Background

He was a son of Edward and Olyff (Irby) Bulkeley, and was born on January 31, 1582/3 at Odell in Bedfordshire, England, and died in Concord, Massachussets Both his parents were of distinguished ancestry. His father, a man of independent means, was a Church of England clergyman somewhat touched with dissent.

Education

At about sixteen, Peter entered St. John's College, Cambridge, where he remained for a long time as student (M. A. , 1608) and fellow, acquiring an education to be approved of later by Cotton Mather as "Learned, Genteel, and which was the top of all, very Pious".

Career

In January 1619/20, upon the death of his father, Bulkeley succeeded to a considerable fortune and to his father's position as rector of Odell.

On the accession of Laud to the archbishopric, recognizing the divergence between himself and those in control of the Church, Bulkeley determined in 1634 or 1635 to emigrate to Massachusetts.

After a short residence in Cambridge, he went up "further into the Woods" and established a new town, with a church of which he was officially made "teacher. " He was from that time head of the theocracy of Concord, diligently and with substantial results, so far as one can judge, furthering the interests of his followers in both this world and the next.

His chief participation in affairs away from Concord was in 1637, when, with Thomas Hooker, he served as moderator of a church council held in Cambridge, to determine among other things, whether for salvation one should look more confidently to grace or to works.

Bulkley died in Concord on March 9th, 1659 in his 77th year.

Achievements

• Peter Bulkley he was the author and the first signer of a petition sent to Governor John Endecott in favor of Ambrose Martin, who was fined for speaking negatively towards the Puritan church and consequently met significant financial hardship. His greatest achievement was that he was a founder of Concord, a new town in Massachusetts, and became a leader of a church of which he was officially made "teacher".

Works

More photos

• book

  • The Gospel Covenant Or The Covenant of Grace Opened

    (This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of th...)

  • Kadaitcha

Religion

In his religious affiliation Bulkeley was a Puritan.

Views

A thundering preacher and a judicious divine, he was clear in his disapproval of ritualism and of men with long hair, but not so clear that his recalcitrance could not be overlooked by ecclesiastical superiors who were themselves often of his view-point.

Quotations: Himself a partisan of works, he denounced Anne Hutchinson as a "Jezabell whom the Devill sent over thither to poison these American Churches with her depths of Satan".

Personality

Quotes from others about the person

• His Gospel Covenant, made up of a number of his sermons, was published in London in 1646, and again in 1651--"one of those massive, exhaustive, ponderous treatises, into which the Puritan theologians put their enormous Biblical learning, their acumen, their industry, the fervor, pathos, and consecration of their lives".
  
  According to "tradition", a council of Indians considering attacking the town of Concord held off because "Bulkley is there, the man of the big pray!"

Connections

Bulkeley was married twice. His first wife, Jane Allen, after giving birth to twelve children, died in 1626. His second wife, Grace Chetwode, whom he had but recently married, and his many children and servants came with him in 1636.

Sister:

Sarah Bulkeley Saint John

unknown–1611

Sister:

Frances Bulkeley Welby

1568–1610

Sister:

Martha Bulkeley Mellowes

1572 – unknown

1st wife:

Jane Allen Bulkeley

1587–1626 (m. 1613)

Sister :

Elizabeth Bulkeley Haugh

1579–1643

Daughter :

Mary Bulkeley

1615–1616

Daughter:

Mary Bulkeley

1621–1624

2nd wife :

Grace Chetwood Bulkeley

1602–1669 (m. 1635)

mother :

Olive Irby Bulkeley

unknown–161

Son :

Peter Bulkeley

1643–1691

Son :

Nathaniel Bulkeley

1618–1628

Son :

Gershom Bulkeley

1636–1713

Son :

Thomas Bulkeley

1617–1658

Son:

Edward Bulkeley

1614–1696

Son:

Jabez Bulkeley

1626–1629

Brother :

Dorcas Bulkeley Ingoldsby

1577–1616

Father :

Edward Bulkeley

1540–1621

associate:

Cotton Mather

References

• The Bulkeley family; or the descendants of Rev. Peter Bulkeley, who settled at Concord, Mass., in 1636
• The Bulkeley Family, or the Descendants of Rev. Peter Bulkeley, Who Settled at Concord, Mass;, In 1636: Compiled at the Request of Joseph E. Bulkeley (Classic Reprint)
• Rev. Peter Bulkeley: An Account of His Career, His Ancestors and Ancestors of His Two Wives and His Relatives in England and New England.
• The Bulkeley family; or the descendants of Rev. Peter Bulkeley, who settled at Concord, Mass., in 1636. Compiled at the request of Joseph E. Bulkeley by F W. 1806-1876 Chapman (2011-08-09)
• The Bulkeley family or the descendants of Rev. Peter Bulkeley
• The Bulkeley familyor the descendants of Rev. Peter Bulkeley who settled at Concord Mass
• Chetwode Family of England, with the Line of Descendants to Grace Chetwode, Wife of Peter Bulkeley of Concord, MA
• Peter Bulkeley and his times
• The Bulkeley Family; Or the Descendants of REV. Peter Bulkeley, Who Settled at Concord, Mass., in 1636. Compiled at the Request of Joseph E. Bulkeley