Pardon Tillinghast

English colonist in North America (1625–1718)

For the Rhode Island Supreme Court Justice, see Pardon E. Tillinghast .

Pardon Tillinghast (1625–1718) was an early settler of Providence , in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations . A cooper by profession in England, he emigrated to the colony about 1645, and became a successful merchant. Later in life he became a pastor of the Baptist Church of Providence , serving without compensation for nearly four decades before his death in 1718, aged about 96.

Life

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Baptized in 1625 in Streat , Sussex , England, Pardon Tillinghast was the son of Pardon Tillinghast and Sarah Browne of Ifield , Sussex. His paternal grandparents were John Tillinghast and Alice Pardon of Streat in Sussex, and his maternal grandparents were Reverend Benjamin Browne and Sarah Leachford of Ifield.

His grandfather, John Tillinghast, attended Cambridge University, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1581/2, a Master of Arts degree in 1585, and then served as the rector at Streat from 1593 to 1624.

An uncle was John Tillinghast , a Fifth Monarchist .

Tillinghast was reported to be born near the Seven Sisters cliffs in Sussex.

While still in England, Pardon Tillinghast may have served as a soldier under Oliver Cromwell and participated in the battle of Marston Moor . He was in Providence by 19 January 1646 when he was received as one who would get a "quarter share" of parcels to be distributed. His reason for emigrating from England may have been the religious intolerance at the time. Tillinghast had little estate when he came to New England, and in 1650 he was taxed three shillings and four pence, a fairly low amount compared to other inhabitants.

In 1658 he became a Providence freeman , but the following year he had a deed of land in Newport from Benedict Arnold , and was called an "Inhabitant of Newport" in the deed. While living in Newport, he became involved in importing and selling dry goods, and appears to have had a brewery, based on a 1684 deed in which he conveys a "brewhous" to his son John, along with his other Newport properties. About 1665 he was back in Providence when he received a lot there in a division of lands, and between 1672 and 1700 he served for six one-year terms as a Deputy to the General Assembly representing Providence.

Tillinghast was a cooper like both his father and his sons, but also was a successful merchant. In 1680 he was granted 20 square feet "for building a storehouse with privilege of a wharf, over against his dwelling house." In doing this, he had built the first wharf in Providence, and is thus recognized as the founding pioneer of the town's maritime trade. Subsequently, trade opened between Providence and other partners, from nearby colonies to as far as the West Indies and Europe. For the times, Tillinghast became a fairly wealthy man, and when he died, his estate, excluding real estate, was valued at £1,542. Putting this into perspective, of 78 Providence inventories between 1716 and 1726, his was the third highest in value.

Grave monument for Elder Pardon Tillinghast on Benefit Street, in Providence

At Some point in his life, Tillinghast became an avid Baptist , and in October 1674 he and Stephen Harding were arrested in the Massachusetts Bay Colony , and charged with visiting the Puritan town of Mendon in order to "Seduce People to their corrupt opinions." The two men appeared before the county court, but with no one present to prosecute them, they were admonished and released after being ordered to pay court costs. In 1681 Tillinghast became the pastor of the First Baptist Church in Providence , the oldest Baptist congregation in America, established by Roger Williams in 1638. He served in that capacity without remuneration from 1681 until his death in 1718, and was the sixth pastor of this congregation, being preceded by Roger Williams, Chad Browne , Thomas Olney , William Wickenden , and Gregory Dexter .

He was described by Baptist historian, Morgan Edwards , as being remarkable for his plainness and his piety. He was the author of Water-Baptism Plainly Proved by Scripture to Be a Gospel Precept (Boston, 1689). In 1700 at his own expense, he built the first meeting house for his congregation, described as a "rude affair" in the shape of a hay cap with a fireplace in the middle with the smoke escaping from a hole in the roof. In 1711 he deeded the building to the church and described the congregation as adhering to Six Principle Baptist tenets.

While serving as a clergyman, Tillinghast continued to be active with civic responsibilities as well, and served on the Providence Town Council during most of the years from 1688 to 1707, and was also the town Treasurer from 168

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