Puritan Leader, John Wilson, is my 9th grandfather. He helped try a heretic. He did not try any witches, but was close with those who did.
Donald Trump, the ex-president, was just indicted for his illegal conduct involving a Porn Star. John Wilson and all Puritan Leaders would CONDEMN Trump, and punish him in some manner. Trump and other elected leaders, keep claiming the Democrats are conducing a Witch Hunt. If the shoe fits – wear it. I’m asking good Christian Leaders to get the names of the leaders who asked to remain UN-NAMED as they line up a New Witch Hunt. Realizing that Trump is too perverted, they anoint DeSantis to appear to be a Fighter Of God – too! They anoint Gay People to be Scapegoats’, a moral distraction from what they are guilty of. They backed a pervert and a insurrectionist. This is why they don’t have the guts to be visible. The other reason is, they would lose their tax-exemption.
Because my Wilson ancestors were ministers to the Kings and Queens of England, and born at Windsor, I have claimed my bloodline represents the Church of England in America. That DeSantis is an ignorant savage, he did not acknowledge King Charles and his family are representatives of the Church of England, in their sick political need to damn LGBT folk. This is a very low point in Christian History. I will summon the Spirit of John Wilson, to conduct a religious trial, alongside the Trial sanctioned by the Constitution of the United States.
Real Justice will be served by the Real People!
John Presco ‘Republicans Candidate For President;
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-indicted-in-stormy-daniels-hush-money-case/ar-AA19hVao
Former President Trump was indicted on criminal charges in New York on Thursday for his role in organizing hush money payments made to an adult film star during his 2016 campaign, according to a source familiar with the proceedings.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/opinion/ron-desantis-s-big-evangelical-opportunity/ar-AA19dDnk
In my recent conversations with some two dozen evangelical leaders — many of whom asked not to be named, all of whom backed Trump in 2016, throughout his presidency, and again in 2020 — not a single one would commit to supporting him in the 2024 Republican primary. And this was all before the speculation of his potential arrest on charges related to paying hush money to his porn-star paramour back in 2016.
The Puritan Leader – John Wilson – And Gun Control
Posted on November 25, 2022 by Royal Rosamond Press
Woman wearing red Make America Great Again hat praying at Stop the Steal rally in support of Donald Trump in Montana.
https://www.rawstory.com/evangelical-christians-trump/
“During the event he attended, says Campbell, Kirk misappropriated quotes from the Bible in order to make it sound like God wanted Christians to be armed to the teeth with firearms.
“I was absolutely terrified and horrified,” Campbell tells the Globe and Mail.”
In almost every discussion on Gun Control, this title is invoked….Founding Fathers! My ninth grandfather is the Puritan Leader – John Wilson. He considered taking away the guns of the Antiomians, and sending them out into the wilderness that was full of hostile natives. They would not have a gun to hunt with, or, use weapons to compete in the Fur Trade. The followers of Anne Hutchinson were giving their guns, and told to get away from the Colony. They went South, and ended up owning plantation run by the black slaves they purchased in order to compete with the settlers there. The authors of our Constitution descended from these rival Puritan groups, and wrote a document to UNITE THEM. This is why slaves were not set free. The ancient controversy that Paul created when he did away with Mosaic Law, was settled when Non-Semitic Men, who were of the Protestant Faith, made National Laws, that were of a SECULAR NATURE, but, maybe not. Was the Pauline Schism ever resolved?
Pastor Campbell is probably referring how armed Christians are getting permission to target Non-Christians from Revelations, that has very little to do with the teaching and mission of Jesus. Otherwise he would have given these revelations from the get. Christians have been at war with other Christians for hundreds of years. The Puritans were involved in the English Civil War. Everyone had to be a Christian. The Salem Witch Trials was an attempt to ferret out the pretenders.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_Civil_War
Today is the day after Thanksgiving. Let us trust our short American History, contains the best answers to the problems – that have confronted every American. In this…We are Equal!
John Presco
President: Royal Rosamond Press
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wilson_(Puritan_minister)
John Presco (Republican Party) ran for election for Governor of Oregon. Presco lost in the Republican primary on May 17, 2022.
The whole movement, of which she was the leader, is sometimes called the “antinomian controversy.” The word “antinomian” means “against the (moral) law.” Anne Hutchinson’s views can be stated briefly, and they are a vital part of our story…….At the time of Christ, the Pharisees had a very elaborate system of ritual which aimed at the complete regulation of men’s lives. Christ denounced the Pharisees saying, “They bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne and lay them on men’s shoulders.” This whole system of regulation and repression was called “The Law.”
After the death of Christ there was sharp disagreement among his apostles as to the place of “The Law” in the Christian life. Some of them said that if men would become Christian they must first conform to the Jewish “Law.” Paul had been brought up strictly as a Pharisee, but had cast aside this burdensome “Law.” He wrote, “Now the righteousness of God, without the law, is manifested”; and “Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law,” and “The righteousness of the law is fulfilled in us who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit,” and “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.”
On Thanksgiving Eve, I found a essay that suggests agents were sent from England to destroy John Wilson’s Colony that King Charles was threatening to destroy – with his Royal Fleet. This would have been the first British Invasion of an American Colony.
I am thrilled to discover another researcher has come to the conclusions I have – in 1947 – the year after I was born. I need funding from Harvard to complete my research. Two of my best friends went to Harvard that was co-founded by my ancestor, John Wilson, whose portrait was executed from his cadaver. I suspect he was at war with Vanity most of his life, and did not want to be seen as the Great Man he was. One citation say he was the sole founder of Harvard. Anyway, I will keep the Halloween Fire – stoked – even though it is Thanksgiving! I awoke about 4;30 A.M. There are spirits roaming the land of the free looking for a new religion after the false church divided our Democracy.
Allow me to assume that is my great grandfather in the top painting, the hovering hand of Anne about to perch atop his head, as his forefinger lay on his aquiline nose, a symbol of scholarship.
John Presco
President: Royal Rosamond Press
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wilson_(Puritan_minister)
A ‘missionary to Christian nationalists,’ Phoenix pastor urges conversion, not confrontation
Caleb Campbell hopes hospitality and kindness — rather than arguments — can lead away from the fusion of God and country.
Kyle Rittenhouse, right, is introduced to a cheering crowd by Charlie Kirk, middle, founder of Turning Point USA, at a panel discussion at the Turning Point USA America Fest 2021 event, Monday, Dec. 20, 2021, in Phoenix. The panel discussion, called “Kenosha On Camera,” comes a month after Rittenhouse’s acquittal on charges in the deadly Kenosha shootings in 2020. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
November 11, 2022
By
(RNS) — Phoenix pastor Caleb Campbell has a theory about the growing number of Americans who are labeled as Christian nationalists.
Most would rather go to Cracker Barrel than storm the Capitol.
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Many see themselves as good Christians who love their country. But somewhere along the way, they began to think being a good American and being a Christian were one and the same.
“Their whole life has been the intermingling of their American civil religion and their Christian religion,” said Campbell, pastor of Desert Springs Bible Church and a self-described missionary to Christian nationalists.
To help his fellow Christians make a clearer distinction between their faith and their identity as Americans, Campbell founded a group called Disarming Leviathan and spent the last year reading Christian nationalist books and attending events like Turning Point USA’s monthly Freedom Night in America, held at a Phoenix megachurch.
He also signed up to teach a “biblical citizenship class” run by Patriot Academy, founded by Rick Green, a former Texas state legislator turned Christian “Constitution coach.” The class mixes details about America’s founding and the Constitution with Bible verses and conservative politics.
John Wilson and Gun Control
Posted on May 27, 2022 by Royal Rosamond Press
The actions my great grandfather took to control a heresy may have led to the First and Second Amendment.
John
Antinomian Controversy – Wikipedia
Wilson and Webb | Rosamond Press
Within a week of Hutchinson’s sentencing, some of her supporters were called into court and were disfranchised but not banished. The constables were then sent from door to door throughout the colony’s towns to disarm those who signed the Wheelwright petition.[68] Within ten days, these individuals were ordered to deliver “all such guns, pistols, swords, powder, shot, & match as they shall be owners of, or have in their custody, upon paine of ten pound[s] for every default”.[68] A great number recanted and “acknowledged their error” in signing the petition when they were faced with the confiscation of their firearms. Those who refused to recant suffered hardships and, in many cases, decided to leave the colony.[69] In Roxbury, Philip Sherman, Henry Bull, and Thomas Wilson were excommunicated from the church, and all three left the colony.[70]
Beacon Street Diary blog
Puritans and gun control
January 28, 2013
[]The debate on gun control that is now taking place in America makes me wonder about the laws the Puritan founders of Massachusetts enacted regarding guns and gun safety. Were restrictions on weapons really looser in the earliest days?
The Puritans were fully aware of the challenging environment in which they lived, so they embraced not only the right but also the necessity of bearing arms. The legislature voted on May 29, 1644, that “all inhabitants” (even including sailors) “are to have armes in their houses alwayes ready fixt for service.”
