Thomas Parker (minister)
Encyclopedia
Thomas Parker was an English nonconforming clergyman and founder of Newbury, Massachusetts
.
, the only son of the Reverend Robert Parker
, M.A. and Dorothy Stephens. He was admitted into Magdalen College, Oxford
, but left when his father was obliged to move to Dublin, where he studied under Archbishop James Ussher
. Later he went to be with his father, who was in exile in Leiden, Holland, where he became acquainted with William Ames
, and received the degree of M.A. from Leiden University
in 1617.
Parker returned to England and settled at Newbury
in Berkshire
, where he taught at St. Bartholomew's School
, and was assistant preacher to William Twisse
. His puritan opinions caused him to embark for New England
, with a number of Wiltshire men, in the Mary and John of London, 26 March 1634, and they landed in May. About a hundred settled at Agawam, afterwards Ipswich, Massachusetts
where Parker remained a year as assistant to Nathaniel Ward
.
Parker, together with his cousin Reverend James Noyes, his nephew John Woodbridge
, and some others, obtained leave of the general court to remove to Quascacunquen at the mouth of the Merrimack River
, and the settlement was incorporated as a township under the name of Newbury or Newberry in the spring of 1635. Noyes was chosen teacher and Parker first pastor of the church, the tenth established in the colony. He remained at Newbury for the rest of his life. At about this time, he became the guardian and tutor of Shubael Dummer
, whose mother had died shortly after childbirth and whose father, Richard
, had returned to England.
On the return of John Woodbridge from England in 1663 he was made assistant to Parker. He had complained of failing eyesight in 1643, and towards the end of his life became quite blind. This did not prevent him from continuing to teach, usually twelve or fourteen pupils at the James Noyes House
, where he lived with Reverend James Noyes.; Samuel Sewall
(a cousin of Shubael Dummer) was one of his scholars and wrote about Parker in his diary.
Parker died unmarried on 24 April 1677, in his eighty-second year. The Quascacunquen River was renamed the Parker River in 1697.
).
He devoted himself to the study of prophecy and wrote several works, of which only one was published. The book was dedicated to Philip, Earl of Pembroke and Montgomery, by Thomas Bayly, who states that the author sent the manuscript over to England with neither title nor dedication.
His views on ecclesiastical discipline are in the True Copy of a Letter written by T. Parker unto a Member of the Assembly of divines now at Westminster, declaring his judgement touching the Government practised in the churches of New England, London, 1644 (issued 19 February 1643, as noted by Thomason). The Letter was the subject of remarks in a pamphlet entitled M.S. to A[dam] S[tuart], with a plea for Libertie of Conscience in a Church way, London, 1644, of which a second edition appeared in the same year as Reply of two of the Brethren to A. S. Parker's opinions were shared by Noyes, but were opposed by other members of the church, and controversy raged between 1645 and 1672.
In November 1648 he addressed to Elizabeth Avery, author of Scripture Prophecies opened (1647), a Letter . . . touching sundry opinions by her professed and maintained, printed at London, 1650. She was probably a daughter of Robert Parker, and so his sister; her views were Fifth Monarchist.
Newbury, Massachusetts
Newbury is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 6,666 at the 2010 census. Newbury includes the villages of Old Town , Plum Island and Byfield, home of The Governor's Academy , a private preparatory school.- History :Newbury Plantation was settled and incorporated...
.
Life
He was born probably at Stanton St. Bernard, WiltshireWiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
, the only son of the Reverend Robert Parker
Robert Parker (minister)
Robert Parker English Puritan scholar and divine, who became minister of a separatist congregation in the Holland where he died while exiled for his heterodoxy. He was a descended from the Spencer family of Althorp, Northamptonshire...
, M.A. and Dorothy Stephens. He was admitted into Magdalen College, Oxford
Magdalen College, Oxford
Magdalen College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. As of 2006 the college had an estimated financial endowment of £153 million. Magdalen is currently top of the Norrington Table after over half of its 2010 finalists received first-class degrees, a record...
, but left when his father was obliged to move to Dublin, where he studied under Archbishop James Ussher
James Ussher
James Ussher was Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland between 1625–56...
. Later he went to be with his father, who was in exile in Leiden, Holland, where he became acquainted with William Ames
William Ames
William Ames was an English Protestant divine, philosopher, and controversialist...
, and received the degree of M.A. from Leiden University
Leiden University
Leiden University , located in the city of Leiden, is the oldest university in the Netherlands. The university was founded in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange, leader of the Dutch Revolt in the Eighty Years' War. The royal Dutch House of Orange-Nassau and Leiden University still have a close...
in 1617.
Parker returned to England and settled at Newbury
Newbury, Berkshire
Newbury is a civil parish and the principal town in the west of the county of Berkshire in England. It is situated on the River Kennet and the Kennet and Avon Canal, and has a town centre containing many 17th century buildings. Newbury is best known for its racecourse and the adjoining former USAF...
in Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
, where he taught at St. Bartholomew's School
St. Bartholomew's School
St Bartholomew's School is a co-educational comprehensive school founded in 1466 in Newbury, Berkshire in the United Kingdom. It accepts students aged 11–18 and currently has approximately 1,600 students on roll including a sixth form of around 400...
