Newport (1755-1776) The Ezra Stiles House in Newport , Rhode Island A 1756 portrait of Stiles  In 1752, Stiles traveled to Newport, Rhode Island for his health; the city, three or four times larger than New Haven, was the largest city Stiles had ever seen. During his trip, the city's Trinity Church—the largest Anglican congregation in New England—sought Stiles to serve as its minister, offering him a salary of £200 sterling. Stiles rejected the offer and departed from the city, writing "that all his Art and Address and fine offers were ineffectual." Slavery  From time to time, Stiles invested with the merchants and sea captains of his congregation; in 1756, he sent a hogshead of rum along on a voyage to Africa and was repaid with a 10-year-old male slave, whom he renamed "Newport". Around the same time, he wrote a joint letter with fellow Newport minister Samuel Hopkins condemning "the great inhumanity and cruelty" of slavery in the United States. Scholarship  Semitic scholarship Stiles struck up a close friendship with Haim Isaac Carigal during the Palestinian Rabbi's 1773 residence in Newport. Stiles' records note 28 meetings to discuss a wide variety of topics from Kabbalah to the politics of the Holy Land. Stiles improved his rudimentary knowledge of Hebrew, to the point where he and Carigal corresponded by mail in the language. Stiles' knowledge of Hebrew also enabled him to translate large portions of the Hebrew Old Testament into English. Stiles believed, as did many Christian scholars of the time, that facility with the text in its original language was advantageous for proper interpretation.
Newport (1755-1776) Stiles moved to Newport in 1755 to serve as minister of the Second Congregational Church In 1752, Stiles traveled to Newport, Rhode Island for his health; the city, three or four times larger than New Haven, was the largest city Stiles had ever seen. During his trip, the city's Trinity Church—the largest Anglican congregation in New England—sought Stiles to serve as its minister, offering him a salary of £200 sterling. Stiles rejected the offer and departed from the city, writing "that all his Art and Address and fine offers were ineffectual." Slavery The Ezra Stiles House in Newport, Rhode Island From time to time, Stiles invested with the merchants and sea captains of his congregation; in 1756, he sent a hogshead of rum along on a voyage to Africa and was repaid with a 10-year-old male slave, whom he renamed "Newport". Around the same time, he wrote a joint letter with fellow Newport minister Samuel Hopkins condemning "the great inhumanity and cruelty" of slavery in the United States. Scholarship A 1756 portrait of Stiles Semitic scholarship Stiles struck up a close friendship with Haim Isaac Carigal during the Palestinian Rabbi's 1773 residence in Newport. Stiles' records note 28 meetings to discuss a wide variety of topics from Kabbalah to the politics of the Holy Land. Stiles improved his rudimentary knowledge of Hebrew, to the point where he and Carigal corresponded by mail in the language. Stiles' knowledge of Hebrew also enabled him to translate large portions of the Hebrew Old Testament into English. Stiles believed, as did many Christian scholars of the time, that facility with the text in its original language was advantageous for proper interpretation.
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The Ezra Stiles House in Newport , Rhode Island A 1756 portrait of
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moved to Newport in 1755 to serve as minister of the Second Congregational Church
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The Ezra Stiles House in Newport, Rhode Island
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A 1756 portrait of Stiles