Charles Inglis

Charles Inglis – Life, Ministry, and Legacy

An in-depth biography of Charles Inglis (1734–1816), first Anglican bishop in North America, Loyalist clergyman, educator, and ecclesiastical founder in Nova Scotia, with reflections on his influence and character.

Introduction

Charles Inglis (1734 – February 24, 1816) was an Irish-born Anglican clergyman who became a prominent Loyalist during the American Revolution and later served as the first Anglican bishop of Nova Scotia. His life spans a period of dramatic transformation in North America, from colonial tensions to the birth of new nations. Inglis played key roles as pastor, church leader, educator, and defender of ecclesiastical loyalty. His legacy includes founding an institution of higher learning, shaping the Anglican presence in eastern British North America, and navigating the religious and political tides of his era.

Early Life and Family

Charles Inglis was born in Glencolumbkille (Glencolmcille), County Donegal, Ireland, in 1734, the youngest of three sons of the Reverend Archibald Inglis, Rector of Glen and Kilcar.

When Charles was around 11 years old, his father died, leaving the family in a difficult position.

In 1764, Inglis married Mary Vining (of Salem County, New Jersey). Margaret Crooke (of Ulster County, New York) on May 31, 1773. Together, Inglis and Margaret had four children (two sons, two daughters). John Inglis went on to become the third bishop of Nova Scotia.

Path to Ministry & North American Service

Early Years in America

Inglis traveled to North America in the mid-1750s. In 1757, he worked as a schoolmaster in a church school in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, under the auspices of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts (SPG).

His early missionary posting was in Dover, Delaware, where he carried out evangelical efforts among the Mohawk Indians. 1765, he became assistant to the rector of Trinity Church, New York City.

The American Revolution & Loyalist Stance

With the outbreak of the American Revolution, Inglis was a vocal Loyalist (supporter of the British Crown). pray for King George III even though some in the congregation favored the revolutionary cause. burned, and his property was confiscated by revolutionary authorities.

In 1783, as the war ended and British forces withdrew, Inglis left New York, relocating to Nova Scotia as part of the Loyalist migration north.

Bishopric and Educator Role

First Bishop in North America

In 1787, the Diocese of Nova Scotia (with dependencies in Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, and Bermuda) was erected by royal Letters Patent, and Charles Inglis was consecrated as its first Anglican bishop.

He served in this office until his death in 1816. (Some sources indicate he retired in 1796 from active duties, though he retained the title.)

Founding of King’s College & Educational Vision

One of Inglis’s most enduring legacies was his advocacy for higher education in the colony. In 1788-1789, he played a central role in founding King’s College in Windsor, Nova Scotia, intended to train a local clergy and to strengthen the Anglican presence via educated leadership. royal charter, solidifying its character as a collegiate institution.

Beyond founding an academic institution, Inglis actively traveled within his diocese to visit clergy and congregations, striving to improve discipline, devotion, and ecclesiastical loyalty among both clergy and laity.

Context, Challenges & Tensions

Religious and Political Tensions

Inglis’s position as a loyalist clergyman placed him at odds with rising republican sentiment in America. His insistence on allegiance to the Crown made him unpopular among revolutionaries, and his properties were targeted.

In Nova Scotia, he faced challenges as well: Anglicanism was not always the dominant denomination; there existed dissenting Protestant groups, and building institutional authority in a frontier environment with limited resources and varied populations was an ongoing task.

Balancing Loyalties & Education

As bishop, Inglis had to navigate making the Church of England relevant in a region where ties to Britain were both cultural and political, even as demands for local identity and adaptation grew. His push for King's College was partly to reduce dependence on sending clergy to Britain, but critics have argued that it also reinforced Anglican and elite control in a colonial society.

Personality, Style, & Influence

Inglis is frequently described as steadfast, patient, discreet, and resolute.

He was intellectually capable, self-taught in many respects, and able to combine religious conviction with political loyalty in a volatile era. His letters and published works (e.g. his loyalist tracts) reflect a mind attuned to theology, governance, and contextual challenges.

Though not celebrated for poetic or florid style, his writings aimed for clarity, reasoned argument, and advocacy of order, loyalty, and ecclesiastical discipline.

Selected Writings & Views

• The True Interest of America Impartially Stated (1776) — Inglis published this as a response to Thomas Paine’s Common Sense, defending the Crown and critiquing revolutionary arguments.

• He delivered sermons on themes such as loyalty, the duty of subjects to sovereigns, and the maintenance of religious order in society.

• In his public addresses in Nova Scotia, he emphasized the importance of religious learning, moral instruction, and local institutions (like King’s College) to bind society under Christian and monarchical principles.

Because of the era in which he lived, direct “short quotes” are less frequently preserved than in modern figures, but his writings reveal consistent principles about duty, loyalty, education, and ecclesiastical authority.

Legacy & Impact

• Inglis’s episcopacy established a stable Anglican presence in eastern British North America, structuring a church infrastructure in Nova Scotia and its dependencies.

• The founding of King’s College stands as one of his most tangible legacies — ensuring that future clergy and leaders could be educated locally rather than exclusively in Britain.

• His descendants continued in ecclesiastical service: notably, his son John Inglis became Bishop of Nova Scotia after him.

• Inglis is buried in the crypt of St. Paul’s Church, Halifax.

• He remains an important figure in the history of the Anglican Church of Canada and in studies of Loyalist migration, colonial church history, and Canadian education history.

Lessons from His Life

1. Conviction in context
   Inglis held strong loyalties and theological positions even when they placed him at risk. His life shows the tension between principle and adaptation in times of upheaval.

2. Institution-building as legacy
   Beyond sermonizing, his investment in a college signals that durable change often rests on creating structures, not just ideas.

3. Leadership by persuasion
   His success depended in part on patience, reasoned argument, and winning trust among skeptical clergy and laity.

4. Balancing local and imperial demands
   As a colonial bishop, he constantly balanced the demands of loyalty to Britain with the realities of building church life in a distant land.

5. Resilience in displacement
   Uprooted by war, loss, and migration, he repurposed his energies to serve a new land — illustrating how leaders must often reinvent roles in changing times.

Conclusion

Charles Inglis was more than a colonial clergyman: in his life and work he embodied the complexities of faith, politics, and identity in a turbulent era. From Irish roots to New York pulpits, from Loyalist exile to foundational bishop of Nova Scotia, his life traversed continents and convictions. His legacy endures most vividly through King’s College, the structure of the Anglican Church in Canada, and through historical memory as a steadfast voice of order and learning in times of revolution.