Was rev. bachiler guilty?

The case against Rev. Bachiler was originated by Mr. Timothy Dalton. In the spring of 1639, Mr. Dalton and a group of his followers who originally came from Norfolk and Suffolk, England, arrived at Winnecunnet...the town that would become known as Hamton, New Hampshire. Rev. Bachiler had finally found and settled a small colony of his own...a place where he and his wife could finally find peace...a place where he would be pastor. It seems that from the start that Mr. Dalton came to fulfill the capacity of Teacher in the church, while Rev. Bachiler would be Pastor of the church. While Rev. Bachiler and Timothy Dalton shared the sames beliefs...the difference between the two gentlemen seemed to be in the way they practiced their faith. Rev. Bachiler tended to be outspoken, independent, and somewhat of a rebel...often refusing to follow the orders of the General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Mr. Dalton was more of a conformist...not as outspoken or independent as Rev. Bachiler...and from that point it seems as though they were in contention.

By 1641 the quarrel between Rev. Bachiler and Timothy Dalton was becoming very hot...and each had their own partisans within the town. It was at this point in time that charges were made against Rev. Bachiler by Timothy Dalton of immorality. Rev. Bachiler was accused of proposing adultery with one of the female parishioners...although we have never learned her name. Rev. Bachiler was eighty years old by now. The alleged proposal to commit adultery was noted in his Journal by Winthrop under the date of November 12, 1641:

"After this, Mr. Bachiler went on in a very variable course, sometimes seeming very penitent, soon after again excusing himself, and casting blame upon others, especially his fellow-elder, Mr. Dalton (who indeed had not carried himself so well in this cause as became him, and was brought to see his failing, and acknowledged it to the elders of the other churches, who had taken much pains about this matter). He was off and on for a long time, and when he seemed most penitent, so as the church were ready to have received him in again, he would fall back again, and, as it were, repent of his repentance. In this time his house and nearly all his substance was consumed by fire. When he had continued excommunicated near two years, and much agitation had been about the matter, and the church being divided, so as he could not be received in, - at length the matter was referred to some magistrates and elders, and by their mediation he was released of his excommunication, but not received to his pastor's office."

And so...we have the Rev. Bachiler who has been charged with attemping to commit adultery at the seasoned age of eighty years...a man who had never had a touch of scandal surround him except for his outspokedness and his insistence on being an independent man. He was excommunicated from the very church he had founded at Hampton even though he denied the charges brought against him...Timothy Dalton persisted. The church forgave the offense but enforced the excommunication. We may never know exactly what the charges were, no names were ever given that we have discovered, and no prosecution was ever made, under the very strict laws that were then in force in the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

Many of the critics of Rev. Bachiler have pointed out that he did admit some type of moral lapse...but then he would turn around and deny his admission. We are talking about a man who, because of his temperment, his outstanding need for independence and freedom, more often than not, was received with animosity and jealousy. Rev. Bachiler had enemies in high places and Timothy Dalton seized the moment. By now Rev. Bachiler was not only elderly, he may also have been ill. Being the honest man he was he was probably very confused about the charge in the first place...he may have even thought that someone misunderstood his intent. He was very likely unable to consider that someone would just contrive a charge against him in order to be rid of him. In the midst of all of this animosity and outrage, the excommunication and the humilation, his house and all of the contents are burned to the ground.

Rev. Bachiler, writing to Governor Winthrop in 1643...he writes;

