Paul Palmer was a Baptist clergyman who was born in Maryland and ordained in Connecticut. After spending some time in New Jersey and Maryland, Palmer was in York County, Virginia by 1717. In March 1719 Palmer married Joanna Taylor Jeffries Peterson and the couple resided together in Perquimans Precinct, North Carolina. In 1720 Palmer convinced Sambo, an enslaved man owned by Nicholas Crisp, to leave Crisp's plantation and come to the Palmers'. Palmer was later charged to kidnapping Sambo, but the charges were eventually dismissed. Palmer later became known for establishing the first Baptist church in North Carolina. Palmer died sometime between January 1742 and June 1743, possibly in Maryland while attending to religious business in that colony.