USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > Chelsea > Documentary history of Chelsea : including the Boston precincts of Winnisimmet, Rumney Marsh, and Pullen Point, 1624-1824, vol 2 > Part 31
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June 18, 1801. The sum of $500, to be assessed for supplying the desk with preaching the present year. The Deacons to be a committee to supply the desk, and to borrow $200, for six months, giving security in behalf of the town; if they cannot hire the said sum, to apply to individuals in the town, money so borrowed to be deducted from their taxes the ensuing year.77
In taking leave of the distinguished pastorate of Dr. Payson, I am constrained to add, though of great length, the following reminiscences and testimonials to his ability and worth. The first is from the Recollections of Samuel Breck, edited, with notes, by H. E. Scudder.
" I may add that the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, having undertaken to educate the son of General Warren 78 who was slain at the battle of Bunker Hill, sent him to a school at Chelsea, near Boston, kept by a Clergyman named Payson ; 79 and as I was placed there about the same time, we were made bed fellows, and so con- tinued for some months.
" The winter of 1780 was colder than any that has occurred since. I was then a seholar at Chelsea, and perfectly well remem- ber being driven by my father's coachman, in a sleigh with two horses, on the ice directly across the bay of Boston, starting from the north part of the Town, and keeping for many miles on the ice, which we left to traverse farms, without being stopped by the
76 Town Rec., ii. 173.
77 Ibid., 177.
78 "The eldest son was educated at the expense of the United States, not of Massachusetts, the resolve being brought in by Samuel Adams, Janu- ary 31, 1777." . . . [Note, by H. E. Scudder. ]
79 " Rev. Samuel Phillips Payson was distinguished at the time as a classical scholar and for his studies in natural philosophy and astronomy, but no acute observations on the Dark Day seem to have come down from him. He is preserved in the amber of Thornton's Pulpit of the American Revolution, and Sam Adams, writing to Elbridge Gerry and James Lovell about the Warren children, speaks of him as 'a gentleman whose qualifica- tions for the instructing of youth I need not mention to you '; which reads almost as if one of those two gentlemen had personal knowledge of Parson Payson's qualifications." [Note by H. E. Scudder.]
The name was thus given in the order of Council, copied by Thornton, Pulpit of the American Revolution, p. 324. [In the library of the Massa- chusetts Historical Society are several copies of the original edition of Mr. Payson's Election Sermon here referred to, one of them among the printed matter given by Judge Chamberlain. On the title-page the author's name appears as Phillips Payson, and in the errata on p. 39 we read " In the order of Council, dele Samuel."]
T
311
PHILLIPS PAYSON'S PASTORATE
CHAP. XXIX]
stone fences, which were all covered with snow. It was the sinmner that succeeded this cold weather, I think, that the famous Dark Day happened in New England. I was at the same school. It be- gan about eleven o'clock in the morning, when I was standing by the master reading my lesson. The light grew dim, and in a very short time faded into utter darkness. The school was dis- missed, and we went below stairs. The cause was wholly inexpli- cable at the time, nor do I find that it ever has been satisfactorily explained. Some ascribed it to an extensive conflagration in the backwoods, but I do not.remember any heavy smoke or other in- dication of fire. I know that candles were lit, and the affrighted neighbors groped their way to our house for spiritual consolation and joined in prayer with our reverend principal, and that after we had dined by candlelight, - probably about three o'clock - it cleared up and became bright enough to go abroad. The day having been one of terror, and now more than two-thirds spent, we were not called to school in the afternoon, but were permitted to go into the fields to gather fruit and birds' eggs. Yet the succeed- ing night was 'palpably obscure.' Many accidents happened to those who were on the road. Nothing could exceed the darkness." (Recollections of Samuel Breck, pp. 20, 21.)
