Samuel Pearce (1766– 10 October 1799) was an English Baptist minister, known as a hymn-writer.

Life

The son of a silversmith, Pearce was born at

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

, Devon, on 20 July 1766. He studied at the

Baptist College, Bristol Baptists Together (officially The Baptist Union of Great Britain) is a Baptist Christian denomination in England and Wales. It is affiliated with the Baptist World Alliance and Churches Together in England. The headquarters is in Didcot. ...

, and in 1790 was appointed minister of Cannon Street Baptist Church, Birmingham, where he remained The ordination service on 18 August 1790 gathered Caleb Evans, Edward Edmonds, Andrew Fuller,

Robert Hall, the elder Robert Hall, the elder (1728–1791) was an English Particular Baptist minister, known as an proponent of Fullerism and an opponent of so-called hyper-Calvinism. Life Hall was a pastor at Arnesby in Leicestershire. His ministry extended into part ...

, and John Ryland. Pearce's house in

St Paul's Square, Birmingham St Paul's Square is a Georgian square in the Jewellery Quarter, Birmingham, England, named after the church in its centre. It is the last remaining Georgian Square in the city. Built 1777–1779 on the Newhall estate of the Colmore family, it wa ...

was wrecked in 1791 by a "Church and King" riot, in his absence. Pearce became interested in overseas mission work through hearing Thomas Coke preach. He met William Carey, certainly by 1791 when he preached at the ordination service for Carey in

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

. He was one of the 12 ministers who, at Kettering on 2 October 1792, signed the resolutions founding the

Baptist Missionary Society BMS World Mission is a Mission (Christian), Christian missionary society founded by Baptists from England in 1792. It was originally called the Particular Baptist Society for the Propagation of the Gospel Amongst the Heathen, but for most of its ...

. In the hope of mission work, Pearce began to study Bengali. In 1793 Pearce received an honorary degree, from

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 ...

. From 1797 he was quite ill, with tuberculosis. For a time he had assistance from

William Ward William or Willie Ward may refer to: Sports * William Ward (American football) (1874–1936), American football coach at the University of Michigan in 1896 * William Ward (Australian cricketer) (1863–1948), Australian cricketer * William Ward (c ...

. Pearce died on 10 October 1799.

Jehoiada Brewer Jehoiada Brewer (1752?–1817) was a Welsh dissenting minister. Refused ordination to the Church of England, he was known as a preacher, and hymn writer. Life Brewer was born at Newport in Monmouthshire about 1752. Influenced by a minister of the ...

and John Ryland preached at the funeral.

Works

In Pearce's ''Memoirs'', edited by Andrew Fuller, London, 1800, there were 11 poetical pieces, some of which were included in nonconformist hymnals. Pearce published a radical pamphlet in 1790, ''The Oppressive, Unjust and Prophane Nature, and Tendency of the Corporation and Test Acts''. He was the first editor of the ''Periodical Accounts'' of Baptist missionary work.

Family

In 1791 Pearce married Sarah, daughter of Joshua Hopkins of Alcester. William Hopkins Pearce, missionary in India, was their son. Anna, their daughter, married Jonathan, son of William Carey.

Notes

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Pearce, Samuel 1766 births 1799 deaths English Baptists English hymnwriters Clergy from Plymouth, Devon