Rev. John LATHROP (13th great grandfather) Religious Prisoner at Newgate 1632 - 1634

REV. JOHN LATHROP

(1584-1653) Reformer, Sufferer, Puritan, Man of God

Immigrant on the "Griffin" to Boston in 1635

As a result of the political conflict between King Charles and Parliament religious dissenters were persecuted. Rev. John was imprisoned from 1632 to 1634. While in prison his wife, Hannah House, died. He was banished to America upon his release. [Lothrop Hill Cemetery, Barnstable, Barnstable County, Massachusetts]

Rev. John Lathrop, son of Thomas and Mary (Howell) Lathrop, baptized 20 December 1584 Elton, East Riding, Yorkshire, England, died 8 November 1653 Barnstable, Ma. He married 1st in England to Harriet or Hannah Howes, daughter of Rev. John and Alice (Lloyd) Howes or House, born Eastwell, Kent, England, died 1633 Lambeth, London, England. Rev. John married 2nd 17 February 1636/7 Ann ( ) Hammond. He first settled in Egertown in Kent, and afterwards succeeded Henry Jacob as pastor of the Southwark Church in London. He was educated at Queen's College, Cambridge, receiving his B.A. in 1605 and M.A. in 1609. In 1611 he became vicar of Edgerton (Parish Church) County Kent, England but resigned in 1623 and went to London where he became pastor of the first Independent Congregational Church of England. On the 22nd of April 1632, he, with others of this church were arrested and imprisoned in the Old Clink Prison at Newgate for practising the teachings of the New Testament. He and some others were released two years later on condition of leaving the country. (Thanks to Susan Dorris)
During his stay in prison, John Lothropp became convinced that the superstitious usages of the Church of England were wrong and he rejected their ceremonies as relics of idolatry. With a desire to reform the Sacrament of bread and wine, and to abandon the use of the surplice (a gown worn by the clergy), the sign of the cross in baptism, and other outward ceremonies and forms, Lothropp joined hands with the Puritans, even though he did not agree wholeheartedly with their religious views.

Even as he took this stand virtually guaranteeing to keep him behind bars, a fatal sickness weakened his wife, Hannah, and left her near death. The "New England's Memorial," (1699), by Nathaniel Morton gives this touching account of the incident and the events which followed:

His wife fell sick, of which sickness she died. He procured liberty of the bishop to visit his wife before her death, and commended her to God by prayer, who soon gave up the ghost. At his return to prison, his poor children, being many, repaired to the Bishop at Lambeth, and made known unto him their miserable condition by reason of their father's being continued in close durance, who commiserated their condition so far as to grant him liberty, who soon after came over into New England. 6

At Hannah's death, the seven surviving Lothropp children ranged in ages from five to eighteen years. One source indicates that Lothropp's followers dressed the children in their best and presented them to Archbishop Laud, demanding to know who was to care for them.

After the death of his [first] wife [Harriet or Hannah HOWES], Lothropp petitioned for liberty to go into foreign exile, and the petition was granted 24 April 1634. He was required to give a bond and his word that he would not "be present at any private conventicles [gatherings]." He did, however, delay his departure long enough to reorganize the meetings of his congregation, which was joined at this time of crisis by William Kiffin's group. On 12 June 1634, order was given by the High Commission Court that "John Lothropp, of Lambeth Marsh, be attached if he appear not on the next court day." When he did not appear, an order was given that Lothropp was to be imprisoned again if he did not appear in court on June 19. He did not appear, and another deadline, October 9, passed. Finally, on 19 February 1635, Lothropp and his compatriot, Samuel Eaton, were ordered taken into custody for contempt. By this time, however, Lothropp was in New England. John, accompanied by six of his seven living children, thirty-two members of his church, and many others, had sailed on the Griffin from London to Boston. Eaton did not fare as well and reportedly died in a London prison 31 August 1639. (Thanks to Richard W. Price)

In 1635, he with his wife and child, and several of his parishoners, sailed for America on the "Griffin" to Boston. He was the "First Minister" of Scituate, Ma. (Thanks to Susan Dorris)

John's journal records little regarding his family life in Scituate. The first Lothropp home built in Scituate was completed in 1644. It was twenty-one feet across the front and twenty-nine feet long. The chimney was on the west side, with an oven projecting outside the wall. The roof was thatched. The frame was of great timbers covered with planks an inch and a quarter thick, left unplastered. Lothropp complained that the drafts brought on a "stitch in his side." (Thanks to Richard W. Price)

Having met with opposition, Rev. Lathrop and his friends decided to move. They first decided to move to Sipican on the south shore, but pirates haunted that coast and they would be liable to visits from them as well as French privateers and hostile Indians. They finally decided that Barnstable, Ma. would be a better place. He evidently was an advocate of freedom in religion....(Thanks to Susan Dorris)

Rev. John Lothropp's bible brought to America by Rev. John Lothropp onboard the Griffin in 1634. Rev. John Lothropp was a religious leader in Plymouth Plantation where he founded three churches which are still in existence.

