While driving through South Windsor’s historic district, I came upon a roadside marker commemorating the birthplace of Jonathan Edwards. Recognize the name? In the early history of colonial America, you’d be hard pressed to find a more influential thinker, philosopher, theologian, and intellectual. His Puritan heritage led to his greatest and most well known sermon«Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God». In 1703 he was born right here in what was once known as East Windsor, but today is known as South Windsor(wonder how the great thinker would explain that?). He was an amazing guy –he entered Yale at 13 and graduated at the ripe old age of 17, of course he was top ranked and was class valedictorian. He preached in Northampton and Boston, MA and led a religious revival in colonial America. He wrote dozens of major works exploring the nature of man and theology. Later in life he was President of the College of New Jersey. He died in 1758 from complications after he was inoculated with a smallpox vaccine. In a weird twist of history, he was the grandfather of America’s third Vice President Aaron Burr — the same Aaron Burr that killed Alexander Hamilton in an 1804 duel. Wonder what grandfather Jonathan would have thought of that?
