Aaron Burr Or Timothy Dwight?

Written By: Al Baker  |  Posted: Monday, September 13th, 2010

Editor's note: Vice-President Aaron Burr died this day in 1836. His successful, yet infamous, life resulted from decisions he made early on in his life.
"Thus Esau despised his birthright, " Genesis 25:34.

Aaron Burr and Timothy Dwight were cousins, the grandchildren of Jonathan and Sarah Edwards. Timothy was born in 1752 in Northampton, MA, his mother, Mary, being the third daughter of Jonathan and Sarah. His father was a successful and godly man of the community. Timothy was quite precocious, learning the alphabet in one sitting and reading the Bible by the time he was four. He was ready for Yale at the age of eight but they would not receive him until he was thirteen. He graduated at the age of seventeen and was part of the Hartford Wits, a group of poets and writers from Connecticut who were popular during and after the Revolutionary War. His poem, Columbia, was quite popular at the time, suggesting that America was the center of God's righteous kingdom. He also wrote the hymn I Love Thy Kingdom, Lord which is still very popular today. He was the pastor of the Congregational Church in Fairfield, CT until 1795 when he was called to follow Ezra Stiles as the President of Yale.

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