He holds the record for the longest serving pastorate in American history.
[2][3] As a result of suffering a severe attack of scarlet fever in childhood, young Laban's right arm became withered and "nearly useless to him for life.
[2] While he hoped to enter Harvard College in 1775, the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War prevented him from doing this and instead caused him to attend Dartmouth College—from which he graduated in 1778.
[2] At Stockbridge, Massachusetts, he studied theology under the guidance of Reverend Stephen West.
[2] He also preached for two years at Spencertown, New York, where he served as a chaplain for a few months with Major McKinstry's Corps in the American Revolutionary Army.