But it turns out they were so serious about public safety they passed serious gun control legislation. These measures included:
No shooting guns for the fun of it after the night watch was in place:
Further, it is ordered, that if any pson shall shoote of any peece after the watch is sett, hee shall forfeiet 40s, or if the Court shall iudge him vnable, then to be whipped; the second fault to be punished by the Court as an offence of an higher nature. (April 12, 1631) [Massachusetts Records, I, 85]
No loaded weapons allowed openly in populated areas:
It is ordered, that the capt & officers shall take especiall care to search all peeces that are brought into the ffeild for being charged, & that noe person whatsoeuer shall att any time charge any peece of service with bulletts or shott, other then for defence of their howses, or att comaund from the capt, vpon such penallty as the Court shall thinke meete to inflict. (July 3, 1632) [I, 98]
Weapon size and capacity to be regulated:
no pecces shalbe alowed for serviceable, in our trained bands, but such as are ether full musket boare, or basterd musket at the least, & that none should be under three foote 9 inches, nor any above foure foote 3 inches in length… (October 1, 1645) [II, 134-135]
When publicly procured guns were resold to citizens, an account to be submitted to the Auditor General:
Itt is ordered by this Courte, that ye surveyor gennerall shall hereby have power to sell all the countryes armes vnto any persons inhabiting within this collony, & to give an accompt of all such armes sould by him vnto the auditor gennerall. (October 18, 1645) [III, 52]
Heavier arms unavailable to citizens for any reason whatsoever:
[No] selling or alienating any of the ordinance, or the great artilliry, or any the appurtenances thereof, vpon any pretence whatsoeuer, without speciall order of the Generall Court. (May 22, 1650) [IV-1, 5]
No sale of gunpowder to anyone outside Massachusetts:
It is ordred, that whosoever shall transport any powdr out of ye iurisdiction without leave & licence first obtained from some two of our honored magistrates, shall forfeit for every such ofience wich shalbe so transporting;.. [II, 136]
And the Bay Colony Puritan government confiscated arms when circumstances seemed to require, as in the Wheelwright – Hutchinson scare in 1637. (November 21, 1637 – I, 212).
Yes, you could own a gun in Puritan Massachusetts, for hunting and defense. But restrictions applied, and penalties were heavy. Makes sense to me.
-David M. Powers
John Presco – Presidential Candidate | Rosamond Press
A Song of Deliverane by John Wilson
Posted on December 6, 2019 by Royal Rosamond Press
Here are some poems and books written in America by my great grandfather, Reverend John Wilson. Moses made me aware John was a Missionary in a strange land full of non-white people. He was a compatriot of John Eliot.
John ‘The Nazarite’
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wilson_(Puritan_minister)
A song of deliverance for the lasting remembrance of Gods wonderful works never to be forgotten. Containing in it the wonderful defeat of the Spanish-Armado, anno, 1588. the woful plague, anno, 1603. soon upon the entrance of King James of famous memory, unto the Crown of England. : With the discovery of the Povvder Plot, anno, 1605. and the downfall of Black Fryers, when an hellish crew of papists met to hear Drury a popish priest, anno 1623. Also the grievous plague anno, 1625. with poems both Latin and English, and the verses of that learned Theodore Beza.
Wilson, John, 1588-1667.
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Christian Reader.
COnsidering how excedingly pretious the remem|brance of this heavenly man of God is (whose Poems these are) unto all that knew him, yea, and the thoughts of that sacred ashes locked up within his Tomb, the thoughts of whom is enough to cause Fountains to run over, and to trickle down mine Eyes, and the Eyes of all tender hearts that loved him, this emboldneth me to present unto you this heavenly Song. Endited by him, or rather the holy Spirit of God unto him many years agoe, hoping they will find acceptanec with you, os he had a fluent strain in Poetry, so how ex|cellent was the matter contained in the same, being full of Direction, Correction, and Consolation, suiting much unto spiritual Edification. What Volums hath he penned for the help of others in their several changes of condition, which if they were all compiled together, would questionless make a large Folio. How was his heart full of good matter? He was another sweet sing|er of Israel, whoss heavenly Verses passed like to the handkerchief carryed from Paul to help and uphold dis|consolate ones, and to heal their wracked Souls, by the effectual prisence of Gods holy Spirit. Seeing those are not so visible unto the World, he pleased to peruse these, redivived by this present Impression, wherein we may obs•rve what were Gods former mercyes towards his People in great Brittain, his wonderful mercy to King, Peers, and People, and unto our Fathers; when the Spanish Popish Plot was dashed in pieces, and the half Moon of their Navy, (whose horns stood seven Page [unnumbered] mile asunder) was shattred into Confusion. Gods Judgements also in the two dreadful plagues (which are mentioned in this Book) and Gods healing hand. The discovery also, and defeating the hellish Powder Plot. The woful downfall at Black Friers, where Drury with many of his Attendants breathed their last breath. What sayth Asaph, Psal. 78.2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. I will open my mouth in a Parable, I will utter dark sayings of old, which we have heard, and known, and our Fathers have told us, we will not hide them from their Children, which should be born, who should arise, and declare them unto their Chil|dren, that they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God: but keep his Commandments: And what can be 〈◊〉 suitable to read over, then what is here presented. Considering (as h•retofore) the Devil with his Instruments have contrived to swallow up that famous Kingdome, and the Church of Christ in it, so now, are not all the Devils of Hell, with such whom they employ, busying themselves to batter down the walls of Zion, and to make breaches at the gates thereof, that so they might exe|cute the utmost Butcheries that can be invented, thereby to over|throw the Kingdome of Christ here on Earth in every place? but that God who hath been the refuge of his People hitherto, that over|threw the Egyptians at the red Sea, that destroyed Sisera with his Army, he can save his People now in all places. Only let us thankefully remember Gods former mercyes shewed to his people in both Eng|lands, really and unfeignedly repent of whatsoever we have provo|ked him with; Call and cry earnestly to him, and trust in the only Rock of Jesus Christ, who is our hope and Salvation for ever. Take in good part what is here presented to you from the Son of him who is 〈◊〉, so pretious a Father, who heartily wisheth your welfare, and the peace of all Gods Israel.
Yours to serve in Christ Jesus John Wilson.
John Eliot (missionary)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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For other people with the same name, see John Eliot.
John Eliot (c. 1604 – 21 May 1690) was a Puritan missionary to the American Indians who some called “the apostle to the Indians”[1][2][3] and the founder of Roxbury Latin School in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1645.
Cuckoos Farm, Little Baddow, Eliot’s home around 1629
John Eliot was born in Widford, Hertfordshire, England and lived at Nazeing as a boy. He attended Jesus College, Cambridge.[4] After college, he became assistant to Thomas Hooker at a private school in Little Baddow, Essex.[5] After Hooker was forced to flee to Holland, Eliot emigrated to Boston, Massachusetts, arranging passage as chaplain on the ship Lyon and arriving on November 3, 1631. Eliot became minister and “teaching elder” at the First Church in Roxbury.[3]
From 1637 to 1638 Eliot participated in both the civil and church trials of Anne Hutchinson during the Antinomian Controversy. Eliot disapproved of Hutchinson’s views and actions, and was one of the two ministers representing Roxbury in the proceedings which led to her excommunication and exile.[6] In 1645, Eliot founded the Roxbury Latin School. He and fellow ministers Thomas Weld (also of Roxbury), Thomas Mayhew of Martha’s Vineyard, and Richard Mather of Dorchester, are credited with editing the Bay Psalm Book, the first book published in the British North American colonies (1640). From 1649 to 1674, Samuel Danforth assisted Eliot in his Roxbury ministry.[1]
Cambridge, The Focal Point Of Puritan Life (Part Four)
Catch up on part one of this post here!
By Henry Hallam Saunderson
Read April 22, 1947
Dealing With Dissenters
While the Puritan leaders were carrying forward their highly significant enterprises, they had to deal with forces which endangered the very existence of their Colony, in which increasing thousands of people were investing themselves, their lives, and all that they possessed in the world. Sometimes modern critics of the Puritan leaders say that they fled from England to obtain religious freedom and then denied to others what they sought for themselves. This is a serious misinterpretation of their adventure in colonization. I repeat: their attitude was not that of fugitives from oppression but that of the creators of a new manner of life.
They had the outline of a new political state, and they wanted to see if it would work. They wagered everything on that project. They wanted to create an enlightened community, under the leadership of an educated ministry, and governed by godly men. They wanted a community which aimed at promoting the welfare of the entire population; a community in which there should be no poverty and no illiteracy.
Every Puritan church in the colony was a community church. It had the power to write its own creed and covenant. Let us bear in mind that these Puritans never created a central creed-making power, nor any autocracy which could dictate to the churches in any phase of their life. In order that the town governments and the colonial government might be in the hands of godly men, they bestowed the rights of Freemen only on the worthy members of their churches. This was fair and right in an administration which carried the responsibilities of so great an investment. They had a right to carry through their experiment; to see if a community so conceived, so organized and so administered “could long endure.”
Probably the severest criticisms of early Puritanism here are based on the erroneous idea that there could have been toleration of various individuals and groups whose religious opinions differed sharply from the SAUNDERSON: THE FOCAL POINT OF PURITAN LIFE 71 faith of the Puritan leaders. But those who make these severe criticisms fail to realize that individuals and groups of people came into the territory of the colony and endeavored to overturn the government by the political application of erratic religious ideas. The Puritan authorities were not suppressing religious opinions as such, but were defending the stability of their government against those who would destroy it.
An example of this is found in the case of Roger Williams. He asserted far-sighted principles of religious liberty. But he began, very soon after his arrival here, to proclaim the idea that the Charter of the Colony was entirely illegal; that King Charles had no rightful power to grant the Charter; that the Colony had no legal claim to the territory which it occupied. And this idea he projected into every corner of the Colony.
It is said by modern critics of the Puritans that for his ideas of religious liberty Roger Williams was driven forth alone into the wilderness infested with savages. Not at all. The Colonial authorities saw that he was endangering the existence of the Colony, and they provided him with passage on a ship which was about to sail for England. He chose to flee in the night, for he had no desire to be deported. He went southward and founded what is now the State of Rhode Island. He had as yet no charter. That was obtained only in later years.
