Author: Winchester, Elhanan
Biography:
WINCHESTER, Elhanan (1751-97: ancestry.com)
He was the eldest of six sons born to Elhanan Winchester (1720-1810) and his second wife Sarah Belcher. After she died in 1760, the father remarried and went on to have ten more children. Though he did not have much formal schooling, Elhanan Jr. was a serious reader and became an eloquent preacher. His father underwent several shifts in his religious views, being a convert first to Methodism and then to Shakerism; the son began his preaching career as an Arminian Baptist and ended it as an acknowledged leader of the Universalist movement. His domestic life was full of misfortune, for he buried four wives and none of his eight children survived infancy. His fifth wife, Martha Knowles, whom he married in 1784, outlived him. Much of his preaching was itinerant but he also served as pastor to churches in Rehoboth MA (1771-2), Welch Neck SC (1774-80), and Philadelphia (1781-7)--but at the last he led a schism and founded the Society of Universal Baptists. He spent the years from 1787 to 1794 in London, preaching and writing. He published profusely, mainly orations, lectures, sermons, and pamphlets on matters of doctrine, but also hymns and poetry on religious themes. He died of tuberculosis in Hartford CT. (Although the record of death says Hartford RI, the grave is undoubtedly in the Ancient Burying Ground of Hartford CT and the record is only a transcription from sources that apparently did not specify the state.) A biography with correspondence, by Edwin Martin Stone, appeared in 1836. (ancestry.com 14 Feb. 2021; ANBO 14 Feb. 2021; findagrave.com 14 Feb. 2021; findmypast.com 14 Feb. 2021) HJ
Other Names:
- Elhanan Winchester, Jr.