Unfortunately, Edward Starbuck did not leave us a neat and tidy answer for this question. Since it isn’t possible to ask him, we must examine Edward’s actions and what he wrote for clues.
To begin, we need some background on Dover before and during Edward’s time there and provide evidence of how the town’s religious leanings shifted from non-allied or Church of England conformist to puritan:
Dover’s Early Years
1621-1626 Wealthy merchants set up a council in the southwest of England to establish profit-making plantations in North America.[1] A fishery was created near what later became Dover, but no church was built, and no minister was brought in.[2] The business failed financially because costs outweighed profits and many of the early residents left.
1627-1629 Edward Hilton helped renew efforts to make Dover profitable.[3] His brother, Richard (who’d had disagreements with Plymouth Colony’s separatists), moved north to join him.[4] The Hiltons were Church of England conformist.
1630-1632 The Hiltons continued running Dover, but no effort was made to build a church or import a minister.[5] Historian George Wadleigh noted the colonization of the Piscataqua region was never an attempt “to provide an asylum for discontented, disaffected or persecuted people, nor for any who were obnoxious to the laws of the realm.”[6] The early residents were loyal to the Crown and Church of England. In fact, an early group of Piscataqua residents had left Massachusetts Bay Colony for the Piscataqua area specifically because they felt the Bay Colony was not adhering to the discipline of the Church of England.[7]
Change was coming
In 1632, the Bristol merchants backing Piscataqua Plantation, which included Dover, sold their interest to prominent puritans in England who were associates of John Winthrop, governor of the very puritan Massachusetts Bay Colony.[8] Captain Thomas Wiggin, a puritan, had been acting as an agent for the merchants before the sale, and he continued in his position afterwards.
1633-1636 The focus of the Dover area was still primarily on trade and business. The first meetinghouse was erected for civic and religious meetings, though no minister was in Dover.[9] In an effort to increase the population, Wiggin brought over several families from England, “some of whom were of good estate and of some account for religion,” a subtle code for puritan.[10] One was William Leverich, a well-known puritan minister.
1637-1646
Throughout the late 1630s and into the 1640s, Wiggin and his associates tried to mold Dover into a more puritan town. Dover went through a series of ministers, with varying degrees of loyalty to the Church of England. After William Leverich (who was in Dover from approx. 1636-1638, link to booklet) they were:
George Burdet (1637-1638), who was eventually discovered to be a spy for Archbishop Laud and the Church of England. He was ousted, but only after he had deposed Wiggin’s civil authority.[11] The residents of Dover might have accepted a conformist minister, but not one calling himself a puritan while spying for Laud.
Hansard Knollys (1638-1641), who was a puritan and was also called a “godly anabaptist.”[12] He was brought in by John Underhill who had become the new governor of the Dover area.[13] He was eventually deposed by Thomas Larkham.
Thomas Larkham (1640-1642), who may or may not have been more conformist.[14] He later got in trouble in England for being too puritan.[15] He got in trouble in Dover for immoral behavior and was removed as minister.[16]
Daniel Maud (1643-1655), who was a moderate puritan teaching in the Boston area.[17] He was sent to Dover by Massachusetts Bay authorities.[18]
Where Edward Starbuck Stood
Although a meeting house had been built several years previously, it was only in December 1638 that the Dover church was officially organized by Hansard Knollys.[19] This marked how great the shift toward puritanism was in Dover. Edward Starbuck, identified as one of the first elders with Hatevil Nutter, was likely present at the organization of the church.[20] This strongly suggests he adhered to puritan principles.
Another indication of Edward’s beliefs are the personal letter he wrote to John Winthrop informing him of difficulties caused by John Underhill, Dover’s governor, which worked against bringing Dover under the umbrella of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.[21] Edward closed that letter by stating (modern spelling, capitalization, and punctuation added), “I have a great desire that this River [Piscataqua] might be yours and could be glad if the Lord would be pleased to use me as an unworthy instrument of doing anything that way. Therefore sir, make use of me and by God’s help you shall find me faithful.” Edward clearly wanted Dover to become part of puritan Massachusetts Bay and was willing to do whatever he could to help. Edward signed another letter in early 1641, along with twenty-four other Dover residents, formally requesting Dover merge with the Massachusetts Bay Colony, which is what happened over the next two years. [22]
A small but potentially indicative event for Edward occurred in 1644. Dover granted permission for Edward and two others to be weirsmen on the Cochecho River.[23] In return, they agreed to provide the church and minister with supportive income from their fishing and the first salmon of the year was to be given to the pastor or teacher. In addition, church officers were to be served with their fish. This is not a sale, but a donation of direct support for what had become a puritan church. Though Edward may have agreed in order to become a weirsman or to be seen as a good townsman, he was already a leading citizen and elder in the church, so it’s possible he saw support of the church and minister as his privilege or duty to provide.