Among his other pupils were John Rowe, adopted son of his uncle John, a famous Boston merchant, who, though inclined to side with the loyalists in the Revolution, was respected by the patriotic party. From his Diary, edited by Edward L. Pierce, and printed in 2 Proc. Mass. Hist. Soc., vol. x., are the following ex- tracts, on pp. 11, 104: "'Jack' Rowe ... who, at the age of seven years, was adopted by his uncle, arriving in Boston (from Quebec,) Oct. 19, 1772, shortly after his arrival, being sent to Rev. Mr. Nicholl's school, at Salem, and later (that school being broken up soon after the battle of Lexington) removed to the school of Rev. Phillips Payson, at Chelsea."
" August 14, (1778). Mr. Payson brought Jack home this morning. A sad accident happened unto him : some boys were out a shooting ; one of them, named Bartlet's, gun went off acciden- tally, and shot Jack through his coat, and lodged, at least. thirty shot in his right arm ; 't is a great mercy he escaped with his life."
Other pupils were William, son of Gov. James Sullivan, and a son of Gen. William Heath.
His tracts on astronomy and natural philosophy are in the Transactions of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. lle published an Election Sermon in 1778; one on the Battle of Lexington, in 1782; delivered a Dudleian Lecture in 1984, and printed a sermon on the Death of Washington, in 1800.
312
HISTORY OF CHELSEA
[CHAP. XXIX
Phillips Payson was a descendant of Edward, born in Nazing, County of Essex, England, baptized October 3, 1613, and came to Dorchester, Massachusetts, in 1635. By his first wife, Ann Parke, he had one child, Mary. January 1, 1642, he married Mary Eliot, sister of the Apostle Eliot. They had twelve children, the eleventh of whom, Samuel, baptized September 21, 1662, and died October 20, 1708, married Mary Phillips, daughter of Rev. Samuel Phillips, of Rowley, June 14, 1688, and had eleven children, the ninth of whom, Phillips, was born February 29, 1704, and died January 22, 1778. He was a clergyman, ordained at Walpole, Massachusetts, September 16, 1730. His first wife was Ann, daughter of Rev. John Swift, of Framingham; his second, Keziah Bullen Morse, widow of Deacon Seth Morse, of Medfield; and his third, Sarah Payson Mather, daughter of Deacon Edward Payson. They had eight children ; the second of whom, Phillips, born Jan- uary 18, 1736, graduated at Harvard College, 1754, ordained at Chelsea, October 26, 1757, died there January 11, 1801. He mar- ried Elizabeth, daughter of Rev. James Stone, of Holliston. They had five children : Anne, February 3, 1759, died, unmarried, in 1803; Phillips, July 8, 1760, Harvard College, 1778, married Ruth Larkin; Elizabeth, June 1, 1762, died, unmarried; Samuel, March 27, 1764, Harvard College, 1782, married Grace Welch ; Sarah, November 24, 1769, died young. More facts regarding some members of Dr. Payson's family are given in Wyman's Genealogies of Charlestown, 732.
Dr. Payson belonged to a remarkable family. His father and three brothers were clergymen; the youngest, Dr. Seth Payson, being the father of his more distinguished son, Dr. Edward Payson, of Portland. His pastorate of nearly forty-three years, at Chelsea, was useful, and not without distinction; but his field was narrow and secluded. In the Revolution he rendered essential service to the cause, not only by his papers on political and constitutional questions, of which the town records afford evidence, but also by enlisting troops; and on one occasion placing himself at their head, as will be duly related, hereafter.
He was, in addition, a teacher, to whom, in his rural parsonage, lately standing at Revere, the sons of many eminent men resorted for instruction, as shown in the extract from "Recollections of Samuel Breck," already quoted.
He was a representative to the General Court in 1783.
Joseph Tuckerman, D.D., his successor in the pastoral office at Chelsea, wrote on the last page of Dr. Payson's Church Records,
"Peace to the memory of a man of worth, - A man of letters and of virtue too, -"
-
?
313
CHAP. XXIX] PHILLIPS PAYSON'S PASTORATE
and printed the following notice of him in a Sermon preached on the twenty-fifth anniversary of his settlement at Chelsea.
