Joseph Belcher Popular Books
Joseph Belcher Biography & Facts
Joseph Belcher (May 14, 1669 – April 27, 1723) was a minister at the First Church in Dedham, Massachusetts. Personal life Belcher was born on May 14, 1669, in Milton, Massachusetts and graduated from Harvard College in 1690. After his parents separated, Belcher was raised by his maternal grandparents. His father died in 1678 and, in his will, directed that Belcher should become an apprentice to trade at the age of 14. As he approached that birthday, his grandmother died and left him a "considerable fortune," including 300 acres of land in Milton. She also left him 10 acres of land in Dorchester along with a mill and mill rights. As a result, he was very nearly financially independent. Belcher settled in Dedham on November 29, 1693. Soon after, he married Abigail Thompson, and together they had six children. His daughter married Joseph Richards, while his son, Sir Joseph Belcher, was a Harvard graduate and a teacher in the Dedham Public Schools. Belcher was friends with Judge Samuel Sewall and Cotton Mather. Sewall attended his ordination. In 1721, he came down with a "dangerous paralysis" and went to Roxbury to the home of his son-in-law, Rev. Thomas Walter. There he was cared for by his wife's brother, Dr. Philip Sampson. The church occasionally took up collections to support him during this time. He died in Roxbury on April 27, 1723, and five of the "principal men" of Dedham were appointed to hire a coach to transport his body back to Dedham. The town appropriated 40 pounds to cover the expenses of his funeral and £2.4s for the 'entertainment' of the men who attended his funeral and their horses. He was buried in the Old Village Cemetery. Cotton Mather read a eulogy of him in Boston. Ministry He first preached in Dedham on April 17, 1692, and then again for the second time a month later on May 15. He received 15 shillings per day as a guest speaker. The records of the May 23, 1692 Town Meeting indicate that "the Church and Town have given a call" to have Belcher move to Dedham and serve as the minister. Belcher returned to preach on June 12 and did so regularly beginning on October 30. Church records indicate the call was given on December 4, 1692. Belcher was shy and self-effacing, and had a "calming influence, rational approach and generally non-inflammatory attitude." It was likely his calm approach that saved Dedham from being caught up in the hysteria surrounding the witch trials in Salem and surrounding communities. He was minister at the First Church and Parish in Dedham from 1693 until 1723, although illness prevented him from preaching after 1721. His portrait, donated in 1839, hangs just left of First Church's pulpit. Five of his sermons survive. One was delivered before the Great and General Court, one before the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company, two were preached in Dedham specifically for young people, and one at the ordination of Nathaniel Cotton in Bristol, Rhode Island. Salary A few weeks after settling, on December 23, the Town Meeting voted to set his salary at 60 pounds a year. In 1696, he tried to return to a system of voluntary contributions instead of the taxes imposed to pay the salary of his predecessor, but when that system failed, the tax was reimposed in 1704. By the end of his tenure his salary was 100 pounds a year plus the firewood provided by members of the parish. The town also contributed 60 pounds to build a parsonage on land now owned by the Allin Congregational Church. Notes References Works cited Burgess, Ebenezer (1840). Dedham Pulpit: Or, Sermons by the Pastors of the First Church in Dedham in the XVIIth and XVIIIth Centuries. Perkins & Marvin. Retrieved May 3, 2021. Hanson, Robert Brand (1976). Dedham, Massachusetts, 1635-1890. Dedham Historical Society. Lockridge, Kenneth (1985). A New England Town. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. ISBN 978-0-393-95459-3. Smith, Frank (1936). A History of Dedham, Massachusetts. Transcript Press, Incorporated. Retrieved July 18, 2019. Worthington, Erastus (1827). The history of Dedham: from the beginning of its settlement, in September 1635, to May 1827. Dutton and Wentworth. Retrieved July 17, 2019. External links Joseph Belcher at Find a Grave . Discover the Joseph Belcher popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Joseph Belcher books.
Best Seller Joseph Belcher Books of 2024
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The Honeymoon Homicide
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The Great Gatsby
F. Scott FitzgeraldAn Apple Books Classics edition. The Roaring Twenties are in full effect in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s riveting classic. Manabouttown Jay Gatsby seems to have it all, including loads of...
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Get Lucky
Lila MonroeFall for the hot and hilarious romcom spin on 'The Hangover', perfect for fans of Tessa Bailey, Ali Hazelwood, and Emily Henry! What happens when you wake up in a hotel s...
