Rev. Charles Chauncey

Charles Chauncy (baptised November 5, 1592 – February 19, 1671) was an Anglo-American clergyman and educator. He appears as one of the characters in the historical novel Caleb's Crossing by Geraldine Brooks.

Family

From https://our-royal-titled-noble-and-commoner-ancestors.com/p4266.htm...

Rev. Charles Chauncy was christened on 5 November 1592 at Yardley, Hertfordshire, England.6,1,2,3 He married Catherine Eyre, daughter of Robert Eyre, Esq. and Anne Still, on 17 March 1631 at Ware, Hertfordshire, England; They had 6 sons (Isaac; Ichabod; Barnabus; Nathaniel; Elnathan; & Israel) and 2 daughters (Sarah, wife of Gershom Bulkeley; & Hannah).6,1,2,3 Rev. Charles Chauncy died on 19 February 1672 at Cambridge, Middlesex, MA, at age 79

Biography

From https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Chauncey-8

CHARLES CHAUNCEY (11/5/1592-2/19/1672) was the son of George Chauncey and Anne Welsh. Charles was the second president of Harvard College. He has a long list of published works. He was born in Yardley-Bury, Hertfordshire, England.2 There are many books written on the life and pedigree of Charles Chauncey.3 Charles married CATHERINE EYRE by whom he had eight children. Chauncy, Charles (1592 - Feb. 19, 1671/2), non-conformist clergyman, second president of Harvard, was a son of George Chauncy and his wife Agnes Welch, widow of Edward Humbertson. Notwithstanding the statement in Mather's Magnalia that the date of Chauncy's birth was 1589, it is probable that he was born shortly before Nov. 5, 1592, when his baptism was registered in Yardley-bury, Herts, England. A pupil in Westminster School at the time of the Gunpowder Plot, he matriculated at Trinity College, Cambridge, at Easter, 1610, received the B.A. degree in 1613-14, the M.A. in 1617, and B.D. in 1624. He became a fellow of Trinity in 1614 and was Greek lecturer in the same college in 1624 and 1626 (Zachary Grey, An Impartial Examination of Mr. Daniel Neal's History of the Puritans, II, 153). On Mar. 17, 1630, he was married to Catharine, daughter of Robert Eyre. He was vicar of St. Michael's in Cambridge in 1626; of Ware, Herts, in 1627-33; of Marston St. Lawrence in 1633-37. Because of his opposition to some of Archbishop Laud's regulations. He was twice summoned before the high commission court, - in 1630 while he was in Ware (Proceedings Massachusetts Historical Society, XIII, 337-40; Calendar of State Papers, Domestic Series, 1629-31), and again, in 1634 while he was in Marston St. Lawrence (Calendar of State Papers, Domestic Series, 1635-36) On the second occasion he was imprisoned for some months. In each case he submitted only to regret his submission later. On June 12, 1637, Dr. S. Clerke wrote to Sir John Lambe: "Mr. Chauncy... mends like sour ale in summer. He held a fast on Wednesday last, and ... he with another preached some six or eight hours. The whole tribe of Gad flocked thither, some three-score from Northampton; the Lord Say, with his lady, honoured them with their presence" (Calendar of State Papers, Domestic Series, 1637). Evidently a new storm was brewing and Chauncy fled before it, reaching New England a few days before the great earthquake, which occurred on June I, 1638. Before leaving England he wrote a Retraction of his submission, which was published in London in 164I. In New England he went first to Plymouth as a helper to Mr. Reyner, the pastor. Trouble soon arose on account of his theory concerning baptism, which he seems to have believed, should be by immersion even in the case of infants. On Nov. 2, 1640, Hooker of Hartford wrote to Shepard of Cambridge: "Mr. Chancy and the church [at Plymouth] are to part.... At a day of fast... he openly professed he did as verily believe the truth of his opinions as that there was a God in heaven, and that he was settled in it as the earth was upon the center ... I profess how it is possible to keep peace with a man so adventurous and pertinacious, who will vent what he list and maintain what he vents, its beyond all the skill I have to conceive" (Lucius R. Paige, History of Cambridge, 1877, pp. 49-50). In 1641, he removed to Scituate where he found some remnants of Mr. Lothrop's party who sympathized with him but also others who were inclined to the Church of England. The result was a schism and the two churches wrangled until conditions became unbearable (Samuel Deane, History of Scituate, 1831). In 1654, Chauncy left for Boston, intending to return to his former parish in Ware, which had invited him back. At the moment, however, Harvard College was without a president owing to the enforced withdrawal of Henry Dunster because of his Baptist convictions, and the Overseers appointed Mather and Norton a committee to invite Chauncy to the vacant office. Since his views had become well-known, the Committee was instructed to signify: to him that the Overseers "expected and desired that he forbear to disseminate or publish any tenets concerning the necessity of immersion in baptism and celebration of the Lord's Supper at evening or to expose the received doctrine therein" (Publications of the Colonial Society of Massachusetts, vol. XV, p. 206). Accepting these humiliating conditions, and the meager stipend of œ100, Chauncy became, on Nov. 29, 1634, the second president of Harvard College and continued in that office until his death on Feb. 19, 1671/2. As president, he seems to have been eminently successful. His naturally impulsive temper was curbed by the responsibilities of his position and, although he disagreed with Jonathan Mitchell, pastor of the Cambridge church, upon the Half-way Covenant (see Chauncy's Anti-Synodalia Americana, Cambridge, 1664), their personal relations seem to have continued friendly His faults of temper were more than offset by his acknowledged erudition, to which Ezra Stiles of Yale bore glowing testimony (The Literary Diary, 1901, I, 133). In addition to works already mentioned, Chauncy published: The Doctrine of the Sacrament (1642); God's Mercy Shewed to His People (1655); Sermon on Amos (1665); The Plain Doctrine of the Justification of a Sinner in the Sight of God (1659). He also wrote, in Latin prose and verse, various productions for state occasions at Cambridge, England, most of which are in William Chauncey Fowler, Memorials of the Chaunceys, Including President Chauncy, His Ancestors and Descendants (1858). 4

