Reverend Phillips Payson, an Unsung Hero of the American Revolution
By John J. Henry
As the 250th anniversary of the adoption of our Declaration of Independence draws near, on July 4,2026, many will call to mind the famous names of some of the great signers of our Declaration of Independence, John Hancock, Samuel Adams, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson.
Few now know the name of a local unsung hero of our revolution, who by his deeds and acts of courage made our independence from Great Britain possible as well as our Constitution of Massachusetts a reality.
He lies buried in our Rumney Marsh Burial Ground on Butler Street. His name was Phillips Payson.
Phillips Payson was born at Walpole, in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, in British North America, on January 18, 1736. He was raised in Walpole and later educated at Harvard College, from which he graduated in 1754. At Harvard he distinguished himself in divinity studies, the classical languages and astronomy. One of his classmates at Harvard was John Adams of Braintree, (now Quincy), whose paths would cross again many years later after independence from Great Britain.
Phillips Payson was ordained as a minister of the Gospel at Chelsea, (now Revere), on October 26, 1757, whereupon he became the settled pastor of the Church of Christ. He served as rector of his church for nearly 44 years. Pastor Payson was a courageous patriot of the American Revolution for Independence from Great Britain. He rendered important services in the cause of freedom not only by his sermons and writings on political and constitutional questions, but also by enlisting troops to fight the British occupation army.
Two-Hundred and fifty years ago, on April 19, 1775, near Lexington, at Menotomy, (now Arlington), Pastor Payson demonstrated his zeal for independence from Great Britain by placing himself at the head of a party of troops from his church taking up arms in the cause of freedom. Payson and his troops engaged the “Redcoats”, killed some and took the rest of the British Regulars as prisoners and gained possessions of all of their arms and stores without any loss whatever to themselves during the first battle for American Independence. For his gallantry during the battle, Reverend Payson was given the name, “Fighting Pastor Payson” by those who fought alongside him.
After independence from Great Britain, the Massachusetts Colony was obliged to write a constitution establishing how Massachusetts would be governed. A Massachusetts Constitutional Convention was formed, headed by John Adams, and for three years from, 1778 to 1780, the political energies of John Adams and others were absorbed in drafting a charter of government that would be accepted by the voters of Massachusetts.
At that time, Reverend Payson was admired as a bright, yet conservative philosophical thinker of constitutional questions. At the outset of the process of drafting the Massachusetts Constitutional Convention, Reverend Payson preached a sermon at Boston, on May 27,1778, before the Honorable Council and the House of Representatives of the Massachusetts, advocating for the moral basis of government and the need for state financial support for religion, on the grounds that religion was necessary for public happiness, prosperity and to preserve order and government in the state.
John Adams, who was the principal draftsman of the Massachusetts Constitution agreed with Reverend Payson’s philosophical position, relative to the moral basis of government and incorporated Payson’s thoughts into Article Three of the draft constitution that was submitted to the voters of Massachusetts authorizing a general religious tax to be directed to the church of the taxpayer’s choice.
In 1780,the Massachusetts Constitution was declared approved by the required two-thirds vote of the people. To this day it is the oldest written constitution in the world. It originated the famous phrase, “a government of laws and not men”, and was the source of the inspirational words, “We the People”, most commonly associated with the Preamble of the United States Federal Constitution which was written in 1787, ratified in 1788,and operational in 1789, years after the Massachusetts Constitution had been ratified.
Following the contribution that Reverend Payson made to the writing of the Massachusetts Constitution, he was selected as Revere’s first Representative to the Massachusetts General Court in 1783. In 1787, he was named as a Massachusetts delegate, chosen to ratify the Federal Constitution of the United States.
Reverend Payson was also renowned as a distinguished educator of his day, having organized a school for young men who were interested in entering the ministry. His reputation as an instructor was so impeccable that he was chosen by the fledgling United States government to educate the eldest son of General Joseph Warren, the gallant Colonial General who had been killed at the Battle of Bunker Hill. He also tutored the son of General William Heath, who served as a Major General in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War; John Rowe, the son of the famous Boston merchant, (Rowe’s Wharf), into Boston Harbor during the Boston Tea Party of 1773, protesting a British tax on tea. Also, William Sullivan, son of Governor James Sullivan, fifth Governor of Massachusetts. Samuel Adams, the famous patriot, once referred to Payson as a gentleman of great qualifications and skills as an educator.
Reverend Payson along with John Adams, Samuel Adams, John Hancock and Robert Treat Paine were the founding members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Payson also published several books including, “The Death of Washington”, “The Battle of Lexington”, and “Transactions of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences”.
Reverend Payson retired as Pastor of his Church in 1799,at the age of 63, although he remained an active citizen of the community. He served the best interests of his Church, his community, his state and his nation, all of his life.
Reverend Payson died in 1801, fifty-one days before his friend and colleague, President John Adams, relinquished his presidency to President-elect, Thomas Jefferson.
Upon Payson’s death, on January 11, 1801, at the age of 65, on the last page of his Church record was written by his successor, Joseph Tuckerman:
“ Peace be to the memory of, (Reverend Payson), a man of worth; a man of letters and of virtue, too.”
His funeral eulogy extolled his virtues with the words:
“ In all of our Revolutionary War years was he not the wise and vigorous friend of this country? And since has he not labored to establish the good order of this country and to promote its prosperity? He was always respectful and ever esteemed and loved. Posterity will long rejoice in the fruits of his toil”.
While Reverend Payson’s deeds, during the early years of our fledgling nation, may have faded into history, he should be remembered as one of the unsung heroes of the American Revolution for Independence and one of the skilled contributors and crafters of the Massachusetts Constitution.
John J. Henry served as City Clerk of the City of Revere for thirty-two years from 1977-2009. He has written numerous articles about the early history of Revere.
