Henry Jacob
Encyclopedia
Henry Jacob was an English clergyman of Calvinist views, who founded a separatist congregation associated with the Brownists.
. He matriculated at St. Mary Hall, Oxford on 27 November 1581 and graduated B.A. in 1583 and M.A. in 1586. His father left him property at Godmersham
, near Canterbury
. For some time he was precentor of Corpus Christi College, Oxford
.
About 1590 he joined the Brownists, and when they went into exile in 1593 he moved to Holland. There he formed a technically non-separatist independent faction of former Church of England members. On his return to England in 1597 he heard Thomas Bilson
preach at Paul's Cross on the article in the Apostles' Creed
relating to Christ's descent into hell. He opposed Bilson's doctrine in a pamphlet, and again had to leave the country.
Though a Brownist, Jacob allowed that the church of England was a true church in need of a thorough reformation. Hence he was commonly called a 'semiseparatist'. Contemporary scholars refer to them as Independents
, Brownists, semi-Separatists, or Puritans. They were Calvinist in theological matters. Jacob's relative moderation involved him in a fierce controversy with Francis Johnson
. For a time Jacob settled at Middelburg
in Zeeland
, where he collected a congregation of English exiles. His group of 'Jacobites' included William Ames
, Paul Barnes, William Bradshaw
and Robert Parker. In 1610 he went to Leyden to confer with John Robinson
. Ultimately Jacob adopted Robinson's views on church government, but the influence was mutual.
In 1616 he returned to London with the object of forming a separatist congregation similar to those which he and Robinson had organised in Holland. The religious society which he succeeded in bringing together in Southwark
is generally supposed to have been the first congregational church in England He continued with this congregation about six years. He travelled to Virginia
with some of his family in October 1622 and formed a settlement, which was named after him 'Jacobopolis'. He died in April or May 1624 in the parish of St. Andrew Hubbard, London. By his wife Sara, sister of John Dumaresq of Jersey, who survived him, he had several children, including Henry Jacob the younger. John Lothropp picked up the threads of Jacob's London congregation.
Life
He was son of John Jacob, yeoman, of Cheriton, KentCheriton, Kent
Cheriton is a northern suburb of Folkestone in Kent that is the location of the English terminal of the Channel Tunnel. It is the location of the major army barracks of Shorncliffe Camp.- History :...
. He matriculated at St. Mary Hall, Oxford on 27 November 1581 and graduated B.A. in 1583 and M.A. in 1586. His father left him property at Godmersham
Godmersham
Godmersham is a village and civil parish in the Ashford District of Kent, England. The village is located on the Great Stour river where it cuts through the North Downs...
, near Canterbury
Canterbury
Canterbury is a historic English cathedral city, which lies at the heart of the City of Canterbury, a district of Kent in South East England. It lies on the River Stour....
. For some time he was precentor of Corpus Christi College, Oxford
Corpus Christi College, Oxford
Corpus Christi College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom...
.
About 1590 he joined the Brownists, and when they went into exile in 1593 he moved to Holland. There he formed a technically non-separatist independent faction of former Church of England members. On his return to England in 1597 he heard Thomas Bilson
Thomas Bilson
Thomas Bilson was an Anglican Bishop of Worcester and Bishop of Winchester. He, along with Miles Smith, oversaw the final edit and printing of the King James Bible. He is buried in Westminster Abbey in plot 232 between the tombs of Richard the Second and Edward the Third...
preach at Paul's Cross on the article in the Apostles' Creed
Apostles' Creed
The Apostles' Creed , sometimes titled Symbol of the Apostles, is an early statement of Christian belief, a creed or "symbol"...
relating to Christ's descent into hell. He opposed Bilson's doctrine in a pamphlet, and again had to leave the country.
Though a Brownist, Jacob allowed that the church of England was a true church in need of a thorough reformation. Hence he was commonly called a 'semiseparatist'. Contemporary scholars refer to them as Independents
Independent (religion)
In English church history, Independents advocated local congregational control of religious and church matters, without any wider geographical hierarchy, either ecclesiastical or political...
, Brownists, semi-Separatists, or Puritans. They were Calvinist in theological matters. Jacob's relative moderation involved him in a fierce controversy with Francis Johnson
Francis Johnson (Brownist)
Francis Johnson was an English presbyterian separatist minister, pastor to an English exile congregation in the Netherlands.-Early life:...
