From Zaragoza to Anglican ministry
Gavin was born in Zaragoza, Spain, in 1682 and served as a Catholic priest and confessor there before leaving for England. James Stanhope became an important patron. In the autobiographical preface to his book, Gavin describes his reception into the Church of England and reproduces a licence recording permission to officiate in Spanish on 3 January 1715–16. He preached in London before becoming chaplain aboard HMS Preston in 1720. He subsequently sought work in Ireland, serving at Gowran and near Cork.
His best-known work, A Master-Key to Popery, appeared in Dublin in 1724. Gavin offered Protestant readers the authority of a former insider, presenting religious practices in Spain as evidence against the Catholic Church. The book reached readers well beyond Ireland and England through translations and repeated editions. Its appeal rested partly on accounts of secret misconduct: confession becomes a setting in which the supposed guardians of conscience exploit the people who trust them.
Gavin moved to Virginia in 1735. Henrico Parish’s vestry records describe hearing him preach before accepting him as minister. His subsequent work in St James’s Parish, Goochland, involved long journeys between scattered congregations. In a letter of 5 August 1738 to the Bishop of London, he described churches, mountain meeting places and repeated river crossings. He also criticised fellow clergy for farming and buying enslaved people, calling the latter practice incompatible with Christian duty. He died around 1750; sources differ between 1749 and 1750. His widow Rachel later gave a book from his library to Thomas Jefferson.
