Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial ...

instrumental also in securing Elihu Yale's
gifts.
Rev. James Pierpont was a member of
the Saybrook Synod in 1708, and is said
to have drawn up the articles of the famous
"Saybrook Platform" which aimed
to promote discipline and closer fellow-
ship among the churches of Connecticut.
He was one of the leaders of the Synod,
and was noted throughout New England
for the nobility of his character and the
spirituality of his life. His only publica-
tion was a sermon preached in Cotton
Mather's pulpit in 1712, on "Sundry False
Hopes of Heaven Discovered and De-
cryed."
He married (first) Abigail, granddaugh-
ter of John Davenport, October 27, 1691,
who died February 3, 1692. He married
(second) May 30, 1694, at Hartford, Con-
necticut, Sarah, daughter of Rev. Joseph
Haynes ; she died October 7, 1696. He
married (third) in 1698, Mary Hooker,
born July 3, 1673, died November 1, 1740,
daughter of Rev. Samuel Hooker, of
Farmington, and a granddaughter of Rev.
Thomas Hooker, of Hartford. Child of
second wife : Abigail, born September
19, 1696. Children of third wife: James,
born May 21, 1699; Samuel, born December
30, 1700; Mary, born November
23, 1702 ; Joseph, of further mention ; Benjamin,
born July 18, 1706, died December
17, 1706; Benjamin, born October 15,
l 7°7> graduate of Yale College, 1726;
Sarah, born January 9, 1709, married Jonathan
Edwards, the noted divine ; Heze-
kiah, born May 6, 1712.
Rev. James Pierpont died November 2,
1714, and is buried under the present
Center Church in New Haven. A me-
morial tablet in this church has upon it
the chief facts of his life, the engraved
arms of the Pierpont family, and the following
inscription: "His gracious gifts
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
210
and fervent piety, elegant and winning
manners were devoutly spent in the serv-
ice of his Lord and Master." Among the
lineal descendants of James Pierpont were
Jonathan Edwards, the younger, his
grandson ; the elder President Timothy
Dwight, his great-grandson ; and the
younger President Timothy Dwight, late
president of Yale College. His portrait,
which was presented to the College, hangs
in Alumni Hall.
(IV) Joseph Pierpont, son of Rev.
James (2) and Mary (Hooker) Pierpont,
was born in New Haven, Connecticut,
October 21, 1704. He married Hannah
Russell, who died in 1748. Among their
children was Mary, who married, on
March 13, 1756, Richard Brockett, son of
Moses and Lydia Ann (Granis) Brockett
(see Brockett IV). She was born Octo-
ber 20, 1738, and died June 21, 1773.
(The Brockett Line).
Arms—Or, a cross patonce, sable.
Crest—A stag lodged sable, ducally gorged and
lined or.
Motto—Crux mea lux.
The name of Brockett, a very old and
honored one, appears very early in the
records of English history, and is traced
authentically to the year 1201 A. D. It
is of Saxon origin, and in all probability
was established in England at the time
of the Saxon invasion in the seventh
century, A. D. The family has always
been held in high repute locally, and is
connected through marriage with several
of the most noble lineages in Eng-
land. Several of its members fought in
the Crusades, and a mark of the trend of
the times, as well as of the character of the
house, is found in the motto still retained
in the Brockett coat-of-arms, namely,
Crux mea lux—The cross my light. The
Brocketts have from time to time acquired