Jacob was the first Minister in Merrimack NH:
JACOB BURNAP, son of Isaac and Susanna (Emerson) Burnap, was born 20 Oct, 1748 in Reading MA; d. 26 Dec 1821 in Merrimack NH. He is buried at Turkey Hill Cemetery in Merrimack NH. He married 1) 7 Oct 1773 at Reading MA to Ruth Hopkinson, dau of Ebenezer and Ruth Hopkinson. She b. 13 March 1747/48 in Reading MA and d. 21 Dec 1773 (buried Turkey Hill Cemetery). He married 2) 31 Dec 1776, Elizabeth Brooks, dau of Caleb and Ruth (Albree) Brooks. She b. 26 June 1757 and d. 4 May 1810, ae. 52 (buried at Turkey Hill Cemetery). Jacob graduated at Harvard College in 1770 (D.D. 1813) and the following year was invited to preach, as a candidate in Merrimack, N.H. The church voted, 23 Dec. 1771 to give him a call as a pastor and to pay him L75 as settlement, with an annual salary of L50, which call he accpted in March 1772. The town then had a population of five hundred, and deep interest was taken in the approaching ordination, a great crowd being anticipated for the ceremony, so much so that a committee was appointed to lay a loose floor in the galleries of the then unfinished meetinghouse, to brace the galleries and put up a rough breastwork in front, with stairs or ladders to each. Only temporary seats were provided at that time, and it was several years before the "pew-grounds" were laid out and deeded to purchasers. He was ordained on Wednesday, 14 Oct 1772, as the first minister of Merrimack NH, thirteen other churches being represented, and Mr. Burnap began his pastorate of over forty nine years.
His testimonial to his first wife upon her gravestone reads: "In memory of her affection, prudence, goodness, virtue and piety, I inscribe her praise and lament her sudden death; but not as they who mourn without hope, for I believe and expect the resurrection of them that sleep in Christ."
The Rev. Humphrey Moore of Milford, in a funeral discourse, remarks: "The faculties of his mind were strong and well-proportioned. They were calculated for extensive acquirements and usefulness, and for the formation of a complete character. His understanding was clear and quick in its operations. His reason was strong and conclusive. His judgment was sound and correct. His memory was retentive. These powers were well cultivated. He was remarkable for patience of thought, by which he was peculiarly qualified for investigation. He could dwell on subjects till light collected and truth appeared. . . He continued to preach until prostrated by his last sickness, which was only of two weeks' duration when he was removed from the scenes of his earthly labors, after having been pastor of the church almost fifty years." (Centennial Celebration of Merrimack, 1846).
Rev. William Bentley of Salem, in his remarkable diary, says, "At Merrimack, Mr. Burnap is much esteemed," this under date of May, 1805.
His (Jacob's) epitaph reads:
"After a long and peaceful ministry,
He died in the faith of Jesus Christ;
He sleeps here in the midst of his flock,
By whom he was loved and revered,
Awaiting a happy resurrection
To a new and better life."
JACOB BURNAP, son of Isaac and Susanna (Emerson) Burnap, was born 20 Oct, 1748 in Reading MA; d. 26 Dec 1821 in Merrimack NH. He is buried at Turkey Hill Cemetery in Merrimack NH. He married 1) 7 Oct 1773 at Reading MA to Ruth Hopkinson, dau of Ebenezer and Ruth Hopkinson. She b. 13 March 1747/48 in Reading MA and d. 21 Dec 1773 (buried Turkey Hill Cemetery). He married 2) 31 Dec 1776, Elizabeth Brooks, dau of Caleb and Ruth (Albree) Brooks. She b. 26 June 1757 and d. 4 May 1810, ae. 52 (buried at Turkey Hill Cemetery). Jacob graduated at Harvard College in 1770 (D.D. 1813) and the following year was invited to preach, as a candidate in Merrimack, N.H. The church voted, 23 Dec. 1771 to give him a call as a pastor and to pay him L75 as settlement, with an annual salary of L50, which call he accpted in March 1772. The town then had a population of five hundred, and deep interest was taken in the approaching ordination, a great crowd being anticipated for the ceremony, so much so that a committee was appointed to lay a loose floor in the galleries of the then unfinished meetinghouse, to brace the galleries and put up a rough breastwork in front, with stairs or ladders to each. Only temporary seats were provided at that time, and it was several years before the "pew-grounds" were laid out and deeded to purchasers. He was ordained on Wednesday, 14 Oct 1772, as the first minister of Merrimack NH, thirteen other churches being represented, and Mr. Burnap began his pastorate of over forty nine years.
