William Montague was an Anglican cleric atOld North Church inBoston andSt. Paul's inDedham, Massachusetts.
Montague was born inSouth Hadley, Massachusetts on September 23, 1757, to Joseph and Sarah Henry Montague.[1] He was graduated fromDartmouth College in 1784.[1]
He was married to Jane Little.[2][3] Their daughter, also named Jane Little Montague, was a teacher at theMill Village School and theFirst Middle School in Dedham.[2] Another daughter, Sarah Ann Montague, taught in theEast Street School.[3] She had a son who served in the Civil War as a captain in the38th Infantry Regiment.[3]
While in England, Montague obtained the musket ball that killedJoseph Warren.[4][5] His son, William Henry Montague, donated it to theNew England Historic Genealogical Society, an organization he helped found.[4] Montague also fought in the Revolutionary War.[4]
He died in Dedham July 22, 1833[1][4] after three years as a paralytic.[6]
He was ordained by BishopSamuel Seabury of Connecticut.[1] Montague was rector ofOld North Church in Boston from 1787 to 1792.[1] After traveling to London in 1790, he became the first minister ordained in America to occupy a pulpit of the English Church.[1]
In May 1777,Rev. William Clark, a Tory, was charged by the Board of Selectmen in Dedham of being a traitor to theAmerican Revolution.[7][8] He was arrested and jailed for 10 weeks on a prison ship.[9][10] In June 1778,Fisher Ames obtained a pass for him and Clark was allowed to leave America.[9][11] It was not until 1791 that the congregation regrouped and called Montague.[12][13]
Montague received a salary in Dedham of £100 sterling,[14] but was not popular as a minister as he was more focused on administering the temporal affairs of the church, notably theColburn grant, than his spiritual ones.[6] He remained in the Dedham church until 1818.[1][a] He lived on the south side High Street, near the intersection with East Street.[5][b]
Richard Cranch,Abigail Adams' nephew, wrote to PresidentJohn Adams saying the he,Fisher Ames, and several others wanted Adams to appoint Montague as a chaplain of theUSS Constitution.[15] Cranch said the appointment also had the approval of the captain of the ship,Samuel Nicholson.[15]
Monatague taught in theFirst Middle School for three winters in 1793–94, 1794–95, and 1795–96.[1] In 1800, he taught inDorchester.[1][c] He is said to have excelled as a teacher of mathematics.[1]
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