Jonathan Edwards (1703 - 1758)

Born 5 Oct 1703 in East Windsor, Hartford, Connecticut Colony

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 22 Mar 1758 at age 54 in Princeton, Mercer, New Jersey Colony

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Biography

Jonathan Edwards is Notable.

Jonathan Edwards was a notable theologian:^[1]

• Perhaps the most famous and influential of early American theologians
• Grounded his life's work on conceptions of beauty, harmony, and ethical fittingness
• The Enlightenment was essential to his mindset
• Early American philosopher
• Gave rise to a distinct school of theology known as the New England theology
• Delivered the sermon "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God", a classic of early American literature in 1741
• Third President of Princeton University
• Grandfather of Aaron Burr, the third United States vice president
• Numerous published works

Jonathan was born on October 5, 1703 in East Windsor, Hartford County, Connecticut.^[2] He was a Calvinist theologian who led the religious revival that initiated "The Great Awakening". Edwards served as President of Princeton University, and died in office after a smallpox inoculation.^[3]

Birth and Parents

Jonathan Edwards was born in Connecticut.

Jonathan, the only son and fifth of eleven children of Rev. Timothy Edwards and Esther, née Stoddard, was born at East (now South) Windsor, Connecticut Colony, on 5 October 1703.^[4] He was christened on 13 January 1705.

Jonathan descended from preachers, his mother being the daughter and granddaughter of preachers. His grandfather was Rev. Solomon Stoddard.

Marriage and Children

On February 15, 1727, Edwards was ordained minister at Northampton and assistant to his grandfather Solomon Stoddard, a noted minister. He was a scholar-pastor, not a visiting pastor, his rule being 13 hours of study a day. Jonathan married Sarah Pierpont, the daughter of James and Mary (Hooker) Pierpont on 28 July 1727 (location not known), whom Jonathan had known since she was 13 years of age. Jonathan and Sarah had eleven children:

1. Sarah Edwards (b. 1728; d. 1805), m. Elihu Parsons (1719-1785)
2. Jerusha Edwards (b. 1730; d. 1748)
3. Esther Edwards (b. 1732; d. 1758), m. Aaron Burr
4. Mary Edwards (b. 1734; d. 1807), m. Timothy Dwight (1726-1777)
5. Lucy Edwards (b. 1736; d. 1786), m. Jahleel Woodbridge
6. Timothy Edwards (b. 1738; d. 1813), m. Rhoda Ogden (1741-1833)
7. Susannah Edwards (b. 1740; d. 1803), m. Eleazer Porter (1728-1797)
8. Eunice Edwards (b. 1743; d. 1822)
9. Jonathan Edwards (b. 1745; d. 1801), m. 1) in 1770, Mary Porter (1748-1782); m. 2) in 1783, Mercy Sabin (1758-1823)
10. Elizabeth Edwards (b. 1747; d. 1762)
11. Pierpont Edwards (b. 1750; d. 1826), m. Frances Ogden (1750-1800)

Death and Burial

Jonathan Edwards died on 22 March 1758 in his 55th year at Princeton, New Jersey, thirty-four days after his installation as President of the College of New Jersey. (Jacobus) He is buried in the Princeton Cemetery at Princeton, Mercer, New Jersey.^[3]

Sources

1. ↑ Wikipedia:Jonathan_Edwards_(theologian)
2. ↑ "Connecticut Births and Christenings, 1649-1906", FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F74N-RLS : 7 January 2020), Jonathan Edwards, 1703.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} Find a Grave, database and images (Find A Grave: Memorial #1360 : accessed 17 October 2021), memorial page for Jonathan Edwards (5 Oct 1703–22 Mar 1758), Find a Grave Memorial ID 1360, citing Princeton Cemetery, Princeton, Mercer County, New Jersey, USA ; Maintained by Find a Grave.
4. ↑ "Connecticut Births and Christenings, 1649-1906", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F74N-RLS : 7 January 2020), Jonathan Edwards, 1703.

See Also

• Chamberlain, Ava. The Notorious Elizabeth Tuttle: Marriage, Murder, and Madness in the Family of Jonathan Edwards. New York: New York University Press, 2012.
• Colonial Collegians: Biographies of Those Who Attended American Colleges before the War for Independence (subscription). CD-ROM. Boston, Mass.: Massachusetts Historical Society : New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2005. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2008.) Vol. Yale page 122.
• Dexter, Franklin Bowditch. Biographical Sketches of the Graduates of Yale College (Holt, 1885) Vol.1, Page 218.
• Jacobus, Donald Lines. The Pierponts of North Haven, Conn., The New England Historical & Genealogical Register (New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, Mass., 1921) Vol. 75, Page 89.
• Jacobus, Donald Lines. Hale, House, and Related Families, Mainly of the Connecticut River Valley (Connecticut Historical Society, Hartford, 1952) Page 534.
• Moffat, R. Burnham. Pierrepont Genealogies from Norman times to 1913 (L. Middleditch Co., 1913) Page 40-2.
• Schenck, Elizabeth Hubbell. The History of Fairfield, Fairfield County, Connecticut (J.J. Little & Co., Astor Place, New York, 1889) Page 361.
• Tuttle, George Frederick. The Descendants of William and Elizabeth Tuttle (Tuttle & Co., Rutland, VT, 1883) Page 349.
• Bridgman, Thomas. Inscriptions on the Grave Stones in the Grave Yards of Northampton (Hopkins, Bridgman & Co., Northampton, Mass., 1850) Page ix.
  • 1750, June 22. Mr. Edwards was dismissed : in August he removed his family to Stockbridge. He died at Princeton, March 22, 1758, aged 55. For more than 23 years was he in the ministry in Northampton. The cause of his removal was his maintenance of the principle, that the Lord's supper is designed for those, who in the judgment of charity are true christians ; in opposition to Mr. Stoddard's views, who regarded it as a converting ordinance. The church now adopts the principle, for which they rejected him."
• https://www.myheritage.com/research/record-10449-9866530/the-saint-paul-globe?snippet=7c5515f8a2ad4763c3becbb766fdc11f