" Mr. Payson was ordained on the 26th of October, 175%; and about the same time the covenant was signed by fourteen who united as members of the church. It was no inconsiderable dis- tinction which this small, and, at that same time, obscure society obtained in his ministry. He was a man of science and learning, as well as of piety. His printed sermons are honourable to his memory, in the evidences they have left to us of his strong good sense, of his just discrimination, and of his enlarged and rational views of religion. I find, indeed, in his records, no indication of a remarkable attention to religion during his ministry ; and I have been told that he often suffered keenly, in a recurrence to his unsuccessful efforts to excite in those to whom he ministered, a strong interest in the concerns of their souls and of eternity. Some of you, my brethren, knew him well; and some survive, who were companions of his youth. It is honourable to you, as well as to him, that his memory is so dear to you. Many of you know the peculiar afflictions with which it pleased God to visit him; and you know too the humility and resignation with which he sustained them. You have known him when his courage was tried in danger. There is an account, in one of the publick papers of the day, of a brave action, to which he led some of his parishioners, during the revolutionary war. And you have scen his fortitude brought to the severest test, by a long series of the most distressing trials. But I mean not to pronounce a eulogy upon him. I bring him to your remembrance, that you may inquire what were the fruits of his ministry in yourselves? Most of those, to whom he dispensed the word of salvation, have long gone to their account; and soon, must your account also be rendered. Prepare then, I bescech you, to meet your Judge in peace. - Dr. Payson died on the 11th of Jannary, 1801, aged sixty-five years, and in the forty-third of his ministry. I had the pleasure of seeing him but once, and then but for a short time. But his tall, spare and venerable figure are still before me. He had been prematurely broken down in his long contest with sorrow, but his heart was unshaken ; and with humble confidence he was waiting the disposal of God. He sat leaning upon his staff, and realized to my mind one of the most per- fect conceptions I have ever formed, of all that may be associated with a patriarch. You have all read his character in his cpi- taph. But I trust that there is a far more permanent memorial of him on high. The granite and marble that rests upon his grave will crumble into dust; but the soul that is sanctified by the word and spirit of God, will survive the desolations of time,
314
HISTORY OF CHELSEA
[CHAP. XXIX
and advance forever in the service and enjoyment of its great Creator.
" During Dr. Payson's ministry, ninety were added to the ' church, four hundred and fourteen were baptized, and two hun- dred and forty-one died.
" From November 4th, 1801, to November 4th, 1821, there have died in the parish one hundred and seven :
Within the age of one year ·
Between 1 and 10,
10 and 20,
"
20
30
66
40,
8.
9.
50
66
60,
7.
60
66
70,
15.
- -
70 80
66 80,
16.
14.
66
90 100, . 90,
. 11. 15. 5.
107.
" There are now living among us four persons who are between ninety and a hundred years of age. The parish contains about 70 families."
What follows is. from a Sermon to the Church and Congregation at Chelsea, &c. (By Rev. Dr. Barnard, of Salem, p. 15.)
" In all our revolutionary war was he not the wise and vigorous friend of his country ; and since, has he not uniformly labored to establish her good order, and promote her prosperity? Early he became an instructor of youth to prepare them by classical knowl- edge for an admission to higher grades of education. In this de- partment, was he not respectable to his superiors, and ever es- teemed and loved by his pupils? He was in the original number of learned men, who formed the American academy of arts and sciences ; and was a member of our societies of trust and humanity. Our university honorably to distinguish him, by which she did honor to herself, conferred upon him the degree of Doctor in Divinity. He was an admired preacher. I have known no one, who, in his better days, would more command an audience by his good sense and evangelical exhortations, by the energy of his diction, and the pathos of his delivery.".
I will only add that, August 13, 1801, the town concurred with the church, in calling Joseph Tuckerman, as the town minister, at a salary of $500 per annum; also, $600, " as a settlement," to be paid, as follows: $200, the first year after settlement; $200, the
.
