Pardon Tillinghast

Pardon Tillinghast (1625–1718) was an early settler of Providence, Rhode Island, a public official there, and a pastor of the Baptist Church of Providence. A cooper by profession, he immigrated to New England about 1645, and became a successful merchant. Later in life he became a clergyman, serving without compensation for nearly four decades before his death in 1718, aged about 96. Life Baptized in 1625 in Streat, Sussex, Pardon Tillinghast was the son of Pardon Tillinghast and Sarah Browne of Ifield, Sussex, England. 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.