Reverend William Bentley

Birth: June 22, 1759, Boston, MA.

Death: December 29, 1819, Salem, MA.

Burial Location: Amaranth and Rue Paths.

William Bentley was the son of parents Joshua and Elizabeth Paine Bentley. He had three siblings: Elizabeth, Susanna and Samuel. William entered Harvard College at the age of 14. He graduated in 1777. He found work at the Boston Latin School and also tutored in Latin and Greek at Harvard.

He was ordained as a minister on September 24, 1783. He had been a preacher at the East Church in Salem since May of 1783. After his ordination, he became associate pastor there. His sermons were thought to be both interesting and instructive. This was perhaps because he was determined never to preach the same sermon twice. He favored good works over rigid doctrine.

He had many talents: he could speak twenty one languages, seven of them fluently. Eventually he had a library made up of over four thousand volumes, specializing in Latin and Greek classics, philosophy, sciences and early Christianity. It was perhaps for these attributes that President Thomas Jefferson asked him to become President of the University of Virginia. Previously Jefferson had asked Bentley to be chaplain of the United States Congress. Reverend Bentley turned down both of these offers, preferring to remain as pastor of the East Church, where he remained until his death in 1819.

He was a member of several societies: the American Philosophical Society in Philadelphia and the American Antiquarian Society were two of these. He wrote columns for The Salem Gazette, as well as for The Salem Register. His interest in people and in Salem area events made the columns important reading for the citizens of Salem. Topics varied from the China trade to the French Revolution and slavery. He could be considered an early abolitionist as he was anti-slavery and pro education for Black people.

Bentley never owned property. From 1791 until 1819, he boarded with the widow Hannah Crowninshield in the house that today bears both their names. He tutored young Hannah Crowninshield and took her and her friends on outings to the ocean and to Boston and Cambridge.

In addition to all his other activities, Bentley kept diaries throughout his adult life; in these he recorded his own activities, sometimes switching languages in the middle of an entry. He also recorded the activities of many of his friends, parishioners and local citizens providing future researchers with a valuable resource for his time and place.

William Bentley was disappointed that he did not receive an honorary degree from Harvard until shortly before his death. Because of this he left his papers to the American Antiquarian Society in Worcester Massachusetts. His books went to Allegheny College in Pennsylvania, a newly formed school which must have been happy to receive them. He died suddenly on December 29, 1819. His funeral several days later was well attended by citizens of Salem and others from many areas.

‍

Photo: James Frothingham, Portrait of the Reverend William Bentley, early 19th century. Courtesy of Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA.

Sources Consulted:

• Diary of William Bentley, Volume 1, April 1784-December 1792. Salem, MA: Essex Institute, 1905.
• Find a Grave.
• Salem Links and Lore.
• Wikipedia.