, and was assistant preacher to William Twisse
William Twisse
William Twisse was a prominent English clergyman and theologian. He became Prolocutor of the Westminster Assembly, putting him at the head of the churchmen of the Commonwealth. He was described by a Scottish member, Robert Baillie, as “very good, beloved of all, and highlie esteemed; but merelie...
. His puritan opinions caused him to embark for New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
, with a number of Wiltshire men, in the Mary and John of London, 26 March 1634, and they landed in May. About a hundred settled at Agawam, afterwards Ipswich, Massachusetts
Ipswich, Massachusetts
Ipswich is a coastal town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 12,987 at the 2000 census. Home to Willowdale State Forest and Sandy Point State Reservation, Ipswich includes the southern part of Plum Island...
where Parker remained a year as assistant to Nathaniel Ward
Nathaniel Ward
Nathaniel Ward was a Puritan clergyman and pamphleteer in England and Massachusetts. He wrote the first constitution in North America in 1641....
.
Parker, together with his cousin Reverend James Noyes, his nephew John Woodbridge
John Woodbridge
John Woodbridge VI was an English nonconformist, who emigrated to New England. He had positions on both sides of the Atlantic, until 1663, when he settled permanently in New England.-Life:...
, and some others, obtained leave of the general court to remove to Quascacunquen at the mouth of the Merrimack River
Merrimack River
The Merrimack River is a river in the northeastern United States. It rises at the confluence of the Pemigewasset and Winnipesaukee rivers in Franklin, New Hampshire, flows southward into Massachusetts, and then flows northeast until it empties into the Atlantic Ocean at Newburyport...
, and the settlement was incorporated as a township under the name of Newbury or Newberry in the spring of 1635. Noyes was chosen teacher and Parker first pastor of the church, the tenth established in the colony. He remained at Newbury for the rest of his life. At about this time, he became the guardian and tutor of Shubael Dummer
Shubael Dummer
Rev. Shubael Dummer was an American Congregational church minister who was killed in the Candlemas Massacre in York, Maine. Described as a man of "beautiful Christian character", Dummer founded the First Parish Congregational Church of York, the oldest church congregation in the U.S...
, whose mother had died shortly after childbirth and whose father, Richard
Richard Dummer
Richard Dummer was an early settler in New England who has been described as "one of the fathers of Massachusetts"....
, had returned to England.
On the return of John Woodbridge from England in 1663 he was made assistant to Parker. He had complained of failing eyesight in 1643, and towards the end of his life became quite blind. This did not prevent him from continuing to teach, usually twelve or fourteen pupils at the James Noyes House
James Noyes House
James Noyes House, built ca. 1646, is a historic house at 7 Parker Street in Newbury, Massachusetts.The house was built by the Reverend James Noyes, a Reformed pastor, who arrived in Newbury after landing in Ipswich in the mid-17th century. The Noyes family came from Wiltshire in England. The house...
, where he lived with Reverend James Noyes.; Samuel Sewall
Samuel Sewall
Samuel Sewall was a Massachusetts judge, best known for his involvement in the Salem witch trials, for which he later apologized, and his essay The Selling of Joseph , which criticized slavery.-Biography:...
(a cousin of Shubael Dummer) was one of his scholars and wrote about Parker in his diary.
Parker died unmarried on 24 April 1677, in his eighty-second year. The Quascacunquen River was renamed the Parker River in 1697.
Works
The series of seventy theses defended by him at Leyden are found appended to some editions of Ames's answer to Grevinchovius. The theses were published in London in 1657 as Methodus Divinae Gratiae in traductione hominis peccatoris ad viam. They were objected to at the synod of Dort, and by the theological faculty at Heidelberg, and were criticised in Parkerus Illustratus, authore Philo-Tileno, London, 1660, and The Examination of Tilenus before the Triers, by N. H., London, 1658 (by Laurence WomockLaurence Womock
Laurence Womock was an English bishop. He is best known for his controversial writings, some of which were signed Tilenus, after Daniel Tilenus, expressing his hostility to Calvinism in general, and the Synod of Dort in particular.-Life:He was born at Lopham, Norfolk, where his father was rector....
).
He devoted himself to the study of prophecy and wrote several works, of which only one was published. The book was dedicated to Philip, Earl of Pembroke and Montgomery, by Thomas Bayly, who states that the author sent the manuscript over to England with neither title nor dedication.
His views on ecclesiastical discipline are in the True Copy of a Letter written by T. Parker unto a Member of the Assembly of divines now at Westminster, declaring his judgement touching the Government practised in the churches of New England, London, 1644 (issued 19 February 1643, as noted by Thomason). The Letter was the subject of remarks in a pamphlet entitled M.S. to A[dam] S[tuart], with a plea for Libertie of Conscience in a Church way, London, 1644, of which a second edition appeared in the same year as Reply of two of the Brethren to A. S. Parker's opinions were shared by Noyes, but were opposed by other members of the church, and controversy raged between 1645 and 1672.
In November 1648 he addressed to Elizabeth Avery, author of Scripture Prophecies opened (1647), a Letter . . . touching sundry opinions by her professed and maintained, printed at London, 1650. She was probably a daughter of Robert Parker, and so his sister; her views were Fifth Monarchist.