William Burke’s 1812 journey through Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts was a significant undertaking focused on distributing religious texts to diverse communities. The trip began in early April when Burke acquired 100 Bibles in Hartford before setting off toward Rhode Island.
A major highlight of the trip was his extensive industrial outreach. Burke visited several cotton factories, including Judge Lyman’s Factory, Smithfield Factory (which employed 400 to 500 workers), and Bartlett’s Factory, distributing Bibles, testaments, and tracts to the laborers. He also focused on institutional and educational outreach, visiting the jail in Little Rest to distribute materials to prisoners and stopping at schools in Gloucester to give children Emerson’s catechism.
The journey was supported by prominent figures, including Rhode Island Governor Jones, who personally helped Burke load 300 Bibles stored from the previous fall amidst the noise of a local militia training day in Providence. In Warwick, Burke distributed 31 Bibles and 300 tracts, bringing immense joy to many poor colored people at the meeting house. After exhausting his supplies, Burke traveled to Boston to report his progress to the Bible Society and acquire more books from his supporters before returning home to East Haddam.
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