My Reasons to Fight for Freedom Deepened with These Discoveries: The Story of Rev. Abraham Pierson Jr.

The Forgotten Pastor Who Lit a Fire for Freedom Long Before America Was Born

My Reasons to Fight for Freedom Deepened with These Discoveries: The Story of Rev. Abraham Pierson Jr.

The Jack Hopkins Now Newsletter #401

Let me tell you about a man whose blood runs in my veins—a man who didn’t just preach about freedom, but built the very foundation for it.

His name was Abraham Pierson Jr….he was my 9th Great-Grandfather….and he wasn’t just some colonial preacher mumbling through Sunday sermons.

No, this man lit the spark that helped build Yale University from scratch…right out of his own home. But that’s just the polite, marble-statue version.

Let’s pull back the curtain and look at what the history books won’t tell you.

Abraham Pierson Jr. wasn’t born into comfort. He was born in 1641, in the raw…brutal frontier of the Massachusetts Colony…a place where freedom wasn’t a concept—it was a fight for daily survival.

His father, Abraham Sr….dragged the family across the unforgiving wilderness…from New England to the marshy edges of Newark, New Jersey…all while defying the religious gatekeepers of the time.

You see, the Piersons weren’t interested in playing church politics. They were Puritans…but the kind who didn’t care about currying favor with the powerful. They cared about truth. About building something new.

Young Abraham grew up under this weight. He wasn’t just told about courage…he saw it with his own eyes.

But when his father died…the spotlight shifted to him.

The people didn’t ask him to lead because he was the loudest man in the room. They asked him because when the fires of chaos burned…he didn’t run.

He stepped up. He became their pastor. Their rock. Their steady hand. And that’s when the real fight began.

Harvard…yes, Harvard…was slowly cozying up to the more fashionable…European ideas. The Puritans feared Harvard was going soft…abandoning the very principles that drove them to this new world.

They needed an answer. They needed a school that would train men to think for themselves…to defend their communities…to lead.

So what did Abraham do?

He didn’t wait for permission. He opened the first classes of what would become Yale University right there in his own living room. No buildings. No ivory towers. Just grit…determination…and a refusal to let the next generation be swallowed by complacency

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His wife ran the boarding house. His home became the classroom.

He built Yale by candlelight and conviction.

And let me tell you something…the man didn’t get to see the big marble halls or the grand campuses. He died before that dream fully bloomed. But what he did see was this: the seed was planted. The fight was on.

When I uncovered this story, something inside me clicked. (and it happened several more times in my genealogy search…and I’ll share the stories of those ancestors as well…in upcoming pieces that will arrive in your inbox)

I’m not just fighting for some vague political idea.

I’m carrying the torch of men like Abraham Pierson Jr. who fought…not with swords…but with schools…sermons, and stubborn…bulldog determination to build a place where freedom could live.

And that’s why I can’t back down now.

It’s in my blood.

Guess what…it’s almost certainly in yours, too. You may or may not have traced your family back to the 1400’s…like I have. If not, I assure you…there are some amazing people…with amazing stories…that will inspire both you…and everyone around you.

That’s exactly why I’m sharing mine.

Let’s rock this thing like our ancestors did!

Jack