The Case Of Anne Hutchinson
In the midst of the turmoil over the troublesome views of Roger Williams, King Charles proceeded to take action aiming to destroy the Colony. The alarming news reached Boston, and the government had to face the situation. Imagine the meeting of the General Court of Magistrates and Deputies, when they sat at a long table on which was lying a copy of a document by which the King had given to eleven of his courtiers the power to ruin them and all the other people of the Colony. The decisions of that day are poignant. Fortifications were built on Castle Island in Boston Harbor and at Dorchester and Charlestown. The little army of the Colony was recruited and actively trained. A council was formed to manage “any war that might befall.”
Facing the danger of war with the Mother country, was it a time for broad toleration of a trouble-maker within the Colony? If they must fill their powder barrels, should they let one person play with fire in the powder magazine? By a strange coincidence the same ship which brought the copy of the ominous document from England, threatening the very life of the Colony, also brought a woman of great ability, Mrs. Anne Hutchinson. She came in 1634 and had here a picturesque career of four years. At no time was the Colony in graver danger of destruction than when she was at the height of her power. Even while Boston Harbor was being fortified against the royal warships, there was a threat of an invasion by the Indians with the possibility of a general massacre. When the situation was most acute, there was division, even in the military forces of the Colony, over the religious ideas of Anne Hutchinson; and though she was well aware of the danger, she pushed her campaign for the political application of her religious views.
The whole movement, of which she was the leader, is sometimes called the “antinomian controversy.” The word “antinomian” means “against the (moral) law.” Anne Hutchinson’s views can be stated briefly, and they are a vital part of our story. At the time of Christ, the Pharisees had a very elaborate system of ritual which aimed at the complete regulation of men’s lives. Christ denounced the Pharisees saying, “They bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne and lay them on men’s shoulders.” This whole system of regulation and repression was called “The Law.”
After the death of Christ there was sharp disagreement among his apostles as to the place of “The Law” in the Christian life. Some of them said that if men would become Christian they must first conform to the Jewish “Law.” Paul had been brought up strictly as a Pharisee, but had cast aside this burdensome “Law.” He wrote, “Now the righteousness of God, without the law, is manifested”; and “Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law,” and “The righteousness of the law is fulfilled in us who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit,” and “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.”
Biblical scholars of the Puritan times had great skill in translating the Bible from Hebrew and Greek into English — that is, in translating it word for word. But they halted over the interpretation of it. Anne Hutchinson held that these passages which spoke of the law referred to the moral law. She did not know that Paul was setting aside the ritual law of the Pharisees. And there were many scholars who made the same serious blunder.
Anne Hutchinson, in England, had been greatly influenced by the preaching of John Cotton. When he migrated to Massachusetts, she decided to follow with her family. She joined the Church in Boston of which John Winthrop was the chief member, John Wilson the pastor, and John Cotton newly installed as teacher. But she soon gathered a considerable congregation, on days other than Sunday, for the teaching of her views. The Puritan leaders saw that, whatever the Apostle Paul might have written, the moral law was not set aside. Throughout the whole Colony there was discussion of the views of Anne Hutchinson.
Soon she criticized the Puritan ministers as “under a covenant of works.” She declared that John Cotton was “under a covenant of grace” and that so were her followers and herself. She launched a vigorous movement to displace John Wilson as pastor of the Boston Church. She sought to rouse the members of other churches against their ministers. She denounced the government of the Colony.
Such a state of affairs would be distressing at any time; but when it developed while an Indian massacre was dreaded, it was ominous in the extreme. The majority of the Boston soldiers declared themselves to be under a “covenant of grace” and refused to march against the savages under a leader who, they declared, was under a “covenant of works.” There was the spectacle of a divided army with the enemy almost at the gates.
The majority of the authorities of the government wanted to check Anne Hutchinson. But they took quick action to transport the guns, powder, and other munitions away from Boston lest the faction dominated by Mrs. Hutchinson seize them. They themselves went from Boston lest they be seized and held helpless. The General Court held its sessions in Newtowne.
Meantime a brilliant young man, Sir Harry Vane, had come from England. In a wave of enthusiasm the Freemen of the Colony had elected him Governor. He lived in Boston and was won over to Mrs. Hutchinson’s religious views . His accession to her ranks gave this woman confidence that she could gain political mastery of the Colony.
The General Court sought to check her influence by pointing out the grave danger in which the Colony was placed and commanding that Mrs. Hutchinson and her followers cease their subversive works. But they replied by drawing up a document condemning the General Court. The time of year was at hand for the annual assembly of the body of Freemen of the Colony and the election of the Governor, Deputy-Governor and Assistants. The meeting was here in Newtowne. I have spoken of a great oak on Cambridge Common which was a geographical center for such meetings. The Boston faction hoped to get quick action adopting their document condemning the General Court and also to re-elect Sir Harry Vane as Governor.
A great crowd assembled, and Sir Harry Vane himself sought to set aside the regular order of business and get action favoring the Boston faction. Other men demanded that the meeting follow the usual order of business. A great tumult broke out, and men came to blows. The venerable pastor of the Boston Church, John Wilson, climbed that great oak tree, to be seen and heard by all, and made a vigorous speech appealing to men to proceed in legal fashion and to unite in defense of the Commonwealth. His counsel prevailed; the young Governor was swept from office, and the same, sober, dependable statesman, John Winthrop, was triumphantly returned to office as Governor. The Colony showed a united front against the savages and the situation was saved. Sir Harry Vane soon returned to England. In the course of time he became Minister for Naval Affairs under Oliver Cromwell. After the Restoration of the Stuart Kings he was beheaded.
But to return to Anne Hutchinson: the General Court saw clearly that the Colony must defend its existence. Mrs. Hutchinson was urged to moderate her propaganda. She refused, even when she was endangering the very life of the Colony. She was tried and sentenced to banishment.
It is said by modern critics of the Puritans that “The saintly woman, Anne Hutchinson, was driven out to be destroyed by the savages,” that “Though her only offense was her religious faith, the bigoted Puritans sent her to her death.”
But let us look at the facts. In the address to her by the General Court is this clear statement: “Your conscience you may keep to yourself; but if in this cause you shall countenance and encourage those that transgress the law, you must be called in question for it; and that is not for your conscience but for your practice.” Here is not a violation of freedom of conscience but a restriction on political action endangering the existence of the Commonwealth.
Whither was Anne Hutchinson banished? First to a very comfortable home in Roxbury, that of Joseph Welde, brother of the minister of the Roxbury Church, and a member of the General Court. Here she lived for months in quiet and comfort. She was allowed to receive visits from her friends. But she continued her dangerous propaganda. Many statements, however, made at this time contradicted some of her earlier statements. When these falsehoods were pointed out to her she claimed that she had had new revelations from the Holy Spirit.
The scandal of all this was so serious that she was excommunicated by the Boston Church. And the authorities decreed that she must go farther than Roxbury. Where did she go next? To her own farm in Braintree. There she could pause and consider her future course. She was free to go northward to the present site of the City of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and to share the fortunes of her brother-in-law, John Wheelwright. Or she was free to go southward and to associate herself with the followers of Roger Williams. She freely chose the latter course. After some years marked by further strife, she voluntarily left that colony and built a home on the western end of Long Island. There she perished in an Indian uprising. The Puritans of Massachusetts had not the slightest responsibility for her tragic end.
What About The Baptists?
Critics of the Puritans ask why the Baptists were not tolerated in this Colony. They ask, What difference does it make what amount of water is used in baptism? The custom which grew out of the Protestant Reformation was for parents to bring their infants for baptism because it was believed that regeneration took place in the rite. This was the custom among the Puritans. The Baptists, however, held strenuously that baptism was Christian only if the persons baptized were of sufficiently mature years to choose for themselves, and in baptism declared their personal faith.
As a religious teaching, the Puritans could tolerate this. But the Baptists drove hard for the political application of their definition of the name Christian. They asserted that the Puritans had not been baptized; that consequently they were not Christians; and that, further, as only Christians had a legal right to vote in the affairs of Massachusetts, the Puritans were outlawed. The Baptists claimed that only they, the Baptists, could exercise political power.
Thus we see that these militant Baptists were not asking to be tolerated in the Puritan community; they were seeking to dispossess the people who had come here in the Great Migration and had created the Commonwealth. Since any Puritan’s ownership of his land and his house upon it rested on the legality of the Puritan government, the militant Baptist propaganda would have made them vagrants and intruders. Of course this absurd propaganda had to be checked. Again we have a situation when this government had to defend itself in order to live at all.
One other phase of Baptist practice was to go into Puritan churches and to interrupt the service of instruction and worship, especially when the service included the baptism of infants.
I have spoken of the scholarly man who was the first President of Harvard College, Henry Dunster, whose term of office was from 1640 to 1654. His departure was a strange event. In his biblical studies he came slowly and reluctantly to the conviction that the Baptist doctrine was the truth. He not only announced openly his newly acquired faith but interrupted a service in the Cambridge Church when infants were brought for baptism. There was great consternation among the clergy of the Colony. Could Harvard College train Puritan ministers under such a man? Dunster was examined. He apologized for disturbing a service, but he asserted vigorously his Baptist convictions. His days of usefulness at Harvard were ended. The authorities removed him.
The Witchcraft Craze
Many people speak and write about the episode of the execution of witches in Salem as if Puritans had invented the whole idea. The matter can be disposed of briefly. A tidal wave of hysteria over witchcraft swept over Europe and barely touched these shores. It is estimated that three thousand persons were put to death in Scotland and tens of thousands in other countries. Here the Puritans took one look at this action and revolted against it. Fewer than a score of “witches” were put to death. The Puritan emphasis on the dignity of human personality was incompatible with it. The hysteria checked itself quickly. Samuel Sewall, one of the judges at the witchcraft trials, stood in the broad aisle of his church and, before God and man, asked pardon for condemning anyone as a witch.
