The Rev. William Homes and teh Rev. Tomas Craighead
The migration from the vicinity of Londonderry and from northern Tyrone to New England was much influenced by two Presbyterian ministers who had emigrated from Ireland a short time before, and were in sympathy with the Eev. Cotton Mather in his desire for the settlement of Protestant families from Ulster.
William Homes, the first of these ministers, was born in the north of Ireland in 1663, of a family which had been of consequence there for several gen erations. There was a Thomas Homes at Strabane, County Tyrone, in 1619 ; and at the time of which we write another Eev. William Homes, living at Urney, a few miles south of Strabane, was so well known that our William was called "the meek" to distinguish him.
He had a happy combination of gentleness and ability which made his career in the ministry less eventful than that of the second minister referred to above, the Eev. Thomas Craighead. The boy Homes was carefully educated, and about 1686 lie came over to Martha s Vineyard where he obtained a position to teach school. His teaching was accept able, and he was urged to remain there, but a desire to preach led him in July, 1691, to return to Ire land. He was reported from Lagan meeting in 1692 as "on trial in order to ordination, and having gone through his second trials he was ordained De cember 21, 1692, as pastor of a church at Strabane
in the Presbytery of Convoy. Strabane was at the time a small village whose chief importance lay in its situation at the point where the Mourne and the Finn join to form the river Foyle. In the centre of the town there was a neat but plain market house, and farther down the road were two good gentlemen's country houses, facing each other. In this town he was to begin his labors.
Mr. Homes received his degree of Master of Arts at the University of Edinburgh in 1693. Craighead had preceded him in 1691, and the names of several others of note later in America appeared on the college rolls soon after. From a copy of Mr. Homes s diary, preserved by the New England His toric Genealogical Society, many facts in regard to his family may be gleaned. William s father came from Donaghmore, county Donegal, a village a mile or more west of Castlefinn, and an hour s drive south west of Lifford on the road to Donegal and Ballyshannon. In the family lot there William s brother John, who was killed by lightning in 1692 in the parish of Baphoe, was buried; this John left five children, Margaret, John, Jolnot (?), Jane and Eebecca. Mary Ann, a sister of William, died in 1705. William married September 26, 1693, Kath arine, daughter of the Eev. Eobert Craighead, a venerable and distinguished minister of Londonderry.
The Rev. William Homes and Ms brother-in-law the Rev. Thomas Craighead, with their families, ar rived in Boston the first week in October, 1714, from Londonderry, on the ship "Thomas and Jane" of which Mr. William Wilson was then master. Homes brought four written testimonials, from the elders and overseers of his congregation at Strabane, from the Presbytery of Convoy, from the Synod, and from eight presbyterian ministers at Dublin, including the Rev. Joseph Boyse, a famous preacher and writer. The first testimonial was printed in the Bos ton Gazette for August 26, 1746; of this issue no copy is known to exist.
The testimonial from Convoy was printed as part of the preface written by Joseph Sewall and Thomas Prince for Homes's "The Good Government of Christian Families Recommended, a memorial volume issued in 1747. It was signed by Francis Laird at Donaghmore July 12, 1714.
It will be seen that Homes came well recom mended. He was of gentle spirit, although some thing of a leader, having served in Ireland as mod erator of the general Synod of 1708 which met at Bel fast with fifty-four ministers and forty ruling elders present. He was a student of administration. His work, entitled "Proposals of Some Things to be done in our adininistring Ecclesiastical Govern ment " (Boston, 1732) favored a council or presby tery of churches to check the friction which became evident on several occasions among New England ministers and people. The Eev. John White of Gloucester replied two years later in "New Eng land s Lamentations," contending that, excepting ruling elders and the "third way of communion, " the Congregationalists and Presbyterians stood on common ground. White held that no church in the whole consociation of churches would be so stub born as to "sustain the dreadful sentence of noncommunion. " Nevertheless he felt secure in Con gregational polity after reading the fifth chapter of first Corinthians, where "the Brethren " are ad monished to come together and subject their sinning members to discipline.
Samuel Sewall welcomed Mr. Homes upon his arrival, and showed him many marks of respect. In his diary on October 5, 1714, Sewall wrote: "I wait on the Lieut. Govr , visit Mr. William Homes, Mr. Thomas Craighead, Ministers, in order to know what was best to be done as to the ship s coming up. Carried them a Bushel Turnips, cost me 5s and a Cabbage cost half a Crown. Dined at the Castle, Lfc Govr also invited Mr. Homes. " On December 2d he records a gift of "an angel " (ten shillings) to Mr. Homes and Mr. Craighead, and in correspond ence later he showed his good will.
The pulpit at Chilmark in Martha s Vineyard be ing vacant, Homes returned to the scene of his youthful labors. There he remained, faithful and honored, until his death June 27, 1746, in his eightyfourth year. Mrs. Homes died April 10, 1754, in her eighty-second year. Thus were lost to the upbuild ing of Ireland two worthy characters.
Parker says that a young man named Homes, son of a Presbyterian clergyman, first brought reports to the people in Ireland of opportunities in New England. This was probably Captain Robert Homes, son of the Rev. William Homes ; he had an unusual opportunity for intercourse with his father s former parishioners through his voyages to Ireland. In 1717 two men with names later signifi cant in the Worcester and Falmouth settlements, called to see the minister at Chilmark; they were John McClellan and James Jameson. Three weeks later (November 24th) Mr. Homes writes in his diary: "This day I received several letters, one from Doctor Cotton Mather, one from severall gentlemen proprietors of lands at or near to Casco Bay, and one from son Bobert."
