Individual Details
Hezekiah Lovejoy
(Abt 1701 - Bef 25 Sep 1751)
Hezekiah and Hannah in 1724 lived in Haverhill where their third child was born, and they transferred several parcels of land that had come to Hezekiah from his father, Christopher, and from Hannah's mother. The date of Hezekiah's death has not been definitely ascertained but on Sept 25, 1751 appraisers were appointed to make an inventory.
The career of Hezekiah was plainly that of a man who loved a good time but was well disciplined for it. The church, all powerful and unbending in those early days, punished him by either deferring the baptism of his children or at best yielding only on his wife's account and baptizing them in her name as sponsor. This was the old fashioned hell fire prepared for and visited upon unchristened infants of the day. Hezekiah, it appears, went in rather a bit too strongly for the concoctions of molasses and rum and such missteps could not be condoned by the church. On Jan 4, 1732 at a church meeting he was charged with "being disguised with drink." This is a unique phrase for a very old accomplishment. And so the church voted that inasmuch as he had previously made a public confession of "the very same sins" but had been irregular in his conversion that they should defer any acceptance of a second confession until Hezekiah gave therm "some good grounds" to think that he had reformed his manner of life. Perhaps he never did furnish them with these grounds and perhaps "no reformation" took place inasmuch as no church records give evidence of his having been restored to its privileges. Perhaps Hezekiah inherited some of these traits from his Russ ancestors because it appears in the South Church that his uncle, Hezekiah Russ, had similar difficulties. The flowing bowl and the pleasant village taverns were not becoming to church members. Early records show that important privileges went to church members only, and some of the privileges were political. There was a great earthquake in 1727 followed by a large and immediate application for affiliation in South Church. Many were baptized again and from Oct 29, 1727 until December the several quake shocks resulted in fine attendances at the meeting houses. Very probably young Hezekiah made his alliance with the church at this time. But probably by 1732 he had become a backslider and then when he refused to appear after the sermon on a specified day for admonition, Parson Phillips said that "It is plain to all that Hezekiah had not repented." The date of Jan 9, 1733 was the one when Hezekiah was debarred from further church privileges. Perhaps Hezekiah died in Amherst, NH, but at any rate it is known that his widow died there after living 54 years longer than her husband. (Lovejoy, 64-65)
The career of Hezekiah was plainly that of a man who loved a good time but was well disciplined for it. The church, all powerful and unbending in those early days, punished him by either deferring the baptism of his children or at best yielding only on his wife's account and baptizing them in her name as sponsor. This was the old fashioned hell fire prepared for and visited upon unchristened infants of the day. Hezekiah, it appears, went in rather a bit too strongly for the concoctions of molasses and rum and such missteps could not be condoned by the church. On Jan 4, 1732 at a church meeting he was charged with "being disguised with drink." This is a unique phrase for a very old accomplishment. And so the church voted that inasmuch as he had previously made a public confession of "the very same sins" but had been irregular in his conversion that they should defer any acceptance of a second confession until Hezekiah gave therm "some good grounds" to think that he had reformed his manner of life. Perhaps he never did furnish them with these grounds and perhaps "no reformation" took place inasmuch as no church records give evidence of his having been restored to its privileges. Perhaps Hezekiah inherited some of these traits from his Russ ancestors because it appears in the South Church that his uncle, Hezekiah Russ, had similar difficulties. The flowing bowl and the pleasant village taverns were not becoming to church members. Early records show that important privileges went to church members only, and some of the privileges were political. There was a great earthquake in 1727 followed by a large and immediate application for affiliation in South Church. Many were baptized again and from Oct 29, 1727 until December the several quake shocks resulted in fine attendances at the meeting houses. Very probably young Hezekiah made his alliance with the church at this time. But probably by 1732 he had become a backslider and then when he refused to appear after the sermon on a specified day for admonition, Parson Phillips said that "It is plain to all that Hezekiah had not repented." The date of Jan 9, 1733 was the one when Hezekiah was debarred from further church privileges. Perhaps Hezekiah died in Amherst, NH, but at any rate it is known that his widow died there after living 54 years longer than her husband. (Lovejoy, 64-65)
Events
| Birth | Abt 1701 | Andover, Essex, Massachusetts, British America |  |  | |
| Marriage | 16 Jul 1722 | Haverhill, Essex, Massachusetts, United States - Hannah Austin | |||
| Death | Bef 25 Sep 1751 | Amherst, Hillsborough, New Hampshire, United States |
Families
| Spouse | Hannah Austin (1704 - 1805) |
| Child | Hezekiah Lovejoy (1722 - 1722) |
| Child | infant Lovejoy (1723 - 1723) |
| Child | Hannah Lovejoy (1724 - 1725) |
| Child | Phebe Lovejoy (1727 - 1737) |
| Child | Hezekiah Lovejoy II (1729 - 1793) |
| Child | Captain Abiel Lovejoy (1731 - 1811) |
| Child | Rev. Francis Lovejoy (1734 - 1818) |
| Child | Phebe Lovejoy (1737 - ) |
| Child | John Lovejoy (1739 - 1743) |
| Child | John Lovejoy (1743 - 1778) |
| Father | Christopher Lovejoy (1661 - 1736) |
| Mother | Sarah Russ (1668 - 1737) |
| Sibling | Miriam Lovejoy (1686 - 1770) |
| Sibling | Christopher Lovejoy (1687 - 1732) |
| Sibling | Sarah Lovejoy (1689 - ) |
| Sibling | Jonathan Lovejoy (1697 - 1725) |
| Sibling | Elizabeth Lovejoy (1700 - ) |
| Sibling | Margaret Lovejoy (1709 - ) |
Notes
Birth
Lovjoy, Hezekiah, s. Christopher and [torn], ______ [1701].although may have been born between 1695 and 1701.
Endnotes
1. Andover, MA Vital Records to 1850 [Births & Marriages] (Topsfield, MA : The Topsfield Historical Society , 1912) Online Web Edition Transcribed by Frances LaMarco.