ABSTRACT
James Davenport (1716-1757), descended from John Davenport, founder of New Haven colony (see Chapter 14) and a Yale graduate was the zealot both revivalists and anti-revivalists most had in mind. In 1741 he provoked great resentment in southern New England while trying to awaken the area by his personal attacks on ministers and invasion of the territories of settled clergy. His most dramatically self-indulgent moment occurred in New London, Connecticut, in 1743 when he organised a burning of the books of which he disapproved. As the following extracts show, Davenport came to regret this phase of his activities.