. For a time Jacob settled at Middelburg
Middelburg
Middelburg is a municipality and a city in the south-western Netherlands and the capital of the province of Zeeland. It is situated in the Midden-Zeeland region. It has a population of about 48,000.- History of Middelburg :...
in Zeeland
Zeeland
Zeeland , also called Zealand in English, is the westernmost province of the Netherlands. The province, located in the south-west of the country, consists of a number of islands and a strip bordering Belgium. Its capital is Middelburg. With a population of about 380,000, its area is about...
, where he collected a congregation of English exiles. His group of 'Jacobites' included William Ames
William Ames
William Ames was an English Protestant divine, philosopher, and controversialist...
, Paul Barnes, William Bradshaw
William Bradshaw (Puritan)
William Bradshaw was a moderate English Puritan, born in Market Bosworth.He was educated at Ashby-de-la-Zouch, where he met both Anthony Gilby, and his future patron Arthur Hildersham, and at Emmanuel College, Cambridge. He became a Fellow of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge in 1599, but left...
and Robert Parker. In 1610 he went to Leyden to confer with John Robinson
John Robinson (pastor)
John Robinson was the pastor of the "Pilgrim Fathers" before they left on the Mayflower. He became one of the early leaders of the English Separatists, minister of the Pilgrims, and is regarded as one of the founders of the Congregational Church.-Early life:Robinson was born in Sturton le Steeple...
. Ultimately Jacob adopted Robinson's views on church government, but the influence was mutual.
In 1616 he returned to London with the object of forming a separatist congregation similar to those which he and Robinson had organised in Holland. The religious society which he succeeded in bringing together in Southwark
Southwark
Southwark is a district of south London, England, and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Southwark. Situated east of Charing Cross, it forms one of the oldest parts of London and fronts the River Thames to the north...
is generally supposed to have been the first congregational church in England He continued with this congregation about six years. He travelled to Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
with some of his family in October 1622 and formed a settlement, which was named after him 'Jacobopolis'. He died in April or May 1624 in the parish of St. Andrew Hubbard, London. By his wife Sara, sister of John Dumaresq of Jersey, who survived him, he had several children, including Henry Jacob the younger. John Lothropp picked up the threads of Jacob's London congregation.
Primary sources
- Ames, WilliamWilliam AmesWilliam Ames was an English Protestant divine, philosopher, and controversialist...
, 1576-1633. The relation of church and state [n.d.], in The Reformation of the Church, Murray, I. H. (ed.) [1965] - ______. De Conscientia et ejus vel casibus (1630)
- ______. Conscience with the power and cases thereof. (Tr. out of Latine) (1639) [STC 552]
- Bilson, ThomasThomas BilsonThomas Bilson was an Anglican Bishop of Worcester and Bishop of Winchester. He, along with Miles Smith, oversaw the final edit and printing of the King James Bible. He is buried in Westminster Abbey in plot 232 between the tombs of Richard the Second and Edward the Third...
, 1546-7?-1616. The effect of certaine sermons, touching the full redemption of mankind (1599) [STC 3064] - ______. Perpetual government of Christes Church
- Bradshaw, WilliamWilliam Bradshaw (Puritan)William Bradshaw was a moderate English Puritan, born in Market Bosworth.He was educated at Ashby-de-la-Zouch, where he met both Anthony Gilby, and his future patron Arthur Hildersham, and at Emmanuel College, Cambridge. He became a Fellow of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge in 1599, but left...
, 1571-1618. A treatise of divine worship, tending to prove that the ceremonies imposed vpon the ministers of the Gospell in England, in the present controversie, are in their vse vnlawfull (1604) [STC 3528] - ______. A Protestation of the King's Supremacie (1605) [STC 3525]
- Cosin, RichardRichard CosinRichard Cosin was an English jurist. He became prominent as an ecclesiastical lawyer in the service of Archbishop John Whitgift, active against the Puritans in the Church of England.-Life:...
, 1549?-1597. Answer to the two first and principall treatises of a certain faction libel, put foorth latelie, without name of author or printer, and without approbation by authoritie, ... - Dickinson, Edmund, 1624-1707. Delphi phoenicizantes, sive Tractatus, in quo Graecos, quicquid apud Delphos celebre erat: ... (1655) [EEb, 1641–1700 ; 528:19]
- Downame, GeorgeGeorge DownameGeorge Downame was a Doctor of Divinity, Lord Bishop of Derry, chaplain to James I and King James VI, and a brother of John Downame....
