Jeremiah Chaplin (January 2, 1776 – May 7, 1841) was a

Reformed Baptist Reformed Baptists (sometimes known as Particular Baptists or Calvinistic Baptists) are Baptists that hold to a Calvinist soteriology (salvation). The first Calvinist Baptist church was formed in the 1630s. The 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith ...

theologian who served as the first president of

Colby College Colby College is a private liberal arts college in Waterville, Maine. It was founded in 1813 as the Maine Literary and Theological Institution, then renamed Waterville College after the city where it resides. The donations of Christian philanthr ...

(then called the Waterville College) in Maine. Chaplin was born in

Rowley, Massachusetts Rowley is a New England town, town in Essex County, Massachusetts, Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 6,161 at the 2020 census. Part of the town comprises the census-designated place of Rowley (CDP), Massachusetts, Row ...

(now

Georgetown, Massachusetts Georgetown is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 8,470 at the 2020 census. It was incorporated in 1838 from part of Rowley. History Georgetown was originally settled in 1639 as a part of the town of Rowl ...

) in 1776 to a Baptist family. He attended

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

, a school with an historical Baptist affiliation, graduating in 1799 with a Bachelor of Arts. Chaplin spent a year at Brown as a tutor and pursued additional theological study to become a minister. To this end, he studied under Thomas Baldwin of the Second Baptist Church in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

. In 1802 he became minister of the Baptist church in

Danvers, Massachusetts Danvers is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, located on the Danvers River near the northeastern coast of Massachusetts. The suburb is a fairly short ride from Boston and is also in close proximity to the renowned beaches of Glo ...

. Chaplin remained in Danvers through 1817 with the exception of a 1804 stint at the

First Baptist Church in the City of New York The First Baptist Church in the City of New York is a Baptist church based in a sanctuary built in 1890–93 at the intersection of Broadway and West 79th Street in the Upper West Side of Manhattan, New York City. The church is affiliated with t ...

. College left his pastorate in Danvers in 1817 to become president of the new Waterville College (later

) at which he served until 1833. Chaplin first met

Gardner Colby Gardner Colby (1810–1879) was a prominent businessman and Christian philanthropist. He is the namesake of Colby College in Maine. Early life Colby was born in Bowdoinham, Maine in 1810 and spent part of his childhood in Waterville, Maine. His ...

during this period while Colby was still a child, and Chaplin assisted Colby's family after Colby's father died. During the remainder of his life, Chaplin preached in

and

Willington, Connecticut Willington is a town in Tolland County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 5,566 at the 2020 census. The Willimantic River borders the town on the west. Willington is about 25 miles northeast of Hartford on Interstate 84, which also ...

, and then moved to

Hamilton, New York Hamilton is a town in Madison County, New York, United States. The population was 6,690 at the 2010 census. The town is named after American Founding Father Alexander Hamilton. The Town of Hamilton contains a village also named Hamilton, the s ...

where he died in 1841. Chaplin held to a

Calvinist Baptist Reformed Baptists (sometimes known as Particular Baptists or Calvinistic Baptists) are Baptists that hold to a Calvinist soteriology (salvation). The first Calvinist Baptist church was formed in the 1630s. The 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith ...

theology throughout his life. A

Liberty ship Liberty ships were a class of cargo ship built in the United States during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program. Though British in concept, the design was adopted by the United States for its simple, low-cost construction. Mass ...

constructed in 1943, the , was named in his honor.Liberty: The Ships That Won the War, Peter Elphick, Naval Institute Press, 2006, p 131.

Published works

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chaplin, Jeremiah 1776 births 1841 deaths Colby College faculty Presidents of Colby College Brown University alumni People from Waterville, Maine University and college founders 19th-century Baptist ministers from the United States People from Georgetown, Massachusetts People from Hamilton, New York People of colonial Massachusetts Baptists from New York (state)