Background
John Callender was born in 1706 in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, where his grandfather, the Rev. Ellis Callender, was pastor of the First Baptist Church from 1708 to 1726. ; the son of John Callender.
(Excerpt from An Historical Discourse on the Civil and Rel...)
Excerpt from An Historical Discourse on the Civil and Religious Affairs of the Colony of Rhode-Island In presenting this volume, the Committee can therefore speak with much confidence respecting the manner in which Professor Elton has met the wishes of the Historical Society. He is entitled to the thanks of that Society, for the valuable addition which hel aas made to their Collections, and deserves the grateful remembrance of the people oi our State, for the satisfactory manner in which he has illustra ted this history of their forefathers. Albert G. Greene, william G. Goddard. Providence, April, 1838. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
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John Callender was born in 1706 in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, where his grandfather, the Rev. Ellis Callender, was pastor of the First Baptist Church from 1708 to 1726. ; the son of John Callender.
At the age of thirteen John entered Harvard College. There he shared in the income derived from benefactions of Thomas Hollis, a London Baptist, who had endowed two chairs and supplied scholarship funds.
In the year of his graduation from college Callender joined the Baptist church in Boston, and a few years later was licensed to preach. He soon was invited to preach for the church at Swansea, the oldest church of the denomination in Massachusetts, and he remained there until 1730.
The next year he was ordained to the regular ministry and became pastor of the Baptist church at Newport, Rhode Island, the second church of that faith in the United States. There he remained until his death.
He was highly esteemed in the community, and was a member of a select literary and philosophical society in Newport, having been suggested for membership, it is thought, by Bishop Berkeley, the English philosopher, who resided for a time at Newport.
He made an important contribution to Rhode Island history in his Historical Discourse on the Civil and Religious Affairs of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations (1739). He was also the author of several published sermons.
His interest in history led him to collect historical material relating to the colonial history of churches of his own faith, which proved a valuable source of information for Isaac Backus when he wrote his history of the Baptists in New England about sixty years later.
Callender was honored among Baptists, even though he declared himself in favor of admitting non-Baptists to the communion table, an act of generosity not often practised. After a long illness he died in 1748 in the forty-second year of his age, and was buried at Newport. The epitaph on his tomb credited him with being "distinguished as a shining and very burning light by a true and faithful ministry. "
(Excerpt from An Historical Discourse on the Civil and Rel...)
He was a member of a select literary and philosophical society in Newport.
Callender was a man of pleasing appearance, with fair complexion and a kindly, serious expression. His brilliant blue eyes and high forehead indicated keenness of intelligence. His character was irreproachable, and he had many friends both in and outside of the church.
He married Elizabeth Hardin of Swansea, by whom he had three sons and three daughters.