Charles Chauncy (1592-1672)
Term of office: 1654-1672 (died in office in February). Education: Trinity College, Cambridge University (B.A. 1614; M.A. 1617; B.D. [Bachelor of Divinity]1624). Professional background: Greek lecturer at Trinity; vicar to several English churches. Immediate past position: Minister in Scituate, Mass.

A GENEALOGICAL DICTIONARY of THE FIRST SETTLERS OF NEW ENGLAND, SHOWING THREE GENERATIONS OF THOSE WHO CAME BEFORE MAY, 1692, ON THE BASIS OF FARMER'S REGISTER.

BY JAMES SAVAGE, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL SOCIETY AND EDITOR OF WINTHROP'S HISTORY OF NEW ENGLAND.

WITH TWO SUPPLEMENTS IN FOUR VOLUMES.

Corrected electronic version copyright Robert Kraft, July 1994 with addition of missing pages 422-423 (vol.3) by Warren Wetmore for the file in four sections (the original four volumes), access

    http://genweb.net/~books/savage/savage.htm 

Baltimore GENEALOGICAL PUBLISHING CO., INC.

Originally Published Boston, 1860-1862

Reprinted with "Genealogical Notes and Errata," excerpted from The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, Vol. XXVII, No. 2, April, 1873, pp. 135-139

And A Genealogical Cross Index of the Four Volumes of the Genealogical Dictionary of James Savage, by O. P. Dexter, 1884.

Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc. Baltimore, 1965,1969,1977,1981,1986, 1990

Library of Congress Catalogue Card Number 65-18541 International Standard Book Number: 0-8063-0309-3 Set Number: 0-8063-0795

