Morgan Edwards

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Morgan Edwards, (May 9, 1722 – January 25, 1795), was a Welsh historian of religion and a Baptist pastor.

Edwards was born in Trevethin parish, Pontypool, Wales, and attended Bristol College, after which he began preaching in 1738. He pastored several small Baptist churches in England for seven years, then moved to Ireland, where he pastored for nine years. In May of 1761 he immigrated to the American colonies, and became pastor of the Baptist church in Philadelphia, PA. He was the only known Baptist clergyman to side with the Tories in the American Revolution.

After the war, he became what has been referred to as the premier Baptist historian of his day. He may have been the first American Baptist historian. His major work, Materials Toward A History of the Baptists (1770) is an important source describing the Baptists in America. He later produced a companion volume, Materials Toward A History of the Baptists in New Jersey (1792)

He founded Rhode Island College, the first Baptist college in the colonies, which is now known as Brown College in the Ivy League.

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