Reverend Samuel Andrew Peters (1735–1826) was a Connecticut

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of t ...

clergyman and historian. A nephew, John Samuel Peters (1772–1858), served as

Governor of Connecticut The governor of Connecticut is the head of government of Connecticut, and the commander-in-chief of the U.S. state, state's Connecticut Military Department, military forces. The Governor (United States), governor has a duty to enforce state laws, ...

1831–33. Another nephew, John Thompson Peters (1765–1834) served as

Justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

of the

Supreme Court of Connecticut The Connecticut Supreme Court, formerly known as the Connecticut Supreme Court of Errors, is the highest court in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It consists of a Chief Justice and six Associate Justices. The seven justices sit in Hartford, acr ...

1818–1834.

Biography

Samuel Peters was born December 1, 1735, in

Hebron Hebron ( ar, الخليل or ; he, חֶבְרוֹן ) is a Palestinian. city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judaean Mountains, it lies above sea level. The second-largest city in the West Bank (after Eas ...

Connecticut Colony, being third youngest of twelve children of John Peters (1695–1754) and Mary Marks (1698–1784). In 1757 he graduated from

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

and was elected Rector of St. Peter's Church,

Hebron, Connecticut Hebron is a town in Tolland County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 9,098 at the 2020 census. Hebron was incorporated May 26, 1708. In 2010, Hebron was rated #6 in Top Towns in Connecticut with population between 6,500 and 10,000, ...

. In 1758 he sailed to England where he was ordained Deacon in March 1759, before being advanced to the

Priesthood a month later. In the following year he returned to America and took charge of St. Peter's Church parish at Hebron, Connecticut. in 1763 he climbed

Killington Peak Killington Peak is the second highest summit in the Green Mountains and in the U.S. state of Vermont. It is located east of Rutland in south-central Vermont. Killington Peak is a stop on the Long Trail, which here shares its route with the Appa ...

, and allegedly named the area Verd Mont giving the state its future name. In August 1774 Peters fled to England after several visits from the "

Sons of Liberty The Sons of Liberty was a loosely organized, clandestine, sometimes violent, political organization active in the Thirteen American Colonies founded to advance the rights of the colonists and to fight taxation by the British government. It pl ...

" because of his Loyalist sympathies. In 1781 he published, under a

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

, "''General History of Connecticut, from its first settlement under George Fenwick, to its latest period of amity with Great Britain prior to the Revolution; including a description of the country, and many curious and interesting anecdotes. With an appendix, pointing out the causes of the rebellion in America; together with the particular part taken by the people of Connecticut in its promotion. By a Gentleman of the Province''". This work is noted for its unflattering descriptions of the colonists and for its misrepresentation of the Connecticut Blue Laws. The work was negatively received.According to ", the ''Monthly Review'' proclaimed the book as "altogether unworthy of the public attention."" In February 1794 he was nominated Anglican Bishop-elect of

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

but was never consecrated. New International Encyclopedia Peters returned to America in 1805. In 1817 he visited the

Saint Anthony Falls Saint Anthony Falls, or the Falls of Saint Anthony ( dak, italics=no, Owámniyomni, ) located at the northeastern edge of downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota, is the only natural major waterfall on the Mississippi River. Throughout the mid-to-late 1 ...

, taking up a large claim there, but again settled in New York in 1818. He died in poverty in New York City on April 19, 1826.

Marriages and issue

* February 14, 1760 : First marriage to Hannah Owen (1740–1765) who bore him three daughters. * June 25, 1769 : Second marriage to Abigail Gilbert (1751–1769). * April 20, 1773 : Third marriage to Mary Birdseye (1750- ) who bore him two sons.

References

Resources

*Baker, Mark. ''Connecticut Families of the Revolution, American Forebears from Burr to Wolcott'', The History Press, 2014 *Cameron, Kenneth W., ed. ''The Works of Samuel Peters of Hebron, Connecticut, New England Historian...'', Hartford: Transcendental Books, 1967 *Cohen, Sheldon S. "Connecticut's Loyalist Gadfly: The Reverend Samuel Andrew Peters", American Revolution Bicentennial Commission of Connecticut Pamphlet XVII (1976) *Cohen, Sheldon S. "Yale's Peripatetic Loyalist: Samuel Andrew Peters", Journal of the New Haven Colony Historical Society (NHCHS) 25 (Summer 1977) 1:3-7 *Gencarella, Stephen Olbrys. "The Reverend Samuel Peters’s Natural History: A Reassessment." ''Folklore'' 133, no. 3 (2022): 267-288. *Metz, Wayne Normile
"The Reverend Samuel Peters (1735-1826): Connecticut Anglican, Loyalist Priest"
Doctoral dissertation,

Oklahoma State University Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

, 1974 *Middlebrook, Samuel
"Samuel Peters: A Yankee Munchausen"
New England Quarterly 20 (March, 1947) 1:75-87 *O'Neil, Maud. "Samuel Andrew Peters: Connecticut Loyalist", Doctoral dissertation,

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California S ...

, 1947 *Peters, Samuel Andrew.
The Frogs of Windham
a popular chapter from Peters' ''History of Connecticut...'' (1781) * Rourke, Constance. Se
first section of Chapter II
in ''American Humor: A Study of the National Character''

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective ad ...

(2001) * Trumbull, ''The Reverend Samuel Peters; His Defenders and Apologists'' (Hartford, 1877) *Avery, Joshua M.
"Subject and Citizen: Loyalty, Memory and Identity in the Monographs of the Reverend Samuel Andrew Peters"
M.A. Thesis,

Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public research university in Oxford, Ohio. The university was founded in 1809, making it the second-oldest university in Ohio (behind Ohio University, founded in 1804) and the ...

, 2008

External links

The True-blue laws of Connecticut and New Haven : and the false blue-laws invented by the Rev. Samuel Peters : to which are added specimens of the laws and judicial proceedings of other colonies and some blue-laws of England in the reign of James I / edited by J. Hammond Trumbull, Hartford, Conn, American Pub. Co., 1876
{{DEFAULTSORT:Peters, Samuel 1735 births 1826 deaths People of colonial Connecticut People from Hebron, Connecticut 18th-century American Episcopal priests Yale College alumni