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

Life

The second son of Gyles Say, an ejected minister, by his second wife, he was born in All Saints' parish,

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

, on 23 March 1676. He was educated at schools in Southwick, Hampshire (to 1689), and

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...

(1691–2), before moving on (1692) to the London dissenting academy 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 th ...

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 and civil parish 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, Kent ...

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

, Say ministered for a short time at

Andover, Hampshire Andover ( ) is a town in the Test Valley district of Hampshire, England. The town is on the River Anton, a major tributary of the River Test, Test, and lies alongside the major A303 road, A303 trunk road at the eastern end of Salisbury Plain, ...

, then at

Great Yarmouth Great Yarmouth ( ), often called Yarmouth, is a seaside resort, seaside town which gives its name to the wider Borough of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, England; it straddles the River Yare and is located east of Norwich. Its fishing industry, m ...

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

Lowestoft Lowestoft ( ) is a coastal town and civil parish in the East Suffolk (district), East Suffolk district of Suffolk, England.OS Explorer Map OL40: The Broads: (1:25 000) : . As the List of extreme points of the United Kingdom, most easterly UK se ...

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

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

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

, 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; it contains

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

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 Cromwell, Oliver Cromwell's eldest daughter. She was born in Attenborough, Nottinghamshire, England. She married Thomas Bendish, a distant relative o ...

, 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 1907, ceasing publication altogether in 1922. It was the first to use the term '' ...

'' (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.

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 (1709–1801), dissenting minister at

Hadleigh, Suffolk Hadleigh () is an ancient market town and civil parish in the Babergh district of Suffolk, England. The town is situated next to the River Brett, between the larger towns of Sudbury and Ipswich. It had a population of 8,253 at the 2011 censu ...

Notes

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