I’ve written before about the religious roots of New England (*1). But this
is somewhat generic and I’d like to recap all the individuals in my family tree
who were actually religious leaders – pastors, etc. I’ve touched on most of
them in other blog entries, but I’d like to pull that together here.
Most of my New England ancestral lines can be traced back to the
Puritans who settled in the Boston area during the period 1620-1640. While all
of these individuals came to America seeking religious freedom, there were many
different professions represented. But some of them were, or became, religious
leaders as well.
Most of the religious leaders in my family can be found centered around
my Pierpont ancestors. There were two brothers who were part of the Puritan
group around Boston – John and Robert. While neither of these men were pastors
themselves, between them they had 24 children (*2). Many died at a young age, but
three of them received their education at Harvard (then a school for religious
training for pastors) and entered the ministry – my great*7 grandfather James,
his brother Benjamin, and his cousin Jonathan. Benjamin died without children
at age 30. Jonathan had one son, also Jonathan, who followed his father into
the ministry, but then his son died without children. So only James would have
a great influence on others through his continued ministry and family.
James became the pastor of the congregational church in New Haven. And,
as I’ve recounted before (*3), his multiple connections to other pastors both
through his three marriages and his nine children were significant. In
particular, one of his sons also entered the ministry and three of his
daughters married pastors. However, his son Samuel died at age 23 in a drowning
accident and did not have much influence. Thus, it was his sons-in-law, and my great*7
uncles, Rev. Noyes, Rev. Russell, and Rev. Edwards, through whom this pastor
connection passed on. All three of these men had offspring who also became
pastors. The most well-known of these men was Jonathan Edwards, who was a
leader in the spread of Puritan theology.
But the impact of James Pierpont was not just through his descendants. Through
his marriages and children, he also created connections to other religious
leaders of the time (*4) (*5).
I have also documented other connections to religious leaders of the
time, particularly in the First Church of Roxbury, where the various pastors
and deacons are ancestors of mine (*6).
But not all my ancestors were part of the Great Migration into Boston.
My wife and I share a common ancestor, Thomas Rogers, who came to Plymouth, MA,
as part of the small group of Pilgrims who settled there. While Thomas was not
one of the religious leaders of the Plymouth Colony, his grandfather was John “The
Martyr” Rogers, who would have been well known to these settlers. John was not
only a pastor, but was the individual who completed and published the Tyndale
Bible in the UK – and for which he paid with his life (*7).
The only other large group of my ancestors not included in the above
were my Jewish ancestors through my paternal grandmother (*8). But while these
individuals also came to America due to religious persecution, and while the
family name, Levy, indicates that they were descendants of the priestly line of
Levi, I have not found any Rabbis among them.
Religion has always been important to me, and I am happy to count so
many individuals in my family tree for whom it was their profession.
Notes:
orrection - John Rogers (1507-1555) is NOT the grandfather of Thomas Rogers. There were multiple William Rogers living in the same area of England at about the same time, thus the confusion.
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