, d. 1634. Defence of the sermon preached at the consecration of the L. Bishop of Bath and Welles [1613] - Featley, DanielDaniel FeatleyDaniel Featley, also called Fairclough and sometimes called Richard Fairclough/Featley , was an English theologian and controversialist...
. The Dippers Dipt (1645)
- [Fenner, Dudley, 1558?-1587] A counter-poyson, modestly written for the time, to make aunswere to the obiections and reproaches, wherein the aunswere to the Abstract, would disgrace the holy discipline of Christ [1584] [EEb, 1475-1460; 224:8] [STC (2nd ed.) 10770] [ESTCS101936]
- Howard, Luke., A Looking-Glass for Baptists (1672)
- Jacob, Henry, 1563-1624.
- ______. A treatise of the sufferings and victory of Christ, in then work of our redemption declaring by the Scriptures these two questions, ... (1598) [EEb, 1475–1640; 936:16][STC 14340] [ESCTS107530]
- ______. A Defence of the Chvrches and Ministry of Englande. Written in two treatises, against the reasons and obiections of Maister Francis Iohnson. and others of the separation commonly called Brownists, ... (1599) [EEb, 1475–1640; 251:2][STC 14335] [ESTCS107526]
- ______. A short treatise concerning the trvenes of a pastorall calling in pastors made by prelates ... (1599)
- ______. A defence of a treatise touching the sufferings and victorie of Christ in the worke of our redemption. ... (1600) [EEb, 1475–1640; 936:15][STC (2nd ed.)14333] [ESTCS103093]
- ______. [Another. ed.] (1600) [STC 14334]
- ______. Reasons taken ovt of Gods Word and the best humane Testimonies proving a necessitie of reforming ovr churches in England ... (1603) [EEb, 1475–1640; 993:9][STC 14338] [ESTCS120955]
- ______. [Another ed.] (1909)
- ______. Principles and Foundations of the Christian Religion
- ______. A Third Humble Supplication of many faithful subjects in England falsely called Puritans directed to the King's Majesty (1605)
- ______. A Christian and Modest Offer of a Most Indifferent Conference or dispvtation, abovt the Maine and principall coutroversies betwixt the prelate, and the late silenced and deprived ministers in England (1606) [EEb, 1475–1640; 1145:3] [STC 14329] [ESTCS120767]
- ______. .To the High and mightie Prince, Iames by the grace of God, King of great Britannie, France, and Irelande ... : An Humble Supplication for Toleration and Libertie to Enjoy and Observe the Ordinances of Christ Jesus in th' administration of His Churches in Lieu of Human Constitutions (1609)
- ______. [Another ed.] (1975)
- ______. An humble Supplication for Toleration (1609)
- ______. Divine Beginnings and Institutions of Christ true Visible ... Church, (1610)
- ______. [The divine beginning of Christs church] (1610) [EEb, 1475–1640; 993:7] [STC 14336] [ESTCS101363]
- ______. A plaine and cleere Exposition of the Second Commandement (1610) [STC 14337]
- ______. A declaration and plainer opening of certaine pointes in the divine beginning of Christes true Church (1611) [STC 14331]
- ______. A declaration and plainer opening of certaine points, with a sound confirmation of some other, contained in a teatise intituled, The divine beginning and institution of Christes true visible and ministeriall church (1612) [EEb, 1475–1640; 1145:4, 1549:4][STC 14332] [ESTCS102836]
- ______. An Attestation of many Learned godly, and famous Divines, lightes of religion, and pillars of the Gospell, iustifying this doctrine, ... (1613) [EEb, 1475–1640; 993:5] [STC 14328] [ESTCS117858]
- ______. An Attestation of many divines that the Church-government ought to bee alwayes with the peoples free consent (1613)
- ______. [Another ed.] (1975)
- ______. Anno Domini 1616. A Confession and Protestation of the Faith of certaine Christians in England [1616] [EEb, 1475–1640; 993:6] [STC 14330] [ESCTS120216]