.
30,
6.
"6 40
66 50,
1.
315
CHAP. XXIX] PHILLIPS PAYSON'S PASTORATE
second year; $200, the third year. The town agreed with the church, on November 4, 1801, for his ordination.89
March, 1796. Voted, to get a " Cushing," by subscription. May 1, 1803, to see what repairs are needed ; May 3, 1804, not to allow the building of sheds [for horses, on the Sabbath | on the town common, near the Meeting-house; May 8, 1809, to let the " Town pew," to John S. Tewkesbury, for $6.75, for the year; to let the care of the Meeting-house to JJoshua Cheever as the lowest bidder, for $4, a year; November 5, 1810, Voted, not to take action re- specting " doing something for the encouragement of the 'Singing Society '"; November 4, 1816, to raise $75 for the support of a singing-school; March 3, 1817, giving the "Points " | Point Shirley ] their proportion of the singing money ; October 19, 1817, " At a meeting of the Church, after Divine Service, this Day, having taken into consideration the expedieney of having a stove in the meeting-house, it was motioned by the pastor, seconded by Deacon Harris, and voted unanimously, that the church Commit- tee be and Hereby are empowered, requesting, in the name of the Church of Christ in this place, to offer to the town, from the church funds, to purchase, and to have erected in the meeting-house, a stove, suitable for warming it in the winter, on the condition that the town will keep said stove in good repair, and supply it with fuel, at the town's expense." The town accepted these conditions, and to " find some person to tend the stove "; November, 181?, Voted, that individuals might build sheds on the Common, under the directions of a Town committee; March, 1818, voted, not to alter the body seats in the meeting-house.
After the separation of " Church and State" in 1833, towns no longer acted as religious societies, but these were incorporated and kept their own records; and, therefore, the town historian will after that time, search the town records in vain, for interesting particulars, like the foregoing. Nor will it be practicable to pursue church history, in detail. Such histories must be monographs.
80 Joseph Tuckerman, D.D., was born in Boston, January 18. 1778, grad- nated at Harvard University in 1798, was minister of the Unitarian church in Chelsea, Massachusetts, from 1801 to 1826, and resigned his charge on account of the necessity foreed upon him by ill health of relinquishing in some degree the active duties of the pulpit, as well as to carry out plans in which he had become interested for the improvement of the condition of the neglected poor in our cities. He was soon appointed by the American Uui- tarian Association minister-at-large in Boston, and so worked continuously until his death, in 1840; two chapels were erected for him.
316
HISTORY OF CHELSEA
[CHAP. XXIX
APPENDIX
Votes from the Town and Selectmen's Records
March 6, 1764. Samuel Pratt, £10.2.8, for 16 eord of wood, for Rev. Mr. Payson, in 1763.1
November 8, 1768. Two orders for Nathan Lewis, 10/9, and £1.17.3, in full, for taking eare of the meeting-house, to this date.2
April 9, 1770. An order, in favour of William Hawks, £1-4, lawful money, for taking care, and sweeping, the meeting-house.3
June 12, 1780. Voted to remove the two Hind seats on the women's Side, on the flore; to build two pues on said ground. Voted, to joyn the two pues to the Baekside of the fore seat.4
March 10, 1783. Elizabeth Cheever, an order, for £1-10, in full for sweeping the meeting-house last year.5
January 26, 1789. Wm. Harris, 12/7, for plank he found for the meeting-house steps.6
September 9, 1791. Capt. James Stowers, repairs of the meet- ing-house, and taking eare of the same, £4. 6. 4.7
December 6, 1792. James Stowers, for taking care of the meeting-house, in 1791, £1. 10.8
April 12, 1793. Ebenezer Pratt, for work on the meeting- house, £2. 15. 0.9
June 5, 1793. Capt. James Stowers, for taking care of the meeting-house in 1792, £1. 10.10
June 24, 1794. Capt. Jas. Stowers, for taking care of the meeting-house, in full, - £1. 10.11
October 8, 1795. Capt. James Stowers, for taking care of the meeting-house in 1794, £1. 19. 0.12
H Selectmen's Rec., i. 55.
