First Minister of Lynn, Massachusetts — Samuel Whiting

B. 20 Nov 1597 in Boston, England¹
M. (1) (probably) about 1623 in England¹
Wife: unknown
M. (2) 6 Aug 1629 in Boston, England¹
Wife: Elizabeth St. John
D. 11 Dec 1679 in Lynn, Massachusetts¹

Reverend Samuel Whiting was one of the most important Puritan ministers in New England, and the first to head the congregation at Lynn, Massachusetts. Such men were early leaders in colonial America, and in a way, they were among the seeds which led to the founding of the United States.

Samuel was born in Boston, England on November 20, 1595, to John and Isabel Whiting, one of six children.¹ His father was a merchant and town council member who was voted as mayor in 1600 and 1608.¹ Because of his father’s position, Samuel grew up around people like Reverend John Cotton, who was the church rector in Boston and an outspoken Puritan. It's very likely that Reverend Cotton influenced Samuel to pursue a career in the ministry.

Samuel attended Emanuel College at Cambridge, where he received a bachelor’s degree in 1616 and a masters degree in 1620; he later earned a doctorate as well.¹ Emmanuel College was considered “the hotbed of Puritanism.”¹ The religion Samuel was indoctrinated in believed that kings had no “divine right” to oversee church matters.¹ This basic belief guided him throughout his life.

In 1617, Samuel’s father died, and left him £120 in his will,¹ a large sum of money for the time. After he finished college, Samuel’s first assignment was as chaplain to a family in Norfolk consisting of “five ladies and two knights.”¹ He was said to have met “distinguished personages” during those years. Three years later, he took an assignment at Kings Lynn, but after another three years, he was forced out due to complaints from his parishioners about his Puritan preaching.¹ Samuel was fearful of losing some of his estate because of the dismissal, but was saved by the fact that King James I died, and the authorities were more focused on the transition to a new king.¹

The church at King's Lynn.

Samuel had gotten married during the time he was in Kings Lynn, but his wife, whose name is unknown, died within a few years.¹ There were three children born to his wife, only one of which, a girl, survived. After the end of his time at Kings Lynn, Samuel took a rectorship at Skirbeck, a town near Boston.¹ In 1629, he married Elizabeth St. John,¹ a woman he had known since his time in Norfolk. They had a son named Samuel, born in 1633.¹

At the time Samuel preached in Skirbeck, Reverend Cotton was still the rector at Boston, and Samuel’s brother John was mayor.¹ Complaints of non-conformity were made against both ministers. Reverend Cotton left for America first, escaping in disguise in 1633.¹ Samuel continued longer, partly because of his brother’s position. He was advised by friends to modify his preaching, but this went against his honest nature. Although he wanted to remain there, he made the decision to move to New England so that he could be true to his beliefs without “a life of humiliating submission to the bishops” in England.¹ He sold all of his property and prepared to move. He said, “I am going into the wilderness to sacrifice unto the Lord, and I will not leave a hoof behind me.”¹

On the journey, Samuel was very seasick and managed to deliver only one sermon during the voyage. He later said, “I would much rather have undergone six weeks’ imprisonment for a good cause than six weeks of such terrible sea-sickness.”¹ He arrived in Boston, Massachusetts on May 26, 1636, and spent the first month with a friend, Atherton Hough.¹ Then later that year, he went to Saugus to become the first minister there.¹ Soon after, Saugus was renamed in his honor as Lynn, after the town of Kings Lynn, where he served in England.¹ Samuel was formally made pastor on November 8, 1636, and he established his home with his wife and two children across from the meetinghouse.¹ Their garden was said to be known for its variety of fruit and vegetables, and for the apple cider produced by its trees. He also was given 200 acres of land in 1638.¹ The first year he was settled there, a son named John was born.¹ He would have two more children: Joseph in 1641 and Elizabeth in 1645.¹

The first meetinghouse in Lynn, where Samuel served as minister.

Samuel was said to be greatly respected by his community, and was “peculiarly amiable.”² When among groups of people, he would “kiss all the maids” and “he felt all the better for it.”¹ They were said to “hug their arms around his neck and kiss him right back.” Samuel was described as being “a man of middle size, dark skin, and straight fine hair.”¹ He thought it was important to be well-dressed when he preached, saying that “his hearers should not be made to have their eyes upon an unseemly object, lest the good instruction might be swallowed up in disgust.”¹

A story was told that happened during one of Samuel’s sermons: A young man had the job of poking those who nodded off during services with a foxtail attached to a stick. One day in 1647, a man named Tomlins was jolted awake and cursed loudly at an imaginary woodchuck, not realizing where he was. This caused Samuel to say to the congregation that he seems to be preaching to “sacks of straw with men sitting here and there among them.”¹ Samuel was also known to sometimes interrupt his sermon and grab his hat as if to leave if too many of his audience had nodded off.¹

