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The Pierpont family is of Norman Oil
gin, antedating the Norman Conquest.
The Castle of Pierrepont took its name in
the time of Charlemagne from a stone
bridge l>nilt to replace a ferry on the es-
tate of Pierrepont, which is located in
the southern part of Picardy, in the dio-
cese of Laon, about six miles south of
Saint Saveur, Normandy. The first lord
of whom we have authentic information
was Sir Hugh de Pierrepont, who flour-
ished about 980 A. I). lie was succeeded
by his son, Sir Godfrey de Pierrepont.
who was the Lather of Sir Godfrey de
Pierrepont, who left two sons, Sir Godfrey
and Sir Robert de Pierrepont. This
Sir Godfrey de Pierrepont was the father
of Sir Ingolbrand de Pierrepont, Lord of
the Castle about 1090 A. D., and ancestor
of the French family of the name. Sir
Robert de Pierrepont went to England in
the train of William the Conqueror, and
was the founder of the English family.
The seventh in descent from Sir Rob-
ert de Pierrepont was Sir Henry, of
Holme Pierpont, in right of his wife Annora,
daughter of Michael Manvers, Eord
of Holme. A generation later Robert
Pierpont was created Earl of Kingston
in 1628. His last male descendant was
Evelyn Pierpont, second duke of King-
ston, who died in 1773. Robert, Earl of
Kingston, had a younger brother. Wil-
liam Pierpont, who was the father of
James Pierpont, the immigrant ancestor
of the American family.
(I) James Pierpont, founder of the
family herein dealt with, emigrated to
America with two sons: John, of further
mention ; and Robert.
(II) John Pierpont, son of James Pier-
pont, was born in London, England, in
1619, and came to America with his
father, settling in Roxbury, Massachu-
setts, now a part of Boston, where he
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
Conn-7-14 200,
bought three hundred acres of land lbwas
;i deputy to the General Court, ami
died in [682.
lie married Thankful Stow. Their
children were: i. Thankful, born Novem-
ber 26, 1649, died young. _'. John, born
July 22, 165 1, died young. 3. John, born
October 28, [652, 4. Experience, born
January 4, 1655. 5. Infant, born August
3, 1657, died young. 6. Janus, of further
mention. 7. Kbcne/cr, born December
21, 1 66 1. 8. Thankful, born November
18, 1663. 9. Joseph, born April 6, 1666.
10. Benjamin, born July 26, 1668.
(Ill) Rev. James (2) Pierpont, son of
John and Thankful (Stow) Pierpont, was
born in Roxbury, Massachusetts, Janu-
ary 4. 1059. lie was a graduate of Har-
vard College in the class of 1681, and
three years later preached before the
church in New Haven as a candidate. He
was an able preacher, and in addition to
his ability won the love and confidence
of the congregation. He was ordained
and settled as its pastor in 1685, and re-
sided in New Haven until his death thirty
years later. He was the successor of the
Rev. John Davenport, and through the
influence of his position in the community
and the recognized value of his counsel,
he was able to revive and carry out John
Davenport's long cherished plan for a
college in Connecticut. Through his in-
fluence and efforts the original board of
trustees of Yale College was organized,
a charter secured, and a rector appointed.
Tradition also states that he presented
six of the original forty-one books which
were the foundation of the College Li-
brary. Mr. Pierpont has been called the
"Founder of Yale." Largely through his
energy and foresight, the college was es-
tablished, and he guided it through the
early struggle for a firm footing. He was