the formation of the society. If the church weathered through the period of the Commonwealth, which is by no means improbable, it must have been scattered by persecution soon after the restoration. Such other particulars as we are acquainted with relating to the church in Deadman's-place, shall be recorded in some brief memorials of the following persons who served it in a ministerial capacity. JOHN HUBBARD, STEPHEN MORE. JOHN HUBBARD.-It is not quite certain whether this gentleman's name was HUBBARD, or HERBERT; but it is by no means improbable that he occasionally went by both, as some of the Puritans did in order to shelter themselves from discovery by their persecutors. He is described as a learned man, and is said to have received episcopal ́ordination; but embracing the discipline of the Independents, he left the Church of England, and took upon him the pastoral care of this society, about the year 1621. After some time he went with his church into Ireland, being probably impelled to it by persecution, and DEADMAN'S-PLACE.- Puritan, Extinct. died there.* We do not find Mr. Hubbard's name mentioned in any of the writers of those times, which will sufficiently account for the scantiness of our materials relating to his history. Not long after his death, his church returned into England, snd settling about London, chose the celebrated Mr. Canne for his successor. JOHN CANNE.-When we consider the long continued celebrity, so justly acquired by this eminent person on account of his biblical labours, it is somewhat surprising that we have not a more particular account of his history upon record. Mr. Canne was originally a minister in the Church of England, but whether beneficed or not, is uncertain: Nor are we better informed at what precise period he left that communion to unite himself with the Brownists, of whose doctrine and discipline he afterwards became a zealous defender. The records of the old church in Deadman's-place, as quoted by Crosby,+ state that he succeeded Mr. Hubbard in the office of pastor to that society, after its return from Ireland. The year in which this happened is not mentioned; but it may be nearly ascertained by subsequent events. After preaching to his people in private houses for about a year or two, the severity of the times compelled him to leave the country, and he retired to Holland, where the Brownists had long found a secure retreat. There he became pastor of the ancient English church at Amsterdam, which had some years before, the learned Mr. Henry Ainsworth for doctor or teacher. It is said that shortly after his election, he was censured and deposed by a part of the people, who renounced communion with him. The ground of dispute that was the immediate occasion of this breach is not mentioned; but there can be little doubt that it related to some point of ecclesiastical discipline. It seems that Mr. Canne maintained his station; for in some of |