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Journals and Letter Books : 1755-1849.

Call Number:
HIL-MICL FC LFR .I5C4J6
Category:
Family
Creator:
Inglis Family.
Material Description:
8 microfilm textual records 35 mm
Background:

Charles Inglis (1734-1816) was born in Ireland and was educated privately before emigrating to America as a young man. He taught at a Church of England school in Lancaster, Pennsylvania for three years before returning to England to be ordained a deacon and priest in 1758. He returned to America and served as a Society for the Propagation of the Gospel missionary in Dover, Delaware, before becoming one of the curates at Trinity Church, New York, in 1764, and rector in 1777. With the evacuation of New York in 1783, he was forced to return to England where he mingled with other Loyalist refugees who were seeking pensions and positions. Finally, through the influence of Lord Dorchester (Guy Carleton), he was appointed the first Bishop of Nova Scotia in 1787 and retained that position until his death in 1816. Initially, his diocese included the colonies of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland, Quebec, and Bermuda. In 1793, when Jacob Mountain was appointed as Bishop of the new See of Quebec, which included both Upper and Lower Canada (Quebec and Ontario), Inglis's area of responsibility was reduced, and in 1795 he withdrew into semi-retirement at his farm in Aylesford, Nova Scotia. In 1808 he returned to Halifax and was appointed to the Council, but he suffered a stroke in 1812 which incapacitated him for the last years of his life.

John Inglis (1777-1850) did not immediately succeed his father as Bishop, even though he had been groomed for the position. It was not until 1825 that he was installed as the third Bishop of Nova Scotia, after having served as rector of St. Paul's Church in Halifax, and continued in that office until his death in 1850. John Inglis visited New Brunswick several times in his capacity as overseer of the Church of England in the Maritimes. His tours of inspection usually took place every three years. However, his See was considerably reduced in size when the Diocese of New Brunswick was created and John Medley was installed as Bishop in 1845.

Contents:

The collection consists mainly of journals, 1775-1843, letter books, 1786-1849, sermons, 1761-1810; catalogues of books, 1768-1770; and other papers written by both Charles Inglis and his son, John Inglis. These are contained in two series, both which relate moreso to the Reverends’ public roles: originals and transcripts, which came from two different sources: Lambeth Palace in London, and the Inglis family in Nova Scotia. Personal impressions and reflections are documented and found as well, for example, in Charles' journals which provide a record of significant periods in his life, such as the period of the American Revolution, 1775-1782, various episcopal visitations around the region as Bishop of Nova Scotia, and his time during semi-retirement in the Annapolis Valley. The records pertain to the Church of England in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island principally; religion in general; church relations with government, its members and with other religions; biography; and local history.

W.O. Raymond, in his Introduction to the transcripts in vol. 8, states the following impression of Rev. Charles Inglis, gathered from the documents: "In his Journals we have glimpses of his love for his children,… his interest in agriculture,… and his strong sense of duty….No man was more zealous than he to promote the cause of education, including the founding of King’s College in Windsor." Raymond goes on to state Inglis showed within his papers little regard for dissenters and the Roman Church. Dissenters Charles deemed dangerous to Church and State included the New Lights and from the Church of Scotland, the Seceders or Antiburghers. Much of Charles’ correspondence is with the Archbishop of Canterbury; the Secretary of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, Dr. Morice; and the Governors of Nova Scotia, Cape Breton, Quebec, and New Brunswick; and on private affairs, with Brooke Watson & Co. and Messrs. Goodall & Turner. His journals during the American Revolution, particularly in the early years, gives a localised, personal account into what was happening in the New York City area, particularly as it relates to Loyalists. His journals thereafter contain, among other things, his impressions during his travels of people and places.

To illustrate some of the subject matter, the Index to the transcriptions includes the following pertaining to New Brunswick: academies, blacks- children, characteristics of the clergy, church dimensions, college at Fredericton, local contributions (finances), Indigenous (Indians/ natives), land-glebes, loyalists, New Lights, Society for the Propagation of the Gospel-schools, stipends, and visitations. There are also many references to a particular minister or place. The Act Book or Register of the Diocese contains the official listings of records, such as: Bishop’s visitations, with some additional notes as to documented action taken on a matter, such as school glebes; commissions, licenses and ordinations of ministers; confirmations; church consecrations; and a letter concerning moral misconduct of Dr. Eagleson at Cumberland.

Detailed contents, with volume and reel numbering

Charles Inglis papers (originals)

  • Covenants, 1755, 1758, 1759, 1787 (vol. c 1 , a-3; Reel 1)
  • A Catalogue of My Books, and an address, 1768 (vol. c 2; Reel 1)
  • Journals (church finances found within) John Inglis papers (originals): Inglis papers (transcripts, vols. 1-8;Reel 8):
    • 12 Oct 1785-3 Oct 1792 (vol. c 3-11; Reel 1)
    • 12 July 1775-1810 (vol. c 12-23; Reel 2)
      • American Revolutionary period, found in vol. c 23, covers specifically: 11 Jan 1775, 1 Jan-21 Sept 1776, 4 Mar-23 July 1777, 9 Oct 1779-19 Oct 1781, 12 Apr-13 May 1782
  • Letter Books
    • 14 Nov 1787-15 Oct 1791 (vol. c 24; Reel 2)
    • 12 Nov 1808-20 June 1814 (vol. c 25; Reel 3)
  • A Brief Inquiry into the Causes of the Rebellion in America with a short sketch of the methods most likely to secure peace of the colonies, dated 1777 at New York (vol. c 26; Reel 3)
  • Sermons, 1761-1810 (vol. c 27; Reel 3)

John Inglis Papers (originals):