 CHAUNCY, BARNABAS, Cambridge, s. of Presid. C. b. in Eng. short. bef. the migrat. of his f. unit. with ch. 1656, and took his degr. of 1657 and 60, when his name stands last in the class. He was too infirm in body to obt. a livelihood, and depend. after d. of his f. on support of his brs. He d. unm. at mid. age; but the Coll. catal. does not ment. the yr. CHARLES, Scituate, a gr. scholar, the ninth ch. fifth s. of George, b. at Yardley, in Co. Herts, a. 30 miles from London, bapt. on Sunday, 5 Nov. 1592, was bred at Westminister sch. and saved on 5 Nov. 1605 by the discov. of Gunpowder plot; at Trinity Coll. Camb. took his degr. A. B. 367 1613, A. M. 1617; B.D. 1624. Much reputa. at the Univ. he gain. by Latin verses of lamenta. on d. 1619, of Queen Ann, and by Greek and Latin on d. of her h. James, and access. of Charles, 1625, as in Cantab. Dolor et Solamen, so that he was chos. profess. for one, if not two chairs. But in cleric. life he was early at Marston St. Lawrence, and had the vicarage of Ware in his native shire, 1627-34 and from that valua. liv. for non-conform. in non-essentials he was forc. by Archbp. Laud. In search of comforta. and secure worship he came to N. E. arr. in Dec. 1637 at Plymouth, there preach. as aid to Reyner, some time, but in 1641 was call. to S. where above twelve yrs. he min. yet with freq. troubles; and was prepar. to go home for partak. the puritan triumph in Eng. when he was chos. head of the Coll. at Cambridge, on dismiss. in 1654, of Dunster, its first Presid. In this post he d. 19 Feb. 1672, aged 79 yrs. and less prob. than 4 mos. but Mather, mistak. the inscript. on his tomb, under his eye, of 80th for 82d yr. of his age, to make his error consistent, dares to affirm in Magn. III. 134, that he was b. in 1589, instead of 1592, and on p. 140 boldly asserts, that he d. (giv. the right time), "in the eighty-second yr. of his age." Explanat. of his blunder is easi. found. In Roman numerals the day and yr. of his dec. XIX Feb. MDCLXXI in our Arabic numbers 1671 aet. LXXX. seems plain eno. but  the careless author forc. the II out of place, and. them to the later number. Yet Green's Almanac of 1673 had said, "in his 80th yr." and hardly a min. in the country could have fail. to say, that the first Presid. wh. d. in office, was little over 79 yrs. old. The author (Rev. W. C. Fowler) of the elaborate life of Chauncy, his ancest. and descend. in Geneal. Reg. X. 251, has quot. two paragr. from the Magnalia, suppresing the word " second"after eighty, whereby Mather seems to be compel. to speak the truth "Fourscore years of age despatched it not," is the sweet commenda. of Mather for his labors; and contempt for the chronology should not, perhaps, be so express. especial. as the earlier author foll. his natural weakness, to show his knowl. of the value of a man, in shekels, above the age of sixty, only 15, but younger, 50 shekels, makes Chauncy's worth "at 80 contin. much what as it was when he was 60." In his valua. Biogr. Dict. Ed. 1857, Dr. Allen had more scrupulously  foll. the error of the Magn. We see, in the Biogr. Britannica, that he descend. from a fam. that came in with the conquest, and he was gr. uncle of Sir Henry C. wh. dignif. the Hist. of Hertfordsh. in two large  folios. His w. was Catharine, d. of Robert Eyre, Esq. of Wilts, barrister at law, by his w. Ann, d. of that John Still, Bp. of Bath and in the latter days of Elizabeth a true ch. puritan, wh. desir. more reformat. than her majesty could submit to. She was m. to C. 17 Mar. 1630, and d. 24 Jan. 1668, aged 66, and had Sarah, b. at Ware, 13 Jan. 1631, wh. m. 26 Oct. 1659, Gershom Bulkely; Isaac, 23 Aug. 1632, 368 H. C. 1651; Ichabod, 1635, H. C. 1651; Barnabas, H. C. 1657;  Nathaniel, and Elnathan, tw. b. at Plymouth, a. 1639, bapt. at  Scituate 1641, both H. C. 1661, as in the same yr. was