Elisha Williams
Encyclopedia
Elisha Williams was a Congregational
minister, legislator, jurist, and rector of Yale College
from 1726 to 1739.
and his wife Elizabeth, née Cotton (daughter of Rev. Seaborn Cotton), he was born at Hatfield, Massachusetts, and educated at Harvard, graduating, at the age of seventeen, in 1711.
His first wife, and mother of his seven children (only two of whom survived him), was Eunice Chester, They were married in 1714; she died in 1750.
After his marriage he studied law, and was a member of the Connecticut
legislature from Wethersfield
for five sessions, the first in 1717; he studied divinity with his father and was ordained a clergyman in 1722, and served the church at Wethersfield until 1726, when he became fourth Rector of Yale College, serving in that capacity for thirteen years. He entered the position during a troubled period of Yale's history; by the time of his resignation, for reasons of health in 1739, he left the college firmly established.
He was again a member of the Connecticut legislature from 1740 to 1749, and was appointed Judge of the Superior Court. He was a Colonel of Militia, and served as Chaplain in the expedition sent against Cape Breton
in 1745. He was appointed to the command of a regiment of one thousand men raised for the reduction of Canada; when they were not paid, he was sent to go to England to entreat for their pay. While he was there, his wife died, and he married Elizabeth Scott, daughter of Rev. Thomas Scott, of Norwich, England. Returning home, he narrowly escaped shipwreck, and spent some months in Antigua before reaching Connecticut.
He was a delegate to the Albany Congress
in 1754.
He died at Wethersfield, Connecticut
and is buried there. His widow, Elizabeth, became the second wife of William Smith (1697–1769) in 1761.
Congregational church
Congregational churches are Protestant Christian churches practicing Congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its own affairs....
minister, legislator, jurist, and rector of Yale College
Yale College
Yale College was the official name of Yale University from 1718 to 1887. The name now refers to the undergraduate part of the university. Each undergraduate student is assigned to one of 12 residential colleges.-Residential colleges:...
from 1726 to 1739.
Life
The son of Rev. William WilliamsWilliam Williams (signer)
William Williams was a merchant, and a delegate for Connecticut to the Continental Congress in 1776, and a signatory of the Declaration of Independence. Williams was born in Lebanon, Connecticut, the son of a minister, Tim Solomon Williams, and Mary Porter. He studied theology and graduated from...
and his wife Elizabeth, née Cotton (daughter of Rev. Seaborn Cotton), he was born at Hatfield, Massachusetts, and educated at Harvard, graduating, at the age of seventeen, in 1711.
His first wife, and mother of his seven children (only two of whom survived him), was Eunice Chester, They were married in 1714; she died in 1750.
After his marriage he studied law, and was a member of the Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
legislature from Wethersfield
Wethersfield
Wethersfield may refer to:* RAF Wethersfield, a British Ministry of Defence training facility in Essex, England* Wethersfield, Connecticut* Wethersfield, Essex, an English village near RAF Wethersfield* Wethersfield, New York* Wethersfield, Vermont...
for five sessions, the first in 1717; he studied divinity with his father and was ordained a clergyman in 1722, and served the church at Wethersfield until 1726, when he became fourth Rector of Yale College, serving in that capacity for thirteen years. He entered the position during a troubled period of Yale's history; by the time of his resignation, for reasons of health in 1739, he left the college firmly established.
He was again a member of the Connecticut legislature from 1740 to 1749, and was appointed Judge of the Superior Court. He was a Colonel of Militia, and served as Chaplain in the expedition sent against Cape Breton
Cape Breton Island
Cape Breton Island is an island on the Atlantic coast of North America. It likely corresponds to the word Breton, the French demonym for Brittany....
in 1745. He was appointed to the command of a regiment of one thousand men raised for the reduction of Canada; when they were not paid, he was sent to go to England to entreat for their pay. While he was there, his wife died, and he married Elizabeth Scott, daughter of Rev. Thomas Scott, of Norwich, England. Returning home, he narrowly escaped shipwreck, and spent some months in Antigua before reaching Connecticut.
He was a delegate to the Albany Congress
Albany Congress
The Albany Congress, also known as the Albany Conference and "The Conference of Albany" or "The Conference in Albany", was a meeting of representatives from seven of the thirteen British North American colonies in 1754...
in 1754.
He died at Wethersfield, Connecticut
Wethersfield, Connecticut
Wethersfield is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. Many records from colonial times spell the name Weathersfield, while Native Americans called it Pyquag...
and is buried there. His widow, Elizabeth, became the second wife of William Smith (1697–1769) in 1761.
Works
- Divine grace illustrious, in the salvation of sinner - 1727
- Death the advantage of the godly. – 1728
- "A Seasonable Plea for the Liberty of Conscience and the Right of Private Judgment in Matters of Religion Without any Controul from Human Authority" (also known as Essential rights and liberties of Protestants) - 1744
"As reason tells us, all are born thus naturally equal, with an equal right to their persons, so also with an equal right to their preservation . . . and every man having a property in his own person, the labour of his body and the work of his hands are properly his own, to which no one has right but himself; it will therefore follow that when he removes anything out of the state that nature has provided and left it in, he has mixed his labour with it, and joined something to it that is his own, and thereby makes it his property. . . . Thus every man having a natural right to (or being proprietor of) his own person and his own actions and labour, which we call property, it certainly follows, that no man can have a right to the person or property of another: And if every man has a right to his person and property; he has also a right to defend them . . . and so has a right of punishing all insults upon his person and property."