It is often said that the Puritans showed themselves harsh and bigoted in their treatment of those peace-loving, gentle people, the Quakers. But anyone who says this shows that he does not know that in those days the Quakers were militant in their determination to shatter other forms of faith and were fanatical in their methods. In the Puritan churches in Massachusetts Quaker women would do shameless things, including yelling and running up and down the aisles and making worship impossible. They called this “testifying before the Lord.” Their attitude toward the government differed little from anarchy. The Puritans used restraints against the Quakers not on the ground of religion but on that of preserving the life of the Colony.
Incidentally, let us recall the traditional phrase “The Puritan Blue Laws” long enough to say that such laws never existed here. They were invented by an English visitor who had a distorted sense of humor.
I began this paper with the statement that Puritanism was a progressive movement. This review of the history of the movement is offered in justification of that statement. In conclusion, I want to sum up briefly five important achievements of Puritan life here, all of them related to the life of our own community, Cambridge.
These five achievements are:
1st. Political democracy as expressed in their town meetings and their central colonial government.
2nd. Spiritual self-reliance as expressed in their self-governing churches and in their religious life, which emphasized to the utmost the right of private judgment.
3rd. Popular education as expressed in their great invention of the public school, and the principle that the education of the children should be at the cost of the community, because it was for the welfare of all.
4th. An educated ministry as expressed in their creation of a college for the training of their own young men to fill their pulpits, and the application of the principle that their preachers should appeal to the intelligence of their congregations. Their college was also to train men for a variety of forms of public service.
5th. Their publishing enterprise which aimed at using, for the intellectual and spiritual welfare of the entire population, the great invention of the printing-press.
These five movements were expressions of one central faith, a faith in the powers of human personality; a faith that, in human personality, there are intellectual and spiritual capacities which are best developed by being used. “We learn to do by doing” is a principle of modern education which was anticipated by our Puritan forefathers centuries ago.
The Puritan emphasis on education has been accepted so fully that we can scarcely imagine the time when it was a novelty. But Governor Berkeley of Virginia was contrasting his State with Massachusetts when, in 1670, he wrote this concerning Virginia:
“I thank God there are no free schools nor printing, and I hope we shall not have them these hundred years; for learning has brought disobedience and heresy and sects into the world, and printing has divulged them, and libels against the best government. God keep us from both.”
The vitality of Puritan principles continues. They are the principles of a life which perpetuates itself while generations of men come and go. That life has a creative power which does not cease. In all my life this idea of a continuing life in successive centuries has never been more deeply impressed upon my mind than at the time of the Harvard Tercentenary, when we closed the meeting of the Alumni Association with the singing of “Fair Harvard.” That immortal song recalls our Puritan founders and speaks of Harvard College as the
“First flower of their wilderness, star of their night,
Calm rising through change and through storm.”
That first star represents one faculty of scholarly men. Harvard has become a great constellation, many faculties being grouped in it. We have seen its rising. No man can foresee for it any setting or any waning. It represents a light which is eternal, the light of truth. The Harvard shield bears with proud devotion the word VERITAS. Puritan beginnings here were indeed simple, but their consequences are large. And our community, bearing the great name of Cambridge, has an undimmed glory, for eyes that can see.
This article can be found in the Proceedings of the Cambridge Historical Society Volume 32, from the years 1946-1948.
John Wilson – Has Risen!
Posted on December 10, 2019 by Royal Rosamond Press
Several researchers say my 9th. grandfather is buried in a vault under King’s Chapel in Boston, but, his remains and coffin have not been found. There is a hidden room, that contains his massive folio of writing. He wrote many poems in Latin. Rena Easton was supposed to come to Boston in 1970. She is destined to find Wilson’s bones with me, and commit to memory my kin’s work. My twice named unborn granddaughter, is destined to own the Wilson legacy. She too will own an amazing memory. Lara Roozemond is my kindred. She is coming to believe in her destiny, and moves into the Realm of the Rose in the Water of Eternal Life!
The insane and deluded Evangelical President is meeting with a Russian Warlock today in order to decide the fate of America found by the Wilsons. Trump has the Attorney General on the leash of The Devil, and has ordered him to destroy the FBI and the Department of Justice. The Southern Baptist Hersey is the bodyguard of a Lying Lunatic – who is Impeached! Of course Trump and Melania want to find the Fountain of Youth. The First Lady is one-hundred a eighty-six years old!
John Wilson Rosamond
Copyright 2019
John Wilson and Judgement Day
Posted on September 27, 2018by Royal Rosamond Press
Today is John Wilson’s Day. He is a great grandfather of mine. He was the head of the First Church of Boston, and a Puritan leader of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He judged two women. One was excommunicated, the other, hanged.
The question I put forth, is, was the Spirit of Jesus at these trials? Was his spirit, invoked? This is the late 1600s. Jesus has not yet bid The Boston Patriots to rebel against the Church of England, and Their King, which the ministers of The King’s Church – ruled an Act of Treason!
Did Jesus found our Democracy in 1776? Most of the evangelicals who lay hands of the President of the United States, claim God-Jesus did just that. Why then didn’t King Jesus bid our Founding Fathers to give women The Right To Vote? It appears women had a voice in the first churches established in The Colonies – by my kindred. Does this give me a Divine Parotitic Voice? Or, do I have to subscribe to The Rapture? Are these questions ones that Brett Kavanaugh should be considering, verses what other woman is going to step out of the dark and accuse him of getting a teenage child drunk and raping her with the help of his best friend – who will not be testifying today!
John Presco ‘Nazarite Judge’
“On the eve of an extraordinary hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee at which both Judge Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford, a California professor who has accused him of assaulting her when they were both teenagers, will testify, Mr. Trump said that “some very evil” Democrats had plotted to destroy Judge Kavanaugh’s reputation. And he lamented what he called “a very dangerous period in our country” in which men are presumed guilty.”
While Wilson had little to say during Hutchinson’s civil trial, he delivered the final pronouncement at her church trial.
Wilson exhorted Mary Dyer to repent, but it was her goal to hang as a martyr.
In the 1650s Quaker missionaries began filtering into the Massachusetts Bay Colony, mostly from Rhode Island, creating alarm among the colony’s magistrates and ministers, including Wilson.[9] In 1870, M’Clure wrote that Wilson “blended an intense love of truth with as intense a hatred of error”, referring to the Quakers’ marked diversion from Puritan orthodoxy
Return of the Scarlet Letter
Posted on August 7, 2018by Royal Rosamond Press
My kindred, John Wilson, is buried in The King’s Chapel, along with Elizabeth Pain who is associated with Hester Prynne the subject of Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter.
Christine Wandel lived on Hancock Street located on Beacon Hill. I lived on Anderson Street a few blocks away. I took the Mafia to court at the top of Hancock, and won. I loved in with Dottie Witherspoon on Cambridge. She descends from Signer, John Witherspoon. We were both looking for a new religion. We were destined for the Church. I should have never left Boston. I have features like John Wilson. I am kin to real Boston Bluebloods.
I am going to author a Television Script titled ‘The Return of the Scarlet Letter’. The series will span time. The spirit of John and Elizabeth will come into the beings of many. John was the minister of the first church in Boston and brought the word of God to the Native Americans, and is in Hawthorne’s book. Beacon Hill was a Hobbit like place.
John Presco
Copyright 2018
Wilson and Webb
Posted on March 5, 2019 by Royal Rosamond Press
My kindred, William Wilson, and his brother-in-law, Erasmus Webb may have known William Shakespeare – intimately! Anne (Webb) Wilson lived at Windsor Castle. Her brother, Erasmus, was the Archdeacon of Buckingham Palace. Are we looking at the authors of Shakespeare’s plays? Why has this family lineage been buried, and all but forgotten? These are extremely educated men, whose wives would be at court. They would know all the intrigues, and, hear confessions. They would know the merry wives of Windsor. People would bring them all the gossip that is the bane of the church, aimed at bringing other down as they vie for royal favors.
This bloodline flows from Bohemia and has seeded several major religions. This is the ‘Hidden Seed’. The Webb family came to America. In the chart below we see that Sir Alexander Webb married Mary Wilson, the daughter of Thomas Wilson MP, the grandfather (or Great Uncle?) of Reverend John Wilson of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, that the Webb family played a large role in. Shakespeare’s line, died out, and thus, this is his American Seed.
Statesman, Thomas Wilson MP, was a stellar scholar and author who could have prepared the way for the writing of Shakespeare. Why not put Alexander Webb is the race? Surely the Webb-Wilson family saw themselves as the family-power behind the Church and Throne, and in need of new forum.
“Wilson belongs to the second rank of Elizabethan statesmen. An able linguist, he had numerous acquaintances among Spanish and Flemish officials in the Netherlands, and, in a wider context, his range of friends included Leicester, Burghley, Hatton, Davison, Sir Francis Knollys, Paulet, Walsingham, William of Orange, Jewel, Parker, Parkhurst, Gresham, Ludovico Guiccardini and Arias Montano.”
http://webb.skinnerwebb.com/gpage1.html
https://www.geni.com/people/Thomas-Wilson-MP/6000000010886211061?through=6000000006520219276
John Presco
Copyright 2019
https://www.geni.com/people/Ann-Wilson/6000000007926596788?through=6000000003938684818
Erasmus Webb B.D. (d. 24 March 1614) was a Canon of Windsor, England from 1590 to 1614[1]
Career
He was educated at Gloucester Hall, Oxford where he graduated BA in 1568, MA in 1572 and BD in 1585.