The trip across the Atlantic was uneventful. John Lothropp apparently owned the only Bible aboard ship. While reading it one evening, he fell asleep; hot tallow from the candle dripped onto several pages, burning a hole through them. John later obtained paper and pasted it over the partially burned pages, then hand-printed from memory the lines of scripture which had been destroyed. This 1606 Bible is on display in the Sturgis Library in Barnstable, Massachusetts, in a room of John Lothropp's original house, now restored and made part of the library. (Thanks to Richard W. Price)

One of the remarkable things about John Lothropp, and the highest tribute to his character as a minister, was the way in which his congregation followed him throughout his wanderings. Many members of his original Kent and London gathering were with him in Scituate and accompanied him to Barnstable. History shows few more perfect examples of the shepherd and his flock. (Thanks to Richard W. Price)

Children: by 1st wife Harriet or Hannah HOWES
Jane m. Samuel Fuller (child on 1620 Mayflower)
Barbara m. John Emerson
Joseph, m. Mary Ansol. Ch: Joseph, Mary, Benjamin, Elizabeth, John, Samuel, John, Barnabas, Hope, Thomas, Hannah.
Benjamin m. Martha. Ch: Martha, Hannah, Benjamin, Mary, Sarah, Elizabeth, Rebecca, Mercy, John.
Samuel m. Elizabeth Scudder
Thomas, m. 11 Dec 1639 Sarah (Larned) Ewer, d. of William Larned, and wid of Thomas Ewer. Ch: Mary, Hannah, Thomas, Meletiah, Bethia.
Sarah
Children: by 2nd wife Ann Hammond
Barnabas b. 1636, m. 1658 Susanna, d. of Thomas Clark. Ch; John, Abigail, Barnabas, Susannah, Nathaniel, Bathshua, Ann, Thomas, Mercy, Thankful, James, Samuel.
ABIGAIL m. James Clark
Bathshua b. 1642
John b. 1645, m. 3 Jan 1672 at Plymouth to Mary Cole, Junr. Ch: John, Mary, Martha, Elizabeth, James, Hannah, Jonathan, Barnabas, Abigail, Experience.
Hopestill
One of the remarkable things about John Lothropp, and the highest tribute to his character as a minister, was the way in which his congregation followed him throughout his wanderings. Many members of his original Kent and London gathering were with him in Scituate and accompanied him to Barnstable. History shows few more perfect examples of the shepherd and his flock. (Thanks to Richard W. Price)

TIME LINE of JOHN LOTHROPP'S LIFE:

1584 ....Christened at Etton, Yorkshire, England

1601 ....Matriculation--Queen's College, Cambridge

1605 ....Received B.A. from Queen's College, Cambridge

1607 ....Ordained deacon by Bishop of Lincoln

1609 ....Received M.A. from Queen's College, Cambridge Vicar of Egerton, Kent

1610 ....Married Hannah Howse

1612 ....Son, Thomas, born

1614 ....Daughter, Jane born

1616 ....Daughter, Anne, born

1617 ....Son, John, born Daughter, Anne, died

1619 ....Daughter, Barbara, born

1623 ....Left Egerton and Church of England Son, Samuel, born

1624 ....Minister of Independent Church--Southwark Son, Joseph, born

1626 ....Son, Benjamin, born

1632 ....Put in prison

1633 ....Hannah Howse died

1634 ....Released on bail. Arrives in Boston aboard the Griffin Settles in Scituate

1635 ....Chosen to be Minister of the Scituate Church Married Ann

1636 ....Son, Barnabas, born

1638 ....Daughter, (unnamed), born and died

1639 ....Arrived Barnstable Daughter, Abigail, born

1642 ....Daughter, Bathshua, born

1645 ....Son, John, born

1650 ....Son, (unnamed), born and died on same day

1653 ....Died and buried in Barnstable, Massachusetts Age -- 68 years, 7 months

Ancestry Chain: Rev. John LATHROP 1635 Immigrant b.1584, Jane LATHROP b.1614, Mary FULLER b.1644, Sarah WILLIAMS b.1675, Benjamin ROATH b.1701, Mary ROTH b.1726, Mary SANGER b.1746, Lucretia JEFFORDS b.1766, Amariah RAWSON b.1787, Adaline RAWSON b.1811, Mary DUNN b.1833, Harriett Camilla ENSIGN b.1859, George Ensign SMITH b.1898, Camilla SMITH b.1926, Lark, JR.