Jared Eliot

Jared Eliot (November 7, 1685—April 22, 1763) was a farmer, minister and physician in Guilford, Connecticut who wrote several articles on agriculture and animal husbandry. Eliot was the eldest son of Joseph Eliot and his second wife, Mary Wyllys. The Eliots raised their family in Guilford (formerly known as Menunkatucket), which was settled by Europeans in 1639. Jared emulated his father and grandfather, who were also willing to help others; he stated, “I have learned many useful things from the lowest of the People, not only in Rank, but in Understanding too”.

The Eliot name was well known before Jared's birth. His grandfather, John Eliot of Roxbury, Massachusetts, was a missionary to the Massachusett and Wampanoag nations for 40 years, translating the Bible into the Natick language. Herbert Thomas, author of Jared Eliot, states that “(John) Eliot went quite beyond religious doctrine in dealing with the Indians and taught them hygiene and better living”. John’s actions in attempting to help the Indians gave the Eliot name social status in the New England theocracy. Jared’s father, Joseph Eliot, was also a well-known figure in New England. He graduated from Harvard College in 1658, remaining in Guilford for the rest of his life as a minister at a nearby Congregational church. Joseph was also regarded as a "clerical physician", due to his interest in medicine.

In 1700, there was considerable interest in establishing a college in Connecticut. The ministers along the shore of Long Island Sound who originated plans for the college began to arrange a meeting of the ecclesiastical General Assembly. The Assembly agreed to meet in October and was asked to create a new charter (the previous charter had expired, along with the Massachusetts Bay Colony). The college advocates stated their initial intentions by the sending of letters. The purpose of these letters was to seek advice “not only on the educational side, but on the highly important matter of the legality of a Connecticut-Colony-granted charter, and if that were to be legal, what should it contain”. Joseph Eliot was among those chosen to devise the charter, including its “powers of conferring degrees as unobtrusive as possible”. The Assembly felt that licensing the new college would not provoke animosity in England. Joseph’s voice on behalf of Connecticut was significant to his fellow colonists until his unexpected, early death on May 24, 1694.

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