Comer, John

Comer, John one of the early Baptist ministers in America, was born in Boston, Aug. 1, 1704. He was apprenticed to a glover, but at seventeen, by the influence of Increase Mather, he was released by his master, and soon entered Harvard College, whence he removed, after a few years, to Yale. In 1721 he joined the Congregationalist Church at Cambridge, but in 1725 became a Baptist, connecting himself with Mr. Callender's church in Boston. In the same year he began preaching, and in 1726 he was ordained co-pastor at Newport. In 1729 a dispute about the "laying on of hands" in admitting baptized members into the Church led to his dismissal from his charge. In 1732 he became pastor at Old Rehoboth, about ten miles from Providence, where he died of consumption, May 23, 1734. He left a Diary in MS., which is of great interest for the early history of the Baptist Church in America. — Sprague, Annals, 6:42.