their younger br. Ishmael; and Hannah; the five last b.ob. at S. A celebr. descend. of the same name, min. of Boston bef. the mid. of the last centu. had furnish. a Mem. generous in tone, with slight error of detail, that was preserv. in 1 Mass. Hist. Coll. X. 171. CHARLES, Fairfield, eldest s. of Israel, (not of Nathaniel, as Stiles, 567, in Hist. of Windsor,  has it) the Stratford min. and gr.s. of the Presid. m. 29 June 1692, Sarah, d. of John Burr, and sec. w. m. 16 Mar. 1699, Sarah,  d. of the third Henry Wolcott, wh. d. 5 Jan. 1704. He by first w. had  Israel, b. 29 June 1693; and John, 7 Nov. 1695; and by the next w.  had Abiah, 22 Jan. 1700; Robert, 20 Nov. 1701; and Ichabod,  b. 4 days bef. d. of his mo. and bapt. as many days aft. it; but  he took third w. Eli. nam. in his will, andd. 4 May 1714, and thro. his sec. w. was gr. gr.f. of Isaac, the celebr. naval officer. CHARLES, Boston, youngest s. of Isaac, the London min. and gr.s. of the Presid. b. in Eng. m. Sarah, d. of Hon. John Walley, had Charles, wh. d. inf.; Charles, again, b. 1 Jan. 1705, H. C. 1721, one of the ablest divines Boston ever saw; Mary; Walley; and Isaac. He was a merch. and d. 4 May 1711. ELNATHAN, Boston, s. of the Presid. a physician, by w. Thomasine had Theodore, b. 1 Oct. 1682; and the f. d. beyond sea next yr. as admin. was gr. to his wid. 29 Apr. 1684. Her d. is ment. in Sewall's Diary 2 July 1686; and perhaps her s. d. young. ICHABOD, sec. s. of the Presid. b. in Eng. after gr. at Harv. and study of the sis. sciences of medicine and theol. went home, was chaplain in the regim. of Sir Edward Harley at Dunkirk, and had cleric. function in Eng. but being persecut. for nonconform. bec. a physician, was in Holland 1684, but soon back to Eng. d. 25 July 1691, at Bristol, where he had good reput. and prop. he had one s. Charles, b. 14 Mar. 1674, wh. d. in London, 3 June 1763; and ano. Nathaniel, wh. was min. of the ch. of Eng. near 50 yrs. at the Devizes in Wilts. ISAAC, eldest br. of the preced. b. in Eng. went home, and was min. at Woodborough, in Wilts until eject. in 1662, when he sett. in London as a physician, and after some yrs. bec. min. to an independ. congrega. in London, where he was succeed. by the admira. Dr. Watts (who for short time was his collea.) and d. 28 Feb. 1712. His ch. were Isaac; Uzziel, wh. d. 31 Aug. 1696; Charles, bef. ment.; and Elizabeth wh. m. 10 Dec. 1689, Rev. John Nisbet of London, and d. 1727. ISRAEL, Stratford, youngest br. of the preced. ord. in aut. of 1666, m. 8 Jan. 1667, Mary, d. of Isaac Nichols of S.  had Charles, b. 3 Sept. 1668, H. C. 1686, bef. ment.; Isaac, 5 Oct. 1670, H. C. 1693, the min. of Hadley, 1696 to d. 2 May 1745; and Robert, 15 Oct. 1677, wh. in youth went to Eng. For sec. w. he had m. 11 Nov. 1684, Sarah Hodshon, but had no more ch. Anxiety from many of his flock wh. prefer. the preach. of Rev. Zechariah Walker, was dissipat. after long disagreem. by separa. and plant. of a new town. NATHANIEL, Hatfield, tw. br. of Elnathan, was of Windsor 1667, when very diverse affections disturb. the declin. yrs. of the first min. Wareham by means of ris. admira. of Rev. John Woodbridge; of wh. eno. is to be 369 seen in the Col. Rec. of Trumbull, II. 85, 113. In happier lot, he m. 12 Nov. 1673, Abigail, d. of Elder John Strong, had Isaac, b. 5, bapt. 6 Sept.  1674; Catharine, 12 Jan. bapt. 16 Apr. 1676; Abigail, bapt. 14 Oct. 1677;  Charles, 3, bapt. 7 Sept. 1679, d. in few wks.; rem. 1681, to H. there had  Nathaniel, b. 21 Sept. 1681, Y. C. 1702, first min. at Durham; Ann; and Sarah,  1683; and he d. 4 Nov. 1685. His wid. m. 8 Sept. foll. Medad Pomeroy. In  modern times some insert e bef. the last let. Of this name, in 1831, gr. at Harv. are twelve, of wh. seven were clerg. and at Yale, eight, of wh. one only as clerg. and all are descend. of the illustr. Presid.