His testimonial to his first wife upon her gravestone reads: "In memory of her affection, prudence, goodness, virtue and piety, I inscribe her praise and lament her sudden death; but not as they who mourn without hope, for I believe and expect the resurrection of them that sleep in Christ."
The Rev. Humphrey Moore of Milford, in a funeral discourse, remarks: "The faculties of his mind were strong and well-proportioned. They were calculated for extensive acquirements and usefulness, and for the formation of a complete character. His understanding was clear and quick in its operations. His reason was strong and conclusive. His judgment was sound and correct. His memory was retentive. These powers were well cultivated. He was remarkable for patience of thought, by which he was peculiarly qualified for investigation. He could dwell on subjects till light collected and truth appeared. . . He continued to preach until prostrated by his last sickness, which was only of two weeks' duration when he was removed from the scenes of his earthly labors, after having been pastor of the church almost fifty years." (Centennial Celebration of Merrimack, 1846).
Rev. William Bentley of Salem, in his remarkable diary, says, "At Merrimack, Mr. Burnap is much esteemed," this under date of May, 1805.
His (Jacob's) epitaph reads:
"After a long and peaceful ministry,
He died in the faith of Jesus Christ;
He sleeps here in the midst of his flock,
By whom he was loved and revered,
Awaiting a happy resurrection
To a new and better life."
Jacob was the first Minister in Merrimack NH:
JACOB BURNAP, son of Isaac and Susanna (Emerson) Burnap, was born 20 Oct, 1748 in Reading MA; d. 26 Dec 1821 in Merrimack NH. He is buried at Turkey Hill Cemetery in Merrimack NH. He married 1) 7 Oct 1773 at Reading MA to Ruth Hopkinson, dau of Ebenezer and Ruth Hopkinson. She b. 13 March 1747/48 in Reading MA and d. 21 Dec 1773 (buried Turkey Hill Cemetery). He married 2) 31 Dec 1776, Elizabeth Brooks, dau of Caleb and Ruth (Albree) Brooks. She b. 26 June 1757 and d. 4 May 1810, ae. 52 (buried at Turkey Hill Cemetery). Jacob graduated at Harvard College in 1770 (D.D. 1813) and the following year was invited to preach, as a candidate in Merrimack, N.H. The church voted, 23 Dec. 1771 to give him a call as a pastor and to pay him L75 as settlement, with an annual salary of L50, which call he accpted in March 1772. The town then had a population of five hundred, and deep interest was taken in the approaching ordination, a great crowd being anticipated for the ceremony, so much so that a committee was appointed to lay a loose floor in the galleries of the then unfinished meetinghouse, to brace the galleries and put up a rough breastwork in front, with stairs or ladders to each. Only temporary seats were provided at that time, and it was several years before the "pew-grounds" were laid out and deeded to purchasers. He was ordained on Wednesday, 14 Oct 1772, as the first minister of Merrimack NH, thirteen other churches being represented, and Mr. Burnap began his pastorate of over forty nine years.
His testimonial to his first wife upon her gravestone reads: "In memory of her affection, prudence, goodness, virtue and piety, I inscribe her praise and lament her sudden death; but not as they who mourn without hope, for I believe and expect the resurrection of them that sleep in Christ."
