Samuel Say (1676–1743) was an English dissenting minister.

Life

The second son of Gyles Say, an

ejected minister The Great Ejection followed the Act of Uniformity 1662 in England. Several thousand Puritan ministers were forced out of their positions in the Church of England, following The Restoration of Charles II. It was a consequence (not necessarily i ...

, by his second wife, he was born in All Saints' parish,

Southampton Southampton () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire, S ...

, on 23 March 1676. He was educated at schools in

Southwick, Hampshire Southwick is a village in Hampshire, England. north of the Portsmouth boundary measured from Portsea Island. Homes and farms in the village are influenced by the style of the Middle Ages apart from Church Lodge. History Southwick was i ...

(to 1689), and

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the Episcopal see, See of ...

(1691–2), before moving on (1692) to the London

dissenting academy The dissenting academies were schools, colleges and seminaries (often institutions with aspects of all three) run by English Dissenters, that is, those who did not conform to the Church of England. They formed a significant part of England's edu ...

of Thomas Rowe.

Isaac Watts Isaac Watts (17 July 1674 – 25 November 1748) was an English Congregational minister, hymn writer, theologian, and logician. He was a prolific and popular hymn writer and is credited with some 750 hymns. His works include " When I Survey the ...

was a fellow-student and became a close friend. After acting as chaplain for three years to Thomas Scott of

Lyminge Lyminge is a village in southeast Kent, England. It lies about five miles (8 km) from Folkestone and the Channel Tunnel, on the road passing through the Elham Valley. At the 2011 Census the population of Etchinghill was included. The Nail ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, Say ministered for a short time at

Andover, Hampshire Andover ( ) is a town in the English county of Hampshire. The town is on the River Anton, a major tributary of the Test, and is situated alongside the major A303 trunk road at the eastern end of Salisbury Plain, west of the town of Basi ...

, then at

Great Yarmouth Great Yarmouth (), often called Yarmouth, is a seaside resort, seaside town and unparished area in, and the main administrative centre of, the Borough of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, England; it straddles the River Yare and is located east of ...

(from 6 July 1704), and in 1707 settled at

Lowestoft Lowestoft ( ) is a coastal town and civil parish in the East Suffolk district of Suffolk, England.OS Explorer Map OL40: The Broads: (1:25 000) : . As the most easterly UK settlement, it is north-east of London, north-east of Ipswich and so ...

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include L ...

, where he ministered for eighteen years, but was not ordained pastor. He declined in 1712 a call to the Independent congregation at Norwich. In 1725 he became co-pastor with Samuel Baxter at

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line r ...

. In 1734, after hesitation, Say accepted the care of the congregation at Long Ditch (now Princes Street),

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buck ...

, which had been without a pastor since the death of Edmund Calamy in 1732. He died on 12 April 1743, and was buried in

Bunhill Fields Bunhill Fields is a former burial ground in central London, in the London Borough of Islington, just north of the City of London. What remains is about in extent and the bulk of the site is a public garden maintained by the City of London Cor ...

Works

Two years after Say's death appeared his ''Poems … and two Critical Essays'' (1745) edited by

William Duncombe William Duncombe (19 January 1690 – 26 February 1769) was a British author and playwright. Life Duncombe worked in the Navy Office from 1706 until 1725. That year, he and Elizabeth Hughes won a very large lottery sum on a joint ticket. He mar ...

; it contains

juvenilia Juvenilia are literary, musical or artistic works produced by authors during their youth. Written juvenilia, if published at all, usually appears as a retrospective publication, some time after the author has become well known for later works. ...

and essays on rhythm. In ''Letters by several Eminent Persons'' (1772, vol. ii.), edited by John Duncombe, are two letters by Say, and a reprint of his "Character" of

Bridget Bendish Bridget Bendish (née Ireton) (1650–1726), was a daughter of General Henry Ireton and Bridget, Oliver Cromwell's eldest daughter. She was born in Attenborough, Nottinghamshire, England. She married Thomas Bendish, a distant relative of Sir Tho ...

, which first appeared in the ''

Gentleman's Magazine ''The Gentleman's Magazine'' was a monthly magazine founded in London, England, by Edward Cave in January 1731. It ran uninterrupted for almost 200 years, until 1922. It was the first to use the term ''magazine'' (from the French ''magazine'' ...

'' (1760, p. 423). The ''Say Papers'', edited in the '' Monthly Repository'', 1809–10, by Robert Aspland, were from manuscripts then in the possession of Say's grandson, Samuel Say Toms. Among them was a petition from Sophia, widow of

Alexander Selkirk Alexander Selkirk (167613 December 1721) was a Scottish privateer and Royal Navy officer who spent four years and four months as a castaway (1704–1709) after being marooned by his captain, initially at his request, on an uninhabited island ...

Family

Say married (1719) Sarah Hamby (d. February 1744, aged 70). Her uncle, Nathaniel Carter (1635–1722) of Great Yarmouth, married a granddaughter of Oliver Cromwell, and founded a significant dissenting trust. Say's only child, Sarah, married

Isaac Toms Isaac; grc, Ἰσαάκ, Isaák; ar, إسحٰق/إسحاق, Isḥāq; am, ይስሐቅ is one of the three patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. He was th ...

(1709–1801), dissenting minister at

Hadleigh, Suffolk Hadleigh () is an ancient market town and civil parish in South Suffolk, East Anglia, situated, next to the River Brett, between the larger towns of Sudbury and Ipswich. It had a population of 8,253 at the 2011 census. The headquarters of Baberg ...

Notes

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Say, Samuel 1676 births 1743 deaths English Dissenters Clergy from Southampton Burials at Bunhill Fields