CHARLES CHAUNCEY (11/5/1592-2/19/1672) was the son of George Chauncey and Anne Welsh. Charles was the second president of Harvard College. He has a long list of published works. He was born in Yardley-Bury, Hertfordshire, England.2 There are many books written on the life and pedigree of Charles Chauncey.3 Charles married CATHERINE EYRE by whom he had eight children. Chauncy, Charles (1592 - Feb. 19, 1671/2), non-conformist clergyman, second president of Harvard, was a son of George Chauncy and his wife Agnes Welch, widow of Edward Humbertson. Notwithstanding the statement in Mather's Magnalia that the date of Chauncy's birth was 1589, it is probable that he was born shortly before Nov. 5, 1592, when his baptism was registered in Yardley-bury, Herts, England. A pupil in Westminster School at the time of the Gunpowder Plot, he matriculated at Trinity College, Cambridge, at Easter, 1610, received the B.A. degree in 1613-14, the M.A. in 1617, and B.D. in 1624. He became a fellow of Trinity in 1614 and was Greek lecturer in the same college in 1624 and 1626 (Zachary Grey, An Impartial Examination of Mr. Daniel Neal's History of the Puritans, II, 153). On Mar. 17, 1630, he was married to Catharine, daughter of Robert Eyre. He was vicar of St. Michael's in Cambridge in 1626; of Ware, Herts, in 1627-33; of Marston St. Lawrence in 1633-37. Because of his opposition to some of Archbishop Laud's regulations. He was twice summoned before the high commission court, - in 1630 while he was in Ware (Proceedings Massachusetts Historical Society, XIII, 337-40; Calendar of State Papers, Domestic Series, 1629-31), and again, in 1634 while he was in Marston St. Lawrence (Calendar of State Papers, Domestic Series, 1635-36) On the second occasion he was imprisoned for some months. In each case he submitted only to regret his submission later. On June 12, 1637, Dr. S. Clerke wrote to Sir John Lambe: "Mr. Chauncy... mends like sour ale in summer. He held a fast on Wednesday last, and ... he with another preached some six or eight hours. The whole tribe of Gad flocked thither, some three-score from Northampton; the Lord Say, with his lady, honoured them with their presence" (Calendar of State Papers, Domestic Series, 1637). Evidently a new storm was brewing and Chauncy fled before it, reaching New England a few days before the great earthquake, which occurred on June I, 1638. Before leaving England he wrote a Retraction of his submission, which was published in London in 164I. In New England he went first to Plymouth as a helper to Mr. Reyner, the pastor. Trouble soon arose on account of his theory concerning baptism, which he seems to have believed, should be by immersion even in the case of infants. On Nov. 2, 1640, Hooker of Hartford wrote to Shepard of Cambridge: "Mr. Chancy and the church [at Plymouth] are to part.... At a day of fast... he openly professed he did as verily believe the truth of his opinions as that there was a God in heaven, and that he was settled in it as the earth was upon the center ... I profess how it is possible to keep peace with a man so adventurous and pertinacious, who will vent what he list and maintain what he vents, its beyond all the skill I have to conceive" (Lucius R. Paige, History of Cambridge, 1877, pp. 49-50). In 1641, he removed to Scituate where he found some remnants of Mr. Lothrop's party who sympathized with him but also others who were inclined to the Church of England. The result was a schism and the two churches wrangled until conditions became unbearable (Samuel Deane, History of Scituate, 1831). In 1654, Chauncy left for Boston, intending to return to his former parish in Ware, which had invited him back. At the moment, however, Harvard College was without a president owing to the enforced withdrawal of Henry Dunster because of his Baptist convictions, and the Overseers appointed Mather and Norton a committee to invite Chauncy to the vacant office. Since his views had become well-known, the Committee was instructed to signify: to him that the Overseers "expected and desired that he forbear to disseminate or publish any tenets concerning the necessity of immersion in baptism and celebration of the Lord's Supper at evening or to expose the received doctrine therein" (Publications of the Colonial Society of Massachusetts, vol. XV, p. 206). Accepting these humiliating conditions, and the meager stipend of œ100, Chauncy became, on Nov. 29, 1634, the second president of Harvard College and continued in that office until his death on Feb. 19, 1671/2. As president, he seems to have been eminently successful. His naturally impulsive temper was curbed by the responsibilities of his position and, although he disagreed with Jonathan Mitchell, pastor of the Cambridge church, upon the Half-way Covenant (see Chauncy's Anti-Synodalia Americana, Cambridge, 1664), their personal relations seem to have continued friendly His faults of temper were more than offset by his acknowledged erudition, to which Ezra Stiles of Yale bore glowing testimony (The Literary Diary, 1901, I, 133). In addition to works already mentioned, Chauncy published: The Doctrine of the Sacrament (1642); God's Mercy Shewed to His People (1655); Sermon on Amos (1665); The Plain Doctrine of the Justification of a Sinner in the Sight of God (1659). He also wrote, in Latin prose and verse, various productions for state occasions at Cambridge, England, most of which are in William Chauncey Fowler, Memorials of the Chaunceys, Including President Chauncy, His Ancestors and Descendants (1858). 4