  • Journals (Church expenses found within reels 5-7, usually at the end, sometimes the start.)
    • 4 July 1806-2 July 1824 (vols. J 1-14; Reel 4)
    • 3 July 1824-3 Nov 1833 (vols. J 15-27; Reel 5)
    • 21 June 1828-25 Aug 1843 (vols. J 28-40; Reel 6)
    • 21 June 1838-27 Apr 1840 (vols. J 41-44; Reel 7)
  • Letter Books (2)
    • 10 Aug 1814 -20 Dec 1824; 11 Apr 1825-6 Apr 1849 (vols. J 45-47; Reel 7)
    • Correspondence to and from Thomas Logan of Amherst, Nova Scotia, 1821-29 (vol. j 47; Reel 7)
    • Nominal Index at the start of letter book.
  • Miscellaneous
    • List of circulars sent to England
    • Summaries of replies from New Brunswick missionaries
    • Summaries of reports forwarded
    • List of New Brunswick scholarships
    • Parish financial data, includes the name of parish and total dollar amount

Inglish Papers (transcripts, vols. 1-8, reel 8):

  • Memoirs/notes, 11 Jan 1775-13 May 1782 (vol. 1; originals vol. c23)
  • Letter books
    • 14 Nov 1787-17 Oct 1791 (vol. 1)
    • 30 Oct 1790-20 June 1799 (vol. 2; originals vol. c24)
    • 27 Feb 1786-21 May 1837 (vo. 3)
  • Journal of Occurrences,12 Oct 1785-7 Dec 1786 (vol. 4)
  • Letter Book, (from Halifax and Clermont Nova Scotia), 12 Nov 1808-20 June 1814 (vol. 4; originals vol. c3, 25)
  • Diaries, 12 Aug 1787-13 Oct 1810 (vols. 5-6; originals vols. C4 part, 5, 9-11, 15-16, 18-19, J1-5)
    • 12 Aug 1787-26 Aug 1790 (England and Nova Scotia)
    • 1788 (Nova Scotia and New Brunswick)
    • 1789 (2 books, Quebec, includes Gaspe and Prince Edward Island)
    • 30 May 1790-7 May 1792 (2 books, Nova Scotia)
    • 28 June 1792-3 Oct 1792 ( 2 books, Nova Scotia & New Brunswick)
    • 25 July 1798-16 Oct 1798 (New Brunswick)
    • 2 Jan 1798-10 Jan 1799 (Nova Scotia, home at Clermont regarding weather & consequent difficulties, local purchases, gardens, etc.)
    • 8 Aug 1804 (New Brunswick – Triennial visitation)
    • 27 June 1805-25 July 1805 (Cape Breton)
    • 4 July 1806-7 May 1807 ( 5 books, England)
    • Jan 1807-27 Oct 1807; 9 Feb 1809-7 Oct 1809; Jan 1810-13 Oct 1810 (1807 re. local matters at Clermont, 1809 Halifax and summer at Clermont, 1810 at Halifax)
  • Catalogue of Books and Address to Students (vol.6)
  • Church Finances, Nov 1820-Sept 1840 (correspondence, vol. 7)
  • Letter Books, 11 Apr 1825- 6 Apr 1849 (vol. 7)
  • Extracts from the transcripts, mostly relating to New Brunswick, 1787-1842; with an Introduction by the editor, W.O. Raymond. (vol. 8)
    • Extracts from Letters of Bishop Charles Inglis relating, for the most part, to the Church of England in New Brunswick, 1787-1814, pp 1-110
    • Notes on Bishop Charles Inglis’s memorial to the Commissioners on Loyalist claims, pp 112-114
    • Grants made by parliament to missionaries in America, p 115
    • Extracts from Bishop Charles Inglis’s Journal of Occurrences, 12 Oct 1785-18 July 1810, pp 116-167
    • Extracts from Act Book, or Register, of the Diocese of Nova Scotia, 1787-Sept 1811, pp 168-185
    • Acts of Bishop John Inglis, 1825-1837, pp 185-188
    • Extracts from Journal kept by Bishop John Inglis while in England in 1807, pp 189-90
    • Letters of Bishop John Inglis, 12 April 1825-1842, pp 191-220
    • Grants for churches and missionaries, 1826-37, p 220
    • Subject Index to extracts
Originals:

Seven reels of Inglis Papers were microfilmed by Library and Archives Canada in 1968 from the originals in Lambeth Palace, London, England, with the permission of Vice-Admiral Sir John Inglis of Wield Manor, Alyesford, Hampshire.

Archival Ref. No.:

LAC MG 23, C 6, Series 1 and 4.

Finding Aids:

ONLINE: Library and Archives Canada’s online catalogue contains Electronic Finding Aid no. 671, which correlates the microfilmed originals, transcripts, and the Calendar of the Transcripts (abstracted listing of documents) published in the Archives Reports for 1912 and 1913, and further breaks down the contents by volume no. for reels 1-7.

Inglis Transcripts (Reel 8): Abstracts for the documents were published in the Annual Reports of the National Archives of Canada for 1912 (Appendix M, pages 215-288) and 1913 (Appendix I, pages 227-283); location is in the Government Documents Dept. (HIL-GOV FN45 R426).

Microfilm shelf list is available in print.

Subject index to the transcripts in vol. 8, is available in print.

There is a nominal index to John Inglis’s Letter Book (originals, Reel 7), at the start of the reel.

Notes:

Many details are missing from the Table of Contents on the first reel of microfilm. There are two copies of LAC reel C-2227 (Loyalist Collection reel 8).

Related Records:

Forms part of the Inglis Family Fonts held by Library and Archives Canada. Archives was formerly known as the National Archives of Canada.