He was appointed:
- Vicar of St Clears, Carmarthen 1577
- Rector of Ham, Wiltshire 1582
- Rector of Bletchingdon, Oxfordshire 1583
- Archdeacon of Buckingham 1589
- Rector of West Ilsley, Berkshire 1601–1613
He was appointed to the ninth stall in St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle in 1590, a position he held until 1614.
He was buried in the chapel. His inscription read:
“Hic jacet Erasmus Webb, Sacrae Theologiae Baccalaureus, cujus Regiae Capallae quondam Canonicus, qui obit 24 die Martii, Anno Domini 1613. Aetatis suae 63”[2]
| The Early Webb Families | |
| Sir John Alexander Webb | |
William Shakespeare and his wife Anne had three children. The eldest, Susanna, was baptised on 26 May 1583. They also had twins, Judith and Hamnet, baptised on 2 February 1585.
Shakespeare had four grandchildren who all died without heirs, so there are no direct descendants of his line today.
Susanna married John Hall in 1607, and had one child, Elizabeth, in 1608. Elizabeth was married twice, to Thomas Nash in 1626, and to John Barnard in 1649. She had no children by either husband.
Hamnet died at the age of 11 and was buried in Stratford-upon-Avon on 11 August 1596. The cause of his death is unknown.
Judith married Thomas Quiney in 1616, and the couple had three sons: Shakespeare Quiney, who died in infancy, and Richard and Thomas, who both died in 1639 within a month of each other. Neither of them married or had children before they died.
It is possible to claim a relationship to Shakespeare through his sister, Joan. There are many descendants of Joan and William Hart alive today, in both the male and female lines.
https://wikivisually.com/wiki/Archdeacon_of_Buckingham
https://www.geni.com/people/Erasmus-Webb-Archdeacon-of-Buckingham/6000000012211473651
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dean_and_Canons_of_Windsor
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Merry_Wives_of_Windsor
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archdeacon_of_Buckingham
https://www.geni.com/people/Ann-Wilson/6000000007926596788
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy_Elsmore
Sir Henry Alexander Webb, I MP 
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English (default)
Date of birth has also been erroneously reported to be December 24, 1534.
Date of death has also been erroneously reported to be 1573.
NOTA BIEN: It has been alleged that this Sir Henry was a baronet, but the Baronetage of England was not formed until May 22, 1611.
It was said that Sir Henry Alexander Webb (1510-1544) established the family for all future time, since to him “for valiant deeds of his father”, Sir John Alexander Webb, of Oldstock, “who was an officer under Kings Henry VII and VIII”, the present generally accepted emblem, or coat of arms, was granted. This heraldic ensigna of rank in the New Nobility, that of the thegus, owe their origin in personal service to the prince then reigning. The New Nobility was accordingly one of office due to meritorious service. The device of hereditary coat of armour, a growth of the twelfth century, did much to define and mark out the noble class throughout Europe. When once acquired by grant of the Sovereign, it went on from generation to generation. They who possessed the right of coat of armour formed the class of nobility or gentry.
Sir Henry Alexander Webb married Grace Arden, sister of Robert Arden. Mary Webb (Shakespeare’s grandmother) married Robert Arden, brother of Grace.
from: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~sharonkforehand/page%208Smith%20Webb%20Griffith.htm
Sir Henry Alexander Webb
Though commonly thought to have been the 4th Baronet of Odstock, that distinction would have fallen to his brother William. Presumably the title would come to him if William died without male issue, and I haven’t yet found a reference to wife or child for William. I also haven’t found any reliable reference to Sir Henry as a Peer of the Realm, which means he was most likely not a Baronet.
Undoubtedly named after Henry VIII–due to the close family association with the royal family–Henry Alexander Webb was born on May 11, 1510. Henry married Grace Arden, daughter of Thomas Arden, of Aston Cantlow parish of Warwick county. The continued close association of the Webb family and royalty are documented in a letter sent by the Queen, Katherine Parr, requesting that grants and privileges due Henry Alexander Webb be fulfilled as promised. Sir Henry and wife Grace had three children: First-born Alexander, Agnes and Robert. Little is known of Agnes and Robert.
‘Sir Henry Alexander permanently secured nobility for the family when, on June 17, 1577, he was granted a coat of arms.’ Although I have found this statement all over the internet, it is doubtful and a bit dubious. Firstly, I would point out that the grant of arms listed is for 1577, Henry would have been 67 if he had lived that long (notice the date of death…). Secondly, and more importantly, Sir John was not only Henry’s father but was also the 3rd Baronet of Odstock. This means that the family was already considered Noble. And third, Henry was known to wear his Arms at tournament and on the field of battle. Hard to do if they are not granted to you until after your death. In this common misconception even the heralds at the UK College of Arms were unable to help clear up the debacle. The Arms appear on numerous ‘rolls of Arms’ from the time and always list the bearer as Sir Henry Alexander Webb.
The Heraldric blazon or description of these arms is “Gules a cross between 4 falcons Or” and the crest is “Gules demi eagle rising upon a Ducal coronet”
Some sources say ‘eaglets’ instead of ‘falcons’. According to the United Kingdom College of Arms heralds eaglets adorn Sir John’s arms, Henry’s father. The falcons were a mark of personal distinction between the two men.
A copy of the letter which Katherine Parr sent her council (Cabinet Members) asking them to grant her beloved friend, Sir Henry Webb, the lands and estates that had been mentioned for him, is still in existence.
These lands had been confiscated by the King at the suppression of the monasteries and were located in Dorsetshire, England.
Sir Henry Alexander Webb was usher to the Privy Council of Katherine Parr, Queen Regent of Britian in the 16th century, 6th Queen of Henry VIII of England; to whose influence the future sovereigns Edward VI, Mary I and Elizabeth I owed a great deal.
Among the few exsisting documents connected with the regency of Katherine Parr was one while Henry VIII was conducting the seige of Boulogne in 1544 AD. There is in the Crotonain Collections, a letter to her council, headed: “Katherine, Queen Regent, K.P.; In favor of her trusty and well beloved servant, Henry Alexander Webb, gentlemen, usher of her Privy Chamber”. The letter is in regard to some grants and privileges to Henry Alexander Webb, but which had not been fulfilled and it concludes, “we most heartly desire and pray you to be favorable to him at this our earnest request. Given under my Hand and Signet at my Lord, the King’s Majesty’s Honor of Hampton court, the 23rd of July and the 36th year of his Highness most noble Reign”.
Sir Henry Alexander Webb was an usher to Catherine Parr, Queen of England.
links
- http://www.stirnet.com/genie/data/british/zwrk/webb03.php#link1 (membership required to view without interruption)
http://jimwebb.rootsweb.ancestry.com/webb/pafg07.htm#9473
11. Sir Henry Alexander WEBB (John Alexander , John Alexander , William , John , Geofrey , Henry ) was born on 11 May 1510 in Stratford, Warwickshire, England. He died about 1544 in England.
It was said that Sir Henry Alexander Webb (1510-1544) established the family for all future time, since to him the coat of arms, was granted. This heraldic ensigna of rank in the New Nobility, that of the thegus, owe their origin in personal service to the prince then reigning. The New Nobility was accordingly one of office due to meritorious service. The device of hereditary coat of armour, a growth of the twelfth century, did much to define and mark out the noble class throughout Europe. When once acquired by grant of the Sovereign, it went on from generation to generation. They who possessed the right of coat of armour formed the class of nobility or gentry. Sir Henry Alexander Webb married Grace Arden, sister of Robert Arden. Mary Webb (Shakespeare's grandmother) married Robert Arden, brother of Grace.
Henry married Grace ARDEN, daughter of Thomas ARDEN, about 1533 in Stratford, Warwickshire, England. Grace was born about 1512 in Wilnecote, Warwickshire, England. She died on 3 Dec 1539 in Windsor, Hertsfordshire, England.
They had the following children:
+ 14 M i Sir Alexander WEBB Sr
+ 15 F ii Agnes WEBB
16 M iii Henry WEBB was born on 15 May 1537 in Stratford, Warwickshire, England.
Immediate Family
Showing 12 of 22 people Showing 22 people
- Grace Webb 1512 12/3/1539Grace Webbwife
- Humphrey Webb 1530Humphrey Webbson
- Sir Alexander Webb, I 12/24/1534 1573Sir Alexander Webb, Ison
- Agnes O’Dell / Hill / Arden 1536 December 1580Agnes O’Dell / Hill / Ardendaughter
- Henry Webb, Jr. 5/15/1537Henry Webb, Jr.son
- Ann Wilson 1550 11/13/1612Ann Wilsondaughter
- Mary Arden Webb 1538Mary Arden Webbdaughter
- Geoffry WebbGeoffry Webbson
- Erasmus Webb, Archdeacon of Buckingham 1614Erasmus Webb, Archdeacon of Buck…son
- Stephen WebbStephen Webbson
- Elizabeth HathwattElizabeth Hathwattdaughter
- Anthony WebbAnthony Webbson
Alexander Webb, Jr. was born 20 Aug 1559 at Stratford, Warwickshire, England. He died in Boston, Massachusetts. (n.b. This seems unlikely if he did got to Connecticut.)
Parents: Alexander Webb, Sr. and Margaret Arden.
Marriage 1: Mary Wilson (daughter of Thomas Wilson) abt. 1589 in Stratford, Warwickshire, England.
