Phillips Payson (1704–1801) was an American Congregationalist minister for the town of Walpole,

Province of Massachusetts Bay The Province of Massachusetts Bay was a colony in New England which became one of the thirteen original states of the United States. It was chartered on October 7, 1691, by William III and Mary II, the joint monarchs of the kingdoms of Eng ...

. He is the ancestor of many distinguished clergymen of New England.

History

Rev. Phillips Payson was born 29 February 1704 and baptized 12 March 1704 in Dorchester, Suffolk County, Province of Massachusetts Bay, the son of Rev. Samuel Payson (d. 24 November 1721) and his wife Mary, the daughter of Elder Thomas Wiswall.A Genealogical Dictionary of The First Settlers of New England, Before 1692. Volume #3: Patch-Peacock.
By James Savage. Retrieved 30 April 2017 The Payson family originated from

Nazeing Nazeing ( ) is a village and civil parish in the Epping Forest District, Epping Forest district, in Essex, England. Within the parish are the separate settlements of Upper Nazeing, Middle Nazeing, and Lower Nazeing. The Prime Meridian passes to ...

, England, first settling in the

Massachusetts Bay Colony The Massachusetts Bay Colony (1628–1691), more formally the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, was an English settlement on the east coast of North America around Massachusetts Bay, one of the several colonies later reorganized as the Province of M ...

as early as 1635. The Reverend is not the same person as his first cousin Phillips Payson who died young, the son of his uncle Rev. Edward Payson (d. 22 Aug 1732) and Elizabeth Phillips (b. 2 August 1665, dau. of Rev. Samuel Phillips, m. 7 November 1683, d. 1 October 1724). He received an A.B. from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate education, undergraduate college of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Part of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Scienc ...

in 1724. He was an American Congregationalist minister in his home town of Dorchester from 1728. He competed for the position of senior minister, was one of three finalists at First Parish Church of Dorchester in 1729, but was not selected for ordination. Thereafter he was ordained the minister for the town of Walpole. On 17 November 1733 in Walpole, Suffolk County (since 1793 in Norfolk County), he married Anne Swift. The people of the town of Walpole were integral to the cause of liberty before and during the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

. George Payson who served as a delegate of a Committee of Correspondence was possibly one of his sons. By his wife Anne Swift, his children included: *Phillips Payson aka Samuel Phillips Payson, H.C. 1754, D.D. *Seth Payson, H.C. 1777, D.D., who was father of: **Edward Payson, H. C. 1803, D. D., minister of

Portland, Maine Portland is the List of municipalities in Maine, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine and the county seat, seat of Cumberland County, Maine, Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 at the 2020 census. The Portland metropolit ...

. In 1834, twenty-two of his name, says Farmer, had been graduates at Harvard,

Yale Yale University is a private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, and one of the nine colonial colleges ch ...

and Dartmouth. Seven of the thirteen from Harvard were clergy. Rev. Phillips Payson is buried in the Rumney Marsh Burying Ground in

Revere, Massachusetts Revere (, ) is a city in Suffolk County, Massachusetts. Located approximately northeast of Downtown Boston, Revere is the terminus of the Blue Line (MBTA), MBTA Blue Line, with three stations located within the city: Wonderland station, Wonderla ...

.Rumney Marsh Burying Ground
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References

1704 births 1801 deaths People from Dorchester, Boston Harvard College alumni Clergy from Boston People of Massachusetts in the American Revolution 18th-century American Congregationalist ministers {{US-reli-bio-stub