Samuel Bourn the Elder
Encyclopedia
Samuel Bourn the Elder (1648-1719) was an English dissenting minister.
, Lancashire, and then at Langley, Derbyshire, where he was silenced in 1662. Seddon sent Bourn to Emmanuel College, Cambridge
, which he left in 1672. His tutor was Samuel Richardson, who taught him that there is no distinction between grace and moral righteousness, and that salvation is dependent upon the moral state. It does not appear that he accepted this view; his theology was always Calvinistic
, and he lamented the deflections from that system. In his time, though he was no heresy-hunter.
Leaving Cambridge without a degree, being unwilling to subscribe, Bourn taught in a school at Derby. He then became chaplain to Lady Hatton. Going to live with an aunt Bourn in London, he was ordained there. In 1679 Dr. Samuel Annesley
's influence gained him the pastoral charge of the presbyterian congregation at Calne
, Wiltshire, which he held for sixteen years, declining overtures from Bath, Durham, and Lincoln. On his death-bed in 1695, Seddon, who had preached at Bolton
, Lancashire since 1688, recommended Bourn as his successor there. Bourn went there in 1695, and though at first not well received by the whole congregation, he declined the inducement of a larger salary offered by the Calne people to tempt him back, and gradually won the love of all his Bolton flock. For him the new meeting-house (licensed 30 Sept. 1696) was built on the ground given by his uncle. He originated, and after a time entirely supported, a charity school for twenty poor children. His stipend was very meagre, though when pleading for the wants of others he was known as "the best beggar in Bolton". In his will he left £20 as an additional endowment to the Monday lecture.
His health broke down some time before his death on 4 March 1719. On his deathbed, in answer to his friend Jeremiah Aldred (d. 1729), minister of Manton, he emphatically expressed his satisfaction with the non-conformist position he had adopted. His funeral sermon was preached (from 2 Kings ii. 3) by his son Samuel
, who had already been appointed to preach a funeral sermon for a member of his father's flock, and discharged the double duty. Bourn married the daughter of George Scortwreth, ejected from St. Peter's, Lincoln, and had seven children. His eldest son Joseph died on 17 June 1701 in his twenty-first year; his youngest sons, Daniel and Abraham, had died in infancy in April 1701; his widow survived him several years.
, and dedicating the volume to a relative, Madam Hacker of Duffield. He speaks of his father as a great preacher, a good pastor, a good scholar, and an honest, upright man. A portrait prefixed to the volume shows a strong countenance; Bourn wears gown and bands, and his flowing hair is confined by a skull-cap.
Life
Bourn was born at Derby, where his father and grandfather, who were clothiers, had shown some public spirit in providing the town with a water supply. His mother's brother was Robert Seddon, who, having received presbyterian ordination on 14 June 1654, became minister at GortonGorton
Gorton is an area of the city of Manchester, in North West England. It is located to the southeast of Manchester city centre. Neighbouring areas include Longsight and Levenshulme....
, Lancashire, and then at Langley, Derbyshire, where he was silenced in 1662. Seddon sent Bourn to Emmanuel College, Cambridge
Emmanuel College, Cambridge
Emmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay on the site of a Dominican friary...
, which he left in 1672. His tutor was Samuel Richardson, who taught him that there is no distinction between grace and moral righteousness, and that salvation is dependent upon the moral state. It does not appear that he accepted this view; his theology was always Calvinistic
Calvinism
Calvinism is a Protestant theological system and an approach to the Christian life...
, and he lamented the deflections from that system. In his time, though he was no heresy-hunter.
Leaving Cambridge without a degree, being unwilling to subscribe, Bourn taught in a school at Derby. He then became chaplain to Lady Hatton. Going to live with an aunt Bourn in London, he was ordained there. In 1679 Dr. Samuel Annesley
Samuel Annesley
Samuel Annesley was a prominent Puritan and nonconformist pastor, best known for the sermons he collected as the series of Morning Exercises.-Life:...
's influence gained him the pastoral charge of the presbyterian congregation at Calne
Calne
Calne is a town in Wiltshire, southwestern England. It is situated at the northwestern extremity of the North Wessex Downs hill range, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty....
, Wiltshire, which he held for sixteen years, declining overtures from Bath, Durham, and Lincoln. On his death-bed in 1695, Seddon, who had preached at Bolton
Bolton
Bolton is a town in Greater Manchester, in the North West of England. Close to the West Pennine Moors, it is north west of the city of Manchester. Bolton is surrounded by several smaller towns and villages which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, of which Bolton is the...
, Lancashire since 1688, recommended Bourn as his successor there. Bourn went there in 1695, and though at first not well received by the whole congregation, he declined the inducement of a larger salary offered by the Calne people to tempt him back, and gradually won the love of all his Bolton flock. For him the new meeting-house (licensed 30 Sept. 1696) was built on the ground given by his uncle. He originated, and after a time entirely supported, a charity school for twenty poor children. His stipend was very meagre, though when pleading for the wants of others he was known as "the best beggar in Bolton". In his will he left £20 as an additional endowment to the Monday lecture.
His health broke down some time before his death on 4 March 1719. On his deathbed, in answer to his friend Jeremiah Aldred (d. 1729), minister of Manton, he emphatically expressed his satisfaction with the non-conformist position he had adopted. His funeral sermon was preached (from 2 Kings ii. 3) by his son Samuel
Samuel Bourn the Younger
-Life:He was the second son of Samuel Bourn the elder, born at Calne, Wiltshire. He was taught classics at Bolton, and trained for the ministry in the Manchester dissenting academy of John Chorlton and James Coningham. His first settlement was at Crook, near Kendal, in 1711...
, who had already been appointed to preach a funeral sermon for a member of his father's flock, and discharged the double duty. Bourn married the daughter of George Scortwreth, ejected from St. Peter's, Lincoln, and had seven children. His eldest son Joseph died on 17 June 1701 in his twenty-first year; his youngest sons, Daniel and Abraham, had died in infancy in April 1701; his widow survived him several years.
Works
Bourn printed nothing, but his son Samuel published: Several Sermons preached by the late Rev. Mr. Samuel Bourn of Bolton, Lancashire, (1722) (two sets of sermons from 1 John iii. 2, 3, on "The transforming vision of Christ in the future state", etc.), adding the funeral sermon, and a brief memoir by William TongWilliam Tong (minister)
William Tong was an English Presbyterian minister, at the heart of the subscription debate of 1718.-Life:He was born on 24 June 1662, probably at Eccles near Manchester, where his father was buried. His mother was early left a widow with three children...
, and dedicating the volume to a relative, Madam Hacker of Duffield. He speaks of his father as a great preacher, a good pastor, a good scholar, and an honest, upright man. A portrait prefixed to the volume shows a strong countenance; Bourn wears gown and bands, and his flowing hair is confined by a skull-cap.