John Saffin was not only a prominent lawyer and statesman but also a noteworthy poet of New England. The amazing breadth of his interests and the impressive versatility of his style have prompted some critics to insist on his being placed among the ten best poets in America during the seventeenth century.

Born in Devonshire, England, to Simon and Grace Garrett Saffin, Saffin immigrated to Scituate, Massachusetts, at an early age. As a young man he served as a selectman in Scituate. He married Martha Willett (the first of his three wives) in 1658, and in 1660 he moved to Boston, where he became a prominent merchant and public figure, serving at various times as deputy to the General Court, Speaker of the House, and a member of the Governor's Council. In about 1688 he moved to New Bristol and became the first judge of probate for the newly formed county...