One of the famous sons of St John the Baptist’s Church is John Eliot, “Apostle to the Indians.” Born and baptised in Widford in 1604, he went on to be one of the founders of Roxbury Latin School in America – the longest continuing school in the USA. He also worked extensively with the local native American people, learning their language, creating a written version of it and translating the Bible for them so they could read it. Where some settlers caused trouble for the natives, Eliot brought the good news of Jesus and a heart of compassion for them.
We have recently updated our page of information about Eliot’s life story from a single paragraph to a long entry. His is a fascinating story, and there is clearly much more to tell. We look forward to the publication, in 2026, of a new book by Pastor Andrew Belli from Massachusetts, who has kindly cast his eye over our piece to make sure there are no obvious errors. Our piece is accessible here. Visitors are invited to see in person the window that was donated to the church by his descendants in 1894, pictured in part here.
Leave a Reply