Thomas Prince
Thomas Prince (1687–1758) was an influential American theological writer and essayist, recognized for his extensive contributions to theology and his wide-ranging knowledge in natural and philosophical sciences. Born in Sandwich, Massachusetts, to a prominent family, he graduated from Harvard Divinity School and served as a pastor in England before returning to America in 1717. Prince became the pastor of Old South Church in Boston, where his reputation flourished, bolstered by the support of well-known Puritan ministers like Increase and Cotton Mather.
He is noted for balancing the rigid traditions of New England Puritanism with the emerging Enlightenment ideas of the 18th century. Prince authored numerous theological tracts, historical writings, and scientific treatises aimed at fostering piety among an Enlightened audience. Additionally, he was an avid bibliophile, amassing a significant collection of Americana, which became foundational to the Old South Church library and later the Boston Public Library. His work helped to shape the intellectual landscape of New England during his lifetime, marking him as a key figure in the region's religious and scholarly discourse.
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Thomas Prince
Historian
- Born: May 15, 1687
- Birthplace: Sandwich, Massachusetts
- Died: October 22, 1758
- Place of death: Boston, Massachusetts
Biography
American theological writer and essayist Thomas Prince is known for his extensive theological writing, his polymath knowledge of the natural and philosophical sciences, and his tenure as pastor at the Old South Church in Boston. Although a defender of New England’s puritanical traditions, he is also seen as a key figure in efforts to adapt the strictures of Puritanism to an eighteenth century Enlightenment temperament.
Prince was born in Sandwich, Massachusetts, in 1687 to a prominent family; his mother was the daughter of Plymouth Colonial Governor Thomas Hinkley. Prince received degrees from Harvard Divinity School in 1707 and 1710. In the 1710’s, he toured the West Indies and settled in England for several years, serving as pastor of a church in Suffolk, where he met his wife, Deborah Denny.
His tenure in Suffolk was extremely successful and his achievements abroad made him both well known and highly desirable as a pastor in New England. In 1717 he returned to America, bringing with him a significant contingent of parishioners from his Suffolk congregation. Although offered prestigious full-time positions as pastors of several churches in Massachusetts and the largest church in Bristol, Rhode Island, Prince instead chose a part-time appointment at Old South Church in Boston, led at the time by his Harvard friend Joseph Sewall. His reputation only increased after he began giving sermons locally and in 1718 his position was made full-time. His ordination ceremony was attended by Increase and Cotton Mather, two prominent Puritan ministers, and by the governor of the Plymouth Colony.
The patronage of the Mather circle, particularly Cotton Mather’s effusive praise for Prince’s theological writing, quickly elevated Prince’s social standing and ecclesiastical authority. His writings in this period parallel Mather’s interests, and he is often viewed as the protector and perpetuator of the New England intellectual tradition, writing not only extensive theological tracts but also historical and scientific treatises, all with a Puritan bent and all intended to inspire piety in an Enlightened audience.
Prince also wrote travelogues and edited a religious periodical known as the Christian History. He began collecting books when he was a student at Harvard and eventually amassed what is considered to be the second most extensive contemporary collection of Americana, second only to Cotton Mather’s collection, which inspired Prince’s bibliophilia. Prince called his initial collection the New England Library, and it eventually formed the basis for the library at Old South Church. His library contained one of the few manuscript copies of William Bradford’s Of Plimoth Plantation. Stolen during the Revolutionary War, Prince’s bookplate allowed the book to be recognized and returned to New England. Prince’s copy of John Smith’s Generall Historie of Virginia, which he acquired in early 1719, is equally valuable, but is made more so by Prince’s extensive annotations and marginalia that reveal much about the development of his theology and contemporary ideas about colonial history. Prince’s collection now forms part of the core collection at the Boston Public Library. He died in Boston in 1758.