Joseph Lord (30 June 1672 – 1748) was a

Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to rid the Church of England of what they considered to be Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should b ...

pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...

colonial America The colonial history of the United States covers the period of European colonization of North America from the late 15th century until the unifying of the Thirteen British Colonies and creation of the United States in 1776, during the Re ...

in the late 17th century and early 18th century. He served as a pastor in Dorchester,

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

, and then Dorchester,

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

, for two decades before becoming the

of the

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...

of Chatham, Massachusetts.

Biography

Joseph Lord was born June 30, 1672, the son of Thomas Lord and Alice (Rand) Lord of

Charlestown, Massachusetts Charlestown is the oldest Neighborhoods in Boston, neighborhood in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, in the United States. Also called Mishawum by the Massachusett, it is located on a peninsula north of the Charles River, across from downtown Bost ...

. He was educated at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

, graduating in 1691. He was ordained as a minister at Dorchester, Massachusetts in 1695. In 1695, he led a group of his parishioners to the

Ashley River The Ashley River is a blackwater and tidal river in South Carolina, rising from the Wassamassaw and Great Cypress Swamps in western Berkeley County. It consolidates its main channel about five miles west of Summerville, widening into a ti ...

to found the town of Dorchester, South Carolina, where he became pastor. On a return visit to

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 ...

, he married Abigail Hinckley, daughter of Governor Thomas Hinckley, who was three years his elder, on June 3, 1698. After his return to South Carolina, Rev. Lord was disturbed that

Baptists Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

, especially under the leadership of Rev.

William Screven William Screven (c. 1629 – 1713) was a 17th-century Reformed Baptist church planter and preacher from England who founded the first Baptist church in the South. William Augustine Screven was born in the town of Somerton in Somerset, Engl ...

, had been making converts of his flock. Rev. Lord and others challenged Screven to public debates. During this time, he wrote a sermon published under the title "Reason Why Not Anabaptist Plunging but Infant Believer's Baptism Ought To Be Approved" in which he affirms the doctrine of

predestination Predestination, in theology, is the doctrine that all events have been willed by God, usually with reference to the eventual fate of the individual soul. Explanations of predestination often seek to address the paradox of free will, whereby Go ...

. After twenty years in South Carolina, he moved back to Chatham, Massachusetts on June 15, 1720. His wife died half a decade later, in 1725. When Rev. Lord returned from South Carolina, he was hired to assume the duties of pastor at a new church, the Church of Christ, in Chatham on June 15, 1720. When Mr. Adams first sought to form the church, there were seven male members and 20-30 female members. The male members in 1720, when Reverend Lord came to the church, were himself, Jonathan Collins, John Collins, Deacon Thomas Atkins, Deacon John Atkins, Moses Godfrey and Elisha Mayo. When he came to the church in 1720 with his large family, the church voted to build him a house which was completed in 1721. The history and records of this church have for the most part been lost. Samuel Taylor was given the title of Deacon in 1736, Paul Crowell as early as 1738 and Stephen Smith in 1749. His second marriage was to Bethia Howes and took place in

Harwich Harwich is a town in Essex, England, and one of the Haven ports on the North Sea coast. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the north-east, Ipswich to the north-west, Colchester to the south-west and Clacton-o ...

, November 16, 1743. Her first husband was Lieutenant Isaac Hawes, a descendant of John Howland, by whom she had seven or more children. Her second husband was Mr. John Smith of Eastham who had seven children by his first wife. Reverend Lord died June 6, 1748, in Chatham.

Children

* Mercy Lord, born March 2, 1699. Mercy remained in Dorchester when her father returned north and married Shubael Taylor on September 13, 1729. * Mary Lord, born April 19, 1701. She also stayed, marrying Moses Hatch in April 1724. * Thomas Lord, born August 25, 1703, and died November 1704. * Abigail and Joseph Lord, born September 27, 1704. These twins were named for each of their parents. Abigail married Joseph Paine, and Joseph married Sarah Rand on April 22, 1728. The couple had 11 children and he died December 7, 1788. * Samuel Lord, born June 26, 1707. He died January 2, 1766, of smallpox, unmarried. * Robert Lord, born February 28, 1712. * Alice Lord, born March 26, 1714. She married Benjamin Kettell on May 17, 1737.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lord, Joseph 1672 births 1748 deaths American Congregationalist ministers American biologists American sermon writers Harvard University alumni People from colonial Massachusetts People from colonial South Carolina 18th-century New England Puritan ministers