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Escape, A New Life
David J AntocciTo save herself, she had to lose everything. Trapped in a tropical paradise with no memory of how she got there, Abby is thrust into a fight for her life. Hunted by a madman, and c...
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Little Women
Louisa May AlcottAn Apple Books Classic edition. Meet the Marches! Louisa May Alcott’s classic introduces us to four unforgettable sisters: beautiful Meg, tomboyish Jo, delicate Beth, and Amy, the ...
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Assisting the Bosshole
Kristin MacQueenNo hot water? Check Missed the train? Check Broke my heel? Check Dropped my coffee? Check My first day of my new job can’t possibly go worse, right? Wrong. When I meet Parker Scott...
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The Count of Monte Cristo
Alexandre DumasAn Apple Books Classic edition. Alexandre Dumas’ classic paints a portrait of Edmond Dantès, a dark and calculating man who is willing to wait years to exact his perfect plan for r...
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Enemies With Benefits
Roxie NoirI don’t love him. I don’t even like him. I just want him. Eli Loveless was my nemesis from the first day of kindergarten until we graduated high school. Everything I did, he had to...
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Teach Me
Cassandra DeanFrom awardwinning author Cassandra Dean comes a tale where lessons of pleasure between a curious, sunshine widow and a dissolute, grumpy earl leads to passion and allconsuming love...
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A Green Kind of Witch
Sierra CrossCinderella crossed with Mean Girls.   That's what Hazel's daily existence feels like. Born to a family of elegant yet shallow Beige Witches, seventeen y...
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The Three Little Pigs
Mark LeskyClassic fairy tales, legends and folk stories in short version without violence retold with lovely illustrations in simple language. Perfect for reading aloud to small chi...
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Meditations
Emperor of Rome Marcus AureliusMeditations is a series of personal writings by Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor 161–180 CE, setting forth his ideas on Stoic philosophy.
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The Icing on the Cake
Linda SeedShe’s a baker without a kitchen. He’s got a double oven to spare. It’s a recipe for success, until his mother starts stirring up trouble … Cassie Jordan has a sweet dream to open a...
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School of Potential
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Law of Attraction
Jordan HollisHow to Finally Overcome the Hurdles of Manifesting Proven, effective and enjoyable ways to help you manifest faster… Right now, think of something that makes you successful. If you...
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A Bookshop to Die For
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All Fired Up
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Hot Off the Press
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Wuthering Heights
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The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
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Teased by Fire
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Just Me
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The Four Loves
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Hard Love
Peyton BanksHe was football royalty. Legendary quarterback. A champion.  Reiner Strickland had led his team to three national championships and playing a knight in shining armor was a...
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Christmas in Sweetbriar Cove
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Rogue Alpha
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Think and Grow Rich
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The Odyssey
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Death at Hazel House
Betty Rowlands‘Riveting, can't put it down! I love this story… a wonderfully twisted tale of a crime that has more twists than I thought possible... fantastic.’ Goodreads Reviewer, 5 stars ...
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Man In The Water
Jon HillAn attempted murder. A missing spouse. And an international conspiracy that could change the world. Jack Green has always been skeptical of socalled facts. Though he's forced ...
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Awaken Me
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The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
L. Frank BaumAn Apple Books Classic edition. You’ve seen the iconic 1939 movie, but do you know about the talking field mice, the Winkies, and the Witch of the North that appear in the original...
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The Scarlet Letter
Nathaniel HawthorneAn Apple Books Classic edition. Hester Prynne lives in infamy. After committing adultery and bearing a child with a man whose name she refuses to divulge, the heroine of Nathaniel ...
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Good Guy
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Dracula
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Inception of Gold
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Whiskey Girl
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Coffee Girl
Sophie SinclairMackenzie "Kiki" Forbes finds herself in a pickle. Either become her snarky sister's nanny, or move halfway across the country to work as assistanttothestylist of a ...
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Silenced Girls
Roger Stelljes“ Wow wow wow!  Grips you in a choke hold and  does not let go … Oozes suspense and  bonechilling twists and turns .  Astonishing … One of those...
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Nothing to Hide
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A Christmas Carol
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Tempting the King
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How to Choose a Guy in 10 Days
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Become A Better Version of Yourself
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Finding Cinderella
Colleen Hoover#1 New York Times bestselling author of It Starts with Us and It Ends With Us writes a free novella about the search for happily ever after. A chance encounter in the dark leads ei...
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The Target
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The Cupcake Cottage
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Pride and Prejudice
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The Seduction Series Boxset
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Always Yours
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