HALLETT, BENJAMIN
"Too much religion might make the sailors idle."
This was the fear of many ship owners when Benjamin Hallett proposed to organize regular religious services for sea-going men. Hallett persisted, and his gift to maritime history is that he suceeded, founding the Seamen's Bethel movement.
He had trouble getting the project off the ground, however. It was difficult to engage a pastor, first of all, yet he finally obtained Dr. Gardiner Spring, of New York, and also procured permission to have a meeting from the owner of a large vessel in port with Hallett's. The first meeting didn't go well. The owner of the ship, Dr. Spring, and Hallett himself were the only attendees. Eventually, however, the Bethel movement took hold, and Seamen's Bethels rose in many seaports, including New Bedford and Martha's Vineyard, where the buildings are still standing and the organizations are still thriving.
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| Seamen's Bethel, New Bedford MA. Alpheus Hyatt Verrill [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons |
Benjamin Hallett had thirteen children. His son Benjamin Franklin Hallett became the United States District Attorney under President Pierce. Before that, he was a vehement anti-Mason. He was connected with the press in Providence, RI and then in Boston. He was an outspoken and effective member of the Democratic Party. He was also a graduate of Brown University in 1816.
Deyo, Simon L. History Of Barnstable County Massachusetts 1620 - 1890. New York: H. W. Blake & Co., 1890, pg. 451-452.
Benjamin Hallett biography
Otis, Amos. Genealogical Notes Of Barnstable Families. Barnstable, MA: F. B. & F. P. Gross, 1888 - 1890.
Randall, Eunice Kelley David O'Killia, the Immigrant of Old Yarmouth, MA, p. 380.
Cape Cod Library, Vol. II, "The Hallett Family Of Yarmouth", p. 1248.
New England Families Genealogical and Memorial, Vol. 1, pg. 83.
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