Promiscuous Presbyterians and Misbehaving Ministers

Event type: Talk

'Promiscuous Presbyterians and Misbehaving Ministers: Sex and Disorder in North America, 1700-1830' with Leanne Calvert

Histories of Ulster Presbyterians in North America usually focus on stories of hardworking and industrious emigrants who made a success of their new lives across the Atlantic. These are usually the stories of 'great and good' men who made an impact on politics, society and the foundation of the USA. Those stories, however, only offer a partial picture of life for many Ulster Presbyterians in North America.

Drawing on the minute books of the Presbyterian church courts in North America, this talk reveals the grittier and more risqué dimensions to everyday life in Ulster Presbyterian communities. From salacious accounts of lay members caught in the midst of stolen trysts in bedrooms, fields and forests to misbehaving ministers who vomited at the pulpit and challenged their congregations to fisticuffs, the realities of emigrant life were often far removed from the success-story narrative.

Leanne Calvert is a historian of the family at the University of Limerick. She works on family life in Ireland and North America in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, with a special focus on Presbyterian families. Her most recent book was entitled, Pious and Promiscuous. Life, Love and Family in Presbyterian Ulster. Leanne's talk shares research from her next (in progress) book, provisionally titled Sex, Scandal and Sin: Presbyterians in Ireland and North America, 1700-1830.

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This talk is part of a series of talks, 'Voices Across the Atlantic' exploring the historic relationship between Ulster and America. For a full list of 'Voices Across the Atlantic' events, click here.