Children of Mary Wilson and Alexander Webb:
1. Richard (1580-1656) m. 1: Grace Wilson. m. 2: Elizabeth Gregory.
2. William Micajah “The Merchant of Virginia” (1582-?)
3. Elizabeth (1585-1635) m. John Sanford, Sr.
4. John (1597-1660)
5. Christopher (1599-1671) m. Humility Wheaton.
6. Henry “The Merchant of Boston” (1601-1671) m. 1: Hannah Scott. m. 2: Docibel Smith.
BIO:
Alexander & Mary (Wilson) Webb had six children;
Richard Webb b. 5 May 1580, William Micajah b. 9 Sep 1582, Elizabeth Webb b, 3 Sep 1585, John Webb b. 23 Oct 1597, Christopher b.15 Apr 1599, Henry Webb b. Oct 1602
Some gnealogist and family historians think that Alexander and His sons came to America in the early seventheen century. Richard, the elder son setteled in connecticut early in the seventh century, and is lickly the progenerator of the northern line of Webb family.
Alexander Jr. came to america, and so did four of his sons. This was the beginning of the great WEBB family in the United States.
In 1626, the first Webb immigrants came to America. The move was likely to be motivated by sons in the family since the parents, Alexander Webb Jr. and wife Mary Wilson, would have been in their 60s at the time of immigration. There is disagreement in historical records over whether Alexander and Mary stayed in England or emigrated to the United States. The move involved an extended family–sons and daughters of Alexander Webb and Mary Wilson in their 40s and grandkids in their teens. Members of the immigrant family included sons William, Christopher, Henry, and Richard, and daughter Elizabeth. Another son, John, remained in England, possibly to look after the affairs of the remains of the family land holdings in England. This son John came to America in 1636 and historical records indicate he came as a member of the military, which would indicate that he came as part of the British military sent to ensure compliance of the colonies to British rule. As we will see, this could have been a very interesting situation, since other members of the family became an integral part of the Revolutionary War effort.
sources
- Webb Family History with Name Origin and Lineage Lines. by Heraldry, P.O.Box 365, Carpinteria, California 93013. JAN 1975. {G30}.
- Tim and Rachel Janzen’s Ancestors. http://www.timjanzen.com/family/groups/gp580.html#head2.
- Descendants of Sir Henry WEBB. http://jimwebb.rootsweb.com/webb/pafg09.htm#5150.
links
http://jimwebb.rootsweb.ancestry.com/webb/pafg09.htm#5150
30. Sir Alexander WEBB Jr (Alexander , Henry Alexander , John Alexander , John Alexander , William , John , Geofrey , Henry ) was born on 20 Aug 1559 in Stratford, Warwickshire, England. He died after 1629 in Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts and was buried in Boston, Suffolk County, America with four sons: Christopher, Richard, John and William. This was the beginning of the WEBB family in America.
Alexander married Mary WILSON about 1579 in Stratford, Warwickshire, England. Mary was born about 1561 in Stratford, Warwick, England.
They had the following children:
+ 52 M i Richard WEBB Sr
+ 53 M ii William Micajah WEBB
+ 54 F iii Elizabeth WEBB
55 M iv John WEBB was born on 23 Oct 1597 in Stratford, Warwick, England. He died on 5 Apr 1660 in Siterly, Hampshire, England.
John was one of four brothers who came to America in 1629 with their father, Alexander Webb Jr. + 56 M v Christopher WEBB Sr + 57 M vi Henry WEBB
William Wilson Gentleman
Born about in Penrith, Cumberland, England, United Kingdom
Son of [father unknown] and [mother unknown]
[sibling(s) unknown]
Husband of Isabell (Unknown) Wilson — married [date unknown] [location unknown]
Descendants 
Father of William Wilson Sr, Alexander Wilson and Mary (Wilson) Briscowe
Died in Windsor Castle, Berkshire, England
Biography
“He was “of Wellsbourne, Lincolnshire, gentleman, who was buried in Saint George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, where he presumably was some sort of official, although there is no record of more than his burial there.”
“William Wilson, gent., born about 1515, who removed from Penrith and settled at Welbourn, co. Lincoln. He acquired considerable estate, and on March 24, 1586, had confirmation of the following coat of arms, and grant of a crest, by William Flower, Norroy king of arms: Arms, per pale argent and azure three lion’s gambs erased fessways in pale counterchanged; crest, a lion’s head argent guttee de sang. He died at Windsor Castle, co. Berks (where his son William was prebendary), Aug. 27, 1587, and was buried in the chapel of St. George, Windsor Castle, where a monument was erected to his memory. (Burke’s ‘General Armory,’ p. 1120; Ashmole’s ‘History and Antiquities of Berkshire,’ p. 309; Register, ante, vol. xxxviii, pp. 306-307 and vol lii, p. 144; and Herleian MS. 1507, vol. 20.) The name of his wife has not been learned.”
“Of Welbourn, Lincolnshire. He held some position of sufficient importance that he was termed ‘gentleman’ and was buried in St. George’s Chapel, Windsor.
“In Harleian MS. 1507, I found the following on lead 20 (in pencil): A confirmacon of ye Armes & Guifte of ye Crest of Wm Wilson of Welborne in ye County of Lincoln, son of William Wilson of ye Town of Perith (Penrith?) in ye County of Cumberland, to all his Issue & offspring for ever under yehand & seale of Wm fflower also Clarenc’ King of Armes dated ye 24 of March 1586 ye 19th of Queen elizabeth. Now, 1594, borne by _____ Wilson of ye prebends of Windsor sonn of ye Aforesd Wm Wilson of Wilborne. Against this was a tricking of the Arms and Crest in pencil: ___Per pale ar and az, three lions gambs erased, feeways, in pale, counterchanged. ____ Crest: A lion’s head ar guttee d sang. In the same MS. (leaf 180, in pencil) I found a copy of a grant or confirmation of the arms of Woodhall and Brindall (Grindall) quartered.
“Wilson’s father has been called ‘a man of deep erudition, a scholar and a courtier . . . we must suppose him to have been a persona grata in the eyes of Queen Elizabeth.’
“The father of the Rev. William Wilson of Windsor (and grandfather of our John Wilson of Boston) was, as we have found, a William Wilson of Wellsbourne, in Lincolnshire, who died in Windsor Castle and was buried there in 1587. In Harleian MS. 1507, I found the following on lead 20 (in pencil): A confirmacon of ye Armes & guifte of ye Crest of Wm Wilson of Welborne in ye County of Lincoln, son of William Wilson of ye Town of Perith (Penrith?) in ye County of Cumberland, to all his Issue & offspring for ever under ye hand & scale of Wm fflower als Clarenc’ King of Armes dated ye 24 of March 1586 ye 19th of Queen Elizabeth. Now, 1594, borne by ____ Wilson of ye prebends of Windsor sonn of ye Aforesd Wim Wilson of Wilborne. Against this was a tricking of the Arms and Crest in pencil: ___Per pale ar and az, three lions gambs, erased, fessways, in pale, counterchanged. ___ Crest: A lion’s head ar guttee de sang. In the same Ms. (leaf 180, in pencil) I found a copy of a grant or confirmation of the arms of Woodhall and Brindall (Grindall) quartered.
“There was once a brass plate on a gravestone to his memory near the north corner of the church. It is now long gone but Ashmole made a record of it: ‘William Wilson, late of Wellsbourne in the County of Lincolne, Gent. departed this lyfe, within the Castle of Windsor, in the Yeare of our Lord 1587, the 27th Day of August, and lyeth buried in this Place.’ [1][2]
Sources
- ↑ Threlfall, John. The Ancestry of Reverend Henry Whitfield (1590-1657) and His Wife Dorothy Sheafe (159?-1669) of Guilford, Connecticut (Madison, Wisconsin, 1989)
- ↑ The antiquities of Berkshire. By Elias Ashmole, … v.3. Ashmole, Elias, 1617-1692, page 164.
He attended Merton College in Oxford, England where he obtained the following degrees: B.A. 1564, M.A. 1570, B.D. 1576, D.D. 1607.
Prebendary of Saint Paul’s and Rochester Cathedrals, and held the rectory at Cliffe, Kent. In 1584, he became a Canon of Windsor in place of Dr. William Wickham who was promoted to the see of Lincoln, being about that time made chaplain to Edmund Grindall, the Archbishop of Canterbury, who was his wife’s uncle.
Will
He made his will on 23 Aug 1613; it was proved on 27 May 1615. It said, “Will of William Wilson, Canon of Saint George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle … to be buried in the chapel near the place where the body of my dear father lies. If I die at Rochester or Cliff, in the county of Kent, then to be buried in cathedral church of Rochester, near the bodies of wives Isabel and Anne. To my cousin Collins, prebendary at Rochester … to the Fellows and Scholars of Martin College, Oxford … my three sons Edmond, John and Thomas Wilson, daughter Isabel Guibs and daughter Margaret Rawson … my goddaughter Margaret Somers which my son Somers had by my daughter Elizabeth, his late wife … to my god-son William Sheafe, at the age of twenty one years … son Edmond, a fellow of King’s College, Cambridge, eldest son of me, the said William … to son John the lease of the Rectory and Parsonage of Caxton in the county of Cambridge, which I have taken in my name … to Thomas Wilson my third son … son Edmond to be executor and Mr. Erasmus Webb, my brother in law, being one of the Canons of St. George’s Chapel, and my brother, Mr. Thomas Woodward, being steward of the town of New Windsor, to be overseers. Witnesses: Thomas Woodwarde, Joh. Woodwarde, Robert Lowe & Thomas Holl.”