The above quotation points strongly to a confer ence held at Boston in November between Captain Eobert Homes, recently from Ireland and interested in transporting Scotch Irish families, the Eev. Cot ton Mather, eager to see the frontiers defended by a God-fearing, hardy people, and the third party to the conference, the men who were attempting to plant settlements along the Kennebec. They must have talked over the project for a great migration (they all had written to the minister at Chilmark), and undoubtedly Captain Eobert Homes sent over letters and plans to friends at Strabane, Donaghmore, Donegal and Londonderry. Perhaps no one in Boston had so many relatives among the clergy in Ulster, and as a sea-captain he had a still fur ther interest in the migration. Eobert himself sailed for Ireland April 13, 1718, and returned "full of passengers " about the middle of October.
The Eev. Mr. Homes in his diary describes his journey to Boston on this great occasion. He lodged with his son and preached twice, from Philemon i. 21, for the Rev. Cotton Mather at the North meet ing house, and from Proverbs xii. 26 for the Rev. John "Webb at the New North; neither text seems to have had any special significance.
The Rev. William Homes had two prominent brothers-in-law, Robert and Thomas Craighead. The Rev. Robert Craighead studied divinity at Edin burgh and Leyden and had a conspicuous career at Dublin from 1709 until 1738, when he died. In 1719, when the Presbyterian church in Ireland was in pro longed debate over the deity of Christ and subscrip tion to the Westminster Confession of Faith, he served as moderator of the Ulster Synod. The Rev. Thomas Craighead was educated in Scotland, but later entered upon his trials for the ministry as a probationer in the Presbytery of Strabane in 1698. He settled at Donegal. Here he remained until he removed with his brother-in-law Homes to America in 1714", being succeeded by the Eev. John Homes, who enjoyed a long pastorate at Donegal.
The Eev. Thomas Craighead had the unhappy gift of discord and he led a somewhat stormy life, al though he was a fearless and a useful minister. For some time all went well at Freetown. Mr. Craighead, when he settled there, had agreed to subsist on voluntary contributions from his flock. Probably his manner did not attract, and the support became gradually reduced until he was obliged to petition the General Court for a grant of money. They al lowed ten pounds in June, 1718, for half a year s services. This was probably not the first grant of the kind to Mr. Craighead. In 1719 he brought his plight to the notice of the Justices of the Peace
for Bristol County, and at a Court of General Ses sions of the Peace the town was ordered to lay a rate for his support. Many refused to comply and were thrown into jail. A petition to the General Court asking to have the men liberated, the rate de clared annulled and Craighead s election as minister at Freetown void, was granted June 19, 1719. The unfortunate minister then petitioned for relief, hav ing for four and a half years preached at Freetown, three of these years without pay, and being then deeply in debt. In December he was granted twenty pounds. Among his enemies John Hathaway, a kinsman, was a conspicuous figure, and to him Cot ton Mather addressed a stirring letter, as a last effort to restore peace. It was written July 21, 1719:
" You cannot be insensable that the minister whom ye glorious Lord hath graciously sent among you is a man of Excellent Spirit, and a great Blessing to your plantation. Mr. Craighead is a man of Sin gular piety and Humility & meekness, & patience & self denial and industry in the work of God. All that are acquainted with him, have a precious esteem of him. And if he should be driven from you, it would be such a Damage [to] you, such a Euine to your plantation, as ought not without Horror to be thought upon.
"But, we are given to understand, from some who are the spectators of what is done among you, That Mr. Hathway >s Coming unto a good, friendly & Christian Frame towards Mr. Craighead would much Contribute unto his Comfortable Coun tenance Among you. We do therefore, Exceed ingly importune you, to put away Evil Differences towards that faithful Servant of God. and Come unto such a frame, as, if you now felt the last Pangs of Death upon you (which Cannot be put off) you would chuse to dy withal.
"It will be not a little for your own Keputation with Godly & Worthy Men, that your disaffection for that Valuable man were laid aside And if once you come to sit lovingly together, the more you know him the more will you Love him."
Craighead soon left Freetown, and in the spring of the year 1723 moved his family southward into "the Jerseys," as President Stiles of Yale makes record. He joined Newcastle presbytery January 28, 1724, and on the 22nd of the next month was installed minister of the church at White Clay Creek in Delaware. There Mr. Craighead preached elo quently for seven years, enjoying frequent revivals and building new churches through his zeal. In 1733 he moved to Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and joined Donegal presbytery September 3rd. He was pastor of the church at Pequea from October 31, 1733, to September, 1736. Changing his residence once more he settled at Hopewell in 1738, and preached until he died while pronouncing a bene diction, in April, 1739; his last church was within the bounds of the present town of Newville, a few miles west of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. While serving in these pastorates he was known as "Father" Craighead, and attained a wide reputation, rising soon to be moderator of the Synod.
Craighead came of a distinguished family, and is the ancestor of many ministers in the southern states. Having relatives in Londonderry and Dub lin he was able by correspondence to stir the spirit of migration. He stands as a link between New Eng land and the colonies south of the Hudson. Many of the Scotch Irish went from the Kennebec settle ments to happier surroundings in Pennsylvania. They left brothers and cousins throughout Massa chusetts and New York. Their ties of sympathy, faith and blood, helped to bind the colonies together in 1775. Tidings of the fight at Lexington stirred North and South Carolina profoundly for there were kinships along the entire coast.