A Sermon, Delivered Before the Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the State of New-York, October 4, 1808, and published at their request by Beasley, Frederic - 1808

New York: T. & J. Swords, 1808. First Edition. Softcover. Very Good. Sturdy, still tightly bound softcover copy, minor to moderate wear of covers and text-block, but with neither underlining nor highlighting. Perfectly readable, usable copy. Waffling to text block. Previous owner's name inscribed at top of front cover. Mildly soiled, toned covers, but internally clean and unmarked. Hand-sewn signatures. Especially given its age, this sermon, delivered fewer than thirty-five years after our nation's founding, is scarce to the trade and important. Frederic Beasley was born in 1777 and died in 1845. The Dictionary of North Carolina Biography entry for him notes, "Frederic Beasley, Episcopal clergyman and philosopher, was born near Edenton, the son of John Beasley and Elizabeth Blount Beasley. His mother was a sister of James Blount, owner of Mulberry Hill, and a member of the wealthy Blount family of Eastern Carolina; his aunt Mary "Polly" Blount married the Reverend Charles Pettigrew, first bishop-elect of the Protestant Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina. Beasley's older brother John became a physician and practiced in Edenton for many years; he also had a sister, Martha, and four other siblings.After a local education, Beasley entered the College of New Jersey at Princeton, probably in the late fall of 1795. His correspondence with his uncle Pettigrew reveals him as an extremely serious young man, concerned about atheism and alcoholism. He rejected law as a career, saying that "L stood for lawyer and L for liar." Instead, after reading a formidable list of theological and philosophical books recommended by his uncle, he began to express a desire to attain "perfection in religion." Although he considered teaching classical languages at The University of North Carolina following his graduation in 1797, he remained at Princeton as a tutor for two years while pursuing studies in theology. At this time he began a lifelong friendship with John Henry Hobart, later a bishop of the Diocese of New York."In 1800, Beasley became a lay reader at Christ Church, New Brunswick, N.J.; he was ordained deacon in 1801 and priest in 1802. He began his parish ministry at St. John's Church, Elizabeth, N.J., where he remained only a few months before being called to St. Peter's Church, Albany. In 1809 he moved to Baltimore, Md., where he was associate rector of St. Paul's Church. His opening sermon was so well received that the vestry ordered it printed. Additional postage may be required for oversize or especially heavy volumes, and for sets.