John Mayo was a Puritan

Puritan

The Puritans were a significant grouping of English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries. Puritanism in this sense was founded by some Marian exiles from the clergy shortly after the accession of Elizabeth I of England in 1558, as an activist movement within the Church of England...

 minister in pre-revolutionary Boston, Massachusetts. He was the first minister of Old North Church

Second Church, Boston

The Second Church in Boston, Massachusetts was first a congregational church, and then beginning in 1802, a unitarian church. The congregation occupied a number of successive locations around town, including North Square, Hanover Street, Copley Square, and the Fenway. Ministers included Increase...

, also known as Second Church or Paul Revere's Church. This is the Old North Church that was in North Square

North Square (Boston, Massachusetts)

North Square in the North End, Boston of Boston, Massachusetts sits at the intersection of Moon, Prince, North, Garden Court, and Sun Court Streets. Paul Revere lived here, as did other notables in the 17th and 18th centuries. Prior to July 4, 1788, the area was known as Clark's Square.-History:In...

 (across the street from what became Paul Revere's house) until the church was dismantled and used by the British for firewood during the occupation of Boston during the Revolutionary War.

Early life

John Mayo was born and educated in England. He married his wife Thamasin in that country and had five children; Samuel, Hannah, Elizabeth, Nathaniel and John. The family came to New England in 1638 or 1639. He became a teacher at a church at Barnstable in Plymouth colony, and was admitted a freeman on 3 March 1639-40 by the General Court in Plymouth. He moved to Eastham, Massachusetts around 1644, becoming the minister at a church that was gathered in that town. There he remained until 1655 when he was called to become pastor of the Second Church in Boston.

Old North Church

Reverend Mayo was installed November 9, 1655. He preached the election sermon before the General Court of Massachusetts in 1658. Already well advanced in years when he assumed the pastorate, Mayo grew very infirm later in his service and the congregation had difficulty hearing his sermons. He served until 1673 when Increase Mather

Increase Mather

Increase Mather was a major figure in the early history of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and Province of Massachusetts Bay . He was a Puritan minister who was involved with the government of the colony, the administration of Harvard College, and most notoriously, the Salem witch trials...

 took over. Mayo lived in a brick house on Hanover Street which was later occupied by Cotton Mather

Cotton Mather

Cotton Mather, FRS was a socially and politically influential New England Puritan minister, prolific author and pamphleteer; he is often remembered for his role in the Salem witch trials...

.

Later life

After retiring, Mayo went to his daughter's home and died in 1676 in Yarmouth, Massachusetts. His widow Tamsen died 3 February, 1682.

External links

• Mayo Family website
• Rambles Around Boston