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Edward Taylor
Edward Taylor (circa 1642 – June 29, 1729) was an English-born American preacher, poet, and physician whose ministry and writings made him a significant figure in colonial Puritanism. Born in Sketchley, Leicestershire, England, to William, a yeoman farmer, and Margaret Taylor, he grew up in a Nonconformist family during the Commonwealth period. After losing both parents—his mother in 1657 and father in 1658—he worked as a schoolmaster until the 1662 Act of Uniformity barred him from teaching due to his refusal to conform to the Church of England. In 1668, he emigrated to Massachusetts Bay Colony, enrolling at Harvard College in 1671, where he graduated with a divinity degree. Taylor’s preaching career began when he accepted a call in 1671 to serve as minister in Westfield, Massachusetts, a frontier town he led for over 50 years. His sermons, over 60 of which survive, emphasized God’s grace and the believer’s relationship with Christ, reflecting his role in administering communion and defending orthodox Congregationalism against liberalizing trends like those of Solomon Stoddard. Alongside preaching, he wrote over 200 Preparatory Meditations, poetic reflections on Scripture, though he forbade their publication, and they remained unknown until 1937. Married twice—first to Elizabeth Fitch in 1674, who bore eight children before her death in 1689, then to Ruth Willys in 1692, with whom he had six—he died at age 87 in Westfield, leaving a legacy as a devoted pastor and one of America’s earliest literary voices.
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Edward Taylor, a New England Puritan, was a deeply pious and learned minister known for his Calvinist beliefs and spiritual devotion. His poetry, particularly his 'Meditations' before the Lord's Supper, beautifully reflects Reformed theology and his mystical communion with Christ. Taylor's writings, though in old spelling and language, offer great literature that rewards careful examination and reading aloud, providing a feast of Puritan poetry for those who appreciate Puritan sermons.
Short Bio
Edward Taylor (1642-1729) was a New England Puritan. He was born in Leicestershire and became a school teacher with Puritan sympathies. After the Great Ejection, Taylor left England, studied divinity at Harvard, and eventually became minister of Westfield, Massachusetts. Taylor was a colleague of Increase Mather and Charles Chauncey, and corresponded with Richard Baxter and other divines in England. He carried on a long-running controversy with Solomon Stoddard over the Lord's Supper, Taylor taking the position later held by Edwards. Donald Stanford says, "Taylor seems to have been endowed with most of those qualities usually connoted by the word puritan. He was learned, grave, severe, stubborn, and stiff-necked. He was very, very pious. But his piety was sincere. It was fed by a long continuous spiritual experience arising, so he felt, from a mystical communion with Christ. The reality and depth of this experience is amply witnessed by his poetry." A perusal of his poetry shows that Taylor was a thorough going Calvinist. It was his custom to write a poem ("Meditation") before each Lord's Supper. They are wonderful examples of spiritual experience and devotion. Here is Reformed theology in beautiful dress. The reader who loves Puritan sermons should welcome a chance to dive into this feast of Puritan poetry. They have been minimally edited, but do not be put off by the old spelling or unfamiliar words. Here is great literature that will repay slow examination, or even better, reading aloud.
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Edward Taylor (circa 1642 – June 29, 1729) was an English-born American preacher, poet, and physician whose ministry and writings made him a significant figure in colonial Puritanism. Born in Sketchley, Leicestershire, England, to William, a yeoman farmer, and Margaret Taylor, he grew up in a Nonconformist family during the Commonwealth period. After losing both parents—his mother in 1657 and father in 1658—he worked as a schoolmaster until the 1662 Act of Uniformity barred him from teaching due to his refusal to conform to the Church of England. In 1668, he emigrated to Massachusetts Bay Colony, enrolling at Harvard College in 1671, where he graduated with a divinity degree. Taylor’s preaching career began when he accepted a call in 1671 to serve as minister in Westfield, Massachusetts, a frontier town he led for over 50 years. His sermons, over 60 of which survive, emphasized God’s grace and the believer’s relationship with Christ, reflecting his role in administering communion and defending orthodox Congregationalism against liberalizing trends like those of Solomon Stoddard. Alongside preaching, he wrote over 200 Preparatory Meditations, poetic reflections on Scripture, though he forbade their publication, and they remained unknown until 1937. Married twice—first to Elizabeth Fitch in 1674, who bore eight children before her death in 1689, then to Ruth Willys in 1692, with whom he had six—he died at age 87 in Westfield, leaving a legacy as a devoted pastor and one of America’s earliest literary voices.