James Sterling
James Sterling was an Irish-born author, essayist, and poet who spent a significant part of his life in Dublin before immigrating to colonial America in 1737. Initially successful as a playwright, his career was marked by the production of his first play, *The Rival Generals*, shortly after his graduation from Trinity College, Dublin. Following the death of his first wife, an actress, he shifted his focus to religious pursuits and was ordained as an Anglican minister. Although he sought a position in New England, Sterling ultimately served in Maryland, where he became the rector of St. Paul's parish and the chaplain of the colonial legislature. His poetry from this era includes notable works like *An Epistle to the Hon. Arthur Dobbs, Esq. in Europe, from a Clergyman in America*, which celebrated exploration efforts for the Northwest Passage. Despite his contributions, he faced criticism and opposition from colonial leaders, particularly due to his political appointment as a customs collector. Sterling continued to write and preach until his passing in 1763, leaving behind a multifaceted legacy that reflects his complex journey between theater, religion, and colonial life.
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James Sterling
Poet
- Born: 1701
- Birthplace: Dowrass, King's County, Ireland
- Died: November 10, 1763
- Place of death: Chestertown, Maryland
Biography
Irish-born author James Sterling is generally considered a colonial American essayist and poet, but he lived over half his lifein Dublin. He married and had a successful career as a playwright before his relocation to the colonies in 1737 when he was thirty-six years old. Sterling’s first wife was an actress who had performed in his first play, The Rival Generals. Produced in 1722, two years after Sterling’s graduation from Trinity College, Dublin, the play was a critical and popular success. Over the next decade, Sterling wrote and produced another play and a Greek translation titled The Loves of Hero and Leander from the Greek of Musaeus, both of which were successful. His wife’s untimely death prompted him to leave the theater and seek ordination as an Anglican minister.
In 1734, Sterling published a book of the poems he had written up until that point. Called The Poetical Works of the Rev. James Sterling, the poems anticipate but do not rival the more sophisticated work he would produce from his new American home. Sterling’s initial request was for a church in New England, but the Puritanical region was thoroughly uninterested in a clergyman who had been not only actively involved in the theater but married to an actress. In fact, Sterling’s second play, The Parricide, written around 1726, was both published and produced the same year the Reverend Sterling requested his transfer.
Sterling instead was assigned to Maryland, and by 1740 was the chaplain of the colonial legislature and the rector of the wealthy St. Paul’s parish on the Eastern Shore. He married his second wife, Rebecca Holt, in 1743, and the couple had a daughter in 1744. His wife died sometime during their daughter’s childhood. Sterling married a third and final time in 1749 to a woman named Mary Smith.
Sterling’s most significant poem from this period, 1752’s An Epistle to the Hon. Arthur Dobbs, Esq. in Europe, from a Clergyman in America, expressed praise for the search for the Northwest Passage. Sterling supported exploration for the passage, frequently joining in and contributing financially to explorations efforts. In 1751, Sterling along with friends petitioned the crown for a monopoly on trade along the Labrador coast if they searched for the passage. Although the petition was unsuccessful, it turned many influential colonists, including Benjamin Franklin, against Sterling. The animosity increased the following year when Sterling was appointed a customs collector in spite of colonial opposition to clergy holding political appointments. Sterling lived the remainder of his life in Maryland, preaching and writing prolifically until his death at his home in Chestertown in 1763.