Confession of Priscilla Rice, April [3,] 17631

    Introduction

    Priscilla, daughter of Zebulun and Abigail Rice, was born on August 22, 1744, and baptized on August 26.2 Her out-of-wedlock son Francis was born on October 30, 1762, and five months later, on April 3, 1763, her confession was read to the church and she was “restord to Charity.”3 She married Francis Whipple, Jr., on November 3, 1763,4 and apparently experienced the death of two newborn children, with Ebenezer Parkman attending “the Funeral of another Newborn Child of Francis Whipple, a Daughter” on March 6, 1765. The minister hoped that “this repeated Frown of Providence may Suitably affect him that he may be brought to Repentance.” Five months later, on August 15, 1766, Whipple came to Parkman “in penitence, and desiring to offer his Humilliation and to join with the Church, is examined.” On October 19, Whipple “offerd a Confession of his breaking the 7th Commandment and was restord to Charity.”5

    Francis and Priscilla Whipple experienced additional deaths among their children: three-year-old Abner and two-year-old Joel died in early 1770. A daughter, Submit, who “was always from its Birth unlike other Children, weak, pining, unable to Speak etc.,” died before the age of six. Francis died at sixteen months; Sophie at two years; Sewel at five years; with five other unnamed children dying between 1783 and 1795.6

    The Whipples were dismissed to the church in New Braintree on September 6, 1778.7 From New Braintree, they moved to Hardwick, Vermont, where Francis died on June 23, 1823, and Priscilla on December 8, 1833.8

    The Confession

    I hope I Desire unfainedly to Bewail a mispent life. I freely own that I have Led a life of folly and vanity for which Reson it has pleased a holy and Soverign God to Suffer me to fall into the gross and Scandolous Sin of fornication in the Commistion of which I acknowledge that I have gratly dishonared that God to Whome I was early given up in Baptisim by which means togethar with the Sollom warnings and Admonitions which I have had from my parants and allso from many outher good peple, I acknowledge that my Sin is gratly aggreavated. I allso acknowledge that my Sin, the Sin of fornication I mean, was not a Sin of Ignorance nithar Do I pretend to make any appoligy for, or Excucs, my Self in it. But I hope I Disire hartly to acknowlidg it Both to God and his peple. And in the first place I would Begg of God that He woold, for His grate mercy Sake and for the Sake of the Lord Jesus Christ, forgive and pardon all my Sins But in particular the Sin of Fornication I allso ask the forgiveness of this Church and Congregation and intrate your prayers to God for me that I may have grave given me to enabel me truly to Repent of my Sins and for the future to lead an holy Life. I woold allso take this oppertunity to acknowledg the undeserved Goodness of God to me in his presarving and Carring me through all the Distreses and troubels that I have Brought my Self into by means of my misconduct. I acknowledg that my oblygatons to Love and Serve God are gratly Strengethend hereby, and I houmbly hope that I feel the Binding Forces of this obligation on my Soul.

    Priscilla Rice.

    Westboro April [blank] 1763.

    1 Link to digital images of Priscilla Rice’s confession: https://www.digitalcommonwealth.org/search/commonwealth:z316s983p (images 1–2).

    2 Vital Records of Westborough, Massachusetts, to the End of the Year 1849 (Worcester, MA: Franklin P. Rice, 1903), 89, hereafter cited as WVR; baptism: https://www.colonialsociety.org/node/3899.

    3 WVR, 105 (the birth is recorded under Whipple rather than Rice); confession and admission to the church: https://www.colonialsociety.org/node/3952

    4 WVR, 201.

    5 Westborough Church Records, https://www.colonialsociety.org/node/3962.

    6 Abner was b. Apr. 11, 1766; d. Jan. 11, 1770. Joel was b. Dec. 3, 1767; d. Feb. 7, 1770. WVR, 105, 106, 256. Submit was b. Aug. 21, 1771; WVR, 106. Parkman recorded her death on Apr. 30, 1777. Francis, who was b. Apr. 7, 1775 (WVR 105), “fell into a Tub of hot wort, and dy’d at Evening” (Parkman Diary, Aug. 24, 1776). Sophie was b. Jan. 7, 1782, and d. Feb. 21, 1784; Vital Records of New Braintree, Massachusetts, to the Year 1850 (Boston: New-England Historic Genealogical Society, 1904), 55, 160. Sewall was b. Mar. 31, 1790, d. Apr. 20, 1795; ibid. The New Braintree Vital Records, 160, also note the deaths of five unnamed children of Francis between 1783 and 1795.

    7 Westborough Church Records, https://www.colonialsociety.org/node/4006.