Samuel Willard
Samuel Willard was a prominent New England minister and theologian, born in 1640 in Concord, Massachusetts. He graduated from Harvard College in 1662 and began his pastoral career in Groton, where he became known for his detailed account of Elizabeth Knapp’s case of suspected demonic possession. Willard's observations on this case established him as an expert in matters of demonic affliction, and he published his findings to share with fellow ministers. After the destruction of Groton during Indian attacks in 1676, he relocated to Boston, becoming the pastor of the influential Third Church.
Willard's theological contributions include his major work, *Covenant-Keeping the Way to Blessedness*, which emphasized a strict adherence to Puritan beliefs. He initially supported the Salem witch trials but later shifted his stance, advocating for the rights of the accused and publicly acknowledging his earlier misjudgments. His reflections on the witch trials were compiled in *Some Miscellany Observations on Our Present Debates Respecting Witchcrafts*. In 1700, he became vice president of Harvard College and was elevated to president the following year, serving until his death in 1707. Willard's legacy includes a posthumously published collection of his sermons, which is considered one of the largest books of its time in North America.
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Samuel Willard
Theologian
- Born: January 31, 1640
- Birthplace: Concord, Massachusetts
- Died: September 12, 1707
Biography
Samuel Willard was born in Concord, Massachusetts, in 1640, the sixth child of Simon Willard, the founder of Concord. He entered Harvard College in 1655, earning his master’s degree in 1662. After completing his education, Willard was elected on a trial basis as the minister of Groton, Massachusetts. After a two-year probationary period, the town unanimously elected him to a seven-year contract.
As the reverend pastor of Groton, Willard contended with the notorious case of the suspected possession of Elizabeth Knapp. For several months, Knapp suffered from uncontrollable fits in which her body shook and she screamed obscenities. Willard observed these fits and chronicled them in “A Brief Accounte of a Strange and Unusuall Providence of God, Befallen to Elizabeth Knap of Groton in 1671-1672.” Willard distributed this work to ministers throughout the Massachusetts Bay Colony and earned a reputation as an expert on cases of demonic affliction.
Willard remained reverend pastor of Groton until 1676, when the town was destroyed by Indian attacks. After the destruction of Groton, Willard settled in Boston, where he became the pastor of Boston’s elite Third Church. In 1682, as pastor of the Third Church, Willard published his first major work, Covenant -Keeping the Way to Blessedness. This work presented his Puritan theology of the people’s covenant with God and called for strict adherence to biblical teachings.
In 1692, with the beginning of the Salem witchcraft hysteria, Willard initially aligned himself with the government’s position of vigorously condemning and prosecuting the accused. However, he moved away from this stance when he saw that many of the accusations of witchcraft were made in error. He then became an advocate for the rights of the accused. Willard became concerned that innocent people were victimized and urged the courts to be cautious in their convictions. Willard acknowledged the error of his initial participation in condemning those accused of witchcraft and confessed his mistakes in front of his congregation at the Third Church. He publicized his views by publishing Some Miscellany Observations on Our Present Debates Respecting Witchcrafts. . . (1692). This sixteen-page dialogue presented opposing views of witchcraft by Salem and Boston clergymen and accused the court of commandeering justice and condemning the innocent.
In 1700, Willard became the vice president of Harvard College, and was promoted to president within a year. While serving in this position, Willard maintained his association with and duties at the Third Church congregation. He remained at Harvard College until his death in 1707. After his death, Willard’s congregants gathered 250 of his sermons and published them posthumously under the title A Compleat Body of Divinity in Two Hundred and Fifty Expository Lectures on the Assembly’s Shorter Catechism. . . (1726), the largest book published to date in North America.