The Rev. Humphrey Moore of Milford, in a funeral discourse, remarks: "The faculties of his mind were strong and well-proportioned. They were calculated for extensive acquirements and usefulness, and for the formation of a complete character. His understanding was clear and quick in its operations. His reason was strong and conclusive. His judgment was sound and correct. His memory was retentive. These powers were well cultivated. He was remarkable for patience of thought, by which he was peculiarly qualified for investigation. He could dwell on subjects till light collected and truth appeared. . . He continued to preach until prostrated by his last sickness, which was only of two weeks' duration when he was removed from the scenes of his earthly labors, after having been pastor of the church almost fifty years." (Centennial Celebration of Merrimack, 1846).
Rev. William Bentley of Salem, in his remarkable diary, says, "At Merrimack, Mr. Burnap is much esteemed," this under date of May, 1805.
His (Jacob's) epitaph reads:
"After a long and peaceful ministry,
He died in the faith of Jesus Christ;
He sleeps here in the midst of his flock,
By whom he was loved and revered,
Awaiting a happy resurrection
To a new and better life."
JACOB BURNAP, son of Isaac and Susanna (Emerson) Burnap, was born 20 Oct, 1748 in Reading MA; d. 26 Dec 1821 in Merrimack NH. He is buried at Turkey Hill Cemetery in Merrimack NH. He married 1) 7 Oct 1773 at Reading MA to Ruth Hopkinson, dau of Ebenezer and Ruth Hopkinson. She b. 13 March 1747/48 in Reading MA and d. 21 Dec 1773 (buried Turkey Hill Cemetery). He married 2) 31 Dec 1776, Elizabeth Brooks, dau of Caleb and Ruth (Albree) Brooks. She b. 26 June 1757 and d. 4 May 1810, ae. 52 (buried at Turkey Hill Cemetery). Jacob graduated at Harvard College in 1770 (D.D. 1813) and the following year was invited to preach, as a candidate in Merrimack, N.H. The church voted, 23 Dec. 1771 to give him a call as a pastor and to pay him L75 as settlement, with an annual salary of L50, which call he accpted in March 1772. The town then had a population of five hundred, and deep interest was taken in the approaching ordination, a great crowd being anticipated for the ceremony, so much so that a committee was appointed to lay a loose floor in the galleries of the then unfinished meetinghouse, to brace the galleries and put up a rough breastwork in front, with stairs or ladders to each. Only temporary seats were provided at that time, and it was several years before the "pew-grounds" were laid out and deeded to purchasers. He was ordained on Wednesday, 14 Oct 1772, as the first minister of Merrimack NH, thirteen other churches being represented, and Mr. Burnap began his pastorate of over forty nine years.
His testimonial to his first wife upon her gravestone reads: "In memory of her affection, prudence, goodness, virtue and piety, I inscribe her praise and lament her sudden death; but not as they who mourn without hope, for I believe and expect the resurrection of them that sleep in Christ."
The Rev. Humphrey Moore of Milford, in a funeral discourse, remarks: "The faculties of his mind were strong and well-proportioned. They were calculated for extensive acquirements and usefulness, and for the formation of a complete character. His understanding was clear and quick in its operations. His reason was strong and conclusive. His judgment was sound and correct. His memory was retentive. These powers were well cultivated. He was remarkable for patience of thought, by which he was peculiarly qualified for investigation. He could dwell on subjects till light collected and truth appeared. . . He continued to preach until prostrated by his last sickness, which was only of two weeks' duration when he was removed from the scenes of his earthly labors, after having been pastor of the church almost fifty years." (Centennial Celebration of Merrimack, 1846).
Rev. William Bentley of Salem, in his remarkable diary, says, "At Merrimack, Mr. Burnap is much esteemed," this under date of May, 1805.
His (Jacob's) epitaph reads:
"After a long and peaceful ministry,
He died in the faith of Jesus Christ;
He sleeps here in the midst of his flock,
By whom he was loved and revered,
Awaiting a happy resurrection
To a new and better life."
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