Benjamin Stinton was born on this day in 1676. He became an important Baptist pastor in London at the turn of the 18th Century. But he is not as well-known today as three of his relatives – partly because he died suddenly at an early age.
Benjamin had a sharp mind, but as a youth he had very little opportunity for an education. After his salvation, he became a member of the church lead by Benjamin Keach, and in time, he married one of Keach’s daughters. This made Brother Stinton the son-in-law of one the most important early English Baptists and the brother-in-law of Elias Keach, who started the Lower Dublin Baptist church outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
When the elder Brother Keach saw death approaching, he wanted to maintain the continuity of leadership in his church at Horsleydown, so he made his son-in-law, Bro. Stinton, promise that if the church asked him, he would accept the pastorate. Keach knew that Stinton’s humility and lack of education would naturally cause him to decline the offer, but the promise made to his dying pastor, under the leadership of the Holy Spirit, forced him to accept the call to that important church. Brother Stinton immediately hired a tutor and pushed himself to learn Hebrew and Greek in order to be a better student of God’s Word. When he wasn’t studying or ministering, his spare time was spent collecting materials for future book on Baptist history.
Meanwhile, another member of the church at Horsleydown was Thomas Crosby. Not only was Crosby a deacon in the congregation, but he, too, married one of the Keach girls, making him another brother-in-law to Pastor Stinton.
Sadly that relationship didn’t last too long, because in his forty-second year, Pastor Stinton died. Coming home one day, he told his wife that he had some severe stomach pain. He laid down for a rest, but then to the surprise of everyone, he died without uttering anything more than, “I am going.”
Shortly after that the historical materials Brother Stinton had gathered fell into the hands of Thomas Crosby. That man then made a name for himself, publishing a famous four-volume history of English Baptists.
– Source: This Day in Baptist History II, Cummins and Thompson