Samuel Haven (judge)

[3] He attended Harvard College as a member of the class of 1789 and then studied law with Fisher Ames and Samuel Dexter.

[3] He died in Roxbury on September 4, 1847, at the home of his daughter, Catharine Dexter Haven Hilliard.

A council of 13 other churches assembled with the minister and one lay delegate from each participating to consider the appointment.

[7] Haven also noted that the tradition in New England had long been for a church to make a selection and then present its choice to the parish for ratification.

[9] Haven published a book of over 100 pages outlying the argument against Lamson and included the Result from each council.

[14][10][15] Haven characterized the church meeting in which Lamson was admitted as a member as a "shocking profanation" exhibiting "scenes of wickedness... indecency and barbarity.

[16] Due in part to the long speech Haven gave in his own defense, the trial lasted over two days.

[16][b] Haven argued that he could not have possibly insulted "Alvan Lamson, pastor of the First Church and Parish in Dedham" as he did not think anyone existed by that description.

[16] As a member of that church, Haven said, he would have expected his pastor to "admonish me in the spirit of Christian meekness," but in the eight months since the pamphlet was published he had not received any such admonitions.