- ______. Kneeling in the act of eating and drinking at the Lords table is a sinne. Proved by 8 arguments printed in the yeare. 1641. (1641) [Wing (2nd ed.) J96] [Thomason Tracts; 163:E.1102(5)][ESTCR208356]
- Jessey, Henry, 1603-1663. The Scripture-almanacke, or a calculation according to the English account, and the Word of God. [1646][EEb, 1641–1700; 2380:2] [Wing (CD-ROM, 1996) A1833A] [ESTCR223971]
- ______. [Another ed.] 1650. The scripture-kalendar, used by the prophets and apostles, and by our Lord Jesus Christ [1650] [EEb, 1641–1700; 2322:4] [Wing A1835A] [ECTSR229487]
- ______. A Storehouse of Provision (1650)
- ______. Miscellanea sacra, or, Diverse necessary truths, now as seasonably published, as they were plainly and compendeously proved by Henry Jessey, late minister of the Gospel in London (1665) [EEb, 1641–1700; 1950:6] [Wing (2nd ed.) J695] [ESTCR216570]
- ______. A Looking-glass for children being a narrative of God's gracious dealings with some little children, recollectedby Henry Jessey in his life-time [4th ed.; 1673] [EEB, 1641–1700; 2292:24] [Wing P30A] [ESTCR42778]
- ______. [Another ed.] (1709)[ESTCW38859]
- ______. "Letters to Henry Jacie", in Collections (Mass. Historical Society), 3rd ser., 1; 4th ser., 6
- Johnson, Francis, 1562-1618. An answer to Maister H. Iacob his defence of the churches and ministry of England. By Francis Johnson an exile of Iesus Christ (1600) [EEb, 1475–1640; 994:11] [STC 14658] [ESTCS121679]
- Killcop, Thomas, A short Treatise of Baptisme (1642)
- Ormerod, Oliver, 1580?-1626. The Picture of a Puritane ; or a relation of the opinions a. practises of the Anabaptists in Germanie a. of the puritanes in England. Whereunto is annexed Puritano-papismus (1605) [STC 18851]
- ______. [Anr. ed.] Newly corrected and enlarged (1605) [STC 18852]
- Staresmore, Sabine (fl.FloruitFloruit , abbreviated fl. , is a Latin verb meaning "flourished", denoting the period of time during which something was active...
1616-1647). Unlawfullnes of Reading in Prayer (1619)
Secondary sources
- Brachlow, S., The Communion of Saints: Radical Puritan and Separatists Ecclesiology 1570-1625 (1988)
- ______. "The Elizabethan Roots of Henry Jacob's Churchmanship", Journal of Ecclesiastical History, 36 (1985)
- Dodd, J. A., "The Eschatology of Praise-God Barebone", Transactions of the Congregational Historical Society, 4 (1909–10)
- Hylson-Smith, K., The Churches in England from Elizabeth I to Elizabeth II, Vol. 1, 1558-1688 (1996)
- Nuttall, G. F., Visible Saints: The Congregational Way 1640-1660 (1957)
- Paul, R. S., "Henry Jacob and Seventeenth-Century Puritanism", Hartford Quarterly, 7 (1967)
- Tolmie, M., The Triumph of the Saints, The Separate Churches of London, 1616-1649 (1977)
- ______. "The Jacob Church", in The Triumph of the Saints, The Separate Churches of London, 1616-1649 (1977)
- von Rohr, J., "The Congregationalism of Henry Jacob", Transactions of the Congregational Historical Society, 19 (1962)
- ______. "Extra Ecclesiam Nulla Salus: An Early Congregational Version", Church History, 36 (1967)
- White, B. R., "How did William KiffinWilliam KiffinWilliam Kiffin , sometimes spelled William Kiffen, was a seventeenth-century English Baptist minister. He was also a successful merchant in the woolen trade.-Life:...
join the Baptist?", Baptist Quarterly, 23
- ______. "Samuel Eaton (d. 1639), Particular Baptist Pioneer", Baptist Quarterly, 24
- Whitley, W. T., "Debate of Infant Baptism, 1643", Transactions of the Baptist Historical Society, 1 (1908–09)
- ______. "The Jacob-Jessey Church, 1616-1678", Transactions of the Baptist Historical Society, 1 (1908–09)
- ______."Records of the Jabob-Lathrop-Jessey Church, 1616-1641", Transactions of the Baptist Historical Society 1, (1908–09)
- ______. 'Rise of the Particular Baptists in London, 1633–1644, Transactions of the Baptist Historical Society 1, (1908–09)