Charles Chauncy (1592-1672) Term of office: 1654-1672 (died in office in February). Education: Trinity College, Cambridge University (B.A. 1614; M.A. 1617; B.D. [Bachelor of Divinity]1624). Professional background: Greek lecturer at Trinity; vicar to several English churches. Immediate past position: Minister in Scituate, Mass.

Charles Chauncy (November 5, 1592 – February 19, 1672) was an Anglo-American clergyman and educator. He was born at Yardleybury (Ardeley), Hertfordshire, England and educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he later was a lecturer in Greek. After serving as a pastor in England at Marston St. Lawrence, Northamptonshire (1633-37), he emigrated to America in 1638. He preached at Plymouth until 1641, then at Scituate where, says Mather "he remained for three years and three times three years, cultivating the vineyard of the Lord." He was appointed president of Harvard College in 1654. He held that office until his death in 1672. He is said to be the ancestor of all of the people named Chauncy or Chauncey in the United States. His descendants also include Connecticut Governor and National Baseball Hall of Fame member, Morgan Bulkeley.[1] Besides a number of sermons, Chauncy published The Doctrine of the Sacrament, with the Right Use Thereof (1642); The Plain Doctrine of the Justification of a Sinner in the Sight of God (1659), a collection of 26 sermons; and Antisynodalia Scripta Americana (1662).

His great-grandson was also named Charles Chauncy (1705-1787), minister of the First Church (Congregational) of Boston 1727-1787, an Old-Light opponent of Jonathan Edwards and the New Light ministers of the Great Awakening, and a precursor of Unitarianism.

[edit] Literature Cotton Mather, Magnalia (London, 1702) Fowler, Memorials of the Chaunceys (Boston, 1858)

[edit] References ^ Norton, Frederick Calvin (1905). The Governors of Connecticut. Connecticut Magazine Co. LCC F93.N88. Retrieved on 2006-12-29. Academic officesPreceded by Henry DunsterPresident of Harvard College 1654–1672Succeeded by Leonard Hoar

Chauncy was born at Ardeley, Hertfordshire, England. The village was then known as Yardley. The manor belonged to the Dean and Chapter of St Paul's Cathedral, which leased the manor-house (a moated property called "Ardeley Bury") and the demesne lands to the Chauncy family.

He was educated at Westminster School, then at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he later was a lecturer in Greek. In 1627 the College arranged for him to be appointed vicar of St Mary's Church, Ware. In 1633 he left Ware to become vicar of Marston St. Lawrence. At both parishes he faced disciplinary procedures for his Puritan views which included opposition to communion rails.

He emigrated to America in 1637. He preached at Plymouth until 1641, then at Scituate where, says Mather, "he remained for three years and three times three years, cultivating the vineyard of the Lord." He was appointed president of Harvard College in 1654. He held that office until his death in 1671. His descendants also include Connecticut Governor and National Baseball Hall of Fame member, Morgan Bulkeley. Besides a number of sermons, Chauncy published The Doctrine of the Sacrament, with the Right Use Thereof (1642); The Plain Doctrine of the Justification of a Sinner in the Sight of God (1659), a collection of 26 sermons; and Antisynodalia Scripta Americana (1662).

During his time at Plymouth and Scituate, Chauncy got into a heated debate with the religious and secular leaders of the Plymouth Colony over the issue of baptism. Chauncy taught that only baptism by full immersion was valid, while the Separatist Elders taught that sprinkling water over the body was just as valid. The sprinkling method of baptism was much preferred in New England due to its cooler and harsher climate. The religious leaders of the Plymouth Colony held public debates, trying to convince Chauncy to change his views. When Chauncy still did not change his views, the Pilgrim leaders wrote to congregations in Boston and New Haven soliciting their views, and all the congregations wrote back that both forms of baptism were valid. Still, Chauncy did not change his teachings. It was because of this issue that Chauncy left Plymouth for Scituate in 1641. A year after arriving in Scituate, Chauncy had a chance to practice what he preached, when he publicly baptized his twin sons by full immersion. The plan backfired when one of his sons passed out due to being dunked in the water. The mother of the child who was supposed be baptized at the same event refused to let it happen, and according to John Winthrop, got a hold of Chauncy and "near pulled him into the water". When Chauncy was hired to be President of Harvard, he had to promise the leaders in Boston that he would keep his views on baptism quiet.

He was buried at New Cambridge.

Chauncy married at Ware on 17 March 1630 Catherine, daughter of Robert Eyre, barrister-at-law, of Salisbury, Wiltshire. By her, who died on 24 Jan. 1668, aged 66, he had six sons, all bred to the ministry and graduates of Harvard, and two daughters.

His great-grandson was also named Charles Chauncy (1705–1787), minister of the First Church (Congregational) of Boston 1727–1787, an Old-Light opponent of Jonathan Edwards and the New Light ministers of the Great Awakening, and a precursor of Unitarianism.