"I see not how I can depart hence" (that is from Hampton, to accept one of two calls he had received to Casco and to Exeter), till I have, or God for use, cleared and vindicated the cause and wrongs I have suffered of the church I yet live in; that is, from the Teacher, who hath done all and been the cause of all the dishonor that hath accrued to God, shame to myself, and grief to all God's people, by his irregular proceedings and abuse of the power of the church in his hand, - by the major part cleaving to him, being his countrymen and acquaintance in old England. My cause, though looked slightly into by diverse Elders and breathren, could never come to a judicial searching forth of this, and an impartial trial of his allegations and my defence; which, if yet they might, I am confident before God, upon certain knowledge and due proof before yourselves. The Teacher's act of his excommunicating me (such as I am, to say no more of myself), would prove the foulest matter, - both for the cause alleged of that excommunication, and the impulsive cause, - even wrath and revenge. Also, the manner of all his proceeding throughout, to the very end, and lastly his keeping me still under bonds, - and much worse than here I may mention for divers cause, - than ever was committed against any momber of a church. Neglecting of the complaints of the afflicited in such a State, - wherein Magistrates, Elders, and brethren all are in the sincerest manner set to find out sin, and search into the complaints of the poor, - not knowing father nor mother, church nor Elder,- in such a State, I say, - in such a wine-cellar to find such a cockatrice, and not to kill him, - to have such monstrous proceedings passed over, without due justice, - this again stirs up my spirit to seek for a writ "ad melius inquirendum". Towards which the enclosed letter tendeth, as you may perceive. Yet if your wisdoms shall judge it more safe and reasonable to refer all my wrongs (convieved) to God's own judgement, can submit myself to be overruled by you. To conclude, - if the Apostle's words be objected, that this is thanksworthy, if a man for conscience sake shall endure grief, suffering wrongfully, - and therefore I ought to endure, without seeking any redress or justice against the offender, - I profess it was more absolutely necessary to so suffer, when the Church had no civil power to seek unto, than in such a land of righteousness as our New England is."

The Reverend Bachiler was obviously seeking a trial to defend himself against the charges made by Mr. Dalton, "in such a wine-cellar to find such a cockatrice, and not to kill him". But, for political reasons probably, Rev. Bachiler was denied his due process. In the words of F. B Sanborn:

"This was just after Massachusetts had paternally taken the four New Hampshire towns under her government, and the Lords Brethren did not want any more public wrangling than was unavoidalbe in that part of their Mosaic depotism. They had trouble enough from the free-spoken settlers in Maine and New Hampshire, who were not too well pleased to be "trotting after the Bay Horse."

Thankfully, there survives the testimony to the high character of Rev. Bachiler from a source that would normally be considered his opponent, Rev. Robert Jordan. Even after all of the charges brought against Rev. Bachiler, after his excommunication and dishonor, Rev. Bachiler was chosen to umpire a dispute between the Church of England Party in Maine and the Puritan Party. In Rev. Bachiler's estimation the Church of England was in the wrong...and one of the leaders of that church was a man by the name of Trelawny...he had a small colony in Maine. After their defeat, Trelawny's friend and co-defendant, Rev. Robert Jordan writes to him about the man who passed the judgement, Rev. Bachiler. Considering that this letter written July 31, 1642, is that of the defeated party in the suit where Rev. Bachiler was Umpire, and that Jordan was well placed to know what his real character was, a year after the slanders against him, there could be few testimonies more convincing:

"Mr. Stephen Bachiler, the pastor of a church in the Massachusetts Bay, was, I must say, a grave, reverend, and a good man; but whether more inclined to justice or mercy, or whether carried aside to secret insinuations, I must refer to your own judgement. Sure I am that Cleeve is well nigh able to disable the wisest brain." (Cleeve was the opposing party in the suit).

Before we leave this case...in the charges against Rev. Bachiler of proposing adultery to an unknown lady...it was stated that he did this even though he "was then married to a lusty, comely woman". A contempory of Rev. Bachiler's, writes a similiar account of the charges against Rev. Bachiler...only he describes the good Reverend's wife as "grave" rather than lusty and comely.

Unfortunately there are no documents that survive that would help us decide whether or not Rev. Bachiler was indeed guilty of the charges brought against him. His house had burned to the ground, all of his papers and books were destroyed. We do know that he sued the town of Hampton for wages due him and that he won that case. So, it would seem that we have to decide for ourselves the degree of innocence or guilt. The case was never really proven or disproven...and the charges stemmed from the acrimony between Rev. Bachiler and Timothy Dalton. It may be of some comfort for the descendants of Rev. Bachiler to know that Timothy Dalton and his wife left a considerable amount of their property and money to Nathaniel Bachiler, Rev. Bachiler's grandson. It would seem that Timothy Dalton felt remorse in his old age for the treatment he had delved out to Rev. Bachiler. His attempt to reconcile his behavior came in the form of his bequest to Nathaniel.