2 Ibid., 72.
8 Ibid., 78.
4 Town Rec., ii. 54.
Selectmen's Rec., i. 109.
6 Ibid., 132.
7 Ibid., 152.
8 Ibid., 156.
0
Ibid., 160.
10 Ibid., 161.
11 Ibid., 164.
12 Ibid., 169.
317
APPENDIX
CHAP. XXIX]
April 19, 1797. Nathaniel Stowers, for taking care of the meeting-house, in full, to July, last, $6.50.
February 26, 1798. Elizabeth Stowers, for her late husband, taking care of the meeting-house, in full, 1797, $2.70.13
January 2, 1799. William Pratt, for taking care of meeting- louse from November 24, 1797, to March 1, 1798, $10.14
Payson Genealogy
Friend Dewing: -
I have received from W. Winters, " Churchyard," Waltham Abbey, co. Essex, England, copies of the registers of Nazing,15 Waltham Abbey, Cheshunt, Hundson, Roxwell, Gloucestershire. Cornwall, &c., embracing births, marriages, and burials. It is a report made by W. Winters, F. R. Hist. Soc. of England, to that society, and from it I get, among the Eliots, the following :
BENNETT ELIOT, birth not given on the Nazing record.
Children :
I. PHILIP; birth not given. "Supposed " to be married about 1621. This is a wild guess. 1626 will be nearer the truth, as his first child (Elizabeth) was born in 1627, and there were two years between each following child.
II. SARAHI, b. about 1600, m. Wm. Curtis, 1618, at Nazing.
III. JACOB, b.
IV JOHN, bap. Feb. 6, 1602; d. same month.
V. JOHN, bap. 1604; m. Ann Montford, Oct. 1632.
VI. LYDIA, bap. July 1, 1610, at Nazing.
VII. FRANCIS, bap. April 10, 1615; went to New England. VIII. MARY, bap. Mar. 11, 1620-1; married Edward Payson. PHILIP, b. in Nazing; m. Elizabeth -; about 1626, as I suppose.
Children :
I. ELIZABETH, bap. April 8, 1627.
II. SARAH, bap. Jan. 25, 1629.
III. LEDE (LYDIA), bap. June 12, 1631.
IV. PHILIP, bap. 1633.
EDWARD PAYSON 1, born in Nazing, co. Essex, England, baptized Oct. 3, 1613, came to America as one of the " Pilgrims of Nazing." 1635, and settled in Dorchester, on the road leading " from Dr.
13 Selectmen's Ree., i. 174, 175.
14 Ibid., 177.
15 See N. E. H. & G. Reg., Vol. 28, pages 140-145. for an article, en- titled, " The Pilgrim Fathers of Nazing," com. by W. Winters, Esq., of Waltham Abbey, Essex, England.
318
HISTORY OF CHELSEA
[CHAP. XXIX
Codman's meeting house to the lower mill." He married (1) Ann Parke, by whom he had one child, (Mary). He married (2) Mary Eliot, youngest daughter of Bennett Eliot, of Nazing, and sister of Rev. John Eliot, familiarly known as the " Apostle to the Indians." This marriage took place, Jan. 1, 1642. They had :
I. MARY,2 b. Sept. 2, 1641 (by 1st wifc) ; d. single, prior to 1665.
II. JOHN,2 b. June 11, 1643; m. (1) Bathsheba Tileston, (2) Hannah
III. JONATHAN,2 b. Dee. 19, 1644.
IV. ANN,2 b. April 26, 1646; d. Feb. 15, 1650.
V. JOANNAH,2 b. Feb. 5, 1649; m. Sam1 Willis.
VI. ANN,2 bap. Nov. 3, 1651; m. Benjamin Tucker.
VII. SUSANNAH,2 bap. Aug. 28, 1653; d. Sept. 29, 1654.
VIII. SUSANNAH,2 b. June 27, 1655; m. Samuel Capen.
IX EDWARD,2 (A. M.), b. June 27, 1657; d. Aug. 22, 1732.
