Ebenezer Parkman
Ebenezer Parkman | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1703 Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts Bay |
| Died | 1782 (aged 78–79) Westborough, Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States |
| Burial place | Memorial Cemetery, Westborough, Massachusetts |
| Alma mater | Harvard University |
| Occupation | Congregational minister |
| Years active | 1724–1782 |
| Spouses |
|
| Children | Ebenezer Parkman II, Lucy Parkman, 10 others |
Ebenezer Parkman (1703–1782) was an American Congregational minister who founded the Congregational Church in Westborough, Massachusetts. A Harvard graduate, he served as the town's minister for nearly six decades, helping establish its early religious community. His detailed diary and church records are considered among the most valuable sources for the study of colonial New England religion and society.[1][2] His daughter Lucy married Jeduthan Baldwin, linking Parkman's family to another prominent Massachusetts lineage.[3]
Early life and education
Parkman was born in 1703 in Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts Bay, the son of William Parkman and Elizabeth (Adams) Parkman. He graduated from Harvard University with a Bachelor of Arts in 1723 and a Master of Arts in 1724.[4]
Career
In 1723, Parkman began preaching and twice occupied the pulpit in Westborough that summer. He was formally installed as the town’s minister in 1724 after a nomination and selection process with Rev. Jacob Eliot. During this period, he built a residence on a hill where the Lyman School later stood. His meticulously kept Westborough church records and diary provide an unparalleled insight into colonial New England religious and social life.[5]
Selections from his diary, covering the years 1719–1750, were published in the Proceedings of the American Antiquarian Society between 1961 and 1964.[6][7][8][9][10][11]
Personal life
Parkman married Mary Champney of Cambridge in July 1724. They had two children, Ebenezer Parkman II and Lucy Parkman. His daughter Lucy later married Jeduthan Baldwin. Mary died in 1735. In 1737, Parkman married Hannah Breck, with whom he had eleven children between 1738 and 1761.[12]
Death and legacy
Parkman died in 1782 in Westborough, Worcester County, Massachusetts, and was buried at Memorial Cemetery. He is remembered for his long tenure as minister and for establishing the Congregational Church in Westborough. His diary has been widely used by historians to study New England religious life, community structures, and daily practices.[13][14]
References
- ^ Beales, Ross W. Jr. (2015). "Ebenezer Parkman's World of Print: A Country Parson and the Print Culture of Eighteenth-Century Anglo-America". Library & Information History. 31 (1): 1–18. doi:10.1179/1758348915Z.00000000067.
- ^ Walett, Francis G. (1974). The Diary of Ebenezer Parkman, 1703–1782. American Antiquarian Society.
- ^ Cutter, William Richard (1910). Genealogical and Personal Memoirs Relating to the Families of Boston and Eastern Massachusetts. Lewis Historical Publishing Co.
- ^ Cutter, William Richard (1910). Genealogical and Personal Memoirs Relating to the Families of Boston and Eastern Massachusetts. Lewis Historical Publishing Co.
- ^ "Westborough Church Records". The Ebenezer Parkman Project. Retrieved September 5, 2025.
- ^ "Extracts from the Diary of Rev. Ebenezer Parkman, 1719–1728". Proceedings of the American Antiquarian Society. April 1961.
- ^ "Extracts from the Diary of Rev. Ebenezer Parkman, 1729–1738". Proceedings of the American Antiquarian Society. October 1961.
- ^ "Extracts from the Diary of Rev. Ebenezer Parkman, 1739–1744". Proceedings of the American Antiquarian Society. April 1962.
- ^ "Extracts from the Diary of Rev. Ebenezer Parkman, 1747". Proceedings of the American Antiquarian Society. April 1963.
- ^ "Extracts from the Diary of Rev. Ebenezer Parkman, 1748". Proceedings of the American Antiquarian Society. October 1963.
- ^ "Extracts from the Diary of Rev. Ebenezer Parkman, 1749–1750". Proceedings of the American Antiquarian Society. April 1964.
- ^ Cutter, William Richard (1910). Genealogical and Personal Memoirs Relating to the Families of Boston and Eastern Massachusetts. Lewis Historical Publishing Co.
- ^ Mutschler, Ben (2020). The Province of Affliction: Illness and the Making of Early New England. Yale University Press.
- ^ Winiarski, Douglas L. (2017). Darkness Falls on the Land of Light: Experiencing Religious Awakenings in Eighteenth-Century New England. University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 9781469628271.