Samuel Bourn the Elder (1648–1719) was an
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
dissenting minister. His maternal uncle was Robert Seddon, who (after receiving
Presbyterian
Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...
ordination on 14 June 1654) became minister at
Gorton
Gorton is an area of Manchester in North West England, southeast of the city centre. The population at the 2011 census was 36,055. Neighbouring areas include Levenshulme and Openshaw.
A major landmark is Gorton Monastery, a 19th-century Hig ...
,
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...
and
Langley, Derbyshire, where he was silenced in 1662. Seddon sent Bourn to
Emmanuel College, Cambridge, which he left in 1672. His tutor was Samuel Richardson, who taught that there is no distinction between grace and moral righteousness and salvation is dependent upon the moral state. It does not appear that Bourn accepted this view; his theology was always
Calvinistic
Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...
and, although he regretted deflectors from that system, he was no hunter of heretics.
Life
Bourn was born at
Derby
Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby g ...
, where his father and grandfather (who were clothiers) had provided the town with a water supply.
Leaving Cambridge without a degree, he taught in a school at Derby and then became chaplain to Lady Hatton. Living with a paternal aunt in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
, he was ordained there. In 1679
Samuel Annesley
Samuel Annesley (c. 1620 – 1696) was a prominent Puritan and nonconformist pastor, best known for the sermons he collected as the series of ''Morning Exercises''.
Life
He was born in Haseley, in Warwickshire in 1620, and christened on the 26th ...
's influence gained him the pastoral charge of the Presbyterian congregation at
Calne
Calne () is a town and civil parish in Wiltshire, southwestern England,OS Explorer Map 156, Chippenham and Bradford-on-Avon Scale: 1:25 000.Publisher: Ordnance Survey A2 edition (2007). at the northwestern extremity of the North Wessex Downs ...
,
Wiltshire
Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...
(which he held for 16 years, declining overtures from
Bath,
Durham Durham most commonly refers to:
*Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham
*County Durham, an English county
* Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States
*Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...
and
Lincoln
Lincoln most commonly refers to:
* Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States
* Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England
* Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S.
* Lincol ...
. On his deathbed in 1695, Seddon (who had preached at
Bolton
Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish weavers settled in the area in the 14th ...
, Lancashire since 1688) recommended Bourn as his successor there. Bourn went there in 1695; although at first he was not well received by the congregation at
Bank Street Unitarian Chapel, he declined the offer by his Calne congregation and gradually won the affection of his Bolton flock. For him, a new meeting-house (licensed on 30 September 1696) was built on ground donated by his uncle. He originated (and ultimately supported) a
charity school
Charity schools, sometimes called blue coat schools, or simply the Blue School, were significant in the history of education in England. They were built and maintained in various parishes by the voluntary contributions of the inhabitants to ...
for 20 poor children. His stipend was very meagre although, when pleading for donations for others, he was known as "the best beggar in Bolton". In his will he left £20 as an endowment to the Monday lecture.
His health declined some time before his death on 4 March 1719. On his deathbed, in answer to his friend Jeremiah Aldred (d. 1729, minister of Manton) he emphatically expressed his satisfaction with the
nonconformist position he had adopted. His funeral sermon was preached (from ) by his son
Samuel (who had already been appointed to preach a funeral sermon for a member of his father's flock). Bourn married the daughter of George Scortwreth (who was ejected from St. Peter's in Lincoln), and had seven children. His eldest son, Joseph, died on 17 June 1701 at age 20; his youngest sons, Daniel and Abraham, died in infancy in April 1701. His widow survived him by several years.
Works
Although Bourn himself was unpublished, his son Samuel published ''Several Sermons preached by the late Rev. Mr. Samuel Bourn of Bolton, Lancashire'', (1722) (two sets of sermons from on "The transforming vision of Christ in the future state"), adding the funeral sermon and a brief memoir by
William Tong
William Morten Tong (born May 2, 1973) is an American lawyer and politician who is the 25th and current Attorney General of Connecticut. Born in Hartford, Connecticut, Tong attended Brown University and the University of Chicago Law School. He b ...
and dedicating the volume to a relative (Madam Hacker of Duffield). He speaks of his father as a great preacher, a good pastor, a good scholar, and an honest, upright man. A portrait prefixed to the volume shows a strong countenance; Bourn wears gown and bands, and his flowing hair is confined by a skullcap.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bourn, Samuel
1648 births
1719 deaths
English Presbyterian ministers
17th-century English clergy
18th-century English clergy
People from Derby
Ejected English ministers of 1662
Alumni of Emmanuel College, Cambridge