X. EPHRAIM,2 bap. Feb. 20, 1659; m. Catherine Leadbetter.
*XI. SAMUEL,2 bap. Sept. 21, 1662; m. Mary Phillips.
XII. MARY,2 bap. Mar. 19, 1665; d. Oct. 20, 1708; m. Pre- served Capen.
SAMUEL PAYSON 2 (Edward 1 and Mary Eliot) bap. Sept. 21, 1662; m. Mary Phillips, dau. of Rev. Samuel Phil- lips of Rowley, Mass., June 14, 1688, and had :
I. MARY,3 b. Mar. 9, 1688; d. Jan. 6, 1692.
II. SARAH,3 b. Oct. 12, 1690; m. William Chamberlin.
III. ANNA,3 b. Feb. 3, 1692; d. Oct. 26, 1692.
IV. SAMUEL,3 b. Sept. 4, 1693; d. young.
V. EDWARD,3 b. June 21, 1695; m. Catherine Searboro'; d. of small-pox.
VI. MARY,3 b. April 9, 1697. T
VII. DORCAS,3 b. Jan. 17, 1699.
VIII. GEORGE,3 b. Dec. 12, 1702; d. Nov. 5, 1734; m. Mary Trott.
*IX. PHILLIPS,3 (A.M.) b. Feb. 29, 1704; d. Jan. 22, 1778.
x. ELIZABETH,3 b. ; m. John Daman, Nov. 19, 1729.
XI. HANNAH,3 b. Jan. 12, 1711; m. June 19, 1729, Jas. Jefts. PHILLIPS PAYSON,3 (Samuel 2 and Mary Phillips, Edward 1 and Mary Eliot) b. Feb. 29, 1704; Harvard College, 1724. Ordained at Walpole, Mass., Sept. 16, 1730. Mar- ried (1) Ann Swift, daughter of Rev. John Swift, of Framingham ; married (2) Keziah Bullen Morse, widow of Dea. Seth Morse of Medfield; married (3) Sarah Payson Mather, widow of Thomas Mather of Pomfret, Conn., and daughter of Dea. Edward Payson. They had :
319
APPENDIX
CHAP. XXIX]
I. MARY,4 b. Nov. 22, 1734 ; d. aged 3 months.
*II. PHILLIPS,4 b. Jan. 18, 1736; Ordained at Chelsea, Oct. 26, 1757; d. Jan. 11, 1801.
III. SWIFT,4 b. Nov. 27, 1737; m. Esther Clapp, Dec. 11, 1766; lived in Foxboro'.
IV. SAMUEL,4 Rev., b. April 26, 1739. Ordained at Lunenburg, Sept. 8, 1762.
V. GEORGE,4 b. and d. 1742, aged 3 months.
VI. GEORGE,4 b. May 24, 1744.
VII. JOHN,4 Rev., b. Jan. 6, 1746; d. 1804. Settled at Fitch- burg.
VIII. SETH,+ D. D., b. Sept. 30, 1758; m. Grata Payson, daughter of Dea. John Payson of Pomfret, thus uniting the Wal- pole and Pomfret branches.
PHILLIPS PAYSON,4 (Phillips 3 and Ann Swift, Samuel 2 and Mary Phillips, Edward 1 and Mary Eliot) b. Jan. 18, 1736; Ordained at Chelsea, Oct. 26, 1757; d. Jan. 11, 1801, having preached the gospel, 44 years. Ang. 17, 1758, he m. Elizabeth Stone, daughter of Rev. James Stone of Holliston, and had :
I. ANNE,5 b. Feb. 3, 1759; d. unmarried, 1803.
II. PHILLIPS,5 b. July 8, 1760; Harvard College, 1778; m. Ruth Larkin.
III. ELIZABETH,5 b. June 1, 1762, d. unmarried.
IV. SAMUEL,5 b. Mar. 27, 1764; Harvard College, 1782; m. Grace Welch.
V. SARAH,5 b. Nov. 24, 1769; d. young.
Mr. Dewing. Dear Sir :- -
I send you, as I promised, the Payson records of the line of Phillips,4 and family.