Though Dover had started out religiously unaligned or conformist to the Laudian Church of England, small changes over a period of twenty years had turned it into a puritan town that chose its own ministers. It was clear from Edward’s actions that he was willing to live in, support, and participate in puritan practices in Dover. But what kind of puritan was he? See What Religion was Edward Starbuck? Part 2
For more information on the history of Dover and its religious events see Was Dover a Puritan Town?
[1] Rev. Jeremy Belknap, The History of New Hampshire, Vol. 1 (Dover, New Hampshire: S. C. Stevens & Ela & Wadleigh, 1831), 2-3. The council over Dover was established in Plymouth, Devon, England, but merchants from other towns, including London and Bristol participated. The Bristol merchants in particular had an interest in the Piscataqua area.
[2] George Wadleigh, Notable Events in the History of Dover, N. H. (Dover, NH: No printer named, 1913), 2-3, 6.
John S. Jenness, Notes on the First Planting of New Hampshire and on the Piscataqua Patents (Portsmouth, Maine: Lewis W. Brewster, 1878), 1-17.
[3] John Scales, History of Dover, New Hampshire (Manchester, New Hampshire: John B. Clarke Co, 1923), 1-2; digital image, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed 12 January 2023).
Rev. Jeremy Belknap, The History of New Hampshire, Vol. 1, 4.
[4] George Wadleigh, Notable Events in the History of Dover, N. H., 5.
[5] George Wadleigh, Notable Events in the History of Dover, N. H., 8, 11.
John Scales, Colonial Era History of Dover, New Hampshire (Bowie, Maryland: Heritage Books, Inc, 1977; a reprint of the 1923 edition with index added by Marlene Towle), 90.
[6] George Wadleigh, Notable Events in the History of Dover, N. H., 12.
[7] Wilbur Daniel Spencer, Pioneers on Maine Rivers (Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1973), 75.
[8] Rev. Jeremy Belknap, The History of New Hampshire, Vol. 1, 17.
Jeremy Belknap, History of New Hampshire vol 1, 30.
[9] John Scales, Colonial Era History of Dover, New Hampshire, 92.
[10] George Wadleigh, Notable Events in the History of Dover, N. H., 13. Note, although Wadleigh specified only “west of England” and appeared to be quoting from Belknap’s History of New Hampshire vol 1, p. 18. Later research found some early settlers were from other parts of England.
[11] John S. Jenness, Notes on the First Planting of New Hampshire and on the Piscataqua Patents, 43-45.
Jeremy Belknap, History of New Hampshire vol 1, 18.
N. E. Stiles, Manual of the First Church of Dover Organized 1638 (Dover, New Hampshire, N. E. Stiles, 1893), 4.
[12] N. E. Stiles, Manual of the First Church of Dover Organized 1638, 4.
Wikipedia (www.wikipedia.org : accessed 12 January 2023), “Hansard Knollys,” rev. 14:50, 11 October 2022.
[13] George Wadleigh, Notable Events in the History of Dover, N. H., 14.
[14] N. E. Stiles, Manual of the First Church of Dover Organized 1638, 5.
[15] No historian stated specifically where Larkham was on the conformity scale, but one detail is telling. Larkham returned to England in 1642, but according to the Manual of the First Church of Dover (p. 5), he was ejected from his living there by the Uniformity Act of 1662. The Manual also stated he “lived in great persecution from the established church and had to be concealed by his son-in-law until his death in 1669. Whatever the state of his conformity, his piety may be called into question due to his actions resulting in his ejection from Dover.
[16] Rev. Jeremy Belknap, History of New Hampshire vol 1, 25.
[17] N. E. Stiles, Manual of the First Church of Dover Organized 1638, 5.
[18] Donald R. Bryant, History of the First Parish Church Founded 1633 (self-published printed 2002), 21.
[19] No author credited, Manual of the First Church, Dover, N. H., 4.
[20] No author credited, Manual of the First Church, Dover, N. H., 15.
[21] “Winthrop Papers,” database with images, American Ancestors (www.americanancestors.org : accessed 10 August 2021), Edward Starbuck (vol 4, p. 185-188).
[22] Nathaniel Bouton, editor, New Hampshire State Papers vol 1, (Concord, New Hampshire: George E Jenks, state printer, 1867), 126-128; digital images, New Hampshire Secretary of State (www.sos.nh.gov : accessed 3 March 2022).
[23] Dover, New Hampshire, Town Records 1647-1753; digitized images, City of Dover, New Hampshire (https://www.dover.nh.gov/government/city-operations/finance/city-clerk-tax-collection/historic-dover-records/ : accessed 10 August 2021), 4.
