author

Samuel Peters

1735–1826

A fiery Anglican clergyman and Loyalist exile, this 18th-century writer is best remembered for his vivid, controversial account of Connecticut. His life crossed the American Revolution, the early Episcopal Church, and the rough edges of colonial politics.

1 Audiobook

General History of Connecticut, from Its First Settlement Under George Fenwick to its Latest Period of Amity with Great Britain

General History of Connecticut, from Its First Settlement Under George Fenwick to its Latest Period of Amity with Great Britain

by Samuel Peters

About the author

Born in Hebron, Connecticut, in 1735, Samuel Peters was educated at Yale and became an Anglican minister in colonial New England. During the American Revolution he remained loyal to Britain, a choice that forced him to leave Connecticut and spend much of the war years in exile in England.

Peters is most closely associated with A General History of Connecticut, a book that mixed history, satire, and sharp criticism of New England society. It became famous partly because of the so-called “Blue Laws of Connecticut,” which many later readers treated as fact even though the work is widely regarded as unreliable in places and strongly shaped by Peters's political and religious grudges.

Later in life he was connected with early Episcopal circles and was sometimes styled Bishop of Vermont, though that title was controversial. He died in 1826, leaving behind a reputation as a combative, colorful figure whose writing says as much about the passions of his era as it does about the places he described.