Anything farther if you need, will be pleased to copy for you. Sincerely yours,
J. P. Payson.
Mr. Winters, who is perfectly conversant with the Nazing rec- ords, says, Edward Payson married Mary Eliot, youngest sister of the " Apostle," whom he knew in England.
To me, it is not consistent to suppose that Mary was Philip's eldest daughter, for the record gives his marriage as 1621. and her birth as 1620-1. Then with Mary as the youngest daughter every- thing is in regular order, - the four children of Philip are born 1627-'29-'31-'33. Again, in the records of baptisms. Mary is given as baptized March 11, 1620-1,- and immediately after it
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HISTORY OF CHELSEA
[CHAP. XXIX
reads, " Elizabeth, the dau. of Philip," which plainly intimates that Mary was not the daughter of Philip. Again, Mary is given in the record of Bennett Eliot, but is not given in that of Philip, and the above is to me proof positive. I shall write soon to Mr. Winters of England, and if I get any farther light, will give you the benefit of it.
Ever your friend, John P. Payson P.S. Mr. Winters says in another place, "The wife of Bennett Eliot is not named in his will. Probably she predeceased him, and she may be the 'Lettes Elliot' buried at Nazing, March 16, 1620-1. If so, she died after giving birth to her youngest child Mary."
[Endorsed :] Mr. John P. Payson's papers on the Genealogy of the Payson Family, to me B. H. Dewing.16
Rev. Phillips Payson, D.D., was the eldest son of Rev. Phillips Payson, of Walpole, Mass., and was born Jan. 18, 1736. Of the six sons of Phillips of Walpole, four were clergymen, and were settled respectively at Chelsea, Lunenburg, Fitchburg, in Massa- chusetts, and Rindge, in New Hampshire. Phillips, of Chelsea, was of the fourth generation from Edward, of Dorchester, and Mary Eliot, a sister of Rev. John Eliot, familiarly known as " The Apostle to the Indians."
After graduating from Harvard College, where he dis- tinguished himself particularly for his knowledge of the dead languages and astronomy, he was ordained pastor of the Church
16 The following is the genealogy of the ancestors of Rev. Phillips Payson of Chelsea.
On the 3d day of April, 1635, the Brig Hopewell, William Burdeck, Master, sailed from London (England) having on board, besides other passengers, Giles Payson, aged 26, Edward Payson aged 22, Philip Eliot, brother of Rev. John Eliot, his sister, Mary, aged 13, his wife, Elizabeth, aged 30, and two children, Philip, aged 8, and Elizabeth, aged 2. Jan- uary 1, 1642, this Edward Payson married this Mary Eliot, sister of Rev. John, and had by her eleven children. The 10th child was Samuel, who in June (14), 1688, married Mary Phillips, daughter of Rev. Samuel Phillips of Rowley. By her he had eleven children. The ninth was Phillips, who was settled over the Church in Walpole, Mass. He married (1) Ann Swift, daughter of Rev. J. Swift; (2) Keziah Bullen Morse, widow of Dea. Seth Morse, of Medfield, Mass. He had seven children by his first wife, and one by Keziah, viz., Seth Payson, who was settled in Rindge, N. H., and who was the father of Rev. Edward Payson, of Portland. The second child of Phillips Payson and Ann Swift, was Phillips, who was born Jan- uary 18, 1736, ordained at Chelsea, October 26, 1757, where he preached forty-four years. He married Elizabeth Stone, daughter of Rev. James Stone, of Holliston, and by her he had two sons and three daughters.
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