Reverend Abraham Pierson

Reverend Abraham Pierson, whose ancestry is unknown (or not traced here), was born perhaps at Bradford, West Riding, Yorkshire, England, between 1612 and 1614.^1,2 He died at Newark, Essex Co., New Jersey, 9 August 1678.^3,2

Abraham married Abigail Mitchell, daughter of Matthew Mitchell and Susan Wood, about 1641.^4,5,6,3,7

At age 19, Reverend Abraham Pierson graduated from Trinity College at Cambridge, 2 January 1632/3 . Years later (1666), John Winthrop wrote in his medical journal that Pierson was 54. ⁸

The year he graduated, he is found to be an unlicensed curate at All Saints' Church, Pavement, York. He was ordained a deacon at York in September 1632.⁹

He arrived in Boston sometime before 1640, and was ordained to the ministry in the Congregational Church. In his memoir dated November 1640, the Rev. Hugh Peters wrote that [at some undetermined date] he attended "the formation of a church at Lynn," and participated "in the ordination of Abraham Pierson as their guide in the spreading of Gospel knowledge and influence." ¹⁰

While at Lynn, he became the leader of a group called the "undertakers," who, on 10 March 1639/40, made a compact to leave Lynn and establish a new home on the western edge of Long Island. A month later, 17 April 1640, they received a grant from the agent of the Earl of Sterling to take up eight square miles at Cow Bay, now North Hempstead. However, the Dutch at New Amsterdam also claimed that area, and drove off the English. ¹¹

The company went east to Southampton and settled there. The form of government is said to be a theocracy where Church and State were united: Offenses were tried first by ecclesiastical courts and then by the General Court of Freemen, all property was taxed to raise the salary of the minister, and the right to vote was restricted to members of the church. ¹²

In 1644, the Southampton church split over the issue of the theocratic rule of the town. Rev. Pierson had hoped to establish an "Island of the Innocents," but many of the newcomers had more liberal views of religion and civil affairs. Also that year, Southampton formed a union with Connecticut and the laws of that colony allowed full voting privileges to all freemen. In 1647, Pierson and many of his faithful abandoned Southampton and united with Branford, then closely associated with New Haven, which was then a separate colony from Connecticut. "Pierson was anxious to unite with the New Haven Colony, where the clergy and the members of the churches were the only electors . . . possess[ing] the entire civic power of the colony." ¹³

While at Branford, and as early as 1651, he began studying the Indian language, and "continuing with much seriousness therein . . . concerning the things of their Peace." Shortly after, he was known to be preaching to the Indians, and also preparing a catechism for them in their native tongue. A missionary society in England, "The Commissioners for the United Colonies of New England," voted, 17 September 1656, to have Rev. Mr. Pierson, assisted by Thomas Stanton, to translate the catechism into Pequot, and prepare it for publication.

The pamphlet was published in 1659, entitled "Some helps for the Indians, showing them how to improve their natural reason, and to know the true God and the true Christian Religion." It was a short statement of the fundamental principles of monotheism.

Cory reported [in 1937] there were only two original copies: one in the British Museum, the other in a "New York free public library." The New Jersey Historical Society also had a reprint. ¹⁴

Rev. Pierson was paid a regular salary by the commissioners, who apparently had high regard for his work. Twice they made extra appropriations to aid his preparation of the pamphlet, and several times special awards were given for his extraordinary efforts. ¹⁵

He also served as an interpreter during negotiations between the Indians and the colony of New Haven to build a fence to keep the English cattle out of the Indian's corn field. ¹⁵

War was declared between England and the Netherlands in 1652, and the Dutch made advances on Manhattan in 1654. Branford furnished it's quota of eleven men, and also appointed "Chaplain" Pierson to accompany the force as their minister "for their incouragement, spirituall instruction, and comfort." Hostilities soon ended, apparently without bloodshed. ¹⁶

The pleasant times at Branford were not to last, however. In 1662, Charles II issued a new charter to Connecticut which incorporated New Haven into the new, larger colony. Under the new charter, the requirements for church membership for various civil rights, including voting, were abolished. Led by Pierson, in 1666, many from Branford, New Haven, Guilford, and Milford left their homes and migrated to Newark, New Jersey. Branford was deserted for a number of years, and Pierson had even taken the town and church records with them. It appears the town records were later returned, but the church records were lost.¹⁷

He was held in such esteem that the settlers agreed to provide his parsonage, dig a well for him, and pay him eighty pounds a year, payable in equal installments in October and March. They also agreed to "pay Him Yearly a pound of Butter for every Milch Cow in the Town in part of his pay." He was exempted from all ordinary taxes for life, excepting "the Lords' half-penny rent," and a proportion charged to his estate "for ways and drainings in the meadow." ¹⁸

Based on his will, he was apparently ill in the summer of 1671. On 4 March 1671 [probably 1671/2] the town asked his son Abraham to assist him as pastor. They both received firewood; the father continued to receive his £80 annual salary; the son received £40. ⁸

His health finally failed in the summer of 1678 and he passed quietly on the 9th of August. Reportedly he was buried in the churchyard, on a knoll west of the church, but over a century before the early settlers' remains were removed to Fairmont cemetery in Newark, all trace of his and Abigail's graves had been lost. ¹⁹

Cotton Mather wrote a tribute to Rev. Person: ⁸
"'Tis reported by Pliny, but perhaps 'tis but a Plinyism, that there is a fish called Lucerna, whose tongue doth shine like a torch. If it be a fable, yet let the tongue of a minster be the moral of that fable. Now such an illuminating tongue was that of our Pierson."

Mather concluded with:

Abraham left a will dated 10 August 1671, and proved 12 Mar 1678:
John Ward, Michael Tompkins and Thomas Pierson made the inventory, 12 March 1678/9, valued at £854 7s 7d. Among the inventory was his library of 440 volumnes, valued at £140, doubtless the largest library in East or West Jersey at the time. As shown above, most of the the books were given to his son Abraham, and as he later became the first president of Yale, they may have become the foundation for the Yale library.

Letters of administration on the estate were granted to the widow, Abigail Pierson, 18 March 1678/9.²²