In 1649, Oliver Cromwell, who had just taken control of England, sent a request that Samuel and other prominent ministers in New England be sent to Ireland as missionaries to convert the Catholics there. The ministers including Samuel responded to Cromwell by letter, but nothing ever came of the plan.¹

Samuel was a teacher to his children, including his daughters.¹ His sons all went on to attend Harvard and later became ministers; Samuel himself was appointed as “overseer” at Harvard in 1654.¹ He also educated others in the community, offering religious instruction and language lessons to children in Lynn.¹ And in about 1646, Samuel took an Indian girl into his household given over by her mother. He gave her an education and she became a part of his family for a time and, but eight years later, she ran away back to her tribe. Samuel was said to be heartbroken when she left.¹

In 1656, Samuel was one of 12 ministers appointed to a board representing all the New England colonies making decisions on matters of religion.¹ He was known to have opinions favorable to the liberty of the citizens, even if their practice differed with his own.¹ During the 1660s, when others were whipping and giving other cruel punishments to Quakers, Samuel wouldn’t condone it.¹ He was firmly in favor of separation of church and state, and petitioned against the authority of the General Court over religious matters several times.¹

Samuel's signature.

Samuel authored books on religion and a volume of sermons. In 1664, he published a book called,  “A Discourse of the Last Judgment,” about his views regarding Judgment Day. In the book, he wrote, “What is it to draw nigh to God in prayer? It is not to come with loud expressions when we pray to him. Loud crying in the ears of God is not to draw near to God. They are nearer to God that silently whisper in his ears and tell him what they want, and what they would have of him.”¹ During his career, it was said that he knew Hebrew and “he was elegant with Latin.”¹

Samuel’s wife died on March 3, 1677 in Lynn,³ and after that, his health deteriorated rapidly. He was said to be suffering from “a grinding and painful disorder,” and “scarce enjoyed a day of perfect ease,”¹ though this didn’t stop him from his service to the community. About six months before he died, he submitted a claim to the General Court for 600 acres of land in return for money that he had arranged to be given to the colony in its early days. The deed of land was granted and was passed on to his heirs.¹

He died on December 11, 1679 at his home in Lynn.¹ He was given a funeral attended by many in the town and beyond, and buried in the churchyard. Samuel was the ancestor of Calvin Coolidge, Bette Davis, Orson Bean, Kyra Sedgwick and John Kerry.⁴

Children (by first wife):
1. Dorothy Whiting — B. before 14 May 1627, Skirbeck, England;⁵ D. 31 Jul 1694, Roxbury, Massachusetts;⁶ M. Thomas Weld (1626-1683), 4 Jun 1650, Roxbury, Massachusetts⁷

Children (by Elizabeth St. John):
1. Samuel Whiting — B. 25 Mar 1633, Skirbeck, England;¹ D. 28 Feb 1713, Billerica, Massachusetts;⁸ M. Dorcas Chester (1637-1712), 12 Nov 1656, Wethersfield, Connecticut⁹

2. John Whiting — B. 1637, Lynn, Massachusetts;¹ D. 11 Oct 1689, Leverton, England;¹ M. Esther _______ (1639-1689), 1653, Salem, Massachusetts¹

3. Elizabeth Whiting — B. about 1640, Lincolnshire, England;¹⁰ D. 1733, Hartford, Connecticut;¹ M. Jeremiah Hobart (1630-1715)¹;

4. Joseph Whiting — B. 6 Apr 1641, Lynn, Massachusetts;¹ D. 7 Apr 1723, Southampton, New York;¹ M. (1) Sarah Danforth (1646-?);¹ (2) Rebecca Bishop (1663-1726)¹

Sources:
1    Memoir of Rev. Samuel Whiting, D.D., and of his wife Elizabeth St. John, William Whiting, 1873
2    The American Biographical Dictionary, William Allen, 1857, p. 851
3    Death record of Elizabeth Whiting, Massachusetts Deaths and Burials, 1795-1910, FamilySearch.org
4    FamousKin.com listing of Samuel Whiting  
5    Christening record of Dorothy Whiting, England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975, FamilySearch.org
6    Death record of Dorothy Weld, Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001, FamilySearch.org
7    Marriage record of Thomas Weld and Dorothy Whiting, M., T. C., V. & T. R.
8    Death record of Samuel Whiting (younger), M., T. C., V. & T. R.
9    Marriage record of Samuel Whiting and Dorcas Chester, M., T. C., V. & T. R.
10  WikiTree listing for Elizabeth (Whiting) Hobart