Death and Burial
He died on 15 May 1615 at Windsor, Berkshire, England. He is buried at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle, next to his father. His tomb states: “To me to live is Christ, and to dye is Gain. Philip. I.21. Here underneath lies interr’d the Body of William Wilson, Doctour of Divinitie, and Prebendarie of this Church by the Space of 32 Years. He had issue by Isabell his Wife six Sons and six Daughteres. He dy’d the 15th of May, in the Year of our Lord 1615, of his Age the 73, beloved of all in his Lyfe, much lamented in his Death.” [1]
Sources
- ↑ Threlfall, John. The Ancestry of Reverend Henry Whitfield (1590-1657) and His Wife Dorothy Sheafe (159?-1669) of Guilford, Connecticut (Madison, Wisconsin, 1989)
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- Thomas Wilson (rhetorician) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Family and Education b. 1523, 1st s. of Thomas Wilson of Strubby, Lincs. by Anne, da. and h. of Roger Cumberworth of Cumberworth, Lincs. educ. Eton 1537-41; King’s Camb. 13 Aug. 1542, fellow 14 Aug. 1545-7, BA 1546 or 1547, MA 1549; Ferrara Univ. DCL 1559. m. (1) c.1560, Agnes (d. June 1574), da. of John Wynter, of Lydney, Glos., wid. of William Brooke, 1s. 2da. all by 1565; (2) by 1576, Jane (d.1577), da. of Richard Empson, of London, wid. of John Pinchon of Writtle, Essex.2
Offices Held
Master of St. Katharine’s hosp. London 1561-d.; adv., ct. of arches 1561; master of requests 1561; j.p.q. Mdx. from c.1564, Essex from c.1577; ambassador to Portugal 1567, to the Netherlands 1574-5, 1576-7; principal sec. and PC 12 Nov. 1577; dean of Durham 1579.3
Biography Wilson’s ancestors left Yorkshire about the middle of the fifteenth century, settling in Strubby, Lincolnshire. His father made a fortunate marriage, acquired ex-monastic lands and became a friend of Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk. Save for the attachment he developed for his master, Nicholas Udall, little record remains of Wilson’s career at Eton, where he was a King’s scholar. At Cambridge he was taught by such scholars as Cheke, Ascham, Thomas Smith and Haddon: his political and religious preferences at the university can be seen in his associations with the Dudleys, Greys, Brandons and the theologian Martin Bucer. He became tutor to the two sons of his father’s friend the Duke of Suffolk, and was devoted to the latter’s wife Katherine. Both the young Brandons and Martin Bucer died in 1551, and thenceforward Wilson spent less time at Cambridge. During the summer of 1552 he had ‘a quiet time of vacation with Sir Edward Dymoke’ at Scrivelsby, and, by the following January, he had himself settled in Lincolnshire, at Washingborough.4
In view of the opinions expressed in his Rule of Reason, and Art of Rhetorique (written during his visit to Dymoke), Wilson’s eclipse during Mary’s reign was predictable. He joined Cheke in Padua in the spring of 1555, where he studied Greek, and, from the funeral oration he delivered for Edward Courtenay, Earl of Devon, in St. Anthony’s basilica on 18 Sept. 1556, it seems possible that he may have become the young nobleman’s tutor. In the following year he appeared in Rome as a solicitor in the famous Chetwode divorce case, when, in an attempt to obtain a favourable decision for his client, he intrigued against Cardinal Pole. The Pope—Paul IV—at first proved a willing listener. However, in March 1558 Mary ordered Wilson to return to England and appear before the Privy Council, and soon afterwards still, or again, in Rome he was thrown into the papal prison on a charge of heresy. There he suffered torture, escaping only when the mob broke open the prison upon Paul IV’s death in August 1559. Wilson took refuge in Ferrara, where in November the university made him a doctor of civil law.5
Upon his return to England in 1560 the impoverished scholar received the mastership of St. Katharine’s hospital, London, soon being accused of wasting the revenues, destroying the buildings, and selling the fair and the choir. However, the support of Sir Robert Dudley and Sir William Cecil soon brought him further preferment, as a master of requests. Besides the usual cases he frequently dealt with those concerning conspiracy, commercial disputes and diplomacy. He was prominent in the Hales (1564), Creaghe (1565), Cockyn (1575), and Guaras cases, and after the northern rebellion of 1569 he interrogated supporters of Mary Stuart and conducted many of the examinations in connexion with the Ridolfi plot. Frequently employed on missions abroad, his name occurs in connexion with foreign embassies in 1561, 1562 and 1563, but his first important journey was to Portugal in 1567, where he sought redress for damage done to a ship belonging to his brothers-in-law William and George Wynter, made a lengthy Latin oration before the young king Sebastian and was thenceforward frequently employed in negotiations on commercial matters between England and Portugal. By the end of the 1570s he had established himself as an expert in Portuguese affairs, and emerged as the champion of the pretender, Don Antonio, after the latter had fled from the armies of Philip II. As well as leading a mission to Mary Stuart at Sheffield castle, where he interrogated her upon her part in the Ridolfi plot, Wilson served on two separate occasions in the Netherlands. On the first, in late 1574 and early 1575, he negotiated with the Spanish governor on commercial matters and the expulsion of the English Catholics. By the time he went back in 1576 the situation in the Netherlands was chaotic. Mutinous Spanish troops had pillaged Antwerp, while the States, casting in their lot with the Prince of Orange, forced the new Spanish governor, Don John of Austria, to withdraw the Spanish soldiers. Wilson’s original idea was to arrange a modus vivendi between the protagonists. Gradually, however, he came to fear French intervention and to distrust the intentions of Don John, so that, by the time of his departure in June 1577, he had emerged a partisan of Orange.6
Wilson’s appointment as principal secretary soon followed his return to England. Although, like others in the Walsingham-Leicester faction of the Council, he deplored the Queen’s policy of procrastination over her marriage, and identified England’s cause with that of protestantism abroad, he remained subordinate to his colleague Sir Francis Walsingham, and his influence was minimal. He remained a supporter of Orange, of Condé, and of Henry of Navarre. As part of his duties as secretary, he became the first keeper of the state papers.
It was, presumably, court influence that procured Wilson his seat for the Cornish borough of Mitchell in 1563. There is no record of his activities in the first session of that Parliament, but on 31 Oct. 1566, he sat on a conference with the Lords to consider the most important current issues, namely the succession and the Queen’s marriage. On 3 Dec. he sat on a committee about the export of sheep. In the next two Parliaments he represented Lincoln, where his friend Robert Monson was recorder. In 1571 he spoke against vagabonds (13 Apr.) and against usury (19 Apr.). On 21 Apr. he took part in a conference with the Lords where it was decided to afford precedence to public over private bills ‘as the season of the year waxed very hot, and dangerous for sickness’. He was named to committees on the river Lea (26 May) and barristers fees (28 May). In 1572 the main topic was Mary Stuart, whose execution Wilson urged:
No man condemneth the Queen’s opinion, nor thinketh her otherwise than wise; yet [he doubts] whether she so fully seeth her own peril. We ought importunately to cry for justice, justice. The case of a king indeed is great, but if they do ill and be wicked, they must be dealt withal. The Scottish Queen shall be heard, and any man besides that will offer to speak for her. It is marvelled at by foreign princes that, her offences being so great and horrible, the Queen’s Majesty suffereth her to live. A king, coming hither into England, is no king here. The judges’ opinion is that Mary Stuart, called Queen of Scots, is a traitor. The law sayeth that dignity defends not him which liveth unhonestly. The Queen took exception to the Commons giving a first reading, 21 May 1572, to a bill on religion, and a delegation, including Wilson, waited upon her. He reported back to the Commons on 23 May:
She had but advised, not debarred us to use any other way, and for the protestants, they should find that, as she hath found them true, so will she be their defence. In the 1572 session Wilson was appointed to committees concerning Mary Stuart and the Duke of Norfolk, and other, particularly legal, matters. In 1576 he again played a mediating part, this time in the Arthur Hall affair, and he was of the committee that examined Peter Wentworth after the latter had made his famous speech on the liberties of the House. On the other hand his independence, even as a Privy Councillor, can be seen in 1581, when he spoke for Paul Wentworth’s proposal for a public fast. ‘Both Mr Secretaries’, Wilson and Walsingham, were ordered by the House on 3 Mar. 1581 to confer with the bishops on religion. Throughout the 1572 Parliament, Wilson, as master of requests, was frequently employed fetching and carrying bills and messages to and from the Lords, and on such tasks as drafting bills, examining witnesses and administering oaths. As Privy Councillor he was appointed to several committees including those on the subsidy (25 Jan. 1581), seditious practices (1 Feb.), encumbrances (4 Feb.), the examination of Arthur Hall (6 Feb.), defence (25 Feb.), Dover harbour (6 Mar.) and the Queen’s safety (14 Mar.). Wilson died after the end of what proved to be the last session of the 1572 Parliament, but before it was finally dissolved.7
Wilson’s literary works, like those of More, Crowley and Starkey before him, were concerned with classical studies, and with problems of morality and the commonwealth. At Cambridge in 1551 he contributed Latin verse to Haddon’s and Cheke’s De Obitu doctissimi et sanctissimi theologi doctoris Martini Buceri. A few months later, after the death of his young pupils, he wrote and edited Epistola de vita et obitu fratrum Suffolciencium Henrici et Caroli Brandon. The Rule of Reason, written in 1551 and dedicated to Edward VI, uses medieval logic to support the doctrines of Geneva, and this was followed by the dedication in Haddon’s Exhortatio ad Literas to John Dudley, the eldest son of Northumberland, to whom, in 1553, Wilson dedicated his own Art of Rhetorique. Like the Rule of Reason this dealt with the teachings of the earlier scholars, supplemented by digressions on political, social, religious and moral questions. Similar questions concerned Wilson when he wrote his Discourse upon Usury in 1569. Though in close contact with the New Learning, and well informed on current economic problems, Wilson was unable to escape from the limitations of medieval moral precepts. He was especially critical of enclosures and usury, from both of which he feared harm for the commonwealth. In 1570 Wilson translated the Three Orations of Demosthenes, to serve as a warning against a new Philip of Macedon, Philip II of Spain.
