Samuel Stillman
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Dr. Samuel Stillman (1737–1807) was an American Baptist minister. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and raised in South Carolina, he married Hannah Morgan and took a pastorate in South Carolina for several years.[1]
In 1764, Stillman joined the Reverend James Manning, the Reverend Ezra Stiles, the Reverend Isaac Backus, the Reverend John Gano, the Reverend Morgan Edwards, William Ellery, and former Royal Governors Stephen Hopkins and Samuel Ward among thirty-five others as an original fellow or trustee for the chartering of the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations (the original name for Brown University).[2]
From 1765 Stillman was minister of the Brattle Street Church of Boston, Massachusetts, until his death. John Hancock, although a Unitarian, was one of his admirers and often rented a pew there so that he could hear him. President John Adams and General Henry Knox also came to hear him preach.[3]
American Revolutionary Period[]
He was a member of the American Philosophical Society and was politically active as a member of the 1779 Massachusetts Senate Convention for the formation of the State constitution; and also for the 1788 adoption of the United States Constitution. According to editor Frank Moore, Stillman was "a member of the Senate Convention for the formation of the state constitution in 1779; as also for the adoption of the federal constitution in 1788; in the last body he delivered a very eloquent speech in its support, and was considered at the time as having contributed much toward its adoption, and confirmed many members in its favor who were previously wavering upon that question. To that constitution he ever after continued a firm, unshaken friend, and a warm approver of the administration of Washington and Adams."[4]
In 1802, Samuel Stillman was instrumental in founding the first Baptist Missionary Society in America (now known as The American Baptist Churches of Massachusetts).[5]
References[]
- ^ The Patriot Preachers of the American Revolution, with Biographical Sketches, 1766-1783
- ^ http://www.brown.edu/Administration/Corporation/downloads/charter-of-brown-university.pdf
- ^ History of the First Baptist Church of Boston
- ^ The Patriot Preachers of the American Revolution, with Biographical Sketches, 1766-1783
- ^ History of the First Baptist Church of Boston
Further reading[]
- Samuel Stillman (1769). Four Sermons. Boston: E. Russell.
- Samuel Stillman (1772). The Substance of a Sermon [on Acts Xiii. 2] Preached at the Ordination of Rev. S. Shepard at Stratham, September 25, 1771. Boston: Kneeland.
- Samuel Stillman (1773). Two sermons: the first from Psalm cii. 19, 20, delivered the Lord's Day before the execution of L. Ames ... the second from Proverbs xvii. 25 preached the Lord's Day after his execution ... To which is added an account of the exercise of his mind. Boston: E. Russell.
- Samuel Stillman (1791). "Apostolic preaching considered in three discourses, delivered November, 1790". Boston: B. Edes & Son – via Internet Archive.
- Samuel Stillman (1795). Thoughts on the French Revolution. A sermon [on Matt. xxiv. 6-8], delivered November 20, 1794. Boston: Manning & Loring.
- Samuel Stillman (1801). "Sacred performances at the dedication of the Baptist Meeting-House in Charlestown, May 12, 1801: consisting of an Introductory address by Jedidiah Morse, D.D.; a Sermon, adapted to the occasion, by Samuel Stillman, D.D.; and an Address on the recognition of the Church, by Thomas Baldwin, A.M". Boston: Manning & Loring – via Internet Archive.
- Samuel Stillman (1801). "Discourse delivered before the members of the Boston female asylum, Friday, Sept. 25, 1801". Boston: Russell & Cutler – via Internet Archive.
- Samuel Stillman (1802). A sermon [on Luke v. 10] preached at Charlestown at the instalment of J. Waterman, to the pastoral care of the Baptist Church in that town. Boston: Manning & Loring.
- Samuel Stillman (1803). "Discourse, preached in Boston, before the Massachusetts Baptist Missionary Society, May 25, 1803, being their first anniversary". Boston: Manning & Loring – via Internet Archive.
- Samuel Stillman (1808). Select sermons on doctrinal and practical subjects. Boston: Manning & Loring – via Internet Archive.
- Frank Moore (1862) [First published 1860]. The Patriot Preachers of the American Revolution: With Biographical Sketches. New York: C.T. Evans – via Internet Archive. pages 258–288, also: ISBN 978-0-7661-5468-1
External links[]
- Individual Clergymen and Denominational Assessments of the Constitution
- Brown University Charter
- History of the First Baptist Church of Boston
- Furman University's Special Collection on Baptists
- Baptist Identity and Christian Higher Education, monograph by Donald D. Schmeltekopf and Dianna M. Vitanza
- 1737 births
- 1807 deaths
- 18th-century Baptist ministers
- 18th-century Christian clergy
- American evangelicals
- Baptist ministers from the United States
- Brown University people
- Clergy from Philadelphia
- Clergy in the American Revolution
- History of Christianity in the United States
- History of religion in the United States
- Members of the American Philosophical Society
- Patriots in the American Revolution
- People of colonial Massachusetts
- University and college founders