Rev. Benjamin Colman (October 19, 1673 – August 29, 1747) was a Congregationalist minister affiliated with the

Brattle Street Church The Brattle Street Church (1698–1876) was a Congregational (1698 – c. 1805) and Unitarian (c. 1805–1876) church on Brattle Street in Boston, Massachusetts. History In January 1698, " Thomas Brattle conveyed the land on which the meet ...

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

Biography

On October 19, 1673, Benjamin Colman was born in Boston, he was the second son of William Colman and Elizabeth Colman. He enrolled in

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 1688, and from there he received a degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1692. The next year, 1693, was when Colman began to preach publicly. In 1695 he would receive a degree of Master of Arts. Just three weeks after receiving his second degree, Colman boarded a ship by the name of ''Swayne'' towards

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. At the time there was a war between England and France, and after two months in sea, the ship was chased by a French

privateer A privateer is a private person or vessel which engages in commerce raiding under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign o ...

near the coast of France, ''Swayne'' surrendered to France and the people on board were transferred to the deck of the privateer. The people on ''Swayne'' were robbed of their money. Colman was then sent to

Nantes Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...

and later to

Dinan Dinan (; ) is a walled Brittany, Breton town and a commune in France, commune in the Côtes-d'Armor Departments of France, department in northwestern France. On 1 January 2018, the former commune of Léhon was merged into Dinan. Geography Inst ...

as a prisoner. After around two months, an exchange of prisoners between

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

took place and Colman was sent to

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

. Before leaving ''Swayne'', a female passenger had concealed 19 pounds worth of gold, owned by Colman, which he got back in Nantes, and so he was able to afford his trip to London.

1694–1699 in England

The first night in London was depressing for Colman, because he had lost all his letters from

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

in France. Nevertheless, he found the people he was supposed to meet there and was appointed to Cambridge to lead a small congregation. From there he was appointed to the town of

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, ...

in Suffolk where he spent eleven weeks and then returned to London. When in London, he was given the opportunity to take charge of a church in

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. He stayed there for two years.

1699–1747 in Boston

In the summer of 1699 Colman received a letter from New England requesting him to return to Boston and become the minister of the new church there. Colman went to London on August 1, 1699 and left from

Gravesend Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, situated 21 miles (35 km) east-southeast of Charing Cross (central London) on the Bank (geography), south bank of the River Thames, opposite Tilbury in Essex. Located in the diocese of Roche ...

on a voyage to New England on August 20. He arrived in Boston on November 1. He began working as the minister of the Brattle Street Church in Boston, a position he would hold until his death. Colman married Jane Clark on June 5, 1700. In 1724 Colman was elected to succeed

John Leverett John Leverett (baptized 7 July 1616 – 16 March 1678/79In the Julian calendar, then in use in England, the year began on 25 March. To avoid confusion with dates in the Gregorian calendar, then in use in other parts of Europe, dates between Ja ...

as the

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, but Colman declined the offer. In 1731 Colman received an honorary degree of Doctor in Divinity from the

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

. Colman's wife, Jane would die on October 26, 1731, and Colman would marry thrice widowed Sarah Clark on May 6, 1732, who he would be married with until her death on April 24, 1744. He would then marry Mary Frost on August 12, 1745. Colman died on August 29, 1747 in Boston.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Colman, Benjamin 1673 births 1747 deaths Clergy from Boston Harvard University alumni American Christian religious leaders