Apart from his mastership of St. Katharine’s hospital, Wilson had several sources of income: his employment as master of requests and secretary brought him £100 p.a. as well as perquisites; he received a life annuity of £100 from the Queen in 1571; and on 28 Jan. 1579 he was appointed lay dean of Durham at £266 with £400 p.a. more from the properties attached to the office. He was installed by proxy and had letters of dispensation for non-residence. With one exception the Durham prebendaries acquiesced in Wilson’s appointment. A year before his death he accepted the parsonage of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire. He had of course a substantial income from his Lincolnshire lands, concerning which he remained in close touch with his brothers Humphrey and William who lived in that county, and Godfrey, who was a wealthy London merchant and member of the Drapers’ Company. Humphrey, in his will, committed his son Thomas, later a prominent political figure, to his brother’s care; but in the event, Humphrey outlived Wilson, who made his own will in May 1581, the day before he died. He had suffered from bouts of sickness—it seems from a kidney complaint—since his return from the Netherlands in 1577, and the Tower Hill water did not provide the cure he hoped for. He was buried ‘without charge or pomp’ at St. Katharine’s hospital, although he had recently been living on his estate, Pymmes, at Edmonton, which he had purchased in 1579 for £340. His son Nicholas, heir and executor, returned to his father’s Lincolnshire estates, and his two daughters each received 500 marks.8
Wilson belongs to the second rank of Elizabethan statesmen. An able linguist, he had numerous acquaintances among Spanish and Flemish officials in the Netherlands, and, in a wider context, his range of friends included Leicester, Burghley, Hatton, Davison, Sir Francis Knollys, Paulet, Walsingham, William of Orange, Jewel, Parker, Parkhurst, Gresham, Ludovico Guiccardini and Arias Montano.9
Ref Volumes: 1558-1603 Author: P. W. Hasler Notes
This biography is based upon a paper by Albert J. Schmidt, Coe College, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, U.S.A.
1. Did not serve for the full duration of the Parliament 2. King’s Coll. Camb. protocullum bk. 1, p. 104; Harl. 1550, ff. 85-6; Guildhall mss 4546; Vis. Glos. (Harl. Soc. xxi) 278; Vis. Essex (Harl. Soc. xiii), 470; Lincs. Historian, ii(4), pp. 14-24; DNB. 3. C. Jamison, Hosp. St. Katharine, 69 et passim; CPR, 1560-3, p. 102; 1563-6, p. 187; Lansd. 22. f. 52; I. S. Leadam, Sel. Cases Ct. of Requests (Selden Soc. 1898), p. xxi.; Cott. Nero B. 1, f. 125; APC, x. 85; C66/1188/82. 4. Harl. 1550, ff. 85-6; PRO, Lincs. muster rolls, 1539, Calcewath E36/21, f. 52; PRO town depositions C24, 30; T. Wilson, Epistola (London 1551); T. Wilson, Art of Rhetorique, ed. Muir. 5. C. H. Garrett, Marian Exiles, 339 et passim; CSP Dom. 1547-80, p. 100; CSP Rome, ii. no. 602; Art of Rhetorique. 6. Strype, Annals, i(2), pp. 285-6; E. Nuys, Le Droit Romain, Le Droit Des Gens, et Le College des Docteurs en Droit Civil (Bruxelles, 1910), p. 144; HMC Hatfield, i. 250, 508, 520; APC, vii. 205; x. 210; CSP Ire. 1509-73, p. 255; CSP Scot. 1571-4, nos. 352, 353; 1574-81, nos. 140 seq.; CSP Span. 1568-79, passim; 1580-5, passim; Murdin, State Pprs. ii. passim; CSP For. 1579-80, passim. 7. D’Ewes, 126-7, 157, 206, 219, 220, 222, 241, 249, 251, 252, 255, 282, 288, 290, 291, 292, 293, 294, 301, 302, 306, 309; CJ, i. 94, 98, 99, 101, 109, 110, 112, 122, 124, 130, 136; Cott. Titus F. i. ff. 152, 163; Neale, Parlts. i. 259, 303-4, 379; Trinity, Dublin, Thos. Cromwell’s jnl. f. 42. 8. I. Temple, Petyt 538, ff. 39, 147, 152v; C66/1076/29, 1189/38; C54 close rolls, passim; C142/233/41; C54/1052; Dean and Chapter of Durham treasurer’s bk. 1579-80, no. 2; 1580-1, no. 3; reg. 3, ff. 2, 3; Dean and Chapter Acts, 1578-83, ff. 29, 46; Estate House, Old Charlton, Kent, Wilson’s household inventory 1581; Lincoln Wills, 2, f. 262; Wards 7/23/112; Harl. 6992, f. 120; Fleet of Fines, CP25(2) 172, 21 Eliz. Trin.; PCC 32 Tirwhite. 9. CSP For. 1577-8, no. 820(4); CSP Dom. 1575. p. 105; Corresp. de Philippe II (Bruxelles 1848-79), iii. 214; Wilson’s household inventory.
Thomas Wilson (1524–1581) was an English diplomat, judge, and privy councillor in the government of Elizabeth I. He is now remembered for his Logique (1551) and The Arte of Rhetorique (1553), an influential text. They have been called “the first complete works on logic and rhetoric in English.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Wilson_%28rhetorician%29
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Thomas Wilson was very much a man of his time. Born to a prosperous but undistinguished family of the Lincolnshire gentry in 1523 or 1524, he went to Eton, then to King’s College, Cambridge, taking his M. A. in 1549. At Cambridge he studied Greek with Sir John Cheke, leading “Grecian” of the time, and developed lifelong friendships with several men who would later become prominent courtiers and humanists, notably Thomas Smith (later to write De Republica Anglorum) and Roger Ascham (who later wrote The Scholemaster).
In the 1550’s Wilson accepted an appointment as tutor to the sons of Katherine, Duchess of Suffolk, member of the important Willoughby family of Wilson’s native Lincolnshire. Her deceased husband was Charles Brandon, the intimate friend of Henry VIII. While in her service Wilson formed enduring connections with influential men in the Protestant circles at court, particularly Sir Edward Dymock and William Cecil, a member of the privy council who later, as Lord Burleigh, would become the most powerful of Elizabeth’s courtiers. In 1551 Wilson published the first book on logic ever written in English (The Rule of Reason), and in 1553 he brought out The Art of Rhetoric, dedicating it to John Dudley, Earl of Warwick, heir to the staunchly Protestant Duke of Northumberland, who effectively ruled England during the sad last years of the dying boy-king Edward VI.
With the accession of the Catholic Mary, Wilson left England for Italy. There he spent the next five years studying civil law and engaging in enough Protestant intrigue to be imprisoned (and possibly tortured) by the inquisition, though in August of 1559 he was able to escape during an anti-Dominican riot after the death of Pope Paul IV. He took refuge in Ferrara, where he received a doctorate in law in November, 1559.
In 1560, with Elizabeth on the throne and the Earl of Leicester (brother of Wilson’s late patron, John Dudley) in ascendancy at court, Wilson returned to London. He was soon appointed to remunerative and responsible positions in the government. In 1561 he became the master of St. Katherine’s Hospital in the Tower of London, and later that year he was appointed to the much more responsible position as a master (i.e., a judge) in the Court of Requests, one of the new Tudor equity courts that relied heavily on civil law procedures.
Throughout the 1560’s and 1570’s, Wilson served in various diplomatic capacities, primarily in Spain and Portugal, then later in the Spanish Netherlands. He came to be the crown’s recognized authority on Portuguese affairs. During this time, he also finished the first English translation of Demosthenes (The Three Orations of Demosthenes, Chief Orator Among the Grecians, in Favor of the Olynthians . . . With Those His Four Orations . . . Against King Philip of Macedonie, London, 1570), which he had begun while he was residing with Cheke in Padua during 1556. He also completed two significant treatises on politics, both of them intended for the ears of the Dudley circle and the privy council. “A Discourse touching the Kingdom’s Perils with their Remedies” was never printed, but his Discourse Upon Usury was published in 1572, though completed several years earlier.
During the early 1570’s he was entrusted with the important but unpleasant task of prosecuting traitors. He spent much of 1571 living in the Tower, preparing the case against the Duke of Norfolk, including racking two of the duke’s servants. He examined a number of those implicated in the Ridolfi plot in 1572, and he was among those sent to examine Mary, Queen of Scots, about her role in the conspiracy. He sat in several Parliaments during the 1560’s and 1570’s, and in 1577 he succeeded his friend Sir Thomas Smith as the queen’s secretary. Though overshadowed by the queen’s other secretary, the redoubtable Walsingham, Wilson remained an active participant on the Privy Council for the rest of his life. Though a client of Leicester and generally a supporter of aggressively Protestant causes (such as active intervention in the Low Countries during the revolution against the Spanish Hapsburgs), he tempered that allegiance with a conciliatory attitude toward Burleigh’s more pacific and conservative policies. Appointed a lay dean of Durham Cathedral in 1579, he died at St. Katherine’s Hospital on 20 May, 1581, and was buried in St. Katherine’s Church.
Nicholas Sharp
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