John Payzant (17 Oct. 1749 in

Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label=Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependencies, Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west F ...

– 10 April 1834 in

Liverpool, Nova Scotia Liverpool is a Canadian community and former town located along the Atlantic Ocean of the Province of Nova Scotia's South Shore. It is situated within the Region of Queens Municipality which is the local governmental unit that comprises all ...

) was a Foreign Protestant, prominent New Light Congregational minister in

and was taken captive for four years with his siblings and pregnant mother after the

Raid on Lunenburg (1756) The Raid on Lunenburg occurred during the French and Indian War when Mi'kmaw and Maliseet fighters attacked a British settlement at Lunenburg, Nova Scotia on May 8, 1756. The native militia raided two islands on the northern outskirts of the f ...

. He was born Jean Paysant in St. Helier, Jersey, Channel Islands to French

Huguenots The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss politica ...

Louis Payzant (1695–1756) and his wife Marie Anne Noget (1711–1796). The family moved to

Lunenburg, Nova Scotia Lunenburg is a port town on the South Shore of Nova Scotia, Canada. Founded in 1753, the town was one of the first British attempts to settle Protestants in Nova Scotia. The economy was traditionally based on the offshore fishery and today L ...

, in 1753. At the May 1756 raid, mercenary natives for the French shot and scalped his father and three others. According to DesBrisay, they were later buried on Heckman's Island, Nova Scotia. For the first year, he and his siblings were adopted by the Indigenous family while his pregnant mother was taken to

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

. John learned to speak their native language. He later wrote: “I was

ater Ater (Hebrew אֲתַר) is an Old Testament male name. #A descendant of Hezekiah, who returned from Babylon ; #An Israelite, who subscribed to Nehemiah’s covenant #A porter ; {{bibleverse, , Nehemiah, 7:45 Set index articles on Hebrew Bible ...

a languattor ranslatorfor the Indians as I had learnt that Language when prisoner among them." After one year of captivity by the natives, he and his siblings were eventually released to re-connect with their mother in Quebec. “When I arrived at Quebec I was sent to the

Jesuits The Society of Jesus ( la, Societas Iesu; abbreviation: SJ), also known as the Jesuits (; la, Iesuitæ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

to be instructed in the Learning of that Academy and during my stay there I made great proficiency in the Arts that were taught in that School, and as they were fond to proselyte they took the more pains with me." In 1760 they all (including a sister born in Quebec in December 1756) returned to Nova Scotia, settling in Falmouth. Payzant then became a minister in

(1793). He was part of the

Great Awakening Great Awakening refers to a number of periods of religious revival in American Christian history. Historians and theologians identify three, or sometimes four, waves of increased religious enthusiasm between the early 18th century and the late ...

and was a follower of

Henry Alline Henry Alline (pronounced Allen) (June 14, 1748 – February 2, 1784) was a minister, evangelist, and writer who became known as "the Apostle of Nova Scotia." Born at Newport, Rhode Island. He became a New England Planter and served as an itinera ...

and married his sister Mary in 1774. They had one daughter and eight sons. Rev. John Payzant died at 84 and is buried in Liverpool's Old Burying Ground.Burying Ground
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See also

References

Further reading