James Davenport (clergyman)

James Davenport (1716–1757)[citation needed] was an American Congregational clergyman and itinerant preacher noted for his often controversial actions during the First Great Awakening.

[3] They started clubs that would attest the changing character of the Yale student body, and frequently found themselves in adversary positions with the university.

The success of Whitefield's style of revival preaching convinced Davenport that God was calling him, and in 1741 - having by chance opened his Bible to 1 Samuel 14, where Jonathan and his armor-bearer attack the Philistine camp, and taken this as a sign - he left his congregation to become an itinerant.

Davenport often denounced fellow clergymen for their conduct, such as when he labeled Joseph Noyes, the pastor of New Haven, a "wolf in sheep's clothing."

In June 1742, Davenport and fellow preacher Benjamin Pomeroy were arraigned before the Colonial Assembly at Hartford, Connecticut, charged with disorderly conduct.

The letter claimed he had "fallen into the snare of the devil," confessing to being led astray by impulses and the "false spirit," and spoke of a desire to distinguish the “Appendage from the Substance or Essence, that which is vile and odious from that which is precious, glorious, and divine” (Davenport).

[8] Moving to Plainfield Connecticut in 1744 as a supply minister proved difficult, as he departed in 1745, unable to find support from the Old and New Lights of the area, receiving criticism from both sides.