Rev. William Shurtleff

Biography

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/83440026/william-shurtleff

William Shurtleff – Minister in Portsmouth 1732-1747. Rev. William Shurtleff was ordained at Newcastle in 1712 following the dismissal of John Emerson. Following the death of Emerson in 1732, he was installed at Portsmouth's South Church in 1733. He preached in Portsmouth until his death on May 9, 1747. He was a son of William Shurtleff, of Plymouth, in Massachusetts.

Shurtleff married Mary Atkinson, sister of Theodore Atkinson, and did not have any children.

He preached in Portsmouth until his death on May 9, 1747. According to his biography, "He was eminent for piety aud pastoral fidelity. During his ministry in Portsmouth, he baptized more than seven hundred, and admitted one hundred and thirty communicants to the church." Rev. Alden (a later pastor of the South Church) remarked, that "his name will long be mentioned with respect, for his uncommon meekness and patience under great trials, and for his distinguished piety, talents and pastoral fidelity." His biographers also record troubles with his wife on one occasion she was said to have locked him in his office, preventing him from preaching on a Sunday and worrying the congregation.

Citation: South Church Papers, MS039, Portsmouth Athenaeum deposit collection